MadCap's Game Reviews - "Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series" (Episode 5)

But I tell myself that I was doin' all right
There's nothin' left to do at night
But go crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh

So, we come to the end. While Telltale Games is known for the moral choice systems and how your choices do, in fact, matter...the games of theirs that I've played are really only games in the most basic sense of what a game is. That being said, it is certainly not an experience I'm entirely unable to enjoy, as you've seen by my rising, then falling, then rising interest again in this game. And thus, we come to the ending of the journey...at least for the first season of Telltale's stab at the Guardians of the Galaxy.

And I can tell you, I hope we'll be seeing Season 2.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine - "Escape Is Not His Plan"

This was not proving to be the day for High Admiral Ayro. First, his prisoners had managed to escape due to the sheer incompetence of his men, as well as unleashing a bunch of others, and now he was being told that an entire stairwell had been demolished in a system overload. “How did a damn coolant system destroy all of Stairwell Six?”

“S-Sir, the internal sensors say that it was sabotage and the system was fed back into itself, causing a-”

“Two humans and a damned Wookiee could not fit into that crawlspace!” Ayro roared at the man at the operations station, who shook from the volume.

“S-S-Sir…the sensors d-don’t show the Wookiee. It’s two humans and something else.”

“Explain now.” Ayro’s eyes narrowed on him.

“I-I don’t know, sir.” The crewman reported. “It’s not a human. With the sensors damaged, we aren’t able to get a positive ident.”

“Useless whelp!” Ayro slammed a fist into the tabletop nearest the man. “I would start praying that they do not escape, if I were you!” It was misdirected, certainly, but he found fear to be an excellent motivator. Such as it was with this whelp before him, who would quickly either sink or swim. “How many lifesigns in Stairwell Six?”

“T-Three, sir.” The comms officer, at the opposite end of the command deck, spoke. “But none of our troopers are responding.”

“Then they have failed.” Ayro’s teeth clenched. “Lieutenant Dax!”

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Eight

Chapter 8 - Prisoner Transfer

As he quickly stripped one of the two troopers and began to strip off his own outfit to replace with the Stormtrooper armor, Calen took a few milliseconds to reflect on how absolutely insane his life had become over just the past few days.  After that instinct that had told him to run, things had been fairly quiet for a year afterward. Then his captain was killed, he willingly went along on a quest for revenge against the Twi’lek who had murdered him, he’d found there was a cult on a dead planet that was seeking a mysterious power, and that the Empire in the region was looking for that power, too, because of a heist gone wrong decades before.

And now, he was being sprung from prison by a bird woman Jedi.

Weird might have been underselling it just a bit. He got his mind back on the task at hand, girding himself in the Stormtrooper armor. He took the blasters from their belts, removing the power pack from the other and destroying his commlink before taking that of the other. There was certainly no need to have them calling for help before the group had made their getaway. If, indeed, they could even manage to do that. Calen turned from there, sliding the helmet over his head and moving toward the door. It slid open and he found himself face to face with another trooper.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Seven

Chapter 7 - "Short for A Stormtrooper"

His unconscious state was no longer troubled by the disturbing dreams of Ijo Critus and the banquets with incredibly poor health care standards. In fact, his state was no longer troubled by anything at all until he woke up to the feeling of his head being split open as if by a massive hammer. It was the clear result of being stunned so many times over the last few hours, though Calen more acutely remembered it as the same feeling he’d had the morning after he’d spent a night out with his classmates upon their graduation from the Academy.

He did his best to force the feeling from his mind and focus more on figuring out where he was. The blinding light made that difficult by sight, so he tried by hearing...and was treated with a vast, empty void. Feeling, too, was restricted as he seemed to be unable to move his hands. A weight was pressing down on them at the wrists, yet his arms ached with the soreness of strain. His arms were being forced above his head. Again. His vision finally began to clear, and he soon realized the truth of his surroundings - an Imperial interrogation chamber. ‘So, not dead. Still in Hell, though.’ Calen thought. It didn’t look like the ship, so it was likely he’d been transported from there to...somewhere else.

MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Iron Man 3" (2013)

Okay, so...almost three years ago, I said I was going to do this. I honestly wanted to keep my bias out of this, but I just really hate this movie. I do. I hated it when I saw it in the theater, I hated it when I watched it on my home on DVD, and I hate it now having to review it yet again. After the glorious height that Marvel had reached in The Avengers, they crap out this. This is, in my mind, the worst movie the MCU has produced at the time of this writing. I think the only one that comes remotely close to it in terms of absolute horribleness is Thor: The Dark World, which we'll be getting into not long after this one.

Unlike the Phase One films, I'll likely be following these in terms of release rather than personal preference.

And, of course, with the release of Thor: Ragnarok, doing the third movie in one of Marvel's franchises seems topical enough, so let's crack into this steaming pile.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Six

Chapter 6- "That Wizard's Just A Crazy Old Man"

The room was dead silent. Calen remained rooted to the spot. From what little peripheral vision he had from looking down, he could see that Ordos wasn’t moving, either. The room was still filled with hushed, excited whispers.

“If you will not reveal yourself, then I shall have to reveal you, Calen.” The man in white spoke again after a long pause. “Come along now. What would your father think of his son acting like a coward?” Calen knew exactly what Thaddeus Darkhaven would have thought, and it was exactly the wrong button to press for him. But, even so, he held fast.

“Look up.”

It had been in his head. There was no echo, no distortion. In his mind, he’d heard it, clear as a bell. The man in white, speaking to him...through...his mind?!

“He’s there!” Someone shouted, and Calen realized that it was once more Tin Daheel’s voice, and it was aloud.

“Ah, space-winds!” Ordos yelled as he threw off his cloak, drawing from his sleeve a mundane durasteel knife. “At my back, kid!” Calen was quick to obey, throwing his own cloak aside to regain full visibility. Every eye in the room was upon them, Calen beginning to feel his skin crawl.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Five

Chapter 5 - "Hokey Religions"

The two made their way up to the Ascended Level without a word between them. The Ascended Level was Gehenna’s topmost by the helpful diagram on the lift wall, and it was the place that the Church of Infinite Perception called home. One of them, at least, since Calen was given to understand that the Church was at the topmost level of all of Pergitor’s domed cities - each one had an Ascended Level and, presumably, the vision he saw before him.

As the lift breached the floor beneath, they rose up to see banners hung from virtually every wall, all of them depicting the image of a closed eye with a few tears falling. Beneath them were several buildings that, unlike the well-constructed labyrinth levels below, had clearly been designed more for form than function. Calen could see several buildings that were clearly meant to be residents, meant for the super wealthy. Or, at least, what must have passed for super wealthy out this far on a mining colony that had long since stopped being used for that purpose. That being said, however, the buildings were decorated with tempered durasteel and precious gemstones to be as gaudy and ritzy as any of the manor houses of Coruscant.

At the center of it all, however, was a massive complex. It towered over everything, at the exact center of the great chasm that was the Ascended Level. If the other buildings had been gaudy and garish, this was something beyond even that. Calen was convinced that it would draw the eyes of the blind.

“The Grand Cathedral of the Ascended Path.” Ordos announced as they approached.

“Reminds me of Glin’s backroom.” Calen muttered, half-jokingly, and earned a ghost of smile from Ordos. The Cathedral was at least three times the height of the next tallest building, and was uniform in how it was covered with a mosaic of flawless stones, each caught the artificial lights coming from all directions and reflected it in a rather unpleasantly blinding way.

The lift opened up, and the soundproof haven they had been cradled in was suddenly opened to raucous noise that rose from below. Calen could not discern any one thing the gathered crowds moving through the streets toward the Grand Cathedral were saying. There were shouts of praise to the Perceptors, the Grand Perceptor (a man named Critus), and to the Waking Eye. Without the context, however, he was simply left confused.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Four

Chapter 4 - "Of Scum and Villainy"

Pergitor was even more dreary than Ordos had described it as being. Even from orbit, the planet was a dull gray, the same gray Calen remembered being the color painted onto trash collectors or the panels of a Star Destroyer. Like the Star Destroyers, it really only looked intimidating because it was a lot of gray.  Descent through the atmosphere sent them through equally dull, gray clouds down into a landscape of jagged, gray rocks that were disturbed only by the occasional blue-white lightning strike from the heavens to break up the overpowering mediocrity of the environment.

Also, the rain.

Pergitor was, it seemed, a very rainy planet.

“It’s a good thing we have the sensors going.” Calen commented through the sound of the pounding on the viewport. “I can’t make heads or tails otherwise.”

“The chances of successfully navigating the atmosphere of Pergitor without sensor assistance are-” Beedee began.

“Oh, shut up!” Calen snapped. There was a long, awkward pause between them that was, thankfully, broken up as the rear hatch opened and Ordos entered the bridge.

“What’s our E-?” Ordos began, but it was his turn to be cut off.

“It’s low.” Beedee chirped quickly. “Very, very low.” Calen rolled his eyes and did his best to move on from it. Ordos merely shook his head

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem' - Chapter Three

Chapter 3 - "A More Wretched Hive"

Capital City (as it was called in an amazing lack of imagination, Calen thought) was indeed something that Calen thought earned Karideph’s title of “Little Coruscant”. The place was utterly massive, stretching out as far as the eye could see as the Dawn descended from the atmosphere. Calen was treated to row after row of skyscrapers that stretched out in every cardinal direction from a large, center point that appeared to be the local ISB branch.

He brought the ship along the flight path they were given, bringing them to a series of rounded holes that descended into the ground just enough to allow ships to land within them, protected by vast, stone walls that followed the outside edge of the hole - docking bays. The chatter from the Port Authority could be heard as they got confirmation and coordinates for their particular circle, Calen steering the Dawn toward it, landing without his usual flourishes, much to the relief of the LOM unit that sat in the co-pilot’s seat, as well as the remaining crew.

Outside of the ship, on street level, it was even more breathtaking a sight than he’d treated to from above. The long streets of the Capital were a chaotic stimuli upon the senses. The shouting was the most prominent features, shopkeepers shouting from structures ranging from proper buildings to thatched hovels that had been erected by hand to hock their wares. Calen heard Basic, Huttese, and many other languages still that he did not recognize, all of them shouting out over the clamor made by the others to attract business.

There was a plethora of creatures as well. Beings from the short and stubby Aleena to the tall, horn-headed Zabraks were shouting out to the bypassers or were bypassers themselves as they inspected every kind of good under any sun: weapons, foodstuffs, clothing. Calen had stopped to look at a rather nice collection of blaster rifles when Ordos grabbed him by the arm, leading him away.

“Keep your focus, kid.” Ordos said, serving as a nice snap back to reality. “You can look green, but don’t look like you’re green.” With that, the old merc moved ahead, leaving Calen to ponder just how he was supposed to not look like he didn’t belong here.  “Glin’s got a watering hole down here.” Ordos said once they made it a bit further up the long street, having left the docking bays far behind. They made a turn into an alley off the main street, moving through the crowd and coming up on a cantina in one of the smaller buildings. From within, a lively tune pourted out, courtesy of a five Twi’lek band.

“MADDOX ORDOS!” A voice called out over the clamor of the music and the patrons. Both stopped at the sound of the booming voice, and all eyes were drawn to them as they entered. Calen winced, feeling increasingly uncomfortable beneath all the gazes as the gaze of one particular man in the group moved out with the rest of him. The man was about half a head shorter than he was, portly and wearing surprisingly expensive looking garb. A pair of arms came forward as the man did.

“Oh, no!” Ordos groaned.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter Two

Chapter 2 - An Analysis of the Plans

The bridge of the Vigilant Warden was an orderly and quiet place. The crew knew better than to speak above a whisper for fear of their commanding officer bringing his wrath down upon them.  High Admiral Maltus Ayro was not a man to be trifled with, they knew only too well. He was a man who existed in a vacuum at the present, the Minos Cluster being his domain only by the fact that his immediate superior had perished in a Rebel attack, or so the story went. Either way, his inferiors were not wont to question it, and those superior to him did not care enough to. Hence, in all but name, he was the Moff of the Minos Cluster.

Sheev Palpatine was Emperor, they all knew, and they had sworn to live and die at his command. But the Emperor was far away on Coruscant and the High Admiral was an extension of his power...mercy and wrath, both. Mostly his wrath. Maltus Ayro had plenty of wrath.  It was primarily because of that wrath that Lieutenant Corrin Daxan feared coming up to him, even with the usual reports as was expected of his bridge officers.

“S-Sir.” Daxan swallowed as he approached, his body as rigid as durasteel, doing his best to keep his voice and his face clear of any sign of weakness.

“What is it, Lieutenant?” Ayro, for once, seemed not to notice him. The Admiral was a man in his fifties, his silver-gray hair was coiffed, not a strand out of place, his hands behind his back as he stared out through a large viewport into the void that surrounded the Star Destroyer. His black eyes focused upon a single, gray-green marble that was Karideph, the Crown Jewel of the Minos Cluster.

“The morning reports, sir.” Dax said, holding out the datapad to him.

“All quiet, I expect?” Ayro took it in his gloved hand, flicking through the details as they appeared on his interface.

“I...did not go over the reports, sir. It’s above my paygrade.”

“Smart. Maintain that level of subservience and you’re likely to end up with a lovely posting on a science vessel somewhere in the Outer Rim.” The Admiral didn’t look up as his eyes scanned through the pad. Daxan stood there silently as Maltus signed off on measure after measure, eventually raising the pad and slapping it against his chest. “You may leave.”

“Yes, sir.” Dax said, taking the pad and quickly leaving. Left to himself, Maltus did not spare a second thought to the spineless young man as he once more gazed out at Karideph. The centerpiece of his Cluster. The locals called it “Little Coruscant” due to its place as the center of the Cluster, the heart as it were. Eighty-eight billion souls walked around on its surface, all of them under the watchful eye of the Empire, and all within the grasp of Maltus Ayro.

“Sir…” Another spineless cretin come to placate their Admiral.

“What is it?!” Maltus snapped.

“Tin Daheel has made contact, sir.” The officer found himself suddenly faced with the Admiral’s face inches from his own.

MadCap's NaNoWriMo 2017 - "Minos Mayhem" - Chapter One

Chapter One - "I've Got A Bad Feeling About This"

Calen woke to the sound of the bridge buzzing for him over the ship’s comm system.  Another night had passed with only the most fleeting glimpses of restful sleep, though he soothed his fatigued mind with the knowledge that it was due to something other than the nightmares that had been plaguing him ever since the night he had fled Coruscant.

MadCap Does NaNoWriMo 2017

That's right, everyone! As I've said on Twitter, I've decided to undertake The National Novel Writing Month, or "NaNoWrimo" as it's referred to by some. I am actually a writer and, seeing as I said something on Twitter about me taking a stab at this already, I thought new content might come in the form of my completed chapters of my novel...which will likely never be published or serve any purpose but for my own enjoyment. Why? Well, simply put, because it's fanfiction.  But not just fanfiction, no! I, your beloved MadCap, have decided to dance with the Devil and risk copyright strikes and cease and desist orders from Disney!

That's right...it's Star Wars!

Why? Well, because I'd had a story idea kicking around in my head for quite some time that I've wanted to get out into written form (as well as, potentially, audio form) and I could very easily remove the Star Wars references and the like and turn it into an original work at some point down the road...although, I imagine the clear homages and inspiration will be abundantly obvious. And so, because the internet is such a loving and welcoming place to new and original ideas, I've decided to throw caution to the wind and use the content I'm generating to...generate new content for the blog.

I'm already several chapters ahead, having gotten to 18,239 words thus far by NaNo's own counter (I did mention I've had this story in my head for a long while, right?). While the goal is 50,000, I'm letting the chips fall where they may and seeing just how far I can go with this, although I intend to let the story end where it ends. Who knows? If people like it, I might write up a sequel or carry it along as long as I get ideas. If not, this may just end up being a one-time experiment for my own edification.

You can find the information about my NaNo writing here. For those who don't wish to click through, however, I offer a brief synopsis here in the hope that it will whet your appetite for the first chapter to come tomorrow evening - and the chapters to follow, one a day until I run out.

Minos Mayhem

When Alderaan was destroyed, the galaxy was thrown into chaos. When the Death Star was blown up by a ragtag bunch of Rebel Alliance pilots, it proved that the Empire could be beaten. But Calen Darkhaven was nowhere near Alderaan or the Death Star on the days they were destroyed. He wasn't even in the same part of the galaxy for either.

When the destruction of Alderaan came, he had run. And he has been running now for a year, the pilot on a small cargo vessel known as the Triumphant Dawn. It's been quiet. He flies the ship, keeps his mouth shut, no one asks questions, and all seems good. Too good, in fact. That strange feeling comes back to haunt him again on the day the Dawn is supposed to make a simple cargo drop. Business as usual.

But a mishap leads to him having a dead crew, a dead captain, and only the help of an old soldier to unravel the mystery of a map left behind. A map leading to the place where the bright center of the universe is farthest from: The Minos Cluster.


Beyond it, there's nothing. In the cluster...the Empire. And more, as Calen will find out. The Force calls to those it may...now, he must answer it.

Excited?

Confused?

Wanting to throw various slurs at me?

Drop 'em in the comments!

Also, because it's a traditional cliché of fanfiction as a whole, I shall say for the first and last time that Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm and Disney. I do not, nor ever will own it.

See ya next time!

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.

MadCap At The Movies - "Thor: Ragnarok"

So, Thor: Ragnarok. I was going to do this as a vlog post, but considering how retro the film feels, I figured it would be best to go back to blog format for this review!

Also, I was displeased with my recording of this and thus will be looking into new equipment very shortly, if you desire to know the actual reason for this sudden reversion.

From here on, there be spoilers. You have been warned.