short story

Twitch Stream Story: Petrify Day

~ Blaine Arcade ~ Leave a comment

Prompt: Write a story based on these three words: public, birthday, volcano

The crater of Maragol was the greatest gift a civilization could ask for. It was a volcano, full of danger to be sure, but the silent deity within was kind enough to keep its eruptions regular and predictable. The people living at its feet, between the ripe groves of the leaning trees, knew to get out of the way every four years or so, to spend a week at sea while its spewed liquid fire and expanded their island. Continue reading →

Hollow Knight Lore: Interpretation and Theories

~ Blaine Arcade ~ 3 Comments

Warning: This post will discuss the video game Hollow Knight and its story in great detail; it will be filled with spoilers.

hollow_knight_wallpaper_by_teamcherry-d8a1d0l

For those of you who don’t know, Hollow Knight is a hand-drawn metroidvania action/adventure video game developed by Team Cherry as their first large-scale game.  Its art style is a melancholy mix of insects, Tim Burton, Studio Ghibli, and a few play-sets full of Gothic architecture. Continue reading →

Singin’ in the Upper Paleolithic

~ Blaine Arcade ~ 3 Comments

(reading time: 24 minutes)

Of the sixteen time machines in operation, only one played a video of someone tap-dancing.  The machine itself wasn’t much to marvel at; in fact, it looked like a space heater from the 1970’s, just with a fancier coat of paint and 6,380 small wires snaking out of its base and entering all kinds of unusual places around the laboratory.  Some went into sockets, some hugged the wall and left the room, and others rose into the air dangerously enough to get tagged with black and orange warning stickers. Continue reading →