Hello. Today I'm writing about my new job.
I've been looking for a part time job since last fall. At first I was very hesitant to work in fast food, I wanted to work in some sort of retail store. I applied to a LOT of different places, Food Lion, Target, Walmart, Big Lots, Walgreens, CVS, everywhere. Most places did not even call me back or contact me in any way after I filled out the online application. A month or two ago I had finally stooped down to applying to McDonalds, and it was looking like that was a possibility. I still need a lot of hours driving in order to get my driver's license, so I was out one day driving with my mom when we stopped at Waffle House. We ate their for lunch and it was pretty good, and mom pointed out a Now Hiring brochure on the table. At the time McDonald's was looking like I was going to be hired, but I had to try applying there too just in case. I applied online and within a day, someone had called me asking to schedule an interview there. It was the fastest I'd ever been contacted by any place I had applied to, and of course I accepted the interview. I went to the interview and it was mostly just a couple questions you would expect, mostly just clarifying things I had on the online application. The interview went very well, and they scheduled a second interview. The second interview was mostly about what I would be doing there at Waffle House. The manager said that he would like to make me a Door Corp, which is someone that comes in on the weekends and greets people, seats them, and cleans tables after they leave. Eventually he said he would make me a Grill Op, which is a cook. I thought that sounded great, and he wanted to quickly get me to start my classes so I could get started working. The only problem was that the classes were only on Thursdays and Fridays, during school hours. Unfortunately I had to wait until school was out to take those classes so I could start work. The Thursday after school was out I showed up to the Waffle House in Inwood for my interview in my black pants, black shoes, and white dress shirt. The classes were very boring and we sat in a very small, cold, back room filling out huge Waffle House books and watching cheesy information videos. I was very glad when it was over on Friday. Last Monday was when I was first working on the floor at the Waffle House I had applied to. I was getting paid of course but I wasn't getting any tips because I was shadowing another server in her section, so I took my own orders, but it was all in her section and she taught me a lot about how the restaurant worked. Tuesday was also a day where I was shadowing, and I quickly became sufficient at taking orders and calling them out to the cooks, which is the hardest parts about being a server. Last Thursday I had to go to the Inwood Waffle House one last time in order to get my Red Star Certification, which is what you need to be an official server at Waffle House. I got my certification easily enough, and showed up for my first real day working that Saturday at 6:30. It was pretty busy compared to the other two days I had been working there, but according to my coworkers it was slow for a weekend. I served twenty tables over the course of seven hours, and I did side work in between like filling up the ice containers, working the dishpit, and cleaning off tables. At the end of my first work day I was very tired and a little stressed from all the busyness, but I had come out of it with $59 worth of tips, and that was awesome.
Having a job is really great and although it's going to be tiring and sometimes stressful, it feels good to be doing it. Bye.
- By Ashton
The Grey Jack Frost
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Leap Day
Hello. Today I'm reviewing another mobile game.
The game is called Leap Day, and I'm reviewing it for iOS. The game is titled Leap Day because every day there's a new jumping puzzle level consisting of 15 parts. It's a very innovate game in that it literally produces more content for you play every day. Theoretically you could keep playing it and every day it would be new. You play as a small yellow creature with a green nose and the ability to jump once or twice in midair. The levels are scrolling platformers. There are walls on either side of the screen that limit your horizontal movement, but the level progresses by traveling upwards. Your character walks from left to right on the screen, turning back around when he comes into contact with a wall, or dying if he hits a hazard or monster. You tap the screen to make him jump, the character can double jump off of the ground. If it falls off of a platform, it can make two jumps because it didn't use a jump to leave the platform. It can also jump onto and off of walls, and off of monsters it jumps onto. Each level is comprised of 15 parts. In each part there are obstacles, hazards, and monsters that make it hard to finish that section. If you pass over the red banners at the top of the section, then you can unlock a checkpoint in case you die in the next section. To unlock a checkpoint you jump into a room through a door that opens up off the right side of the level. In the room there are two chests, if you jump into one chest you can buy the checkpoint with 20 fruit. There are fruit located throughout the entire level that can be dangerous to acquire, they function to keep track of your score. If you don't have twenty fruit, you can bump into the second chest which will unlock the checkpoint if you watch an add. If you jump into another room next to that one, you can bump into a chest to buy the premium version of the game for only a few dollars. The premium version is the same except when you jump into a checkpoint room there is only one large chest that will unlock the checkpoint for free. The checkpoints are numbered 1-15, starting at 15. The screen that shows all the levels is a calendar, with a level every day going all the way back to when the game was released. If you pass checkpoint 10, you earn a bronze trophy for that level on the calendar. If you pass checkpoint 5, you get s silver trophy. If you finish the level, you get a gold trophy, and if you finish the level and collect every fruit you get a crown with an apple. After completing checkpoint 1, you jump above a banner platform with black and white finish line colors. You jump up onto a late red button on an enormous trophy to complete the level. The trophy will total the percent of fruit you found, and if you found them all a crown and an apple will sprout from the trophy. Each level has a different back ground behind the obstacles, like a forest, or a castle, or even space. Every level is filled with countless hazards like spikes, sawblades, or fire. The number of monsters in each level is staggering, with things like purple crawlers that spit at you or large electric octopi.
I highly recommend getting Leap Day free on the App Store if you're ready for a daily dose of fun. Bye.
- By Ashton
The game is called Leap Day, and I'm reviewing it for iOS. The game is titled Leap Day because every day there's a new jumping puzzle level consisting of 15 parts. It's a very innovate game in that it literally produces more content for you play every day. Theoretically you could keep playing it and every day it would be new. You play as a small yellow creature with a green nose and the ability to jump once or twice in midair. The levels are scrolling platformers. There are walls on either side of the screen that limit your horizontal movement, but the level progresses by traveling upwards. Your character walks from left to right on the screen, turning back around when he comes into contact with a wall, or dying if he hits a hazard or monster. You tap the screen to make him jump, the character can double jump off of the ground. If it falls off of a platform, it can make two jumps because it didn't use a jump to leave the platform. It can also jump onto and off of walls, and off of monsters it jumps onto. Each level is comprised of 15 parts. In each part there are obstacles, hazards, and monsters that make it hard to finish that section. If you pass over the red banners at the top of the section, then you can unlock a checkpoint in case you die in the next section. To unlock a checkpoint you jump into a room through a door that opens up off the right side of the level. In the room there are two chests, if you jump into one chest you can buy the checkpoint with 20 fruit. There are fruit located throughout the entire level that can be dangerous to acquire, they function to keep track of your score. If you don't have twenty fruit, you can bump into the second chest which will unlock the checkpoint if you watch an add. If you jump into another room next to that one, you can bump into a chest to buy the premium version of the game for only a few dollars. The premium version is the same except when you jump into a checkpoint room there is only one large chest that will unlock the checkpoint for free. The checkpoints are numbered 1-15, starting at 15. The screen that shows all the levels is a calendar, with a level every day going all the way back to when the game was released. If you pass checkpoint 10, you earn a bronze trophy for that level on the calendar. If you pass checkpoint 5, you get s silver trophy. If you finish the level, you get a gold trophy, and if you finish the level and collect every fruit you get a crown with an apple. After completing checkpoint 1, you jump above a banner platform with black and white finish line colors. You jump up onto a late red button on an enormous trophy to complete the level. The trophy will total the percent of fruit you found, and if you found them all a crown and an apple will sprout from the trophy. Each level has a different back ground behind the obstacles, like a forest, or a castle, or even space. Every level is filled with countless hazards like spikes, sawblades, or fire. The number of monsters in each level is staggering, with things like purple crawlers that spit at you or large electric octopi.
I highly recommend getting Leap Day free on the App Store if you're ready for a daily dose of fun. Bye.
- By Ashton
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Julia took an indeterminate amount of time to rest. She did not know if she slept or not. It may have been 5 minutes, it may have been 5 hours, she'll never know. The unending darkness outside the window and the absence of any working clocks inside the building gave her no help. She proceeded with her plan.
Julia walked at an average pace, but took care to be more quiet than normal. The first ghast, as she had taken to calling the creatures, since the cafeteria was hunched over in an office space. She opened the door connecting to the hall to see if it was a survivor, and the sound made it lunge. Their bodies seemed to be fragile, even if they continued to live after suffering grievous wounds. This one was so resilient there wasn't anything left of its head except black goo on the wall before it finally died.
Julia was numb to the horror by now, killing the ghasts seemed like nothing more than a dangerous chore. It wasn't human bodies she was killing, in her head they were just animals. Julia passed by and killed 3 more ghasts. She was happened by her fourth, curled up in the corner of another office. She held it against the wall with her hand on its shoulder and raised her dripping right fist. Then... It cried out in pain?
"Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't." Julia let go and stumbled back, surprised. For what seemed a long while, the man curled up in a tighter ball in the corner. Julia issued her first real words since she had... become this.
"Are you okay?" The voice sounded scratchy, like hers, but filtered and changed through the suit's exterior speakers.
"I-I.. Uh yeah I'm... Alright."
"What's your name?"
"Carson."
"Well Carson, you're the first one I've found in this hell."
"Oh."
"Care to leave?"
- By Ashton
Julia took an indeterminate amount of time to rest. She did not know if she slept or not. It may have been 5 minutes, it may have been 5 hours, she'll never know. The unending darkness outside the window and the absence of any working clocks inside the building gave her no help. She proceeded with her plan.
Julia walked at an average pace, but took care to be more quiet than normal. The first ghast, as she had taken to calling the creatures, since the cafeteria was hunched over in an office space. She opened the door connecting to the hall to see if it was a survivor, and the sound made it lunge. Their bodies seemed to be fragile, even if they continued to live after suffering grievous wounds. This one was so resilient there wasn't anything left of its head except black goo on the wall before it finally died.
Julia was numb to the horror by now, killing the ghasts seemed like nothing more than a dangerous chore. It wasn't human bodies she was killing, in her head they were just animals. Julia passed by and killed 3 more ghasts. She was happened by her fourth, curled up in the corner of another office. She held it against the wall with her hand on its shoulder and raised her dripping right fist. Then... It cried out in pain?
"Please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't kill me please don't." Julia let go and stumbled back, surprised. For what seemed a long while, the man curled up in a tighter ball in the corner. Julia issued her first real words since she had... become this.
"Are you okay?" The voice sounded scratchy, like hers, but filtered and changed through the suit's exterior speakers.
"I-I.. Uh yeah I'm... Alright."
"What's your name?"
"Carson."
"Well Carson, you're the first one I've found in this hell."
"Oh."
"Care to leave?"
- By Ashton
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Dungeons and Dragons
Hello. Today I’m writing about Dungeons and Dragons.
The past couple years or so I’ve had a growing interest in D&D. I had seen a couple YouTube videos, listened to some podcasts, and browsed a few websites online that had me very interested. It was a game like nothing I had ever really seen before and a storytelling medium that I hadn’t ever seen before either. However, it never really came up in conversation with my nerd friends and I never ended up voicing interest in it. Playing it would require a couple expensive books, at least three people, and a large amount of time, which were all things that initially dissuaded me. Recently, I’ve been very lucky to find a group of people willing to play with me. It came up among conversation with one of my oldest guy friends and before too long I had a group of people including: that friend I talked to, one of his friends, my girlfriend, her Dad, and one of my newest guy friends and possibly his Dad. From what I’ve seen and heard it’s always the most fun to play D&D with good friends or people you’ve known for a long time. Don’t be dumb like me, don’t hesitate to ask your friends, your girlfriend or boyfriend, and your family if they’re interested in playing because you may be surprised. Another thing to mention that may be helpful is that the expensive couple books you need to play are probably available online. I downloaded the Player’s Handbook for fifth edition D&D to my phone as a PDF for free, and I don’t doubt that the other books are available that way as well.
Here’s a small summary of D&D for those of you that don’t know what it is. D&D is a game where a group of at least three and up to twelve or so friends can sit around a table with some paper and a pencil and weave together epic tales in a high fantasy setting. D&D has no pieces or game boards (although you could easily use a map to represent where the characters are at any moment) instead you play with just some paper containing the details about your character, a pencil, and access to a couple rulebooks. D&D is a roleplaying game, but it doesn’t require a ton of imagination as you may think. The backstory for a character might be as short as saying your race, class, where they come from, and their motivation for adventuring, or it could be as long or detailed as you like, with many different influences from their past affecting the character’s choices in the game. Each player has their own personalized character, with their own race, class and backstory, and no two characters are exactly alike. One player instead of having a character will be the Dungeonmaster. The DM describes in detail the different places characters may go and what happens to them, they’re the general orchestrater of the storyline, however players can greatly affect the story as well by making drastic or unexpected decisions that could greatly alter your small band of adventurers, or the entire world you’re inhabiting. As the adventure goes on your character gains experience points and starts to level up; doing so can cause their ability statistics to go up, and their access to more powerful skills. It’s this way that not only does the story constantly progress, but so does the power of your character and their personality development.
It is possible for your character to die in a tragic fall off a cliff, or in battle with a group of demons, but it isn’t the end for the player. In a high fantasy world like D&D it’s entirely possible to have your character magically resurrected, but a player could easily just join the same group of remaining companions as a new character, in the same storyline. I’ve created two characters so far that I’m interested in playing at some point. Eogis is a Blueveined Tempest Knight. Being a blueveine means that you’re human, but you have a noticeably large or glowing blue vein that flows with magical blood. You gain magical powers from it, but the vein spreads as you age and will kill you long before you reach sixty. As a Tempest Knight, Eogis is proficient with weapons like swords and battleaxes, but also fights with the powers of lightning and thunder. He’s haunted by a great monster that killed his family and the order of knights he was trained in, so he’s started adventuring to maybe find this beast and kill it, but he’s a protector to all the races against monsters, and ultimately a force for good. My second character is Ignatius, a Phoelarch Untouchable Blade. A Phoelarch is a humanoid that’s descended from the phoenix, giving him bright orange skin, feathers for hair, and the ability to burst into light and fire. If he dies, he leaves a small black egg which will eventually hatch into a Phoera, a bird similar to a phoenix wit all his memories and his personality. As an Untouchable Blade, he is very skilled with using one handed slashing weapons, and has learned skills like parrying an attack, and counterattacking, making him a very quick and useful force on the battlefield. He’s come from the Plane of Fire, hoping to find adventure and something to fight for.
As you can see, the possibilities for your character are endless. D&D is very unique that way, it put’s unique characters in a unique setting and let’s them do whatever they want, creating an epic fantasy tale that could last for a day, or months. If you’re at all interested in playing, I recommend reading the Player’s Handbook online and of course, don’t be afraid to ask those around you if they’re interested. Bye.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
There were a few moments of silence before all hell broke loose. All of the bodies starting yelling and screaming. They were whooping and shrieking, it all sounded like some sort of demented zoo. Then they charged Julia. Julia ran as fast as she could towards the far exit, metal feet slamming on the ground. At the same time, she pulled her pick off of her back and half turned- preparing to strike. The things moved like animals, long lanky limbs propelled them forward, almost as if their hands and feet barely touched the ground. In her minds eye Julia gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes when she swung at the first thing to reach her. The metal serrated pick tore through it's skin like rice paper, and blank and white goo poured from the lower chest wound. Thin black tubes fell from the thing's wound where its intestines should have been. The creature did not even flinch, it kept moving forward just as fast with the black tubes animatedly reaching towards her and the tentacle at its back attaching it to the spire moving freely.
Hopelessly she turned back towards the exit and tried to find more of what little speed the suit would run. It wasn't a body, but she felt the exertion as if she had lungs and the wear and tear on her joints wracked her head. The door was close now. The things were all very close, and raked at her sides and head with long fingers. They looked almost completely normal, but she could only guess at the literal corruption that filled their deceased bodies. Light shone from the other side of the door, like the light at the end of the tunnel. She was incredibly grateful that the door wasn't high security and didn't require a handprint, she just had to hit the release button and the door would slide open quickly. Ten feet. Seven. Three! She slammed her metal fist against the panel beside the door and it slid into the wall with a woosh. The sound from the things behind her was unbearable. She darted inside and slammed her hand against the door, only letting one in with her. Only one.
She reacted numbly, but fast enough. Foregoing the pick in her right hand, she slammed the thing into the left wall, turning the pick around in her right hand she began slamming the top end of the pick into the thing's head. It shrieked and pawed at the wall and at her arm and torso, it was the same one she had earlier injured, and the internal tentacles attacked her stomach. They started making small tears in the metal, and she even felt pain. Finally, the screaming stopped when the pick smacked through the creature's forehead with a thock. More black goo and light blue colored brain tissue poured from it's broken skull. The tentacle that was attached to it's back stopped straining towards the door where the spire was, and instead fell limply to the ground. Julia slouched standing up in weariness, and looked towards the door. All of the bodies were lying on the ground again, the spire pumping more evil into their veins.
Julia stumbled, exhausted through the hallway and into the next one. She found a bench there, and sat down to rest. In her mind, she closed her eyes and sighed.
- By Ashton
There were a few moments of silence before all hell broke loose. All of the bodies starting yelling and screaming. They were whooping and shrieking, it all sounded like some sort of demented zoo. Then they charged Julia. Julia ran as fast as she could towards the far exit, metal feet slamming on the ground. At the same time, she pulled her pick off of her back and half turned- preparing to strike. The things moved like animals, long lanky limbs propelled them forward, almost as if their hands and feet barely touched the ground. In her minds eye Julia gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes when she swung at the first thing to reach her. The metal serrated pick tore through it's skin like rice paper, and blank and white goo poured from the lower chest wound. Thin black tubes fell from the thing's wound where its intestines should have been. The creature did not even flinch, it kept moving forward just as fast with the black tubes animatedly reaching towards her and the tentacle at its back attaching it to the spire moving freely.
Hopelessly she turned back towards the exit and tried to find more of what little speed the suit would run. It wasn't a body, but she felt the exertion as if she had lungs and the wear and tear on her joints wracked her head. The door was close now. The things were all very close, and raked at her sides and head with long fingers. They looked almost completely normal, but she could only guess at the literal corruption that filled their deceased bodies. Light shone from the other side of the door, like the light at the end of the tunnel. She was incredibly grateful that the door wasn't high security and didn't require a handprint, she just had to hit the release button and the door would slide open quickly. Ten feet. Seven. Three! She slammed her metal fist against the panel beside the door and it slid into the wall with a woosh. The sound from the things behind her was unbearable. She darted inside and slammed her hand against the door, only letting one in with her. Only one.
She reacted numbly, but fast enough. Foregoing the pick in her right hand, she slammed the thing into the left wall, turning the pick around in her right hand she began slamming the top end of the pick into the thing's head. It shrieked and pawed at the wall and at her arm and torso, it was the same one she had earlier injured, and the internal tentacles attacked her stomach. They started making small tears in the metal, and she even felt pain. Finally, the screaming stopped when the pick smacked through the creature's forehead with a thock. More black goo and light blue colored brain tissue poured from it's broken skull. The tentacle that was attached to it's back stopped straining towards the door where the spire was, and instead fell limply to the ground. Julia slouched standing up in weariness, and looked towards the door. All of the bodies were lying on the ground again, the spire pumping more evil into their veins.
Julia stumbled, exhausted through the hallway and into the next one. She found a bench there, and sat down to rest. In her mind, she closed her eyes and sighed.
- By Ashton
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Hello. Today I'm doing another blog on Bastion, because that game is seriously amazing. Obviously there are gonna be a lot of spoilers, so if you're interested I highly recommended. He king it out on Playstation, PC, or iOS.
The narrative says so much about human civilization. The Caelondians came east and invaded another people's land, fought with them, and attempted to obliterate them. No side is without fault, Ven, an Ura, set the device that created the Calamity to backfire, destroying the entire continent. After the damage from the Calamity was done, Zulf still convinced his people to attack the Bastion for no reason other than hatred towards Caelondia. There's so much hatred and racism. This game speaks about what would happen if we let hate and war and greed go to far. We already have a Calamity, nuclear weapons are just as capable at destroying a people as the Calamity, and with an equal chance for worldwide destruction. It tells a story that is a vibrant colorful adventure, but shows us where our ways will lead us if we do not become better.
The ending of the game is very interesting. The Bastion was meant to be a safe haven for all the people of Caelondia, but was not finished before the Calamity, leaving it the size of a small island. However the main functions of the Bastion, were completed. In the game, an Ura you bring back to the Bastion named Zulf finds Ven's journal and learns that the Calamity was a Caelondian attempt at the destruction of the Ura. He breaks the Monument in the Bastion, and sets off to find what's left of his people. To restore the Monument and set things right the Kid has to find energy crystals called Shards. When he's about to reach the last shard, Zulf tells him that what's left of the Ura is assaulting the Bastion. The Kid beats them back, but not before they've severely damaged the Bastion. Another shard is needed to complete it. The Kid carves a path of destruction through the Ura, fighting as hard as he can to retrieve the last shard. Necessity forces him to nearly complete what the Calamity was built to do. When he finally does, there are two things left between him and his way back to the Bastion. The first, is Zulf, lying nearly dead in the snow. It's at this point in the game that you are presented with two options, you can abandon your weapon and try to save Zulf, or you can keep your weapon and leave him to die in the snow. He's betrayed you, but you know it's the right decision to save him. The second thing between you and the way back to the Bastion, is a veritable army of Ura. You slowly plod towards the skyway that will take you back, with Zulf on your shoulders. Bullets and crossbow bolts assail you from every direction from the Ura soldiers. You know you aren't gonna make it, but you keep pushing. All of a sudden they just.. Stop. They spare your and Zulf's life. With you're last strength, you ride the skyway with Zulf back to the Bastion.
With the last shard the Kid completes the Bastion. The Monument is ready. It descends down inside the Bastion and creates a staircase down to it. It has two functions, and Rucks and Zia want the Kid to decide which to do. You can use the Bastion to reverse time to before the Calamity occurred. All the death and destruction the Calamity caused, and that the Kid has done, will be undone. The only thing is, there's no way to know whether or not the Calamity will occur again. There's no way to test a machine that rewinds time for everyone. On the other hand, you can shatter the cores and shards that power the Monument, creating an immense amount of energy that makes it so that they can fly the Bastion, wherever they wanted, indefinitely. Sometimes the easy decision, is not the right one. It would be easy to choose Restoration. Easy to undo all the death and pain and absolve yourself of all blame. But to do so would be restoring a society rapt with greed, racism, and hatred. Who knows if doing so would even stop the Calamity? The right decision is Evacuation. Destroy the cores, fly the Bastion and instead of trying to erase the mistakes of your people, work to seek redemption. Work to make something out of this shattered world.
There's my narrative and moral analysis conclusion on Bastion. The week after the next, I'll write about my own ideas for a continuation of the story post-Evacuation. Bye.
- By Ashton
The narrative says so much about human civilization. The Caelondians came east and invaded another people's land, fought with them, and attempted to obliterate them. No side is without fault, Ven, an Ura, set the device that created the Calamity to backfire, destroying the entire continent. After the damage from the Calamity was done, Zulf still convinced his people to attack the Bastion for no reason other than hatred towards Caelondia. There's so much hatred and racism. This game speaks about what would happen if we let hate and war and greed go to far. We already have a Calamity, nuclear weapons are just as capable at destroying a people as the Calamity, and with an equal chance for worldwide destruction. It tells a story that is a vibrant colorful adventure, but shows us where our ways will lead us if we do not become better.
The ending of the game is very interesting. The Bastion was meant to be a safe haven for all the people of Caelondia, but was not finished before the Calamity, leaving it the size of a small island. However the main functions of the Bastion, were completed. In the game, an Ura you bring back to the Bastion named Zulf finds Ven's journal and learns that the Calamity was a Caelondian attempt at the destruction of the Ura. He breaks the Monument in the Bastion, and sets off to find what's left of his people. To restore the Monument and set things right the Kid has to find energy crystals called Shards. When he's about to reach the last shard, Zulf tells him that what's left of the Ura is assaulting the Bastion. The Kid beats them back, but not before they've severely damaged the Bastion. Another shard is needed to complete it. The Kid carves a path of destruction through the Ura, fighting as hard as he can to retrieve the last shard. Necessity forces him to nearly complete what the Calamity was built to do. When he finally does, there are two things left between him and his way back to the Bastion. The first, is Zulf, lying nearly dead in the snow. It's at this point in the game that you are presented with two options, you can abandon your weapon and try to save Zulf, or you can keep your weapon and leave him to die in the snow. He's betrayed you, but you know it's the right decision to save him. The second thing between you and the way back to the Bastion, is a veritable army of Ura. You slowly plod towards the skyway that will take you back, with Zulf on your shoulders. Bullets and crossbow bolts assail you from every direction from the Ura soldiers. You know you aren't gonna make it, but you keep pushing. All of a sudden they just.. Stop. They spare your and Zulf's life. With you're last strength, you ride the skyway with Zulf back to the Bastion.
With the last shard the Kid completes the Bastion. The Monument is ready. It descends down inside the Bastion and creates a staircase down to it. It has two functions, and Rucks and Zia want the Kid to decide which to do. You can use the Bastion to reverse time to before the Calamity occurred. All the death and destruction the Calamity caused, and that the Kid has done, will be undone. The only thing is, there's no way to know whether or not the Calamity will occur again. There's no way to test a machine that rewinds time for everyone. On the other hand, you can shatter the cores and shards that power the Monument, creating an immense amount of energy that makes it so that they can fly the Bastion, wherever they wanted, indefinitely. Sometimes the easy decision, is not the right one. It would be easy to choose Restoration. Easy to undo all the death and pain and absolve yourself of all blame. But to do so would be restoring a society rapt with greed, racism, and hatred. Who knows if doing so would even stop the Calamity? The right decision is Evacuation. Destroy the cores, fly the Bastion and instead of trying to erase the mistakes of your people, work to seek redemption. Work to make something out of this shattered world.
There's my narrative and moral analysis conclusion on Bastion. The week after the next, I'll write about my own ideas for a continuation of the story post-Evacuation. Bye.
- By Ashton
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Chapter 15
Chapter 15
In the half-light Julia puzzled what to do. She could make her way towards the outside of the ring that is 1A, get to the tram station. It was directly across from where she had entered and would only take a couple minutes to reach. Hopefully it would still be in working condition, and capable of taking her to Installation 1. Installation 3 was communications, if she had to contact the outside that was the surefire way to do so. She could get to Installation 2 and then 3 from getting to 1, but what if they were still people in 1A? People that are trapped and helpless like she was? She shuddered and thought about what she had to do save herself. If other people were there, maybe she wouldn't have had to...
Julia cursed herself as she stomped heavily around in 1A. Eventually she would have to get used to her new weight and metal form, right now she was not the quietest. Julia had decided she would go around 1A one time before returning to the tram, that way she could look in nearby offices and rooms for anybody that might need help before she left for Installation 1. She wasn't happy about the potential danger she might be facing and the loss of time, but she couldn't leave people here to die... like she had. 1A was in bad shape. She could see Heliogel creeping along the walls. Sometimes it splayed out randomly like veins, other times it conformed strictly to lines or circles. In some places it bubbled up in wrinkled parcels of blue-white light. It didn't seem to be doing the structure of the building any favors either, the walls were wrinkled and torn to the outside in some places, and the floor occasionally rose or fell. Julia entered the Mess Hall to the left of the tram station.
The mess hall had high ceilings that went all the way up to the roof of 1A. The flat surface had rows of skylights strew across it vertically. On top of the skylights were small snowflakes, and blackness. She could not discern whether the blackness was the night, or something worse. It was unbearably dark in the cafeteria. She switched on the lights on either side of her head and gazed at a spot in the center of the room where her light did not hit the far wall. Heliogel oozed upwards and downwards from the floor and ceiling to form a knotted bulging shape in its midsection. It twitched and moved. There were no little parcels of light this time, only blackness. Julia's second discovery was worse. Along the floor, almost as if they had just stopped and fallen out of their seats, were bodies. They all lay down and inky tendrils shot out from the pillar and wrapped around their faces and skullcaps. The tendrils writhed on the ground with complete and utter silence. Towards the base of the pillar she saw different shoes and lower legs being pulled into the mass. Julia calmed herself and was almost grateful she did not have breathing to control. She shifted uncomfortably. If she needed to defend herself she could shoot grapple hooks from her palms. Wouldn't do much to a person, much less the things that she saw down in the Hole. Attached to her back was a medium sized climbing pick. She went over her options. If she backed out of the cafeteria and went back to the station, she could either take a tram or continue to look for people in the right side of 1A. She knew that the people on the ground were meager in comparison to the amount of people working at 1A, and that there could very well be more survivors. If she did explore right, she would either have to backtrack once she reached a certain point, or go through the cafeteria again to reach the tram. Julia was half way across the cafeteria, almost closer to the left side entrances than the tram station. She looked towards the left and started moving quietly. Julia had to pass near a body on the floor to reach the far end. Almost past it, metal feet moving quietly, quietlyyyyyy... Not quiet enough. Every body in the room sat up.
- By Ashton
In the half-light Julia puzzled what to do. She could make her way towards the outside of the ring that is 1A, get to the tram station. It was directly across from where she had entered and would only take a couple minutes to reach. Hopefully it would still be in working condition, and capable of taking her to Installation 1. Installation 3 was communications, if she had to contact the outside that was the surefire way to do so. She could get to Installation 2 and then 3 from getting to 1, but what if they were still people in 1A? People that are trapped and helpless like she was? She shuddered and thought about what she had to do save herself. If other people were there, maybe she wouldn't have had to...
Julia cursed herself as she stomped heavily around in 1A. Eventually she would have to get used to her new weight and metal form, right now she was not the quietest. Julia had decided she would go around 1A one time before returning to the tram, that way she could look in nearby offices and rooms for anybody that might need help before she left for Installation 1. She wasn't happy about the potential danger she might be facing and the loss of time, but she couldn't leave people here to die... like she had. 1A was in bad shape. She could see Heliogel creeping along the walls. Sometimes it splayed out randomly like veins, other times it conformed strictly to lines or circles. In some places it bubbled up in wrinkled parcels of blue-white light. It didn't seem to be doing the structure of the building any favors either, the walls were wrinkled and torn to the outside in some places, and the floor occasionally rose or fell. Julia entered the Mess Hall to the left of the tram station.
The mess hall had high ceilings that went all the way up to the roof of 1A. The flat surface had rows of skylights strew across it vertically. On top of the skylights were small snowflakes, and blackness. She could not discern whether the blackness was the night, or something worse. It was unbearably dark in the cafeteria. She switched on the lights on either side of her head and gazed at a spot in the center of the room where her light did not hit the far wall. Heliogel oozed upwards and downwards from the floor and ceiling to form a knotted bulging shape in its midsection. It twitched and moved. There were no little parcels of light this time, only blackness. Julia's second discovery was worse. Along the floor, almost as if they had just stopped and fallen out of their seats, were bodies. They all lay down and inky tendrils shot out from the pillar and wrapped around their faces and skullcaps. The tendrils writhed on the ground with complete and utter silence. Towards the base of the pillar she saw different shoes and lower legs being pulled into the mass. Julia calmed herself and was almost grateful she did not have breathing to control. She shifted uncomfortably. If she needed to defend herself she could shoot grapple hooks from her palms. Wouldn't do much to a person, much less the things that she saw down in the Hole. Attached to her back was a medium sized climbing pick. She went over her options. If she backed out of the cafeteria and went back to the station, she could either take a tram or continue to look for people in the right side of 1A. She knew that the people on the ground were meager in comparison to the amount of people working at 1A, and that there could very well be more survivors. If she did explore right, she would either have to backtrack once she reached a certain point, or go through the cafeteria again to reach the tram. Julia was half way across the cafeteria, almost closer to the left side entrances than the tram station. She looked towards the left and started moving quietly. Julia had to pass near a body on the floor to reach the far end. Almost past it, metal feet moving quietly, quietlyyyyyy... Not quiet enough. Every body in the room sat up.
- By Ashton
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)