Gallade's Story Archive

               I stared at the vending machine. It glowed, cooly, into the foggy alleyway night. I could hear, if I let my panels lax, the motor of my mechanical heart and the whirrs of the pumps in my artificial lungs.             A human would probably find this a crisis. But it has always been this way for me.             Humans have to buy food, you know. And purchase water, and shelter. These things must be such hassles; Such horrors. All it takes is one bad day to lose all of that at the will of someone else, but at least they still have their legs, at least they still can walk and go somewhere. Choose to rob a bank or bum a couch or the like.             If I gaze down now, I will see my own legs. One, a functional old model with an in-built gyroscope an old inventing...

  "It sticks with me," the developer told us in an interview, "I think about it constantly. Those empty streets. Those swinging lights. The music. It's homely, to me." Night Watch is a surprisingly cozy game despite its unnerving themes. Rather than summarize the game to you, here are a few questions we asked the Developer, Laura Redding. Q: What brought you the idea for the game? A: Well, I used to be on my town's night-watch crew, an initiative put forward by the city back around the turn of the century. I'd spent many nights walking those paths, loving the lights but hating the ambience. I had a nightmare some years later and that lead to the first build of this game. Q: Why only six levels? A: Because I'm a small developer with no money, haha. Give me a team and maybe the sequel will have seven. Q: Did you compose the music? A: No, I recruited a friend of mine to do it, I can give you her number if you'd like. Q: What's with the Old M...

  Reaching the top of the stone-brick belltower, Ashleigh and Lilibet sat, exhausted, admiring the pale blue sky beyond the cracks in the crumbling rooftop. Lili tossed the silvery magic staff off to the side, and it rolled quietly along the planks before coming to a stop against the hip-high wall of the balcony.         “ Guuuh . I thought we were gonna die.”          Ashleigh rolled her eyes. “You’re such a drama-queen.”          “Hey!”        “You are!” “Am-nooot!” “Are too!” “Well at least that means you think I’m a queen.” She giggled, “I’d figure that’d be obvious.” A pleasant silence fell between them, and Lili stood, gazing over the edge of the barrier. The rolling green hills of the surrounding fields was so enchanting, nothing like home. Home was about three hours’ walk from here. Towards the mass of deadened plants and sand, crowned with ...

    Dear Ms. Yuka Niboshi, Your renewal for disability aid has been approved. You have been awarded a monthly stipend of $1,251.30. At the end of every three months, please report to your General Practitioner for an evaluation and review. Sincerely, Financier, BDDC               Her eyes wandered between the incredibly sparse letter and her crutch. This was it.             This was what two years of fighting the bureaucratic system had come to. Two years of doctors appointments where she had to be re-diagnosed, where she had to convince other doctors it wasn’t temporary, where she had to have her diet watched and her habits measured so they knew she wasn’t doing it to herself. Two years of having to demand help from offices that would only see her in person despite her pain when walking. She sighed, and her crut...

 "I will... Start telling a lie. And eventually I will be talking about the truth. Would that work?" "Whatever works for you." ... A long time ago, there was a great kingdom. It was vast, and stoney. A feature of the landscape. Travellers would mistake it for a mountain if the tops were peaks instead of roofs. It was a very old kingdom, ruled by a King and Queen who, to every visitor, was benevolent,. They heard their every woe, the adults and children alike, and they always had much to say.  The King was not the socialite, he preferred to manage the efforts of the Kingdom. He'd spend his days instructing the Generals or the Architects or musing with the Scholars or the Philosophers. The Queen was. She'd visit the parties of the nobles and the virtuous, those who stood close, and she always made time for the family she grew up with. It was a powerful duo, whom to every questioning member of society, gave a picturesque visage of rulership. The Royal Family wa...

 I have sat here for some time, Where I can reach food with ease. Where I can smile and rhyme, And the tide pushes in sand, piece-by-piece. If I stay, I will surely suffocate. I can see over the edge of my hole, Charming skies and brightly seas, And neighbors, too, with trying souls. I enjoy the books all shelved with me. The tide will fade eventually, has to be. I listen to people bicker about the sand. People in other holes like mine. They demand to change where on land, They choose to spend their lives and time. If we stay, will we surely suffocate? The neighbors, some, bear flags that say: "The beach is my home, it's ours to defend!" But the others, who also choose to stay: "It is in danger, the waters will upend!" All they say, is if we'll suffocate. There are some men who march on land. They kick at the edges, the trenches, and then, When the tide comes, in comes the sand, And some more pours into the basin again. If we stay, we will surely suffocate. ...

              The burger was the tastiest thing she’d had all week. The moment after she took a bite, she looked over at Lauren with apologetic eyes.             “I’m sorry,” Alys said, “I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”             “Funny way to say thank you,” Lauren said.             “A-Ah, um.. Thank you.”             “So, what the hell happened?”             “Ah, um.. me and my b-.. ex-boyfriend had a fight.”             “…”             “…”             “You’re gonna have t...