By: Violet Hirman
The Collector
Tag Archives: PRIZM
“Stillness in the Wild”
By: Axel Wick
Wandering Winds
By: Violet Hirman
JOYSTiCK Non-Review: Will the Nintendo Switch 2 result in a 2nd US Civil War?
By: Daniel Kendle
*Note: The following is a satirical take on the release of Switch 2 teaser.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, January 16, Nintendo posted a teaser for a new upcoming console, alongside the company’s international affiliates. Roughly 2 minutes in length, the video showcased the Nintendo Switch 2: a successor to the soon-to-be 8-year-old system of the same name.
Notable for both its physical and internal upgrades, many astute fans of the original Switch have noted its needed – albeit simple – updates to its older brother. While controversies have risen due to these occasionally-minor changes, many have agreed upon feeling relief and excitement about the console’s acknowledgement. A follow-up direct, focused on software is slated for April 2, 2025.
Around the same time, however, came the inauguration of now-president Donald J. Trump, seceding the former Joe Biden. Also mired in controversy, the election’s collision course has coincided with the console’s public reveal, leaving some to connect the 2 in various ways – most of all, the Presidents.
“I saw [the trailer] the Friday after – yeah, it was cool,” said Trump, immediately following a press conference in Atlanta. “I was like, ‘Vance, did you see this?’ And he was like ‘Yeah,’ and we fist-bumped. I dunno, man […] but I thought the new Joy-Cons were sick. Larger, too. I was talking to Joe ‘bout it a week later; he was tripping too. Did these (gestures) hand…things. Yeah. I was like, ‘Hunter would love this,’ and he laughed, and agreed. Hunter loves Mario; he’s so cool.”
Now-former President Biden was also open to an interview.
“Donnie and I had gotten off a meeting when the trailer dropped; some real good [explicative]. I was less enthused at first, really: I saw Donkey Kong’s new redesign during the ‘Mario Kart’ segment and was like ‘Damn, this too?’ Then Trump came over to my place and we played ‘8 Deluxe’ for a while…felt good. Felt better. Kamala was excited, too – did a backflip over her desk. Favorite reveals? Shoot, uh […] like, maybe the, tch, backwards compatibility? Y’know, being able to play my Switch library at launch is a treat. Gotta do a run of my favorite, uh, Switch game: ‘Balan Wonderworld’.” (Note: immediately following the latter-most statement, former President Biden was lobbed in the head with a snowball).”
While these 2 men proved satisfied with the new system’s reveal, other political figures – including some close with the country leaders – were less than optimistic about the trailer.
“It’s [explicative], pardner,” said Elon Musk, in the process of bathing himself with the blood of a sheep when we interviewed him. “Jus’ trash all-‘round. I’m happy for…you know, I’m happy fer those excited, but like, really? After 8 years o’ buildup, we git some gall-darn magnets for them controllers?! Y’all need some bett’r standerds. Rattlesnake tumbleweed cactus.”
With the division with Trump’s republican cabinet apparent, some citizens question whether or not a feud will brew from inside – and possibly spill out into the rest of the US. It’s been close to 200 years since our country’s first Civil War, and in our current day and age, political events and conspiracies have led to heated debate between sectors of the 50 states.
Whether or not the Nintendo Switch 2’s existence will culminate in a new Civil War is yet to be said, but until then we can only speculate, both on the system and our country’s political affairs. Only 1 thing’s certain, however: if this new console has any form of Joy-Con drift again, I think the nukes are gonna drop.
SHOOTING STARS | CONTINENTALS WAR | ARCERIUM RISING 11: Part II
By: Hoaseng Thao
PICKING UP THE PACE
The Coalition was able to take the Hoshiran capital by August, but their forces couldn’t go much further. They too were just as outstretched as the Great Terrans. That would change when news arrived that a large naval force had just landed on the shores of the Lunarian continent.
The Vaserians had just landed on Oprica.
The Vaserians took over the shores of occupied Oprica on August 15th. With most of the Jupitan occupiers being sent to fight in Sapan, the Vaserians were able to take over the entire country in a matter of days with little resistance. The Vaserian entrance to the war was a surprise to many, and there would be further surprises as the Vaserian military continued to land on the shores of occupied Lunarian states.
The 20th of August saw the Vaserian Mage Corps and the Marines landed on Casikee, successfully returning the capital back to its Casikan people as the roars of VF-6s shook the skies above. With the arrival of the Vaserians, the occupied nations of Lunaria rose up against the Jupitans, overwhelming them as the Vaserians trekked more and more into the continent.
August 23rd, the Vaserians finally made the push to join the Coalition and with it, guaranteed the Coalition the needed victory to end the war. With Vaseria now officially a part of the Coalition, other nation states from the Vaserian continents joined and with their entry, saw a flow of new troops from the Vaseria sent to every front of the war.
By October of 1956, the war had completely changed, the Sapanese were able to retake its capital, and Koldr, the first to fall, regained its sovereignty, and the Jupitans were now fighting on the homefront. All that was needed to finally bring the world to peace again was something really big to happen, and that came with the arrival of shooting stars. Man made shooting stars.
SHOOTING STARS
In 1949, the Vaserian Federation, in secret, began the development of a new type of weapon that would harness the power of nuclear fission with arcerium to create an explosion never seen before. The weapon would be placed into a warhead, and transplanted onto newly developed intercontinental ballistic missiles for increased range.
In 1953, the first detonation of the weapon, now nicknamed as “Star” was conducted, an explosive yield of 10 million tons of TNT.
In 1954, ten stars were built and operational with more to follow.
In 1955, Anne Hall is advised by the Office of Secret Security (OSS) to not use the stars until they make land in Jupita.
November 5, 1956, Anne Hall is told by the OSS to use 10 of the 24 ICBMs at specific targets in Great Terra.
November 6, 1956, 10 stars were launched from their silos.
The following are the impacted targets:
Hellica, the capital of Jupita, was the first to be hit by the stars; it destroyed half of the city, and caught Emperor Treijon himself in the initial blast.
New Olapi City, Jupita
Veldpal, Epreau
Gunfang, Hoshira
Songfei, Hoshira
Sakunn, Jupita
Falei, Jupita
Lunbai, Epreau
Raikou, Epreau
Rinyan, Hoshira
THE NEW WORLD
On the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in the capital city of the first nation to fall, was the signing of a treaty of peace between the Tectonic Coalition and Great Terra. The Treaty of Ulyse put an end to the deadliest war the world had ever seen, over 100 million souls were lost in eight years. Great Terra was no more, but the world before it came with it.
Jupita lost all of the territories it gained from the war, and had to pay reparations to the nations affected by its wrath. The Lunarian continent returned to peace as it was rebuilt with Vaserian loans.
In Kyusia, it was not Hoshira who saw the loss of land, but the Kingdom of Sapan. Princess Chiyo, now queen of Sapan, saw to reward her people, but more importantly, the ethnic minorities who remained loyal to the crown. Her reward was to allow them to choose to stay within the Sapanese realm, or be free.
January 12th, 1957, the Kingdom of Arcana was formed, and on the following day, the Republic of Otrya. It wouldn’t be until March 27th, for the final state to secede from the realm, that being the Kingdom of Kayusa.
Eusona, following the war, was not a pleasant sight. Because of how far the technological gap was for Eusonan nations, many could not bear the weight of post-war clean up. In 1957, the Kalavian civil war (1957-1962) began when the socialist government refused to return back to a democracy, and it split the nation into two; the eastern half belonged to the People’s Republic of Kalavia while the west belonged to the Republic of Kalavia.
What remained of the Cazar Empire was split up into multiple nation states following its civil war that ended in the 70s, Eraki, Yuzakstan, Yusan, Baniera, Edeon, Eani, Kirstistan, and Xana.
The Kirston Empire, despite being victors of the war and liberators of the Valkyrie Peninsula, found itself with a destroyed nation. Millions of ethnic Nexens were wiped out at the hands of the Cazars. They were, for many generations, the backbone of Kirston society, and with their loss came the empire’s economic troubles.
In 1957, to cope with their economic struggles, the empire sold away parts of its territory as sovereign nations, Envoa and Litho. Although there was some peace for the Kirstons, the ambitions of many hardlined nationalists saw the nation at war again, this time as the invaders in The Grants War (1970-1973).
Vaseria soon cemented itself as one of few superpowers of the world with the use of its arcerium weapons, and soon enough the rest of the world appeared to have begun their own arcerium weapons program to compete for superpower status.
But the world was at relative peace now that the war, or the Continentals War as coined by the media, had ended, and that was all that mattered in the end.
WAR NEVER CHANGES BUT THE WORLD DOES
The start of the 21st century saw a Cold War begin between the Vaserian Federation and their PATO allies, against the Democratic Union of Kavara and their CDP puppet states. And in 2023, the Second Continentals War began between the two superpowers, but it ended as soon as it was declared, when the Arcerium Rising event occurred and a tense peace insured.
It is now 2049, the world is on the brink of total war between Vaseria and Kavara, and with the civil war in Arcasia becoming more worrisome, it is now up to the people of Earth to decide the fate of this world.
Drawing of bird
By: Pwe Doh Gay
This is a picture of a bird/woodpecker I made. I made the woodpecker because I wanted to draw something different and cool. Also, I drew it because there are lots of birds in the world, and I saw one outside a window and wanted to draw one.
In this drawing, I used a pencil to make the bird and tree trunk, then I went over it with an ultra-fine Sharpie. After, I colored in the drawing with markers.
I really like how my first drawing of a bird turned out. My favorite part about the picture is the pecked trunk; I really like how it looks with the bird.
One area I could improve is the color, perhaps by adding more color to the bird. Overall, I think it looks very good.
For my next drawing, I will make a bird or something else that is cool, but it will probably be next school year.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
By: Charlotte Bistodeau
Artist Statement:
I drew this for my art class. We were making patterns and got to choose whatever we wanted to go into the pattern. I chose Alice which was also the base choice. I chose Alice because I love the elegance of the Victorian era mixed with the craziness of dreams that get mixed together in the book.
I don’t usually do the line art on my drawings so having one of our tasks in the art project be the line art was a good thing. If it wasn’t a task I never would have done it.
One thing I’m not as proud of is that some of the tiles behind Alice have random lines because I wasn’t paying attention. Everything else about the drawing I enjoyed though, especially the shading. Well, not really doing the shading but I like how it turned out.
In the end I’m glad this was what I had to do for my art class because it actually got me to sit down and think about what I had to draw.
Zentangle 3
By: Pwe Doh Gay
This is a drawing of another zentangle but in a deck of cards style. I really thought that the second zentangle looked really good, so I wanted to make an even better one for the last zentangle drawing.
For this picture, I used a pencil to make the cards and patterns. Then first went over that with an ultra-fine point Sharpie, then with a fine-point Sharpie, to fill in some of the white spots.
I really like how this one turned out. I think this is my favorite one out of all three zentangles I made. I really like how different this one looks from the others. The patterns just look cool inside of the cards. My favorite pattern is the ten of diamond card. The one that I don’t like is the X shape pattern with the dots in it, on the ace card.
For my next drawing, I will make something else, but I don’t know what I will make yet, but I think it will probably be something that will include color.
MEET ME UNDER THE COTTONWOOD
By: Charlotte Bistodeau
*Warning: this story contains, depictions of violence, including suicide, and some vulgar language.
I had to hurry if I wanted to make it.
I stumbled down the street watching as the sun began to rise, just peeking over the overgrown forest, trying my hardest to go the slightest bit faster than a saunter, but I was tired from running. Not only that, the pain in my arm kept violently shooting throughout my body, making me wince each time. I could feel the bite’s poison slowly move through my veins. Hot and burning, it was creeping up to my elbow. Once it reached my heart, it would kill me. I should’ve been more careful. I was too cocky. Walkers are slow, but strong, so when I tried to push a walker twice my size off me, the walker unsurprisingly overpowered me and tore a grotesque chunk of flesh from my arm. I could barely grab my knife in time. If I hadn’t, I would’ve been turned by now. But I couldn’t let that happen. That’s why I was rushing. Trying my very hardest to get to the only place worth something before I turned. I wouldn’t allow myself to turn. I couldn’t become one of them. That was my only fear, to die and turn, then to kill and kill and kill, until I spread this curse to someone else. It was disgusting. I hated the people who were too cowardly to put down the turned. It was disgraceful to watch as a cannibalistic beast took over their bodies. I couldn’t do that to myself. So I decided to go to the only place that reminded me of a better time, before the world went to shit. A place where a smile was an everyday occurrence. Where nothing could shatter our hopes and dreams. The place I met him.
That place lay nearby; three miles, to be exact. For a slow and sickly human it felt like 20. I kept on walking, hoping I would make it before my body gave up. Just then, as I looked up, I saw it. The place I was searching for. I hadn’t noticed how close I had gotten because I was too busy trying to keep myself from being overcome by pain.
It also didn’t help that as far as I could see there were trees. Only the road, cracked and crumbling, was an exception to the surrounding greenery. Yet, the place I was searching for was intact. The high school.
Five years ago I was here; though it seemed abandoned for at least fifteen. Standing in front of the building, I could tell it had been unkempt for years. Much like most buildings now, the concrete that covered the building was cracking. The trees surrounding were so overgrown that the shrubs underneath looked frail and pathetic from not getting enough sunlight. The building itself was the same as any other, dull, square, and beige, but now looked alive with ivy and moss. But the building wasn’t where I wanted to go, it was the garden.
The garden was located behind the school, so I mustered all my strength to make my way there. As I arrived at the far end of the school, I was shocked to see a field once plain and bare, brimming with flowers nestled within the surrounding forest. And, in the middle of the field, was a giant cottonwood tree on a small hill. The cottonwood was in full bloom, letting its seeds gracefully drift to the ground, making it look like freshly fallen snow. It was beautiful.
I let myself slowly stagger through the field, adorned with daisies and tulips, taking each step with deliberate care. I cared more for those flowers than anything in a long time. I couldn’t bear to break them. I could see him standing there in the field, smiling at me as he plucked the prettiest flower he could find. My heart hurt. I kept taking slow steps, searching for a fleeting memory, one where we were together. As I stepped underneath the cottonwood, I felt the warmth of the sun shining through the branches, making it feel as though he was there with me. Holding me. We promised to be together forever, but that was nothing but a dream.
It was the day he told me he loved me. It was the day he took my hands and smiled. It was the day I ran. I ran away with him. Running as fast as we could, away from the screams. We ran for years. Then he left. He grabbed my hands and smiled at me. All I could see was him. Yet in an instant, it all vanished as his lifeless body slumped to the ground. He was beautiful and so was his death. I chose to bury him beneath the cottonwood tree that we cherished so dearly. Now, flowers grow where he lay, where I long to lay.
I could feel the poison seeping deeper and deeper. I slumped against the tree, sliding down the rough bark, my dress getting caught on each crack. Sitting beneath the cottonwood, in snow that felt like clouds, on a hill amidst a field, with the sun gently touching my face, I couldn’t help but think there was no better place. I reached into my dress pocket and found the cold, hard piece of steel, fumbling the loose bullets. I struggled to lift it up beneath my jaw, aiming it toward my brain. I knew I was on the brink of turning, but that thought didn’t bother me. I could only find myself thinking of him. His warmth brought a smile to my face. I closed my eyes, embracing his warmth, filling me with peace. Then, as I felt a tear roll down my cheek, I took one final breath and pulled the trigger.
“We’re Alive” review
By: Munira Ahmadad
*Warning: this review contains spoilers for the short story “We’re Alive” (located in the PRIZM section of the Plaid Line)
“We’re Alive” is a short horror story written by HPSH student Daniel Kendle, and this article is a review of it and a discussion of my thoughts about the story.
The short story begins with an unnamed narrator in a jungle, they’re inside a garden sanctum when they watch a monstrous creature made of the jungle’s organic life become animated. Initially the being is referred to as the jungle’s newest creation which led me to think it never existed before, but it’s soon described as ancient and something of a folk story. The narrator watches, petrified and intrigued as it moves towards them. Spores surrounded them as they stared at each other. After the narrator’s reluctant escape, a month later, they remain haunted by the interaction with the garden’s monster and become unable to function normally. After dreaming of being with the creature in a physical and emotional loving bind, we see the narrator lose their grip on reality and by the end they harm themself with a crazed desire to return to the garden.
The story truly succeeds at providing the descriptions necessary to paint a detailed visualization of the scenes in the story. I don’t read much horror, but the narrator losing their grip on reality is a relatively common trope. After reading through, I wondered if the inspiration for this work was “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe since both use obsession as its element and have narrators you know next to nothing about. The plot itself reminds me of “The Black Cat”, also by Edgar Allan Poe.
One of the very first things that made me feel iffy while reading through was the literary diction. Written in the narrator’s perspective, they describe how they felt, what they did and thought, and what was going on. Since it’s all in past tense, I assumed this was a retelling of what happened, which explained the dramatic storytelling style. But as the speaker describes their loss of sanity due to their growing obsession, it seems as though readers are going along with the scenes at the same time as the narrator. This makes the descriptive writing come off as pretty verbose. The flowery language is prioritized over the plot which makes the first time reading through unsatisfactory, especially since the goal of the story was to capture the essence of what an all-consuming obsession feels like.
Speaking of the goal of the story, the attempt at disorientating storytelling by the narrator did not invoke any feelings of repulsion, suspense, or horror in me. It’s very tell-not-show, like instead of showing us the fear the narrator was experiencing during their interaction with the monster via description (hands shaking, heart pounding, stomach churning), we’re just told directly by the speaker that they were afraid. The conflicting feelings the narrator had towards the garden creature was very clear, to the point it feels tedious. Scary stories aren’t supposed to hold the reader’s hand and walk them through the entire thing.
For all the time spent making sure the audience was absolutely certain the narrator had an obsession, they aren’t given much of a reason to care. When we have an unnamed narrator of unknown origin, you’d assume their narration would give you more information of who they are and their personality as you read along. However, in this short story the narrator’s identity didn’t seem to matter. We’re given vague ideas about the characteristics of this person, such as their acutely aware of their flaws, immediately scorning their humanity and views themselves as a “mangy ape” in the presence of the monster that becomes their obsession. They call themselves a hedonistic wretch, and we just kind of have to take their word for it.
Overall, though, I liked reading this. Because I have my own bias against horror, I wasn’t the target audience, and so I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as someone who likes horror. I think the author definitely is a skilled writer and has the descriptive skills to create vivid imagery for the reader to enjoy. I feel as though Kendle would be an excellent fantasy writer and I hope he continues to share more of his work. This review was for fun and from the perspective of a reader despite my criticism, which itself may be flawed.
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 