#I’ve been playing Mario odyssey at night

[babymorte]

i should have saved my blast for today there’s no point in sleeping now

[tree-of-olives]

Okay. Here it is. I’m here to tell you about my current, most beloved main source of brairot–Arcade Army!! (title subject to change probably but its what i’m going with for now) Rambling under the cut this was like 2 pages in google docs so.this is your warning😭

Okay so!! The project was first thought up around 2 years ago, but I just picked it up again pretty recently. And oh my god. It’s so fun to make but also it makes me feel physically and mentally ill having all these characters to myself.

The basic premise of Arcade Army is that there’s an arcade with a bunch of games in it (wow, shocker) and each game is a part of its own world. After the arcade itself closes for the night, the place operates in a wreck-it-ralph style where characters can leave their games, go to other ones, or spend time in the connection center, where the games are connected in districts based on their location in the arcade.

In order to tell the story I want to, I’ve been working on creating 12 different fictional arcade games, each with their own characters, worlds and game mechanics. And let me tell you. The amount of ocs I’ve been making.mindblowing. Even the ones that I scrapped ALONE are making me insane (i love them all dearly) Anyway, here’s some brief overviews of a few of the games and characters:

FASHIONMANIA FIGHT CLUB:

In the world the arcade resides in, there’s a popular web game called FashionMania where players compete to create the best outfits in online competition mode, and in story mode work to rise to the top of FashionMania Highschool’s fashion aesthetic-based social hierarchy. Due to the original game’s success, its developers decided the next move would be to create an arcade game with FashionMania’s characters, where main bosses and favorite side characters are opponents in a school-approved after school fight club. Players start by creating an outfit combo using one randomly selected item and 2 other alternating selections of items that they have to correctly time to get a perfect outfit match bonus (think about that one timing game in mario odyssey where you have to jump at the right time at the desert casino place.i cannot explain it better but its like that*). Once that’s done, it turns into a fighting game where they go against the various characters and attempt to rise to the top to be known as the best fighter in FashionMania history! (side note, all characters in both the original FashionMania and the arcade game have a unique animal motif, some more obvious than others)

(*like a slot machine. I meant a slot machine.)

KITTASTROPHE:

The final boss of the FashionMania arcade game, Kittastrophe–known as Katelyn in the original game, Kittastrophe being a title she uses only in the fight club–is the most powerful character of the most popular game in the arcade. Because of this, she co-leads the arcade with Newsflash. Despite being a bit arrogant at times, she takes her job as a leader very seriously and provides help to those who need it. Cat themed, but specific type of cat is undetermined rn

NEWSFLASH:

You know those games where a car is eternally going forward and has to alternate between 3 lanes and avoid things on the road? (like this:

) That’s the type of game Newsflash is!! The game itself is named after its antagonist, a former weatherman that gained the ability to change weather at his will and uses said power to make the player’s drive hell, placing tornados, lightning and hail on the three roads. His power makes him the most powerful person in all of the arcade, much more powerful than Kittastrophe (who he leads the arcade alongside, as mentioned before). Despite his seemingly “evil-for-fun” nature, he wants the best for the arcade, though he has fun playing more into his evil appearance for laughs (though not everyone believes/can tell those types of remarks are jokes, causing some to be intimidated by him). He’s also gay, specifically very gay for one guy in particular–Trevor.

^^ He hovers over the car like that.he’s giant in his game but he can change size when convenient (dont ask about his design yet ive been fighting to come up with something worthy.)

TREVIA:

A trivia game hosted by hit guy Trevor!!! Notably Trevor does not have a head (Or maybe it’s invisible? The world may never know) He wears a blue suit, a pink necktie in the shape of an upside down T (for trevor.because it’s funny. also notably an uppercase T because it is NOT a cross) and white gloves. He’s passionate about his gameshow and an enthusiastic host, but also paranoid and anxious about a lot of things. Unfortunately for Newsflash, Trevor falls into the category of being very afraid of him, and is completely oblivious to anything that could possibly be taken as flirting or even a friendly compliment due to his own overwhelming fear that Newsflash will suddenly decide he wants Trevor electrocuted mid-interaction. He is Bi however so Newsy has a chance!!maybe

(his game is shaped like one of these, except imagine the steering wheels are each 1 big buzzer button with 4 smaller buttons above them to pick abcd for the trivia)

Anyway! I have so much work to do with this but its so fun i do not care at all.this will take me years there is no chance it won’t but progress is progress and hopefully one day i’ll have all 12 worlds (plus the extra secret thing that explains the army part of the title) and all their characters made detailed and set in stone!! The plan is to make it a visual novel eventually (or an rpg if it takes another decade and i get too ambitious) that’ll come out in parts. The game will (hopefully!) include minigames based on the concepts i have for each of the arcade games (though with my very very basic coding knowledge that will be a learning curve in and of itself but hey!! That’s a future me problem)

So! My big main things to do list: 1, Create 30+ unique characters and determine their relationships with the other characters. 2, Design the locations and general “story”/world of each individual game. 3, Design the actual arcade cabinets (minor milestone but important.to me) and 4, tie it all together in story format!!

Also I’ll need to draw all the sprites and backgrounds and stuff but that’s wayy out there (and an intimidating task) so i will not be worrying about that right now! By the time im done with those other parts my art will probably improve enough to make basic sprites so.yeah. Or I’ll enlist people to help me which would probably be a better idea but again those are bitty details right now. Okay expect to either hear either nothing about this for months or ill never shut up about it.buhbye

(also thank you @nami-moittli for the encouragement and for inadvertently reminding me i made a doc last year with like 400 picrew links that i buried in my google drive, that will be very useful for my cause here :))

ohmy god i need to be able to draw decently so bad im going so insane over my oc project IM GOING TOEXPLODE

miight do an infodump type thing about it soon because.ough. oomf. mybrain is rocks in a tumbler slowly yet rapidly turning into incomprehensible mush

[seansilv25]

Well, it’s finally been one full year. And to follow up on a post from 6 months ago (goddamn) here’s my tier list of all the visual media I experienced (personal descriptions for anything from the first 6 months can be found on that post)

John Mulaney From Scratch: I actually saw this live on stage instead of seeing him through Netflix for a change. ‘‘Twas a riot

Sonic Frontiers: This game is peak and IT’S TIME TO FACE YOUR FEEEEARRS!!! CAUSE WHEN YOUR TIME HAS COME AND GOOOOOONE!!! (This game is the shit and it got snubbed at the game awards)

Chainsaw Man: I loved it when Denji said “it’s chainsawin’ time” then proceeded to chainsaw the place up. Truly the anime of all time (But really, This was great and Kick Back slaps)

The Boys: Butcher said it best “Fuckin’ diabolical”

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: damn... just damn... (Sena best girl BTW)

Baki: absolutely bat-shit insane. I love it

Shadow the Hedgehog Real-Time Fandub: you ever notice how basically each dub has the main villain freaking out over something Shadow did? And here, Da Devil from Da Bible keeps it going

Werewolf by Night: ok that was just cool

Glitch Techs: Nicktoons... FOR GAMERZ!!!

Dragon Ball Super Broly: animation; spectacular. Story flow; strange. Broly; maximum. Hotel; Trivago

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R: cool references, off-feeling physics. Overall, pretty Di Molto

Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: oh hey, Mantis gets some actual screen time! Neat!

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Nic Cage playing Nic Cage. CAGECEPTION

The Boys Presents Diabolical: not as diabolical, but still neat

Scoobynatural: I’m not counting this as the entirety of Supernatural because it was just this episode. Interesting to say the least

American Psycho: look at that subtle, off-white filmmaking. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my god, it even has a watermark. (Interesting to say the least. Now let’s see Paul Allen’s movie)

Sonic Prime: Doctor Strange 2 except Sonic and better somehow

Johnny Test (Netflix): Y’Know it’s (whipcrack) actually not that (whipcrack) bad a cartoon (whipcrack x2)

Rise of the TMNT Movie: I still prefer the 2012 series, but still cool

Tekken Bloodline: so this is Tekken, huh? Boxy shadows n’ all?

Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods: honestly the one part I really liked was the “I WILL NOT LET YOU DESTROY MY WOOOOORLD!!!” Part. Sean popped the fuck off there

Black Adam: cool, I suppose (But is it still about drive, still about power? Do we still stay hungry and do we still devour?)

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure: spoopy And decent

Oddballs: alright, but I think we all know James can do better than this

2001 a Space Odyssey: ...sorry, I think my brain left the chat for a moment. What the fuck even happened here?!

Gremlins 2: “Gremlins 2”? More like “Grem-MID 2”

Well, that marks the end of the year. Let’s pray the next one is at least a little better (Mario Movie, HERE WE COME!!!)

Oh, and one last thing: I’m finally getting close to releasing something I’ve had in the works for at least a year now. Stay tuned for the full story (and I do mean “story”)

[mattbflatt-loves-starset]

STARSET and The Right Way to Start an Album

Have you ever listened to a newly released album by your favorite artist, and right after hearing the first song, you can’t help but think “Hot damn, this is gonna be amazing”? That’s because the first song in an album is incredibly significant to drawing an audience in and establishing the tone of what’s to come. If you do it the right way, people will keep listening, vehemently searching for more. Cinematic rock band STARSET has this alluring motion down to a science, while also deviating from the norm ever so slightly. Each of their albums starts with a small, prologue-type song, followed by a track that purely and unequivocally kicks ass. If you don’t feel even the slightest shift in emotion after hearing the start of a STARSET album, then to quote one of my favorite childhood youtubers: “Brush yourself off man, because you are dead.” -videogamedunky Super Mario Odyssey (dunkview), 2017.

In chronological order of release, the very beginning of STARSET’s saga begins with their album Transmissions, and both the prologue track “First Light” and their first full track “Down With The Fallen” released with the album back in 2014. The prologue has a very intense electronic track, with harsh percussion, spoken lines distorted by a radio filter, and a small string orchestra infused with a drum kit forcing the intensity to grow over time. As the texture of the music thickens, our narrator enters and begins talking to the listener, as if they’re revealing a plan. My personal favorite line from this sequence is “Once you had the power to affect monumental change, would you let fear consume? Or would you overcome?” 

STARSET – First Light Lyrics 

First Light 

The prologue ends with a segue straight into “Down With The Fallen”, in which the listener hears only the pulse of a heartbeat monitor and the first melodic idea of the first full track. Within only a minute and 24 seconds, the dark and pervading sinister tone is set, the album begins, and you realize the most striking thing about this group’s music… they’re telling a story.

Starset - Down With the Fallen (audio) 

Following the timeline, the next album to release is Vessels, which came out in early 2017. The first two tracks of this album are the prologue “The Order” and the song “Satellite”, which follow the same formula as Transmissions, but with a much different execution. There are no words in the prologue at all, and no words are needed. In fact, there is only one musical idea that is developed throughout the entire thing. It begins with what sounds like a solo cello, playing a descending minor third. This is repeated over and over again, and the texture thickens in a haunting manner. Muffled radios play in the background, more strings come in which introduce harmonizing parts, the electronic ambience grows, and the volume continues to crescendo into this horror film-esque high string tremolo, which then suddenly drops the listener into “Satellite”. 

The Order 

The first full track of this album has a much different tone than the prologue, moving into a much more up-beat love-themed rock song. It sounds incredible, and the creative decision here is very smart. The music of this album hides the subliminal themes within lyrics and background lore, a nice contrast to how on-the-nose Transmissions is.

Starset - Satellite (Official Audio) 

And finally, their most recent album, DIVISIONS, went back to the blunt storytelling of Transmissions, executed in a way that shows how much they’ve grown as a group. The prologue “A Brief History of the Future” hits hard with machinery, an officer of sorts yelling inaudible things, and then eventually, a narrator. This narrator is much different than the narrators that have said things on previous albums, as his voice is very clear, and his message is jarring. He tells of what society has crumbled into, and how he seeks “to know the truth” of what the real world is and how technology has controlled mankind (trying not to spoil anything here haha). There’s less of a build up during this prologue, and more of a progression, with a story that hooks the listener instantly. It’s clear that the focus of this prologue is the narrative STARSET has been developing over the years, and given how this album pans out, this is both appropriate and a very smart creative decision.

STARSET – A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FUTURE 

STARSET - A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FUTURE (Official Audio) 

The first full track DIVISIONS is “MANIFEST”, which is one of the dopest names ever for a rock song. What’s unique about this album is that there is no segue between the prologue and the first track, which is unlike the first two albums. The prologue in this album is much more conclusive, and gives a statement that allows the first track to stand on its own. “MANIFEST”, being one of the most popular tracks on DIVISIONS, goes VERY HARD, with some of the coolest guitar and high string parts I’ve ever heard in a rock song. Lead singer Dustin Bates’s voice shines well on this song, especially during the section right before the final chorus of the song, called the bridge. This section is the crowning jewel of this song, as Dustin’s high full voice singing combined with the INSANE kit part of STARSET drummer Adam Gilbert makes for such an angry, but passion-fueled part of the song. I have isolated this section and listened to it repeatedly many more times than I can count, it is THAT GOOD.

STARSET - MANIFEST (Official Music Video) 

STARSET is one of the best rock bands that are writing and touring today, and the way they start their albums is unlike any other band I’ve ever listened to. The future of this band is bright, and as an avid fan, I cannot WAIT to see what the future holds.

-Mattbflatt

UPDATE: STARSET’s newest album HORIZONS has just been teased! The album was revealed last night and their newest singles “THE BREACH” and “INFECTED” are now available! Take a listen!

STARSET - THE BREACH (Official Music Video) 

STARSET - INFECTED 

STARSET’s Youtube Channel: starsetonline 

Sources/Links (In Order Used):

https://genius.com/Starset-first-light-lyrics 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW3Zn4c9pVY 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW_FkaXeSwc 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlE1srK-Pp0 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCbdQNGBw9E 

https://genius.com/Starset-a-brief-history-of-the-future-lyrics 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXng1JE9dmk 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-sjOGAQQzA 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWkbUMQ4-88 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pggN6f4h4So 

[toukenramblings]

Video Games: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Aizen Kunitoshi, Atsushi Toushirou

Oh ho, a fun lil headcanon set like this is so funnnn~!

Warnings: Not much I suppose?

Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

Sweet MuMu adores video games where we can travel the world. Fantasy world, modern world, past, present, future, he don’t care! An open world game will suit him best! There’s so much to do, and like a lil puppy, MuMu want’s to explore it all!

Extra bonus points if there’s a part of the game where there is something to do with the ocean. He adores the sea after all! Boats, driving them, exploring the ocean, exploring the unknown, oh this TouDan will drink that shit up.

The games that come to mind are Assassin’s Creed: III, Black Flag, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla. Why? Most of them deal with exploring new lands and some of them deal with piloting ships! III, Black Flag, Odyssey, Origins, Valhalla to be more specific. Syndicate has guns and classy fashion. A little too much for Mutsunokami but he loves playing with the guns in the game - they are very similar in make to his own after all. he also rly likes the sea shanties in odyssey because i rly like them too

If Mutsunokami wants to relax and not play Assassin’s Creed where he goes around stabbing everything that moves, he will play Subnautica or Abzu or Journey to relax. Maybe even Animal Crossing! He loves the cute little animals but I personally think that games where he can just explore the world and meet new people and learn lore just make him happy the most.

Games MuMu would never play are horror games or anything with spiders in them. So Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are out. He loves the idea of gun-toting protagonists but nope, nope. Spiders? Bye fam.

Now that I think about it, he would just be Blathers. He can play Animal Crossing but Gods help him the minute he sees a spider in that damn game. “I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PEACEFUL GAME, WHY ARE THE SPIDERS TRYING TO KILL YOU” cue controller thrown at the television.

Oh MuMu adores party games! Can’t play Smash Bros or Mario Kart for shit. Watch him pay too much attention to the background and yeet himself off of the stage because he saw something shiny. He can kinda play though, but again he gets distracted the most. Buuut ask him to play Mario Party with the rest of the swords and damn right he will play!

Can and will make video games turn into a drinking game. MuMu adores competitive gaming with the rest of the citadel. Will start taking bets on who is gonna win and lose, and sure he may be a pouty loser but he’ll be fiine. But damn right he’ll yeet a tantou to ensure his win. No he won’t he’s not that cruel.

Mutsunokami also adores rhythm games! Taiko no Tatsujin because of Don-chan and the idea of playing with a lil taiko drum as a controller. He’s very much into music after all. There are times when he stops playing a game to just listen to the music and take it all in!

A guilty pleasure game he plays is probably Ghost of Tsushima. No he’s not checking out Jin’s ass whenever they go to a hot spring, what are you talking about? MuMu enjoys it because sometimes just going back to your roots and stabbing a ho is just what you need. dear khotun khan, eat shit

Aizen Kunitoshi

Aizen is also super big on rhythm games. As said above with Mutsunokami, Taiko no Tatsujin will be a favorite of his. He has a secret collection of Don-chan merch, no one is stopping him damn it. Just fucking tRY and take away his precious Don-chan(s). The only ones that can touch his prized collection are the rest of the Rai swords, other peeps he is close to, and maybe you if you two are close/you ask nicely. Get him some Don-chan pajamas and he’ll cry.

Aizen is also pretty good at fighting games, Street Fighter coming to mind because he adores over the top bullshit and the colors! The colors! He mains Ryu though, but he’s more than willing to try new characters!

He’s also pretty competitive at times, so he would adore playing fighting games with the rest of the swords at the citadel. Hotarumaru and he are always playing Smash Bros or Mario Kart, which ends up with a lot of broken controllers. Hotaru has been slightly banned from planning highly competitive gameplay though.

Other games that I know Aizen will be into will be Animal Crossing when he wants to relax. He loves the little yearly festivals and events in the games and it kinda mirrors how life works in the world. Of course he adores Digby and Isabelle, and has threatened Tom Nook with Hotarumaru before. “Don’t you cheat me you stupid tanuki, don’t make me get my brother in here.”

Games that Aizen cannot play are puzzle games. He doesn’t mind them, he just finds them really boring. He watches Akashi play them sometimes but even then, Akashi will conk the hell out. If you play them and have Aizen on your lap watching, Aizen will be amazed at how you are so good at them!

Aizen cannot deal with horror games or sad emotional games. He’s pretty emotional himself and will need a lot of hugs after. He will refuse to play Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons as they remind him of Hotarumaru and himself a lil too much. Horror games is because he’s too scared to. Hotarumaru doesn’t mind them, he likes playing them while Aizen and Akashi cling on to each other and scream in terror.

Aizen also loves games that not only have great music but the visuals and colors just catch his eye. Katamari Damacy comes to mind and he loves the main character a lot. The music! The colors! Ohh man its the best.

A guilty pleasure game he would love is the monster catching genre, Pokemon is an idea but he also loves Yokai Watch. Yokai Watch feels a lil more closer to home, plus Yokai Watch had a crossover with Taiko no Tatsujin! He immediately wasted no time and effort to try and recruit Don-chan. iM STILL TRYING TO GET DON-CHAN ON MY TEAM U LIL SHIt but also im rly biased towards yokai watch and digimon

This lil guy will also love collecting plushies of any characters of the games he plays! Don-chan is his first choice of course but catch him and Hotarumaru in a little cuddle puddle with 70 other plushies from various games!

Most of all, Aizen loves games where he can play with others! Friends, family, you! It doesn’t matter to him! He’ll drag you from your office to relax and just cheer anyone up with something fun! “Come play with me! You promised after all, master! I’ve found a rEALLY cool and fun game to play together with Hotaru!” bless him he’s trying his best

Atsushi Toushirou

Like Aizen, Atsushi will mostly enjoy multiplayer games because of his multitudes of brothers, younger and older. He’ll pick out games like Mario Party, Mario Kart, classics for sure. But then there’s games like Wario Ware or Smash Bros. He wants to play games with as many people as possible! He loves it when he can play with you and his brothers!

If Atsushi wants to play something more solo, he will play something along the lines of Cooking Mama. Houchou got him addicted to it gee i wonder why Houchou loves the game so much but Atsushi just loves the dishes that he can prepare and it almost feels like he can cook! He once tried to follow exactly what Cooking Mama did in the game for cooking once uh...it did not end up. But none the less, he loves the colors and the music of Cooking Mama!

He is also a big ol fan of life simulation games, Animal Crossing being his favorite. Again he and his siblings can all play together and the calm atmosphere almost lulls him to a peaceful sort of sleep that he adores the most. He loves the relaxing vibe and sometimes wishes to live there, wherever the hell these guys live.

Next to Yagen, I think Atsushi will lowkey adore horror games. Yagen does it just to get a rise out of the rest of his siblings and Atsushi is kind of the same. Sure Yagen finds the most gorey and atmospheric based horror to scare the crap outta his siblings, Atsushi will probably play the more jumpscare based horror games just to get a scare outta them too! What good is a horror game if you’re not scared as well??? Damn right he’ll wait until it’s night time to play these games!

Atsushi also does love RPG games! Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, come to mind first. He just loves going on big adventures! Exploring new worlds, meeting new people, learning new things! Bonus points if the game has a really emotional story, catch him and his brothers crying about whatever happens on screen.

Atsushi has a secret fondness for rather childish games. Pokemon, Yokai Watch, so on and so forth. YEs he’s trying his best to be mature and stuff, supporting you his saniwa and all, but sometimes he just wants to be himself and have fun! He has a few mascot plushies from his brothers too, shhh.

Atsushi is also terrifyingly amazing at turn-based strategy games. Mario + Rabbids being a favorite because of the colors and overall fun atmosphere. Fire Emblem is a close second. He knows exactly how to keep his units and characters alive, what upgrades to give them, so on and so forth. “General! Come look at what I did in my game! Wouldn’t it be cool if we could also do something like this?!” he says that as Rabbid Luigi yeets himself off of normal Mario and soars through the air like a bird, landing gracefully without hurting himself. Atsushi no.

He’s the most likely of the TouDans to get into the indie gaming scene, looking at new and upcoming content creators to see what they make! He wants to support them as much as he can!

He’s also one of the more responsible of the TouDans in terms of games. Others will start buying them on a whim but Atsu knows there’s a budget to be had! He isn’t as money crunching as Hakata or anything but he knows his damn limits!

Another game genre he’s secretly into are visual novels. He loves the budding relationships between characters, romantic or not, he loves seeing where they end up! It’s like he’s growing with them!

[beardycarrot]

It is entirely possible that tomorrow, we’ll finally get a real look at the Breath of the Wild sequel. I’d like to make a few called shots... or at least state what I would like to see.

So, in my mind, that scene from the teaser was right at the beginning of the game, almost definitely in some catacombs under Hyrule Castle. Ganon launched his attack from down there, and it seems that up until the calamity began, his influence could only reach so far, right? I don’t have a solid guess as to why Link and Zelda have gone down there... maybe there have been strange rumblings from under the castle, maybe they’re doing research on ancient Sheikah tech, who knows.

I think this is going to be the very start of the game, with you immediately taking control of Link and leading the way through the underground ruins. You’ll occasionally have to fight small enemies like rats, Keese and Chuchus, and use the companion button (formerly the “whistle to horse” button) to sooth your pack animal. A couple times, you’ll have to take control of Zelda (OR, your friend will control her, because this game has co-op) and use the Sheikah Slate to solve simple puzzles. Maybe hold the companion button down to switch characters? At some point, Zelda suggests that you make camp for the night, and you get a cutscene with a bit of exposition.

After you resume, you eventually find your way to Ganondorf’s mummified remains, and... I don’t even know, man. Maybe Zelda, overcome with scholarly curiosity, accidentally disengages the magic holding him in place. Maybe the Triforce, which was basically not even mentioned in BotW, allows him to break free. Sheikah techology? Whatever the case, Ganon escapes, and the magic that was used to seal him latches onto Link’s arm for some reason. Ganon, freed, then... I guess raises Hyrule Castle from the ground? That’s what it looked like the original trailer was ending with. Who knows what he does then, hopefully time travel is involved and he sends them into a future fully controlled by him a la Samurai Jack, or into the distant past, or an alternate reality, or a dream world, or SOMETHING. So long as it’s not an ugly dreary Dark World (I likes me some green grass and blue skies) I’ll be happy... and speaking of, it would be cool to be able to travel between that setting and the one from BotW, just to do Tarrey Town-esque projects and rebuild the ruins of Hyrule. Or the ruins of whatever this new setting is.

Anyway, it’s only after this short tutorial area, maybe during the scene of Hyrule Castle being... whatever’d, that you get the title screen. The Legend of Zelda: Reach of the Abyss. Or uh. Hand of Eternity. Or maybe... Grasp at Some Straws. Yeah, the title could be anything, depending on the setting and plot. That magic hand power Link gets is definitely going to be a major gameplay mechanic though, so I feel like it’s probably going to be part of the title.

I’m fairly confident that the hand is going to be the new version of dungeon items, with Link gaining new powers for it throughout the game, while Zelda has the Sheikah Slate. Ideally, you’d have the ability to control both of them the entire time, with Zelda also getting new Sheikah Slate abilities... but that’s probably wishful thinking. I can also definitely see the revived Ganon just straight up kidnapping Zelda. Anyway, the most obvious use for the arm is having it stretch, to work like a hookshot. It’s glowy, so maybe it just naturally functions as a torch? Big fist to act as a hammer, maybe an ability to repel Ganon’s malice? An ability to stop time would be neat.

What else... the ability to enlist the help of a wide array of characters and creatures would be cool, as would expanded cooking and outfits consisting of more pieces. I also like to see underwater stuff in games, especially with free movement... and I’ve always wanted Nintendo to do another thing where Link can take on various different forms. It was cool in Majora’s Mask, it was cool in Kameo: Elements of Power, it was cool in Summoner: A Goddess Reborn, it... actually looks kinda lame in Balan Wonderworld, but that could just be me not liking the NiGHTS Into Dreams style. I’m pretty sure that glowy hand is the game’s major gameplay mechanic though, so unless they pull a Super Mario Odyssey and allow Link to turn into any creature he touches, I unfortunately can’t see this happening.

Just think... by this time tomorrow, we could know what the next Zelda game’s like. If they’re doing a Direct now, they could also tease Pokemon Diamond/Peal remakes, promising a closer look on the anniversary in like a week and a half... or even just do a full reveal, since the presentation is nearly an hour long. We could get Mario Odyssey 2, a new Donkey Kong game... hell, now that I think about it, wasn’t Smash was mentioned in the announcement of the Direct? Sephiroth was two months ago, and Steve two months before that... who’s next?

The safe bet is Crash Bandicoot, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Direct announced a new Fire Emblem, and its protagonist was in Smash. I’d be... annoyed, frustrated, underwhelmed... but not surprised. Dr. Eggman’s another likely choice, especially with a moveset reliant on robotic vehicles, but if I were to choose a character I actually wanted... I would go with Goemon, who isn’t going to happen because he’s already in as a costume, or Alis Landale, who isn’t going to happen because nobody knows who she is.

Honestly, I’m expecting another Capcom, Sega, or Namco character. Crono or Sora would be great, but two Squeenix characters in a row seems unlikely. I want Monster Hunter or Phoenix Wright, but y’know what? Namco’s kinda owed another character, in my opinion, so my official guess for the next Smash character is either Klonoa or Lloyd Irving. I don’t know that either of them would have a really unique, compelling play style, but the alternative is, what... someone from Tekken or Soul Calibur? Meh. I’m sure they could do something clever with Klonoa if they wanted. Like, how many people seriously thought Steve would have mining, crafting, and building as part of a fighting game moveset?

[fembot-y2k]

1, 5, 6, 10, 18, 19, 23 +special bonus bingo any one you wanna answer

1: Do you try to stay away from walkthroughs? A: usually yeah. Depending on the game though I'll look up some stuff, usually where items are 5: A popular series/game you just can’t get into no matter how much you try? A: Kingdom hearts! It just never grasped me, plus the writing is sort of eh in my opinion 6: A game that’s changed you the most? A: Night in the Woods is a game that to this day I play once a year in the fall. It's so well written and hits on a lot of notes that really resonate with stuff I went through/am going through. It's a fantastic narrative. 10: A game you’ve completely given up on? A: Fire Emblem. I like Advanced Wars better 18: A game you wish your friends knew about? A: I pretty much already got my friends to play Titanfall 2 for it's campaign a while ago (its really good!) But I wish I had more people to talk about Hollow Knight with! 19: Which game do you think deserves a revival? A: Ah this one's hard. I really do with Advance Wars would get a proper new game instead of some okay-looking remakes. A new game that has more of the style of the originals, and not the weird realistic thing they did after Dual Strike. 23: Biggest disappointment you’ve had in gaming? A: Definitely how samey Warframes open world stuff got immediately after Plains of Eidolon. Fortuna had an amazing story and enough things to keep it feeling fresh but in the end you're left with the same open world activities to grind out over and over. Same thing with Heart of Deimos. (bonus)24: Casual, Hardcore, or in the middle? A: I'm a firm believer that games should be accessible to anyone who wants to play them, but I'm not willing to compromise a video game as an experience by dumbing the whole thing down. In the middle. I think game difficulty and how someone plays it should be on a case by case basis with both Game and Person. I've always been made fun of for playing things on medium or easy difficulties and it pushed me to play some games on the harder options, which made me have less fun. In some cases though I enjoy the challenge, particularly in games that I think I have a good grasp on like DOOM Eternal or Titanfall 2. It varies from person to person. I can go toe to toe with hoards of demons but can't beat some of the harder moons in Mario Odyssey. I don't think there's ever a wrong way to play a game, unless you're making other people feel bad for how they play it.

[brookehamiltonblogs]

Family

My sister and brother-in-law and my two year old nephew have been staying with us. I gave up my bedroom and have been living out of my mother’s home office so that the three of them could have the bigger room. 

I’ve been wondering, does it make you a bad person to enjoy a two year old’s meltdown? I feel like a villain. I do enjoy when he’s happy, too. At this age, he likes watching his dad play Animal Crossing and Mario Odyssey on the Switch. He likes watching me play Harvest Moon on mine. His tastes in food depend on the day, sometimes the second. One thing I know, he likes a good potato and a whole piece of lasagna. But if Paw Patrol is on TV, nothing can tempt him away from it. He doesn’t play any sports yet, but he likes to run around haphazardly and laugh as his mom chases him and warns him to be careful.

Last night, I had a nightmare about him. He needed his diaper changed and was telling his parents so, but his parents weren’t paying attention. So he just sat there, swelling up in size with his diaper like a balloon. When I got there, he was living underneath a blanket, a little old man.

But truly, I like having them here. The more the merrier, I’ve learned. But when they leave and I get my space back, I won’t complain, either.

[sodapaladin]

Top 10 Games of 2020

Time again for PawelCyril/SodaPaladin’s GOTY 2020 countdown! As usual, these are not games that came out in 2020, but games that I played in 2020. At least when it came to gaming, I had a great year.

Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VIII: I loved everything about this game except for the actual gameplay. I didn’t enjoy the battle system one bit. Far too many flawed ideas. But everything else was so enjoyable. The story was cheesy and ridiculous, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It might actually be my favorite main Final Fantasy.

Fall Guys: This TV show-esque challenge is tons of fun with friends, even though I’ve still yet to win a single time. See Saw is the worst game, btw, and if you like it, I hate you. :)

Sonic Mania: Best Sonic game in years that made me smile from ear to ear, but I forgot if I played it this year or last year, so I’ll put it here haha.

10. Super Metroid: I finally played my “first” Metroid game after years of friends badgering me, and they were right. It’s a good game. I’m not as wild about the music and map design as some people, but it is indeed a fun game that holds up well. The atmosphere of the ghost ship was incredible.

9: Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution: I’m a casual Yugioh fan at best, having not played since the GX era. I like the original manga and first few anime series, but everything in the past decade is a mystery to me. Feeling nostalgic, I bought this hoping it wouldn’t be too overwhelming, and was pleasantly surprised with how accessible it is to all sorts of fans. There are tons of cards and opponents from all eras of Yugioh. I’ve learned to play with the new abilities, and can also enjoy the rules like I’m used to by playing through Duelist Kingdom. I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I do, but I could easily put dozens of more hours in.

8: Ogre Battle 64: I’m still apparently near the beginning of this game after 40 hours, because I’m the slowest gamer on earth, but I’m enjoying every minute of it. While I love strategy games, they tend to be turn-based. This RTS RPG has been super satisfying.

7: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: It’s exactly what I expected it to be: Symphony of the Night 2. And that’s a good thing. I have some minor gripes with the bloated inventory and crafting systems, but the core exploration is a joy.

6: Super Mario Odyssey: Of course it’s great. I’m sure everybody knows this already, so I don’t have much to say. The amount of love put into all of the costume references made me smile with each one. Rocking the Picross explorer suit!

5: Persona 5 Royal: I hadn’t put too much time into the vanilla P5, so I figured I may as well play the definitive version when I saw it on sale. I have loads of complaints about the story, characters, and abysmal pacing, but despite all of that, it’s still a stylish, fun game that I’m enjoying a lot.

4: Animal Crossing New Horizons: You all knew this would be on here. The timing for this game was perfect. I haven’t touched it in a couple months now only because I know I’ll get sucked back in, and I’ve already put in a couple hundred hours.

3: Street Fighter III: Third Strike: Never expected to get into fighting games this year, but here we are. I picked up the SF Anniversary Collection on a whim because it was a sale. I mainly intended to play SF2, the one I’m most familiar with, but gave Third Strike a try because my good friend @arkthepieking recommended it. I can see why. This game is smooth. I’ve since tried other fighting games to recapture that magic, but I started with the best. The intrinsic motivation of winning through your own skill, from hard work and practice, is such a great feeling. Makoto forever.

2: Moon: Remix RPG Adventure: As a fan of Chulip, I had been curious about Moon for a long time, and I’m so happy it finally was released in English. It’s exactly what I hoped it would be: Chulip 0. The core ideas are still there, but better executed due to being less punishing. The music system where you buy CDs was a fun, novel idea at the time, and the atmosphere as a whole is charming. It’s an incredible, unique experience that I don’t think everyone would enjoy, but those who give it a chance may discover something wonderful.

1: Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling: Sometimes with spiritual successor fan games, I can’t help but feel I’d rather play the original. Like I love WarGroove, but it doesn’t quite scratch the same itch as just playing Advance Wars sometimes. I expected Bug Fables to be a cute love letter to Paper Mario, but it blew my expectations away. I would dare say it even surpasses Paper Mario in many ways. Everything about it is a delight. The story, the characters, the battles, the music, and the setting. There are tons of sidequests for backstory and lore, too. The main trio are so likeable, each having their own motivations and feeling like the main character of their own story, and I’m amazed at how naturally they warmed up to each other over the course of the game. Bug Fables may be one of my favorite games period, and I cannot emphasize enough how much I love it.

[babymorte]

Well you said you want anons about interests so let's do just that 🙂‍↕️

What do you play on mostly? :o

What are your top 3 games right now?

-💀

oh thank you you are a lifesaver 😂🙏🏻🤍

mostly these days i’ve been playing on xbox because that’s what i have cod on plus gamepass can’t be beat~ but i started mario odyssey the other night and have been spending nearly every night playing that while listening to music 😂

my top three games though? honestly bo6 is my current obsession like i have tunnel vision when i get really into something and it’s all i focus on 😅 i don’t know if i would say odyssey is a top game but im having a lot of fun with it! honestly i think bo6, timesplitters 2 and either the 2001 resident evil remake or crash warped would be my top 3 right now cuz its the three games i keep bouncing between but i also find myself going back to vampire survivors when i need just a mindless bullet hell 😂

[keepbreathingky]

Favorite Nintendo Switch games??

Ah! Yay an actual ask! 😂 Thank you kind, anonymous soul.

As of now my favorite experiences on the Nintendo Switch so far have been as follows:

1st Party Titles:

1.) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The world that was crafted just rewards exploration with a wondrous sense of discovery (the heartbeat of the Zelda series) in such a beautiful way. I’ve been chasing that sense of wonder for a while gaming wise, and it felt so good to get it back. It still feels that good when I hop back in now and then.

2.) Super Mario Odyssey - So many moments of me just grinning stupidly with joy as I played it - I tell folks at work that it’s pure gaming joy. It’s also just freakin beautiful!

3.) Animal Crossing: New Horizons - I’ve never really been grabbed by an Animal Crossing game before this. Maybe it’s the perfect shitstorm of COVID-19 and the overwhelming despair of 2020, but it feels healing to escape to an island in which I have control over the literal shape and aesthetic of the space. I’ve been loving creating my own little paradise, and I love seeing what friends create on their islands too.

Oh we’re not done yet.

3rd Party Titles:

1.) Hollow Knight: Based on the character art style alone, I wasn’t 100% sold on the game. But I am so happy to have been wrong - I poured hours into it. The charm (and charms ayyy) was beyond what I imagined. It all just...worked. Some of the hardest bosses and platforming I’ve ever experienced - tempered by a visually sumptuous world, soundtrack, and art. Cute AND moody af.

2.) Gris: Hoo boy. This game. This game isn’t very long. But it’s so aesthetically stunning. Watercolor inspired - it’s like journey but more of a platformer. No real dialogue, no concrete story - but the framework of a girl overcoming the grief of some mysterious trauma (I of course brought my own to the interpretation and sobbed like crazy a couple times). Get it. It’s worth it.

3.) Night in the Woods: I took my time with this game, and I haven’t been back for additional play-throughs - but the story and characters written in this game was some of the best writing I’ve experienced in a video game bar none. Gameplay wise, not the most enthralling but this is a game you play for the story. It’s really poignant and accessible.

4.) Blasphemous: Purely for the gorgeous/horrifying art. The gameplay is like many other metroidvania’s -but I’d been following this game since Kickstarter. It’s polished and dark af - and your sword hilt is a naked dude (is this queer representation?! No, probably not). If it’s on sale - pick it up. I still have to beat it - but the world is bleak and violent. So I’m taking a break for now cause...too real. But I look forward to diving in again.

[hayingsang]

What I read in 2020

2020 wasn’t a vintage year for reading. I only finished 66 books – my lowest count in recent years – and I didn’t discover anything startlingly new. But I was pleased that for the second year in a row half the books I read were by women and that I came close to hitting my target of six books in Chinese. I would have hit my Chinese target if I hadn’t started a 600-page book in October, but as that’s already going to be one of the top books of 2021, I’m not too upset about missing that goal.

Upping my Chinese reading was probably part of reason for the low overall count – one page typically takes around 10-15 minutes – though also responsible was over-reading during two weeks in home quarantine in March put me off books for a while.

As usual, I mainly read older books – ones not released in 2020 – and for once the amount of fiction I read comfortably exceeded the non-fiction. Of that fiction the highlights were Lydia Davis’s Collected Stories, Angela Carter’s Heroes and Villains and the second volume of The Plum in the Golden Vase.

Davis’s work is short – often very short (many of her tales are less than a page). Prose poetry? Sometimes, but not always. A lot of playfulness. But also with a power that builds as you keep reading, a few pieces one day, a few more the next, and the one after, and so on. Also her repeated determination to experiment, sometime using traditional forms, sometimes with new ones.

Carter’s book, from the late 1960s, moved through much the same collapsed-society territory as Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, but far more elegantly and to a more satisfying ending. I didn’t like her fairy stories, but this was tremendous.

The Plum in the Golden Vase, Volume Two: The Rivals – as good as the first volume. Better maybe. The best sprawling novel ever?

Aeschylus’s The Oresteia was another standout – read following last year’s Aeneid and Odyssey after consulting Richard Jenkyns’ excellent Classical Literature (an invaluable source of recommendations about what to read from Greece and Rome). No surprise that Aeschylus’s work has survived two-and-a-half millennia with its poking around matters that still bother human beings (families, states, etc).

Of the various books I read on Hong Kong, Kong Tsung-gan’s Liberate Hong Kong: Stories from the Freedom Struggle was the one I found most satisfying. Partly for its exploration of some of the darker, more violent aspects of 2019’s protests, but most of all for capturing the importance of what happened and so why it will be hard for the forces of repression to succeed in the long run. The only problem with this book is that it now seems to be almost impossible to get hold of.

Of the five books I read in Chinese, my favourite was in Cantonese (and so arguably not in Chinese): 麥花臣金將軍與白龍的對談 by  並明. An extraordinary piece of work, mainly about two young men from Hong Kong in Oxford talking about Hong Kong and philosophy, but also including voluminous footnotes on matters such as why certain characters had been chosen to represent words used in Cantonese that don’t occur in standard Chinese. If you have any interest in Cantonese I would say it’s a must-read – it’s the first time I’ve come across a sustained piece of writing using Cantonese as it’s spoken.

I also enjoyed 像我這樣的一個女子 by 西西 (Xi Xi, A Girl Like Me). I had read a couple of her books in English, and thought they were so-so. Actually, the problem was the translation. In English, her stories look simple; in Chinese, even I can tell that there’s a lot more going on, even if I’m not sure what it is.

What pointed me to Lydia Davis was her translation of Swan’s Way, my third version. My first reading was in 1984, when I thought it was amazing. Then, after reading the first two or three books, I decided to save the rest for some special occasion. That never came, so in the early 2000s, I read those first few books for a second time – again finding them amazing. This time round, however, I was rather less compelled.  I enjoyed it, but didn’t care for it. I’m now thinking I will never get round to finishing the whole thing.

The list in full:

Anita Brookner, A Friend from England

Peter Gray, Free to Learn

Richard Baldwin, The Globotics Upheaval

Stendhal, Scarlet and Black

Anita Brookner, Latecomers

Daniel H Wilson, Robopocalypse

Tim Jackson, Prosperity Without Growth

並明, 麥花臣金將軍與白龍的對談

Anonymous, Bhagavad Gita

Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee, The Second Machine Age

Wang Anyi, Love in a Small Town

Nina Bawden, Walking Naked

Anita Brookner, Family and Friends

Anita Brookner, A Start in Life

Angela Carter, Heroes and Villains

Gerald Graff & Cathy Birkenstein, “They Say, I Say”

Mario Vargas Llosa, The Neighborhood

Marcel Proust, Swan’s Way

Ruth Kassinger, Slime

Erik Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee, Machine, Platform, Crowd

Aeschylus, The Oresteia

Stanley SK Kwan, The Dragon and the Crown

陶傑, 香港政局的50個關鍵詞

CS Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

Felicia Nay, Red Affairs, White Affairs

Anonymous, The Plum in the Golden Vase, Volume Two: The Rivals

Julia Lovell, The Opium War

Various, Aftershock

Bruce Aitken, The Cleaner

青永屍, 你個教育制度壞咗呀

Kong Tsung-gan, Liberate Hong Kong

Jeanette Winterson, Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal

Octavia Butler, Bloodchild and Other Stories

Deborah Levy, The Unloved

Daniel Levitin, The Organized Mind

Elias Canetti, The Play of the Eyes

Martha Nussbaum, The Monarchy of Fear

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Vigil

Ursula Le Guin, The Farthest Shore

西西, 像我這樣的一個女子

Ursula Le Guin, Tehanu

Lydia Davis, The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

Antony Dapiran, City of Protest

Stendhal, The Charterhouse of Parma

Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider

Lydia Fitzpatrick, Lights All Night Long

Michael Taylor, Community, Anarchy, Liberty

Jean Rhys, Quartet

Toni Morrison, Home

Ursula Le Guin, The Telling

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

譚劍, 人形軟件

Adair Turner, Between Debt and the Devil

Amos Oz, Judas

JS Sharman, The Despot’s Guide to Wealth Management

Ursula Le Guin, Tales of Earthsea

Ursula Le Guin, The Other Wind

Ursula Le Guin, The Dispossessed

Felix Dennis, How to Get Rich

Martha Nussbaum, Woman and Human Development

Alice Munro, Dear Life

Sally Rooney, Normal People

David Grossman, To the End of the Land

Natalia Ginzburg, All Our Yesterdays

Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood

Charles Taylor, Hegel

[gamename436]

What is the online gaming website

Career In Gaming

On line Gambling Websites covers the entire industry of gaming more than the Online. Our initial company program was to commence in the UK industry and then move on to Europe in 18 months and to the rest of the world in 36 months. Having said that factors didn't go fairly to plan because inside the initial 6 hours of going reside we sold 400 games in Japan. This meant that from the begin we were always going to be a worldwide corporation. Green Man Gaming has been listed as the 53rd biggest exporter in the UK out of 354,000 SMEs in the Sunday Times SME Export Track one hundred list.

The multitude of gaming news sites continues to develop as gaming emerges as a thing bigger and more worthwhile than merely a hobby. It would be an understatement to confine the role and purpose of these web-sites to news and testimonials broadcasting for each and every day, the legion of geeks and gamers is strengthened by these very gaming news web-sites. In midst of this competitors, there are numerous sites like Virteract which are emerging to the scene and putting in some really fantastic efforts to deliver you with quality content.

The X Rocker Pro H3 Audio Gaming Chair can be rightfully regarded as a really serious gamer's one particular and only gaming lounger. It comes completely integrated with 4 highly effective speakers to give you a sensational game play. And if that is not enough of the best gift for a gamer, its equally remarkable subwoofer can turn even the slightest hint of bass into a thunderous boom, additional enhancing your overall gaming practical experience. Enhancing your immersive game play are vibration motors that can be completely synchronized with the unique bass tones in your game, delivering you with shocks, jolts, and minute vibrations fairly significantly like the tactile feedback of vibration-enabled game controllers.

If you do not have a large gaming group, you have probably noticed that two-player games are really hard to find, and definitely great ones that are just as terrific for two players are even more rare. I've wracked my memory (and pestered my friends) to come up with a bunch of tabletop games that are a blast for two— not just technically playable with no extra.

You Will Thank Us - 10 Tips About GAMING You should Know

The future of India's game improvement community looks bright and there is no cause why it can not turn into the chosen destination for international gaming market. The customer base for games is increasingly expanding, particularly on mobile, and the correct e-commerce options are currently in spot to facilitate micro-transactions and ad revenue. The Indian game app developers will as a result have ample opportunity to innovate, design and style, and develop compelling game content for both the Indian and global audience.

Game makers can assistance basic leaderboards easily by working with DynamoDB. One such use case is the ability to show top rated scores for a game. If a gaming company currently retailers players' game state in DynamoDB, like players' major scores, the capacity to get prime scores can be implemented by utilizing a worldwide secondary index.

Bit points continue to develop up and platform was changed differently. Google and Apple changed their algorithms handful of time and this shake entire App search benefits. Platforms fixes their early troubles and if you recall Balmer's joke "Who's gonna purchase $500 phone? persons start off to purchased $500 phones. Also stable platform bring "BigGuys" there like EA, GameLoft in gaming market or Adobe, Autocad in graphic apps. This happens about 2011-2012.

The benefits of this cloud model for gaming? The newest gaming hardware doesn't come low-cost: hundreds of pounds for a console or thousands for a tricked-out Computer, plus the games themselves - and with gaming technologies regularly evolving, upgrading hardware just about every handful of years is mandatory to appreciate the most current titles at their most effective. By connecting to devices in the cloud, fees are lowered to a subscription fee, and the provider requires on all the responsibilities of keeping higher-end gaming systems. With no need for on-web site hardware, cloud gaming also saves space in the home and eliminates the noise and heat generated by gaming machines.

Yeah I would say this thread currently hit on the fantastic ones. Joystiq is a pretty superior newsy form web page. PA Report appears to be embracing the same virtue of GB which is to say let's not be beholden to something other than to great content. Great point is that Ben Kuchera posts other good pieces from several web-sites so its not just his voice which is quite terrific as properly. Vox Gaming I assume requirements a much better net designer but their content seems to be going in fantastic locations.

In order to make all the content material of your gaming web-site appear great on smaller sized screen sizes, you want to make positive that your online project is mobile-friendly. One particular of the very best methods to develop a responsive web page is picking a Bootstrap-based internet theme as its foundation. Operating with a Click here mobile-friendly internet site template, you may possibly neglect about the want to adjust your content material to all devices manually.

The ASTRO Gaming Headset is not your common headset that comes with a range of capabilities especially designed for enhancing your music listening experience. Alternatively, the ASTRO A50 is especially created and built for the really serious gamer especially those who play on the Personal Personal computer or even the PlayStation four game console. The ASTRO A50 comes with 7.1 Dolby surround sound technologies, providing you exceptionally loud bass and chest-thumping trebles, elegantly amplified to bring you to an out-of-this-globe adventure. The ASTRO A50 is embedded with professional excellent audio drivers in an elegant and stylish finish. It comes with its own docking station, as well.

This (Blog) is exactly where you can read every thing I know. Find out about the most effective board games for game nights in original critiques, get suggestions on every little thing from organizing to snack and drinks, and study up on inclusivity and diversity in gaming communities. There's stuff here for person players attempting to chip in on game evening, to hosts who want to (ahem) up their game, to companies interested in hosting normal board game nights.

Some like it wireless. Some choose to go old-college with wires. If you come about to belong to the latter group, you may possibly want to give the Havit HV -MS672 Wired Mouse It may well not have a really outstanding optical sensor that can run in the 16,000s, but its maximum of 3,200 DPI really should be adequate to present you with an exceptional gaming knowledge. Its DPI settings can also be adjusted to three other levels with the lowest at 800 DPI. The Havit Mouse also comes with breathing LED light effects including 7 circular LED light effects to set the mood in your game.

On the internet multiplayer shooters, like CS:GO, Fortnite, and PUBG, are at the moment dominating the gaming planet, thanks to professional gamers, eSports tournaments, Twitch streamers , and YouTube gaming channels Some games that have been released years ago are nonetheless well known currently, like League of Legends, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Dota two, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Other fantastic games trending now involve Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Mario Odyssey, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Other folks have spawned sequels that out play and out carry out their original games.

Their mission is to be the initial choice for gamers globally, supplying the biggest range of digital games and access to a vibrant, entertaining, worldwide gaming neighborhood that rewards gamers when they connect, play and take pleasure in immersive gaming experiences. At Green Man Gaming they want to be trusted, respected and valued by their buyers and these in their neighborhood. They have put a popular set of values at the heart of how they do business. Their values are designed to capture what they do when they are at their most effective.

[8bitereviews]

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Switch)

Let me start out by saying I’m a huge fan of Castelvania: Symphony of the Night and it’s no secret that bloodstained draws a lot of inspiration from that classic.  The similarities are for sure there and 505 Games gets most of it right.

I played the Nintendo Switch version of this game, I’ll go ahead and get that out of the way.  If any of you have done research on this game, you’ve no doubt heard that this game suffered from some technical difficulties at launch and im hear to tell you that’s no longer the case!.......kinda.  I didn’t play this game before the patches rolled out so i can’t say for certain what has been fixed, but from what I’ve seen a lot has been optimized since then.  Depending on who you are however,  It’s possible that not enough have been optimized.  The graphics are still not the best, some of the load times are inexcusable and I still suffered frequent frame rate drops when the screen got too full.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s discuss the game.  Bloodstained it a faithul adaptation of the Castlevania series. My biggest praises from Symphony of the Night are still there.  This game boasts a huge amount of monsters to slay and weapons to collect, but wait there’s more!  Bloodstained introduces a new form of attributes to apply to your character called shards.  Your character is what’s known in this world as a Shardbinder, which means she has the ability to absorb shards from the demons she fights and gain their powers to use in the form of mana draining spells.  This is incredibly creative and was a blast to play with.  You can equip multiple shards to your character at once allowing for tons of possible builds and ways to play the game.

Just like any metroidvania this game also has lots of secrets to collect and reasons to backtrack the large map.  You’ll notice I’m giving this game a lot of praise for how it faithfully sticks to the metroidvania genre, and that is defintely true!  The problem is, if you’re looking for something new to the genre you’re going to have to look elsewhere.  It’s a lot of fun to play and explore but it’s nothing you haven’t seen before if you’re a fan of the series.  And maybe that’s good!  Maybe you’re just looking for more of the same to scratch that metroidvania itch because Konami refuses to port Symphony of the night over.  If that’s the case then I’m willing to bet you’d love Bloodstained, if you can get past the technical issues that is.

All in all Bloodstained symphony of the night is a great game with a lot to offer if you’re looking for more metroidvania and you can get past the technical issues.  I got this game for $20 and was overall happy with my purchase.  But really there’s no excuse for the lack of optimization in this game when Mario Odyssey also runs on this system with no problems.

I give Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

7 where’s Alucard / 10

[badgersighted]

PS5 Game Reveal Thoughts

Below the cut I’m gonna write a brief paragraph or sentence or whatever about each of the 25ish games that were revealed last night at the PS5 thing.

Don’t have much to say about this one; I never played GTAV, the series has never really been my thing, but I think it came out in 2013ish? I think the time has been and gone for re-releases and they should be working on the next game. Too much more and this’ll quickly become the new Skyrim/Todd Howard meme.

Okay so I never played Spiderman, but I did watch the cutscenes because I never thought I’d go out and buy it (before I later got it free with a ps4 pro). This is one of those games where, like, I’m not invested but I can both see the appeal and am happy for those who were waiting on it.

I think there’s diminishing returns on realistic racing games. Stuff was coming out on current gen that looked near enough realistic, so it gets excessively hard to tell the difference.

The first one that caught my eye. Despite the last entry being a bastardized, hollow remake that encapsulated everything the original stood against while missing two thirds of the content, R&C has a place in my heart and I hope they can actually get back to standard now they don’t have to work around a terrible movie.

My hot take here is that Ratchet has a wrench and his name is Ratchet. Girl Ratchet has a hammer, ergo her name is Chisel or something. I just wonder if this is a look at the future and Ratchet’s kid, or if it’s an alternate, gender-flipped dimension. In which case Clank would probably be the same because he’s a robot, but I fear for the possibility of Captain Qwark.

Legitimately can’t remember a gosh darned thing about this one. 

I feel like the trailer proved that Stray works better as a short film than a game, but I guess we never saw any gameplay to prove that assumption. I like the art direction and you get to be a little kitty cat.

Ellen Degeneres goes to space and the mind fucky wucky happens. I got some Prometheus vibes for this, but the only thing that really left a mark was the aforementioned Ellen jokes we were making on discord.

Fuckin love me some Littlebigplanet, so this was a welcome surprise. Odd to see that they’re not implementing a create mode (as far as we know) but I can see how impossible it is to both make a fully 3d create mode (see: LittleBigPlanetKarting) and also go up against Dreams which was made by Sackboy’s original home studio.

I have a soft spot for LittleBigPlanet’s story modes, though, especially the second game’s - so this will be a welcome addition for me. I just hope they reference the previous stories and don’t act like a plot is something new to the series.

This game feels born out of the hangover of games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, leaving it feeling at least one year outdated. But if it’s your sort of thing, more power to you.

So Kena was another of the more subdued, new IPs that I think a lot of people will have forgotten but I actually quite liked the look of it, or at least some aspects. I’ll always have a soft spot for ‘young girl with bow and arrow’ games but I also liked the art direction and the little puff ball fellas, as well as the bad guy seeming like a legitimate threat in a world that tricks you into thinking it’s all cute. The contrast serves the narrative in that regard.

So following a game I’m interested in is a game I could not be less interested in. Horrendous character design, pseudo-deep narrative that are a dime a dozen for indie tumblr bait visual novels. The logo and the fact they’re [barely recognisable as] dinosaurs presumably suggests this will end in a meteor destroying everything and, frankly, I have never rooted for an inanimate rock more in my life.

This 2d platformer took itself very seriously. I never understood Oddworld nor saw the appeal because its protagonist is very... not nice to look at. But more power to those who wanted a new Oddworld game.

I found this one kind of interesting, then the First Person gameplay kicked in and that very quickly faded. It’s a shame, really; the visuals were really good.

All I got from this is that it’s called Jeff, and it’s a low concept blend of the movie Gravity and Katamari. It’s one of those deep, arty games I’m just honestly too dumb to appreciate. Or maybe it’s false depth.

This is a weird one. I find it intriguing how a game can have so much going on on-screen, and yet none of it stand out. It really does feel like this game pulled inspiration from several places, but failed to embellish or add any value on top of it.

This is another one of those arty games I’m too thick to understand. I’d say it has slight hints of Journey in it, but I never played that so I can’t be certain.

Hitman reminds me of the Community Paul Rudd quote: “I see the appeal, and I wouldn’t take it away from anyone, but I’d also never stand in line for it.”

As much as a corporate Mario Odyssey knockoff as this game may seem, I’m honestly interested as I’m gagging for any Odyssey-adjacent content in my life. It looks like it could be mindless fun, at the very least.

Like JEFF and Solar Ash before it, I don’t know what this game is and I don’t think the trailer did enough to make me want to bother finding out. I liked the big cat dude, though.

Would the world suffer if it didn’t have the same set of games reskinned and rereleased each year, with a single number in the title changed? I never understood the appeal of sportsball games. Is it for the people too unhealthy or too lazy to actually play a sport? Why do they have to make one every year when there’s nothing new? It’s not like the sport has fundamentally changed in a year’s time.

So they had me in the first half expecting a Crash game reveal, I’ll be honest. 

But this is, oddly enough, the game I find most interesting of everything we saw here. I have no idea what the fuck it is, but I’m determined to believe there’s hidden meaning - that it’s a satire on Pokemon, that it’s a commentary on the phrase ‘you are what you eat’, that it’s a game that lulls you into a false sense of security and drops you in a horror game like Doki Doki Literature Club. Prove me right, Bugsnax.

I never played the original Demon’s Souls, so I can’t say much on the remake. I don’t even know if Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls are part of the same series.

Are we going to ignore that, fundamentally, this game’s unique selling point is that it has checkpoints?

Full transparency here, I had this game pegged as a Resident Evil game as soon as there was an old man in the trailer, and I’ve never played a Resident Evil game. I just associate old men in video games with horror, and Resident Evil is one of the first horror games that come to mind.

Looks like someone saw Death Stranding and thought “I can do that, too!” 

Yeah, well, you can’t.

Given the hype I saw surrounding this game, I feel like I should probably play the first one. I’m just concerned it might not be my sort of thing. It’s one of those things I want to like, but I’m not sure I want to put my money where my mouth is before being sure - so we’re stuck in stalemate. 

[timelock97]

Game Changer

Chapter Three: True Introductions

Word Count: 4133

Warnings: Fluff, language, slight argument angst

_________________________________________

My eyes flutter open as Buster pounces back into the bed and laps at my face; I let out a small giggle as I swat him away to cage him against my chest and press kisses into his head.

"Sorry, love." My eyes flicker back to Leon, who is shutting the door behind him as he re-enters the room. "He woke me up to take him outside, but he got away from me before I could calm and wipe him down."

I wave my hand dismissively, it wasn't unusual for Leon to spend the night but he definitely wasn't used to my newest family member. "You're fine, he does that." I whisper as Leon crawls back into bed and attempts to pull me into his side, even with the dog wedged between us.

"We should sleep longer-" Lee is cut off by Buster lapping at his face, Lee gagging in annoyance while I giggle.

"I don't think that's gonna happen." I whisper back, tugging the pup against my chest to rub his sides. Buster lets out a little yip, wiggling out of my grasp, and bounding off the bed, bouncing from side to side as a sign of its time to get up and start the day. "C'mon, Leon, let's get up."

He groans and pulls my pillow over his head in an attempt to drown out the world, "But it's only seven."

"Yes," I giggle, grabbing his foot and giving it a quick squeeze which causes him to squeak and yank his foot away. "And this is the time I usually get up with him so I have no choice." I stand straight and stretch my back before walking toward the door, "Keep sleeping if you want though-"

"No," he sighs, throwing both my pillow and the sheet off of him and grabbing his long-sleeve shirt that had been discarded to the floor the night before, "I'm coming." He mutters before following me out of the room, yanking the shirt over his head as he does. The bathroom was already occupied by who I could only assume was my dad who has always been an early riser. Leon walks into the kitchen and immediately starts looking in the fridge while I get Buster's food ready. Leon sighs in annoyance. "What do you want to eat, love?"

"I don't know, what sounds good to you?"

"That's why I asked you." He chuckles as he shuts the door and leans against the counter. He watches me as I mix the food together before I place it on the dog mat.

When I turn to look at him, he has a small smile etched into his features. "Whatcha thinking about?"

He shrugs softly, "Just thinking about the possibility of doing this every morning, sometime in the near future." He muses, hair matted from last nights sleep. His facial hair is getting more stubbled and his eyes still slightly puffy with sleep.

"Yeah, I'd like to see that too." I whisper as I move to wrap my arms around him, Lee sighs into my hair. The two of us stand like that for a few minutes before his stomach growls, causing him to groan and me to giggle. "Okay, pancakes." I state making him groan for another reason.

"I love pancakes-"

"That's because you actually know how to make them," I tease, making him place a hand over his heart in mock offence.

"Rude-"

"I only speak the facts!" I sing, turning toward the pantry and pulling the instant mix from its place beside the flour.

"And yet you make instant; the horror." He mutters, arms looping around my waist as I make the mixture. When I don't respond he sighs and leans his head against mine, listening to me humming while I figure out the correct amount of water to powder. Once done, we shuffle to the stove, because somebody refuses to let go, and I begin making the pancakes, one at a time. Leon groans again, "This is going to take forever."

"Well, I guess you will just have to deal." I hum, smiling as he groans again and buries his face into the croak of my neck in fake annoyance. We stand there for a minute, the only sound is the pancake mix sizzles in the pan, until I hear Lee take in a breath. "What are you do-" I stop, squealing as Leon blows a raspberry into my neck. I immediately laugh, legs giving out as he pinches and tickles my sides, dragging me away from the stove as the spatula hits the ground with a loud crack. "Leon!"

He laughs into my neck before blowing again, nipping in between as his hands move around my sides again. I fight for a few minutes until I am able to turn sideways and manage to get to his side, pinching the skin. He lets out his own surprised laugh as he tries to defend himself, but to no anvil. I manage to maneuver enough so he is underneath me and I'm straddling his waist, tickling everything I can reach while attempting to restrict his hands. "You little shit-"

"You started it!" I laugh back, tickling around his neck as he attempts to get away. I feel him move his leg up so it's bent, "Don't you dare-"

He flips us over and pins my hands above my head and blows one last raspberry into my neck before tickling me again. My screams echoing around the house.

We both hear someone clear their throat and look up to see my family looking at us. My dad shakes his head, chuckling softly. "Do you two know what time it is?"

Him and I look at each other, before I notice the smell in the air and gasp, "The pancake!" Before Lee is scrambling up to grab the pan and douse it in water. After the bit of smoke cleared out, I look at my family who are desperately trying not to laugh. "Well, I think it's too early for this bullshit-"

"(Y/N)!" My mother laughs, half-heartedly covering my little brother's ears.

The morning continues without any other problems, mom ends up taking over the pancake making. Once everyone has eaten, Lee offers to help my dad clean his office while I finish up some homework; especially since Aiden had to "work on a project" at his friend's house. My dad happily takes the offer, having the two of them leave while my mom takes my brother over to said friend's house.

I take the time to finish up my homework, and by the time Leon comes back, I have completed what was needed to be done. This makes Lee smile as he follows me to the bathroom so I can make myself look at least a little presentable and brush my hair.

"Perfect," he rubs his hands together while I run a brush through my hair, I pull the brush down to pull the strands that are stuck and roll my eyes when I find several purple ones. "I say we go on a date then."

"And what would you suggest, boyfriend of mine?" I tease, setting the brush on the sink and looking at him through the mirror.

He shrugs, leaning against the little length of wall next to the shower. "An indoor date."

I roll my eyes at that, "And what is an indoor date?"

He spins me around before grabbing my cell phone off the counter, he unlocks it with ease before showing our favorite take-out place already on speed dial. "That we order take-away and go play video games in your basement-"

"Eww, the basement is not clean enough for a date." I pout, making him pout back.

"You could always have it in the living room." My mother suggests as she passes the room, she has the laundry basket resting on her hip. "Your father and I are going to see Barb and Dan tonight for dinner and won't be home til later, and Aiden won't be dropped off until ten. You two will have the house to yourselves."

Leon smiles at me, "So what do you say, (Y/N)?"

I smile back at him before popping onto my tippy-toes and kissing his cheek. "Sounds perfect."

The two of us settle in the living room after getting food, I throw on youtube while we eat as background noise, nuzzling into his side as we chow down. After we played Mario Kart for awhile before switching over to another game.

Leon is playing on his profile on Mario Odyssey, complaining that he couldn't remember where he had left off and just wanting to get to the next level. I paugh as I grab my case and put away Mario Kart. My eyes fall on the Pokemon game that has been left untouched for the past few weeks.

"How far did you make it?" Leon asks, pulling me from my thoughts. Before I can answer we hear the tell-tale sign of Mario dying causing Leon to groan. "I literally looked away from the screen for two seconds."

"You could have paused it-"

"I was distracted by my beautiful girlfriend," he smiles, bumping his shoulder into mine. "C'mon, how far did you get?"

"Uh, the fourth gym." I look back at it. Now or never I guess. "Would you wanna play?"

Leon smiles brightly, "Yeah! I've never played the games before so this'll be a trip." He laughs as I reach for the remotes and end the game so I can stand and set it up. Once set up I rejoin him on the couch, Leon tugs me into his side as he settles in and takes the controller. I explain the instructions quickly before telling him to go ahead and start.

As the game opens, he smiles at the music already playing. As the intro rolls, his eyebrows knit together in confusion. He lets out a nervous laugh. "Huh, weird coincidence that its Galar region." He pauses, eyes skimming over the chairman's name, "And the chairman's name is also Rose." When Rose introduces the champion, Leon stays quiet, and he continues to do so as Raihan challenges the champion and Charizard dynamaxes. He lets out a breath after the Shield logo flashes across the screen and it gets into the main story. He doesn't click anywhere further as it moves along to the next scene, only when it pauses on Hop entering the house does Leon let out a shaky breath, his whole body stiff beside me. "(Y/N)?"

"Yes, Leon?"

He moves away from me slowly, moving so his elbows settle on his knees. He runs a hand over his face then through his hair. I watch as he turns his head toward me, his eyes turning red from unshed tears of what I can only assume are from frustration. "That's my brother." He whispers, eyes falling back to the screen where it's paused. "And, and that was my boss, and the champion was me." He runs a hand over his face again before pushing himself up and tugs at the roots of his hair. He slowly turns to look at me, betrayal in his eyes, "Are you messing with me?"

"Are you with me?" I ask, voice suddenly shaking. "Because I have been wondering the same thing for two weeks."

He brings his fist to his mouth, biting on his knuckles before shaking his head vigorously, "You have known about this for two weeks and haven't thought to talk to me about it!" He's angry, but I can tell its more out of fear and confusion more than the fact I didn't tell him.

"Lee," I whisper standing slowly, which causes him to take a step back and walk away from me. "Lee," my voice is a little stronger now, hoping he will stop as he walks into the kitchen. "Leon, stop for one God damn second and talk to me!"

"I don't even know what to say (Y/N)!" He yells, spinning on his heel to face me. "I just played, what, five minutes of a game that I saw the Chairman, my brother, my best friend, and myself all appear in. What do you think is going through my head right now?"

"So you didn't know-"

"Arceus, (Y/N), do you think I would be this upset if I knew?" His eyes are much wider now, lips trembling. He shakes his head, "Why didn't you tell me-"

"You think I didn't feel the same way playing? That I didn't stop and panic when I had my character run through the town that I have envisioned since you told me about it?" I take a step forward and this time he doesn't move away. "I was scared senseless, I thought maybe you were pulling my leg-"

"I may be a big star in Galar but that doesn't mean I have an in everywhere." He says it more of a joke, and it lightens the mood for a bit, but I still shift from side to side. He moves to place a hand on my cheek, gently rubbing the skin there with his thumb.

"Leon?" I whisper, making him nod at me to keep going. "Can you be honest with me, one hundred percent honest? I know that is a game, but is anything else, is everything else true? You've mentioned Wooloo, Rookidee, Nicket, and so many others. Hell, I've seen them in the game! So are Pokemon real where you come from, is what the game has alluded to true, is that your reality?"

Leon sighs, his forehead touching mine. I let him take his time, especially since I didn't warn him ahead of time. He opens his mouth softly, "Yeah, uh that's my life. I am the champion of Galar, have been for ten years as of this summer." He sighs gently, his hand that isn't holding my face falls to my other arm, sliding down to intertwine our fingers. "I was afraid of saying anything before you came with me because I didn't know if you would believe me, and if you didn't believe me and everything fell apart-" He shakes his head.

"Hey," I bring his attention to me, here and now. "Leon I am not going to leave you, I know why you didn't tell me, I have nothing to be upset about. I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I found out. I was scared of what I was going to find out but," I give his hands firmly. "There is nothing we have to worry about now, okay?"

I feel him nod before he leans down and kisses me. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."

A bit of excitement suddenly runs through my veins. "So you do have Pokemon?"

Leon's laugh bellows throughout the room and tugs me into a hug. "Of course you would want to know that." He teases, moving so that he lifts me up and spins me around in a circle.

"You know I have been a fan for forever you cannot blame me for being excited!" I laugh, pulling myself closer to him until he sets my feet flat on the ground. "Okay but," I pull away to look at him. His eyes are filled with amusement. "So how weird is it to come here and see animals-"

"We still have animals, love." He sways us side to side before leading me back to the living room. "Just most of them come with people when they move to Galar."

"So if I moved to Galar, I could bring Buster?" I practically sing, bouncing on my heels making him laugh.

"Yes, you can bring Buster." Lee laughs and I fully bounce in front of him. He wraps his arms around me and holds me to him. "Alright, my love. Now how much more of this game is like my home?"

I lead him back into the living room and grab the controller off the couch, handing it over. "You gonna find out?"

Leon bites his lip as he grabs the controller from my hand and settles back on the couch with me pressed into his side. He plays the game for about an hour before he asks to switch over to my game to see what he can't see yet. He smiles at my team that I have at the moment. "Look at your Cinderance, he looks happy."

"Yeah, he's a good boy. I also love Daisy. She's my Toxtricity." I point her out to Leon since I am camping, his arm wrapping about my shoulder. "And don't call me out, but I have way too many Pokemon and I go by what can actually defeat the gyms."

Leon laughs, especially when he saw the team I had for Allister's gym before I moved my team around. "I can see why, especially since you haven't played in awhile-"

"But Daisy and Scorch are always on my team." I defend, making a face at him.

He chuckles, "Have to have your constants, right baby?"

I nod smiling at him, "but I lost to Allister so I'm leveling up the team before continuing."

"That's fair, he's a tough kid." Leon praises, making me smile.

"Did your team change a lot as you grew as a trainer?"

He nods, "Oh yeah, but my team is pretty consistent now. The other Pokemon I caught as a kid I ended up either releasing or I released them into a program."

"Program?"

He nods, "It's to give other kids in the region who can't go out and catch Pokemon on their own. Some are medically required."

"I love that!" I squeal, leaning into his side and wrapping my arms around his middle.

He chuckles as he pulls me flush against him before kissing the top of my head. "You know, now that you know about everything, I can video chat with my mum and brother and you can also meet my team..."

I roll my eyes, "Do they even understand video chat, Lee?" I tease as he checks his phone for the time, it was a little later.

"Kind of?" He scratches the back of his head as he shoots a text to his mom, checking to see if we could video them. "They can hear the voices at least. But the question for you that I have is about winter break."

"What about it?" I smile, leaning my head against his chest.

He hums as his mom tells him that they are both home, they just have to set up the camera. "I was able to get your passport approved."

I sit up a little, and look at him in disbelief, "You were? So does that mean you are asking...?"

"That you should come to Galar for part of your break? Yes, yes I am. If you are comfortable."

I smile in excitement, but then reality sets in, "How much are the flights-"

"Covered, both to and from." He states, holding my face. "I really want you to come. My family and my friends are excited to finally meet you." He smiles, letting out a small laugh, "Rahian has been bugging me since I met you four years ago to meet you."

"I have to figure out how Christmas is going to go." I tell him, making him nod back.

"Understandable," he sighs, he checks his phone before smiling. "But what do you think? About, you know coming to-"

I lean forward his hands falling to my neck as I kiss his lips. He sighs and smiles into the kiss. When I pull away, Leon attempts to try and reinitiate the kiss but he stops when I breathe out a soft, "I'd love to."

"Really?" He smiles widely as I lean forward and peck his lips again before nodding again. "I'm so excited," he whispers. His phone buzzing pulls us apart, Leon looking down at his phone, "Oh, uh would you wanna go grab your computer? My family can Skype now."

I nod and stand, calling over my shoulder, "Grab the t.v. tray so we have something to set it on, okay?" I walk away to grab my school computer, opening up my Skype app as I walked back to the living room. Lee takes it immediately and logs me out and logs himself back in. After only thirty seconds the username hopscotch_11 popped onto the screen. "Please tell me that is Hop." I laugh as Lee answers a quick 'yup', smiling a little more widely.

The screen lights up and shows a boy and a woman. The woman I recognize from all the photos that Leon had shown me, her long purple hair is thrown up into a bun. The boy looks identical to Leon, except his hair is a lot shorter, and spiked up. They both smile widely as Hop bounces in his seat, "Lee!" he calls into the speaker, laughing as I lean forward to turn down the volume a bit.

"Hop," the woman scolds, making him smile sheepishly.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just really excited." He shifts in his seat, places his hand off the side to push something else off screen, "No, you can't be on screen-"

"She knows, Hop," Leon laughs, making Hop that much more excited.

"Phew! Good cause Wooloo wants to be on screen too." Immediately, the fluffy bundle appears in the corner of the screen, bleating. I awe at the creature, placing my hands over my mouth. "This is my Wooloo, (Y/N)! Lee caught him for me!"

"Well, he is adorable!" I call, giggling.

Leon wraps an arm around my shoulders, "(Y/N), this is my little brother, Hop. He not only is my biggest fan, but my biggest supporter no matter what I do; except coming out here-"

"You still went," Hop huffs, obviously annoyed that Lee would even bring up the subject. "And you two still met so you can't blame me!"

Leon rolls his eyes before motioning to his mother, "And this is my mother, Michelle. She raised the two of us with the help of my grandparents."

"Who have recently moved down the road actually, but they are still around." She smiles and nods to us, "It's so nice to meet you finally, (Y/N). We have been so excited to finally see your smiling face."

"It's nice to meet you both too." I smile, "Lee talks about you both so much, it already felt like I knew you both, but now I have real faces to put with what I know-"

"Okay, but I do have a question." Hop cuts in, making his mother give him a disapproving look while Lee and I laugh. "How did you figure it out? Like the Pokemon thing?"

I look at Lee, who shrugs softly, "Well, I got a new game and the region the game is set in was Galar, so I got suspicious. I made Lee play it and well, he had to explain everything-"

"Which is another reason we are calling because it's easier to talk now that we don't have to hide anything." Lee cuts in, smiling at me.

"Wait, so does that mean she wants to meet the rest of your team?" Hop questions excitedly, making his mom glare at him.

"Hop-"

"I'm just asking!"

Lee laughs, making the two of them relax a bit, "Eventually, but I also wanted her to meet you guys cause I am hoping she will come up for break."

Michelle giggles, "Take all the time you need, dear. We know you are in school and working hard. We will be excited to see you whenever you make it out here."

"Thank you," I smile, moving a little as Buster jumps into my lap.

Hop shifts in his seat, looking back at us and his mom before whispering, "I could just take the computer outside..."

"Hop-" his mother warns.

"Go ahead, Hopscotch," Leon laughs. "(Y/N) is excited to see them too."

Hop bounces up and grabs his coat, "Mum, can you carry the computer for a sec so I can set up a spot and grab Lee's pokeballs?"

She chuckles as Hop runs off screen, "Your brother, Lee. He loves those Pokemon."

"I know," Lee chuckles. He turns and looks at me as I can hear Hop and his Mom in the background.

"I want to come to Galar," I whisper, making him look at me with a soft smile. "Show me your town, where you grew up. All the sights and favorite things that make you you."

Lee kisses me softly before Hop cuts us off. "Are you two done? We have lots of introductions to do!"

Lee smiles at me before nodding to his brother, "Who we starting with, Hop?"

_________________________________________

A/N: Hello hello! Hope you all are having a great day! Here is chapter 3, see you all on Monday. Lemme know if you wanna be tagged!

Masterlist