#but I couldn’t find a good place to take a screenshot with a rook

[diana-bluewolf]

For King & Country!

[1wngdngl]

Pokemon Shield playthrough

I’ve been playing this game a lot since last night, and I still haven’t gotten on the train yet ;) I like to take games slowly to make sure I notice and experience everything along the way. It looks like the best way to share my game progress is through screenshots, so that’s what I’ll do. Cut for length and spoilers - I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers and leaks for the past couple weeks, so if you want to be able to experience the games fresh yourself, now might be a good time to click away. [This post covers up thru getting the Dynamax band]

I went ahead with the “standard” female character, but you can bet I’ll be customizing her as soon as I can. What’s with that knock-kneed stance, anyway? Pokemon trainers should stand strong and confident!

Chairman Rose greets us. Everyone online was guessing he’ll turn out to be evil or something. He certainly looks suspicious, doesn’t he?

And here comes the first surprise of the LP - a brand-new Pokemon, not even seen in trailers! (except for that fuzzy 1-frame image from a while back.) Its trunk looks kinda like a soup ladle. Maybe it’s a play on a teacup/teapot elephant? I wonder if it evolves...

Here’s Leon fighting an unknown trainer - maybe a Gym leader?

I really like the art style of the map - it’s so whimsical :)

The map also shows current weather for all locations. Look at all the different stuff going on in the Wild Area at the same time! I’ve been to the real England, and I don’t remember it having such extreme weather...

The map also has a few useful features, like displaying your next objective, and showing the facilities in a town (but only once you’ve been there yourself). The towns and such all have really interesting names that emulate that old English sound.

First thing I do when I gain control in a new Pokemon game? Change the battle style to “Set”. It seems more fair, plus it helps make the game just a bit more challenging.

I’m a little sad that the old option to change menu/text box borders seems to be forever abandoned, though... >.>

My house. It’s a pretty decent-sized place. We have a pet Munchlax and a few Budew outside. My character practices her whistling.

My mom. Or “mum” as the game calls her. The dialog is noticeably slanted toward a more British dialect - I wonder how they handled the accent in other languages?

Speaking of my mom, she seems rather big compared to me, doesn’t she? Quite a bit taller. I’m guessing my character is around 12 - when I was that age, I was the same height as my mom and done growing. Maybe they think people won’t believe this character is the mom’s child if she’s too tall?

Also, my dream is to one day have a /dad/ in a Pokemon game. Seriously, why does every other house I visit have a husband and wife, and my character is always stuck being the only child of a single parent? What if in one of these games, my dad was the champion or the evil team leader - how fun would that be?

My bedroom. The pink clock on the wall reminds me of one from a previous Pokemon game - was it ORAS that had those round clocks on the wall that you could set?

My first step on my journey. Looks like my mom spends every minute gardening - I guess the Budew help her?

Ah yes, every Pokemon game needs a “power of science” guy :)

Here’s another surprise - how many Pokemon games give you a fishing rod right at the start?! Usually you have to track down three different fisherman to get the three versions of the fishing rod. I’m also happy to see that Pokeballs have their own pocket again :)

The handy map tells us where to go next, with even a little picture of our destination.

The champion of Galar, of course, has a huge house.

Wow, a Purrloin! I forgot that they stood on two legs. I like its little bed.

Also, Leon’s family decorate their house mainly in trophies.

I guess this is Hop’s room - I like his artwork. I know Leon has a Charizard - does he have these other two Pokemon too, and that’s why Hop has posters of them?

Leon’s room is mostly a shrine to hats.

Speaking of Leon, he really knows how to play to the crowd ;)

So, some people are wondering if /Leon/ will turn out to be evil in the story. I didn’t really get that vibe from him. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but he does seem like he has some worries on his mind, like his cheer is sometimes forced?

Maybe he actually hates the limelight and gets uncomfortable with attention? Maybe he’s secretly terminally ill? Maybe there’s some massive threat about to attack the Galar region? He seems really concerned with making sure that Galar has lots of strong trainers. Maybe he knows something about the legendaries?

Alternately, some people were saying that maybe Leon isn’t actually a great champion, and his fights are rigged in his favor by the chairman. /If/ that were the case, I bet that Leon is actually unhappy with that situation and wants to make the tournament more fair.

Or maybe everything in the game is exactly as it seems ;)

Nothing important here, I just like this screenshot. I wonder if Fletchling are native to Galar too?

My first Pokemon! (in this game, at least...) I picked Sobble because he’s the most endearing.

My first battle! I like how the interface is laid out, and how detailed the background is beyond the fighters - you can even see Leon standing there.

My Pokemon's details. I don’t play competitively so I don’t know if it’s a particular “good” Sobble. It seems like this species is a fast special-attacker, so I’ll have to keep that in mind.

The Slumbering Weald (my spellchecker doesn’t even recognize that word :) ) It’s very spooky and seclusive - and it’s right next to the starter town too! You’d think if it was really that dangerous, people would put up more than a flimsy wooden gate to keep trespassers out...Hop, of course, is an idiot and runs right into it; and I, the spineless protagonist, have no option to say no. >.>

My first wild encounter! This starts the trend I noticed all during the opening hours of this game - most of the wild Pokemon are brand-new, totally-unrevealed species. Like this squirrel thing. (Although some people guessed we would get a new squirrel based on that shirt design). I wonder if it evolves?

This part was actually pretty scary, with the Pokemon (I can’t remember its name...) suddenly appearing out of the fog. The Pokemon acted almost like a hologram in battle though - my attacks couldn’t touch it.

What if the twist is that the legendary wolf Pokemon are just illusions, perhaps even man-made ones created to keep intruders from discovering some secret in the forest?

Anyway, we escape from the situation perfectly fine, because of course we do ;)

I noticed that this particular generation gives you quite of a bit of money at the start, but I guess that’s because you encounter the first boutique so early. There’s a fair number of affordable options too. Some of these Pokemon shirts I wish were /real/ shirts.

My new look :) Mostly I just ditched the dress for jeans. This looks like a comfortable outfit, although that knapsack is a bit unwieldy.

We visit the professor’s lab. She has a lot of books, plants, and a tea set. I wonder if she ever has problems with Polteageist?

The new Pokemon center design. I love that the move deleter/relearner and nickname functions are all in one place - I always hated flying around the map trying to remember where they were.

That Pokemon behind the counter is another totally new one. Could this be a Galarian Audino?

Using mystery gift, I was able to get this “Gigantamax” Meowth. However, due to my rule of only using Gen 8 Pokemon, it’s just gonna chill out in the box >.>

Leon is very generous with Pokeballs. Even the items you find on the ground are generous, often containing 2 or 3 “copies” of an item when you check it out. Is that a new thing for Pokemon?

Here I battle my first trainer that isn’t named Hop. He has that squirrel shirt and is a total pushover.

Just chilling by the professor’s house. It looks like maybe you can only fish in fishing spots (those darker circles on the water), but at least you get your fishing pole right away.

Also, I discovered that while I could not sit on beds or chairs inside, I am able to sit on this bench :)

The way the Pokemon mill about in the tall grass is very interesting. Some will try to avoid you, others like this Yamper will chase after you. It makes the routes feel a lot more populated.

I guess this is Sonia’s room. It’s very pink. I wonder if she even /wants/ to do Pokemon research, or if she’d rather be a fashion designer or something.

The in-game time of day doesn’t seem to match up with the Switch system clock, at least not from what I’ve seen so far. For example, suddenly it is sunset and I catch a falling star. (look how the reflection in the water changes :) )

I haven’t decided yet if I want to buy the Switch online service, but in the meantime I decided to at least pick my profile picture. The icons you can choose from actually reveal quite a lot about the trainer classes and gyms that are in the game. For the first time ever, we have a Dark-type gym! Their logo is a sideways version of Team Yell’s logo - does that mean that Team Yell or Marnie is the Dark gym leader?

I spent a while catching Pokemon around the professor’s house. I can’t tell if I got every possible species without looking online, but I did build up a good roster.

I found it really cool how many new, surprising Pokemon showed up this early in the game. There’s the fox one (which is a Dark type and reminds me of Zoroark), the turtle one (which has got to be a pre-evolution of Dreadnaw, probably the 1st of 3 stages), the bird one (based on the “Rook” in its name and the fact that it learns Dark-type moves early, I’m guessing it’s a pre-evolution of Corviknight), and the bug one (can’t wait to see what its final stage looks like).

I went through the party to find the best Pokemon that fit my self-imposed rules (only new, Gen 8 Pokemon, no overlap of types). I know that this means I won’t be able to use Galarian forms or Gigantamaxes of old Pokemon, but just because I’m not using them in my main playthrough doesn’t mean I can’t catch them :)

Next time: I step onto the train and leave my home behind.

[vocatharsis]

Cogs’ TS2 Apocalypse Run (VI)

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It’s been a couple weeks since my last one of these. I’ve been bogged down a little by uni stuff... plus I’ve been so engrossed in the challenge run that I’ve built up a bit of a backlog of screenshots which I was ugh about sifting through, so this is where I take a break from a pastime to knuckle down to sort them all out. 

(This is an ongoing series of me on a nostalgia trip with The Sims 2, playing Phaenoh’s tiered apocalypse challenge. If you’re a fan of Sims and/or silly challenge blogging, feel free to read on.)

THE SMITHS’ FREE STATE, PART 6 - I WRITE SIMS, NOT TRAGEDIES

A spacesuit, a helicopter, and a semblance of public safety -- one tier down, two to go -- invitation, the sincerest form of flattery -- Kent Dies At The End.

[Dutchman voice] Welcome back.

When I last posted an update on this run, John had just hit adulthood. Seems the week isn’t too fond of me, ‘cos he aged up on a Friday evening in a career that always takes weekends off. Hopefully he’ll be able to reach the top by the next in-game Saturday...

In the meantime, John’s making friends, as Popularity Sims are wont to do. Here’s some teenager called Meadow, explaining to him that she doesn’t believe in effective medical practice. 

The fogged-up Founding Couple are getting along okay. Shelmerdine’s still employed, which keeps her occupied for half the week; Kent, on the other hand, tends to just mope around, with the odd bout of playing repeatedly with the cat.

As a Flight Officer, John starts work at the same time as his mum, so he gets to ride in a limousine for the moment...

And then, at work (after promotion), he somehow meets Donte! This is the guy I was intending to hook Shelmerdine up with, just before Kent came along and made me a better offer. Hm, this is actually quite handy; I know he has decent mechanical & body skill, so once Military’s lifted I can stay in touch with him for a future heir...

I feel like some sort of creepy matchmaking god when I realise I’m screening for townies with already-decent skillsets, so that heirs can befriend them as  teenagers and reel them in as soon as they’re allowed. The end of the world is tough.

Just look at Kent - why did I take this perfectly unremarkable screenshot of him playing chess? ‘Cos it’s the first want he’s fulfilled in ages. It’s not even enough to bring him into the low green! I’ve noticed that the ‘drain’ mechanic won’t take them below the upper edge of the low red, so at least he won’t require any illusive interventions...

Anyway, John gets promoted three times in the next two days, bringing him up to Commander. Then I get a chance card, which pushes him up again to Astronaut. Just need a promotion this next day...

Booyeah! I’m now allowed to invite people over using the phone. I can also visit community lots more than once a week (in groups of at least two), receive newspapers, and... go jogging, I guess. 

I’m also officially allowed to start lifting second-tier restrictions. Which means I can get started on bringing the two crustmeisters back ‘round to lucidity. BUT FIRST, I have to go ‘round and add some new community lots to the neighbourhood. The newspaper’s a thing now, but I’m only allowed to take the first (tier 1 or tier 2) job in the listings, so they need some new places to go sign up. 

(*sounds of renovating*)

Welcome to the neighbourhood! Mind the gunge on what-was-once-called-the-footpath; we just cleaned out the hordes.

With nobody due for work on Friday afternoon after 4pm, I now bring the whole family over to the medical facility. I sign Sake up for a Service job, and give Panoptica a teen Medicine job. Just to make sure she gets her want rerolls every day... 

... and for SOME REASON she gets fired for nonattendance less than a MINUTE after returning home. I thought you couldn’t be punished for missing work if you signed on during what would be the middle of a shift? Oh well, more fool me. At least it’s not an important teen job. Could be much worse. 

Meanwhile the next day, John manages to get some gold inside his asp. meter as he finally rolls some skill-building wants. In the above picture, he actually hits platinum, for the first time since childhood after mechanical-learnin’ rolled into a short-lived loop of wanting to be nice to Kent (tickle, play with, appreciate). Good for him! Not that Kent has any such luck - he’s still red.

Also in the ‘good luck’ department, Panoptica wants to max her Games enthusiasm again?, so even though she’s at max logic I make her spend the entire day on Chess so she can grow up well.

Still love the way Sims with very Playful personality scores react to playing chess. It’s a rook, girl, not a toilet brush. 

Sake’s steadily clambering his way up to Rescue Pet, but with the elders around I have to make sure they’re out of the way when the cat’s carpool arrives. If they’re obstructing him while he’s heading outside, he might cancel the action, and if that happens then he’ll miss work and be fired.

Still, here’s a luvverly shot of John in his General outfit:

Kent only has a few days left, but in theory I should be able to lift Service and regain control of him just in time to make sure he dies inside. 

That sounds morbid. But I have my reasons...

Sake’s a Seeing-Eye Pet, the 2nd-highest position in the job track, as of the above picture. In the one below, he finally gets it done. 

YYYES. Now Kent can fade away to ash in the comfort of his own brick-shaped home. 

That same day, Panoptica manages to top the Teen Business track, which she took a job in via the newspaper. Kent dies tomorrow, and she’ll be out at work when that happens...

Like I’ve said in past updates, I mean for her to lift Intelligence, so she won’t keep her desk job once she’s grown up. At least she gets some lifetime fulfilment for ‘topping’ a career. 

Above is Kent’s last meal. There’s no denying that he’s had rough time of it. Piss-awful, really. He didn’t have the benefit of being super-fulfilled already like Shel did, and his lifelong dream - to own a hospital - was realised before the game even started, only it didn’t count. He’s passing on while still in the red, and - depending - may well be the only Smith who ever has to do so. Being the Founder’s spouse in this challenge run is a bit of a raw deal, I think you’ll find. 

So now, everybody except Panoptica and Sake are gathered in the attic for a little sendoff. 

Whoowee, this was a lot of pictures. Two in-game weeks’ worth, I guess. The next update will feature Kent’s actual dead body. But also a birthday! And more... 

Thanks for reading!

[akiharashizuka]

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS episode 3 thoughts

(I feel like this screenshot isn’t the most representative one, but it can’t be helped since the title shows up there)

First Contact

I expected that Knight to not give any information, however I didn’t think he would just try to blow up both himself and Playmaker. And he had no second thoughts about it. I know it’s a virtual reality, but Ignis said that you suffer mental damage. I doubt he wasn’t aware of that. This scene made me question if he’s really human or something else.

Oh, wow. 

Ok, the Knight was terrified when Ignis “ate” him, so I guess he is human, but was mentally prepared for exploding. 

Hmm I guess the person is safe, but the account got permanently erased or something. It’s just my speculation.

Pfff xD I could have sworn this would happen. 

However, I didn’t expect Blue Angel to challenge him as well. I understand why Gō did that, since he likes standing out and Playmaker stole the spotlight, but I don’t really get why Aoi as well.

The exit was great though xD

So Revolver has the “3 things” speech pattern. The difference is that he just stated that they are going to find out Playmaker’s identity soon and started enunciating the reasons. Yūsaku says beforehand that there are 3 reasons why *insert statement here*

And his reasons make so much sense. I’m impressed he could notice so much and put things together in a short amount of time. Ok, I know Yūsaku had been challenging the Knight of Hanoi for a while, but I assume it hasn’t been that long since he started. Plus, he just got his hands on Ignis, which is the organization’s goal. So, they had no reason to pay that much attention to him (only keep their guard up).

Ugh...What’s this? Link VRAINS avatars? They can create stuff like this too? o_O

I think they are avatars, since a few weird looking reporters are shown, followed by these two. Ok...they probably look even weirder.

The frog-like one yelled at the pigeon not to use his real name, so that probably settles it. And they are clearly in Link VRAINS. So, people can be really creative with their avatars.

Some even got so far to create fake avatars that look like Playmaker O_O

The one that posed like a bodybuilder cracked me xD

Decode Talker seems to be materializing by itself. I have to agree with Kusanagi: Data Storm might be really incredible.

Too bad Ignis can’t give more info. So, along with most of his body, he also lost plenty of memories. That’s a bit sad. He was on the run for so long, but might have forgotten why.

Aww, now I feel sorry for him.

I bet he was trying to protest and tell them that he actually has a name, but couldn’t since Kusanagi turned the sound off. 

Hmm, so the subs went with “Eye”, for the spelling of his nickname. I would have chosen “I” (the letter), since Yūsaku said it comes from A.I. And the pronunciation is the same for the word “eye”, that’s why Kusanagi thought it was a good name. The wiki uses “Ai”, which works too, but it’s more of a feminine name. Doesn’t really matter though, since either one is fine and I’ll still call him Ignis anyway.

It looks like more people want to try the Data Storm and Speed Duels. Who can blame them? It’s something new that seems fun and exciting.

However, the in-game security (?) doesn’t agree and goes as far as suspending their accounts (well, that was more for ignoring the warning). Hmm, so SOL Technology doesn’t want more people to use the Data Storm, I guess.

Speaking of which, we get more of the higher-ups speaking this time. I checked the ending credits and they are indeed (code)named Rook and Knight. Hopefully the others will be added soon enough. 

As for Akira’s plan for catching Playmaker, it sounds rather simple, but I guess it’s the most effective one.

Talking business while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Sure xD

Some info about Ema was revealed to be an information hunter and doesn’t really take sides. Which I think it’s interesting. However, here she is kinda being employed by Akira to investigate Playmaker. Hmm, I guess his plan is more complex then. It’s not only to allure him in a battle with Hanoi and capture him, but also gather information.

One thing that I noticed is that they are being rather casual. Well, not that much for Akira since he’s always serious, but he called her by her first name, without any honorifics. And Ema just tells him straight (sort of) that he is willing to use anything to have his way, including her.

Wait...Gō’s home is some deposit-like building? Decorated with a wrestling ring, training equipment and a TV O_O That looks like a unique place to live. 

His obsession for popularity is kinda getting on my nerves. Though, from the info revealed, there has to be more to it. And it’s starting to show some signs of that, since the manager (I initially thought he was the butler) pointed out that Gō is a hard-worker and doesn’t duel for money.

About Akira wanting to ask him to duel Playmaker, guess that was obvious, considering what he told Ema. Hmm, I didn’t think he will explain the situation to them (sure, without giving any vital info). But I liked how Gō turned the offer down xD

Akira definitely has data on Gō’s background. The big hint is what the manager said about him looking like he knew everything and being ready to threaten them. 

Before he left, Akira pointed out the hand-made belt. This is just a guess, but it looks like it was made by a child (or maybe more). It has to be related to why Gō worked so hard to become a popular duelist and why he wants to protect that fame. 

Another peculiar thing regarding Yūsaku is that he managed to decipher something about Ignis’ program, while Kusanagi had to idea what to do. 

And that something is no other than the memory of Revolver destroying the Cyberse. It gets even better when the system starting acting up and Revolver’s face shows up. So he can sense Ignis as well.

At first I was a bit confused, since clearly they weren’t in Link VRAINS, but the city looked digitized, then Revolver passed by on his dragon. I must say, the moment was intense.

When Kusanagi showed up, I realized that it was a vision, most likely from the virtual reality and only Yūsaku could see it. It most likely has to do with sensing Ignis and how he instinctively knew about Speed Duels.

Should I worry that Yūsaku smiled when he said that Ignis will disappear if he tears apart his program?

Well, Ignis does reveal stuff...And as I expected, he doesn’t remember why he is being chased...And not even why he escaped in the first place. I’m surprised that Ignis didn’t give up on running away. That memory must have left quite an impact on him.

That must be Dr. Kogami. His name was revealed in the cast list for this episode. Hmm, nothing really interesting here, just that they are planning something and, of course, a Revolver is willing to challenge Playmaker.

Then, that strange sound started playing and Revolver was in a hurry to leave. Now that’s curious.

So that’s Revolver’s real form. Sure, it’s shadowed (for now), but the silhouette looks different than his avatar.

You know, it kind of reminds me of the image shown last week with (supposedly) Kusanagi’s brother. However, that doesn’t make much sense. At this point at least.

It’s gotten more tragic all of a sudden...So that person is his father and Revolver only wants to make his wish come true...I have no idea what happened, but I’m already sympathizing with him. And I’m glad it’s that way. 

I love how VRAINS already gives us hints that the characters are more than what they seem.

That mark must be important. I have no idea right now what it could be, but I’ll make sure to keep it in mind.

This may sound trivial, but why are there so few students O_O The classroom is huge, but there can only be seen 15 students...Is the class so boring that most of them would rather skip? Or they just want to hang out in Link VRAINS?

Either way, I’m glad this was brought up. I’ve been trying to find the origin behind the Knights of Hanoi. I mean, Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, but I highly doubt they took it from here. I had read a little about the city, but couldn’t find any connection (at least at that time). Another possible name origin is the puzzle game, Tower of Hanoi. Again, I couldn’t seem to find a solid connection, but since the teacher is explaining this very puzzle, this might be it.

Just to give a brief explanation, the creator of this puzzle took inspiration from a legend which takes place in an Indian temple. Then, why “Hanoi” you might ask. The only explanation I found is that the temple in the legend may be located anywhere, including Hanoi. I’m not satisfied with this, but oh well (I should probably search for other sources...). The legend says that in the temple, there is a room with 3 posts, surrounded by disks. The priests, commanded by an ancient prophecy, have to move the disks, following some rules (I'm assuming these are the rules of the game itself). The priests have been doing that for a while and, when the puzzle is completed, the world will end (it’s kinda forced, but this might connect to revolver wanting to destroy the Cyberse)

Now, for the rules. As seen in the image, the disks have different sizes. They can only be moved on top of a bigger disk. Also, only one can be moved at a time. And you can only move the uppermost disk on the stack.

Not sure if all this info will be useful in the future, but I couldn’t help myself when I saw the teacher explaining the Tower of Hanoi. And the scene moved on to something else, so yeah...

Shima just being a fanboy again. I wonder what Yūsaku thinks in this kind of situations xD

Hmm, so he left Ignis watch over his house...That doesn’t sound like a very good idea.

Ok, first off, what kind of house is that? The walls are cracked and overall it looks like it could be abandoned. Hmm, I guess the rent is cheap.

Luckily, there is that little robot who keeps it clean. I wonder where did Yūsaku get that. Did he build it? Either way, it seems it (or should I use “she”?) is called Roboppy.

And 3rd, Ignis looked so suspicious there. Then he convinces Roboppy to become his underling. I kinda have a bad feeling about this xD It’s not only about him getting free, but also if Ignis keeps his promise and modifies Roboppy, it’s gonna be troublesome. Then again, he might not do that.

On a side note,  I chuckled at “idiot is a prohibited word”.

Oh. 

This has to be a different person than the guy Yūsaku dueled. I might be spoiling it, but the summary already revealed that Gō disguises as a Knight of Hanoi and duels Playmaker. Plus, we’ve seen Gō logging in right before this. And if you compare the vices, you’ll notice that they are the same.

Of course, Yūsaku leaves immediately. I guess it’s a good thing he sits next to Shima who checks Link VRAINS regularly. 

Next episode we get more stuff about Gō, which should be interesting. He most likely contacted Akira and went on with his offer. Also, when Yūsaku gets home, he might have a surprise...not a pleasant one though.