Okay, i'm using a throwaway because this whole thing is really starting to freak me out. I live in a small town in Florida. It's pretty small, and because of that i'm close to a small handful of my neighbors. Down the road there is this family that lives there, a mom and two daughters.
I went over there the other day to see how they were doing, since it had been a couple days and I was feeling a little bored. The mother, Mary, was there, but I didn't see the girls. I asked where they were and she just looked kind of confused. She said Alex was in her room, as she was being really moody lately.
But when I asked about her younger daughter, Sandy, she just looked confused, and maybe worried? She said she only had the one.
I haven't gotten a good chance to talk to her eldest daughter, so I don't know if it's just the mom, but I asked a few of my other neighbors, and they just looked really confused, like I was spouting nonsense.
It's really starting to freak me out. I can't find anything online about this kind of thing happening, I don't think. Her name is Sandy Beckett.
What should I do? I know i'm certain she exists, i've talked to her so many times. She was a really sweet kid, and everyone just forgot her and she's nowhere to be found.
​
Edit/Update: Woah, I didn't expect this to get as much attention as it did. Thank you to everyone who is concerned about my mental state, but unless I see anything else that might be a sign of some kind of illness or break such as schizophrenia, i'm going to hold off on going to a psychiatrist. I don't want to be committed against my will if i'm not crazy, and something is actually happening here.
I'm getting alot of the same questions so I thought i'd clear a few things up, and give some more details about the situation.
First of all, I'm absolutely sure that Sandy and Alex are two different people. Alot of you are saying that they're both short for Alexandra, and I might just be remembering wrong. I've seen them in the same room together, and interacting. (I think Sandy is short for Sandra anyway.)
I'm also certain they're sisters, not cousins or friends or anything of that nature. When I first met the family, Mary introduced them as her daughters, and everything i've seen points to them being sisters.
A few of you have questioned if I've seen Sandy age over the years, and I have. She's gotten older. She even got a haircut once, when she grew tired of her long hair.
I should also probably give some more specifics about all of us. I'm 17, have lived here for quite some time, and don't really know much of a history of mental illness in my family. I don't know most of my family, so there might be, but beyond a bit of depression on my Dad's side, nothing big that I know of. As for drugs, beyond a little weed I took in the freshmen year of highschool, I'm not on anything like that.
I don't know exact ages for the girls, but Alex is maybe 6 or 7, while Sandy was around 4. As for how often I see them, it varies. With the pandemic, I've seen them significantly less, but before all this I saw them roughly once a week. Sometimes I'd go a while without seeing them, and other times i'd see them just about every day. It evens out.
Some other things I've seen in the comments include the carbon monoxide levels in my house. I'm not sure about how to check that but i'll definitely look into getting that checked out.
If anyone has any other questions please feel free to ask me. I wanted to make this a follow up post, but i'm not exactly tech savvy, so this will have to do. Later today, i'm going to head over to their house again. I'm just gonna hang out with Mary, like i've done in the past, and at some point i'll say I need to use the bathroom, and then I'll check the hall for Sandy's bedroom. I'll let you know how that goes later today. Until then, thanks so much for all your concern, but for now I just need to figure out what's going on.
Edit/Update 2: Okay, So as promised I went over to their house today. I didn't bring up Sandy again, and Mary seemed to either pretend the previous conversation didn't happen, or doesn't remember it. She didn't seem concerned for me or my mental health at all, which is good.
After a while of general talking about stuff; some shows we like, covid, etc, I got up to use the bathroom. Mary didn't think anything of it, so I slipped down the hall. Before going to the bathroom, I looked down the hall. The kids bedrooms are still there. I tried to open Sandy's room, but it was locked. I didn't want to be caught snooping, so I quickly went to the bathroom and after a few minutes came back out.
I still haven't seen Alex. I asked Mary where she was, and she said she went down to see a few of the kids a few streets over. I didn't say anything, but that's a really weird answer, for a couple reasons. It's a small town, but the boys she was talking about are a good 20 minute walk. I honestly cant imagine Alex walking down there by herself, and her bike was still on their front lawn.
Any photos on their walls that I remember having the family are now gone. Not edited or anything, fully removed. A few were replaced with photos of Alex, and one was replaced with a painting of a cat, seemingly done by Alex.
I'm really starting to get worried here, as any good explanation is gone, and even though Alex still seemingly exists, I haven't seen her in a while.
Also, I tried to call the school district to get any information about a Sandy Beckett, but they wouldn't give me anything, since I wasn't a parent/guardian and wasn't on any lists of contacts. Not sure what to do now besides be vigilant and try and talk to Alex. Thanks for all your support, guys, it's really helping out. I'll try to respond to more comments, and hopefully give you guys a better picture of what's going on.
​
Mini Update/Edit: I'm seeing alot of comments asking about my parents. Without going into too much of my problems, my mother is dead and my father is god knows where. I live with my grandparents. And as much as I want to say that they'll be able to help me out, I honestly have never known more checked-out people in my life. I could tell them I'm doing meth (im not lol) and they'd just be like "have fun". They don't care much for anything around them. They don't talk to the neighbors, and I know for a fact that they don't talk to the Becketts.
​
update?: someones outside. i've never seen em before theyre just standing in the middle of the road im freaking out. nobody new comes down here especially not at 11 at night. i cant go out i dont want em to see me. I havent seen anybody new down here since that new old guy moved in down the road why is someone here. i dont know this person theyre new im freaking out i cant confront them. im going to the bedroom and baracading myself in this isnt the thing thats takin me out. no ma'am. oh god illl up date when I get a chance and i know its safe fuck
​
uppdate: people are confrsed about my last uodate. callled mary snd she said it was an okd friend whi wasv loiterin cuz she eas lookin for thr rigbt addresss, soeey noo opicture of persodn i panicced, jf she comees bacj ill tfy and remember to grt a picruee . csnt updsate more im si rired.
​
Update: I'm sorry for my sudden disapearance, after the shit I posted, no less. I'm going to be completely honest here, I don't really remember writing the last update, or the post I made to Drugs. I'm not sure what all has happened these past few days here, but I do know that at some point I ended up getting sick. Something is wrong with my stomach, and I haven't been in the best physical or mental state. I realized I should probably update, so people don't get worried.
In all honesty, i'm just really tired and want all of this to stop. I'm scared about Sandy, and I don't know what all is happening anymore. I havent seen Mary or Alex since the last time I went over there. This isn't exactly a satisfying update, but i'm really tired and hurting all the time, and am frankly getting really tired with being worried about Sandy. Unless i find something I think is proof of something one way or another, whether im losing a few screws, or something did happen to Sandy. I just want to stop and go back to how things used to be. I'm sorry, guys.
If anything interesting happens i'll be sure to update. when I get better, i'm going to make an effort to go find Alex, but until then, I need to focus on shaking whatever bug I managed to pick up.
​
Mini Update (not just health, I actually do have something relevant):
I'm mostly better now, still a little iffy, but with a bit more time, i'll probably be good as new and ready to keep lookin into this.
As for Sandy, I took some of you guys's advice and went on socials to see if I could find anything about Sandy. I'm not going to give out socials (obviously) because I don't want them getting harrassed, especially if all this shit is just in my head.
Honestly, I didn't look too hard, but I plan to. So far, theres been nothing of interest. Mary hasn't posted too much on her Facebook as of late, though with the pandemic, its not like theres much to talk about besides politics. I found a picture of Alex up from a few weeks ago, and it looks new, so I'm confident she's okay. Nothing of Sandy. I'm gonna keep looking, as this seems like a good angle. Only problem is theres a lot of posts to sift through to try and find anything about Sandy.
I'm nervous though about if I find a picture of her. Should I post it? I feel kinda weird combing through her Facebook looking for pictures of a kid, even more so posting it to reddit. Idk I'm just really tired and need to figure this whole thing out. I'm gonna try to respond to some more people on here, but there's alot of comments, some saying the same thing, so I can't get them all. Thanks for all the support guys.
​
Update/confession: People found a blog. I don't know what else I expected from Reddit, but they found it, and I need to come clean. Not in the way you think, but I have been somewhat lying.
OP does not exist. There was no neighbor. No grandparents, nothing. The reason things seem sketchy, is because I tried to do something sketchy.
I've seen those compilation videos of "mysteries solved by the internet" and similar titles. I thought if I tried to go about this like it was a current thing, maybe I could finally get some damn closure. I'm not a 17 year old concerned neighbor. My name is Alex Beckett.
In 2014 my younger sister Sandy Beckett went missing. I lived in Bronson, Florida. I tried to contact the police, but they didn't care about what some random kid had to say, especially considering I had been driven by my older cousin Jr. He has been arrested at least three times, once for hunting on private property, some bullshit charge about being a public nuisance or something (he was kinda being a prick, but thats what you get from a conspiracy nut) and for something related to the possession of crack, even though I know for a fact he couldn't have had any.
So the police weren't exactly inclined to care about me telling them Sandy went missing when I showed up in a beaten up Ford truck with the local conspiracy nut who's known for crack despite only doin weed. They basically told me the equivalent of "Go home, honey, and leave the mysteries for your little games."
My mother wouldn't be much help either. She's not exactly what society, or any sober person for that matter, would call a good mother. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if she fucking killed Sandy and panicked and somehow got it to stay quiet.
I think what worked against me back then was my age, my family, and the fact that my mom never wanted us kids to go out much. Not many people really knew us, despite being pretty tight knit.
So as for why I did this, I just wanted some answers. I thought maybe the internet could help me. And before anybody asks why I lied about who I am, would you really have believed me if I had some crazy conspiracy that happened when I was so young? I know it wouldv'e been chalked up to some false memory bullshit. Thats not what happened. You don't forget a sister. I've forgotten alot of things, but damnit I'm not gonna forget Sandy.
So I made this more episodic, I guess. Trying to get people interested, so they'd maybe look into this, and help me find answers. only problem is that this is the internet, and nobody takes these kinds of things as real. I've gotten a million comments that this isn't real. Well, bingo, you're half right. I just wanted people to see this, and maybe find some of those crazy internet sleuths to finally find Sandy. I don't even know if she's alive, but I hope she is.
Please. I know I haven't been truthful, and i'm sorry. I just wanted to find my sister. I did some dumb things, but I need some closure.
All in all, I'm sorry for any upset I may cause, and I'm sorry I lied. I hope that some people will still try and help me. I'll give any information I can to help.

Signups are now closed! Click here to go to Tribunal.

If you haven't already, please fill out this form to finish signing up for Season 14. If you don't fill out the form, you won't be counted!

The Character Scramble is a writing prompt tournament where people compete to write the best story they can. At the beginning, everyone submits characters that meet specified guidelines. Then, the submitted characters are randomized and distributed evenly to all participants.
After each participant receives their team, the participants are slotted into a single-elimination bracket. Writing prompts are assigned and participants write a story that features their team fighting against their opponent's team. Afterward, everyone votes for whichever story they prefer, and the participant of each match with the most votes moves on to the next round. The pattern continues until only one participant remains: the new Character Scramble champion!
The champion chooses the theme, tier, and rules of the next Character Scramble. They also receive a temporary custom flair as their reward.
Click here to join the email list. If you join the email list, you'll receive an email for every Scramble post that is made.
Join the official Discord channel if you want to be part of a large, vibrant community of Scramble participants, or if you just want a quick analysis of your characters and tips for competing. The majority of Scramble discussion takes place on the Discord and we also make announcements and post links there first, so it's the best way to keep up to date on what's going on in Scramble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Character Submission List

Basic Rules / Scramble Process

• Sign-ups will be from Friday, January 8 to Friday, January 29.
  
  • PLEASE NOTE: Signups will close at 7pm PST on January 29, and Tribunal will go up. Anyone who isn’t done when Tribunal goes up will have their incomplete submissions removed or will be DQed if they don’t have enough submissions after removal. GET YOUR STUFF DONE WELL BEFORE THE DEADLINE!
• Each user who wishes to participate must submit THREE (3) characters that adhere to the rules listed in the Submission Rules section.
  
• Users may also submit up to TWO (2) back-up characters that adhere to the same set of rules.
  
  • Users must specify in the submission that the character is a back-up.
  • If a main submission is deemed out-of-tier in Tribunal, the submission will be replaced by an entry from the back-up pool.
• Users must also submit ONE (1) Devil Fruit as specified in the FAQ and may submit an additional backup Devil Fruit if they so desire.
  
• Each character must be submitted in their own parent comment in this thread. Don't reply to your own submission comment with another submission; make a separate comment thread for each individual submission.
  
• After you complete your submission posts for all of your main submissions and any back-up submissions, fill out and submit the submission form linked at the very top of this post.
  
  • If you need to make a change, just resubmit the submission form with the same name and new info. We'll use whichever version is newest.
  • DO NOT resubmit after Tribunal; we'll account for any Tribunal changes to rosters.
• After Sign-ups is the Tribunal, a community-regulated place for users to point out characters they feel are over- or underpowered.
  
  • Please keep an open mind when receiving criticism; it is encouraged for you to comment on the characters of other participants as well.
  • Characters with issues that are not amicably resolved may be replaced by a back-up character at the discretion of the GMs and a panel of selected judges.
  • If you would like to apply to be a Tribunal judge, please fill out this form.
• After Tribunal, the characters are scrambled so that every participant receives three characters.
  
  • In Season 14, each participant is guaranteed to receive one of their own submissions, but they will not receive more than one.
  • Participants also have the option to opt out of NSFW submissions and veto ONE submission out of the list of total submissions. (Users cannot veto their own submission.)
  • Links to a form for opt-out and veto will be provided after Tribunal ends and before the scrambling happens.
• Every round, a prompt is posted. Players are expected to write about how their characters would defeat their opponents based on the prompt.
  
• At the end of the round, the thread is locked and the voting thread is posted. Voting is done using Google forms.
  
  • Voting is mandatory; failing to vote in any round will result in disqualification.
  • If you cannot vote due to time constraints, message u/FreestyleKneepad and we can work around that.
• After results are posted, the brackets are updated and the next round begins.
  

Theme & Tier / Submission Rules

The theme of Scramble 14 is One Piece, based on the manga/anime series about the Golden Age of Piracy. Your team will set sail on a globe-spanning adventure, from island to island, searching for the greatest treasure of all time. For more info, check out the Hype Post.
The tier benchmark for this season is Luke Cage (616), using a modified RT we have built specifically for this season's tier.Your submissions must score between a Likely and an Unlikely Victory versus Luke. For more information about what that means, check the FAQ.
The tier benchmark for Devil Fruit submissions is the following: Scramble Luke Cage (as defined above) with the abilities granted by your Devil Fruit must be able to achieve a Draw or Likely Victory against Scramble Luke Cage with the Punch-Punch Fruit, meaning he can launch fist-sized shockwaves at bullet speed that are equal in power to his own punches. For more details on the Devil Fruit submission process, check the FAQ.
You get ONE (1) major change for any character submissions and NO major changes for Devil Fruit submissions. However, we’ll allow you to remove a bunch of out-of-tier powers from a Devil Fruit submission without counting so many changes as a major change like we typically would, so don’t worry about that. Refer to the FAQ for more info.

• If you aren’t competing and only submitting backups, you may submit 3 backup characters and 2 backup Devil Fruits. You must do the writing prompt for all character submissions.

Additionally, please adhere to the following guidelines:

• Characters must be in tier.
  
• Characters must be researchable.
  
  • The show, video game, movie, or other media from which your character originates must be accessible in some way, ideally online.
  • Your character must have a functional Respect Thread, so that people can understand your character's stats and abilities at a glance. It is preferable that your character's Respect Thread is hosted on the Respect Threads subreddit, but CharacteTeam of the Week posts or any real repository of cited feats are acceptable.
  • If your character does not have a Respect Thread of any kind, please at the minimum include a Mini-RT in the sign-up post with at least five combat-related feats that completely cover the character's stats and abilities.
  • VSBattlesWiki pages or similar sources are not acceptable Respect Threads.
• You cannot submit characters that you have created, helped to create, or in any way developed.
  
  • If the GMs believe you have asked someone else to submit a character you created, we might ban that as well.
• You cannot submit a character with feats based on a previous Scramble story. This rule prevents Scramble writers from tailoring characters to be submitted to future tiers.
  
• You cannot submit controversial real life figures. No Trump, no Putin, no Kanye, none of that. The GMs reserve the right to decide what qualifies as "controversial."
  
• While you can submit characters from NSFW series with risqué material (such as an ecchi anime), you cannot submit characters from actual pornography.
  
• The GMs reserve the right to veto specific submissions under the "Dude, come on" reasoning. This clause may sound extremely abusable, but honestly we'll only use it for submissions we feel violate the spirit of the above guidelines or are otherwise deemed unusable, like "disaster movie lava" or "a swarm of bees with the consciousness of Steve Buscemi."
  
• Characters from ongoing series remain at the balance level from when they were submitted.
  
  • If you get Goku on your team and Goku unlocks Super Saiyan Ultra Mega Deluxe with Curly Fries in the anime after the Scramble season starts, you don't get to add that power to your character. This rule applies to new feats, new weapons, new powers, and so on.

Not exactly rules, but some suggestions:

• Because you are guaranteed to receive one of your own submissions at random, submit characters you actually want to write yourself.
  
  • Ask yourself: Will your hilarious meme submission idea actually be hilarious over the course of an entire writing contest, or will the joke get old immediately?
  • If you're only submitting a character because the act of submitting them is funny, don't submit them.
  • Along these lines, while some less controversial personalities like Jerma or Adam Sandler might be submittable, we’d just like to mention that these typically aren’t well-received submissions, as they tend to require deep-diving a Youtuber’s video library or actor’s interviews and movies, which balloons research by a lot.
• If you don't have any ideas for submissions, it's recommended that you try submitting one of the many back-ups we're likely to have.
  
  • Alternatively, here's a community-created suggestions doc with potentially in-tier submissions to give you ideas.
• Sometimes people like different things, and that's okay. Don't hate on a submission just because you personally don't like the character or the series. And on the other end, you don't have to withdraw a submission just because someone else doesn't like them.
  
• You are allowed to make changes to a character for the purpose of making sure they're in tier or otherwise clarifying what gear they have available.
  
  • There are limits to the number and magnitude of changes you can make; check the FAQ for more information.
  • In general, avoid submissions with changes that radically change the character, such as "Ferris Bueller with Iron Man's armor" or "Goku with the stats of Captain America."
• Duplicate submissions aren't prohibited, but try to avoid submitting the fifth Spider-Man submission this Scramble. Check to see if someone else has already submitted your character before you.
  
• Listen to feedback. You don't have to follow it, but if a lot of people are saying the same thing, at least humor the idea that they have a point.
  

Submission Forms

To submit a character, fill out the following form in a comment to this thread. Include either the writing or non-writing prompt. As long as all of the below information is included, you can reformat your submission post however you want for maximum aesthetic.
All three of your main submissions MUST use the writing prompt to count. Back-up submissions may use the non-writing prompt.
If you're not competing and only submitting one or more back-ups, you must use the writing prompt.
The form has changed since last Scramble, so be sure to actually read it.

Character Submissions

Name: The character's name.
Series: The name of the piece of media your character is from. You can add specifications necessary.
Biography: A quick summary of your character. Who are they? What can they do? Where are they from? What are they like? It doesn't need to be a novel, but a good paragraph of information is appreciated.
Research: A link to your RT or RT-substitute, as well as any other links that might help someone understand your character quickly. You may also suggest how much of the series someone needs to read/watch to get a good idea of the character.
Justification: Briefly outline why you think your character is in tier, and where in the tier they fall (Unlikely Victory, Draw, or Likely Victory—See the FAQ for more information). The non-writing prompt already covers some of this information, but to expedite the Tribunal process, at least give a sentence or two.
Motivation: Why has your character set sail for adventure? What great desire calls them to the sea and beyond? This is where you describe what your character is fighting for. Are they a pirate seeking might, fame, or riches? Do they have a deeper desire they seek to fulfill somewhere out there in the world? Perhaps, they don’t call themselves a pirate at all. Basically, why are they here?
Major Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You only get one!
Minor Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You get as many of these as you need, but don't go overboard.

Devil Fruit Submissions

Devil Fruit Name: The name of your fruit. Typical naming scheme is a repeating phrase (1-2 syllables) and then “Fruit” or “no mi”, depending on whether you're naming it in English or Japanese. Zoan-type fruits may have a broader classification, then have “Model: [Species]” at the end. Examples: Gum Gum Fruit, Mera Mera no mi, Ushi Ushi no mi, Model: Giraffe.
Devil Fruit Type: Paramecia? Logia? Zoan? Refer to the FAQ for an explanation of each. The actual function of the fruit only changes if you pick Zoan, which comes with specific parameters as well.
Character Name: The name of the character these powers are derived from.
Series: The name of the media this character is from. You can add specifications as necessary.
Description: What abilities does this Devil Fruit give? Outline them here. If this is a Zoan type, describe what is unique about this new form.
Research: A link to your RT or RT-substitute, as well as any other links that might help someone understand these powers quickly. Please specify which sections of the RT are being drawn from, and if it is not clear, please organize the feats in a comment below. You may also suggest how much of the series someone needs to read/watch to get a good idea of the powers, or what parts they can specifically watch.
Minor Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You get as many of these as you need, but don't go overboard. Remember, you get NO major changes!
Analysis Versus Punch-Punch Luke Cage: What advantages does your fruit offer that can turn the tides in their favour? How does the tiersetting battle play out? What strategies can be used by someone with this fruit in battle? Delve into multiple outcomes, and different ways the powers can be applied. This section should be used as a space to demonstrate what your Devil Fruit can do in a combat setting.
Other Uses: There’s a lot more to life than just fighting. In the broader scope, how might this ability be used while not directly in combat? Perhaps it’s good for espionage, or surveillance, or maybe it’s just useful to turn into a dragon every once in a while. Be creative!
Best Case Scenario: What kind of character would benefit most by getting the powers of this fruit? Would it best benefit a tough bruiser with no ranged attacks of their own, or a flimsy spellcaster who could use the help protecting themselves? This might be helpful for the recipient to decide who to give the fruit to.

Prompts

All of your main character submissions MUST use the writing prompt to count. Back-up submissions may use the non-writing prompt. If you're not competing and only submitting a back-up, you must use the writing prompt.

Character Writing Prompt

Your character’s journey has begun, but there’s a slight issue with this whole thing: Navigation is really hard. Thus, they find themselves stopped in the quaint village of Orange Town, and in order to safely get anywhere else, they’ll need some help.
Luckily for them, if they can find a Log Pose, they won’t have to worry about this issue ever again! These babies make navigation a breeze by just pointing in the direction of nearby islands. How convenient! The only issue is that the only Log Pose on this island is in the possession of a fearsome pirate, and he doesn’t plan on giving it up without a fight.
Your character comes face-to-face with Captain Luke Cage, who’s just like Luke Cage but a pirate and mean and his feats are REALLY specific for some reason. If they want this Log Pose, they’re not going to be able to get it without a fight. Whether they lay down the challenge themselves or Cage decides he wants to make an example out of them, eventually the area clears out of any bystanders. You square off, and it’s time for the showdown.
After finally achieving their victory, your character is free to take the Log Pose for themselves and set off once again. Onwards, to another adventure!
Prompt Rules:

• I’m Gonna Be King Of The Pirates!: There is no bad ending to this tale. For the purposes of Scramble, your story should always have your team or characters on the winning side. Let your story show how your victory is achieved! Even if the chances are slim to none, demonstrate how your crew is able to come out on top.
  
• Cage Match With Captain Luke Cage (Cage Not Included): This fight is going to happen. Your character can’t talk their way out of it, or hightail it out of there before anything even goes down. No matter what your character is feeling about this whole thing, they better put up their dukes, or they’re gonna get rocked right into next Scramble. And they might not even be in tier for that one!
  
• Luke Cage, More Like Colossus The Thing Power Man Mike Tyson of Mike Tyson Mysteries!: Maybe you wanna spice things up a little bit, hey, I feel ya. You can swap out someone for Luke Cage if you’d rather write them, but note that this change is purely cosmetic. The character will still have all of Cage’s stats and abilities.
  
• Where’s Everybody Going? Bingo?: Sure, there may be other people on the island, but you’ll notice it said the area cleared out. For the purposes of tiering and simplicity, the only two around these parts are your character and ole’ Luke. Feel free to get wild; there’s no one else around to hurt.
  

Character Non-Writing Prompt

Analysis Versus Luke Cage: Go deeper into how your character fares against the benchmark. How their abilities match the tier's, how their stats counteract each other, specific instances that are likely to happen in a fight between them, and so on. Because this analysis serves as a replacement for a narrative, you need to communicate how your character fights (for instance, whether they rush in headlong or approach tactically and exploit weaknesses) and what that means for them fighting other characters.
Biggest Strength and Weakness: Discuss the best thing your character brings to the table in a fight (a tactical mind, unorthodox abilities, good stats, et cetera), and also what detriments or drawbacks they might have (a specific stat that's lower than the others, lack of ranged options, inability to work with others, et cetera.)
Character in Setting/with Team: Analyze the flavor of your submission. How does your character deal with other submissions? How does your character deal with the setting? Are they inclined to thrive in a world of piracy, or are their sensibilities suited to something else? How does your character deal with just being in a Scramble? Are they good at working on any kind of team, or will they just be a pain in the ass the whole way?
Role on Ship: This is just for fun, we're not separating the submissions by roles or anything, nor do you need to give a solid title or job to any character. That being said, what skills might your character bring to the table for their fellow crewmates? Are they a natural-born leader who gets the captain's hat, or do they just steer the damn boat? Are they doing that marksman thing? Maybe cooking? Perhaps even doctoring? Ya yo ya yo? You tell us.

Evernote link for better formatting https://www.evernote.com/shard/s406/sh/c770a0f8-21e9-75b5-9fa1-8afe83712c8a/b5c179b3717cccf990bd14b187d71dce
Thesis: With the advent of online gaming and e-sport, Gamestop is prime to make a turnaround and grow again assuming it will change direction and adapt post Covid. The support of Ryan Cohen, a e-commerce marketing guru, has brought hope to a once-beloved brand and ignited the flame of this reality. The stock is also enticing because of its 138% short interest which is the highest percentage in the market. Thus, a remote chance of a short squeeze could occur. *Majority of investors do actually believe in the company and is not in it for just the short squeeze opportunity. *  

Background: Gamestop was once the most prolific gaming retailer in the brick and mortar time period. They made their profits by rebuying used games/gaming paraphernalia at low prices and marking them up greatly. They relied mainly on foot traffic due to a subpar online presence and they were slow to change. The low price and convenience of online shopping had won over shoppers causing the demise of brick and mortar. Large brands started disappearing left and right and now it was Gamestop's turn with a boost from Covid. Investors wrote GameStop off as a dinosaur company with its shares eventually dropping to $2.5 dollar.

Results: Hedge funds saw this and decided to go short on them, betting on their demise like all the others. The funds abused the mechanism of the market to cause a large selling pressure onto the stock, forcing the stock price down and accelerating the demise. Could this be manipulation? If a hedge fund were to short a company out of spite, they could very possibly bankrupt a company.

How did Gamestop survive for so long? Even though they weren't raking in e-commerce profit, they were still profitable. It was just that that profit stream was shrinking. The profits were also concentrated at a fraction of their stores. As they closed unprofitable stores, they were able to offset cost slightly. Investors were also holding on to the imminent release of the new console super cycle. Investors noted that the golden days were right after the new consoles were released and Dec 2020 couldn't come quicker. Gamestop was patience and managed their financials well with a strong balance sheet. Investors had underpriced the real estate of theirs. They were not valued for growth anymore so they weren't in a situation to raise capital risk free. They have several billions in short-term and long-term debt but they had 600 million cash in hand to cushion with. Lastly, the Nintendo switch had just came out and was the best selling gaming console ever. Gamestop rode the tailend of Nintendo success all through 2020 with Switch sales offsetting losses in the other gaming segments. https://www.evernote.com/shard/s406/res/8832d8fd-2fda-68ce-77ac-5ab3f362f936

The turnaround: A new management team had join in August 2019 that set to slim down the company. They were much more aggressive and sought to aggressively close stores. A comprehensive turnaround plan called GameStop ReBoot was announced with 4 elements:

1. Optimized the Core Business Reducing unprofitable stores and focusing on what works
2. Become the Social / Cultural Hub for Gaming Turning Gamestop into a experience center and not just a store
3. Build a Frictionless Digital Ecosystem Revamp the supply chain to be e-commerce focused
4. Transform Vendor Partnership Rekindle and make new partnerships

Like all new managements, this one needed time but unfortunately Covid complicated the plans. Investors became increasingly doubtful and even bearish. However, they had underestimated the future of gaming.

The first significant move was bringing Reginald Fils-Aimé onto the board of directors. Reginald was known for his market prowess bring Nintendo to what it is today. Investors loved that.

As Covid happened, working from home and home entertainment exploded. Logitech, Corsair, Bestbuy exploded. Online gaming was projected to be very ludicrous in the next decade and Covid had shorten this timeline. Online gaming took off. Activision, Electronic Arts, Zynga, Tencent all exploded. Apple app revenue from their gaming segment exploded. Investors had repriced these stocks higher taking advantage of the first player advantage. One notable company that changed in valuation was Logitech, they were a value company but relabeled to growth. What was missing from this list was Gamestop. The bullishness in gaming was there and everyone else profited. If there was hope of a GME turnaround, their valuation model would certainly flip to a growth model at higher PE multiples. It was only fair.

The next big event that occurred was in October 2020. Gamestop announced a partnership with Microsoft which was the first real tangible milestone on the turnaround plan. Investors started to give the company a second look. Microsoft Partnership caused shares to rally 30% in a day. A bullish sign that the big players haven't given up. However this was short lived as shorts continue to drive the price down as there was no concrete details on the revenue sharing partnership, only that "for every Microsoft Xbox console that GameStop sells going forward, GameStop will get some percentage of the revenue from every digital full game download, DLC, microtransaction, and any subscriptions as well." To me this sounds very bullish that Microsoft still believes in Gamestop.

Next came news that the well-respected businessmen Ryan Cohen released that he had bought up 13% of Gamestop shares, becoming a minority owner. Ryan Cohen was the founder of Chewy, a Petsmart online branch that outcompeted Amazon. Investors labeled him an e-commerce guru/genius. He had bought shares at $4.81 and slowly gobbled up more as the price increased. Rumors started speculating that Cohen would takeover and transform Gamestop and it was materialized when Cohen sent the management a very aggressive letter.

"GameStop’s leadership should immediately conduct a strategic review of the business and share a credible plan for seizing the tremendous opportunities in the rapidly-growing gaming sector. GameStop needs to evolve into a technology company that delights gamers and delivers exceptional digital experiences – not remain a video game retailer that overprioritizes its brick-and-mortar footprint and stumbles around the online ecosystem."

It was a do this or else there will be a hostile takeover. The letter was sent three weeks before Q3 Earnings and investors were now watching intensively for details of a roadmap or of a Cohen reference during the earning call. ER came around and management was mute beside the announcement of a shelf offering of 100mil. Company performance wise, they were negative on profit but had still beaten expectations. The expedited closure of unprofitable of the stores helped. The stock would have soared had not an offering been announce (offering dilutes shares) so instead GME dropped 17%. From the conference calls, many bull investors felt reluctantly weary of this turnaround while some even dismissed management consideration of Ryan and piled on to the shorts. A week later, a filing by Ryan Cohen showed that he had continued to believe that the stock was undervalued and bought even at $14.83. This news rekindled the speculation that Ryan Cohen was going to do a takeover. Stock bounced and soared to $22.35 dollars for the next few weeks before dropping to $17.35.

Jan 2021 - The first squeeze: Shorts were still convinced that Gamestop would not be turn around and so they held steady with a short interest above 130%. Some short sellers had left while new ones piled on.

Monday, Jan 11th, Gamestop decided to drop bombs to the short: - First with an announcement that there was 309% increase in e-commerce sales from 2019 holiday season, 4.8% increase in comparable store sales, 3.1% decrease in total sales. - The biggest takeaway was that their new e-commerce strategy was working. 309% increase is massive. Also this followed their original plan to concentrate on their core. Rise in sales of profitable store was also shown. The closure unprofitable stores hit their total sales but it was not much and implied that these stores were dead weight. They slimmed their bleeding cost segment and increased their profit. This was super bullish. - Secondly, a board of advisor switch up was announced. Ryan Cohen and two main Chewy guys were hopping on, replacing 3 other people. - Ryan essentially brought Chewy Management to Gamestop. They know have 1/3 of the company's vote. - GME Management knew that a takeover was happening, hostile or not and so they opened the doors. They also expanded Ryan Cohen's ability to buy up to 20% of the total shares - Permit And Hestia Capital also align more with his vision so that would put them at a 5/9 majority Result: Even with the news, the stock price stayed range bound at 20.5 and volume was extremely low for that Monday and Tuesday. Shorts were once again depressing the price. However, Wednesday came and the first of the shorts closed their position while bulls bought calls. The stock soared. This catalyzed into a gamma squeeze to kick off the huge rally.

The analysis stopped dead of the gamma squeeze as these recent events have been a gray area of interpretation. Enjoy.

Links: Board of Director annoucnement, https://news.gamestop.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gamestop-announces-additional-board-refreshment-accelerate Partnership, https://news.gamestop.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gamestop-announces-multi-year-strategic-partnership-microsoft Ryan Cohen aggressive letter, https://s.wsj.net/public/resources/documents/RC_Ventures_Letter_to_GameStop.pdf

 

GME formula cheatsheet aka Bingo board  

• Management: Ryan Cohen & Gang (5/9 vote), Reginald Fils-Aime, E-Commerce, Partnerships (Microsoft), Console Supercycle, Offering, Q4 ER, Roadmap, Takeover Letter, Acquisition Target +
• Retail: Momo traders, FOMO, YOLO, EOM paychecks, Diamond Hands, >15% Float Owner, OTM Calls, Growth Investing, Venture Capitalist mindset, leverage, fair price, DFV, $90 millie wsb whale +
• Shorts (Hedge Funds): bleeding, 138% SI, Melvin, Shitron, >20% daily interest rate, margin call, value valuation model, boomers +
• MM: delta hedging, gamma squeeze, 8-9 digit loss, bagholders, eating float +
• Printer: stimulus checks, shares yolo, consumer revenue, indirect inflation +
• MSM: Cramer, Bloomberg, WSB vs Shorts, Manipulation, SP $100 $420.69 $1000  

= MOASS, Mother of all Short Squeeze  
Position: 400 shares GME. https://imgur.com/a/H8uOP0h
EDIT: Formatting

Hi all! I was going through some things from my ex boyfriend and I had a date book compiled, and thought I'd share some of the ideas here before I toss the book out.
Bob Ross Follow Along: Bob Ross has his own Youtube channel that you can go to. Scroll through the video selection and choose a painting that looks appealing to you. Buy canvases and paint and a bottle of wine and have a fun night in following along with Bob.
Murder Mystery Dinner: This would be fun for an at home double date. I found a cheap kit at Tj Maxx but you could also probably find ideas online or a cheap kit online. My kit had invitations that were to be mailed out to guests inviting them to the dinner (could use fb invite), pamphlets with the characters background for the guests to study, dinner ideas (could be as simple as spag and meatballs) and a storyline to follow to solve a murder.
Make Tipsy Bartender Drinks: If you like drinking you could have a fun night in by going to Tipsy Bartenders Youtube and see if there are any drinks you have the supplies to make laying around. He has drinks of varying budgets so if you need something simple and cheap hes got you.
Board Game Night: If you have some board games enjoy a night in playing them. If you don't there is a website called Board Game Online that I find quite fun that you could burn some time on. There is also Drunk Pirate for an online drinking game.
Science Experiments: After a quick trip to the grocery store for some supplies you can enjoy a night in doing various different science experiments such as making a rainbow jar, aqua sand, slime, and whatever other fun experiments you can find online.
Make Clay Sculptures: You can buy a packet of clay at Walmart and mold some figures with it. Let it harden overnight and enjoy date night #2 by painting them.
Fantasy Box: Fantasy Box is a really cool company that creates boxes for different sexual desires. They have costume boxes with fantasies like playboy bunny, school girl, as well as bondage boxes, playful boxes, etc. The boxes are already pretty cheap compared to buying the items individually but you can also find referral codes online for an additional $20 off.
Break a World Record: Look online at Guinness World Record and see if there are any records that you and your S/O can break.
Time Capsule: Buy a lunch box and find various items around the house that are memories that signify your relationship. This could be photos, receipts, trinkets. Put them in the box and open in 1 year with a bottle of wine.
Make each other t-shirts: Buy plain white t-shirts, fabric pens, different craft supplies and decorate t-shirts for each other.
Decorate kitchen supplies: Buy ceramic markers and mugs/plates/shot glasses/etc and decorate some kitchen supplies.
Answer Questions: There are various websites online that have long lists of silly/serious/romantic questions to ask your s/o. Sit down with some mixed drinks and go through the lists with each other.
Puzzles: Find a puzzle that you both like and get to completing. Once done buy some mod podge to seal the puzzle and use it later to decorate your living space!
Draw/Paint Each Other: Depending on your budget this could be as simple as paper and pencil or canvas and paint or both. You can choose to paint each other live while looking at each other (might be harder) or print photos of each other to paint.
$10 Dollar Tree Challenge: Go to Dollar Tree with each of you only allowed a budget of $10 = 10 items. Buy the randomest stuff that might make the other person laugh. My boyfriend and I found minion night lights, anal wart cream, douches, etc.
Youtube Challenges: Do various popular Youtube challenges. Boyfriend Does My Makeup, Chapstick Challenge, Tincan Challenge, Chubby Bunny Challenge, etc.
Buy Books For Each Other: Go to a library and find a book for the other person without telling them what it is. Get home and curl up with each other and read the books.
Taste Test Chocolate & Wine/Cheese & Wine: Buy chocolate and wine and taste test different chocolates with the wine. Could do the same but with cheese and wine instead.
Date Box: Datebox creates a fun, unique date night, and sends you everything needed to enjoy it with your special someone. Each month you get something new and exciting. They have an online only version for a cheaper price or a box you'll receive in the mail. There are referral codes online you can find to make that first box cheaper.
Hunt a Killer Subscription Box: This is an interactive box that takes place over a 6 month period. You will get a new box each month that gives you clues to solve the murder mystery. There are various different themed boxes.
Massages: Buy some massage oil and set the mood by setting up a room by laying a sheet down on the couch/bed, placing a pillow, and playing some peaceful music.
Newly Wed Game: Typically this would require a group of 4 and you can definitely double date and play that way. However, you can also just play with your s/o by printing out the questions, answering them separately then comparing together. Loser could take shots or take a sip of their drink.
Personality Test: You can take a free version of the Myers Briggs personality test and see how your personalities mesh with each other.
Instant Chemistry Compatibility Test: Take a dna test with your s/o by sending in your saliva and see how compatible you really are. These tests are on sale for Valentines day.
Tie Dye: Buy white t-shirts and a tie dye kit. I found one at Walmart that included the ties, bottles and dye. Use a giant plastic tub or your bathtub to make the shirts to save a mess.
Fondue: There are various different fondue recipes online whether it be chocolate or cheese related. Find a recipe and recreate it at home.
At Home Photo Shoot: Use your phone camera, a cheap throwaway polaroid or buy a fujifilm. Set up a room with a backdrop and do photo shoots with each other. You could make it silly by picking out each others outfits for the photos.
Paint Each Others Body: Buy edible paint if you're into that to lick it off each other. Or buy non toxic paint and paint actual art creations on each others backs.
Bubble Bath: Set up a nice warm bath with bubbles, a bath bomb, dim the lights, and play some ambient music.
Paint Snow with Food Coloring: Buy some bottles of food coloring and after it snows go outside and decorate the snow.
Make Maple Candy with Snow. After a fresh snow take some of the snow inside with a tub and take 100% maple syrup and drizzle it along the snow. It will harden into maple candy.
Make blessing bags for homeless: Make a trip to the Dollar Tree. Buy bags, gloves, snacks, hygeine products, etc. Go home, stuff the bags. Then put the bags in the back of your car and whenever you see homeless you can give them a bag.
Travel to new country via Internet: Open up your laptop and choose a country. Travel to that country via the internet. Open it up on Google Maps. Look at local images, learn some words in that language, watch videos.
Karaoke: Open up Youtube and find different Karaoke compilations that have duets.
Dance Lessons: Youtube has various step by step dance videos. Find one that you both like, clear out the living room, and get practicing.
Build a Snowman: After a sticky snow, gather some supplies around the house and go build a snowman outside.
Scratch Tickets: Go to the gas station and buy $10-20 in scratch tickets. Spend some time in celebrating or contemplating how much money you just lost.
Half Hand Video Games: If your s/o and you have a ps4/xbox/nintendo etc you can play this. Each of you get half of the controller and you have to work together to finish the game. This can be fun for games like Spyro, COD and Mario Kart.
Cook-Off: Choose a meal that you both have to prepare such as strawberry short cake or apple fritters. Each choose a different recipe and make your own style. When you're done post on social media and see what your friends and family think on who did best.
Strip PokeStrip Trivia: Get a deck of cards or find some trivia questions online. Loser removes a piece of clothing each time they lose.
Glowstick Party: Go to the dollar tree and buy a BUNCH of glow in the dark sticks. Decorate the room, turn off the lights, play some music, have some drinks, and PARTY.
Walmart/Car Bingo: Make bingo cards for every time you go to Walmart or go on a road trip. The Walmart bingo could be like the people of Walmart. Everytime you see someone without a shirt mark here. The road trip could be signs that you see or things like cows or planes.
Green Eggs and Ham: Want some nostalgia? Remember Dr. Seuss? Prepare green eggs and ham and watch one of the Dr. Seuss movies.
Cartoon Night: Get in your pjs, get some of your childhood favorite cereals and sit down in front of the tv like its Sunday morning and watch some old childhood cartoons.
Meditate: Set up some space in your living room, lay down a blanket, and pull up Youtube videos that will play calm music and instruct you when to breathe in and out.
Yoga: Set up some space in your living room, lay down a blanket, and pull up Youtube videos that will have an instructor telling you what positions you need to do and how long to hold them.
Make a relationship montage video: Depending how long you've been together you probably have a lot of photos and videos. Get sappy and pull up Imovie or Windows Movie Maker and compile all these memories together in a video that you can later watch together.
Themed Country Date Night: Pick a country. For this example I'll use Italy. Make an Italian dinner like pasta or pizza. Dessert could be Italian ice. Play Italian music while you eat. Watch movies based out of Italy.
Learn Your Love Language: There are five ways people receive and process love. Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation and Acts of Service. Take the quiz with your s/o and see which one they are and incorporate it in your relationship.
Airsoft Gun Fight: You can buy a really fancy one or get really cheap ones at the dollar tree. Set up the room for battle, load your guns and get shooting!
Goodwill Trip: Go to Goodwill and go seperate ways and pick out outfits for each other. The crazier the better. Than go somewhere in public wearing them.
One Actor Movie Binge: Choose your favorite actoactress and make a list of movies they're in. Spend a night binging those movies.
DIY Escape Room: There are various DIY tutorials for this online with different themes. Essentially set up the room with different mysteries for your S/O and have them solve how to escape the room with you.
Rainbow Dinner: Prepare a rainbow dinner for your S/O. Ideas could be a colorful pizza, acai bowl with fruits, peanut noodles, etc. There are various recipes online.
Name That Treat: Have your S/O go in the kitchen without you and grab 5 different items. You follow them and grab 5 as well. Feed each other these items and see if they're able to name them. You could also go to the grocery store if you want to make it gross and pick up stuff you don't think they'd guess.
Iron Chef: Prepare a meal where one ingredient is incorporated in everything. For example chocolate. So chocolate needs to be in the app,entree, dessert and drink.
Hawaiian Vacation in your living room: Lay down a tan sheet to look like sand. Lay down another small blanket or towel above it. Set up a mini picnic with foods that are Hawaiian themed. Make a trip to the Dollar Tree and go to their luau party section and buy cups and different decorations to fit the theme. Make a mixed drink like pina colada. Play tropical music.

As of today, it has now been 3 full years since I’ve gotten my Switch. So, like the past 2 years, I wanted to post my top 10 games I played throughout the last year with some quick little reviews on why I enjoyed them. To avoid confusion this list is not a list of my top 10 games of 2020, it is a top 10 of the games I have played in the last year. Some of the games this year surprised the hell out of me, and others were extremely welcome due to old memories. Each game here I include my playtime (according to the Switch, anyways) and my completion percentage. Since it was asked a lot in the comments last year, I will be including a link to a Google Docs sheet that includes a link to a duplicate version of my sheet (with some things unimportant to anyone but me removed or edited) that I use to track completion percentages as well as information on how to use the sheet.
Currently playing: -
Backlog: Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection, BioShock: The Collection, DOOM 64, Hollow Knight, Trials of Mana, Ys Origin
Games from this year that didn’t make the top 10:
· DOOM II (5+ hours, 100.00%)
· DOOM (1993) (5+ hours, 100.00%)
· Assassin’s Creed III Remastered (25+ hours, 39.78%)
· DOOM 3 (10+ hours, 75.00%)
· Darksiders Genesis (15+ hours, 63.60%)
· Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition (45+ hours, 85.75%)
· Super Mario 3D All-Stars (50+ hours, 84.59%)
· Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition (90+ hours, 92.38%)
10) Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (40+ hours, 94.95%)
Yea, yea. Look at those thicc thighs! Now that that’s out of the way… I really enjoyed my time with Ryza. The alchemy system is what got me interested in the game, gathering materials to fuse together into more powerful items. As you learn more about the system and get access to better items everything begins to make more sense. You might find yourself just slotting things in at first, but eventually once you gain a better understanding you can figure out exactly what the system is getting you to do. Crafting endgame items with crazy stats and really showing off your skills as an alchemist is extremely fulfilling and from what I can tell the series has really improved on itself from past iterations. The story of Ryza is fairly grounded and tame for the most part, but it does still have some “save the world” aspect towards the end. You play as Ryza who wants to adventure with her friends and learn alchemy and… that’s pretty much the main focus for the first half or more. It was kind of a nice break and really helped it to stand out a bit more in my mind. The main point of the story really is just Ryza wanting to adventure after being stuck on a lonely, plain little island for her whole life. Once she is exposed to alchemy, she makes it her mission to improve her alchemy skills. The combat is an ATB system which was my biggest holdback of the game going in but in reality it was very quick and simple to get into and really didn’t require a lot of work to figure out. The one thing is that if you do not keep up on your alchemy skills you will struggle in battles. Constantly looking for ways to improve your gear is very important and you can easily find yourself running at a wall if you ignore it for long periods of time. It is definitely an interesting game to play and I really recommend looking into it for those of you interested in JRPGs. With the sequel coming out in just a month, and it being the first time in the series’ history (from what I know) that a protagonist has returned for a sequel, it is the perfect time to hop in.
9) Astral Chain (40+ hours, 84.20%)
I expected this game to be on par with or worse than Bayonetta 2. Then I actually played it and, well, I loved it significantly more. This game features a rating system very similar to the Bayonetta series, but the system is also significantly more lenient. Instead of judging you on how perfectly you can complete a level (not being hit, time, not using items, etc.) you are judged on how well you use your resources. You get bonuses for using different techniques, weapons, and legions. At first I still got low scores and did overall poorly, however because the rating system was so much more lenient and focused more on how well you are using the combat system it was a really good way to learn what was the best way to go about combat. This led to later files getting better scores and really making the whole game feel even more entertaining. The story is pretty straight forward; you’re a cop who ends up working for a branch of cops that use legions, basically enemies turned into allies, that are attached to a chain and fight against those same enemies. These legions are controlled alongside yourself, which seems a lot more daunting than it really is. While I am by no means a pro at the game, I do think it was fairly easy to get used to controlling multiple characters even with all the action going on. As far as weak points, there was only one major thing that bothered me and it was the same as Dragon Quest XI. I don’t like this game’s use of a silent protagonist. I felt that it robbed a lot of story moments of any impact because your character feels completely disconnected from a plot that they are supposed to be at the center of. Your character even has a voice actor, but they are only used when you are playing as the other gender. It wasn’t something that drastically impacts the game for me, but it still bothered me enough to mention. Overall, the rest of the game is a lot of fun and works really well. The whole thing is like its own anime and it even has an anime-style intro sequence, which by the way the music is top notch. Which is pretty important if you’re going to have an action game that you’ll want music to hype you up.. So if you’d like to play Anime Cops vs Cyber Demons ft. Litterbugs, then this is the game for you.
8) Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (10+ hours, 98.58%)
It had been a long time since I played a Metroidvania, so this game was a welcome return for me. The movement available to you from the start is fairly limited, but you keep picking up skills over time until eventually it becomes incredibly smooth to dash around the world. The story is mostly told through a couple of momentary scenes, so there aren’t a lot of cutscenes besides the opening. I believe despite how brief the story is, the story of Kuro and the opening act are both amazing moments in not just this game but out of all games I have played. The soundtrack is beautiful and I found myself just hanging around to listen to it a few times. On top of all these elements, it also runs beautifully and never gave me a single problem. I may not have been a professional at the game, I believe I ended my playthrough with just under 500 deaths, but I never became frustrated with it. Besides completing the areas, you don’t have too much to focus on for collectibles. All you really have is life containers, energy containers, and spirit containers. Life and energy containers obviously improve your life and your energy, but spirit containers is used to build up your spirit gauge and act as skill points. These skill points can be used to unlock movement options like dashing and triple jumps as well as power boosts. It’s a fun system and I’m glad that there isn’t as much to really need to worry about while you’re exploring. The game is a constant rush to get better and improve your movement. It was a pure experience the entire way through. The entire game just radiates charm and despite it being a short game I feel like it will stick with me for a long time.
7) Ori and the Will of the Wisps (15+ hours, 96.46%)
This game was an absolute gem to play… mostly. There were some minor bugs involving moving between areas if I went through too fast or falling through the ground once or twice, and I did need to redo about an hour of work because of a glitch once, but besides that the game played beautifully. Movement in this game felt so much more rewarding much earlier than the original because most of the tools are unlocked early. This lets you get more practice in earlier instead of having things feel like they didn’t get a lot of time. I also like how things like Dash were actually built into the level design because it wasn’t attached to the skill tree this time. With more tools to use and design levels around, it made the game feel a lot more interesting to play around with. Speaking of levels, the world is amazing. The levels are all much more expansive and the world itself feels more natural. With extra movement options, the ability to move from one part of the map to another feels significantly quicker as well. The music in the game is just as incredible as the original, so no complaints there as well. It also includes more content through things like side quests, races, and projects to clean up a base camp of sorts. The story is more involved this time instead of being relegated mostly to a handful of cutscenes, although once you get past the first dungeon of the game it isn’t all that present. The basic premise is that Ori gets stuck in a new area and has to help remove the dark influence. I don’t think Shriek is as compelling of a character as Kuro, but that’s mostly because I really enjoyed Kuro’s role in the story. Combat is the big change from the original compared to everything else. Combat in the Blind Forest was basically relegated to telling Sein to fire at enemies and was more of an afterthought that an actual use. This is reflected in the fact that there are no boss fights in the original, only escape sequences. While Will of the Wisps does still have a handful of escape sequences, there are also boss fights. You have access to multiple weapons if you choose to unlock them, but your main weapon will be a sword. You can find Spirit Shards to equip to power up various aspects or grant different abilities like triple jump. Overall, it was a very nice improvement over the original and I think that if you enjoyed the Blind Forest at all then it is definitely worth buying this game.
6) Animal Crossing: New Horizons (370+ hours, 92.10%)
Here’s the game that I, like many others, always had one question in mind whenever I heard people talk about it. “What do you even do?”. I spent a majority of my time in the early days in a completionist mindset for the game which I think is why I was mostly burned out on it for a month or two once I had gotten the K.K. Slider concert for the first time. However, once I went into this game and started really working on the layout of my island I got legitimately interested. When things were no longer a checklist or a set of chores, it was just fun. While I look online at all the amazing islands that people have made and I can’t even dream of coming close to them, I’m proud of my little island. I decided to not do any terraforming (with a couple of small exceptions like cutting out a few squares for stairs or pushing a waterfall back by 1 so it was visible behind a bridge). By doing this it really feels like I’ve turned a barren island into a home. This game definitely isn’t for everyone though. The question of “What do you really do?” is a very real question, and something you need to figure out if you would enjoy essentially doing things with no reward except making a new home for yourself. You also need to accept that you can’t really play this in the same way as other games, as I learned when I was trying to just do everything. This game works best in short bursts or by having a preset goal in mind of what you want to accomplish in that play session. While Animal Crossing doesn’t really have a story, character development, or even that amazing of a soundtrack (which is still good and works extremely well for the game but is not extremely memorable) like most of my other favorite games as of late it is definitely a game I have found myself going back to continuously. The only thing I wish is that the villagers had more personality. I look at past games in the series and see the villagers I have on my island with distinct personalities that really make them into their own characters. With 8 personality types that give each villager the same set of lines, and 10 available houses for them, you’re going to end up with repeats and it really kills the immersion when you talk to 2 villagers in a row and hear the same thing. Besides that, I really enjoy the decoration aspect of things, especially some of the more natural areas of my island where I really got a forest-y feel out of it. I really enjoy watching things come together. When you wind up with a finished (or at least mostly finished) island and can walk through and look at all the progress you’ve made you really get a sense of accomplishment.
5) Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (55+ hours, 85.58%)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is my favorite spinoff franchise by a landslide. Taking the world of Pokemon and inserting it into a roguelike genre with a story and characters beyond anything across the mainline games combined. Unfortunately, based on critic scores and sales throughout the years, most Pokemon fans don’t share that sentiment. That being said, PMD is also much more difficult in comparison to the mainline games, especially in the postgame, which may be what pushes most people away. The main story of PMD involves you, a human, becoming a Pokemon and losing your memory. You form a rescue team with another Pokemon (you determine both your Pokemon and your partner in the beginning, with a personality test determining yours unless you want to choose it yourself) and aim to figure out what happened to make you transform while also helping Pokemon across the world. The story can get extremely dark for a Pokemon game and it is really good at keeping you wanting to see more. The postgame in PMD games is typically some of the best that I have come across. If you go through everything, the postgame can be just as long as the main story with much more challenging encounters. The gameplay revolves around taking missions and going into randomly-generated dungeons in order to rescue stranded Pokemon. Being a roguelike, you move tile by tile and your enemies only move when you do. It works well for the turn-based combat that Pokemon uses. I believe there is still a demo on the eshop that goes through the first couple of dungeons, so I definitely recommend trying the game out. I’m desperately hoping that we get to see more of the PMD franchise on Switch, with my personal hope being a new game and maybe even later on a remake of the Explorers games.
4) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition (140+ hours, 86.76%)
Witcher 3 definitely gets the “Most Improved” award in terms of my initial thoughts of a game compared to the end. Due to the praise that Witcher 3 always got, I decided to give it a shot. Right from the beginning, it was overall pretty mixed. Combat especially took me a little bit to get used to, with the initial fight against the Griffin taking a lot to pull off. However, once I left White Orchard and got to Velen (and by extension began to understand the combat more thoroughly) the doubt slowly started disappearing. One of the things that I, and of course many others, found best about playing Witcher were the side quests. Side quests are typically very standard. “Save my cat”. “Kill 5 of that monster”. The side quests in Witcher 3 are much more fleshed out and multiple times I found myself having to stop and think about my decisions in them. Without going too much into spoilers, one of my favorite decisions I had to make for a quest came with handling the aftermath of a slaughtered village, leaving behind a lone child, and how you handle those responsible. While some decisions might seem simple to make based on your own moral compass, I always strived to make the decisions I believed Geralt would make. It’s the first time that I can say a game really made me stop and make myself into the character. Putting the “role play” into RPG. While Witcher has its fair few “Kill that monster” quests (a specific type of quest, Contracts), these are more acceptable since even these have story built around them and usually involve some level of investigation and build-up. You’re not going to have to go hunt down 10 Nekkers and then come back to some generic villager conversation. While the side quests are an amazing part of the game, they don’t completely overshadow the main story. You’re hunting down Ciri, your adopted daughter, and so you have to go to various locations throughout the world to follow leads on where she has been recently. Each of these areas have their own stories that explode out in a hundred different directions and lead to tons of time to spend in each area. Between side quests and exploration, I didn’t complete the story until 105+ hours into the game. I probably could have finished it sooner, but the side quests and the world around was way too interesting to just skip over. However there is still the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions to go through which add even more playtime. Both of these stories are really well done and deal with some amazing character moments and decisions. The characters are always an important part to get right in a story this large, and they are done excellently. Some of the standouts from my playthrough are Yennefer, the Baron, Gaunter O’Dimm, and Regis. They all play their roles in the story without feeling like just some key to get from point A to point B. While you’re in the mind of Geralt, you really start to get an understanding of them. Who they are, what they might do, what they like. Your conversations will always highlight which choice will continue you along the story, but skipping over the other dialogue options leaves you missing out on the world that has been crafted. Overall, the game definitely deserves the praise it gets. The beginning is slow, and the combat/movement can be a bit clunky and unintuitive, but the world on display is something I can’t ignore when it comes to being an amazing game.
3) AI: The Somnium Files (30+ hours, 100.00%)
Where to even begin with this game? This is by far the strangest game I’ve ever played… but I love it for that. In this game you are a detective, Kaname Date, who is investigating a series of murders where the victim has their left eye removed. Date has an AI companion in his eyeball named Aiba, who by the way has probably made her way into my top 10 game characters of all time. The game is a visual novel for most of the gameplay. You will visit various sites and look around the room and examine the background looking for things as well as asking questions of people around you. In the case of background items these will not always be related to the case and a lot of the time it is just humor, but I still recommend checking everything just because it is a lot of fun to hear the character interactions. The humor in the game is pretty sexual for the earlier parts but that tends to get toned down further into the different routes. The other part of the gameplay is very different in structure. Date is not a normal detective, he is instead part of a secret division called ABIS which goes into dreams, called Somnium, in order to find out more about a case. When you are in a Somnium you can move around freely, however there is a 6-minute time limit. When you are moving this time limit will continue as normal, but it will slow down drastically when you do not move. You examine various items in order to progress through the puzzle and get to the end to figure out where you’re going. Sometimes these Somnium will have a branching path that will send you down a different route in the game. There are 5 different routes to complete, and you will want to complete them all otherwise the game is ridiculously short and you basically don’t even get any answers to what is going on. It is really easy to go back and complete other routes however. You have access to a flowchart that you can select various sections and go to an individual section of a day or just play through the area as a whole. So you are able to just select a Somnium with a branching path and go from there. These routes all have the same basic concepts but small changes and focuses on different characters will lead you to a different end and give you new details about the case overall. Every time you think you have come up with a conclusion about what is going on the game throws another wrench until just at the end where it starts giving you the final pieces of the puzzle and you just start throwing them together in your head and watch it unfold. The final ending of the game is one of the few games I can say has actually gotten tears out of me and it was an amazing experience all around. I definitely recommend looking into the game as it was a lot of fun to play through and the constant twists and turns of the story are an amazing experience.
2) Fire Emblem: Three Houses (245+ hours, 97.39%)
Let me just say that when I finally got this game for Christmas last year, I didn’t put it down until I had finished it. I fell in love with the characters and teaching them to become ruthless killing machines. The different experiences and points of view that you could take on different paths was amazing, finding small details in one path that add connections to other paths. While my first and favorite path will always be the Black Eagle route, the other routes all add various details that you can’t get through just one story. To understand everything going on in the game, you need to play it all. No one path contains all the information in the game, and by playing through them all you gain a deeper understanding for character motivations and how the world is. The combat was simple enough for beginners to the strategy genre but also allows for more difficult experiences with things like Maddening (not my type of playstyle). The Divine Pulse mechanic, giving you the ability to rewind to a specific action in the battle in order to undo a mistake and/or death, is a crutch that I mostly relied on early in the game before eventually outgrowing it and learning how to handle the battlefield better with more strategy and better units in subsequent playthroughs. While I originally played on Casual Mode, I switched to Classic for my other playthroughs and found myself thrilled by the challenge that permadeath provided. By the end of my Classic playthroughs I had always managed to keep my characters safe, never losing a single one (Divine Pulse excluded). There’s something so much more thrilling about the battles when the game is less about who you can sacrifice and more about how to safely fight your way through. On top of the combat, I of course have to talk about the music. Another one of my favorite soundtracks (I feel like I’m saying that about just about every JRPG I play) and one I’m always happy to hear come on in my playlist. It's amazing to me that I was so worried about my interest in the game and that a franchise I had brushed off in the past would overtake Breath of the Wild in my favorite Switch games. While this game is fantastic and would have absolutely stolen the show if I had played it for last year… because I waited it unfortunately had to place after a game that I knew straight from the reveal would be in my top 2 Switch games, top 2 games period at that, of all time.
1) Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (280+ hours, 99.40%)
This is going to be a long one, but it’s the #1 spot so I don’t really care. This first paragraph is going to be more rambly backstory than anything else, so if you don’t care about my life story feel free to skip ahead. Far and away my favorite game of the year, which is unfortunate because Three Houses would have also won in a landslide if I had played it last year when it released instead. I talked about it a little bit in my first yearly top 10 list with Xenoblade 2, but my history with Xenoblade is something I find interesting. I watched chuggaaconroy’s LP of Xenoblade as it was coming out back in 2014-2015. Despite enjoying the hell out of what I was seeing, eagerly waiting for 5pm to roll around for the next video directly from Episode 1 (something that despite enjoying chuggaaconroy before, during, and since his Xenoblade LP I was never and have never been as attached to one game), I never bought the game. At the time I was pretty much solely playing Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, Metroid, and Smash for games with the occasional random game in the mix. I had the game in my hands a couple times over the years but never followed through with it. Simple reasons like not wanting to pull out a Wii or just not wanting to pull the trigger on JRPGs. The release of Xenoblade 2 on Switch is one of the things that made me want my Switch (with the double punch of Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon at E3 2017 being the nail in the coffin). I knew I wanted to broaden my horizons on game genres and franchises, so why not start with the sequel to a game I desperately wanted to play? Obviously, I fell in love with Xenoblade 2 and it kickstarted my love for JRPGs in general. Alongside the build-up to Xenoblade 2, I couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to get an HD remake or remaster of the original. Fixing the only flaw that it had in the eyes of many people. Every single Direct throughout 2018 and 2019 I kept waiting for that magical announcement. I put “Xenoblade HD” on every single Direct Bingo card despite never actually expecting it. So of course when that September 2019 Direct rolled around, with plenty of evidence in the weeks before that something was happening from MonolithSoft, my hype was at an all-time high… and the reveal had me in tears.
Xenoblade Chronicles is an amazing game, an amazing franchise, built around story, characters, combat, and large, open(ish?) worlds to explore. The original game on the Wii is exceptional in every category except for graphics, which the Definitive Edition has drastically improved. The characters are able to emote in ways that they could only attempt before and it gives a lot more depth to various cutscenes throughout the game. As far as the various categories, the game is just as amazing as I remembered it. The characters all fall into your typical stereotypes, but they are not defined by their stereotypes. They are all people and you are able to connect to them because of it. Characters like Reyn may fall into the childhood friend/brawn-before-brains stereotypes, but he also has plenty of moments where it is clear he is more than that. While some of the characters may not carry the same level of significance throughout the story or into the final chapters, they are all great characters. This is where the idea of European accents for Xenoblade 2 came from, as the original is full of them. If anyone played Xenoblade 2 and was put off by the dub, please give this dub a shot. Characters like Shulk bring chills with their delivery in scenes and I honestly believe that even if you absolutely hated every other voice actor in the game that Adam Howden’s work as Shulk still makes the dub the best way to experience it. The story is amazing with constant twists and turns and is something that I wish everyone would experience once in their lives. At roughly 50-70 hours long it is also plenty long enough with enough content to stretch you easily over the 100 hour mark if you choose to. The game has an action combat system based around various things depending on the character. Characters like Shulk combine an offensive and supportive role by positioning himself around enemies to gain additional effects on his Arts while also healing and defending the rest of the party. Reyn is your typical aggro-drawing tank character to let Shulk get in some big hits without drawing attention to himself. Others are based on summoning elementals to buff the party’s stats and dealing heavy damage. The party all have their unique playstyles that can lead to you finding your favorite out of them no matter how you like to play. Make sure to switch your party around and experiment with the other members, don’t just stick with the first 3. Another thing that MonolithSoft is amazing at; the world is beautiful. There are plenty of different environments including lush fields, dark caves, murky-turned-breathtaking swamps, and icy mountains. Moving around on the surface of the Bionis makes you really feel small. Of course the world isn’t the same if you don’t have the music to back it up, and Xenoblade’s soundtrack is nearly unrivaled (in my opinion). With a huge amount of tracks for various emotions and types of scenes, it’s a soundtrack that I have been listening to for about 5 or 6 years now.
In the end, Xenoblade DE is still only my #2 favorite game on Switch. Still beaten out by Xenoblade 2. There are a couple of reasons for that. I believe the one reason that beats them all out is that Xenoblade 2 will always be the game that introduced me to an entire genre, to my favorite genre, and likely what convinced me that broadening my horizons for games was a good idea in general. However I do also prefer the characters of Xenoblade 2 and find them to boost the game up just enough. While I also prefer the story of XC1 to XC2, I do not believe XC2 to be a weak story like so many others believe. Xenoblade DE is a game that I can’t stop recommending to anyone who listens. My friends across Discord and real life know that I don’t shut up about it, to the point that I’ve been successful in luring multiple people in and getting them hooked. If you’re a fan of amazing stories, characters, soundtracks, and breathtaking views, do yourself a favor and buy this game. It’s an experience unlike any other.
15. Ori and the Will of the Wisps (15+ hours, 96.46%)
14. Octopath Traveler (200+ hours, 100.00%)
13. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (370+ hours, 92.10%)
12. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (55+ hours, 85.58%)
11. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (125+ hours, 95.87%)
10. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition (140+ hours, 86.76%)
9. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (45+ hours, 90.37%)
8. Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Complete Edition (135+ hours, 88.34%)
7. Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country (55+ hours, 100.00%)
6. AI: The Somnium Files (30+ hours, 100.00%)
5. Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (240+ hours, 98.85%)
4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (235+ hours, 93.43%)
3. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (245+ hours, 97.23%)
2. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (280+ hours, 99.40%)
1. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (935+ hours, 99.86%)
So there is my list for this year! I’d love to know what games you all played this year and what your favorites were. I think it’s a lot of fun to find out what games people enjoyed even if they didn’t release this year since maybe I find a new game to play out of it!

Hello again /Fantasy , It's been 3 months since my last bingo line review. This line took forever because I took a break to get into comic books for the first time in my life, and I'll talk about that in the reviews. Also, my newborn baby is now almost 4 months old and reading has taken a backseat to raising a child, which has it's own set of joys. I do miss the moment I had at the beginning of the bingo year, but I'm hoping to finish 4 more books in the next two months so that I can complete the whole bingo sheet before the next one comes out (I'll probably sit out of the next one since I want to read other stuff).
This line is the horizontal bottom line, so let's get started!
1. Novel with a number in the title: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo - This was a really fun heist book. It's a bit simpler than the gentleman bastards books, but no less enjoyable. The characters are fun and engaging, and the mark seems almost impossible, which creates some intense moments. I would recommend this book as light reading material and just a fun story. One thing I liked about it is that the story moves along at a very fast pace so there is no time to be bored. There isn't too much exposition, which suits me recently, and the dialogue is fun to read, as some of the characters are very cool. looking forward to reading the sequel next year!
2. Romantic Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: Polaris Rising - Jessie Mihalik - It took me a long time to land on this book for this square as I was really not interested in a romance book. I actually shopped around to try and find a book that looked fun but also was a bit short. So, I decided to go for Polaris Rising, and I'm glad I did. It was a fun pulp style book about a woman from a very rich family that is trying to go her own way and ends up in some trouble. There were just a few romance scenes that were easily skippable to get back into the story, and the story was a very basic escape story with some twists along the way. Overall I wouldn't recommend this book, but if you are in the mood for a Sci-Fi romance pulp light read, this is the one to go for.
3. Novel With a Magical Pet: Mort - Terry Pratchett - I reviewed this book in my first bingo line review, but just to give a quick review. It's Pratchett, who is great, and the book is a very fun book to read. The magical pet was a horse, which created some controversy on weather or not a horse equals a pet or a vehicle or tool or whatever. But in the end, it was my bingo so it was my decision and I decided I wanted to read a Pratchett book. Highly Recommended!
4. Graphic Novel: Infinity Countdown - Various Marvel authors/illustrators - Ok so before we get into the review let's talk about comic books vs graphic novels. When I was first shopping around for a good graphic novel I typed things into google like 'best fantasy graphic novels' and what I found was a list of ongoing series like Saga, Monstress, Lucifer, and the list goes on. What I realized was that there wasn't a huge difference between the two. I read a lot of Saga and Monstress, but then I thought that his square was a good opportunity to do something I have never done before in my 36 years of being a dork, and that is read some comic books. I decided to sign up for a Marvel Unlimited account and dove right in. Where do I start? Well, there was a handy guide online about where to start if you were new to Marvel Marvel Fresh Start Reading Order. There are hundreds of books to read, but it all starts with the Infinity Countdown series, which I read. So let's get into the review: Comic books kinda suck. lol. I had a really hard time understanding what the hell was going on half the time. I guess not having read like 100,000 comic books of backstory on these characters didn't help the situation, but comic books try to pack way too much story/action into just 27 pages. Marvel comics do not just stop and slow down and build an atmosphere, they try to tell an epic story very quickly and just jump from one insane story beat to the next. The characters are cool, the voice bubbles are sometimes fun to read or interesting, and the illustrations are amazing, but overall I am not really enjoying this as much as I was enjoying Saga or Monstress. It seems like Image comics or single story comics tell a much better story and take time to build an atmosphere. I'll continue with the fresh start reading order for marvel because I have a year subscription to the app, but I would say that single story graphic novels are much better.
5. Novel Featuring Politics: Lord of Emperors - Guy Gavriel Kay - Welp, one rule I made at the beginning of this bingo game for me was to read all different authors, but I caved when it came to Guy Gavriel Kay, because he is just so damn good. In a previous bingo line I read Sailing to Sarantium, which is part 1 of the 2 book series, and I just had to read part 2. The book fits this square perfectly as most of the book is about politics. Holy shit this book is amazing. Everything about this book is wonderful. I'm so sad I won't get to read about these characters anymore. I'm now a big fan of Kay, and I'll continue reading his other books. The story is set in a fake Byzantine Empire and follows the story of a Mosaicist who is tasked with making a mosaic on top of the biggest dome ever created in Sarantium, which is basically Constantinople. The mosaicist isn't the only character though, as the story jumps around POVs to different important, and less important characters around Sarantium, and how they effect the city and story they live in. The characters are so deep and full of life that you feel as if you know them deeply. The events in the book captivated me from start to finish and this is my #1 pick from the whole bingo list so far (both books of course).
Here is my ranking from this line:

1. Lord of Emperors
   
2. Mort
   
3. Six of Crows
   
4. Infinity Countdown
   
5. Polaris Rising
   

And there you have it, thanks for reading, and feel free to review any of these if you have read them in the comments below. Next line is the horizontal top, and my next book is going to be The Last Wish by Sapkowski. Only 4 more books to go until I clear the whole bingo card! This has been an amazing experience and I'm really glad I got to expand my interests. I also bought a couple kids books from the Richard Scary collection to read with my daughter, and we are both really enjoying those books as well. Until a month or two from now, thanks for reading!

After a late start I’ve completed my 2020 Book Bingo card, and I’ve enjoyed this so much that I’ll be doing it again next year. Bingo definitely got me to read some books I wouldn’t have read otherwise, with mostly positive results. I’ve reviewed some of these books before but have consolidated the shorter reviews here for convenience, with links to longer reviews.
NOVEL TRANSLATED FROM ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko (translated by Julia Meitov Hersey) is an enjoyable but complex book that needs to be read more than once to fully unpack. On a very superficial level the book is a “chosen-one goes to magic school” narrative, and it’s difficult not to compare some scenes to Harry Potter as you read them. A teenage girl growing up in Moscow is chosen to attend a mysterious Institute of Special Technologies in a remote Russian town, and learns about life, magic and reality. I found the settings intriguingly different – a Crimean seaside resort, a Moscow suburb and apartment block, and a small Russian town were relatable but slightly alien for this western reader, adding to the surreal tone of the book. However, there are much darker and more serious themes on top of the basic story. Part religious allegory, part philosophical discussion on the nature of reality, part satire on academia and education, part commentary on emotional abuse and mental health, and doubtless more that I have missed, this is easily the most difficult book that I read this year. There were times when I felt that degrees in Philosophy and Russian Literature would have been immensely helpful to understand what the authors were saying. Despite this I really enjoyed this book, even though it made me work a bit harder than I really wanted to; I cared about the characters and it was an engaging story even when I knew I was missing some of the subtext. Recommended if you want a book that will make you think about some difficult subjects (or as a gift to mess with your Harry Potter-obsessed relative!). This is the first book that I have read by these authors and I definitely want to read more from them.
SETTING FEATURING SNOW, ICE, OR COLD: The Enceladus Mission by Brandon Q. Morris. The story is an account of a near-future mission to explore the ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. There’s a very heavy focus on the science and engineering, but unfortunately this comes at the expense of the story; too many unnecessary details are explained in excessive detail (no, I did not need to have it explained that Luna is the Latin name for Earth’s moon!) and the pacing of the story suffers as a result. I kept comparing this with The Martian which has a similar hard science focus yet manages to tell a compelling and engaging story. In contrast, much of Enceladus felt flat. What worked: the design of the spaceship was interesting, and the story picked up once the mission reached its destination. What didn’t work: so much explanation, too many info dumps and unnecessary details. The book came in at nearly 400 pages (plus appendices with more information!) and would have benefited from being edited down to under 250 pages. Recommended if you want your SF heavy on the engineering and science and don’t mind being told all about it.
OPTIMISTIC SFF: Artemis by Andy Weir. Weir’s second novel has a very Heinlein-esque feel to it - snarky, hyper-competent heroine and her friends save their hometown from the mob, hometown being Artemis, the first city on the moon. Artemis is by far the best-developed character in the book and it’s obvious that Weir spent more time on the setting and the technology than on the cast of two-dimensional human characters (but that’s why we’re reading Andy Weir in the first place, right?). I enjoyed this one; it isn’t The Martian but it’s a fun read that gets the job done and sometimes that’s all you need from a book.
NOVEL FEATURING NECROMANCY: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir. I wasn’t sure what to expect going in but Gideon the Ninth was an absolute blast. The book is, at its heart, a novel version of a haunted house horromystery story. Sixteen guests are invited to a decaying palace for reasons they don’t completely understand. Not everyone is who they seem to be. Guests start dying – can the survivors solve the mystery before they all die? The guests are the chosen representatives of eight imperial houses of an interstellar empire, two per house, with each fitting a common stereotype for these kinds of mysteries: the soldier, the doctor, the teenager, etc, etc. The twist is that, regardless of stereotypes, the guests are either necromancers or warriors, one each from the eight houses. All are intimately familiar with death but now find themselves mystified and outclassed by whatever is killing them. In keeping with the presence of necromancers, nearly everything in the story is in some state of decay. The imperial houses are decadent and at least some seem to be dying out. The palace that is the setting for much of the story is literally falling apart and is only partially habitable. The Empire itself, despite its implied power, appears to be in a state of political decline. Gideon the Ninth is a wonderful piece of worldbuilding, well written with a tongue-in-cheek, bawdy, sense of humour that makes the book and characters come alive in spite of the theme of death and decay. The book is the first of a trilogy, and although the central mystery is wrapped up nicely by the end, there are a few unresolved questions left for the subsequent books. Recommended to anyone who just wants to read something different – I guarantee this is different from whatever you’re reading now.
ACE / ARO SPEC FIC: Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. I’m pretty sure everyone here is familiar with Murderbot, and I don’t have any stunning new insights to share. Highly enjoyable light reading. Now excuse me while I get caught up on the latest download of Sanctuary Moon.
NOVEL FEATURING A GHOST: Ghost Stories of an Antiquary and Ghost Stories of an Antiquary Part 2: More Ghost Stories by M R James. These are classic late 19th and early 20th century ghost stories, with haunted houses, cursed objects, and vengeful ghosts the way they should be done. James fully understands that the best horror comes from the anticipation and from the details left to the readers imagination. The prose is dated but still easily readable, and I found that it added to the mood of the books; the style and the small taken-for-granted details set the stories firmly in time and place in a way that a modern writer would have trouble emulating. Add in the masterful structure and pacing of the stories and it’s easy to understand why these are regarded as some of the best of their kind. I thought I had read most of M R James’ ghost stories, since they show up in anthologies from time-to-time and some have been adapted for TV, but when I downloaded the ebooks from Project Gutenberg a year or so ago, just to have them in my collection, I was pleasantly surprised to find that about two-thirds of the stories were new to me. I saved them to read in the run-up to Halloween and have enjoyed them immensely. While they may not have their original impact on 21st century readers spoiled by too many horror movies and games, the stories are still atmospheric and make a good read for a dark autumn evening.
NOVEL FEATURING EXPLORATION: A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. The epigraph that opens this book begins “A man stole my dog. I went after him. Bad things happened …”, which pretty much sums up the plot. A teenage boy has to find his way across post-apocalyptic Britain in search of his stolen dog. I posted a full review here. The book has flaws, but I’ve read many better-written books that had less impact on me. Highly recommended.
CLIMATE FICTION: The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon and S.L. Huang. I’ve been interested to read this since it was announced by Serial Box, just because of the authors involved (for those not familiar with the Serial Box process, each author writes two or three chapters of the story according to a pre-agreed plot outline). The story is a space-opera updated for the 21st century, an allegory for the current climate change and refugee crises, with a suitably diverse cast of characters. Set in a solar system with multiple inhabited planets, human intervention has damaged the sun causing it to slowly cool down. The outer planets are literally freezing to death and refugees are migrating inwards to planets that are habitable now but will also freeze in a century or two. The plot set-up is straightforward, revolving around the protagonists trying to find out what has happened to a missing ship carrying refugees from one of the outer planets, but can the talented team of authors make everything work? The answer is a qualified yes, in that the story is told consistently and coherently across the ten chapters in the book without awkward changes in style from chapter to chapter. However, this comes at a price; the overall writing quality feels averaged-out rather than representing the best that these authors are capable of. There are some exceptions to this – the interviews with refugees written by Becky Chambers, for example, – but most of the time the writing is good rather than great. There also seem to be a few editing/continuity errors between chapters, which doesn’t help. That said, The Vela is enjoyable action-oriented space opera that touches on some serious current issues. The various factions are depicted in shades of moral gray rather than good vs. bad as they all struggle with the question of how to make a life for their families and communities in a progressively deteriorating situation. I can’t help thinking that if the authors had been able to collaborate on this book in a less-restrictive format then The Vela could have been a great book instead of just a good book.
NOVEL WITH A COLOUR IN THE TITLE: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French is the Swords and Sorcery/Sons of Anarchy mashup that I didn’t know I needed. Half-orc gang-members riding domesticated boars (aka “hogs”) defend their wasteland home from orcs, centaurs, wizards, and anyone else who gets in the way. Solid writing combined with some imaginative, tongue-in-cheek, world building makes for a memorable book. The Grey Bastards is a great escapist read that that takes some familiar tropes and finds a new way to use them while telling an entertaining story. The warriors are brave, the wizards are rare but powerful and the women can generally look after themselves, thank you very much. Recommended for anyone looking for an original take on traditional sword and sorcery-style fantasy (just be aware there are a few explicit sex scenes).
ANY FANTASY BOOK CLUB BOOK OF THE MONTH: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (Re-read). I rarely re-read books, but this one was totally worth it. Le Guin’s skill as an author is on full display here, and the deceptively simple prose packs so much information, atmosphere and feeling into so few words. No surprise that it’s become a classic of the genre - just brilliant. Spoiler I’m still mad about Hoeg the Otak, though.
SELF-PUBLISHED SFF NOVEL: Never Die by Rob J. Hayes. If only all self-published books were this good! Never Die is an engaging Japanese/Chinese wuxia-themed fantasy with a deceptively simple plot – a young boy recruits a group of heroes to help him kill the bad guy. However, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a more complicated story just beneath the surface, not least because the heroes are “recruited” when the young boy brings them back to life after they have died. Minor spoiler the author does a good job of building hints and clues into the text so that the resolution of the story makes sense without having been completely obvious. I thought I knew what was happening but there were still some surprises in the last few chapters. This isn’t a sub-genre I have much exposure too (I watched “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” once, and that’s about it) so I can’t comment on how representative of Wuxia the book is, but the story kept a reasonable pace with plenty of action to move things along. The characters were slightly stereotyped but had enough life to them that it was interesting to watch them develop, both as individuals and as a group, over the course of the story. Never Die was an enjoyable and easy read that held my interest to the end and I’ll certainly be looking at the author’s other books.
NOVEL WITH CHAPTER EPIGRAPHS: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. This is an impressive first novel, clearly inspired by CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series. I was worried during the early chapters that the story was going to be too closely based on Cherryh’s work, from the general premise of a talented linguist finding their place as new diplomat in a foreign court to small details like message cylinders and fatal food allergies. Fortunately, the book quickly finds its own voice, the story takes off, and then it doesn’t let up, delivering all the political intrigue you could want against a background of looming civil war and potential alien invasion. An outstanding book, congrats to the author for winning the Hugo last year. My only complaint is that I need to wait until next year for the sequel.
NOVEL PUBLISHED IN 2020: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune. A drab bureaucrat approaching middle-age is sent to inspect an orphanage housing six unusual children and learns about life, love, and the meaning of family. I started the book with high expectations from all the enthusiastic recommendations here on Fantasy but came away disappointed; even the most popular books are not going to work for everyone. I enjoyed reading the book and the children are certainly memorable but, unfortunately, I found that the book felt cartoonish and insubstantial. The characters were either GOOD™ or BAD™, the plot was predictable, and the story lacked any real tension. *The House …” is a feel-good read with a commendable message of diversity and acceptance, but ultimately not what I was looking for in a book (at least at the time that I read it). Do I regret reading the book? No. Was it one of my top reads of the year? Also no. Recommended if you need some easy reading with a positive message.
NOVEL SET IN A SCHOOL OR UNIVERSITY: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo features ghosts, dark magic, power and privilege among the old secret societies of Yale University, known as the Ancient Eight or The Houses of the Veil. This is a highly readable urban fantasy with a side of horror as the protagonist tries to solve a murder that may be linked to magical rituals performed by one or more of the eight Yale Houses. Alex Stern, a recovering drug addict, social misfit and academic drop out, is admitted to Yale because she has a singular special talent: she can see and communicate with ghosts. She has been recruited by Lethe House, the ninth house of the title, whose role is to ensure the magical activities of the other houses remain safe and don’t harm innocent bystanders. Shortly after she arrives a young woman is murdered, and Alex must use her talent to determine if this is due to the magical practices of the Houses. Ninth House is a nicely thought-out story, carefully interweaving fact and fiction about Yale University and the City of New Haven to create a believable setting. There’s a strand of social commentary about the relationship between magical and mundane power, about the relationship between the elites of Yale and regular students, and about the relationship between the University and the city of New Haven, all of which feeds into the plot. The characters are engaging, there are multiple plot twists (some more obvious than others), and the story held my interest to the end. Recommended for anyone looking for a solid fantasy murder mystery or for a new take on school/university-based fantasy.
BOOK ABOUT BOOKS: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. January is a young girl of unusual appearance and mysterious origins raised as the ward of a wealthy benefactor, who is also her father’s employer. It’s revealed very early in the story that the doors of the title are portals between worlds, and over the course of the book January learns of the true nature of the doors and of her ability to use them. Interwoven with January’s story is the story of her missing mother and her mostly absent father, told in a mysterious book called “The Ten Thousand Doors” that comes into January’s possession. The core of the novel is a conventional coming-of-age story conveyed as an enjoyable feminist take on the “boy’s own”-style pulp adventure stories of the early 1900’s (explicitly referenced as a favorite reading material for January), but the book is also a powerful commentary on belonging and friendship. Much of the story is set in the USA during the opening years of the 20th century, where status is completely dependent on race, gender, and wealth. Because of her gender, age, and appearance January has an awkward and poorly defined status that is completely dependent on her benefactor. She is brought up to “fit in” to high society, but she doesn’t really fit in anywhere and is relegated to the lowest echelons of society when her benefactor proves untrustworthy. Forced to fend for herself, she must rely on the help of her few friends, on the guidance in “The Ten Thousand Doors”, and on the kindness of strangers to develop the confidence and competence that she needs to survive and to find her parents. This is a thoroughly engrossing read with engaging characters and a satisfying plot. The narrative structure of a “book within a book” is well executed and effectively keeps the mystery and tension building until the plot begins to resolve later in the book. Special mention for scene-stealing goes to January’s faithful dog Bad, who is a bad dog but a VERY good boy. This book was good/popular enough that it seemed to be on every award shortlist in 2020. As far as I know it didn’t win anything, and on reflection I would have to say that’s probably fair – it’s a good book but doesn’t consistently rise above that level. While it’s nominally YA I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written escapist adventure.
A BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH: Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. S.T. the pet crow vs the zombie apocalypse! This book sets out to answer one of life’s most pressing questions: what happens to the pets during a zombie outbreak? When S.T.’s owner starts behaving strangely S.T. is willing to do whatever it takes to help him get better. S.T. is a unique character, a wisecracking crow who’s convinced he’s a human. Navigating his way through post-apocalyptic Seattle with his companion Dennis the dog, S.T. tries to understand what has happened and what he can do to make a difference. The book is hilariously funny, but with an undercurrent of sadness just below the surface, and it has a strong message about the importance of balance and community in life. This is an impressive first novel; Kira Jane Buxton a has a warped and disturbingly dark sense of humor, to which the only possible response is “When’s her next book coming out?”
FIVE SFF SHORT STORIES: Punktown by Jeffrey Thomas. I found this one from a recommendation on printSF. It’s a collection of short stories set in a far-future city inhabited by both humans and numerous alien races. The setting is thoroughly seedy and the flavour of the stories runs from noir-detective through Lovecraftian horror. Some stories were inevitably better than others, as with any collection, but overall this was an enjoyable read both for the setting and the stories.
BIG DUMB OBJECT: Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear. I was very pleased to finally find a good new space opera series. Before reading this I had tried A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, Embers of War, and The Wrong Stars, but I just couldn’t get into them. Ancestral Night has everything; big dumb objects, mysterious aliens, mysterious characters, cats, philosophical discussions, space pirates, alien technology, it’s all there. Elizabeth Bear hits all the right notes with this one and gets bonus points for the nod to James White at the end.
FEMINIST NOVEL: A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason. An outstanding first contact novel told from an anthropological and sociological perspective. A human starship arrives at an earth-like planet orbiting Sigma Draconis and contact teams are landed. The natives are at an iron-age and pre-urban level of civilization but have a sophisticated culture and mythology which is revealed as the story progresses. In particular, the nature of the relationship between native males and females is completely non-human and has played a major role in the development of the natives’ civilization. I posted a full review here. This is a low-key but engrossing and enjoyable read.
NOVEL BY A CANADIAN AUTHOR: Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay. Considering that Kay is one of the best fantasy authors out there, I haven’t read nearly enough of his books. The only excuse that I have is that there’s so much to consider and internalize in his books that it takes me time to digest them before I’m ready to take on another one. On the plus side, that means I still have a lot of his books to look forward to. Anyway, the last thing Sailing to Sarantium needs is another reddit review, so I’m just going to list a few personal highlights. First, the encounter with the forest god and the preceding events is a masterpiece of fantasy horror writing. It would have made a fine novella or movie even if the rest of the book had never been written. Next, the chariot race had me replaying the scene from Ben Hur in my mind, only now with improved details and more excitement. Finally, the closing description of Crispin’s vision for the final design of his mosaic is a beautiful and moving finale to a truly great book. (Bonus mini-highlight: the ultimate fate of the Imperial messenger Pronobius was a genuinely funny commentary on the reliability of historical accounts.)
NOVEL WITH A NUMBER IN THE TITLE: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. This one achieves the trifecta – highly enjoyable, well written and original. The book starts as a country-house murder mystery but quickly becomes much more than that - Spoiler Imagine that Agatha Christie writes Groundhog Day crossed with The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It’s better if you go into this knowing as little as possible. One of my best reads of the year.
ROMANTIC FANTASY / PARANORMAL ROMANCE: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Also one of my best reads of the year, even though it took me a while to get into it. The structure of the story is non-linear, with several storylines, set at different times, that circle around each other before merging at various points in the book. Once I was comfortable with this the book was a complete pleasure to read, with beautiful and evocative prose. The Night Circus is simultaneously the tale of a magical contest, of a mysterious circus and of a romance which ultimately prove to be the same thing seen from different viewpoints (and if you’re thinking this is nonsense, how can a circus be a romance, then you’ll have to read the book to find out). Like the storylines, the elements of contest, circus, and romance circle around each other before Morgenstern brings everything together in a slightly bittersweet but comfortably satisfying conclusion. If any of this sounds even slightly interesting then read the book; you won’t regret it. On a side note, the theme of the titular Night Circus is “Black and White”, and I feel as if The Night Circus should be read alongside Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes for the full black and white circus experience.
NOVEL WITH A MAGICAL PET: Blackfish City by Sam J Miller. Another book in which the setting is a bigger character than the protagonists. Qaanaaq is a floating city built in the Arctic as a refuge from a warming, flooded world, inhabited by the super-rich founding shareholders and super-poor refugees from around the world. Various factions collide as they compete for power, try to find lost family, and take revenge on old rivals. The story is told from multiple points-of-view and each POV chapter is short, almost a vignette, so POV changes frequently as the story progresses. Unfortunately, that approach didn’t really work for me; it took too long for the story to come together and I ended up caring more about the city than the characters. That said, the city is a wonderful piece of world-building that made up for other weaknesses in the book. Overall, not a bad book but this one didn’t quite work for me.
FORMAT: GRAPHIC NOVEL (AT LEAST 1 VOL.) OR AUDIOBOOK / AUDIO DRAMA: Stand Still, Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg. This long-running webcomic, published regularly since 2013 and now past 1100 pages, is an imaginative post-apocalyptic story that treads a fine line between science fiction and fantasy, drawing on Norse and Finnish mythology for elements of both story and illustration. I posted a full review here. This webcomic is something special; I read to the end of Book 1 (276 pages online) but I will definitely be coming back for the rest of the story.
NOVEL FEATURING POLITICS: Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald. Multiple previous reviewers have noted this book’s parallels to Dune, Game of Thrones, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, The Godfather and even Dallas. They’re all correct, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that this book is somehow just a lazy re-working of old tropes and cliches. Luna: New Moon is both an enjoyable homage to its predecessors and an exceptional work of world building in its own right. This is a much more conventional science fiction novel than many of McDonald’s other works, but it is still unmistakably an Ian McDonald book. There’s plenty of political commentary and a focus on non-western cultures which all add to the quality of the story. I liked this book a great deal and I’ve posted a full review here. Strongly recommended to anyone looking for a well-written hard SF political thriller.
SOME CLOSING COMMENTS, LISTS, ETC. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for staying with me. I’ve chosen not to give books numerical ratings, as I find it impossible to give consistent ratings over the course of a year. Similarly, my choice for the top books would change from day to day. However, I can’t resist including a few lists, so here goes:
Best Prose
1) Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay. The encounter with the forest god is just sublime.
2) A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K Le Guin. A masterpiece.
3) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Beautifully written, with hints of Ray Bradbury and Mary Stewart
Most fun to read
1) Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. Off-the-wall-crazy premise carried out perfectly, with a wonderfully warped sense of humour.
2) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir. Some seriously disturbing (disturbed?) worldbuilding combined with tongue-in-cheek wit.
3) Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy by Martha Wells. Easy reads with an engaging and original protagonist.
Best Discovery
1) Stand Still, Stay Silent by Minna Sundberg. For a webcomic chosen more or less at random for the graphic novel square, this was pure gold.
2) The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. An original premise skillfully executed by a new author – I’m looking forward to reading his second book.
3) A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason. Very much an overlooked classic that I had missed when it first came out.
Honourable Mentions
1) A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. The book has flaws but was memorable and impactful.
2) Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear. Highly entertaining space opera with the right mix of serious and sense-of-wonder.
3) Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald. An excellent author just having some fun.
Most Disappointing (it’s important to note that these aren’t bad books, they just aren’t what I hoped they would be).
1) The House on the Cerulean Sea by by T.J. Klune. I had high expectations based on how popular this book is on this sub, but it just didn’t work for me.
2) The Enceladus Mission by Brandon Q. Morris. A potentially good story buried inside a giant data dump.
3) The Vela by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon and S.L. Huang. Excellent authors couldn’t quite break through the Serial Box format. I enjoyed the book, but I was expecting more.

I did one of these last year, too (List here, if interested: https://www.reddit.com/Fantasy/comments/egmi37/my_2019_list_didnt_reach_my_goal_of_100_books_but/ )
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Again, like last year, I aimed for 100 books and fell somewhat short. A large reason for this was because my job furloughed me for six weeks during the summer, and I was also on paternity leave around the same time. I typically don't read (or in my case listen, since I do almost exclusively audiobooks) at home unless I'm mowing the lawn or doing other chores. In case any of you, like the folks in last year's thread, are wondering-- I have a lot of listening time when I'm at my job or commuting to my job. Yes, I generally remember what happens in books (** as long as I found the book interesting).
I compiled this list throughout the year and added rankings after every month and then every quarter. There are also paragraphs detailing my thoughts on my reads for some of the months (these were written at the time of, not today). I'll note which books I read for Bingo, also. Hopefully you enjoy.
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Warning: Wall of text incoming.
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January 2020:

1. Unsouled by Will Wight
   
2. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
   
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
   
4. Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
   
5. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller [Have yet to actually finish]
   
6. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
   
7. The Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
   
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick
   
9. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
   
10. Song of Susannah by Stephen King
    

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January in Review:
Top 3: Ten Thousand Doors of January, Unsouled, This is How You Lose the Time War
Bottom 3: Song of Susannah, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Edgedancer
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I really loved Ten Thousand Doors of January and it may be a big early contender for my book of the year. I also liked Unsouled a lot and am very ready to continue the Cradle series once I get through the rest of The Dark Tower. I love how short, yet action packed and fun Unsouled was. This Is How You Lose the Time War has an amazing concept and is probably one of the best romances I've ever read. BladerunneDo Androids... was a cool premise and a fun enough book but the ending was a bit on the lacking side and overall I was just ready for the book to end. Song of Susannah, while still enjoyable was easily one of the worst Dark Tower books. Edgedancer just didn't really click that much for me, much like Elantris. As for the other books I didn't select-- Night Circus was beautifully written with vibrant, lyrical prose but I just found myself really bored even though the book intrigued me greatly. This caused me to take The Starless Sea off my immediate TBR. Binti was really good, just not top 3 material. I will be reading more into that universe in March most likely. Wolves, like Susannah, was not one of my favorite Dark Tower books but did progress the plot quite a bit. Lastly, Song of Achilles, much like Circe last year, is me and my wife's "road trip" audiobook and as such I'll be reading bits and pieces of it throughout the year (at least until we are on house arrest post-June).
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February 2020:

1. The Dark Tower by Stephen King
   
2. Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
   
3. Thorn of the Night Blossom by JC Kang
   
4. From a Certain Point of View by Renee Ahdieh and others (DNF 69%)
   
5. Balam, Spring by Travis Riddle
   
6. The Ritualist by Dakota Krout
   
7. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien
   

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February in Review:
Top 3: The Dark Tower, Balam, Spring, The Ritualist
Bottom 3: From a Certain Point of View, Thorn of the Night Blossom, Wind Through the Keyhole
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Disclaimer: I am less than halfway done with The Two Towers, or I would have included it in the top 3 for sure. I will likely have to include it in the March top 3 as a result. I'll start with my thoughts on the bottom 3. From a Certain Point of View started out as a pretty fun foray into the Star Wars universe, retelling A New Hope from a variety of different character perspectives. Unfortunately, these stories were very hit or miss in terms of entertainment and I found myself zoning out a lot during the more boring or contrived ones, and as such I did not finish it. Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King was by no means bad, I actually enjoyed it a fair bit-- but again my mind wandered a lot during the middle. The end pay off with Roland and his mother was worth the sloggy bits though. Oh, and more Randall Flagg of course. Thorn of the Night Blossom was really interesting from a worldbuilding perspective with a LOT of focus on sexuality, prostitution, etc. I wouldn't say I disliked it necessarily, but I do think the series likely gets better as it progresses (I will eventually get to the sequels since the author gave me codes for them). Balam, Spring was a nice slice-of-life fantasy in a Final Fantasy inspired world that I thought had a lot of charm. I enjoyed the characters and their backstories and would like to read the next in the series. The Ritualist was my first step into LitRPG and I have to say I liked it more than I thought I would. The humor didn't always hit its mark but I thought the overall rules of the world were fun and I'd like to see where Joe goes in future novels. The Dark Tower broke my heart to pieces and then left me pondering heavily after it was all finished. I know there's a lot of animosity surrounding the ending but in a lot of ways I thought it was quite fitting. And quite hopeful. Of course King had to kill all of my favorite characters.
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March 2020:

1. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor
   
2. Elements of Style: Workbook by William Strunk Jr. (still working through)
   
3. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
   
4. Return of the King by JRR Tolkien
   
5. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
   

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March in Review: I guess since I really only finished 4 books I'll just say that I enjoyed Library at Mount Char and Gideon the Ninth the most, while Binti the least.
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I don't know why I didn't read as much this month as in the previous ones, maybe from all the COVID-19 business, or just that I had some days where I said "fuck it" and just listened to music instead of audiobooks. Anyways. I listened to Binti because I'd already started the series and my loan for Home came in. It was okay, nothing special. It was short at least. The third book will be in here in a few weeks so I'll probably knock it out too. The Elements of Style workbook is definitely a challenge for any aspiring writer, hence why I'm still struggling through it. The Library at Mount Char is one of my favorite books I've ever read, seriously. I've never said "what the fuck?" out loud to myself so many times while reading a book. This supernatural, lovecraftian, murder-mystery, whodunit just had me reeling the entire time through. So much so that I bought a hardcover copy after I finished it to force others to read it. The Return of the King is a classic well-deserved of its classic status. Lyrical prose and an epic tale. There isn't much else to say about LOTR at this point. Gideon the Ninth was a hilarious, brutal, and tragic romp through scifi/fantasy hybrid territory that reminded me a lot of Destiny (the game) in a lot of ways. I am very excited for the sequel later this year and likely will pre-order it on Audible.
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First Quarter Rankings:
Top 3:

1. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
   
2. The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
   
3. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
   

Bottom 3:

1. From a Certain Point of View
   
2. Binti: Home
   
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
   

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April 2020:

1. Soulsmith by Will Wight
   
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman [Bingo: Ghost]
   
3. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison [Bingo: Optimistic]
   
4. Blackflame by Will Wight
   
5. Skysworn by Will Wight
   
6. Ghostwater by Will Wight
   
7. Underlord by Will Wight
   
8. Uncrowned by Will Wight
   
9. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill [Bingo: Magical Pet]
   
10. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks [Bingo: School]
    

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April in Review: (I'm only letting myself pick 1 Cradle for each)
Top 3: Ghostwater, The Goblin Emperor, The Blinding Knife
Bottom 3: The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Soulsmith, The Graveyard Book
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Fantasy 2020 Bingo started this month! After taking quite a while to get through last year's list I decided I'd try to get a jump start on this year's with 5 squares right off the rip. However, this plan got derailed really quickly when I got hooked by Will Wight's Cradle in all its Naruto-esque glory. So yeah, I read all the books in the series in less than a month (aside from book 1). I plan on reading his other series now as well, but I have some things I want to get done before then. Speaking of which, that is the reason I read The Blinding Knife. Both the Lightbringer series and Powder Mage series are things I've left open after reading the first book of, for months. I finally want to close up these loose ends before I forget everything in the first books. As for the other books I read, The Girl Who Drank the Moon was charming and enchanting for sure, but I used it as a palate cleanse after 5 straight Cradle books and it just didn't have enough action to keep my mind from wandering. The Graveyard Book was cute and cool, typical Neil Gaiman fare. Not my favorite by him, but still good by default. The Goblin Emperor was fantastic, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. So onto May, where we will continue with Lightbringer and (hopefully) dig into Powder Mage. Lightbringer has a few big books though, so we'll see (the final book is the size of 4 Cradle books lmao).
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May 2020:

1. The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks
   
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (DNF 33%)
   
3. The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks
   
4. The Burning White by Brent Weeks
   

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May in Review:
Top 1: The Burning White
Bottom 1: Hitchhiker's Guide
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Well I took about 2 weeks off of consistent reading in May due to being at home furloughed from my job. But I did manage to finish the Lightbringer series, so there's that. All in all I enjoyed the series, but I felt like a lot of stuff could have been either cut out entirely or fleshed out more. The final book really wrapped up well (if you read the secret chapter post-acknowledgements at least) and I was satisfied with the outcomes of most of the characters. A lot of folks online complain that this book had too much deux ex machina at the end, and I can see that, but those parts were simultaneously some of the coolest parts to me so I'm okay with it. I tried briefly to use Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a palate cleanse between Lightbringer books but I just could not get into it. I didn't care about what was happening and I didn't find it all that funny, either. I guess some books just don't work for some people. Maybe I'll try again someday. Up next I'm going to dig into The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey because my wife and I are enjoying the TV show quite a lot. Looking forward to it. I'll be off for 6 consecutive weeks between June and July so we'll see how much I get read. I plan on using some of that time to get back into the flow of writing again. Wish me luck.
June 2020:

1. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey [Bingo: Big Dumb Object]
   
2. Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
   
3. Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
   

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Not a lot to say about this month other than my wife gave birth to two beautiful girls right at the beginning of it, so you can imagine my free time skidded to a very sudden halt. I decided to start up The Expanse series after having watched some of the Amazon Prime series and enjoying it. I'm really enjoying this series so far and can't wait to see how it evolves moving forward. I've read an AMA from the authors and they seem like really cool and intelligent guys. A slow month for reading, to be sure, and we'll have to bounce back in future months if we want to hit our 100 by 2021 goal.
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Top 1: Leviathan Wakes
Bottom 1: Abaddon's Gate
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Second Quarter Rankings:
Top 3:

1. Ghostwater by Will Wight
   
2. Leviathan Wakes by James SA Corey
   
3. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
   

Bottom 3:

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
   
2. The Graveyard Book
   
3. The Girl Who Drank the Moon
   

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July 2020:

1. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman [Bingo: Cold]
   
2. Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
   
3. The Sandman (Audible) by Neil Gaiman
   
4. Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
   
5. Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey
   

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This month we got back into the swing of things a bit better. While still furloughed/on paternity leave I didn't get a whole lot done, other than when cleaning or mowing. Once I got back to work near the end of the month, though, I blasted out three books practically back to back. I finished Babylon's Ashes on August 1st to be fair but I still logged it as July. We are approaching the end of The Expanse and I'm looking forward to the conclusion, though I do still have the novellas to work through. Sandman audio adaptation was utterly fantastic. The Golden Compass I was less impressed by than the show, but I will likely continue at some point. Just not anytime in the immediate future. When I finish up The Expanse next month I'll likely begin my Stormlight Archives listen-through in preparation for Rhythm of War's release in November--but I'll probably listen to the Gideon the Ninth sequel before that if I remember. 12/31 Edit: I LOVE NEMESIS GAMES
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Top 2: The Sandman, Nemesis Games
Bottom 2: The Golden Compass, Babylon's Ashes
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August 2020

1. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
   
2. Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey
   
3. Strange Dogs by James S.A. Corey
   
4. The Churn by James S.A. Corey
   
5. Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
   
6. Gods of Risk by James S.A. Corey
   
7. Auberon by James S.A. Corey
   
8. Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey
   
9. Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman
   
10. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson [Bingo: Climate]
    
11. Sandman: The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman/Yoshitaka Amano
    
12. Once Upon a Time in the North by Phillip Pullman
    
13. A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie
    

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I am writing this on December 30th, so my memory is a little foggy. Here goes: I believe this was the first month that I was back from furlough/paternity leave, so I got quite a bit read upon returning. I remember feeling fairly bored and disjointed throughout Lovecraft Country, especially in comparison to the fast paced Expanse books I had been devouring. I both loved and hated Harrow the Ninth; it was hilarious and chaotic and fun, but it confused the shit out of me. Sandman: Overture was beautiful and awesome. My first Audible listen of The Way of Kings gave me a new appreciation for the series. Re-listening to A Little Hatred was excellent, as well.
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Top 3: Tiamat's Wrath, Sandman: Overture, The Way of Kings
Bottom 3: Lovecraft Country, Once Upon a Time in the North, Gods of Risk
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September 2020:

1. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
   
2. Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne M. Valente
   
3. The House with the Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs [Bingo: Book of the Month]
   
4. The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie [Bingo: Politics]
   
5. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini [Bingo: Exploration]
   
6. The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter [Bingo: Candian Author]
   
7. The Soul's Curse by Cole T. Adams (Ebook) [Bingo: Self-Published]
   

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Mass Effect: Annihilation didn't wow me as much as I'd hoped it would have. The House With... bored me to tears, despite only being a couple of hours long. The Trouble With Peace was fantastic; I even posted a review here on Fantasy of it. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was cool but could have been ten hours shorter probably. I loved Rage of Dragons despite finding it difficult to keep up with the names at times. The Soul's Curse was somewhat of a chore to read (was one of the only non-audiobooks I read this year) because it was riddled with typos (this was an ARC review copy). Plot was fine enough.
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Top 3: Trouble with Peace, Rage of Dragons, Words of Radiance
Bottom 3: Soul's Curse, House with ..., Mass Effect: Annihilation
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Third Quarter Rankings:
Top 3:

1. Nemesis Games by James SA Corey
   
2. The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie
   
3. The Sandman (Audible) by Neil Gaiman
   

Bottom 3:

1. The Soul's Curse
   
2. House With a Clock in Its Walls
   
3. Lovecraft Country
   

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October 2020:

1. Wintersteel by Will Wight [Bingo: Published in 2020]
   
2. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson [DNF]
   
3. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
   
4. Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow [Bingo: Feminist]
   
5. Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
   

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I fucking loved Wintersteel and Once and Future Witches. I somehow forgot to add it but somewhere in the last month or two I also re-read Uncrowned by Will Wight to get ready for Wintersteel. Oh well. When I originally read Warbreaker in text form about two years ago it was an absolute slog to get through. I was hoping Audible would be an easier medium for me to read it, and I was still wrong. I don't know if its because its not narrated by Kramer and Reading like the other Cosmere books, or what, but I just could not bring myself to care enough to keep going. Oathbringer was great. Phoenix Extravagant was my first dip into Yoon Ha Lee's work, and I enjoyed it enough. It was weird, but I liked it. I'd like to read his Machinations of Empire series sooner rather than later.
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Top 2: Wintersteel, Once and Future Witches
Bottom 2: Warbreaker, Phoenix Extravagant
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November 2020:

1. Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
   
2. The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski [Bingo: Translated]
   
3. Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw
   
4. Grave Importance by Vivan Shaw (DNF--hold lapse)
   

**Boku no Hero Academia: Chapters 49-89
(9 Chapters = 1 Volume)
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I, unlike many of my friends, loved Rhythm of War. I didn't like it slow or plodding like many of them did. Tower of Fools was alright. Very funny but I absolutely could not keep track of the dozens of character names. I love the Dr. Greta Helsing books by Vivian Shaw. I was gutted when my hold lapsed on Grave Importance (thanks to me being quarantine pending a COVID test). I am enjoying the My Hero Academia manga quite a lot so far.
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Top: Rhythm of War
Bottom: Tower of Fools
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December 2020:

1. Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone [Bingo: Number in Title]
   
2. The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan [Bingo: Color in Title]
   
3. The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan (currently reading)
   

**Boku no Hero Academia: Chapters 90-128
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I didn't really dislike anything I read this month. Three Parts Dead was pretty cool and I'd like to dig further into The Craft Sequence when I get some other stuff off of my TBR plate. I finally decided I'd go ahead and finish the Powder Mage trilogy to finish out the year and am glad I did. It took me like, a full year to read A Promise in Blood so I was surprised when Crimson Campaign gripped me from beginning to end. I'm about halfway through book 3 as I write this.
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Fourth Quarter Rankings:
Top 3:

1. Wintersteel by Will Wight
   
2. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
   
3. The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
   

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Bottom 3:

1. Tower of Fools
   
2. Warbreaker
   
3. Phoenix Extravagant
   

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Year End Rankings:
Top Five:

1. Wintersteel by Will Wight
2. The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
3. Nemesis Games by James SA Corey
4. The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
5. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

Runner Ups: The Trouble With Peace, Gideon the Ninth, The Sandman
Bottom Five:

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
2. From a Certain Point of View by Renee A. and others
3. Mass Effect: Annihilation by Catherynne Valente
4. The Soul's Curse by Cole T. Adams
5. The House With the Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

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Closing Thoughts and Looking Forward to 2021:
Well, that was quite the reading journey. I found a lot of new authors and series that I love, and only had a few sour apples out of my batch so I'd call that a win. Next year I'm going to finish up my Bingo squares to start the year, and then I'm looking at checking out the Thrawn Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn, and possibly taking the big step into Malazan after that. I'd also like to potentially dip my feet into the Realm of the Elderlings series next year but I don't know if I'm mentally up to the task of tackling that and Malazan in the same year. We'll see though. If the Winds of Winter by GRRM actually gets a 2021 release date (wishful thinking, Sweet summer child, and all that) then I'll probably re-read through all of ASOIAF next year (Egg and Dunk + Fire and Blood included).
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If anyone would like to discuss or whatever, let me know. I know some of the opinions are controversial lol.