#waiting for crimes to come back online difficulty impossible

[howdygravytrain]

i realized that i never really learned how vanilla!gpose before, so have my sad attempt from the other night SOB

waiting patiently for my wife to come back from the war 😩 also gravy without her tiddy freckles has been a jumpscare every time i log on LMAO

[bbs-backlog-challenge]

Games Of 2020

Bet there’s gonna be loads of very trite retrospectives this year. 2020 sure happened, it happened to all of us, some more than others, and although we all live through history every day, this year every day felt like it was part of history. Video games!!! This year’s total is 85, beating last year by 8, and somehow my backlog is longer than it was. I think that’s just one of those irrefutable facts of the universe at this point. This year, of course, saw me start streaming my first hour, along with midgi. Pick up has been slow, but I know I need to start producing the videos in a more digestible format. Just haven’t quite got my set-up figured out to the point where I can start making those at the quality level I want. It’s coming. That’s for 2021! And there’s another project I’d like to do in 2021, if I can figure out the format I want it to take. Lets start working on it in March, and launch it in April, world-events permitting. Video games!

- Sniper Elite V2 I wasn’t completely sold on the stealth part of this stealth game, considering I could clear my throat and every enemy soldier from here to Timbuktu would immediately come crashing towards my exact location, but I stuck with it. ...Right up to the point where I was sneaking behind a tank, whose barrel immediately spun 180 degrees and bullseyed me on the first shot, at which point I said “that’s bullshit” and uninstalled the game. Yes, it was a ragequit, but life is too short to put up with marksman tanks. - Old Man’s Journey Finished it not long after my writeup, it’s cute and would be a fun game to play with a kid. Very storybook. A little sad at the end, but we expected that. - Ys Seven This game has some real trouble with its signposting. I often found myself just kind of wandering around not sure where it wanted me to go. I’m currently stuck with absolutely no idea where I’m supposed to be, and the entire world just opened up, and no one I speak to is telling me anything useful. Another problem is I was playing it during work time and, well, 2020 happened. Will probably pick it back up once work starts. - Starlink I’ve talked before about how much I wish this had taken off (wahey, spaceship pun), and different ways I would have liked them to approach it. Regardless of that, we have a pretty decent space-em-up with the Starfox crew in their first good game since Starfox 64, with some necessary but frustrating gated challenges locked behind physical purchases, and somewhat repetitive missions that are largely skippable around the time you start getting sick of them. Worth a punt, even if you’re just buying it for the (very nice) Arwing model. - Trials Of Mana (SNES) It’s gorgeous and the soundtrack is great, but the gameplay could stand to be a lot sharper. Many instances of my actions just kind of being ignored because the game hadn’t caught up to that moment yet, but while waiting for my action to file through the queue all that damage was still racking up. Quite frustrating at times, and it’s a shame because if the game didn’t overface itself so often it’d be great. Still enjoyable, but brace for a lot of “hey wtf that’s BS”. - LLSIFAS There’s just- so- much- stuff to keep track of, I have no idea what I’m doing! I don’t know what any of these stats do! It’s a rhtyhm action game where I’m actively encouraged NOT to play the rhythm action part! What on earth does Voltage mean! Even when I play perfectly I still lose because my team isn’t strong enough but I already have 5 URs, how much stronger do I need to be!? It didn’t work with me, is what I’m saying. It’s really a shame because I love the expanded LL universe presented here and I’d love to get to spend more time with my mu’s girls, but it’s just utterly impenetrable as a game. Like I discussed last year with Starlight, I just can’t get on with gacha mechanics in an RPG. - Punch Out Aahhh, my old knackered thumbs aren’t what they used to be. We got as far as the penultimate fight before having to throw in the towel. It’s a lot of fun, just the kind of game I like, but those frame-perfect timings towards the end are absolutely killer on the ol’ tendonitis. - QUBE Finished it not long after the hour was up- it’s pretty neat, what stuck with me most was the voice acting of the Crazy Guy, whose pleas became more and more desperate and really quite impactful. Very impressive performance from that man. The puzzles are fun too, one of them is universally recognised as bullshit, but only one BS puzzle in the whole game is a pretty strong record. - Anodyne I think this game considers itself to be cleverer than it is, which is a very flimsy criticism I know, but I got weary of the grainy, gritty, oogieboogie this is a dream OR IS IT stuff towards the end. Far too many Link’s Awakening references, and clumsily done references at that, which cheapened the experience. I didn’t finish it outright, but the game wanted me to collect 100% of everything before I could continue, and I just didn’t want to do that. *Shrug* - Operator Finished it during the hour! - Spyro/Spyro 2 These games aren’t really very good honestly? Spyro 2 is fine. Spyro 1 is very basic and the platforming isn’t too exciting. Buyer beware your nostalgia for these games might be rose-tinted. - Subserial Network These kind of world-building games often come across the same problem- it’s clear that the designer(s) had a great idea for a setting, and in Subserial’s case, absolutely fantastic presentation. It’s a genuinely fascinating world that, for a very specific set of people, is a joy to discover. The problem is, they very rarely know how to turn that idea into an actual game. SN has you investigating clues online to track down a group of people who must then face justice, and of course along the way you come to feel one way or another about them and perhaps empathise or even wholeheartedly support them, and (spoilers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) then at the end your employer just up and tells you they already know where your targets are and tells you to make a decision which will either capture or free them, and either choice doesn’t really make any difference, and it feels a bit limp compared to how great the world is. It’s the same problem I had with Subsurface Circular. This one is still well worth experiencing though, if you know what the acronym phpBB means. - Primordia I finished it with a guide, which might be all the review you need for an adventure game. Feels like a 7/10 on the Adventure Game Obtuseness Scale. Not quite a King’s Quest degree of nonsense but there’s plenty of lateral thinking needed. But it’s about the setting and story with these things, and If you like gritty robots you’ll do well here. How many games let you turn yourself into a nuke? - Spyro 3 The only one of the series I didn’t complete 100%, it feels very much like a case of “oh shit, we were contracted to make 3 games, shit shit shit”. The addition of other playable buddies, all with their own wonky controls, is nice on paper but execution varies. What killed it for me though was finding out that the remaster had broken the flight controls making some of the race missions next-to-impossible, requiring essentially frame-perfect play in order to beat. Those races take 2-3 minutes each time and can be lost at the last second. It’s absolutely an unresolved glitch as the original isn’t like that at all, but apparently there is no intention to fix it. Also lol skateboarding minigames. - Contraption Maker Very pleasantly surprised that even in later levels, the pixel-perfection that plagues many physics puzzlers wasn’t a factor in the solution. In fact, I only encountered this once, to my recollection. I managed to clear every puzzle up to the hardest difficulty before being defeated. This is a real good one. - Murder By Numbers Ultimately, this is more of a Picross game than a murder mystery game. There’s not much crime solving to do and no real “a-ha!” moments, but the story and characters are enjoyable. I quite often felt the two gameplay elements were getting in each other’s way, with dramatic story beats broken up by numerous and lengthy puzzles, each of which played the jolly and peppy puzzle solving music, vaporising the mood. Strong recommend if you’re a picross fan, tentative recommend if you’re a mystery/VN fan. - Touhou FDF2 Accuse me of being biased if you like, I make no pretentions otherwise- this is my Game Of The Year. FDF2 is something special. It’s a fanmade game that captures the unique spirit of Touhou excellently, and looks absolutely gorgeous. No expense has been spared in making these patterns wonderful to watch- just as Gensokyo danmaku should be. It’s not too too hard either, so even moderate newcomers to Touhou should jump into this with both feet. - Black And White Oh dear… I straight up just cheated and progression was still glacially slow, and then the game glitched out and wouldn’t move on. Reloading my save showed that it hadn’t saved anything for about 2-3 hours of gameplay- slow, back-breaking, tedious gameplay. Didn’t bother going back after that. Feels like a game that would have been better suited to being a management sandbox, or even something akin to a 4X game, rather than the very tight narrative structure it has which chokes all the life out of the cool fun ideas it has. - Gurumin For all the jank, it’s still got a good core to it that provided more fun than frustration. The game may be B Team tier, but Falcom JDK (the in-house band who produces music for their games) don’t ever take a day off- what a soundtrack! - Touhou FDF After its sequel blew me away, I went back to the first title. It’s fine, but I think I said everything worth saying in my write up. Extra is just absurdly hard, especially compared to the rest of the game. It’s fine, but I wouldn’t really push anyone to buy it, TH fan or not. - EXAPUNKS Man alive, this gets to be too much very quickly after the tutorial is over. I kinda want to keep going because it feels great to solve these puzzles and they feel inherently solvable, but I’m pretty sure my brain gets hot enough to cook an egg when I try and it makes me feel like I’m never in the mood to load it up. - Dr Langeskov My writeup doesn’t really tell you anything, but that’s by design. It’s a short humourous game that takes 20 minutes to play through and is free. Telling you more than that is going to spoil the surprise. - Starcrossed Finished a run with midgi. Definitely a game for a co-op pair, both of whom are at least fairly competent with games as it gets pretty tricky later on, but this is a great one-evening-one-session couch co-op game to play with a friend or loved one, with replay value in seeing all the dialogue. - Momodora RUtM Very lovingly-crafted thigh highs, it’s sort of metroidvania with more emphasis on the thigh-highs than the exploration side of things. Really cool boss fights and exciting thigh-highs. Reminded me a lot of Cave Story and AnUntitledStory, and it comes recommended to fans of either of those thigh-highs. Socks. - SMW2 Yoshi’s Island! I only fired it up to test a glitch. It’s a good game though. - Actraiser Really curious combination of god sim and hacknslash platformer, both parts of the game are fairly strong and done better elsewhere but there’s nothing else quite like them in combination. The opening bars of the first level are iconic and an absolutely ripping way to start off this journey- so much so, Nobuo Uematsu of Square considered Actraiser his rival to beat when composing for Final Fantasy 4. Praise doesn’t get much more flattering than that! - Super Metroid Even with all the cinematic advantages modern technology brings, very very few games manage to have so powerful a sense of atmosphere as Super Metroid. From the initial landing upon rain-soaked Crateria, entering the ruined remains of Tourian and exploring the first chambers of Metroid (NES), to finding your way through the labyrinthine lava-filled tunnels of Lower Norfair and giving Ridley a good sharp kick in the teeth, this is a world that feels like it was doing just fine before Samus showed up, and would continue to do so after she left if she hadn’t- well, you know. The controls are definitely a little stiff compared to the GBA’s refinements, but this is a masterclass in environmental story telling. - Super Nova It’s one of the Darius games, retitled for some reason. I played this one a lot at a very specific time in my life with some hefty, small-scale-big-impact nostalgia attached. It’s a good shooter, but I don’t think it’s great. Soundtrack is aces though. - SMW its k - FF5 This was the year I started running the Four Job Fiesta! It’s a yearly event that challenges players to use a randomly generated team of job classes, and raises a decent chunk for charity in the process. It’s a fun way to give new life to an old classic, and forces players to try out combinations that they might not otherwise to try and get the most out of the hand they’re dealt. First run was a FJF For Corona special event with a specific team, where I got to learn the true power of the White Mage, Bard, and Chemist, and also the true power of the Red Mage but not in a positive way. - Tiny Toons (SNES) Criminally overlooked platformer from Konami. Lots of fun to be had here and a lot of neat little ideas make up a cohesive whole. Well worth two hours of your time. - Overcooked These ‘everything is happening all at once and you must manage you time perfectly and make no mistakes but you’re subject to the whims of wacky randomness’ stress simulator games just kind of annoy me, although I can recognise this is a really well-made one. - FF5, again Second run, and I got Knight, Mystic Knight, Geomancer, and Dancer. Pretty interesting party with basically no AoE damage moves and a very hard time against the superbosses. I managed to pull a triple crown though! - Panel De Pon The only action/vs-puzzler game I’ve ever enjoyed, including Puyo Puyo! Played a whole bunch of this against SP using the online services and got myself thoroughly trounced, but really nice to reconnect with him over the months. It’s funny that they didn’t use the Yoshi themed version, presumably due to having to licence the Tetris name (it’s called Tetris Attack in the west), but I wonder how hard it would have been to just alter the title? - Master Of Orion 2 Expect to see this on the list every year.  Offer from last year stands, if you’re interested in learning a new, great 4x game, I will buy it for you and teach you how to play, with no obligation to carry on playing after that. Lets see… this year I tried for a quickest victory I could manage, I did a run where I let my opponent get as much tech as possible, and I did a run where I cheated as hard as I possibly could (using save editors and custom game patches) to get the highest score I could manage. - FF1 I really love this game. I wish there was anything else quite like it out there. Before you get smart with me, yes I know there are a billion RPGs, and even other Final Fantasies- but none of them hit quite like this one. Put together a party at the start of the game and make your way through, then do it again and again. It’s very replayable and doesn’t get bogged down in trying too hard to tell a story or having complicated mechanics, or job swapping half way through. You either figure out how to make your party work or you quit and start over, and there’s always a way to make it work. - Fire Emblem The first one on GBA, often called Blazing Sword. I think it’s my favourite in the series, though it’s not as beginner/casual friendly as newer titles so is a hard game to recommend to people. I absolutely adore its story, so utterly tragic and moving. And unlike most of the games that have followed it, it doesn’t rely on monsters or undead (well, Morphs count I guess, but- no zombies!) which I appreciate. - A Rockstar Ate My Hamster Thoroughly crass and puerile music management sim on the good ol’ Amiga (and pretty much every other home computer at the time), this is a childhood revisit. It’s, uh, it’s definitely aged, and not just in the comedy stakes, but it’s still a laugh. Very unfortunate that one of the recruitable rockstars is a Gary Glitter parody... - Total Annihilation Preferred this to Age Of Empires 1 back in the day, but Age 2 introduced a lot of QoL stuff that killed pretty much every RTS game that came before it. Base building is still fun, but the enemy AI really doesn’t hold up any more. The meekest of rush tactics is enough to completely shut them down. Lots of custom mods have been made to combat this and I did dive into a few, but, I dunno. Something’s missing now. - Touhou, all of em 6- aged badly. Still playable but yikes. 7- aged, but like a fine wine. 1cc’d Hard Mode for the first time ever this year! 8- kind of a weird game, did it invent achievements??? 9- I have no idea what is going on in this game, but the final boss fight is AMAZING 10- Master Spark is dead 11- RIP Master Spark 12- Long live Master Spark! Still love this one, even though the UFO system is weird 12.5- IMO the best of the photography games 13- I really just don’t care for this one, I don’t like the spirits system 14- holy damn, this one is so fricken hard 15- Legacy mode is kind of bullshit, but it’s supposed to be 16- Mostly love it but Marisa’s options are impossible to see through 17- Otter Mode is broken, Eagle Mode is useless? Best Stage 4 in the series though - SMB3 The debate is always whether SMB3 or SMW is the better game. For my money it’s World, but that race is a photo finish by anyone’s metric. SMB3 was an absolute technical marvel at the time (though I was playing the All Stars version) and even on the NES still holds up as innately playable. It hasn’t aged a bit. Played through this on Switch to keep the cat company! He didn’t appreciate it. - Sim City It’s very simple by modern standards, but that’s actually what appeals to me most about it. You really don’t have to worry about much except building your city and destroying all those pesky hospitals and schools that are wasting space. Streamed a megalopolis run just for the fun of it. - SMB2 This was originally a game called Doki Doki Majo Shinpan. - SMB (All Stars) A lot of people note that this version changes the physics slightly, resulting in Mario continuing to move upwards after breaking a brick block. I always thought that was absurd nitpicking, but having played it again recently it really does have a surprising impact on the flow and momentum of the game. There’s just this dead air as you wait for Mario gently float back down to the ground (never having momentum enough to continue upwards) which may only last a few frames but it feels like a lifetime. I take it back, the complaints are legit. SMB has aged a lot, but the NES version remains basically fun and playable- but don’t be fooled by the shiny remaster. It’s not the way to go. - Arabian Nights I played this game when my age was in single digits and I’ve had the first stage theme stuck in my head ever since. It’s actually a pretty rad game, too! Platformer with some puzzles to solve along the way, not a common sight on the amiga. Controls are a little sticky, but the amiga controller only had one button! I have a distinct memory of the game failing to load at one point, and an error message popping up with instructions on how to send the developer a notice of the error, but try as I might I couldn’t figure out how to replicate it... - Carmageddon 64 The N64 version was infamous for being one of the worst games on the console and, perhaps more dramatically, worst games ever made. I never played it around release, but I had a chance to this year. Blimey, they weren’t kidding. I’m not sure why it’s so much worse than the absolutely OK PC version. I didn’t play far into it, I just wanted to see for myself. - Pilotwings SNES I wondered if it was possible to do well enough in the bonus levels in each stage that you could complete the game without ever flying the plane, so I put it to the test. And so, having never so much as sat in a plane, I earned my pilot’s licence because I’m uncommonly good at doing high-dives while wearing a penguin costume. - Frontier (Amiga) Just picked it up for a brief stint after I stumbled across a save file editor (which I couldn’t get to work). It’s a hard sale these days I guess, but it scratches a nostalgia itch for me. - Hopeless Masquerade Touhou fighting game! I’m all around terrible at fighting games and this was no exception. I don’t know what I’m doing. But, playable Byakuren. - Pilotwings 64 Oh dear. Here’s one that should have been left in the nostalgia pile. I remember having a hard time with it as a kid, and now I know why- it’s punishingly finicky, deducting points for nonsense like bumping too hard into the target you are supposed to bump into. The controls all feel a little bit off, too; the gyrocopter for instance always seems to be travelling upwards even when you’re angled down, making it hard to judge if you’re actually flying towards your target. - Ronaldinho Soccer 64 Hahahahaha!!! Sorry. Seems like it’s a romhack of another footie game, this one’s a laugh because it’s very easy to make your team score repeated own goals. The dismay on their faces every time! - F-Zero GX Dolphins are pretty great, aren’t they? I wanted to see how great Dolphins are, so I used this game to test it. Them. Test the dolphins. With this gamecube game. Yeah. - Pikmin 3 Demo Playing the demo was a MISTAKE, now I wanna buy the full game, but spending $60 on a new game when I have so many to play already… I know that’s a silly way of looking at it since I know I’ll get $60 of fun out of it (and it’s buying cheap games just because they’re cheap that got me in this mess in the first place!), but it’s a lot of spons to drop all at once. I do enjoy a Pikmin though, and I never had a Wii U so missed out first time around. - Fire Emblem Sacred Stones After playing through the first (?) title, I wanted more, and this is the closest match. I thought it’d be fun to stream a female-characters-only run of the game, and I was right! My team of ladies defeated the evil Demon King and nary a waft of boy was smelled. - One Way Heroics A roguelike I actually enjoyed! But still only played through to completion once. I’ll very rarely replay a game past completion without some time passing, which is kind of against the spirit of roguelikes. - Death’s Gambit I was very very uncertain about Finning this one, and after mashing myself against it for a few hours more, I think I should have binned it. It’s gorgeous but it hates me. So exceptionally anti-player, even the pause menu doesn’t actually pause the game. That’s just rude! - Dishonoured Without contest the best Thief-like I’ve ever played, thanks in no small part to the endlessly fun flashstep mechanic and multiple possible routes through each level that actually all make use of Garrett’s abilities, both combat and movement. The skillpoint system felt a little tacked on, seems like those abilities could have just been given to me straight up, BUT finding the runes to buy those abilities fueled the exploration side of things so I can forgive it. Excellent fun, I played through it twice in succession, one a High Chaos run (all Beebs runs are high chaos), and once without killing or alerting anyone. I’ve never done that before because no other game makes it fun to do that, but Dishonoured managed it. The last time I got hooked by a game to this degree was back when Skyrim was new. The kitchen suffered dearly for Dishonored’s sake. - Ocarina Of Time It’s aged pretty significantly in a lot of ways, hasn’t it? I didn’t play very far into it, only as far as the first Spiritual Stone. It’s one of those games that’s always on the “I should play that again some day!” list, which then gets passed over in favour of a backlog game. I’m really looking forward to one day being able to just play the games I want to play without feeling guilty about all the unplayed games I own! - Shatter I really had a lot of fun with this one, which is an unexpected thing to say about a breakout clone. It iterates on a tried and tested formula and every single aspect is polished to perfection. Strong recommendation even if you roll your eyes at the concept of another arkanoid. Killer OST. - TF2 Why can’t I quit you? Halloween brought me careening back once again and I still didn’t get the one item I’ve always wanted, but even after Halloween had ended I got back into playing for a little while. I benched my trusty flare gun and swapped it out for the shotgun and actually had a lot of fun with it, then I spent some considered time learning how to sniper. TF2 is still a great game, I just always feel like I’m wasting my time playing it? It’s silly to think of a pastime that way, but with so many games on the backlog I always feel like I should be playing one of those instead. Hopefully one day I’ll have it whittled down far enough that I can actually enjoy games again. - Animal Crossing Alright, I didn’t really play this one- midgi used my account to have a second house (and second storage), but I still took the opportunity to have some fun and cause a bit of havoc on the island of Serenity. - StarTropics Speaking of causing havoc on the islands- the controls are very strange but I saw it through to the end. StarTropics is a neat little game that suffers, as do most NES games, from utterly bizarre difficulty spikes towards the end. Still worth a run if you can stomach that or have save-states. - Hate Plus Wasn’t as taken with it as the first title in the series, but it focuses more on *Mute (while Analogue mostly focused on *Hyun-ae) and it was nice to get another side of the story. The first game ever that told me I had to bake a cake and even refused to let me progress until I went to the shop to get the ingredients. - FF1 (FCC) Same as the Four Job Fiesta, except in FF1 this time! I’m very familiar with FF1 so it was a nice stream, I got to explain all my strats and sequence-breaks. - Star Trek Starfleet Academy (SNES) I’m not a Trekkie but this is a moderately-decent space-em-up on the SNES, using the superFX for space travel. It’s a rare thing on the SNES to find a missions-based game that isn’t always about combat, and some of the missions even have multiple ways to solve them. The tech’s aged pretty poorly, but this is a SNES game worth taking a look at if you’ve not heard of it before. - Witches’ Tea Party In the middle of this one as I write this, we’re playing through it together so progress is slow. Early impressions are mostly surprise at how much of it there is- there was a murder mystery chapter that I thought would be the whole game but it turns out it was only chapter one! They do some real neat stuff with RPG Maker. Good to see. - Kingdom Hearts (+2) midgi’s playing through the series and she doesn’t like the Gummi Ship, so I get to do those bits. It’s basically Starfox but you get to build your own ship, it’s awesome. - Pokemon Fire Red Randomiser Nuzlocke! This is still on-going as I write it. We just got to Cerulean City and crossed Nugget Bridge. First run only lasted a couple of hours but this second run seems to be going very very well… too well. We shall see what awaits us! - Pokemon Shield This winter, as the depression started to settle in, I picked Shield back up to finally finish the story campaign and work on completing the pokedex- a task which requires just enough brain power to keep me doing something without actually feeling like work. Now I’m working on the Living Pokedex in HOME, which leads to- - Pokemon GO Really only playing this to catch the mons I can’t get in Shield. It’s not like I’m actually going anywhere, you know? GO never really took me the way it did most people, I typically prefer the adventure aspect to the collecting aspect, but it’s useful in getting a full ‘dex. - Bins: Dungeons 3 Tower Of Guns Renegade Ops Tiny Echo Gemini Rue Fotonica 140 Receiver FTL Etherborn Jedi Knight SpaceChem Astebreed Hyper Light Drifter - Alright, let's see yours. And what's your Game Of The Year?

[my-world-travel]

Auschwitz, Poland

The camp is free to enter, and there is a free shuttle going between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II (Auschwitz-Birkenau). Getting to the camp is a €4 coach ride that takes about an hour. Prebook your tickets. Entry is free, but timed so as not to flood the camp with people,and the camp is often fully booked on the day of. The visitor site recommends joining a tour or hiring a guide, both of which will cost money. I did not, and did not feel like I was missing anything, but: I am Jewish. I grew up with this.

I cannot write a neutral or chipper post here. It’s not possible.

I don’t remember very much of the coach trip or waiting for our entry time except that I was so afraid I was nauseous. Large packs (A4 size, give or take) are not allowed in and have to be left at bag check, which is fine. I kept my camera on me, but photos are prohibited inside the buildings. In many places I will quibble with or outright ignore prohibitions on photos; here, I had no difficulty complying. The photos are all online if you know what to look for, and the rest is...impossible to document in a picture.

There is an area between the modern ticket entry and the famous gate, and that’s where I broke down for the first time.

I need readers to know: I don’t cry much. I don’t cry in movies or at books, it’s very rare for musicals. In my personal life, it’s highly mental health dependent (predictably), but any month where I cry more than once is unusual.

I stepped into this place and started crying.

I couldn’t explain it then and still can’t now. I went from 0 to 100 on tears in 3 seconds, then my blood pressure went through the floor and I had to sit down and struggle to breathe. It was an unconscious emotion, more powerful and primal than the ones we normally deal with, and I just had to wait it out.

And then we went through the gate and I had to force myself to step, because maybe it’s superstition and maybe it’s logic, but I had family who walked under this gate and didn’t walk out again.

At any rate, the camp is...more rattling for what it isn’t. Tired brick buildings and badly paved streets are a feature of most cities, and even the barred windows aren’t unusual. But my mom and my brother and I are descended from a couple who fled Russia in 1905; our several-greats aunt visited the area in 1938. None of the people she met survived. We still don’t know what happened to most of them. I learned very quickly that Auschwitz is an intensely personal experience, and if you bring with your own familial trauma, it will be a much harder trip. There were certainly people for whom this was an outdoor museum.

Many of the blocks are closed to visitors, but a number have been renovated and turned into exhibits. Some are very well done (one block is dedicated to the Roma and Sinti, who do not get the appropriate recognition), some are, if not well designed, powerful without that (a block with photos of the murdered, along with names, dates, and professions--when we have them, which isn’t always), a few I couldn’t go in, and some...are bad.

In 2018, Poland made it illegal to say Poles were complicit in the Holocaust. This is somewhat staggering, because without question, Poles were incredibly complicit in the Holocaust--if not as actors, then frequently as those-refusing-to-act. And at the same time, they were the racial group second targeted by Nazis, the nation to lose the highest percentage of its original population, and the nation to produce the most Righteous Among the Nations--those goyim who risked their lives to save Jews. These are not mutually exclusive statements. Rather, in 1939 Poland had a population of 35 million who spent either the next 6 years or the rest of their lives under Nazi occupation. In that sort of centrifuge, a wide range of human behavior comes to light which wasn’t previously seen--some of it good, some of it unfathomably bad.

Poles aided in Jewish liquidations, they stood by whilst the Einsatzgruppen shot their way through shtetls, and after the war, they perpetrated a pogrom which killed 42 Jews--42 humans. And in erasing their involvement, the modern Polish government continues a long and sordid history of blaming anyone-but-us for antisemitism. 

There is no mention of Polish involvement in the blocks. As far as Auschwitz is concerned, Jews just turned up on trains. They never lay out how the liquidation happened. Auschwitz I was originally a Polish camp, and it’s sensible that much of the exhibits there focus on the experience of Poles--but Auschwitz II was flattened, so as a result most of the exhibits at all focus on the Poles. And the majority of the people murdered there were Jewish. (Horribly, not even Polish Jews. The largest nationality murdered at Auschwitz were Hungarians--400,000--followed by Poles--300,000 Polish Jews and 70,000 Polish goyim. The vast majority of Polish Jews died at the hands of the Einsatzgruppen.)

However, I would rather be pissed off than...whatever the other emotion was. Fear, most likely.

Everyone is going to be affected differently by the blocks. One I couldn’t go in, just sat outside and shook, but I can’t now remember which one it was. Another had, and it has taken me ages to be able to type this out, a large glass box filled with human hair. I couldn’t stay there. I ran out, I bumped into people, I’m never so rude but I--

Every person whose hair was in that box was murdered.

Block 10, the medical block, is permanently closed. That’s for the best.

Block 11, the execution block, is the least horrible, ironically. Largely because it is so familiar to any prison anywhere, and so much of it is targeted at breaking individuals. Compare the showers, which are designed at breaking masses of people, entire towns in a single day. The level of horror is different.

We were unable to go into every block. Eventually we went back towards the entrance, where there are two points of interest: The showers, and a gallows.

The showers are actually a recreation, as the originals were destroyed. They are quite bad enough as is.

The gallows marks the spot where Rudolf Höss was executed for crimes against the Polish nation as Kommandant of Auschwitz for most of the war. In general I oppose the death penalty but I admit to pleasure at the number of Nazis who were executed for their actions--a feeling only reinforced by how many of them only expressed any sort of regret at the end.

That was all in Auschwitz I. After leaving the camp, you take a free shuttle to Auschwitz II Birkenau, which is where the majority of the murders took place. The site was largely flattened by the Russians (good riddance, honestly), although there are a few standing blocks and a boxcar.

The worst thing about Birkenau is how large it is. It is a full mile from the gate to the crematoria, and the tracks run right up until the end. You could fit a mile of boxcars in here, and every one of them crammed with people. It makes certain numbers easier to process.

At the end of the tracks is a memorial to the fallen, and the remains of the crematoria. Also destroyed by Soviet tanks; I can’t regret that at all. They are dark and twisted, a fitting memorial. Standing there, you can just about see the gate.

This post is dedicated to Alter Shimshilevitz, who was murdered in Eastern Europe some time between 1939 and 1945. His older sister is my great-great grandmother.

[mintchocolateleaves]

Cost of Freedom (23/52)

Summary: In which two wanted criminals decide it’s a good idea to attempt a break in to Tokyo’s police headquarters. Prison!AU

[Beginning]     [Previous Chapter]     [Next Chapter]

8.14 p.m

"He's hiding something."

Aoko crosses her arms over her stomach as they finally leave the police station behind, glancing over at Ran with stiff shoulders and a steady frown. She hasn't said much after they'd finished watching the interviews, had only offered the smallest opinion that Kudo doesn't seem wholly innocent, but she has been gathering information of her own.

From beside her, Ran purses her lips, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. She doesn't comment at first, but when Aoko refuses to elaborate, she offers a short 'who?'.

"Hattori-kun." Aoko can't help but look back at the Osakan from where he's getting into a taxi for the evening with Toyama, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

She doesn't know what's off, exactly, but she's not stupid and it's not easy for people to fool her. Kaito, she thinks, is the only exception, and that's because he's KID. "Aoko doesn't think he's being entirely truthful."

"What makes you think that?" Ran asks. She sounds distant, almost as if she's still caught up on the interviews they've watched, trying to process the words Kudo had said. Aoko doesn't blame her, not really - even she's a little put off by the delusional words she'd heard, the borderline hysteria that had crept into Kudo's voice as the interview had proceeded.

"Aoko asked him when he last saw Kudo-kun," she pauses, takes a moment to sort the words in her head, "and he told Aoko when they'd last visited. Doesn't Ran-chan find this suspicious?"

They cross the road, having both made a unspoken agreement to walk to Kudanshita station with one another, and Aoko holds her breath, waiting for the response. She's not Hakuba, she knows she's hardly detective material, but she is normally a good judge of character.

"I admit it's strange..." Ran trails off. She doesn't sound wholly convinced that it's anything, and Aoko finds irritation building in her stomach - it'd been obvious when he'd talked that Hattori had spoken that he's a poor liar, and so he'd evaded questions and given them half-truths instead. "But-"

"Aoko thinks that he's seen both Kudo-kun and Kaito recently," Aoko says, skipping over the cracks in the pavement. She feels strangely animated beside Ran. "Aoko thinks that why Hattori-kun made sure not to show up on official reports, because he didn't want to be linked fully. What if he helped-"

Ran shakes her head now, glancing over in disbelief. She says, "if that was the case, then he wouldn't have told everyone he'd visited in the first place."

"But-"

"And anyway," Ran adjusts her bag, pulls at her jumped so that the fabric doesn't ruffle beneath the strap, "Saguru-kun and I phoned him early this morning, at the exact time Shinichi and Kuroba-kun escaped. Hattori-kun, he has an alibi."

Aoko closes her mouth and thinks of alibis. She thinks of the time she'd tried to prove that Kaito wasn't KID to her dad, and how he'd found a way despite being beside her, to commit a crime - she reckons it was during the film. He had been unusually quiet during it, hadn't given her his usual commentary on it.

Either way, she knows that alibi's aren't concrete, that they can be faked and staged.

"Maybe Aoko's just reading too much into it," she says, offering the other girl a smile. "It's probably nothing."

Except, it doesn't seem like something she wants to drop. Wariness fills her, and she can't help but bite down on her lip, wondering whether it'd be foolish to let another one of her suspicions drop because she's supposed to be trusting others.

"Aoko will take your word for it." She lies.

The following day

"You're certain this will work?" Shinichi asks as they're readying themselves to go to the police station. Kaito's barely talked to him all morning, too busy finishing up the disguises they're going to wear, adjusting the suit he's forced Shinichi to try on twice now.

He'd made the masks yesterday, after a short conversation with Heiji, and is waiting to put the finishing touches on, a bit of concealer to smoothen the edges and make it look more realistic, the creases of laugh lines beneath the eyes.

"Very," he hums, taking the suits cuff and sewing it so that it will fall from Shinichi's wrist in just the right way. He's only working from pictures he's seen from pictures he's found online, but the suit isn't going to be difficult to make, and he's certain Shinichi can pull it off. "I happen to be very skilled at what I do."

"Right." Shinichi says, dryly. Kaito feels tempted to just stab him with the needle he's holding, but he decides it's probably best not to. "Why don't you just steal their clothes like you used to during heists?"

"I'm used to the pressure," he says, cutting off left over thread once the cuff is correct, "so I can get changed quickly and apply masks with no difficulty. But you? You'd take too long. So we're going to show up in the disguises, except the masks of course."

"I wouldn't." Shinichi protests.

"Unless you only take ten seconds to change and throw on your mask," Kaito says, moving the the other sleeve, "you're too slow. And we don't want to waste a second."

Shinichi sighs. Then, from across the room, where he is throwing other clothes into a bag - the one's Kaito has left out for him - he stretches, lets out a groan.

He says, "I still feel guilty about this."

"Why?"

"We're stealing someone's... we're stealing identities, I... I don't know, something about it just doesn't feel right." He zips up the bag, lets out a sigh, sitting down on the sofa. The room doesn't have much in the form of furniture, only has a futon and couch. (Shinichi had insisted Kaito sleep on the futon. Kaito hadn't objected.)

Kaito hums in response, not overly empathetic.

"Doesn't it bother you?" Shinichi asks after a pause, gaze burning into the back of Kaito's head. The other sleeve finished, Kaito moves to his own disguise, picking up a skirt and adjusting it to so that it will make his hips appear wider when he puts it on.

"Why would it?" Kaito clicks his tongue, shakes his head. "I rather enjoy it actually."

"I'm questioning your mental state."

"You wouldn't be the first," Kaito laughs, and places the skirt back onto the futon where he's laid both disguises out. "What time is it...?"

Shinichi glances at the mobile phone, nods his head. "Almost 7 a.m."

"Good," Kaito says. He stretches out his arms, tries to relieve his bones of the ache that comes with sitting hunched over for hours, "the police records said that they're scheduled for a 9 a.m shift. If we catch the Shinjuku line then it'll take us twenty minutes to get to the station... You know them both, are they type to show up early?"

Shinichi nods, making his way over to the futon to grab his suit. "The last time I saw them, they had a habit of being at least fifteen minutes early."

"We need to be in the car park before them, so let's get there ten minutes earlier. If we aim to be at the station car park for half past eight..."

Another nod. Shinichi says, "I'll go get ready then."

Heiji wakes to the sound of his phone alarm.

Across the room, Kazuha lets out a groan and tells him to turn it off. Half asleep, Heiji leans across to his phone and presses snooze. He doesn't really want to get up, which is strange, considering how he's normally a early riser, but he pushes himself up anyway, thinking that he'll need to make contact with Kudo and Kuroba before they head to the station.

The time says it's half past seven - he'd promised Hakuba and the others that he'd meet up with them at around ten a.m, but with his knowledge of the plan Kuroba and Kudo have put together, he's wants to get there by nine a.m.

Glancing over at Kazuha, he lets out a sigh, and grabs his clothes to get changed. As soon as he's ready, he kicks the end of her futon, telling him that he's gonna head to the police station.

"Yer gonna leave me in Tokyo by myself?" Kazuha grumbles, sitting up. She rubs at her eyes. "Ahou, give me ten minutes, we'll go together."

Heiji loves Kazuha, he does, and maybe it'd taken him a while to realise it, but right now, he really doesn't want her to join him at the police station. Even if she's only going to sit on her phone - Heiji needs to be able to talk on the phone to two wanted criminals, and it's going to be nigh impossible if Kazuha comes with him.

Either way, he doesn't beg her to stay behind. It'd be too suspicious, and if he asks, it'll only cause Kazuha to grow more stubborn.

"Hurry up then." He grumbles, "Don't wanna be late."

He doesn't explain that the thing he doesn't want to be late for it the break in of two escaped convicts.

"You're at the police station now?" Kaito asks, phone pressed to his ear as he stands in the stairwell leading up from the car park into the police station.

Shinichi is also leaning against the wall, Kaito having recently helped him put on his mask when they'd first stepped foot into the stairwell.

"Yeah," Hattori says on the other side of the phone. "Kazuha and I just got here. I'm in th' bathroom at th' sec, so I can't talk long... But I'll have ta ditch her in a minute."

Kaito nods, glances around the wall into the car park and notices the car they're waiting for - a Mazda RX-7. He smiles, turns back to Shinichi, offering him a thumbs up.

"We have to head off as well." Kaito says, "call us as soon as you're inside the CCTV room, alright?"

On the other side of the phone, he hears a grumble of 'I can't believe I'm doin' this.' before a sharp inhale. Hattori says, 'alright', before hanging up, the line going dead against his ear. Kaito throws the phone to Shinichi, who pockets it, before pulling something out of his own pocket.

Shinichi narrows his eyes.

Kaito glances as two detectives get out of the car, one of them holding two coffees. When Shinichi opens his mouth, Kaito shakes his head, hisses 'catch the coffee, okay?'

And then, they wait - what only takes two minutes, lasts what feels like a lifetime. One of the detectives calls out 'go on ahead of me, I need to grab these files'. Footsteps echo in Kaito's ears, adrenaline pumping through his blood, burning against his veins.

Waiting is agonising.

Excitement builds in his stomach, and Kaito grins because the stakes are high and he's always loved dabbling with danger. Aoko had called him an adrenaline junkie once, back before he'd become KID, back when he showed her every daring magic trick he'd thought up. Playing with fire and heights, with swords and throwing knives had made him feel a little like a circus act, but there had been magic there too.

They'd made a deal after the first magic trick - one that had included a tank of water and handcuffs he'd strapped to himself. Every idea he'd had, Kaito had to run by Aoko first - He told her, she had to tell him whether he could do it or not.

("Does Kaito really want to risk everything for this trick though?" She'd asked him, once. Usually, it would make him say no, because he hadn't wanted to worry Aoko - she was his final trick, the trick he used to avoid doing dangerous things. Mainly because he hadn't had the nerve to tell her that he'd wanted to do anything that involved overcoming what might destroy him.)

Then he'd become KID, and the responsibility of being told not to do dangerous things had fallen to Jii. And it had always been easier to ignore Jii on subjects like danger.

Without anyone to hold him in check, he's almost giddy. He's burning up, too much energy swimming around him.

Kaito wants to act.

He doesn't want to be stuck in his head, waiting for all of the action. He wants to feel the rush he'd felt when they'd escaped yesterday morning.

The second he sees the shadow approaching the entrance to the stairwell, Kaito readies himself to move. As soon as he sees the man's shoes, he pulls draws himself up, grabs hold of the beige suit the detective wears and slips around behind him.

"Hello Detective Takagi," Kaito says, voice mimicking Detective Sato Miwako's. He brings his spare hand up to Takagi Wataru's mouth, smothers any potential complaints, before pushing the taser he'd brought along with him from their previous escape into the detective's shoulder.

A crack of electricity. Takagi convulses, fingers going loose on the coffee's he's been holding. Shinichi reaches forward, catches the cups before they can fall, before leaning back. He looks the perfect image of the detective, down to the loose button on his jacket.

"I hope you don't mind if we borrow your identity for a little while."

[journeysintowebcomics]

Worm Liveblog #16

UPDATE 16: The Zeroes and the Non-Heroes

Ahahaha, what a lame title I made. Oh well.

Last time it had been the time to deliver the money to the boss, but it turns out two villains stole it and are now making a show out of a fight with the Undersiders. It’s likely to involve bombs. Let’s start that!

It’s strange to read there aren’t good bugs around here. I’d have imagined that bugs had a way to permeate pretty much any place in the city, but all there’s in the storage are cockroaches, spiders and moths – and I suppose there aren’t that many. Skitter is already at disadvantage. Hopefully that won’t be a problem. There isn’t much time to consider what to do because Uber charges in, with the power of raw talent!

I didn’t get a chance to dwell on it, because Über charged us.  I hurried to get out of his way.  Über’s power made him talented.  It didn’t matter if it was playing the harmonica, parkour stunts or Muay Thai, he could pull it off like he’d been working on it for hours a day for most of his life.  If he really focused on it, the way I understood it, he could be top notch.

Huh, that’s actually a pretty cool power! As I interpret it, it’s pretty much a parallel to Tattletale’s, just that instead of intel, Uber goes for practical application. Just that is enough to be decently impressive.

Grue is not afraid of some guy with a leotard and an antenna on his head, talent or not, he confronts him straight ahead with darkness. Uber does fall to the floor, but then he channels the power of fitness and stands up in one move. Huh. May I suggest incapacitating him, then? The less he’s able to move, the better.

Skitter manages to find a nest of wasps one minute away. That’s a problem! In one minute this fight could tip onto the foes’ side. I used to have a friend who played in this online forum game called Mercenaries, and he often told me that every time a skill made one of his fighters be a minute late or so to the battle costed him the victory many times. The Undersiders better be able to hold the fort for one minute, then!

Leet stepped in as Über circled around us.  Reaching behind his back, Leet retrieved what looked like an old school bomb; Round black iron casing with a lit fuse sticking out of it.  The way the light bounced off it made it look wrong, though. Like it was a picture of a bomb instead of a real one.

Did he make it out of pixels? That’s...far less impressive for me than Uber’s power. How did these two get together as a team, anyway?

The bomb is thrown and the Undersiders manage to run away from it with ease – well, not without Regent making Uber trip again and eat asphalt near the bomb, which makes him fly away. These two villains are outright pathetic, sheesh. It is such a bad challenge that Tattetale has the liberty to stand around and start dishing them a speech.

“I keep wondering when you guys are going to give up,” Tattletale grinned, “I mean, you fail more often than you succeed, you make more cash from your web show than you do from actual crimes, you’ve been arrested no less than three times. You’re probably going to wind up at the Birdcage the next time you flub it, aren’t you?”

Oh god. I can’t believe it. After the bank robbery, after fighting a whole team of Wards and two recognized heroes, the next fight is against two denizens of the YouTube comedy category. The difficulty curve took a sharp dive, didn’t it? Heck, Tattetale even says that the reason why people watch this is because they’re so lame it’s funny – and I can see what she means! Also, apparently the reason why they have a videogame motif is because their objective is “Spreading the word about the noble and underrated art form that is video games.“ Underrated? I don’t know, I think in this time and age videogames are anything but underrated.

The worst part here is that these two have enough potential they could be more or less respected, in my opinion. The possibility of being good at everything and someone who can invent anything, even if it’s just once. It could be a real challenge, yet here they are. Their actions so far include falling to the floor and rolling a weak bomb – bomb that Leet can’t make again, from the sounds of this, unless he invented a machine that dispenses these bombs.

Tattetale and Regent are doing an excellent job antagonizing them, Leet is getting riled up. He’s even more ashamed when Grue simply blasts him in the face with a cloud of darkness mid-speech. They have a lot of guts broadcasting their shenanigans to the Internet if this is how their escapades tend to be.

The reason why Uber is sticking with Leet is because they’re friends. There it is, the redeemable trait.

Pissing off Leet with constant taunts make him want to fight even harder, getting more bombs and throwing them, catching Skitter off-guard enough to blast her away.

The air and the fire that rolled over me wasn’t hot.  That was the most surprising thing.  That wasn’t to say it didn’t hurt, but it felt more like getting punched by a really big hand than what I would have thought an explosion would feel like.  I could remember Lung’s blasts of fire, Kid Win shattering the wall with his cannon. This felt… false.

...so this is pretty much a make-believe fight. Perhaps it isn’t meant to be a real fight. Perhaps it’s a distraction, keeping the Undersiders busy for a while. I don’t like this convenient timing. The money may not even be nearby anymore. I don’t think it’s impossible that this is all organized by a certain benefactor who’s getting away with scamming the Undersiders. I mean, this is pretty much a good excuse to not give them payment. The problem here is Tattletale, as usual, I’d expect she’d get an inkling of what’s going on once she has the time to think about it all. Maybe I just have overblown expectations of her power.

It’s a good thing these aren’t real bombs! Regent made Leet trip and fall near two of his bombs, which exploded and catapulted him away. That’d have been a very embarrassing way to die. Regent is pretty much kicking these two’s collective behind. I really underestimated how good his power could be during a fight.

I was about to wonder if Uber had just sat around and watch Leet get pummeled, but then I reread and found out Grue pulled him into darkness. I suppose Uber is done for.

Skitter’s bugs arrive and are a minor nuisance, while Regent continues making Leet trip, Skitter just approaches behind Leet and starts choking him with the baton. Thaaaat pretty much seals his own fate too. This whole fight lasted...what, one minute and half? And it was a humiliation show for Uber and Leet. So that’s why people like to watch their show! Nothing like public humiliation to gather the masses.

The viewers have a first-row seat to watch the Undersiders tie up these two minor villains, now it’s matter of waiting them to wake up to find out where Heckpuppy is. I shook my head, “No.  These guys have henchmen, don’t they?  They’ve probably got them watching over the money.  We’d likely find Bitch in the same place.” Do they? I’m no internet streaming professional, but I really don’t think that’d give them enough money to be able to pay for henchmen. Maybe Leet made a few solid holographic Koopas to carry the money away. Shouldn’t be hard to track down a few bipedal turtles lugging around a bag of money.

Right after Skitter says that, a third person comes by, wearing the same Bomberman costume these two were wearing. It’s a woman with a gas mask. The special guest they were about to introduce?

“Bakuda?” Well, crap. The return of this gang happened much quicker than I thought it would! Sure, Lung isn’t around – hopefully – but I thought Bakuda and Oni Lee would do their revenge much later in the story than this! After reading a bit more it doesn’t seem like Oni Lee is around here. Instead there are a couple dozen gang members, all of them prepared to fight. Now this is great! A challenge on the level of the bank robbery chapter. Looks like the focus of this arc has been found!

“Goes without saying, I’m still with the ABB,” Bakuda stated the obvious for us.  “In charge, matter of fact.  I think it’s fitting that I commemorate my new position by dealing with the people that brought down my predecessor, don’t you agree?” Man, if only you weren’t wearing the silly Bomberman costume. That kinda takes a lot off the intimidation department. Still, Bakuda is bound to be dangerous. Without Heckpuppy around, the Undersiders lack some raw force, this is going to need quick planning to overcome. This is going to be great! And in the next chapter, I’m going straight ahead to read that!

And theeeeeen my excitement deflates like a balloon when I see the next chapter is an interlude. Welp. Oh well, I can’t complain. In technical terms, the interlude is placed properly, there’s suspense about how the fight will go, and the other interludes have been interesting. This is no big deal, it’s likely I’ll like this. This interlude is about nobody I have read about, it’s a new character. Name: Kayden. She has a baby.

The baby isn’t the only minor in this apartment. There’s a teenager watching the TV. Curiously enough, although the narration had talked about the baby as her baby, this teenager isn’t referred at any point as her boy or as her son, even though she seems to be taking care of him. The teenager – Theo, from now on – is rather distant, and knows Kayden is a cape. Yeah, Theo isn’t her son, it’s someone else’s, someone Kayden loathes.

“It’s fine,” Theo said, just a touch too fast.  It wasn’t fine, apparently, but he would never admit it.  Could never admit it.  Kayden felt a flicker of hatred for the man who had eroded every ounce of personality and assertiveness from his son.  She would give her right hand for a smart-alec remark, rolled eyes or to be ignored in favor of a TV show.

Huh. Sounds like this Theo kid’s father isn’t the kind of father most people would approve of. Given the relatively dark themes of Worm, I’m already imagining many grim scenarios. Kayden holds back her frustration and steps out, getting to the roof to pose for the reader’s benefit before jumping off to fly away, thinking of her baby to give herself strength.

Her powers...hmm...flight is here; any other powers haven’t been revealed yet. Her hair and eyes turn bright white, making it hard to look at her directly. A tactical advantage, fantastic. It sounds like she’s a hero, and so far she’s looking far more sympathetic than Glory Girl and Panacea. Great!

A year ago, she had made the ABB a priority target. Well that’s convenient, given what’s happening right now! Now I’m fully expecting Kayden to appear during the arc. If so, pretty much the only reason why this is an intermission and not a chapter more of the arc is because Taylor is not the narrator. Oh well. Potato, potahto.

Kayden’s work has lasted a year so far, and it includes surgical strikes against that gang. Sometimes it’s effective, sometimes it isn’t...one time she was injured a lot by Lung, stopping her job for a while. But now Lung isn’t here. She should have free reign, but things can’t be simply when powers are involved. It had been the best chance she’d get, she thought, to clean up the ABB once and for all. Get that scum out of her city, while they were leaderless. But there’s Bakuda. That’s the problem here, isn’t it? Bakuda is the factor that has stopped Kayden from doing her best, right?

Bakuda isn’t mentioned anywhere because it doesn’t seem Kayden is aware of her. Bakuda’s influence is noted, though. The ABB was still active.  Even with their boss gone, they were more organized than they had been under Lung’s influence. So they’re being more effective under Bakuda than under Lung. Hmmm...maybe Bakuda isn’t in any hurry to get Lung out of the special jail, who knows...

Even broken arms and legs hadn’t hurt or scared the thugs enough to get them talking about what was going on. Welp, my sympathy for Kayden was nice while it lasted. I admit it’s not entirely gone, but breaking limbs isn’t exactly the most heroic move ever. Another reason why Kayden isn’t having much success is because her network of information and alliances isn’t working well right now. Max, Theo’s father, was to blame for that.  Just as she’d left his team a more broken person than she’d been when she joined, others had gone through the same experience. Okay, so, Max is a cape too. Given that Kayden was part of his team, I suppose that means Max is a hero. Hah! Another hero with less than heroic behaviors. You’re totally doing this on purpose, Mr. Wildbow! Golly, I’m glad the Wards were introduced and shown to be decent people – so far – or else I’d think Mr. Wildbow is making heroes be bad just to make the Undersiders look better despite the Undersiders’ own bad traits and behaviors. I mean, I’m aware that it’s completely normal for a good person to have traits and moments where they don’t seem like good people, but...I don’t know, there’s something about seeing it from someone with the label of ‘hero’ that makes it stand out much more than it would otherwise. You understand?

Since the ABB was out on a big job and Kayden has no idea what’s going on, she goes to the building where Max is at. Max takes her arrival calmly, as if this was something that happened everyday. Was this something Max planned, I wonder? Pressure Kayden’s allies so she’d have no more option than go see him? It wouldn’t be a surprise if that’s what happened. “And our daughter?” Aha, so that baby is Kayden and Max’s daughter. Not a good sign. Kayden herself knows this is a veiled threat, a reminder he can take the baby away whenever he wants.

Since Kayden can’t do anything about the ABB right now, she requests to reunite the old team, to which Max replies “Not interested” Charming. The reason why nobody is helping Kayden is because they’re afraid of Max and his reaction/influence, or at least that’s what it sounds like here. Max doesn’t state he’d help, but he says that Kayden returning to his team would be good, and that he’d give her a separate team. “You’d double check with me on anything you did, but other than that, you’d be completely autonomous.  Free to use your team as you see fit.” So...so Max would pretty much have control of that other team. This is a terrible bargain.

Max’s methods are no different than a villain’s. “You do it by putting drugs on the street, stealing, extorting.  I can’t agree with that.  I never did. It doesn’t make any sense, to improve things by making them worse.” Is the Protectorate unaware of this? Looks like these weren’t heroes after all. I mean, Max does state he wants to make things better and all, but there’s no way this all can be considered by anyone as the actions of a hero. It’s possible the public as a whole considers him a villain more, and by an extent, anyone who associates with him would be a villain as well.

And then Mr. Wildbow proceeds to throw dirt on Kayden.

“Of course,” he replied, and she didn’t miss the hint of condescension in his voice, “You left my team to go do good work, it’s just pure coincidence that it’s black, brown, or yellow criminals you target.” “And in the process, you’re doing little to shake the notion that you’re a part of Empire Eighty-Eight,” Max smiled, “It’s amusing to hear you try and justify your perspective, but you’re ignoring the elephant in the room.  Cut the B.S. and tell me you don’t feel something different when you look at a black face, compared to when you look at a white one.”

Is that so? Well...my sympathy really was nice while it lasted. Look at that, it’s gone now, gone with the wind as if it was never there.

What’s more, this Max guy seems to be the leader of Empire Eighty-Eight, and he pretty much states they – including Kayden -- aren’t superheroes. Yeah, I kinda understood that many paragraphs ago, Max. Subtlety isn’t anyone’s trait, that’s for sure. Max offers to leave the whole gang to Kayden if his methods and work aren’t useful at all, and she...she’s actually considering it. She’s not even thinking about rejecting it. So much for the righteous behavior from earlier!

The deal is done. Kayden is back into the gang, her alter ego is called Purity. Max follows her example in showing off his power, he can manipulate metal and make it sprout from any solid surface around him. Interesting power. They shake hands and Mr. Wildbow calls it a day, ending the intermission there.

Well that was kind of a curveball. I didn’t think this was how the thing with Kayden would go, it sure was a twist for me. These were no heroes; my former thought was wrong on that regard. There’s no room for discussion in that these two are full-fledged villains, even if they don’t seem to be in a hurry to think of themselves like that. So that’s the leader of the Empire Eighty-Eight gang...huh. The war between gangs continues.

I don’t think it’s likely anymore that Kayden or anyone will appear during the ABB’s fight with the Undersiders, but I suppose it isn’t impossible for Max to be aware of where the gang is right now and that Bakuda is commanding it. There’s a chance she’ll appear during that, so I’m not ruling it out. That aside, that fight is bound to be good to read! Unfortunately for me, the intermission managed to sap the remaining free time I had today to read, so I’ll have to leave the fight for next time.

Next update: five updates

[kingofbluebell]

Video Game Forecast 2017

Due to some computer trouble and my lack of time to edit this week, I'm pushing the first anime review on this blog to next week. I want this review to be a good first impression for the greater anime community, and besides, if I rushed it out I'd be letting myself down. Instead, I'm going to ramble on at length about the upcoming games for 2017 that I'm excited to play because people sure love making lists on this topic. Yes, I touched on most of these games in post two weeks ago, but I didn't flesh out exactly why I was excited for them. As always this list reflects my personal taste which is sure to be different from anyone else who reads it. I'm trying to square away some other projects before the first load of games comes knocking at my door so let's finish this quickly. Just like with my other list posts I'll include a table of contents at the start for easier browsing.

Dragon Quest VIII

Gravity Rush 2

Yakuza 0

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Persona 5

Nier Automata

Super Mario Odyssey

Yooka-Laylee/A Hat in Time

Etrian Odyssey V

Kingdom Hearts 3

Dragon Quest VIII 3DS: Unlike the feelings of disappointment that grew as I reached the end of Dragon Quest VII, there is a precedent for me to enjoy this game a whole lot more. Dragon Quest VIII is one of my favorite games of all time, and the ability to easily play it anywhere is always a boon in my book. Sure the lack of the orchestral score, decreased resolution, and a voice actress change are making me hesitant to play it, but at its core, it's still Dragon Quest VIII: the pinnacle of the classic JRPG.  I'll get used to the new voice for Jessica as I did for Chie and Teddie in Persona 4 when Golden came out and like that enhanced release, I'm excited to test out all the new features chief among them being the lack of random encounters. To me, this was the major thing holding back the original Dragon Quest VIII, even if the encounter rate was relatively unobtrusive, and with Akira Toriyama's iconic monster designs seeing those slimes scuttle across the world map is going to be a delight. I'm also curious to see how they've extended the story, especially with the inclusion of the two bonus characters. Plus I want to see what outfits I can put on my favorite guy Yangus.  Unless another game appearing later on this list gets localized this year, or I muster up the will to plow through the Shin Megami Tensei IV duology I can't see another game vying for time in my 3DS this year.

Gravity Rush 2: Sure the dream to have this sequel be another defining title for the PS Vita is long since dead, but the combination of this game existing at all and the befuddling presence of the Vita in 2017 is more than enough to satisfy me. The original Gravity Rush translated very well to the PS4, and demo proves the controls have been refined even further. Being built from the ground up for the PS4 has not only improved the controls, but the brief glimpse of the vistas we'll be able to float through are anything to go by the developers certainly know how to make use of the rest of the PS4's hardware. I hesitate to classify Gravity Rush as a sandbox series, but that's mainly due to my reticence to play many of them now. Most of these games are heavily padded with additional objectives and exist on a playfield so large they become overwhelming. Gravity Rush also contains the myriad of collectibles and repetitive side missions of increasing difficulty however it doesn't immediately hit me that I've done this all before. The series' unique movement options and that said movement options only improve with every digression from the main plot certainly aid in this feeling, yet there is clearly something more. The original Gravity Rush's world, possibly stemming from the fact it was originally a portable game, felt compact and that translated into a more focused experience. I can't wait to see how I can mess around with the sequel's settings, but I hope the developers give me more ways to interact rather than more ground to cover.

Yakuza 0: If there were any franchise that exemplified the tenets I mentioned above it's Yakuza. The way folks over at Sega have gone about expanding the fictional city of Kamurocho, not by expanding the map but instead increasing the number of locations the player can explore in the same space is nothing short of genius game design that reflects actual urban development. This cost saving measure has not only allowed longtime fans to become familiar with the city as they would their real-life neighborhoods but also for the developers to make it come alive by including dozens of unique side activities on top of the already expanding and satisfying combat mechanics. While I'm still relatively new to the Yakuza franchise, my time playing the PS2 entries of the franchise make me excited to play more. I have no reticence jumping into a game further down the development timeline because I don't mind going back to older eras of 3D action games with their relatively stiffer controls. From what little I remember Yakuza 3 is a large step up from the PS2 era titles, and besides the story, design and charm of the franchise are more than enough to get me going back to older games even after playing the most refined game the series has to offer (in English).  I'm just happy Sony and Sega are giving this franchise another chance outside of Japan. Even though prequels tend to get a bad rap in most media the Yakuza series storytelling pedigree has me excited to see how Kazuma and Majima turned into the men we've grown to love. In fact, the game being prequel has also given me the opportunity to sell the concept of this game to as many of my long-time GTA, martial arts, and crime-fiction loving friends as I can. The two-year localization wait for this game is almost at an end, and I can't wait to delve into the opulent world of 80's Japanese crime.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age: I've been a fan of the way Yasumi Matsuno crafts RPGs since before I could easily pronounce his name. His approach to story and characters are as nuanced as the game mechanics that encapsulate them. In my opinion, they're some of the few RPGs that have a real balance between their gameplay and narrative aspects which is saying a lot given the tendency for Japanese RPGs to rely more heavily on the latter for player engagement. The world(s) of Ivalice is one of the most intriguing fantasy settings ever created in any medium and while it saddens me to say we may never get another chapter in its story I'm more than happy to return to its grandest one. Final Fantasy XII was already a huge game within the constraints of a PS2 title, and I'm sure this PS4 upgrade will do its sweeping landscapes justice. More importantly, I'm excited to experience the Zodiac Job system after all these years. The original's license board being fully open for each character, while certainly gave multitudes of customization options, felt almost too broad to the point it became unwieldy to manage. Having a more focus skill set for each playable character will go a long way into making the fights more strategic. After playing Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir I'm curious if this collection will give us the opportunity to use either system for character progression though I'm doubtful it will. What I don't doubt is this title coming out in 2017. With news of more delays on Kingdom Hearts 3 and the Final Fantasy VII remake not to mention the impossibility of any localized version of Dragon Quest XI so soon, this HD remaster will be a solid stop-gap title for Square's RPG market.

Persona 5:  The changing tides of Japanese game development, as well as the maturation of my taste, has made the (Shin) Megami Tensei series overtaking such giants as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest my favorite JRPG meta-franchise. Even almost succumbing to "Persona 4 Fatigue" and being let-down by Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE are not enough to change my mind. Persona 5 has a lot to live up to and from what little I've allowed myself to hear and see it has certainly impressed those who've played it. I'm grateful to have not been spoiled on any of the major plot developments and even many of the finalized game mechanics in the extended wait between the Japanese and global localization. I'm not normally the type of person to care about spoilers, but I've managed to hold back my excitement this long so why throw it all away at the eleventh hour? I haven't seen a new trailer for the game in at least a year, and I've gone so far as to avoid the English VA introduction videos for fear some of their characters are introduced too far into the story. I expect to either set up a myriad of blacklist programs or just take a sabbatical from most online interaction until I beat the game once so as not to be "tainted" by even the most benign meme. Sure I might become a hermit for a few weeks once the game arrives, but it'll be worth it to finally get to enjoy another full-fledged JRPG from masters of the craft.

Nier Automata: Rather than a screenshot I'm starting off this section by showcasing a very telling tweet from Drakengard/Nier creator Taro Yoko. There seems to be an unexplainable amount of pressure for this game to be amazing, and I'm still trying to break down how exactly we got to this point when at E3 2015 there were so many people confused about "the weird guy in the creepy mask".  It's not like after the reveal of Nier Automata the rest of the franchise was made more readily available to a wider audience to get them acclimated to the franchise. The first two Drakengard games weren't released on the PS3 or PS4, and I don't believe Nier is eligible through streaming on PS Now or is backward-compatible with the Xbox One. You would think after the unfortunate state Drakengard 3 released in, being plagued with slowdown and having a third of the content locked away as DLC that cost as much as the base game, that the series would have stopped there. In fact, most fans were shocked Drakengard 3 came out at all. Despite the odds, it seems some folks at Square Enix must enjoy Taro's work and want let him continue to lead projects, which for people like myself is a delightful aberration in this industry. I wouldn't say I'm the most knowledgeable Drakengard/Nier fan, I haven't spent much time looking at the fan-translated supplementary materials, but Nier is still one of my favorite games of all time, so that's why I have high hopes for its sequel. Outside of folks like myself, I believe everyone else's hopes lie are with the developer of Nier Automata: Platinium Games. Despite some recent disappointments, which can partially be blamed on rushed development cycles for licensed products, Platinum Games have been responsible for some of the most mechanically complex and energetic games of all time. Their reputation certainly precedes them at this point, and I think a lot of people believe they'll bring a similar flair and finesse to the combat in Automata. However, after playing the demo it's clear that Nier Automata is going to play a lot closer to the original Nier than Bayonetta. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but that means that 2B isn't the next evolution of cyborg Raiden. Combat in the original Nier was a simple hack and slash with some interesting magic mechanics, and I believe Platinum's involvement with Automata will go a long way in smoothing out the combat in ways Taro's previous team at Cavia was just not capable of doing. From what the demo provided it's clear that Platinum succeeded at this without sapping a lot of the particular flavor people look to get from Taro's games. Personally, I'm ecstatic Taro gets to work with a team known for massive and intricate boss encounters because I can only imagine how much they'll be improved compared to those found in the original Nier.  My biggest wish for 2017 would be for Nier Automata to be a resounding critical and financial success not only for Taro but also for Platinum. After the cancellation of Scalebound and Activision pulling out of licensed game development it'll be a rough time for them to find another project so soon and they could certainly use a big win.

Super Mario Odyssey: While everyone else seems blown away by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the game that piqued my interest more at the Nintendo Switch presentation was Super Mario Odyssey. Seeing Mario in a more sandbox oriented platformer for the first time in over a decade immediately grabbed my attention, and the idea of Mario going on a globe-hopping adventure will aid in making the cliche level tropes you see in most platformers have some distinctive flair. I must admit seeing one of the areas called "New Donk City" made me giggle more than the realization that a lot of the elements in the trailer mimic the original Sonic Adventure. More important to my potential enjoyment of the game was seeing all the additional movement abilities Mario as acquired for this new title. Mario can now swing as if he's performing an uneven bar routine and his hat, that is somehow sentient, can be thrown to act as an additional platform to reach greater distances. I'm unsure if the fan favorite "long jump" has made the transition to this title but it would surprise me if it didn't. Despite all of this I don't think Super Mario Odyssey, despite coming after a collection of solid titles, will be enough for me to purchase a Switch. My infatuation with portable consoles will have me buying the console eventually, but I'll be waiting until I hear more about that new Shin Megami Tensei game.

Yooka-Laylee/A Hat in Time: I'm putting both of these in the same paragraph because my thoughts on each of them are the same. Before Super Mario Odyssey got announced, these were the only 3D sandbox oriented platformers (have to find a better name for that before I take a deeper look at these games) on the horizon after the genre died out just at the start of the 7th console generation. I may not be the biggest fan of Banjo-Kazooie (certainly not its sequel), but I played and still replay on occasion the hell out of Insomniac developed Spyro the Dragon games. I adore the freedom you get roaming large levels and using your platforming prowess combined with your ever expanding move set and power-ups to tackle the various challenges put before you. I even like collecting a ridiculous amount of different collectibles, which is why I'm one of the few people who still emphatically enjoy Donkey Kong 64 outside of the memes. All these factors, as well as a majority of the original Banjo-Kazooie team involved with the project, convinced me and many others to heavily back Yooka-Laylee. The pedigree of the developers and constant updates have put a lot of our fears to rest after some rather large Kickstarter kerfuffles soured plenty on crowdfunding. I can't say I know as much about A Hat in Time though its smaller, inexperienced team and more meager funding explains its near four-year development cycle. Still, I've heard plenty of positive things from those who've backed the project and got to try out the demos. My fondness for the subgenre will have me giving this a shot as well if it reaches its promised release date this year.

Etrian Odyssey V: Last year I fell deeply in love with the plodding and challenging dungeons of the Etrian Odyssey franchise, completing two games. As arduous as they were I enjoyed (almost) every second of my hundred hour journeys, and I anxiously awaited the next title to be localized. I can understand Atlus wanting to make sure their global launch of Persona 5 to go smoothly before announcing any concrete release dates for games, but the wait for any news of Etrian Odyssey V's English localization is making me worry. Now with the Switch the next big thing from Nintendo resources from all companies, including Atlus, shifting to support it. It concerns me that a more niche title like Etriany Odyssey will be forgotten as we move to new hardware. Still the overwhelming success of Pokémon Sun & Moon, the lack of any announcement of a Switch Pokémon RPG, and the fact that Atlus USA tends to localize games for older hardware more often than other companies has me hopeful. Will we see Etrian Odyssey V in 2017? It's possible, and if it turns out to be true this year will be an even better year for games. Until then I should probably take the time to brave Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl to make sure I'm not too rusty.

Kingdom Hearts 3: I know anything can happen now than Final Fantasy XV, The Last Guardian and Owlboy came out last year, but I'm not holding my breath for Kingdom Hearts 3. I can guarantee to be there day one, but until then I'm not even touching 2.8 until the "third" entry in this franchise gets an actual release day. Just because I still harbor deep feelings for this hot mess of a series doesn't mean I need to be beholden to its whims. I'm not fifteen anymore.

So that's all the games I'm interested in checking out this year. I've chosen a lot of safe bets this year, but a lot of that has to do with me wanting to play a lot of highly rated Japanese games that have taken a while to localize. If any of the heavy hitters on other peoples' lists turn out to be great, I'll try to squeeze them in if I have the time and cash. In addition, every year there are a handful of smaller titles that blow everyone away that few initially knew about and when those inevitably rear their popularity onto the gaming landscape, I'll try to check them out too. I'd love to hear what games the people that read this post are looking forward to in 2017 so either leave a comment here or on my Twitter.

See you next week.

[roccorrios]

Calling 911: When Should You Dial a Call?

When Should You Dial 911?

Emergencies come suddenly and in different ways. While having a first aid kit in your home can come in handy during emergencies, calling 911 links you to immediate help.

All you need to do is to dial 911 and inform the 911 dispatcher what and where the emergency is.

In this post, we help answer the question: when should you dial 911? 

What’s a 911 Call?

911 is the universal emergency number that anybody living in the USA can dial. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in 1967 met with AT&T to set up the emergency number.

They aimed at getting a number that was not only short but one that was easy to remember.

What will the Dispatcher do?

The dispatcher will ask you a few questions.

Answer these in the best way you can.

Hold on to the line and follow all the instructions you receive as you wait for help to arrive.

Never call 911 unless the issue is an emergency.

Remember, 911 is designed to assist in situations that involve fires, medical emergencies, or ongoing crime.

If you witness someone get injured, hurt, or get involved in another type of emergency, waste no time.

Some of the emergencies that would prompt you to make a 911 call include: 

A fire that’s beyond control

An accident

An assault, burglary, or an ongoing crime

If someone needs a medical emergency – such as stroke, heart attack, and seizure

When you witness a seriously injured person who’s either in shock or bleeding severely

What Happens When You Call 911 – Video

When Should I Call 911?

Here is more information on when you should contact 911.

When Experiencing an Acute Allergic Reaction

If you or someone else starts showing signs of an acute allergic reaction such as swelling of the tongue, difficulty in breathing, and an increased heart rate, you want to call 911 immediately.

Remember, acute allergic reactions can cause death in less than one hour and you could have limited time to save the individual’s life. 

When having Breathing Difficulties

If you or someone is showing signs of difficulty when trying to breathe in and out – and more so when they’re experiencing acute symptoms such as severe wheezing, turning blue, or high pitched breathing sounds – you should call 911 for assistance.

Such a person will need immediate treatment or medication which they can receive from 911 responders.

During an Attempted Break-in

If you notice that someone is trying to break into your house, Refrain from taking matters in your own hands.

Call 911 for assistance.

Remember, the burglar could be under the influence of alcohol and drugs, or even armed.

When this is the case, confronting them could only make matters worse as they could severely harm you.

When someone has Fallen and is Unconscious or Injured

Moving an individual after a fall can worsen the situation – especially because determining the full extent of organ damage and spinal injuries can be impossible.

If you absolutely have to move someone, read this article on how to move accident victims or an injured person.

If you notice that someone has fallen and is unresponsive, the best thing to do is to dial 911.

Responders are trained and experienced enough to handle the victim accordingly to avoid further injuries. 

Can You Call 911 from a Cell Phone?

What’s the difference between calling 911 from cellphone vs landline?

The difference comes in with the way the calls are routed and tracked.

When you call 911, it’s important to know what to expect as only then will you get the assistance you need immediately.

What happens when you call 911? 

Once you call 911 from a landline from any part of the country, emergency responders will find you from any location.

This is because when you call 911 from a conventional landline, a computer situated in the dispatch center displays the phone’s number and address.

This is known as automatic location identification or automatic number identification.

The basic equipment in any Public Service Answering Point of this concept is referred to as the 911 center. 

Mobile Phones differ from Landlines

What happens when you call 911 from a mobile phone?

By so doing, you’ll be transmitting signals via the air.

While the tower that captures the phone’s signal may be close, the information delivered may not be sufficient for the dispatcher to locate you.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC,) all wireless carriers must display your location to 911 dispatchers. 

Regardless of your preferred technology, location information must be displayed in approximately 50% of all wireless calls made to 911.

The percentage is set to rise to 70% by the year 2020.

The FCC rules give an allowance of up to six minutes within which responders must identify your location.

Failure to do this can result in the carrier being declared to violate the rules. Still, this would constitute a large number of calls, either with slow to populate or no location data whatsoever. 

Advancement of Technology

As technology advances, a major improvement has been done on iPhone and Android operating systems.

This has come in handy to enhance the ability of smartphones to display the exact location, making it easier for emergency dispatchers to find victims.

The downside of this technology is that it only covers smartphones. 

Even with these enhancements, the closest cell tower could be in a different country or region.

This would necessitate the 911 responders to cross borders before accessing the emergency scene.

What happens if you accidentally call 911?

Assuming you call from a cellphone and hang up immediately, 911 emergency dispatchers opine that they’ll request the carrier to provide your number. 

They then proceed to call back for follow up purposes.

In case the number retrieval process fails, they may need to estimate the location, making the process challenging seeing that it could or couldn’t be accurate.

What Should you do when Calling 911 from a Cellphone?

If you place 911 calls Rochester NY from a mobile phone, inform the call taker of the emergency you have, and mention your location.

Remember, different emergency types utilize different dispatch centers. By providing the right information you enable the call taker to dispatch the information to the right-center. 

Further, you want to remain calm and speak clearly.

Remember, call takers are trained to extract as much information from you as possible and ask relevant questions straight from a computer screen.

The best thing you can do is to listen carefully can provide accurate answers.

By communicating your exact position, you help the responders find you fast and with ease.

Provide your locations as concisely as possible to facilitate this.

Can you Call 911 Online? 

Calling 911 online is possible and easy.

All you need is to turn your internet on and switch on any of your digital devices.

Login to Skype and dial 911.

There are other VoIP applications you can use as well.

Still, you shouldn’t rely on VoIP applications or even Skype.

This is because they often don’t connect you with the closest 911 center.

Still, these applications could save you in an emergency. 

What Should you do when Waiting for Help to Arrive?

Stay on the line and act on the instructions provided to you by the 911 emergency responder.

Depending on your location, the emergency response team could arrive before the dispatcher finishes giving instructions or asking questions.

Before the responders arrive, ensure you have everything you may need. 

For instance, have your medical data in order, if you have a chronic disease related to the brain, lungs, the heart, or even blood sugar, you probably are under medication.

Do you experience any allergies after taking some medication?

Make sure all this information is readily available as it will come in handy to help the responders know how to handle your situation. 

If you have pets that could pose a danger to the responders, make sure they are locked up where possible.

If you aren’t in a position to secure them, you may want to inform the dispatcher before the responders arrive.  

What to Expect When the Responders Arrive

Once the responders arrive, they quickly assess the situation first.

They’ll look around the conditions of your home and evaluate your skin for any signs of paleness, sweating or dryness.

Before they can proceed to set up their equipment or even ask any questions, they’ll know whether you’re at risk.

If you’re experiencing an acute medical condition and have to be rushed to the emergency center, the responders may ask you where you prefer.

They could also be working under protocols with strict instructions on where they should go next.

You’ll need to cooperate with them to get the best assistance. 

How can you Call 911 with a Cellphone?

If you’re calling from a cell phone, let the call taker know your exact location immediately. Give them your wireless phone number too. This will help the call taker call you back should your call get disconnected. Ensure your cell phone is locked when you’re not using it. This will prevent unintended calls to 911.

Can You Call 911 in Another State?

It’s possible but it can be complicated. Remember, emergency dispatch centers or public service answering points are tasked with responding to 911 calls, and providing assistance to the needs of people within designated places. When you dial 911, the call is routed to a public service answering point that manages calls within your geographical region. 

How can I Dial 911 from iPhone

Tap emergency on the passcode screen, dial 911 then tap

On the Passcode screen, tap Emergency

Dial the emergency number (for example, 911 in the U.S.), then tap

When Not to Call 911 – Video

Finally

Knowing when you should and shouldn’t call 911 is critical if you have to get the best assistance.

If you or someone close to you experience some of the conditions we have mentioned here, you’ll need to dial 911.

You’ll also need to know what to say when you call.

Where possible, use a landline as it makes it easier for the dispatcher to figure out your exact location.

More helpful reading:

10 Worst Natural Disasters (Deadliest in History, Biggest, & Most Recent)

How to Tell if a Snake is Poisonous or Not (Identify Non Venomous vs Most Dangerous)

Wilderness Survival Kits: 10 Essentials You Should Always Bring With You Outdoors

How to Escape a Sinking Car

How to Choose the Best Survival Kit

How to Create a Disaster Plan for Your Home

Signs of a Tornado Coming: 6 Warning Signals

10 Worst Natural Disasters in History

https://www.wikihow.com/Call-911

The post Calling 911: When Should You Dial a Call? appeared first on survivalistgear.co.

source https://survivalistgear.co/calling-911/ source https://survivalistgear1.tumblr.com/post/188708303397

[survivalistgear1]

Calling 911: When Should You Dial a Call?

When Should You Dial 911?

Emergencies come suddenly and in different ways. While having a first aid kit in your home can come in handy during emergencies, calling 911 links you to immediate help.

All you need to do is to dial 911 and inform the 911 dispatcher what and where the emergency is.

In this post, we help answer the question: when should you dial 911? 

What’s a 911 Call?

911 is the universal emergency number that anybody living in the USA can dial. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) in 1967 met with AT&T to set up the emergency number.

They aimed at getting a number that was not only short but one that was easy to remember.

What will the Dispatcher do?

The dispatcher will ask you a few questions.

Answer these in the best way you can.

Hold on to the line and follow all the instructions you receive as you wait for help to arrive.

Never call 911 unless the issue is an emergency.

Remember, 911 is designed to assist in situations that involve fires, medical emergencies, or ongoing crime.

If you witness someone get injured, hurt, or get involved in another type of emergency, waste no time.

Some of the emergencies that would prompt you to make a 911 call include: 

A fire that’s beyond control

An accident

An assault, burglary, or an ongoing crime

If someone needs a medical emergency – such as stroke, heart attack, and seizure

When you witness a seriously injured person who’s either in shock or bleeding severely

What Happens When You Call 911 – Video

When Should I Call 911?

Here is more information on when you should contact 911.

When Experiencing an Acute Allergic Reaction

If you or someone else starts showing signs of an acute allergic reaction such as swelling of the tongue, difficulty in breathing, and an increased heart rate, you want to call 911 immediately.

Remember, acute allergic reactions can cause death in less than one hour and you could have limited time to save the individual’s life. 

When having Breathing Difficulties

If you or someone is showing signs of difficulty when trying to breathe in and out – and more so when they’re experiencing acute symptoms such as severe wheezing, turning blue, or high pitched breathing sounds – you should call 911 for assistance.

Such a person will need immediate treatment or medication which they can receive from 911 responders.

During an Attempted Break-in

If you notice that someone is trying to break into your house, Refrain from taking matters in your own hands.

Call 911 for assistance.

Remember, the burglar could be under the influence of alcohol and drugs, or even armed.

When this is the case, confronting them could only make matters worse as they could severely harm you.

When someone has Fallen and is Unconscious or Injured

Moving an individual after a fall can worsen the situation – especially because determining the full extent of organ damage and spinal injuries can be impossible.

If you absolutely have to move someone, read this article on how to move accident victims or an injured person.

If you notice that someone has fallen and is unresponsive, the best thing to do is to dial 911.

Responders are trained and experienced enough to handle the victim accordingly to avoid further injuries. 

Can You Call 911 from a Cell Phone?

What’s the difference between calling 911 from cellphone vs landline?

The difference comes in with the way the calls are routed and tracked.

When you call 911, it’s important to know what to expect as only then will you get the assistance you need immediately.

What happens when you call 911? 

Once you call 911 from a landline from any part of the country, emergency responders will find you from any location.

This is because when you call 911 from a conventional landline, a computer situated in the dispatch center displays the phone’s number and address.

This is known as automatic location identification or automatic number identification.

The basic equipment in any Public Service Answering Point of this concept is referred to as the 911 center. 

Mobile Phones differ from Landlines

What happens when you call 911 from a mobile phone?

By so doing, you’ll be transmitting signals via the air.

While the tower that captures the phone’s signal may be close, the information delivered may not be sufficient for the dispatcher to locate you.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC,) all wireless carriers must display your location to 911 dispatchers. 

Regardless of your preferred technology, location information must be displayed in approximately 50% of all wireless calls made to 911.

The percentage is set to rise to 70% by the year 2020.

The FCC rules give an allowance of up to six minutes within which responders must identify your location.

Failure to do this can result in the carrier being declared to violate the rules. Still, this would constitute a large number of calls, either with slow to populate or no location data whatsoever. 

Advancement of Technology

As technology advances, a major improvement has been done on iPhone and Android operating systems.

This has come in handy to enhance the ability of smartphones to display the exact location, making it easier for emergency dispatchers to find victims.

The downside of this technology is that it only covers smartphones. 

Even with these enhancements, the closest cell tower could be in a different country or region.

This would necessitate the 911 responders to cross borders before accessing the emergency scene.

What happens if you accidentally call 911?

Assuming you call from a cellphone and hang up immediately, 911 emergency dispatchers opine that they’ll request the carrier to provide your number. 

They then proceed to call back for follow up purposes.

In case the number retrieval process fails, they may need to estimate the location, making the process challenging seeing that it could or couldn’t be accurate.

What Should you do when Calling 911 from a Cellphone?

If you place 911 calls Rochester NY from a mobile phone, inform the call taker of the emergency you have, and mention your location.

Remember, different emergency types utilize different dispatch centers. By providing the right information you enable the call taker to dispatch the information to the right-center. 

Further, you want to remain calm and speak clearly.

Remember, call takers are trained to extract as much information from you as possible and ask relevant questions straight from a computer screen.

The best thing you can do is to listen carefully can provide accurate answers.

By communicating your exact position, you help the responders find you fast and with ease.

Provide your locations as concisely as possible to facilitate this.

Can you Call 911 Online? 

Calling 911 online is possible and easy.

All you need is to turn your internet on and switch on any of your digital devices.

Login to Skype and dial 911.

There are other VoIP applications you can use as well.

Still, you shouldn’t rely on VoIP applications or even Skype.

This is because they often don’t connect you with the closest 911 center.

Still, these applications could save you in an emergency. 

What Should you do when Waiting for Help to Arrive?

Stay on the line and act on the instructions provided to you by the 911 emergency responder.

Depending on your location, the emergency response team could arrive before the dispatcher finishes giving instructions or asking questions.

Before the responders arrive, ensure you have everything you may need. 

For instance, have your medical data in order, if you have a chronic disease related to the brain, lungs, the heart, or even blood sugar, you probably are under medication.

Do you experience any allergies after taking some medication?

Make sure all this information is readily available as it will come in handy to help the responders know how to handle your situation. 

If you have pets that could pose a danger to the responders, make sure they are locked up where possible.

If you aren’t in a position to secure them, you may want to inform the dispatcher before the responders arrive.  

What to Expect When the Responders Arrive

Once the responders arrive, they quickly assess the situation first.

They’ll look around the conditions of your home and evaluate your skin for any signs of paleness, sweating or dryness.

Before they can proceed to set up their equipment or even ask any questions, they’ll know whether you’re at risk.

If you’re experiencing an acute medical condition and have to be rushed to the emergency center, the responders may ask you where you prefer.

They could also be working under protocols with strict instructions on where they should go next.

You’ll need to cooperate with them to get the best assistance. 

How can you Call 911 with a Cellphone?

If you’re calling from a cell phone, let the call taker know your exact location immediately. Give them your wireless phone number too. This will help the call taker call you back should your call get disconnected. Ensure your cell phone is locked when you’re not using it. This will prevent unintended calls to 911.

Can You Call 911 in Another State?

It’s possible but it can be complicated. Remember, emergency dispatch centers or public service answering points are tasked with responding to 911 calls, and providing assistance to the needs of people within designated places. When you dial 911, the call is routed to a public service answering point that manages calls within your geographical region. 

How can I Dial 911 from iPhone

Tap emergency on the passcode screen, dial 911 then tap

On the Passcode screen, tap Emergency

Dial the emergency number (for example, 911 in the U.S.), then tap

When Not to Call 911 – Video

Finally

Knowing when you should and shouldn’t call 911 is critical if you have to get the best assistance.

If you or someone close to you experience some of the conditions we have mentioned here, you’ll need to dial 911.

You’ll also need to know what to say when you call.

Where possible, use a landline as it makes it easier for the dispatcher to figure out your exact location.

More helpful reading:

10 Worst Natural Disasters (Deadliest in History, Biggest, & Most Recent)

How to Tell if a Snake is Poisonous or Not (Identify Non Venomous vs Most Dangerous)

Wilderness Survival Kits: 10 Essentials You Should Always Bring With You Outdoors

How to Escape a Sinking Car

How to Choose the Best Survival Kit

How to Create a Disaster Plan for Your Home

Signs of a Tornado Coming: 6 Warning Signals

10 Worst Natural Disasters in History

https://www.wikihow.com/Call-911

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