Messages

Nolan's Batman, all the recent iterations of Superman and both cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man were terribly bland. So, very often, it's the villains that elevate these stories. Or the secondary characters (J. Jonah Jameson was epic!).

Say no more, say no more... I think if they changed the title from "The Dark Knight" to "Joker and That Guy in the Cape", it would be more fitting. I had the same problem playing Batman Arkham Asylum few months ago. If it wasn't for Mark Hamill's Joker and his dialog lines I would throw away the gamepad early in the game. We probably share similar upbringing when it comes to superhero comics, I did like to heavily overdose on TM-Semic's Marvel and DC comics in my youth. Yeah, it really requires a skillful writer to make your regular superhero look human (like Alan Moore did with Batman in Killing Joke). That's why I appreciate non-stereotypical superheroes/heroines like Magenta even more. I think there really is a place for non-conventional superheroes like her in the hearts of players/readers. And possibly on the market (just imagine those Magenta mugs and t-shirts! ) BTW, is there a link to that Magenta comic you've mentioned or was it "for her eyes only" kind of thing?

I agree with what Lasca said. I like Grok's drawing, but his version while lovely painted is rather stereotypical and probably doesn't fit your initial idea for the game. I think sticking to your initial idea, to what gave you the spark, is the way to go and I for one would like to play game with such character***.

Having said that, I think you *could* add two thin horizontal lines to make her instantly recognizable as a woman: one short line to make her lips just a little bit thicker (and still menacing!) and one longer line just under her breasts - to dispel any doubts.

That is, if you indeed want the players to recognize her as a woman at first sight and if you don't plan any jokes based on her not-so-obvious sexuality or quests like cross-dressing as a male enemy soldier or something (in which case her gender-blending appearance would be an essential part of the game).

Anyway, I like the concepts and the idea. Regarding the uniforms, I think you've made a very good job, overall design is imo spot on and with that cartoony style you've chosen there's no need for more historical accuracy. I definitely see a lot of comedy potential in there

***But hey, you could introduce a rival character (or antagonist even) who despite her lower (or maybe non-existent) battle skills would be a media & polit-bureau darling, a kind of poster-heroine of the Soviet Union, of graceful and "womanly" appearance, beloved by everyone in the Soviet camp except obviously your main character who - seeing right through her with those piercing eyes - would hold her in disregard

Hey Fitz, I've played UM several weeks ago but didn't have enough time to write few words back then. Only now I can hail the birth of this uber-cute superheroine! I've enjoyed the demo very much, had a few good laughs, loved the writing, the ideas and character design. Normally I get bored easily whenever superheroes appear to save the day, but Magenta really is one of a kind, her power is very original and she goes against all those stereotypical "wonder women".

... So I wonder is there going to be some complementary supervillain with venomously green eyes that she would have a crush on? You know, someone who would be Catwoman to her Batman... if only to spice things up?

[NINJA]

Wow, thanks for sharing your memories, Fitz and Crimson! Those were some wild times, huh?
Right, those "commie gameboys"! Everyone had at least one of those. Usually with Wolf from a brilliant Soviet cartoon, "Nu pogodi!", but as Crimson has shown, there were other versions, too.

Spoiler

Oh yes, back then those things were built to last, weren't they? I still have Elorg, a state-of-art (seriously) pocket calculator made in USSR. It has a solar panel so unlike those "gameboys" it doesn't need any batteries). It's only a few years younger, but works so much better than me!

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Now for some answers from myself.  There's a lot of meandering, so you'll have to excuse me. That was some trip down memory lane...

1) Do you still own your original console and the game carts for it? If so: do they still work?

No, unfortunately I don't have it anymore. My dad sold it in the early 90s and bought Atari ST (few years later in mid-90s he bought first PC). I was even considering buying 8-bit Atari or C-64 some time ago. You can get a working one for around 50$ now which is pretty affordable (obviously now the price of dollar is some few hundred times smaller than it was in the 80s). Those old 8-bit and 16-bit computers are pretty common thing on the most popular Polish auction site.

Actually it turns out I've mislead you with that sum of 70,000 zlotys I thought my dad had paid for Atari XE (sorry!). I asked him about it yesterday and it turns out it was only some 2000 to 2500 zlotys, so soorry to disappoint you   I have a hard time telling how much USD it was back then. I read on some forum that 8-bit Atari sold for 199 USD in Pewex stores somewhere in mid 80s.  Anyway, the price of dollar was sky-rocketing every year, and thanks to the hyperinflation almost everyone in Poland ended up as a millionaire around 1991


(2) What games in particular do you remember owning and/or being amongst your favorites?

I had dozens of games (I think about a hundred, maybe more) - everybody had in those days. Some of them were arcade ports. I remember games like Zybex, Frogger, Boulder Dash, Gauntlet, Karateka, Lode Runner,The Living Daylights and Moonraker (James Bond games), Battle Ships, Mouse Trap, Basil the Great Mouse Detective, Commando, Ghostbusters, Operation Blood, Pirates of the Barbary Coast, Dropzone, Necromancer, Black Lamp, Spy vs Spy, Jet Set Willy, Eidolon, Archon, Pitstop, Pitfall, Blinky's Scary School, Robin Hood... and countless others. As Fitz has already said, everyone had a lot of pirated games in those days.*

My favourites:

---> NINJA
---> ZORRO
---> BRUCE LEE
---> HENRY'S HOUSE (loved it to bits but I couldn't beat it)
Also Montezuma's Revenge, River Raid... But my all-time favourite 8-bit Atari game was:
---> FRED (1990)

Spoiler

It was made in Poland by L.K. Avalon. They 've made few dozens of games for 8-bit Atari and C-64 from 1989 until 1994 (!) and for Amiga till the end of 90s).

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Speaking of Cold War-themed games, I had Raid Over Moscow (I wasn't very good at it) and Green Beret (I liked it a lot). I'm not sure if I had Missile Command (I probably did) but I'm quite sure I've seen this at the arcade saloons in the 80s. I remember reading about Spitting Image game in a magazine, but it wasn't released on 8-bit Atari so I couldn't have it.

Spoiler

BTW, have you heard about Communist Mutants From Space? I haven't, until now As for controversial Custer's Revenge, I haven't seen or heard about it until fairly recently as well.

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I haven't used game cartridges until couple of years later. 80s pretty much belonged to cassettes, no one I knew had a console or a computer that worked with cartridges. In the beginning most of computer users in Poland had only cassette players/recorders, a lot of faith and tons of patience (it took 20-30 minutes to load a game from cassette on Atari). We used casette players like this (made in Taiwan, I think):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBcwTrd_yA

or this:
http://legendy-prl.pl/rm-121-1.jpg
my ZX Spectrum friend used something like that, it was made in Poland by Kasprzak factory and served perfectly fine as a regular radio)

I still remember how badly I wanted to play Moon Patrol and it just didn't load for some reason. Every time it took 30 minutes of waiting (on different days), as it was with most of the games - and there was always some error. So when it finally loaded, I was literally over the moon Only after a couple of years later we had our Atari upgraded to TURBO version (just like everyone did) which was able to load cartridges - and boy, from then on loading a game was so quick it was insane, truly an ultrasound speed. That, and you could have dozens of games on a cartridge as well.

Quite a lot of my friends in the late 80s (from 1987 on) had computers as well. My best friend had ZX Spectrum with games like Jetpack, Saboteur, the other one had Timex, my maternal cousins and the other pal had C-64  (I loved playing International Karate Championships and Barbarian with them). That other C-64 guy  had 5.25 floppy drive which was quite a sight (as most of us still used cassettes), and he had a copy of Sid Meier's Pirates and a map of Spanish Main as well (I'm not so sure if that was an original copy though).

I have fond memories of playing at the arcades. I distinctly remember playing Skulls & Crossbones and Xain'd Sleena/Soldier of Light in Warsaw in late 80s. These games made a lasting impression on this 8-bit Atari user with their high-res, colourful graphics. They were mesmerizing... I sucked at playing them but I could watch older kids wrestle those machines for hours. I even wrote some article in which I recalled those 80s arcades for a Polish computer magazine in early 00's. I miss them a bit, I guess. I've read they are still a thing in Japan,  though. I guess you must have seen them around, haven't you, Mandle?

...

Sometimes the cabinets were set in some nice, convenient place but most often they were put inside ordinary containers (you can see one in that video I've linked to in my PM). I fondly remember one of those ugly barracks with these rotten seeds of Western-imperialistic joy inside, was just below a major artery of transport in Warsaw: People's Army Alley.

Spoiler

People's Army was then "proudly" (and now is "shamefully") associated with Soviets, as it was representing Soviet interests, so it's kind of funny to think that there was this American "Soldier of Light" hidden in a cabinet inside this barrack-like container, below the bridge, doing his undercover work and corrupting our young innocent socialist minds What do you know, perhaps video games had a hand in helping to squash the communism?

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That container was small and inconspicuous on the outside, but held multiple worlds inside... So much better than Tardis!

(3) Did your whole family play the games or was it mostly just something for the kids?

My mom didn't (games were just plain silly for her) but my dad used to play with me when he had spare time (he's still a casual PC gamer now in his 60s). Back in the 80s his favourite game was Who Dares Wins, he also liked Blue Max and Behind the Jagi Lines a lot. Oh, and he loved to play Silent Service

I remember he dad had our Atari 130 XE downgraded to 65 just to be able to play Ace of Aces, because the tech guys in the store told him it to (I suppose they just took out a memory cube or something), and it miraculously helped.

(4) Where could you obtain new game carts? How much did they cost? About how often could you get your hands on a new game?

As Fitz already said, back in the 80s and 90s most of the game copies in Poland were the pirated ones. The original copies of games were quite hard to find (even in the 90s) and most people couldn't afford them, so they bought cracked & pirated versions for a fraction of the original price (I don't remember how much they cost; I've googled for for the prices but it's quite difficult to track). There were few computer markets in Warsaw in the 80s. The oldests ones were probably in Karlik Student's Club and in StodoŠ,a Students' Club. The biggest one was in a public elementary school on Grzybowska Street (it was established in mid 80s, probably in 1986, but that would require some in-depth research). Here:

http://imgur.com/a/z2nqy
(the first photo looks like it's from 86-87, b/w ones are from 88-91, the rest is from early to late 90s).

Spoiler

In the 90s the computer market on Grzybowska was joined by Stadion X-lecia (Tenth Anniversary Stadium), where you could buy virtually everything, from Soviet Army uniforms through various clothes and house utilities to pirated films and software. The goods were mostly of Eastern origin and the games were pirated by Russians. They had Polish descriptions on the back though, often so badly translated it was hilarious
 
Yeah, that place has some shady past. I remember the Police casually strolling the tribunes in the late 90s and early 00s where the pirated games and movies were sold and the sellers covering their wares with some blankets for a minute or two, then uncovering them when the policemen passed by.

Obviously Poland is much more civilized in that regard now, there's no problem with buying a boxed copy of any game and games are much more affordable in general (although software piracy is still a huge problem).

That Tenth Anniversary Stadium ("tenth anniversary" bit pertained to a certain manifesto, signed by Stalin) is now National Stadium.

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In the very late 80s (from around 1988/89 I think) you could also buy games in electronics/software stores where pirated, cracked games were officially sold. As said, everyone could afford them.

I remember going with my dad to such store in my district. Upon our entrance the store-keeper would bring out  file holder with a long list of games printed on numerous A4 sheets, and you could just take your pick When I actually saw an original edition of a game for the first time (around 1990-1991 I think) in that store, I could hardly believe there's only one game inside such a big box, it made no sense whatsoever  

*I have to mention that pirating and using pirated games and films was legal according to the a letter of law in Poland almost until mid-90s. There was no such thing as "copyright" until the copyright act was passed in 1994. Only then a (very) slow decline of piracy started.

Spoiler

I think my first original game was Polish point-and- click adventure Tajemnica Statuetki (PC) in 1994 or 95.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6m7bYlGPq4
Perhaps it doesn't look so impressive now, but I guess it was a fairly decent start for its developers. One of the three people who made it is now a CEO of Astronauts, the studio which made The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (btw, he spoke very fondly of Dave Gilbert's Blackwell series some time ago), and the other one is CEO for 11-bit who made This War of Mine.

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(5) Were there any games that were only released behind The Iron Curtain that you either owned or know of?

I had to ask google to refresh my memory, then I rememembered. There were only a few of them from what I've gathered. Now I remember reading about one in a computer magazine (Bajtek) back then. It's probably the most famous Polish made game from the 80s, a post-apocalyptic text adventure "Puszka Pandory" (Pandora's Box) from 1986. I dont't remember playing it personally (not that it was censored or anything, I just had lots of other games and didn't care for text adventures much back then). Looks rather primitive, but still...

--->PUSZKA PANDORY

Actually, the premise (white font on the red screen) sounds very "Cold War-ish". The game is  set in future after the Third World War. The remaining population moved to South America (I guess the north one, Europe or Australia weren't much of use after 3rd WW), but there's still some pre-war prophecy about Pandora's Box looming over the survivors: there's an ultra-powerful nuclear missile hidden on some island, capable of wiping out all of the remaining population. And the player's goal is obviously to disarm or destroy that Pandora's Box. Now that I think of it, that premise reminds me of a certain novella, GŠ,owa Kasandry (Cassandra's Head) by reknown Polish author, Marek Baraniecki, published in 1985. I'm quite sure that game developer read it (btw, it's possibly the best piece of post-apocalyptic fiction I've read). UPDATE: Yup, he probably did, actually wikipedia says that, too.

(6) Were there any controversial games (Missile Command comes to mind) which were banned and unavailable?

None that I can remember. Everyone could play anything, including Missile Command. I don't remember any kind of censorship regarding games. As Fitz said, nobody really cared. Games were considered "kids stuff" back then (I guess it's not that much different now).

Spoiler

I'd imagine some games could be banned in Poland later, from the 90s onwards, like that Monty Python one which had "shoot the Pope" bit, but the reviewers liked it very much overall (excluding that bit ! ) so I guess you could still buy it somewhere if you had looked for it. There was some church outburst regarding Diablo but it was just a news item, more or less.

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(7) Can you show us some scans from your Polish gaming magazine of that era (if you can find it) which are especially expressive of the era, say something in particular about the gaming community of Cold War Poland, or are just funny/camp to see in 2015?

I'll try to dig some of those 80s Bajtek magazines next time when I get to the cellar For now, here's the cover of its first number, which started as a supplement to a youth journal Sztandar MŠ,odych in 1985 and become an independent magazine from 1986 onwards:



There was a summary of an editorial attached to that photo and it turns out the editors were "envious" of some Bulgarian computer magazine they had seen. So it seems quite certain that Poland wasn't exactly a pioneer when it comes to computer magazines behind The Iron Curtain I wonder if there are any Bulgarians among the AGSers.

Come on people, if you have Steam account, dig up your passwords and show this game some love. You know it deserves it! I already did my Knobbly duty, now it's your turn!

(and how can some people write things like this bit you've mentioned, it's completely beyond my understanding... )

Right, I think we're derailing this awesome thread a bit too much Let's leave it at that. I'll write you a PM tomorrow... or the day after

Spoiler

"Gaming behind the Iron Curtain" is a vast theme. I believe it could make its own independent thread (and a long one!). I'm curious myself, how it was for people in other Eastern Bloc countries. I have no idea how hard life was in Romania, but in 80's Poland we were familiar with ball point pens (more or less!) and 8-bit computers were not uncommon. We've even had computer magazines as early (or as late, depending on your point of view;)) as in 1985 (the most popular one circulated around +50k copies and it continually grew in popularity). And no, my family wasn't that well-off, but my dad's quest for the Holy Atari actually makes some story I'll write you PM!

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@Amy
Absolutely, my bonny Amélie! And it'll win us The Prize...I mean, AGS awards I can already feel the Quickening! We'll be like Princes of the Universe

@Mandle
Haha, yes I see what you did there

Spoiler

Well, it was quite a different experience for me as I was still a child in the 80s. I remember life at the other side of the Iron Curtain (Poland, to be specific) through a pink (CGA, EGA)-coloured nostalgia glasses: listening to Queen, Depeche Mode and Modern Talking on the radio,watching cool tv shows, playing war with my miniature toy soldiers, then that memorable day when my dad brought home 8bit Atari XE - so the only apocalyptic scare then was for me when I couldn't win a race in Badlands*. I don't even recall personally those Chernobyl days, which were pretty hectic in Poland (being so close to the border), I only know it from family members' tales. Only later I got interested in the history and got concerned about the nuclear bombs more (btw that was mainly thanks to the original Fallout game). And I saw The Day After, too. I value it immensely, it's one of the absolutely best apocalyptic films I've seen.

*actually those were my later 16-bit ST days, I think. Can't even remember any cold war game from that XE period :/

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[5]

Tough choice, so many brilliant entries here (and great trophies, too!). My picks are:

5 - 

Now I'm quite sure AprilSkies is in posession of a time machine. Not only is time travel a prominent feature in Tales, but the guy is able to travel back to 1980s to retrieve CGA art like this and post it here on the forums. Where's the time police when you need them? I want that DeLorean that you drive, April!

14 -

I subsribe to Mandle's interpretation of the piece. Pacman as a metaphor for gaming (or pop culture) eating away our lives and destroying the family ties... Now that's darker than all Nightmares of Elm Street combined!

6 -

I could hardly draw without synth music so I really appreciate this piece (and I'm so happy for that synth-revival thing, it feels like 80's are all over again )

Amy: I wish you had made it! Higlander is one of my favourite films and it's the one I've watched more times than any other (more than a dozen times surely)! Perhaps it's a kind of magic that it still holds up so well... I enjoy it now just as much as I did in the old days, while some of those other 80's gems has lost their sparkle for me, sadly

Oh yeah, I remember that band, they had this #1 hit in 1991. Heavy Rain or something.

A perfect example of a 3B photo: brilliant, blue, bromantic! Just downloaded #72!

Well, I've joined forces with Emont a couple of weeks ago, but there was very little chance we could meet MAGS deadline. We should be able to complete it until mid to late June though. I'm helping with art and story to support Emont's idea and Emont is coding and making music (which sounds brilliant, BTW!). Here's one of the backgrounds I'm working on (WIP obviously):

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/RNjnlkM.jpg[/imgzoom]

I look forward to playing your games guys and good luck to those who are still "on the run" (fingers crossed, spring thoughts!)

Thanks and congratulations Sinitrena and kconan! Thank you Baron, I've enjoyed this Comp's theme a lot! Cheers

[Best Character]

Sorry, I went for the country (which means, no internet at all). 

Yeah. Where are all those voters when you need them, eh?   Probably gone to that colourful Background Blitz thread... feasting their hungry eyes on all that eye candy... Yuck! But in this thread, ladies and gentlemen, we live on pure, hard coal of a written word! And while doing so, we abstain from those yummy, delicious backgrounds... with all their hot spots and interactive areas and.... Alright. To the point. Here are my votes:

Best Character: One vote each? Sinitrena / kconan. I liked Sinitrena's prisoner - that kind of "martyrological" protagonist would make a great hero in any medium (literature, film, game...). And I liked kconan's Mr Barnaby, whose barking skill would impress PT Barnum himself.

Best Editing: kconan - for the creativity and for the effort it took to write all that without turning to Google's "help". It gave me a few good laughts as well. Actually I wouldn't mind if you'd make a game with that cast of characters. 

Best Unholy Analogy: hmm...no contest here, I guess.

Best Plot: Sinitrena.  I only wish my German was any good, so I could appreciate your poem for what it is!

Best Setting: kconan. I'm clearly biased here. I've been fascinated by "freaks" and freak shows since mom bought me that "Human Oddities" book when I was a kid, and Ted Browning's Freaks and Lynch's Elephant Man are among my favourite US movies. Last but not least, I've been considering a freak show as one of the locations for my game project

Most Substantive: kconan. Barnaby's Ten has a strong "edutainment" value, too. Before I read it, I had no idea of what Carny is and how did English people speak back in the 1920s.


PS:
Sinitrena, thanks for pointing out that you didn't know if Stormy Cloud was pregnant. I should have made it clearer - by putting her hands on the stomach or something - so the reader would know better. My only excuse is that it was a really rushed piece of prose 

Now that's what I call a perfect choice of a cover artist Legends. It nice to see them together as the (G)OLD gentlemen I haven't seen that programme btw, with Retardis and all that. Were they having some Golden Jubilee or something?

PS: The only flaw is the lack of Chapman posing with them Oh well... Once king and king in the future, I guess!

[gems]

Drat, I almost forgot! Blame the MAGS fever! I didn't meet the required quota of words but, well, they say less is more, right? Originally I started to write in English, but it was taking me ages, and I just didn't have that much time to do it properly, so I went the safest route and wrote it all over again in Polish. It's a Jack London style short, a tense scene between daughter and father, both Native American Indians. Actually I'm quite surprised, I expected the translator to do much worse than that. However, there are few gems shining through this piece of googlish transmutation. Enjoy!

Polish ---> English:

----

Stormy Cloud threw an oar into the water, raising the fountain drops and startling coastal fish. Canoe rocked; waved his arms violently to regain balance and hard settled on the bottom, between jute sacks of eatables and leather wineskins with water. She sighed with relief and swore in the pale face.

Standing on the edge of Bald Bear laughed conciliatory, but Feeling eyes on him storm clouds, mastered quickly. The river also calmed face.*

- Why do not you make peace with each other and spirits, Stormy cloudlike? You heard healer. In front of you may one moon, no more.

- I prefer one moon away from the village full of hyenas and coyotes than to live with them for the rest of your life!

- Coyotes wrath will soon get tired, bored hyena laughter** - he replied, shaking his head slightly as if to himself needed a confirmation of their own words. - You'll see.

- Can you give me an oar, Father?

Bald bear's jaw. He stood there, on the shore, without the slightest movement; his face was like the head of a totem, which he carved when the stormy cloud was still a child. Only his eyes were alive. And, as always, so now also Stormy cloud could not withstand the paternal gaze. But even now seemed more angry than worried leaving daughter. It seemed that he belonged to the coyotes.

She jumped awkwardly out of the boat and landed splash in the water reaches to the waist. Suddenly she felt a kick in the middle***.

And you, against me, my child, she worried. But everywhere you will be better than here.

Bald Bear turned his back to her. How childish are his gestures, she thought. He was always so childish, the whole village is full of them children-coyotes, old, stubborn and too well sentient shelled their ancient customs, that it would ever change. Not surprisingly, the pale faces win. Or maybe the white skin of the greedy eyes of dogs should be mixed with the ancient coyotes. Wise coyotes can be tamed and are dogs, and can be silly shoot - is not it just such a path nature walks****?

Some little fish tickled her foot. Yes, it's time to move on.

She picked up the paddle and jumped back into the boat. She was afraid to look directly at the Bald Bear, so only slightly turned his head in that direction, to be able to watch it for the eye.

She waited for a long time, for some words of farewell or - even better - a word of anger, which confirm the correctness of its decision. But no word fell from his mouth. Only continually whispering river, as it has done ever since, the birds chirping in the trees on the shore, and from the village came the barking of dogs.*****

Time to move on.

She began to row. Silhouette of a father more and more decreased in the corner of the eye, and finally disappeared altogether. Then, quite suddenly, spring rain fell thick, warm drops, przemaczajÃ,,…c****** thundercloud to the skin - and then just as suddenly stopped.

----
* Pure gold there. I won't even try to correct it. I believe it's better that way.
**I think that was quite amusing. It should be: "The coyotes will soon get weary of their anger, the hyenas will tire of their laughter."
*** She's still expecting, so the child technically can't kick her in the middle (of any place /body part) yet. Or can it? Oh, Google Translate probably meant "in the middle of the river". In that case yes, I'm nitpicking.
****I really liked that. You "silly shot" me, Google.
***** I was quite stunned how sparingly Google Translate spoiled such complex sentence. Barely funny. A major disappointment.
******So Google cannot into "soaking" in Polack-speak Tripped over the very last line


And here's the original:

Spoiler

Burzowa Chmura cisnÃ,,â,,¢Å â€ša wiosŠ‚em do wody, wzbijajÃ,,…c fontannÃ,,â,,¢ kropel i pŠ‚oszÃ,,…c przybrzeŠ¼ne rybki. CzóŠ‚nem zakoŠ‚ysaŠ‚o; zamachaŠ‚a gwaŠ‚townie rÃ,,â,,¢kami, by odzyskaÃ,,‡ równowagÃ,,â,,¢ i ciÃ,,â,,¢Å Â¼ko osiadŠ‚a na dnie, pomiÃ,,â,,¢dzy jutowymi workami z prowiantem i skórzanymi bukŠ‚akami z wodÃ,,…. OdetchnÃ,,â,,¢Å â€ša z ulgÃ,,… i zaklÃ,,â,,¢Å â€ša w jÃ,,â,,¢zyku bladych twarzy.

StojÃ,,…cy na brzegu Šysy NiedŠºwiedŠº zaŠ›miaŠ‚ siÃ,,â,,¢ pojednawczo, lecz poczuwszy na sobie spojrzenie Burzowej Chmury, opanowaŠ‚ siÃ,,â,,¢ szybko. Rzeka równieŠ¼ uspokoiŠ‚a oblicze.

- Dlaczego nie pogodzisz siÃ,,â,,¢ ze sobÃ,,… i z duchami, Burzowa Chmuro? SŠ‚yszaŠ‚aŠ›, co powiedziaŠ‚ znachor. Masz przed sobÃ,,… moŠ¼e jeden ksiÃ,,â,,¢Å Â¼yc, nie wiÃ,,â,,¢cej.

- WolÃ,,â,,¢ jeden ksiÃ,,â,,¢Å Â¼yc z dala od tej wioski peŠ‚nej hien i kojotów, niŠ¼ mieszkaÃ,,‡ z nimi przez resztÃ,,â,,¢ Š¼ycia!

- Kojoty wkrótce zmÃ,,â,,¢czÃ,,… siÃ,,â,,¢ gniewem, hieny znudzÃ,,… siÃ,,â,,¢ Š›miechem - odpowiedziaŠ‚, kiwajÃ,,…c lekko gŠ‚owÃ,,… jakby sam przed sobÃ,,… potrzebowaŠ‚ potwierdzenia wŠ‚asnych sŠ‚ów. - Zobaczysz.

- Czy mógŠ‚byŠ› podaÃ,,‡ mi wiosŠ‚o, ojcze?

Šysy NiedŠºwiedŠº zacisnÃ,,…Š‚ szczÃ,,â,,¢ki. StaŠ‚ tam, na brzegu, bez najmniejszego ruchu; jego twarz przypominaŠ‚a gŠ‚owÃ,,â,,¢ totemu, który wyrzeŠºbiŠ‚, gdy Burzowa Chmura byŠ‚a jeszcze dzieckiem. Tylko jego oczy byŠ‚y Š¼ywe. I tak jak zawsze, tak  równieŠ¼ i teraz Burzowa Chmurza nie potrafiŠ‚a wytrzymaÃ,,‡ ojcowskiego spojrzenia.  Ale nawet teraz wydawaŠ‚ siÃ,,â,,¢ byÃ,,‡ bardziej wŠ›ciekŠ‚y niŠ¼ zmartwiony odejŠ›ciem córki.  WyglÃ,,…daŠ‚o na to, Š¼e i on naleŠ¼aŠ‚ do kojotów.

ZeskoczyŠ‚a niezgrabnie z Š‚ódki i z pluskiem wylÃ,,…dowaŠ‚a w siegajÃ,,…cej do pasa wodzie. Nagle poczuŠ‚a kopniÃ,,â,,¢cie w Š›rodku.

I ty, przeciwko mnie, moje dziecko, pomyŠ›laŠ‚a zmartwiona. Ale wszÃ,,â,,¢dzie bÃ,,â,,¢dzie ci lepiej niŠ¼ tutaj.

Šysy NiedŠºwiedŠº odwróciŠ‚ siÃ,,â,,¢ do niej plecami. JakŠ¼e dziecinne sÃ,,… jego gesty, pomyŠ›laŠ‚a. Zawsze byŠ‚ tak dziecinny, caŠ‚a ich wioska peŠ‚na jest dzieci-kojotów, starych, upartych i zbyt dobrze siÃ,,â,,¢ czujÃ,,…cych w skorupach swoich starodawnych obyczajów, Š¼eby to kiedykolwiek zmieniÃ,,‡. Nic dziwnego, Š¼e blade twarze wygrywajÃ,,…. A moŠ¼e te biaŠ‚oskóre psy o chciwych oczach powinny zmieszaÃ,,‡ siÃ,,â,,¢ ze staroŠ¼ytnymi kojotami. MÃ,,…dre kojoty dajÃ,,… siÃ,,â,,¢ oswoiÃ,,‡ i zostajÃ,,… psami, a gŠ‚upie dajÃ,,… siÃ,,â,,¢ zastrzeliÃ,,‡ - czyŠ¼ nie takÃ,,… wŠ‚aŠ›nie Š›cieŠ¼kÃ,,… kroczy natura?

JakaŠ› maŠ‚a rybka poŠ‚askotaŠ‚a jÃ,,… w stopÃ,,â,,¢. Tak, pora ruszaÃ,,‡ w drogÃ,,â,,¢.

PodniosŠ‚a wiosŠ‚o i wskoczyŠ‚a z powrotem do Š‚odzi. BaŠ‚a siÃ,,â,,¢ patrzeÃ,,‡ bezpoŠ›rednio w stronÃ,,â,,¢ Šysego NiedŠºwiedzia, wiÃ,,â,,¢c tylko nieznacznie zwróciŠ‚a gŠ‚owÃ,,â,,¢ w tamtÃ,,… stronÃ,,â,,¢, Š¼eby móc go obserwowaÃ,,‡ kÃ,,…tem oka.

CzekaŠ‚a przez dŠ‚uŠ¼szÃ,,… chwilÃ,,â,,¢, na jakieŠ› sŠ‚owa poŠ¼egnania albo - jeszcze lepiej - na sŠ‚owa gniewu, które potwierdziŠ‚yby sŠ‚usznoŠ›Ã,,‡ jej decyzji. Ale Š¼adne sŠ‚owo nie padŠ‚o z jego ust. Tylko rzeka szeptaŠ‚a nieprzerwanie, tak jak to czyniŠ‚a od zawsze, ptaki Š›wiergotaŠ‚y w drzewach na brzegu, a od strony wioski  dobiegaŠ‚o ujadanie psów.

Pora ruszaÃ,,‡.

ZaczÃ,,â,,¢Å â€ša wiosŠ‚owaÃ,,‡. Sylwetka ojca coraz bardziej malaŠ‚a w kÃ,,…ciku oka, aŠ¼ wreszcie znikŠ‚a zupeŠ‚nie. Wtedy, zupeŠ‚nie nagle, spadŠ‚ wiosenny deszcz o grubych, ciepŠ‚ych kroplach, przemaczajÃ,,…c BurzowÃ,,… ChmurÃ,,â,,¢ do suchej nitki - a potem równie nagle ustaŠ‚.

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YESSSSSSS.

My thoughts exactly. But let me reiterate.
Yes. YES. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Seems like this Comp's theme was invented for linguistically-challenged folks like me! I've started to write something (in English, but I may also do an alternative Polish take, just for laughts), will probably post it in a day or two.

Mine never went away. Have you been watching The Fall. Ouch!

Yessir, yes I have! *nudge nudge* *wink wink* (I've seen her also in some non-X-files feature films like House of Mirth and Straightheads and in Hannibal series)

Only the first season though... and they still didn't catch the guy, did they? it's a bit too over-arching plot for me. And that character she plays there, I find it so hard to like her! Perhaps if she was a hot ginger instead of ice cold blonde, I'd fall for the show much easier...

Oh dear.

*looks at linked photo*

I wonder if this means my 'Great Gillian Anderson Crush of 1996' is back (or was it 1997)?

*looks at linked photo again*

Gulp...

I'm sure he's still somewhere out there (in space). Counting his steps, fixing burnt out stars, examining items in his spacious inventory. The guys just need to channel their collective Force into that cosmic wavelength and I'm sure we'll hear of him again!

Until then...