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mediabasedlife · 4 years

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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.

#A Look Back #Gaming #Game Review

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sparrowsabre7 · 4 years

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Ok fought my way through to Deadman's cabin. So fool put a timefall shelter right by the spiritualist cave meaning I couldn't easily zipline up the mountain. Get to the cabin and it looks like another Chiral storm and Deadman's been sucked in with BB.

We're in WWII now, more metal AF imagery, just seen a tank made of organs. Also forgot to mention that creepy dolls appear whenever Mads shows up as well, this is relevant because the dolls have one eye closed and one open and when Deadman connected to BB Lou she mirrored this behaviour which was creepy as hell.

This battlefield is another fucking beautiful trip. Why weren't there any MGS missions like this? The gun fights always felt like you were in a game with artificiallyplaced antagonists, but the sound design, the visuals, the atmosphere here is so immersive, it really feels like living in a battlefield.

Jeez, into the sewers... this is fine. I'm okay with the things that are happening now. Found Deadman, Lou seems to have taken a shine to him. Guessing it's about Mads murderin' time. Wish I had something better than a bola gun and some blood bombs.

Clearly a big fan of Spider-man 3, Mads has set himself up in a web in a bell tower but wole up upon Sam reconnecting to BT. God this level is good. Even better than the last battlefield, I love the cat and mouse feel of it, O managed to get the drop on him a few times and it's much more satisfying than open combat in MGS because there, even in boss fights, you feel on the back foot and that open combat is a fail state. With this, it's out and out war but being able to still surprise him with a grenade and then bind him briefly with a bola while tending to the skelington soldiers is lit.

Man, I really should have taken the sunglasses off before the dramatic cutscene... Mads and Sam grappling over BB with a dramatic zoom on Sam's face doesn't really work when he's wearing ray bans (I know it's actually jf rey but if I say ray bans people have a better idea of the style). Got his dog tags so should learn his name now besides "Combat Veteran" though I wouldn't put it past Kojima "Fatman, Vulcan Raven, Sniper Wolf, Quiet, Deadman, Heartman, Vamp, Big Boss" Kojima.

Back in my private room now. Oh jesus fuck!! Went to check on Lou but when the screen opened it was a horrific nail doll inside. Scared the shit out of me. Wake up from that nightmare to see that's all it was.

More backstory time, turns out Lou was the name Sam was going to give his unborn son.

Oh snap! That's actually a surprising twist: his wife died suddenly and he hid the body, causing a voidout and being left the only survivor as a repatriate, that's why he left Bridges, to avoid the bad press for the organisation and slip away to start a new life. That's actually a really good hook, having played with Sam this long we feel like we knew him but then we find out this, it makes you reevaluate him.

And now Deadman's dropping his own story. He's a proper Frankenstein*, a homonculus with no soul, no beach, or family. Hard to feel emotional about it as Deadman's largely never really been presented as otherwise, or maybe that's just because I knew that already from the reviews.

Ah time to read the dog tags.

U wot m8.

Mads Mikkelsen's character name is Clifford Unger!? Who looked at Mads "chiselled from marble by god himself" Mikkelsen and said "oh yeah, he's a Cliff". Most ridiculous thing in the game so far.

#death stranding #sparrowsabre7 plays death stranding

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ren-c-leyn · 5 years

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Curse of the New Lands

Fusion story time! This is one I’ve been wanting to write for a while now, and I’ve finally figured out how I want to tackle it!

It’s made up of this prompt by @thewholekitandkabobble, this prompt by @humdrummoloch, these 1,2,3 prompts by @scandy-inspo, these 1,2 by @givethispromptatry, and these 1,2,3,4,5 by @thependragonwritersguild.

Okay, some warnings, this is an angstier piece with deaths, a battle, and an ancient being that is done putting up with mortals’ crap. As usual, I didn’t go into a lot of detail on the gore, but there is blood and some wounds mentioned.

I sat in the darkness of my cell. It had been days since I had been tossed in and no one was quite sure what to do with me. As far as any could tell, I had done no wrong, but none would believe my tale. And so I sat, waiting to retell my side of the story again.

The heavy metal door creaked open and was followed by the sounds of metal boots. I turned in my corner so I was facing the bars. To my shock, it was not another officer, nor some random small-town official type. No, the crowned prince of the empire himself had come to grace this grubby jail, flanked on either side by armed and armored royal guard.

He stopped in front of the cell before looking back at the jailer.

“This is the soldier?”

“Yes, your highness,” she said stiffly.

He gave a small nod before looking me in the eyes.

“Leave us.”

“Your highness, I...”

He looked back at her.

“That is an order.”

She sighed before bowing. Then, she marched out, followed by the guard. The prince waited for them to leave before looking back to me.

“I read through the reports of your previous interviews.... They said you lied.”

“Worse. I told the truth.”

He hummed.

“We shall see about that.”

His hands glowed as he cast a spell on me. Though I didn’t feel any different at the end of it, he seemed content.

“Could you recite the tale once more for me? I would like to hear it spoken in your own words and not modified by anyone else.”

I gave a nod.

“Of course, Your highness. Where would you like me to begin?”

“The day the legion left the outpost, for I have all of the details of the weeks prior to that confirmed and collaborated.”

My head tipped into another nod. It took a moment to collect my thoughts and pull the memories I’d been trying to shove aside to mind. When I found myself on the verge of backing out, I cleared my throat and drug the words, one by one, out of my throat.

“I had never believed those stories. You know, the ones they tell back in the homeland about this place. The new world holds ancient curses, they say. There’s monsters that would swallow dragons whole, I was told. Ancient beings that even gods would turn tail and run from, they whispered. But those were the kind of stories being bounced around as we began our march into the desert. The mood wasn’t calm, it was tense, fearful. None of us knew this land, none of us knew what we were getting into. All we had were the stories.”

I shifted against the wall, trying to get something resembling comfort as I began to actually get into the tale.

“Three days passed, and it was miserable. Freezing at night, burning during the day, all you ever wanted was water, but it was all rationed strictly. There was life everywhere, but not much you could eat outside of your rations, with everything else being spiny or poisonous. It was on that forth day, that forth day is when everything went to the hells.”

The prince leaned forward slightly at this.

“And what happened? What happened on that day?”

My body felt like it was burning as the memories all flooded back. I tilted my head, trying to block out the ringing of clashing steel in my ears.

“It was... quiet. There wasn’t animal sound in the morning that day. It was weird because, because I remember complaining about the insects. They love the morning and the night, you see. But it started to warm up, and nothing happened. No shadows, no howling monsters, the sun just rose and cast the sands in the most beautiful colors. I watched the sunrise, watched it all the way through til it started to get hot again. With the blazing sun overhead, temperature ever increasing; I said the words I thought I never would.And I lived to regret it. ‘This place is more beautiful than scary. I wouldn’t mind living here.’”

I laughed, laughed as I repeated my own foolish, naive words.

“The orcs put an end to that sentiment fairly quickly! We were ambushed at the foot of a lone mountain. Beautiful place, made up of a pale stone with actual greenery on it. But the battle below it was anything but. The orcs aren’t a stupid people, Your highness, they have brains to go with their brawn, but not much in the way of morals or fairness. We were being torn apart, figuratively and literally. By the time we were able to rally, a great deal of our number were already cut down.”

“So it was the orcs that made the entire legion vanish?” he asked, though something in his tone told me that he didn’t believe it for a second.

“No, Your highness, it was not the orcs, but what came after.”

“Continue.”

I gave him a nod, but stayed quiet for a moment. That sound, that sound made the entire prison feel cold. But I had to finish. I had gotten through this mad tale several times before, and I could handle one more go of it.

“This is the part where people start calling me mad, or sun-touched. Perhaps I am, or perhaps those tales were more true than I had thought them. In either case, the battle was well underway when it happened, and we had just started driving the orcs back when soft bell chimed, overpowering the clash of metal against metal, and I turned to see a person float down to the battlefield. As they touched the ground a concussive ripple fanned out, knocking down every soldier, myself included. From the rocks I had landed in I watched the rest of the warriors struggle to stand. Another ripple forced them to the ground once more.”

I cleared my throat again and tried to mimic the voice the best I could.

“‘You dare squabble at the foot of my mountain?’ The figure’s voice rung out, clear as day, even from the edge of the battlefield, where I was laying. It wasn’t particularly loud, either, it just sounded like he was speaking to my face. It was even more unsettling when I realized... it was a small boy.”

“A child?” the prince asked, eyes widening slightly.

I guessed they hadn’t put that in the reports.

“A boy,” I confirmed with a nod. “And the orcs were terrified of him. They all scrambled to their feet and started running, but the ground rippled again and knocked them all on their backsides. The orc leader shouted something in their native tongue to him, but I couldn’t tell you what it meant. A plea for mercy, maybe.... But whatever it was, it only seemed to anger the child. He growled something at all of us in orcish. As he did, the sands started stirring.”

I paused for a moment, trying to sort out the mess of events in my head. It had all happened so quickly that there hadn’t been time to process it all. Even now, I couldn’t sort out the entire thing.

“The general shouted for a retreat, and I think the orc leader did as well. Everyone from both sides of the battle started to crawl away.Some were getting to their feet without falling, but things were going dark. Now, you’d think we had enough. But even covered in blood, crawling on our knees, there was more to come. It started with the whine of wind, and the dust rose higher and higher. Blinding our vision. People, all around collapsed. And as the darkness dotted my vision, my feet giving in; I saw it. I saw a light more intense than the sun. The heat got more intense and people were screaming. Clouds of fire lingered above us and the voice of the child growled at us all again.”

“What did he say?” the prince asked, now leaning against the bars of my cell.

“Something about sacred grounds, a pact, and crimes. I don’t know, something about his voice was making my head fuzzy and making my vision blur. I didn’t know what to do, so I crawled. I crawled away from the battlefield in a random direction, leaving the screams and the darkness and the fire behind me. Mind you, I wasn’t the only one. Many were running and crawling, but the ground started pulsing again, knocking all of us for a couple of loops. Still, I kept going, trying not to listen to the screams and shouts.”

I sighed heavily, sink down the wall a bit.

“It was useless, though. When everything went quiet, I looked back, only seeing sandstorm, and looked forward only to see a white-robed figure in front of me. I looked up to meet the boy’s gaze and found myself frozen to the spot. The child had ancient eyes and a cold stare. In one hand was the most beautiful sheath I had ever seen, and a blade that went up to his chest was in the other.”

“What happened then? How did you survive?”

I looked the prince in the eyes, just staring for a moment.

“I begged. I begged for my life.But it didn’t help me, it’s not what saved me. He just glared at me with so many years worth of anger and said ‘Do you believe you deserve mercy?” He tapped his sword’s sheath against the ground. “Do you honestly think I should spare you? That the world would be better if you still lived?’ “

“And what did you say to him?” the prince asked, his voice quiet.

“At first, I said nothing. What could I say? But then, the words just tore themselves out of my throat, almost against my will. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe I am sun-touched, but I said ‘Do it. I know you’re going to, so just get it over with.’”

He rose his eyebrows in surprise before eyeing me.

“But he let you go?”

I shook my head.

“Not exactly. He did, in fact, bring the sword down to bear on me. Stabbed me in the back as I laid pitifully on the desert sands. Pretty sure the only thing that saved my life was that I inherited my grandfather’s Armor Rings and had enough brains to wear them at the time.”

“That explains the wound and your survival, but what of the bodies?”

I shrugged.

“That... I cannot tell you. When I woke up, early morning, the sands all red from the light, I was half-buried in sand but still alive. I fought my way to my feet and looked all around, but everything was as smooth, quiet, and beautiful as it had been the morning before. I thought about calling out, seeing if anyone else had made it, but I was too afraid of the child’s wrath to make a noise. Instead, I started the journey back with what little supplies I still had on me.”

The prince stared at me for a moment longer before nodding.

“The spell has registered truthful the entire time, so I shall arrange your release.”

“Thank you... Oh, and your highness.”

“Yes?”

“If you plan on staying in these lands long, start listening to the stories. They’re true, even the one that says you can hear the song of the wilderness when you’re wounded. Because the entire time I was limping and crawling back to here, the sand was laughing and singing in my ears.”

He stared at me for a second before dipping his head into a nod.

“I shall keep that in mind.”

And with that, he left me to my memories.

Short story taglist:

@wemitodd, @greenwood-writes, @elkatheinkstained, @n1ghtcrwler, @writingiswilde, @say-no-to-negativity, @dawnscribbles, @silvertalonwriteblr, @inspiring-prompts, @dawnoftheagez, @likelyfantasywriterspsychic, @orphicodysseywrites, @mischiefiswritten, @wineandpensareallineed, @candy687, @kaylewiswrites, @nemowritesstuff

#short story #fiction #fantasy #angst #original story #writeblr #My writing #a story by Ren

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marjiandco · 4 years

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Prompt #17: Fade

There wasn't a lot to be said about the predicament they were in but this: It was dangerous and options were limited.

Raiku loosed an arrow at an incoming soldier and stuck him between the eyes, but even before his body could hit the ground others clamored over him. He was nothing but a hindrance in their way to get to the last of the scions. He scrambled back towards his small Gridanian unit as they jabbed out with their spears, keeping most Garleans at bay. They'll be safe enough with this trick, as long as they avoided magitek users. They were not far from the group; Raiku watched the metal marionettes warily as they marched between scores of people on the ground, running their drills through the bellies of any too close and crushed those who were too weak to flee.

The lalafell spared a moment to wipe sweat from his brow. It's been a long, bloody battle and there seemed to be no end in sight. The sounds of battle burned his ears more than the fires around him. People from both sides in their death throes as others raced headlong into the next pile of enemy units. No one had a empathetic eye, choosing a cold stare out of instinct to protect what little humanity they clung to in these days. Raiku himself felt no better than one of those machines marching steadily towards him. Move, kill, check. Move, kill, check. He lead others with his voice, garnering at much of their spirits as he could to push forward but it was not easy. For every step they took, three more were taken to skitter away from some automaton or foot soldier who managed to slip by their defenses. He couldn't see how the battle went for others in their grand company, much less other Eorzeans. He just knew what they were doing wasn't working.

“To Me!” he cried.

His unit backed towards him, and together he lead them through the waves of enemies like water through rocks. They slipped between those they could and surged against the immovable. Time was already taking a toll on most of them; he could see fatigue weigh their arms down and drag their feet behind them. He had to get them out of here, somewhere they could rest.

A swordsman rushed at their healer and Raiku within a breath loosed three arrows. Two stuck, and the man fell past the mage, red forming on the back of his shirt. The healer clutched her staff tightly, a shakey breath escaped her as she glanced over to Raiku. He gave her a quick nod, shook his hair out of his eyes, and continued to lead her and the rest of his group to the side lines.

Halfway through their march, he heard the crunch of steel. He turned to late, and felt a heavy weapon smash into his chest. He yelled out as he was knocked yalms back, and for a moment he thanked the gods the healer had the forethought to set a protection spell on them. As he landed the first time spots danced before his eyes. His hand was numb, and he was vaguely aware of the smooth wood of his bow left his fingertips. He crashed against a torn apart automaton, flipping over it to land on a fallen soldier.

He lay there for a moment, his mind growing dim before coming back in sharp clarity. He gasped as he staggered back to his feet. He clutched at his chest and fell to his knees. Though his mind remains sharp a deep bruise bloomed a void spot on his chest. His jaw shook, his body was seconds away from giving into the wound. He coughed and he felt a whistle of wind rattle in his throat.

A pair of large, unfamiliar boots step into his vision ans his muscles clenched. Raiku dove to the left seconds before another attack near split him in twain. Raiku whipped his head around for his weapon but its lost amongst the ruins. His attacker, a burly Garlean near twice his size with a flat head hammer surged forward.

There is nothing Raiku can do against such strength but flee. Disoriented and lost he unwittingly put distance between him and his command. His attacker has little trouble following the lalafell. His orange hair, while usually one of his favorite features, gave him away in the crowd of dull colors. The man makes another swipe at him. Metal rings against a fallen soldiers armor, and like a bell it gave Raiku a fair location of the brute behind him. He ripped off his goggles and pulls back on the rubber and aims them squarely at the man's face. He blinded him for a few precious seconds as Raiku wheels around and clamors his way towards a red Limsan flag.

The flag bearer ushers him towards a group of yellow jackets as they jabbed long swords into any who dare come too close.

“Seven hells kid you look like shite.” A roegadyn general said, gripping him by his shirt as Raiku threatened to fall to his knees.

“I lost them. My command.” He mumbled, sucking in deep breaths and grabbing onto the man's overlarge wrists for support.

“Shout boy! This ain't some damned picnic!” The general said.

Raiku shook his head. A small object threatens to dislodge from his ear. Raiku gingerly touches it, realizes what it is, and pushes it back in, tuning the frequency until he heard feedback.

“Hello! This is your commanding officer, where are you? Hello?”

What seems like hours pass before the thin voice of his healer echoes through his head.

“Nettlestinger! Praise the twelve we thought you-”

“Nevermind that, where are you? Are you all okay?”

A pause.

“No. Some of us were lost in our search for you. I know naught of where they are and you must needs find me. I'm hiding from the warhammer bearer who took you. Please hurry.”

Her voice was hushed.

“A hint, something Serito.” He says, desperation cracking his voice.

“I'm in a tomb of magitek. I-”

Silence.

Raiku calls for her, but no one answers. He turns to the Limsan General.

“I need a weapon.”

“You'll find one your size over yonder where our main battalion be. Be careful scion!”

Raiku was already moving through the battlefield, using his size to his advantage as he slips past most and loses others in hard to reach places. Little in the way of incidents happen before he find a large group of Limsan's swaying against an onslaught. He demands another weapon, and finds a short bow a hairs breath too small. It will have to do. He pauses to catch his breath again, finding it harder and harder to breathe this smoke clogged air into his bruised lungs.

Still, he stood and rushed back into danger, his responsibility towards his unit far outweighing his pain. He dispatched any who get to close to him, his hand shaking as he pulls arrows from a diminishing quiver. As one soldier rushes forth, he pulls his bowstring far back.

“Found you.” A growl from behind.

He whirls around and starts to twist away when his legs were swept out from under him. He cries out and looses his arrow, but it misses the warhammer bearer by a large margin. He pulled himself onto his elbows. The man swung his weapon down towards Raiku's legs, but Raiku rolled away just in time. He tries to scramble back to his feet but another soldier cuts towards him with their sword. He trips back onto his backside. He growled, reaching behind him for another arrow when a voice echoed around him. No, no it's echoing inside his head.

“Throw wide the gates.”

A piercing pain shot through his mind as more words spilled into his consciousness. The red ablaze world of the battlefield shifted away to a dark blue. There is naught he can do to defend himself. The shaking migraine feels as if it'll split his head in two. He's helpless as one of the Garlean soldiers pinned him to the ground. Another pair of hands scratch against his neck as they yank him off the ground by his collar.

The swordsman takes Raiku's weapon from his shaking hands and cuts it in two. In the sliver of understanding he has left of his predicament he knows he's in mortal peril. Blinding headache or not he's in the hands of the enemy. Raiku kicks out and reaches for an arrow, but his quiver is empty. His face is beginning to turn red when he's thrown against the ground. For a moment he believes it was best just to give in to the cool darkness that crept around the corners of his eyes. That moment is all it takes.

“Sir we have the scion.” He hears, as if listening through water.

The warhammer crashes dangerously close to his nose as a hand pushes against his shoulder, placing him on his back.

“Don't worry. We're not going to kill you, yet.” The Garlean said.

Raiku didn't know what became of his body, because the next thing he knows he's waking up in a bright, iridescent world. Devoid of clothes, devoid of his escape.

#ffxivwrite2020 #raiku #shadowbringers spoilers #kinda #so this is how i think it'd play out with Raiku getting swept up #same fight marji's duking it out with meatsuit zenos #just in a different area with different work #poor body and soul were ripped apart pretty traumatically

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momo-de-avis · 5 years

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Wordtober Day 8: Frail

FOREWORD before we dwell into this mess: some of the events described here, just so you know, are actually real. Specifically, the fire that consumed Chartres and the collapse of the choir of Beauvais. It just wasn’t the devil, just shitty master builders. The Sacré Coeur does not exist. I made it up. I named it Scaré Coeur cause every fucking church in France in the 13th century was called Notre Dame and I need a break.

Also, though this is set in the 13th century, the Latin prayer you’ll read is actually from the 19th century, before some pesky historian comes bothering me -- I KNOW, I just don’t give a fuck cause this is fiction. It’s the same with the latin quote about the devil, I KNOW it’s from that one book fake satanists made it cool though it’s actually about witch-hunting and not that deep, but fuck it man, it’s what we get.

Moving on to some Christian horror (I hope to God you understand what Frail plays into here). Be warned of some gore and extremely violent themes ahead.

The man stood, silent and still, at the centre of the choir. He did not look ahead at the altar; instead, his back was turned to the Cross and he inspected every believer that sat on the pews, heads bent in devotional prayer. Abbot Odo though there was something disconcerting to him. He was so still one could easily mistake him for a forsaken statue, and his eyes were cold and buried deep into his craggy face, pale skin poorly stretched over his semblance, marked by angular wrinkles that crisscrossed around his sockets and the corners of his lips.

The silence that settled seemed to emanate from within himself, and realizing this, abbot Odo made the sign of the cross and swallowed a deep sigh. The man standing at the choir raised his head to the dome above him, his eyes dancing across the angular ribs of the tall vault, and his hands came together like in a prayer, but they relaxed at his lap instead. He dressed in black: black cape flapping freely around his shoulders, and black gambeson beneath chainmail. A scabbard hung from his waist, from which the bright silver pommel protruded. His trousers were scratched and ragged, as if worn through many travels, and abbot Odo could swear there were stains of red.

He wanted to believe him a knight. Many came to the Sacrée Coeur to pray, to cleanse themselves of hellish visions acquired in the battlefield – their brothers cut to pieces, members chopped with the swing of an arm, and cries of pain and misery that would forever resonate inside their ears. They believe it to be for God, but came back with the desolation of a Godless mind. They had seen burning hot oil poured onto the bodies of the foot soldiers clambering a rope ladder, up the walls of a fortress, and prayed for Jerusalem as their skins came peeling off, flesh bubbling red and pink in jarring pain as their eyes bulged for one last cry of horror. They had watched the lances and wheezing blades stab their friends though the chest, and the sound of cracking bone and gurgling blood echoed still in their consciences. Mumbled prayers from dying men became litanies they would forever repeat, and poison shook them in shudders and cold sweat as they lingered between the worlds. Before their eyes, desolation, but hope too: hope that, now, having fought in the name of God, the Pearly Gates would offer them Eternity, hope that a life of bloody brutality, away from their families, babes and pregnant women left behind, would at least be worth a noble death and a heavenly pardon.

But abbot Odo knew there was always a moment of hesitation, a moment where – haunted by this life of constant warmongering – they would face Christ and the Elders in their Judgement and tremble in fear of being cast out of heavenly Jerusalem. They feared mercy existed not for a man earning crowns in the business of death. They feared they had acquired a fondness for blood, a passion for swinging a blade, and on the moment the Archangel would weight their souls, their corrupted selves would reveal a life tarnished by bloodlust. They feared it would be the Devil the one to see their taste for putrid flesh and broken bone, and in the flames of Hell, they would remain shackled to constant torment.

Many came to the Sacrée Coeur to pray, to release themselves, to find absolution in the bosom of the Virgin, or seek inspiration and salvation from Saint Matthew. Many found solace and piety in tears shed before the image of Saint Stephen, while others adored the image of the dragon below Saint Theodore, and thought all their nightmares existed there, in the monstrous creature. Perhaps they had led a similar battle, and who they had fought was not the Saracens nor the barbarians from the north, but the evil cast unto the world by Satan himself.

For a brief moment, abbot Odo thought the man standing at the choir could be one such man, seeking redemption by bringing his hands together for something other than holding a sword. But as abbot Odo blinked his eyes, he realized he was wrong. Very wrong.

He had heard the tales before, had even witnessed it once. The Devil tempted in many a manner, seeking to blend in with the world it sought to scorch and destroy, to wipe it clean of beauty and serenity, sowing death and destruction – and sometimes, the Devil was successful. Of all the tales of Satan taking the shape of something recognizable, hiding its horns and demonic tail – something terrifyingly friendly – the one that frightened abbot Odo the most was when he appeared as a man.

He could be a haggling one, clad in ratty clothes, ripped shirt and dirty nails, hand stretched out with pious eyes as he begged for a silver coin to support a wife and a child, seeking charity out of those with good in their hearts, only to reveal himself as a skinflint disgrace, drunk and relishing in sin, between the bosoms of harlots and gambling in dingy, filthy towns, dragging the innocent into his vices. He could be a noble of clean-shaven appearance, wearing a finely stitched doublet and a cape held by the wealthiest of brooches, offering a helping hand to a woman who carried a basket, only to snatch her away and maim her with depravity and filth, stealing her honour, her earnings and her life, until her naked corpse would be found afloat in the river, drained of blood. Sometimes, he was even a man of Faith, wearing the robes of a clergyman, though no cross would ever be visible on their chests, and they would sneak into abbeys and bring about the sins to sow depravity all around, and destruction would follow: fires devouring the altar, food thrown in the waters and gone to waste, wells poisoned and a community sentenced to starvation and drought – and the brothers resting eternally, with blood squirting out of their throats and guts spilling out of their bellies, limbs sawn off and teeth pulled out. Most daunting of all, they always seemed to do it to each other.

The Devil would wipe his hands clean and say with a grin: my work here is done.

But there was one other abbot Odo knew of – the one he had seen before. He was a traveller – sometimes a merchant, sometimes a knight – and he carried in his clothes the dirt and filth to prove it, though never a horse, a mule or a wagon. It was said that, when he took the shape of a wanderer, carrying sword or dagger, he did not seek to corrupt others; he did not attempt to plant the seed of sin in the innocent, nor tempt a believer into wickedness and villainy. His goal was not to cause bloodshed, not to spread about the corpses of the innocent, not to steal the honour of a young maid. His goal, then, was to destroy.

To destroy the House of God through the hands of His own believers.

He had first heard of him when he was initiated in the Fontevreu Abbey, of a fire that had engulfed Chartres and destroyed near all of its main church: the people watching in horror as the flames rose to the tower and licked the bell atop; the tears shed at the sight of the house of Mary being engulfed by the scorching blaze. A priest had salvaged the mantle of the Virgin, hiding the relic beneath his clothes, and against the columns of rising smoke, coughing out the ash and fending off the flames, he saw, standing in the middle of the choir, a man: a man as motionless as any statue, with eyes glinting red, no pupils to be seen but a dark, hollow slit, like those of a snake. The flames licked his body, but he did not burn; the shadows danced around him like whores of Babylon, and small, blackened talons caressed the edges of his hands and feet. From behind, as the fire rose to a hellish rebuke, big and engulfing wings spread, and his mouth tore abnormally wide, sharp teeth and hissing tongue, his skin undulating before the dancing shapes of blackness that embraced him, brows jutting forward and claws ripping the skin of his fingers. The priest blessed himself and ran, certain it was the Devil that had destroyed the holy home of Mary. Yet against the auspices of Satan, he had saved Mary's blessed mantle.

Two years before he arrived at the Sacré Coeur, abbot Odo had stopped briefly in Beauvais to witness its constructions. Abbot Odo had been marvelled at the sight: the wooden scaffolding rising tall and high as the sounds of pickaxe and stilettos against the stone echoed by. On the ground, thin lines marked the church's nave, and he walked with awe in his heart, down to the choir, projecting a dream onto those lines he saw grow into steady walls, slender columns and thick piers. It was even taller than Amiens.

Abbot Odo had stood in the middle of the choir, observing the intricate vaulting above his head, the nerves dashing across the white stone in a promise of grandeur. Then, he had looked back and found a man there, right behind him. He wore a great black cape, closed around his body, which only allowed his tarnished, worn-out leather boots to be seen, and no weapon in sight. His hands moved and joined each other on his lap, but he did not pray. Then, abbot Odo looked into his eyes and there he saw the mark of Lucifer: bright red like blood, and two black slits for pupils – and in an instant, the earth quivered and began to shape to Satan's will.

He heard a scream and a crack; a gust of wind swept past, so strong he saw women holding on to their veils with a cry for help, and children collapsing on their feet as the gale made the foundations of the cathedral tremble. But the man stood. Like a tree rooted to the ground, he did not shudder. Another crack, and abbot Odo saw the wooden scaffolding snap and break, and people came falling down like rain, smashed on the ground, their skulls cracked open and blood pooling beneath their bodies. The wind sang, and the man remained – motionless and cold. His eyes glinted, and shapes danced around him, talons sweetly fondling his shoulders, and the darkness that loomed seemed to seduce him like a harlot. He parted his lips, tearing across his face into an ugly, gut-wrenching smile, and pointy teeth peered into a grin of malice. Though it had been a sunny day, the skies filled themselves with thick, grey clouds, and the wind blew stronger than anything abbot Odo had ever witnessed.

He blinked his eyes, and within a moment, the man was gone, but something remained; when he watched the vault above him crumble and stone began to rain down on the people below, at last, he turned back, ran into safety, and saw a devilish shape draw itself against the walls. A figure danced, crowned with horns and jutting talons at the edges of its fingers, and black wings spread behind, setting flight before the destruction it had just sowed, watching victoriously the men of God crushed to death by heavy boulders.

The ceiling fell, and the beautiful cathedral of Beauvais was shrouded in ash and dust. From the rubble, groans of pain appeared, and as the wind stopped, the ground began to paint itself red. Outside, the cries of women rose to the skies, and thick grey clouds slid away, casting light into the Devil's destruction.

Now, he stood again before him, and abbot Odo felt an urgency beneath his skin. The man lowered his gaze and found the abbot's; a sweeping wind blew, and his eyes – deep red and with two slits for pupils – glinted. His lips tore menacingly into a smile, a smile abbot Odo had known before – a smile of all malevolent things, disjointed and fearsome, ripping his elastic flesh until threads of skin stitched themselves together like a ripped, ragged cloth.

Abbot Odo gave a step forth, but the ground quivered; he stopped, glanced around. Everywhere, eyes snapped open and heads rose from prayer, and the imminence of disaster settled slowly. A woman grabbed her child by the hand and ran through the nave and out the door, but the others watched; abbot Odo thought he should leave, but there was something he needed to do first.

He would not let Satan win again.

"Leave!" He shouted. "Leave now!"

He was unsure if he was expelling Satan or passing a message to the believers, but nobody moved; abbot Odo launched himself forward before the man who stood impeccable, his hands softly resting on one another above his lap, those sharp teeth glinting as shadows began to swirl around him like trusting companions of all his heinous acts. He heard a crack and stopped; behind him, men and women raised their eyes to the ceiling above, and abbot Odo felt a bitter urgency of stopping an impending Apocalypse.

He gave another step, but stopped once more. Now, something pushed him back, and it hurt to keep his eyes open. He grabbed the thick chain around his neck and pulled the heavy silver cross from beneath his clothes; the touch brought him comfort yet it prickled his fingers, and through his chapped lips, he murmured a prayer – but his words wafted by unheard, for he was now in the domain of the Devil. When he snapped his eyes open, the man in front of him was twisting and shaping himself into his true form; abbot Odo blessed himself once, twice, three times, as he watched the horrid transformation take place.

He heard bone crack, joints snap, and flesh bubbled beneath the undulating, quivering skin. On the clothes around his body, holes formed as it if they burned from within, and the abbot saw the chainmail burning bright red as it melted and sunk into his skin, slender columns of smoke rising from his insides. His shoulders popped as he shook them, pointy and angular like two flying buttresses spreading outwards, and the arms bent back and forth in inhumane ways; from his hands, long claws ripped through his flesh, blood slithering in thick drops, as the creature opened its mouth to let a slick, rubbery tongue out, and a bellow that carried the deep stench of sulphur and rot wafted in the air. It smelled of burned flesh. It smelled of a thousand corpses. It smelled of a hundred fetid things the abbot deemed only worthy of a battlefield. It was the spirit of all men of war sentenced to hellish torment by the scale of Holy Michael, the souls of the damned who had killed for pleasure. Those who did not seek to repent before Saint Theodore, because they had never slain the dragon.

Abbot Odo quivered as much as the ground, and inside his chest, his heart pumped in cold dread. Drenched in sweat, he clung to the silver crucifix and prayed – an endless string of prayers, stitched together by his rapidly moving lips, as he watched, horror gripping his throat, robbing his lungs of air – and the creature danced in dark and red. The shadows now rose almost as high as the Devil, and they lurched themselves at the body of their Master; from below his twisted, animalistic feet, the floor cracked and lines of red and orange shined through. Abbot Odo began to feel incredibly hot, as if a volcano erupted below his very feet, and the silver of his cross started to burn the tips of his fingers.

Then, the walls and ceiling began to cave in; abbot Odo saw the fissures in the stone crawling like worms, past the shadows, like water running upwards, and trembled when the first loud crack echoed. A boulder fell, smashing pews to splinters, and above him, a hole tore itself open to let in the sunlight that fought and lost against the grey clouds. The creature in front of abbot Odo raised a hand, and a loud clang sang across the hollow nave – the front door was shut.

Abbot Odo looked back and saw people – trapped people – banging on the thick wooden doors with their fists. Then, in a fit of silent madness, they all stopped – frozen to their feet entirely – and their eyes painted themselves red. Their mouths opened, a collective hiss resonated around in unison, and they all lurched at each other. Before it began, abbot Odo somehow felt a stench he thought to be of hatred.

Horrified, abbot Odo saw their finger dig into their clothes, fingernails ripping skin apart and poking their eyes out; they grabbed candelabra, pieces of wood and broke, with inhuman force, the stone sword of St Theodore, and slashed their bellies until bowels wrapped in red slithered out like demonic snakes; he saw with paralyzing terror as they were driven into heinous insanity, falling deeper into the Devil's temptation, killing for pleasure with not a cry of pain, but many a growl of delight. They killed, they maimed, they tortured each other; and when the pain wasn't enough to satisfy their hunger for blood, they filled their hands with torn-off flesh and shoved it deep into their mouths, or dug their sharp teeth into their legs and arms. Breathless, abbot Odo watched as they devoured each other, as Hell materialized before his eyes and the Damned consumed the poor innocents entirely, who ate and clawed until blood fell from their teeth and their chins painted themselves in red – until they fell into lifeless beings, and the nave was riddled with the maimed corpses of God's creatures.

It seemed to last forever; it seemed time stopped so Satan could relish in his creation. And abbot Odo, gripped in paralyzing terror, watched.

The ground quivered again, the walls trembled; those who had not died at the hands of the Satan's madness looked up and saw as death approached in the form of a boulder that smashed their skulls and crushed the rest of their bones. The smell of sulphur rose, but now it blended with the stench of a thousand battlefields – blood and flesh, dirt and fire. The walls shook, and soon, the house of God would crumble over Satan's victims.

Before the abbot, the man was not a man anymore, but the Devil in full. Abbot Odo saw the curling tail behind it and the slender claws of its hands clench; its tongue curled and twisted, and from its mouth came a malodorous stench abbot Odo could not identify anymore. And the walls shuddered, and the ceiling groaned. The world was not coming to an end, but it might as well have begun then; the Devil made the wheels turn.

Then, the creature tore its lips open, and in a guttural growl that reverberated in a cold vibrancy all around, it spoke:

"Opus dei potest opere Diaboli omnio vitiari."

Abbot Odo collapsed on his knees, and fatigue possessed him. Clinging to his cross still, he watched the holy altar crumble down, candles tumbled over and their flame kissing the fabrics of curtains and flowers sweetly enough that they rose. The eyes of Holy Mary became engulfed by a sea of bright orange and yellow, and the paint of her stony face cracked and melted, until a skeletal remnant of her beauty remained; the vestments of Saint Anne crumbled into ash, and the babe on her lap fell over, its little head cracking and smashed to a thousand pieces; like in a demonic omen, the book of Saint Matthew, albeit of stone, burned and withered into cinders, and the abbot could swear the dragon at Saint Theodore's feet began to move, its sharp teeth sinking into the saint's ankles, thick blood pouring out as the statue's eyebrows arched and the eyes bulged in horror.

Abbot Odo looked up at the stained glass of the clerestory and wept. Once, its blue lights had been celestial, and a tinge of red had passed through only as a reminder of the Sacré Coeur's imperial might, of the Virgin's reign as Holy Queen of the Heavens. Now, her eyes looked back at abbot Odo in agony, and the ambience inside the cathedral had lost its celestial blue tone entirely. Everything was red – blistering, daunting red, where black shapes hovered and danced, the walls blemished with the shape of their flapping wings, and beneath the sounds of spluttering wood and the high-pitched clinks of shattering glass, he heard someone sing in tongues.

"Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio," abbot Odo began to pray, and in a swift gush of courage, he moved against his every quiver and stood. Rubble and ash surrounded him, the air thick, prickling his eyes and throat. Abbot Odo thought of covering his mouth with his habit, but then his prayer would be muffled. So he screamed louder: "Contra nequitiam et insidias diabolic esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur—" he ran, though not to the door, but to the choir, straight to where that nefarious beast stood, and hoisted his crucifix with a growl: "Tuque, Princeps militia caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen!"

The cross in the abbot's fingers shined, and though the pain that shot through his fingertips blinded him, he remained; slick, bubbly silver began to melt, fusing with his skin, but he did not falter. Archangel protect us, he begged in a murmur, and protect this world in Light, through God's might, against the Evils we face.

Abbot Odo had always thought himself a man of physical weakness, unfit for battle. He had never sought a sword because the horrors of war did not appease him. But as God had willed, he was made to be a Knight of Peace.

The beast roared and shuddered, its talons retrieving into the putrid flesh that melted like wax, and danced a horrid dance of pain and anguish as it slithered through the cracks of the ground. Stood in terror, abbot Odo watched – watched as the flames diminished as if they were sucked away by the scorching winds of Hell, reeking of sulphur all around, and a thousand screams rose to the air into a deafening, blaring song of the damned that cracked the glass on almost every standing window. The black shadows winced and shrivelled; screeches, like nails scraping against glass, pierced through the abbot's ears, and the air was filled only with dust and ash – thick and grey as his hand rose in solitude amidst the destruction.

Then, everything was silent. Abbot Odo blinked his teary eyes open and watched the dust settle. A short moment later, the doors flung themselves open, and people stopped at the threshold, watching with horror the sea of bodies covered in blood, chunks of their flesh stuck between their teeth, arms and legs cut off by a ravaging possession of the Devil, killed at each other's hands for one last consummation of Satan's will.

The deafening, dreadful silence was slowly replaced by muffled weeps, cries and moans of anguish and horror. Nobody came inside. Nobody dared touch the dead. A dozen pairs of eyes looked dully at the broken ceiling above. The fire had stopped, disappeared entirely, and all it remained was the black mark of its scorching flames.

Abbot Odo looked at the altar. Amidst the wreckage, of piles of broken stone and scorched wood, molten wax and chipped off paint, the rose window stood. It cast celestial blue and royal red glints onto the floors, licking its marred stone with the grace of Heavens.

He did not feel shrouded in the Grace of God when the sun moved and the colourful lights brushed against his dingy skin.

Finally, abbot Odo looked back wistfully at the sea of frozen, bloodied horrors that filled the church nave, in blood and flesh and broken bone.

He had defeated the Devil, but the Devil had won still.

___

Past challenges:

Wordtober Day 1: Ring

Wordtober Day 2: Mindless

Wordtober Day 3: Bait

Wordtober Day 4: Freeze

Wordtober Day 5: Build I

Wordtober Day 6: Build II

Wordtober Day 7: Enchanted (Encantada)

#wordtober #writing #my writing #creative writing #fiction #Odo isnt even a french name lmaooo #my wordtober

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gwimulchorom · 5 years

Text

刹那の間に　痛みに似た恋が体を走ったんだ

"I am apparently now headed to the Growling Groghouse. It seems Durnan had suspicions and has now vanished within its midst, and I suppose the man's obsessions has finally spelt the end of him. Though, his friend seems to have something up his sleeve- I worry for this man's plan, considering how improbable it seems all things considered. I am unenthused and now very worried for this improbable course of events. Apparently losing in bowling incurs such an incredible penalty. We will see what occurs next."

“Time ticks past all of us, but it will always, inevitably speak for us. If I must spend a year and a day in this bowling alley in a stuffy disguise, so be it, but I know I am not alone. As erratic and strange the mage is, I do feel pity for the man for his need for so many people around him in a feeble attempt to feel included in a community, even despite the fact that he apparently owns the alley and beyond this place. It does make me slightly introspective though, being forced to interact once more with faceless, featureless beings that serve no value in my existence.

It was always the same- my soldiers were but faceless, featureless cannon fodder I pushed out into the battlefield to die for my own selfish purposes. Working in this alley, with nary a notion of the identities of others and their powers has always been an experience. I would know how it would be like to be forced in a role I disliked, even the job I had held down before was one that I had never wanted to be a part of. Surprisingly, outside the prying eyes of the gods above, I felt free in this premise, working to earn my own keep and letting time pass as per normal than rushing an ultimatum I knew would never come for me.

There was, of course, minor joy in finding one of our own eager to yield the benefits of the rewards he had received. Occasionally, he would ring a bell of his he had and several other slaves had to drop whatever they had on their hands to start an impromptu performance, compelled by the noise the bell made to entertain him. It at least meant some of us could continue while accompanied by beautiful music, much to the chagrin of those forced to perform. Of course, the mage that owned this place was definitely much more pleased by this development and knowledge of his item than anyone else in the alley would ever feel about this certain bell-owning slave, not that he let up too much about it. Despite the seeming insanity that had taken hold of his mind, from how he maintained the place he was still a skilled mage, and I developed a grudging respect about the entire joint at some point.

It was interesting to watch people who were not afflicted with a form of madness choose instead to not save themselves.

As much as I would expand on my entry, I find that writing about a year and a day here truly unexciting. A routine is a routine after all- at some point, the mind molds and adapts itself to the process, and thus leaves no room for argument or dissent in the mind. If anything, the experience suddenly becomes fantastic insight of the mind of an adventurer, faceless as they are, and how much of such mundane, yet insidious torture they can take until they finally crack.

Without anything to fixate on, and a permanent uniform branding us as one of “his own”, however, it didn’t take too long for others to start to crumble mentally as the boredom of repetition and aura of insanity began creeping in. In times like this, it struck me as amusingly bizarre how many people seemed to just give up around me, their motions growing increasingly listless until they seemed to grow inert, as though they had finally given out and refused to be subjugated any further. I laughed internally instead, even as my own despair weighed permanently upon me.

Even when you converse with another, you recoil seeing the face of your current self in theirs, and with everyone else that roams the alley on their own. With spiritual faith, I could keep myself perfectly sane despite the lack of social contact, but with the same humdrum sequence repeating itself over and over, one could not help but sink into the inevitable feeling of deja vu.

I may have been physically bound to this plane of existence, but my mind remains wandering across realms, as it had been since my first death on the battlefield. Laying myself on the floor of the alley to rest was the same as if I were to lay myself onto the shattered tiles of the shrine to the Great Guide I had created. Vaguely, in the deepest recesses of my mind, I had wondered if my past self, the general, would have felt this resigned to their own fate if they had been aware of this.

My dreams after working myself to the bone were soulless, as always, empty fields and dark landscapes while I strode in my true form across the realm on foot. While I derived twisted pleasure and revelled in those who had cracked before I did, my own mind was perfectly still, with no intention to move forward or equipped with any capacity to imagine a life beyond the one of servitude I already had prior to my appointment. It was the least I could do after my resurrection, serving the Great Guide and bringing Him the souls of the departed in an act of redeeming myself. The rest around me were but collateral damage that had made their own mistakes, and I could not save them, especially when I myself had as little rights as they did.

Throughout my life, I had never lost until Lyncas appeared. A thorn in my side to the bitter end, he bested me in all I did while making me fully aware that he had been holding back. Even when he returned to life as Haewonmak, a cruel trick of fate to torture my immortal soul further, he continued to be superior in every aspect, which he masked behind jokes and facades of imbecility. This to me was my second loss- a narrow one, and needless to say a blow to my pride after a string of unfortunate events along with an utter slap to my face. I stewed at first, bitter at being shackled here, but truly, after experiencing the depths of the Nine Hells, was anything really about to faze me at that point? As always, I triumphed fate, whether I liked it or not.

I wished to rest eternally- even that, I found, was denied from me, for my sin was too great.

The mage, of course, too had his problems. He was not always around to supervise us, leaving and returning and fickle in his demands. Even while we were cleaning, I picked up snippets of his ramblings, and most of them were not as nonsensical as others dismissed them to be- he had actually been discussing an invasion of adventurers to his domain, not just within the Groghouse but beyond, and I had heard one of the people he had seen was a child with a longbow that also bore the symbol of the Great Guide.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence with him scrying on all of us even before we entered this place. He had seen Deokchoon, and I worried for the child. I may have been the one to kill her- but she was still a child even after her resurrection. While I kept quiet, all but one of his many “selves” in the alley, I kept tabs on this development and silently prayed to the Great Guide to rescue her whenever He was able. She didn’t deserve my fate or the inevitable insanity she would experience delving down there.

I couldn’t allow that.

I wouldn't.

Biding my time enough saw me finally finish my term and be allowed to leave the domain. With this, I beat a hasty retreat, once again returning to Fort Dalton and tending to the once-again abandoned shrine to the Great Guide while seeking penance for being unable to make my offerings to Him. Despite this, the knowledge that Deokchoon was still out there, in the hands of the Mad Mage weighed heavily upon my mind, and I greatly debated if I should demand for her when I grew stronger.

Even if I had denied it, both Deokchoon and Haewonmak were my charges. I couldn’t allow either of them to die under my watch. I had to figure out a method to rescue her, even if I knew there were many children with longbows that may sport the holy symbol of the Great Guide that may be amok in the dungeon. If she was amongst a sea of them, I would still be able to pick her out instantly, and I knew I had to, bound to them both as I was.

The first thing I had to do was to then escape my own mind, reorienting myself to be able to progress forward. I had already lost some time, and she may or may not have escaped by then. I had no idea what I would expect from there- but I had to try...or die once again trying to do so.”

@oh-god-shes-back

@zomandfriends for excessive Gangrim-related complaining

#through the borders; fight your way | riven #why are you so longwinded Riven #and repetitive too #feel the rush; of having no tomorrow | lyncas #if there's no miracles; i'll make one for you | deokchoon #my work

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catch22inareddress · 6 years

Text

Abandoned Series: Chapter Four- Memories and Misunderstandings

When you awoke the next morning you rolled over and Steve was ...gone. To your disappointment, your human size golden retriever was MIA was nowhere to be seen. You decided to take a shower and get dressed in some jeans and a simple sleeveless shirt and some ballet flats, just in case he kept his word and Coney Island was today. Which, let's be honest, he was a man of his word hell or high water. Unless a mission came up that is.

You walked out into the common area to everyone laughing and joking and seemingly ready to leave and go out for a day. Bucky was even smiling with Steve, reminiscing no doubt about the good ol' days and you smiled. You walked over to Sam who held out your coffee and thanked him. "Yo, whatever you did to Cap to get us a day off, thank you." You gave him a confused look as he kissed your hand and you swatted him away and chuckled. Wanda and Nat just wiggled eyebrows at you, just as he walked over and handed you the other half of his bagel. "Ya, know if you keep giving me half of your bagel, you're going to waste away, Cap." He laughed and leaned in. "I may, or may not, eat a whole other bagel before this one just so I can share it with you." He chuckled as you blushed at the thought of the past year of him sharing this and being a routine and then knowing that he does that. You bit your lip in hopes that your cheeks weren't flaming red but by the looks of Sam's shit-eating grin, your face betrayed you.

All of you piled up in the suburban, you between Wanda and Nat and then left for Coney Island like a bunch of kids ready for a field trip. When you all got there Nat, Clint, Tony, and Sam wanted to ride roller coasters while Wanda and you and ultimately Vision wanted to stay with Steve and subsequently Bucky. You were hoping also to maybe maintain some normalcy with Bucky. But knowing that just being with him and Steve would be awkward as hell, hence Wanda refusing to leave and where Wanda went Vis would follow.

"So where's the first stop, Steve?" He smiled and nodded in a direction with a secretive but excited face. As all of you came up on the Coney Island Art Walls and you knew why he would want to come here first. He was an artist after all, before a soldier. "Of course you'd come here, Punk." You heard Bucky chuckle and you smiled. Wanda and Vision held hands and walked around.

You took a few pictures of some of your favorites with your phone and Steve pointed out some of his. You asked Bucky which ones he liked and he pointed out a few to your surprise and you maintained some friendly conversation. You were walking so close to Steve that his hand would brush yours occasionally and you came so close to grabbing it once, but refrained. He came from a different time and you may be badass as he liked to say but you weren't confident enough to do that. This was uncharted territory and you didn't know what to do. You loved him but you weren't ready for the finality of rejection so you would keep your feelings to yourself. IF anything happened it would have to be his move first.

Next stop was rides and junk food and all of that amazing fun that you would always miss out on being a full-time world saver.

Steve got a call and stepped out of line while you stood with Bucky, awkwardly. "So, Y/N. Would it be ok if we pick up a few training sessions next week? The rest of the team seem ok with it. I really---" You looked over at him while he shifted his footing trying to find his words. "Of course we can try." He looked up and smiled."Really?" You nodded at him and his surprise. "Really, I think it would be good to have you back. I think training with everyone together and simulations will help to get in sync. We all need to be friends on and off the battlefield." He nodded and looked at Steve. "So...Steve? You guys friends?" You frowned not wanting a fight or to have this discussion and ever so slightly tensed. "I'm not--not trying to fight. I just...it looks like you to are...close?" You nodded just as Steve came over but that was where to conversation stopped and Bucky left it at that. You returned to your friendly banter and everyone loved the ride so much that you rode it twice. Although Vision was confused as to why one would enjoy things like that? Steve explained adrenaline rushes and fun, but really it just turned into Wanda, you and Bucky eating junk food and laughing at them.

You decided to get some hot dogs and roam around separately. Bucky met up with Nat and went with them for a while you and Steve went on the Ferris wheel. "So, havin' fun, doll?" You smiled and nodded looking out at the scenery before you. "This was perfection, thank you, Stevie." He had put his arm behind you and leaned back and hummed in response, totally relaxed. "You and Buck seemed to be getting along." You nodded in response. "He just asked about training and such. I said we could do that. I think it would be good for him to be back on the team and in missions." He gave you a sideglance and his eyebrow shot up. "The dynamic will change." It was just a statement and you looked at him. "I know. It'll all work out. Put me where you need me and who I work well with. Who knows, maybe in the sim and after a while, Bucky and I will work the best? Time will tell." He rubbed your shoulder and you leaned into him. "I dunno. I like havin' ya close. I trust you, I know we've got each others back." You laughed and slapped his ridiculously hard abs and he mock grunted. "Everyone has everyone else's back in this team. That's why I love it here, although to be fair before you found me I was in a musky cell in an abandoned asylum being experimented on...so..." You laughed at your own joke and he just shook his head. The ride stopped and the attendant came over and saw you two comfortably sitting there still lost in conversation. "You want another go, Captain?" He smiled and thanked him graciously as you went around again, but as you were just disappearing over the top you could've sworn you saw Bucky staring at you two from the crowd and you were sure that it probably looked like you and Steve were ...on a date. At least to anyone who didn't know better. You tensed up and Steve followed. "You okay?" You looked back at him and didn't want to worry him about nothing. It really was nothing, you and Steve were just friends and if you said anything he would just confirm that. "Yea, just ...nothing." You sat back and he resumed his position with his arm around you. "So where ya wanna go after this?" you shrugged. "Cotton candy and games?" He smiled, "Sounds like a plan." The remainder of the ride was just spent in comfortable silence with his arm around you and you nearly falling asleep wishing for things that were never to be.

You got some cotton candy at The Tickler and then went for some carnival games and met up with everyone. You decided to challenge Tony to basketball hoop game.

"You're gonna be my bitch, Stark. You know this right?" He laughed and held a hand over his heart. "Oh please, little one. You know you're going to be making me sweet treats for a month after I school you in my b-ball skills right?" You rolled your eyes. "Fuck that. I get your best bottle of liquor if I win." He rolled his eyes. "You serious you little minx? That's an expensive game." You laughed. "Are you scared? Ok, how about this." You put your hand on your hip. "I win I get that ol dusty Harley in your basement that hasn't had any love since you dad was alive, its a sin." He thought a moment. "You serious, right now? That's a 1947 Harley Davidson, What do I get?" You shrugged. "What do you want?" He smirked and stroked his chin. "Pepper told you some things that she may have wanted a while back for her birthday?" You laughed heartily. "Oh, you mean on girls night? Yea. I may know if few things that the woman who has everything may have an eye on....deal?" He shook your hand. The bell rang and the deal was begrudgingly made to be held without the use of your powers. The team cheered you and him on and when it came down the last two 2 seconds and you were tied you prayed to the powers at be and shot and you made it all net while his was a rim shot that ....kept going around and didn't make it in, at least not in time. You jumped for joy while he fell to the ground and screamed in mock or in real terror. At this point you were unsure. Steve came over and gave you slung his ridiculously heavy arm over your shoulder. "Well aren't you a ray of sunshine." You bit your lip and were completely ecstatic and hugged him. I just bet Tony and won a motorcycle. Steve sat you down and laughed. "You're a piece of work." You shrugged and walked off and called out over your shoulder. "So you keep telling me, Stevie."

After a few more games and a shit ton of ridiculous stuffed animals which everyone conspired against Sam alone, everyone piled back into the SUV and headed home. Tony put his arm around you as soon as you got out. "C'mon, I'll get you the keys." You wrapped your arms around his waist. "Sounds good. Plus I've got some ideas to give you about Pep's gift." He looked down and beamed while you headed up to his level for the new keys to the Harley.

After Tony, you decided you could wait to find Steve to give him his birthday present early, the keys to his new....and by new you mean dusty as hell and needed some love, Harley. He didn't know which motorcycle you won and while his birthday was a few weeks way there was no way in hell you were going to be able to wait that long. Fuck that, he was going to get it tonight. You walked towards his room and the door was cracked and you could hear him and Bucky speaking but when you turned to leave and give them privacy you heard your name and stopped in your tracks.

Bucky: "I've been watching you guys since I came home. You've been awfully cozy, Steve."

Steve: "Watching us?" Shit Bucky. That sounds creepy. You need to find a hobby." He laughed yet it seemed to be humorlessly.

Bucky: "Stop dancing around the question asshole." Bucky wasn't screaming but you could hear the tension and Steve huffed saying he didn't ask a question and then called him Stevie like you have been but in a teasing antagonizing tone.

Steve: "Shut it, Bucky. Stevie, it's a nickname she calls me. Leave it alone. N'ver said I liked it. As for your questions, yea we're cozy. We're friends. So what? I've already told ya that and ya need to move on. You and she are no longer t'gether. You made sure of that."

Bucky laughed at his answer. "You sleep in the same room, Steve? Friends? Seriously, you gonna give me that line?"

Steve: "I was worried about her. She got hurt, by you. I'm not going to let her hurt when I can comfort her. And I've slept on the floor in Nat's room before when she was shot. Nothing crazy man, I care about my team and friends. Fuck off." You rested your back against the wall. It was like a trainwreck that you could look away from. You wanted to leave and yet your feet were firmly planted on the floor. You stupidly thought you were special to him.

Bucky: " Oh, so you slept on the floor?" There was silence and you could hear a dour laugh from Bucky. "Right, friends. Yea. I bet friends fuck too. They call it friends with benefits these days." Steve let out a menacing sound.

Steve: "I've been here while you left. I've seen that woman through a lot of shit. If she's upset and wants me to stay with her, it's my choice to do so. We have never fucked or made love. We are just friends. I'm just trying to repair the damage that you did to a wonderful dame that didn't deserve to be fucked for the first time and then left."

Bucky: "Fine. Either way, I'm over it. I'm good at being friends with her. I just want to be on the team. If you wanna fuck her, you've got my blessing."

Steve: "WE ARE JUST FRIENDS! I don’t see her that way. Drop it Bucky. For fuck's sake man she doesn't wan----....."

You stifled a sob and your ears were ringing as he kept talking but you couldn't listen anymore and tried to silently flee the scene without either super soldier hearing you.

You went to your room and asked FRIDAY to keep all visitors out while you composed yourself. You took a long ass shower to wash the day and Coney Island off of you and put the Harley Keys in your desk drawer. They would still be his present but you just would wait to give them to him. You knew that he and you were a bad bet but hearing it from him and him being so dismissive. He made you feel special and then just told him that it was only because he was trying to fix the damage his best friend did. You hated being his little pity project and you had to steel yourself and put on your mask for game night otherwise everyone would know. You could claim to have a wicked headache and cash out early to try and avoid suspicion.

You went out and pizza and beers were already on the table and Never Have I Ever was already starting. Steve had a spot next to him and looked at you expectantly but you avoided his gaze and sat next to Wanda's feet and grabbed a slice of pizza and a beer. Tony came running in and showed you the gift he got her got under your advice and you chuckled at his excitement. "Y/N, you ok? Being kind of quiet." Clint asked as he chewed loudly on his food. Sam elbowed him and muttered something about manners maketh man. "Yea, just have a headache." Bucky then came in and went to sit next to Steve but he said no. "Y/N, do you want to sit here? I know you have a headache." You shook your head and tried to not look in his eyes but failed, his brows were stitched together in confusion at your distance. "No, thanks I'm good. You and Buck should hang out more anyway." You tried to give him a genuine smile but you knew he could see through it. Wanda started playing with your hair when she was done and leaned down to talk to you. "What's up?" You shook your head. "Just overheard a conversation and confirmed what I thought. No worries." She glared her eyes and you shook her off and laughed. The game started going around and easy conversations started flowing.

Clint gleamed. "Never have I ever jerked off to JC Penny catalog." Bucky laughed and put a finger down. "Hey man, things like that in our day were playboys. Plus it was when I had just come back. Fuck off." You laughed and then heard Wanda gasp behind you and everyone looked at her. "Hey, it's not that bad." Bucky shrugged it off. You looked back at her and she grabbed your hand. "You went in my head didn't you?" You tried to say it low but you know that Steve heard you because he was already acting like a nosey ass since you refused to sit next to him.

She pulled you around the corner in the kitchen so that you two could talk and she hugged you immediately. "It's fine Wanda, really." She pulled back and rubbed your arms. "No, it's not. That's so shitty of him. I know what I see in your mind is tainted with feeling but the words are there and I want to punch them both in their perfect teeth, so hard. You deserve so much better." You shook your head. "I'm ok Wanda. I knew that the chances of him wanting me were ...really nothing. So I know friends is all that I am. That's ok." Her face showed the heartbreak you felt. "But you love him, so much. I felt it." You nodded and looked at the ceiling refusing to cry, and put the wall up. "I'm fine Wanda. Please. Just let it go tonight." She nodded, knowing not to press you anymore, at least for the time being and that when you were ready to talk you would come to her.

When you came back out you sat in your previous spot and you could see Steve staring at you while you tried to play along and act like everything was fine and dandy. Wanda, however, was pissed and out for blood. "Never have I ever had a one night stand or pity cuddled someone." Fucking hell Wanda and her weird sokovian accent and foreign ways. Nat smirked knowing something was going on. Steve's eyes narrowed and then got a bit wide as well as Buckys.

Sam was the first to speak, "So please don't tell me I have to drink for each one night stand because, bitch. It's about to get real. As for pity cuddle. Is that after the one night stand or on a different occasion." You can assume out of the corner of your eyes she was looking at Steve when she said. "Oh, definitely a separate occasion. Cuddling after sex is ok, but a pity cuddle just to make someone feel better say...when you're cleaning up the mess friend has made. Much worse." Tony unknowingly walked in on the conversation. "Oh yeah, that would be shitty. Especially for a girl to find out that a guy she likes gave her a pity cuddle in that scenario." Fuck. This just keeps getting better. Steve finished the rest of his beer quickly and Bucky patted him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear and he nodded. It was your turn and you tried to lighten the mood. "Um-n-n never have I ever thrown up on Thunderbolt. Clint pointed directly to you, cursed and drank all while maintaining eye contact and you smiled. Bucky's turn was next and he took a drink before starting. "Never have I ever abandoned my family and a girl that I loved then came back and did some really shitty things, said some really shitty things. Even as much as an hour ago." Everyone was silent and only he drank. Tony was the one who spoke first. "Leave it to Bucky to do the most twisted Never yet and be the only one who drinks." Everyone chuckled and while Bucky was looking at only you it took you a few moments to look at him while he spoke. "I am really sorry. I did things because I was either scared or angry. I have no filter on my words and hell... sometimes my actions. So just feel free to punch me or tell me to shut the fuck up. It may not go well but we can go from there. I'm difficult but I want to be friends with everyone here. Especially you. Y/N. I'm sorry." You nodded but couldn't form words and your wall was still up. You had the olive branch out and knew he was sorry. And for him to do that in front of EVERYONE, well damn. You gave him a small smile and he took that. "I think that's my cue to go to bed. It's been a long day and my head is killing me." You stood up.

Tony smiled. "Wait you never told us how Cap here like the Harley." Your eyes got big and you shook your head avoiding Steve's face, you looked at Tony. "That's because I never gave it to him." Tony was confused and of course, has no brain-mouth filter. "B-but you were headed to his room right when you left me." You waved him off and turned to leave the living area. "Nevermind. Steve, I have your birthday present. I'll give it to you later. Night." When you looked at Steve he was standing and his eyes were pained. He knew that you heard the conversation, not sure how much, but he knew that was the cause for the distance. He went to follow you around the couch and everyone played busy and didn't look at you two. You put your hand up and kept your internal wall up. You could resume your "friendship" tomorrow but tonight you needed to mourn the loss of the hope you had. "I'm fine, Steve. Just a headache, please. I'll give you your present tomorrow." Your eyes were pleading with him as you walked away from him and for a second he looked broken, but you knew it was in your head. The same head that said you were special to him and that he cared for you. His words proved otherwise.

The room fell silent as you did a different walk of shame to your room.

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besseme-blog · 6 years

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Introduction

Let me introduce myself i was born and raised in the good ole US of A. When you think of an American I am what you would picture blond hair blue eyed white boy from small town USA population 7,000 three traffic lights a pigglie wiggie and two gas stations. I grew up the typical American life conservative Christian background Roman Catholic to be exact my grandma was strict and staunch go to church or burn in hell. My parents not so much they believed in god but never forced a certain religion on me honestly later I learned from them they believed in god but not in religion I wish I knew that then it would have saved me a lot of pain over the years. I grew up playing outside with my friends running the neighborhood and swimming in the local swimming hole things that small town boys do. As I started to grow up it was then I was exposed to organized religion and at the time standing in a corn field in Georgia with a redneck with a shotgun cradled in his arms preaching god and Jesus to me that only his religion is the chosen one and all others that don’t believe in his way will burn in hell and die! Needless to say for a twelve year old boy it scared the shit out of me and till now I believe it started to shape me to the mind set I have now.

More to follow.....

Growing up I was the typical all American boy playing baseball football and volleyball chasing girls and drinking beer (When I can get it) smoking a little wacky tobacco it was an amazing childhood even today I think back on my years growing up and I realize I caught the tail end of the days when being a kid meant being a kid. Mom and dad never forced religion on me actually they tried to keep away from it realizing that I should make my own choices in life and that someone else shouldn’t tell me how to live my life by what a book written thousands of years ago tells me I should and I shouldn’t do I appreciate that their mind set is find out yourself if that’s how you want to live. If I only could have realized that they were doing it for my own good and well being I wouldn’t have been thru the hell I have been thru or current predicament I’m in now.

I had a childhood roll model my uncle I’ll leave his name out of this due to fears of my identity being discovered. He was a true blue all American born in raised in the Deep South total Christian till end enlisted in Army voluntary when the Vietnam war was raging on served honorably highly decorated on the battlefields of SE Asia and continued to served till he retired from active duty at 35 yrs in uniform. He inspired me he motivated me and I made my mind up my senior year to join the military and serve my great nation like my uncle.

More to follow.

Senior year in high school and let me tell you what a year it was! I had really bloomed into a man I was working out every day and sometimes even the night I was 6 foot and 220 lbs of solid muscle had a few of the local girls I went to school with on each arm was popular in school and one hell of a football player but I was barely making it thru school. My parents decided to get me a tutor to help me pass I’m not stupid or dumb I just hated school I hated learning about things that I knew I would never use in the outside world Algebra 🤣 please when have we ever used that? Maybe if you were an engineer or scientist but me I had only one goal in life get into boot camp and get my hands on a M16 rifle.

As the year progressed my first report card came out well it wasn’t pretty a couple of B’s in subjects I liked namely social studies, English, History and our extra curricular classes like PE and auto mechanics. Math and Spanish I barely passed D in both. My parents sat me down and told me if I didn’t start passing these two subjects I either had to quit my part time job ( That meant bye bye truck ) or agree to being tutored in both subjects once a week. Ok that’s easy I loved my job and my truck so let’s do this and I’ll get a tutor.

My math tutor was this sweet lady former math teacher at our local high school well liked throughout town and well respected she whipped my butt in shape with math and there was no cheating or half ass processes it was show her how you did it and you better get it right the first time or your butt was doing it over and over again till it’s burned in your brain and she would keep me there till pass ten at night sometimes till I got it right!

Hey sounds tough but I passed!!

Spanish same thing one of the local ladies from town Rose was her name her mother came from Havana Cuba fled the country as Castro and his his rebels were beating Batista’s army back to the sea. Her father was a Major in Batista army and fought against Castro’s rebels. When Santiago fell to Castro’s forces he traveled to Havana mainly hitchhiking rides and if that didn’t work he would jam his service weapon in their face and make them take him. He was a total badass soldier and after two months finally made it to Havana as much of the country was in Chaos. He went to the airport trying to find a flight out of Havana but to no avail. As Castro’s forces encircled the city and people started to grow desperate namely Government, Military and the richest of Havana he caught a lucky break he heard of a freighter anchored off Havana buying up as much rum cigars sugar as they could get their hands on. He as a Major in the Army still had some power so he contacted the freighter and made a deal take me and my pregnant wife with you and I’ll help you raid one of the government warehouses on the wharves. They agreed the crew and him raided the warehouse at midnight and even convicted the army guards posted there to help in the raid in exchange for safe passage to the states. Christmas Day 1958 the ship pulled anchor and steamed towards Miami Jan 1st 1959 Cuba fell to Castro. Her father ( My Tutor ) was a legend in my eyes so I studied my ass off with them to pass my Spanish and got a B! And he presented me his his Cuban issue Army cover as a gift and shared a shot of rum. I will always respect that man. Rest In Peace Armando you were a true badass soldier and family man. More to come........

Work and I guess you can call it lust love.

Once my midterms were finally over and I got sort of good grades my parents were finally off my back. I didn’t have to go to the tutors during midterm break and was able to work full time at my high school job. Most kids my age in school were working at Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Blockbuster and some of the other popular places. Me on the other hand I wasn’t like the normal kids I found that flipping burgers and asking for your order too boring and meaningless so I went to work at one of the local boat yards. Being surrounded by water there was a boat yard almost on every street most of them catered to tourists renting boats or the snow birds that migrated down to warmer climates every years. I got hired at one of the smaller but nice boat yards that had slips for rent or own that people lived full time on. Boats everywhere and of every type nice multi million dollar types with more luxury than the Hilton to small sailboat types that a single person could live on. We did the maintenance around the yard the occasional maintenance on the slips and boat maintenance when paid enough.

I was hired for one purpose only that’s to dive in the harbor and to not only clean the pillions on the piers but the harbor it’s self. And let me tell ya’ll that’s some nasty ass work and quite honestly dangerous. Visibility sucks mud silt seaweed and harbor trash everywhere and the local sea life which includes things that sting things that bite and things that can and will eat you if they have a chance. Next to the harbor was a canal and there are residential homes and condos on that canal and almost all of them had boats and they loved to fish not in the canal but out in the ocean and they would bring their fish back clean them fillet them and throw their carcasses into the canal which created a god awful nastiness in the canal and attracted predators.

Barracudas- imagine a silver arrow underwater full of teeth and a bad attitude that is a Cuda. They could be small as 6 inches or as long as 6 feet. I ran into all the sizes diving the harbor and most just left me alone but sometimes there would be one that would follow me and in that inky darkness it’s not a good feeling.

Sharks- Yup they were there too every time you say shark someone would think of Jaws lucky that where I grew up there were no white sharks but there were others.

Bulls- Meanest damn things you can imagine honestly I think they are more dangerous than any other sharks and they have a bad temper too. Ran into them a few times while scouring the bottom and one chased my ass right up the boat ramp.

Tigers- bigger than bulls but equally as dangerous but not with the attitude of a bull they are the types that check you out first before they attack ran head on to a big one while removing a palm frond from the bottom he was probably around 9 foot long and I almost shit myself he swam right past me and I’ll never forget that tail it was so strong I moved when he swam by me. I was lucky three yrs after I enlisted a guy that lived on the canal where the recreational boats were lost a leg to a bull shark when he jumped on top of it by accident.

I loved my job I had a great time with a great group of guys. Mr. Smith he was my boss he was the nephew of the owner of the boat yard from Buffalo NY he was a hard ass worker day and night he had a wife and two kids a boy and girl and he was a family man even though he worked 7 days a week he always made time for them.

Mr. Mark- Army veteran served in Nam ground pounded in the rice paddies he saw some pretty hardcore action there but he never acted weird and crazy like some do after a few beers he would be back in the rice paddies chasing the Cong quite a few nights we had to carry his ass back to his truck take the keys make sure there was no guns nearby and let him sleep it off.

Mr. Jaime- Young guy 22 served in the Air Force got out had no goal in life but to work and live in a warm climate I asked him onetime what did you do in the Air Force and he said as little as possible.

The Boat yard people

They were a mixed bunch there were two types the year round residential ones they had the Beverly Hills of the boat yard the far end docks with the shore power and potable water hook ups. They were the ones who had more money than they knew what to do with and the multi million dollars live aboards most of them were really likable and easy going they were all pretty much retired with nothing really to do all day but ride around the boatyard on their bikes or electric carts most would start drinking at noon and by 6 pm were pretty shit faced. There was this nice couple from New York Ike and Fran they were Jewish but not very religious Ike used to say that why should we follow a book written 3000 yrs ago by a group of sand people living in the most inhospitable place on earth that thought when water fell from the sky (Rain) it was a gift from god. Ike make a ton of money in the real estate industry up north and they would always meet me at the docks before I would start diving to clean the basin and would always tell me what ever shellfish (Crabs and lobsters) or snappers or groupers I catch they would pay me for. Ike was scared of the ocean he served in the Navy and had a bad experience while swimming in Guam he told something dragged him to the bottom he swore up and down it was a giant shark ( Personally I think Ike was drunk and imagined the whole thing) I used to bring them conches stone crab and lobster every dive I did and he would always give me 25 dollars for my catch no matter how small or large. Ike didn’t believe in the whole kosher thing he thought it was a scam and a way for religious Jews to make money off people who believe that they will burn in hell if they don’t follow the ways of sand people 3000 yrs ago. They were good people and later on I found out they had both passed on and I hope the Rest In Peace. There were the Domingo brothers Hector and Juan two Cubans ran away from Cuba when Fidel took over these two practically swam in money both made their fortune by running dope from the Bahamas to the keys and Miami they had fast cars tons of gold and after Federal agents raided their yacht in the marina they had an arsenal of high powered military type weapons I remember a DEA agent bringing out AK’s M16’s UZI’s and all sorts of handguns. I didn’t have much dealings with the brothers they kept to themselves most of the time from what I read later on they both got twenty years in jail and the feds confiscated their boat and cars.

Terry and Trish

Well picture this two old party hard lesbians that was Trish and Terry they were in their 60’s made their money in hair dressing salons in New Jersey and they were always the life of the party they would start drinking at 1200 pm then they would start smoking weed around 3 pm and by 8 pm both were so wasted I had to make sure they got on their boat and in bed before one of them fell over and drowned or eaten by a damn shark. They were good people never found out what happened to them they were always against me joining the military they couldn’t understand why I wanted to go to war and die for someone else.

Karen and Tony

These two people were the youngest ones in the Beverly Hills in the marina Tony was 55 and Karen was 48 Tony served in the army during Vietnam as a MP I suspected there was much more to that story I’ll explain why later on. Karen who would alter my life and have a huge impact on me was a former teacher in Pennsylvania and a former hippie girl Tony and her met when he was on leave from the Army in the late 60’s. Tony made his fortune in boat batteries and had offices in Florida, Belize and Thailand Tony used to split his time between them two months in Belize and two months in Thailand and the rest in Florida they lived aboard a very nice yacht custom made job with all the luxury and comfort you could ask for. They both liked to work out in the local gym same place I worked out in and when tony was around they would bike ride around the island. Karen was an attractive woman between the bike riding and the gym she kept her self in shape and she always wore a two piece bikini either black or white and she liked her wine a lot she would usually start drinking after her morning or early afternoon bike rides. Tony hardly drank only once and awhile he would have a beer or two but other than that he kept himself sober most of the time.

The ghetto docks

The Beverly Hills section is the high rent district of the marina the upper shelf of the place the lower dock slips were the low rent section they were the part timers usually the drifters who floated in or snow birds from up north escaping the winter. Their boats well let’s just say from small sailboats to regular fishing boats with a small cabin with barely enough room to move around. The low rent docks didn’t get the service like Beverly Hills did they were responsible for their water their power and garbage removal and sewage removal no pumping into the basin they had to call the local honey pot to come pump them out. Beverly Hills they had power and water and sewage removal provided by the marina and garbage removal three times a day they just had to place it in the trash bins placed at the foot of the dock plus they had twenty four hour service if their power went out or water they could call Ralph and he would have one of us reset the breaker or restart the water pump. There were some interesting creatures in the low rent district for sure just a quick list.

The felon-

He was on the run from the law in Maine from what we found out later he shot his brother in the chest and fled he was halfway to freedom when he ran aground off the lower part of Florida and had to dock till repairs were done. He almost made it to South America the Panamanian coast guard caught him illegally fishing in their waters and arrested him. He was deported back to America minus his sailboat and is serving a 30 yr sentence for attempted murder.

The gay pedofile named skip-

The name same says it all he drugged and raped a 16 yr boy in NC and fled from the police he kept a low profile till one night he invited me over to his place to watch porn and have a beer of course. I declined and he left the marina a week later he didn’t make it far his boat caught fire off an reef at 2 am and he had to abandon ship and was never seen again. Police found the wreckage and identification number on the boat and declared him lost at sea.

The mentaposal married drug addict-

She was a trip OMG that woman was something I will never forget she was hooked on something and she didn’t care one way or the other about anything her old man was locked up in jail awaiting trial for drug dealing and looking at a lot of time. She was high almost 24/7 she had no money she couldn’t hold a job she would get fired after a a few weeks she always had the shadiest characters coming in and out from her boat she was trading sex for drugs and had no cares in the world. Jaime used to give her 20 dollars for BJ’s in the work shed after hours and bragged how he used to make her throw up by rough throat sex she was finally evicted from the dock she didn’t pay her rent for 6 months we had to call the sheriffs department when she started throwing things into the basin. She died after I joined the Navy overdose of cocaine.

More to come.......

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themyskira · 7 years

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THAT Wonder Woman script, part 2 of oh shit it got worse

Previously on Wonder Woman, we met our hero -- brave, selfless, moral, willing to go to bat for perfect strangers without a thought for personal safety, but uneasy with emotional vulnerability, preferring to rebuff intimacy with snark and condescension.

I’m talking, of course, about Steve Trevor. Wait, who did you think the hero of this movie was?

Anyway, Steve crashed in plane on an island of Nasty Women, proved his moral superiority and won a convert in the form of a luminous-elemental-natural-curvaceous-waterfall-girl, who beat up her mother to save his life, then decided to follow him home. Just because.

Now Steve and The Girl are flying into a war zone, where Steve is overdue to deliver much-needed supplies to sick, starving refugees.

Alright, so they reach their destination, and there’s trouble on the ground. The runway is crawling with soldiers, and Steve’s crew — Ben Mzamane, Dr Moira “Sully” Sullivan and Griffin Thiele — are looking distinctly worried.

Steve admonishes Diana to keep herself hidden and not cause any trouble, before exiting the plane to greet the soldiers’ leader, a “petty warlord” called Goshnak. He’s the one they had to bribe to get supplies in for the refugees, and he’s demanding extra compensation on account of Steve’s delayed arrival.

BEN We are grateful for everything you have done—

GOSHNAK And what is your gratitude? A few paltry bribes!?

STEVE They’re not paltry. These are quality bribes—

Things are getting dire. They’re surrounded by men with guns and Goshnak is threatening to take the whole damn plane. Then Diana emerges from the plane and suddenly everyone is staring.

SULLY My god. That is a quality bribe.

Hahaha!! What hilarity! I don’t know why more writers don’t exploit the rich comedic vein that is human sex trafficking!!

There’s some mystical nonsense where the camera closes tight on Diana’s foot as it touches the ground and sends a wind whistling through the trees, across the mountains, over the sea and into a darkened room where an ominous figure raises its head. Nobody on the airstrip notices, mostly because Goshnak is still threatening to shoot everybody and Diana is Not Helping.

GOSHNAK All the goods on that plane are mine.

DIANA No they’re not.

GOSHNAK Do you dare to question my authority?

DIANA Authority that cannot be questioned should look for a different name.

wow great very helpful Diana, lecturing the man with the gun on semantics.

GOSHNAK You bring this whore to insult me?

DIANA What did you say?

STEVE Diana, shut up.

Okay, on the one hand, in the context of this scene Diana is making a bad situation worse and, as she’s being written, this character kind of needs to be told to shut up. On the other hand, I don’t need to see Steve Trevor telling Wonder Woman to shut up, especially right after another man has called her a whore.

And speaking of stupid out-of-character behaviour—

DIANA (moving toward Goshnak) If you want to challenge me, then be man enough to—

I cannot think of a character less likely to use the expression “man enough” than fucking Wonder Woman.

Anyway, that’s the point where Goshnak shoots her in the chest.

She puts a hand to her chest, confused. Blood runs over her hand. […] Diana is on her hands and knees, an unlovely gurgle in her breath. She pushes hard on the (unseen) wound. A few moments, and she wrenches her hand from her chest, rearing back onto her knees.

In her bloody hand, she holds a bullet.

She stares at it, standing shakily up. Goshnak backs off a step, freaked. She holds the bullet up to him, furious confusion in her eyes. She looks at Steve…

DIANA Are you people insane?

And then she faints.

Such heroics.

We cut to Gateway City, where the Spearhead Technologies building dominates the skyline, resembling the head of a spear. Track down through the more run-down neighbourhoods, down into an empty subway station and deep into the old sewerage tunnels beneath the city.

An older homeless man leads a younger female reporter through the tunnels. Their destination:

…a half graffiti/half American-primitive MURAL, depicting a figure in armour on a horse stabbing a giant dragon. Behind them, towers crumble and burn. It’s eerie and awkward, and very beautiful.

It also apparently means something to reporter-lady, but we don’t get to find out what, because that’s when Strife appears.

GINNY (continuing) My God…

The white, deformed face with the bright red teeth and the carved metal skull-cap appears right next to hers, grinning horrifically.

STRIFE No. Not yours.

And then he kills them both. Yes, “he”. For some reason Whedon has decided to make Eris/Strife — a goddess in Greek mythology — into a dude.

Back Our Hero, waiting outside a tent at base camp. Sully is inside tending to Diana. His mate Griffin is particularly concerned for Diana.

GRIFFIN […] I can’t believe Goshnak. Who the hell shoots an unarmed, tasty looking girl?

Okay, so really he’s more concerned for Diana’s rack.

Sully steps out, clearly unhappy, and announces there’s nothing more she can do. This sounds ominous until Diana strides out afterwards, completely healed; turns out Sully didn’t need to do anything.

Diana heads urgently for the plane and Steve hurries after her. He’s stunned that she’s up and about with barely a scar after only six hours; Diana is aghast that it took so long.

STEVE […] You’re healed.

DIANA Yes, after hours. It’s degrading… to be felled by a tiny piece of metal. (quietly) I didn’t know something could hurt that much.

STEVE (not unkindly) Welcome to the world.

THIS WORLD IS SO FUCKED, MAN, I HAD TO WAIT SIX WHOLE HOURS FOR MY NEAR-FATAL GUNSHOT WOUND TO BE MIRACULOUSLY HEALED. SO DEGRADING, I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO OFFENDED IN MY LIFE.

Diana picks up the pace. Goshnak’s men took the supplies to their camp in the hills, and she intends to get them back. There’s a guard at the plane; she knocks him flat without breaking a sweat. As she changes into her armour, Steve lectures her again. He’s a dick about it, but he does have a point: none of Diana’s behaviour has been helpful so far, and now she’s planning on walking into a warlord’s camp and starting a firefight.

Not killing, though. She is prepared to kill a warrior on a battlefield, she says, but nobody who “hides behind” a gun can be called a warrior. Which— look, I’m as pro-gun-control as they come, but that is a bizarrely political statement to put in the mouth of a character who barely even understands what firearms are, let alone the currents of debate going on in America and around the world. Sure, she’s just experienced being shot, and the intense pain of it shocked her, but I’m pretty sure getting disembowelled with a sword is super painful as well.

Basically, Diana’s deep and immediate disgust at guns specifically reads like Whedon trying to shoehorn his own politics into the script, and it does not work.

To Diana’s credit, she proves slightly more competent at dealing with Goshnak’s men. She picks off the sentries in the dark, takes the sleeping soldiers by surprise, and this time when Goshnak shoots, she’s ready to deflect the bullets with her bracelets.

She could use some work on her patter, though.

…she grabs his throat.

DIANA Stop. Shooting. Me.

The gun hits the ground and Diana brings her heel down on it with enough force to break it.

DIANA (continuing) This land is not safe for you. The people here are under my protection and if you even approach them, your death will be appalling. Remember that, when you awake.

She headbutts him, her tiara ringing off his forehead like a blunted bell.

“your death will be appalling”? really?

She changed her mind quick on the whole non-killing thing.

Later, in the refugee camp, the food has been distributed and the doc is tending to the sick. Diana watches as a young boy eats hungrily from a can, only for a man — maybe his father — see him and snatched the food for himself.

STEVE (appearing) Yeah, starvation doesn’t seem to make people nicer. It’s weird.

URGH GO AWAY STEVEN YOU ABSOLUTE TOSSER.

DIANA How could the gods allow this?

STEVE Your gods are dead, Diana. World hasn’t been theirs for a long while.

HAHA, BOOM! Take that, Diana! Shame on you for trying to come to grips with a world you’ve known for all of twelve hours!

Steve walks off, and Ben approaches to reassure Diana that Our Hero is just super prickly because of his Tragic Backstory. See, he used to be in the Air Force, flying combat missions, and once got downed behind enemy lines. He left the military with “a health distrust of anyone with too much power” and “[d]ecided to drop something more productive than bombs” — that’s why he set up this operation with Sully.

Diana asks whether Steve and Sully are “mates” because let us remember that the Amazons are a DEEPLY AND EXCLUSIVELY HETEROSEXUAL CULTURE and naturally it would never enter her mind that Steve might be in a relationship with Ben or Griffin, or for that matter more than one person. Anyway. AWKWARDNESS ENSUES.

BEN Mates?

DIANA Do they… mate? Or…

BEN (smiles) Sully would never put up with him. I don’t believe Steve’s seeing anyone right now.

DIANA (awkward) Oh. That’s of no import. To me. I don’t care about that.

URGH STOP.

Ben asks Diana what she intends to do next, and she says “to help”. Because as we’ve seen she has zero plans outside of taking a gap year in Man’s World so she can ‘find herself’. “I need to know more,” she elaborates unhelpfully. “I need to see… everything.” Apparently unfazed, Ben invites her to “stick with us”. Next stop, Gateway City.

What is Gateway, Diana asks?

We’re answered by a voiceover as we cut back to the Spearhead building.

CALLAS (V.O.) The greatest city in the world. The symbol of American ingenuity, prosperity, and cultural diversity. […] Literally, our gateway to the world.

The speaker is Spearhead’s CEO, Arabella Callas, who appears to be a low-budget Veronica Cale. She is, Joss tells us, “[v]ery blonde, very patrician, unflappable and icy smooth. As lovely as she is untouchable.”

She’s talking to a seemingly mundane meeting of executives and city councilmen, about zoning issues. We learn that Spearhead deals in military technology and is one of the city’s biggest investors. The councillors are keen to accommodate them.

Of course, the moment everyone leaves, Callas flips from zero to cartoon fucking villain. She touches a painting behind her desk, which glows briefly. A tapestry lifts to reveal a giant steel door, which slides open. And with that, Callas strolls on into her evil lair.

INT. SPEARHEAD WAR ROOM - CONTINUING

A cross between a Wall Street trading bullpen and Houston Ground Control, this is where Spearhead monitors the world. There are screens with maps and satellite feeds, dozens of employees with headsets tracking troop movements, high-level government communications, even weather patterns. These employees don’t wear suits. They wear black.

From Callas’ interactions with the operatives, we basically learn that Spearhead are secretly puppetmasters of chaos; no exaggeration. Talks between two warring nations have broken down thanks to an interpreter on Spearhead’s payroll; Callas instructs an employee to “keep our reps on point; I don’t want a bullet fired that wasn’t bought from us”. There’s a hurricane off the Carolina coast, and Spearhead is preparing to seed mass panic in the media. Some dictator wants to get his hands on Spearhead’s new bombers before the Pentagon — Callas is willing to deal for “12 per cent”. A 12 per cent mark-up, the employee asks? No, says Callas: 12 per cent of his county.

Basically, Callas and Spearhead are a caricature of corporate villainy and Joss could not be less subtle if he tried. But wait! There’s more!

Callas announces that she’s going to pray and exits into a dark room lit by torches and dominated by a statue of Ares.

I know, guys. I’m shocked, too. Who would’ve ever thought that Spearhead Enterprises, a weapons manufacturing company that secretly stokes war from inside a building shaped like a spear, would actually be a front for a cult of the god of war?! This is entirely unexpected. I mean, gosh, next you’ll be telling me that Gateway City is sitting on top of a gateway to something ominous and supernatural! Crazy stuff!!

As Callas prays, Strife materialises and tells her he’s gotten rid of the reporter. Callas presses; was he discreet about it?

CALLAS […] The eyes of the world cannot be on Gateway. Not right now. The world is won—

STRIFE (along with her) —won in silence. I know. There was a time when the God of War made war.

CALLAS You want war, you need armies. You need an acceptable level of poverty and ignorance. (looking up at the statue) Despair, rage, religious fervour and above all fear.

Honestly, Marston wrote villains that were more nuanced than this. Whedon literally named her Callous, ffs.

They talk about some reports of a woman taking out a rebel brigade in Africa singlehandedly, then they discuss a planned test of “the Khimaera” as they step into a large silo. The technology inside has a distinctly magical edge. What’s the Khimaera, you ask?

CALLAS The Age of Monsters is over.

STRIFE Is it. Is it really.

As he says it the camera pulls back to reveal the head of the Khimaera — we see little more than a metal shape, the top of which resembles a cross between a lion’s head and a massive rock-drill. Clearly filling the entire silo, the thing writhes and spews fire. Maintenance machines arm out from the wall or crawl over it, insectlike.

groan.

Back to Our Hero and The Girl, who have arrived in the city. Diana is eager to see everything at once; Steve isn’t so sure it’s a good idea to let her go wandering on her own. “I’ll be fine,” she says. “No, I’m kind of afraid for the city,” he deadpans.

Diana enters the throng of the city — “looking at everything and everyone intently, more sociologist than sightseer”. We pan through various sights — extreme wealth and extreme poverty, toy stores and strip clubs. Someone shoves a “LIVE NUDE GIRLS” flyer into her hands; appalled, she looks around to give it back. Which makes sense, because obviously living all her life on an island of Extremely Heterosexual Women, Diana is going to be extremely prudish about the female body.

Then,

—a hooker in an outfit skimpier than Diana’s who stares at Diana, asking:

HOOKER Who are you supposed to be?

Hahaha!! It’s funny because the sex worker thought Diana, also, was a sex worker, which as we all know is a Gross and Shameful thing to be! Oh, the comedy!

Diana steps into the street, forcing a guy in a convertible to swerve around her. He calls her a bitch, she stops the car dead with her bare hands and asks him to repeat that, but then the confrontation is cut short by a cry from across the street. A fourteen-year-old boy is being shaken down by a drug dealer.

Diana whips the dealer with her lasso; he pulls out his gun and starts firing. She deflects the bullets easily, knocks away the gun and lectures him about how she doesn’t like firearms. Then she whips the lasso around his neck and demands to know what he’s doing.

THE DEALER I’m just standing here minding my own crack dealing! (he stops, shaken) No, no, I sell crack! And guns. I also run whores sometimes— or, no! I mean… (deflated) That’s what I mean.

Diana ascertains that the major drug kingpin in the city is a dude called Kleen. We will be spending a stupid amount of time following up on him later, despite his having no relevance to the broader plot.

However, as they speak, Diana realises that dozens of rats are scurrying up from the basement grating of the old building behind them. They’re afraid of something.

Cut to the Spearhead war room, where the Khimaera test — whatever that is — is underway. An employee tells Callas that they have structural engineers ready to feed the media some story about a seismic tremor and a building not built to code. But there’s a problem — the cameras are showing somebody unexpected on the test site.

Because gosh darn it, wouldn’t you just know, first day in the city and Wonder Woman has managed to blunder onto the very site on which Evil Incorporated is testing their doomsday device!

Back to Diana, who’s now urgently shoving people out of the building, racing up the stairs to usher people out of the upper floors as the walls begin to lurch and buckle. She’s barely managed to get everyone out when Strife jumps her. They fight, Diana just holding her own, and Strife warns her to stay out of the city as he teleports away, leaving the building to collapse on her.

Later, in Steve’s bedroom, Diana lies face-down and topless on the bed as Steve cleans her wounds. She explains that Strife the the cruellest god and the servant of his uncle, Ares, because Joss isn’t even trying. FYI, Eris — the Greek personification of strife — is Ares’ brother (and/or first-cousin-twice-removed, Greek divine family trees are complicated) and she works for her own dang self.

Steve immediately leaps to the conclusion that Strife’s appearance is Diana’s fault, because Steve is a dick.

DIANA Do you think it’s all coincidence? Truly? The signs are all around us. You don’t think I’m here for a reason?

STEVE I think you’re dangerous. I think you mean well but you’re looking for trouble and you’re wildly adept at finding it. I think you’ve got delusions of grandeur and some actual grandeur, which is confusing. I don’t like confusing. I hate the fact that I’m so attracted to you, just touching you is overwhelming and I keep hoping you’ll turn around so I can see more of you naked.

He stops, even more confused than she is. His jaw sets and he reaches down, pulls the lasso out from under his butt. She tries not to show her smile.

you are the worst joss.

Diana talks a bit about how despite the violence and inequality and selfishness she’s seen, she believes the people of this world have the capacity for good — they just need to be reminded to look up. Steve makes a guess — that’s her mission, right? Diana corrects him: “Our mission.” This… is actually sounding almost like Diana for once. She doesn’t just want to beat the big bads, she wants to inspire, empower and work together with those around her to build a better world.

Naturally, Steve has to spoil it by being a wanker again.

STEVE […] What if you lose?

DIANA As long as there’s life in me, I don’t quit.

STEVE Nyeah, but I didn’t say ‘quit’. I said ‘lose’. Any idiot can win. Doesn’t mean jack till you’ve done the other thing.

Aaaaaand we’re back to the old “you can’t be a hero because you haven’t suffered enough”.

A series of short scenes follows; Diana interrupting drug shipments, taking down thugs, rescuing women from human traffickers, saving people from collapsing buildings and so on. We see that Steve and his people are working with her to give medical treatment to victims and map out Kleen’s criminal empire.

Joss still has time for some casual dickishness, though.

GIRL Lady? (points up) My cat is stuck in that tree.

Diana looks up, sees the cat on a branch, looks back at the girl with dismissive incomprehension.

DIANA Climb it.

but waitwaitwait. You know what we haven’t had in a good couple of scenes? Some good ol’-fashioned slut-shaming!

NEWSCASTER [female] Reports have come in from all over the city. Descriptions vary, but all describe her as female, impossibly strong and scantily clad. […]

NEWSCASTER #2 [male] So, what do you think? Publicity stunt?

NEWSCASTER (sourly) Probably. The last time I checked, heroes didn’t run around in bustiers.

Strife and Callas complain about how the meddling kids are spoiling their evil plans. Callas has a solution in mind, though — the one thing that “for an Amazon, is worse than death”.

OH GOOD WE’RE ALMOST AT THE DEPOWERING, DEGRADATION AND LIVE BURIAL PART OF THE SCRIPT THIS CAN’T POSSIBLY GO POORLY

#wonder woman #whedon does wondy

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noxianboxer-archived-blog · 7 years

Note

[{ ⚔ (Foreshadowing?) }]

Just a friendly spar, right? | accepting

The feel of being in the ring and the feel of being on the battlefield were two completely different feelings. Indescribably so. Amidst war, among thousands of others fighting for king and country and honor, the feeling was primal. It was brutal. One mistake was all it took to have your life ended by another’s blade. Every action needed to be quick and precise. Kill and move on to the next man in front of you. Smash and slash and destroy all of those in your way that would keep you from victory. Whatever keeps you alive and moving forward was allowed and men were more akin to beasts.

however, in the ring, it was a completely different. It was just two people standing tall and proud, putting their martial mettle to the test. A battle of fists. A battle of skill. A chance to show the fruit of their labors in their training to all the eyes focused on them. And, of course, to determine just who wanted it more, be it a calculated and thought out dance of fists where one mistake meant total defeat, or an all out, knock down, drag out slug fest until one man just couldn’t take it anymore. It was this feeling that Canus lived for in the ring.

And since the very moment he had stepped into that ring for the friendly match with the man who bore the title of ‘Knock Out’, never had he felt so truly alive in the middle of combat.

The few times Canus had been able to go to Piltover on time off, he’d heard of the Ionian immigrant who’d made a name for himself in the boxing circuit. A blind man who’d gone undefeated and setting a ridiculous string of wins against any man who set foot into the ring with him, hell, even a machine was no match for that man’s drive to win. Canus himself had the honor of viewing one such match and, ever since that day, one of the most prevalent thoughts on his mind was stepping into the ring with the man who went by the name of Brandon “Knock Out” Lee.

He earned his opportunity soon enough.

A request had been sent on his part to the coach of the boxer in question, one Mr. Michael Goostave, for a chance to spar with the boxer at the soonest available opportunity. It’d been well over a month since his request was sent, but a letter at his doorstep one morning granted him the chance he’d wanted. With date and location set, there was an unmistakable spring in Canus’s step and his training efforts were doubled in preparation for this opportunity. Every night he’d go to bed worn out, tired, muscles aching, but there was a smile on his face that none could deny. The sleep he’d gotten up to that promised day was some of the best he’d ever gotten in his life.

On the day of, Canus was practically trembling with anticipation. The sparring match was meant to take place in a local gym in Saint Street, the Piltover district that The Knockout took his second nickname for called home. There was no crowd to watch this fight, nay, just a few select folk who perhaps would be at the right place at the right time, or had just floated on in to see Brandon Lee in action against this young hotshot from the Noxian army. But the size of the crowd didn’t matter to Canus as he awaited the arrival of his opponent, no. Be it a crowd of hundreds or even ten, the soldiers excitement was built solely upon that of his opponent.

He’d not waited long. A half hours time waiting in one of the four corners of the ring gave way to the arrival of his opponent. A bigger grin couldn’t have been on his face as he stood up, gloves and gloves laced up with his upper body unadorned in preparation for the match. There were few words said between them. There wouldn’t be any words needed right now as there was little doubt their fists would be doing all the talking for them.

It would be a simple three minute three round sparring match. Standard regulation rules. No low blows, no rabbits, no livers. First man down for 10 full seconds was considered a knock out, first man down three times a technical knock out. Simple, clean, and straight to the point. Gloves were touched and both were sent back to their respective corner to wait for the starting bell. A conversation was had between Goostave and Lee, one he couldn’t rightly hear, but also one he didn’t pay any mind to. He was far too busy focusing his mind now for the fight ahead, steadying his breath and calming those pre-fight jitters that always seemed to crop up whenever he got into the ring with someone he felt would give him a real fight.

The first bell soon rang and with it, both boxers stepped forth. Gloves raised, Canus’s eyes were on that of his opponent as he finally got to get a good look at him up close. For a man who was obviously blind it was almost odd to see him walk about the ring with such confidence as the two sized each other up. But time and again Brandon had proved that his blindness was no impairment against any opponent. Even with his opponent impaired by blindness, however, Canus was not going to be one to blindly step forth and try to take the friendly match by force. No, no. He needed to test the waters first.

With careful steps Canus began moving in, only to be met with quick darting lunge and a faster jab from the left. A turn of the body, the blow missing its mark. A step was taken back, Canus momentarily surprised by the sudden speed at which Lee came at him. Another jab, a right hook, both with the same speed as Lee deemed fit to give it all right from the get go. The jab missed home again, the hook as well.

Yet he still felt a blow connect, not to his jaw, but a left to his torso, and damn him if it didn’t feel like getting kicked by a horse. There was no time to raise up his guard afterward from the surprise left, soon another hook from the right catching him and leaving him wide open. Canus never even saw it coming, only felt it. From below, the feel of glove against his chin as an uppercut hit home, sending Canus reeling from the impact.

Had he been any lesser man, there was little doubt such a blow would have laid him out flat and cut the match short then and there. But Canus was not such a man. No, even after taking that blow, he kept to his feet and brought his guard back up. There was even a grin on his lips, as if having received such a blow was nothing short of a happy occasion. To think, he’d get to feel this kind of raw power in the ring. It was nothing short of exhilarating.

But there was no time to revel in this joy. Brandon was not the man to let up, no sir. That offensive pressure was put on and the other boxer was firing on all cylinders. It was overwhelming, oppressive even, as Canus was either forced to dodge, duck, or block. Lee was a storm of fists, and each one that managed to find its way home was his lightning. What offensive Canus managed to weave into that storm almost felt as if it was shrugged off despite the few body blows the Noxian was able to land before being forced to dodge out of the way. With every blow Canus received, he could feel the reason why Lee had earned himself the name “Knockout”.

Canus continued to bide his time. Slowly but surely, he was starting to figure out the patterns in that offensive. The timing, the slight gaps, the way Lee moved as they danced about the ring. Yet, as he continued to keep his eyes on his foe he forgot one of the most elementary rules of combat.

Another powerful hook swung his way, the younger boxer stepping back and away from it. Yet, as he did, his eyes widened as his back felt the padding of one of the ring posts. Somehow, someway, Lee had not only kept up his terrifying offensive pressure, but also managed to lead Canus into the corner. There was nowhere to duck and dodge to now and the slightest of grins on Lee’s lips was all Canus needed to see to know he’d fallen for Lee’s plan. Canus had forgotten to remain aware of his surroundings and he was about to pay for it.

With his back to the corner, Canus was boxed in by his opponent. A swift volley of jabs forced his guard up and up it held for all of about five seconds before a short swift uppercut managed to separate his guard. From the chin down, Canus was wide open. He knew it, Lee knew it, and there was zero chance he was going to let up on such an opportunity. The jabs flew in, one after another, hooks sprinkled in for good measure. A slight pause, however. The Knockout’s fist cocked and came in low for another uppercut.

Yet the blow stopped short as the sound of the bell signaled the end of the round and both men separated. Slowly, but surely, did Brandon Lee back off and retreat back to his corner, leaving Canus in his own. A stool was supplied for him which he readily sank onto. His body stung, those blows definitely having been something else. Had it not been for that bell, Canus was sure he’d be seeing stars on the mat right now.

“Brandon Lee...” he muttered to himself, a slight smile on his lips. “You really are an interesting man.”

Bringing himself up from the stool, Canus took himself a breath or two to steady himself once more. He’d lost that first round for sure, of that he’d little doubt. But now, now he had a game plan. His sharp eyes, despite having been the cause to put him in his own corner, had been sure to keep a close watch on Lee and how he fought. Without a doubt Canus felt he’d the other man figured out. Soon enough the starting bell for the second round was rang.

Now, it was his turn.

@theblindboxer

#ic #theblindboxer #verse undetermined #i swear i haven't wrote this much in forever jesus christ #but gods damn it was fun

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pineapplesareunderrated · 8 years

Text

Bullymongs

Angel sends Rhys to Sanctuary. She also wants him to bring Claptrap with him. He doesn't like it, but what choice does he have ? No matter how badass you may be, anyone will happily lay down their life for a pretty girl, with big, blue eyes.

“So, this Sanctuary is like, a city full of bandits?”

“More or less.”

“And you want me to go there.”

“That is correct.”

“To join them in fighting against Handsome Jack?”

“Precisely.”

“Are you out of your mind? Why would I want to do that?”

Angel rolled her eyes. “He tried to kill you. Remember?”

“He is not the first person who tried doing that. And I bet what’s left in my wallet that he is not the last one either.”

“Jack has been terrorizing this planet for almost a decade. Many innocent people lost their lives because of this person. He claims himself to be the saviour of Pandora but all he does is bringing fear and death to its citizens.”

“Oh, you mean all those lovely people running around in masks made of…Other lovely people?”

Angel stayed silent for a moment. “Either you go to Sanctuary, or you will stay here with Claptrap.”

Rhys frowned at her, turning to look at the yellow coloured robot who was currently searching for something in his closet, making noises that remotely resembled dubstep. “Can’t you just get me out of here without me going to the Sanctuary?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Roland will need all the help he can get. You are a Vault Hunter. Meaning he needs you.”

“What part of – I hate bandits they destroyed my whole life, I’d rather choke myself with my own fists than to ever work with them – did you not understand?”

“Alright Rhys. Let me clear one thing for you. Right now, you are stuck on this planet. Only way to get out of here, is in a spaceship. And those are expensive. You will need a lot of money to get a ticket on one of them. How much money do you currently have on you, Rhys?”

Angel grinned when the brunet didn’t respond, looking back at her with pissed frown. “Thought so. You know Rhys, they might be bandits, but they pay well. Work for them for a while and you will be looking at Pandora from space in no time.”

Rhys hid his face into his palm.

Angel was right. He knew she was right from the beginning of their conversation. He just didn’t want to admit it. Working for bandits? That was a new low, even for him. He didn’t like it. But staying on Pandora after the job for Handsome Jack was currently on hiatus, that he liked even less.

“Oh, god fine you’re right. So how do I get there?”

The AI smiled victoriously. “Just follow Claptrap. He knows the way.”

“Why do I need to take him with me? Don’t you think my brain cells have suffered enough?”

“You will need him to open the doors for you.”

“Couldn’t you do it instead? You already hacked into my ECHO eye, opening a door should be a piece of cake for an AI like yourself, no?”

“That is correct. But I want you to take him with you.”

“Why is that?”

“He is such a cute thing. Would be shame to just leave him here.”

Rhys looked over his shoulder at Claptrap who now added dancing to his little performance.

“You are joking.”

“Not at all. Just take him with you.” Angel winked at him, really enjoying his reaction.

Rhys was staring at her with narrowed eyes. “Claptrap! Let’s go. I don’t wanna spend here more time than I have to.”

“Alright! To Sanctuary it is. Follow me minioooooo-“Claptrap yelled as one of the biggest bullymongs Rhys has ever seen – true, he hasn’t seen much, but still – just came out of the hole in roof, grabbing Claptrap by his “head” and swinging with him like if he was a rattle. For some reason, it decided that the most interesting thing on Claptrap was his eye. So, it took it out, accompanied with Claptrap’s loud yell “My eye!” and left the same way it came, throwing the robot back on the ground.

No, please, take him with you. I don’t want him. Rhys thought desperately, watching as the eye missing robot was unsuccessfully trying to regain his orientation. Needless to say, it was really entertaining thing to watch. He tried throwing a desperate look at Angel, but she was already gone.

“Minion! I will need you to be my eyes.” Claptrap announced after hitting the same spot for the fifth time. “Just tell me if I am going to walk into something.”

Yeah, right. Rhys smiled to himself after watching him hit the same stone again.

“I will just assume that you didn’t see that.” Claptrap mumbled, moving away from the stone just to hit another one. He looked so pathetic, it made Rhys feel sorry for him.

The brunet rolled his eyes. I am way too soft for my own good. “Here, hold my hand.”

“Oh, thank you minion! “Claptrap singed happily, catching the offered hand. “Now, let’s go on our adventure. We will be like two soldiers on battlefield! United and inseparable. You will be the muscles, I will be the brain. You will be the wheel, I will be the driver. You will be-“

“I am throwing you out of the cliff if you won’t shut up.”

“Understood sir.” Claptrap responded happily.

Rhys didn’t believe it could be possible, but the unit actually did stay quiet for a moment, leaving the two of them walk in almost complete silence trough the frozen land.

That was until more bullymong came. Then he started screaming hysterically.

“Protect me squire!” The unit shrieked as it was rushing to hide behind a piece of ice.

Rolling his eyes, Rhys loaded the shotgun he found at Claptrap’s place and fired a few rounds into the closest bullymong. But the gun was a cheap piece of shit and it took at least four shots to get one of the animals down. By the time, he killed all six of them, his count of ammunition was on dangerously low level.

“This won’t do.” He said more to himself than to the unit, who came back from his hideout after the last animal stopped moving. For the fact that he couldn’t see, Claptrap was able to hide admirably fast. “I am already running low on ammunition, and we just left the cave.”

“Well, you can always try searching the piles of snow.”

“Heh, right.”

“There are usually some ammos hidden in them.”

“Wait, what?” Rhys turned back to face the robot.

“Yeah! Nobody really knows who keeps putting them in there, but you can always find something really useful in those things.”

Rhys looked at the nearest pile of snow. He found it hard to believe that there might actually be something hidden in there. But the robot didn’t look like he was joking. Still, hard to tell with this guy, judging by the fact that he had no facial expressions and his voice is always in the same tone.

Rhys sighed, feeling like an idiot as he approached the snow pile. “Just punch it with your robotic arm. It will break and you can take whatever flies out of it.” Claptrap called behind him.

Punch it. Right. I can do that. Rhys swung his arm and hit it with all his might. To his surprise, some ammunition actually did fly of the snow landing in from of Rhys’s foots. “You´ve gotta be kidding me.”

He picked up all the ammo and repeated the same action with the other piles before his magazine was full. “Alright, that should do for a while. Let’s go.” Rhys announced, reoffering his arm to Claptrap.

The moment Claptrap grabbed it, his ECHO communicator went on, voice coming out of it before he even had the chance to pick up.

“Hey, kiddo. Jack here, president of Hyperion.” Rhys froze in the middle of step. Oh my god. It´s Handsome Jack. Handsome Jack is talking to me. “Let me explain how things work here. Vault Hunter shows up. Vault Hunter looks for the new vault. Vault Hunter gets killed. By me. Seeing the problem here? You’re still alive. So, if you could just do me a favour and off yourself, that’d be great.”

“What, Handsome Jack wants me do to the job that he fucked up? What a surprise!” Rhys slammed the palm over his mount, but the words were already out.

The other line was quiet for a while. “Heh. Cute. See ya later pumpkin.”

There was a sound announcing the end of the call and then the ECHO went off. Rhys stayed in the same position for a few moments, before putting the ECHO back into his pocket.

“Wow. I never thought I would see someone to back talk to Handsome Jack.” Claptrap said, still holding Rhys’s hand. “Well, technically I didn’t see it, with my eye still missing. But you got my point.”

“Yeah, well what can I say? “Rhys chuckled, still processing the fact that he just had a private phone call with Handsome Jack. “I’ve inherited my mother’s sharp tongue.”

***

Jack had a hangover. A really bad one to that. His head hurt as hell and every little noise he heard felt like it had a volume of a thunder.

He spent the night playing Gun Game Online IV and drinking his finest whisky. But after the fifth level Jack gave up on the game and focused his full attention on the honey coloured liquid. The first bottle was empty before he knew it and as the morning came, second bottle was, more or less, in the same state.

Jack winked a couple of times, trying to get his blurred vison under control. Without a success.

He groaned at the sound of his ECHO beeping. Jack grabbed the little box and accepted the call without even looking at the name.

“What?!” He barked into the microphone.

“I have spoken with the surviving Vault Hunter.”

“Oh, Angel. You did? And what…What did they say?”

The second end of the line was quiet for a while. “Jack, are you drunk?”

“What? Me? Drunk? Pfff…don’t be ridiculous Angel. I don’t get drunk.”

“Sure. I will call you later.”

“No, no no no. Don’t do that. I am fine. I am fine, just tell me how did it go? Who is the lucky bastard that got to see my special fireworks and live to tell about it?”

Angel sighed. “It’s the developer. The one with the robotic eye. He is known for upgrading his guns or even making his own. People call him the Company man, but I don’t really know why and from what I understood he doesn’t use the nickname himself. He goes under the name Rhys.”

“Rhys, Rhys… Hmm, nope doesn’t ring any bells. Could you send me his file so I can take a look at what we are dealing with here?”

“Sure. But it won’t be much. Whoever this guy is, he is really good in hiding his tracks. I wasn’t able to find any of his personal files. All we got is a few police records and some photos made by our safety cameras.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just send them here will ya?”

“They are already in your mail box. Right now, Rhys is on his way to Sanctuary, but he hasn’t even left the Windshear Waste.”

“Alright. Keep an eye on him for me and let me know whenever he does something interesting.”

“Of course, Jack.” Beeping noise announced the end of their call. Jack shoved his ECHO communicator back into his pocket and slowly stood up. It was a challenging task, considering the fact that his head just wouldn’t stop spinning. But with enough willpower, he managed to get to his computer and open the file Angel just sent him.

First thing that popped up was a picture taken by one of the Hyperion’s security cameras on Eden 6. It showed Rhys, who was just about to enter one of Hyperion’s facilities through the window, looking over his shoulder, as if checking for someone who might be following him. However, Jack couldn’t read much of his features, partly because the picture was taken during a night, and partly because his vision hasn’t fully regenerated itself yet.

But what he did notice was a silver prosthesis arm. He didn’t see any logo on it, meaning that it had to be home-made. Jack let out an admirable whistle. You either had to be rich as fuck to afford one of those, or incredibly skilful to be able to make them on your own, without risking it exploding the moment you attach it to your body.

Angel was right about the lack of information Hyperion had on this guy. There were a few notes about him clearing a bandit camps here and there, stealing something from the companies’ stocks or doing some lower jobs like a delivery or finding a missing person. Nothing really interesting what could help anyone to find out more about him.

Jack got back to search through his photos – only photos, no videos which was really suspicious. Almost like someone took his sweet time with separating things he was willing to share from those that were actually useful – and stopped at one where Rhys was looking right into the objective of the camera.

The picture was taken in some city Jack didn’t recognize. Rhys’s flesh hand was running through his brown hair, destroying his trim haircut. He was wearing black shirt with metallic looking vest. Jack wondered if it was bulletproof. Heh, probably not. Nobody wore bulletproof vests anymore, After Atlas came up with electromagnetic shields, those things were good for nothing but slowing you down. Plus, they never covered more than half of your body.

Jack zoomed in on the boy’s mismatched eyes. Unlike himself, he had one brown and the other light blue. Wait. Didn’t Angel say something about him having an ECHO eye? That must be it. Heh. This boy must be tougher than he looks. Jack remembered when Wilhelm told him about his first surgery, when he was getting the first ECHO eye. “It was a close one.” He said. “The doctors told me that they were sure that I was a goner. My brain just turned off during the surgery. They said that I was lucky to be so strong built. Took more than a few incapable doctors to get me to stop kicking.” Jack had been thinking about getting one of those for himself, but this conversation made him change his mind.

Other thing Jack couldn’t help but notice, was that the boy was really good looking. Like damn, he was hot! Jack had seen some pretty faces among the Vault Hunters, but they mostly belonged to girls. Male Vault Hunters all tend to keep this tough image, making themselves look as if they were ready to crush your bones just by looking at you.

Rhys’ features on the other hand were soft. Almost too soft for a guy, a Vault Hunter to that. He didn’t make the impression of someone who would be able to survive an explosion, and walk away from that like nothing happened. Jack even considered calling Angel again to ask her if she’d sent him the right files.

But then he got a better idea. He will call Rhys instead and talk to him himself! Just to see how things really are with this guy.

Not bothering to think about what he was going to say, he quickly searched for the signal of the Vault Hunter’s ECHO communicator and dialled it.

One of the many advantages of being the owner of a billion dollars’ company was that you didn’t have to wait for others to pick up your calls. The moment their ECHO reads your ID, it just picks up itself.

Time to make a good impression. Jack thought the moment he heard noise announcing his ECHO call being successfully connected.

“Hey kiddo. Jack here, president of Hyperion.” Yeah right. As if he needed to introduce himself. He heard a gasp from the other side of the line as the kid realized who was calling him. Alright. He got his attention. Now what?

“Let me explain how things work here. Vault Hunter shows up. Vault Hunter looks for the new vault. Vault Hunter gets killed. By me. Seeing the problem here? You’re still alive. So, if you could just do me a favour and off yourself, that’d be great.” Good old threatening. Never fails.

Jack didn’t really expect the kid to respond anything to that. He wouldn’t expect anyone to respond to that. But before he managed to end the call, he heard a honeyed voice coming out of the speaker. “What, Handsome Jack wants me do to the job that he fucked up? What a surprise!”

Jack stayed quiet for a second, unsure if he heard that right. Did the kid just back talked to him?

“Heh. Cute. See ya later pumpkin.” The CEO responded sarcastically before hanging up.

Kid´s got balls. He thought to himself. Well, he just signed his death sentence. Nobody back talks to Handsome Jack and gets away with it. Jack pressed the blue button on his table, calling his secretary.

“Morning sir.” Meg answered from her office.

“Hey Meg. Get me on the Pandora’s broadcast will ya? Need to do my morning announcement.” He stopped for a second.

“And where the fuck is my coffee?!”

“Right away, sir.”

Jack smiled to himself. So, Rhys. Let’s see how you manage to keep running the pretty mouth of yours after I get the whole planet chasing after your guts.

#choke on it #rhack #fanfic #Handsome Jack #rhys #borderlands

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phosphophyllighte · 7 years

Text

Icarus; Episode 1

Written after the finish of the prologue. Thank you for reading! Warning; May contain racism.

“Howard,” a medium frenchwoman’s tone called for the man standing still and gazing in the battlefield from the sky on an airship “it’s time to depart.”

When the Slave King opened his eyes and heard the bell, he opened his mouth and came out a low, but slightly deep tone that said “I’m coming.” And then with the heels of his black boots, he turned back and walked on the top wooden floorboards of the airship floating in the air overlooking near the battlefield.

The crewmen assemble gunpowder in kegs and cannon balls they rolled along with them. Three crewmen are seen cleaning a cannon’s dusty tubes. While everyone was getting their hands dusty and dirty and busy, Howard and his airship admiral, Capitaine Amelie Violetta La Hart, walk up the quarterback where the admiral took the wheel and sailed her vessel down to the surface where the fighting is mostly in but far back from the frontlines.

Admiral-Capitaine Amelie Violetta La Hart is not a human but infact; a valkyrie. The appearance of a Valkyrie is rather unique than ordinary. The Valkyries don’t have males and are all exclusively females. The average Valkyrie can reach the height of 6′4 - 6′7 and cannot age further after thirty. They excell in archery and gunpowdered handheld firearms due to their precise accuracy. A Valkyrie is born look like a Victoria’s Secret model from childhood to adulthood. They have a strong harbor to dislike men, by the way, and nobody knows why and when others ask them, they just simply punch a guy minding his own business.

But to saddened things out, the Valkyries have surrendered and joined forces with the enemy because of the overwhelmingly sheer power of the Confederacy’s newfound strength. But the Admiral-Capitaine won’t kneel to the wrong side - the dark side - because she’s not like most cowards who flee from the start of the battle.

While the Admiral-Capitaine is sailing her airship down, to start a conversation, you must convince that your commander is listening with both ears open.

“How are you feeling about the news today about your sisters?” the Slave King asked with his hands folded.

Amelie kept her hands on the wheel and never bothered to look at Howard when she replied “They’ll soon know, if we win this turning point, that they should’ve kept fighting to their last breath. I don’t tend to be merciful to traitors.”

She sounded angry in her tone but her face wouldn’t show it.

The airship disembarked within the safer area of the allied frontlines. The bridge lowered down and when it hit the ground, the Admiral-Capitaine took a left foot on the bridge and walked down onto the dirt of where Hell was erupting.The rest of the crewmen of the airship gave out much needed ammunition to resupply the Union soldier’s pockets and medicine to mend the poor and dying souls.

Howard was one of the crewmen, helping out the infantry in the time of need. He was sympathetic to those who had lost themselves when they looked into their eyes. Empty of courage and inspiration. When he was rolling out kegs of gunpowder and crates full of freshly new and improved firearms such as revolvers and rifles, he saw a propaganda poster by the side of a tent. It was his adoptive white father, Willard Gregory Reginald XI, pointing his index finger authoritatively at the viewer with the caption saying from top to bottom; “I want YOU for the Union Army.”

Howard’s adoptive father was a real hero back then during his time. Liberating slave plantations, telling great speeches about liberty and freedom without order or tyranny, breaking the shackles of the enslaves for the betterment of equality, and with great discipline teaches his students well and hopes that one day, these soldiers may turn into great leaders. It’s a shame that he was assassinated by Confederate sympathizers and Howard had to dig his father’s grave.

Howard gave the poster a short stare at it for awhile until he smiled and shook his head down before continuing to help his crewmen get the fighting spirit back up and running with bayonets against the bad guys.

The Admiral-Capitaine was having a busy arguement with other high-ranking officers - Captains and Majors - in an officer’s tent of food supplements coming from the northwestern section of the main battlefield of where they are now. One captain is thinking that the mud is slowing the carriages down while another captain thinks that they’ve been shelled by artillary or ambushed because from where the food is coming, they’re still in the forest and only God knows what lurks in the forest. Monsters or maybe Confederates making the lives of the Union more miserable and unbearable.

“I’ll deal with the problem,” Amelie said to her fellow officers and turned around and saw Howard still continuing to help distributing medicine and firearms. “Howard!” she called “Get over here!”

Howard was already finished when he heard his admiral calling him. He dusts his coat off from the mud and jogged towards to the officers’ tent. “What’s cookin?” asked the Slave King with a smirk to his admiral.

Amelie sneered at Howard and suddenly, without warning, slapped that dumb look right off the Slave King’s stupid face. The slap left an open hand-mark on Howard’s right cheek.

Howard wiped the slap off his face and stood at-ease like a true and loyal soldier would. By then, he wouldn’t be such a smug person after that... maybe just a little.

After settling with it, Amelie then asked the Slave King “Do you see this?” pointing at a map where the forest is behind near the allied battlefield. “A food carriage was suspected to be here but hours passed, they haven’t arrived. I want you to take five able-bodied and ready soldiers with you and move out immediately.” then turning to Howard “Am I clear?”

Howard reviewed the map before saluting and said “Aye, captain.” and left the tent with the task at hand.

Amelie watched the Slave King leave to gather his troops. An officer by the same rank as her walked beside and asked “Are you sure your lieutenant can handle this?” to which she replied “I doubt his failure.”

While Howard was searching, he saw two men sitting on their wooden stools playing chess. One young, the other being in his early forties. The young had pale and freckled skin with ginger hair and the old one having tanned skin and brown hair with a short stubble. He eavesdropped their conversation. It went like this;

Young: “Oi, that ain’t roight, ya galbladder.”

Old: “What do you know, cockney? I played chess for thirty years and you? Just once!”

Young: “Ach, ye bloody auld wench, ‘tis bit a middling finger tae me yak. See, I’ll shaw ye.” (I actually forgot what the sentence means.)

Howard watched the young soldier move his black pawn incorrectly to three paces. The old soldier facepalmed and said to the young “That’s not how it works.”

“Whit dae ye ken, eh?”

Before the two could start a bragfight Howard stepped in to intervere. “Hey hey, tone it down, fellas,” he said.

Suddenly the two sprung up on both of their heels and stood straight with their chin up and saluted after. Then two said “Sire! Sir!”

Howard saluted them back. “Come and follow me.” and turned a heel back to searching for three more troops to rally.

The two chess players looked at each and shrugged, confused about what they’re supposed to do but to follow and so they did, grabbing their muskets and walking right behind the Slave King’s back.

While they were walking and searching, the Slave King then spoke to them “Name and Rank?”

The young was the first to speak to introduce himself “Aye, name’s Benedict Wickers, Private First Class,” then the old “Sergeant Dave Washington, 13rd New Albion Cavalry. Well, used to be...”

“What happened?” the Slave King asked the sergeant, curious about what he said last.

“The supermachines from those confeder-fucks nearly wiped us off from the service branch. Only thirty of us are left and scurried around the world.” the sergeant replied.

The Slave King took that into information about why the Union is losing the war. Putting it in his mind for his journal.

Suddenly, they stopped dead on their tracks of searching after a chair flew infront of them, nearly hitting the private, and followed a woman screaming angrily inside a nearly-empty munitions tent. They couldn’t understand what she was screaming about but it’s deafening their ears.

The three outside peaked inside the tent and then in a split second, they were kicked and bumped to each other into the mud and came out of the tent a puffy haired black woman in Union Infantry uniform with visible anger from inside and outside. She then screamed back at the tent “If that white twink isn’t going, then I’ll see him getting a foot right up his ass!” and walked away from the tent to wherever she’s going. The three were still on the muddy ground, watching her strut angrily away.

“Damn, what a temper.” the sergeant commented.

The three then pulled themselves up dripping from the wet mud on their uniform and followed the tempered woman’s trail. They saw her walk in another tent and the three stood at the way.

The Slave King turned behind to the two and gestured them to stay guard outside. They acknowledged and the Slave King went right in.

Before he could look forward, a barrel of a flintlock pistol was between his eyes. The gun cocked and followed the same voice that’s been screaming in his and the two soldiers’ ears, saying “Why are you following me?”

Howard raised his hand slowly in the air with a nervous expression plastered on his face and sweat running off his skin.

But suddenly, the pistol was immediately holster and came out of the shadows the puffy-haired black woman that went into a tantrum back at the munitions tent. “Oh, sorry sir!” she apologizes “I thought it was just another spy coming by my tail.”

“At ease,” the Slave King told.

And she did.

“Name and rank?”

“Corporal Phillis Russel, 237th Union Infantry Division.”

The Slave King inspected and examined her from top to bottom. She’s able, yes. She’s ready, she’s beyond that. So, she’s appointed to be the third in his troop. “Grab your musket and let’s go,” Howard said and went out of the tent.

Phillis nodded and grabbed her musket with bayonets fixed, including a canteen of water that she straps behind her bandolier. After that, she went to join up with the Slave King’s troop. Shaking hands with the chess players before going to continue for the search of the fourth and fifth.

While they were walking through continuous paths full of tents deployed by the sides and soup stands serving carrot soup and... that’s actually all from the menu, the Slave King then asks his troop without bothering to look back at them, saying “Do you three have any recommendations of a fourth and fifth man to fill our empty slots?”

The chess players shrugged but Phillis spoke up that made Howard smile and eager to meet, saying behind him “I know someone but he’s... kind of a smartass.”

“Well,” Howard said followed by a soft giggle “let’s go meet them, shall we?”

Phillis led the troop on to the fourth soldier to fill the fourth slot. They arrived and stood infront of an entrance of a large, green tent with the sign by the side saying “Mails!” and cogwheels drawn around it.

“Is thes it?” asked Benedict to Phillis.

Phillis, before she could respond, opened the tent’s entrance and suddenly, three pigeons flew out. “Yeah, this is it.”

The troop all entered the tent and were surprised about the amount of bird cages and sparrows and thrushes,and pigeons in one tent. The cages hung on the tent’s ceiling and on the ground. But nobody seems to be present inside. Until they saw a tall silhouette in the dark corner of the tent, seemingly standing still and holding between it’s arms something they can’t tell. But then, it turned it’s head to them and spoke in a gentlemanly british voice, saying “Ah! Visitors!”

It revealed itself, stepping into the light and introducing itself to be a bronze-made, sentient robot wearing Union uniform, holding a wounded and bandaged parrot between it’s arms. Standing seven feet tall and two inches. It had a monacle too and a fancy mustache made out of bronze too.

The Slave King smiled from the robot. He’d never seen anything like it, seemingly his first time seeing a walking, talking machine.

It reached out an open palm at Howard “Private First Class X7-CL455Y or my other alias... ‘Tin-can’.”

Howard shook the robot’s hand “And my name is-”

“First Lieutenant Howard Reginald the twelfth, born in 1846 from a cotton plantation in Southern Icarus. Forced to do slave labours at the age of three, you’ve lived a terrible and cruel childhood. In total, you’ve been lashed and whipped atleast three-hundred times for the following two years. Your biological father was shot and killed by Confederate soldiers for fun and sport and your biological mother was hung after she successfully poisoned the daughter and wife of a Confederate general. You attempted to escape but was later recaptured by guards and whipped fifty times, adding to account; three-hundred fifty whips in your childhood. By the end of Christmas of 1850, like the rest of the slaves, you were freed, liberated and luckily chosen by General Willard Gregory Reginald the eleventh as his adopted son and who is now, right infront of me, a shining hero to all the poor souls rusting in pain and sorrow.” Tin-can told Howard about his whole biography in a quick one.

The chess players gawked at the amazement and so did Howard too. Phillis wasn’t that surprised. She then said with a smug expression on her face “Told ya, he’s a smartass.”

“I see you are in need of a fourth troop, sir Reginald?” Tin-can asks with his head bowed down at the Slave King

Howard responded saying “You’re just the one I need.”

“Wonderful! Let me pack my necessities,” and the robot went to grab all of it’s belongings.

Howard and the rest behind him watched the robot grab an can of grease and oil, a bird cage with a pigeon inside it, a small sack of bird food, a bond of blank paper, a whole freaking map of the world of Icarus itself, and a leather-made knapsack full of an excessive amount of machine gun ammunition. Wait, where’s the machine gun?

“Umm... Tin-Can?” Dave said “Where’s your firearm?”

And as an answer, Tin-can twists his whole left arm open and turned it into a literal FIREARM that is a mini-gatling gun, cocking it after that ejected an empty caliber out of the chamber. “Oh, you mean this?” humourously said the robot.

Howard smiled at the robot and turned to Phillis, saying “You didn’t say anything about that,” pointing at Tin-can’s gatling gun arm.

Phillis just shrugs “I dunno, he always fiddles with himself.”

“By fiddle, as in?” Dave asked.

“He always finds new parts to build into himself with.”

After that, the troop left the tent and Howard continues the search for the fifth and last volunteer to start the mission.

Howard and the troop stepped in a medical tent. Howard went in first and Phillis secondly. The two saw the excessive amounts of blood filled into several metal buckets and the tent from the inside was bloodsoaked. Used and dirty bandages were left on the ground. Bu the tent was almost completely empty. The beds too were soaked with blood aswell. Then came a voice coming from one of the medicial beds.

“You two looking for somebody? They ain’t here - probably died hours ago,” said by an emotionless-looking human-like young androgynous man but with horns of a cow protruding out of his head and ears of a common cow. He had fur too like a cow - brown and caramel-white but they’re only large marks around his body, not the head. He also had a tail of a cow too. His hands were soaked in blood and wore an apron full of equipment used for medicinal purposes (bones fractures/open wounds/yadda yadda yadda and all that enchilada). He was chillaxing and relaxing on one of the beds.

Howard turned around to the cow-boy (eh, I’ll figure out a nickname soon) and said “Actually, we are indeed looking for somebody,” and added “somebody just like you infact.”

“What can I do?” the cow-boy said “I can sew your wounds close and replace broken bones and ripped off limbs. Except your head.”

Howard felt skeptic first but he finally let in. “Name and rank?”

“Corporal Leslie Miles, 127th Carver’s Infantry Division,” the cow-boy told as he remained on the bed with his hands behind the back of his head.

Phillis snorted. “Pfft, Leslie...”

Leslie wasn’t slighted at all. He pulled himself up from the bed and stood up with both of his legs. “What am I in for?” he then asks Howard.

“You’re capable enough so...” Howard clapped his hands and opened with a smile “Welcome to the team!”

And that’s the end of the search. From first to fifth including Howard as the sixth, they then meet up in an empty tent that would become their personal base of operations. With Tin-can setting up the whole world map of Icarus on an empty wall, only Howard knows where he can strike and where the Confederate would strike. The troop sat on crates and chairs and Howard was infront of them, briefing about the problem of the food delivery. They listened and raised no questions after the briefing’s end.

Now, cue ghetto music (I’d recommend Geto Boys - My Mind Playing Tricks on Me) and badass slow-motion scene. The troops and the Slave King went out of the tent. They went side-by-side from each other (like that poster from Reservoir Dogs) as they walked out of the Union camp to begin their mission. With guns cocked and swords unsheathed, they’re beyond ready.

While marching through the forest scattered around the trees so they won’t get surprised. They were near the road where it leads to the battlefield to the town just nine miles ahead. It was also where the Union get their food from.

“So,” Dave said “where you guys from? I’m from New Albion.”

“Willmuth,” Phillis said

“Ivo Spectra,” Leslie said.

“Yellowstone,” Benedict said.

“Daedalus,” Tin-can said.

And that caught everyone’s attention to look at the robot in surprise except Howard since he kept his head forward and let his ears do all the hearing.

“In all of my life,” Phillis said “I didn’t know you lived in the father planet.”

“I was manufactured there,” Tin-can told “from an assembly line of an ancient time back then.”

Then the Slave King stopped on his tracks and in a sudden motion, he threw himself into a bush and while he was at the process of throwing himself into a bush, he told his troops “Hide!”

And they did. Phillis and Tin-can jumped on the same bush with Howard. Leslie, Dave, and Benedict proned down and covered themselves with fallen dead leaves.

Howard set his eyes forward at the end of the road. He saw the carriage carrying the food in them... but the Confederates were there too. “As I expected,” he muttered out. He then raised his hand and gestured his troops to circle around the enemy and keep silent.

They acknowledged and went out of their hiding places. Howard moved out to do the same. Leslie, Dave, and Benedict was circling by the right and Howard, Phillis, and Tin-can was on the left.

A confederate soldier watches an eye around the perimeter while taking a smoke while four of his comrades loot the carriage and dumping corpses of poor farmers by the side of the road. They had weapons that the Union couldn’t get their hands onto. They weren’t just muskets - they were something else. The first to third confederate soldiers were holding semi-auto rifles that look like M1 Carbines while the fourth and fifth were holding sub-machine guns that resemble Maschinenpistole-34s.

Howard looked down at them and to where the other three are in. The troops were in-position and slowly emerged to aim their outdated muskets... except Tin-can as he slowly revved his gatling gun-arm aiming down at the confederates. The Slave unholstered his Colt Dragoon from his belt and aimed it down at the carriage. He raised a open hand in the air...

Phillis kept a steady eye by her sights aswell as Dave and Benedict. Leslie didn’t have a musket and only had an enormously heavy Colt Walker and cocked it’s hammer.

And then when the rest of the confederates were in the open, Howard closed his hand.

Suddenly, a barrage of bullets came pouring down at the confederates. Tin-can unloaded an entire belt from his gatling gun-arm and the rest with their revolvers and muskets were empty of bullets. Their guns smoked and heated up from the barrels.

After the smoke cleared, Howard saw four dead... but something’s wrong. Last time, Howard counted five.

And then that number five just revealed himself and fired away his submachine-gun at Leslie, Dave, and Benedict’s position. They ducked just in time and they were in trouble because the fifth was burst-firing while moving at their position - they’re in trouble and they couldn’t load their guns in time.

Howard pulled himself up with his revolver and slid down the slope. He loaded one bullet into his revolver without any hesitation.

The fifth confederate soldier was nearing his preys and drew more closer and closer until...

He was shot dead by the back. His corpse rolled from the slope. Howard’s revolver smoked and holstered it immediately.

Phillis and Tin-can followed after behind the Slave King. Leslie slid down the slope and so did Dave and Benedict.

Howard looked at the aftermath of the carriage... The food was unharmed but the carriage itself was ruined by bullet holes. It’s unable to carry food now so they’ll have to carry it themselves by their shoulders. He turned to his troops and ordered them, saying “Drop your muskets and grab yourself one of their weapons. Include their bandoliers - you guys will be needing them.”

“Except me,” Tin-can said “I already have my piece of firepower.”

Phillis, Dave, and Benedict dumped their outdated muskets and grabbed the semi-autos. Leslie grabbed both of the sub-machine guns and gave one to Howard. Phillis, Dave, Benedict, and Leslie didn’t know what these guns could benefit them but they didn’t complain.

Dave testfired his rifle, shooting twice than the regular musket. Phillis and Benedict watched.

Tin-can unstrapped the confederates’ corpses’ bandolier and hung them by his shoulders. The bandoliers had ammo in them fit for the new generation of weapons and Tin-can just simply gave them to the troops.

Howard was busy hauling up the food in one place. After he finished, he counted them; six baskets of apples, two kegs of whiskey, a whole crate full of chocolate wafers (mmm~ wafers...), and three barrels full of MREs. How the hell are they going to carry this?

Benedict was beside Howard and looked at the food that needed to hauled back to the camp. “Howfur th' hell ur we aff tae haul thae?” (Translation: “How the hell are we going to haul these?”) he asked.

“Maybe we don’t have to carry this over our shoulders,” Howard said. He turned back and called “Phillis! Dave!”

The two, when they were still examining what their new weapons can do, caught Howard’s attention. They jogged to him.

“What is it, sir?” Phillis asked.

“Go back to the camp and grab us a carriage and two horses,” Howard told them.

Before they could take another step to do what Howard ordered, he then called them back “Don’t forget this,” and tossed a Union flag with a pole

Dave catched the flagpole and the flag itself waved like an ocean wave from the air. And then he and Phillis went back to the camp to do a job.

Leslie tested his (I almost called him a ‘her’) SMG what it could do. His right hand held the handle and the trigger and the left hand holding the magazine of the gun. He arched his back and aimed the gun at a leafless tree. He pulled and held on the SMG and the gun fired rapidly like a gatling gun. While he kept firing at a single tree - which is now filled with bullet holes -, the recoil was getting uncontrollable. “Uh, guys!” Leslie panicked “How can I stop this?!”

Benedict, Howard, and Tin-can just watched him.

And then Leslie’s gun stopped barraging the tree and clicked. It must’ve run out of ammo because it did. Then the tree collapsed and hit the ground. “Whoa,” Leslie muttered out.

“Looks like we have to take this into a potential examination,” Tin-can said

“That won’t be possible,” Howard said “I think we got it right.”

To where Dave and Phillis are heading, they arrived back at the camp. Two Union soldiers aimed their muskets at them but soon put them down after they saw the flag.

Dave went to the stables and Phillis went to get a carriage. They explained about the food and the listeners believed it when the two heard the name everyone in the world is familiar with; “The Slave King”. After that, they got what they requested and the carriage was on it’s way.

Howard and Leslie were busy dumping Confederate corpses by the side of the road. Tin-can was sitting by the food, oiling his mechanical joints up and fixing his cogwheels inside of his chestplate while Benedict watches him oil up. After the two were done dumping, they went by they food to sit beside the gentlemanly robot and the scottish lad.

Leslie took out a packet of cigarrettes and put one cigar stick in his mouth. He dug his hand into one of his pockets and grabbed a zippo lighter. He lights the cigar up and smoked.

Tin-can looked up at Leslie, saying “Ironic that you’re a doctor, Leslie.”

“Since when I abode the Hippocratic Oath?” Leslie said. He blew the smoke out of his mouth and let it fly into the air.

Benedict giggled at the two.

Howard stood and stayed silent. He crossed his hands and waited patiently for the carriage to arrive.

“Hey, Lieutenant,” Leslie called.

“Yes?” Howard said

“What do you like most in life?”

Howard’s thoughts streamed down like a waterfall. What does he like most in life? Well, he certainly doesn’t like getting whipped and being called a ‘nigger’ everytime he goes to work back at the plantation. Those days were over now. He does like sometime that made him entertained from childhood to adulthood. “To think, I do like stories.”

“What are you? A child?” Leslie smirked.

Howard shrugs. “I just like them.”

“Okay, what stories do you like most?” Leslie said.

Howard then had to go all the way back. Deep down his mind he thought of something... and heard a lullaby in his head. Seeing red roses blooming by the plantation’s garden and the smell of old paper from novels. “Romance stories. Like, you know, kiss kiss hug hug?”

“My good sir, you have excellent taste,” Tin-can complimented.

“Thank you,” Howard smiled. He brushed his eyes open and yawned.

“Eh, mah taste is mair o'... Thrilling.” (Translation: Eh, my taste is more of... thrilling.) Benedict commented.

Leslie threw his unfinished cigar and stomped it. He set his eyes foward to the road to the allied camp and saw two horses besides each other and a carriage behind them. “Look,” he pointed “they’re here.”

Phillis was driving the carriage and Dave is eating a jar of worms. Phillis could barely puke up everytime she glances Dave chewing up living spaghetti into his stomach. Dave, however, doesn’t feel disgusted and infact, eating worms is healthy... just a fact for himself.

When the carriage arrived, Tin-can and Leslie moved the food inside the new carriage. Dave, Benedict, and Howard moved the ruined carriage by the side of the road to open a clear path for the others coming. Phillis just watches by the driving seat.

After that was all done, they’ve drove the carriage back to the camp. When they were arriving, hundreds of malnourished and starving soldiers were waiting by the entrance and cheered after the carriage distributed food. They fell in line and one-by-one, the Slave King himself gave them packages of MREs, apples, and chocolate wafers with the team distributing them too.

One of the Union soldiers stepped next in line to recieve his own brunch for the afternoon. He looked at the Slave King as he was given his own MRE and said “In a time like this, we’re penny-damn thankful for someone to exist like you.” and walked away.

Howard smiled. Well, everyone who believes in someone could be well penny-damn thankful. He nurtures these men and women, colored and white, with elf-ears or without - he calls them the people who’ll lead this world into a better tomorrow without tyranny nor oppression against a race or civil unjustice. He calls these soldiers in their uniform; the “Children of Liberty” and he’s proud of himself that, even in the hardships and unpromises of war, he still hopes or a better tomorrow.

The Admiral-Capitaine arrived to where the food is. She looked onto the Slave King’s smile of hope. She smiles aswell but it fades out so quickly.

Howard saw Amelie and called “Hey, captain!” and grabbed an apple and threw it at her.

Amelie catches it and took a big bite with her pristine-clean, strong and fanged teeth. She chewed and swallowed and then said to the Slave King “Nice job,” and walked away.

Everyone in the camp cheered and celebrated for their heroes’ arrival. Sung songs and kept themselves entertained. Howard left to sleep almost immediately when the celebration started. Howard entered his quarters in the airship he and the capitaine sailed on and took off his uniform coat, sleeveless shirt, and leather boots. He sat on his bed with a candle lit and wiped the sweat from the hardwork - giving out food to the weak and dying. He blew the fire from the candle and went to bed.

A whisper came ringing in the Slave King’s ear as he slept. It called for him...

In the mist of a fog, there stood the Slave King with shackles binding him from neck to ankle. Unable to break free from his chains. Soon came footsteps and then cheers of applause. A face, from the shadows, revealed itself. Howard gawked at the sight of it... Her. The woman who chose her future in destruction and death.

A valkyrie with red, long wavy hair, and with a face with utmost beauty. Wearing such a regal dress only a glamourous woman could afford. None other than the Queen of Hearts herself. She spoke to the Slave King kneeling before her... Saying;

“You’re a slave... A slave to your choices...”

#icarus #literature #i'll swear to be good at writing

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