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glass-rose-paperweight · 4 years

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The Narrative Structure of Sherlock - And Why Season 4 Seems So Off

A lot has been said about why Season 4 just seems wrong (for a more complete list than I could ever hope to make, go here and here). And while all of those are great points that point to something strange going on, I want to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I propose that what’s wrong with Season 4, ignoring plot holes and inconsistencies and things that seemed to have just been done for shock factor, is that the narrative structure itself is just incorrect. We all know what big proponents of the 5 act structure Mofftiss is. Let’s take a moment to look at the five act structure for a moment, shall we?

The Five Act Structure

The five act structure has its basis in the narrative structure of the ancient Greeks, of telling a story with a beginning, middle, and end. However, it was really solidified starting with German playwright Gustav Freytag in 1863 and his mapping of a narrative structure. He identified the different parts of a story: the Exposition (which sets up the story, introduces characters, gives the audience the background needed to understand the story, and, most importantly, contains the inciting moment, the conflict that the story and the protagonists will revolve around), the Rising Action (which are the obstacles placed in the way of the protagonists resolving the conflict and any more information needed for the audience to understand the story narrative and the characters; often here is where you really start getting a good understanding of what characters are like and understanding their complexities), the Climax (the turning point of the story, the point with the highest tension; often the Big Showdown or big battle), the Falling Action (the end of the climax and the aftermath of whatever happened; things are starting to calm down and resolutions are being reached), and the Dénouement (the final resolution and tying up of lose ends. This is the moment of emotional release, when the characters you have been watching and hopefully grown attached to are reaching their happily ever after and you get to see what their life is like after going through the climax). This is a well known narrative structure that basically everyone learns in grade school. You’re probably familiar with the Story Triangle.

A lot of stories revolve around this narrative structure. Most of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around this narrative idea. The plot triangle is one of the most commonly used ways of telling a story. Supposedly, this is the model that Mofftiss are trying to shoot for with Sherlock. Lets take a look at how this structure generally fits within a typical 5 act play.

Well ... we already have a bit of a problem when it comes to Sherlock, don’t we? The climax is in the wrong spot. If we try and fit Sherlock into the Freytag narrative structure, the first episode really serves as the exposition while everything leading up the The Reichenbach Fall serves as the rising action. And then we get the fall itself as the climax. But, if we think of each season as being like an act, then the climax comes at the end of the second act. Which would leave all of season 3, 4, and 5 to act as falling action and dénouement, which generally leads to a slow, drawn out story. However, lets take a look at the Freytag narrative in a 3 act play, shall we?

The Three Act Structure

Now, a 3 act structure can really just be thought of as a condensed 5 act structure. The Exposition and Rising action are somewhat combined together to serve as an act 1 with a mini climax at the end of act 1. Then, in act 2, there’s more Rising Action, more obstacles to overcome, usually with some sort of midpoint in which a big twist happens. In Buddy Road Trip Movies, this is usually the annoying point at which they split up for some reason before coming back together for whatever the climax is, which falls at the end of Act 2. Act 3 is composed of the end of the climax, the falling action, the resolution, and the dénouement, the time of emotional release and seeing our characters ride off into the sunset.

Well, I’d say Sherlock fits much more securely in this narrative structure. You have the exposition of the fist episode, with the inciting incident coming at the Cabbie saying Moriarty’s name. The rest of the season is more buildup, with the end of The Great Game acting as the climax of act one (and one of the biggest fucking cliffhangers ever). Then we have the resolution of the climax of act one, more rising action, and the the big climax of act 2 with Sherlock jumping. The first two seasons of Sherlock fit much better into the 3 act narrative than into a 5 act narrative.

Sherlock’s Structure

That’s not to say the show doesn’t fit into the 5 act narrative at all. It isn’t uncommon for stories to have multiple ‘climaxes’, smaller ‘peaks’ in the narrative structure that add tension and draw audiences in to the story being told. Each peak just needs to be ‘higher’, with the stakes rising and the climax getting more and more tense each time (this is one of the reasons why big superhero movie franchises constantly feel the need to one up themselves when it comes to the size and scope of the final climax of the movie and why its often so hard to do that with later movies - once you create an ‘Avengers level threat’, where do you go with the story from there?) And, admittedly, the end of the ‘third act’, the end of season 3, does come with a pretty big climactic moment that ‘one ups’ the previous climaxes: Moriarty returning. There’s just one little problem: this is almost immediately resolved.

If we ignore The Abominable Bride for a moment and focus just on the ‘actual’ episodes of each season, act 3 ends with Sherlock shooting Magnessun and Moriarty returning and act 4 starts with both of those issues already resolved. It’s the gaming playthrough equivalent in Minecraft of ‘I did some mining offscreen’. Even though, technically, there wasn’t anything done ‘offscreen’ to resolve the conflict (except for editing a video of Sherlock shooting Magnessun), we never see anything done on screen to resolve the problems, especially not the problem of Moriarty. Sherlock simply dismisses it as not real and moves on. ‘Moriarty isn’t really alive, this is just some plan from beyond the grave that I can deal with easily because I am the great Sherlock Holmes.’ The climax wasn’t really a climax. It just kinda fizzled out, and then the story moves on to instead deal with Mary. Now, we later come to learn that Moriarty had, actually, returned ... in a round about sort of way. We learn of Euros and everything she had done behind the scenes, directing Moriarty, and how the climax at the end of act 3 is linked with her. Ignoring all the plot problems that come with her, the biggest problem with her is placement: her story is in the wrong spot. Her story, the part that finally gets around to explaining and resolving the ‘big climax at the end of act 3′ doesn’t happen until the end of act 4, when we’re supposed to be drawing to the end of the falling action and about to enter the dénouement. That’s not to say that ‘climaxes’ can’t happen in the falling action, because they can. The caveat is that they have to be smaller than whatever the ‘big’ climax of the story is (and that the big climax of the story needs to be resolved in a satisfying way). The climaxes in the 4th act have to simply be what happens while trying to tie up the lose ends of the story. The Final Problem acts as a resolution to the climax of act 3, but it happens almost an entire act after when it is supposed to, with no sort of rising action or narrative structure to fit the two stories, the two pieces of the narrative puzzle, together. Nothing in The Six Thatchers or in The Lying Detective really link Moriarty’s return at the end of act 3 with The Final Problem. The other issue with The Final Problem is that it attempts to fit all of the falling action and the dénouement into the end of the episode. Not even all into one episode, but to fit everything into, like, the last 5 minutes of the episode. The end montage with Mary’s voice over feels very much like a ‘riding into the sunset’ kind of moment, even if you believe there will be a fifth season. You just can’t resolve a story in 5 minutes. You can’t fit two whole acts into 5 minutes and it feel like a satisfying story. And if there is another season, the end sequence of The Final Problem just throws another wrench in the Freytag narrative structure.

Basically, what I’m getting at is, no matter which way you try to look at it, Sherlock doesn’t fit neatly into clearly established narrative structures. Which isn’t inherently a bad thing. Stories don’t have to fit into a 3 act or 5 act structure or even follow the Freytag narrative structure at all to be good stories. However, most of the stories we consume today, most of the books we read and movies we watch and, to a certain extent, the overarching plot of many TV shows we watch, fall into this narrative structure. While there are plenty of stories out there that don’t, in any way, fit into these structures, the point is that it is a narrative structure we are familiar with and that Sherlock attempts to fit into it. Sherlock makes it look like it’s going to fit into that narrative structure. And then it doesn’t. After growing up experiencing all these stories that very clearly follow the Freytag narrative structure, we expect stories that attempt to fall into that narrative structure to stay in that narrative structure. To follow it all the way through. It leaves audience members extremely unsatisfied if it doesn’t. This is why even if all the plot holes and inconsistencies and the characters being out of character were resolved, even if the Extended Mind Palace theory turns out to be true or John’s Bungalow theory or whatever other theory you could come up with to resolve season 4, the narrative structure of Sherlock will never be satisfying. It’s the reason why people have proposed different orders for watching the Star Wars movies or watching the Avengers movies. Because we understand how these stories are supposed to work and end up feeling unsatisfied when the curtain closes and the lights come back up. We want that familiar structure, that release of emotion that we have come to expect from clearly established narration that we are accustomed to. This is the problem inherent with Sherlock. Not the secret sister that seemed to come out of nowhere. Not the inconsistencies or characters knowing things they shouldn’t or doing things they shouldn’t. Not even Redbeard being a boy and not a dog, but the very foundation of the show itself. It’s narration. Because the ‘final’ climax is likely going to have to fit itself into the 5th season (especially if the Extended Mind Palace Theory is correct and we have a ‘it was all just a dream moment’), a resolution to the problem, all the falling action, AND the dénouement are all going to have to be shoved into the 5th act. Which is likely going to make for a story that feels very rushed.

That’s why I have a proposition: a restructuring of the story. This doesn’t resolve plot holes, but it does, I think, make the story more satisfying. It’s moving things around kind of a lot, so things might get a little messy.

Okay, everything is almost exactly the same through season 3, with the one change being that the clues pointing towards another sibling, the build up of it, happens over the course of season 3 instead of season 4. The Abominable Bride doesn’t really matter in this retelling, so take it or leave it as you wish (personally, I choose to take it). The first episode of the 4th season still has Rosie being born and the very beginning of the episode (with the footage of Sherlock shooting Magnussen being altered and Sherlock being dismissive of Moriarty’s return), but everything that happens in The Final Problem happens in this episode. So, discovery of a secret sister, Sherrinford, confrontation of a secret sister, murder games, all of it happens in the first episode of the 4th season. The climax with Moriarty’s return is resolved when it is supposed to be. However unsatisfying it is that he isn’t actually back, at least the narrative flows in this way. The second episode of season 4 is an entirely new story, something that starts the resolution of Sherlock having a secret sister and of obvious trauma from when he was a child. In The Final Problem, Mycroft mentions that he gave Eurus ‘gifts’ for her assistance in fixing problems, so perhaps a problem comes up that Mycroft and Sherlock can’t solve, and they have the moral dilemma of whether or not they should go to Eurus and whether or not her demands will be worth her help. IDK, I’m just spit balling here. The last episode of the season is also a new episode, something that emphasizes the Johnlock dilemma, something that brings into focus John’s feelings for Sherlock and Sherlock’s feelings for John. Something that explicitly shows their attraction for each other and the problems getting in the way of them being together (Mary, heternormativity, maybe John having internalized homophobia, idk), but they don’t actually get together. The first episode of the 5th season is The Six Thatchers, and Mary dies. That episode plays out basically exactly as it is. The episode still ends with John extremely mad at Sherlock and not wanting to be around him. The second episode is the Lying Detective, basically completely as it is. The final episode of the season and the show is them talking through everything, The Reichenbach Fall and why Sherlock left for two years (because that’s not something they seem to have discussed at any point), the pain John still feels over Mary being dead, the feelings both of them have towards each other, and some sort of case to show them that they are still the good friends of the first two acts, that things haven’t really changed. That regardless of whatever romantic attraction they may or may not have for each other, they still deeply care about each other and want to be in each other’s lives. Something to show us how their lives will play out in the future, that they’ll continue to solve cases together. Hell, you can still have the end montage with Mary’s voice over if you want. It’s certainly a lot more fitting there. In my personal opinion (though others can disagree with me if they like), the most fitting ‘resolution’ to John and Sherlock’s attraction towards each other isn’t actually a resolution, but a beginning. I say, after the end montage and Mary’s voice over, cut to the two of them on a nervous date with each other, obviously not knowing what the hell to do but excited about the possibilities of the future. It leaves things open to the imagination for the audience (which is always nice, especially for fanfiction potential) and it doesn’t try to cram too much into a short amount of time (I really feel like trying to show them long term dating or getting married or anything like that would just be pushing it as far as narrative flow).

I’m not saying my proposed solution solves everything. There’s still plenty of issues to either have to work through or ignore with my version of events. Plenty of plot holes and character inconsistencies. But at least my version of events makes sense, at least narratively speaking. It follows the five act structure Mofftiss say they are so fond of. (If you want to say that The Six Thatchers would work better as the end of act 4, serving as the last episode of season 4, and then have The Lying Detective serve as the first episode of season 5 with a completely new episode as the second episode and then another new episode as the final resolution of what life for our Baker Street boys will be like in the future, I would also accept that proposed version of events; it does allow for more evolution of John and Sherlock’s relationship as a couple, though it does leave things less open ended for the two of them. If you prefer that, that’s valid. If you would rather stick to a 3 act structure, then keep The Empty Hearse exactly as it is, have The Sign of Three as it is but with Sherlock and John getting married, and pretend like season 3 ends with the montage of John, Sherlock, and Rosie and just pretend like John and Sherlock adopted a little girl. If you would prefer that version of events, that is also valid.) Even with all the other issues that come with seasons 3 and 4, this version of events just feels more satisfying, at least to me.

(Something I wanted to point out but couldn’t find a good place to insert it, so I’m just adding it as a footnote now: that’s why The Hounds of Baskerville feels kinda out of place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great episode, but it always seemed to stick out like a sore thumb to me. And that’s because it does, narratively speaking: it doesn’t contribute to the rising action. All the other episodes in the first 2 seasons contribute and lead back to Moriarty in some form or fashion; they act as an evolving narrative leading to the Reichenbach Fall. Except for The Hounds Of Baskerville. It is it’s own, separate narrative. It’s a good narrative. It’s one of the best narratives in the show, if I’m being honest. But it still is out of place. It would fit much better as the second episode of the first season, acting as a continued exposition of the first act before we get the first (not so) mini climax with The Great Game. Narratively speaking, it would make more sense to switch The Hounds of Baskerville with The Blind Banker.)

TL;DR first of all, understandable, this is a very long post. Second, the narrative structure of the show itself is fucky, and that’s why season 4 will never feel satisfying, no matter what happens in a possible season 5 to try and resolve the fuckery of season 4

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dsoe-masteroftheheavenlyyard · 3 years

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Chapter 5–BLACKBOX; Scene 5

master of the heavenly yard pages 115-123

Arth took refuge inside the palace with everyone who had been nearby.

It was a spur of the moment action, but it appeared to be a fairly correct decision.

“We should be able to hold out here for a little while.”

“…But there’s no guarantee we’ll remain safe here,” Anne replied, remaining calm even as she listened to the illusory palace creak.

Someone staggered as they came down the stairs.

“Miss Lily!”

Yukina went to go greet her, supporting her by the shoulder as she walked her over to Arth and the others.

“Looks like you’ve been through an ordeal, young miss Muchet.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be much use, Your Majesty. …What is that box?”

“Not sure…But we figure it’s the ‘method for erasing souls’ that Mariam was talking about. Judging by the fact that its effect seems weaker against this palace—an imaginary object that souls have created—”

“So it really is a weapon that specializes in the erasure of souls. I wonder what’ll come first, the destruction of the palace or the abatement of the box’s power…”

“Nothing’s going to get resolved from wishing. We have to do something about it…”

But there was no one who could make any suggestion to the king on how.

“…”

Despair.

The word that Arth hated the most.

But he couldn’t think of any other phrase that could convey their current situation.

Is there…is there nothing we can do!?

“—My my, look at the man who was king of Lucifenia of all people making such a timid expression.”

Everyone present turned to look toward the voice they could hear from the entrance.

The first to give a cry of surprise was Yukina. “M-miss Gumillia!?”

But the other woman shook her head.

“…No. It’s just an accidental resemblance?”

“B-but, even so you look just like her—”

“In this world, people who resemble each other come in threes.” Then she briskly walked up to Arth. “King, don’t lose hope. The more agitated everyone becomes, the faster the palace will be destroyed.”

“…What’s the meaning of this?”

“The palace has taken shape by the imagination of everyone here. If their will wavers then naturally—"

“I’m not asking about that! I want to know why your appearance has changed.”

An expression of shock came to her face at those words. “--! You—know my identity…”

“Though it sounds like I’m the only one who’s realized.”

“Looks that way…But please, call me ‘Nemesis’ for right now. I want to avoid riling everyone up any further.”

“Alright. Well then—Nemesis. Do you have some idea?”

“I do. Just leave everything to me now. I shall safely put a stop to that box.”

“…Then I will rely on you. Try not to do anything rash.”

Nemesis nodded and then walked past Arth.

--She was heading for the roof of the palace.

The force of the “Blackbox” had not grown weaker, the black vortex continuing to spread.

The box itself had gotten quite close to the palace.

Nemesis looked upon it with an air of composure.

At this range…it should connect.

The “Blackbox” could make use of a power that was unrivaled when it came to souls.

However, when it came to a soul like Nemesis, protected by a physical body—a “spirit cage”—it had no effect.

That “black box” wasn’t a weapon to start with.

It’s simply a device for use in experiments. It’s delicate equipment.

Kyle had been unable to destroy the box.

A monster making use of the power of the “Demon of Pride” was without a doubt the strongest around—but ultimately he was nothing more than a soul himself.

I’ve come to know…quite a bit about that box, and the rules of this world.

It was true that even if one was a soul, they could still touch physical objects, and have an effect on them.

But it seemed this had limits.

If a soul were to attack an item or person that actually existed, their power level was reduced dramatically.

I was never really the type to play computer games, but…

Nemesis recalled a conversation she had once exchanged with a friend long, long ago.

“—Ah, that’s not right, Miss Barisol. Magic doesn’t work on that guy.”

“…Hey. Do I have to keep doing this? I want to get back to my research soon.”

“You need to take a breather every once in a while. Play a game, even.”

“…Feels like I’m getting more stressed, not less.”

“Anyway, the cyclops has a magic resistance of 90%, so you’ve gotta attack him with physics.”

“I don’t get this. How can such a puny man as the protagonist have any effect on such an enormous monster just by swinging a sword around?”

“It’s a game.”

“Sigh…”

“You should learn the combat system of this game first, Miss Barisol. Generally attacks on things with opposite attributes doesn’t work in this. Use physics for physics, and magic for magic!”

“Alright alright, I got it…Miss Hazuki—"

Evillious, Lucifenia, Elphegort—

All of these names had been given by Hazuki.

She had said that they were names that featured in her favorite game.

If this is like the “Blackbox” that I know, then its structure should be largely unchanged. The frailest point in it that’s the easiest to break should be…”

Nemesis readied her gun.

The bullets were loaded.

But she only had five shots left. She didn’t have any spares.

She couldn’t waste a single one.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…

She carefully set her aim.

She aligned her sight towards a gap in the box…a place where wiring could faintly be seen.

…Physics for physics!

As she cried that out in her mind, she pulled the trigger.

The tremors in the palace stopped.

Upon seeing that, Arth looked up to the ceiling.

--Did you succeed, Elluka!?

Yukina ran to the window, and immediately let out a cheer.

“…She did it! The box is falling to the ground!”

Allen looked on in amazement as the box ceased functioning and started to fall, shooting out fireworks.

--But he quickly regained himself and shouted at everyone, “Fall back! It’s heading this way!”

Germaine and the others heeded his words and started to run in the opposite direction from the box.

A few seconds later—

BOOOM!

With an enormous thud, the box crashed to the ground.

“…There was no need to get so worked up,” Leonhart muttered, turning around. The box had landed farther away than they’d anticipated, as though it had changed course mid-fall.

They all decided to watch it for a little while, to be on guard against any explosions.

“—It’s over,” Mariam said to Allen, her expression one of great suffering.

“Yeah. But…at the cost of a lot of victims.”

“…I wonder what happened to the people who were sucked up into the box?”

“Nemesis said that the ‘Blackbox’ might have the function to shift souls to an alternate dimension.”

“Nemesis?”

“Ah, erm…I mean Elluka. Some things have happened, and that’s the name she’s going by now.”

“--! Where is she now--?”

“She came to the battleground with me. I’m positive that she’s the one who brought the box down just now.”

“I see…Then well done, Elluka,” Mariam whispered earnestly.

But then her expression immediately grew grave again.

“If it can move them to another dimension, then that means—”

“…We may never see them again…”

The battle had ended in favor of the improvised Lucifenian army.

But the souls that had been swallowed up by the dreadful box would never return…

…Or so they thought.

“Heeey, yannow!”

They could hear a careless shout from the direction of the box.

Everyone there immediately knew who it was from.

“Chartette!”

Germaine broke into a run, and others followed suit.

--Chartette was walking towards them, supporting a once again human Kyle on her shoulder.

<<prev------directory ------next>>

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jadekitty777 · 4 years

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Brewing the Storm

Here we go folks! Those of you familiar with me know I tend to have a “favorite” whenever I do a ship week... and this small piece is it! I hope you’ll all enjoy it too.

Day 5: Last Kiss @taiqrowweek

Rating: K

Words: 3,000

Summary: With Beacon in ruins and the fallout creeping over the horizon, Taiyang's only goal is to keep his family safe. Even if it means lying to them. [Takes place Post-Volume 3]

Ao3 Link: Brewing the Storm

He’d read once in an article found in one of the many throwaway magazines doctors and dentists always set out to preoccupy their patients with, that it was considered ‘healthy’ for there to be conflict in a relationship. The column had laid out bullet points on how fighting could communicate feelings, build trust and even increase intimacy. At the time, young and recently divorced, he’d scoffed at it, certain he’d never read something more ridiculous.

Now, two marriages and two decades later, Tai still scoffed at it as he angrily whisked the egg whites. His scowl only grew more pronounced as he heard the telltale footsteps of his husband entering the kitchen. He had to resist the urge to just turn around and snap at him to get out of his ‘room’, childish as it was. The kitchen door was pulled shut, offering a pretense of privacy before they got started.

“You can’t protect her forever you know.”

And there it was.

“Really? That’s how you’re going to start?” Tai snapped, setting the bowl down with enough force it nearly cracked.

Qrow gauged him as he rounded the dining table, resting himself back against the open end of it. Enough distance to not encroach onto either of their personal spaces, but not so much it felt like they had to shout at one another. Neither had ever been shy about getting into each other’s faces during an argument – but time and experience had taught them that level of aggression tended to drive them into poor directions afterwards. It was never pleasant to have to attend a bar at 2 AM to drag an absolutely smashed Qrow home; just as he knew it wasn’t any more a joy to deal with him locked in their bedroom and unable to come out.

So, they’d long ago made a pact to keep a divide between one another whenever they were angry with each other. It usually made Tai feel a little better, whenever Qrow remembered.

“I’m not going to apologize, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

Today, he was too furious to even notice. “No, of course you wouldn’t. Because then you’d have to admit you were wrong.”

Qrow scowled, crossing his arms. “Wrong about what Tai? That Ruby should know the eyes that she just accidentally happened to use is going to catch the attention of an enemy she isn’t even aware exists?”

“She’s not ready!”

“Well shit, you’re right.” His tone was mockingly affronted. “Why don’t we get a little care package together for Salem with a little note attached.” He raised a hand, punctuating the air in front of him as if he were pressing the words onto paper, “‘Please don’t attack until Ruby is a full-fledged Huntress. Thanks.’”

He breathed out through his nose. “Quit being an asshole.”

“Once you stop being unreasonable.”

“Unreasonable?!” He bellowed. “Hundreds are dead Qrow! Students older than Ruby! Some of them were students of ours!”

“And their experience didn’t save them either!” He shouted right over him. “Face it Tai, this isn’t about doing the best thing for her, it’s about you trying to rule over something you can’t control!”

“I don’t want to put another grave next to Summer’s!”

In the wake of his scream, there was emptiness. Nothing in the air left except their harsh breathes and regret.

The first one to move was Qrow – but his destination was disheartening as he yanked open one of the cabinets, pulling out a bottle of rum. He didn’t bother with a glass. “I know, but you don’t get to make that choice. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll let those kids live their fucking lives.”

With those parting words, he left the room.

Tai never felt so alone.

A week later, the first snow of the season hit. The storm had blown in overnight, bringing down fat, drifting flakes that coated the ground within the hour and continued on throughout the evening. By morning, mounds of it covered every inch of the yard. The leafless trees bent with the weight and the pine trees in the surrounding forest looked festive with their speckles of green bursting through the ice.

In years past, the first sign of winter had always been met with a level of unrestrained energy. Yang and Ruby would race down the stairs, cheering over the lack of school as Signal would close for the day to allow the students one chance to play. When the girls were young, they’d take them out, where there would be snowball fights and built up forts and, if the storm was really good like this one, they’d go up into the surrounding hills to do some sledding.

As they grew older, neither of the girls wanted to ‘hang out’ with their dorky dads and met up with friends instead. It left the house to Tai and Qrow. Typically, they’d make some homemade hot chocolate, get a nice fire going in the hearth, and bundle up together on the couch and watch old movies until it was dark. It was a relaxing, comfortable way of spending it together. That tradition eventually faded away, as Qrow’s missions took more and more of his time away, until he was almost never back in time for the Snow Day.

It was clear that, despite having everyone there, from the gloomy atmosphere that permeated every nook and cranny of their home, it would be the quietest year yet.

Tai wandered down the eerily silent halls, feeling like a stranger in his own house. Both the girls’ doors were open. With them still gaining back their strength, he wanted them to have a way to call for him if they needed anything. A quick glance into Yang’s room proved she was still asleep – but Ruby was already up. Her back was to the window, eyes intent on something on her phone.

He paused in the threshold, catching her attention. “Good morning. How ‘bout some breakfast?”

“Sure dad.” She smiled feebly. Her eyes looked red around the edges, making him think she’d been up for awhile.

His chest hurt, seeing it, so he smiled twice as big right back, “Alright, it’ll be up soon.” And continued on his way, thinking the world was more unfair then it ought to be.

Getting downstairs only amplified the feeling, realizing Qrow was neither in the living room or the kitchen. He had been spending less and less time home since their argument and they’d barely spoken to one another even when he was around. Not that a conversation was often possible, since when he did bother to return, he was smelling worse than a brewery and acting like his motor functions had been inversed like a bad video game mechanic.

Tai tried not to feel guilty, knowing it would eat at his resolve faster than acid. The rampant increase to Qrow’s addiction had little to do with him and more to do with the sudden chaotic state of the world and the loss of a friend. He was probably feeling confused and uncertain of his way forward without Oz to guide him and-

Focus, Tai. Take one day at a time. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Ruby first, then he’d check in on Yang and then finally text his wayward husband after he was mostly certain he’d awoken from whatever stupor he’d drunken himself into. With that battle plan in mind, he started up his playlist on his scroll, pulled out the dough that had been chilling overnight, and got to work.

It was nearly an hour later he was sprinkling the last of the powdered sugar atop the freshly made chocolate chip scones. He set a few of them onto a plate, then decorated it further with some strawberries before placing it on the serving tray. He poured a cup of Jasmine tea from the still warm kettle before adding it and an apple and finally surveyed his work. Light, flavorful, and full of his youngest’s favorites that might just be enough to put a real smile back on her face.

With a satisfied nod, he picked up the whole thing and started his way upstairs. As he passed by, he took note Yang was finally up. She was staring intently at a red-eyed blackbird outside her window that caused him to pause. After studying it and making sure it didn’t have a little feather crown, he moved on, knowing it wasn’t Qrow.

He didn’t want to think of who else it might be.

Instead, he stepped into the adjacent room, his daughter’s name already on his tongue.

The tray crashed loudly on the ground as he stared into the empty room, some drawers still open to indicate hastily put together gear and a single note resting on the rumpled bedsheets. He didn’t bother to read it, the horrible, sudden realization hitting him harder than an Ursa’s palm strike. Ears suddenly rushing as panic overwhelmed him, he sprinted back down the hall, leaping over the railing without a second thought.

He hardly felt the way the landing jarred his bones nor the way the cold of the frigid morning clung to his skin as he made his way outside, yelling at the top of his lungs, “RUBY!!”

The silence that replied felt like it might crush him.

Tai clutched at his shirt, certain his sternum was about to snap. No. Nononono. This wasn’t, she hadn’t…

Yet as his gaze fell upon the ground, spotting four sets of footprints heading down the front yard path, rapidly disappearing under the blanket of snow, he knew there was nothing left to doubt.

“God damn it Sums, why is she so much like you?” He cursed lowly, racing after the trail.

The docks weren’t far, just a few miles east. There would be delays, surely. Ruby was certainly still there, waiting for the next ferry. What a rude awakening she would get, when she finds out all she’d been waiting for was him grounding her into next century!

But just in case…

He pulled out his scroll, dialing a number by heart. “Pick up… come on, pick up!”

A click as the line finally opened. “This is Qrow.”

“Qrow-!”

“Unless this is important, buzz off.” Then the voicemail ended with a long-toned beep.

Tai could have screamed. “Qrow, it’s Tai. Call me when you get this. Ruby’s run off.”

He ended the call, only to immediately call again. Each ring seemed to drill at his eardrums until the message picked up again. He cut the call, frustration nearly making him fumble the device out of his hand. Just as he was about to try again, a sharp alert had him pulling it back.

Following after her.

He almost ran himself into a tree staring at that message, the three words saying almost nothing and way too much at the same time. He slammed his thumb into the call button – but predictably, Qrow didn’t bother to pick up this time either. That, or he had already shifted, leaving him unable to answer.

He tried texting anyways. Where are you? I’ll meet you there.

The lack of response stretched on. He tried not to focus on it, pocketing it so he could double his pace, the snow doing little to slow him.

He made it to the moor in record time, but even as he crossed the pier, he knew he was too late. There weren’t many people out and the few that were certainly weren’t wearing a prominent red hood. The Olympia wasn’t in its port either, and as he peered out across the water, couldn’t even spot a speck of it on the horizon.

What did catch his eyes was a little higher, a small form coasting underneath the cloud-line. His heart jumped, and he ran to the very edge of the pier. “QROW! COME BACK!”

His yell was as futile as the last, for the bird did not wheel around nor even seemed to hear him at all. As he watched him get further until he too became too hard to see, a terrifying thought hit him. What… What if that was the last time he ever saw him?

The guilt he’d been pushing down finally clawed its way free. Ravaged up his throat. Stung at his eyes. What a damn fool he was.

He took a breath, but his second attempt was nothing more than a weak, cracking, “Qrow…”

He didn’t expect an answer.

“Yeah?”

He spun almost immediately, his cascading emotions catching onto the ledge and holding tight as he caught sight of the worn and weary huntsman who stood only a few feet away.

He must have looked like quite the sight himself, because Qrow regarded him cautiously, saying quickly, “She’s only got a bit of a lead. I should be able to – Tai? What are you-?”

He crossed the distance between them with a crazed fervor, not letting him duck away as he grabbed onto an arm. Before the other man could even think to fight it, Tai was pulling him into a tight embrace. He buried his face into the side of his neck, breathing in the distinct scent of pine and whiskey that was Qrow.

It was several long moments before the tension trickled away, and long fingers found their way into his hair. Soothing. Familiar. “Hey, what’s all this about?”

“I just,” He tried to say. Like he had tried to keep things together. Like he had tried to lift his daughters’ wounded spirits. Like he had tried to hold onto hope. Everything within him shook. “I didn’t want to last thing between us to be a fight.”

The fingers in his hair froze. Qrow dropped his forehead to his hair, breathing out a frail, “Oh.”

Under the days that had been long and horrible, his emotions finally let go and Tai broke.

He was never one to cry, at least not the way most people did. There was no heaving sobs or hiccups, no wailing in pain. Rather, it tended to come forth with as little preamble as an early spring drizzle, light and almost soundless, but still there wetting the ground. He knew Qrow felt the slide of tears along his neck when another arm wound around his shoulders, his lean body melding against his. He spoke to him in soft, dulcet notes, but Tai didn’t so much pay attention to the words as much as the tone, letting it eventually calm the shivers and the tears.

Until he could find the strength to pull away, just enough to look up at him. “Do you know how terrifying it was, seeing the broadcast get hijacked? Having to go out to protect anyone I could when the panic set in, the entire time not knowing if you guys were alright? I’ve never felt more helpless.”

“I know.” Qrow murmured, the stony mask he’d been trying to keep up since everything went down finally crumbling, revealing the uncertainty and fear underneath. “I’m scared too, Tai. But trying to shelter Ruby and Yang like those four walls are enough to protect them from… whatever’s coming is foolish. And I know you know that, ‘cause you’re the same guy who did everything he could to give them the tools to survive this world.” His hand cupped his jaw, a thumb brushing over his cheek. “So what’s really going on, huh?”

He lowered his head, shame creeping up on him. “It’s just me. You two leaving, putting yourselves in danger – I can’t handle that. I’m not strong enough anymore. Or maybe I never was.”

“Bullshit.”

He blinked. Looked up. “What?”

“Bullshit.” Qrow repeated. “Tai, I’ve seen you get kicked down over and over again, and every time you get back up and ask for more. You take chances, put yourself on the line to hurt, in ways I wish I could. You may be a lot of things, but weak is not one of them.”

“Oh yeah?” Tai sniffled, wiped the rest of his tears away on the sleeve of his shirt. “Then what would you call me?”

“Mm… Handsome. Gentle. Kind.” A smirk quirked the edge of his lips. “A little stupid.”

He made an affronted sound, pushing his face away. “You jerk!”

“Heh, not an adjective, but I’ll take it.”

Tai rolled his eyes, but his gaze softened as Qrow nuzzled against his hand. He shifted so he could cup his face, tracing his features, ran a thumb through his scruff. “You’ll watch over her?”

“Always.” Qrow vowed.

“And… you’ll try and take care of yourself too?”

He dropped his chin, kissing his fingers. “Yeah.”

There were a thousand more things he wanted to make him promise – but he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. Trying to stall him, so he didn’t have to say goodbye. Never had to feel or wonder if this might be the last time.

He swallowed down another rush of emotion. “And you know I love you?”

Qrow replies, just as he had a thousand times before, “As sure as the sun rises.” before dipping his head, catching his mouth in a kiss.

Tai held him there as long as he could, until he had no choice but to let him go.

Watching the bird take to the wind only hurt a little less this time around. He stayed there on the pier, even long after Qrow had disappeared on the horizon, frozen like the ice around him. Whispered prayers to the Gods above that he’d see his daughter and husband again. Prayed that that kiss would not be their last. By the time he found the strength to move, a scatter of snow fell off him. A miniature storm he could finally let go of.

#taiyang xiao long #qrow branwen #Taiqrow #taiqrowweek #rwby #fanfiction #Chase Firekitten's Tale

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plexxable-reads · 4 years

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REVIEW: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

✪✪✪✪✪

Read: 7/22/20-7/26/20

Okay, pals. Buckle up.

I want to start this review with a confession— I DNF Game of Thrones...

I know, I know. Scold me. GRRM's style and prose is just way too slow for me. To me, he writes like he has severe ADD, and I mean no offense to anyone with attention deficit problems, but I can't read a saga that derails itself over and over and over ad nauseam. I just can't do it, can't get into it. Thank goodness GoT translated very well onto the screen (ignoring the final season that I just have decided to wipe from my memory Eternal Sunshine style to deal with the grief, obvi), or I might not have ever become familiar with that world.

I bring this up as introduction because Rebecca Roanhorse is a brilliant author and I will take this statement to my grave. She has not only managed to build a brilliantly lush and visceral world like so many legendary fantasy storytellers have done before her, but she managed to do so without needless expository! Nothing was missed, nothing was left unsaid necessarily, but I could just tell that she was very intentional with where she decided to embellish, and from a reader standpoint it absolutely thrilled me! So, thank you Rebecca for knowing that it wasn't necessary to launch into an entire 5 paragraph expository section, detailing (view spoiler)

There several other examples where she chose not to divulge useless information for the sake of taking up a page, but this one was the first time I really was like, "Oh, wow, thank god.. T H A N K Y O U".

I'm not going to go into too much crazy detail as far as plot and characters go, I'm not that kind of reviewer, and you have a very fine summary provided by the author/publisher at the top of the goodreads page, bookstore description, etc. but here's a little synopsis in case you haven't actually read anything about this book before reading this review:

This epic takes place pre-columbian infiltration, so like our author, its characters are indigenous (YES PLEASE LOVE). Thus, the lore that Roanhorse introduces us to is influenced by a lot of real native customs and culture. Every chapter begins with telling us where on the map we are, and gives us a timeline in relation to the Convergence: when the Sun, Moon, and Earth all are in alignment. The first character we are introduced to is a young boy, 10 years before convergence, Serapio. His mother carves sigils into his skin, and blinds him, because she believes he is The Crow God. It's difficult to talk much about Serapio without getting into spoiler territory, so I'll just leave it at that he's endlessly fascinating, and a far more intruiging take on GoT's (not to keep bringing this comparison back....) Bran. I have a lot of mixed up feelings about Ser, and I think anyone who has finished the book can understand why. We don't return to that timeline for some time, as the next main character we meet, 20 days from convergence, is Xiala—a ship captain and a drunk, to be direct. We meet her in a jail cell, locked up for public indecency and getting physical with a Lord Pech. She is bailed out by another merchant lord, Lord Balam, on the promise that she is to captain a ship carrying precious cargo, that must arrive across the map before convergence. Although Xiala insists to Balam that there's not enough time and that it cannot be done, he seems oddly confident that she'll do as he desires. Xiala is incredibly likeable, the kind of heroine that I love to relate to. She's moody, she's super comfortable with her (pan)sexuality... oh, and she's a Teek: she can hold influence over water. Pretty handy in her profession, as you might imagine. Our third main character in the same aforementioned timeline, is newly appointed Sun God, Naranpa. I have a great deal of love for Naranpa—she ascended despite coming from a common clan, not of Sky Made, like all of the other priesthood. She's a realist, and has very keen instincts for people: Iktan— her nonbinary sheild, knife, and former lover (who is the first character to feature nonbinary pronouns!!) is one that I'm still not sure how to feel about. That said, Abah her priesthood nemisis, can go straight to hell. Fuck Abah. The final main character arc that we follow along the timeline towards the Convergence is Okoa— Prince of Tova, Carrior Crow. His journey starts later in the timeline because he's only brought in when (view spoiler). He is so essential to the plot, and I'm excited to learn more of him from a more personal level in the installments of the series to come.

The other choice of note that had me grinning from ear to ear and screaming, "Y E S S S S S" at 2am, most likely waking my husband, dog, and our neighbors: Xe, Xir, Xed freakin pronouns. NONBINARY PEOPLE, YALL. YES, NOT JUST ONE. YES. YES. What a treat.

I gotta tell you guys, I have, like many, been making a much more conscientious effort to read more fiction by BIPOC authors, and I am kicking myself and my privilege for not doing so sooner. BIPOC authors are murdering the fantasy/sci-fi game right now, and this is just another brilliant example.

Frankly, if HBO or Netflix doesn't option

Black Sun

for a series, they would honestly be pretty fuckin stupid.

Btw, here's a map just in case you're like me and thought while reading an ARC,

hmmmm, I'm loving this but I'd really like a map...

https://simonandschusterpublishing.co...

Okay, I'm done rambling, but seriously: this is in my top 5 favorites of the year. It's amazing. Endofstory.

ENJOY!

#black sun #rebecca roanhorse #netgalley #book review #book blog

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eponymous-rose · 5 years

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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E50 (Feb. 5, 2019)

Are any of us ever, really, on the internet?

This week’s guests are Taliesin Jaffe and Matt Mercer!

Brian shames Taliesin and Matt for (to be fair, accidentally) pouring coke in with their 22-year-old scotch. I am also physically pained by this. I may need a minute to compose myself. (@loquaciousquark: “I like how you’re Brian in this and I’m Matt.”)

Announcements: MAME drop airs three hours before Talks every week! Next week’s Between the Sheets will feature Will Friedle, and last night’s episode featured Quyen Tran! Critical Role will be taking this coming Thursday off, and Talks Machina will be taking next Tuesday off, but the show returns on Valentine’s Day!

But for now, let’s jump into Episode 50: The Endless Burrows

Stats for this week’s ep: Fjord got the 50th HDYWTDT in the 50th episode! The Roper’s crit on Caleb would have one-shotted him had Caduceus not reduced it by negating the crit. Spurt is the first on-screen guest player character death in the history of the show. Chris Perkins was at the table for 22 minutes and 15 seconds. Taliesin: “That’s an episode of network television right there.”

Chris was in town unexpectedly, and asked if he could come watch the show. Matt had written Spurt as an NPC character, just to see how the M9 would react to him. As he was driving to the studio, he realized it could be a lot of fun to let Chris play the character instead. Chris was on board, and Matt told him “You’ll know when to jump in,” and that was that. Nobody else had any idea he was going to be playing.

Caduceus is “in his element but out of his element” underground. “He’s looking for things to be excited about. Not a lot of things to be excited about here. It’s kind of awful.” Taliesin is trying to let him be a little more tactical, to just take care of things and do what needs to be done. “He’s on edge, but it’s a healthy edge.”

Matt clarifies that the party haven’t really emerged into the Underdark---they’re just skimming the edges of it. After spending a lot of time there in the last campaign, Matt didn’t necessarily want to bring it back there again.

Caduceus doesn’t see the group as being deceitful so much as just people who haven’t had the option of being open before. “He’s trying to make that option available.” Part of his training at the temple involved talking to people, helping them feel better, and helping them open up, so this is nothing new to him. Matt: “The solitary therapist.” Taliesin: “He really, really likes them.”

Spurt was originally intended to be a potential hindrance to keep the group from getting past the fire giants stealthily, if he wound up coming along with them. Turned out he... sort of removed himself from that equation.

On the parade of tragic backstories: “I don’t think Clay fully comprehends how bad this all is. I don’t know if he can comprehend art film horror. ‘That’s rough, man.’“ Matt: “He’s the Fred Tatasciore of the group.” Everyone is delighted by that comparison.

Matt was looking for opportunities to bring tragic backstories together. Taliesin calls it a “car crash” approach.

Why are D&D characters often so tragic? Taliesin: “It’s harder to make an interesting happy person.” Matt: “That’s true, but it’s not impossible.” He talks about how it’s natural to try to build something into a character’s backstory to propel them into the dangers of adventure. It’s also the opportunity for a player to work through something they’re going through out-of-game in a safe, cathartic way.

Caduceus is “still a little lanky”. Taliesin points out that this is to be expected because he’s a “vegan on the road”. There’s a long discussion about how the food he makes is “basically semi-firm tofu”.

Matt freaks out a bit about the unintentional callback... VM also being a mid-level party descending into the Underdark in search of a halfling and almost losing a rogue’s foot to lava. A lot of things had to go a particular way for that to happen, and he definitely wasn’t expecting it, especially since he was consciously trying to avoid familiar territory with the Underdark this time around.

Brian: “Which is funny, because the writers never even saw the first campaign.”

Taliesin points out that a trickster cleric is meant to be more of a toolkit, whereas a grave cleric build is more of a medkit.

Taliesin: “I’ve learned my lesson, and I have like three new character ideas ready to go, for this campaign or the next.”

There’s a lot of debate about where the hell Spurt got a skunk, which leads to the creation of the magical item Skunk Jug, which produces a skunk.

Caduceus enjoyed the romance novel, but it hadn’t “entirely clicked”. “He’s aware that: ‘Ah, they’re doing the hanky-panky stuff.’ It’s not really in his wheelhouse.”

Matt was very proud of the group coming up with their plan to get past the giant, and he felt a bit bad that Nott rolled so low (although he also loves the “magnificent clusterfuck” moments that are the hallmark of D&D). Brian: “That’s just a testament to how bad Sam is as a player.”

Caduceus took Warcaster as his next feat. “This seems to be in-character and useful.”

Fan art of the week: Nott running across the lava! Taliesin: “I want to play that game. That’s an 8-bit game I want to play.”

Brian asks Matt if the game’s about where he thought it would be at episode 50. Matt: “We’re charging into Xhorhas earlier than I was expecting. We need to get Ashley back soon.” (They’ll get her back in a couple months.) He also points out that some story beats have happened in the world in the group’s absence. He didn’t want to tailor the story’s trajectory to manufacture a big moment in episode 50. The group’s involvement in the Empire has been less than expected, but the direction they’re taking is much more direct than he was expecting. Taliesin points out that if the group had been Vox Machina, they would’ve involved themselves in the politics of the war instantly. Matt reiterates that he loves DMing in a reactionary way when the players push in an unexpected direction.

All Taliesin wants to do right now is fix that sword. He’s expecting it to be, like, a +1 cursed sword that just sings constantly and can’t ever be put down.

Taliesin: “I’m enjoying corralling all the kids.” Matt points out that he’s a much-needed influence on the group. Beau is the one that Cad considers to be his best friend. Dani: “You two can’t not be best friends in this show.” Cad thinks of Fjord as an angsty teen. He thinks Caleb is occasionally up his own butt a bit. He hasn’t figured out that Jester’s an adult yet. “’Oh, she’s happy and fine. Thank goodness someone is.’ And obviously she’s not, but he hasn’t figured that out yet.” He’s disappointed in Nott for the amount of drinking, although he hasn’t said it out loud.

Taliesin: “Cad thinks dangerous things have wisdom. Sometimes just walking up to something and asking is very useful. Sometimes you can avoid getting arrested in front of a coffee shop by offering the officer a hot pocket.”

Matt talks about how getting players to avoid combat is a teaching process that involves incentivizing out-of-the-box approaches. That’s in direct contrast to the more traditional grind-through-fights approach to D&D that was prevalent in the early editions, so it can be a process. He points out that you can talk to players out-of-game, or you can change your own plans to allow players a non-combat win even if it’s a bit of a stretch.

Taliesin and Matt both own a pair of chaps. As you do.

Taliesin’s personal inspiration for Cad’s staff was very Dark Crystal-driven. The crystal comes from the land he lives on. He dug up the crystal and made the staff himself; the beetles crawl into and out of the stick continuously.

Talks Machina: After Dog

Brian: "Are you relaxed right now?” Taliesin: “Yeah, there’s something in this Coke that’s really...”

Taliesin got started with eyeliner in high school with Vampire LARPing. He had a (mumblemumble)”furk idee” that got him into goth clubs early. Matt first learned to apply eyeliner for cosplay, then wore it for the first time outside of cosplay clubbing with Taliesin (they also had an industrial goth karaoke night).

Dumbest way they’ve managed to injure themselves? Matt was editing There Will Be Brawl’s final episode, which was a bit too overambitious and he was the only editor, and he didn’t sleep for 72 hours and threw his back out horribly from sitting too long. Taliesin was doing a student film as a teenager, and was asked to do a stunt that involved holding someone up to a moving train (Matt: “What the fuck, Taliesin?”). He had really long goth nails at the time and managed to break all ten of his nails off entirely doing that stunt. “I didn’t drop him into the moving train!” Matt: “That’s why unions are good.”

Brian: “I lit myself on fire with a molotov cocktail.” Yes, really, but he wasn’t badly burned. Taliesin: “Did you at least hit the man? Did it stick to him?” Brian: “It was not a man. It was a porta-potty.” Matt reiterates how grateful he was not to have grown up with cellphone video.

Matt: “So you’re saying...” Taliesin: “I was Emperor Norton, yeah.” Matt: “Aw. I’m proud of you!”

We all learned... a lot today. See you in two weeks for episode 100 of Talks Machina!

#critical role #critical role spoilers #talks machina #talks machina spoilers #long text post

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silencedtechnophile · 5 years

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==>Rescue the boy

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 4:09 AM

Feferi stared down the security detail that had boarded Karkat's ship. She was big, towering over them, a full Presence that could fill a room all buy herself, dressed in loose transluscent fabric layered over a monocrystaline armor suit shaped like a bathing suit. She held her trident in her hands and they shrunk back from her. Karkat, near at hand was getting a few looks, back and forth between them. "You will escort me to the trails for the crown." She told them imperiously and without a trace of doubt that she would be obeyed- and they were well trained enough to fall over themselves in the face of an imperial tyrian giving them orders.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 4:27 AM

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 5:16 AM

She winked at Karkat and swept up behind them, walking into the large ship she was going to command soon. Or at least. That was the hope. There was no telling how many of her caste mates were here yet, or what kind of trial she was walking into. All she could do was hold her head up high and carry herself with dignity.

And make certain there was a backup plan to get her beloved and karkat off of this bucket if she failed.

Most of them were more concerned with Karkat being a wanted criminal than with his capris and ridiculous sweater- but tyrians did what they wanted. It was a rule, and if you stood in their way you died.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 5:51 AM

This was it. Time to show up or shut up. The wink aimed in his direction was returned with a nod. And then, grumbled low enough that hopefully their makeshift escort wouldn’t hear, and fast enough that she might mistake the tension in his tone for annoyance: “Don’t do anything stupid, got it? I’ll resurrect your ass just to throttle you myself.”

Karkat took a few measured steps back after that, distancing himself enough to seem more like a guard and less like he was waiting to slip away. He aimed ugly looks at anyone who so much as looked at him, an effort to dissuade anyone from properly keeping an eye on them. Internally taking a breath and reasoning with himself that this would be nothing, he had seen worse, he was in the best place he had been in sweeps, he gave one last lingering look to the back of Feferi’s head before abruptly putting himself in reverse and hastily steering himself down a temporarily unoccupied corridor.

After that... Well, he was going to wing it more or less. The flagship was significantly larger than the one he commandeered, and likely laid out in a more intricate manner due to the increased number of troops and notable members of the fleet. So he took a quick inventory of his surroundings, decided he was already hopelessly and utterly lost, and started off toward the nearest door in sight.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 5:58 AM

Somewhere in the engine room a helmsman sharpened to alertness. He watched his matesprit make her way, with dignity and an escort toward the absolute madhouse that was her siblings fighting highlander style for the right to sit on the throne, she wasn't the first to arrive and she wouldnt be the last. He hadn't even known she was incarnated, and now all he had was greedily hoarded video images of her walking through that door, weapon in hand and wading into the fray.

..But he couldn't keep all of his attention and gut clenching nausea on her, no, she'd brought Karkat, and that was almost worse, he didn't know how well he fought now- he had fought his way free once after being caught but this was different. He watched Karkat begin to go down the hall- what was he looking for? Was he headed this way?

The helm casually slammed the door of someone who saw Karkat and started after him with a shout, and opened another door near Karkat. C'mon.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 6:17 AM

The heavy clanging of doors opening and closing was enough to have the hair on the back of his neck rising, especially combined with the cut off shout that came before. He whipped around automatically, doing a neat 360 before looking to the open door. Worst case scenario? An attempt at trapping him or cornering him, which would be an unfortunate delay but not a total game changer. Best case scenario? A bit of inside assistance. A nudge in the proper direction.

There isn’t time to weigh all the pros and cons, so Karkat took only a moment (maybe two) to consider before ducking through the opening. He wasn’t sure if it would close behind him, but in the event that it didn’t he kept moving. He was a notable fighter, certainly heads above when the others would have last seen him and with the bulk to back it up as well as the mouth, but not incapable of making mistakes or getting injured. So he immediately swiveled his head around to survey the area, knees bent in preparation to engage a hostile or take off in the direction of the metaphorical middle of the maze.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 6:25 AM

There were tables and chairs scattered through this space, it was fairly large, but there weren't many people here this time of day. Three trolls were talking and looked up as he entered. From there the startling shade of his red eyes looked more maroon, but he was out of uniform with weapons in hand. So they stood with a clatter of chairs tipping from being too hastily shoved back. Another door at the other side of the public room slid open.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 7:05 AM

Well, it could have been worse. Karkat took some comfort in that, despite knowing it was likely to get more difficult. Unfortunate, but entirely expected. There was no chance he was going to go horns first into stealing the most notable ship’s helmsman and not have to duke it out, okay. In fact, he briefly found himself relieved. Fighting had become a familiar thing over the sweeps, and he was never good at sneaking around or keeping his cartilage nub out of the mud.

Any further introspection there has a pin put in it quickly enough. Karkat let a crooked, toothy grin cross his features and raised one arm in a slight gesture of greeting. “Well pinch my ass and call me a human newborn, I was just inquirin’ about the welcome wagon.”

Trying to take advantage of them being somewhat caught off guard, he swiftly moved for the nearest table, raising one leg to plant a kick the side and send it skidding in their direction. From there he ducked and tried to edge a path to the side of the room, occasionally kicking pieces of furniture out of his way and hopefully into theirs.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 7:23 AM

He really should have worn the steel toed boots to this shindig He tried to kick the table, and sharp pain shot through his foot, the table wobbled and half collapsed in place, causing him to nearly fall- but he managed to catch himself.

His opponents weren't moving too fast themselve,s trying ot untangle themselves from the chairs they knocked over and get over to him through the table maze between them. They are not yet upon him, though none of them managed to face plant while they were tangled up in the fallen chairs.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 7:36 AM

So that didn't work quite as well as he had hoped. Any points for attempted style are immediately rescinded with my immediate pain in his foot. Platform boots? Sturdy, waterproof, assist with the height issues, comfortable, warm... But not protective. Karkat made a note of that for next time, absently deciding to purchase more combat worthy footwear even if it did take away from the overall look. It would be a necessary loss. Just like the feeling in his outermost toe, but he could address that later.

Karkat thanked Skaia for generating trolls that matched his levels of incompetence, trying to right himself. He looked past them to the door, trying to quickly decide if he could make a speedy move for the exit. In the end, he decided against it. It wasn't worth leaving himself exposed, or giving one of them the chance to step into a blind spot.

So he rolled his shoulders and made an impulsive move, one that could pay off or end with him further digging himself a grave of humiliation during serious situations. He took a few long strides forward, then tried to plant a foot on one of the tabletops to vault over and swing his sickles in a downward arch toward the nearest troll.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 7:47 AM

He never saw what hit him. Which was Karkat. Karkat hit him. With his sickles. The vault off the table went nearly perfectly, with the table falling as Karkat lept from it, and his sickles came down, slicing into him and giving him a beautiful ruby necklace. He fell back, clutching at his throat, unable to form even a weak defense.

His friends were stunned, and fumbled for their weapons out of their sylladexes, one of them managed to spill knives everywhere instead of summoning the single one he'd asked for, while the other was cursing and kicking the chair he was tangled up in away.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 8:16 AM

Even Karkat was a little surprised that worked out for him as well as it did. Later, he'll likely spare a few moments to appreciate the move. In the moment, a celebration was the last thing on his mind. While not totally dispatched, the other troll seemed to be at least unable to pose a threat. The other two had become significantly less imposing in their fumbling, as well.

The red blooded troll aimed a kick to the downed troll's skull for good measure, then turned on his heel to face the other two. He went for the one with a puddle of knives first, lunging toward him and swinging one sickle toward his abdomen and then ducking to try to bring the other one into his legs.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 8:24 AM

The down'd troll's head snapped back and he fell in a heap against their table, tipping it over. The troll with the knives twisted away, a bright line of green saturating his uniform, without breaking into the abdominal cavity. and he licked out at Karkat's head as the other troll went down and aimed a shot at his leg, catching him just under the chin- but doing little damage, though this head might ring for a moment as he got his balance back under him.

The last troll had finally sorted himself out and had drawn a gun in hand. The hot lasor fire burned a hole through the oversized sweater- but barely missed doing any real damage, and he can thank the sweater making the target uncertain for that.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 8:32 AM

The foot making contact under his chin knocked him back and he had to brace a hand on the floor to avoid losing his balance, leaving him in a very Twister-esque pose on the floor while the ringing in his ears settled and he reoriented himself to his surroundings. Heat across his skin alerted him to the other armed troll, a warning that he likely didn't have time to debate his options. All he knew was a gun was more dangerous than a knife, and long range had never been good to him.

Instinct took over immediately, and Karkat made a low ugly noise and swung one sickle wildly in the direction of the troll with the knives. Whether it made contact or not, he wasn't concerned. He temporarily abandoned the weapon in favor of making a dive for the troll with the gun. He threw all of his recently acquired bulk into it, less concerned with causing damage and more focused on getting him unstable and unarmed.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 8:37 AM

The sickle struck the troll in the leg , opening it up and making him fall to a knee in his pile of knives- which was, perhaps, not the best thing to fall into.

The gunman didn't stand a chance. He wasn't able to squeeze off another shot before he was on the floor beneath Karkat, head bouncing off the floor with a nasty wet noise.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 8:58 AM

Adrenaline fueled his movements, automatic reactions paired with a desire to not experience another death. He pushed his boots against the floor, abandoned his other sickle to increase his speed. He went for the gun, not sparing even a courtesy glance at his only remaining roadblock. It would be a waste of time and be of no help, especially if the other troll had decent enough skill with throwing those knives to cause him a more serious injury. He figured it was the only reasonable way to explain the sheer number of knives being carried around, unless he was prone to losing them which presented a whole other serious of questions.

If he made it to the gun without any serious hinderance, his reaction would be immediately. He would roll, to increase distance and make himself a harder target by moving, and stop on his back. Then plant his feet on the floor, sit up, and aim a good three shots consecutively at the other troll. If he was lucky, all that badgering and forced learning about guns and how to use them from Vati would for the first time prove to have been of some use.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 9:03 AM

The three shots veered wildly off target- who was having problems of his own, he went to throw a knife and slipped between the injured leg, the blood and the knives, and managed to slice himself up on his own knives, though he was not yet out of the threat zone- Bloody could probably get away from him if he didnt go back for his sickles.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 9:11 AM

Not going back for the sickles simply wasn’t an option. Stupid, sure, but Karkat had never quite been able to detach himself from the things and people the weapons were associated with. The various reasons would be too time consuming to list, but the heat of the moment makes the risk seem worth it.

Karkat had no idea how much ammo the weapon was packed with, but he tried to fire off another two shots while the other troll slipped in the blood and cutlery. If that failed, he would simply launch the weapon at him and make a mad dive to get up close and get enough leverage to land a few good hits.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 9:14 AM

The shots went wild, scorching a table top and splashing against a wall leaving a black mark in the paint. Knives was able to duck away from the weapon being thrown at him, and bring a hand up, to meet Karkat's dive with the sharp end of a blade.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 9:31 AM

An unfortunate development. All of it. Karkat was aware of metal moving through the flesh of his upper body with ease, and the warmth of blood sticking to his skin. He glanced down, back up to the other troll, down, and back up again. And then he pulled his expression into a sneer. This was a familiar experience, and definitely not pleasant, but whatever pain there was is overshadowed by offended and incredulous outrage.

“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” He raised his voice with each word, careening forward to try to headbutt him. If that was successful, he would try to get a grip on the knife that injured him to turn it on its owner. “You seriously shoved this toothpick imitation of a weapon at me? Are you pan damaged?”

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 9:37 AM

If Sollux, who was watching this whole thing, unable to move, unable to help or do anything but route traffic away from them, could hit his head against something, he would.

Karkat goes to head butt his opponent and finds himself firmly headbutted back, with much of the force of the blow taken on the other troll's horns, The knife was slippery and hard to grip , though he managed to work it out he wasnt able to turn it on his oppoment, who grabbed another knife from the entire pile he was sitting in and slashed at him with it.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 9:44 AM

Okay, okay. He’d admit he didn’t think that one through very well. Karkat reflected on that when he topped backwards and suffered a slash through his abdomen. That one made him pause, clenching his jaw and releasing his grip on the knife. The already bloody hand came to feel out the wound, judging the depth and overall size, and his free hand went on a search for the sickle he previously abandoned.

“What the fuck, man. This was a good sweater, I liked this sweater, this thing had value -“ He ranted roughly, the small amount of verbal filter he had typically entirely dissolved. As soon as he got his hand on his own weapon, he swung it up toward the other troll.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 9:51 AM

He didn't find his weapon, his hand slipped out from underneath him as he searched for it and he fell against the pile of knives this guy had hoarded in his strife deck. His death was quick, a knife dragged across his throat in a quick motion, spilling that imperial red blood all over the place. Knives shakily started getting to his feet. He needed to report to someone, He was absolutely sure on that, although he was a little fuzzy on who exactly. In the rig in the bowels of the engines of the ship a cry was torn from the throat of the helm. No. KK..

bulgeRotLast Friday at 10:05 AM

Death. Another familiar experience, and never a positive one. He only had a moment to reflect on his incoming demise, and then his throat was leaking blood and there was nothing. That was it. No bubbles, no life flashing before his eyes. It felt like a lifetime, but in reality couldn’t have been more than a minute. The major wounds stitched back together with a series of wet, nasty noises, and his eyes flashed with life.

No matter how many times it had happened, the coming back is always disorienting. Karkat was aware enough to realize he was working on a limited time frame, and would likely only have the element of surprise once. But... You know what they say about old barkfiends and new tricks. He coughed a wet breath out and forced himself to roll, making another attempt for his sickle to get the jump on the other troll.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 10:10 AM

It was a grotesque sound, and it got the knife fighter looking back at him, and then cussing and almost falling on his ass as a sickle sliced into his leg while he dodged back from it.- that leg was taking a lot of damage, although fortunately for him this was mostly superficial. What the actual fuck what the fuck "What the fuck"

bulgeRotLast Friday at 10:16 AM

“You are seriously pissing me off.” Karkat spat around the blood in his mouth, working to haul himself up a bit. “What the fuck is about right you ridiculously lucky cullbait.”

Considering he was still recovering from the whole dying thing, running wasn’t an appealing option. He made along swing at the troll, then pushed off from the floor to try to get some sort of distance settled between them to avoid another lackluster demise.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 10:19 AM

This time, with his last rushed and half assed swing, Karkat did what he'd been trying to: The troll didn't dodge in time, and the sickle bit into his neck and saw him falling back clutching it, and not long for this world, as the knight of blood scrambled away from him.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 10:32 AM

“That was stupid.” Was all Karkat could think to say, providing himself with the criticism and frowning. He looked around at the mess before hauling himself up. Then he retrieved his second sickle, giving the weapons a frown. “Really stupid, guys.”

Without taking more time to examine the state of his partially healed wounds, or giving a heartfelt parting word to his three new friends, he made for the exit. Hopefully he would have more luck if he ran into anyone else.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 10:38 AM

The door was still open for him- and it looked like it was taking him into an access area, for servitors and maintenance and the various riff raff who kept this ship running. He was taking him around, through service areas, instead of through the dining hall and residential areas. Ocassionally as he walked along he found someone furiously banging on a door from the other side and cussing the ship for not opening the portal for them. Sollux was keeping traffic away from him, steering everyone into other parts of the ship and restricting access to the areas that Karkat was in.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 10:57 AM

All things considered, Karkat definitely wasn’t going to question the lack of opposition or stop to pass a few snide comments through the sealed doorways. He simply kept moving, following the clearly laid out path set for him. Not that he had any other options, of course.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 11:02 AM

Sollux wasn't taking many chances with his direction impaired friend. It took a bit, because he had to cross the entire ship, and go up and down access ladders, but he kept him away from the open areas as much as possible.

Untill he finally reached the helm room.

The door clanked open for him, and the smell coming out of the place was both organic and full of antiseptic. The lights weren't on initially, two bright lights in the darkness standing out, one blue and one red- and other blinking and twinkling lights on the equipment.

It took a moment but Sollux brought the lights up in the room to reveal him entangled in biowire, hanging from it by the arms and engulfed to the waste, goggles obscuring his eyes.

"took you long enough." His voice was raspy, dusty, like it hadn't been used in a while for anything but screaming.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 8:15 PM

By the time he was getting close, he was also losing his patience. The halls looked the same and the access ladders never seemed to end. He’d dropped his sickles into his sylladex a while ago, upon realizing he might have more luck speeding his way through. Their exit would be a different story, probably, without an inside nudge of assistance.

Karkat didn’t even realize he had made it until the lights came up to expose their surroundings. He took a long gander at Sollux, lingering on the goggles and biowire. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but he managed to put that on the backburner as he approached. Besides, it wasn’t like his stained red jumper and half knit together injuries were appealing either.

“Took the scenic route.” He grunted, stepping up to the other. This was probably a bad time to realize he didn’t know how to disconnect him. “Made a couple new allies along the way, yeah, traded stories.”

Tentative, Karkat came to a halt within arm’s reach. If they had more time he would lament on all of the changes between the two of them, and maybe take a beat to be self conscious about his own. But they don’t, so he doesn’t. Instead, he blew out a harsh breath and grimaced. “Let’s get this over with.”

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 10:42 PM

Maybe within arms width of someone else, he might as well not have arms, and he wasn't looking to being sober. Well was, and wasn't. It was nice to be able to think, but pain wasn't his friend. Up close Karkat could see the unkept hair, the beard, could smell the reek of his body only occasionally washed down.

"You'll want two put me into maintenance mode" he lisped softly. "we're going to convince the computer the helm needs to be swapped out, so it will let go. - theres an escape pod just below us through that access over there. I can't see through these goggles, but they've been on so long I dont know if you can remove them."

It was amazing, astonishing that Karkat had asked the guy who was helm to come up with the bulk of his rescue plan, and Sollux had stepped up to the challenge where he could. There was no telling what would happen after he killed the Condesce but here they were.

bulgeRotLast Friday at 10:55 PM

"Escape pod. Ri-ght." Karkat held out the vowel, attempting to disconnect his gaze from the helmed troll. A tiny and paranoid piece of his pan seemed to be convinced he would look away and the scene would change, though, so even when he edged his way to the equipment he kept looking back at him. "We can deal with the goggles later, don't need to see to get forcefully ejected from the ship."

The whole thing was like a weird and oddly detailed dream. But Karkat did his best to listen and follow any provided intructions, for once unable to draw up some sort of snarky back-and-forth.

silencedTechnophile Last Friday at 11:03 PM

There was a moment that was probably startling and concerning for the docterror, when Sollux tweaked things from his end through the same access he'd adjusted his medication through, and cut all his vitals to flatline them, supressing the alarm to engineering.

He talked, in his lispy rasping voice, walking Karkat through a procedure he'd only been partially through when they had to replace some of the biowire, and he'd been out of it when he'd been installed---

A little alarm sounded inside the helming room but not outside of it as the biowire began to withdraw, slowly disconnecting and withdrawing from each place it was burrowed into his skin and down his spine.

He spent a moment burning the footage of Feferi fighting her siblings into his mind, before the cameras went dark and he became entirely blind. except for some vague coloured light filtering into his eyes through the goggles.

He'd never felt so small and alone, despite Karkat being right there. A moment ago he'd been powerful, a whole ship. and now he was trapped in this thin shaky body that couldnt support itself again yet. He was lucky, he was a god tier, his recovery would come more easily than for other people.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 12:18 AM

The whole process was fascinating, or would be, if he could manage to block out the specific troll involved. Karkat tried - and failed - not to let his shoulders twitch when every noise startled him. Once he was sure Sollux wasn't actually flatlining, making this a huge waste of time, he returned to doing as he ws told.

When the alarm goes off, his head whipped around toward the entrance to ensure they weren't about to have another set of problems. Nothing. He looked to his companion and had to do a double-take at the sight of wires withdrawing and leaving the other lowblood unsupported. It took most of his willpower not to just freeze up there, like a deer in the headlights. Karkat forced his limbs into action again, short quick steps to the newly uninstalled helmsman.

"This ain't goin' to be comfortable." He informed him in a grunt, all reservations pushed aside due to their end goal here. "I'm haulin' your ass, and if you shock me or the like I will change my pan and turn us both into officials to prove a point." He waited, no more than a few moments, before carefully going to make contact with Sollux. He knew this would be awful for him, so he tried to keep his claws clear of tender areas and his grip light.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 12:23 AM

"I'm not going two randomly shock you, you ass." he hissed his breath softly through his teeth at every jostle, as the chemicals that kept him floating and the pain distant were quickly wearing away without a constant surprise. "Its going two take them a minute to realize we're on auxilery power, I've locked as many doors and suppressed as many alarms as I could before I came out.

He was a limp noodle of a bag of flesh, easily maliable to however Karkat wanted to hold him. His limbs were.. not in good shape, but it was nothing some magical healing couldn't improve on.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 12:41 AM

"Sure. I've heard that before." Well... he hadn't, but it was close enough. "Hold on to your liquid diet, cowboy."

Karkat didn't give him any more warning than that before bending at the waist and manhandling the other troll over his shoulders, like a fresh eveningmeal cull, with ease. He adjusted the long troll's limbs to allow him more movement, one hand keeping the immobile troll steady when he strode toward the acess. Maneuvering was trickier with his makeshift cargo, but less problematic than expected overall.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 1:11 AM

Oof, here he goes, a sack of potatoes. This was more contact than he'd had in sweeps. It was weird, he wanted more, almost as much as he wanted a shower. It wasn't just that he was oozing from holes all over his body, it was the film of filth on his skin, and his long greasy hair. His eyes closed invisibly in the goggles. He was dizzy and at once feeling deprived of stimulation and over stimulated.

No one was coming yet, so far so good. Sollux was small, unlike trying to carry Feferi or Equius, he was easy to handle.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 1:43 AM

Karkat was, if nothing else, used to bad smells. It came with the professsion he had chosen, but also with a fair share of past quadrantmates. Granted, none of them had been leaking various fluids or covered in literal layers of grime but... The comparison was good enough. It gave him something to think on in the lapse of conversation, a distraction from the situation at claw.

When they neared the end of the access, he made sure to pause and listen in the hopes of detecting any potential company. And then he moved into the next area, absently voicing his newest series of thoughts. "I hope you're good at schoolfeeding. I've never driven a thing in my unfortunate, extended lifespan."

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 1:46 AM

Back behind them, distantly someone began pounding on the door to the helmblock and working on prying the door open, shouting.

Sollux hung limply where he was being carried. "I'm going to have two be, although its going to be hard without being able to see anything. we're going to have to pry these goggles off. "

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 1:57 AM

"I'm sure I can manage that." The shorter troll gave a nod in place of a shrug, determined to ignore the shenanigans behind them. "Can't promise it'll be fun either way, though."

Once they reached the escape pod - he was fairly sure this was it, anyway - he carefully deposited the limp troll in one of the seats. There wasn't much time to waste with being gentle, and he figured giving any warning could cause Sollux to tense up (if he could, anyway) and make the process harder. So he leaned down into his face and tried to hook sharpened claws behind the googles to work them off.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 2:02 AM

His breath hissed with a highpitched little pitiable sound of pain as the goggles came away leaving a wet raw welt where they'd rested against his skin for sweeps. Sollux blinked rapidly, tears in his eyes and trying to focus them. Fortunately light had managed to come through the lenses so he wasn't dealing with an intense light adjustment, but he was seeing with his own eyes for the first time in a long time. The filth built up around his eyes and on those lenses that obscured his vision was gross.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 2:17 AM

The ugly noise made Karkat cringe, tossing the goggles as far from the immediate line of sight as possible. He made a note to find a salve for the welts when they were in a more secure spot. Then he quickly turned to the controls while his friend took time to adjust, partially to avoid the inevitable good look at the additions to how own features from the sweeps - mostly, though, he wanted to at least try to familiarize himself with the controls to make this less laughable as an attempt at a getaway.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 2:21 AM

"I wish I could still see her" Sollux's voice was quiet, mostly to himself, fretting about things he couldn't help. Is shoulders were crying out after sweeps in the same position, moving again. He tried to lift a hand but it seemed so heaviy and pain lanced from the joint.

He took a breath. "-Okay lets get this launched, escape pods are designed two be easy two use in an emergency."

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 2:24 AM

Sollux's quiet admission made the other troll pause, unsure as to how to respond or if he should at all. "One thing at a time." Was all he ended up giving out, perusing the numerous buttons and switches, most of which did not have labels. "Easy to use my ass. It's of Alternian design, it's bound to be awful."

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 2:28 AM

Sollux rolled his eyes, not that Karkat could tell. Okay. He had this. Only one visual imput, no access to the thrusters, cut off from his network, but he had this. "Okay you need two-" And he started talking him through the launch, once it was launched they were going to want to get his ship to scoop them up, so they didnt float forever in space.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 2:49 AM

It wasn't as bad as anticipated, Karkat was willing to admit it. Once he was done sputtering and started listening, getting the escape pod fired up was pretty basic. From there, with the help of Sollux, launching it was almost easy. He spared a glance at the other troll as they got the ball rolling, internally debating whether or not to be vocally impressed before he decided against it.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 2:52 AM

Sollux watched the screen intently, chewing at his lip as warnings sounded, but they weren't able to stop the launch. The little pod sped off away from the big ship. "Okay - fuck is anyone on your ship to respond to us or do we need to do the docking from this end?"

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 3:30 AM

“Uh...” This isn’t something Karkat had properly considered, and the hesitation in his tone was paired with a stiff shrug. “Comms are up, yeah. One thing I did manage to fix. S’matter of if anyone is aware they should have an optical orb out for us. I’m kind of assuming Feferi took care of that, too.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 3:33 AM

"Okay open up a comm line two the ship, I .. don't know what Fef set up we weren't in communication, I havent been able two dial out since I kicked her out of an airlock." He closed his eyes.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 3:43 AM

“What she set up is an oversized mobile bed and breakfast.” Karkat grumbled bit nodded and did as told, hunching his shoulders and fiddling with a few things as he waited for the familiar static to come through. He’d never actually made use of the comma himself, so he was kind of making it up as he went. “Uh... Assholes to base? Is that how this works? Like wriggler radio games?”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 3:46 AM

It took a minute as they figured out where the hail was coming from, but eventually. "Roger, exactly like wriggler radio games. Whats the situation, over"

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 3:52 AM

“The situation? It’s, you know, kind of shitty, but that’s how things usually turn out when more than one of us morons gets involved. Suppose that’s kind of our thing. Shit Session. Uh. Over.” He paused, wrinkled his nose as he considered their injuries, and continued. “Piss pants is goin’ to need immediate attention, he’s leakin’ shit everywhere. I should have the necessary supplies to assist the healing process on board, but quite frankly we’re goin’ to need someone more informed on helming to provide any long term help, over.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 3:57 AM

Right now the very large problem and possibility is that hes going to get an infection, Sollux snorted at Karkat with his eyes closed and muttered some choice insults under his breath.

"we'll have to see what we can do-"

Sollux raised his voice. "We're in the pod that just launched can you bring her around and scoop us up?"

"Got it, uh, over."

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 4:11 AM

“They can just do that?” Karkat asked, and then aimed the same question to whoever they had caught on communication duty. “Hey, you can do that? The ship can scoop shit up and you panless wastes of artificial air didn’t think to just come grab the little escape pod turd the flagship just shit out? What the fuck?”

His surprise had him forgetting to say ‘over’ again, hands coming up to rub at his eyes tiredly. He was beginning to hate everyone on board his stolen ship. What came next was directed at Sollux, and accompanied by a heavy sigh.

“I trained as a doctoreaper, to kee it in simple terms.” Karkat informed him blandly. “The medical bay on ship is already prepared, you’re up shit creek ‘till I strap you in there.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 4:13 AM

"You're a mediculler? thats.. I never thought that was something you'd be interested in. thank fuck though"

"We're coming about now, we'll grab you." The bigger ship began coming about to come pencer grasp the little escape pod and make off with it. Feferi was well and truely on her own now.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 4:21 AM

“It wasn’t.” He responded after a moment of uncomfortable pause. “But things change, we should know that as well as anyone. Turns out to be somethin’ I’m good at.”

The bigger ship was a welcome sight, but Karkat couldn’t help wanting to look back for the flagship. For Feferi. Sure, they had never been particularly close but... He had to stop the line of thinking before it went downhill. She was capable, he decided as they began their exit, and she knew what needed to be done. It was in her claws from there.

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 4:26 AM

"I'm glad you found something you're good at that you like doing, KK."

Sollux drew in a ragged little breath as they left the flagship behind. "-Powers grant we see her again." He hated Hated that she was being left behind, and he hadnt even gotten to see her, to feel her touch his hand again.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 4:49 AM

That got a bark of a laugh out of him. He tried to smother it with a hand with little success. “Yeah. Thanks, Sollux. All it took was the majority of what would have been my natural lifespan.”

It was reassuring to know he wasn’t the only one not pleased with this plan of events. But he also knew it was necessary, and they had different reasons for the discomfort. “We will, I’m sure. Already threatened to revive and skin her if she didn’t come back and take her freak brigade off of my shoulders.” The ship jostled a bit, presumably as they were reeled in to the big ship. “Not worth focusing on now, regardless. Plenty to be done in her absence.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 4:53 AM

"Fucking good, if she loses she deserves it" He grumbled half heartedly. "- I'm really tired Karkat, I might fall asleep as soon as we're safe"(edited)

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 3:01 PM

“She does.” He gave an amused snort at the warning and turned to face him since he no longer needed to be rowing their boat. “Not shockin’. I didn’t think you’d last this long, quite frankly. We’re safe, hell, you were safe the click we got on board.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 3:05 PM

He blinked owlishly at karkat. "..'v you been hanging out with ED? you sound a little like him.." Sollux it was one dropped G its not that important. He was a little light headed. A lot light headed and he might be out soon.

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 5:08 PM

“Not ours. Dave is - was - a bit to blame for it too.” He had to stop himself from trying to explain, it was a long series of stories that would probably get very hard to follow very quickly. “You’re only goin’ to make yourself further exhausted attempting to entertain full questions and conversations, you know. Better off saving it for later, maybe you’ll even find yourself fully coherent wouldn’t that be a doozy.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 9:58 PM

"Dave? Mm." his eyes close. "My whole fucking body is screaming at me."

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 10:02 PM

“Yeah, Dave.” Karkat went uncharacteristically tight lipped at that, picking at the newly acquired holes in his clothing. “You’ll feel better when you wake.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 10:05 PM

"Shit I hope so" He almost asked about where Dave was, but something in Karkat's voice warned him off of it. "I'm gonna take.. the best shower. soon as I can move."

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 10:20 PM

“Got warm water on the ship, now. Lot of good soaps and shit, courtesy of a.... highblooded benefactor.” He snorted. “Shampoo, conditioner, all kinds of shit. Oils, but that might be a bit overwhelmin’ on the senses so soon.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 10:21 PM

"Shit KK do you actually bath now?" he teased him, tense and tired but trying for some normalcy. "..yeah I.. theres too much.. feeling, right now. " By now they were well docked and a button started beeping and flashing at Karkat. Sollux pried an eye open-" Gotta open the airlock."

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 10:48 PM

That earned another laugh. He had forgotten how awful his hygiene was in general, for sweeps. “Yeah. I did. Developed a lot of shockingly good habits, wouldn’t you know. Can’t wait to show everyone just how much I’ve developed into a functionin’ adult. I, uh.” He paused, a bit nervous, before he continued. “I’ve got a couple things that could assist with that, limit exposure in varying degrees while you adjust... Bit old, but suppose Equius would be good with tweaking to fit.”

Karkat hastily opened the airlock, automatically putting his back to a wall to face the friendly welcome wagon. He knew these were Feferi’s allies, and that Equius would likely be among them, but he still found himself dropping a single sickle from his sylladex into his dominant hand. Sweeps of growth would likely never dissolve the paranoia burned into his pan, a number of sources contributing to the edgy twitch of his muscles and hard set to his expression.

Unsurprisingly, the first person to enter - ducking through the still opening passing in a manner that was entirely hilarious given his hulking size - was Equius. Sweat made his long hair stick to his cheeks where it was refusing to stay pulled back, and his fists were clenching and unclenching in his anxiety. He and Karkat exchanged a look and a nod, a moment of understanding, before he approached his kismesis. Karkat stepped to present himself as a temporary blockade, to allow them a few moments. “I clod’nt have thought you could ever l-ook worse.” The other trolls had enough sense to hold off, looking between the three trolls. One large blueblood, crouched in front of his quadrantmate with his hands hovering to avoid accidentally causing a sore spot to worsen. One goldblood, slumped in front of the aforementioned large highblood. And one redblooded mutant, splattered with blue and purple blood, jumped torn to expose wounds that weren’t knitting together and a partially open cut across his throat wielding a recently used weapon.

“Abso-loo-tely smell worse than I hoofed for.”

silencedTechnophile Last Saturday at 10:52 PM

" It's a shitmas miracle" his lips quirked into a smile that was more of a grimace, not because if him, the pain was pretty bad, and his breath only cane more quickly and raggedly as they went. " What's that?" His eyes opened again, familiar and bright, though not as bright as might be hoped. Exhaustion and pain did that " nice two fucking see you too pony boy. I've been in the rig. What your excuse for smelling like a sweaty horse?" He was fine probably. God's it was good to see him even if he'd turned into a fucking giant. He wished he would touch him even with his body's rebellion.(edited)

bulgeRotLast Saturday at 11:18 PM

“Goggles with adjustable levels of opacity, if light turns out to be an issue. Auditory input interruptors, essentially the opposite of an aid. Gloves with detachable bits. Clothes with agreeable fabric and a fit that won’t feel suffocating. Have to adjusted for fit, of course. We aren’t nearly the same size.”

“That is entirely your fault.” Equius tried to sound mad, or even annoyed, but there was a wave of relief in his tone and posture that was hard to miss and entirely justified. “I had assumed...”

He trailed off, likely to figure out his wording. Karkat took that moment to step back, shooting one last warning look to the onlookers before putting his weapon again and shooing the larger troll out of his way. Equius protested, but didn’t force the smaller troll to let him continue.

“You can have your dramedy reunion later.” Karkat snipped, but the look in his eyes was apologetic. “I need to get started before he worsens, gets an infection. Our healin’ rates don’t typically work at the proper capacity, if his state declines he’s likely to face a more difficult healin’ process.” With that he gathered up the other troll again and, with Equius as his escort, made a path out. April 14, 2019

silencedTechnophile Yesterday at 12:36 AM

"Oh that sounds nice-" he told KK then wrinkled his nose at his kismesis and opened his mouth to say something back, trying to maintain and edge of annoyance, of banter and normalcy, but Karkat interupted, and he was a ragdoll being manhandled. He closed his eyes as pain flared in every joint and hole bored into him. and laid his head against the somewhat more built than he remembered troll.

"They've had me on immunosuppressents and industrial antibiotics for a while, KK." He murmured to him. He thought he ought to know. "the shitheads had to keep my body from attacking the biowire."

bulgeRotYesterday at 1:20 AM

“You c-oo-ld be moo-re careful.” Equius aimed this at Karkat, giving him a look over his shoulder. This was not an unusual sort of interaction for them, if the scoff and roll of the eyes from the more stout troll was any indication. From the way Sollux was hung over his shoulders, if he opened his eyes he would be able to see Equius turning an irritated frown toward him. “If you had not previously l-ooked enough to notice, they clod’nt feed coonside mannerisms to him.”

Karkat made a decidedly affronted noise, as the blueblood opened a door to reveal a considerably stocked and already set up medical block. Equius was right on their tail when he strode to the nearest already prepped resting plateau and (more mindful and gently this time) deposited Sollux. He was immediately dropping a box from his sylladex, filled with various supplies, and opening it to sanitize his hands and don a mask and gloves. A bit odd, considering the general state of himself and his own wounds and already being covered in the other’s fluids but... Habitual, familiar, exactly what Karkat needed to flip a switch. It was an obvious change, evident in his posture and even expression. This was what he was good at, what he knew, where he was probably always fated to fit.

“I’m goin to knock you out.” Karkat informed Sollux, for the first time looking him unflinchingly in the face without a single concern over his scarred face or their shared past. “And no, it ain’t optional. I’m not makin’ this harder on myself or more distressing for you -“ here he hooked a thumb toward Equius, hovering literally right over his shoulder, “- or the upscaled grey human Popeye motherfucker about to shit himself already.”

silencedTechnophile Yesterday at 4:57 AM

Sollux rolled his head looking at Karkat then Equius. "I'll be okay you overgrown pony show, I'm a god, remember?" He scoffed softly, then let his head rest with a small little bang,closing his eyes. "Fuck me up KK., I'm half way there already." He already half thought they should just kill him and see if they could force a reset but that was.. tricky, and not garunteed to work, plus traumatic.

bulgeRotYesterday at 9:55 PM

“My memory is impeccable, as it always has been.” Equius frowned at him, but relented and stepped away a bit. “When you acquire the shoes to stay awake -“

“Alright, no, that’s enough.” Karkat aimed a disgusted look at the taller troll and pulled out a needle filled with some sedative. He wasted no time in injecting it into the other troll, careful but sure. “Count up from zero to ten.” He instructed, though having concocted the substance himself he knew Sollux was unlikely to make it past five. “No funny shit either, or I’ll be forced to assume you suffered permanent mental damage and are unfit for continued service.” A bad joke, referencing their throneworld but... Funny for him, at least.

silencedTechnophile Yesterday at 11:39 PM

He opened his mouth to try to dredge up a retort from his addled brain- but then Karkat intervened and gave him an injection. The fog started spreading fast. "-sure" he lisped softly. "..one, two, three, four-" his eyes closed, heavily as unconsciousness embraced him and for a bit, gave him a relief from the pain.

#paragraph RP #plot post #bulgerot #death//#murder//#blood//#body horror//#unsanitary//#medical stuff//#needle//

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bitsandbobsandstuff · 6 years

Text

Safe with me (5)

Summary: When an unknown threat enters your life, protection is offered at the highest level. As Bucky Barnes comes into your life, the game changes, and you realise falling for the man tasked with keeping you safe is the last thing you expected.

Characters: Bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x Reader Warnings: Bad language. Descriptions of stalking. People being shitty to Bucky Barnes (fight me).

A/N: My knowledge of trial procedure is based on reruns of Law and Order, so I’m probably taking some liberties. Just go with it. Canonically, Senator Stern does not have a first name, so I made one up. Also, Bucky wears suits like Harvey Specter, that’s simple fact. This chapter is more serious, and someone else gets protective.

SORRY FRIENDS, TAGS FOR THE STORY ARE CLOSED.

SAFE WITH ME MASTERLIST PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Previously...

Shaky hands flip open a little blue bottle, and he pulls out a small yellow pill. Setting it on the tip of his tongue, he closes his eyes as it dissolves. His body reacts quickly to the drug, a feeling of melting wax dripped across his skin, splotches of burning heat followed by velvety ice. The ‘oblivion’ is a tangible object as it pours over him, rushing from the tips of his fingers to his ends of his toes.

Ready, ready, ready. Ready to comply.

He opens his eyes and picks up the paper, folding it into a perfect rectangle.

He has a letter to deliver.

*****

Lost in thought, you stare out the window, contemplating the steady fall of rain. The city was a watercolor painting against the night sky, a canvas smeared with blurry oranges and yellows, the sharp angles of skyscrapers reduced to soft black smudges. Lightning flashed and flickered, illuminating the dark apartment, and the crash of thunder follows instantaneously. It reverberates through the bones of Manhattan, steel and metal and concrete, rattling your thoughts. Your brain nudges you again, remembering yesterday's conversation.

*****

Jack is waiting next to your desk when you return from lunch, an expectant look on his face. Wordlessly, he hands over three thick files.

"All the back-up was emailed as well, but I know you like hard copies. I want short summaries posted to the 'Political Fast Facts' section every evening, and a feature-length story for the Sunday edition. Send everything direct to me for edit and review."

Pinching your bottom lip, you nod briskly. He notices the dismal expression.

"Did you try talking to him?"

"I did."

"Then I take it he won't budge?"

"No. He won't."

"It's his decision, you know that. He's a professional. He won't let his personal feelings get in the way."

*****

Hugging the steaming cup of pre-dawn coffee close to your chest, the heat of the ceramic mug seeps through the thin fabric of your shirt, warming your skin. Taking a small sip, you glance back to the red notebook sitting open on the coffee table, the creamy white sheets blank. Yesterday's lunch conversation with him replays again, vividly fresh.

*****

Digging two sodas from a paper bag, Bucky hands you a diet Coke and sets his Dr. Pepper on the bench.

"I don't understand why you drink diet Coke, it's shit."

"Because I like the taste, asshat."

"It's gross."

"Your face is gross."

He grins and snaps the tab on his soda, continuing picking up his ongoing stream of instruction. "Fair enough. Anyway, I'll pick you up at 6:30, I want to miss the morning rush. Make sure you're ready."

Rubbing your finger along the edge of the soda can, you stay quiet. Knowing him for several weeks now, there hasn't been a single thing you've been afraid to say. Until now. He realizes something's wrong, and he goes still, waiting patiently for you to speak. Lifting nervous eyes to his face, you force the words out in a rush.

"Hey, so listen."

Bucky tenses immediately, setting down the soda can and shaking his head. "No."

"Bucky stop, just listen for a minute."

"No."

"You stubborn dick, can you just let me get this out? Just - just let me go into the trial alone. It's ridiculous for you to sit in that courtroom and re-live this shit," you argue heatedly. "It's okay, alright? I'll be okay. You can wait right outside the door, less than 20 feet away. Just because you're not sitting with me, doesn't mean you're not doing your job. It's okay Bucky, really. I don't mind."

"No."

At the defiant clench of his jaw, you want to stamp your feet. Nothing about this response is surprising, but you try one final time. "For the first time in my life, I'm not trying to be a pain in your ass Bucky, I swear. I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. That's all I'm saying."

Calm, unwavering determination burns in his eyes. "I knew this was part of the deal before I signed up. I did it anyway. I appreciate your concern, I really do. But you don't need to protect me, that's my job. I'm coming. Where you go, I go."

*****

Former Senator Garrison Stern's trial begins this morning, and the arrival comes with a startling awareness. Bucky is the most solid, reliable, comforting presence you've allowed in your life for years, and while the verbal battles that make up your daily exchange are entertaining, you would never, ever willingly hurt him.

It was bad enough that you were there, listening and re-living.

That he disagreed was no surprise. Bucky Barnes would take that crushing sense of duty and sacrifice to the grave.

*****

The rain mercifully ends at daybreak, sunlight filtering through the clouds in streaks of gold to chase away the gloom. Bucky texts his arrival at 6:25, so you gather your bag, zip your boots, and head down to face the day.

Walking into the damp morning air, you find him facing east, hands in his pockets as he watches the rising sun creep through the streets. When he turns to greet you, the sight momentarily stuns. Gone is the beat-up leather jacket and jeans, replaced with an impeccably tailored dark blue suit, French cuffs crisply white, a grey silk tie in a thick Windsor knot at his neck.

He looks completely, totally, and utterly unfair.

When you speak, the greeting comes out a squeak that sounds irritatingly breathless. "Good morning. You – clean up okay."

"Good morning," he responds, a smile curving his lips. "Was that my compliment for today?"

Precariously off balance, you slip into defensive mode while you recalibrate. "Yes. Did you need something more? Is that not good enough?"

"No, I don't think so. You're a writer, you have a big vocabulary. You can do better," he says seriously. Opening the backdoor to the black Mercedes parked at the curb, he motions you inside. You slide into the backseat with a huff, but not before pinching his arm in retaliation.

He shuts the door and laughs.

*****

The crowd is only beginning to gather when you arrive at the courthouse, allowing you to reach the top of the steep stairs with ease. Leaning against the white marble pillars, you dig through your bag for the envelope containing your two ID badges. Handing Bucky his plastic pass, you slip a white lanyard over your neck, adjusting the name-tag carefully. After all this time, it still gives you a little thrill seeing your name with 'New York Times, Journalist' printed below.

Bucky drops his around his neck without another thought and returns to scanning the bodies loitering on the steps. Giving his sleeve a small tug, he looks down and you point at the badge with raised eyebrows. "I had that one printed special for you, least you can do is say thanks."

He looks at you in confusion, before squinting down at the tag. It takes him a moment, but then he snorts.

Sergeant James Barnes

SHIELD, Winter Fucking Soldier

"You're an idiot," he chuckles.

"Um, you're fucking welcome," you answer in mock outrage.

His grin slowly fades into one of genuine sincerity. "Thank you. I mean it. Just what I needed today."

Giving him an encouraging smile, you turn to go inside. Squaring his shoulders, Bucky lifts his eyes to the sky, hesitating for the briefest pause. Collecting himself, he fixes his lips into his trademark sneer, adds a little 'murder strut pep' to his step, and follows you in.

Winter Fucking Soldier indeed.

*****

WEDNESDAY, DAY 1 Former Pennsylvania Senator Garrison Stern's trial began today, the last in a series of revolutionary court cases accusing three of the most influential and popular members of Congress with terrorism. Mr. Stern, who was exposed in the aftermath of SHIELD's global data release, faces an impressive number of crimes, the extravagance and cruelty of which was previously seen on the infamous list of crimes posthumously linked to Secretary Alexander Pierce. Pierce, who was shot dead during –

NYTimes Online; "Political Fast Facts: Garrison Stern's trial kicks off"

*****

Access to the trial was granted to only a handful of journalists and you're pleased with the invite. Bucky follows you into the courtroom, giving a grunt of disapproval when he finds the seating assignments. Ignoring the two allocated for you, he swaps the name cards with two seats near the exit and waits while you get settled, his eyes sweeping slowly through the courtroom.

You don't need to ask.

Door to the Judge's chambers directly behind the bench, prisoner holding cells to the right. Heavy wood tables for the Prosecution and Defense teams holding three people each, one exit at the rear. No windows.

Just in case.

Long minutes tick by as you let him think, spinning your pen anxiously between your fingers, before clearing your throat quietly. Bucky recognizes the request for attention and glances down inquiringly. Your eyes stay glued to the floor.

"The trial should be fast. Less than a week. There's so much evidence, this is really a formality."

He doesn't reply. When you finally meet his gaze, he gives a short nod, his face calm. With one final look around the room, he moves to sit carefully beside you, folding his hands in his lap and settling into an unnerving stillness.

Here is a fact. Stern was never involved with the Winter Soldier in the same way as Alexander Pierce. He was a tertiary commander, never given direct access to, or command of, the Soldier.

Here is another fact. Nuance is unimportant. Even in a limited capacity, he held control over the Soldier's fate, and with that simple fact, Bucky knows a fierce desire to see this end. Alexander Pierce's death came far too easy, so watching Garrison Stern slowly crack and crumble and bleed out his last bit of sanity? Well. That somewhat assuages the blinding desire for revenge.

When the teams file in, Bucky's fingers begin to twitch.

Stern looks like hell, and my god, does that make you happy. His suit hangs loose, curly brown hair thin and streaked with grey. Before he collapses in his assigned chair, he chances a glance to the gallery and you watch his eyes skip past you, before snapping back in surprise. When he spots Bucky at your side, he seems bemused by the connection, until the strangest look takes over his face.

And then his lawyer is whispering in his ear, forcing him into a chair, and he turns forward, hands clasped loosely on the wide table. A hush falls over the room, broken only by the sounds of terse whispers and rustling papers.

"All rise," the Bailiff's voice rings through the courtroom and your legs are moving automatically, lifting you to your feet as the Judge enters, Bucky rising stiffly at your side.

And so, it begins.

There's a clean white sheet of paper in front of the Judge, the neat rows of black print perfectly identical to the one in your hand. When she reads down the list of charges, you follow along, heart hammering when she hits two in particular.

"The Defendant is being charged with the following crimes: contempt of court; treason against the United States government; crimes against humanity, including the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction, forced disappearances of federal officials, torture, and unethical human experimentation; War Crimes including strategic bombing of civilian populations, and the capture and murder of hostages."

Absolute silence follows the Judge's statement, letting the audience absorb the drama of the words, and in mirror movements, you and Bucky look to each other. The heaviness of the days to come presses down already.

*****

THURSDAY, DAY 2 Every single member of the jury turned away in disgust when the photographs landed in their hands. Images of broken children, innocence in the face of Hydra's bloodlust and fanaticism, stood in stark relief to the look of utter boredom locked on Garrison Stern's face.

NYTimes Online; "Political Fast Facts: Kazakhstan and the lost seven"

*****

The Prosecutor selects a collection of photographs, sifting through as he walks deliberately to the jury box. Placing them into random hands, he waits to speak and is rewarded with a series of quiet gasps, as the men and women view the pictures.

"Two doctors were recruited at Mr. Stern's request, for research into the properties of Abraham Erskine's 'Super-Soldier Serum', most commonly known as serum successfully implemented in partnership with Captain Steven G. Rogers in 1943. Decrypted email correspondence shows Mr. Stern authorised the kidnapping of children in northern Kazakhstan for human experimentation and approved the wire-transfer of funds to the doctors hired to perform the procedure. The photographs in your hands show what was done to the children at Mr. Stern's request."

He stops again, lets the photos move through the jury's hands, before continuing.

"Statements were given by Sergeant James Barnes, who discovered the base and attempted to rescue the children, and by Dr. Bruce Banner, who later performed the autopsies. I'd like to read a summary of Sergeant Barnes' mission report as you look at these."

There's a twist in your stomach when he begins the familiar story. Each individual in the courtroom shifts in their seat, stealing a covert look at Bucky, who stares straight ahead, his expression blank. You only realise the impact when you see the light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

MISSION REPORT: Recon and extraction, former Hydra base in northern Kazakhstan Written by Sgt J.B. Barnes at request of N.J. Fury

After infiltrating the base, I found seven concrete cells on the lowest level. Inside were four dead bodies, each lying on their back, faces covered in dried blood, indicating they had been there for some time. Further in the base, I found an occupied laboratory, where three remaining children, two males and one female, were strapped to metal tables. Doctors were performing tests on them, specifically cutting open their arms and injecting green fluid under their skin.

After neutralising the threat, I carried the remaining three children from the base, but none survived. All three collapsed within ten minutes of leaving the facility; I attempted CPR, but was unable to revive any of them. Speaking later with Dr. Banner, he concluded the children died from a combination of asphyxiation and internal burns.

Bucky still sits unmoving next to you, betraying nothing.

If you live to be a hundred, you'll never forget this story. His mission report is a simple set of facts, devoid of the heart-breaking colour and emotion that filled his original words and you realise with a pang that he shared that version with you and you alone.

Intensive debates and discussions follow. Questions are posed, answers reluctantly given. Nerves are stretched taut when the Judge finally orders a midday recess. Notebooks pop when they snap shut, chairs squeak as occupants move, and the hum of muted voices rises.

This situation is so ridiculous. You hate that he has to sit here and listen to this garbage. Licking your lips, you search for something to say, but the words that come feel overcooked and inauthentic, and you cringe when they leave your lips.

"I'm so sorry Bucky, I know that must have been hard, I really don't mind if you wait outside – "

"No," Bucky mutters, stopping you with a frustrated shake of his head. "Don't, please. I mean it. I like it much better when you're fired up at me, I don't want pity."

"Fine," you scowl, anger at his obstinacy flaring white-hot. "Fine. Then how's this? You're being a stupid, pig-headed, god damn chucklefuck, and I'd really like to punch you in your stubborn teeth. Does that work?"

"Yeah," he sighs with relief, leaning back against the seat. "Yeah, that's perfect."

*****

Dusk is falling when you leave the courthouse. A group of reporters are congregating at the bottom of the steps, when they spy Bucky behind you. There's a sudden burst of shouting, and the group swarms, questions flying from every direction.

"Sergeant Barnes, will you take the stand as a witness?"

"Do you remember meeting with Mr. Stern while you were with Hydra?"

"How do you respond to those people saying you should be locked up as well?"

After everything he sat through today, everything he heard, everything he's dealt with, the last question goes too far. Feeling fighty as fuck, you whirl toward the voice in fury, but a hand locks tight on your arm.

"Don't," comes Bucky's voice, sharp and low in your ear. Looking up in disbelief, you want to demand why the hell not, when he answers in a flat voice. "It's never worth it."

You simply stare at him, wondering how he can let this shit roll off, because it's so fucking unfair, you can barely see straight. But he doesn't say a word. Instead, he wraps his right arm protectively around your shoulders, holds his silver hand ahead to clear a path, and pulls you along. His mouth is set in a grim line, ignoring every question flung his way.

You let yourself be pulled against the stream, moving swiftly. Until Bucky strangely stumbles.

He seems confused when he looks over his shoulder, eyes flickering across the mass of shouting voices. There are too many people, too loud, too close and the strange scent comes from nowhere. Bucky feels his lips pucker automatically when the tart, tangy flavor of lemons assails his senses.

He peers down, but you look back questioningly. The smell is so strong he can feel it in his chest, achingly familiar, there's something about it, something important? The idea dances through his brain, refusing to settle and let him consider it further. He rubs his forehead, trying to concentrate, but the scent and desire to investigate further are suddenly gone.

*****

FRIDAY, DAY 3 Apparently, adherence to the Geneva Convention falls outside the scope of Mr. Stern's conscience. During a heated discussion of the catastrophic Algerian Embassy attack that left seven American hostages dead, Mr. Stern's legal defence decided to chase the idea that those individuals murdered in cold-blood were captured as enemies of the state and, wait for it: had it coming.

NYTimes Online; "Political Fast Facts: Murderer is a five-letter word"

*****

More photographs are pulled from the Prosecutor's stack. The images elicit the same disgusted reaction from the jury, which he lets rumble on for a minute before he speaks.

"In August of that year, the US embassy in El Biar, Algeria, was raided and seven Americans taken hostage. Several terror organisations initially took credit, before it was later revealed that Hydra masterminded the takeover to remove prominent US diplomats from power. All seven officials were marched into the streets and summarily executed in broad daylight."

You can feel yourself begin to shiver, an unconscious tremble triggered by nerves and shitty memories that begin to build. Bucky doesn't say a word, but he slides his arm from his side and lays it across the back of the bench. He doesn't try to wrap an arm around you, doesn't try to give you his jacket, doesn't treat you like glass. He just leaves the option there.

And you take it. His body radiates heat, enough to eventually stem the wash of cold running through your veins, and with a small shift and a tilt of your knees, you feel his warmth envelop you.

He tries not to notice. Shifts his attention elsewhere, keeps his eyes trained intently on the arguments up front. He can feel you next to him, scribbling your unintelligible short-hand notes, rolling your shoulders now and again to fix your slouching posture. He finds himself tiptoeing closer to distraction, eagerly awaiting those tiny snippets of sound, ones that suddenly seem to fill the empty spaces in his head.

Quick, quiet, catches of breath. The scratch of a ballpoint pen. A gentle click of teeth tapping together. Sounds that are so much nicer than the horrors spilling at the front of the room.

In the next second, he chides himself harshly.

Distraction is the opposite of control. Bucky Barnes does not lose control.

*****

The courthouse empties quickly on Friday afternoon, and when you and Bucky leave the room, the main hallway is vacant.

"Can you wait here while I make a quick call?"

"No problem," you mumble, so engrossed in skimming your notes you barely hear him. Footsteps fade behind you as Bucky walks a short distance away, and you're left alone. You took pages and pages of notes, and ideas for how to shape the story are already buzzing in your head.

"Good evening," the greeting comes in front of you, a perfectly pleasant voice.

"Good ev –" you reply, glancing up from your notebook, the words dying on your tongue when you see the flushed red cheeks of the heavy-set man. Hatred shines bright in his eyes, rage curling his mouth into a thin-lipped sneer.

Meeting the furious eyes of Garrison Stern's son, you feel your heart skip. Summoning an equal measure of rage, you glare back in defiance. "Whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"Too bad little girl, I'm speaking and you'll fucking listen."

"I'm sorry, did you not understand? Let's try again. You can fuck right off, you arrogant prick."

He steps closer, his hulking presence invading your personal space, but you refuse to back down. "You mouthy little bitch, you really think they're letting you get away with any of this? They'll find you soon enough, you stupid whore –" he spits the words in your face, so close you can smell the wet heat of his breath, before he's suddenly backpedalling in panic, stumbling over his own feet.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Bucky breathes, tugging you behind him and shoving forward, his nose an inch from the man's suddenly pale face.

"N-nothing, it was nothing."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I thought." Bucky's voice drops, so soft the man strains to hear the words, but there's no mistaking the tone. Sheer fury vibrates clearly in each syllable. "It was nothing because that's exactly what you are, you piece of shit. Here's what happens next. You walk away right now and I won't break your fucking face. But, if you ever come near her again, if you try to touch her or speak to her or even look in her direction, I'll personally remove your spine through your throat, tie it around your neck, and choke the fucking life out of you. Are we god damn motherfucking clear?"

The man nearly swallows his tongue, blanching at the look on Bucky's face. "Sure, whatever you say."

"Apologize to her."

"Fuck you man – "

The smooth sound of whirring machinery hits your ears when Bucky's fist shoots forward, silver plated fingers tangling in the man's tie. He twists the striped silk tight, digging the fabric into his throat, cutting his air supply.

"Try again."

"Bucky," you murmur warningly. "It's okay, just let it go."

He ignores the request, his hand squeezing tighter and tighter, until the man coughs out a response. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

"Good," Bucky hisses, shoving him viciously. Without another glance, he places a steady hand at the small of your back and escorts you down the hallway, opening the front doors with a bang.

The ride back to your apartment is silent. Bucky falls completely still as he stares out the window, but his right hand rests on the seat between you, clenched in a fist so tight his knuckles shine brilliantly white against the black leather. Closing the small space, you brush your thumb over the ridges, a feather-light touch, until his fingers release and relax.

Staring out your own window, you miss the fleeting spark of longing when he glances to your profile.

*****

When the car rolls to a stop in front of your home, you don't leave straight away. Picking at your fingernails, you struggle to articulate your thoughts, an odd experience, given your usual ease. It feels stilted when you speak.

"Bucky. Thank you, for this week. It was – nice to have someone there, someone with me. It would have been fucking miserable to be alone the entire time."

"You don't have to thank me. I told you, it's my job."

"No," you say clearly, tilting your chin up to meet those cool blue eyes. "No, it's not just your job. You didn't have to come and you did. I'm saying thanks because I mean it."

He gives you a small smile. "Okay. You're welcome then."

Wrinkling your nose, you wave your hand, dismissing him. "Anyway, it's been a long few days and I'm emotionally exhausted and it feels weird to be so nice. Don't get used to it."

Bucky nods solemnly, curbing a grin when he hears the snappy sass return. "Understood."

*****

One of the best places to work in your apartment is the floor in front of your couch. Pulling on a threadbare Georgetown sweatshirt, you perch the laptop on the coffee table, spread the notes in a neat semi-circle, and place a bottle of wine close to hand. In a few short hours, you have a solid first draft completed, and email it to Jack with a flourish, adding multiple winky faces as the sign-off.

Despite the strain of the week, you feel strangely wired. The crash will come soon, you have enough experience to know that, but for now you take advantage of the extra energy and move through the apartment, folding laundry, wiping kitchen counters, straightening bookshelves. Once the place is acceptably clean, you wander back into the kitchen and pour the remaining contents of the wine bottle into a pint glass. Gathering the week-old pile of work and personal mail that's been steadily growing, you plop onto the couch and start sorting.

Magazine, bill, bill, magazine, letter, credit card application, dental reminder, bill, magazine.

Piling the bills into a thick stack, you toss the magazines onto the coffee table and pick up the letter. Flipping it over, you don't find a postmark, it looks hand-delivered. Assuming it's another reminder from your building about their 'singles mixer' events (which are just the fucking worst), you slip a thumb under the flap and peel it open.

Unfolding a heavy sheet of paper, the strange images are confusing at first, perplexingly disjointed and incomprehensible.

When the realisation hits, a choked sob rips from your throat.

I SAW YOU TODAY. I WAS WATCHING YOU BUT YOU WERE WATCHING HIM. WHY? THEY TOLD ME WHAT HE'S DOING AND WHAT HE WANTS FROM YOU AND IT'S WRONG. YOU NEED TO SEE IT. I WILL MAKE YOU SEE IT. I WILL MAKE YOU FUCKING SEE IT. HE CAN'T HAVE YOU, HE CAN NEVER HAVE YOU. YOU'RE MINE. YOU'RE MINE. YOU'RE MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE.

There is no signature, only a dark red splatter at the bottom. The paper falls from your fingers, drifting quietly to the floor.

*****

Next Chapter

*****

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#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky barnes imagine #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic #safe with me

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thelastchair · 5 years

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Alps 2019

(Written by Arthur Scopic - March 29, 2019)

Landing Zurich **** On landing at Amsterdams Schipol, I knew something wasn't right, not just the usual transatlantic blear, but odd chills and fever. Texting my pal Subtle Plague, I warned him that I may have a cold or flu and may be infectious. He dismissed any concerns, citing their own little germ trawler as being of greater potential for flus or colds and nobly insisted we meet.

So, after nearly missing the connection to ZRH due to customs clogging at Schipol, I boarded the flight to Zurich, dozed some more in that jetlag timewarp and embarked on the train for Konstanz from ZRH.

Konstanz, Subtle Plague **** Subtle Plague met me at the train station and ferried me to his house to meet his family and set me up for a nap before we headed out to the Gotthard zones. I considered just taking a hotel and convalescing but hope sprang eternal in my skiersoul, so next morning we headed out on the Swiss highways to the Gotthard tunnel and Airolo.

Konstanz

It was over twenty years ago that I landed in Geneva and contracted a cold and rather than taking it easy, jumped into skiing around La Grave, Serre Chevalier, Puy St. Vincent and the Milky Way. But by the 6th day or so, while skiing at Val Thorens, I knew something was seriously wrong. I shortly spiraled into fill blown pneumonia, eventually requiring IV antibiotics on returning to the US.

Airolo ****

So this time, I was going to be smarter and on arriving at Airolo, despite the pow and sunshine, I deferred on the skiing and snoozed in Subtle Plagues RV. I took solace in the fact that one of the more widely read ski weather forecasters had explicitly directed his followers to Airolo, resulting in crowding and pow frenzy that chewed up the snow at what is normally a low key area. Such is the internet.

At days end, we drove up a nearby valley and camped out for what ended up being one of the most fevered nights I'd ever had. My throat burned on every swallow and my head throbbed with a thundersome sinus headache resulting in little sleep. So once again, skiing that day was not for me. Subtle Plague was a prince about it all, understanding and left me to me convalescing.

Konstanz Again ****

At days end after Subtle and buddies had enjoyed a powdery tour, we rolled back to Konstanz in the RV. Konstanz is a beautiful town, with it's older buildings and neighborhoods having escaped some of the ravages of WWII by virtue of being on the Swiss border and thereby not targetted by bombing raids. I knew that Subtle and family had a busy Monday morning ahead of them so after sleeping Saturday night and being feasted and feted by their hospitality, I trundeled off in a train headed to St. Anton Sunday afternoon.

St. Anton, Haus Elisabeth, Arlberg Guides, Verwall, Hinterrendl **** I had initially planned to roll out East to the Gasteinertal and ski that zone, but the flu caused to me to reevaluate that plan. I wrote the wonderful folks at Hotel Echo Bad Gastein and cancelled my room there and dredged around for another option in St. Anton when I found Das-Elisabeth which fit my requirements of being reasonably close to the train station. So I booked a room there. It proved to be an excellent choice with a superb breakfast and quiet spot to finish this flu. I again chose not to ski the first day, but with a suggestion from the host, Berthe, found a doctor to check me out and write a script for the antibiotics I knew I'd need after this flu. I walked around the village in a howler snowstorm, got a good sleep and readied myself for the first turns of the trip.

St. Anton is HUGE and I not knowing it at all, I opted to try to find some guided options. The best deal I found was with the Arlberg-Guides who offered a guided group option for 97Euros. This turned out not only a great option, but fortuitous as well by virtue of meeting Sebastyn.

The lift system is staggering with a base terminal at the Galzigbahn looking like a spaceship.

The day broke blue and crowds were massive with enormous lines at the Galzigbahn. Our guide circumnavigated that queue, opting for the Gampenbahn chair for a checkout run before taking us down into Schongraben for some quality pow.

Next up, we rode up into the Galzig zone, hoping to get up into the Schindlerspitz. But due to avalanche levels being up to 4, both the Schindlergrabahn and the Valuga were closed. On traversing out towards the Arlberg Pass, we could see a gargantuan liftline at the Arlenmaderbahn, so we took a high traverse to access the Albonabahn II.

View from Albonabahn II

After a few laps down that we skied the North face down into Stuben and used the old Albonabahn chair to get back to the Albonabahn II and started down into a beautiful valley ending the day in Verwall with beer and local game charcuterie. ****************************************************************************************************

I found a sign for a museum that turned out to be a beautiful old chalet that was a combination ski museum and restaurant, so I went in for a light dinner.

Karl Schranz's Kneissl White Stars

Next day, another storm had moved in, so I elected to repeat with Arlberg Guides and again skied with Sebastyn, a sharp wit and keen skier who had grown up skiing in the Arlberg. We had a different guide who, after a warm up on the Gampenbahn, took us over to the North facing Rendelbahn zone. After riding several lifts we dropped over into Hinterrendl, a spectacular bowl of excellent powder with views obscured by storm.

Old door in St. Anton

The day after, it was still storming but I wanted to have a little more free reign, so I elected to skip the Arlberg Guides. I had also moved hotels to the Hotel Kirchplatz which was a bit East of the town center and closer to the Nassereinbahn where I started the day. Lo and behold, there was Sebastyn who kindly offered to ski with me that day. After a couple of runs, we hooked up with his friend Victoria and spent a few laps skiing the powder in what I'll call the Galzig Gullies near the Osthangbahn chair. It was light, thigh deep snow in among the trees with decent visibility. After a bit, Vicki suggested that we meet up with her boyfriend Yannick who was to get off guide duty at noon, so we skied back down to the Nasserein base. Yannick got off and suggested another lap down the powder in Schongraben. While chatted on the lifts as we sampled snow over in the Galzig zone, we found that Victoria's mom is Berthe who manages Haus Elisabeth. The Freakwhency strikes again! We ended the day with beer and wienerschitzer at the Krazy Kangaroo around 3:00. A big thanks to Seb, Vicki and Yannick!

View from Hotel Kirchplatz

Old St. Anton chalet

The next day, Friday, was my last day in the Arlberg and it was forecast to dump with rising freezing levels. Sebastyn had to head back to school, so I decided just to roll solo around the Galzig Gullies and whatever else was visible. This proved to be not much. The day started with spooky snow fractures in the trees around the gullies, but failed to actually slide on the ski cuts I put in. So I raged solo mad laps mostly on the Galzigbahn until about 1:00 when it started to rain at the bottom. By 2:00 I was soaked, so I headed back to the Hotel Kirchplatz to wash and dry stuff. It's a great hotel with a sauna, wellness spa and free washer and dryer which I sorely needed. By 3:30 I was at the bahnhof and by 4:00, rolling to Klosters.

I can see why the Arlberg is so popular: it's massive and gets a lot of snow. At the same time, it's crowded and lots of the businesses in town are jaded by tourists. I was extremely lucky to hook up with Sebastyn, Victoria and Yannick who were incredibly warm and abundant and convinced me that my aversion to St. Anton as an instance of a megaresort, was ill founded. I'll be back. ****************************************************************************************************

Klosters, Hotel Wynegg, bw_wp_hedonism, Gargellan, St. Antonien **** After a 3.5 hour jaunt on Austrian and Swiss trains, I stepped onto the platform in Klosters Platz, right next to the soaring Gotschnabahn tram. I had been in touch with bw_wp_hedonism who had generously offered to meet up. I had also dug around for a reasonably priced room, a somewhat rare beast in Klosters and had stumbled across Wynegg, a recently revamped old hotel which was establishing itself as a haute gourmando locus. So I booked a room there, a 10 minute walk from the bahnhof. bw_wp_hedonism pinged me via whatsapp and turned up in the hotel bar. We made plans for the next day to poke around Parsenn, one of 5 enormous lift systems in the Davos/Klosters complex.

I was a little late and with blue sky and fresh pow, the lines at the Gotschnabahn were significant. bw_wp_hedonism had waited and we ran into his buddy Tom and were off. We raged all over the Parsenn, up to the summit via the Furka lifts and then the Gipfelbahn where we found sweet deep untracked snow on a variety of North facing exposures.

View from Schiferbahn gondola

The area is laced with dozens of groomers that keep lots of tourists busy and provided access to an innumerable wad of excellent off piste options. After a couple of laps on the Schiferbahn in excellent pow, we met with a bunch of bw_wp_hedonism at the midmountain near the base of the Furka lift for lunch. After a lengthy lunch we made a few more sidecountry laps by taking bootpacks and traverses off the Totalp zone, eventually making apres ski at Berghaus Schifer.

View from midmountain Parsenn, untapped offpiste above

I rolled back to the Wynegg for a shower and nap before taking a table in the restaurant at 8:30.

The food was superb, starting with an excellent salad, I ordered a soup that was celestial: a foamed saffron broth and perfectly poached prawns. The wine list was fantastic with a crisp chardonnay and an excellent local, rich pinot noir by the glass. I finished with the specialty pizokel noodle and lamb in a deliciously deft creamed curry sauce. I zonked out by 22:00.

bw_wp_hedonism had referred to doing a tour I had eyeballed for years, one that went over a little pass above the Madrisa area over into the Voralberg and the Gargellen ski area, then back over to Switzerland and the tiny medieval town of St. Antonien.

**************************************************************************************************** On waking, we texted back and forth making plans to meet at the top of the Madrisabahn and head out. And so we did. It was amazing with an easy, gently ascending skin S/SE from the top of the Schaffugli lift to the Schlappiner Joch and the border with Austria.

Looking south from Madrisa

On the skintrack to Schlappiner Joch. Schlappiner where?

At Schlappiner Joch

The ski down from there was on beautiful sparsely tracked North facing steep slopes with a long and easy run out down to Gargellen where we had to stop in at the base of the gondola to get single ride passes back up to the top of the Kristelbahn and a slightly more significant climb up to the Sankt Antonier Joch.

From there. it was a West/Northwest facing series of virgin pow lines draining down into a creek gully which fed us out onto a road requiring the canonical walk in ski boots down into the atmospheric town of St. Antonien clustered around a spike steepled church dated 1492. There we enjoyed beer and charcuterie until the bus came and we wound around curves connecting ancient villages down to the train station at Kublis.

St. Antonien

At the Kublis bahnhof, I thanked bw_wp_hedonism and pal Tom for their gracious abundance, I had had an amazing time around Davos, again, more data that eroded my reluctance to ski at the more reknown areas.

I rallied back to Klosters and the Hotel Wynegg, extending my sincere thanks to Cedric and all the folks who run an incredibly warm and tasteful hotel to which I hope to return. Grabbing my clothes and gear, I hopped the train for Rueras, Switzerland to meet up with the motley band of maggots at MtLodge

****************************************************************************************************

Rueras, MtLodge **** The train actually ended in Disentis with the last leg of the trip to Rueras in the trusty Swiss postbus which kindly dropped me at the very door to the hotel. There I met the owner, Michele, an effusive and warm persona who set me up with a sweet room and delicious food and drink. He had also queued up a number of routes and tours that I had ogled for years. But first, sleep. It was dumping.

Morning brought delicious coffee and the classic Euro breakfast spread while making plans with all the k00ks who had rendezvoused at MtLodge With fairly heavy snow coming down, we decided to ride lifts from Dieni, a 10 minute walk from the hotel, over towards Andermatt and see how far we got. The forecast 5-10 cm turned out to be more like 20-30 cm and deeper in the wind loaded places. At Dieni, we made 1 lap before heading up and over into Val-Val where we kind of got stuck lapping a sweet stash of pow at least 4 times before punching it further West into the Oberalppass zone and ripping lines of powder varying from boot top to waist deep until lunch was called at the hutte there. When Mr. Mike and I tried to share a charcuterie board, the waiter either misunderstood or was taking the tourists for a ride, yelling "YOU ORDER, I MAKE" as we tried to clarify we only wanted 1 order.

Afternoon brought a few more laps on the Schneehuenderstck gondy before we started making our way back towards Dieni where again we spun run after run of virgin pow turns, finally some of us throwing in the towel at 3:00 after milking one more untracked zone. We took the sled run all the way back to Rueras and MtLodge for drinks and a delicious dinner. More of the maggot crew had arrived.

Dieni

Next morning Tuesday, most of the fistful had targeted Andermatt, so we took the early train over and ramped and raged off the Gemsstock tram. Skiing the West couloirs first thing proved to be not such a good idea for some. After a warm up, a few of us went out to ski the Giraffe which only had about 15 tracks in it. We returned to it again later to find only 30 or so tracks. After a few more front side runs, the whole fistful took the Guspis down to Hospental which had wide swaths of uncut snow and the usual stunning scenery, ending with beer and dried meats at the Gotthard Haus before a train ride back to Rueras.

Guspis at 4:00 pm

Skiing into Hospental

Next day, Wednesday, the host with the most, Michele at mt-lodge, had arranged enough transport for us to go over to St. Moritz via the Juler Pass and Bivio. Once at Corvatsch, the highest ski area in St. Moritz, we met Michele's buddy Matteo who took us first down the Northwest couloir to ski acres of stunning pow, then over to Val Roseg past Piz Roseg and the Morteratsch Gletscher and down to lunch at Hotel Restaurant Roseg Gletscher which was awesome. Then an ugly 37 minute long pole and skate out to Pontresina to catch the bus over to Corviglia where we took the 2 stage funicular and a chair ride. Then a little traverse and bootpack to drop into Val Bever with hectares of uncut, Northwest facing powder skiing. The day ended at Gasthaus Spinas with beer and another series of train and bus rides back to pizza in Celerina.

Lunch of cream of asparagus soup with prawn at Hotel Restaurant Roseg Gletscher

Icefall off back of Piz Roseg

Piz Roseg

****************************************************************************************************

Dropping into Val Bever

Thursday, the morning destination was Disentis, a 5 minute train ride to Acla da Fontauna and a short walk up to the tram.It was a gorgeous bluebird day with evidence of the suns heat on some of the south facing slopes. After a warm up, we took a short skin up to one of the entries to Val Strem to the West. With a little downclimb from the col into a couloir, we were set for a few thousand vertical of Northwest facing pow surrounded by rock and ice. We skied out to the train at Sedrun and hopped it, going West pver to Andermatt to meet with another portion of the crew. The afternoon was spent mostly skiing in the main bowl under the upper Gemsstock and finishing with a lap out into the Felsental where we continued to find good soft lightly tracked powder.

Val Strem entrance couloir

Scott smoking up the Val Strem pow

Val Strem from the bottom

Felsental

****************************************************************************************************

Friday, the last day at Rueras, we had planned to do the Oberalpstock, a well known descent of over 2000 meters, and one I had lusted after for a decade. North facing down into the Maderental valley. Michele had arranged for guides, some Italian friends of his and we were off to start at 8:30 on the early Disentis tram. The original plan had been for the group of 17 to split into 2 groups, one to do the Oberalpstock, which has some technical parts, and the other group to take a more mellow tour down into Val Strem. Unfortunately, our guides were not comfortable with splitting the group, so some of us decided to not take the tour and instead ski pistes at Disentis.

The climb involved a fairly easy skin to start with then a bit of a traverse to a via ferrata that climbs a rocky section and leads onto another traverse followed by a short downhill section. I am notoriously slow on the skin track, so by the time we skied the short downhill section and started another longer climb, I was far behind the main group. At one point the skin track split with one variation going to the climbers left and up to the summit of the Oberalpstock itself. The right branch took a mellower ascent to a shoulder where the actual skiing down the North side began. I was convinced the group had headed up the summit and I was lagging, so I headed up intent on catching up with the rest of the group. But in fact, they had taken the mellower right branch and were waiting for me there. Hell bent on summiting, I argued in broken English with the guide, Rosso who relented and accompanied me to the summit where to my surprise there were no other members of the group. So I skied down mashed potato snow from the south facing summit and sidestepped to catch the group.

Oberalpstock traverse before via ferrata

Climbing the via ferrata

Oberalpstock summit selfie

View across first portion of Oberalpstock after via ferrata

View from the Oberalpstock summit

Looking down into Maderental 2400 vertical meters below

Skiing down the Oberalpstock

The Oberalpstock is enormous and despite a lot of tracks, we found sections of uncut, consistent steep pitches rolling North into the Maderental of vertical drop around 2200 meters. One section near the bottom was hard ice and the guides set up ropes to help control that section.

Eventually we skied corn in an avalanche chute down into a cow pasture. It was an all-time route appropriate to end the trip.

Walking along the Maderental

Special thanks to Michele for organizing the trips to St. Moritz, the Oberalpstock and providing warm, abundant hospitality at MtLodge. Also thanks to my ski fiend pals Subtle Plague, bw_wp_hedonism and all the maggot k00ks who showed up to sample skiing in the Swiss Alps.

MountainLodge

#skiing #powder #europe #last chair #backcountry #alps

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onimiman · 5 years

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Halloween 2018 Film Retrospective (no major spoilers ahead)

Throughout the entirety of the month of October 2018, I had watched a movie everyday that was, in at least some tangential way, related to Halloween. I can't really call all of them horror films (and to find out why, please see below), although I will say that many of them were unfortunately films that ranged from mediocre to downright unwatchable; had I not been forcing myself to watch these movies for the month, I would have given up ten minutes or so in. And I know I'm a bit late to the party since I'm only posting this on November 3rd, but fuck it, here's the list anyway. So without further ado, let's begin this retrospective with not the first film I watched this October, but the last film I watched for September, which I will call Film #0.

#0: The Babysitter (2017)

The plot: A twelve-year-old boy still hangs out with his babysitter when his parents are away, and just as he is developing deeper feelings for her, he learns a dark secret about her and her friends. This prompts him to undergo a night of survival that forces him to grow up and move on from his own feelings of inadequacy.

My thoughts: This movie feels like it was somehow a holdover script from the 1990s; when the film brings up an element from 1996's hit movie Independence Day, a movie that no one gives a shit about anymore (see how its sequel, 2016's Independence Day: Resurgence, flopped hard at the box office), it serves as only one piece of evidence for that claim. However, I did find the movie to be quite fun nonetheless, even if not all of the jokes in this horror comedy quite landed the way they intended to, but to me, it did have a stable story structure and everything storywise paid off with what was established early on. It's an easy less than 90 minutes to kill on Netflix and I recommend it even if you're not a horror fan.

#1: Leatherface (2017)

The plot: In this prequel to Tobe Hooper's seminal 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, we see the birth of the cannibalistic Sawyer family's iconic member turn into this film's titular villain.

My thoughts: By all means, this was a stupid and unnecessary film that shouldn't have been made. But I went into this expecting to simply be entertained by the violence and gore that was to come about. And was I? Yes, I was, and admittedly, the film did make me feel stupid in misleading me as to who Leatherface was going to be, even though there was a piece of evidence in the movie that did make me think, “Naw, it couldn't be.” So, for that, I can't completely shit on this film. If you're not a fan of gore, you'll despise this movie, but for me, it's a guilty pleasure by far.

#2: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

The plot: In this remake of Tobe Hooper's seminal 1974 horror classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre... pretty much the same shit from that film occurs in this one with only a few slight differences.

My thoughts: Having watched this not long after watching Leatherface, I knew that I was going to get something significantly more conventional, and boy did I get it. It's as boring and unmemorable as most other horror films from the 2000s are, and if I wasn't doing this retrospective, I would have forgotten this one altogether. And moreover, the kills in this are so much more disappointing than in Leatherface, with little to no gore here, so I can't even watch this from the POV of basic primal enjoyment. Skip this one whether you're a horror fan or not.

#3: Goosebumps (2015)

The plot: What starts off as a boy-meets-girl story turns into a spooktacular tale of adventure that involves stopping an army of monsters that come directly from the mind of children's horror author R.L. Stine.

My thoughts: This is a movie that I imagined that I would have enjoyed watching as a kid every now and then, especially during Halloween, but as it stands, it's a little too dull for me and it makes me question what kind of threat do any of these monsters pose to our characters if they never actually kill anyone. It's still fun, if even in a standard way, and Jack Black as R.L. Stine, while incredibly hokey in the role, is obviously having a lot of fun here, so for that, I guess I can recommend this one if you have kids. There's nothing in here that'll actually scare them (unless they're a young Justin Bieber type who'll have nightmares over fucking Scooby-Doo) so you won't have anything to worry about showing them this.

#4: Silent Hill (2006)

The plot: When a young woman takes her adopted daughter to a ghost town called Silent Hill to solve the mystery of the girl's nightmares, they are quickly separated from one another and plunged into a dark demented world with hints of a core secret that must be solved.

My thoughts: I heard about how bad this one was for years, but as I was watching it once the characters actually reached Silent Hill, I found myself enjoying it and finding it to be a legitimately scary movie. The problem? The payoff at the end. I don't know if this is the payoff in the game, but the solution somehow felt a little too mundane and I kind of eye-rolled at the film's jabs at religion (and I speak as someone who's not religious at all). Decent movie for the most part, but I can't really recommend it on account of where it all leads.

#5: Venom (2018)

The plot: When disgraced San Francisco journalist Eddie Brock sneaks into the lab owned by the business magnate who ruined his career, he is bonded to an alien parasite who gives him extraordinary abilities and the antihero persona of Venom. Together, Eddie and Venom must work together if they are to take down business magnate Carlton Drake and the symbiote that he bonded to, Riot, before they can unleash a symbiote invasion upon Earth.

My thoughts: Okay, I know this is kind of cheating because it's not really a horror film in a conventional sense, but since the movie deals with a man being bonded to something that can kill him from the inside if they are both not properly fed, I thought I'd include this movie in this retrospective. Now, with that being said, I found this movie to be pretty standard for a superhero film, and in the year that films like Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Deadpool 2 came out, Venom looks kind of subpar in comparison. However, as standard as the story and action scenes were, I still enjoyed it for what it was, and as cliched as it is to say this now, Tom Hardy as both Eddie and Venom have some magnificent chemistry that makes me want to see more of them in a sequel. I'd recommend it, but with this stipulation: Only if you're not too versed in superhero films.

#6: Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

The plot: A pair of mysterious death leads a medical doctor and the daughter of one of the victims to investigate a conspiracy in a Halloween mask-producing factory that can have far-reaching consequences.

My thoughts: I regret seeing this movie for only one reason: That this wasn't the film I saw for October 31st, because this is, by far, the most Halloweeniest movie I have ever seen. Otherwise, I enjoyed this movie more than I did the original 1978 Halloween or any of its sequels or remakes (which I'll get to later in this retrospective). While not exactly having the best atmosphere, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is a very interesting movie that is draped in its titular holiday, with a unique premise to boot, that is kind of suspenseful, even if it doesn't have a real resolution. It's a film I wouldn't mind rewatching for next year, especially if it's a rainy day.

#7: Final Girl (2015)

The plot: A teenage girl is trained in rigorous self-defense techniques by a mysterious man for the purpose of combating those who seek to wrong others.

My thoughts: As trite as that premise may sound, it's still very interesting in execution, especially if one is familiar with horror movie tropes like the defenseless teenage girl who wins at the end despite all odds against her. It's decently acted and directed, it runs at just the right length, and if I have any complaints about it, I just wish we went into this movie with our killers believing that this was just going to be another of their victims so that we could be surprised at the turn of events. Other than that mil critique, it's a quaint, simple film that you could watch on Netflix on a rainy day like the previous movie above.

#8: ThanksKilling (2008)

The plot: A 500-year-old talking turkey is brought back to life via dog urine on his grave and intends to kill the nearest people nearby.

My thoughts: This movie was an abominable piece of shit that's as unbelievable in every way as the premise that I laid out above. I'm not even joking about the dog piss thing either; that's how the killer comes back. The filmmaking here is student-level amateurish, the acting in it is jaw-droppingly bad, and this film's attempts at trying to be humorous make me want to punch a cat. Never watch this movie ever.

#9: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

The plot: Ten years after his killing spree in 1978's Halloween and 1981's Halloween II, Michael Myers has returned (as the title would indicate). With his sister Laurie Strode having died in a car accident in between films, Michael's new target is his niece, Jamie Lloyd, and his titular return renews the carnage that his psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis, must stop.

My thoughts: A fairly dull film that's only half as decent as the first two films and nowhere near as entertaining as the third. The acting on the parts of Donald Pleasance as Dr. Loomis and Danielle Harris's turn as Jamie Lloyd were the bright spots in this film, and the ending is famous for being one of the most shocking things in this series that is never followed up on. Unfortunately, I can't recommend anyone watch this, whether you're a normie or a Halloween fan, especially considering what follows...

#10: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

The plot: Pretty much the same shit as the last movie only with more self-aware corniness this time around and a shittier Michael Myers mask.

My thoughts: Ditto from what the plot described. I feel bad for Pleasance and Harris here, they are way too good for this movie.

#11: Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

The plot: Michael Myers finally kills his niece Jamie Lloyd, but now must go after her child as per instructions from the Cult of Thorn. But not if Dr. Loomis, Kara Strode, and Tommy Doyle have anything to say about it!

My thoughts: If you thought that how I delivered this plot wasn't exactly all that Halloweeny, believe me, this movie doesn't deserve to be treated with that kind of respect. I honestly don't want to say anything more about this movie except for these two things: what an awful last movie for Donald Pleasance to go out on before he died, and for a first movie, who woulda thought that Paul Rudd could be so damn boring?

#12: Halloween II (2009)

The plot: Director Rob Zombie takes one last shit on the Halloween franchise after his 2007 remake of the first movie debacle. Is it sad that this movie gets less of a respectful plot synopsis than the last three Halloween movies discussed on this list?

My thoughts: I saw Rob Zombie's 2007 Halloween remake in the theater, and it was one of the worst movies I'd seen on the big screen. I'm so glad I missed out on this one when this came out in theaters because holy fuck, this one makes Zombie's first Halloween look like a masterpiece in comparison. I could go on to explain why for those of you haven't seen these movies, but all I have to do is point you to Phelan Porteus's reviews of Rob Zombie's Halloween movies; he'll explain it all.

#13: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

The plot: Deranged child murderer Fred Krueger returns from the dead in the form of a dream demon to kill the teenage offspring of the people who murdered him through those teenagers' dreams.

My thoughts: Finally, a legitimately good movie on this list that I don't have to dismiss as just mindless fun or even scary but with a bad payoff at the end like with Silent Hill. This movie is good even if you're not a horror fan; I whole-heartedly recommend this. And if nothing else, it's interesting to see how young Johnny Depp was, what with this being his first movie, and I could see just what the ladies saw in him back then.

#14: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

The plot: Freddy's back! And this time, he intends to enter the real world through the form of a troubled teenage boy who may or may not have some repressed feelings about himself...

My thoughts: This movie is about as subtle in its homo-eroticism as a series of Michael Bay explosions (not that I'm against homo-eroticism, since I'm a bisexual myself, I just think that this movie was a little too on the nose with that kind of stuff). And while I did find this movie to be surface-level enjoyable for the creative kills, I can't help but think that this was kind of dull, especially in comparison to the first film and as we move forward with the other sequels. The worst part about this is that I find myself scratching my head as to why this is a Nightmare on Elm Street movie when, in spite of the use of dreams here, this doesn't really feel like the Freddy Krueger we know from the first movie nor does this hold up with the character we see in the subsequent sequels. I don't know how to explain it, but somehow, Freddy's characterization seems off in this one. In spite of this film's inclusion of homo-eroticism, something we seldom see in movies like this, I have no problem saying that you can skip this one.

#15: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

The plot: Nancy Thompson, the sole survivor of the first Nightmare on Elm Street, returns with Freddy Krueger this movie, and this time, she intends to help his intended victims fight back. In a sanitarium for suicidal teens with sleep disorders, Freddy intends to kill the last of the Elm Street children. But Nancy intends to utilize the help of one of the teens, Kristen Parker, who has the special ability to unite people into a single dream space and allow them to develop their own dream powers to counter Freddy. But Freddy isn't as easy to defeat as one may think.

My thoughts: Honestly, this is as good of a sequel as the first Nightmare on Elm Street deserved, as it's a unique take that manages to continue the story of the first in a natural yet unorthodox way, not unlike what Aliens did with Alien. The horror of the first film may be toned down significantly here, but at least the story was interesting, the characters were fun to watch, and Freddy is so much fun here. I recommend it for how Inception-y this movie can get, even if this doesn't have the same level of intelligence as that movie did.

#16: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

The plot: Despite his defeat at the end of the previous film, Freddy Krueger is resurrected and he finally accomplishes his goal of murdering the last of the Elm Street children, accomplishing his goal once and for all. However, Freddy isn't so satisfied; he wants more children and teens to kill, and he will get more, through Kristen Parker's friend, Alice Johnson, to whom Kristen gave her dream-sharing ability. So unless Alice can find a way to stop Freddy, the latter's fun could continue...

My thoughts: I think it's safe to say this is the point in the franchise when all the horror in Freddy Krueger is pretty much gone and replaced with fun schlocky Freddy. And you know what? I'm okay with that, because it's always great to see Robert Englund have fun in this role. And in spite of the writing not being as strong as it was in the first and third films, I still find myself caring about our characters like Alice, and I was genuinely saddened when the last of the Dream Warriors died. It's rare when I can actually feel that kind of sadness for dead meat characters like these. Fun watch, would recommend, but be prepared to look at Freddy in a different light. And stay around after the credits, as Freddy sings a hilarious rap that just made me smile.

#17: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

The plot: Freddy just can't stay dead, for now he has a new dream master to kill people through: Alice Johnson's unborn child, who spends 70% of his life in a dream state in his mother's womb. So how can Alice defeat Freddy this time without having to sacrifice her dream child in the process?

My thoughts: “Faster than a bastard maniac! More powerful than a loco-madman! It's Super-Freddy!” If you don't know what that scene is, I urge you to look it up, as it's the best scene of the whole movie and it really capitalizes on just how much of a joke Freddy Krueger has become at this point in the series. However, unlike the bastardization of a character like Michael Myers in, say, one of Rob Zombie's Halloween movies, Freddy is still an enjoyable enough character where even one who despises the Nightmare sequels overall can still find little jewels like the aforementioned line. Give it a watch if only for just that one scene.

#18: Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

The plot: Freddy Krueger has all but run out of kills in his hometown, and now he wants to expand nationally. But not if his daughter has anything to say about it!

My thoughts: This has become pure comedy at this point. But my God this is golden. When one of this movie's kills is an extended scene of a guy jumping around with cartoonish sound effects to boot while dreaming that he's in a video game being played by Freddy, you know that the filmmakers know what kind of movie they're making. And I enjoyed this as one of the most guilty pleasure films I'd ever seen. I do think that the film ended on a somewhat anticlimactic note, but alas, the film was an interesting end to Freddy's evolution as a character of horror to a character of dark comedy, and for that, I recommend this one.

#19: Halloween (2018)

The plot: Forty years after he terrorized Haddonfield, Michael Myers has once again escaped from Smith's Grove Hospital to return to where his reign of terror all started. But this time, the one who got away, Laurie Strode, is ready for him... but her daughter and granddaughter may not be.

My thoughts: Aside from Jamie Lee Curtis's fantastic performance in this film, I thought this was just a run-of-the-mill horror film that's competent enough and has its moments but is otherwise forgettable if you forget that this is a Halloween film. If you're a Halloween fan, I think you'll be satisfied; it's certainly better than the majority of its sequels (especially The Curse of Michael Myers and Resurrection) but that's all.

#20: Meet the Blacks (2016)

The plot: During the Purge, the Black family (yes, that's their last name, and yes, the film does make several racially inappropriate jokes about it) move into an upper class white neighborhood where they are confronted by their patriarch's past in the forms of those he's financially wronged in some way or another.

My thoughts: This is only the second worst movie I've seen for this retrospective (yes, ThanksKilling is number one). Aside from all the racist jokes going on here, this movie is just a failure of a comedy and as a spoof/satire of the Purge franchise. It doesn't say anything new or fresh or in any interesting ways, and in fact, some of the “comedy” here just doesn't make any sense (then again, I just might be missing out on a reference, as if that's supposed to justify bad comedy). This movie may have been less than 90 minutes, but my God, it felt like an eternity having to slog through this piece of shit. Do I honestly even need to say skip this one?

#21: The Rezort (2015)

The plot: Years after the cancellation of the zombie apocalypse, the remaining zombies have been rounded up to an island owned by a private company where people can come and pay as tourists to shoot zombies. But when a conscientious objector sabotages the island's systems, the zombies quickly take over and many people die. So a small group of tourist survivors must reach a rendezvous point at the end of the island if they are to escape not only the zombies but also a strafing bombardment meant to eliminate the zombie outbreak.

My thoughts: For a movie that was obviously conceptualized as Jurassic Park (or Jurassic World since this park is actually running) but with zombies instead of dinosaurs, this movie ain't half-bad. The characters are nothing to write home about, although there is a Dirty Harry-type I was routing for the entire movie, and the action and plot are pretty standard for a zombie flick. Still, it's a mildly fun time and I recommend you give it a go.

#22: Scream (1996)

The plot: A mysterious serial killer who is savvy in the ways of the slasher subgenre of horror is gradually killing off various people around high schooler Sidney Prescott. So who could it be?

My thoughts: Talk about a standard slasher flick elevated by the principle of being meta. I enjoyed it, yes, and with the way the film is constructed as a whodunit, it certainly manages to stand out as above average overall. I could see how this was revolutionary back in the 1990s, but now, with pretty much every single genre movie being self-aware in some way or another, I just kind of shrug my shoulders at it as an experience. I think it helps if you're familiar with the slasher subgenre if you're to watch this, but I think it's a good enough film to stand on its own to someone who hasn't seen a slasher flick their whole lives, if only for the story.

#23: Hush (2016)

The plot: A woman with an instinctive writer's mind who is both deaf and mute in a cabin in the woods is thrust into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a deranged serial killer who wants to toy with her before he kills her.

My thoughts: This is a movie that squeezes every bit of tension and suspense it can in the eighty-something minutes it has, and it makes good use of that tension and suspense in conjunction with its expert pacing. At no point did I think anything was dragged out; everything here was just as long as it needed to be, and it was all resolved in a satisfactory (and quite bloody) way that left me feeling, “Yep, that was a good time.”

#24: The Bye Bye Man (2017)

The plot: There is a demonic entity known as the Bye Bye Man who will psychologically torture you before he kills you if you think or say his name. And he's doing that to three young adults who are all living together in a haunted house. Yeah...

My thoughts: A very forgettable, subpar horror film with an antagonist with an awful name and no memorable appearance. Skip.

#25: Scream 2 (1997)

The plot: One year after the Woodsboro killings, Sidney Prescott is once again haunted by the return of Ghostface as she is attending college this time around. But who could Ghostface be this time? And what meta-commentaries could this movie bring forth about the slasher genre and sequels both?

My thoughts: This is a film that feels like it was planned out from the beginning as a companion piece to the first film; by that, I mean that it feels like writer Kevin Williamson always intended to have this movie be made after Scream had come out. And considering that this movie was released only a year after its predecessor, I think that theory may be true (then again, I haven't done any research for this movie, so for all I know, Williamson and Wes Craven didn't even intend for there to be a sequel in the first place). Regardless, this feels like a natural progression of the first film and while not necessarily surpassing it in terms of quality, I feel like it lives up to the first Scream in a satisfactory way.

#26: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

The plot: After years of killing horny teenage counselors at Camp Crystal Lake, Jason Voorhees is finally blown away into literal bits and pieces by the FBI. However, his spirit lives on as his essence is passed on from person to person until he can find a permanent new body through a living blood relative, and all the while, his killing spree resumes.

My thoughts: As a movie that was intended to be the finale to Jason Voorhees, this did have some silly moments in it like Freddy's Dead but not nearly as over-the-top. And it is a little disappointing to not have Jason in his prime form like he was in Friday the 13th Part VI to VIII and, again, it was a little bit more disappointing than Freddy's Dead (which is far more entertaining), especially since this movie retcons so much of Jason's mythology that it feels like no one who worked on this movie has ever seen a Jason movie. So, yeah, I can't recommend this one unless you're a Friday the 13th fan (and even then, I don't think you'll like it).

#27: Terrifier (2016)

The plot: A mute man in a creepy clown costume stalks multiple victims in a condemned apartment complex with ruthless killing methods that make him worthy of the moniker Terrifier.

My thoughts: Holy shit, this movie was fucking creepy... and I fucking loved it. Of course, I can't recommend it to everyone, as this movie was also ridiculously over-the-top with its violence and gore. I don't want to give anything away, but as an example, there is a scene that involves our killer, Art the Clown, with a saw and a woman's who's upside down that's one of the most shocking things I've seen... and, again, I fucking loved it. It was an unnerving film that's worthy of having been watched for this month.

#28: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

The plot: Take Jane Austin's feminist classic Pride and Prejudice and then shoe-horn a half-baked zombie plot into it. Okay...

My thoughts: I'm not familiar with Pride and Prejudice, so I went into this completely blind. But with that being said, I still thought that this was one of the most pointless, unfunny and unexciting parodies I've seen. The action scenes aren't all that good and it makes me wonder why this was adapted to the big screen. And as for the parts that are actually in Pride and Prejudice (at least as far as I can guess), I thought they were competently done, but they're just not for me. I guess someone who really Pride and Prejudice might like it, but that's only if they have a taste for zombie violence, too. Otherwise, skip this one; it's just dull.

#29: Zombeavers (2014)

The plot: A container of radioactive waste falls from a truck and floats down a river to infect a number of beavers that are nearby a cabin where a bunch of horny teenagers are. And those beavers become zombie beavers, or zombeavers.

My thoughts: I thought I was going into a movie that was going to be on the same level of bad as ThanksKilling, but thankfully, while the comedy isn't anything to write home about, the acting is at least competent and I was amused by the events that were going on. It was interesting to see what would happen if a zombeaver infected a human, and there were decent amount of subverting of expectations as to who was going to die first and who would live (and not in a Rian Johnson way either). I could see this movie not working for everyone, but it's fun enough as a creature feature with a supernatural element to it.

#30: Event Horizon (1997)

The plot: In 2047, a spaceship dubbed the Event Horizon mysteriously reappears near the edge of Earth's solar system and a salvage team is sent to investigate what happened. But as they arrive, they find that the ship may be more than just a ship now...

My thoughts: As much as I'd love to see what this movie would have looked like had the filmmakers not toned back on the violence and gore, I was still satisfied by what we got here. Sam Neill delivers a deliciously evil performance once Dr. Weir goes to the dark side that it practically borders on Tim Curry territory, and I thought the movie was a good space horror film that was just original enough to be its own thing and not be a knockoff of, say, Alien. Give it a watch; the violence you do see here ain't that bad.

#31: Halloweed (2016)

The plot: A couple of stoners move to a small town so that one of them can get away from the reputation of being the son of a now-dead serial killer. But what these stoners don't know is that they've arrived just in time for a slew of killings to start as Halloween approaches.

My thoughts: I'm mentally kicking myself for having this be the movie I ended the month of October on. This was one of the lamest comedies I've ever seen in my life; I can't remember laughing at all in this bland turd. And it could hardly qualify as a slasher film since the slasher killings don't start until there's about 49 minutes left in the film, and even then, it's barely focused on for the rest of the movie until it's resolved at the end. Skip this and don't let it be anywhere on your viewing block for next Halloween.

And that's it. Those were all 31 of the films I'd seen for the month of Halloween, one for each day. It was quite a venture, but one worth the time if only for bragging rights if not for entertainment (especially since very few of these movies were any real good). So please leave a comment, let me know if you saw any of these movies, if not for this past Halloween, then if you have seen any of these at all, and if so, let me know if you agree or disagree. Until then, here's to better films next Halloween!

*This post has been paid for and sponsored by Silver Shamrock, Inc. When you want quality masks at affordable prices, and a guarantee that they won't unleash killer insects and snakes that will trigger a potential apocalypse, look no further for a Happy Happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock!

#halloween #halloween films #film retrospective

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daleisgreat · 3 years

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Dale’s Top 31 Gaming Experiences of 2020

Welcome to the 2021 installment for my ranking top gaming moments and experiences of the previous year, regardless of what year the game was released in! Besides ranking my the games themselves, This encompasses all videogame-adjacent experiences aside such as movies, board games, accessories and hardware related items and possibly more! This will be a lengthy read so I suggest right now inputting ‘Ctrl + D’ to bookmark this page, and/or make use of a handy ‘read later’ app like Pocket. This year’s recommended background reading music is a soundtrack I recently got clued into from the MojoMenace community in the form of the score for Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst you can check out by click or pressing here. If you somehow manage to want more of these behemoth reads, than I will point you to my previous year-end recaps here: 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016 To assist with this read, here are some in-article page anchors to instantly jump around to bookmarks on the rankings! CHAPTERS Part 1 – Rankings 31 through 25 Part 2 – Rankings 24 through 18 Part 3 – Rankings 17 through 12 Part 4 – Rankings 11 through 7 Part 5 – Rankings 6 through 4 Part 6 – Rankings 3 through 1 PART 1 – Rankings 31 through 25 31) The Worst Wrestling Game of all Time! For a project I will detail later on I had to relive the abyss of wrestling games that is WCW Nitro on the N64. It is a port of the PSone version, and it was as awful as I remembered first experiencing it two decades prior. If you want to experience broken controls, insufferable slowdown, and a flatout painful experience of a game, then Nitro is where it is at. Instead of playing the games, I will instead opt to link you to this clip of the PSone version because it has these so-bad-it’s-good FMVs of the wrestlers trash talking on the character select screen.

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30) The Remake Frothingly Demanded for Years….Delivered!

I was ecstatic to see the Final Fantasy VII fanbase finally get the modern-gen remake they have been craving for years. I only consider myself a mild fan because I started that game several times, and only progressed shortly past Midgar in my farthest attempt. Through Midgar is what the Remake covers though, and going by all the coverage I have seen, it looks like Square shocked the doubters and nailed it by expanding on that section of the original game with a ton of new content and storylines to flesh out that iconic setting and cast. I played the demo and loved the stunningly overhauled visuals and combat. One day I will play the full game, but for the time being I will be sufficed with my former podcast co-hosts’ cutouts of the cinematics for most of the game. 29) FMV-Camp Returns! A couple years back on a Game Informer stream they jokingly started playing a modern day Sega CD FMV-style choose your own adventure game, Late Shift. It was a throwback to those camply FMV games that dominated the SegaCD. However, this one actually had solid production values and all around acting for an indie release, and the Game Informer crew slowly got into it as it went along. Seeing them navigate through the first chunk of the game inspired me purchase it, and I finally got around to throwing it in this year and is it a breezy game to get through in under three hours. The storyline branches off in all kinds of directions based on your choices, so I played through it twice and got pretty different endings both times in this game that sees an overnight car park clerk getting forced into a heist job against his own will. The developers at Wales Interactive went on to make a couple more games in this FMV style like The Complex, The Shapeshifting Detective and The Bunker, and I feel they are on the right path with how much I got into Late Shift so I wound up putting all three of those other games on my radar!

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28) Hey, Watch me Ollie!

The emotional nostalgia burst that poured down upon me within minutes of firing up Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 was insane. Almost instantly within loading up my first two minute run I could tell the game just felt like how I remembered the awesome PSone game I played to death. Having almost all the memorable songs from the soundtracks of the first two games also incredibly helps. I believe it was intentional on the developers to have the very first song to boot up when playing being “Superman.” This near perfect HD remake/update of the first two games erases the poor attempt done on the 360 and PS3 several years prior. This would have ranked much higher if I had a chance to put more time into this. 27) Unexpected Carnage Following up on last year’s entry where I made the retro purchase of the Jaguar, I had one more session with Atari’s “64-bit” feline with my friend Derek. One Jaguar game I was eager to get some two-player co-op in was with its version of Total Carnage. It was the “bigger and better” sequel to Smash TV, another arcade classic I cherished. Never playing the sequel though I was eager to start it up with Derek, but only upon a few minutes in we realized this was a grave mistake due to the Jaguar port being rough around the edges and only limited continues allowed which resulted in us making very little progress. Before Derek left I remembered I owned Midway Arcade Treasures on the 360, which had Total Carnage in its line-up. We popped that in, and mercifully that fun-yet-brutal version of the game allowed infinite continues and we absolutely capitalized on that option and proceeded to knock out a huge chunk of the game. It mixes up the room-style gameplay of Smash TV and opens it up into levels that scroll up like Ikari Warriors and Mercs, but with that same style of over-the-top action. 26) Unleashing Destruction in the Streets and Rings

At the beginning of the year longtime friend Steve and I had a fun night planned catching a minor league hockey game an hour out of town, but of course a blizzard spoiled that for us by closing the highways. Luckily we had a back-up plan of meeting up for a game night that included marching through the entire tag team championship mode of WWF WrestleFest and all of the arcade version of Final Fight. Steve also had the arcade follow-up to Saturday Night Slam Masters that never received a home release in North America in Ring of Destruction that we tore each other apart in. Finally, I demonstrated FirePro Wrestling World to Steve, and we busted out our vintage favorite football game, ESPN NFL 2K5. It was a hell of a game night, and thank goodness for back-up plans! 25) And the Keighley goes to….

The last few years I have been looking forward more and more to the end-of-the-year videogame award show Geoff Keighley puts on. His annual award showcase keeps improving each year, and has a far lower amount of compromises that the decade’s worth of VGAs on Spike had to endure. Each year Geoff keeps getting closer to that sweet balance of acceptance award speeches, game trailers/reviews and special live performances. He stepped up bigtime this year for not having a crowd in attendance, and I was dreading throughout the show for any one of this virtual award nominees to have an audio or video snafu at any moment, but luckily everything worked out. There were some impressive game reveals too with an intriguing teaser for a new Mass Effect game focusing on the original trilogy characters stealing the show. I have seen a notable contingent criticize Geoff for lack of focus on awards, but it seems almost right where it should be. He tried going all awards the first year he had control, but it was overkill and an insanely long show. Sure, there are spots that can use some tweaking, but for the most part The Game Awards I feel are a worthy end-of-year award show for the industry I have been enjoying for the past several years now. PART 2 – Rankings 24 through 18 24) Online Gaming Therapy The pandemic undeniably made 2020 a rut of a year for everyone. I miss meeting up indoors and hanging out with friends and family as much as the next person. I was able to do some alternate social distancing outdoor meet-ups with friends and family during the summer and fall, but North Dakota’s winter put a halt to that. What has significantly helped has been doing more online gaming than I usually do this year in general. I will cite a few more examples as you read on below, but I want to highlight this so I can be thankful to have a perfectly viable way to still game with friends and family during the pandemic. I have played a lot of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! online with my dad and brother this year. I love my game show videogame adaptations, but one quirk I want to point out in the Xbox One version of Jeopardy is that it does not have the option to traditionally input responses, and instead offers three multiple choice responses instead. I would call blasphemy on this, but there has been so many releases of Jeopardy! over the years that it was actually kind of a neat alternative way to play the classic game show……this time! 23) Love for Videogame Coffee Table Books This past year has seen a surge in videogame hardcover tomes that have been an indulgence of mine the past few years. It started with Pat Contri’s “Ultimate Nintendo” line dedicated to reviewing all the games on the NES & SNES. I have Kickstarted two similar anthology books this past year focused on the Dreamcast and Vita. The Dreamcast book is still in production, but I already received the Vita book in the mail, and a quick flip through of it already indicates it is an exhaustive look at the Vita’s library.

There have been a couple other books that are less all-encompassing and focus more on showcasing artwork based on the system with supplemental interviews with developers who worked on it. The two I have on those are based on Sega’s Genesis and Master System consoles. These are perfect coffee table books for friends and family to flip through, and a nice refresher on history to see how others have perceived and rated the games I grew up with. I also took advantage of the recent Humble Bundle charity offering that collected nearly 100 videogame-themed eBooks for around the suggested $35 donation. I need to one day get a viable tablet or eBook reader for all these. Any suggestions? When Pat Contri sent out a tweet last summer seeking additional writers to help with the upcoming N64 book of his Ultimate Nintendo line, I sent in a resume with my credentials and shortly after trading a few emails was welcomed onto the team! It has been a trip and a half revisiting N64 games I have not played in decades or had yet to discover until this project. As of this writing I have at least a couple hundred hours into the N64 games I am covering! That blurb for WCW Nitro to kick this year’s rankings off is just a teaser of what to expect to see in my full review of it in the book. So yeah, this project has been keeping me busy playing a lot of N64 this year, and I cannot wait to see the book in physical form! Be on the lookout on Pat Contri’s online storefront to order the forthcoming N64 book, and to also order the past NES & SNES books! 22) BOOK-SHAKA-LAKA! Reyan Ali’s book I had on pre-order for well over a year about NBA Jam and the creators from Midway did not disappoint. Here is my quick take on it from my Goodreads.com profile review….

NBA Jam by Reyan Ali My rating: 5 of 5 stars I had this book per-ordered for a while. Based on the amount of interviews conducted going into it and combined with it taking four years to compile I had high expectations going in. Ali did not disappoint with a quick, but thorough history on everything that lead up to NBA Jam, its breakthrough success in the arcades, at home and with the NBA players on the road and the many ups and downs with the franchise and publishers at Midway and Acclaim in the years that followed. Interviews from developers and NBA players are featured throughout the book that help paint a picture on every vital aspect of NBA Jam and why it became a hit in arcades and has a lasting impact to this day. The back third of the book touches on the other various iterations of NBA Jam and eventually the downfall of the original creators at Midway. Even being a fan of the game since it first debuted, I came out of this book learning plenty of new facts and insight from the creators and its many fans that I cannot help but give Ali's NBA Jam my highest recommendation. View all my reviews 21) Bite-Sized Gaming

I chose this spot to recognize the smaller indie Xbox One games I would warm up with for about 20-30 minutes before diving into a longer game with. Most, but not all of them were featured on Game Pass. Hyperdot was an intense little puzzler that I was really into until my reflexes were not fast enough for the later stages to keep the dot alive by avoiding all kind of spherical traffic before time expired. Ping Redux tested my billiards/geometry skills in order to get a pixel from one end of the level to the end. Clustertruck I once again put way too much time into this year, but THIS year I felt like I made legitimate progress on my truck platforming skills and have made it into final world of stages and cleared all the bonus winter and Halloween stages! It is addicting and frustrating in all the right ways! Definitely do not skip past this one on Game Pass!

Top Run is the first runner I invested serious time into since Jetpack Joyride. I would say it is still a few notches below that classic runner though because the grind for unlocks here is a bit much, but the neon pixel graphics and head-bopping 80s-synth score keeps me coming back! Finally, Night Call is a fascinating narrative mystery game where you are a taxi driver forced into undercover work to track down suspects for the police by using casual passenger chit-chat as a cover for interrogation. Very cool art style, and diverse range of quirky, deep, mysterious and alarming passengers had me revisiting more for the engaging dialogue and narration choices more than the mystery at large. 20) Hadoken 2020 Welcome to the fighting game section of the rankings, well save for but one other game I shall touch on later. As usual, I played a ton of online fighting games with my longtime online fighting buddy, Chris. We revisited a couple classics in 2020 that we ignored for far too long since our last go around in Tekken 7 and Soul Calibur VI, and it was a lot of fun trying out the season DLC passes for those games I completely forgot I purchased. Both Namco joints are a blast, and I regret not playing more of them during this generation. I got a chance to briefly dabble with a few SNK vintage re-releases in the King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown franchises courtesy of many physical releases from Limited Run Games. I need to make more time to come back to these gems!!! Retro Fighters is an online game accessory company I associate with their specialty retro fight pads, and I got a handful of them this past year-ish for Genesis, Dreamcast and Nintendo 64. I found myself a big fan of all three pads, especially the N64 pad now having a more traditional two-grip feel instead of its….unique…three grip setup from Nintendo. If you are unfamiliar with these guys, definitely give their website a perusal for some excellent retro controllers!

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Finally, I want to shout out Street Fighter V receiving its last major update in 2020, the “Champion Edition” that launched its final season of DLC, and saved me a lot of time grinding for in-game currency to unlock all past and future DLC characters and stages! Only had a chance to go to SFV a handful of times in 2020, but they were memorable sessions, and caught on video too! I keep neglecting PS4’s share video and editing software and finally took advantage of it by uploading one of my battles with Chris on my YouTube channel you can check out by click or pressing here. Another night I got together with a bunch of the fine folks from the MojoMenace/SupertheHardest podcast community for an epic SFV night and even though there were a couple of well-tuned SFV vets on there that dominated, we all still had a blast that evening! 19) Driving Games 2020

2020 was a weaker year for variety of racing games played compared to previous years. There were a couple smaller indie games that were part of my rotation with the nearly graphically blinding Music Racer that turns driving into a musical rhythm game and I miraculously did not endure a seizure with. The awesome Outrun-homage, Horizon Chase Turbo, received continued scattered play from me throughout the year. Super Night Riders is a fun little tribute to Hang-On which I nearly 100% its small slate of courses with the exception of a final endurance track which combines all the tracks in one continuous run and if a few collisions are made it is thus impossible to recover from. I revisited that last race far too frequently before ultimately taking a break from it. Rock ‘n Racing DX was a game I repeatedly saw for sale nearly every week on digital stores, but I was weary with it looking like a watered down version of Super Off Road. After finally chancing it off a $2 sale I can now confirm it is a bad controlling version of Super Off Road everyone should avoid and its muted beats definitely do not rock. V-Rally 4 was a free Xbox Games for Gold in 2020 that I had a blast tearing up the virtual dirt tracks with in this rally-sim! Monster Truck racing games continued with the latest Monster Jam game, Steel Titans. Still not a five star driving game by any means, but nowhere near as buggy and a big step-up from Crush It, which I will give credit to experienced driving game developer, Rainbow Studios now being behind the series.

Retrowave on Steam hit all the guilty pleasure 80s neon visuals and synth-wave musical vibes I am a fan of, but its slot/timing based gameplay did not gel with me. I put a little time into Sega Ages branded update of Virtua Racing on Switch. This is easily the best Virtua Racing has ever played and looked, and M2 implemented a slew of quality-of-life features to make this the definitive version of the game. Hot Shots Racing I played a few times off Xbox Game Pass and it tries to capture the early polygonal look and feel of Virtua Racing. Very nice homage that all Virtua Racing fans should seek out! I also played many hours of six N64 racing games for the forthcoming Ultimate Nintendo book so be on the lookout for that with my reviews for both Top Gear Rally games, Top Gear Overdrive, Re-Volt, Rally Challenge 2000 and Big Mountain 2000.

Finally, the racing game I put the most time into in 2020 once again is Wreckfest. I continue to be impresses with developer Bugbear’s support for this title. In 2020 they launched a second season pass that they are still releasing new vehicle add-ons for as of this writing. They also introduced a new Tournament mode that has constantly updated Daily, Weekly and Monthly challenges that earn its own exclusive currency to be used for unlockable cars available across all modes with that accrued currency. The challenges have been fun and have a variety of wacky themes like winter season races going on right now, and options that have lawnmower vehicles launching killer snowballs. My brother and I have been regularly playing it online once or twice a month for the better part of 2020. A feature I find myself taking advantage more for racing games on Xbox One is using the Spotify app for custom soundtracks. I briefly dabbled with it before, but upon discovering the NFSsoundtracks website I have been using it a whole lot more. That website scours YouTube to recreate a plethora of past driving game soundtracks going back to the 8 and 16-bit eras. If a game has a licensed soundtrack, they will comprise a Spotify playlist of all the licensed songs that are available from that soundtrack on Spotify. So far I would say about 75% of each soundtrack is represented on Spotify, and it has helped exponentially reliving favorite scores from Road Rash, Demolition Racer and Burnout Revenge in modern racing games. 18) Retro Game Writing Frenzy

I doubled down on the amount of “Flashback Specials” I produced in 2020 where I celebrate systems on their milestone anniversaries by recapping my favorite games and memories of certain consoles. Some of them were mini-specials where I only had a limited experience with certain systems like the Saturn, PSP and Neo-Geo, while others were for systems I had well over a decade of hands-on experience with and thus many tales to recount which resulted in exhaustive pieces for the NES, PSone, PS2 and Xbox 360. That 360 piece especially did a number on me and went way longer than I anticipated…but I had a lot to say :D 2021 will see a lot of platforms having milestone anniversaries of their American launch, and I doubt I will have time to get to them all, at least with how I have been covering most of them in detail anyways. Part of the fun I have with these specials is busting out each retro system and hooking up and replaying several of my favorites to see if they stand the test of time like Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! and The Punisher on NES, or to spend some time on lost treasures I picked up and barely put anytime into like CastleVania: Rondo of Blood on PSP and both Rad Racer games on NES. Regardless, if you have been sticking with me through these endless pieces, than please accept my many thanks for indulging my memories and stories of my gaming past! PART 3 – Rankings 17 through 12 17) Shmuppreciation 2020

I was honored to curate the selection again for the annual “Shmuppreciation” celebration for the mojomenace.com community! Previous years saw me pick a different shmup each week to scorechase on for the NES and SNES, and for 2020 I thought I lined up things perfectly by picking five shmups (AKA shooters/space shooters) that were all going to be available on the TurboGrafX-Mini that was set to release in mid-March. Well, on March 11th the pandemic was officially declared, and it was already in full effect in Asia by that point where production of the TG16-Mini was scheduled so it was no surprise to see the announcement of a delay for a few months on the mini console. That did not deter the MojoMenace community however and we plugged away with our scheduled lineup. Some of the 2020 lineup I own and have an alright amount of experience with like Blazing Lazers. Others I had little to no experience with like Lords of Thunder, Super Star Solider and Soldier Blade. The surprise hit of the 2020 selections for me was Galaga ‘88/’90. I played my fair share of traditional Galaga over the years and always heard of the TG16 version, but never played it, and it amped up the traditional Galaga gameplay and graphics just enough to make it stand side-by-side with its equals of the day! It was gratifying to see it be a hit with the community and receive the most entries of all the 2020 lineup. 16) A Long Awaited Fourth Rage in the Streets

I have so much nostalgia of the original Streets of Rage trilogy. It was an unexpected surprise to find it available on Game Pass on its day one release. I put about four hours into that game over its first two days, and absolutely treasure those two days with it as I felt my skills organically improving as I picked up on combos and enemy hit patterns. The new graphic style felt like it capture the essence of its past while successfully evolving it to modern day 2D tech standards, and the same can be said for the all-new original soundtrack that lived up to the high pedigree established in the first two games, and then some! I wound up picking up the vinyl for it, and the soundtrack has been in heavy rotation in my playlists ever since. The only downside is after those first two days of playing it, I took a week off before revisiting and almost instantly found myself losing a few steps from where I last left off. It was then I realized if I desire to beat this game, I have to essentially dedicate a couple of days solely to it to where I can “get good” at it and plow through it in a sitting or two. I guess I can tone it down to easy, and if it was not a Streets of Rage game I probably would, but the thing is with how I am playing so far, yeah the game can get tough on the normal default difficulty, but it is a fair challenge, one that nails that delicate balance where I know dedicated practice will pay off in the long run. In the end, that is how I want my Streets of Rage 4 experience to be! 15) Ryo’s Rally Cry

Last year Shenmue III fulfilled my 18-year long anticipation for the latest adventures featuring Ryo Hazuki. In 2020, a series of three DLC packs were unleashed in the early months of the year. I was not expecting anything too extravagant because all three packs were bundled together for $9.99, and compared to season pass story based content in other games that typically go for double-to-triple that, I had a feeling it was going to be more mini-games than anything, and that is essentially what we got. The first DLC focused on Bailu Village with several treasure hunt mini-games hunting down tiny Bailu Chan collectibles, which was no fun at all, and after the first treasure hunt zone I referenced a YouTube video to blitz through the rest. They were worth going through because they unlocked stat boosts for Ryo to use in the several Battle Rally races that gave a final score based on time completed and number of enemies beaten throughout it. Those stat boosts made Ryo faster and stronger, so it was worthwhile to knockout more foes before the finish line, and that part of the DLC proved to be a fun type of challenge. The second DLC was a cruise ship full of casino-themed mini-games and a couple small story quests. To activate it was tricky because you needed to make about 15 minutes of progress in the second half of the game. Luckily, a new game can be started from the back half. The casino games are decent little distractions, and the only highlight of the ship was earning raffle tickets to use on a prize wheel used to unlock several extra slick costumes for Ryo.

The final DLC was a story DLC that is sprinkled throughout the back half of the game. It is a bit of a chore though, and nothing extraordinary. If you remember the Chan signs that use four tea cups arranged in certain patterns, then be prepared for a series of those quests that are only available after completing a few main story missions. It is mostly a lot of backtracking to find a rogue agent, and only leads to a couple simple fights, and the only interesting thing I got out of it was for one part of the several-part series of quests you go undercover on a dinner date with Shenhua with some intentionally campy lines. I would only recommend playing it if you were playing through Shenmue III for the first time and that way the quests seem like an organic series of side quests you stumbled across, because by the time the last part of this DLC was available, I already replayed my way through about 75% of the second half of the main quest that transpires in Niaowu. If you are wondering why Shenmue III is ranking a fair way into my rankings with my middling time with the DLC, well that is because of the astounding Shenmue III-themed releases I picked up from Limited Run Games in 2020. A few months back Limited Run had what felt like a Shenmue appreciation day and released a special edition of the game with all the lackluster DLC on the disc, in addition to bonus collectibles that I usually do not go for, but in this rare exception did. They also put out some absurdly priced vinyl options of the soundtrack. Shenmue III has a mammoth soundtrack, so big it took seven CDs and eight vinyls to cram it in. To get the complete vinyl set, it was for around $200-250, so I opted for the CD set for $50 and a special “best of” two record set for $40. Yeah….did not anticipate blowing nearly the price for a Switch on Shenmue merchandise in one day, but I managed to cut myself off before going too nuts. 14) Vinyl Love 2020 Speaking of that Shenmue III vinyl, this will be a good way to pivot to rank the videogame OST vinyls I procured over 2020. Data Disc released their curated Shenmue II record. It is like the one Data Disc put out for the first game in the series which is a hand-picked selection of songs on one LP. I recently listened to it, and at least Data Disc ensured to maximize their minutes with their selections. Data Disc also did a second printing of another Yu Suzuki classic with the OST for Outrun. Other highlights include a complete set of five records of the Tetris Effect OST from Limited Run Games. Many kudos to Limited Run for including an MP3 download code with their records, and it was much appreciated for that set, and as well for their Streets of Rage 4 score. I have heard mixed reception for the SoR4 OST living up to the lofty bar established from the first two games, but after listening to it many times on my record player and in my car, I can attest for it being a win in the series and is right up there with the first two games. I will give a couple last quick shout outs for the OSTs for The King of Fighters ‘98, Street Fighter III, Quake, Celeste B-Sides and Kentucky Route Zero comprising the remaining LPs I picked up throughout 2020. To this day I continue working out to DDP Yoga 3-4 times a week, and having one of the game vinyls on in the background is the ideal background jams for me while I stretch myself to pieces! 13) Pinball 2020 Longtime readers are familiar with ritual weekly habit of competing in the four table weekly high score challenges in Pinball FX3, and yes I am still continuing that tradition every Saturday morning where I will practice and rank up abilities on one of the four tables that is up in the weekly challenges, and then attempt to best the high score for each of the four tables. It never gets old, and it helps feed my pinball addictions. Props to Zen for their output of Williams tables, and I am about 50/50 for using their “remastered” versions with animated toys and additional graphics on the table, and appreciate the option to press a button to flip to the original design. I still popped in Pinball Arcade on PS4 several times throughout 2020 because I feel those are more accurate-feeling real life physics of those pinball tables, but Zen’s versions are a solid alternative. Plus they added one of my favorite tables, Champion Pub, to the PFX3 roster in 2020, now just give me No Good Gophers and I will rest happy!

In other pinball news, I also continue to throw in the rotation Demon’s Tilt, the awesome homage to Devil’s Crush/Dragon’s Revenge. I cannot get enough of those scintillating TG16 throwback visuals and its metal soundtrack! I only threw in the neon-infused visuals of Hyperspace Pinball off Steam a few times in 2020, and I just wish that game took off more and received some home console conversions. Love the bumpin’ soundtrack, trippy graphics and distinctive boss battles that keep me coming back to it. I need to one day dive into recent pinball/platformer hybrids Yoku’s Island Express and Creature in the Well. I briefly tried out the former, and yet to put time into the latter. Finally, in sad pinball news, the private pinball club I started going to I wrote about in last year’s recap, Fargo Pinball shut its doors last year after failing to sustain business a few months into the pandemic. The owners will still operate about a dozen machines they have on constant rotation at a local brewery however, so there is still somewhat of a local pinball presence to take in. For the two or three times I made it out to Fargo Pinball however, I was in pinball heaven. 12) Handheld Gaming 2020

Last year I wrote about in this section how I made serious headway into Mother 3 on the GBA by the end of 2019. So the first few months I spent wrapping up Mother 3 on my backlit-modded GBA. So that meant I beat it legit with no save states, and a lot of trial and error on boss battles. The only part I did not care for was an underwater maze to navigate through while keeping an eye on oxygen levels, but otherwise I very much enjoyed my time with Mother 3, and mad props to Fangamer’s companion guide for being the quintessential supplemental material to guide me through it. After finishing that, I put a couple hours into the Metroid-esque Scurge: Hive on GBA before throwing in another throwback in the form of GameBoy Color’s Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. A year or two back here I wrote how the first Turok on GameBoy was an old-school style action-platformer that won me over, and the sequel is more of the same, but with slightly more fleshed out levels, now color graphics, and a couple interesting shmup stages for variety! It had some old-school difficulty, so the Retron 5’s save states and cheats and I had to take advantage of in order to power through it!

Currently, I am ever-so-slowly working my way through a fan translated copy of Ace Attorney Investigations 2 on DS. I loved the first game in the series and how they mixed up the gameplay by taking it out of the courtroom and having visual avatars to control and visually maneuver around locations. I am currently on the third case of AAI2, and the translation successfully maintains the whimsical spirit of the Ace Attorney series and has an interesting twist where Miles is now having to side with defense attorneys against his will. I picked up two unique re-released retro handhelds this past year. Firstly, I picked up the Mario Game & Watch that was released to celebrate Super Mario Bros.’s 35th anniversary. Super Mario Bros. is the first game I ever played, and first game I ever finished so it goes without saying that game is quite special to me and having it in this unique handheld form is a saccharine treat! The second old school handheld I had to import from Japan in the form of the Game Gear Micro. For those unaware of this Japan-exclusive, it is a working Game Gear about 10% the proportion of the original model. Sega only made several versions of it in Japan, with each one having only a handful of exclusive games. I went with the one containing the Aleste collection that contains five Game Gear/Master System games in the acclaimed space shooter series, one of which is an all-new game designed with the Game Gear’s limitations in mind in GG Aleste 3. My cramped fingers were somewhat able to play the games on the Micro (make sure to get the magnifier accessory in order marginally make out the visuals), and it is a nice discussion piece, but I think I will put more time into these games in the future with the PS4 copy of Aleste Collection that came with the bundle I ordered from Play Asia. PART 4 – Rankings 11 through 7 11) Podcast Guest Hosting 2020 I guest hosted on three podcasts in 2020. I had what ended up being my final recurring guest slot on the penultimate episode of Your Parents Basement podcast. It was my 13th guest host appearance there, but I made sure to make it a clayyyysic one with our analysis for the dubious action-sports SNES title, Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball. I remember going into that episode initially tepid to start off our discussion for the game by admitting I could not figure out how to shoot the damn ball and had to look up a guide online how to figure it out, but was quickly relieved to hear all three YPB hosts had to do exactly the same! Also, there were some regular segments of the show where we all rate the game on a themed where entertaining shenanigans ensued. YPB has since posted one surprise end of year special since having their main series finale, and here is hoping to see them pop in again for more surprise episodes. I will be forever grateful to them for taking my suggestions at covering games I have been meaning to get out of my backlog for ages like Shadowrun, Metal Gear Solid, Crystalis and Earthbound. Click or press here to check out that YPB episode I guested on in 2020.

I was thrilled to guest host twice on the PSnation Podcast in 2020. While it is a Playstation themed podcast, host Glenn always specializes with healthy doses of retro gaming talk in each episode. In March I joined him in covering the FFVII Remake demo that just hit, and we of course had to inject a ton of retro gaming topics in the agenda too (click or press here to download). In November I came on again to anticipate the future by previewing the imminent launch of the PS5 and celebrate the past by dissecting 20 forgotten facts of the PS2 for its 20th anniversary (click or press here to download). While both podcasts were marathon recording sessions, I do not regret a minute of it as I always have a phenomenal time podcasting with Glenn! He recently announced they will be rebranding PSnation with news to come in the near future after a hell of a 14-year run, and I wish nothing but the best for him and his staff to see what they have in store! On a final note in podcasts, I have been continuing my occasional un-vaulting of select episodes from my long-deceased videogame podcast, On Tap. Throughout 2020, I uploaded about an episode a month to my YouTube channel, often having them coincide with a relevant anniversary or one of my flashback special articles. Some of the ones I uploaded this past year are all several parts of our history of comic book videogames episodes and most of our history of RPG videogames episodes. Also a couple of our movie review episodes where we analyze cult classics like The Wizard, FFVII: Advent Children Complete, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and both Tron films. I made a playlist of the 28 episodes I have un-vaulted as of this writing you can navigate to by click or pressing here. 10) Switching It Up

In early April of 2020, I had penned in a pretty epic vacation I was anticipating for quite some time, but as we all know, by April of 2020 we were a few weeks into the pandemic and those plans quickly went up in smoke along with everything else in the world. It may have been a good thing those plans got cancelled because that same weekend a water pipe burst at my home and that whole weekend was spent cleaning up the aftermath of it. It was a couple days after the fact of that ordeal and I was simply a mess, and needed some form of a pick-me-up. I was holding off on a Switch for three years by this point, and three years was about what I held off on purchasing a Wii U, PS4 and Xbox One, and so I convinced myself to get out of my slump by going out and buying a Switch. It helped big time! The first games I played on it were a couple of different SNES games I played online with my nephew Carter. We first played the original Super Mario Kart, and within seconds of starting a race he blurted out, “Dale this looks old!” He was not a happy camper, but we did manage to have a modicum of fun playing two player co-op in Brawl Brothers and Joe & Mac. Other notable Switch games I put some time into this year are Golf Story, Sega Ages Virtua Racing, Tetris 99 and Super Mario Bros. 35. I love battle royal Tetris and Super Mario Bros.! Golf Story is the ultimate spiritual successor to the beloved Mario Golf games on GBC and GBA. Also, I highly recommend playing with a pro controller in docked mode, and with Hori’s Split Pad Pro in undocked mode. Despite its bulk, I vaster prefer them more than the painfully tiny JoyCons. In 2021 I hope to invest significantly more time into my Switch! I have picked up many retro re-releases recently with their frequent sales that I must try out! 9) Wrestling Games 2020

2020 was a year like no other for me when it came to wrestling games. The first half of the year started off with me only playing FirePro Wrestling World, the first new wrestling game I put serious time into since WWE All-Stars. I played quite a bit of the PS2 and GBA FirePro games, but the thing that hooked me on the PS4 version was downloading hundreds of created wrestlers to replicate my all-era dream roster, and clearing all 50 scenario trials. I got up to the final trial where the goal is to win a match with a 100% fan approval rating. Thing is, in order to replicate, the opponent has to get in just as much offense and back-and-forth near-falls to make it as exciting as a televised match, and by doing that I put myself at great risk to lose…which happened every time. I vow to complete that final trial in 2021! Speaking of WWE All-Stars, I volunteered to review its spiritual successor follow-up, WWE 2K Battlegrounds for my friends over at PSnation. While it has some notable flaws holding it back from matching the fun arcade action of WWE All-Stars, 2K Battlegrounds still has a lot going for it and is at least worth checking out. Click or press here for my full review to get my complete breakdown of WWE 2K Battlegrounds. Finally, as I have mentioned earlier I have been covering a number of wrestling titles for the upcoming N64 book project. As you read above, it was a whole new definition of pain experiencing WCW Nitro all over again, but at least other games held up better than I thought they would. I finally was able to put major time into the four import N64 wrestling games and came out of those with a whole new appreciation of this era of wrestling games. Seriously, AKI’s six wrestling games on the N64 are arguably the best spread of wrestling games in videogame history, and I wish I can expand on it more, but you’ll have to check out the book once it is available for my final word! I promise if you bookmark this page I will edit this page with a link to its online store listing once it is available! 8) Breath of the Wild Progress 2020 Another year gone, and another year where I have yet to finish The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I have good reasons though! I was making headway steady play a couple times a month until about July. I finally conquered the fourth divine beast, and more importantly I finally reached all the towers and unlocked the complete map. I also moseyed around most areas of the map, even the barren Gerudo Desert, I spent a good chunk of this year in to ensure I did not skimp over any cool hidden areas, or Korok seeds…although I am sure I missed quite a few. A major nagging sidequest I put to bed in 2020 was completing the founding of Tarrey Town for Hudson after running countless fetch quests for Link’s former colleague.

The only major thing in the core storyline I need to do is finally make my way through Hyrule Castle to vanquish Ganon….but I have so many other side quests and DLC quests I desire to finish before properly completing the main quest! I made one attempt at completing the Master Sword Trials that have the beneficial reward of doubling the power and durability of the Master Sword, and while it was a brutal endeavor, the challenge felt fair and encouraging of me to put forth the effort to practice and become better like on Eventide Island! I would also like to unlock the Master Cycle Zero for Link, but that set of DLC missions is mammoth, and if I do get around to them, it would likely be after I finish the main quest. Anyways, I was making that routine headway and finishing BotW in 2020 seemed possible, but then I had to step back and put most of my spare game time onto my N64 assignments. I should wrap up my N64 work within the next few months, and plan on diving head-first to pick up where I left off in Breath of the Wild! That motorcycle shall be mine!!! 7) Year of the Mini Consoles I thought I was done buying the “mini” line of classic consoles with pre-programmed games by the end of 2019 after acquiring the Genesis Mini that went along with my NES and SNES Minis! That was not the case though as 2020 saw me add three more to my collection. The Neo-Geo Mini has been out for some time now, but Amazon had huge markdowns on them in 2020 with bundled controllers. For those unfamiliar with it, the unit is designed as a mini-arcade cabinet, but also has ability to plug into a TV via HDMI cable to play the pre-programmed 40 games that way too. It has all the many expected fighting games on there, plus a variety of other genre hits from SNK. I also picked up the Game Gear Micro, but you can see my thoughts on that a few rankings above where I go over my handheld gaming moments of the year.

Finally, I picked up the TurboGrafX Mini, which had to endure a last minute shipping delay by a few months since it was originally scheduled to ship in March right after the pandemic was declared. It is a hell of a collection, with a killer line up of American and Japanese games. Part of me was wishing there was an easter egg to unlock the English translated Sega CD version of Snatcher, but no luck! There is still an unbelievable lineup on here with two Bonk games, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, several classic shmups like Blazing Lazers and Galaga ‘88/’90, one of the Crush pinball games, and so many more! There was a couple I wish would have made the cut like World Court Tennis and Final Lap Twin because of their charming RPG story modes, and at least one of the FirePro Wrestling games, but what is included is still a hell of a package, complete with probably the best UI of any of the mini-consoles that is overflowing with TurboGrafX/PCengine fan service! So many people in America missed out on the small-yet-mighty TG16 library in America, and this is the best way to be introduced to it to the public! CGQ did an awesome launch stream that has footage of most of the included games if you want to know more about the platform!

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PART 5 – Rankings 6 through 4 6) The Year of Videogame Documentaries! If there was any upside to all the time spent locked down at home in 2020, it was that it helped everyone catch up on a lot of past and current shows on various streaming services or old school physical media. 2020 saw several videogame themed documentaries release, and not a single one disappointed which is why I am ranking this experience so high. Netflix released a six episode docu-series on pivotal moments in the early decades of videogames, titled High Score. It does not shed much new insights if you are up-to-speed on your videogame history, but if you only have a passing familiarity with the roots of videogames, or have younger members of the family who are curious than this is a good place to start because they have high production values, and fun animated sequences to keep your attention throughout. It does not cover the entire history of games in six episodes, but each episode serves as a nice refresher course on key moments like the rise and fall of Atari, Nintendo revitalizing videogames in America with the NES, the 16-bit Wars, popularity of fighting games in the early 90s, and id Software shaking up the gaming landscape with Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. Next up is videogame YouTuber (and heading up the N64 book I am contributing to) Pat Contri teaming up with Kevin J. James for the documentary, Not for Resale. It has an interesting theme about life as an independent videogame store owner and retro game collecting. It thoroughly covers a wide range of topics from this perspective of videogame retail, and I encourage you to check out my review of the documentary by click or pressing here. Another documentary I reviewed in 2020 for my blog actually first released in 2015, but I somehow never heard of it until 2020. I am talking about Nintendo Quest, and it is all about one man’s journey to collect the entire officially licensed American NES library in one month with only his own funds, and only by visiting stores and collectors in person with no online buying at all. It was quite the ambitious goal, and was a fun journey to watch to see if he could or could not pull it off. Click or press here for my full review.

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Next up is Console Wars. I devoured Blake Harris’s novelization of the 16-bit SNES/Genesis rivalry, and was stoked to hear it was going to receive the big budget feature documentary treatment. It took a few years, but it finally released in 2020 as a CBS All Access streaming exclusive. There is no shortage of vintage photos, ads, clips and commercials inserted throughout the interviews and narration that transported me directly back to the early-to-mid 90s! They could not squeeze in everything from the book into 90 minutes, but they still managed to hit a lot of major and minor moments from the 16-bit wars. Despite this being well-documented territory, this was a terrific refresher, and recommended viewing considering the surplus of major and minor players from that era they tracked down to interview. Insert Coin is an exclusive on Alamo’s streaming service, and is the ultimate supplementary piece to Reyan Ali’s book on NBA Jam I mentioned earlier in this list. If you do not have time for the book, make sure to watch this because they track down most of the major players at Midway/Bally/Williams to chronicle the rise and fall of the company, and touch on so many of its arcade hits. Yes, even Revolution X gets an entertaining scene with previously unseen production footage of band members’ voiceover recording sessions. I loved Cruis ‘n USA, and was a little bummed to see the ho-hum treatment of it in the doc, but if you have killer memories of the NBA Jam, Mortal Kombat, Defender, NFL Blitz, Smash TV and so many other Midway arcade classics, then you definitely want to check out Insert Coin! Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Videogame Story is available to buy or rent off YouTube. I have heard many good things about this doc, but I have sadly been neglecting it for many months, which is not right since I was an avid fan of the Tony Hawk games from their heyday, but want to give it props here because I have good faith that it will not disappoint!

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That is it for the traditional documentary features I have seen in 2020. For the past couple years I have provided a long list of YouTube links of my favorite gaming-related videos throughout the year. In place of that is a few documentaries I want to highlight here that hit in 2020 from a few YouTube creators. Norm Caruso, AKA The Videogame Historian did not disappoint in 2020 with several new docs/mini-docs, with the two that stood out the most to me being his exhaustive deep dive into Mario Paint and tracking down the original developer to interview for his look on the infamous MS-DOS versions of the early Mega Man games. I also am constantly amazed at the steady stream of shorter and lengthier documentaries No Clip releases on their YouTube channel, and the crapshoot that was 2020 did not slowdown their consistent output. I highly recommend their well-researched videos on the history of two prolific developers – Creative Assembly and Arkane Studios. EA received well earned high marks on their incredible remaster of Command & Conquer early in 2020, and No Clip released a coinciding video with many of the original and remaster developers on un-vaulting original material and digging deep to cram in as much unreleased or barely seen content in as possible.

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If you were a child from the mid-80s to the mid-90s, then you undoubtedly remember spending countless hours in school trying to master the original “souls-like” game, Oregon Trail. MinnMax released a comprehensive look at this classroom favorite filled with interview clips from the original programmers on how it came to be, and even tracking down Steve Wozniak for his reflections on this iconic title. Finally, I want to shout out this awesome DIY-spirited documentary celebrating NHL ‘94 that came out in 2020 and went to great lengths to pay homage to that classic hockey game by tracking down the primary head programmer, going to great pains for a very brief interaction with Jaromir Jagr and chronicling the current eSports scene of NHL ‘94.

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Sorry for the deluge of recommendations, but that should provide many hours of entertainment and videogame history to last you throughout 2021, and then some! 5) Acquiring my First Console Near Launch Since the Vita! The headline does not lie, the Xbox Series X marked the first console I purchased within the first couple months of a console launch since the Vita! After getting burned on launch window consoles malfunctioning on me with the PS2, 360 and PS3 I instilled a “wait three years after a console launch to buy it so the hardware is likely less faulty” self-imposed policy. I did exactly that with the WiiU, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. I was originally going to do that with the XSX/PS5 also, and I guess the thing that nudged me out of that edict was hearing multiple podcasts, website hardware reviews and YouTube content creators’ analysis of the system’s hardware, UI and overall performance in the opening weeks. The more I heard in the first couple weeks, the more the Xbox Series X sounded right for me. This is primarily because the UI/dashboard is nearly identical compared to the Xbox One, and that I can plug in my external hard drive I have been using for the Xbox One directly into the XSX after I complete my initial setup. After doing that it would be like I was playing on my Xbox One again, but with vastly superior hardware and faster loading times. I got a Samsung 55” Black Friday 4KTV special to finally upgrade into the 4K era and be properly ready for the 4K optimized games. My backlog was so huge that I did not mind the XSX did not have any major first or third party exclusives until two and half months later with the release of The Medium. Enjoying faster load times on games like Wreckfest and Borderlands 3 is more impressive than I thought it would be. I am also by this point well invested into the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem as I have elaborated on in previous year-end articles, and having all first party exclusives coming to Game Pass day one is another deciding factor on why I went with the Xbox Series X first. Now here is hoping this system does not brick on me or I am returning back to my self-enforced waiting policy! 4) Conquering the Lands that Border a Third Time!

Speaking of Borderlands 3, that was a terrific alternate method for me to hang out with my buddy Derek through these quarantine times. Several years back we gradually worked our way through Borderlands 2 over the course of a year, and we started up the third game around Halloween of 2019. It took a little over a year of playing only once or twice a month, but we finally finished the core campaign of Borderlands 3! Most of the gaming press bags on the Borderlands games for its style of humor, but to me it kind of rings familiar to Family Guy. Both franchises throw a lot of gags and jokes at you from all angles, and some of them hit, and some of them miss, and that is fine! Humor is subjective with about half of the jokes jiving with me, and that is A-OK because they all do not need to be LMAO zingers! The addicting co-op gameplay of Borderlands is what keeps me coming back, well that and the perpetual quest of finding all types of fun weaponry and loot I had equipped for far too long (rainbow-explosion grenades being my prime example here). I like the angle of Borderlands 3’s central hub being on a spaceship…even if its design is of the labyrinth nature that I frequently became lost in. The biofuel truck mission was an early favorite of mine and remained a running gag with Derek throughout 2020. The pair of primary antagonists here may not usurp the unforgettable villain that was Handsome Jack, but it was still a fun journey pursuing them and meeting their dad to detail their nature. Right now Derek and I are a good ways through one of the DLC packs for the game, Guns, Love, and Tentacles that is themed around saving the wedding of Wainwright & Hammerlock with the assistance of the mysterious bartender, Mancubus Bloodtooth! It features a refreshing twist on gameplay with longer levels, different vibe of scenery and a more challenging-but-fair difficulty. Needless to say, I am greatly looking forward to marching through the rest of the DLC packs throughout 2021! PART 6 – Rankings 3 through 1 3) Spooky Gaming 2020

You will see soon why my yearly installment for Spooky Gaming ranked so high this year. First off, I kept up my yearly tradition of playing the 360 launch game, Condemned: Criminal Origins on Halloween! I think that is at least three, maybe four Halloweens in a row now! Only made a little over an hour of progress though on a couple sessions due to not as much free time as I hoped and it took a bit more than I presumed to navigate through a couple tricky levels, but I pushed through a couple more chapters and one day promise to finish this! Two new spooky games released right around this past Halloween that were both must-buys for me, but regrettably have yet to start. Pumpkin Jack looked like a fun simple action-platformer with graphics and gameplay quality intentionally designed from the early PS2 days which looked like a fun early 2000s throwback from a couple streams I saw. The second game is the next installment in the “Dark Pictures” anthology, following 2019’s Man of Medan that received a rave recounting from my 2019 rankings! That game is called Little Hope and it has a similar structure to Man of Medan, where it follows a group of travelers stranded after a bus crash who stumble into a nearby mysterious/haunted small town that is full of secrets. I watched one stream of its opening scenes, and was delighted to see the narrative choice-based gameplay returns and will determine how many of the group members will remain alive by the end of the playthrough. I want to play this like I did Man of Medan in one sitting in an evening with Derek & Brooke in the midst of a thunderstorm! That will happen in 2021!!

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Finally, the highlight of spooky gaming season was surprisingly returning to Xbox One’s Blair Witch Project. I wrote here last year that I loved its atmospheric setting of looking through the same haunted woods from the movies for a lost child, but I unfortunately got stuck about an hour or two in while searching through the woods for my next objective. The woods were too dark!!! So this past Halloween season I booted up Blair Witch Project with the mindset of not even looking to make any progress and to simply put on the gaming headphones and take in that appropriately dark atmosphere of exploring the spooky woods for about 10 minutes before moving onto Condemned.

Well, something unexpected happened during those 10 minutes and I accidentally stumbled onto my next objective and quickly got absorbed into the narrative and could not put the game down! I loved how the character Ellis gradually starts to get wrapped up into the eventual supernatural surroundings that gradually get implemented and do not ruin that awesome initial eerie setting. The way the camcorder was used for gameplay to solve some puzzles was creative, and using the late-90s Nokia-esque cell phone for storyline bits was an unexpected nostalgia trip. Yeah, some of the use of flashbacks/supernatural enemies can be a little hokey at points, but for the most part it keeps up the suspense and thrills, and it caught me jumping on several occasions while playing with the volume blasting on those headphones. The last level pulls out all the scary, mind-bending stops, and was a ride that I had no idea when it was going to end, and even though the ending was a little middling, the ride on the way to that final destination was awesome and had me gripped in throughout. Blair Witch Project is currently on Xbox Game Pass, and is some ideal late night/Halloween season gaming that I highly recommend to all! 2) FINISH HIM!! Usually I would lump this in with my yearly fighting games recap, but my time with Mortal Kombat 11 rose well above the rest of my time with other fighting games that it climbed out of that group and rose to my #2 gaming moment of the year! For the first half of 2021, I had semi-frequent online sessions with my aforementioned fighting game buddy, Chris! Whenever a new DLC character from the DLC pass released every several weeks, we would usually meet up one of the following weekends and experiment away with the new member of the roster. If I really dug a character, I would then do repeated playthroughs of that character in the Towers of Time in order to unlock more costumes and other gear for that character. That wound up happening with both Joker and Robocop, as I had a ton of fun with both of those characters’ moves and fighting styles.

The announcement of the Aftermath DLC halfway into 2020 totally caught me off guard. It was a new storyline expansion DLC that lasted only a few hours, but continues the same best-in-class production values of fighting game cutscenes that seamlessly transition between fights. Best of all, it brings the DLC characters into the narrative to freshen it up, and is highlighted by Shang Tsung being your uneasy ally/rival throughout which resulted in yet-another killer MK storyline to take in, even if it was a little shorter. Oh yeah, NetherRealm Studios inserted the likeness and voice of the same actor who perfectly portrayed Tsung in the first Mortal Kombat film, Cary Tagawa. My nostalgia for that 1995 movie knows no bounds, so it was a thrill to have Tagawa return to MK11 for the Aftermath storyline. Another movie related surprise was new costume DLC for Sonya, Raiden and Johnny Cage that use the likenesses and voiceovers from their 1995 movie cast counterparts with Bridgette Wilson, Christopher Lambert and Linden Ashby all returning. I am so thrilled to see the games fully embrace the fandom for the 1995 movie, and doubly thrilling is that the new Mortal Kombat film set to release later this year that legit looks kind of promising based on the trailer and general buzz in the movie/gaming press. Another surprise update to MK11 was the inclusion of cross-network play. So that meant I could finally play against my brother on Xbox One! I was skeptical trying it out when my brother and I lined up a day to play that it would be a laggy mess playing on different systems against each other, but we played for about an hour with no problems, and all my costume and gear unlocks carried forward too! Countless thanks for the developers adding this support, and also many props to Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo for making it so to see it start to become a little more common to other online games in general throughout 2020! So yeah, this all added up to me revisiting MK11 more frequently than I thought I would with the nonstop support from NetherRealm Studios in 2020, and thus it more than earned its #2 ranking on my list, and technically my #1 video-game ranking because…. 1) Global Board Game Domination!!

Once or twice a year, dating back nearly 15 years I have met with mostly the same group of friends for marathon sessions of my favorite board game, Risk. That game is notorious for taking anywhere from two-to-five hours to finish in order to take over the world via smart strategy and lucky dice rolls! Every time we play, we bust out pretzels, beers, Chuck Norris shots and end the night playing PS3 Tiger Woods PGA Tour ‘12 until we get sleepy! I always look forward to these nights, and they are kind of like a second Christmas to me because it only happens once or twice a year. As awesome as these are, my technical prowess in Risk strategy and luck in dice rolls leave a lot to be desired over the years, and I am almost always the first or second person eliminated. Regardless of that, I want to give props to Mike, Jim and Paul for the decade plus of priceless Risk memories and moments. A couple years ago Mike moved and my brother Joe has been filling that fourth chair! We have played a couple five player games over the years, but our 2020 night (which luckily emanated about a month before the pandemic hit), saw Jim’s nephew Matt join us for our first five player game in some time. This was Matt’s first game of Risk and thus a learning experience and I had to be the spoiler to ruin his first game and wound up eliminating him first from the game. From there though it was still relatively early as far as the army bonuses goes within an average game of Risk, but a domino effect happened and I was able to capitalize on eliminating Matt and gaining his territories and within about an hour eliminated everyone else on my own!!!! I was in disbelief, and as much as I hate to admit it had somewhat of a brief emotional moment upon winning that game because in our 15-ish years playing, I have only won once before early on and it had to of been at least 10 years since that and I was not use to things going my way, and in that fashion to boot.

The way that game played out resulted in an oddly short-ish two hour game, so we decided to get another round in that night. Now that Matt had his warm-up round in, he had a better grasp of the game and this was a more traditionally close, longer game of Risk where the excitement was in the mobilization of armies and territories in those early rounds and to see who would make the first big attack move in attempts of expanding their territory. Hell yeah, I was all-in on this five hour game of Risk!!! Now as this round unfolded this will be very hard to believe, but I swear I am telling the whole truth that against all odds the same exact thing happened and I eliminated everybody and won the second game as well!!! I am still dismayed thinking about how well that night went for me in Risk, and highly doubt it will happen again! So for me, predominant loser and usually first one out in a game, to full on run the board and eliminate everyone in two consecutive games happens you damn well bet that night is going to be my best gaming related moment of the year!! THANK YOU!!!! I somehow achieved a degree of brevity this year, as last year’s insane best-of list went around 18,000 words, but I was able to….kinda….tighten my word count this year by clocking it at roughly 12,000 words!! My endless thanks for sticking with me all the way through as I recap my favorite (and worst) gaming moments/experiences of the year. Now, to keep up with tradition, after all that perusing and me rambling on for way too long…are you ready for a chuckle or two? Well, then, let none other than John Cena take care of that for you with the following embedded video to close off another best-of list. See you all next year!!!

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Previous Year’s Best of Recaps - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016

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