This is where I dump my yaoi: E3

Dull. With sprinkles of cool, interesting, overhype and FUCK YEAH!s. Sony won. There, I said it.

Ok, let's start from the top.

Bethesta's press conference was really one-note. Doom, Fallout 4, Doom, Fallout 4, Battlecry, Dishonored 2, Elder Scrolls Legends, Fallout 4, Fallout 4, The Sims: Fallout edition... eh... I mean.... Fallout 4.... Doom. That's about it. Boring as a press conference, but don't take me wrong, it was nice to see Bethestas new works, especially Dishonored 2.

Microsoft..... It was nice to see Microsoft give some time the the Indies. Backwards compability was also nice to see, might invest in an Xbox1 now. New controller.... nah.... still, if you're in to that... VR has never really interested me, so I wasn't all that impressed. It was more of a bore. The whole thing was a bit of a bore. Still, there were some games that I really wanted to looke closer at.

EAs press conference started on a highnote. I was absolutely hyped for that one. It was a quite even showing, some games I was curious about, some that I was not. But of course they showed sports. And lots of it. And for some reason, they spend 20 minutes talking to Pelé. About football/soccer. Not about games. Why?

Ubisoft knows how to put on a show, but the show is starting to get a little tired. I like Aisha Tyler, but man does she talk fast sometimes. Geez, lady, slow it down, you sound like you're about the miss the last train home. Anyway, it was nice to see Anno again.

Sony won. There, I said it again. Sony knows how to hype up a crowd, and for Square Enix to give Sony their best thing was... Odd, but I think it was strategic. The Sony Press Conference must have been bigger then SEs. Sony said they were going to break the internet. They succeeded.

Nintendo creeped me out! I never liked puppets of any kind, even as a kid. I can stand the Muppets, but only just and barely. Otherwise, not much of a showing, unfortunately. It feels a little like Nintendo has given up.

Square Enix was a bit of a repeat. They gave all their best to Sony, and therefore their own showing felt a bit thin. It was also the last press conference I watched, maybe I was starting to feel the toll of being awake two nights straight.

I shall go into detail about what I though about the games shown in seperate posts.

Hi! It's been a while. Don't ask me why, it just... got like that.

So, E3 came and went. I'll tell you my thought on that in a bit. Til then, some yaoi, or at least, it will be yaoi:

”People! Come now and bear witness, in accordance to the law of Talahee! We shall today pass sentence on these four criminals! Hear and take warning from their punishment!

Elril, son of Endrin the cook of Narwhal’s Tavern, you have been accused and found guilty of falsifying history and spreading discord with tales of people who never existed. You are hereby sentenced to death by abandonment in the Silveroak woods. Adomorn, son of Thoamros the tailor, you have been accused and found guilty of involvement with a falsifier of history and for spreading his lies. You are hereby sentenced to share in your leader’s punishment. Zanedithas, son of Lord Yenand, you have been accused and found guilty of involvement with a falsifier of history and for spreading his lies. You are hereby sentenced to share in your leaders punishment. You shall go together through the Hematite Gate, carrying nothing but your long shirts, and you will never return. May the Singular have mercy upon your souls.

Aylonna, daughter of Faagah the scribress, you have been accused and found guilty of acting in affront to the Singularity by manipulating the elements, the memory of others and the will of beasts. You are hereby sentenced to exile. You will be taken to the Hematite Gate at the eves of the Silveroak woods, carrying the cothes you are now wearing and a cloak in addition, a knife no longer than your left hand from its base to the tip of its longest finger, a flint and a satchel of food. Once at the gate you may go where you will, but never set foot in a civilized city of Talahee again in 70 years. May the Singular guide your steps.”

The people milling around in the harvest market in Highville cheered. It didn’t happen often that prisoners were sentenced to death. Cheering and jeering they gathered around to watch the four unfortunate off on the first part of their sentence. Miss Faagah made her way to her daughter and with the guards permission gave her a hug and swept her own cloak around her. The captain of the guards took Aylonna’s left hand and measured out a knife. A moment later, a guard came from a tavern with a satchel of food. Accepting the food and the knife, Aylonna stepped up in the wagon that would take her and the three young men to the Silveroak Woods.

Adomorn was brought forth next. His mother disengaged from the crowd and was allowed to talk to her son. Adomorn looked first at her, then looked toward the crowd.

“He won’t come”, his mother said. “He’s angry with you.”

“I know”, he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“We told you that boy was trouble.”

Adomorn nodded. It was true, ever since he had made friends with Elril and Zanedithas his father had been telling him that all that would come out of it was trouble.

“Tell father that I’m sorry, and that I love him.”

His mother stepped back and the captain said:

“Your mother will have all that you’re carrying. Will you undress willingly?”

Blushing profusely, Adomorn took of his gloves, boots, socks, surcoat and trousers. Dispite the warm August day, he shivered slightly in nothing but his long shirt. The crowd jeered.

Zanedithas stepped up all on his own. Known as he was for good-natured mischief he was met with cheers from the young in the crowd, while most of his elders didn’t really know how to react. He didn’t bother to look for any known faces. His father wouldn’t be here, why would he? Making an elaborate bow to the crowd, Zanedithas threw of his surcoat. Then he undid his belt and handed it, along with his sword, dagger and coin purse to the captain. He pulled of his boots and socks, then his trousers. Giggling and snickering erupted among the crowd. His long shirt had bunched up and stuck, leaving his lower body bare from his navel. With another elaborate bow and a smirk Zanedithas dropped his trousers at the captains’ feet and turned to climb up in the wagon after the girl and his friend. The captain stopped him.

“No message for your family”, he asked.

“Tell him… Tell him his son never regretted his crime.”

Zanedithas climbed into the wagon, turned his face to the sun and closed his eyes.

Elril stepped up with a heavy heart. His father came toward him. Elril wished he hadn’t been there, he’d rather have carried his shame without his father seeing. Endrin embraced his son and whispered in his ear:

“Not careful enough, my boy.”

“I’m sorry, father.”

“Don’t be.”

Stepping back a pace, Endrin said out loud:

“You brought this upon yourself.”

Elril hung his head in shame, cheeks burning.

“You will always be my son”, Endrin said. “And I will always be proud of you. One day, you will come back to me.”

Elril met his fathers’ eyes for a moment and then he turned away and took of his clothes. His father took his coat and trousers and folded them carefully.

“Tread carefully in the woods, all of you”, Endrin said as Elril climbed up into the wagon.

The city guards that escorted criminals to their fate climbed up and the horses started walking. Elril looked around at his friends that he had pulled into this disaster. Guilt gnawed at his heart. He couldn’t really read Adomorn. Maybe he was angry. Zanedithas looked quite content, lapping sun where he sat, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Aylonna looked sad and a little confused.

The wagon turned north at the Great market and rolled out through the city gate. The road wended its way through farms and fields, over streams and rivers, towards the Great Woods. Zanedithas tried to strike up conversation, but was silenced by the guards. It was well after dark when they reached the Hematite Gate. The guards let their prisoners out.

“So”, said Zanedithas, streaching. “Here we are. At one of the gates. Do you think it leads to hell?”

“I’m sorry about this”, said Elril quietly. “It’s all my fault you’re here.”

“So it is”, smiled Zanedithas. “It is absolutely your fault that we are friends and that I stick by my friends. Who was it starting to talk to whom, again?”

“I think it was you”, said Adomorn with a slight grin.

“It was, wasn’t it”, Zanedithas replied genialy. Turning to the guards he said: “You’re not going away until we’re gone, right?”

“Right”, said one of them. “We’ll make camp here for two nights.”

“And you”, Elril asked Aylonna. “Where do you go?”

Aylonna looked surprised at him. She blushed slightly when she realized he was just about naked, but said:

“I don’t know. Can I come with you?”

“Why would you want that”, asked Adomorn. “Walk into the woods and certain death with us? That’s a little mad.”

“Why not? They don’t expect me to ever come home, anyway.”

“Why should we let you”, asked Zanedithas. “You’re just a girl, you’ll just make us die faster.”

Aylonna frowned, but then she started to think.

“I wouldn’t be so sure”, she said. “I have something you don’t.”

“Like what?”

Elril laughed quietly at his friend. Apparently, Zanedithas was secretly dense, or possibly just inattentive. Aylonna smiled triumphantly.

“A knife and a piece of flint. I come with you, and you sit by a cozy fire tonight.”

“Good point”, said Zanedithas. “Let’s go, through the gate.”

He sauntered off, Aylonna in tow. After them went Adomorn. Looking back, Elril sighed and wondered if he would ever see anything but woods again. As he walked after the others, he could swear he felt eyes other than the guards follow him.

At the top of the Hematite Gate, a shadow detached itself and started to follow the four misfortunate ones.