#voice clips get cut off mid dialogue sometimes

[gender-euphowrya]

i'm ngl it's incredible how unpolished genshin is despite how much money it racks in

[meeks-just-wants-to-scroll]

Kieran Duffy Mini Analysis

Since I struggle to imagine how Kieran’s facial and body expressions are portrayed, I compiled some notes on clips and dialogue. Uploading for other Kieran fans to enjoy.

To the point: Kieran is not a stammering short coward. He is a plucky man who can stand his ground and leans into his whiny feebleness when his life depends on it. He’s funny and has more guts socially than much of the VDL gang!

I’m chapter 1, we get introduced to him with cowering after being slapped by Colm and fleeing rather than fight. Kieran isn’t a coward, more like a guy who squirms, lies, and pleads if his life depends on it. I suggest you read this post for more info on how Kieran’s apparent feebleness is an exaggeration he puts on to survive in a cut throat gang. After given time to wallow in the stables in Colter, Kieran starts putting up a fight and threatens the VDL gang with the O’Driscolls coming for them for taking him hostage. He fights his restraints and holds angry eye contact with his captors, only breaking breaking when the conversation ends and he falls over again. From what I can tell, Kieran always has a grumpy face whenever interacted with. He boldly says he’d rather die to Arthur’s face!

It’s in chapter 2 where his fight becomes more desperate from the starvation and abuse. He by no means gives up, he keeps up blabbering that he “ain’t an O’Driscoll” even tho he ends up divulging information and seems to know a suspicious lot about Colm and the O’Driscolls.

Mid chapter 2 and onwards, he mellows out into a guy who tries to be as nice and as unobtrusive as possible. He still keeps eye contact when speaking and even puts assertiveness behind some of his words. He has the guts to say to people’s face to leave him alone and stop fucking with him. He also doesn’t shy from grumbling and making “oh come on!🙄” gestures when verbally harassed by the gang. He visibly gets frustrated when called an O’Driscoll but he usually has to calm himself down till he can respond dejectedly rather than actually angrily. He did get upset with Sean and stand in front of him with no cowering to stand his ground when called an O’Driscoll (until he got headbutted).

He thanks people and sounds amused and surprisingly relaxed for his situation. (Idk how to explain it but) he has a smile in his tone of voice in some dialogue. Sometimes greets Arthur in a chipper way. Sweet! Even has the emotional vulnerability to apologize to Abigail about Jack going missing. Kieran asserts his value to the club by taking pride in his horse knowledge and fishing skill. He sternly Arthur he’ll “teach him something” when it comes to fishing. See, useful!

He is still easily threatened by the gang if they get up in his face or yell. He leans away, goes silent, slowly pulls his hands closer to his chest, and goes still when intimidated. It takes a few seconds before he relaxes afterwards. This is what I consider the extent of his cowardly behavior. He just shuts up and backs off. He only ups his pleading and squirming when his life actively depends on it.

Headcanon territory: after listening to ~7 minutes of cut Kieran fighting audio, I can definitely say that this man has some lungs on him! The rasp to his voice makes me think he’s worked his voice hoarse (haha, horse pun) enough times to leave permanent damage/evidence in his voice. I think he damaged his voice while with the O’Driscolls. When he’d be on a job, he’d rely on shouting threats and malicious taunting to intimidate the enemy since his looks aren’t that scary. Plus, if he was amongst a group of O’Driscoll during a gunfight, no one would get a good look at him as he dips out of cover to shoot, they’d just hear his raspy shouting about “cutting all their damn throats” and “this ain’t gonna end pretty, boys” (this one is my favorite because if you listen to the line, you can REALLY hear the rasp in the “boys”).

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say (whether he admits it or not) Kieran does enjoy gunfights. Kieran by no means asked to join a life of crime and I am sure he did NOT want to kill anyone at the start, but over time shit corrupts and feeling the power of firing and seeing his enemies drop gave Duffy a semblance of control back to his life. In a gunfight, no colleagues pay attention to him and he can simply enjoy his brief power trip.

A more wholesome HC: much of the cut Kieran audio has him talking or greeting the other gang members with friendliness. He’s comfortable enough to tease or criticize the VDL gang. I imagine these lines would’ve been for a version where he gets to stick with the gang long enough for him to be trusted and for him to relax into his natural personality! Kieran still has his mumbly quiet moments (usually when exhausted) but he also sounds like he’s smiling more and even making jokes. Even makes harmless jabs at Arthur if he returns to camp bloodied or dirty. Has the courage to ask questions (I can’t find the exact line but I heard a couple where he was asking Arthur what he was doing in “his space” and if he needed to borrow “his things” so Kieran was either given or claimed ownership of stuff) and set boundaries (many cut quotes of Kieran asking others to buzz off or give him space because he wants to be alone). He’ll even express his anger if you push his buttons too much. After ramping down his nature to be this declawed version of himself, I imagine being no only bark but bring on the bite feels amazing.

Tldr: Kieran isn’t your baby girl. He is a kick ass ex-O’Driscoll who is a great asset to the VDL gang.

I also wanna mention that this post utterly changed how I thought of Kieran. I suggest giving it a read!

[thenonbinarydetective]

MID Overview/Review

Ok so I redid it because tumblr broke the first one. Luckily, it gave me the oppurtunity to fix some of my grammar/spelling mistakes.

It’s actually even longer than before.

I’m thorough what can I say?

besides please read this it took a while.

·         On the menu’s Extra Section there’s a trailer for Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019). A movie that came out way before this game which is kinda funny

·         The movement is a little janky, to put it in professional terms, it’s a little fast and jumpy. It took a bit to get used to the navigation.

·         The problem with the movement really jumps out in the end in the tunnels. I could barely get my cursor around the Hardy Boys or even Mei.

·         Also in the tunnels, if I went slightly off trail the game would FREAK out. I wanted to look around the tunnels and maybe get a bad end but our Sleuths but I couldn’t look around without being yelled at.

·         This happens in other mini games and puzzles, whenever you mess up the characters make a snarky remark in your direction. Every. Single. Time. It would be funnier if it was only on a few occasions but it was every time I “messed up”.

·         The graphics were obviously terrible. They also were variable…Somethings looked kinda okay and somethings looked awful. Like the quality changed from time to time. Sometimes even in the same frames. Frank, graphically, looks better than some of the other characters. When he and Joe stood next to each other, they almost looked like they didn’t belong in the same game. This goes for some of the other characters too.

·         I don’t get why Frank was always in that pose? Everyone else stood awkwardly but admittedly it was a bit more normal. They stood with their hands towards their hips like how people typically do. Although there was a few times where people just grabbed their wrists for no reason.

·         As someone who loves mythology and folklore (and pretty much anything that can be tied to into those) it was really cool to see the Malleus Maleficarum or The Hammer of Witches in the game. I wish it actually had more use in the game and maybe helped in some way. I know the book did some terrible things but it is an interesting read. As I do own a copy of it.

·         Also my birthdate was used on the puzzle. Which was cool. It’s fun to be born on special dates. Except my birthday isn’t part of the solution but that’s okay.

·         There’s a couple times where Nancy(and Frank) starts talking about clues or reading things out loud before I got the chance to look at them which was super annoying.

·         The game crashed multiple times while playing

·         The closer look at the clues was nice but was only okayish for me. It didn’t always work that well. Besides I’ve seen other games with the same function that worked smoother.

·         I’m not a big fan of the new chat format. I prefer the old way. In this new format a lot of the dialogue options were getting cut off or the option didn’t fully describe what Nancy was going to say so I didn’t know what I was choosing.

·         The text boxes were a bit buggy and there were times I couldn’t click on some of the dialogue options.

·         The cutscenes were slow and the game had WAY too much talking. There was more talking than gameplay. The game was honestly just walking and talking

·         I liked the text messages, they were fun and cute but they didn’t add much to the gameplay

·         Lots of objects were clipping into each other

·         Loading screens were always glitch

·         The audio was off a lot of times. There were times when I could barely hear the characters over the background music or ambience sound. In Austria, I called Ned and Carson and I wouldn’t have even known they were speaking if not for the subtitles. Even after lowering the music and ambience sounds specifically and I still had this issue.

·         Also Ned’s voicemail has changed. Did he make up with his sister?

·         There were a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes. Almost every other written thing (books, pamphlets, and notes) had some kind of mistake. Hotchkiss’ book is one example.

·         There were times when the pop-up text box was harder to read than the written thing. Not all the paragraphs were spaced out far enough in the boxes but were fine on the written thing.

·         No “Can’t check that off yet.” The Checklist was unusable by the player. Unlike every other game. It did it automatically which wasn’t fun. I liked using the checklist.

·         The game was so linear that I couldn’t really look around or do my own thing. When one thing was down you were immediately shuffled to the next thing. It basically made the checklist unnecessary.

·         Terrible Animation. People moved for no reason. Just stuck in the same cyclical animation over and over and over again. They were pretty janky and awkward. Joe was the worst for me, he was constantly twitching on the screen. Frank was stock-still in comparison. No one else was that bad.

·         Many of the mouth movements did not remotely match what the characters were saying. Sometimes nonexistent.

·         Everyone’s EYES ARE SO WIDE. IT’S LIKE THEY DON’T HAVE EYELIDS. THEY’RE SO OPEN.

·         The Parry’s curtains glitch in the sink. There’s a few plants that look weird, they had a neon glow on them. Olivia’s hands are always clipping through her robe and hair. In Moosham Castle there is a thing that’s inside a table. Both the Hardy Boys’ feet (and maybe other characters) were entirely in the ground at times. There were plenty of other problems like that.

·         If I looked around a certain way while everyone’s talking at the Parry kitchen table Frank’s entire body disappears with the exception of his neck and watch.

·         Some of the windows had a view of the town outside but other windows have this shine that you can’t see through.

·         I’m not thrilled about the bystanders. Only the protest guy really helped. Over all they didn’t add to the game or help me at all.

·         Dr. Hirst’s silhouette was kinda weird

·         Also why did the game start in Austria??? That’s just weird? I thought we were just gonna start with Deirdre calling us but whatever

·         I really hate the needless and honestly misplaced drama. Why couldn’t we talk to Ned and why haven’t we talked to Ned. It really pissed me off. Why would you put this directly after Ned’s whole “I Love and Support- This Could Basically Be a Proposal” Speech in Sea of Darkness? It’s just super off

·         Not to mention the fact that the “Francy” moments in this game felt super forced. I don’t like what it does to their characters too. It feels like Ned isn’t trusting Nancy, which is crazy because he trusts her with his life. Frank is the more awkward Hardy Brother but that was ramped all the way up. Also Nancy completely ignoring Ned? What? They don’t feel like themselves here. It’s just off. This tone should’ve been brought in so soon, chronologically, after SEA. It’s out of place.

·         Who was the female voice that was in the phone call with Ned? That was never answered. Was that a drama plot that was unfinished? Why not take it out of the game if you’re never going to resolve it? Why start an unnecessary relationship drama that’s both half-assed and unfinished?

·         It’s kinda weird how in the end Nancy leaves the Parry house and calls Ned and we can hear her side of the conversation but not his. She’s just talking to herself.

·         The phone friends were basically useless. If it wasn’t for the flashlight and the checklist I would say that Nancy didn’t even need her phone. And I guess talking to Damian Faulkner. 95% of the calls I made just went to voicemail. I want to chat about the case, talk to my friends, and get hints like we used to. I didn’t even know we could call Dr.Hirst about the ergot poisoning. I only found out on accident. I don’t know how many conversations I missed. Calling people used to feel important but here it doesn’t even need to be in the game it’s so useless.

·         Just because this bugs me I don’t like the Hardy Boys starting their own detective agency. They began their work by working for their Dad. Who is a private investigator/private detective. Who runs a Detective Agency. Why would they start their own?? If you’re gonna make this a family business why not make it a family business? Right?

·         May February, 1692 was an actual date they used. I think it was supposed to be February and they changed it to May. Earlier in the same note they used May so I’m guessing they didn’t properly finish the rest of the note.

·         The lockpick game was visually glitch for me and the game itself didn’t work that great for me

·         Joe’s hair makes him look like a fake blond lol. There are parts of his head (by the nape of his neck for example) that have brown hairs. Also some parts of his hair didn’t load properly on occasion and underneath was brown. Did he dye it?

·         Which brings me to my next point. The hair was animated horribly. Frank and any of the other short and simple haired characters were okay. But probably only because they had short and simple hair. The longer haired characters were not as well animated.

·         I randomly got double the Johnny Cakes when I made them. So Teegan and Olivia got extra.

·         I will admit that making the Johnny cakes wasn’t the worst cooking minigame we’ve had in the games before.

·         Frank getting the Frankenstein ones were a little obvious. It also didn’t feel as personal as the other ones oddly enough. We had a fun little dialogue about the design with everyone but Frank. He just got some cringey “I’ll eat these right away” kind of dialogue.

·         I wish the truth serum was actually useful. Solving Tituba’s poem and going a bit out of the way to get the ingredients led me to believe it would be used for more than some “fun” dialogue choices. Joe and Deirdre are the only ones to use it. Which leads to some cute moments in which Deirdre admits she actually kinda likes and admires Nancy. I love her. Joe says he always tells the truth (no) so he doesn’t know how to tell if it works. I love him.

·         Maybe it’s just me or the audio was off but Carson sounded different in Austria than he did in Salem.

·         The use of the ergot poisoning was kinda of awesome. It’s one of the most popular theories on why Salem went bonkers and it was interesting to see it used to trick our favorite sleuths.

·         The note to save Deirdre didn’t appear when I clicked on it. Frank (and I think Joe) reacted to it but it didn’t let me examine it. The bug fixed itself by closing the examination and clicking on it again.

·         I love how the “ghosts” were handled. Especially them being hallucinations. My favorite was in the cemetery with the Hardy Boys and Olivia. The screen got kinda weird and everyone started to get worked up and really tense. They started fighting and you could see Abigail before they did. The build up to it was fantastic. The other scenes were cool too.

·         The tunnels where the “ghosts” jumped out at every wrong (and sometimes right) turns while you’re desperately trying to escape the tunnels with Mei was pretty awesome. One of the jumpscares even got me.

·         THERE WAS NO ENDING LETTER. She wrote a letter to Ned in the beginning but she never wrote a second one. Sure we sorta got to see how everything turned out at the party but it’s not the same. It doesn’t feel properly ended.

·         I lowkey ship Jason and Mei. I could totally picture the two of them making out in those hidden tunnel rooms beneath Salem. Not just because I would too. This easily could’ve been another unfulfilled romance sideplot.

·         Some of the books/notes really didn’t feel that helpful. I did learn some new things about Salem but I don’t feel we used the knowledge we gained properly in the game.

·         The Jack O Lanterns were fun.

·         The parallels between the Judges of the Witch Trials and Judge Danforth was a pretty interesting plot point. There definitely is a difference between accusing witches and accusing someone of arson when they were 9.

·         Teegan’s guilt for both the shed and Hathorne house was something I didn’t really expect. It was a good plot twist. I can see how it was hinted earlier on by Lauren who says “Teegan likes to protect what’s important to her, sometimes that’s Mei.” Sometimes being the key word.

·         The Hardy Boys being home-made ghost hunters was hysterical and adorable. I want them to have their own games soooo badly.

·         I am completely on Joe’s side that we can’t prove that ghosts don’t exists, even if we can’t prove they do exist.

·         I knew Alicia was the bad guy the second she started shit-talking Ned without knowing him. Only bad people don’t like Ned. He would never force Nancy to become a housewife, that’s not who she is and he loves her for who she is.

·         I did “OK Boomer” Judge Danforth. He deserved it.

·         I loved the little tidbits that we got of Frances’ and Lauren’s relationship we got to hear about. It’s really sweet.

·         The comparison of Jason being a fast food cheeseburger with extra extra extra cheese and Ned being a home-cooked meal is perfect. Home-cooked meal is a great way to describe Ned.

·         Either way they’re both snacks.

·         Ok Jason’s ugly in these graphics but it was implied he was supposed to be hot.

·         Jason could’ve been a true himbo but unfortunately he wasn’t

·         TBH Ned, Carson, and Damian were the most attractive characters in the game. Only because they weren’t subjected to these graphics.

·         I loved the Ghost Wavelength Spectral Analyzer 2.5 the Joe Hardy Guide to Amazing Finds but I hate the spectral analyzer itself. That mini-game was the WORST. It took forever!

·         Alicia was straight up just gonna kill everyone. I’m doubting her biology knowledge.

·         Also if you wanna raise kids in a more “modern” environment just freaking move. I know there was money in that real estate deal but there’s real estate in other towns.

·         I love Deirdre. She’s really funny and kinda sweet. Even though she likes Ned (and maybe Nancy too lol) she doesn’t try to break them up or get between them. At least not anymore. She knows how much Ned loves Nancy. She even gave Nancy relationship advice. Which Nancy desperately needs because she terrible at this.

·         This is just me but I kinda wish Nancy had an original idea for their vacation instead of just going back to Austria. Maybe let Ned pick this time because he’s the one who has to play catch up all the time and it’s only fair.

·         Carson’s an adorable dorky dad and the only rich white man I trust. I’ve said it in my tweets and I will say it until I die. No one can take that away from me.

·         This may be repetitive but I don’t like what this game did to Ned, Frank, and I guess even Nancy too. Ned knows about Frank’s feelings for Nancy. And now needless, useless, meaningless drama is gonna happen. I hate it I hate it I HATE IT!

·         Just the relationship drama didn’t add a thing to this game. It was stupid. Especially because it was unfinished. It should’ve just been taken out.

·         Joe looks 13 and way to skinny. He’s the brawn to Frank’s brain. Yes, he’s smart too and Frank isn’t weak. However, Joe is way stronger than him. If there has to be a scrawnier Hardy Boy, it’s Frank and we all know it.

·         To quote Joe he’s got Man Strength™.

·         Cause “Boy” is only part of the title, but Hardy Men doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

·         At times it feels like that the creators forget that Joe’s supposed to be smart too. There were times where it felt like they made him a total idiot. Though that could be personal too.

·         Frank being a total Captain Obvious, perfect.

·         They’re both puppies that got turned into human boys. Frank is just a calmer puppy

·         Love that Mei’s going to Waverly but some of the other references fell flat. The Cat thing and the “I only smoke when I’m on fire” thing. It’s just not the same.

·         Jason deserves the Not-As-Much-of-a-Jerk-as-You-Could-Have-Been Award.

·         Mei’s a sweetie when she finally lets you in.

·         The multiple endings seemed to have changed from different culprits to just what happens to Hathorne House and/or Teegan (I think). They seem to be pretty much the same. I did expect that as that has often been my experience with “multiple endings” games.

·         I’m glad that both the Accused Witches and Lauren can get the house. It seems right for that to happen.

·         Olivia’s pretty funny. I have a thing for eccentric characters. And it was funny how she tried to induct us into the coven at the end.

·         The red/ginger hair superstition is a real superstition and I’m glad it was used. It’s for witches, werewolves, and vampires. Not just that gingers have no souls. (from the Malleus Maleficarum)

·         If there is another game, I hope it’s the Nedcy vacation. And that we actually get to see Ned lol. I don’t get why he has never made an in-game appearance. It’s a little unfair at this point.

·         Considering Emerson College is 39 minutes away from Salem and we still didn’t get him, I doubt it. Even though they mentioned both Salem and kidnapping Ned in Labyrinth of Lies.

·         Also that the next one feels more like a Nancy Drew game.

·         There’s no puzzles and there’s so much changed that it doesn’t have the same feel to it.

·         This doesn’t feel like it took 4 ½ years to make. It feels like it took less than ½ a year. I can tell that things have changed because pretty much all the people who worked on it originally got fired. And that the Austrian game development company that took over everything (besides licensing) struggled to match the quality of the previous games.

·         It definitely wasn’t beta-tested or was barely beta-tested. Quite a few beta-testers have come forward to say they didn’t get the offer to beta-test until September of this year. A month before preorder. Yikes.

·         I know I got a little mean for some of the points but coddling the company by just saying positive things doesn’t help. They’ll get comfortable and give the fans worse things than this. I’m not an expert but I’ve played and learned enough games that I know some basics about how they’re made. It’s not easy but that doesn’t mean we should excuse things because of it.

·         There’s been a lot of controversy with HER and Penny and this game and probably more. I’m not gonna get more into that besides mentioning that things changed because of this and not for the better.

·         I probably missed somethings but whatever this is over 3000 words. I covered the basics and then some.

·         This game is just a 2.5/5 for me

[thesilentspyawaits]

I have finished MID and I have thoughts

This review/thought thingy will NOT be spoiler-free so please be aware of that! Before I put anything under the cut though, I wanted to point out one thing. I think I’ve said this before but I’m a beta tester for the ND games and we had the option in SEPTEMBER (an actual month before the game was to be out for pre-order) to come in and test the puzzles (I’m currently studying abroad so I couldn’t go) but we were told we were not going to have the option to get the actual beta version of the game so... I don’t think it was actually ever beta tested??? Maybe I’ll make a post about it idk we’ll see anyway here are my thoughts/comments: 

I’m just going to say the things that I love right off the bat and not go into too much detail about those: 

Voice Acting 

Lots of Characters/NPCs

Most of the plot

The ghosts especially when they were running around in the tunnels, that was super cool and a few scared me 

That nostalgic feeling

Here are the things I didn’t like about the game and I’ll go into some details: 

ASH: This was a knock-off version of Alibi in Ashes with some Ghost of Thornton hall mixed in you can’t change my mind 

Graphics: I don’t want to go too much into it. They sucked. I have a Macbook and tried to turn the graphics up (this helped a lot) but my game go so slow and my computer crashed a lot so I turned them down 

Lots of Characters: I know I said I loved how many characters there were, but I felt like we never got the time to know them. The game was about the same amount of time as the older ones so I think that’s the reason why we never got to really know any of them. I have no idea what the motives were for anything, I learned no background about the characters, Jason and Mei seemed forced, I wanted more info about the young Coven group, I basically just wanted more from each character especially Alicia and the Judge. They could have easily been taken out of the game in my personal opinion. I think if the game was longer it would have been a LOT better. 

Dialogue/not a lot of puzzles: My favourite part of the game was when Mei and Nancy had to figure out how to get out of that small room because it was just a big puzzle and I really liked the puzzle with Frank/Joe/Deirdre in the basement of the Hathorne House! But the dialogue just seemed so... yikes. It was also annoying that we couldn’t work on multiple puzzles at the same time. It felt very linear that way. I also think a lot of people back in 2015 when they did that survey said they wanted more puzzles in the games. I think having six characters instead of four and having more puzzles would have been a lot better. Something similar to Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon! That’s SUCH a good game because of the characters and the puzzles! 

Characters in general: Why the FUCK did they have like no facial movements??? Besides their mouths which were not in sync with the words a lot of the time?? Why the fuck was the judge so sad 25/8? Why was Teegan stuck in t-pose the entire game??? Why did they move so much? They were so unnatural and awkward???? I honestly just like... why???? Also NONE OF THEM BLINKED 99% OF THE TIME! Deirdre was the wORST! I stared at her for like two minutes and she never blinked. She was by far the worst looking one which sucked since she was behind us a lot during the game which I thought was very annoying. 

Glitches: Oh my goshhhh I had so many little bugs and glitches. Frank’s feet were in the ground so many times, Nancy wasn’t sitting in her chair part of the time, the characters’ arms would clip through them I think at one point Joe’s arm just went straight through his face. I also had to shut my game down more than once in order to progress in a puzzle it was just not good 

Ned: PUT NED IN THE FUCKING GAME YOU COWARDS! And why were him and Nancy fighting so much???? It doesn’t make sense! It added nothing to the game!! 

Frank: He was so awkward??? Did not seem like Frank Hardy at all I was very concerned 

Other stuff: I hated the text. I have ADHD and space out sometimes and I loved how in the old games I could scroll up so I could remember shit. It also isn’t good for hard of hearing or deaf fans or other people who may need the text to read since it would get cut off. I was not very impressed with the world. I thought the upstairs part of the library was really weird, it seemed way too big for no reason. Lauren should have been living in the Hathrone house instead of next to it. Also the Hathrone house and the Perry house have the same layout. Two rooms on the ground floor, only one place you could access upstairs. It was a bigger world, but I would have enjoyed a smaller world with more areas to explore in the world. The ending was just chaos too. So much talking. I missed the letter at the end too! I hated that we had to go say goodbye to everyone?

Finally, I was confused a lot. Some of the dialogue didn’t make sense, there weren’t a lot of hints, the puzzles needed a lot more explaining than they were providing us, and I didn’t notice things until Nancy told us (the picture we got of Lauren, Olivia, and Teegan, didn’t realize I had to look at it). There was just a lot of things that left me saying “what” and it was really frustrating. I was pretty much done with the game by the end. 

In conclusion: I would have preferred waiting another year for a REALLY good Nancy Drew game (why did this one feel so... rushed?) Or just stuck with the old point-n-click version! There wasn’t anything wrong with the point-n-click version! I think it would have been easier for them to just add in six characters instead of the traditional 4, put in some more difficult puzzles and like three more than usual, and make the game a little bit longer! 

I am really worried HeR won’t be able to recover from this which sucks but I hope they learn and are able to grow and we get some better games in the future! I gave the game a fair shot and... I wasn’t impressed. Especially after they hyped it up like crazy and we had to wait so long. 5/10 sorry and if you’re thinking about buying the game, I say do it. I actually really liked feeling nostalgic and my little brother and I were talking about it and it was like the good old days! It brought me back and made me happy for some weird reason?

[writingwordsanddrawingpictures]

More Questions Than Answers - Featuring Kat

Since I completed @cawolters Girls, Girls, Girls tag prompt on Friday for Kat (a character from MQTA), I thought it might be a good idea to re-post an excerpt from that story for you all - especially as it was last year when I first posted this and before a lot of you started following me!

This is a random scene which is currently planned to be a flashback (yeah, I know, but sometimes we need them) from late on in the book. Strangely for me, there’s not a huge amount of dialogue in this one, but it is much more of a narrative / action sequence although it is currently unfinished (and very much draft 0 / 1 stage).

The extract is under the cut. Trigger warnings for: violence, blood, death, swearing, cultists.

Tagging: @themerrywriter, @bexminx, @bookishdiplodocus, @therska, @adie-dee, @theimportanceofbeingbookish, @roselinproductions, @farrradays, @kira-desomma, @aeschknight, @pens-swords-stuff, @fukusigma, @alixismad

As always, if you want on or off (no offense will be taken) the list for this WIP, let me know.

Contrary to what many people thought, Kat had always felt that waiting was the easiest part. It was only when action was called for that carefully considered plans tended to fall apart and quickly turn into crap. She lay motionless in a large branch of a tree, observing the comings and goings around her. There’d been a lot of activity in the couple of hours since she’d set herself up in her current roost, and none of it looked good. There was definitely something large planned for tonight, and while it vindicated her source, it disturbed her greatly given the group that she was now dealing with. On the surface they seemed to be another bunch of disaffected, slightly odd eccentrics but there was something else about them now that Kat couldn’t put her finger on, and that worried her. A lot. She slowly let out a breath while she scanned over her field of vision, limited by the mass of branches and new growth that was also serving to keep her out of sight - well, that and the fact she was dressed completely in black against a pitch black night. She stopped her panning across the vista below her and held her breath. ‘Shit’ she thought as she caught sight of what she’d been dreading - not just handguns, but some SMGs and the odd assault rifle and shotgun. And here she was with just a pistol (unsilenced, sadly) and an extendible baton… Okay, she had a few little surprises planned as well, but she had the definite feeling that the time for waiting was rapidly disappearing and the time for things to go to shit were rushing at her. The problem with the robes that cultists (let’s call them what they are, shall we?) tend to be drawn to is that they can cover a multitude of concealed weapons… The advantage of them is that they can also get in the way if you’re not used to fighting in them - very much a double-edged sword.

Kat released the rest of the breath slowly and noiselessly, and resumed her surveillance with a renewed focus. After another half an hour or so, the mood seemed to switch - lights came on in the clearing ahead of her, drowning out the (oh-so-traditional) flaming torches, and a large number of the cultists who’d been patrolling the woods moved inwards toward the clearing. This was both good and bad - good in that when she came to make her move, she’d stand a better chance of getting there unnoticed; bad because when she got there, she thought all hell would break loose. Possibly literally. She took another look around the clearing and saw her main target - clearly identifiable in the showy robes and carrying … yes, one of the stolen books in his hands. It was an ugly looking thing, and very likely bound in human skin - always de-rigour for true tomes of any standing. She took a minute to make her mental inventory of where her baton, pistol and spare clips were, along with her other toys, and slid the sight she’d been using back into her belt (wishing that she had the rifle that went with it).

Kat glanced around her, saw that the remaining guards were further out in the woods, and slid herself gracefully and silently back down the tree using barely noticeable hand and foot holds. Once back on the ground, she slid the baton out of her belt and readied it in her right hand. “Repeat after me: We are not at home to Mr Fuckup.” she whispered to herself, a familiar mantra in these situations. She slid through the gloom, her feet managing to pick their way through the odd fallen branch and other woodland detritus almost of their own accord. She stopped behind the trunk of a tree as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. She held her breath and waited until the footsteps were directly on the other side of the tree, readying herself to keep the tree between her and the guard. Unexpectedly the footsteps stopped, followed by a brief grunting and the sound of layers of clothing brushing past each other. Silence followed for a moment, then the sound of a stream of fluid hitting the tree and the undergrowth below it. 'You have got to be kidding me.’ Kat thought, keeping her breathing as shallow as possible. The stream started to subside, then stopped for a second, and started up again back at full force. 'Why do I have to get the one with the horse’s bladder?’ Kat fumed silently, waiting for the flow to stop, studiously ignoring the occasional spray that flew past the side of the tree. Kat’s head span round and she peered into the gloom behind her. A second later there was the sound of a distant crunch in that direction. Another guard was heading this way… She weighed up her options quickly and span round the tree trunk, flipping the baton out as she went. The guard never knew what hit him - one second he was (still) in mid flow, the next something connected with the back of his head in a blur and he went down like a puppet whose strings had been cut, smacking his forehead on the trunk on the way down. She swore to herself, and hoped it would be written off as clumsiness as she slid back into the darkness. 'We are not at home to Mr Fuckup. We are not at home to Mr Fuckup.’ Kat’s mantra ran through her head as she slipped silently from shadow to shadow, closing in on the clearing and the potential home of Mr Fuckup.

Kat’s progress had slowed to a crawl, as she could hear more voices than she was comfortable with in the clearing ahead - plus the fact that the cultists had rigged up some electric lights in the clearing, rather than using the traditional flaming torches. In some ways, it was nice to see them starting to embrace a few modern touches, but in others their use of lights and firearms was positively annoying. She was taking stock of her position and definitely not liking the odds. A wide open clearing was one thing, but having a crowd of potentially gun-toting cultists was something else. She’d known coming into this that they were more well organised than most, hence why she’d recced the area well ahead and had set up some insurance policies in case Mr Fuckup and his extended family came to stay after all. She let out her breath slowly, camped out underneath a couple of bushes and waited for her opportunity to move to a good vantage point. She’d spotted a likely looking tree on her way to these bushes - she remembered that it overlooked the clearing perfectly and was luckily not being illuminated by the pesky lights. She could also decamp from it in a hurry, which made it her best option - other than trying the old 'disguise’ ploy, which was really like hanging out a sign for the Fuckups to come stay.

The flow of bodies into the clearing stopped, and Kat scanned where the guards where. It looked like she should be able to make it to and up into her tree in between their rounds, provided there were no surprises. She saw the guard nearest her walk away and counted the seconds away mentally. Reaching 15, she slid from under the bushes and across to a fallen trunk, pausing for a count of 4, then dashed over to the tree barely making any noise. As she reached the tree, instead of stopping she leapt up and grabbed hold of a sturdy branch about two feet above her head, swinging herself up onto it in one fluid motion. Quickly glancing around and now counting down from 20, she shimmied up the trunk and onto the large branch that she’d spied on her recce - big enough to hold her, with a slight depression in the middle of it as if two branches had grown together years ago, and enough foliage to keep her away from all but the most curious observer. '4.. 3.. 2.. 1..’ her mental countdown ended just as the guard returned on his path, directly under her new hiding place. She granted herself a quick flicker of a grin, then her face went back to pure concentration as she slid her scope back out and settled in to see what was in store with tonight’s show. 'Please be amateurs, please be amateurs’ Kat thought to herself, scanning the scene in the clearing. 'Ah fuck.’ Tonight was not to be as simple as Kat had been hoping. The clearing looked far too organised for these guys to be complete amateurs. There was a makeshift altar set up in the middle, and atop it was a knife on a silk cushion that caused a chill to run down Kat’s spine. It looked ancient, and it looked like it had seen an awful lot, but the edges of it gleamed as if they could split daylight. 'Obsidian? How?’ Kat thought to herself, but that was just the start. On another cushion was an old book that could have been leather bound - at least she hoped it was - and she swore as she couldn’t see anything on it to determine the title of it from. Either in front or behind the makeshift altar there was an area roughly 7 feet in diameter that was completely empty, even the undergrowth had been removed from it leaving just bare earth. Worrying enough, but there was also a ring of something stark white delineating it that gave it just that extra edge of worry - particularly as it was a bloody perfect circle. 'This just gets better and better’ Kat thought, frowning. Glancing back at the altar, Kat caught sight of something that was currently covered with a piece of silk. She couldn’t make out exactly what it could be, but it looked to have the top of a sphere. 'Curiouser and curiouser…’ Her frown briefly morphed into a quizzical look, then back to the frown. Satisfied that she had the lay of the land by the altar, she scanned over the rest of the clearing and could see a wide circle of guards around the edge of the clearing, all evenly spaced and with conspicuous bulges under their robes. At least they were in good positions to benefit from her planned surprises. Off to one side she could see a group of five cultists surrounding what looked, based on the fancier robes, like the MC for the evening. He seemed to be carrying something, but between the foliage in front of her and the group around him, she couldn’t make out what it was other than it looked heavy.

Kat lowered the scope from her right eye and risked a quick glance at her watch - if they went with tradition, then she had another 15 minutes before the show began. She closed her eyes briefly and offered a silent prayer to keep Mr you-know-who and family at bay, opened her eyes again then lifted the scope back up and settled in to see what was going to unfold.

15 minutes later… The witching hour.

'It’s usually nice to see traditions maintained, but just for once I’d like to see some originality.’ Kat thought to herself as the focus shifted to the MC, as he walked across the clearing towards the altar, still surrounded by his inner circle of five. As he reached the altar and the five separated to take up positions behind him, with the empty circle in front of the altar, she now saw all too clearly what he was carrying. 'Good evening Mr Fuckup, so nice you could make it.’ she thought to herself, trying to resist the urge to bolt from the tree and get as far away from this damned place as possible. It was an ancient tome, clearly bound in what was almost definitely human skin, and she’d seen enough of the title to realise that it could only mean the night was going to hell and very likely in the literal sense. It was widely rumoured to contain a large number of incantations for a variety of summonings, but some were for the type of creatures that viewed humans as playthings at best, and mere annoyances to be swatted aside at worst. How this group had managed to get their hands on it was anyone’s guess, but it was highly likely to be the result of one of the thefts of antiquities and occult-related items that had taken place over the last few months. Kat consciously tried to relax her muscles back from their current state of high tensile steel, but couldn’t stop herself repeating the same word over and over again in her mind 'fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck’. She forced herself to breathe almost normally, and was able to form a coherent thought - if she managed to get out of this alive (doubtful at the moment), she’d make her informant about tonight wish he’d never been born, and to pray for a quick death. Her focus returned to the altar, and she saw that the mystery object had now been revealed - a crystal ball on a mahogany stand. She blinked and adjusted the focus of the scope to get a closer look, ignoring the litany that had started. It was obviously old, and had a strange pearlescence about it that kept shifting like clouds in the sky… It looked familiar from somewhere. 'You’ve got to be kidding me!’ she thought, finally recognising it. She was sure it was Aleister Crowley’s, and that never boded well, especially not with the rest of the paraphernalia on show tonight. Mr you-know-who had brought the whole family for an outing tonight, and she’d seriously underestimated the resources of this group - hopefully not fatally.

The litany continued, with the MC referring to the book that had been on the altar to start with, then placing the skin-bound book on the altar and opening it with an audible crack that caused Kat’s shallow breath to catch in her throat. The silence that followed the crack was palpable, with seemingly the whole forest bowed into silent anticipation of what was to come. The MC glanced down the page he’d opened the book at and picked up the knife, which now seemed to be leaving afterimages behind itself as it moved through the air. A chill started to fall over the clearing, and Kat could see a few of the cultists placing their hands into their robes for warmth, along with a few small clouds of breath starting to form close to the altar. The knife was drawn through the air in several complex symbols, which remained briefly illuminated in the air when the knife was returned to the MC’s side, and after each one the temperature seemed to drop another couple of degrees. 'This isn’t funny now… I have a very, very bad feeling about this.’ Kat thought, her left hand reaching behind her to check that the butt of her CZ-75 was still in its holster.

Six symbols were drawn in the air in total, then when the sixth had been drawn and faded, all six re-appeared and glowed brightly for a second before fading out. This was like nothing that Kat had ever seen before, and it looked like it was new to a lot of the cultists as well given the conflicted looks of fear and anticipation on their faces. The knife was then swept in an 'X’ in the air, which flared brightly and left an afterimage on Kat’s retinas. He returned the knife to its cushion, at which point Kat could see that the crystal ball had cleared and was showing some form of image that she couldn’t quite make out, but there was fire in there somewhere, and something … writhing? Maybe it was best that she couldn’t make it out properly, but she did catch sight of something that made her tense - a couple of brief afterimages of the same symbols she’d seen scribed in the air with the knife here, followed by the 'X’ which seemed to remain in the scene in the ball… “Fuck” Kat whispered aloud, then quickly checked if she’d been heard - and it seemed she’d been lucky this time.

The crystal ball started to glow slightly, with the … images … still present within it. This looked to be the cue for the MC to start reading aloud from the ancient text in a language that had obviously not been designed for human vocal chords. Kat instinctively slid her CZ-75 from its holster and held it in her left hand, getting ready to make her move, the weight of it giving her a brief reassurance. The MC’s backing choir now started to join in, chanting in what sounded to be the same bizarre language, the harmony of voices making the hairs on the back of Kat’s neck rise. The glow of the crystal ball became brighter, and Kat could make out that the 'X’ in the image was growing in size. She flicked her gaze instinctively to the bare circle, and was sure she could see something like a heat-haze in there, completely at odds with the clouds of breath that were issuing from all of the cultists bar the MC and his groupies. The chanting seemed to build and build, growing in intensity and volume, and creating an almost primal sense of fear to build within Kat. She could see that a number of the cultists / guards were suffering from the same thing, some much worse than others. Kat started a mental countdown from 10, sensing that something was about to happen, and shifted her weight around readying herself to dive from the tree onto (hopefully) the guard about to pass beneath her. 9 … 8 … 7… The chanting continued to build and build, sounding more and more alien, and definitely emanating from more than just six people even though they were the only ones whose lips were moving. 6 … 5 … 4 … Kat slid her baton out from under her jacket into her right hand, keeping it collapsed for the moment. 3 … 2… 1 … Go! She dove feet first from the tree, flashing down about 20 feet and connecting perfectly with the guard, her right foot impacting heavily into his back, causing him to hit the ground in a heap with his spine snapping from the force, killing him instantly. As she slid over his collapsing body, she rolled forwards and sprang up into a kneeling position on her right knee, scanning the immediate area for any signs that she’d been heard, her right hand holding the still collapsed baton and supporting her left hand with her pistol at the ready. After a second she looked over towards the clearing and noticed that the chanting had stopped - it was now deathly silent throughout the wood, which was intensely worrying.

'So nice you could bring your family along this evening. Always a pleasure to see all the Fuckups in one place.’ Kat thought to herself, still fighting the urge to start running in the opposite direction to the one she knew she’d have to go in. After another quick scan of the immediate area, Kat shifted into a crouch and began to slowly make her way towards the still silent clearing just ahead of her. She kept expecting to be spotted or heard even though she was well camouflaged and was moving as silently as humanly possible. She also expected all hell to break loose any second, or some form of explosion, or … something! She knew the book by reputation only, and that was enough for her - there were many rumours about it, and not a one of them were good. It had dropped off the face of the Earth for a very long time, obviously into the hands of private collectors, or of a group that knew enough about it to not use it on a whim. If it had been researched, there would be some trail of insanity behind it, as no-one who delved too deeply into this area managed to retain their full mental faculties for long.

She made it to the edge of the clearing, secreting herself behind a bush with a clear view of the front of the altar and a clear shot at the MC. Kat fought to keep her breathing under control and hoped that her usual detached serenity would descend at the point she intervened. The eerie silence had lasted now for a full 5 minutes, with no sign of movement from the MC and his backing choir, and was causing Kat more and more unease particularly with the shifting scenes in the crystal ball. The glowing 'X’ was still there and looked to have grown larger again.

“Well?” One of the guards close to Kat broke the silence. “Is that it?” No sooner had he made his comment than the obsidian knife was embedded in his forehead and Kat felt a faint splash of cast-off blood from the impact. No-one appeared to have moved to throw the knife, and the impatient guard was twitching but still somehow managing to remain upright. Off to her left, Kat heard the sound of a woman retching into the undergrowth and noticed that the guard seemed to be somehow … shrinking? He was growing steadily thinner and thinner, and whether it was her mind playing tricks on her or not she wasn’t certain, but she could have sworn she could hear a faint sucking noise. He … withered to the point where he couldn’t have been more than skin stretched tight over his skeleton, then collapsed into a heap with the knife somehow releasing itself before he hit the ground face-first.

Kat felt an itching at the back of her brain, a feeling she was all-too aware usually meant that things were about to reach the point of no return (as if they hadn’t already!) and she needed to act quickly. The MC drew himself up to his full height and threw his head back … to have it thrown further backwards by the impact of two rounds from Kat’s CZ-75, blood spattering some of his backing choir and also being cast forwards over the altar to … hang in the air? “Oh fuck!” Kat growled, knowing that this time she may have been too late. Things seemed to drop into slow motion for Kat, as she caught out of the corner of her eye the glowing “X” encompassing the entire crystal ball. The cultists didn’t quite know how to react, some wondering if this was also part of the ritual, others who might have been more trained starting to scan the area to see where the shots came from, but the backing singers seemed completely unphased by the whole thing, as if … “And I fell for it, you bastards!” Kat shouted, breaking from her cover and triggering her ‘surprises’ at the same time.

Night started to turn to day with a sound akin to a rolling thunderclap shortly behind, still in slow-motion, with a ring of rigged flash-bangs exploding in sequence around the clearing. Kat was launching into a sprint towards the backing singers, squeezing her finger on the trigger as she saw the air starting to shimmer in front of her, then taking on an almost liquid quality. Another step further on, her finger closed the trigger and set off the first shot, which lazily flew towards the mirage? Heat haze? Disturbance in the air that lay between Kat and the backing singers. Next step, and another bullet left the barrel almost dead behind the first, which was now almost at the … disturbance that was getting even more liquid-like. Third step, and Kat could see one or two of the guards around the edge starting to recover their composure and reaching for weapons. The backing singers were still very much where they’d been all along, but she could swear that she could see one of them grinning at her. The first bullet was now at the disturbance and … disappeared? ‘Crap’ Kat’s next footfall started to steer her away from the disturbance that had now somehow swallowed both of her rounds, and was now getting more and more liquid-like. Fifth step … as Kat’s foot hit the ground, there was a sound that Kat felt all the way to the depths of her soul and that chilled her more than anything ever had before. It sounded … felt like someone had just torn reality itself apart at the seams. She could see some of the cultists turning to flee into the forest, one or two bending double to retch, others just stock still and ashen-faced. This definitely wasn’t something that they’d been prepared for – except maybe the backing singers. Kat saw the disturbance in the air stretch, as if someone (something?) was pushing at it from inside, then break and an arm of sorts appeared in the air. It looked as if it was made of liquid, with the same shimmering quality that the air had before, although this also looked like it was flowing from the break in the air (reality?) “Motherfucker” Kat swore, willing her feet away from whatever it was that was coming through, as there was no way that it could be anything that was good. It certainly wasn’t going to start singing campfire songs – more likely to roast everyone here alive over one. The rest of the body started to emerge from the … rift? It looked vaguely humanoid, although there were definite signs that it wasn’t going to be human – back-to front knees, clawed hands, and … tattered wings on its back? As her next foot hit the ground, Kat knew that her best escape route was behind the altar, so she’d have to go past this … damned thing. She brought her pistol to bear on it and squoze the trigger until the slide locked back. Every shot was true – head, heart, chest – and although it seemed to feel the impacts, nothing phased it. Kat was now alongside it and picking up speed, when she felt a burning impact on her right shoulder. Its right hand was on her shoulder, gripped her and pulled. She growled as she felt her arm slip out of its socket, and searing pain follow with something digging into her shoulder, but her momentum was just about enough to pull her free of its grasp, albeit spinning her directly towards the altar.

<End>

As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed, just keep them constructive if they’re negative.

[writingwordsanddrawingpictures]

More Questions Than Answers - Post 3

This is a random scene which is currently planned to be a flashback (yeah, I know, but sometimes we need them) from late on in the book. Strangely, there’s not a huge amount of dialogue in this one, but it is much more of a narrative / action sequence although it is currently unfinished.

On with the show:

Contrary to what many people thought, Kat had always felt that waiting was the easiest part. It was only when action was called for that carefully considered plans tended to fall apart and quickly turn into crap. She lay motionless in a large branch of a tree, observing the comings and goings around her. There'd been a lot of activity in the couple of hours since she'd set herself up in her current roost, and none of it looked good. There was definitely something large planned for tonight, and while it vindicated her source, it disturbed her greatly given the group that she was now dealing with. On the surface they seemed to be another bunch of disaffected, slightly odd eccentrics but there was something else about them now that Kat couldn't put her finger on, and that worried her. A lot. She slowly let out a breath while she scanned over her field of vision, limited by the mass of branches and new growth that was also serving to keep her out of sight - well, that and the fact she was dressed completely in black against a pitch black night. She stopped her panning across the vista below her and held her breath. 'Shit' she thought as she caught sight of what she'd been dreading - not just handguns, but some SMGs and the odd assault rifle and shotgun. And here she was with just a pistol (unsilenced, sadly) and an extendible baton... Okay, she had a few little surprises planned as well, but she had the definite feeling that the time for waiting was rapidly disappearing and the time for things to go to shit were rushing at her. The problem with the robes that cultists (let's call them what they are, shall we?) tend to be drawn to is that they can cover a multitude of concealed weapons... The advantage of them is that they can also get in the way if you're not used to fighting in them - very much a double-edged sword.

Kat released the rest of the breath slowly and noiselessly, and resumed her surveillance with a renewed focus. After another half an hour or so, the mood seemed to switch - lights came on in the clearing ahead of her, drowning out the (oh-so-traditional) flaming torches, and a large number of the cultists who'd been patrolling the woods moved inwards toward the clearing. This was both good and bad - good in that when she came to make her move, she'd stand a better chance of getting there unnoticed; bad because when she got there, she thought all hell would break loose. Possibly literally. She took another look around the clearing and saw her main target - clearly identifiable in the showy robes and carrying ... yes, one of the stolen books in his hands. It was an ugly looking thing, and very likely bound in human skin - always de-rigour for true tomes of any standing. She took a minute to make her mental inventory of where her baton, pistol and spare clips were, along with her other toys, and slid the sight she'd been using back into her belt (wishing that she had the rifle that went with it).

Kat glanced around her, saw that the remaining guards were further out in the woods, and slid herself gracefully and silently back down the tree using barely noticeable hand and foot holds. Once back on the ground, she slid the baton out of her belt and readied it in her right hand. "Repeat after me: We are not at home to Mr Fuckup." she whispered to herself, a familiar mantra in these situations. She slid through the gloom, her feet managing to pick their way through the odd fallen branch and other woodland detritus almost of their own accord. She stopped behind the trunk of a tree as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching her. She held her breath and waited until the footsteps were directly on the other side of the tree, readying herself to keep the tree between her and the guard. Unexpectedly the footsteps stopped, followed by a brief grunting and the sound of layers of clothing brushing past each other. Silence followed for a moment, then the sound of a stream of fluid hitting the tree and the undergrowth below it. 'You have got to be kidding me.' Kat thought, keeping her breathing as shallow as possible. The stream started to subside, then stopped for a second, and started up again back at full force. 'Why do I have to get the one with the horse's bladder?' Kat fumed silently, waiting for the flow to stop, studiously ignoring the occasional spray that flew past the side of the tree. Kat's head span round and she peered into the gloom behind her. A second later there was the sound of a distant crunch in that direction. Another guard was heading this way... She weighed up her options quickly and span round the tree trunk, flipping the baton out as she went. The guard never knew what hit him - one second he was (still) in mid flow, the next something connected with the back of his head in a blur and he went down like a puppet whose strings had been cut, smacking his forehead on the trunk on the way down. She swore to herself, and hoped it would be written off as clumsiness as she slid back into the darkness. 'We are not at home to Mr Fuckup. We are not at home to Mr Fuckup.' Kat's mantra ran through her head as she slipped silently from shadow to shadow, closing in on the clearing and the potential home of Mr Fuckup.

Kat's progress had slowed to a crawl, as she could hear more voices than she was comfortable with in the clearing ahead - plus the fact that the cultists had rigged up some electric lights in the clearing, rather than using the traditional flaming torches. In some ways, it was nice to see them starting to embrace a few modern touches, but in others their use of lights and firearms was positively annoying. She was taking stock of her position and definitely not liking the odds. A wide open clearing was one thing, but having a crowd of potentially gun-toting cultists was something else. She'd known coming into this that they were more well organised than most, hence why she'd recced the area well ahead and had set up some insurance policies in case Mr Fuckup and his extended family came to stay after all. She let out her breath slowly, camped out underneath a couple of bushes and waited for her opportunity to move to a good vantage point. She'd spotted a likely looking tree on her way to these bushes - she remembered that it overlooked the clearing perfectly and was luckily not being illuminated by the pesky lights. She could also decamp from it in a hurry, which made it her best option - other than trying the old 'disguise' ploy, which was really like hanging out a sign for the Fuckups to come stay.

The flow of bodies into the clearing stopped, and Kat scanned where the guards where. It looked like she should be able to make it to and up into her tree in between their rounds, provided there were no surprises. She saw the guard nearest her walk away and counted the seconds away mentally. Reaching 15, she slid from under the bushes and across to a fallen trunk, pausing for a count of 4, then dashed over to the tree barely making any noise. As she reached the tree, instead of stopping she leapt up and grabbed hold of a sturdy branch about two feet above her head, swinging herself up onto it in one fluid motion. Quickly glancing around and now counting down from 20, she shimmied up the trunk and onto the large branch that she'd spied on her recce - big enough to hold her, with a slight depression in the middle of it as if two branches had grown together years ago, and enough foliage to keep her away from all but the most curious observer. '4.. 3.. 2.. 1..' her mental countdown ended just as the guard returned on his path, directly under her new hiding place. She granted herself a quick flicker of a grin, then her face went back to pure concentration as she slid her scope back out and settled in to see what was in store with tonight's show. 'Please be amateurs, please be amateurs' Kat thought to herself, scanning the scene in the clearing. 'Ah fuck.' Tonight was not to be as simple as Kat had been hoping. The clearing looked far too organised for these guys to be complete amateurs. There was a makeshift altar set up in the middle, and atop it was a knife on a silk cushion that caused a chill to run down Kat's spine. It looked ancient, and it looked like it had seen an awful lot, but the edges of it gleamed as if they could split daylight. 'Obsidian? How?' Kat thought to herself, but that was just the start. On another cushion was an old book that could have been leather bound - at least she hoped it was - and she swore as she couldn't see anything on it to determine the title of it from. Either in front or behind the makeshift altar there was an area roughly 7 feet in diameter that was completely empty, even the undergrowth had been removed from it leaving just bare earth. Worrying enough, but there was also a ring of something stark white delineating it that gave it just that extra edge of worry - particularly as it was a bloody perfect circle. 'This just gets better and better' Kat thought, frowning. Glancing back at the altar, Kat caught sight of something that was currently covered with a piece of silk. She couldn't make out exactly what it could be, but it looked to have the top of a sphere. 'Curiouser and curiouser...' Her frown briefly morphed into a quizzical look, then back to the frown. Satisfied that she had the lay of the land by the altar, she scanned over the rest of the clearing and could see a wide circle of guards around the edge of the clearing, all evenly spaced and with conspicuous bulges under their robes. At least they were in good positions to benefit from her planned surprises. Off to one side she could see a group of five cultists surrounding what looked, based on the fancier robes, like the MC for the evening. He seemed to be carrying something, but between the foliage in front of her and the group around him, she couldn't make out what it was other than it looked heavy.

Kat lowered the scope from her right eye and risked a quick glance at her watch - if they went with tradition, then she had another 15 minutes before the show began. She closed her eyes briefly and offered a silent prayer to keep Mr you-know-who and family at bay, opened her eyes again then lifted the scope back up and settled in to see what was going to unfold.

15 minutes later... The witching hour.

'It's usually nice to see traditions maintained, but just for once I'd like to see some originality.' Kat thought to herself as the focus shifted to the MC, as he walked across the clearing towards the altar, still surrounded by his inner circle of five. As he reached the altar and the five separated to take up positions behind him, with the empty circle in front of the altar, she now saw all too clearly what he was carrying. 'Good evening Mr Fuckup, so nice you could make it.' she thought to herself, trying to resist the urge to bolt from the tree and get as far away from this damned place as possible. It was an ancient tome, clearly bound in what was almost definitely human skin, and she'd seen enough of the title to realise that it could only mean the night was going to hell and very likely in the literal sense. It was widely rumoured to contain a large number of incantations for a variety of summonings, but some were for the type of creatures that viewed humans as playthings at best, and mere annoyances to be swatted aside at worst. How this group had managed to get their hands on it was anyone's guess, but it was highly likely to be the result of one of the thefts of antiquities and occult-related items that had taken place over the last few months. Kat consciously tried to relax her muscles back from their current state of high tensile steel, but couldn't stop herself repeating the same word over and over again in her mind 'fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck'. She forced herself to breathe almost normally, and was able to form a coherent thought - if she managed to get out of this alive (doubtful at the moment), she'd make her informant about tonight wish he'd never been born, and to pray for a quick death. Her focus returned to the altar, and she saw that the mystery object had now been revealed - a crystal ball on a mahogany stand. She blinked and adjusted the focus of the scope to get a closer look, ignoring the litany that had started. It was obviously old, and had a strange pearlescence about it that kept shifting like clouds in the sky... It looked familiar from somewhere. 'You've got to be kidding me!' she thought, finally recognising it. She was sure it was Aleister Crowley's, and that never boded well, especially not with the rest of the paraphernalia on show tonight. Mr you-know-who had brought the whole family for an outing tonight, and she'd seriously underestimated the resources of this group - hopefully not fatally.

The litany continued, with the MC referring to the book that had been on the altar to start with, then placing the skin-bound book on the altar and opening it with an audible crack that caused Kat's shallow breath to catch in her throat. The silence that followed the crack was palpable, with seemingly the whole forest bowed into silent anticipation of what was to come. The MC glanced down the page he'd opened the book at and picked up the knife, which now seemed to be leaving afterimages behind itself as it moved through the air. A chill started to fall over the clearing, and Kat could see a few of the cultists placing their hands into their robes for warmth, along with a few small clouds of breath starting to form close to the altar. The knife was drawn through the air in several complex symbols, which remained briefly illuminated in the air when the knife was returned to the MC's side, and after each one the temperature seemed to drop another couple of degrees. 'This isn't funny now... I have a very, very bad feeling about this.' Kat thought, her left hand reaching behind her to check that the butt of her CZ-75 was still in its holster.

Six symbols were drawn in the air in total, then when the sixth had been drawn and faded, all six re-appeared and glowed brightly for a second before fading out. This was like nothing that Kat had ever seen before, and it looked like it was new to a lot of the cultists as well given the conflicted looks of fear and anticipation on their faces. The knife was then swept in an 'X' in the air, which flared brightly and left an afterimage on Kat's retinas. He returned the knife to its cushion, at which point Kat could see that the crystal ball had cleared and was showing some form of image that she couldn't quite make out, but there was fire in there somewhere, and something ... writhing? Maybe it was best that she couldn't make it out properly, but she did catch sight of something that made her tense - a couple of brief afterimages of the same symbols she'd seen scribed in the air with the knife here, followed by the 'X' which seemed to remain in the scene in the ball... "Fuck" Kat whispered aloud, then quickly checked if she'd been heard - and it seemed she'd been lucky this time.

The crystal ball started to glow slightly, with the ... images ... still present within it. This looked to be the cue for the MC to start reading aloud from the ancient text in a language that had obviously not been designed for human vocal chords. Kat instinctively slid her CZ-75 from its holster and held it in her left hand, getting ready to make her move, the weight of it giving her a brief reassurance. The MC's backing choir now started to join in, chanting in what sounded to be the same bizarre language, the harmony of voices making the hairs on the back of Kat's neck rise. The glow of the crystal ball became brighter, and Kat could make out that the 'X' in the image was growing in size. She flicked her gaze instinctively to the bare circle, and was sure she could see something like a heat-haze in there, completely at odds with the clouds of breath that were issuing from all of the cultists bar the MC and his groupies. The chanting seemed to build and build, growing in intensity and volume, and creating an almost primal sense of fear to build within Kat. She could see that a number of the cultists / guards were suffering from the same thing, some much worse than others. Kat started a mental countdown from 10, sensing that something was about to happen, and shifted her weight around readying herself to dive from the tree onto (hopefully) the guard about to pass beneath her. 9 ... 8 ... 7... The chanting continued to build and build, sounding more and more alien, and definitely emanating from more than just six people even though they were the only ones whose lips were moving. 6 ... 5 ... 4 ... Kat slid her baton out from under her jacket into her right hand, keeping it collapsed for the moment. 3 ... 2... 1 ... Go! She dove feet first from the tree, flashing down about 20 feet and connecting perfectly with the guard, her right foot impacting heavily into his back, causing him to hit the ground in a heap with his spine snapping from the force, killing him instantly. As she slid over his collapsing body, she rolled forwards and sprang up into a kneeling position on her right knee, scanning the immediate area for any signs that she'd been heard, her right hand holding the still collapsed baton and supporting her left hand with her pistol at the ready. After a second she looked over towards the clearing and noticed that the chanting had stopped - it was now deathly silent throughout the wood, which was intensely worrying.

'So nice you could bring your family along this evening. Always a pleasure to see all the Fuckups in one place.' Kat thought to herself, still fighting the urge to start running in the opposite direction to the one she knew she'd have to go in. After another quick scan of the immediate area, Kat shifted into a crouch and began to slowly make her way towards the still silent clearing just ahead of her. She kept expecting to be spotted or heard even though she was well camouflaged and was moving as silently as humanly possible. She also expected all hell to break loose any second, or some form of explosion, or ... something! She knew the book by reputation only, and that was enough for her - there were many rumours about it, and not a one of them were good. It had dropped off the face of the Earth for a very long time, obviously into the hands of private collectors, or of a group that knew enough about it to not use it on a whim. If it had been researched, there would be some trail of insanity behind it, as no-one who delved too deeply into this area managed to retain their full mental faculties for long.

She made it to the edge of the clearing, secreting herself behind a bush with a clear view of the front of the altar and a clear shot at the MC. Kat fought to keep her breathing under control and hoped that her usual detached serenity would descend at the point she intervened. The eerie silence had lasted now for a full 5 minutes, with no sign of movement from the MC and his backing choir, and was causing Kat more and more unease particularly with the shifting scenes in the crystal ball. The glowing 'X' was still there and looked to have grown larger again.

"Well?" One of the guards close to Kat broke the silence. "Is that it?" No sooner had he made his comment than the obsidian knife was embedded in his forehead and Kat felt a faint splash of cast-off blood from the impact. No-one appeared to have moved to throw the knife, and the impatient guard was twitching but still somehow managing to remain upright. Off to her left, Kat heard the sound of a woman retching into the undergrowth and noticed that the guard seemed to be somehow ... shrinking? He was growing steadily thinner and thinner, and whether it was her mind playing tricks on her or not she wasn't certain, but she could have sworn she could hear a faint sucking noise. He ... withered to the point where he couldn’t have been more than skin stretched tight over his skeleton, then collapsed into a heap with the knife somehow releasing itself before he hit the ground face-first.

Kat felt an itching at the back of her brain, a feeling she was all-too aware usually meant that things were about to reach the point of no return (as if they hadn’t already!) and she needed to act quickly. The MC drew himself up to his full height and threw his head back ... to have it thrown further backwards by the impact of two rounds from Kat’s CZ-75, blood spattering some of his backing choir and also being cast forwards over the altar to ... hang in the air? “Oh fuck!” Kat growled, knowing that this time she may have been too late. Things seemed to drop into slow motion for Kat, as she caught out of the corner of her eye the glowing “X” encompassing the entire crystal ball. The cultists didn’t quite know how to react, some wondering if this was also part of the ritual, others who might have been more trained starting to scan the area to see where the shots came from, but the backing singers seemed completely unphased by the whole thing, as if ... “And I fell for it, you bastards!” Kat shouted, breaking from her cover and triggering her ‘surprises at the same time.

Night started to turn to day with a sound akin to a rolling thunderclap shortly behind, still in slow-motion, with a ring of rigged flash-bangs exploding in sequence around the clearing. Kat was launching into a sprint towards the backing singers, squeezing her finger on the trigger as she saw the air starting to shimmer in front of her, then taking on an almost liquid quality. Another step further on, her finger closed the trigger and set off the first shot, which lazily flew towards the mirage? Heat haze? Disturbance in the air that lay between Kat and the backing singers. Next step, and another bullet left the barrel almost dead behind the first, which was now almost at the ... disturbance that was getting even more liquid-like. Third step, and Kat could see one or two of the guards around the edge starting to recover their composure and reaching for weapons. The backing singers were still very much where they’d been all along, but she could swear that she could see one of them grinning at her. The first bullet was now at the disturbance and ... disappeared? ‘Crap’ Kat’s next footfall started to steer her away from the disturbance that had now somehow swallowed both of her rounds, and was now getting more and more liquid-like. Fifth step ... as Kat’s foot hit the ground, there was a sound that Kat felt all the way to the depths of her soul and that chilled her more than anything ever had before. It sounded ... felt like someone had just torn reality itself apart at the seams. She could see some of the cultists turning to flee into the forest, one or two bending double to retch, others just stock still and ashen-faced. This definitely wasn’t something that they’d been prepared for – except maybe the backing singers. Kat saw the disturbance in the air stretch, as if someone (something?) was pushing at it from inside, then break and an arm of sorts appeared in the air. It looked as if it was made of liquid, with the same shimmering quality that the air had before, although this also looked like it was flowing from the break in the air (reality?) “Motherfucker” Kat swore, willing her feet away from whatever it was that was coming through, as there was no way that it could be anything that was good. It certainly wasn’t going to start singing campfire songs – more likely to roast everyone here alive over one. The rest of the body started to emerge from the ... rift? It looked vaguely humanoid, although there were definite signs that it wasn’t going to be human – back-to front knees, clawed hands, and ... tattered wings on its back? As her next foot hit the ground, Kat knew that her best escape route was behind the altar, so she’d have to go past this ... damned thing. She brought her pistol to bear on it and squoze the trigger until the slide locked back. Every shot was true – head, heart, chest – and although it seemed to feel the impacts, nothing phased it. Kat was now alongside it and picking up speed, when she felt a burning impact on her right shoulder. Its right hand was on her shoulder, gripped her and pulled. She growled as she felt her arm slip out of its socket, and searing pain follow with something digging into her shoulder, but her momentum was just about enough to pull her free of its grasp, albeit spinning her directly towards the altar.

<End>

As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed, just keep them constructive if they’re negative.

@elaynab-writing, @kiramartinauthor