The old thief caught the young thief snooping in her basement. The kid was good she had to admit. He got through the first three levels of her security with no problems, and she had been none the wiser. But he missed the pit trap. Nobody expects that one. “Why did you break in here?” she asked. Some people stole for survival. Some stole for greed, and others robbed the rich out of sheer resentment. He knew that his life balanced on the edge of his answer. “To see if I could.” Hearing the correct answer, she lowered the rope.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
“Listen carefully, agent. This button is the oil slick, and this button raises anti-barrier spikes on the front grill,” the engineer said. “What does this button do?” The secret agent asked, pointing to a third switch on the dashboard of his new spy car. “Don’t ever touch that one. It—“ Her cell phone rang, interrupting the briefing. “Yes? Now? I understand.” They sent him out into the field. But when the mission went bad, and he was chased through the streets, he hit the third switch by accident. He lost control of the vehicle as the compartment filled with flowers.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
Cozy Grove Developed by Spry Fox Published by Quantum Theory Games Played on Nintendo Switch
The Skinny – What if Tom Nook was dead the whole time?
Cozy Grove is a chill game in the style of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley that can best be described as a ‘chore simulator’ but that’s hardly a bad thing. Players are put in the boots of a novice Spirit Scout, sent to Cozy Grove to hone her skills and put the many ghosts haunting the island to rest. Also, the ghosts are anthropomorphic bears, because why not. As you meet each ghost and learn a bit about their story, they will task you with quests, most of which involve gathering either specific items hidden on the island, or resources earned from fishing, mining, and other activities. Players can also commission and place decorations and raise plants and animals. While this all will sound very familiar to players of the genre, the systems are well executed, and the hand-drawn art is charming. The island is rendered in muted black and white tones, but as ghosts have their daily needs fulfilled, the areas around them fill with color. These areas can be expanded using decoration in the game, making the game easier to see and giving it a real sense of progress. Cozy Grove does require a great deal of patience, even for a game of this type. Items the characters need to complete the next part of their stories are often locked behind quests for other characters, or require high amounts of limited resources. Characters don’t give story missions every day, either. It can be frustrating to wait for a character to give you what you need for another part of the story. Especially if multiple other characters need something from them. I played on the Nintendo Switch, but Cozy Grove feels like it was designed with tablets in mind. While the button controls are by no means bad, the game has a bit of trouble with targeting, and often selects the wrong object to interact with when using button controls. There is a ‘swap target’ that occasionally appears if the game is unsure where you are pointing, which somewhat resolves the issue, but it isn’t always there. These are minor quibbles in what is an excellent, heartfelt, and charming little chill-out game. Cozy Grove is a perfect game to wake up with over coffee or unwind to after a long day The game is available on mobile, PC, and major consoles. If you have the time and inclination, it is a cozy goth delight.
Charon poled his barge down the River Styx. He guided the skull-proved vessel past Skull Mountain and through the Titan’s Skull Gate. He docked his boat and tied off through a waiting skull. He went to clock out, and the office suggestion box caught his eye. He took a piece of parchment and scrawled ‘TOO MANY SKULLS!’ The Lord of the Dead summoned Charon the next day. “Is there a problem?” Hades asked. He struggled to explain his feelings. “My passengers are already dead, boss. Isn’t all this just rubbing it in?” Hades sent the psychopomp on a long-needed vacation.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
In tonight’s podcast, Domon is suddenly super interested in the rules, Chico’s plan to save his sister is a murder spree, and Jurd finally gets a new submersible mech in this series! Plus, Chibodee is here to pick a fight and be fed grapes, and is Rain a super-spy?
When the survey team found “The Elephant,” There was great debate among the colonists about what the discovery of the rock formation meant. Ten lightyears from Earth, the explorers split into two camps. One group claimed it was proof that they weren’t the first humans to reach the planet. Clandestine settlers must’ve carved it as a marker or a memorial. The others claimed it was merely pareidolia, and that wind and water flow had carved the likeness at random into the icy surface of the cliff. Both groups fell silent when the creature shook off the ice and started walking.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
He lived under the shadow of the ring. When he looked up, he could see the blinking lights of the orbital as the elites went about their days. He lived in a twilight wasteland. He worked in the gravel fields that had once been mountains, pulverized and mined out of materials. Someday, he told himself, he would make it to the ring. He just had to work hard enough and be good enough. If he made the right choices and greased the right palms, he could live among the stars. And that’s when he would bring it all crashing down.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
The strange old device was called a ‘Kismet Collapser,’ but Jim always thought it was a piece of junk. He had held onto it out of sentiment, not because he believed in magic. But the pirates were bearing down on them, and the storm loomed ahead. The captain was dead, and Jim was open to new ideas. He closed his eyes and pressed the button. Half a world away, Pera wandered the desert. She was sure she would die of thirst when she felt the air around her change, and the tall ship appeared through a hole in the sky.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
Yrian the Wicked pulled the shroud from the corpse waiting in the center of the room. The creature was seven feet tall, crowned in eyes, and robed in red velvet. Its mouth was sewn shut, but it had a second gaping maw in its abdomen, lined with jagged, inhuman teeth. The legs were removed entirely. The wizard had grafted a writhing mass of purple tentacles in their place. It was a thing of monstrous beauty. The room was oppressively silent. “It’s a bit busy,” someone in the back finally said. The necromancer sighed. He hated taking his turn for critique.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
He’d stood sentinel before the shrine for as long as he could remember. It was his purpose, his glorious task. He had kept faith beyond death, though his flesh had rotted away and his armor rusted. He still stood guard and waited. The party of thieves scoffed when they saw him standing alone on the bridge. “There’s only one skeleton?” Their leader said. They didn’t know duty, discipline, or honor. But he was happy to demonstrate. Afterward, he returned to his vigil. Sometimes the shrine would raise intruders to be his companions. He waited to see if they were worthy.
You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree! Thanks for reading!
Hugh J. O'Donnell 