Ghosts of the Past is a Team Fortress 2 Machinima created by Konstantine Rymaruk
following a BLU Scout's descent into madness after a traumatic experience at 2Fort.
The series begins with Once Upon a Time in 2Fort, a five minute video submission for the Saxxy Awards. Despite not winning a Saxxy, the video was highly popular, prompting Konstantine to follow up with an 11 minute conclusion.
After the success of 2Fort, Konstantine released a video titled Ghosts of the Past - Episode 1, and announced a five episode series along with it. The series was then extended to seven episodes later on, each video being released several months after the previous one. They can be viewed on YouTube here.
Ghosts of the Past provides examples of:
- Alas, Poor Villain: The BLU Scout becomes increasingly unhinged over the course of the series, to the point where he eventually begins murdering innocent people. That said, when he is eventually killed after a duel with the Pyro in Episode 5, the lead up to said-death is played in a very tragic light while set to José Feliciano's "Let's Find Each Other Tonight".
- Animal Motif: Ravens for the Red Pyro, fitting their image as a harbinger of death and misfortune in the BLU Scout's shattered mind.
- Artifact Domination: The RED Pyro uses the Vintage Merryweather to become a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut.
- Ascended Extra: Both the BLU Pyro and the BLU Engineer appeared as cameos in Once Upon a Time in 2Fort and were minor characters in the first three episodes of Ghosts of the Past. By the fourth episode, they play a much larger role.
- To a lesser extent, the Red Spy. He receives an expanded backstory in Episode 6 as The Pyro's former teammate, who left the team after the Pyro betrayed the mission.
- Back from the Dead: The Pyro returns from the dead in Ghosts of the Past - Episode 3.
- Beard of Sorrow: The Scout gradually grows one over the course of GOTP.
- Big Bad: The RED Pyro is this.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: The Heavy and the Scout have this dynamic in Once Upon a Time in 2Fort...at least until Heavy dies from his wounds near the end
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- The original BLU Medic has his head ripped off by the Pyro in Once Upon a Time in 2Fort.
- In the same episode, it's discovered that the BLU Spy is dead, having had a Saxxy jammed down his throat until he choked to death.
- The Red Spy is locked in a room by The Scout, and slaughtered by robots after he discovers that the latter killed the Sniper.
- Decoy Protagonist: While Scout is initially the focus of the first couple of minutes in Once Upon a Time in 2Fort - Part 1, The Heavy takes centre stage for the majority of the two episodes, leading the viewer to believe he is the main protagonist - right up until his death, where Scout takes up said role for the remainder of the episode and Ghosts of the Past.
- Darker and Edgier: The series as a whole, "Once Upon a Time at 2Fort" and "Ghosts of the Past" included, is arguably THE DARKEST Team Fortress 2 Machinima since "A Cult of Personality", trading the remaining action and comedy for pure horror and family-unfriendly content.
- Downer Ending: Episode 5 ends on a particularly depressing note. The Scout is dead, having had his esophagus ripped out by the Pyro, who has thus regained the helmet. The Engineer and the Pyro have both been involved in a car crash, and it is left ambiguous whether the two will survive.
- Driven to Suicide: Subverted. After becoming the last man standing, Scout is tempted to shoot himself in the head , until he notices the briefcase, and decides to complete his mission after all.
- Eye Scream: The BLU Scout loses his left eye during a duel with the Squid Demoman in Episode 4.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Both "Once Upon a Time in 2Fort" and "Ghosts of the Past" feature plenty of these, such as the RED Pyro ripping Medic's head off with their bare hands.
- Heroic BSoD: The Scout suffers varied BSODs throughout the series. Justified, as
Word of God states that the series is based on the victims of PTSD. - He Who Fights Monsters: The Pyro is some sort of demonic entity that gets his powers from the helmet. Both the Heavy and the Scout fight him in Once Upon a Time in 2Fort, with the Scout finally killing him. He returns in Episode 3 of Ghosts of the Past, and the Scout fights him again in Episode 5, ending with the Scout's death.
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: The Pyro does this to The Scout at the end of Episode 5.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: The BLU Scout is left as one of these after the events of Once Upon a Time, having witnessed all of his friends and colleagues die cruel and violent deaths.
- The Dreaded: Everyone is afraid of The Pyro, even their own teammates.
- Villain Protagonist: The Scout counts as this, originally being a Punch-Clock Hero before he gives in to his insanity and starts to exhibit sociopathic behaviour.
- We Used to Be Friends: The RED Spy towards the Pyro.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The entirety of Episode 6 is a chronicle of events that begin with how the Red Pyro gets the Vintage Merryweather and various other plot points from the series as shown from the Pyro's point of view, leading up to the present day.
- You Have Failed Me: The Red Pyro shoots the Squid Demoman dead after he fails to kill the Blue Scout.
