it has been too long, hasn't it. welcome back to THE clown-shoes-hell-dimension!

EPISODE 20.5: DETOUR [PART ONE]

so, our episode starts with Fox and bird standing in the Dining room hallway, outside the S.T.A.R Dorms, Eve being completely missing, and the world seeming desaturated, and the replikas feeling the weight of being pulled out of stasis after over a month, the world seeming far too quiet from what they're used to, while noticing a small layer of dust on their bodies, with Bird and Fox arguing between themselves about how much this sucks, before they press on. finding a large metal door, painted a brilliant red with yellow lights surrounding it, Bird and Fox poise themselves to enter the door before a red pedestal springs from the ground, glowing a dim red itself, with a strange symbol carved into it, before a similar dim glow shines around a corner. the decision is made, investigate, finding a skull, with the same symbol, and as they pick it up the lights go out, and with a sigh that reverberates through-out the entire facility, something wicked this way comes, with little hesitation, they run back to the pedestal, place the skull, and just as the door opens, they go inside, and jump down the seemingly bottomless pit they find beyond it.

105 115 32 116 104 101 32 115 101 108 102 32 116 114 117 108 121 32 97 32 117 110 105 113 117 101 32 105 100 101 97 63 32 99 97 110 32 121 111 117 32 114 101 97 108 108 121 32 101 120 112 101 99 116 32 116 104 97 116 32 121 111 117 32 119 105 108 108 32 98 101 32 121 111 117 114 115 101 108 102 32 105 110 32 116 104 101 32 101 110 100 32 111 102 32 116 104 105 115 63

it feels like they should've been falling for weeks, but instead they fall for less than a few seconds, landing normally in the parking lot of some large building[literal actual Dave&Busters] on the outskirts of some 21st century city, immediately looking around for a phone booth, trying to call their previous outpost. first attempt leads to them calling a random military base, the second attempt just being dead air, aside from two words. "LOOK. BEHIND." seeing a strange shadow entity watching them from behind the building, beckoning them closer. eventually they do get closer, the shade's body being darker than the void of space, but completely intangible, shown as fox attempts to poke it with his rifle, before it straightens up, and, while making sounds similar to glass breaking, turns and points at a beat up car behind the Dave&Busters. it isn't a request. get in, which they comply with. which they regret as it takes on the form of something out of John Carpenter's "The Thing" as it begins driving them out of town, towards a museum.

65 32 108 105 110 101 32 111 102 32 105 110 102 105 110 105 116 101 32 101 110 100 115 32 102 105 110 105 116 101 32 102 105 110 105 115 104 105 110 103 32 116 104 101 32 111 110 101 32 114 101 109 97 105 110 115 32 111 98 108 105 113 117 101 32 97 110 100 32 112 117 114 101 32 91 105 116 32 105 115 32 114 101 97 108 108 121 32 116 105 109 101 32 99 111 110 115 117 109 105 110 103 32 116 111 32 119 114 105 116 101 32 111 117 116 32 116 104 101 115 101 32 65 83 67 73 73 32 99 105 112 104 101 114 115 32 98 121 32 116 104 101 32 119 97 121 46 93

the building is opulent, made of polished white marble and obsidian in square patterns, a cold breeze blowing back at them as they walk in, the building looks more expensive than the entire war effort, the interior brightly lit, a small hub at the center of the space housing a map of the museum, dubbing it, "The museum of broken hopes"[on the nose but uhhhhhhhhhh] with four main exhibits currently on display, "Opposition", "Driving force", "Things", and "YOU", as well as a record player in the center of the area, Fox goes to inspect it, leading to Bird having a brief glimpse of an overseer as fox simply turns on the record player with Schwanengesang, D. 957: IV. Standchen playing through-out the building. Fox and Bird choose to go to "opposition" first, finding replikas, both corrupted an uncorrupted, as well as.... her. more accurately, Lilith's ghost, the thing that both Eve and Bird have been seeing for a long while now, Bird attempts to take a weapon from one of these enemies in stasis, and gets jumped before we turn back time a bit, and leave them with the memories of every enemy in the museum coming back to life and beating her to death, before they eventually leave, going over to "Driving force" next. finding.... THE MISSING SQUADS!!!!!! FROM THE BEGINING!!!!!!!!!!! locked in stasis as if they were in the middle of a propaganda photo, while also finding

- the ghost of Eve's dead sister

- the father of the Gestalt Fox was built off

- a ground crew chief that's the only one that's actually moving

as well as the fetish objects of their compatriots. as a side note, remember when Lilith ate a corpse? I'm pretty confident that I mentioned that in one of the earlier recaps, because Fox and Bird both thought that was her thing. it was not. Lilith's fetish object was red ribbons. that was a fun conversation.

anyway, the last one they went into was the "YOU" exhibit which was yet another moment to let the players talk to their characters. by the way, the Falke related false-flag operation was a resounding success!

I will see all of you next Thursday, especially the two overseers that I know are, or at least were in the case of one of them, reading along!

Möge das wachsame Auge der großen Revolutionäre euch Sicherheit bringen.
願皇后的祝福伴你一路前行

Ps. working on a shitty halo machinima in my spare time amidst other projects, nothing's certain atm but I am looking into the basics for starting it up.