#i think the last thing i was playing on a system was pokemon x... or acnl

[kob131]

NEO: The World Ends With You - Review

Okay so how many of you are familiar with the 2007 game The World Ends With You on the DS?

... Okay, actually a few of you. Now- Who remembers the 2021 sequel NEO: TWEWY?

... Wow, that’s a severe drop off. Especially considering that NEO: TWEWY is a worthy successor.

Summary:

NEO: The World Ends With You is a 2021 game released on the PS4, PC and Switch (which is the version I have). In the game, you return to the city of Shibua three years after the events of TWEWY in the shoes of Rindo Kanabe, an apathetic teen with little connection to others other than his online friend Swallow in Pokemon Go I’m sorry, FanGo. Him and his best friend IRL Fret go out and pick up a suspiciously familiar red and black pin and get involved in a modern fantasy fight.

Where a truck crushes Fret.

...Wait, I’m sorry. Apparently after Rindo ends up in some weird void thing, Fret DOESN’T get squished and they end up in the Reaper’s Game, where they must team up with other Players compete with the opposing teams in order to return to their version of reality or else risk losing and becoming erased from existence.

So, it’s the same basic idea as the original game with the concept of the Reaper’s Game alongside the three weeks of gameplay. And superficially, you’ll follow similar objectives of ‘defeat thing’, ‘solve puzzle’ or ‘beat bad guy’. But the game puts its own spin on these concepts. Puzzles in the game as more about figuring out random details in the background and sorting them out and both of the combat orienated objectives are heavily affected by a major addition to the game- Rindo can turn back time.

Now before anyone thinks they can use this to save scum bosses or anything-this is a story thing, not directly gameplay. What I mean is that sometimes you’ll be faced with an obstacle that appears seemingly out of the blue and Rindo will turn back time to certain previous events where you can undermine the obstacle and then take them on.

Which I think gives me a good excuse to move onto the gameplay setion.

Gameplay:

Despite TWEWY being well known for its stylish gameplay, utilizing various touch screen commands on the DS to execute attacks while using the D-Pad to fight with your partner on the other screen- NEO: TWEWY might actually have a better combat system.

In the game, you now use certain buttons to perform attacks based on what pins are equipped to your teammates. For example, the A/X button is usually used for mashing a close range attack. After fulfilling a certain condition of the attack- usually ending in a finisher move, get a number of hits or inflict a status condition among others- you get a Beatdrop window where if you hit the enemy in the timeframe you build up your ‘Groove’ for a ‘Mashup’.

‘Mashups’ are basically NEO’s version of Fusion attacks- Super moves that inflict a lot of damage with ‘Groove’ being the counterpart to the fusion stars. But whereas Fusion attacks’ resource could be built up and saved without any kind of loss and just dealt damage to all enemies- Groove can be lost either from not performing a Beatdrop in a while or just from exiting a fight. Meaning that you’re incentivized to play aggressively. Just as well, Mashups also change their properties based on what element was last used to complete a Beatdrop. For example- Fire brings down a giant meteor that leaves behind lingering flames, Electric creates a cage of lightning and Darkness fires razor disks right at the target. 

Then you have a ‘Killer Remix’, which at 300% is like Persona’s All Out Attack- dealing pure damage, except by mashing a button for an amount of time. Now, I know it sounds like you should aim for Killer Remixes. Yeah, they dish out a lot of damage...but see, TWEWY has a unique feature. It has a dynamic difficulty setting that can be changed at any time. This affects damage obviously but also enemy aggression and speed alongside increasing your pool of drops. So it’s actually more useful in certain situations to just use a certain Mashup. For more info, check out my friend’s notes on Mashups.

And of course, you’re probably thinking you can button mash to get easy Mashups. Well, don’t. Aside from the fact that the reboot system for Pins has returned too, you get an upgrade to your Beatdrop window where hitting at the right timespan gives you extra Groove with the window changing for each different kind of attack. Also- TWEWY’s enemies, Noise, still do not play by ‘wait your turn.’ They will attack you from off screen a lot if you don’t pay attention so you better keep an eye and finger on the dodge button.

And finally for pins- Certain pins will also have certain special effects. More often than not, they’ll cause more damage in certain scenarios. Like tackling Pins will deal more damage if an enemy is immobilized. You can easily use this to chain together certain pins for massive damage, recovered health or even more Groove. SO make sure to use as many different pins as possible.

As for stuff related to stats and more passive combat elements- You have Stats and Threads. Stats are exactly what you think- they determined how much damage you can take, dish out and reduce through HP, ATK and DEF respectively. Like in most RPGs, Stats can be boosted through equipment, or Threads in TWEWY, along with supplying you with additional buffs. However, said buffs are locked behind a fourth stat- Style. As in, you’ll need a certain amount of Style on the character to access the buff. And unlike in most RPGs- Your stats aside from HP DON’T increase. They only increase through eating food. And you can only eat so much before your character gets full but it gets lowered from going through combat. So another reason to engage with the combat- through grinding, it snowballs into getting easier.

Which you’ll need because the game encourages you to be as low of a level as possible. See, just like the difficulty, your level can also be adjusted. With lower levels equaling less HP but better drop rates. And for certain drops, you’ll want to be at Level 1 with equipment that increases the drop rate because 20x drop rate sounds good until you face an enemy with a pin you want at like....3% chance of dropping. So have fun.

Which is pretty easy, given that the game has an addictive combat loop that’s almost rhymic. Which brings us to-

Music

The original TWEWY was known for its amazing and actually super expansive music thanks to an ingenious trick by the developers to save space on the cartridge. Here’s some sample hits for reference.

... Yeah, pretty bombass huh? Especially since everything I linked was the OG DS version. Fun fact, that ingenious trick i mentioned earlier was formatting the music using the same format for voice lines, which saved space and gave more room for music. Which, if you haven’t caught on from the game’s terminology- is pretty damn important to it.

Which brings me to NEO’s own music. Obviously it’s made in a similar vein to the original, that being pop, techno and rock. But saying that the OG and NEO have the same kind of music is like saying a great specialty can of soda and a well brewed coffee are the same kind of drink. The OG is bold and sweet with a certain smoothness that makes it memorable, especially for something like the DS. But NEO? NEO’s songs are a bit more subdued but in exchange have a greater depth of flavor and feel.

To demonstrate my point, let’s revisit one of my samples. Transformation is a very boastful song, meant to convey an arrogant but powerful enemy. Like a storm that hits you in the face as you struggle to withstand the wind and rain. All conveyed by a loud, consistent guitar that matches the powerful drumbeat alongside a bold, consistent voice. 

But NEO’s Remix goes a complete different direction with a suspenseful beginning, bursting into a raging chorus as the guitar enters and the drum picks up, returning to a suspenseful verse but with the guitar remaining as a reminder of the storm before. The background is filled a building chant as tension rises before exploding at the end back into that raging chorus. It transitions to that familiar bridge, repeats one last time before hitting its apex and the verses merge into the background as the chorus rages forth.

Akin to an unmatched force of nature, a storm but evolved, forcing you to ride it out and hope you make it out.

NEO’s songs simply have a better narrative woven into them. Which once more carries us to-

Story and Themes

(Okay, no getting around this- Spoiler Warning)

So, the original TWEWY was also really well known for a well written story with clear and concise themes- themes of the power of thoughts, of learning different perspectives, of reaching out to others and forging connections with people all through Neku’s own personal growth. So, does NEO live up to this legacy?

Yep.

Rindo actually shares a few things in common with Rindo- an obsession with certain pieces of tech (Rindo’s phone and Neku’s...earphones), being rather snarky and easily exasperated (with Rindo tending to keep it to himself) and lacking a real connection to other people in general (Rindo’s due to apathy vs. Neku’s misanthropy).

If you paid attention, you’ll notice that the real difference between Neku and Rindo is that Neku’s flaw is more upfront and active whereas Rindo’s is more subdued and passive. And that’s the point- Rindo is far too passive in his life. He’s a teen who, instead of asserting himself so harshly that he pushes away others, relies on others superficially while never truly bonding with them because of his lack of input. The kid is the definition of ‘indecisive’, just not in a blatant way. 

And that’s the really cool part of NEO’s writing- it’s more subdued than the original’s. The name of the series, The World Ends With You, is directly explained by the clear mentor character fairly early on in the original and made it’s point VERY clear. Meanwhile, the name and theme of the series in NEO is more implied and demonstrated through the use of teams as a central driving conflict, forcing Rindo to make connections and shape up not just for his sake but for others as well.

He’s not the only example. The first person he truly recruits is the emotional fangirl Nagi, who is outwardly very dorky and expressive but shows a keen insight into people’s emotions. If you pay attention to her reactions and interactions with others- she tends to like people who are more open with themselves while acting cold towards those who aren’t and distant to those who hide a villainous side to them.

Or, to dig up someone who isn’t a main character- the leader of one of the opposing teams, Kanon. At first, she acts as a modern kind of Femme Fatale- an exceptional attractive woman who emphasizes such to try and take advantage of others, like how she steals Rindo and Fret’s points in the first week. But as time goes on, she turns out to be one of the more honorable and fair characters, to the point of being a major ally later on.

All in all, it’s actually quite engaging. Now, is there anything else to add onto here? ... Oh yeah.

Visuals

It’s the OG game but in 3D, using perspective and the new 3D to make Shibuya look truly enormous. As in, the 104 Building now clearly towers over the player now.

... Hey, TWEWY’s original graphics were damn on point. Not much can be improved. Especially for a game that has to run on the Switch.

Conclusion

Look, if you think this is expansive or anything approaching the sort- it really isn’t. There is so much more to discuss about the combat, themes and music. There’s even elements I didn’t bring up, like how the theme of teamwork is further emphasized through a perk web-system called a ‘Social Network’ that gradually expands as you progress through the game, showcasing how you’ve helped and affected others. It’s just that I feel like this is the proper way to introduce you to the game. Because I genuinely want people to pick up and try out NEO. It’s criminally underrated and I think the effort and passion that went into it deserves to be seen and recognized.

Seriously- The game is 28 bucks on Amazon. Go get it.

#neo twewy #neo: the world ends with you #review

[thedreamparadox]

What would you like to see in a new NiGHTS game?

Postgame ability to free roam ALL LEVELS without dealing with Awakers/Alarm Eggs/a potentially new wake you up "enemy." JoD doesn't let you free roam super far from my recollection, and NiD has a larger capacity to free roam by base since you can stun the Alarm Egg but it doesn't last forever. Plus the levels in NiD are small, I have tried to explore zones but straight up the areas in Mare 4 do not exist until they're called in by completing the relevant laps. You can do unlimited freeroam via a Game Shark on the Saturn version (which I have done, but I don't have a capture card to show it off), which is very neat, but I'd want that to be a basic feature.

New outfits for NiGHTS and Reala because I love seeing them in new costumes.

A Jackle cameo if it wouldn't break the plot. I like the idea of getting new Second Levels every single game, but Jackle is a fan favorite. Maybe have them as a bonus unlockable skin in the vein of Reala being playable in Christmas NiGHTS on April 1st (Reala Day) sort of like Claris and Elliot were unlockable in JoD if you got all the Dream Drops. (I did, in fact, go out of my way to get all of the Dream Drops in JoD. It was a nice little addition to the game even if some of them were fiddly as HELL to get.)

I've warmed up to the light puzzle platforming as the kids thing from JoD, so I'd want to keep that in to some degree. There NEEDS to be better control over Blue Chips though, those controls felt so fiddly.

Fix the My Dream system or remove it entirely. A-Life was the reason we later got Chao, so there's no reason we can't have a Chao-adjacent system. I love the idea of which levels you play the most influences the space, but in practice the changes are so minimal it's really annoying. Maybe let some features of the level be unlockable based on X number of replays or Y score.

I don't really have any particular wants for the story. I guess "less clunky" from JoD. The original NiD is a masterpiece, even if most of the plot is hidden in the manual. I was able to enjoy its story not having the manual as a kid and having zero concept of what was really going on. Owl can stay, but they NEED to not use his voice clips to the point of annoyance.

I've floated the idea of reversing the sporty and artsy thing, ie having an artsy inclined boy and a sporty girl, before, and I still think that could be nice. I've toyed with this concept for my own fics, but ultimately after writing Journey into the Dream Within I don't think I could do anything that interesting in this concept in a way that wouldn't be retreading what I'd already written with my JoD fic. Piano boy is my vote if we gotta pick an instrument, I don't sports so idk on the girl front. (In theory you could get away with a customizable Dreamer character but given how entrenched in symbolism and how much the series leans into Jungarian ideas, this could make the levels wholeass make no sense. I'd be down for doing the Pokemon or Balan Wonderworld thing of "you have a set protagonist but can pick their appearance" though.)

Soundtrack just needs to keep consistent quality. For all the flaws of both games, the OSTs always slap. Bring back the Nightopian mood mechanic from NiD though that's awesome. Love those remixes. I'm a sucker for variations on a theme.

MAKE PARALOOPS INCENTIVIZED! Having Nightmaren eat half my Nightopians after paralooping them because it throws them into the My Dream area was annoying as hell and I hated that.

Remove Personas unless it's for cosmetics. Honestly remove Personas entirely. NiGHTS fluidly changing form in NiD made much more sense than in JoD. (Attempting to justify their existing in my fic was suffering honestly.)

I'd really like it if the game leaned more into NiGHTS' origins. Not their backstory, but the fact they're a Nightmaren. They're not all sugar and rainbows they were made to torment humans. Lean into that. More gremlin former Nightmaren energy in my protagonist please. (It wouldn't even effect their characterization much. NiD NiGHTS can be sassy too, if you make them bonk their head on the Ideya Palace enough times they'll refuse to Dualize with you.)

#answered asks;; #long post #you got me rambling anon lol

[owlixx]

Mega Man X5 Thoughts

Really enjoyed having the fourth armor from the start of the game

Felt like the most innovative Mega Man X game since the first one

I didn't love the branching plot, but it at least provided a context

Didn't play as zero at all

I liked getting to fight zero

I generally liked the mavericks more in this one than some of the older mavericks, but maybe I am just finally getting used to them being animals

Generally enjoyed the weapons in this one

I liked getting to choose between more health or more ammo

I had flashbacks again to JUMP JUMP SLIDE SLIDE during the brief hover bike section

Rookie hunter mode with instakill protection made it so I actually beat this game legit

I especially needed rookie mode for some of the platforming towards the end

Doubling the maverick health for the rematch just dragged out the fights pointlessly

The level system makes no sense to me

Kinda lame that you can't use armor pieces a la carte

I missed the terrible FMV's

Holy hell Alia needs to stop interrupting me every 2 seconds to explain incredibly basic concepts

Dynamo fights all time most forgettable thing ever

Side note: I started Mega Man Xtreme and while its cute enough, I may skip the GBC entries to get to the end of this long journey faster. They can perhaps join Wily Wars and Mega Man Game Gear in being a part of my next Mega Man Phase, like how I had a second Sonic phase where I circled back to play 06, Unleashed, and Colors, or how I keep threatening to have a second pokemon phase that I never actually follow through on. (As an aside, the only Metroid games left for me to do that with would be Prime Hunters, Prime Pinball, and Federation Force). And that does remind me that I need to play the Igavanias that are not on GBA/DS which I believe is just SOTN and Bloodstained.

This means that since I've cut out GBC games and delayed Mega Man Legends...that up next is X6, followed by the first Zero game! Exciting stuff! We are pretty much going to bounce back and forth between post-intended-canon X games and Zero games until we hit ZX, basically. I'll have to assess X command mission as to whether or not I have a good way to play it/if I want to play it, but I think Xtreme was the last game on this list I was kind of dreading, and I continue to really look forward to the 2 PSP remakes!

#mega man #mega man x #mega man x5 #ps1 #32 bit #capcom #retro gaming

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 137 Rundown

Spy X Family: We finally get the briefing on Anya’s school and the short version is if she gets eight gym badges she gets to meet the guy Loid has to kill but if she gets eight anti-gym badges they fucking kick her out so we’re basically dealing with the Good Noodle Star system from Spongebob, idk if the gym badges and anti-badges are permanent or if you get a star and a bolt gets removed or if you can just rock up with seven bolts and eight stars like ‘yeah I was almost expelled but I’m also really fucking good at math’ but that’s the plan, get Anya to win all eight gym badges and be the best at school which is normal to want and possible to achieve. Anya’s tailor freaks her out about how people from her school get kidnapped because they have rich parents and of course while out doing shopping with Yor Anya gets fucking kidnapped because apparently her psychic powers can hear Loid from across a crowded gym but can’t hear someone thinking ‘I’mma kidnap this pink-haired kid’ from five feet away. Either way Yor fucks them up so we don’t have to watch her Press Y to Anya while looking for her and Anya decides she wants to learn to kill a man with her pinky too and decides to start training with Yor. Meanwhile orientation day is here and Loid goes over the plan again, adding the stipulation that Anya can also get in good with this guy’s bratty kid and take a shortcut past the gym badges like that one Pokemon anime episode where you can take a test to go straight to the pokemon league if you can identify a Jigglypuff seen from above. But yeah Anya basically takes every wrong social cue based on reading her classmates’ thoughts and being a bit of a brat herself but does kind of end up winning over one of the girls in her class while accidentally egging on the bratty kid she’s supposed to be friends with with her meme face and fucking socks him one which thanks to her new training is probably a lot stronger than it should be and now we’re starting the books with one anti-badge.

Inuyasha: The Naginata of Kenkon arc continues and Hojo and Kagome dick around in the forest for a while so Kagome can flirt with the possibility of being Hojo’s feudal waifu. Inuyasha fights Hoshiyomi who as far as filler villains go is pretty cool like he’s the only person who just fires fuck off huge sword lasers better than Inuyasha at this point in the series and they have a cool minimalist black and white color scheme. Meanwhile Miroku and Sango completely fail to try and take down the ninja subordinates because they’re ninjas and the flunkies find a picture of Kagome’s friends that one of them uses to turn into demon puppets which means absolutely nothing except it’s cool to see Kagome’s friends’ feudal versions like there’s absolutely no reason the ninja demon couldn’t make random puppets since he plays them off as feudal strangers anyway which makes no sense from his perspective since he doesn’t know they’re future people so if he saw the pic of Kagome with them why did he know not to have them talk to her like they knew her? Like that just makes the whole situation more complicated than just whipping up a random village girl to lead them into a trap. Kagome sees through a completely unrelated foible and takes out the demons which puppets or not sounds kinda traumatic given they look just like her friends but she doesn’t hesitate for a millisecond. Once the puppets are done though the demon ninjas just swoop in and abduct Kagome which they… could’ve just done anyway, in fact why not take Hojo too? He’s got the sword you want and he’s by all accounts weaker than Kagome like why did we abduct her at all and not take the one thing you guys want? Idfk man, it’s in Kagome’s contract that she has to get kidnapped every so often.

Yu Yu Hakusho: There’s a running gag I forgot to mention last time about Koenma ominously saying he can take out his pacifier as a last resort and everyone gasping before admitting they have no idea what the fuck he’s talking about and it gets repeated with Genkai this episode and it’s pretty funny. Yusuke’s group reaches Sensui’s lair where he has a VCR hooked up to a car battery so he can sync up his favorite movie to the end of the world like it’s Pink Floyd and the Wizard of Oz or some shit, long story short the gang’s got 30 minutes. Sensui wants Yusuke to be the arbiter of humanity’s defense so he offers to give Kuwabara back if they can kill Gourmet but his allies note this is less an act of generosity and more an enforcement of control by seeking to limit the possibilities in a framework instead of risking the ugly situation that could occur if everyone just bum rushes Kuwabara and the demon tunnel from five different angles. Kurama agrees they aren’t going to color in the lines on this one but they’ll play along for a bit and offers to fight Gourmet who now has the ability to read minds since he off-screen ate that one guy that could read minds from earlier in the arc which kinda sucks like YYH is kinda weird in that it’ll build up a death forever and not do it and then off-screen a dude with no fanfare. Anyway Kurama beheads Gourmet and reveals he knew Elder Toguro was pulling the strings in there all along and basically reverse-digested Gourmet from the inside and absorbed the ability to eat things to get stronger, read minds AND ramped up his immortality to the point that you could detonate a nuke on his forehead and he’d probably still come back. Of course what follows is one of the most epic overkill scenes in all of anime and even people that haven’t seen this series know this one. Kurama traps him in a purgatory tree where he’s eternally hallucinating not being able to kill Kurama while getting drained of his life force and healing just enough to forever be under its spell, basically what Itachi ripped the Izanami off of except this one doesn’t get a happy ending where Elder Toguro sees the error of his ways and leads an orphanage of sharingan children. So yeah, two down, two to go.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Sukuna and Yuji meet in Yuji’s inner world and Sukuna makes the deal that he’ll revive Yuji if he can basically install a switch switch to use whenever he wants on the condition he can’t kill or hurt anyone when he comes out with this method and Yuji can’t remember that he made the deal in the first place. Yuji immediately smells the sus and disagrees but still wants to come back to life so they agree to fight on it and Sukuna immediately kicks his ass and just like that Yuji’s back to life and his evil side has a foothold in his mind. This raises a couple questions of what the fuck it would take to actually kill Yuji short of like complete incineration and if Sukuna can’t kill or injure anyone when he comes out what’s the fucking point unless cursed spirits don’t count, though that’ll be a problem when they inevitably meet human enemies anyway. Megumi delivers the juvie kid’s name patch to his mom and starts actively thinking about fucking helping people while training the second years which is apparently a foreign concept in this school. I gotta say I kinda like Gojo’s ultimate goal like he knows if he just kills all the assholes running things then they’ll just get replaced by new assholes so he decides that he’s gonna make the assholes that replace those assholes instead to the future will have Gojo-brand assholes running it, pretty solid/petty reason for getting into teaching. I also like the stupid mundane way they’re gonna teach Yuji how to use Cursed Chakra because it’s just something you can do at home, like I always like training montages that are just shit an edgy teen can pretend to do. But yeah the basic idea is to watch movies to fuel a gambit of emotions while still thinking enough pissy thoughts to keep the stuffed boxing bear that feeds on youtube comments to stay asleep so there’s enough undercurrent of cursed shit in his personality that even if he’s feeling great and about to win he can still dig into a reservoir of feeling like crap and hating the world and regretting shit. That’s pretty neat since a lot of superpowers say they’re based on emotions but they don’t really go into what it takes to be able to flip those emotions on and off like a lightswitch and how you basically have to be a psychopath to punch out a specific power’s emotion in a situation that may not warrant it. Also Captain Magma wants to seal Gojo into Jimmy Neutron’s hypercube or something.

Chainsaw Man: Team Akimeno pick up right where they left off, trapped in the endless PT style loop of a a motel hallway where any seam becomes a loop, stuck in the grasp of the Eternity Devil. Kobeni and other guy have hair trigger sanity so they’re freaking out meanwhile Denji and Power are too crazy to care and Aki and Himeno are too stoic to get freaked out so we have three nice groups of two for the sliding scale of sanity under pressure. Unfortunately this isn’t the kind of hotel to have a fully stocked overpriced minibar so starvation is a concern even though everyone’s only been there like a couple hours max and they’re already putting cannibalism on the table so we’re not exactly dealing with the most stable bunch. We get some cute insight on Himeno’s backstory and ironically it fleshes Aki out more than her which is an interesting way to shine insight on her feelings for him and their dynamic has this weird kind of casual intimacy like I’d buy they canonically fucked and just didn’t make a big deal about it, also like the idea of Aki’s idea of revenge is causing people mild inconveniences like he’s someone who’d prank someone by slightly messing up their paperwork and feel really bad about it all day when they didn’t even notice. But yeah the Infinity Train Devil wants Denji dead for some reason and being the Sasuke of the group Aki has a super secret technique that can kill it but it eats his lifespan and everyone’s like ‘that’s dumb a fraction of Aki’s life is worth way more than Denji’s whole life’ and Denji’s just kinda out here feeling the love when Kobeni tries to stab him and Aki jumps in the way to take one for the team because he has a tragic backstory to uphold and also killing people to satisfy a devil doesn’t sit well with him. Denji’s not quite sure how to process gratitude towards someone he doesn’t also want to bone so he just says fuck it and jumps into the Eternity Devil’s mouth with Chainsaws active which I imagine he would’ve done anyway even if they tried to kill him with it. But yeah that was pretty cool, like for a group of people that barely tolerate each other seeing Aki stand up for the guy that repeatedly kicked him in the nuts over literal nothing and assign his life intrinsic value as well as consider him an asset to his cause is pretty neat, Denji out here getting some affirmation that doesn’t give him a boner.

Ranking of Kings: Bojji and Kage reach the Underworld King and they show off Bojji’s skills and the king’s like ‘bro your dodging’s cool and all but I can’t do shit to make you stronger’ and Bojji has a minor existential crisis before they find out from the guard captain Bojji fought that it’s actually the king’s brother who can make Bojji stronger and the king was just being a petty dork. Meanwhile Daida’s also having an existential crisis when Spear Dude comes to kill him and is stopped by the mirror who is apparently possessed by the resident Morgan Le Fae insert and has a much more sinister plan for Daida and recruits Spear dude to knock him the fuck out and make him drink the spilled Father Slushee from last episode, now with extra floor dirt to make it 10% more gross. Meanwhile Kage and Bojji reach the king’s brother and while the king’s like a demon guy the brother is just like… some dude and it’s pretty funny.

Vinland Saga: Now that Thorfinn has his goal of becoming a great warrior and enough of an asset to Askeladd to fucking murder him, we jump straight into a new fight. The English and Danish have beef because of lines on the ground because war is fucking stupid and the Viking pirates are basically mercenaries that the Danish army can use as shock troops to weaken England before it comes time to invade. While negotiating one of these missions Askeladd’s crew gets jumped by the English and Askeladd saves Thorfinn’s life and Thorfinn gets his first kill and we get a quick montage of him getting very very good at killing people over the next few years and picking up another knife along the way. While he’s out scouting he gets knocked into a river is saved by a nice old English lady who saves him because she’s a good Christian and also she just so happens to have a recently opened son-shaped hole in her heart that he’s the perfect size to fill. He actually gets to relax and get cleaned up for a bit and almost feel like part of a family again for a moment but of course because fate is cruel he still has to go give the signal to Askeladd’s crew to come fuck the whole town up and presumably kill the old lady and her granddaughter despite him trying to save them. I mean he might’ve been able to walk away from the pirate life right there but Askeladd probably would’ve still come after the village eventually and he still has a murderboner so trying to get them out of there was probably the best he could do but he probably could’ve been more direct about it.

#ooc #Toonami #Custom Toonami Block #Spy X Family #Inuyasha #Yu Yu Hakusho #Jujutsu Kaisen #Chainsaw Man #Ranking of Kings #Vinland saga

[useful-boy]

Which Megaman subfandoms are you most interested in? I like MMZ the best, myself, on account of how much it has to say about the ethics of asymmetric warfare.

The games that I'm familiar with are the Battle Network games and X1 because that's what I grew up with- didn't get a chance to play the first two BN games though, and I think 4 was only half finished due to me just losing interest in games for a while and getting distracted by life, but I've still got it laying around somewhere. Currently my interests lie in completing the anime series, and after I finish with a rewatch of another show I'm into, I'm gonna try to watch Stream as well as another anime I love at the same time.

...Oh yeah, I think I played around... 30% of one of the Zero games? I got stuck hard though getting to one of the missions because I couldn't find the entrance to an area I needed to get to no matter how hard I searched for it, put it down out of frustration, and told myself "I'll just look it up", and never did, so that's still untouched a couple years later.

#i havent played any physical games in so long #i think the last thing i was playing on a system was pokemon x... or acnl #i dont remember #the past couple years have just been a lot and theres always something going on or im playing something else #asks #horatiovonbecker

[aliasprick]

Everytime my brother said Ash x Goh not gunna happen I be like pft, What do you mean, they already married.

But on a more serious note, they are already married.

Like I realized every japanese opening always sings about the point of view of a character in the story.

Like "Your adventure"... It was Kukui's point of view

And Kira Kira was Clemont's POV.

And many more. (That's why Gotta catch em all is a strong theme because that's what Pokemon is and they needed someone like Goh to do the job since Ash had been kinda giving up on this part of his mission).

Going back to the point. Basically, there are songs that tells about the character POV of Ash. Now.... We are seeing for the first time an actual duet of Goh and Ash POV.

And they were totally talking to each other in the OP song. And it was the first time I heard that Ash is actually feeling alone?!!!! He has so many friends and yet he is alone?!!! Like Goh finally completes him like aahhhh

(I got a little sad for Ash cause that's a first time in an opening he actually said he was alone after so many opening in previous seasons with him doing his very best with Pikachu by his side)

And he literally made a statement in the song that Goh completes his life. And Goh be like hey if it's with me it can be anywhere (Only couples say these things like come on. I have best friends too and I don't always follow them everywhere and would be counting my money if I can afford to go or not)

So I'm like... So in this last season, the producer be like okay eff it, let's just marry him to someone and why not this one.

I mean, I can feel it Goh is a character made to fit Ash's taste lol.

Reasons because (I'm not bashing, I am just pointing out Goh's quality that might have blurred the line of love and friendship) :

Like Ash disagrees with Misty's hate of bug pokemon. Goh loves bug pokemons. His Cascoons everybody. He let them sleep in his room.

Ash doesn't like to be looked down upon. Like Iris keeps saying how Ash is such a kid and Goh, he compliments the heck of Ash and why is he not blushing yet after all that.

Also the fact that Goh has a fix goal and drive to achieve it. Like he knows exactly what he wanted. Opposite to Serena who was soul searching for quite sometimes. And Ash found Goh's fixation intriguing (cause catching em all is his dream too and that's why he was a supportive boyfriend).

Goh also have qualities that he likes. For example (a nerd). I'm onto you Ash. I know you love them nerds.

Like should I give an example. Clemont for example. A nerd who creates innovations no matter how useless it is or a failure or it's working fine. Let's face it, Ash pays more attention to Clemont's creation.

Or... Gladion. Gladion is a goth nerd who for some reason have all the data from his mum's research facility and he basically is Ash's duo in sun and moon. And Ash kinda look up to his family in general on their research thingy.

And Ash thought Max, the smart boy, like his little brother and they kick it off cause Max Loves Pokemon and a nerd. Goh also have extreme curiosity and love for Pokemon. And a nerd. I can't emphasize this more on how important this is.

Some people may argue why Goh doesn't befriend a pokemon first before capturing them (which I dunno, surprisingly is the main argument why they hate Goh although I suspect it was because there is a lack of waifu material accompanying Ash closely this time) but Goh is a direct representation of what a generic trainer (which is us) will do when we capture a pokemon. He just exercises the buddy system afterwards. I mean that's just how it is. I never play a pokemon game where I have the ability to ask a pokemon to be my friend before capturing them but I have the option to love them afterwards.

And Ash IS TOTALLY OK with this approach. Let's face it, he also helps to maintain the little home zoo they have since he also need it because of his desperate need to touch every pokemon in the world and Goh is ACTUALLY doing him a favour.

And if he gunna be loving them pokemon for a long time, I am convinced Goh and Ash are married to sustain their symbiotic lifestyle.

So my conclusion.

LUGIA MARRIED THEM.

That second episode is their wedding. Oak lied. It was never about the grand opening of the institute .

Thanks for reading my thesis why I totally think they should adopt more kids pokemons.

#firstfriendshipping #satogou #gouacheshipping #journeyshipping

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 24 - Haunted

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

NOTE: I’m updating early! hope you enjoy. This chapter is quite disturbing (in a different kind of way). 

Rating: General/Teen

@marydragneell​ here is the latest update

Haunted

…

…

[“Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Weep, and you weep alone.”

- Solitude, Ella Wheeler Wilcox]

…

…

Leon sits at the table, wondering what to expect.

He isn’t really sure and he watches the rustling red curtain worriedly as Jace presses a button on his remote and the spotlight moves to shine on the drapes and the same music from the pageant’s opening ceremony begins playing.

He spares Volkner a quick glance; the gym leader is immobile, sitting in his seat with pen in hand over the paper, watching.

Leon passes a glance to Sonia and Jace next.

They look a little perturbed.

Frankie looks nervous too, sitting with Sylveon and Yamper squashed in her arms.

Meanwhile, Ezra snores on the sofa, the music drowning him out.

The curtains rustle again and are promptly pulled apart and you step out.

Leon stares, eyes wide. His hand goes limp, the pen almost falling out of his grip; you look….different.

He’s not the only one. Sonia is also gaping in shock, astounded by the difference in persona which is so glaringly obvious. Jace too, is severely spooked, gawking with eyes as large as saucers.

You’ve turned into a completely different person.

With a wide smile that reaches your ears, you have emerged in a swimsuit and high heels.

He hasn’t seen you wear so little clothing before. In fact, he’s used to seeing you in your long coat, oversized sweaters, cardigans or something…anything that was baggy and casual. He’s used to seeing you in bland, neutral colours with little or no makeup. He’s never seen you so dolled up, dressed up in such bold and bright colours and so exposed before.

He inwardly gulps as you begin to stroll down the aisle with the confidence and grace of a catwalk model, taking long strides in your heels, rehearsing the routine in tune to the music.

Except it’s not really you.

Keeping to her schedule, Sonia begins the introduction, clearing her throat and with script in hands, holding the microphone close to her mouth, “And give it up for the lovely Flora Warren who is here today to represent Motostoke!!!” she exclaims as enthusiastically as possible, but when she’s finished, she lowers the microphone, her lip wobbling with worry.

You parade over the red carpet, waving and smiling, oblivious.

Reading from the script, Sonia says, “Miss Motostoke is twenty years old this year. She is currently a full-time arts student at Hammerlocke University and her hobbies include dressmaking, flower arranging and volunteering at the local pokemon shelter! Her mother is an ex-beauty pageant queen with a five-year win streak and she’s hoping to carry on their legacy if she wins tonight. Good luck to you, Miss Motostoke.”

Following Sonia’s introduction, you wave to the dark audience, blowing kisses and still wearing that rehearsed smile on your face. You’re smiling so widely your cheeks are bunched together so high, your eyes creasing until they have turned into slits. It’s time to head to the left so with a hand on your hip, you head over – it's Leon’s side – and he stiffens as you look at him but your gaze is empty and not belonging to you.

You blow him a kiss and wave, a little flirtatiously, waggling your fingers.

Sonia laughs awkwardly, trying to masquerade it as much as possible. “Oh! What a bold gesture! I wonder what our judge Leon is thinking of?” she outlines, as you leave his side and head to the right where Volkner is.

The gym leader stares at you impassively and writes down his score, unaffected by your demeanour.

Leon glances at Volkner, inwardly wishing he did not get the opportunity to see you so scantily clad like this. Not just Volkner, but Jace too. This pageant is a bad idea and he is uncomfortable with this, as you had predicted. He tries not to let this revelation eat at him, though his chest clenches tightly with discomfort.

When the music is almost over, you return to the middle of the catwalk to perform one last twirl before returning to the curtain, standing in front of it. This should be the part where all the contestants did a synchronised dance and Leon watches as you perform the moves.

The music ends and after giving the miniscule crowd one last wave, you smile and vanish behind the curtain.

Leon’s gut comes undone and he pens in his score for the opening act, not that he really has an idea on how to grade you for this.

Jace blinks blankly the entire time, wondering to himself what in the name of Arceus he had just witnessed.

Frankie clutches the pokemon to herself, the colour drained from her face.

Sonia also appears disturbed, exhaling shakily before moving on to the next act.

It’s question time and you reappear in the swimsuit; Leon is certainly not used to seeing you wearing so little clothing and when you stride over to Sonia, he sees the smooth curve of your ass as you twirl and shift your weight onto one foot for a pose and he harrumphs into his fist, realising it is about to get worse.

Sonia stands at the catwalk with the microphone whilst you join her side, standing with your hand on your hip. In heels, you are taller than her an inch or so.

“Good evening, Flora,” Sonia says, a little reservedly.

“Good evening, Miss Sonia,” you reply, with that never-ending smile plastered on your face.

She hesitates: your voice has changed to a high-pitched, flirty, girlish tone.

“W-well…” she eyeballs the script briefly. “H-how does it feel to be on stage tonight?”

“Simply wonderful! It’s a dream come true!” you gush, uncharacteristically so.

Sonia is struggling to keep a straight face and to minimize her stammering. “Great, let’s move onto the questions then! Our first question for tonight is: Please do tell us something about yourself.”

“Yes, of course, I’d love to,” you speak clearly and confidently; Leon and Sonia cannot help but stare. Oblivious to them, you smile sweetly and say, “I am an embodiment of a new meaning of life. My purpose here is to find the meaning and to fulfill it. This platform is one of my steps towards reaching my goal for this destiny, which I will decide.”

“What an excellent, well-thought answer!” Sonia replies as the crowd claps in response.

You giggle and do a little curtsy, knocking one leg against the other.

She moves onto the next question. “And what would you say is the biggest problem facing our educational system, and why?”

“That is a fantastic question, Miss Sonia, and my reply is this: the biggest problem our educational system faces is that it believes it’s a system. A system is a set arrangement of things. However, education means to impart knowledge by giving and taking to empower the uneducated. This has been forgotten in the process of being a system, which needs to be learned once more.”

“Miss Motostoke, here is our final question: what do you expect to gain by participating in pageants and why?”

“By being a part of these pageants, I expect to gain an opportunity to discover my strengths and perfect them, realise my weaknesses and transform them into strengths and take home the crown.”

“Thank you, Flora. That’s all the questions for tonight.”

“Thank you.”

Sonia returns to face the audience as Leon, Volkner, Jace and Frankie erupts into applause once again and Leon writes down his score.

The night wears on until finally, it’s time for the crowning.

Frankie steps in and gathers the scoresheets off Leon and Volkner, handing them to Sonia. She checks it briefly before returning to the script; Flora is supposed to win anyway and as Sonia head to the stage. The music shifts to a drumroll, courtesy of Jace.

You emerge in the ruby red dress which glimmers brightly under the spotlight and stand behind her a short distance away.

Sonia reads out the scores, where an imaginary third and second runner up are announced.

“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” she announces, “who will be this year’s Miss Galar???”

You stand in the back, clutching your hands together with your eyes squeezed shut, holding your breath.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this year's Miss Galar Beauty Pageant is.........." Sonia leaves her sentence trailing for dramatic effect, “Miss Motostoke!”

You shriek with joy, leaping up and down on the spot.

“Give it up for Miss Motostoke!!! Congratulations!!!”

Slapping a hand over your mouth, you’re beginning to cry, thick tears oozing from the corner of your eyes.

Jace switches the sound effect to a fanfare then abandons the remote control to sprint over to the stage. He climbs up a ladder he has propped up where a basket full of confetti has been set up neatly on the top step. He promptly grabs a fistful and promptly tosses it over you as per your guidance.

As you squeal happily, a chair adorned with fancy red cushions is your ‘throne’ and it’s your final destination, a meaningful end to the night; you stride over, seating yourself with the precision and grace of a queen. You wave blindly to the crowd in the dark, smiling.

Next, Jace climbs down the ladder and abruptly tears off his sweater, revealing that he’s wearing a white shirt, suit jacket and tie underneath which he hastily adjusts before Frankie hands him the tiara and sash on a velvet cushion.

He tidies his hair and clothes before he strides over with the awards, presenting them to you.

You gasp with delight, pressing a hand to your chest, yet as you shift your glance, gazing at the pink jewel of the tiara sparkles and shimmers brilliantly under the light…

…your smile instantly evaporates.

In one fell swoop, your body abruptly lurches backwards against the chair as though you are host to an invisible force, before you’re thrown to the floor.

Sonia gasps and Leon stands up, chair legs scraping harshly across the floor as he rushes over and helps you up, snaking an arm around your shoulder and holding your hand tightly.

Your eyes are closed as he shakes you gently, calling your name, and you slowly open your eyes. He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees your pupils are no longer blank and devoid of life. You have returned.

Your head’s throbbing and you emit an uncomfortable groan under your breath. “….Leon?”

“I’m here, it’s me. Are you alright?”

“…I think so.…” you glance around, spotting Volkner, Jace and Sonia who have gathered round.

"What happened to you?" Volkner asks.

“Chuck, are you okay?”

“Thank goodness!” Sonia cries as she envelopes you into a hug whilst Frankie is gawping at the chair you had previously occupied.

“….Flora?” she squeaks out.

A transparent, shadowy silhouette has suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, lingering on the seat, capturing everyone's attention.

“Flora??” Frankie tries to reach out to her but her fingers only come into contact with nothingness, grappling into thin air, “Flora, say something…what’s wrong? Flora?? Flo-

-ra?”

“Flora?”

“Flora, get back here this instant!”

“Leave me alone, mum!”

They’re fighting.

She can’t remember what the reason was. It’s probably her mum who started the argument as usual, for she has been ruthlessly training her day in and day out.

She's exhausted and she wants to leave.

Locking the door behind her, she marches to her closet and throws open the door, pulling out an empty suitcase and tossing it over the bed. She begins to pack her essentials as the doorknob is wrestled for a few moments or so, before a loud thud resonates from the door.

"Open this door!" mother yells, slamming a clenched fist against the surface.

"No!"

"Open this door right now!"

"No, go away!"

When she's finished packing, she zips the case up and lifts it off the bed; she unlocks the door, coming face to face with her irate mother who had been waiting impatiently outside.

“What do you think you are doing?”

“I’m leaving, mum.”

“But the pageant-“  

“That's your dream, not mine. I never wanted to participate in any pageants, you’ve just been forcing it onto me,” Flora snaps, brushing past her mother and towards the direction of the stairs.

“Flora, you can’t!” mum follows and grabs the suitcase, causing Flora to stop. “No, how could you? I’ve sacrificed too much for you to throw it all away! Don’t go."

"I'm sorry, mum, but I've had enough."

"Don’t, please don't.”

She pulls the case as hard as she can. “Mum, let go!”  

“Don’t leave me!”

“Let go!”

The two women struggle, pulling and tugging the case in various directions, grappling with it back and forth.

Flora’s mother cannot fathom this betrayal and treachery, by her own daughter nonetheless. She had spent all those years training and grooming her daughter to win, to be the best and most beautiful of all.

And now her daughter was going to leave?  

She knew about her boyfriend.

She had eavesdropped on the plans they had discussed, the dreams they shared.

They were planning to elope.

A vile taste rises in her mouth. She wanted to vomit from the treachery, the betrayal….from her own daughter, nonetheless.

If friends and the neighbours found out…how could she still show her face? Who knows how long she will be the talk of the town, the laughing stock? Hadn’t she been humiliated enough?

She had driven her own daughter away, just like she had driven her husband into the arms of another all those years ago!  The husband who left her with two children. One born when they were in love, and the other who caused the separation in the first place. That's when she lost the crown. She was too old. It was time to move on.

Never, she thinks to herself and at that moment in time, she knew she had to stop her daughter from leaving at any cost.

She grabs an object. Everything happened too quickly, she couldn't remember, but it was large and weighty and with strength she did not realise she could even possess, perhaps it was the spur of the moment and the adrenaline and anger rushing in her veins, she brings it down over her daughter's head.

And everything goes still.

Flora stumbles, dropping the case as she shakily lifts a hand to where she had struck.

Her trembling hand is soaked with blood.

Suddenly aware of what she had done, mother drops the object in shock. "FLORA!!! Oh my god, I'm so sorry-"

Disoriented, Flora winces and stumbles away clumsily, backing closer towards the stairs.

"Flora!"

"Don't....come...near me-"

She’s too late to stop Flora from falling; the heel of her foot completely misses the step; it happened so fast. Flora disappears down the staircase.  

The sounds of her body tumbling down the steps resonates throughout the entire house, accompanied with a curt scream which abruptly comes to an end as her body slams over the ground.

Her mother is still, eyes laden with sheer terror.

“…Flora?”

She rushes to the railing, peering over and promptly gasps at the sight, covering her mouth with her hands.

Flora's body lies on the ground, limbs splayed out, resembling some twisted puppet on strings. Her head twisted to one side, Flora’s eyes remain open yet robbed of life. A puddle of red begins to leak from her head.

She creeps down the steps, noticing that Flora hasn’t reacted, hasn’t moved when she calls her name, and she begins to weep as she crouches beside her daughter. Her face is ruined. How can she participate in the pageant now?

Before the light disappeared from her eyes and the darkness overtook, Flora was facing the living room of the house she had grew up in, where she had so many fond memories.

A pink glint reflected off her eyes; it was last thing she saw and it was her mother’s tiara, which was proudly displayed on the mantelpiece.

…

“Flora, what’s wrong?? Oh god, what’s wrong??”

Frankie cries out for her sister again and again, but she cannot elicit a successful response from the spirit as it hovers listlessly in the air.

“Frankie, stay back. Something’s wrong,” you utter as a dark miasma begins to emit from the spirit in shadowy wisps.

It gazes where her hands should be though they are transparent, and her fingertips are slowly dissolving into nothing.

That’s right. I’m dead.

It’s then she realizes she’s hurting all over and she’s seeing everything in a lopsided angle. Is it her neck?

It hurts.

A profound sense of dejection spreads throughout her chest, though it is comforting in many ways.

“Flora!” you yell, as the dark waves and wisps increase steadily around the spirit and begin to cocoon her; she is beginning to lose form. “Stop! Don’t give in!”

“What’s going on?!” Frankie cries out in confusion.

Flora closes her eyes as the darkness laps at her. A soothing voice beckons to her, telling her this is real. Her death was real and to embrace the truth.

My own mother.

Throwing her head back, the spirit's jaw enlarges as she proceeds to emits a pained scream as sharp and grating as nails on a chalkboard, and you and Frankie wince uncontrollably; her eyes sink in, her hair grows wild, elongating until they resemble tendrils which grow darker, more fierce, and Frankie flings her panicked glance back and forth between you and her sister; a cloud of darkness has swamped her entirely, coiling and twisting under the lights of the lab. The light does not penetrate this formless, sprawling mass.

“It’s too late,” says a quiet but gruff voice, and everyone glances to the source.

Ezra has risen from the sofa with Absol by his side.

He’s heading towards your group, his glazed eyes focused on the coiling shadow as he pulls out a thin, bronze dagger from the inner pocket of his coat.

“Wait!!!” Frankie yelps.

She runs up to him but he shoves her aside.

Ezra's wrist darts out and he tosses his dagger towards Flora’s direction.

The dagger hurtles seamlessly through the air and pierces the shadow. A strangled, ethereal shriek fills the lab before the spirit promptly explodes in a burst of black, its existence reduced to nothing but dark ashes that slowly float gently in the air before disintegrating into nothingness. The scream persists in its wake, echoing thoroughly before it fades away.

The dagger, having destroyed its target, lingers in mid-air for a second or so before it drops to the ground with a loud clatter.

The lab is bathed in silence as Jace and Sonia blink with wide disbelief whilst Volkner watches on impassively. Leon gives you a gentle squeeze on the arm as you hold him close. Frankie averts her limp gaze to you and Ezra.

“….What have you done?”

…

In Motostoke, Frankie’s mother is led out of her house in cuffs.

She’s escorted by two policemen and her expression is blank, empty of emotion. Is she remorseful that her daughter died, or resentful that she was caught? You cannot tell.

You stand a safe distance away, watching Frankie in the open doorway; she’s sobbing and shaking her head with disbelief. The sirens blare and wail and neighbours peer over the garden fence to get a closer look. Then she spots you and your mentor across the street under the streetlight, and her expression turns stormy.

She marches up to you and when she’s an arm length’s away, her eyes are ablaze with anger and hatred, reserved just for you.

“I hate you!” she hisses, “I wish I never met you!!! You ruined everything!! You’ve taken EVERYTHING away from me!!! I never want to see you again!!!”

Without another word, she spins on her heel and dashes towards the direction of her house, slamming the door shut in her wake.

Stricken with a numbness you’re all-too familiar with, you stand, immobile.

Some of the neighbours throw glances at you, wondering what had happened between you two to have warranted such a hostile encounter.

Footsteps approach you, and Ezra joins your side.

“…You okay, kid?” he mutters, breaking the monotony.

It takes a while for you to regain your composure, and you manage a meek shake your head.

“You did your best.”

“…But it’s never really enough, is it?”

“You tried...that’s what’s most important.”

Your body shudders as you exhale loudly, wiping the corner of your eyes which are growing wet. “Oh god. What the hell was I thinking? I-I couldn’t do anything after all.”

“Stop beating yourself up. You did everything you could.”

“Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“She’ll be fine, her anger will subside and she'll move on. Not sure about her mother though.” Ezra mutters; without further ado, he grabs his cane and begins tapping at the ground, disappearing from the lamplight and onto the path. “Come on, kid, let’s call it a day.”

You nod weakly, joining his side; you throw the house one last look from over your shoulder before you follow your mentor into the darkness.

…

Later, you receive a message from Graves; one of his subordinates saw and recognised you at the scene. He asks you what you were doing there and you tell him you were working on a case. He doesn't bother to berate you over text.

Though you're aware the police were investigating at the same time since you had met Frankie and when you had held the pageant, you ask for more information regarding the arrest and to your surprise, Graves informs you the autopsy revealed Flora had died in a different location (and not the Watchtower Ruins). She had suffered head trauma and was left to bleed. The injuries on her body were also post-mortem, designed to confuse and mislead but lo and behold, nothing can escape Lady Justice. Frankie's mother and her alibi didn't quite check out, and she had become the prime suspect.

It would only be a matter of time.

The truth has been revealed though your mood does not improve and when you return to the lab, you quietly clean up the whiteboard and stow away the remnants of the case into your files. Earlier, you had wiped off the makeup and gotten changed into your normal clothes.

Jace and Volkner assist with dismantling the setup; they silently take down the curtains, the lights and tidy away the carpet. They also help you return the tables and desks and chairs to their respective places before they take their leave for the remainder of the night.

Everything was a blur, but you briefly remember thanking them and they did ask if you were fine, and you assured them you were and that you wanted to be alone.

Sonia packs away her utensils but you don’t go home with her just yet. You thank her for her help tonight and she exits the lab with Yamper though she’s reluctant to leave you on your own.

That leaves Leon, and he enters the lab quietly, spotting you at the whiteboard and quickly taking down all the pins, strings and magnets.

“Hey…” he murmurs as he makes his way over and you turn round.

His arms are full; he's holding a massive bouquet of flowers, a lilac box tied all over with a white ribbon and a Sobble doll.

"Um, I got you these because I wanted to cheer you up...they ran out of Ghost pokemon dolls so I had to make do with Sobble," he utters as you gasp. "And the bouquet I got you last time was ruined so I got you a new one."

You're stunned he managed to curate all these in such a short span of time and an image of him running around from shop to shop flashes in your mind; it's enough to bring a smile to your lips and you chuckle. "Thank you, they're wonderful."

He grins bashfully as he presents you with the gifts which you carefully settle on the desk. The bouquet is far more extravagant than the previous one, filled with a multitude of brightly coloured flowers of all shapes and sizes and also looking very expensive and exotic. You quickly lean down and take a whiff; they smell wonderful as expected, and you lift up the box next for a good look. It's fancy chocolate.

Next, you pick up the Sobble doll. It is so cute and squishy, and you let it sit on the desk beside your books. Leon watches as you smile to yourself; just seeing you happy makes him happy.

"Thanks Leon," you murmur, stepping over to his side to swiftly kiss him on the cheek.

His face grows red, but he grins and before you can wander away, he takes your hand in his and gently squeezes your fingers. "...You're welcome."

"I'll take better care of the flowers this time," you reassure him and he nods; you return to the board, picking up where you left off and determined to finish up before the end of the night.

"Let me give you a hand."

"Thanks."

He grabs Flora’s photograph and pulls it off the board. You watch as he silently assists you, before you peel off Frankie’s photo and Hank’s mugshot. He continues to help you with the cleanup and when the board is clear, you grab your journal and the box of chocolates before heading for the last step of the staircase, plopping yourself down with the items balancing over your knees.

Leon joins you as expected, being mindful of his cape as he settles himself down. You have always enjoyed being close to Leon no matter what the occasion and this evening is no exception.

"Let's have a look," you say with a smile as you untie the ribbon as carefully as you can, lifting up the lid to reveal the chocolates are moulded into adorable shapes of ghost-pokemon ranging from Ghastly, Phantump, Pumpkaboo and Drifloon.

Leon watches your reaction; your eyes light up before you gesture him to take one. He chooses a Drifloon fudge and you pluck a Ghastly truffle before you both pop them into your mouths at the same time.

"Oh, it's good."

"I’m glad you like it. What should we try next?"

"Phantump caramel?"

"Yeah."

As you munch your way through your next chosen chocolate, you sigh.

"Are you okay?" Leon asks.

You shake your head.

"Come here," he replies, and you put the chocolates down to scoot closer to him; he invites you into his embrace, wrapping an arm around your shoulder whilst scooping your other hand with his. The warmth from his hands is comforting as he affectionately weaves your fingers together.

“I just wanted to help,” you murmur.

“I know.”

“Was that so wrong?”

“Of course not.”

“I wish I could be like you, Leon. I wish I could help people the way you do.”

“But you already do.”

“No, I don’t. You inspire people and actually make a difference to the world.”

“So do you,” he replies, chuckling. “I’m serious. You do make a difference, and in so many ways. You save people’s lives.”

You look up at him silently and he glances down, your eyes meeting.

“You saved me, remember? You saved the Champion of Galar. And you saved that guy called Tanner. Your heart was in the right place, and it always has been. Someone needed help and you answered their pleas; you wanted to help them in the way you knew how, which you did.”

Your cheeks go pink and he grins at you.

He lets go of your shoulder so he can gently clasp both hands over yours, bringing your entwined hands close to his chest before he leans down and brushes his lips over your knuckles. This display of affection makes you smile, and he presses another kiss over your hand.

“…She reminded me of myself when I was younger,” you utter, “and she also reminded me of Rosie. I even asked her if she wanted to learn. For a long time, it felt like I was swimming in a dark ocean all by myself where I couldn’t see anything or anyone but then she came along, and I wasn’t alone anymore. Someone else was swimming beside me the entire time.”

“You’re not alone,” Leon replies, “you have me. You have your pokemon, you have Ezra, Jace, Sonia, Inspector Graves, the professor. My mother and Hop, too.”

When he releases you, albeit slowly, his hands settle on your waist and you encircle your arms around his neck, resting your cheek against his shoulder. Leon emits a quiet sigh under his breath as he gathers you up in his sturdy arms and pulls you further into his embrace, holding you close to him.

As your mind begins to ease, your body relaxing, the journal finally slips off your knees and topples to the ground, your family photo sliding out in progress.

“I got it,” Leon murmurs, sliding his arm around your back as he bends down so he can scoop the items up quickly, and you chuckle as you cling onto him.

“Thanks,” you say with a grin as he hands you the journal and photo; you study your family’s smiling faces and your smile disappears. “…Leon?”

“Yes?”

“...I never told you what really happened to my family. I should have told you earlier. I’m sorry,” you say quietly, taking a deep breath. “I’ll tell you now.”

He nods.

“I’m from Kalos. We lived in Laverre Town. My family were haunted by an entity. In particular, Rosie.”

As you recount your past, explaining to Leon about Dusknoir, the incident in the basement, your mother’s disappearance and your time spent in hospital after your mental breakdown, you see Leon’s smile slowly vanishing from his face, his expression turning solemn.

And now you’re rather afraid yourself, for deep inside, you knew very well you cannot hide the truth from him and you were always terrified of what he will think of you once all the skeleton in the closet was dug out.

You cannot fathom what he might be thinking of. Maybe this will be it, this will be the final straw for him. He will decide you are a kook, once and for all and like many others, he will cease being around you. Maybe it’s too much emotional baggage to deal with and he will not want anything to do with you after all.

When you finish, Leon is very silent.

You ensured no detail was left out and now all you can do is wait for his response, albeit with incredible unease.

"So that's why you asked if I could help you find a Dusknoir," he murmurs, and you're surprised he remembered that considering it was such a long time ago.

Regardless, you nod. "I want to find out what happened to them, if they're still out there. I need to know what happened. Why Rosie, why them? Why me? Who did it...or, what did it...and why?"

Leon clamps his hand tightly over yours. "What happened isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself."

"But if I'd been stronger, if I'd paid more attention-"

"It's not your fault," he mutters, "I'll help you. Should we find a Dusknoir to get some answers? I know there are wild ones in Galar. Would that help?"

"...It might be dangerous."

He says, with a wide grin, "The Champion of Galar will do everything he can to protect you."

A huge smile worms its way over your face and you squeeze his hand tightly, "I appreciate it, Leon, but Ezra said it's nothing to do with the pokemon."

"Do you agree?"

You nod. "When Dusknoir took my family away, it was either possessed by the entity or it was receiving orders via the antenna on its head. And whatever that something is, it's from the spirit world, using Dusknoir to do its bidding. If I'm to stop it, I'll need to go in myself but even till now, I still have no clue what it might be or how to get there. I might get answers if I go into the spirit world myself but that would mean....well, I'd need to go through a Near Death Experience, or...I'll find a way to open a portal but that's completely unheard of, if not, impossible."

"You can't, that's too dangerous. Everything you've just told me is too dangerous."

"Yeah, I know. Too dangerous." you echo, nodding.

There's your dilemma, you realise.

"Any other plans?"

"....Well, Ezra said it will come for me one day. There's that."

As Leon speaks, it's then you recall that shadowy silhouette behind Charizard and Vulpix when you had watched the sunrise together.

“Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" you snap out of your thoughts, blinking at him. "What? Sorry, did you say something?"

"Yeah, I was just asking what happened next? What happened after you moved to Galar?”

"Oh, right," you murmur, “Well….”

…

#jeralee #fanfic #fic #reader #reader insert #leon #leon x reader #Leon x you #dande #pokemon #pkmn #pokemonsword #pokemonshield #pokemonswordandshield #pokemonshieldsword #pokemonshieldandsword #archive of our own #Comfort in Despair #you

[veritylane7]

+mydecember+ Twilight ver. 13

( 10:50 PM )   Math-class doodle of Rukura (Raphael), airbrushed. Came out nicely. ^.^       ( 10:07 PM )   John's suggestion for a feel-good song that Mr. Rozario (school principal) should play over the PA system in the morning? Children of the Damned by Iron Maiden.... how I agree! ^____^

We're sick, sick people. Can you tell we're related??

song of the moment: "Genocide" by the Offspring. I really gotta get some of the Offspring cds... I want Smash, Americana, and Conspiracy of One.... *sulks*

( 9:57 PM )   Ribby-chan... s'all being taken care of. Mike and Matt be lookin' after me closely, and if Dan does anything else, he's in for some serious trouble. *heh* Mike or Matt my soulmate? Dooood, Mike's a pal, and Matt's like my older brother (he's actually my most recent ex-boyfriend in a way). Thanks for the concern, tho! And don't worry... I beat Dan up nice. If I have my way, he'll be singing soprano come next week.

*heehee* I think I've FOUND my soulmate, anyhoo. *pointed look at someone who's screen name rhymes with punkin' pie* *heartheart* ^__^

( 9:49 PM )   *runs around screaming fangirlishly* YUMMY! YUMMY! I GOT A CUTE, SCAAAAAAARY DOOD FOR THIS TEST!!!

Ideal anime guy test...

# 1 Zagato from Magic Knight Rayearth # 2 Ashitare from Fushigi Yuugi # 3 Chichiri from Fushigi Yuugi # 4 Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi # 5 Kiryuu Touga from Shoujo Kakumei Utena # 6 Taikoubou from Senkaiden Houshin Engi # 7 Hayama Akito from Kodomo no Omocha # 8 Kyoichi Saionji from Shoujo Kakumei Utena # 9 Morisato Keichi from Ah! My Goddess # 10 Nakago from Fushigi Yuugi # 11 Ohtori Akio from Shoujo Kakumei Utena # 12 Ryohji Kaji from Neon Genesis Evangelion # 13 Eagle Vision from Magic Knight Rayearth # 14 Gabriev Gourry from The Slayers # 15 Ikari Gendo from Neon Genesis Evangelion # 16 Nagoya Chiaki from Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne # 17 Chiriko from Fushigi Yuugi # 18 Li Shaolan from Cardcaptor Sakura # 19 Tsukishiro Yukito / Yue from Cardcaptor Sakura # 20 Eriol Hiigarizawa / Clow from Cardcaptor Sakura # 21 Ikari Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion # 22 Kinomoto Touya from Cardcaptor Sakura # 23 Shiirou Kamui from X (X/1999) # 24 Tamahome from Fushigi Yuugi # 25 Monou Fuuma from X (X/1999)

( 9:46 PM )   Ideal anime girl test... how'd they know that I adore Skuld, Ami-chan, and Misato? o.O

# 1 Skuld (Oh my Goddess) # 2 Amy (Sailormoon) # 3 Misato (Eva) # 4 Belldandy (Oh my Goddess) # 5 Kari (Digimon) # 6 Rei (Eva) # 7 Lita (Sailormoon) # 8 Mina (Sailormoon) # 9 Fuu (MK Rayearth) # 10 Serena (Sailormoon) # 11 Hikaru (MK Rayearth) # 12 Sora (Digimon) # 13 Bulma (Dragon Ball) # 14 Mimi (Digimon) # 15 Misty (Pokemon) # 16 Rei (Sailormoon) # 17 Umi (MK Rayearth) # 18 Videl (Dragon Ball) # 19 Asuka (Eva) # 20 Urd (Oh my Goddess)

( 9:44 PM )   Slayers kyara test... now THESE results are good.

# 1 Gaav the Demon Dragon King # 2 Beastmaster Zelas # 3 Luna Inverse # 4 Valgaav (Vally-girl! ^_^) # 5 Xelloss Metallium # 6 Zelgadiss Greywords # 7 Gourry Gabriev # 8 Lina Inverse # 9 Rezo the Red Priest # 10 Filia Ul Copt # 11 Martina Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Is # 12 Amelia Wil Tesra Seyruun # 13 Naga (Wil Tesra Seyruun? I think so) # 14 Kopii Rezo # 15 Prince Phil

( 9:41 PM )   Sailor Moon test results... scary. O_O

# 1 Nehelenia # 2 Setsuna/Sailor Pluto # 3 Artemis # 4 Galaxia # 5 Haruka/Sailor Uranus # 6 Taiki/Sailor Star Maker # 7 Hotaru/Sailor Saturn # 8 Michiru/Sailor Neptune # 9 Minako/Sailor Venus # 10 Rei/Sailor Mars # 11 Yaten/Sailor Star Healer # 12 Luna # 13 Makoto/Sailor Jupiter # 14 Princess Kakyuu # 15 Ami/Sailor Mercury # 16 Chibiusa/Sailor Chibi Moon # 17 Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter # 18 Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen # 19 Usagi/Sailor Moon # 20 Chibi-Chibi/Sailor Chibi Chibi Moon

( 9:39 PM )   Pokemon test...

# 1 Satoshi/Ash # 2 Shigeru/Gary # 3 Nyarth/Meowth # 4 Kasumi/Misty # 5 Pikachu # 6 Takeshi/Brock # 7 Kojiro/James # 8 Musashi/Jessie

I'm Ash and Gary... isn't that damn close to weird?

( 9:37 PM )   *laughing again* CHECK IT OUT!!

CCS Kyara test results:

# 1 Kero-chan # 2 Syaoran Li # 3 Touya Kinomoto # 4 Tomoyo Daidouji # 5 Eriol Hiiragizawa # 6 Sakura Kinomoto # 7 Yukito Tsukishiro

I'm Kero-chan!

( 9:35 PM )   EEEEEEH!!! O_O; For the X/1999 test... I'm Satsuki! O_o

# 1 Yatouji Satsuki - dragon of earth # 2 Kuzuki Kakyou - dragon of earth # 3 Sumeragi Subaru - dragon of heaven # 4 Monou Fuuma - dragon of earth # 5 Nataku - dragon of earth # 6 Shirou Kamui - dragon of heaven # 7 Kishuu Arashi - dragon of heaven # 8 Shiyuu Kusanagi - dragon of earth # 9 Kigai Yuuto - dragon of earth # 10 Sakurazuka Seishirou - dragon of earth # 11 Aoki Seiichirou - dragon of heaven # 12 Arisugawa Sorata - dragon of heaven # 13 Kasumi Karen - dragon of heaven # 14 Nekoi Yuzuriha - dragon of heaven

( 9:32 PM )   *laughing like a total idiot* CHECK THIS OUT! HOW FUNNY!!! I find that the results for my taking the Eva kyara personality test are very well done!

# 1 Asuka Langley Sohryu # 2 Gendou Ikari # 3 Ryouji Kaji # 4 Misato Katsuragi # 5 Touji Suzuhara # 6 Kaworu Nagisa # 7 Kouzou Fuyutsuki # 8 Ritsuko Akagi # 9 Aoba Shigeru # 10 Makoto Hyuuga # 11 Shinji Ikari # 12 Maya Ibuki # 13 Hikari Horaki # 14 Rei Ayanami # 15 Pen-Pen

( 5:56 PM )   Speller!!! You owe me Mickey ears, and I want Lance's underwear!! AND FEEL MY WRATH!! *wraths Speller* MWAHAHAHAHA! JOYCE IS DEAD! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!       ( 7:36 AM )   Morning Blog!

Nah-nah-nah! Riot Ink business caaaards! *heehee*

I'm okay, really.

I am headachey!!! As Amy would say... my head is doing the achey brakey dance of PAIN. So, I imagine I will get nothing done in class. Ms. Fotinos is gonna kill me for skipping anyway... *sighs*

Querida! I shall continue my efforts to make dad buckle!!

Meagen-san.... really, I know what you mean. Technically, I can draw, but I kinda lack depth in my art (from what I can see). There are very few pictures that turn out with the emotion or realism I want them to come out with..... and funny enough, that kyara that I tend to make look how I want is good ol' Lucas.

Lucas: What can I say? I'm perfect. *mutters* Yeah, right...

And yes, you're getting fanart. Now if only I can manage to scan it....

Meg's Art Corner! Raphael-chan, or as I refer to him in RPs, Lian's Rukura. This is a fine example of what I draw in math class on scrap paper. And querida? It's not THAT good. ^##^;;;;

That's all from me!

Over an' out!

( 10:48 PM )   Of course my idea is good, querida! I'm so smart after all! *tosses away IQ test scores that say only 142* Lucas with blue hair.... streaked with green!!!!!! Yeeaaah, baby!       ( 3:23 PM )   Warning, incoming rant!

STUPID! GODDAMN FLIPPIN' STUPID!! What a GOOD way to get yourself killed! Doing f*cking drugs! STUPID STUPID!!! Goddamn it! I mean, pot, okay that's bad. Bad and STUPID. But 'shrooms?!! HOT DAMN IS THAT STUPID!! And not only that, getting yourself into a situation where you get thrown out of your mom's house?! F*cking stupid! *fumes*

(note: never mind, needed to vent.... friend issues)

( 2:00 PM )   At home and skipping civics class.... *whistles and rocks back on her heels* 9.9

You know what's scary? It's scary when a dood whom you eat lunch with even jokes about wanting to rape you. That's scary. Even scarier is when he pins you against the wall and you have to fight him off, and when he comes back, your best (guy) friends beat the living sh*t out of him. Not quite sure what to make of this.... big super duper hugs and thank yous to Mike and Matt, my new bodyguards. Dan, touch me again, and they'll kill you for sure. I'll see to it. *sweet smile*

( 7:32 AM )   Morning blog!

Querida: Yep, the Mark plot is similar to our dj idea... except a bit more profound. *heh* And seriously, tho, a good plot would be something to the effect of Mark goes baaaad-niichan and tries to end the world, and you gots to stop him. There's a plot. Hooray for plots! Cam's efforts on trying to get Mark to put some sort of value on his own body should start working someday. I mean, HOW many times has Cam explained it? Not to mention, Mark has a nice idea of how Cam thinks now that he's been inside his mind. Mark-niichan's a slut.... but I love him anyway!

Cam: *pounds the living daylights out of Meg for calling Mark such a thing*

*heeheehee* Animal comparisons! *heehee* I gotta try that! Rukura = gecko Poya = otter Yuken = viper Lucifer = duck Michael = horse Zachariah = pot-bellied pig (personality wise) Gabriel = peacock Kanson = crocodile (someone patch in a call to australia, let's get the Crocodile Hunter in here, please... *crosses fingers*)

Meagen-san: I'm working on a fanart for you of SailorM. I shall prolly CG it tonight or tomorrow, okie?

School blows! I don't wanna go to school! WAH!

over and out.

( 6:35 PM )   For fun, and just to annoy him... Rukura's stats!

Name: Raphael Harrison Nickname: Rukura Age: 17 Date of Birth: February 28th Hair: purple Eyes: green Height: 6'4 Occupation: student Descent: Angel Family: human family includes Jacob [father, deceased] and Mary-Anne [mother, deceased]. Original family includes Kanson [father], Europa [mother, deceased], and Uriel {Yuken} [half-brother] Friends: Lucifer, Pandora {Poya}, Michael, Zachariah Current Residence: Atlanta, Georgia Likes: music, reading, daydreaming, being anti-social Dislikes: homework, unwanted attention, medication, and fighting Skills: singing, getting weirdly good grades Setbacks: has a rather serious heart condition, which despite medication and various attempts, is damn near impossible to treat, suicidal, and generally miserable Notes: reincarnation of the Messiah. Human mother died in childbirth, human father committed suicide a few months later. Is considered a "problem child", as he usually gets into fights at school. Been shifted around to foster homes all his life, never staying in one particular home longer than 1 1/2 years. Most recent foster family died in a car crash, leaving him the only living "relative" to claim his foster father's fortune. Lives alone.

( 6:24 PM )   Chris-kun: Dood, a meant the person playing as being Mark... ^__^;;

Meg-chan's on net restrictions, lalalalala... she's gonna get in trouble if she gets caught on the internet, lalalalala... she's rewriting stats for LotM, lalalalala.... she's TOO attached to Raphael-chan, lalala--

Rukura: *belts Meg in the head* Don't call me that! Meg: It's your legal name, isn't it? I like it better 'an Rukura...

Dan wants me to hit him. In the eeeeeew kinda way. Do I really come across as that much of a dom? @_@

( 7:16 AM )   Morning blog!

This is bound to be a short enrty, as mom is home. Sooo...

I had a really funky dream last night, but I don't remember it. All I remember is waking up a lot, upset, and trying to recall where I was. Bennett was curled up to me most of the night (good spiritie dood ^_^), but I don't think it helped much.... ah, well, it's the thought that counts.

Yesterday, I blew $44 on prismacolor pens. I got the box set of cool greys, plus a replacement 60% warm grey as mine is running out. That's me broke for another month now.

BMB is cuuuuuute today. *giggles* I want my verra' own Mik! I *heartheart* Mik! Rach, you better get me a Mik for my birthday! Or else!

I can't draw worth beans lately. *cries*

to Chris-kun: Thanks for the comment on the layout... and maybe now I'll bug querida to do an AH game (I honestly didn't think about that @_@).

*ponders* Yeah, you could go arouns as Mark in the game, and you could sleep with every second person you run into---

Cam: SHUT UP! *thwacks Meg* Meg: Hey, it's not my fault that your hubby is a total sl--- Cam: *throws a table at Meg* Meg: Itaaaai. X_X

Otaaay, enough out of me. Over and out.

( 11:44 PM )   Hal is GOD... lalalala! Hal is thy holy master!       ( 11:27 PM )   Purple is a nice colour! It's the colour of hentai. ^__^;       ( 12:30 AM )   BEHOLD THE NEW LAYOUT!!!

....very purple, isn't it?

( 3:58 PM )   This close >< to shooting myself...       ( 3:56 PM )   I WILL get this to work.... I swear I will.       ( 3:53 PM )   HTML is annoying. Background image, where are you?       ( 3:50 PM )   Let's hope for the background image now.... *crosses fingers*       ( 3:45 PM )   Playing with the layout...       ( 3:25 PM )   This is the temp layout, as I'm altering this puppy to look how I want it to. New version should be up tonight.       ( 2:43 PM )   Chris-kun: the Boa cd has two names. One is the japanese release, the other is for the international market. It's either called Race of the Thousand Camels or Twilight (like this here blog!). And the Limp Bizkit cd is called Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavoured Water. And Hannibal is a lot different than the Silence of the Lambs, isn't it? I liked it, but I stand by the fact that Jodie Foster made a much better Clarice Starling than Julianne Moore could ever hope to be.

Anyway.

My Bennett still isn't home... Dora, is he still with you? If not, you'd think he'd be home by now... *sighs*

Okay, time for me to book it outta' here for a bit afore dad calls and has a fit 'cause the line is busy.

( 8:05 PM )   Interlude...

Meg: Cain and Yuken! KAWAII!!!! Yuken: *giggles and twitches his neko-mimi, looking all innocent* Rukura: ICK! Who the HELL would touch HIM!? *points at Yuken* Meg: Well, you 'touched' him once... Rukura: NOT BY CHOICE, GODDAMMIT!! .... *sneezes* Yuken: *eyes Rukura venomously* Rukura: I'll be running off to Lian now... *heads for the hills as fast as his (verra' long) legs can carry him*

( 8:00 PM )   Querida, thank goodness it's not bronchitis. That's something I get a LOT, and it's not fun at all. And ten pounds? ALRIGHT! You GO, girlfriend!! *tackleglomps* You'll be okay.... I know so! ^.^

I got the "Play" cd (Moby), which came with the edit of South Side for free. Bonus, baby! ^_____^

( 7:24 AM )   Morning blog!

Well, I feel mighty stupid this morning. Yesterday, I kinda pulled a muscle in my left leg (riiight in my calf), but it stopped hurting. Woke up from a funky dream and got up to find it hurt. Now, being the idiot I am and not usually restricted by physical pain (hey, that's what ended up breaking my ankle), I went for a shower. Feeling headachey and cramped, I worked my way down the stairs, only to pull the same muscle again and fall about halfway down and land on the cat at the bottom. ^___^;;; <---- feels very dumb

*falls over* Meagen-san, you had me scared a minute there! If you had MEANT Mark, I would have had to call in paramedics and stuff to make sure you weren't doped up on anything!!!! @_@

List of kyara and colours this blog is gonna be themed on in order of layout updates: Cam/purple (this weekend, hopefully) Lucas/red (whenever) Mark/blue (whenever) Sybandial/pink (whenever) Jesse/green (whenever)

Each layout will have a background featuring the kyara, too! ^_^

I really need a life. Over and out!

( 9:51 PM )   Song lyrics... one of Cam's most recent themes! "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters

Run and tell all of the angels This could take all night Think I need a devil to help me get things right

Hook me up a new revolution Cuz this one is a lie We sat around laughing And watched the last one die

I'm looking to the sky to save me Looking for a sign of life Looking for something to help me burn out bright I'm looking for a complication Looking cuz I'm tired of lying Make my way back home when I learn to fly

I'm done nursing the patience I can wait one night I'd give it all away if you'd give me one last try We'll live happily ever trapped if you'd just save my life Run and tell the angels that everything's all right

I'm looking to the sky to save me Looking for a sign of life Looking for something to help me burn out bright I'm looking for a complication Looking cuz I'm tired of trying Make my way back home when I learn to fly Make my way back home when I learn to

Fly along with me, I can't quite make it alone Try to make this life my own Fly along with me, I can't quite make it alone Try to make this life my own

I'm looking to the sky to save me Looking for a sign of life Looking for something to help me burn out bright I'm looking for a complication Looking cuz I'm tired of trying Make my way back home when I learn to

Looking to the sky to save me Looking for a sign of life Looking for something to help me burn out bright I'm looking for a complication Looking cuz I'm tired of trying Make my way back home when I learn to fly Make my way back home when I learn to fly Make my way back home when I learn to...

( 7:06 PM )   Tay, I've decided the theme for my next layout... good ol' Bennett and the colour purple. How... fitting. ^__^

Now if only I can get this stupid HTML editor thing to work... *binks it*

( 11:05 AM )   Morning blog (late again)!

WHOO HOO! I GOT INTO THE ADVANCED VISUAL ART STUDIO CLASS!!! BIG HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ON MR. HALL!!!!

Yeaaah, I just went to first period class this morning and got my classes for next year reviewed. Then I came home because the muscles in my abdomen are spasming and it hurts like bugger all.

To all my blogging friends; I'm gonna change the layout of this blog in the next week (I have a LOT of links to add). I'm gonna theme it around an AH kyara, so lemme know who you think would be best, please. Just post your opinion in your blog, as I read most of them daily anyway. ^__^;

( 8:23 PM )   Yeah, I've neglected my duties as a blog-person lately... I have a life, you know. (Hey, the LEAST you can do is smile and nod! T_T)

Not much is happening, really. My civics class keeps getting cancelled, so I think I'll skip it tomorrow and come home early. What else to say...? Ummm, not much.

Song of the moment: "The Kids Aren't Alright" by the Offspring. I'm on a REAL Offspring kick right now... dunno why exactly. Maybe 'cause they just amuse me. ^_^;

Grammy awards. Bleeeek. *makes a face*

Amy, kids who don't like cheese are stupid! HA HA!

( 3:33 PM )   ...afternoon.... blog!

This morning I spent the whole time trying to get my scanner to work, so thus, no morning blog. But I've got some stuff say for a change!

Today, lunch period was spent bothering Dan for the most part. He really ticked me off yesterday, and I'm extracting my revenge. So, I was making him jealous by glomping Matt at every opportunity (Matt doesn't mind too much, and he's nice to hug 'cause he's always warm.... and no, Mike, he's not my boyfriend! JUST A FRIEND!! T_T). It was rather comical. Civics class was cancelled, since Ms. Fotinos was at the Raptor's game with the people who signed up to go... the half of my class that was at school for the last three periods of the day got transferred to a Grade 12 geography class, in which was SO awkward that the teacher took pity on us and sent us all home. Redoing Angel Hunter again. This time, on the right sized paper... I'm sticking with the page layouts, tho, as I think I've got the look I want.

And, for fun! Rukura's theme song lyrics!

Home by Depeche Mode

Here is a song from the wrong side of town Where I'm bound to the ground by the loneliest sound That pounds from within and is pinning me down

Here is a page from the emptiest stage A cage or the heaviest cross ever made A guage of the deadliest trap ever laid

And I thank you for bringing me here For showing me home, for singing these tears Finally I've found that I belong here

The heat and the sickliest sweet smelling sheets That cling to the backs of my knees and my feet I'm drowning in time to a desperate beat

And I thank you for bringing me here For showing me home, for singing these tears Finally I've found that I belong...

Feels like home I should have known From my first breath

God sent the only true friend I call mine Pretend that I'll make amends the next time Befriend the glorious end of the line

And I thank you for bringing me here For showing me home, for singing these tears Finally I've found that I belong here.

( 7:11 AM )   Morning Blog!

This song is tripping me out right now, but goddamn, do I love it! *grooves to "Home" by Depeche Mode* It's a really dramatic song... and it's sooooo making me think of Rukura. >_<;

It's very cold this morning. At least I think so, anyway, so I'm sitting here wearing the couch blanket as a cape. I feel like a doooork.

Meg's Art Corner (Freckle-chan, you copycat! T_T)

A special little picture; Lucas in his newest style of dress. Drool factor, out of 10? 12.

What else to say... ummm... Mom didn't leave me lunch money again. T_T;

Over and out!

( 2:12 PM )   Cam: EVERYONE RUN WHILE YOU CAN!!!! THE END IS NEAR!!!!!

....yep, for the first time in YEARS, I'm the proud owner of twp pairs of blue jeans. I've not worn blue jeans since I was about 5... and these ones fit niiiiice. I have hips and a waist.... @__@

Anyway, mom and I went to Sears and then to Curry's Art Supplies. I got my two pairs of jeans, two men's dress shirts (one white, one black), a new sketchbook, 4 new warm grey prismacolors, and a new 05 pigment pen. I am a happy Meg-chan!

Blue jeans that fit... *in shock*

( 9:09 PM )   I have officially started rewriting the Chronicles of Benjamin Carter! WHIHAI! Here's a bit of what I've written so far.

Frail. Benjamin was frail. He was about 5'4, fifteen years of age, and pale. He was small and slight in build; a boy and not yet a man. Right now, he looked more fragile than he really was... curled up under the blankets of his rather small bed, bruised and crying. It was a familiar scene.

Benjamin wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand in a vain attempt to push the tears away. However, it was pointless since more just spilled down his cheeks as if to spite him and his efforts to stop them. He hated crying. Hated it. But at times like this --- only at times like this--- he couldn't help himself. He was so tired of being forced into the clutches of rich men; predators that liked their pleasure taken out on the young boys who could be bought if the price was right. He was sick of the violation and the abuse. Most of all, he was sick of his father pushing him into it. His own father. He hiccupped in his efforts to restrain his tears.

Benjamin wanted more than anything to run away. Run away to another city, another country, anywhere but where he was. Just out of the clutches of the people who hurt him so much. But he was trapped like the birds his father kept in the iron cages that lined the back yard. He was a prisoner, shackled to the bars of his perpetual cage. Derkshaw would catch him if he ran. Derkshaw always caught him.

"Damn him to hell," Benjamin thought bitterly, though he regretted thinking it for reasons he couldn't quite explain.

There was a tap of boots in the hallway, and Benjamin closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and pretended to be asleep. The heavy, even steps stopped outside his door. The door squeaked as it opened slightly.

Benjamin tried to keep his breathing slow and deep, tried not to flinch. He felt Derkshaw's gaze on him. It burned.

'Go away, papa, go away....'

The door opened a bit more, and the tap of boots carried into the room.

It would be a good half hour before Derkshaw left, the blood on his hands and shirt not his own.

( 2:28 PM )   Man, am I grateful for mom. She just brought me the most wonderful little care packet of a bottle of ibuprofen and a Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange bar. *sniffles happily* Thank you, mommie!

Amy, Amy, Amy.... you have no idea how much stress is gone already. *heavy sigh* I can't thank you enough.

Spellleeeeeeerrrr, next weekend is go for coming over to my house to watch movies! You like freaky movies, I'll make you watch freaky ANIME movies! On the roster so far: Perfect Blue and X. Maybe I'll make a trip to Roger's Video and snag Devil Man or something. But I will get you hooked. I will. Your time will come (*sings* thy will be done!).

*laughing at BMB* Yeah, Mik, you dirty minded cutie! You think those nasty thoughts about Harley! *laughing*

Oiiii, Freckle-chan... you posted a nice list of couples you like. I think for fun, I'll do the same!

Cardcaptor Sakura Touya and Yukito - kawaii! KAWAII!!!! Sakura and Tomoyo - so sue me!

Oh My Goddess! Trobadour and Urd - they were cool! Too bad he's such a dork. Keiichi and Belldandy - well, DUH!

Magic Knight Rayearth Ascot and Umi - I'm a sucker for Ascot. What a little cutie! Clef and Presea - ditto that, 'cause Clef is so cute and so short!

Dragon Half Mink and Lufa - not likely, I know, but still.

Bakuretsu Hunter Tira and Carrot - feh on Chocolate. She's not half as cool as Tira. Marron and Gateau - I don' like Gateau too much, but Marron is so hot. *_*

Ranma 1/2 Ranma and Shampoo - not likely, either, but I think Mousse is too wussy for her. I've always been a Ranma/Shampoo 'shipper.

Shamanic Princess Kagetsu and Tiara - it's a sad relationship... Sarah and Tiara - um, don't ask.

Slayers Lina and Gourry - he's so funny around her... ^__^

Sailor Moon Usagi and anyone but Mamoru! T_T; Chibi Usagi and Pelulu [Perelu, Perele] - *heehee* Cute fae-ish boy with white hair!

Neon Genesis Evangelion Shinji and Asuka - I think she really does like him. She just doesn't know how to show it. Misato and Koji - funny funny! She's a player, tho.

RPing kyara [involving mine] Cam and Mark - for obvious reasons. Rukura, Lian, and Gabby - yes, a yaoi threesome. They're all so cute. Sola [Soren] and Sybandial - so innocent and sweet. ^_^ Jyrian and Quoik - I don't talk about these two much, but their relationship is really cute. Jesse and Rach - how can I not like this? He's cute, she's cute (haha, Rach!) Lucas and Lila - I liked this possibility... too bad she's dead and we won't find out what woulda' happened. Lucas and Carter - this is a slightly more demented relationship. Cadence and Lexiel - a more intellectual relationship... even if Lexiel is kinda big on sex for sick reasons. ^_^; Cadence3 and Cam - I'm a sick, sick girl. Lucifer and Setsuko - if we get Setsuko back, then we can resume this. They're cute too. ^_^

Other Stories Kiih and Ro (from Dora's "Three O'Clock") - I don't really know why... these two just kinda hit it off in my mind. Len and Yuri (see above) - ditto the above again.

Book Series Ron and Hermione - need I explain? Sirius and Remus - again, need I explain? Lestat and Louis (Anne Rice's VC books) - strange but yummy relationship Lestat and David - intellectual and alluring. Marius and Amadeo - Stokholm syndrome. Cal and Meg (A Wrinkle in Time) - KAWAII!

That's that done. ^__^;

( 10:41 PM )   Sap warning ahead!

I have the best best friends in the whole world! My best friends are Speller and Amy!

Speller, who I know I don't mention on here too much (I'm sorry! ;_;), is the smartest person I know. She's also one of the most talented writers, too. How many people can write a whole novel before/during high school? Aside from Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, not many. And her poetry kicks ass! She has a lot of it published. She can also draw better realistic stuff than I can, which makes me mondo jealous. It's not fair, I tell you! And she must learn to watch out for Hannibal. Beware him. Speller likes pudding. And pears. Damn those pears.

Amy and I have been friends since 7th grade, when she was the "new kid". We actually first met in drama class. She ran over a possum on her way to work. Yeeeah! She, too, is an amazing writer. It's not FAIR! She came runner up in the story writing contest a while back. I was proud. And I SCREEEEEEAMED the loudest when she won the Todd Bayless award. I live to embarrass.... ^_~

I am grateful to have such good friends. I love them. This concludes the sap. ^___^;

( 9:04 PM )   Querida, you're cooler than Simon and Milo! (Personally, Milo's a tad too butch for my liking, but Simon is a cute little brit guy with the sweetest little sentiments!) ....anyway.... yes, you have a neck. I hope. ^_~

And to complete the phrase you know you have problems when...you obsess over a cartoon with no neck, no nose, and huge eyes!

( 7:29 AM )   Morning blog!

I watched Perfect Blue last night. It downright scared me! Seeing Hannibal didn't scare me, seeing the Rage; Carrie 2 didn't scare me.... but Perfect Blue DID. The "real Mima" (the one who's forever in the Cham costume) is SCARY!!! And the Mimaniac is pretty scary too. o_O Iffen you haven't seen this movie, get it. Especially if you like stuff like Neon Genesis Evangelion, X, or Serial Experiments Lain. I warn you, there's nudity, a rape scene, and a lot of gore. This movie freaked me out more than Eva did.

In other news... going to the art store tomorrow!!! And, I'm also skipping 5th period today. Maybe even 3rd, 'cause I'm stuck doing NOTHING all class anyway. -_-;

Hopefully they have the 10x15 paper I want... 'cause, you know, that being the traditional dimensions for comic drawing. Y'all knew that, right? *gives you a loooooook*

And I best be off to get ready... JA!

( 7:02 PM )   Blogger hates me.

OH! OH! EVERYONE GO READ TODAY'S BMB!!! CY AND SKIDS FOREVERRRRR!!!!

I'm having a hell of a lucky streak this week. Today, in the mail, I got an AUTOGRAPHED Simon and Milo picture, FRAMED!!! *swoons*

And I got Perfect Blue!!!!

( 5:14 PM )   Gonna go see Hannibal with Mike and Chris in about half an hour! ^__^       ( 7:21 AM )   Morning Blog!

Last night, began a really angsty RP with Cam and Mark (well, it was angsty on Cam's end). Now, I only just realized that I think up really weird stuff that follow pretty much all the major time/space/reality laws. And all on a whim and at random. It's strange. You know you study this stuff too much when.... Yep, it's not every day when I come up with plots like that puppy. Using the imprints left in the reality weave to reconstruct a Mark.... that's some strange stuff (but it actually makes sense, which is what throws me). Huh.

I feel guilty... I got mad at Amy last night. She was being a little more depressing than usual, and I just couldn't stand it. I'm sick and stressed and I don't need to boost her ego all the time.

I've had this urge for the past couple of days to draw Cam shaking Lucas by the shoulders and looking very upset while Lucas looks blank. I don't really know why.... the caption for it has been running through my head, as it is this: "What am I to you?!" Trippiness.

Well, being the idiot I am, I didn't do my civics homework. My group is gonna love me for that.... then again, they're sticking me with the job of reading the presentation on Spain because I'm the only one that knows how to speak some Spanish. *sweatdrops*

I'm having urges to draw the weirdest things.... I hate it when Cam angsts at me from his little spot in my mind.

Meg's Art Corner A really weird little picture of c3 and a Chibi Cam. C3 is drawn more in my gothic anime style than my normal one. Turned out quite well! ^_^

Over and out!

( 7:16 PM )   Neeee, imouto! If you're not gonna be doing Yunga Neko for a while, you should get a guest artist to do, like, weekly panels just until you can work on it again. *volunteers*       ( 7:14 AM )   Morning blog time again, kids!

I'm feeling okay this morning, so school for me. *sigh* School is so boring. Lunch is okay, mind you, because I have (as Speller said) "so many male bitches that work" for me. ^__^

I've been doing a lot of drawing since I got those pens. It's scary... can't wait to get more! ^__^ I also gotta get me some 10 X 15 paper, 'cause that's the standard comic size. I don't feel up to fighting with printers because the size ratio on 8.5 X 11 is uneven. Screw it. I'll just redo it all on standards.

I'm having the straaangest breakfast. Pork chops. Don't ask me, it was the only thing I could find...

Song of the moment: "Cruel Angel's Thesis (Harmonia Remix)" from Evangelion. *slobbers* I forgot what a COOL remix this is!!!

Meg's Art Corner Ben Carter, looking cute and vaguely distant! (Hey, he's a Blink fan, too!) Mark makes a scarilly cute girl. o_O Appearently, so does Lucas. Onna-Cam makes me think of Rally from Gunsmith Cats for some reason.... How cliché.

Over and out!

( 5:30 PM )   Nah nah naaaah! Meg has Sympatico access!!

Anyway, Meg also got herself some niiiiice grey prismacolor pens yesterday! Meg drew some pretty pretty pictures with them, too! Meg is happy, so she is!

Meg's Art Corner With her new prismacolors in hand, Meg is proud to present her latest creations! Angelique, the evil evil bitchy whore of a Demon from AH. She's pretty, tho. ^_^; "Legacy of the Messiah" cast shot; Rukura, Lucifer, and Pandora as kids! Carter and Lucas, a strange relationship these doods have. Carter looks somewhat like Cam, doesn't he? Quoik, Meg's only fae kyara!!

( 2:25 PM )   Tiredtiredtiredtired....

At the Office Place, they have a set of 24 prismacolor markers for about 40 bucks. I WANT THEM, but mom says "no, I don't have that kind of money right now". So, what we're gonna do, is I'm gonna drag her to Curry's Art Supplies store in a few hours and see how much THEY'RE selling them for.... maybe she'll buckle and take me back to the Office Place. ^_~

I need grey markers...

...oh, note to all who talk to me at night online. I won't be on until really late 'cause the network will be down. Unless mom hooks us up with Sympatico tonight, I'll be on around 2am. *sniffles* I'm gonna be without my querida fix! *snifflesniffle*

( 8:34 PM )   Lack of bloggingness today, as you all may have noticed. Dunno why, I was home again....

song of the moment: "Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I *heart* Flea.... what an AMAZING bass player. Too bad this song doesn't showcase him much. If you want good bass by the dood tho, "Californication" is an order.

*cheers* The restrictions to see Hannibal have been changed from R to AA! In other words, I can get in to see it! Heeey, Dan, Amy, Speller, anyone? Wanna come with? I warn y'all, tho, it's been said that this movie is grotesquely violent.

Tomorrow is gonna be a very busy day. I'm going into town with my mom and brother for most of the day, then it's home for a few hours (like, two), and to the mall where I shall meet with Quinn-chan and Chris to go for our ritual Riot Ink business meeting. Then I shall return from the depths of Quinn's anime/transformers shrine of a home and return to my humble lair around midnight. Then I'll prolly talk to my baaaaybeeeeee (aka: querida) for the remainder of the dark hours of the evening.

Oh! Celeb Jeopardy! Two of my faaaaavourite doods were on there! Seth Green from various shows such as Buffy, and Steven from the Barenaked Ladies! DOOD! And Seth has his hair buzzed in sooooo damn short that he looks bald. 0_o

Kick ass! 3 Doors Down are playing at the Warehouse on March 11, and tickets are only $27... man, I wanna GOOOOO!!!

( 12:37 PM )   For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica Make his fight on the hill in the early day Constant chill deep inside Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey On the fight, for they are right, yes, by who's to say? For a hill men would kill, why? They do not know Suffered wounds test there their pride Men of five, still alive through the raging glow Gone insane from the pain that they surely know

For whom the bell tolls Time marches on For whom the bell tolls

Take a look to the sky just before you die It is the last time you will Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery He hears the silence so loud Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be Now the will see what will be, blinded eyes to see

For whom the bell tolls Time marches on For whom the bell tolls

( 12:17 PM )   Okay, today's guest BMB is quite good. ^__^

*points out the window* Heehee, a mini-plow!! *giggles*

song of the moment: "Sunny Came Home" by Shawn Colvin (so sue me, I like this song... ).

( 12:08 PM )   Why is it on days that it's not supposed to snow, it snows the most? We've gotten about 13 cm since last night and it's still coming down... -_-;

song of the moment: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica. Heeheehee....makes me think of AH. I shall post the lyrics on here later.

( 7:42 AM )   The Wheel of Excitement on Neopets loves me... I just won another 10 000 np. O_O       ( 7:35 AM )   Morning blog!

Here I am, killing time while I wait for either mom to call me or for me to call mom. Stupid morons in Wal-Mart, you call the main office and ask to be patched through to Electronics, and they put you on hold and hang up on you. Figures, it was mom's boss that just did that to me. Moron.

I got slim to no sleep last night due to sickness. Man, do I hurt... I feel like my guts are being put into a dryer's spin cycle constantly. And after drinking 3 L of cranberry juice, I'm not too good right now. I'm kinda waiting for mom to call so I can ask her what to do... I dunno if I should stay home or go to school. I bet I'm missing a fair bit. Well, there's always Fiona and Harpreet to ask. ^_^;;

I bet Dan's gonna kill me if I'm off another day. Mike's prolly beaten him up a few times by now without me there.

*drums her fingers* Mom, I asked you to phone me... you've got 10 minutes, and then I phone YOU....and hope I don't get hung up on...

Oh! BmB's on it's guest week. Y'know, with guest artists doing the panels. I'm not liking it too much. Yesterday's was a tad too blunt, with not enough joke 'ahind it. Maybe next time, I'll try for a guest spot on there. I'd be sure to do something involving Cy and Skids. I love Cy and Skids. ^__^

I'm running very low on straight kyara. Querida manages to turn them all gay! *shakes her head* Bennett, Lucas, Rukura, Sy.... who next? *turns to Tiirak* Dood, you're not gay are you? Tiirak: No way. Meg: You sure?? Tiirak: Yes, I'm sure. Meg: *looks suspicious*

Mommie bought me the Silence of the Lambs yesterday. It's such a good movie, and all the better if you've read the book. The casting for the movie is very good, too... Jodie Foster makes such a cute Clarice Starling. It really pisses me off that Julianne Moore is playing Clarice in Hannibal (which comes out tomorrow, check your local listings ^_~). She is SO not Starling material. But as long as Sir Anthony Hopkins is still good ol' Hannibal Lecter the Cannibal, I'll watch it.

*calls Mom* Wow, I got through....!!! Maybe that's because I cheated and used the associates-only code. How would I know THAT? 9.9

Looks like I get to stay home again today... *feh* Boredom and a half. Amy, if you're home, feel free to phone me or something.

Over and out!

( 10:50 PM )   Yeeeeeeeee! Querida can read my mind and alter my dreamstate!!!!

No one should have to drink 2 litres of cranberry juice in 5 hours. x_X

( 9:21 AM )   Morning blog!

I'm home sick! And it's only the 4th day of semester 2. Seems that whatever the hell was wrong with me before is wrong with me again... pain hurts, you know. T_T;

I've not much to say today... doesn't that suck when you wanna say something but you're outta' stuff to say?

OH!!! GOOD NEWS! AH Issue one is officially coming along WELL! Looks like I won't have to go to version 16... ^___^

( 9:32 PM )   Rukura and Lian... I got bored and messed around with PC Paintbrush...       ( 6:41 PM )   *looking from her cat CC to her mug of hot chocolate* CC is staring at the marshmellows like they're evil..... *inches away*       ( 6:29 PM )   The Angel Hunter church stainglass window...?       ( 4:00 PM )   Okay, I know.... I didn't blog this morning. I was running mighty late. I had to hop fences to get to school. ^_^;;;

What did I do today? Not much. I got yelled at three times and nearly booted out of my history class (why? for drawing! >.<;;), and I nearly fell asleep in comm tech. Thankfully, Mr. Dewitte let us out early.

The layouts for pages 1-4 of AH have been redone. This is version 15... and I'm LIKING it! FINALLY!

Heeey, imouto! Mercutio was the best kyara in that play. I also liked Benvolio, he was cool too (my once-best-friend Brittany took to calling me 'Volio 'cause I liked him so much). Mercutio, tho, had one hell of an attitude, and he was interesting and VERY funny. Too bad he had to die... I'm glad you liked the little snippet. Allow me to post another, just for you! ^__^ This is another bit I quite like.

Benjamin found it facinating to watch him, he was so calm and so... well, he was the very picture of freedom as far as he was concerned. Yes, that was it. Benjamin admired Lokistrant's blasé attitude towards life. Envy, almost.

When one night, Lokistrant was late on his ritual visits to the plantation, Benjamin worried. Could he have been hurt?.... no. This was Lokistrant. He didn't GET hurt. But maybe he just didn't want to see him anymore?

Abandonment. A reoccurring issue. His throat felt dry suddenly. He curled up on his bed, blond hair over his eyes, and wished for morning, when he KNEW that Lokistrant would not come. No second guessing when daylight was involved.

Minutes passed. And quite unexpectedly, Lokistrant was there, startling the boy. Leaning against the far wall, watching quietly, decked out in his usual dark reds and silvers. Benjamin sat up. "How long have you been there? You scared me!"

Lokistrant smiled his usual enigmatic smile, the impression of fangs something no longer unexpected. "Carter, deepest apologies for being so late." The smile was kind, but the voice was final, the tone stating that there was to be no questions asked. Lokistrant held out his hand to the boy. "Care to come with me into town for a while?"

( 7:45 AM )   Morning Blog, part II

Oh! I saw Cast Away over the weekend! It's SO good! Tom Hanks is a surprisingly good actor... I mean, who else can get away with talking to a volleyball so convincingly? And we all know that Amy likes to imagine him naked (Tom, not the volleyball). You should all go see it! NOW!!!! That's an order!

Heehee, now a little quote for fun from a story I am going to re-write.

Benjamin stared across the table at the stranger, worried. The man seemed in his twenties, if that, and had long brown hair that spilled over his shoulders and down his back. His eyes were an unnatural ruby red, and they were very intelligent eyes. Benjamin had learned early in life to be cautious, especially with the smarter ones.

The man crossed his hands on the table in front of him, casual. "Benjamin Carter, correct?"

Benjamin could dect a vague, though unrecognizable, accent. "Yes sir."

"You're fifteen?"

"Yes sir."

"Such a shame to see someone so young forced into... what you're familiar with."

Benjamin sunk down in his chair. "Why are you here? Why did you pull me away from papa?"

To match Benjamin's withdraw from the table, the man leaned forward, and smiled. Benjamin could have sworn he saw fangs. "You remind me of someone."

( 7:22 AM )   Morning blog!

Man, do I feel WEIRD this morning. I'm not sure why, exactly, but I just feel weird. I dunno. I think a certain spiritie dood slept in my bed with me last night.... *points at Bennett* 'Cause I actually slept.

Last night, during a particularly good RP, my ISP died and wouldn't let me back on. I wasn't happy. It was getting SO good, too... *pouts*

I'm so quickly out of things to say.... ^____^;;

O'er an' out!

( 11:17 AM )   Meg's random contemplations I'm considering re-writing Carter's story, which ties in with a fair bit of Lucas' story. Been considering it for a while... Carter's got some serious problems, and he's fun to write because he's so screwed up. He's got a really weird past. His dad was SUCH a jerk.... and up until becoming a vampire, Carter was good little Bennie; never had the nerve to fight his father. *ponders* It's an interesting story. Maybe I'll start on it again after I get home from seeing Cast Away....       ( 10:56 PM )   Okay, people, special announcement!!!!!!! Congrats to Bennett and niichan on the birth of their daughter, Candra Arael Bennett! ^___^       ( 3:32 PM )   Woohoo! I got switched from Casement's class to Apostolou's class! Hooray!!! And I am already SO ahead of all the people in my comm tech class. I seem to be the only one who knows how to use Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Publisher, and Premier, as well as Quark and a few other programs. Damn, am I ahead. *_*       ( 7:36 AM )   Morning blog!

Wow, I only slept 3 hours and I feel okay.... *falls out of her chair laughing at today's BmB* Cy and Skids are a riot! I hope they do turn out as a couple! *laughing*

New semester starts today. I'm not too happy about this, as I have history and math this semester, and history is my homeroom class. With Mr. Casement. *cries* NOOOO!!! If I get called by my last name ONCE in his class, I'm gonna commit suicide (okay, not really).

My room is now a nice shrine of large wall hangings. On the walls around my bed, I have three Card Captor Sakura wallscrolls (two anime, one manga), and one kick-ASS Prozzak Saturday People promo poster. Thank you, John. *smilesmilesmile*

On Neopets, I am neopoor. Looks like my pets are gonna be eating at the soup kitchen a lot. -_-;

Meg's Art Corner! I know, I've not done much in the way of art lately. You know what's weird? I tend to draw more in school than at home. I think it's because I'm around so many people. Cam's SD Panther form, doodled in MS Paint. I was bored, okay? And it DID turn out cute. Part of my MS Paint family portrait. I still have to finish the pictures for John and Dani, and the kids too if I have enough willpower after screwing around with the stupid program afterwards.

Song of the moment: "When Doves Cry (Fatboy Slim remix) by Depeche Mode and Prince. I love this... don't ask me why. ^_^;

Quote of the moment: "Listen sister, if I want your opinion, I'll BEAT it out of you!" -- Elvira, Mistress of the Dark

Okay, that's it for now. Ja matta ne! *disappears in purple smoke*

( 12:38 PM )   Song of the moment: "Misere by Andrea Bocelli and John Miles. I have a very....expansive taste in music. So sue me. *sings along*       ( 11:45 AM )   To Chris-kun: Dooood, I don't hate you, and I'm not mad at you..... jus' chill, man. S'your blog, you can say what's on your mind...

I got my pretty pretty new cladagh ring in the mail yesterday! *kisses said ring* Mi querida gave it to me!! Isn't that sweet? ^__^

I have come to the conclusion that Cam would make a really scary bad guy. Like, not c3... but if CAM were bad. He'd be scary. I mean, he's already got some issues with where his loyalty lies... and he's pretty much infinite in power. Not to mention, after being killed about 200 times, I think he knows the painful ways to kill people. Wonder if niichan (currently my neechan) sees this? Well, at least now he knows about Cam's possibilities for becoming nothing more than a lethal weapon.

I have three neopets! My blue wocky named Cadence, my green shoyru named Lokistrant, and my yellow eyrie Poyania! ^__^

"My December" is © Linkin Park. The art is mine. Don't take. Information on the layout is thus; this is Damien McKinnley, a character of mine whom I've been roleplaying for a little over a year now. He's Simon McKinnley's oldest child, and he's kinda angsty and depressive. Art done in paintchat and added some snow in Photoshop.

Name: Meg Graham AKA: DJ Rabid Armadillo Age: 17 Birthday: May 1st Identifies as: a depressive and obsessive compulsive bisexual artist and writer Hair: black Eyes: grey Bands: Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden Movies: Fight Club, Velvet Goldmine, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Books: As I Lay Dying, Harry Potter, Fight Club, A Clockwork Orange, and the Repairman Jack series. Anime: Fruits Basket, Kare Kano Manga: Fruits Basket, Kare Kano Artists: Takaya Natsuki, H.R Giger, Tony, Firefly Family: Tony, Julian, Dora, Poe, Mina Lives for: Firefly, art, music

Legacy of the Messiah Deviantart

Brittany Deanna Lisa Firefly Dora Becky Dan Julian Tony (blog) Alex Heidi Megan Hana Gerrad Kiran Amy Zalina Katarina Matt Ribby Chris Meagen Poe Tsua Frecklegirl Rikki Mina Blair

Journeys Down Boy Meets Boy Little Machine Litost Satellite Yunga Neko Lean On Me Chronicles of a Drow Sorceress Spider Born Haato no Kagami Arcana Tiger/Tiger Separation Anxiety Nymphs of the West

Aesiraven.com Aesiraven Oekaki Kaki-riffic! Neopets KikiWai b3ta

Powered by TagBoard Message Board

Name Contact? Speak to me. (smilies)

[pokemonruby]

all of the least favorite ones. i want to see some violence

oh no, i'm about to have some Opinions™

putting this under read more because there are a LOT of questions --

2. least favorite type

bug simply because i'm not overly fond of them in real life (that is an understatement, i have a full-blown phobia) & i just don't think there are a lot of interesting bug-types in general... with the exception of say, volcarona, leavanny, and golisopod, which are all pokemon i thoroughly like.

4. least favorite dual type

i'm not sure, actually.

6. least favorite trainer

lusamine. i cannot stand her. it's difficult for me to get through the alola games because i have to be reminded of her existence... and recently my hatred of her has only amplified because pokemas thought it'd be a hilarious idea to give me her instead of steven when i pulled for his summer alt. which i haven't been able to acquire TWO years in a row.... the fucking audacity.

but my reasons for despising lusamine are pretty personal. of course, there's also the fact that she's a child abuser which is more than enough reason to not like her but again, it's mostly personal for me.

8. least favorite gym leader

the one that immediately comes to mind is lt. surge and that's mainly due to my overwhelming hatred of the military. also his gym puzzle is stupid.

10. least favorite elite four member

i have beef with lucian because of his stupid fucking alakazam outspeeding me and kicking my ass every single time i challenge him. fuck you and your dumb purple hair, lucian

12. least favorite trial (sun & moon)

i haven't played sumo in awhile so i don't remember the trials all that well... but i didn't really care for any of them that much i don't think.

14. least favorite antagonist team

kind of a foreseeable answer but team flare wasn't that memorable as the entire plot of x/y was poorly executed, especially in regards to its villains. cool hair though.

16. least favorite shiny pokemon

just.... any of the shinies whose color palettes has no visible changes. like why do those even exist... especially for popular pokemon like garchomp it's just infuriating. did they get lazy or something?

18. 3 least favorite pokemon

the only pokemon i "dislike" are the ones i find forgettable or just visually unappealing. like, barbaracle for instance... crabrawler... and then my absolute least favorite pokemon, the one i can say with full confidence that i actually hate is intelion. it's design is so bad and it destroyed my hopes for sobble who i love and care for so much.... like where did it all go wrong. you were so cute. what happened.

20. least favorite pokemon game

let's go pikachu/eevee was so unnecessary i'm sorry... and it physically hurt me to play. like, by the time i was finished with it i was dealing with excruciating wrist pain because of the awful catching system. and really, kanto didn't need it's 5th remake. they literally just made a 60$ version of pokemon go... the only thing i like about that game is the art style which a lot of people actually didn't care for but i found it cute. oh and dressing up your partner + ride pokemon... that was good too. but little features like that can't save the game from its painful boredom and redundancy.

other than that, the upcoming sinnoh remakes may just end up being the firs pokemon games i've ever skipped since i got into the series... which says a lot considering i've been hyping them up for the last five years..... sighs heavily

22. least favorite legendary/mythical pokemon

hmmm ... i guess volcanion just because i always forget it exists. which sucks because it's the only water/fire type in existence. that's such a cool typing. but it just didn't leave an impact unfortunately.

23. least favorite design of a pokemon

intelion is a crime against this universe.

28. overall least favorite generation of pokemon

kanto... i'm sorry, it is boring. the only fond memories i have of kanto are from the anime mostly. i got into the franchise during gen 3, so...

30. least favorite normal type

gumshoos, probably.

32. least favorite fire type

pyroar, if only because i find it a little boring-looking... i definitely think they could've done something more interesting for a fire lion.

34. least favorite fighting type

sawk/throh... they are literally just dudes. i love gen 5 but i have to cross the line somewhere, i'm sorry. at least the machop line looks somewhat fantastical. sawk & throh are just dudes in robes.

36. least favorite water type

intelion :)

38. least favorite flying type

delibird

40. least favorite grass type

carnivine

42. least favorite poison type

ariados

44. least favorite electric type

stunfisk

46. least favorite ground type

diggersby

48. least favorite rock type

graveler

50. least favorite ice type

cryogonal

52. least favorite bug type

beedril

54. least favorite dragon type

turtonator

56. least favorite ghost type

this one was actually a bit difficult for me since the majority of ghost-type pokemon are just... really good. but i guess... misdreavus.

58. least favorite dark type

there's just... something about crawdaunt that i don't like. i can't put my finger on it i just don't like the giant lobster.

60. least favorite psychic type

drowzee and hypno....... i suppose i appreciate how creepy they are but their designs leave much to be desired.

62. least favorite steel type

bronzong

64. least favorite fairy type

MR. MIME. GOD FORBID.

66. least favorite pokemon movie

now i've actually enjoyed the majority of the pokemon movies, i don't think i necessarily dislike... any of them. but if i had to choose, probably the i choose you movie (haha, unintentional pun)... it was just... really bizarre and incoherent. though i will say the animation is stellar and that fucking backstory with the luxray made me sob like a baby.

#wew! sorry my answers got a bit short toward the end. i was running out of steam #i don't think i have any wildly unpopular opinions but i hope you enjoyed the violence nonetheless anon

[artifexvigen]

X, in a high voice, holding barbie: hey ken! I was thinking about going back to school and starting a career!

Zero, in a deep voice, holding ken: nonsense, barbie. you’re staying home and having my kids

Axl: what the fuck are you guys doing?

X: playing systemic oppression

X: Let me show you a picture from last night that really upset me

Zero: Okay, but in my defense, Axl bet me 50 cents I couldn’t drink all that shampoo.

X: That’s not what I wanted to- you drank SHAMPOO?!

*The squad is talking about what it'd be like to open up a homemade Pokemon gym*

X, joking: Zero's just sitting at the end, juggling- fushigi-ing 2 glass balls, in super tight pants, just waiting for his kid delivery once they best his minions.

Zero: Well they would be Pokeballs. And also it's not a kid delivery. There's no fucking guarantee that a kid that comes into the beginning of my crucible makes it to the end of it undefeated.

Zero: In fact, I'm gonna stack this gym! With fuckin pros!

Zero: It's- It's gonna be brutal. It's gonna be a torture gym.

Axl: Well- Well what's the theme? Are you like- is it a bug theme, or like-

Zero: YEAH, AXL. UH- UH- UH- UH YEAH AXL. IM GONNA OPEN UP A BUG TYPE POKEMON GYM. YOU IDIOT.

Zero: YEAH THAT'S WHAT I WANT, BECAUSE I WANNA GIVE- I WANNA SHIT OUT BADGES FOR EVERY HAM AND EGGER THAT COMES TO MY FRONT DOOR.

X: *Cracking up*

Zero: YEAH, AXL. 'Uhh, go Caterpie! >~>' That's me, you FUCKING imbecile. 'Yeah go- uhhh- d-do your best, Kakuna!'

Zero: WHAT ARE YOU FUCKING TALKING ABOU- Yeah a ~bug type~ gym.

Axl:

X: Okaaay-

Axl: Alright, um, I'm gonna go. I've embarrassed myself...

X: Maybe fire? Fire type?

Axl: Yeah fire-based? Like- have fires?

Zero: Yeah, yeah I'll probably just- That's a good idea X I'll probably just do a fire type one... SO THAT ONE KID WITH ONE BLASTOISE CAN FUCK UP MY WHOLE SHOP.

Zero: KILLED ALL OF US WITH ONE BLASTOISE, HUH? WOW. SHIT I SHOULD'VE-

Axl: Just do rock, then! Just do rock type!

Zero, voice dripping with contempt: The same Blastoise...

X: If I accidentally sat on a voodoo doll of myself, would I be trapped forever in that position, doomed to starve to death?

Zero: How am I supposed to know?

Axl: You say, as if we don’t use you as a source of knowledge of the occult.

Zero: *sighs*

Zero: You wouldn't be trapped.

X: I love you guys, you're the best thing that's happened to me.

Zero: We're the best thing that's ever happened to you?

X: Yes!

Axl: I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you.

*The group is getting into the car*

X: I’m driving.

Zero, out of view: Shotgun!

Axl, turning to face Zero: Aww! But you had it on the way here-

Everyone except Zero: WOAH-

Zero, holding a shotgun: No! I found a shotgun! And I want the front seat! *Pumps gun*

X: Do you ever want to talk about your emotions, Zero?

Zero: … No.

Axl: I do!

X: I know, Axl.

Axl: I’m sad!

X: I know, Axl.

That's all I've got for now.

#megaman #rockman #megaman x #rockman x #incorrect quotes

[sazorak]

Every Game I Played in 2020, Ranked

2020. Boy, what a garbo year huh? Didn't actually play that many games this year all-in-all. Happens! My backlog is getting pretty big, but I just find it hard to focus on games when I could be working on something. Or put off working on something, as it may happen to be at times.

My arbitrary decision from years ago to only attach a numbered ranking to same-year releases is getting increasingly silly, especially given my propensity to wait on playing games until I’m in the right mood, but whatever. That order matters than the dumb numerical numbering anyway.

2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

Later Alligator – 2019 – Steam – ★★

The style of this game is very cute, and the jokes are funny enough. But… ok, look, I’m not one to be precious about what is or isn’t a game. But this really isn’t a game. It’s a series of disconnected, unrelated challenges clipped from Atari Free Mini Game Collection 100, wrapped in a very non-interactive adventure-game. It’s cute, it’s kind of sweet, but it’s dull. Dull dull dull. There’s a pointless, mandatory sliding block puzzle early on that infuriated me by its mere existence. Them giving the ability to skip it because “wow you’re bad at this huh”, which, while accurate, also just sold the whole point meaningless of the “““interactive experience”””.

Also: when a huge part of your game is WOW WE ANIMATED EVERYONE REALLY GOOD, text boxes that reveal word-by-word, far away from the animations that occur when said characters talk? Kind of stinks!

8. Carrion – 2020 – Steam – ★★

What Carrion does well— the whole “You’re controlling The Thing and just rippin’ people apart!” shtick— is really neat. They made that bootleg The Thing animate real-ass good.

The actual game as a whole though? Kind of garbage. Imagine a Metroidvania with zero actual exploration, where every opportunity you have to venture off the path instead results in immediate railroading with constant, utterly inexplicable one-way pipes. It’s not that it’s linear, it’s that it actively slaps you when you attempt to explore. It’s very frustrating! Add the fact that the tentacle-monster-shtick makes challenging to actually, y’know, move around and control all your bits…  the only reason I finished the game was due to foreknowledge of its extreme brevity.

I think if the game were more open and less obsessed with constantly handing out upgrades, as well as having less of a focus on pure combat, I think I’d have enjoyed it more.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays – 2019 – Steam – ★★

It is well documented at this point that I am both an active Gundam fan, and as well as an on-again-off-again tactical RPG aficionado. A SD Gundam game appearing on Steam with a good English translation and localization is… exciting, to say the least. That said, I have never had much context for this game series beyond the basic facts that the combat tended to be pretty well animated CG, and that it’s vaguely similar to Super Robot Wars. Turns out… it’s really different from SRW? I dunno how the rest of the series fairs, but Cross Rays is weird as hell.

For one, there’s zero tutorialization at all. None. Almost all of what I’m going to explain here is me figuring stuff out by trial and error, or by reading junk online. Gundam is insanely popular, you’d think they’d be interested in explaining how it all works, but… nope. Even Super Robot Wars has multi-level introductory bits for new folks to show them the rope these days.

So: Cross Rays is a tactical RPG where you can playthrough the storyline of various Gundam AUs. You can play through them in any order. These playthroughs are fairly literal translations of the stories. You take control of the lead mecha from those series, fight enemy mobile suits that show up in SRW-like tactical RPG combat, until all reinforcements cease. Pretty straight forward. There are occasionally mission variants like “prevent enemies from reaching X” or “prevent enemies from destroying Y”, but even those can be just reduced to “kill everything very quickly please.”

But here’s the thing: while there is a story progression, the characters in the story itself actually have no character progression. These characters and mecha are actually considered guests, despite it being ostensibly their story. Instead, you are able to field “permanent” mecha and pilots of your own choosing, which do have progressions. There is no plot justification for this or anything like it. The game does not recognize that it’s weird that during Iron-Blooded Orphans intro where nobody knows what a Gundam even is, you can have 25 Gundams show up at once and just fire lasers at everything. That’s because this game is actually about repeatedly grinding the same set of missions over and over.

Pilots are recruited by completing certain in-mission requirements. Mecha are acquired by either by getting enough kills with the progression-less “guest” mecha, combining mecha you already have gashopon-style, completing certain quests, or by leveling up mecha and then “evolving them”. This is the actual core of the game.

SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays is basically Disgaea, it turns out? You’re grinding story missions at various difficulty levels in order to complete missions, try to recruit specific pilots, equip them with stats and levels to make them stronger, and then hitting mecha together in a sort of quasi-SMT fusion system until you get all the powerful mobile suits you desire.

The combat itself is kind of… bland? There’s a lot of systems, but they mostly seem in service of making an already easy game easier, or burning through tedium. There are four different difficulty modes, because there’s not actually that many different missions you can play through. The expectation is you’ll just work your way through every story beat while ramping the difficulty up over time to where the “guest” mecha would not be able to handle on their own. In fact, letting the story mecha act out the story beats is actually bad after a point, unless you’re still trying to get those lead mobile suits, or if you’re trying to complete some mission requirement in order to recruit Named Wing Grunt Pilot #246.

There is something to the notion of “I want to get N and N and N and N on a team, piloting weird but powerful mobile suits, and just solo every Gundam AU in a row,” but the whole premise seems kind of against purpose. Why bother recreating story beats at all, then? It’s not like the game even acknowledges any of that going on.

If the point is that I’m supposed to be, like in other grind-heavy tactical RPGs, breaking the systems to my own end in order to proceed… why not make the missions you play challenges focused towards that? The story progression literally only exists to facilitate the mission-based unlock conditions, which makes all the energy put into making them JUST LIKE THE ANIME really damn pointless.  

I like tactical RPGs, I like breaking RPG systems so as to beat hard challenges (I beat all the insanely hard extra bosses in FFXII for crying out loud), I looooove Gundam. I should like this. But I don’t really have the “god, I NEED TO FILL THIS LIST” gene that some folks have… except as an excuse to continue to engage in gameplay I enjoy. The gameplay here seems in service of the collection, rather than the way around.

7. Pokemon Sword: The Isle of Armor – 2020 – ★★★

Pokemon’s first foray into actually doing DLC is… a mixed bag. As a positive, they’ve improved the Wild Area concept I liked from the main game, and even brought back buddy Pokemon walking behind you. That’s neat. On the other hand: the actual progression in it is completable in like an hour, it doesn’t scale with you, so you’re bound to be over leveled for it, and all the raid stuff, while still conceptually neat, is just as flawed as in the base game. And so, you’re just left with even more new Pokemon to RNG grind on to continue to catch-them-all. Nah, I’m good.

Astral Chain – 2019 – Switch – ★★★

Platinum knows how to make good character action games. They’ve made a bunch of them. Bayonetta, Nier: Automata, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. They also know how to make some kind of mediocre character action games. Transformers: Devastation, Wonderful 101, their various shovelware character action games like Korra. Astral Chain falls somewhere in the middle, I guess?

Astral Chain has all the production of their good games. It has some stylish, cool action. It has a neat core mechanical idea, in that it’s essentially a two-character action game where you control both characters at once. It has a lot of the old mechanics from some of their best games brought in; witch-time last second dodging from Bayonetta, Nier’s shooting-and-slashing combination, the Zandatsu mechanic from Metal Gear Rising, even Wonderful 101’s multi-unit shenanigans. The setting is different, and there’s some neat world flavor all in all.

But, of all games I’ve played over the past few years, Astral Chain made me more vividly angry than any other. It’s not that it’s too hard— far from it, really, I found its combat incredibly mashy. No, the problem is that it has so many shitty mechanics slathered on that it become a chore to get to the “good bits”.

Why would you put forced stealth sequences in your character action game, especially when your movement controls are not suited for it?

Why the HELL would you put platforming sections in your character action game, constantly, especially when your stupid ghost buddy can accidentally yank you off the edge, your auto-combos can just throw you off the edge, or literally anything can knock you off the edge and make you lose life?

Why would you put so many constant excuses into the world to force me use the digital sensor in the game, that also makes it miserable to walk around while using it?

WHO THE LIVING FUCK THINKS THESE SHITTY BOX BALANCING MINI-GAMES ARE FUN???

These games are supposed to encourage me to perfect everything, right? Why keep putting fucking fights you need to complete in order to get an S rank behind backtracking, or Legions I don’t have yet? That isn’t adding replayability, that’s just wasting my time. There are even in-level missions that have fail conditions that you never even know about. Surprise!!! A lot of them involve chasing after guys and catching them with your chain, which is really obnoxious to do!!!! SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The story is just Bad Evangelion, straight up. Every story beat from Evangelion is here, executed worse. They also make your character have a twin just so they can have a character who can talk and feel emotions, because your boring-ass protagonist is stuck being an emotionless audience cipher. Cool!!!

Tetris Effect – 2018 – Origin – ★★★

It’s drugs Tetris. I personally don’t use, or have synesthesia for that matter. I imagine this game is better if you do. It’s an enjoyable enough experience but it feels incredibly slight for what I was expecting from it, or even compared to something like Lumines, which has tons of replayability by way of its difficulty. Tetris just isn’t that hard, unless you’re forcing yourself to do weird shit to get points. I WILL NEVER LEARN HOW TO T-SPIN. Never.

Castlevania Anniversary Collection – 2019 – Steam – ★★★

Kind of an unremarkable Castlevania collection. Neat that it has an official translation of Kid Dracula in there, but also… look, I prefer Metroidvania Castlevanias, OK?

6. Spelunky 2 – 2020 – Steam – ★★★

I’m not entirely sure why this doesn’t click for me where Spelunky 1 did. More annoying intro levels? Too many fiddly requirements for different ending-progression? Gameplay additions that just make things more annoying? Spelunky 1 was hard, but there was a kind straight-forwardness to it, even with its weird secrets, that made it much easier to grok and continue banging your head against. I’m just not having as much fun with this. Difficulty should be challenging, not a hassle.

5. Stellaris: Federations – 2020 – Steam – ★★★

This is the year that Stellaris just broke for me.

Federations itself is a good DLC; it adds some really interesting mechanics tied to various types of multi-national unions (the titular federations, as well as the Space UN), as well as the addition of unique “origins” that allow you to further specialize your gameplay. The origins in particular are a great addition that allows more specialization and roleplay.

I’m just tired of the sheer amount of busywork Stellaris forces you to do. Every DLC adds more junk you need to keep an eye on, and the fact that the AI doesn’t even bother with it (compensating with copious economy boosts in order to keep up) makes the whole thing frustrating. It’s like playing fetch with yourself; you just get tired of chasing after your own ball after a point.

I have to wonder if they’re pivoting towards a notional Stellaris 2 at this point? Might not be a bad idea for them, though it is weird with all they talked up adding more origins when Federations came out.  

4. GranBlue Fantasy Versus – 2020 – Steam – ★★★★

This is probably the fighting game I got most into over the past few years. There’s just this nice, almost Street Fighter-esque ease of execution to the controls, and that Arc Systems Works 3D-as-2D style continues to just do work. I don’t give a single shit about GranBlue Fantasy (frankly, I think I’d enjoy this game more if it wasn’t attached to a property) but the characters are fun enough to play and look at.

The big problem here is two things: no crossplay, and no rollback netcode. In the span of a month, this game became a total ghost town on PC, and it doesn’t sound like PS4 faired that much better. 

Ring Fit Adventure – 2019 – Switch – ★★★★

I’ve fallen on-and-off this game all year. At its heart: it works, it’s a fun exercise game. I don’t think it really feels like a “game” (in the sense that I’m not really coming to it for riveting gameplay or anything) as much as just a guided exercise experience, but… that’s fine? The in-game story is kind of flat, but funny in the fact of it existing at all. Buff Nicol Bolas and all.

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – 2017 – Steam – ★★★★

XCOM2: War of the Chosen is a great answer to what XCOM2 struggled with. As I discussed back in 2016 (Jesus Christ), XCOM2 tried to push against player’s worst instincts by incentivizing them to keep being aggressive through a whole bunch of timers— which, kind of just weren’t fun given how much accidentally walking into an ambush could “ruin” dozens of hours of play. War of the Chosen dials that back in some intelligent ways, by instead making the encounter designs themselves, as well as much more grab-and-bail mission types, encourage players to push ahead instead. Smart!

The addition of the Chosen makes the game feel more alive, and they really do make missions harder— particularly early on. But they’ve somehow accidentally fell into the hole, where XCOM just… isn’t that hard? Early on it’s challenging, particularly with the resource restrictions and all. But they keep giving you more and more options (that aren’t especially meaningful choices) that make your team more and more powerful, without increasing the strength of the enemy as time goes on. By the five-hour mark, you basically know if you’re going to steam roll the game or not.

The amount of additional character and variety in the gameplay is great, I just wish it had a more challenging difficulty curve. Maybe make the meta-layer of when enemies show up more targeted to where players are at. If a player is doing well, ramp up the difficulty, if they’re struggling, pull it back a bit. I should always feel like I’m just barely keeping ahead with XCOM, not like I’m bored. And by the end of War of the Chosen, I was kind of getting bored, really. Oh well.

3. Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 2020 – Switch – ★★★★

This is probably the video game that I spent the most time with hours-wise this year. I’m not entirely sure why? It’s a nice evolution of New Leaf, in that the crafting, environment shaping, and general quality-of-life improvements made are quite nice. There’s clearly been some thought on how people play these games, and ways to make the experience less frustrating.

… and yet, they kept so much tedium in the game. Like yes, the schedule stretching is the point, I get it. As someone who for some reason decided not to play with the clock, I only just recently finished the fish, fossils, and insects for the museum. But there’s just so many weird, little things that just make it hard to keep coming back to it. It’s like… to what end? When I’ve unlocked everything, and basically seen the entirety of the item list at this point, and the holiday events all being the game meaningless collectathons…. Why? I’m not going to try completing the collection; the museum stuff is about my limit, really (and even the paintings I can probably pass on).

I guess even an idealized, digital representation of a quasi-domestic life has the spiritual emptiness of consumerism-for-consumerism sake. Thanks???

Hypnospace Outlaw – 2019 – Steam – ★★★★

I grew up on the internet of the early 00s. I had an AngelFire website, mostly consisting of shitty sprite webcomics and hosted Gundam pics. I remember when Google wasn’t really a thing and you would heavily rely on website compilation sites like the Anime Web Turnpike in order to find anything of value online. It was weird, it was wild. It was exciting!

The internet seemed so different back then. There was a ton of garbage online, but also, like… there was a sense of optimism to it. Folks were shitty, there was plenty of bad stuff online, but it felt so disconnected from the fabric of the physicality of real-life that it was at the same time a perfect escape.

I was young when I first got “online”, something like 12. I remember having this notion that the internet was going to be this great equalizer, that it had infinite potential to change how people behave and interact. Boy, huh.

Hypnospace Outlaw is essentially a splendid alternate universe GeoCities recreation, where you’re a volunteer moderator of a grouping of websites on HypnOS, an internet-analog you access while you are sleep. At the surface level, it’s mostly about poking around the weird alternate-historical version of the internet they created, full of kids feuding, bizarre historical divergences, and plenty of amazing bespoke weirdness. All of this is great; there’s an incredible amount of content that’s just great to poke at, listen to, and explore.

Below the surface, there’s also a rolling plotline about the ethics of this industry-owned platform, those who run it, and the way corporations handle new technology, new platforms, and emerging digital societies. There’s a late game turn that’s pretty damn affecting. And as someone who has moderator his share of internet forums in his time, trying to balance ‘do it for the community’ and what your ostensible ‘bosses’ require of you, it was kind of a weird throwback in more ways than one.

Minecraft – 2011 – PC – ★★★★★

Turns out, Minecraft is really as good still who knew??? Started playing a bunch more of it this year due to Giant Bomb deciding to do so, and yeah: still good!

2. Hades – 2020 – Steam – ★★★★★

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again— Supergiant makes damn good games. I’d been holding off on checking out Hades until its full release due to my tendency to burn out on games easily, and I’m glad I waited. Hades is a fantastic rogue-lite experience. The way it makes narrative progression part of the reiterative, randomized rogue-lite structure is just perfect.

It’s got all the usual Supergiant bullet points. Great characters, voice acting, narration, and music. In terms of gameplay, it’s probably their least ambitious game— playing something like a cousin to their original game, Bastion— but it’s also been polished to a mirror sheen. It just feels really damn good to play, over and over and over.

That being said, the second (final?) ending feels kind of…. Tacked on? It’s fine as a goal to go for while continuing to do the game’s relationship mechanics for additional story bits, but it ends up feeling kind of unfulfilling compared to the payoff of the first one.

1. Crusader Kings III – 2020 – Steam – ★★★★★

I never could get into Crusader Kings II. Despite my interest, the sheer mechanical heft and unintuitive interface made the game a wall that I just couldn’t get over. I’m sure if I’d dedicated myself I probably could have learned it, but… ehhhhhh.

Crusader Kings III, on the other hand, has a good tutorial, a cleaned-up UI, and a very helpful highlight and tooltip system that make it much easier to understand how to actually play the game through resources inside the game itself. And, as it turns out: I rather love this game.

I mean, conceptually it’s an easy sell, isn’t it? Historical politics is something I enjoy broadly. I liked Stellaris but wish it had more narrative, roleplaying elements. They outright say that “winning” isn’t really the point of the game. Instead, it’s more about emergent storytelling and playing with the different systems and seeing what you can do with it.

My current game has had me taking the Haesteinn dynasty from its Viking origins into England, forming a London-seated Northern Sea Empire that encompasses all of Britannia, Iceland, Holland, Norway, and Denmark. I am currently working on hegemonizing Norse religious control over enough Asatru holy sites to finally reform the religion, such that more unified feudalization can occur. To that end, my current ruler’s predecessor invaded West Francia and conquered the whole of its territory, substantially reducing the foothold of Catholicism in mainland Europe… which seems to have kicked the hornet’s nest, given the Crusade I’m going to need to contend with next time I boot up the game.

Of course, a complicating matter is that my current ruler— the Emperor of the North Sea, King of Ireland and the Danelaw, liege of the King of Denmark, was elected from the extended Haesteinn family via Thing, the Scandinavian council of his erstwhile vassals. Where the previous emperor, the one who manufactured the invasion of Francia, was quite religious and beloved for his adherence to the old ways, I discovered as I took over as his successor that he really, really is into just boning down across Europe. We’re talking constantly attempting to seduce neighboring Queens and Princesses. His vassals are not thrilled with this. They also don’t care for his propensity for torturing people to death, constantly.

I had no real say in this; attempting to stay on top of a dynasty is kind of like riding a bucking-bronco, so many things are only tenuously under your control that some weird shit can happen. This is especially true when you use the systems that make it easier to maintain the coherency of your domain. The Norse religion encouraging concubinage results in you having a lot of kids, which means there’s a lot of domain partition going on (someday, primogeniture, someday). Naturally, using Thing election reduces that, but also makes you sometimes end up having to play Emperor Stabbo-Fucko because they thought he was the best candidate at the time. Hell, I thought he was the best candidate at the time until I discovered just how many people he’d be laying with on the low. But you just have to roll with it.

The way the game forces you to play ball with character traits is great. Doing things that match with the character’s traits makes them lose stress. Doing things against their character increases stress. Too much stress can force you to make the character take up vices (which can make them suffer health or opinion maluses, as well as altering their aptitudes), or even die outright. And sometimes those vices and attitudes can be boons, given they open up opportunities for different character interactions.

Emperor Stab-and-Fuck-Kingdom is perhaps the most relaxed person alive, it turns out, because his sadism makes him really enjoy sacrificing infidels, which makes the gods happy. It also freaks the fuck out of all of his vassals, so they’re a good supplicant mix of both appreciative of my religious sentiments and also utterly terrified of my skull piles. Some especially brave vassals occasionally try to assassinate me, but my lovers keep jumping in front of the knife and saving my life mid-coitus. Iiiiiit happens! :D  

The game can be incredibly fun to just watch, as it becomes emergently weird. Georgia right now is incredibly Jewish in game. I’m not sure how that happened; I guess someone made a random Jewish guy into a vassal, who somehow moved up enough in the world to make it a movement? The Byzantine princes elected a Coptic as Emperor, which over the course of the decade resulted in very accelerated balkanization as Byzantium just lost its shit. The Middle East and notional HRE haven’t really unified in a meaningful way, so I’m curious how things are going to go if/when the Mongols unify and roll-on in.

It’s one of those “Just one more thing” games that can completely devour time. I have more than a few times checked the clock mid-game to see that it’s 4AM and that I’ve totally ruined my sleep schedule in the process of play. Oooooops.

I highly recommend checking it out if you’re curious; the introductory, pre-release video series Paradox put out showing off the game does a pretty good job of showing the core gameplay loop and also how weird it can get.

#GAME OF THE YEAR #GOTY #nonfiction #thinkpiece #2020 #Crusader Kings 3 #Hades #SD Gundam #Animal Crossing

[teaveetamer]

So I started thinking about how the Switch Gen 4 remake won’t feature the Poketch anymore (RIP one of the best uses of the bottom screen). So for fun I’m doing a ranking of:

The best uses of the bottom screen in the DS/3DS era Pokémon games.

(For the record I expect absolutely none of these rankings to be controversial but we’ll see).

1) Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (PokeNav Plus)

The bottom screen functionality with the PokeNav was just superb. First we have AreaNav, and not only does it give you a map, but it tells you which trainers want a rematch, which areas have berries ready to harvest, secret base info, which Pokémon can be found in the area, and you can conveniently just tap it to fly around.

And if that wasn’t enough you have the DexNav function, which allows you to easily track which Pokémon you have and haven’t caught in an area and adds some neat functionality to help with catching ‘mons you’ve already caught and obtaining hidden abilities and shinies.

Basically it does everything a good bottom screen should do: give you an easy shortcut to do things instead of constant menuing and provide you with vital information at a glance.

2) Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum (Poketch)

(This one was really close to first, by the way)

The Poketch was an amazing, if a bit clunky, tool. I didn’t fully utilize it when I first played the game (mostly because I was a kid at the time and didn’t quiiiiite understand how useful it was) but it’s literally invaluable. A clock, a calculator, memo pad, pedometer, dowsing machine, berry tracker, type matchup checker, you name it and there’s probably an app for it.

I’d rate it slightly over the PokeNav because it features a lot of apps that do things you’d normally have to go see an NPC for. No constant flying to Verdanturf to check your friendship or being chained to Solaceon town to see if you’ve got eggs ready, for example.

There’s two reasons I put it below ORAS though.

There are apps that, while fun, are completely useless (e.g. coin flip). This was particularly obnoxious in Diamond and Pearl because the Poketch could only switch apps one way, so if you accidentally skipped the app you wanted to use you had to cycle aaaaall the way back around. Not a huge deal at the beginning of the game but if you have all 25 or so apps it’s tedious. Thankfully this was fixed in Platinum.

Apps can be a little obscure to obtain and easy to miss. Some of them are even locked to post game, which sort of defeats the purpose unless you intend to play a lot after you’ve beaten the game.

3) HeartGold and SoulSilver (Menu, Run Button, Registered Items)

Heart Gold and Soul Silver had some nice functionality, even if it wasn’t as flashy as ORAS or DPPt. Having the menu on the bottom screen at all times, to easily click into the bag or wherever you needed, was nice. What really made it stand out was the extra functionality it had. The run button, for easy one handed grinding, is one of the more beloved things. This was also the first game that allowed for multiple registered items (two, doesn’t hold a candle to what Black and White did but it was a game changer for the time)

4) X and Y (Pokemon-Amie, Super Training, and the Player Search System)

If I could put a dividing line here then hoooo boy I would. From here down I really don’t think any of these games utilized their bottom screens well, it’s just a matter of picking the least bad ones.

Now credit where it’s due, the PSS did give easy access to the GTS of the time, but otherwise it’s only really useful if you do a lot of online competitive stuff (which, personally, I did not). Super Training was also incredibly useful for easily EV training your Pokémon (which, granted, I did not do a lot of because Pokémon games are easy enough without that). Pokémon-Amie is a very cute distraction, though not one I would give up my entire bottom screen for to have it at the ready.

It’s not necessarily that these are bad features, it’s just that they’re all extremely optional and they could have done so much more with it. And we see how much more they did with it in ORAS, where all three of these functions are included on top of the Area and DexNav functionality!

5) Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 (C Gear)

A massive step down from Gen 4 to say the least. It’s kind of a rudimentary PSS, but it only works with people in your immediate area (which means it’s completely useless unless you have people nearby also playing these games at the same time as you). That’s basically all it does.

The coolest thing was changing the skins, but apparently as of 2014 you can no longer do that since they tied that to their now defunct online servers for these games.

6) Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon (Rotom Dex)

Somehow the last 3DS game also managed to have the most garbage bottom screen of them all. It’s basically a glorified map showing you exactly where you are in real time, in a series where routes and towns are not complicated enough to warrant such a function. It’s only other use is basically to be a quick button to your pokedex and to give you hints.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon did absolutely nothing to improve on this. Instead of adding more functionality or features, they gave the Rotom dex a relationship score (?) and “more personality” which is... yeah not what I use my bottom screen for guys. Also I didn’t even realize it existed until I was making this list and looked the thing up to make sure I covered all of the features.

#TBH I'm putting off trying to catch pokemon for an all steel type run of Platinum #That's the other reason this exists now

[atlas-the-worldbuilder]

Final thoughts on Pokemon Sword/Shield

So in case you weren’t aware (which is most of you, I’m sure), a few months ago I started a Pokemon Shield blind Nuzlocke Run.  And recently, I completed the main portion of the Nuzlocke by defeating the Champion.  Having played through the game, though, I thought I’d give my final thoughts on it as a Pokemon fan, a gamer, and as a storyteller.

The Story & Characters

In all honesty, I rather enjoyed the main story of this game.  The Pokemon League has always been presented like a professional sport (at least in the anime/cartoon), so it’s fun to see the games taking that perspective and rolling with it.  It felt like an actual tournament/championship, to compete for the title in an officially organized manner, rather than just running a gauntlet of preset combatants.

In addition, I liked how they incorporated both the gym leaders and our rivals into the league story as not only combatants, but also as individuals with their own lives and aspirations.  Marnie and Team Yell are adorable, Hop is... mostly tolerable, thus far, but by far my favorite rival character has been Bede, the Psychic/Fairy trainer.  His haughty and prideful demeanor make him a delight to defeat, and his arc is a wonderful story to see unfold.  I’m really curious to see what he gets up to in the after-story! The Gym Leaders are also fun to meet and battle; the Pokemon games as a whole have been gradually attempting to give more and more character to each of the Gym Leaders you meet, beyond just trials to overcome on your journey to victory.  And while I always have a soft spot for the Hoenn & Sinnoh gyms, I like that they opted to have the Gym Leaders return in place of having more Elite Four members to fight  I only wish I could get more opportunities to get to know them better, cuz there’s some standout leaders from this batch which I truly enjoy!

My biggest complaint with Sword/Shield’s story, though, has been the “Heroic Quest” plotline which has become increasingly common these days.  I like the character of Sonia the researcher, and Oleana is satisfying to watch lose, my biggest complaint has been the pacing of the plot; the first 2/3rd’s of the story are us teaming with Sonia to gradually get the backstory revealed to us, and then in the last half hour, right as the Tournament’s getting underway, all the villains suddenly crawl from beneath the floorboards and run amok while you have to chase them down!  There didn’t feel like there was a proper buildup explaining why the villain wanted to summon the legendary Pokémon, especially one which we heard next to nothing about! This brings about an interesting idea, however... what if instead, they had completely forgone any Legendary-Summoning stories until after the league?  Honestly, I was way more invested challenging the gyms and fighting the champion than I was stopping the literal POKEMON APOCALYPSE from happening... so what if for future games, they saved those for after you became champion?  As a sort of test of your skills, to prove your worth to bear the mantle you have taken!  Maybe it wouldn’t have meshed well, maybe they needed to show of the game mascot more, I dunno...  it’s just my thoughts.

The GamePlay

THEY FINALLY LET US TURN OF THE GODS-FORSAKENED TUTORIALS!!!  PRAISE THE ALL-FATHER!!!

Ahem... In all honesty, I think I’d grown a bit too used to the 2nd screen of the DS-series games, but after a couple days of getting used to the mono-screen style again, I am pleased to say I found it very easy to settle back into.  Though there are still some features I wish would make a return (the HM moves as opposed to public transportation, poison’s effect while walking, wild double battles, etc.), there are alot of fun mechanics introduced and remedies to older problems that have been introduced!

I think one feature which hasn’t had much said about it is the introduction of the Poke-Jobs system; this system allows you to send your Pokémon out on timed “away missions” to gain both experience and items.  In the old days, if you wanted to passively level your pokemon, the only real option you had without introducing a second player was the Daycare center, and they could only raise two pokemon at once... and you had to pay for it.  With Poke-Jobs, though, I can send anywhere from 5-10 teammates out for whatever amount of time I want them to be out for, and then come back later to see them lively and with goodies to show for their work! At first, I didn’t think I’d get much use out of this system; I, like many players out there I’m sure, prefer to guide my pokemon’s training personally, honing their movesets and guiding their levelling and points the way I want from them.  But as I progressed further in my Nuzlocke, and as my daily life became busier and busier, I found myself sending my backup teammates out on jobs to keep them on par with my main team.  Given that the Move Deleter/Tutor and Name Rater are now services that have been rolled into the Pokemon Center, yet another good thing this series has done, I found it much easier to keep my reserve Pokemon prepared in case I needed a substitution. Some Nuzlocke “Purists” may call that taking the easy way out, but... frankly, I don’t have the willpower to do that much grinding.  I’m here to play a game and have fun doing it, dammit.

The Wild Area is another thing I’ve wanted to see from Pokemon for a long time - taking more steps to make the regions seem like an open world, with vast sprawling environments full of pokemon and secrets to uncover.  I’ll admit, though, the execution is... not entirely perfect.  While open expanses are fun to explore, the Wild Area did seem a bit... flat to traverse.  And while the weather mechanics translating into battle are fun to deal with, the same sets of wild pokemon appearing did start to wear me down.  I think what the Wild Area really needed, in the long run, was a system similar to how Black/White/Black2/White2 did - having seasonal progression ingame, where different pokemon would show up during different seasons, making the different places unique and novel all over again throughout the year. And for the record, many of my gripes with the Wild Area were addressed in the Isle of Armor’s expansion island.  VASTLY superior, and much more fun to navigate and traverse.

...I’ll openly admit this: I was not a fan of Mega Evolution when it was first introduced in X/Y.  I felt it was fine enough to see Pokemon battling without power boosts or “digi-volving” or whatever you wanna call it.  When Sun/Moon Introduced Z-Moves, it felt like a step in the right direction, but at the same time, I ended up not using it very often.  If I had to have a power boost to my pokemon, I would want it something that couldn’t be used as a crutch when the going gets tough - something that has a limited usability, and offers benefits specific to the time it’s being used. I say this because I initially approached Dynamax the same way: as just another power boost to level the playing field and shake up the battle meta which I don’t keep track of.  However, after barely surviving all 8 gym leaders without using a single dynamax pokemon, I decided to give it a chance: after having completed the Isle of Armor’s subplot and gaining access to the Max Soup, I fed it to my Toxtricity Spike, and started running dynamax raids.  As I started using it more and more, I started gaining a certain appreciation for it that I hadn’t before; this was something written in to being a unique cultural effect!  This literally is imagining Pokemon as Kaiju!  And for the most part, it works! While I still feel mega-lvl-power-boosts in pokemon are a huge waste, at the very least I can say Dynamax didn’t leave me with too bad a taste in my mouth.  I do hope, however, that Dynamax stays a Sword/Shield exclusive power; given it’s cultural importance in Galar, and how Mega-Evolution was in the previous generation, I think having power boosts specific to regions works better than having the same stuff used across the board for every meta onwards,

What Do I hope for the Future?

I can’t say for sure if they’ll release a sequel game for Sword/Shield, but if they do... I would want them to make these minor changes:

Hold off the Heroic plot for after the League plot; devote the main first half of the game to just the gyms and league story like was done here, and then save meeting uber-god-tier Pokémon for after you’ve claimed the title of Champion.

Having said that, fix the pacing of how the Eternatus/Darkest Day subplot feels as it’s being played out.  Offer us more insight into Rose and Oleana’s mindsets as they go about their business, and give us more coherent exposition from our field trips with Prof. Sonia. 

Fix how the Wild Area looks - give it more variations for each sub-region and offer more varieties of habitats, like in the Isle of Armor.  Or, alternatively, try to implement a seasonal mechanic to make the same areas change over the year, opening new paths and new avenues to explore!

Let Bede defeat Oleana.  Give my boy some closure.

Allow us to see and interact with the Gym Leaders outside of the gyms more.  I had, like, barely 2 lines of dialogue with Nessa, and even less for Milo.  Not asking for a whole lot, just a bit more to tie us into who they are as people.  Piers is best big brother.  <3

That’s all I had written for now.  If y’all want a biography of my champion team for my Shield Nuzlocke, let me know, and I’ll scrap a post together! <3

#Pokemon #Pokemon Sword Shield #Demotivated Review #Video Game #Atlas the Worldbuilder #nobody's gonna care about this #but that's ok

[stillchaoticlogic]

Such a Tease: Chapter 1

Pairing: (Aged) Gary/Blue Oak x Reader

Summary: After a tragedy, you make the decision to quit your career as a trainer and focus on breeding Pokemon for the general population. You are one of the best in the region. You aren’t expecting the have to deal with your childhood rival and crush suddenly popping back into your life. After all, Gary Oak broke your heart and now you are determined to break his… or are you?

NOTES:*This is my very first pokemon story written many many years ago. I’ve decided to revamp it and see what happens! I hope you enjoy a little Gary / Blue love! I will kinda be combing the anime and game versions and I may or may not have just bought the manga to read… It will kinda be my take on these characters. Ash may become more like Red, but I haven’t really decided yet… I’m just having fun with this!*

Getting Started The alarm sounds much too soon for anyone’s liking and groggily you roll over and hit snooze. Too bad that doesn’t work. The annoying jingling in your ear continues much to your half-asleep dismay, finally opening your eyes you see the source of the noise at such a forsaken time of the morning it’s coming from Jingle Bells your Chimecho. You sigh in exasperation at her before hauling yourself up out of bed making her promptly stop. You roll your eyes as she merely floats in front of you staring up at you with devious innocence; you swear she has been hanging around Missy, your Mismagius for far too long. You yawn as you make your way past her into the bathroom to get ready for the day. 

You had spent all of last night moving into your new center and you were dead. Jingle has been your faithful companion and alarm clock for years at this point, but perhaps she is a little overzealous at times. Especially when it’s five o’clock in the morning and the world isn’t even awake yet. 

After you have prepared yourself for a day of decorating, arranging, unpacking and sorting, you head down the stairs to the oversized kitchen, which you soon realize has yet to be stocked. Upon this realization, your tummy comes to the conclusion that it needs something and now; so to alert you to such feelings it lets out a rather large growl. You sigh for the umpteenth time this morning and grab your purse and keys as you head out the door. Lady saunters after you, since she isn’t ever too far behind, taking her sweet time to meander out the door at her dignified pace. You merely chuckle at her and close the door behind her when she finally reaches the outside. As you begin your walk to the town she matches her pace with yours easily.

Looking down at her you say, “Alright Lady dear, how about we stop at that café I saw in town for breakfast then over to the store? We’ll do some shopping to get us in the mood for decorating!”

“Espi!” she exclaims in agreement as the two of you continue through the gardens toward the forest.

You love the location of your breeding center you must admit. It is rather beautiful and so private. A decent size of the forest had been cleared to make room for it, but you made sure that all the wood that was cleared went to building something. Even a natural spring ran through your property down to a pond that was surrounded by trees and flowers. Flower gardens add to the picturesque front of the house which is at least 3 stories high with a basement as well. Of course, your house will also be housing your staff and several of your Pokémon so you had to have a large house. 

The back of the house wasn’t anything less breathtaking with herb and vegetable gardens for cooking purposes as well as medical. Off to the right side, a massive barn looking structure would be the home of the Pokémon that you would be breeding and training. The entire grounds were enclosed with a high-security system, invisible to the naked eye and impossible to enter or leave except at the designated locations. Oh yes, it is quite a sight to behold and it better be for what you have invested in it. This is your one shot at your dream. You hope that it works considering all of your earnings, winnings, and savings had gone into this sucker.

The sun played through the canopy of the trees as you and Lady make your way to town. Neither of you cares about the time or the distance, after all, the two of you have been travelers for so long that such things have merely become irrelevant. The relaxing silence is what you need considering the hustle and bustle of the past few days. Getting moved in has been an experience all in itself one you don’t need for quite some time. 

The tunnel of trees ends and you are greeted with the sight of Route one and merely ten feet away, Viridian City. The city has grown since your departure several years prior and you rather like the changes made. You allow your memory to lead you to the café you saw while walking through town a few days ago. It’s a cozy place full of big comfy couches and armchairs as well as outdoor tables and chairs under a gazebo. The lighting was bright from the rays coming in through the various windows and skylights. You could see various plants and such growing in the flower beds that surround it giving it a cheery vibe. Upon entering you make your way up to the counter and begin to look up at the drinks posted up on the sign as well as the array of sweet cakes and such that line the pastry case before you.

“Hi! How are you today?” chirps the girl behind the counter, how she chirps at six in the morning you will never know, but appreciate the sentiment anyway.

“I’m good, thanks,” You answer with a pleasant smile.

“So, what can I get for you?”

After you have placed your order and gotten something for Lady as well you make your way over to a table in the corner by a window. You begin to people watch as you sit in a more or less daze just taking in the town.

“Are you new to town?” interrupts a voice beside you.

“Huh?” you question turning to see the girl from behind the counter cleaning a nearby table. She smiles pleasantly and repeats the question.

“Oh, I’m from Pallet town originally, but have been traveling for the past fifteen years. I’ve just recently decided to move back to start my own breeding center.”

“OH!!! So you’re the owner of that new breeding center on Route One! That is sooo cool!!! I’ve always wanted to be a Pokémon breeder just like my brother. And one day I will, but right now I don’t even have a Pokémon.” You frown at how her excitement became disappointment so quickly.

“Well, I do own a breeding center…. And I do need help… And I do have plenty of Pokémon….”

She turns to you her eyes getting very wide with each statement you make.

“Really!? Do you really mean what I think you mean?!?!”

“Well do you have any experience at all with Pokémon?”

“Yeah! My brother taught me a lot!! He’s a great breeder, but he has been traveling for a while trying to get more rare Pokémon to breed. So, I haven’t really got to see him a lot.”

“That’s ok, stop by sometime tomorrow and we’ll see about getting you a job. I’m going to see how you do with some of the Pokémon before I do though ok?”

“Ok!! That sounds great!! Oh! I need to get back to work. Bye, see you tomorrow!!”

You smile and nod at the enthusiastic girl as she runs off behind the counter to serve the next customer. You are a little surprised to find a guy already sitting on the other side of the café sipping his coffee and reading the morning paper with an Umbreon sitting to his right eyeing your Espeon with interest. Lady merely ignores him as she continues to eat the bit of pastry you had given her for breakfast.

“You’re such a heartbreaker Lady,” you chuckle as you glance back over to the Umbreon only to see who his trainer is.

One: Gary Oak.

At the mere sight of him, you are quite sure that every ounce of maturity, intelligence, grace, and confidence that you had collected over the past fifteen years dissolves in a vat of childish hopes and dreams that were crushed beneath his foot. You swallow hard at the feelings swirling around inside of you at the sight of him. Fighting hard against them, you make it a point to get up and leave, slipping your sunglasses on in the process to avoid any unnecessary conflict. Lady sensing your discomfort leaps upon your shoulder and glares both the male and his Umbreon down the whole way out the door. You sigh in relief, letting out the breath you didn’t know you were holding, the moment you are out of sight of the café, your shoulders relax allowing you to calm yourself down. Lady looks up at you questioningly, concern and confusion laced in the waves she is sending you. You look down and smile in reassurance at your best friend, knowing that no matter what happens she will always be there for you.

Shaking off the surprise from seeing the boy who broke your fifteen-year-old heart you continue your day as planned. Lady helps you pick out the decor, sheet sets, and curtains. Thankfully you have already picked out appliances and you don’t need to worry about them. You head to the store to stock up on groceries and giggle when Lady levitates snacks she likes into the cart. You roll your eyes at her antics but allow her to indulge all the same. 

A very sincere part of you can’t get Gary out of your head though. You had adored him when you were younger, definitely against your better judgment. He was arrogant and stuck up, but he was smart, cool and confident as well. As he gained success as a trainer you had just fallen for him even more. Five years after setting out on your journey you ran into him at a competition and worked up the nerve to ask him out. Not only had he rejected you but he had laughed in your face. To this day you recall the embarrassment you felt as you ran from his jeers. 

Despite the passage of time, you still felt like that fifteen-year-old today when you saw him in the cafe. You groan as you roll your eyes at yourself. 

“What is wrong with you?! You went on to be one of the strongest trainers in the region! You are considered one of the best in the business. You don’t care about some stupid boy.”

With a final nod of your head indicating that this internal conversation is over you focus on getting Gary Oak out of your head onto the task at hand. You have a lot to do and you don’t have time to worry about him.

Notes: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I’m pretty excited about revamping this story. Please like reblog and comment to show some love! 

#pokemon #pokemon fanfiction #pokemon scenarios #pokemon imagines #blue oak #green oak #gary oak #gary oak x reader #blue oak x reader #blue oak x you #blue x you #blue x reader #green x reader #green oak x reader #green oak x you

[hey-hamlet]

Quarentine Recs

What with everyone munching through media like my dog munching on anything that could be considered edible, I thought I’d throw some general recomendations into the ring! Everything here is hopefully something you can start right away without needing to leave your house, if you’re ok with some quasi-legal pirating.

To watch: 

Ore Monogatari / My Love Story Romance / Comedy One Season Fluff to the max, Gouda Takeo is a massive first year highschool student of exeptional size and strength. While hes popular with the boys, most girls think he’s strange. When he saves Yamoto Rinko from a creep on the train its love at first sight, but she’s convinced she’d into his hot friend. Comdey follows.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama / Somali and the Forest Spirit Drama / Fantasy / Good Dad Golem  12 Epsiode Season In a world where humans have been hunted right to the edge of extinction, one golem and his human charge journey in search of the remaining few to reuninte Somali with her kind. Golems live very long lives, but finite ones, and Somali’s guardian is reaching the end of his. I’m two episodes away from finishing it but its really sweet, great dad content featuring multiple guest dads and their children. Somali is so sweet she’ll give you a toothache

Isekai Shokudou / Restaurant to Another World Slice of Life / Fantasy / Is food a genre? Because food Every Saturday this restaurant closes it’s doors to the public and recives visitors from another world. There isn’t much plot here but it will make you very hungry and strangely greatful for processed flour, canola oil and freezers. I’m pretty sure the chef is voiced by Aizawa’s Japanese VA and its amazing.

Gravity Falls Mystery / Drama / Comedy Two Seasons A Classic - A set of twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines wind up spending their summer holiday with their sketchy grat uncle Stan. But, as they soon find out, the town is not what it seems.

Features loads of action, fun mystery and loads of twists set up so well you’ll kick yourself! Good family relationships with rounded characters and fun villains. This series has a special place in my heart as something I grew up watching when I was twelve, and it finished in my second last year of highschool, its just a great story. The comedy is really only big in the first season and dies down fast when things get serious. Be prepared to hate a tiny 10-ish year old boy.

Steven Universe / Steven Universe Future  Comedy / Drama / Slow Burn / Action Six Seasons Considering it just finished, now is a great time to start. Steven Universe is a bubbly young boy who lives with the Crystal Gems, a strange set of gem creatures who knew his mother. Steven is half gem himself and the show features him growing up and helping the people around him grow as well. 

The show is slow and starts a little rough but its very sweet and ernest. Steven Universe Future is far darker than the original show (but, a minor spoiler, does have a happy ending) so be careful!

Over the Garden Wall Mystery / Drama / Supernatural 10 Episode Miniseries  Two half brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves in a part of the forest they don’t recognise with no clue how they got there. The deeper they go, the stranger it gets and the less certain their escape may be. And whats all this talk of a beast? 

This show has Wirt learning how to be a good big brother along with some delightful autumnal scenery and American gothic fantasy elements. I recomend you sit down with some tea and baked goods and watch it like a movie.

To play: 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch Brand new and very popular, you play a human on an island with delightful animal neighbours. Make friends, customise your island and live your life to the fullest! Features local and online mutliplayer with up to 8 people. Also feel free to play it with me because its taking over my life!

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles PC / Play Station 4 / Nintendo Switch / X Box One A sweet open world indie adventure and exploration game with farming and fantasy elements. You find yourself shipwrecked on a strange island with only your magic compass that I can’t remember the name of to guide you. This game is mostly about expolaration and discovery and the enviroment is pretty enough that it works well.

Niche PC A boardgame like turnbased strategy that has you controlling a small group of creatures and tinkering with their genetics and breeding to try and survive the harsh world around you. Cute creatures, fun game.

Temtem PC A pokemon-like MMO that sees you capturing creatures call Temtem to fight for you. The game is still in early access so keep that in mind, but it’s pretty fun and the creatures are very well designed. 

Guild Wars 2 PC FREE TO PLAY VERSION AVALIBLE The only MMORPG I’ve ever played but boy it’s spoilt me. A one time purchase lets you experience the world of Tyria where you can play as one of 5 races or one of 9 classes. The personal story is great (unless you’re me and have played the sylvari stories so many times you can quote half of the lines) and the post game story gets real fast. Asside from that, its a really pretty game thats super fun with one of the nicer communities I’ve ever experienced. Co-operation is encouraged and the dynamic event system will have you playing with puppies one minute and murdering a giant undead behemoth the next. I have sunk so many hours in this game.

#recs #this took so long to type hh #lots of these are pretty popular but hopefull you'll find something new

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Entertainment Goals

There’s a lot of stuff about achievement goals, when you’re talking about organizing your life.

Let’s take a moment and optimize the fun. Because it’s easy to make the mistaken assumption that everything classified as entertainment will, to quote a dross-removal pro, spark joy. The reality is it’s perfectly possible to lose interest in something without that meaning anything is wrong with either you or it.

Also a lot of things intended to entertain are very badly made. And if you’ve spent money on them, that money’s gone, but your time can still be spared if you don’t force yourself to devote more hours to a bad game.

I originally had a list of a bunch of the games I have but don’t care to complete, but this is supposed to be a to-do list, not a “not to do” list or a bunch of postmortems for relationships I once had with various games.

Video Games

Bastion: Want to play at least an hour more, see what’s up with it.

Breath of the Wild: I really enjoyed the time I spent playing this, and I didn’t get close to finishing before I put it down! There’s a ton left to mess with, there.

Cultist Simulator: Want to do another run to attempt romance, as a concept within their systems. But not soon. Maybe a year from now.

Final Fantasy X: I’d like to actually beat this.

Final Fantasy X-2: Eventually - perhaps very eventually - I want to 100% this.

Final Fantasy XIV: There’s a bunch left there. I’ve listed off a bunch of the possibilities, but mostly I’m willing to focus on it as a social activity with my buddy Matt.

For the King: This looks really good and I haven’t touched it yet. I should set aside time for it!

Graveyard Keeper: I’m torn on this one! I’m worried that I won’t be willing to pick it back up without restarting from the beginning, but also that I’ll find a restart really damn boring. Maybe I’ll take a bit and see whether the journal system in the game is good enough to get me caught up with where I was.

Hades: I’d like to get to the closing credits on this. But for the sake of tuning my reflexes I kind of need to have it be the only reflex game I’m playing when I’m playing it.

Hollow Knight: Maybe. I was surprised by how un-grabbed I was. Maybe it got over-hyped, or maybe it just hit me when Metrovania wasn’t what I was in the mood for. But it definitely deserves another shot. If I feel the urge to revisit a -vania I’ve already played, I should shunt that urge into playing this instead.

KH3: I’m maybe 2/3 through normal content. I have no interest in high-skill play of this game; Its secret megabosses and challenge dungeons. But I would like to finish out the regular story sometime.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: I want to do the storyline. In spite of my normal predilections, I may have to force myself to pick a team and play straight through, not try and level every member of the enormous roster up to max.

Monster Hunter Rise: This will be my Wednesday nights 8-10 with friends, for the next few years.

Pokemon Shield: Basically the same problem as MUA3. I want to finish, but if I try to catch ‘em all and level them all I end up spending exponentially more time between actual game events and the math of it catches up to what I’m willing to put in somewhere between gyms 5 and 6. But I bet if I just pick a team and play, I can finish.

Books

Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett

Shadow - Robin McKinley

Venus Envy - Rita Mae Brown

Green Kitty - Alexandra Faer Bryan

Anime

Rather than picking out specific series, I think the plan there is just to get back into the habit of watching maybe 1-2 episodes a day. But specifically no more than that. I do think I’ll watch ~12 series at once, interspersing shorter and longer offerings and starting things at different times so something’s always on the way in as something else is concluding. The 4 longer series to run while I’m doing regular 13-ep shows between will be Slayers, Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

Walking

I got into the habit of taking a walk with mom. Mom doesn’t have a ton of energy. So the walk I take with her isn’t as much walking as I need for the day, either for exercise or for reverie.

Meditation

I get the idea of splitting out meditation from entertainment...but I’m not gonna.

D&D

I’m running 2 weekly games and playing in 3 biweekly games. I do wish I could assemble The Dream Team - a bunch of fave players from over the years, who’ve never played together and who I haven’t gotten to play with in a while - but that last bit is generally because most of them are really damn busy. And also if I’m realistic I hardly have the time to run the 2 games I’m running.

Cooking

At least once every 2 weeks it’d be cool to run a cross-analysis between the Joy of Cooking and the contents of my house and see if I can’t make something tasty I’ve never made before.

D&D Podcasts

Limits are 1 series at a time, and 1 hour a day. There are too many hours of game being produced at a time to hear it all. We’ll see how I feel about doing another series after I get caught up to the present on The C Team.