#can't wait to get that physical switch copy

[thelovelyblark-barg]

help I'm thinking too hard about outer wilds again

[kimoralov3]

dating ethan landry would include

a/n: yeah yeah i'm simping for another white man what's new. again completely self indulgent because i really wanna see scream vi again

warnings: scream vi spoilers, swearing

lemme just go ahead and say that this takes place in an alternate universe where he is not ghostface because i'm a delusional bitch 😁

so obviously the two of you both go to blackmore

and y'all met because you were friends with the woodsboro gang and he's chad's roomate

but even tho the two of you were always around each other due to your friends, you never really talked

i'm not saying that ethan is shy or anything he's maybe just a bit more cautious??? like he wants to see your personality before he tries talking to you

he also thinks you're really hot and doesn't wanna make a fucking fool of himself

y'all also have a class together

and your teacher likes to switch up the seating chart every unit and this time he puts the two of you right next to each other

which is perfect!! because now he has a chance to talk you without being interrupted by chad or mindy

naturally with the two of you sitting next to each other you're talking more often

and y'know maybe you missed a day of class for some reason

so ethan took it upon himself to take the notes twice so you'd have your own physical copy

he 100% has a full-blown crush on you at this point but he's too shy to say anything

he also feels like the two of you don't know each other that well and thinks it would be weird if he were to just spring his feelings on you

he tried to (discreetly) ask chad what he should do about his feelings

this did not go so well

"so this person that you like is y/n? dude just ask them out"

and yeah part of ethan knows that he's being ridiculous and that he should just suck it up and ask you on a date

but there's a bigger. louder part of him telling him that he should wait it out a little bit longer

in the meantime he's let chad talk him into going to some halloween frat party

he honestly didn't want to go but then mindy told him that you were coming and he thought

"perfect!! tonight's the night"

except he's never asked anyone out before so he needs a little courage

chad spends half the night talking ethan up to go talk to you queue the clip of chad calling ethan a snack

honestly by this time you knew what ethan was trying to do, and you were gonna save him the trouble and confess to him first but

he just looked so adorable trying not to stare at you all night

unfortunately neither of you gets to make a move because of the whole thing with tara

but he is determined to confess before the night is over

he ends up walking you to your dorm

and he's talking like the whole time

about any and everything

and he's just so cute when he's rambling so you just can't help yourself when you top him in his tracks and kiss him

when you pull away he is literally frozen in his place

he was not expecting you to do that so he just like stares at you

finally snaps out of it when you move away from him slightly

his confession comes out really rushed and is honestly not coherent but you knew what he was gonna say

let's just say before he left the two of you had more than a fair share to do on your first date

and now for the actual boyf stuff

simply put ethan is like the best boyfriend ever

he carries your bags and stuff for you

buys you snacks every time you visit his dorm

you practically live in his hoodies and shirts

the best cuddle buddy

like just imagine laying there watching a movie with him and running your hand through his curls

literally the best fucking thing ever

ugh speaking of his curls

he loves when you play with them, it's literally the fastest way to get him to calm down

[thebubblyship]

I got permission. And so begins my ranting. Strap in fellas.

So I recently got into printing out some fanfics physically, and the first one I had to tackle was the first 25 chapters of an amazing fanfic called Yuuei Survival Guide. The art and the writing are not mine, but I do plan on actually drawing a custom cover for the last 25 chapters so I don't feel guiltly snagging someone else's art for it.

So that's the front cover! The story heavily focuses on Oboro and Izuku's growing relationship so for the first book (I can only print so much in one book), so I knew right away I wanted for the two of them to be seperated on the front and back of the covers for the first book, and for them to be together for the second book (symbolizing their friendship growing).

That's why I threw Izuku onto the back cover with the description, along with them having the day/night theme. I feel like the day/night cycle symbolizes them pretty well.

Obviously, required spine with title on it so I don't lose it amongst my other books. I meshed their sky colors together with a blend tool and changed their opacity in the middle so they come together for the spine.

Book title with author, very required very cool.

And here is the second page, because I wanted the first page to be the gap page (if that makes sense) in case printing went wrong. I also included a cute piece of fanart I found for the fic along with a quote because I found it rather adorable.

Following is where it gets messy. I was able to download the full fanfic off of Ao3, but the file was so large word just died out on me so I switched over to just copy and pasting, editing while I go. Especially since I wanted to go through and format. That's when I noticed the author has begun to go back and re-edit through the book to update it to their current writing style, because I have such convient timing lmao.

I indented the chapter titles down a good few lines, made the first part of every chapter a bigger font than the rest, and just went to town. I also found a very lovely page break online that I added, since it fit the theme and looked rather nice.

In total, this physical version totalled to about 650 pages for the first 25 chapters. The end page down below, along with some more fanart:

I think in total, making everything took me about a week or two to do? Since I put it into a google doc, I was able to work on it during slow hours at my job and knock it out. Obviously printing and shipping added onto that time, so in total I'd say around a month to produce it?

I absolutely adore it, it came in this morning and I was grinning like an idiot while I checked it out. I plan on editing the last 25 chapters and making some art myself for it, since I: A. Need to actually draw fanart for this platonic duo, love them, and B. Have a very specific idea for them I want to do for the cover.

Definitely made some mistakes along the way for this first one, but there's only up to go in doing this! I love being able to physically hold it and it's definitely going on my self for a constant read. It's so beautiful!!!!

@lowlywriter I'll figure out how to condense down instructions on how to print it, along with getting a zip file of the cover layout and everything for it. (And I mentioned this earlier but I definitely did see the writing changes, last I checked you finished chapter 4 I believe? So there definitely is a writing tone shift in the book but I don't mind lol).

I'm so happy with the final result and I can't wait to tackle the last 25 chapters aaaaaaaa!!!!!!

[fanfictionjumbler]

Have been behind on looking at the GBA reveals for Switch Online (justifiably so as I can't responsibly afford the Expansion Pass so the reveals tend to bum me out) and I think we got the Starfy series ported over to Switch in the worst way. We finally get the first three outside of Japan and they didn't even translate them.

We should have gotten a pentalogy remaster and I'd be willing to wait for them because not only would they put the effort into translating the first four, we'd get the fourth one overseas too since that was a DS title. (For those who don't know the Starfy release lore, the one we got on DS outside of Japan as "The Legendary Starfy" was the fifth game.)

This franchise is one I'd love to recommend to friends and it's not that hard with the fifth one, but it's kinda weird, having experience with physical Japanese copies of 3 and 4, saying "hey, play these games, but you'll probably need the wiki for full benefit".

[racefortheironthrone]

Please innumerate for us the specialized problems of the library sciences.

Let me start with the caveat that my information is based on my experiences at the National Archives more than a decade ago, and policy has definitely changed on this front as we can see from this graph of recent digitization - apparently NARA wants to get to 85% digitization by 2026. (Even still, I'd note that the records of the WPA are <0.001% digitized.)

However, back when I was doing the research that would eventually become my first book, I remember being at the National Archives II building in College Park, Maryland (Go Terps!) and getting really frustrated that all the records of the WPA were only available in their original physical form and that all the guides and indexes were also in paper only and were all from the 1970s, and I asked the archivist why the hell the National Archives hadn't been digitized already.

This is what they told me: if it's handled correctly and stored in the right environmental circumstances, paper can last a thousand years. Carbon copies can last even longer, if they don't rip. (Seriously, the bastard things are like onion skins, they'll split if you look at them funny.) Microfilm is slightly more technologically advanced than paper, but it only lasts 500 years in the right conditions.

We've only had computers en masse since the 1980s, and already there's a huge amount of records (especially from the early years) that we don't have any more, because the hard drives got re-formatted due to higher costs of storage space back in the day, or because old computers got thrown out when they were replaced by newer models and the hard drives are all rotting in landfills somewhere, or because backwards compatibility broke down and we just can't read those file types on our modern computers, or because the actual data got corrupted on the disc, or because some legacy company is asserting copyright against a video game museum, or because some political hack and/or president of the United States decided to violate the Presidential Records Act.

While we thought that the internet would cause an explosion of written records from ordinary people on the scale of the advent of mass literacy, there are vast swathes of the early internet that simply do not exist any more because the servers got switched off when Geocities et al. folded in the dot-com bubble burst or when everyone migrated to Web 2.0, and the Internet Archive tries its best (bless its heart, affectionately) but it can't be everywhere and save everything.

As a result, the archivist told me, digitization is a fraught question: what file format do we use? How do we know that file format will still be compatible and backwards-compatible in 50 years? 100? Longer? Do we keep everything locally or store it on the cloud, and how do we ensure that the storage mechanisms won't fail if there's a blackout or a virus or whatever? Do we digitize everything now, or do we wait until optical character recognition improves enough to the point where digitized records can be searched for words and phrases? Etc.

Keep in mind, I am a public policy historian who studies the 20th century U.S - I work primarily with the official records and the central archives of the richest government in the world. From a library sciences perspectives, this is kind of an ideal scenario, and it's still kind of fucked up. (Let me tell you, the rage and grief I felt when I learned that most of the General File of the Public Works Administration was thrown away by the National fucking Archives and Records Administration in the mid-1950s because they were running out of shelf space in the D.C location and didn't think these records were important...)

Now imagine what it's like at a local historical society or a small liberal arts college, or the national museum of a developing nation for that matter, who do not have the resources for the kind of grand digitization project that NARA started doing five years ago. Think of the sheer scale of historical records that sleep, unseen and untouched perhaps for decades and perhaps for ever, in little cubbyholes all across the world. Among professionals, historical records are measured in linear and cubic feet - think about that for a second, how many pages of paper there are in a foot when you stack them up, and how many hundreds and thousands and millions of feet there are across the face of the world. Think of all the millions of feet of pieces of paper that have been lost to us because of fire or rot or war or time itself.

This is why Peter Turchin is a quack. Historical records are not a standardized little database for social scientists to plug their fucking spreadsheets into; historians don't play that kind of bullshit t-ball, with all our data neatly packaged and handed to us on a silver platter. Our profession is not a social science, it's a goddamn treasure hunt through boxes that were never catalogued or categorized (or that were re-catalogued so many times no one remembers how they were put together in the first place) to find writing that no one has read since the authors died. All of us know that our work, our understanding, will always be partial and limited, because memory is infinitely fragile and the very idea of historical preservation is a mad existential defiance of entropy itself. These records are real, they are fragile - to hell with the Library of Alexandria, remember the National Museum of Brazil? - and they are all that is left to us of the dead.

[verdantmeadows]

Do you like rhythm games? Do you love games with amazing original concepts, even if you don't like rhythm games?

Let me introduce you to the Kickstarter for Ratatan! But first, let's talk about context.

Patapon is a spiritual successor to the amazing game, Patapon. Patapon had three installments. Here is a trailer for its remastered collection if you are curious. It is a wonderful game/game series where you command characters with rhythm-based commands.

For those curious about Patapon further, here is a retrospective by YouTuber Tucker. Warning for spoilers for the series. If you don't want to be spoiled, just the intro is wonderful to explain the game.

Now, back to Ratatan. Ratatan is everything Patapon was, but even better. You can watch its official trailer here:

Again, Ratatan is currently being backed on Kickstarter. It has amazing add-ons, and backing a digital copy of the game is less than $50 USD, a refreshment from the $70 new, big games of poor quality go out for. The people who worked on Patapon also are working on Ratatan, making it authentic and allowing them to go to heights they didn't get to go to with Patapon.

Ratatan is incredibly promising. Their release is planned to be for 2025. It was funded in under an hour, but it still could use your funding to make it even better! It only has 2 main stretch goals left to go!

Again, here is its Kickstarter link! All people who support the Digital Edition Reward, the lowest tier, get beta access to the game! For a physical copy, it will be released on Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4 & 5, and the Nintendo Switch.

The Kickstarter only has 7 days left! Meeting those stretch goals is super important, so if it's an interesting idea to you, please consider supporting it!

There's additional information on their Kickstarter, as well as additional videos on their YouTube channel.

They even have a Discord, which allows for you to watch as the game develops!

There's also amazing add-ons, such as a digital or physical copy of the OST, stickers, a digital or physical artbook, a t-shirt, a PLUSHIE, a poster, VINYL OST, and more!!!

They have three complete songs uploaded on their YouTube, so let me leave you with one song to end this post off.

I can't wait for Ratatan, and I hope this post made you excited for it as well! Here is a final link to its Kickstarter so you don't have to scroll back up. As of August 24th, 2023, there's 7 days left to go on the Kickstarter!

[the-fiction-witch]

The Nurse Problem P4

Media - The Artful Dodger Character - Jack Dawkins Couple - Jack X Reader Reader - Nurse Luna Rating - Cute Word Count - 2477

"W-what the hell?" He asked, his voice trembling with disbelief.

"Well isn’t this a turn of events" Lana chuckled leaning on the door

The other Lana just giggled pulling her hair back into a bow and cuddling Jack's arm

Jack's eyes darted between the two Lanas, his mind trying to make sense of the bizarre situation he had found himself in. "This… this isn't possible," he stammered, his hand reaching up to massage his temples. "How… how are there two of you?"

"That is Luna. My sister." Lana says against the door,

"Hello," Luna waved still hugging Jack's arm "I'm sorry I didn't mean to lie to you Jack, I'm sorry could you forgive me?"

Jack's gaze switched back and forth between the two sisters as they spoke, his mind struggling to processing the information being given to him. "Wait… you're… sisters? twins!?" He asked, still feeling a bit disoriented.

Both girls nodded

Jack continued to stare at the two sisters, trying to discern any physical differences between them. They looked so similar, like carbon copies of each other, with the only apparent difference being their clothes and hairstyle. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "So… you're twins. But why… why did you never tell me you had a sister?"

"never assumed it would come up. She didn't live here. And let's be honest here Jack and were usually busy insulting each other not really a lot of time to discuss family matters" Lana chuckled "When she came for a visit I wanted to see if you'd actually notice or not. The issue is she can't act like me for shit" Lana explained,

"No, your so mean. And however, could I be mean so someone so sweet and handsome" Luna smiled giving Jack another kiss

Jack chuckled at the revelation that Lana was pulling a prank on him having her sister pretend to be her, seeing if he would notice that she was being impersonated. "So you were trying to catch me out, huh? See if I would notice that you aren't you?" He turned his gaze to Luna, who was still clinging to his arm. "And you were in on this too, I assume?"

"No, I just wanted to go in and work a day for my sister… And visit the cute doctor" Luna giggled

Jack chuckled at Luna's admission, finding her flirtatious attitude and playful demeanor endearing. "You think I'm cute, huh?" He glanced over at Lana, who was once again leaning against the door. "Did you hear that? her sister thinks I'm cute." he smirked wrapping his arms around Luna,

"yeah she has a crush on you. Always a terrible track record for men" Lana glared

"No I don't" Luna pouted the two twins standing across from each other to debate even his Lana debated in her usual snarky way and Luna just sweetly pouted revealing just how physically similar and yet personally different they really were

"Yes. You do. You fall in love with every man who looks at you" Lana reminds

"I can't help that I have so much love to share! Besides doctor Dawkins is ever so nice to me, I want to give him all my kisses"

Jack watched the sisters argue back and forth, finding the contrast between their personalities to be quite amusing. Lana had her usual snarky and argumentative demeanor, while Luna was sweet and pouty, clearly having a thing for him. "Alright, alright. Let's not start fighting over me," he chuckled, trying to diffuse the situation. "There's no need to fight over who gets all my kisses. I'm sure there's enough to go around for both of you."

"absolutely not." Lana glared "No thanks jack you can keep them. Especially now I know you've used them to… Ughh get with my sister"

Jack smirked at Lana's glare, finding her reaction to the situation amusing. "Hey, you're the one who created this situation. You can't blame me for enjoying the company of a charming young lady." He winked at Luna, "Besides, she's been very sweet and affectionate with me. Can't blame a guy for enjoying the attention, right?"

Luna blushed at his wink and giggled

Lana rolled her eyes "This seriously is working on you?"

"He's cute" Luna giggled

"I don't get what you see in him"

Jack chuckled at the banter between the sisters, watching as Luna blushed and giggled at his flirtation. "Oh come on, now. You don't have to understand it. I'm a catch." He smirked, "Besides, you weren't complaining earlier. You seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit." He smirked trying to give Lana a kiss,

Lana glared at him "You screwed that twin genius" she reminds him pointing to Luna

Jack chuckled sheepishly, realizing that he already mixed them up, "Okay, fair enough. That wasn't my finest moment. But you have to admit, they really are very similar."

He glanced over at Luna, who was still giving him a sweet smile. "I mean, just look at her. How could anyone resist that adorable face?"

"she's my twin sister that's literally my face too" Lana complained

Jack chuckled at Lana's complaint, finding it amusing that she was so against the idea of sharing her face with her sister. "I know, I know. But there's something about the way she is with me that makes her even cuter. She's so sweet and affectionate, always giving me kisses and clinging to me." He pulled Luna closer to him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Whatever, I have work to do. As the person I sent to do my shift decided to not do my work and snuggle up with my enemy all shift" Lana sighed "and this" she said indicating to jack and Lunas cuddles "is a problem I am not dealing with right now" she sighed before leaving

Jack watched as Lana stormed out, leaving him alone with Luna.

"Well, that could have gone better," he chuckled, still holding Luna close to him. He turned his attention back to the girl in his arms, admiring her sweet and affectionate demeanor. "Your sister doesn't seem too pleased about this situation."

"She's never pleased about anything" Luna giggled "your angry with me aren't you? I didn't mean to trick you Jack I just wanted to be helpful when she suggested I go do her shift for her, and when you were here I just wanted to be helpful and sweet, but I really did mean what I said, I think her very sweet and very handsome"

Jack chuckled at Luna's comment about Lana being displeased with everything. He knew that Lana could be difficult, but he couldn't help but find her endearing in her own way. "I'm not angry with you," he assured her, giving her a warm smile. "I was just surprised to find out I had been talking to the wrong twin this whole time. I must say, you do a very good impression of her sister."

"so your not angry? Or upset with me? Now you know it's… Me and not Lana"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "No, princess. I'm not angry or upset with you. In fact, I found the whole situation quite humorous. And yes, now that I know it's you and not Lana, it does make things a bit clearer." He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I have to admit, I'm starting to see the differences between you and her sister."

she smiled nuzzling into his chest "Did you still .. want the things we talked about?"

Jack chuckled, enjoying the feeling of Luna nuzzling into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against him. "Of course I do, princess. I wouldn't have said those things if I didn't mean them." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her hair. "And I must say, you're even more adorable than I realized."

"mhm! My handsome hubby!" She giggled squeezing him tight

Jack chuckled at her affectionate nickname and squeezed her tightly in return. "That's right, princess. My little housewife." He ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the feeling of the silky strands sliding through his fingers. "And you're all mine, princess. No one else's. Understand?"

she nodded excitedly

Jack chuckled again, enjoying the way Luna nodded excitedly in response. He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, still holding her tightly in his arms. "Good girl. You're so obedient and sweet, princess. Such a perfect little housewife." He ran his hands down her back, his touch gentle but possessive. "And don't you forget, you're all mine. No other man gets to touch you like this. You belong to me."

"Completely my sweet husband" she giggled, After a few moments of cuddling she teased him "which one am I?"

Jack chuckled at her question, knowing exactly what she was referring to. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, his breath warm against her skin.

"You're my little housewife, Princess. The sweetest and most adorable little housewife a man could ask for." He pulled back slightly, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"which twin am I?" She asked

Jack raised an eyebrow, pretending to be confused for a moment. "Hmm… let me think about that for a minute." He feigned deep concentration, pretending to study her features intently. "Well, let me see… you're sweet, adorable, and completely devoted to me. You have the same beautiful face as her sister, but with a different expression. And you're always eager to please me. Yes, yes I think I know who you are now." He smiled down at her and whispered in her ear. "You're my perfect little housewife." He pulled back slightly, admiring the way she looked up at him with her big, innocent eyes. He reached up and gently caressed her cheek, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw. "You are so sweet and submissive, darling. I love how eager you are to please me, how quickly you obey my every word." He paused for a moment, his eyes roaming over her body, taking in her curves and the way her dress hugged her figure. "My little Luna."

Luna giggled Hugging him tighter "I love you"

Jack chuckled at her giggles and hugged her tighter, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his. "And I love you too," he replied, his voice low and possessive. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair once again. "My sweet little housewife. So obedient and affectionate. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"do you think we'd ever really get married someday?"

Jack smiled at her question, his heart swelling at the thought of marrying her. He gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, his touch gentle and affectionate. "Of course, Princess. Someday I hope to marry you and make you my wife in every way. I want to be able to call you my little housewife, my sweet and submissive little wife, officially and legally mine." He paused, his gaze intense as he looked down at her. "You would like that, wouldn't you, Princess?"

she nodded excitedly jumping up and down with excitement

Jack chuckled at her reaction, her excitement bringing a smile to his face. He held onto her, keeping her close as she jumped up and down. “You really want to marry me, don't you?"

"so so so so so so much!"

Jack chuckled again, his heart swelling with affection as he listened to her excitedly voice how much she wanted to marry him.

"That's my sweet little housewife. Always so eager to please me." He reached up and stroked her hair, his touch gentle but possessive. "And don't you worry, Princess. I plan on marrying you someday. You'll be mine in every way possible. My wife, my property, my darling little housewife."

she giggled peppering his face with kisses

Jack chuckled as she showered his face with kisses, enjoying the feeling of her lips on his skin. "You're so affectionate, Princess," he said, his voice low and possessive. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, and returned her kisses with even more fervor, his lips moving over her face and neck. "But you know what that leads to, don't you, sweetheart?"

"oh?" She asked Innocently

Jack chuckled at her innocent tone, finding her naivete adorable and endearing. He nibbled gently on her earlobe before whispering in her ear. "When you're this affectionate and eager, it makes me want to return the favor in a very specific way." He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his gaze intense. "You know what I'm talking about, princess."

she giggled excitedly "awww does my hubby need release again? I thought he was satisfied?"

Jack chuckled at her playful tone, his expression growing dark and predatory. His grip on her waist tightened, pulling her even closer to him. "Satisfied? Not quite." He leaned in close, his lips hovering just above hers. His breath was warm against her skin as he spoke, his voice low and rough. "When it comes to you, princess, I'm never satisfied. I always want more."

"well, how about you take your little housewife home and she'll ride till her all better and then make you some nice hot roast chicken"

Jack chuckled at her words, feeling his desire for her growing with each passing moment. "Oh luna, you know just what to say to drive me wild." He picked her up in his arms, easily carrying her bridal style. He looked down at her with a possessive gaze, his eyes dark with lust. "You're going to come home with me right now, sweet and submissive little housewife, and take care of her husband properly."

"of course my sweet husband" she cooed "wait… Shouldn't we tell Lana?"

Jack paused for a moment, considering her question. He had been so caught up in having her all to himself that he had forgotten about Lana.

"You're right," he said sighed putting her down, "We should inform her sister of our plans." He let out a deep sigh, clearly not happy about the thought of interrupting their intimate moment. "But don't worry, princess. We'll make this quick and then you're coming home with me, understand?"

she nodded "ohh .. and do you know what happened to my panties?" She asked

Jack chuckled at her question, "As a matter of fact, yes I do know what happened to her panties, princess." His expression grew possessive, his grip on her waist tightening.

"I have them right here." he smirked showing off where he had stuffed them in his pocket during their intimate times,

"shouldn't I wear them? To go through the hospital?"

"Princess, there's no need for you to wear panties right now. In fact, you won't be wearing anything once we get home." He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "I want you all to myself, my sweet little housewife. No clothes to get in the way of our fun."

she giggled and nodded before she grabbed his hand and scurried off to find Lana.

[gornackeaterofworlds]

Has Leo always known what April had been planning, or when did he find out?

Spoilers and meta analysis of my own work🤢 below

I'm on mobile, so image limit:/ but using this as the excuse to dissect my intentions behind the meeting scene. What is April's motive? Information. Information and honesty. She wants data, she wants to stop not knowing things. And when the people you're befriending need secrecy to survive, you're going to clash quite a bit at first.

Leo comes in, on time, behind Mikey and Raph. At this point, Raph wants to make quick work of a problem, especially a problem that had the goal of hurting Mikey. He doesn't know who she is, and he's hesitant to start a fight with Leo when he doesn't know their time constraint either. He breaks some space between his two brothers and takes a long quiet look at April. She's scared, she's backed as far into the wall as she can get, quivering hands full of a broken taser. He needs to get her to stay quiet about spotting them, especially to her father as the consequences the boys will face are less than savory. He hopes to intimidate as it'd be the easiest choice here.

He shifts up behind her and pushes her. He's using physical force as a display. He could've spoken to her standing, but he wanted to be rough with her. Make her assume he'll do worse. And the difference in height will hopefully create even more of a power shift. He makes sure they have the time for chatting, Leo is not looking to play around.

He gets in her space, uses a pet name to make things uncomfortably intimate, presses roughly into her face and jaw while she's disoriented from the push. He's using his ninpo to simulate something he thinks she'd find scary. Even as tense as she is, she can see the lower half of his face, and has a bit of leverage herself, knowing he can't kill her. She's unaware they're owned by her father, but Leo knows he can't kill her.

April's not having it. She pushes him out of her space, makes a critical unserious remark. She still doesn't know them, or what they're doing. She's unused to true danger at this point in her life. So Leo pushes back. He grips her hand, and the silly lick is 1. another display of teeth and 2. his continuous attempts to make her as uncomfortable as possible. He's banking on the typical human behavior on Neo Edo of avoiding confrontation and just agreeing to appease. When she snatches back, he playfully hurts her head. He can't leave scars, especially not on her face. He doesn't appreciate the jab at their profession, and switches to his normal finger to keep her head tilted back, while trying to indirectly tell her they do straight up kill people.

These threats are completely empty, unbeknownst to April. I think it's a bit obvious now that they're not treated the best by their researchers, and he is fully aware that if he harmed April, despite Dr. O'Neils lesser sadistic tendencies, it would be the death of him and his brothers. Or severe torture, at worst. Raph is waiting out the damage, Mikey is extremely anxious, and visibly fidgeting. Raph knows they can't kill or hurt April, Mikey does not. In a dumb display of bravado and bluff-calling, she makes one more attempt at trying to pick and pry. Leo is very frustrated. He knows she won't stop causing a fuss until she gets what she wants, so he gives her the tiniest crumb of info. He's also keeping track of the time and moving towards the wall where sensors will let them into the inner lab's rec room.

She knows how easy a false confession can be to obtain, and is wary. Leo opens up his sensor, and Mikey follows. He is unsure, and feels that just copying Leo would be safe for him. April now knows they work for her father, and her bravery is renewed. She wants an interrogation. She looks him up and down, asks about their outfits, very atypical for Neo Edo fashion. Leo's being a stubborn ass, and she rolls her eyes, crosses her arms like a bored teen. She won't get anything else out of him, especially now that they're leaving.

He makes another pick at her, one of his last attempts at trying to get her to say yes to being quiet, out of appeasal. Now that she knows they can't kill or hurt her, and Leo won't give up anything else, she is using it as leverage to attempt to pry more information in the future. Leo only grows more frustrated. She's making a desperate attempt at a mutual relationship, offering something she doesn't know they don't need. Half of Donnie's job is media control. But still, Raph and Mikey look to Leo. She's not giving up, she's not shutting up, and she wants to interact further. It's something they haven't encountered yet.

And where is Donnie's intro!! He's been listening. He appreciates a hunger for knowledge, but there's something a bit deeper here. As hinted in the turtle tots extra piece, he's treated the best out of his siblings. He's everything the researchers wanted, he's smarter, quieter. He would suffer least if it's found out that April spotted them. He has the least to lose, and so he thinks it'd be fun to help April. He doesn't need help on his work, or he doesn't think so, at least. But he's playing at Leo's desire to aid his brothers. Raph doesn't know jack shit about this side of their work, and he's curious why she wouldn't want nothing to do with them. Mikey is uncomfortable being referred to as a killer, and Raph is uncomfortable owing someone anything, due to the treatment he's received. You wouldn't know this yet really, but Donnie is a lot weaker. Not his muscles, he's about as strong as Mikey in that regard. But his bones. He wants to go sit tf back down and is urging them to wrap this all up.

Donnie is comfortable in his ability to keep her words contained if need be. As evidenced by the end, he's already in her tablet. If they don't want to talk to her, she won't have a way to reach them. This is less of a jab at her, though, and more of a reminder of this fact. Despite how bad their relationship is, she plays up her relation to the doctor to 100, and it makes Leo even more uncomfortable as a reminder of this entire mistake. He threatens her again, still empty, using yet another smoke configuration. Knowing that route will go nowhere, Donnie just gives her the information to reach them and a time, much to Leo's chagrin. And an extra: Mikey waves back at her after Donnie seems comfortable with her. He looks up to his older brothers for everything, after all.

[skysometric]

why, thank you for asking! i've been thinking it through for the last few days, i just wanted to make sure my answer was all written and ready to go first. all... checks notes... 4,000 words of it.

ICYMI, last week i sent asks to a bunch of my friends with a simple question: "what's your favorite game you played this year?" as i hoped, y'all gave a bunch of EXCELLENT answers, all of which i reblogged on my side blog @autumatically! (if you didn't get an ask like this and you want to join in, ping me – i sent too many asks to keep track of and i probably just forgot to send one your way!)

of course i wanted to answer this myself, but i wanted to write about more than just one game! and when i sat down to write, i just kept going, and going, and going...

so we're splitting this up! every day this week, i'll be counting down my top 5 games that i played in 2023. not all of these are games that i've streamed, and only one of them has shown up on anyone else's lists so far, so i'm really excited to reminisce and share my experiences this year 💖

maybe you'll even find a new game to try out? i'm certainly really excited to dig through y'alls lists and try some of the ones i missed out on this year!

to kick things off, let's start with:

Honorable Mentions

two games came out this year that i would probably put in my top 5, no competition. so why didn't i? because i didn't actually play them!

see, as much as i love to play video games, oftentimes i also like to watch them just as much. this has always been great for games that i never intended to play in the first place, like the Final Fantasies and Fortnites of our day… but lately it's also let me take turns with my partner on who plays which new releases.

in fact, for both of the games i'm about to list, i watched my partner play them in full and i've watched no less than two separate people stream them as well. which means, with all that oversaturation, it's probably gonna be a while before i play them myself…

either way! here's my top two games that i didn't play in 2023.

Pizza Tower

this one likely needs no introduction! Wario Land 4 is one of my favorite games of all time, and the way Pizza Tower extends those basic concepts is a masterclass of game design. the moveset is perfectly geared toward accessible speed tech, the level layouts are top notch, the different forms are unique and funny, the art style is GORGEOUS, the combo system adds incredible replay value and pushes the player to their limits…

honestly the only thing stopping me from playing this right now is that the levels are too fresh in my mind, and i'd like a little time to let those memories fade before i dive back in and experience everything in a wave of nostalgia. seeing so much of the game already was totally worth it, though – i had the distinct pleasure of watching my partner learn how to P Rank most of the levels, and the simple joy of watching her build up her skills is one of my standout memories of 2023. proud of you, love!

god, Pizza Tower is a perfect slice of video game. i can't WAIT to play it myself!

Super Mario RPG

as a young kid, i always wanted a physical copy of this game. i could never justify it, though, because i already owned it on Wii Virtual Console, and it was one of the more expensive SNES games i had my eye on… a whole $40 in 2007 money! fast forward to the modern day, and not only do i no longer have easy access to that old Wii copy, but a physical cart now goes for like $90???

blessedly, along comes the Switch remake. i still can't believe this exists – it's a perfect remake in every way, shape, and form! the sprite-based animations are lovingly recreated, the battle system is rebalanced in fun ways, and the music is PERFECTLY re-arranged. even the dialog, which i expected to be completely retranslated… it's smoothed over, but mostly unchanged! the original game's unabashed weirdness and charm is fully intact, and i did NOT expect that out of modern Nintendo.

this is one that i didn't mind watching others play; Super Mario RPG is all about the vibe, and this remake captures that vibe perfectly. i'm excited to play it myself once it's had time to settle! but, for now, i'm perfectly content just vibing with others~

[hopeymchope]

I've been struggling with what to say about "Process of Elimination" since I completed it last week.

It's a hard one to tackle because it's enjoyable, it's good... but it's still got issues, too. Most things do, I guess. But I can overlook them more easily if you can get me really invested/excited about what's happening or the characters it's happening to. This story, on the other hand, never made me drop it completely but also never got me all that excited. There's enough to love to make it worthwhile without it ever being great. In game review parlance, this is probably a low 7/10. (For anyone who isn't aware: For SOME goddamn reason, game reviews typically dub anything from 6/10 and lower as all being various degrees of "bad." Kind of like the U.S. school grading system, I guess?)

Both the Switch and PS4 physical releases are all "Deluxe Editions," as far as I know. So all copies currently include a digital soundtrack and a mini-art book that you'd better avoid opening until you complete the game.

Did I enjoy the game/visual novel and its story? Overall, yes. But I mean... it's very much targeted at my personal interest area. It's got a fun gameplay setup for investigating mysteries, and it's a very Dangan-like mystery full of odd/entertaining characters at its core. If you like things like Danganronpa and/or the Ace Attorney series, then of course this is going to be up your alley. It's in that kind of wheelhouse: Loads of dialogue peppered with occasional gameplay periods, etc. I can naturally recommend it to those people, even if it isn't going to hit the same heights that they do.

Did I like the characters' personalities/talents and their unique writing? Eh... well enough I guess. I certainly have some faves; a couple of them even survived the story, although one fave was ruined by a reveal that erased their previous likability. I suppose that always happens in these kinds of titles.

Would I play a sequel? Again: Definitely yes, for much the same reasons as I cited two paragraphs up. It's just right in my target area of interest. (And the game definitely ends with a big, wide opening left for a follow-up.)

Did I get invested enough that I was thinking about the game when I wasn't playing, anxiously waiting to hear the next bit of dialogue or witness the next reveal? No. It never gets that "can't wait to see what's next" feeling that the Danganronpa, Zero Escape, or A.I.: The Somnium Files series — and even the recent Yurukill: The Calumniation Games — all instilled in me. THOSE games/Visual Novels are what voracious readers would dub "page-turners." Process of Elimination is, by comparison, not much of a page-turner for most of its duration; I wasn't terribly excited/driven to see what was coming next for most of the runtime. I only reached that level of interest in seeing what was ahead during the final chapter. The plot never gets as exciting as those games, nor do the characters ever get as endearing and engaging to follow as a Danganronpa game (which I consider my current gold standard for character writing in these things).

You'll do this in every chapter — sometimes even more than once. But you'll never do it for very long.

Now, I've already talked about the basics of how the gameplay segments work in an earlier post. And in that post, I "guesstimated" that it'd be close to DR in terms of gameplay/dialogue balance. However, now that I've completed it, I confess I was wrong. The balance wasn't like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney. This one leans even MORE heavily into the "Visual Novel" side than any of those do. Gameplay segments are relatively brief by comparison, taking up slightly less than 10% of your game time overall. But hey — the game as a whole is also shorter than any of those games are, too, so that helps make things even out a little bit.

Warnings for any new/potential players

1) If you buy this game, absolutely do not open the Mini Art Book it comes with until after you finish the game. But also: Absolutely DO open it after you finish it, because some of the character art and information therein is REALLY worth seeing. There's some great reveals and details in there that just aren't shared in the actual text of the story. First off, I just want to say that although I enjoyed this game and its story.

2) Another warning: After you finish the game, you'll likely notice that there are still "events" in the Residual Thought gallery that you haven't unlocked. You need to go back through the investigations (don't worry; you can just select the chapter from the chapter list, and then choose to jump RIGHT to the investigations) and complete them again, using Discount Shuichi Incompetent Detective to grab any new Residual Thoughts that appear on the map along the way. Getting them all not only reveals some key new backstory, it also eventually unlocks a new epilogue scene that I feel is worth the effort.

Faves and Anti-Faves

For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I'll just say that a few of my faves remained that way all the way up to the end. And a couple of said faves even survived, which was nice to see. But of course, I did lose at least one fave as well — someone I found wholly lovable turned out to have a dark reveal that effectively erased their previous warmth. And much like most of the Danganronpa games, I even had an "anti-fave"; a character who acts like an overt asshole the entire time despite the life-or-death stakes. That'd be Renegade Detective. He sucks from the moment he's introduced in the very first chapter, so it's not like I'm spoiling anything to say that he's flashing the biggest "DO NOT TRUST" warning of the cast from the jump.

"I am here to cause problems on purpose."

As for our Shuichi-lookin' protagonist?

Did he escape out from under his "Discount Shuichi" label eventually? YES, I felt he earned a decent enough level of distinction.

Did I like the way he got there? NO, honestly. There was basically a quick-and-easy shift from one extreme to another that I can't adequately explain herein...

Did I like him by the end of the game? KIND OF. Well enough that I wouldn't mind following him again if I had to, at any rate.

Gripes/Complaints

1) Okay, so I'm not going to spoil anything if I can help it, but I want to speak very vaguely about the mastermind/villain reveal. I'm someone who finds it impossible to NOT try to predict how twists/reveals will eventually go down in mysteries. I've watched SO MANY mystery TV shows and movies and played so many mystery-centric games over the years, and it's always fun for me to try and guess the culprit when you can. I'm infinitely delighted if a mystery can surprise me or take turns I never saw coming. But in the case of PoE, if you're looking at all for the mastermind and you've got adequate experience in mystery stories or "twist ending" stories... IMO, it's not hard to figure out the culprit. It follows a very specific trope that I've seen plenty of times, so I saw it coming pretty early on. By the end of Chapter 2, I already had my eye on them. And by the time you get to the final chapter, you're almost definitely going to realize who it is WELL before the reveal drops, because they start waving a gigantic flag pointing at themselves that nobody else in the group seems to notice.

My "predictive" habit also means that I managed to imagine something that I thought would be extremely unlikely, wild as fuck, and incredibly impactful to our characters on a personal/emotional level. I can't help wishing that I'd been close to the truth with my imagined mastermind. (Even though it would've ruined one of my fave characters in here, lol.)

2) I wish the second investigation wasn't the hardest in the game. If you wanna collect everything (and let's be real: YES YOU DO), it's the toughest to manage in the time allotted. There's a mini-investigation in Chapter 4 that presents some challenge due to the wandering enemies, but once you figure out where they tend to land, that's about it. I never struggled anywhere else. I think the difficulty balance is a bit off, is what I'm saying. Like, maybe Chapter 5 or Chapter 6 should've contained mild difficulty in the investigation segments? Considering they're the last two? But Chapter 5 is roughly the easiest one outside of Chapter 1, which is... interesting.

3) I can't spell this out either, but: There's a key component of two important characters' backstory that is eventually revealed late in the game that... really requires more explanation than it's given. Like. HOW could that be possible? Given how much the game teases this eventual reveal right from the start, I sorta thought they'd eventually fully explain those past events but... nah they didn't bother. I guess it's being held back for a sequel, if they get to make one?

I'll get more specific in just a moment.

Okay, let's go into a couple of FULL SPOILERS under the cut.

(Please don't click unless/until you've played the thing to the very end.)

So here's the backstory issue: If Incompetent was actually Ideal and was gored by one of the robots as a kid, someone please explain to me how he was saved but MORE IMPORTANTLY, how his innate talents and knowledge and abilities were just transferred to another kid who volunteered to take them. That's not a thing that people can do? In fact, that kinda sounds like fucking magic. I assume that if they pursue a sequel, they'll eventually have to lay out some wild explanation involving experimental technology or something.

Furthermore, there's an ending issue: Despite Doleful's constant claims that there's no evidence that they're the Duke and that these people were all suicidal anyway and shit, THEIR OWN WORDS pretty much betray them. You can't SERIOUSLY expect me to believe that you arrested them solely for indirectly causing ONE death, because their words and actions during the climax provide MORE than enough evidence to nail them to the wall. Even if Techie DIDN'T record Doleful's rant (which seems unlikely), then multiple respected, high-ranking detectives heard him outline details that only the Duke could possibly know, including the claim that these people were all part of "mutual murder/suicides." And the Duke's involvement in setting up the circumstances for those things is also blatantly criminal in damn near every country on Earth, so uh... yeah. He's fucked. But I'm confident that they were trying to set it up so that he could easily get off the hook (somehow) for a sequel rampage? Which is really... pretty dumb.

One last thing is that a fundamental part of the game's story is how our hero believes he must never, ever take a life in his work as a detective/cop, no matter what situation he's in... which strikes me as just incredibly naïve. But the writing celebrates this perspective — despite the fact that he ends up causing additional deaths due to this attitude! No one ever calls him on that. He never feels guilty about it. He just is like "Nope. It doesn't matter whose life is at stake. It doesn't matter if they have a gun on a hostage. It doesn't matter if they'll clearly escape to kill again in mere moments if I don't stop them forcibly right here, right now. I'll never, ever risk taking a life." And while that's noble and respectable in theory (especially in light of our modern reality where we see so many trigger-happy cops).... it's mega-cringe in practice here, in this particular story. But that's an "individual mileage may vary" bit, I suppose.

[cheetahsprints]

s x sh generations spoilers

so is the nintendo switch version getting any of the bonuses? Can't find info of course -_- am I waiting on nintendo to post something more detailed in order to find out?

Are they seriously about to make that journal exclusive to a fucking physical pre-order? Fuck off fuck off fuck off

It better at least be available for the Switch version.

Edit: Info about the switch version went up on the sxshg website (still irritated but at least I know for sure)

Why couldn't they just include that with the fucking digital deluxe too. Or say that all of these bonuses could be purchasable separately later. Or have another tier for physical copies that includes the deluxe stuff + the journal. This is some bullshit :/

I don't fully understand what is going on here but this FOMO shit has seriously killed my mood. This sucks. I'm confused and pissed off rn

Is the digital deluxe at least a permanent thing minus the early access? If not I am deeply screwed.

I'm just a fan of Shadow the Hedgehog who wants extra content first-hand. Fuck this.

[penumbraphantasm]

big old wordy post for anyone wanting to get into the layton series and support it in a slightly more legal manner loool

first off, the Original Trilogy. probably the easiest option is purchasing the first 3 games on mobile. yes, these are the full games that debuted on the DS but in HD with BONUS content.

oh hey katrielle and alfendi. i guess mystery journey and mystery room are there too but i'll get back to those.

anyways, the layton series comes in different parts with some spinoffs. the first three as seen are Curious Village, Diabolical Box and Unwound Future. these are first in order of Release. so you can't go wrong starting here.

the next three that came after are the Prequel trilogy: Last Specter, Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy. this means even though they were released later, they take place before Curious Village chronologically. so maybe you want to make LS a starting point if you like that sort of order? LS was the last layton game for the DS while MM and AL were for the 3DS. this is where it gets difficult.

currently, Last Specter has no other port. if you search on something like ebay, you will see a clear price difference compared to listings for the original DS trilogy. and with renewed interest in the series, the amount of ppl looking for copies has probably grown too. so i don't recommend joining the fight unless you really love layton and physical media lol. i still probably RecOMmend finding another way to play it.

also my fav part of Last Specter is London Life!! a game within a game where you can create an avatar, dress up, decorate your room, get a job, fish, meet characters from the past 3 games (and a couple from Eternal Diva!) HOWEVER, London Life is only available in versions for Japan, US and Australia. if you have a European copy, you won't see it... so keep this in mind...

but before you get to the 3DS titles, you should watch the movie i mentioned earlier. what, a movie? YES! Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva! released in 2009 and takes place between Last Specter and Miracle Mask. it's animated in the game's style and comes with subs and dubs. you can easily look it up on youtube.

okay now you can move on to 3DS. Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy are available digitally in 3DS eshop but that is CLOSING MARCH 27 2023. physical copies are also expensive to acquire. they currently do not have mobile ports either.

there's another 3DS title available as well and it's a wild one. Professor Layton Vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! a crossover spinoff where you get to enjoy the gameplay of both series and the work done here would later influence some stuff they did in The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles so you can check that out too. but i rec this title if you are already a fan of PL and AA so you can get the most out of the experience. if you hope to get this physically, be aware it's an extremely expensive hassle. otherwise, just grab it from the 3DS eshop for $29.99 before it closes or brew up another method at home.

okay okay but what about Mystery Journey? well, the protagonist this time is Prof Layton's daughter Katrielle! her game's available on 3DS and mobile (with free demo) and there are extra purchases if you want more goodies. but you may want to consider the switch version instead. it comes with all DLC unlocked, extra outfits and nicer graphics. it also has some new and improved puzzles. why is that? well, some of the puzzles in the original release weren't popular. if you try out the mobile demo, you may notice a totally different vibe with the puzzles. well, why is That? sadly, the original puzzle master for the layton games passed away in 2016. Mystery Journey is a more divisive title so maybe don't make this your first layton adventure.

BUT WAIT! there's also a Mystery Journey anime you can watch! Layton Mystery Tanteisha: Katori no Nazotoki File! it goes through the events from Mystery Journey and MORE! yes, the story goes BEYOND the game!! it's only available in japanese though (but there are subs lol)

HOLD IT! there's one more mobile game to talk about. Layton Brothers: Mystery Room! this time, you follow Lucy Baker, a fresh detective constable assigned to assist Inspector Alfendi Layton, son of Prof Layton. this game is less about puzzles and more about investigation and interrogation. it's a freemium game, which means the prologue and first 2 cases are free. the rest of the cases are in-app purchases.

if you've already played all these games, well congrats! now we just sit here and wait for New World of Steam

(and keep praying for Mansion of the Deathly Mirror lol)

[faefarm]

Hi, I completely and FULLY love this game. I was able to make a big guy with gray hair and glasses and that made me happier than I could have imagined.

I have only one issue and I've been SCOURING the web to see if anyone else has run into this issue and I can't find anything. The steam account is weird.

For the Record I own the physical copy for Switch.

I tried buying a chickcoo(Sp?) after an initial purchase. Had one cotton tail and chickcoo at my farm all happy and stuff, but then when I bought the chickcoo I had to stop and save quickly. When I came back there was no chickcoo and now it says I can't buy anymore animals period. I can't sell this phantom animal nor can i register it now. I keep getting 'you can't buy an animal when there is an animal already in the stall' even though I see no animal.

Any ideas?

Hello!

I'm glad you're loving it!

Just to make sure, are you checking the stall by Loretta? If you purchased an animal but lost it during the "walk" it should appear directly behind her. For reference, this is PC, but after purchasing my chickoo Henrietta and quickly dropping from game, she was waiting here for me to pick her up!

If you can't see her there, please let us know and we'll check it out further!

[phoenixcatch7]

Aaaaaa totk is so so close I'm vibrating up the ✨walls✨

I literally didn't manage to watch the final trailer/gameplay because I saw the tents in hyrule castle square and got so excited I had to quit the video, which I NEVER do.

It's so CLOSE and I'm getting a physical copy (wasn't allowed a preorder boo) but I'm not sure when it'll come which just adds to the tension!

I can't WAIT I am so SO close to getting totk in my hands I am going to scream when I load up the title screen I just know it XD.

And the fanfics?? I'm on tenterhooks waiting to see what we got right, all our little post canon fics and our ten years later and our soft epilogues, my love and our political fics, and our totk projections, what gets to be made canon and how deep we go down the line - I don't even know how big of a time skip it's been and NOBODY TELL ME.

But I've never been part of a community AS the source is still growing, especially not one I've written and read so many fics for, imagined so much for. I saw those tents and my little fanfic heart exploded because how many times have I seen them in writing?? And now they're IN CANON?? IN THE GAME?? Gosh, it's like our fics and art have all become true and real, it's canon, it's a 3d world we'll be able to run around in and climb and talk to the people about.

Zelda!!!! I don't know what happened to her still (AGAIN DO NOT TELL) and I know her powers have greatly weakened so I hope we get to see her sciencing her little heart out. Maybe not with the guardians they're probably a sore point but she might get into idk history or architecture or wassit called the study of plants with her silent princesses. Ooh maybe she side hustles as a priestess or smth.

I can't WAIT to see tarrey town, and all the capitals flourishing now the divine beasts and malice is gone. I hope we get a champions statue - of either generation, really. Oh the RANCH I hope so dearly the ranch is being repaired and has cows and horses in it again I'd cry if that happened.

The plateau is probably going up I can't remember the details of the trailers but Hylia PLEASE have some new dialogue I can't have the same 'now go and bring peace to hyrule' MA'AM I DID THAT AND NOW THERE'S ANOTHER PROBLEM.

Fi? Fi? Fi? Fi? Fi? Fi???? Anything we get of Fi will be brilliant. And hestu. And honestly I wouldn't be surprised if beedle had macyvered something like the ss flying shop to get around. And oh, the DRAGONS I so hope we can ride them somehow even if it's just in their tailwind. They're going to be BEAUTIFUL.

And the linked universe fics are going to be INSANE whoever writes a wild reveal/chain explores new hyrule, complete with archaeological commentary, I will kiss you on the mouth. Fr the lu fics are probably going to be one of my favourite parts of the release, we were already going feral with our ideas and stories when totk wasn't even a whisper in the wind, and then the first trailer I saw fics with an entirely underground hyrule and then the flying island trailer we went BESERK and when the game comes out?? I'm checking back in a week and I bet there's already a 50k fic waiting. I know I'm going to be scribbling furiously.

I'm going to have to clear out my switch gallery, won't I? Aaaaargh.

[maximuswolf]

I am completely soured on iam8bit after my first order with them

I am completely soured on iam8bit after my first order with them For a bit of backstory, I ordered a physical copy of Sea of Stars for Nintendo Switch when the orders went up on iam8bit's website earlier this year. I fully knew it wouldn't be shipped until May and that I'd have to wait for it.Skip to May, and iam8bit sends out an email toward the beginning of the month saying copies will begin shipping soon. My copy didn't ship until May 24, which seems insane to me that it took a month to get copies sent. I tracked my package until it arrived at my local USPS distribution center where it was marked as disposed of because it was undeliverable. That was June 3.I paid for insurance through Route for the package, which I thought was kind of overkill but I've had enough stolen packages that the buck something seemed worth it. When I went to make a claim, I was told I can't until the status hasn't changed for seven days. June 10, I make a claim. Route immediately accepts it and set sup a new order for me.Here's where I get annoyed. I've been super busy with work and family, so I just realized on Saturday that iam8bit hadn't shipped the new order yet. I sent a message to support through their website. The response today is that "iam8bit is currently awaiting additional stock for new preorders and replacements for Sea of Stars for Nintendo Switch. These are expected to arrive and begin shipping this quarter".So what? Now I have to wait until some time between now and the end of September for a game I ordered way back at the beginning of the year, had shipped to me, and had that shipment lost. It just amazes me that iam8bit doesn't keep extra stock in case of lost or stolen packages. How is that even acceptable? Worse is since I opted for Route to reorder the game for me, I can't request a refund now and it's obviously way past the charge back date.I am frustrated and annoyed by the whole situation. Even worse is when I finally get the game, I may not even have time to play it. And while I would love to order psychical copies of other games that iam8bit has available, this whole experience has soured the company for me.I'd also note that their FAQ still gives COVID as a reason for long shipping times, which two to three years ago sure, but now just seems like bullshit. Submitted July 01, 2024 at 04:37PM by IskandrAGogo https://ift.tt/M5FgfZQ via /r/gaming

[accountingacademic]

It's Been a Rough Day, But a Good Day

Daily Reflection Thursday, 11 January, 2024

Things I'm Grateful For:

My accounting instructor said she would personally recommend me for that co-op if it's approved. I honestly think she's the best teacher I've had at this point, and I am grateful for everything extra she's doing for me.

Highlights:

I finally got through all those notes for accounting, halfway through the class. At least I have a week or so before I have to worry about doing even more, though.

My graphics card came in and I got it installed, so I get to have some fun on the weekend and play games.

Challenges:

There were a handful of issues with Purolator, but it turned out half of the problem was that my parents are idiots. Doesn't mean I didn't keep the complaint about the "proof of delivery" picture being taken from inside the driver's truck, though.

D&D was a roller coaster in and of itself, and combined with the rolls on the site being shit (on a 20-sided die, when I have 20 rolls in a row that were 1-5, I was ready to just quit). Switched to my physical dice for the fight at the end though, and I was doing decently--not always super high, but all over the place is better than "couldn't hit a barn ten feet away with a fist-sized rock."

Emotions:

Really excited for that co-op opportunity, but afraid it won't work out for whatever reason.

The whole day was a roller coaster, I can't wait to just go to bed and get it done and over with.

Today's To-Do List:

Complete

Finish copying those chapter 5 notes for accounting. This is a huge slide deck, and I finished off at 49/76 last night.

Incomplete

Math homework.

Chapter 5 practice exercises for Accounting.

Tomorrow's To-Do List:

Finish homework.