Distractions #21
This is the Relearning to Write newsletter, a semi-regular discussion of media and stuff that happens from writer Rory Young. Follow Rory on Bluesky at bluexy.
Hey, everyone! This week’s newsletter touches on a few different things. First is the novel The Tainted Cup, second is the ongoing grand sumo November tournament, and lastly a bit of a rant on The Game Awards.
My last newsletter was quite heavy. I want everyone to know that, as promised in that newsletter, I’m continuing to put one foot in front of the other. As I imagine all of you are doing, too. There’s not much more to say beyond that, I think. Let’s all be there for each other as much as we can.
Self-Destruction
The Tainted Cup by author Robert Jackson Bennett is a book about empire. Where even when faced with a constant existential threat, the nature of empire is every bit as much of a danger. But it wasn’t until days after I finished reading The Tainted Cup that I figured that out.
The story of The Tainted Cup revolves around an apprentice investigator caught up in schemes beyond his ken. He’s just a kid, really, a terrified kid doing his best to fake it until he makes it. He literally allows the government to alter his brain so that he can get a job, so he can pass on money to his family for a chance to relocate somewhere safer. Somewhat safer. Even that isn’t enough to make him the candidate he needed to be. And so he did what was necessary even beyond brain alteration. And lives in fear it would cost him everything since.
Our apprentice, who is named Dinos Kol, is not the hero of the story. Investigator Ana Dolabra is The Tainted Cup’s eccentric detective, Sherlock Holmes to Kol as her Watson. Kol acts as Holmes’ eyes, as he does the reader’s, and that’s why it was so easy for me to lose the larger theme. Not unlike any one of us, I invested more of myself in Kol simply surviving, succeeding, and attending to the issues directly in front of him, than I did the broader systemic issues at hand. And like Kol, even through the conclusions of The Tainted Cup’s mysteries and the acknowledgment of several thematic realities, I let the story’s momentum keep me from pausing to consider the broader intent of its messaging.
But then we live in the world we live in. We are constantly barraged by the realities of the country we live in and the people we’re surrounded by. It became impossible for me to ignore what The Tainted Cup is about. And its positive, constructive ideas in turn became challengingly, if not poorly, timed.
It’s wet season and we’ve left the wall defenseless. The leviathans come.
Ganbatte Enho
Kyusho, the November sumo tournament, is nine days into its fifteen-day schedule. It has been one of the most exciting sumo tournaments I’ve ever watched. Yokozuna Terunofuji, the dominant wrestler of the current sumo era, is not participating in the tournament due to medical issues, leaving a trio of hungry ozeki and a generationally transitioning makuuchi all vying for the title. It seems likely a new yokozuna will be named in 2025 and this tournament is the first look at the prospects stepping toward the top.
Yet as exciting as the king-of-the-hill battle in makuuchi is, my love of sumo is once again being defined by wrestlers who are not at the top of the mountain. Instead, they struggle below. My two favorite wrestlers, Enho and Kawazoe, started Kyusho in the fourth and third divisions, respectively. And, as so beautifully defines sumo, their paths have not been smooth. Enho, on one side of the emotional spectrum, is currently 5-0 with 2 matches left. All of his matches are tense, uncertain things. He is small, and already facing off against much larger opponents. If you get the chance to watch his matches, please do (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
For Kawazoe, however, there is only worry and sadness. After starting off to a very strong 2-0 in the tournament, Kawazoe’s name shockingly appeared on the kyujo list — the list reserved for those typically too injured to continue. Kawazoe had not appeared injured in his two matches. But more strangely no follow-up report on Kawazoe’s was provided — and nothing has been said in the seven days since. Some fans question if Kawazoe was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a non-injury cause, and perhaps even a controversy. Everyone’s hoping for the best, but holding their breath.
This is the nature of sumo, where injuries end most careers. Careers aren’t long in the first place. Even Enho, with his five exciting victories, is still multiple tournaments away from returning to the upper tiers of sumo competition. Once on the verge of sumo’s highest ranks, a serious injury toppled Enho to its lowest in a year away. Cheer him loudly now. Cheer them all. This is the terrible beauty of sumo. It is
The Game Awards is Bullshit
This is a conversation that's repeated annually, endlessly exhausting millions of video game fans who think their shitty favorite game is better than everyone else's shitty favorite game. Everyone knows it's all bullshit but not everyone understands why it's all bullshit. Is it the popular vote? Is it the sponsors? Is it Geoff Keighley's transparently obvious desperation to be validated by an industry that sees him forever in a Dorito pope hat? All of the above are valid, pertinent, and disqualifying if not for the stream of dollars screaming that The Game Awards is important directly into the public consciousness's ear. But, friends, as true as this all may be, let me tell you: The Game Awards (and most all game awards) is bullshit for a much simpler and terminal reason.
It's tough to play a lot of video games. That's it. Yet, as simple as that may seem, that's the heart of the issue regarding any game awards, particularly The Game Awards. The Game Awards rewards games that more members of its jury have played and each member of the jury rewards games that have been played more by its respective jury. That includes individuals like Jeff Gerstmann and French Youtuber Julien Chièze who don't do formal reviews, culture-focused outlets like Pride.com or Chile's FayerWayer that review only a handful of games each year, or major US gaming outlets that shall remain nameless that choose nominees based on traffic.
Video games are long. Video games are expensive. Video games are often exclusive to certain (also expensive) platforms. Video games often launch at the same time, or during moments of players' lives where they don't have time to play them. Video games are also wildly diverse, and due to the reasons mentioned earlier, most players have complicated preferences and biases. This is as true for video game critics as it is for all game players. Even if every member of The Game Awards jury were dedicated to voting authentically, based on their personal experiences and evaluations of each game, it wouldn't matter because most reviewers would still have played popular games more often than smaller games, English games more often than non-English games, straight or diverse audience-focused games more than queer games, and games that their audience wants to read about more than otherwise. If Tekken 8, which has 157 reviews on OpenCritic and an average score of 90, can't get a nomination then how can The Crimson Diamond, Satisfactory, or UFO 50, which each have fewer than 20 reviews and comparable review averages?
They can't, and they shouldn't have to, because The Game Awards is bullshit and worth its weight in it, too. It'll probably have some cool game announcements, though.
In all seriousness. If you value game criticism and believe in its necessity in cataloging, characterizing, and influencing the video game industry, step away from the outlet-focused system we have now and search out individual critics. Find critics who play lots of games, search out diverse experiences, and are open to not recommending a game as they are recommending it.
Lightning Round
Rise of the Golden Idol - The sequel to the excellent puzzle game The Case of the Golden Idol unfortunately didn’t recapture the first game’s magic. It’s a lesson, I think, about setting, and how telling a compelling mystery and adventure demands mysterious and adventurous environments and atmosphere. Well worth experiencing regardless, though, for puzzle game fans.
Deadlock - Every week I return to Deadlock feeling like I’ve forgotten how to play, and every week I wrap up playing feeling like I’m on the verge of attaining Deadlock godhood. Action in Deadlock is so rewarding and challenging and fun and I get nervous just thinking about playing, even though losing is never as painful as in Overwatch or League of Legends. This game’s special.
Breakfast Burritos - I’ve fully embraced the ritual of making breakfast burritos every day. Bacon in the oven for ~12 minutes (chewy is better than crispy for a burrito). Whil bacon is cooking, cubed potatoes (I prefer red for the flavor and texture) go in the microwave for two minutes and then into a hot pan with olive oil. Bacon and potatoes should be done around the same time. Chop the bacon and crack two eggs into the potatoes. Warm a tortilla on the pan, slap some sour cream on it, and then slap your potatoes+eggs+bacon in it. Apply hot sauce liberally to each bite. Delicious. I just need to eat less through the rest of the day to make up for it.
AEW - The wrestling break is over. Watching wrestling with friends is comforting. I’m not going to say AEW is good right now. It’s not. The wrestling is not at the level of quality expected of AEW. But we can have fun anyway. Also, Full Gear is this weekend, and PPVs always deliver. I might change my mind next week.
What’s Next? - Less than a week left of the sumo tournament. I’ve started up Dungeon Crawler Carl as my next book. Dragon Age Veilguard is still there and I want to spend more time with it. More Deadlock, for sure. And hopefully a lot of writing.
Thanks, everyone for checking out the newsletter! It kinda came about spontaneously rather than requiring me to set aside time and make an effort. That feels good. Still took fuckin’ forever to write, though.
As ever, I can’t say enough how much it means to me that you took the time to catch up with my life and thoughts. Feel free to reach out to me on Bluesky if you have anything I can help with. Until next time! - Rory