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destiny-smasher · 1 year ago

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Updated to include blurbs on Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Blue Eye Samurai.

Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 10 GAMES (I played in 2023)

10) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

9) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

8) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

7) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

6) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

#Blue Eye Samurai #scott pilgrim anime #GOTY #2023 #goty 2023

15 notes · View notes

peachesfather · 1 year ago

Note

do a smut fic where you meet mizu in a restaurant in london and you end up going back to her house with her then one thing leads to another 🤕🤕

Doing way too much pt2

Mizu x black fem! blue eye samurai

Warning:+18, smut(porn everything), missionary position, doggystyle, rough sex, and grammar errors

Me in the back seat humming of the car, while both mizu and taigen are in front seats arguing about how me and mizu fucked in the bathroom.

Mizu glances in the back seat to see me being nervous, I rolled my eyes and just lead on through window of the car and looking at the cars moving by.

Mizu drove taigen back to his place, she said “I see you later, I have business to do” while giving him a smile and shutting the door for taigen. He just stared while being dumbfounded while she drove off.

Few minutes later..

When we got to her place, she leads me against the door while kissing me to the top to the bottom to my body, I kissed her shoulder while she gives me pleasure that will have me screaming her name for a lifetime(need her now 💋)

We both continued kissing up on each other while reaching her bedroom, she throws me on her bed while she goes to her closet to get something, I remove more of my clothing to get ready for her.

She came to me and pushes me down on bed, she closes my eyes. “don’t be weirded out ok?” She said while I nodded my head in response, she spread my legs open and holds my hips in place while she shoving whatever to my pussy. I whimper, she push the strap all of way in me I started tear up a lil from the pleasure.

Mizu removed her hand from face so she could see me, we met each other’s eyes. She waited for me to get used to feeling of her cock, she leads on chest and starting moving out of me in rapid pace. I almost felt butterflies, I moan louder when she went faster holding my boobs in one hand while other is caressing her face.

“You’re so beautiful” she said while thrusting inside of me, she grabbed me by the hips and made me be on all fours. She pushed my head in the pillow so she can pushes her cock back inside of me.

I looked back to see mizu fucking me raw I couldn’t resist her, I whimper and tell her to hold my hand. She hits me to drilled my shit more, saying “fuck that affectionate busshit” i was so out of it when heard her say those words.

Author’s note ౨ৎ

- I’m sorry, this is a very short blurb because I have other asks that I’m looking forward to finish. I hope you like this one.

#lesbian #lesbian smut #black reader #black lesbian #mizu x y/n #mizu come home the kids miss you #mizu x reader #mizu blue eye samurai #mizu bes #mizu smut #mizu #mizu x akemi #mizu x black reader #peachesfathers jots #mizu x you #wlw smut

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skywardsoul · 5 years ago

Text

Dianakko Week 2019

@dianakko-week My entry for the final day, Day 7 Freeday!

This little blurb comes from an AU idea that I've had for awhile, but never really had the time to flesh out or make in full. In the AU, Diana is the princess of Lunovia and is set to become it's queen. Her aunt wants to contest her challenge to the throne however, and means to start a civil war!

Realizing that her splintered support of her people and troops isn't enough to defeat her aunt, Diana travels to the distant country of Niohnja where the emperor, an old friend of her mother's, has offered his aid. While traveling through the country to the capital city, Diana meets the mysterious samurai, Atsuko Kagari.

I know I’m a little late, and I apologize for that. I can't stress enough how much this stupid hurricane has thrown a wrench in my writing schedule...and my day to day life schedule as well! Thank you for your patience!

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20391742/chapters/48668411

Read on FF.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13372417/7/Dianakko-Week-2019

There was truth to the old saying, that it was hard to rest easy in a bed that was not your own. Diana sat on a fallen tree, not far from the now extinguished campfire, staring up at the sky full of stars. It was a quiet night, interrupted only by the light snoring coming from her companions. Diana turned to look at Hannah and Barabra, both of whom appeared sound asleep in their bed rolls. Diana knew better though. If she made and kind of noise, any calls of alarm, her two retainers would be awake in an instant, swords drawn and shields raised. Diana could see the moonlight glint off of their scabbards, revealing just how close the two knights kept their blades.

Diana wished she could join them in actually getting some sleep, but after tossing and turning for the last two hours she was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen. It made sense, Hannah and Barabra may be her personal guards, but they were also royal knights. They had been trained under harsh, unforgiving conditions. The two of them would be used to sleeping outdoors in a forgien land. Diana’s upbringing as Lunovia’s crown princess didn’t really prepare her for such rigours. Diana sighed as she turned back to the stars. She was so focused on the sky that she didn’t hear the last of her group walked up behind her.

“Can’t sleep?” Came the accented voice.

Diana whirled around on her seat, her self-defense dagger half drawn. She felt the tension in her body leave when she realised who the voice had come from. Akko had her hands raised in defense, a goofy smile on her face.

“Whoop. Sorry Diana. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Akko said with a chuckle.

The samurai girl gave her short but respectful bow, before coming to take a seat on the ground next to her. Diana watched as Akko folded her legs under herself. Diana had no idea how the people of Niohnja could sit like that for so long. The most Diana could manage was an hour.

“Do you always sneak up on compatriots when they are fearing ambush,” Diana asked with a huff.

“No, just on the jumpy foreigners,” Akko said with a grin.

Diana scoffed and looked back to the sky. She didn’t quite know how to feel about the mysterious samurai girl. She had appeared early on in their journey. Diana, Hannah, and Barabra had been in the Niohnja for only a few hours when they were accosted by a bandit troupe. The bandits thankfully gave no indication that they knew who Diana was, just that they could tell she was a forgnier. Hannah and Barabra had their swords drawn in seconds, moving themselves to be between the thieves and herself the best they could. The two knights, as trained as they were, were outnumbered. Combined with how unfamiliar they were with Niohnjan fighting styles, and Diana had begun to fear a dangerous outcome. She had total faith in her retainers, but didn’t see how they could get out of this unscathed.

Akko had come to the rescue, in a sense. For some reason, the sight of the samurai alone sent the bandits packing. From there on, the Niohnjan woman joined their party and offered to help escort them to the capital. Diana was weary of the girl at first, but warmed up to her as they traveled. Akko carried an air of levity about her. She told jokes, stories about the land and its people and shared songs around the campfire. Diana could tell Hannah and Barabra found her annoying, but Diana couldn’t help but find her endearing. It was strange, thinking about how a girl like Akko could possibly ever be a samurai, let alone one so fierce brigands ran at the sight of her. Diana glanced to the woman sitting next to her.

Akko definitely didn’t look the part of a menacing samurai. With her friendly rounded face, goofy ponytail and large ruby eyes, Akko looked about as threatening as a puppy. Her clothes didn’t help much either. She didn’t wear any ornamental armor or the like, just a tattered, long, red and white robe, open at her left shoulder to revealing a set of bandages wrapped around her chest. The garb gave her the air of a former aristocrat, down on her luck. Even now, as Akko sat next to her, the childlike wonder that shone in the girl’s eyes showed no sign of the battle hardened readiness that Hannah and Barabra had.

“Do I have something on my face?” Akko asked.

Diana felt a blush heat up her face. She didn’t realize she had been staring. Something about Akko just made it hard to look away.

“Why are you helping us?” Diana decided to ask out of the blue. For some reason, she felt like she needed to know.

Akko sighed. “I told you. I was on my way back to the capital anyway and you guys look like you could use the help.”

“Really? Out of the kindness of your heart?”

“Well, sure,” Akko replied. “It’s not like I wanna hurt you or need money or anything. I just wanted to help. What better reason could I need?”

The frank way Akko said it, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, shocked Diana. In that moment, it really clicked with Diana that for the woman sitting next to her, helping people in need really was just basic nature.

“What...kind of samurai are you?” Diana asked incredulously. “I can count the number of truly virtuous warriors I’ve met on one hand. Yet here you are, after showing up out of the blue, claiming that you want to help us just because it feels like the right thing to do.”

Akko laughed. “Yeah it does sound kinda lucky when you put it that way, doesn’t it?” The samurai stood and stretched before letting out a yawn. “Who knows, maybe the two of us were destined to meet.”

Diana cursed as she felt her heart flutter at the cheesy line. She watched as the other woman walked back to their campsite before plunking down to the ground. Akko leaned up against a tree, her katana resting by her side.

“You should try and get some rest Diana,” Akko called back towards her. “It’ll be a long hike to the capital tomorrow. I’ll wake you guys at sunrise.”

Diana nodded before moving to lay down on her bed roll. It would have been easy to let their conversation end there. Diana, for some reason didn’t want it to. Something was bothering her, as question eating at the back of her mind.

“Akko, once we get to the capital...what do you plan to do?”

Akko looked up in thought, bringing her hand under her chin. It was obvious she was being careful about picking her words.

“I got business I have to take care of, someone I have to report to,” the brunette woman finally responded. “I’ve got a friend that runs a good inn, very welcoming to foreigners. Once I introduce you to her, I’ll probably be on my way.”

“I see,” Diana responded.

A wide grin stretched across Akko’s face. “Why? Are you gonna miss me Diana? Don’t want me to go?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Diana said angrily.

With a huff, she turned her back to Akko. She hated how right Akko was and how much she really didn’t want to part ways with the mysterious yet charming woman.

“I’ll probably miss you,” Akko said at a whisper.

Diana figured the samurai hadn’t meant for her to hear it. She probably thought Diana had stopped listening and was trying to sleep. Unfortunately for both of them, Diana had heard it, and as the words dug into her rapidly beating heart, Diana accepted that she really wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

#dianakko week 2019 #diakko #little witch academia #dianakko #alec writes #lwa

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sirenfromthelostcity · 6 years ago

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MASTERLIST 2.0

DELSIN ROWE

The Best Mistake Pt. 1

-Pt. 2

- Pt. 3

- Pt. 4

-Pt. 5 (final)

Speed Of Light

SPIDERMAN/ PETER. B PARKER

A Cat And Spider Game

JOHN WICK

The Most Pt. 1

-Pt. 2:

- Pt. 3:

DAMIAN WAYNE

Movie Night

-Pt 2

-Pt 3

-Pt 3.5

-The Contingency (blurb before pt 4)

-History (also before part 4)

The Scarlet Witch Alt

MIZU- BLUE EYE SAMURAI

College Mizu! X Dancer Reader pt 1

-Pt 2

Snowed In Pt 1

Snowed In Pt 2

#masterlist #spiderman #delsin rowe #peter parker x reader #delsin rowe x reader #john wick x reader

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quinquinis · 5 years ago

Note

I really love your fic of Saito with his Navi X! Can you do a blurb/fic of Saito and X meeting Netto and Mega?

I smiled when I saw this message because guess what I was planning to post today? The second part of the What if: Saito was the Operator and Netto was the Navi? I wrote the first part ages ago and have been slowly writing and editing the second part where Netto and Saito meet (because I love stuff like that).

Here’s a link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18944065/chapters/47124802

And a link to fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13294159/2/What-if-Saito-was-the-Operator-and-Netto-the-navi

And the chapter underneath a ‘read more’ which I hope works (plus the link break took seems to be missing? so enjoy having little dashes thrown in to break up the scenes):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Have you boys ever heard of 'Beyondard?'"

The brown haired navi and the brown-haired operator looked at each other. Even with a screen between them, they knew each other's answer was the same before they spoke.

"No?" they said questioningly.

"What is it?" Saito asked, curiously. The navi, X, stared out at them with curious purple eyes.

"It's another world, beyond ours. Your grandfather was researching it."

X's eyes lit up. "Wow! Do you think there'll be strong navis in this Beyondard?"

"Why are you telling us this?" Saito asked.

Dr Hikari sighed. "While looking for an explanation for the quakes we've been seeing in the net, I found the research. And it seems to be pointing to Beyondard being the cause. Something on the other side is reaching out to here."

"And you want us to go there?" Saito questioned.

"You and your brother have taken down WWW and Nebula. Commissioner Kifune has put you two forward as investigators. However, you can back out if you don't want to do it."

"Why wouldn't we want to?" X questioned in shock. He was eager to explore this new world, rolling back and forth on his rollerblades.

"It'll be dangerous, won't it?" Saito said. "Is there anyone else?"

Dr Hikari hesitated. While his son was sensible, that sense was thrown out the window when other people were in danger. "We'll be looking at the other Netsaviours. Enzan and Laika are next in line."

"Won't they be coming anyway?" X pouted. It was difficult to tell if he wanted them there or not.

"We'll go with them," Saito said. He stared at Dr Hikari the way he always did in situations like this, with determined eyes.

"Yes!" X cheered, becoming a blur of orange and blue light as he rushed around the net. "I'll contact them now!"

"X-" And he was gone. Saito closed his mouth mid-call, staring at where his navi had been standing a moment before.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laika stared at the large gateway. It was going to be their portal to Beyondard.

"This seems dangerous," he said.

The speaker crackled and Dr Hikari's voice rang out, "I assure you, it's perfectly safe."

'Perfectly safe,' Saito mouthed to his navi, causing them both to giggle. Enzan glared at them but Saito didn't see.

"The gateway will hold a dimensional area which we will use to connect Beyondard to us. The new program installed in your PETs will allow you to contact us."

"So that's what it does," X said in wonder. Blues turned to stare at his rival.

"You should listen to this quietly," he said.

X shook his head and shrugged. "Nah. That doesn't work either. Besides, Saito will remember it."

"Remembering things is your role," Blues pointed out, eyes unreadable behind his dark visor.

"Are you going to start fighting?" Searchman questioned, coming up between them. It was surprising that his camo design somehow allowed him to hide his presence on the net, which was devoid of bushes and trees. "Blues, you do remember how the last battle went?"

Blues turned away, long hair swishing around. "No." He didn't look at them as he spoke.

X smirked. Blues totally remembered! He and Saito had wiped the floor with the red samurai navi. X had been fast enough to get behind Blues to hit him and even vaulted over Blue's ready sword with his rollerblades at one point. His rollerblades were made to take a beating.

"Are we ready?" Dr Hikari asked the group.

Saito looked to Laika and then Enzan, who both nodded. Only then did he answer, "we're ready."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The portal came to life with a crackle and a hum.

"We're going through that?" X questioned in amazement. "Awesome!"

Saito would not have called it that. He thought the portal looked terrifying. They were going to walk through it with no idea about what was on the other side.

"Let's go," Enzan said, giving Saito a nudge. Saito stumbled forward, took a deep breath and jumped through the portal.

The hair on his skin stood up, charged by the air around him. The first step felt slowed down but also too quick. As he stepped onto solid ground on the other side, he was almost pulled to the ground by an invisible force.

X gave a little cry. Not even looking around, Saito pulled out his PET.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine," X said. Although he was wincing a little. "Just got a shock to the system. Literally."

"Ha ha," Enzan grumbled. "Have you noticed what we walked into yet?"

Saito had not. He looked up to see a group of scientists looking very shocked.

"Um, hi?" he said. "Sorry about interrupting your experiment."

When he didn't continue, Laika stepped forward. He was the best at dealing with other people.

"Is there a Dr Hikari here that we could speak to?"

A man with his hair sleeked up and back gave them a look up and down. His glasses looked a little more like goggles and somehow stopped them from seeing his eyes.

"That could be arranged," he said, rubbing his chin. One of the other scientists run off, presumably to do that.

"Are you Mr. Meijin?" Saito asked.

Meijin flinched. "It's not 'Mr'!"

"But it is Meijin right?" X said, appearing as a little hologram on Saito's shoulder.

"That's right." Meijin did a double take as he took in X's form. "You're an interesting navi." He leaned in closer. "What's your name?"

"X! And that's Saito!"

Meijin nodded a greeting to Saito before going back to his navi. "Would you mind if I took a look at you?"

"I would mind," X said. "Papa's the only one allowed to look at me. And Saito but he's not skilled enough yet."

Saito hung his head in shame. Not being able to look after the programming of his own navi was a sore point. He was the son of Dr Hikari and yet he didn't understand programming. Meijin smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. You'll get there."

"Don't touch him," Enzan said. "And you," he said to Saito, "stop trusting everyone we come across. We don't know what he's like."

"But, there's a Meijin on our side," Saito mused. "And they seem similar enough."

"It's the little differences we have to watch out for," Laika reminded them.

"I heard we had guests?" Dr Hikari said, walking in.

The room froze as the kids followed him behind him. There was Laika and Enzan and another kid they had never seen before. He looked a little like Saito, if Saito didn't keep his hair parted neatly and instead just tied a bandanna around it.

"Wow," Saito commented under his breath. "I'm guessing that's you two."

"They look exactly like us," this world's Laika commented.

"We can see that," this world's Enzan said. He stared his double. "What are you doing here?"

"Heh. Enzan is Enzan, even in Beyondard."

Both Enzans glared at Saito. Dr Hikari nodded, as if this made perfect sense. Saito's comment allowed him to figure out that the three boys where from another world.

"If you could join me in my office. Netto and both versions of Laika and Enzan can join us."

Saito fell into line, following beside Netto.

"Who are you?" he asked. Netto answered and Saito was so thrown off that he stumbled and almost hit the ground. "What did you say?"

"How?" X demanded to know.

"I'm assuming by the lack of Netto that there's some differences between this world and your own?" this world's Laika said to Saito and Netto.

Saito nodded furiously. Even Netto was a little disturbed but he hid it with his mischievous grin.

"It's not our first time dealing with a Beyondard," this world's Enzan said. "But, your world does seem to be closer to ours than the other Beyondard was."

"The other Beyondard had an experiment go wrong that merged the virtual and physical worlds together."

"That's crazy," Saito mused. "You mean I would get to be in the same world as X?"

"Yep! Rockman and I have shared the same world before! It's awesome!" Netto said happily.

"Rockman, huh?" X mused, looking over at the blue helmeted navi. He waved and Rockman waved back. "Pretty nifty. Saito and I shared a world once, when Regal set off a machine that turned the physical world into the net. But we spent most of the time in Full Synchro so we couldn't really enjoy it."

"Yeah. It always seems like something big is going on when I can hug Netto," Rockman agreed with a sigh.

"So Dr Regal is also a bad guy in your world?"

Saito nodded. "Does your world have a Dr Wily?"

Netto laughed. "Of course! You're not asking because he's a good guy in your world, right? Because he's a wanted criminal here."

"And yet he still hasn't been caught," both Enzans complained in unison. Netto and Saito shared a look before laughing silently together.

"This is so weird," Saito's Laika commented as Dr Hikari closed the door to his office. "Please tell me we can go home soon?"

Dr Hikari's eyes widened in surprise. "I assumed you had a way to return."

"X does. But he'll need to charge first," Saito explained.

Dr Hikari nodded in understanding. "That's good. We don't have the technology here to send you back safely."

"You know what? Before we go back, I want to know where this world's Saito is," Enzan commented. "Is he anything like our version?"

"What about your version of Netto?" Enzan asked himself. "Why didn't he come with you?"

Dr Hikari tensed. He hadn't wanted to explain this and had hoped that the kids wouldn't notice. However, a glance at Saito and Netto told him that the two had realised. Saito was looking everywhere but at them and Netto was scratching the lower back of his head. A glance at the computer showed their navis reacting in a similar way. Rockman wasn't meeting anyone's eyes while X was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Come to think of it, you mentioned another Beyondard," X said, suddenly perking up. "What was Netto or Saito like in that world?"

The group was silent as they thought back.

"No clue," Netto shrugged.

"If Netto existed in that world, then we didn't meet him."

"Considering that the only Hikari we knew about was Dr Tadashi Hikari, who knows if you even existed."

"No Papa?" X questioned with a shudder.

"It's certainly strange to think of," Saito said with his voice shaking a little.

"Good thing you came here then!" Netto said brightly.

"That's for sure," Netto's Enzan muttered, recalling having to raid abandoned supermarkets for food and trekking across virus infested deserts.

"Does this mean that there's no Saito in this world, like how there's no Netto in ours?" Laika asked everyone.

"Exactly!" Netto interrupted before anyone else could comment.

"Netto!" Rockman scolded. X snickered and Saito breathed a sigh of relief.

"How long until X is ready to take us back?" Enzan asked Saito.

Saito looked to X whose gaze went unfocused as he accessed the program. His expression dropped.

"Uh... do you really want to know?"

Enzan clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know.

"It'll be at least 7 hours."

"That's almost midnight here," Dr Hikari informed them. "It'd be better to stay the night."

"Stay the night where?" Saito asked suspiciously.

"Saito," X sighed. His brother could be a little more trusting. Saito tended to question everyone's motives. If it wasn't for X, he would let his worries and doubts get the best of him and not do anything for those he didn't fully trust.

"We should stay here," Saito's Laika said. "There's no need to make any special arrangements."

"But where will you sleep?" Netto asked. Dr Hikari quietened the kids and informed them that he could have sleeping bags brought in.

"A camp," X's Searchman commented approvingly.

Saito seemed nervous about the idea, looking around like he wanted to bolt for an exit. And he would make it too, having been on the track team at school for a number of years. Laika placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from enacting his fantasy.

"Cool! We can all stay together!" Netto and X said in unison. Saito quickly covered his PET speakers, hoping that no one caught the unified moment between this otherworldly version of his brother and his navi.

"You have a house to return to," Netto's Enzan pointed out.

"I don't know, keeping watch over these... people seems like a good idea," Laika commented.

Netto grinned at Enzan. "See, Laika agrees with my plan."

"You can make it mission 'get to know Beyondard duplicates;', if that makes you feel better about it," Saito commented with a smug smile. He knew that if this Enzan was like his own, he would find the joke naming of this event annoying.

"Not everything needs a name, Saito," Saito's Enzan said for what felt like the 100th time. "Especially not 'mission' when it's not an assigned mission."

"Ah, Enzan is Enzan in any world," Netto said calmly with Saito nodding serenely in agreement.

"What's that supposed to mean!" both versions of Enzan demanded to know.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

X looked at up at the small smile Saito was sporting. It was good that his operator had found a way to enjoy this little trip but, at the same time, it was a little sad that part of the smile could be attributed to Netto.

What was so great about being in the physical world anyway? He tapped his fingers on his arm, waiting out the discussion.

"It kind of hurts to see them getting along," Rockman commented with a wistful and sad tone to his voice.

"Don't I know it?" X huffed. "But Saito doesn't really get comfortable around strangers easily so I guess this isn't too bad." Or so he'd keep telling himself.

"Really?" Rockman questioned in surprise. "Netto gets too friendly around strangers. I keep having to warn him not to blindly trust people."

X barked a laugh. "And I have to keep reminding Saito that not every person has an ulterior motive." X glanced up to see Saito looking at him with a smug expression. "What?"

"You're getting along. Actually, I'm surprise that neither of you have brought up netbattling yet. It was the first thing out of X's mouth when he met Gutsman."

Everyone else was looking at the two similar looking kids and their navis with curious eyes.

"Is anyone else thinking they're seeing double?" Netto's Enzan commented.

"We're all doubled. It's just that they're different enough to be unnerving," Saito's Laika commented.

"Why are they the only ones different?" Saito's Enzan mused.

"Maybe there's some kind of butterfly effect going on? Something small is different between our worlds, something that affects Netto but not us?" Netto's Enzan theorised.

"It's the best theory we've got," Netto's Laika commented before walking over to Saito and Netto. "Are we staying the night here as well?"

"If you wish," Dr Hikari said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning came and Netto was sprawled out on the sleeping bag. Or was it Saito? Saito's hair was messed up from sleeping and Netto hadn't worn his iconic bandanna to bed so the two looked even more identical than they had the previous day.

"If they were from the same world, I'd say they were twins," Saito's Laika commented while Netto's Enzan took a photo.

"Not a bad idea," Saito's Enzan said, also taking a photo.

"Do you think they're the same person, just with a different name?" Netto's Enzan added a new theory.

"Do you guys have anything better to do than gossiping about others?" Saito questioned, waking up. He rubbed at his eyes, yawning tiredly as he stumbled to his feet. "I need to go get dressed."

X appeared on the PET screen. "Ah, Saito!" he tried to stop his operator. With a bang, Saito walked right into the doorframe instead of the doorway. At the sound, Netto woke in surprise.

"Ow," Saito stated blandly. He was fine, just embarrassed and now very awake. X just sighed and went back to sleep.

Netto snickered from the sleeping bags before dropping back down into them, as if to go back to sleep.

Netto's Enzan wasn't having any of it. "Get up," he said, literally dragging the sleeping bag out from under Netto.

"Netto!" Rockman called out. "You should wake up!"

"Ugh, fine," Netto huffed, climbing out of the sleeping bag. Saito walked back in as Netto walked out to get dressed.

"Saito, where did X go?" Rockman asked, curious.

"Back to sleep. He usually doesn't wake up until later," Saito responded kindly as he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Rockman nodded his understanding as he knew who X had probably been based off. However, both Enzans looked confused about this. They shared a look and Netto's Enzan motioned for Saito's to speak to him.

"You let your navi... sleep in?" Saito's Enzan questioned.

"Sleep is not a requirement," Blues pointed out.

"I know that," Saito responded. Really, did they forget that it was research from his father and grandfather made navis possible? "X is special."

"And awake," X complained, appearing in his PET. His eyes had tired circles underneath. "The speed I use means I require more time to charge."

"Or you just like to sleep in," Rockman commented in an amused voice. X glared at the other navi before stalking off. "Did I say something wrong?"

"He's just grumpy in the morning," Saito said as he put his PET away. He refrained from adding that Rockman had just said something that Saito himself had also teased Rockman about. Who knew the orange and blue navi was so sensitive?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr Hikari greeted the children as they all gathered in the same room Saito and the others from his world had appeared the previous day.

"I'm sorry but X isn't fully awake yet," Saito said. He knew that Dr Hikari would know the reason why X wasn't the same as other navis and why it was important for them to wait until X was awake.

Or maybe not. "Do you mind if I look at your navi?"

"A little," Saito answered honestly. "X is special and I protect him."

Dr HIkari smiled and held out his hand. "I promise to look after him. I just want to check his programming against Rockman's."

The other netsaviours were confused, except Netto and Rockman. Rockman seemed a little worried but Netto looked excited.

"Do you think it'll be the same?" he asked his father and Saito.

Saito shrugged. There was a good chance. They were supposed to be twins after all.

"I suspect the programming on these two will be almost the same. There will be small differences, like fingerprints for humans, but I suspect their core programming to be the same."

"Cool!" Netto was glowing as he handed Rockman over.

"This is a pointless test," Laika commented. "We should be getting home."

"Have you thought about what it might mean if two navis share core programming but seem to be different in personality and appearance?" Saito asked.

Netto couldn't tell if their silence was a yes or a no. If navis could be affected by the environment they interacted with, it would generate new discussions on just how independent navis had become.

The kids had breakfast while Dr Hikari fiddled with the two PETs in his lab. When they returned he smiled as he handed the PETs back to their owners.

The result of his experiment? "There are subtle differences."

X glared at the scientist. "And you used me to contact Papa."

"Papa?" Netto questioned.

"Our Papa?"

X nodded and Saito was upset that he forgot about that feature. "Papa explained the whole thing about how something in this world was pulling at ours."

"We believe it may have been the result of the kids' exploration into a different Beyondard. There may have been waves out into other universes."

"This is giving me a headache," Netto whined.

"So your universe accidentally called ours?" Enzan huffed.

Dr Hikari nodded. "Although it did allow for some interesting research for me and my counterpart."

"I still don't get what comparing Rockman's to X's programming does," Netto's Enzan said.

"In all honest, as the person who programmed Rockman in our world and my counterpart having programmed X in the other world, I can account for the differences between Rockman's and X's core programming. It's circumstances unique to them but proposes and interesting direction for debates around navi autonomy."

"I can account for it as well and I didn't have to look at their programming," Netto said.

"That's just a guess without any evidence though," Saito pointed out.

"Okay, you two. Stop talking and let's just go," X said.

"I thought you weren't awake enough?" Netto's Enzan questioned suspiciously.

"I'm awake enough now."

Netto's Enzan felt a shiver down his back as X gave him a cocky smirk. There was something unnervingly familiar about it. The same as Saito's determination as he shuffled his team into a space where they could head back. Maybe Saito was someone else in this world and the same for Netto on their side. Saito wasn't Netto, that much felt obvious, but maybe someone else was.

"Okay, thanks for having us!" he said, right before X activated the program to send them back. For a moment, Netto's Enzan felt he had it. But whatever the familiar feeling was, it was gone with the three familiar strangers from Beyondard.

So much for explaining some of the odd behaviour between Netto and Rockman.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

So much for explaining some of the odd behaviour between Saito and X. Saito's Enzan felt he had been onto something without consciously having an idea of what that something might be.

Their Dr Hikari looked excited and relieved as they returned. "You were gone for almost a day. How was it?"

"Let's never do that again," X said, his energy depleted.

"I don't know. I think it was interesting." To Dr Hikari, he explained, "we met other versions of ourselves on the other side. The other Papa was still Papa."

"I did notice that during the quick conversation with my Beyondard counterpart."

"Except Saito was replaced by some kid called Netto," Laika pointed out. Dr Hikari visibly stiffened before he agreed with X that this experiment was one that they probably didn't need to repeat.

Saito smiled at little at how quickly their father changed his mind, although he understood it. The whole ideal opened up the thoughts of 'what if'. What if he had been the twin born with HBD and died from it? Saito hadn't ever imagined it but he now had the image of Rockman in his head, alongside the image of a living Netto.

"AH! We forgot to have a netbattle!" X whined from inside the PET.

"Ah." Saito had forgotten about that. They really should have battled Netto and Rockman. X would have finally had an opponent he could go full power with. "Oops."

"Saito!" X whined.

"There's nothing we can do. Let's get you charged and then we can go onto the net at home."

X sighed but reluctantly agreed that sounded like a plan.

#please let my formatting stay #rockman.exe #megaman.exe #Saito Hikari #Netto Hikari #Hub Hikari #Lan Hikari #role swap au

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hyperventilatinghermit · 6 years ago

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2019 TBR List

This list has been a little while coming, and it still isn’t finished because my school has decided that they won’t return until mid-January, so I can’t finish it yet. Which is frustrating, but we’ll continue on! So this year I’ve decided to pick 24 books to read. The only rule to choosing the books is that I want to read them, unlike the past years where I tried to force myself to read certain books. So, if I don’t fall into my monthly reading slump, I should be good!

Orbiting Jupiter, Gary D. Schmidt When Jack meets his new foster brother, he already knows three things about him: Joseph almost killed a teacher. He was incarcerated at a place called Stone Mountain. He has a daughter. Her name is Jupiter. And he has never seen her. What Jack doesn’t know, at first, is how desperate Joseph is to find his baby girl. Or how urgently he, Jack, will want to help. But the past can’t be shaken off. Even as new bonds form, old wounds reopen. The search for Jupiter demands more from Jack than he can imagine.

The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Mackenzi Lee Henry “Monty” Montague was born and bred to be a gentleman, but he was never one to be tamed. The finest boarding schools in England and the constant disapproval of his father haven’t been able to curb any of his roguish passions—not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty embarks on his Grand Tour of Europe, his quest for a life filled with pleasure and vice is in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend and traveling companion, Percy. Still it isn’t in Monty’s nature to give up. Even with his younger sister, Felicity, in tow, he vows to make this yearlong escapade one last hedonistic hurrah and flirt with Percy from Paris to Rome. But when one of Monty’s reckless decisions turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt that spans across Europe, it calls into question everything he knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores.

Nevernight, Jay Kristoff Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death. Six years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything. But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult. The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student. The shadows love her. And they drink her fear.

Long Way Down, Jason Reynolds AND THEN THERE WERE SHOTS Everybody ran, ducked, hid, tucked themselves tight. Pressed our lips to the pavement and prayed the boom, followed by the buzz of a bullet, didn't meet us. After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that. As more people from his past arrive, Will has to ask himself if he really knows what he's doing.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green The Carls just appeared. Coming home from work at three a.m., twenty-three-year-old April May stumbles across a giant sculpture. Delighted by its appearance and craftsmanship--like a ten-foot-tall Transformer wearing a suit of samurai armor--April and her friend Andy make a video with it, which Andy uploads to YouTube. The next day April wakes up to a viral video and a new life. News quickly spreads that there are Carls in dozens of cities around the world--everywhere from Beijing to Buenos Aires--and April, as their first documentarian, finds herself at the center of an intense international media spotlight. Now April has to deal with the pressure on her relationships, her identity, and her safety that this new position brings, all while being on the front lines of the quest to find out not just what the Carls are, but what they want from us.

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow, Jessica Townsend Morrigan Crow may have defeated her deadly curse, passed the dangerous trials and joined the mystical Wundrous Society, but her journey into Nevermoor and all its secrets has only just begun. And she is fast learning that not all magic is used for good. Morrigan Crow has been invited to join the prestigious Wundrous Society, a place that promised her friendship, protection and belonging for life. She's hoping for an education full of wunder, imagination and discovery - but all the Society want to teach her is how evil Wundersmiths are. And someone is blackmailing Morrigan's unit, turning her last few loyal friends against her. Has Morrigan escaped from being the cursed child of Wintersea only to become the most hated figure in Nevermoor? Worst of all, people have started to go missing. The fantastical city of Nevermoor, once a place of magic and safety, is now riddled with fear and suspicion...

For Every One, Jason Reynolds (There isn’t really a blurb for this one, it’s more just telling giving you inspiration to read it... I think? Moving on.)

The Knife of Never Letting Go, Patrick Ness Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives. But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E. Schwab Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see. Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand. After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure. Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

The List, Patricia Forde In the city of Ark, speech is constrained to five hundred sanctioned words. Speak outside the approved lexicon and face banishment. The exceptions are the Wordsmith and his apprentice Letta, the keepers and archivists of all language in their post-apocalyptic, neo-medieval world. On the death of her master, Letta is suddenly promoted to Wordsmith, charged with collecting and saving words. But when she uncovers a sinister plan to suppress language and rob Ark’s citizens of their power of speech, she realizes that it’s up to her to save not only words, but culture itself.

Girl in the Blue Coat, Monica Hesse Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, her nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded. She likes to think of her illegal work as a small act of rebellion. On a routine delivery, a client asks Hanneke for help. Expecting to hear that Mrs. Janssen wants meat or kerosene, Hanneke is shocked by the older woman's frantic plea to find a person - a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, who has vanished without a trace from a secret room. Hanneke initially wants nothing to do with such dangerous work, but is ultimately drawn into a web of mysteries and stunning revelations that lead her into the heart of the resistance, open her eyes to the horrors of the Nazi war machine, and compel her to take desperate action.

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

My Lady Jane, Cynthia Hand/Brodi Ashton/Jodi Meadows Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown… Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended… Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified. The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah France, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France...but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real--and deadly--consequences.

Little Women, Louisa May Alcott “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

Onyx and Ivory, Mindee Arnett (I’m not going to put this blurb because it’s its own little novel in of itself. Basically its a story about kings and assassins, it sounds pretty cool.)

The Hazel Wood, Melissa Albert Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.” Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong.

Caraval, Stephanie Garber Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over. But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner. Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for four years and then be granted her freedom. Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilarating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her ... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. Then one of the other contestants turns up dead ... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Strange the Dreamer, Laini Taylor The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

So this is it! My current TBR for 2019! My goal is to read as many of these as I possibly can, and not to beat myself up for it if I don’t get around to it. Do you have any of these books on your TBR?

#tbr #tbr 2019 #book list #to read

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