#god i wish i had a ps2

[welcometobrightvale]

legitimately cant tell if i'm grasping at straws but like. ok this has to be who that is, right

[slippersmoo]

PS2 SPOILERS!!

I’m gonna be thinking about that Nandini and Aditha confrontation for a LONG time. I could literally write a dissertation about it

Many people questioned Mani Ratnam’s ability to direct a big scale epic but no one can deny his ability to craft a scene between two characters that (in my opinion) is the anchor for the entire story.

[m0e-ru]

annual realization where this gas station’s operations and my life owe it all to visualive i’m serious

[waterhousse]

Invisible String

pairing: college!ellie williams x reader

summary: a week in your life where someone leaves you an anonymous note and you also meet a cute girl in one of your classes.

author’s note: this is un(necessarily) LONG, so take your time to read it. i hope you still enjoy it !! <3

• • • •

monday

you were in front of your dorm, digging for your keys in the mess of your backpack when a high-pitched voice yelled your name. of course, it could only belong to you best friend, blair. you prepared yourself to receive one of her bone-crushing hugs.

“there you are! i sent you like a million messages!”

“everything okay?” you asked before pulling away.

“yeah, i just have a little proposal.”

you narrowed your eyes at her, “what are you scheming?”

“you see, my gorgeous boyfriend is throwing this massive party on friday—”

“immediately no.”

“oh, c’mon!” she grumbled. “it’s been like five months since the last time we went out together. i miss my drunk little partner,” she pouted, pinching your cheek.

you let out a laugh, softly pushing away her hand out of your face. “i’m not exactly in a party mood, blair. i’m sorry.”

you made a poor attempt to avoid eye contact, but the weight of her stare was a difficult one to ignore. you looked back at her, already defeated.

“it’s nothing serious, but i’ve just been feeling a little insecure. and i’m okay,” you were quick to clarify, “i just want to stay in my dorm and watch a movie or something. it’s only temporary, i’ll feel better soon. you know i always do,” you opened the door and waited for her to inside first.

“how many times do i have to tell you you’re gorgeous for you to believe me? look at you!”

“blair—”

“i’m serious.”

“i know you are. thank you,” you replied softly. “forget about it, let’s just go inside. i’m tired and i wanna sleep.”

your friend had a worried look on her face, but decided to drop the subject, “still no roommate?”

“nope,” you grinned, closing the door behind you. “i’d invite you to live with me but you’re too busy staying at your boyfriend’s,” you teased her.

“can you blame me? his apartment is the size of a million of these dorms combined,” she exaggerated. “besides, he’s the sweetest man to ever exist. he’s every girl’s dream.” she sighed dreamily as she threw herself on the unoccupied bed. you raised your eyebrows at her, to which she rolled her eyes. “if he were a girl you’d be after him, too.”

after your friend bragged about her boyfriend for a few more minutes, both of you ended up falling asleep, totally drained from your long, boring classes. you woke up two hours later thanks to blair’s boyfriend who called her wondering where she was.

“wanna go grab some coffee? he’s paying!” blair offered with a big smile, which you returned.

“maybe he is every girl’s dream after all.”

you and blair headed outside shortly after, gossiping about people you didn’t even know. suddenly, your sleepy eyes spotted something strange on the door, more specifically, on the whiteboard you had outside. someone had left an anonymous message on it.

the prettiest girl on campus (and of everywhere else too) i wish i could come up with the courage to talk to you. guess i’ll just admire you from afar

ps: not in a creepy way

ps2: seriously sorry if this is creepy

you stared blankly at the message, reading it over and over again.

“did you do this?”

“hold on, i’m looking for that one tweet i saw. i’m telling you, she’s cheating on him—”

“blair!”

she finally looked up from her phone, “what?”

“did you do this?” you pointed at the board.

her expression comically changed from confusion to extreme excitement, eyes widened and mouth hung open. an over exaggerated gasp left her lips before she grabbed you by the shoulders.

“oh my god! you have a secret admirer!”

“no, i don’t. that’s probably not for me. someone must’ve mistaken my dorm for somebody else’s.”

“your name is literally on that board. besides, you are the prettiest girl to ever exist, so, i’m pretty sure they’re not mistaken.” blair kept looking at the note, meticulously analyzing it. “let’s pray it’s not a man who wrote this. imagine if he confesses his feelings for you in person. he’d be in for a very awkward rejection.”

you tried to downplay the situation by telling blair it was probably just a joke, but on the inside you couldn’t stop wondering who did it. as you walked down the hallway, you discreetly checked the whiteboards from the other dorms. all they had were random doodles and people’s names, nothing else.

tuesday

you were currently sitting under a big tree, admiring the sunset. birds chirped softly at the distance, adding even more magic to the beautiful scenery in front of you, but even the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded you wasn’t enough to calm your racing mind.

the anonymous note was certainly the most interesting thing that had happened to you in a while, but you were a serial overthinker. besides making you feel extremely curious about the identity of the person who wrote it, it had also made you spiral about the way you acted towards strangers.

being content with your small circle, you never put any effort in starting conversations with someone you didn’t already know. you felt as if you didn’t need anyone else in your life, but was that a mistake? what if the mystery person tried talking to you but you acted uninterested? what if they attempted to make eye contact but you were too busy staring down?

the most important question spinning around your head was how many special bonds had you lost simply because of your behavior?

as your silent crisis continued, the sun began to disappear on the horizon until it was fully dark. your eyes quickly found the moon, with the sky being clear, you could see her perfectly.

you took out your phone to take some pictures of the satellite, as well as everything else around you. the trees, your coffee cup, an empty bench and an orange cat that was laying next to it.

just as you were taking photos of the cute animal, someone crouched down next to him to pet him. that was the moment you saw her. a girl you had never seen before, but who managed to catch your attention right away. she was simply beautiful. many people, places, art pieces and more had been described with that adjective, but in your mind, that unknown girl was the first being in history to be worthy of it. you were completely mesmerized.

you put down your phone and watched the sweet moment develop in front of you. you could tell she was speaking to the cat, who seemed to really enjoy her company. the girl got up after a few minutes, giving the cat one last scratch between his ears before leaving. a frown instantly appeared on her face the moment she looked away from the animal, making you chuckle. she looked absolutely intimidating, the total opposite of what you had just witnessed.

your eyes followed her until she disappeared from your sight, but her image stayed on your mind for the rest of the day.

wednesday

you were having one of those days when everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. you had slept through your alarm, didn’t have time to have breakfast, couldn’t find your books and forgot your jacket on your way out. one may think it couldn’t get worse, well, unfortunately, it could.

you felt your soul escape your body when the, feared by many, physics professor laid his demonic eyes on you. you were certain you looked insane; hair a total mess, completely out of breath and slightly shaking from your nervousness.

“class started ten minutes ago,” his strident voice echoed in the big classroom. you didn’t even need to look to know everyone’s eyes were on you.

“i know,” your voice pathetically quivered. “sorry.”

“for your information, if you have somewhere to be you wake early enough to make it on time. it’s not rocket science, all of your classmates did it.” when he got no reply from you, he sighed. “there’s only one more seat available at the back. lucky for you, you’ll be sitting next to one of my best students. maybe you could be friends, she could teach you how to get here on time.”

with your eyes glued to the floor, you walked straight to where the professor pointed to without making a sound. you tried your best to ignore your classmates’ stares, but they lacked discretion.

fortunately for you, a nice surprised awaited you. the student the professor mentioned was none other than the girl you had seen the day before. she was even more beautiful up-close, which wasn’t exactly a good thing. she had just witnessed your most embarrassing moment. still, her eyes radiated kindness.

“this guy’s an idiot. you were only a few minutes late and didn’t even miss much. he was just struggling to turn on the projector the whole time,” the girl whispered at you once you sat down.

you were ready to reply with just a ‘yeah’, but the crisis you had the day before stopped you.

“he’s the worst,” you replied instead. “i always feel on the verge of puking whenever he looks at me,” the regret you felt after saying that was immediate, fearing it was too much information.

you felt yourself relax at the sound of her laugh, and of course it had to be the most heavenly sound you had ever heard.

“i’m ellie williams,” she leaned in, reaching over for your hand. you introduced yourself as your brain started mindlessly picking up details about her, like the fact that she had many freckles scattered all over her face.

you held her gaze for a few seconds before looking back at the professor, who had begun talking about punctuality. he sent you multiple looks during his whole speech, you found it hilarious. he looked like as if his eyes were about to pop out of his sockets.

trying to act as normal as possible, you grabbed your water bottle and took a sip in an attempt to calm down. you realized that was a huge mistake once you glanced at ellie, who was trying her hardest to hold in her laugh. you almost spit out your water when she made eye contact with you, causing you to choke.

“shit, you alright?” she leaned in, now fully laughing, and patted your back.

“yes— yeah,” you managed to say in between your coughing and laughing. you looked around, noticing how quiet the classroom had gotten. yours’ and ellie’s voices were the only thing cutting through the deadly silence. “sorry, i choked on water— sorry,” you apologized to the professor, who was impatiently tapping his foot on the floor.

“may i continue, ladies? is that okay with you two or should i wait for you to be done?” neither of you answered, so he let out one of his classic sighs. “as i was saying…”

the moment he looked away, you covered your face with your hands, trying to muffle the giggles that were escaping your lips. ellie was in the same state as you, which only made things worse.

“if he didn’t hate me before, he sure does now,” you whispered, eyes sparkling with amusement. “why does he have to be such a dick? it’s not like a choked on purpose. i could’ve died,” you dramatized.

actually, it’d be very rare to die from choking on a liquid, ellie almost said, but she didn’t want you to think she was a smart-ass. instead, she just kept laughing.

silence grew between the two of you as you came back to your notes and tried to pay attention to the class. ellie’s eyes inevitably fell on you again, trying to come up with something to say to keep the conversation going.

“you know, i, personally, wouldn’t take advice from a person like him, but i think he’s right about us being friends.”

“yeah, i think he is,” you warmly smiled before looking down at your notes again, unable to hold her gaze.

having fun in physics class seemed impossible at the beginning of the semester, but it had actually happened. you and ellie talked the whole time, which made the minutes go by faster than expected and also annoyed everyone around you.

“see you next wednesday? try to be on time, though. i don’t want him to kill you in front of the whole class.”

you laughed at ellie’s words and nodded, “see you next week.”

i really hope it’s sooner than that, the thought appeared in your mind without warning. you watched ellie go, a shy smile appeared on your lips when she glanced back at you and caught you staring.

the rest of the morning felt boring and uneventful in comparison to physics class, so you were really excited to finally be back at your dorm. your tired eyes fell on the whiteboard, no message from the mystery person. you tried to ignore how weirdly disappointed you felt and went inside, telling yourself it had been, probably, a one time thing.

thursday

shyness had never been a problem for you but, still, socializing wasn’t really your thing. if there was a chance for you to avoid interaction with strangers, you took it, so it was certainly weird seeing ellie at the dining hall and feeling an intense need to say hi. good thing she wasn’t exactly a stranger, right?

she was sitting alone in one of the most secluded tables, eyes focused on her phone. without giving it much thought, you walked towards her, but you began second guessing your decision once you realized she probably wanted to be alone. your steps became more hesitant the closer you got to her and just as you were about to turn around and leave she looked up. her surprised expression quickly changed into a delighted one.

“hey,” she greeted as she took off her headphones.

“hi,” you smiled back as a feeling of panic started setting in. you had absolutely no idea of what to say to her.

“you can sit if you’d like,” she offered, gesturing to the seat in front of her.

“you’re not busy? i can leave if you alone if—”

“no way,” ellie shook her head and, with her foot, pushed the chair towards you before looking up at you. “c’mon, sit.”

the moment you sat down, she leaned forward. you, instinctively, leaned back, but kept your hands just a few inches away from hers. you bit the inside of your cheek, trying your hardest to hold her gaze.

“so, how you’ve been? had any nightmares about our beloved professor yelling at you?” ellie asked, amused. you internally thanked her for starting the conversation.

“i can see his spit flying at me in slow motion whenever i close my eyes,” you replied, making ellie laugh. “that was definitely the last time i’m late to class. i hate attention, if i have to go through something like that again i’ll just die on the spot.”

ellie’s smile hadn’t faded since the moment she saw you, “just try not to be late to any of his classes, he’s the only one who gives you shit for that,” she adviced. “i knew he was insane because i’ve heard about it, so i tried to get on his good side by always being early. i considered sitting at the front, too, but that was too much.”

“you always sit at the back?”

“yeah, i don’t like having people behind me. for some reason, it really freaks me out knowing someone is staring at the back of my head.”

you hummed in response, mind deep in thought. you never looked at the back when you entered the classroom, in fact, you kept your head down, but ellie had always been there.

how many special bonds had you lost simply because of your behavior?

“hey, my friend’s boyfriend is throwing a party this friday, i was wondering if you’d like to go.”

“cool, yeah, of course,” ellie quickly replied.

“yeah?” you beamed, biting down your bottom lip.

“yes,” she nodded, the corners of her mouth quirking up again, “can i bring a friend?”

“sure,” you smiled. you took out a pen and a post-it from your backpack and wrote the address before sticking it on her hand. your eyes wandered further and ended up on her watch. without a second thought, you grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to you, tilting your head to see the time. “shit, i gotta go to class, but i’ll see you friday?”

“see you then,” ellie said, but she didn’t want you to leave, and you didn’t want to go either. she hesitated before calling your name, making you turn around. “can i walk you to class?”

the question lingered in the air as you processed it. it had caught you completely off guard, which ellie could tell just by seeing your expression. fearing she messed up, time began moving slower and slower to her until you finally accepted her offer with a huge grin on your face.

ellie released the air stuck in her lungs before catching up with you. anyone with a pair of working eyes could see how nervous the two of you were, except yourselves. you were too busy focused on not to embarrass yourself by tripping and ellie was trying to regulate her breathing. neither of you dared to talk because it would make it too obvious, but ellie finally broke the silence once you stepped outside, asking you what class you had.

you had always hated small talk because you feared there’d be a point in which you wouldn’t know what else to say, but that moment never came with ellie. the conversation flowed smoothly between smiles and chuckles from the both of you.

“oh, look!” she suddenly said, casually grabbing you by your shoulder as if she had done it a thousand times before. you followed her line of sight and gasped when your eyes spotted a familiar orange cat. it was the same one you had seen ellie pet when you didn’t even know her yet. “wanna go say hi?”

“how is that even a question?”

ellie was the first one to approach him, crouching down in front of him. you copied her action a second later, already eager to pet him.

“his name is orange. original, right?” ellie sarcastically asked, gaining a laugh from you. “i didn’t name him, by the way. he has a tag with his name.”

“hi, little guy,” you pouted, scratching the back of his head.

“he must live nearby because he’s always here,” ellie told you. “he’s missing an eye, but he’s still cute, right?” she glanced over her shoulder.

you two were close. closer than a simple girl like ellie could handle. your perfume was all that she could smell, you were the only thing she could look at and her own heartbeat was the only sound she could hear.

“he’s the cutest,” you chuckled.

you stayed there for a couple more minutes. ellie told you about the first time she saw orange and you told her about the pets you had back home. it was such a sweet conversation, both of you using soft voices to not scare the cat away.

“alright, let’s go. i don’t want you being late to another class,” ellie told you as she stood up. “see you later, dude,” she waved at orange. surprisingly, the cat meowed back. “we’re best friends,” ellie jokingly bragged as both of you began to walk again.

“do you think he’ll accept me as a friend, too?”

“oh, absolutely. he loves you already.”

you ended up getting to class just in time, but you wouldn’t have cared if you were late. if it were for you, you would’ve skipped it just to keep hanging out with ellie.

“see you tomorrow, then?” you asked, hopeful.

“see you tomorrow,” ellie confirmed as she took a few steps back in your opposite direction, her eyes never leaving you until she fully turned around.

friday

it had been a while since you’d last chosen an outfit with someone in mind, wondering if they would like it. it took a while, but you finally settled on one. it was neatly laying on top of your bed.

“she’ll totally fall in love when she sees you in that,” blair’s voice cut through the silence, startling you.

“i’ve no idea who you’re talking about,” you obviously lied.

“maybe the girl you’ve been talking to me about since you met her?” blair guessed, “or is it the mysterious person who left you that note on monday?”

“it’s not weird that i still think about who could it be, is it?”

even if you had many other things to think about, the identity of the secret admirer, as blair had called them, was something that you were still curious about. it was difficult not to overthink every interaction you had with strangers, especially those who you’d catch staring or were friendlier than normal with you.

“are you kidding? if i were you, i would’ve asked every single person on campus if they knew anything about it,” she sat down on your bed, next to where your clothes were and handed them to you with a wink. “both ellie and the secret admirer will die when they see you tonight.”

a pathetic giggle escaped your lips on the way to the bathroom. you quickly changed into your chosen outfit, a rare feeling of exciment growing on inside you.

once you arrived at the party, you wasted no time and started looking for ellie. there were many familiar faces in the already drunken crowd, some of them even waved at you, but you didn’t even notice. between the lights and the loud music, you could barely pay attention to your own thoughts.

“what was she like again?” blair asked you, trying to help you find her.

“hot,” you replied, still scanning the room.

“right, thanks. that really helps.”

you laughed, “she’s—” your description was cut short when you suddenly locked eyes with her across the room. there was someone by her side, a girl who looked familiar but you couldn’t pinpoint where you knew her from. “she’s here.”

ellie leaned into her friend’s ear to say something, but her eyes never left yours. you tried to remain calm as you watched her walk towards you, looking annoyingly attractive.

“hey, there you are,” she greeted once she was close enough for you to hear her.

“hi! you came,” you beamed. “this is blair, my best friend. blair, this is ellie.”

“it’s really nice to meet you,” ellie shot a quick glance at your friend before glueing her eyes on you again.

knowing that that was her cue to leave, blair gave you a squeeze on your arm, “if you’ll excuse me, i have to go find my boyfriend. enjoy the party,” she wiggled her eyebrows at you before disappearing into the crowd.

“shouldn’t you call your friend over?” it was a genuine question, not wanting ellie to ditch the person she was with for you, but you also needed to know if she was really just a friend.

ellie looked over her shoulder and let out a chuckle, “i think she’s pretty busy.”

confused, you looked behind her. all of your doubts were cleared once you spotted her, she was making out with some girl.

she was definitely just a friend.

“oh,” you let out a short laugh. “good for her.”

ellie nodded at your words before looking back at you again. you were still distracted by the show ellie’s friend was giving and were completely oblivious to the spell you had put her under.

“you look really good,” she blurted out.

you broke into a sweet smile at the sudden compliment, “oh, thank you. you do too. really, really good.”

the fluttering of your heart made you want to burst into giggles, feeling extremely giddy. it was obvious how flustered you were, but seeing ellie in the same state as you made you feel slightly better. you would’ve never guess she’d be the type of person who blushes.

“wanna go for something to drink?”

you nodded at her question before reaching for her hand with the excuse of not losing each other on the way to the kitchen. ellie’s fingers quickly intertwined with yours as you started to lead the way. you offered many apologizes to the people who you accidentally bumped into, the place was absolutely packed and it was difficult to move. the kitchen was no different, you had barely any place to walk.

you grabbed two beer bottles and handed one to ellie, who looked a bit flushed from the previous interaction.

“next time someone doesn’t move after i say ‘excuse me’ i’ll just hit them on their ribs,” you furrowed your eyebrows. “where did they put the bottle opener?” you muttered to yourself, but ellie seemed to have heard you.

“here, let me help.”

you passed her the bottle and watched as she opened it against the table, taking the top off immediately.

“impressive,” you praised her before taking a sip. you grimaced at the taste.

ellie leaned back on the kitchen island, keeping her eyes on you. there was an amused smirk on her lips, “you don’t like it?”

“not really. i mean, it’s not like i hate it, but i only drink beer when there’s no other option,” you shrugged your shoulders. “i think there’s more to drink over there but there’s too many people and i don’t feel like getting trapped between sweaty drunk dudes.”

ellie swept her gaze over the kitchen before walking towards one of the many cabinets. “there’s gotta be something else in here,” she said as she opened every single door. “there it is!” ellie turned around and your eyes fell to her hands, she was holding a bottle of vodka. it was almost empty. “shots, anyone?” she offered.

a guy who was at the kitchen cheered, “hell yeah!”

ellie frowned, disgusted. “not you. go get your own bottle.”

a laugh escaped your lips at how disappointed the guy seemed to be, he immediately left after ellie’s words. “that was kind of mean,” you chuckled lightly.

ellie couldn’t tell you that she actually blew him off because of how shamelessly he checked you out the moment you entered the kitchen, so she just shrugged her shoulders. “he didn’t find it. open up,” she commanded you, placing a hand on your chin. you opened your mouth and felt how ellie poured the liquid down your throat.

“gross,” you wrinkled your nose. you grabbed the bottle from her hands and copied her action, softly grabbing her by her chin. she drank what was left of the vodka and you left the bottle on the counter behind her.

ellie smiled at you as she swiped her fingers across the corner of her lips. she gave you one last glance before walking past you. you watched her open more drawers and cabinets.

“psst, come here,” she called you over.

“what did you find?”

ellie looked around to check no one else was listening. you laughed at how secretive she was being. “look,” she whispered, she had found a box of chocolate covered strawberries. “shall we?” she offered, eyebrows up.

“absolutely,” you accepted, laughing. “but not here. let’s go to the balcony. it’s closed but i know where they keep the keys.”

ellie pushed herself off the table she was laying on and grabbed your hand, “i’ll lead this time, i know where it is.”

you stared down at your hands, blindly trusting her to guide you.

“how do you know where it is?”

“well, i kind of looked everywhere for you when i got here,” she admitted. “thought you stood me up.”

“sorry, i took forever to get ready,” you apologized, embarrassed.

“don’t worry, it was totally worth it,” ellie shot a quick glance at you as she said that, knowing it would mess you up. her personality changed from shy to flirty in a matter of seconds, so you didn’t really know what to expect of her.

you let out a sigh of relief once you were on the balcony, grateful for how muffled the people and music sounded from outside. “i remember why i haven’t gone out in months now,” you rolled your eyes.

“not a party girl, huh?” ellie let out a chuckle, leaning against the wall. she offered you a strawberry, which you gladly took.

“not lately,” you replied after taking a bite.

“so what made you go out tonight?”

you shrugged, “it was an impulse,” your answer was honest, but it was missing the rest of it.

because i wanted to see you again.

“it really helps you’re here, though,” you clarified. “actually, it doesn’t only help, you’re the only reason i’m enjoying this.”

“same here,” she smiled at you before looking up at the sky, she got lost in her thoughts for a moment before speaking up again. “it sucks that city lights don’t let us see the stars properly.”

you scoffed at her words, “i know, but hey, at least we have the moon,” you pointed at the satellite. “she never disappoints.”

there had been a few times were you felt as if the universe was on your side, somehow listening to you. that night was the moment you confirmed your theory because, coincidentally enough, the lights went off in what it seemed to be the entire city. a collective scream was heard from inside the apartment, along with multiple curses.

you took out your phone and turned on your flashlight, accidentally pointing it at ellie’s eyes.

“ow!” she let out, squinting her eyes. you couldn’t help but laugh, to which she complained.

“sorry, didn’t mean to blind you. especially now,” your excitement was enough to spark ellie’s curiosity.

“what do you mean?”

“come with me,” you grabbed her hand for the third time that day, knowing you’d miss doing that when the night came to an end. you still hadn’t gotten used to the weird, almost electric feeling that tingled in your palm whenever you touched her.

you guided her through the disappointed multitude, letting out apologies every now and then and also pushing those who didn’t move after you politely asked. you couldn’t blame them, though, they had used the darkness to their advantage and were shamelessly making out.

the air was ten times colder on the terrace than it was on the balcony, but neither of you cared because once you looked up you forgot about everything else. well, except maybe each other.

the view was completely breathtaking. without the light pollution, the sky looked straight out of a painting.

“it’s like looking straight at space,” you whispered, eyes sparkling with excitement. you had only seen the stars like that once in your life when you were a kid. it was as magical as you remembered, and the person you were sharing the moment with only made everything more special.

“i know,” ellie gazed at you before looking up again. “it blows my mind.”

as the night went on, you talked about many different things whilst laying on the floor; how your lives back home were, your friends, your families, favorite movies and songs and of course, with both of you being astronomy students, space-related stuff. you two were interested in each other’s point of view about everything, so you discussed many different subjects, enjoying the freedom to be incredibly nerdy about it.

“our lifespan is way too short. i mean, think about it. look at how many things have changed and advanced in only a hundred years. can you imagine how the world will change in, like, a thousand years?”

“maybe in fifty more years scientists will discover the key to immortality and we’ll be able to see everything,” ellie shrugged her shoulders. “or we could try to discover it ourselves once we graduate.”

you let out a laugh, “such an easy thing to do,” you sarcastically said. “i’m in, but maybe we could try with something easier, like, finding extraterrestrial forms of life, perhaps?”

“apparently, they are already here,” ellie pointed out.

you turned your head at her, “we’ll be the first to make friends with them, then. we’re pretty nice people, they’ll warm up to us.”

“deal,” she smiled at you, inevitably glancing at your lips for a second due to the proximity.

you kept enjoying each other’s company. there were moments in which neither of you spoke but, surprisingly enough, you didn’t care. even silence was fun with her.

neither of you had experienced a connection as strong as the one you had, especially in such a short amount of time. you didn’t question it, thought, it just made sense.

after a while, the power came back. the city was illuminated and the music from the party was back on. you two sat up, a little saddened that you couldn’t stargaze anymore.

“it was fun while it lasted,” you commented, ready to return to the apartment. you picked up the beer bottles from the floor, along with the empty box of chocolate strawberries.

“we can always go camping,” ellie suggested. “the sky will look even better than tonight.”

“i have zero survival skills, so you’d be in charge of everything. i can interest you with some random facts, though.”

“sounds good,” she laughed as she stood by the door and opened it, waiting for you to go inside first. the walk to the apartment was quiet, hating the fact the that night was coming to an end.

the loud music welcomed you again, people were even crazier after having to wait half an hour for the power to come back. it surprised you to see the same amount of people, apparently, none of them had left.

“i know it’s a friday night but, how the fuck has your friend managed to not get kicked out yet?” ellie leaned into your ear.

“this building is mostly occupied by other students, so they are probably at the party, too,” you explained, raising your voice a little so she could hear you.

everyone was euphorically dancing, making up for the lost time. you glanced at ellie before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the improvised dance floor. she instantly followed you, completely mesmerized.

“oh my god, there you are! i thought i was imagining things when i saw you earlier,” a familiar voice said from behind you. it was tara, you shared some classes and had been partners in a project once. “you look so good.”

“oh, hey, tara. this ell—”

“yeah, hi,” she interrupted you, only glancing at ellie for half a second. “could you walk me to the bathroom? i– i don’t know where it is and i feel pretty sick.”

your eyes flickered between the two girls. you obviously wanted to stay with ellie, but tara had put you in a really awkward position.

“uh…” you hesitated, “where are your friends?”

“they already left,” she frowned. “c’mon, babe, come with me? please.”

the nickname she used echoed in ellie’s mind.

“i can’t, i—”

“you should go. i should check on my friend, so…” ellie’s lips were in a straight line, but she forced a smile when you looked at her.

“why don’t you come with us?”

ellie would’ve agreed if she hadn’t seen the nasty look tara had given her. she wasn’t intimidated by her in the slightest, but the thought of being a burden and indirectly forcing you not to leave her alone was enough to let you go, even if she didn’t want to.

“no, really. i need to go see if she’s okay. i’ll find you later.”

you didn’t have time to respond, because you had already been dragged away from there. tara started chatting your ear off about stuff you didn’t care, you could only think about ellie.

“do you want me to call you an uber or something?” you asked her.

“why would i wanna leave?”

“you said you were sick and you’re pretty drunk, you should go home.”

“oh, no, silly. i live in this building, maybe you could walk me to my apartment?”

you refrained from rolling your eyes in front of her and realized that the sooner you got rid of her, the sooner you could go back to the girl you actually wanted to be with.

“c’mon, let’s go,” you said. on the way out you messaged blair to find ellie and tell her you’d be right back, to which she answered she was on it.

you took the elevator to her floor. you could tell tara wanted you to initiate a conversation by the way she was looking at you, but you couldn’t care less about her. she hadn’t noticed, apparently, because she started talking about god knows what as you walked behind her, completely zoned out.

“wanna come in?” she asked you once you were outside her apartment. her intentions were crystal clear but, as flattered as you were, you couldn’t help but feel completely uncomfortable.

“uh, no, thanks,” you awkwardly said.

“you sure? i’ve got—”

“yes, tara, i’m sure. i gotta go, i’m sorry. you’ll be okay, though, right? see you around,” you took a step back with each word you said, by the end of the sentence you were in front of the elevator. you heard tara let out a very confused ‘bye’ before the doors closed.

you impatiently tapped your foot against the floor, wondering why was the elevator taking so long. once you were back at the party you immediately searched for ellie, but she was nowhere to be found. instead, you saw blair, who had a worried look on her face.

“hey,” you approached her. “did you talk to ellie?”

“i couldn’t. i saw her leave with that girl she was with like a minute after you texted me,” she grimaced. “what happened? why were you with tara?”

you sighed, “i’m so stupid,” you groaned. “tara found me and she put me in this really difficult spot, so i had to walk her to her apartment because she was pretty fucking drunk and feeling very sick, or at least that’s what she told me, and i did it as fast as i could, but—”

“okay, okay. stop. why don’t you text ellie and—”

“i don’t have her number.”

“try instagram?”

“i tried finding her on instagram the same day i met her and i couldn’t,” you awkwardly confessed. “she probably thinks i blew her off for stupid tara.”

“hey, calm down. i’m sure you’ll see her soon.”

sadly, that soon never came. saturday, sunday, monday and tuesday went by painfully slow. there was no sight of ellie.

wednesday

you were a hopeless romantic, even if you didn’t admit it out loud. deep down, you knew that meeting ellie wasn’t a coincidence. it could’ve happened at any given moment due to being classmates, but it did when you needed it the most.

it was unexpected, but as said before, you felt as if sometimes the universe was on your side, listening to your deepest desires, the ones you didn’t know needed to be fulfilled.

you had never felt a connection as genuine as the one you had with her. everything seemed easy with her, making you feel you’d known her for longer than a week.

that doesn’t happen often, especially to you, so you would do anything in your power to fix things.

you were currently in physics class, counting down the minutes for it to end. you had to fight the urge to look at the back to see if ellie was there.

the thought of her being mad at you for practically abandoning at the party you invited her to made you sick. you also feared she didn’t care at all, which was a hundred times worse.

once the class ended you waited for her outside, trying to calm down your racing heart. the majority of students had already come out. you had just started to lose hope of seeing her when you finally heard her voice. she was saying goodbye to the professor.

“hi,” you nervously smiled when she was in front of you. her looking as good as always didn’t help you calm down at all. “i’ve been hoping to see you since friday. i wanted to apologize—”

“oh, you don’t have to do that. i get it. i saw you leave with that girl, tara, was it? it’s okay, you don’t have to explain anything—”

“no, no. i didn’t leave with her,” you clarified. “she wasn’t feeling good so she asked me to walk her to her apartment, which was in that same building, and i only did it to get rid of her. i know i sound like a major dick, but i wanted to go back to you as soon as possible,” you confessed, heart beating a hundred miles per minute.

“you did?” there was a smile hiding on her lips, you could tell by the tone she used. she was amused and obviously enjoyed seeing you flustered.

“yes, and i told blair to find you and tell you that i’d be right back, but when i did you had already left and i had no way of communicating with you, so…” ellie was quiet, so you continued. “i’m sorry.“

it felt like an eternity until she spoke again. “i’m sorry i left.”

“it’s not your fault,“ you mused. “it’s tara’s.”

“it so is,” ellie let out a chuckle. “i’ll fuck her up.”

you laughed, which made ellie’s stomach flip. both of you became numb to your surroundings as you stared into each other’s eyes, dumb smiles plastered on your faces.

“hey, about that paper that we have to do on electromagnetism. would you, maybe, uh, want to do it with me?”

“yes, i’d love to,” you grinned. “we could meet at the library tomorrow. do you have any classes in the morning?”

“just one, it ends at 10.”

“see you at 11?”

“yeah,” ellie nodded.

“oh, i almost forgot,” you said before taking out your phone. ellie curiously watched you type something before you handed it to her.

an adorable smile formed on her lips when she saw you were asking for her number. you had already typed in her name with the alien emoji next to it.

“thank you,” you mused when she gave your phone back to you. you instantly sent her a text so she could save your number on hers, too.

“see you tomorrow :)”

ellie looked up from her phone, mouth upturned. “see you then.”

tuesday

“the library’s closed,” ellie announced the moment she saw you.

the lights were turned off and there was a sign on the door that read ‘closed for reparations’.

“awh, man,” you complained. “why didn’t they tell us sooner—”

“actually, they did. i just checked and they sent us an email about a week ago, we just don’t check our inbox,” ellie interrupted you, grimacing.

“oh, our fault then,” you shrugged your shoulders. “um, maybe we could go to my dorm? i don’t have a roommate so nobody will bother us,” you offered.

“woah, i’d give everything to have my dorm all to myself,” she groaned, tilting her head back. “why don’t you have a roommate?”

you didn’t realize you had already started walking together, mindlessly leading the way to your dorm.

“i had one at the beginning of the semester, but then she dropped out or something. they told me i’ll probably get one next semester, so i’m enjoying it while it lasts,” you explained.

ellie huffed, “my roommate is a music producer. she’s pretty considerate but sometimes she has to listen to her songs without headphones,” she rolled her eyes. “i think i’m gonna find a job and move out to an apartment.”

“you totally should. i’d do it too if i were capable of balancing work and college,” you told her. “you’re welcome to stay at mine’s for as long as you want and whenever you want, by the way.”

“really?” she grinned. “you’re already asking me to live together? i haven’t even met your parents, yet.”

you rolled your eyes, a playful smile growing on your lips, “fine, my offer is off the table, then.”

“oh, no. now it’s too late. i’m moving in tomorrow morning.”

ellie spent the entire walk planning an itinerary for when she moved in with you, which basically consisted in eating breakfast together, go to class, come back and have lunch together, have more classes, come back and have dinner together then have a sleepover every night.

“sounds fun, huh?”

“super fun,” you chuckled as you opened the door for her. “guests first,” you stepped aside, inviting her in.

“hey, this is practically my dorm, too, now,” ellie joked, curiously looking around as she scratched the back of her neck. she was trying her hardest not to show how nervous she actually was, but the fluttering on her stomach made it really hard.

you were in the same state as her, trying not to freak out. your eyes discreetly checked every corner of the room, making sure everything was in order and there was nothing embarrassing laying around.

ellie chuckled to herself when she noticed the ceiling was decorated with a bunch of stickers that glowed in the dark. stars and planets were placed all over.

“i know they’re childish,” you wrinkled your nose, visibly cringing.

“are you kidding? i love them. these will be the first thing i’ll buy for my new place,” her gaze fell from the ceiling to your eyes, a genuine smile spreading across her lips.

ellie kept looking around your dorm, grabbing stuff that caught her attention. it was funny seeing her ask for permission each time, looking back at you and pointing at the object she wanted to check out.

you took out your laptop from your backpack and sat down on your bed. it immediately bummed you out when you remembered that you had to do an assignment and weren’t just hanging out for fun.

“i’m gonna create a google drive file so we can both edit it later in case we don’t finish it today,” you informed her.

“yeah, that’s a good idea,” ellie replied, focused on a bracelet she had found on your desk. then, she continued snooping around your things, sometimes mumbling cool and i’m going to borrow this.

you checked the questions you had to answer and immediately sighed, “i’m completely lost.”

“want me to explain it to you?” she offered and you obviously accepted. ellie looked at the big whiteboard behind her and grabbed a marker from your desk. “okay, so you know that the earth’s core is mainly composed of liquid in the outer core and solid iron in the inner core?”

you tried your hardest to keep your attention on what she was saying, but the task turned impossible. her voice sounded muffled and you could only focus on how good she looked. you let out a few yeahs and rights when you thought it was appropriate, but the truth was that you didn’t know what the hell she was talking about.

“and this field has existed for at least three billions years, which is nuts, right?” you ears managed to make out of all the things she was saying. you saw how she laughed, clearly enjoying talking about the subject. you probably would too if you could be capable of actually listen and process what she was saying.

you watched as she continued to write and draw stuff on the board at the same time she explained something to you, but you couldn’t keep your eyes off of her.

“that’s about it, got it?” she asked, turning around.

“uh…” you let out, not being capable of forming an actual sentence.

ellie chuckled, amused, “you alright?”

“yes, it’s just—”

“was there something you didn’t understand? i can go over it again,” ellie kindly offered, but you could hardly hear her over the loud beating of your heart.

you weren’t really planning to, but you stood up. it was as if you were on autopilot, there was something else controlling your body and you couldn’t do anything to stop it. you walked closer to ellie, who looked confused.

“if i’m being honest, i didn’t listen to a word you said,” you confessed, smiling guiltily. “i swear i tried to, but there was something else on my mind.”

“what’s that?” ellie asked in a whisper, eyes scanning your face. you were extremely close to her.

“i don’t think i can go another minute without kissing you,” you softly confessed, looking up into her eyes. her pupils were dilated and a light blush had started to color her cheeks.

“no one is stopping you,” she replied, wholly captivated by you.

not even a second later, you crashed your lips into hers. ellie joyfully giggled, but that didn’t stop her from hungrily kissing you back. her hands found their way up to the sides of your face while yours ended up tangled in her hair.

ellie broke the kiss first, but your lips were still touching. “i’m still deeply disappointed you didn’t listen to my physics lesson.”

“i’m sorry,” you chuckled. “i heard some parts, you were great. i learned a lot.”

ellie smiled before leaning in again, bringing you impossibly closer to her as she gave you a breathtaking kiss. you melted against her, already eager for the kiss to end just so you could do it over and over again.

“this would’ve happened sooner if it weren’t for tara,” ellie joked, reaching over to grab your hand.

“i’ll kill her next time i see her,” you were standing so close to each other that you replied with a whisper.

ellie frowned, “you’re not seeing her again.”

“oh? i would’ve never guessed you were the jealous type,” you teased her, placing your arms on her shoulders again and bringing her even closer to you. ellie looked even better than before. her lips were reddened, her hair was a mess and her eyes had become even more hypnotic.

you could’ve stayed admiring her for hours, but a glance over her shoulder was all it took for you to wake up from your trance. you walked past her to take a closer look at the whiteboard she had used. it wasn’t what she had written that caught your attention, but the handwriting itself. it looked incredibly familiar.

your mind quickly came up with a crazy theory, which ellie’s expression confirmed the moment you looked back at her.

“you were the one who left me that note on my door?”

ellie’s confident and teasing demeanor was long gone. she looked panicked. her heartbeat accelerated significantly and she felt as she was running out of air.

“oh my god,” your mouth fell agape, a smile creeping up on your lips. “you did!”

she covered her face with her hands, letting out a groan, “you weren’t supposed to know that.”

“why?”

“it’s embarrassing! we didn’t even know each other when i did it. it’s weird—”

“it’s sweet!”

“it’s weird,” she repeated, not being able to look at you.

you smiled fondly at her, reaching for her hand and giving her a squeeze, “it really helped me, you know? it was as if you knew i needed it.”

ellie grimaced, “well, i actually kind of did…”

“what do you mean?”

she sat down on your bed, making you sit next to her. you didn’t let go of her hand. instead, you played with her fingers in an attempt to calm her down.

“i visited my friend that day, her dorm is across the hall. i was just about to leave when i saw you coming. i panicked, so i hid and accidentally overheard what you were saying to your friend,” she admitted. “i meant what i wrote. i’ve thought that way about you ever since i first saw you. it seemed like the perfect moment to tell you, at least indirectly.”

“but why didn’t you tell me in person? or at least, talked to me sooner.”

“i’m not as brave as i look and you’re fucking intimidating.”

you let out a laugh in disbelief, “me, intimidating? look at you!”

“no, look at you. you’re way to beautiful for me to just come up to you and tell you that. who could have the guts?”

“oh my god, shut up,” you hid your face in your hands, feeling how your heart fluttered like crazy at her words.

“i couldn’t tell you after we began talking, either. we were just getting to know each other, it would’ve been weird,” ellie stared down at your intertwined hands. “it’s still kind of weird,” she mumbled more to herself than for you to hear.

not being able to take it anymore, you succumbed to the urge of throwing yourself at her, leaving many kisses all over her face. the sound of her laugh made the butterflies in your stomach to fly all over the place.

“you’re the sweetest girl i’ve ever met.”

“don’t say that about me. i have a reputation to maintain,” she jokingly rolled her eyes. “so, be honest, you don’t think it was weird?”

“of course not. i think it was fate.”

“fate?”

“wait here.”

you quickly walked over to your desk where you had left your phone. you immediately searched for the picture you had taken of her last tuesday and almost ran to show it to her.

“is that me?” ellie grabbed the phone from your hands and zoomed in the picture.

“yup,” you nodded. “this was the day before we first talked. i was taking pictures of orange and you appeared, out of nowhere. you looked as you’d beat the person who dared to speak to you,” a laugh escaped your lips. “i thought about for the rest of the day and hoped to see you again, and guess what? i did. see? it was fate.”

ellie warmly smiled, she caressed your cheek with her fingers before bringing you closer to give you the softest kiss ever given, “i guess it was.”

[dr-spectre]

The Super Mario Galaxy OST might be the cure to all mental troubles.

I feel the spiraling and overthinking in my brain and then suddenly... "Purple Comet - Super Mario Galaxy" plays and my brain gets a boost of serotonin. The soundtrack feels like a warm hug on a cold day, a nice cup of hot chocolate among friends, this mediative hypnotic collection of tunes that whisk me back to simpler times of my child self playing on my Wii. In the living room upstairs in my old house, totally alone, the warm light coming from the single lamp, giving me a sense of safety and heat.

Watching that red man fly across the endless sea of space, gliding amongst the deep blue blanket, the white sparkling stars so far away... Yet watching us and giving us a feeling of community and support.... Reminding all of us that we are not alone...

The soft piano cords that bring us to tears, the distinctive synths that add depth, the triumphant orchestra that fill our blood with electricity.

When i listen to the soundtrack and see the visuals of this game, it feels like I'm leaping into a loved one's arms and them allowing me to cry my eyes out in their stomach. Giving me the patience and care that i need. There are so many songs that genuinely bring me to tears and i have spent countless nights crying my eyes away to the songs.

In my darkest moments, in my most hopeless periods where i long for the past and wish i could be a kid one more time... This game allows me to do so and give me all the time that i need to cry.

I remember getting 3D All Stars for the Switch and playing through Mario Galaxy, then suddenly, out of nowhere, in the Comet Observatory, i couldn't help but breakdown into tears. Consuming this game is like facing a mirror and through that mirror i see kid me, i see that little guy with the big poofy hair, the smile on his face, the energy he has... That poor innocent boy, what would he think of me now?

God i do wish i could relive one day from my childhood, just one, maybe the day where i played on the EyeToy on the PS2 with some friends? Maybe the day i had some of my dad's friend's sons over and we played Mario Kart Wii together online? Maybe the day i played Just Dance on the Wii with my brother? Maybe the day i went to a caravan park and beat some kids on Pok��mon Black? Maybe that day i went to a friend's birthday party and we went onto the street and did a water gun fight? Maybe the day i went to the park with this friend and we fed ducks, little did i know that it would be the last time i saw them...

You never know when it's gonna be the final time you will see someone or visit a place...

Just... Just one of those days... any one of them... I wanna remember what it was like to be a kid again. I wanna see people i haven't seen in years, i wanna revisit those old homes again, i wanna smell those smells, i wanna hear those sounds, i wanna see my aunt who passed away when i was so young... she made me the best sandwiches ever...

I wanna play with my cousins and not feel awkward around them, i wanna have vivid dreams again, i wanna play on playgrounds, i wanna feel the excitement and joy of life again.... Just one. more. time.

Um... i needed to ramble, I'm in an emotional mood right now and i need to share my love for this game.

I need to replay it again. I need to talk about it more... I need to talk about that fucking storybook man.

Me when Mario Galaxy OST.

[imsparky2002]

Barbie in the Nutcracker: First Thoughts

The following is my thoughts while watching this for the first time.

Credits look awful. Still, it’s 2001 and this is the first installment so I’ll give it a pass.

Only know the basic Nutcracker song and theme but nice that it uses an orchestra

Barbie herself doesn’t look too bad but her little sis… yikes.

Kinda weird to see these dolls moving like mocap performers.

Heh! Barbie’s voice actor has the same name as her little sister.

Kelly very clearly sounds like an adult woman trying to do a kiddish voice.

Lipsyncing is odd, looks more like generic flapping.

Surprisingly decent snow effects.

I’m assuming Clara’s parents are either dead or abandoned them. Or they could also just be on vacation.

Is it wrong that I find Grandpa cute? Gives off a very distinguished vibe. Especially that voice.

They call gingerbread houses “christmas boxes”? That’s… interesting.

Kinda wish they gave Clara a different voice from Barbie, or at the very least a different hairstyle.

The lighting is actually pretty good! Nice warm hues, makes me feel like I’m at a cozy inn.

Her little brother looks like the kids who played Fortnite and would tease me in high school. Of course his name is fuckin’ Tommy.

This CGI is reminding me of early PS2 cutscenes.

Aunt Drosselmayer’s got that 90’s Leo DiCaprio/Hugh Grant parting in her hair. Bleh.

Why is Clara the only blonde in the family?

Ooh! We’ve got some family drama between Auntie and Grandpa. This is getting juicy.

Elizabeth is giving me confident bisexual vibes with the voice and manner of movement. Bet you that’s why Grandpa doesn’t trust her.

Looking at the wiki I just found out that Trixie’s VA voices the Aunt, Starlight’s VA is Barbie and Cadence’s VA is one of the kids! Must be a Canadian production.

I will never not find the word “nutcracker” to be hilarious.

Clara, why tf are you fighting over a toy with your lil brother? You’re like… 17? 18? I dunno but it’s way too old.

Seriously they gave Tommy the most punchable face ever. Not that I’d ever punch a kid but I can see why other kids his age would deck him.

Magic shenanigans are ensuing.

I like the medeival look of the rats. The CGI actually fits them well.

Clara wakes up to see an anthropomorphic warrior rat right next to her eating something and is just like “goddamn it, git ya varmint!” I love it.

Oh, she thinks she’s dreaming. That makes sense to why she’s so calm.

Hmm… I feel like the Rat King should look a bit more evil, and larger as well. Still, TIM CURRY! I’m gonna LOVE this.

Woah! We’re getting a fight scene! A swordfighting scene to be exact!

Oooh the Rat King’s magic and can shapeshift his weapon. That’s metal AF.

Tim Curry putting everything into his performance as usual.

I’m kinda surprised we’re already getting a Nutcracker-Rat King battle. I’d have thought they’d save that sorta thing until the third act.

Did they really have to change it to Sugarplum Princess? Fairy just sounds more powerful.

Wow! This snowy cave is beautiful! Something out of a classic painting.

EWWW THESE LIL SNOW FAIRIES LOOK DISGUSTING!

Did this nutfucker not realize that an icy fortress would have ice for the walls?

The fairies doing ballet looks weird because they have nothing to stand on.

Please don’t tell me the small fairy is staying, I hate her.

Dance is currently reminding me of Fantasia.

“The fairies probably went off to make a blizzard somewhere”. The way he said that nonchalantly had me cackling.

The effect of Clara’s footsteps turning into flowers is beautiful.

Pimm sounds like he’s an absolute troll online. Also gives me Psychicpebbles vibes (though I know it’s not him).

Wow the Rat King is a straight up genocider.

Why do all the kids look like Kelly?

OH DEAR GOD THAT LITTLE BOY LOOKS HORRIFYING.

Wait Prince Eric? Are they legally allowed to call him that? We all know how much Disney loves copyrights.

Man these kids are little shits and their outfits are gagworthy.

Major Mint definitely got a big personality, and the voice actor does a good job with it.

Ok Mint is hilarious and is so far the best part of the movie.

Nice to see some Asian rep with Captain Candy.

Wow, Rat King turns his failed employees into stone. Dark!

The zoom in on the Rat King as he says “that’s it?” made me giggle.

Thomas Astruc looked at the Rock Golem and got his first idea for an akuma.

Wait how the hell does Clara know that the Nutcracker is Prince Eric? I mean I already assumed because of the plot of the original ballet, but how does she know?!

The bridge scene gives me the willies, since I’m afraid of heights.

Wow this flower fairy is the only kid-looking character that has a decent design.

Didn’t expect a song to be interrupted by an enemy.

Lol, the Major’s monocle falls off as he sees the giant.

Glad to see the fairies serve a purpose other than dancing. Kick that giant’s ass!

Captain Candy’s a better man than Mint, as he actually makes sure that he gets saved.

Once again, the island is beautiful! Reminds me of Oz with the colored roads.

Ooh clever! At first I thought the castle’s backdrop looked really fake but I just factored it was because it’s 2001 CGI. But it was actually a trap!

Nice we see a test of Clara’s character that she passed.

The invisble hand touching Clara’s hand is actually making me feel kinda teary-eyed internally.

The Rat King definitely has a Napoleon complex.

Loving the character arc for Nutcracker with his final duel.

Ah! So now the Rat King is growing. Fits for the climax.

Huh… Prince Eric looks more like Jimmy Pesto than a prince.

Lol Major Mint realizes he’s been shittalking the prince.

Huh, so Clara’s the princess? I guess it sorta makes sense since it’s her dream.

For those princes out there who are hated by the public, all ya gotta do is fight a giant mouse.

Mint and Candy got the moves! Best dancers of the entire movie.

The final dance between Eric and Clara is absolutely gorgeous.

The villain was taken down by a snowball… I love it.

God Kelly Sheridan and Kirby Morrow really put everything into the scene where Clara disappears.

Lol Kelly’s Canana accent shows up when she says “It’s not a story”.

“What’s all this foolishness about mice kings and bats, Clara? Enough of your womenly hysteria! Time for a lobotomy!” Grandpa, basically.

Actually now that he’s in a suit, Eric looks a lot hotter.

I’m surprised Barbie’s little sister had the attention span to listen to a 1 hour story.

I'll be making a full review of the film soon. Let me know thoughts in the comments and reblogs. @artzychic27 @msweebyness

[hexitca]

Finished my replay of Devil May Cry 1

I hadn't played it since I was like in middle school (my older brother ordered it on gamefly and I played after him a little bit but then it had to go back to gamefly and then replayed it in full once during summer in college once I got my hands on the anniversary 3 game pack for ps2) and while this is the Switch version it's much the same in my view (or my memory is fuzzy lol but it felt pretty much the same)

The camera sucks ass and there were times where I was confused where to go (it's been a fucking long time since last replay lol but I also kinda suck at DMC not gonna lie) but god it was so fun to hack and slash. Once I got use to running around again I was okay. I will admit I played on easy mode this time bc again I hadn't played since like 2013 of summer and I started the replay back in 2023 so like 10 years omg!

I'd give it an 8/10 just for the camera alone. Everything else was great~

lmao the fucking "fill your dark soul with LIIIIIIGHT!!!" scene kills me every time it's supposed to be like dramatic but Dante's voice cracking makes me lose it. I love it though I'm never disappointed lol

But Trish is so cute in the after game scenes like damn I wish we got more time with Trish!!

Trish: "There's no need to worry, right? ‘Cuz the world has the Legendary Dark Knight Dante... and his sidekick!"

LIKE TRISH YOU ARE SO CUTE STOP IM DYING AAA I know that like...she's a bad ass but her calling her his sidekick I'm like kicking my feet AAA she's so cute~

I'll try on normal mode later but I wanna play DMC2 and DMC3 first.

[snapscube]

Hi Penny really been enjoying your dive into Dragon Quest VII! Been curious, what made u decide on playing the PS2 version over the 3DS version of the game?

(gonna assume you meant DQ VIII and answer for that!) A few things! Obviously the 3DS version was tempting with the extra content and all that (especially knowing now that one of the added party members is Red UGHHGHHGHGHGHGHGGHGG god i wish) but the PS2 version, in turn, has

an orchestrated soundtrack (VERY IMPORTANT, Strange World does NOT hit the same through MIDI)

better visuals! i like the color palette of the PS2 visuals a lot better, and there's a lot more detail in the environment that brings things together nicely.

randomized battles, which is obviously gonna be different for a lot of people and a lot of situations in terms of whether it's considered a pro or a con. normally, i don't prefer random encounters BUT in my experience with DQ11 i found that when I had the option of skipping combat encounters I really would not level up as much as I should have before hitting a roadblock and needing to grind for at least a couple of hours. so far, though there has been a LITTLE grinding, being forced to engage with the combat system in the overworld while exploring and get a consistent flow of XP has really helped pace my playthrough a lot better!

Not to mention, at the time of choosing which platform to play on, I did not have any capture solution for 3DS fully setup and I was really resistant to the idea of emulating since I prefer playing on original hardware when I can help it. I've since settled on the fact that until I can get my hands on a hardware capture mod, emulation is gonna be the way to go for any 3DS/DS streaming I do. And I've got a setup that I think looks nice and runs well now but, again, at the time I did not.

Honestly though the BIGGEST reason, even after considering all of this stuff, is that when I think of Dragon Quest I think "large, cozy adventure". It has real nostalgic vibes even though I didn't grow up with the series. A perfect cozy-up-with-tea-before-bed kind of series. And I'm not sure if any game system complements those vibes better to me than the PS2 does. The PS2 has this pitch-perfect nostalgia factor in nearly everything about the way it runs, the way it renders visuals, and thankfully a lot of those things are in tact even when running on a backwards compatible PS3. And it does that without losing the inherent feeling of scale you get when playing a console game on a TV compared to a handheld game on a small screen. That perfect balance of comfort vs. scale is the biggest reason why I chose the PS2 version, and so far I do NOT regret the decision.

[shebeafancyflapjack]

A Strange God (Part 3)

Silver (oc) finally meets Alison.

It was hard to explain the passing of time when you're asleep for the best part of a month. She supposed in some ways, she was lucky. There was less time for her to get bored or frustrated. On the other hand, the world seemed to move past at a disorienting speed. Six weeks worth of days awake for her was basically half a year for everyone else.

But for a while, she barely noticed. Everything was usually the same whenever she awoke. Heather barely repainted a room and seemed willing to keep the same furniture that she'd inherited from her parents before her. The house was as frozen in time as the ghosts dwelling within the walls.

And then Heather died. Suddenly time seemed to catch up with the rest of them, once Alison and Mike arrived.

"That's...That's a phone?!" She gawped at the tiny computer screen in Alison's palm. "Where are the buttons?!"

"It's touch screen. See?"

Silver had gasped loud enough to wake the entire house as she'd watched Alison control the device with just a tap of her finger. She showed her videos that were crystal clear rather than stuttering and pixilated. Games with better graphics than she'd had on her PS2.

Out of all the ghosts, she was the closest to Alison in terms of generations, though a few years older. It twisted Silver's stomach a little to think she should be in her mid thirties by now.

Jess must be long dead. Her niece in secondary school. She hoped her mum remarried so she wasn't alone.

"I can always check on them...if you want?" Alison offered.

Silver gratefully declined. It seemed worse to find out something awful that she couldn't help with. She had her prayers to her gods and just trusted in her faith that her living family is okay, and hopefully, she'd see them in the next life.

Until then, she had her new family. And despite them only spending two full days a month, she felt a connection that she'd never had among her living brothers and sisters. Even Cap and Fanny, as much as they chided her and talked down to her, she knew cared in their own way. Plus it was never not fun to do or say something that made them both turn red as radishes.

Pat, Kitty, Robin and Mary she was closest to. Julian often made her teeth grind whenever he opened his mouth but she could silence him by letting him play with her phone, still better than anything Alison could give him without straining his finger. Humphrey was cool and good to talk shit with, though it was usually an effort just to find the dude.

Where once she'd relied on Robin carrying her to her forest bed when it was time to fall asleep, now the gang all made the effort to walk with her and stay as she got comfy on the mound, Silver able to bid them all goodnight "until next time", and hear them wish her pleasant dreams.

"It doesn't....hurt or anything then?" Alison had asked her one evening after she woke up.

"You mean bed sores? Not really."

"I meant it ain't like being in a coma or being locked in your body."

She shook her head; "Nope. I just have these really awesome dreams, like in my last ones..."

Alison, just like the majority of people, had suppressed a groan when forced to listen to someone describe their dreams in such detail. Silver was partly aware they would never be as exciting those listening as they had felt to her, but she had to share them. Robin, Mary and Kitty loved to listen - though they often shared their own dreams in return, some of which (Mary and Robin's especially) chilled Silver to the bone.

But before Alison, she'd never truly felt like she was missing a whole lot during her long slumbers. Heather rarely got up to much and there was little difference to the ghosts routines and group activities. Now she would wake to have them all excited to fill her in on whatever crazy scheme Alison and her husband were up to try to make money, or one of ghosts FINALLY opening up about how they died. First Fanny, then Thomas, then Humphrey. For once her fantastic dreams paled in comparison to getting to just be in the room when everything happened.

"Oh it ain't all that excitings, love." Mary comforted her one evening, after she felt down about having missed an actual lesbian wedding in the house.

"Of course it is! That weren't even legal when we were alive. Shit, my teachers at school still weren't allowed to talk about it if you asked."

She tried to ask Alison if she could persuade the next gay couple wanting a wedding to have it during the full moon. She said she'd think about it.

"And Humphrey! Can't believe he did that for a wife who didn't even love him. What a hero."

"Hmm. Fair dos, he earned that rather quick and painless death, he did." Mary shrugged. Silver leaned in against her arm.

"....Do you think you'll be ready to talk about yours?"

Mary didn't respond.

"S'okay if you don't. I don't think any different of you. I don't think you could get anymore awesome after headbutting Cap but I could be wrong."

Mary sniggered at that; "Bless your little heathen heart."

And she was wrong, as she discovered one morning when she'd been walking downstairs and Robin hissed at her to join him at pressing his ear to the wall, overhearing a quarrel in the next room. She'd stormed out of the same room barely an hour ago, sick of Fanny having a go at her about girls getting piercings.

Silver now stood next to the caveman.

"I have a right to voice my opinion-!"

"And I has a rights to swing at you for it, if you dares say another word against her tattoos or dress agains! She wanna mark herself with the signs of demons, that be her business. She only gets three night times a month with us, she don't needs you insulting her the whole time. Do it again, Fanny Buttons and you has me to deal with!"

At first, Silver had thought she was defending Alison. And then she'd brought up the whole three nights thing.

Fanny's snide comments were like water off a duck's back to her now. However, she'd never listened to anyone stick up for her like that. And having it be Mary....usually so quiet and timid...

She glanced at Robin who was grinning like a Cheshire cat, clearly just as amused and impressed. It did seem like Mary's confidence had grown immensely the past several years.

"That tolds hers, I reckons...Oh. Hello, darlin's." The Stuart era woman smiled at her after she passed through the wall.

Silver had tackled her with a hug.

"Oh! What's all this?" Mary asked, staring at Robin who just shrugged, failing at acting casual.

She shook her head, inhaling that comforting smell.

"Just....thanks Mu-Mary." She'd almost slipped up and it made her heart pang with guilt, as if betraying the mother she'd left behind.

The mother had raised her, despite all her flaws. The mother who was still out there, grieving.

Silver released her and made an excuse to go, dragging Robin by the hand to show her some deer.

"Me hear what you almost say." The caveman smirked.

"You heard nothing." She denied with a blush.

"You should say it if what really feel. Make her big happy."

One day. Maybe.

On that last night, Alison offered to be the one to walk with her to her bed.

"So I know you didn't want me to look into your family. But I did do a bit of digging." The older (or younger) woman explained.

"Nosy."

"Yes, but...I just found out your birthday. Did you know it was today?"

Silver stilled. No. She hadn't thought about it. With time being so messed up for her, it was one of many events she lost track of.

"Well...Happy birthday."

Alison gestured to her bed.

Silver turned, expecting the dirt and blue flowers she knew so well. Except now there was more. More flowers, all sort of different vibrant colours and types she didn't know the names of - pretty awful for a pagan, she knew - surrounded the space for her to lay, which now had a black sheet decorated with zodiac signs, along with a pillow to rest her head. On the bark of the tree that served as the headboard, hung a sketch that Alison had drawn herself of Silver sleeping among the flowers.

It was so strange to see herself, to see how she looked to others as she slept all those weeks.

"You....made this for me?" She said, speechless. She knew about the effort Alison put into her gifts for the others but this....

"Well, if you insist on not sleeping in the house, you should have a proper nice place to rest out here. Just gotta keep an eye on the rain, not that you feel the damp-"

"I love it." She could cry, that's how perfect it was; "Thanks, Alison...I'm starting to see why Kitty loves you so much."

"Just now? I've been here nearly four years."

"Yeah but its been like a few months for me." If that. Even so, Alison was more of a sister than she'd ever had before, to all of them.

That dawn she lay her head down on the pillow, the moon hanging in her usual spot above her, and she knew she was going to have the best dreams ever.

When she woke, there was no moon. No stars.

It was cloudy. Not that unusual, it was England after all. But given how extra pretty her bed now was, she'd wanted that beautiful gentle glow upon her as she opened her eyes.

No matter. She was more disappointed to wake up alone. That almost never happened. Robin, if no one else, never failed to be there at her side when she rose.

Panic struck her at the thought he might have moved on. Oh gods. What would she do?! It was a rather irrational panic but the thought of him not being there, not carrying her back when she passed out too far from the bed...

Fucksake, girl, chillax already. She took a deep breath. Maybe something else was going on and he was just delayed. She was a big girl, she could walk herself back to the house.

It was raining, which was happy to enjoy, being able to appreciate the soothing noise without getting soaked. She smiled, inhaling once more as she stepped out of the woods, sending a silent prayer to Gaia.

Then her eyes fell upon what looked to be two scorched footprints in the grass. What..?

She looked up and saw, across the field, the smouldering remains of the gatehouse.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 06/11/2023

God's PS2

Season 5 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume D

Ripped by l4ureleye

During the spooky times last month, I covered the work of Netyasha Roozi with Play in MissingNo's Station, as part of a series of several PlayStation-console start-up remixes. All of those are excellent! Yet in my digging, I ran across a tangentially related, yet not quite aiming to be spooky, rip - one by long-time favorite ripper of the channel, l4ureleye. Needless to say - I was immediately intrigued

And yeah - God's PS2 falls in line with a lot of l4ureleye's prior work, setting up an immensely chill, dreamlike soundscape much like Sidelined Symphony or The Saltwater Mii, though this time there's an obvious extra wrinkle: The PS2 Startup sound isn't a full length song, meaning this is less of a mashup and more of a full-on remix. The iconic sound pitched up and down, along with a sprinkling of other PS2 BIOS sounds, are used as the backing to Drake's God's Plan, and it creates such an interesting soundscape as a result.

There's fun touches all around, in how the sounds both replicate and build on the vibe of the original God's Plan, but its really just a pick I included for the sheer vibes of it alone. I wish I had more to say, but on long days like today, sometimes all I can tell ya is to go give it a listen for yourselves.

[derekscorner]

I finished God of War (2005)

Better than I expected

I mean, I didn’t go in expecting it to suck since the classic series has such a vaulted reputation. The game was the first, it came out in 2005, so I did expect some jank as the first game in the series but it was surprisingly refined.

l played on Mortal/Easy since I had no idea what the fuck I was doing so I’m sure some hardened fan will laugh at me for that but I had fun. I’d probably jump right into higher modes if ‘Tears of the Kingdom’ wasn’t coming out in less than a week.

I will admit that I did use some cheats in a few spots, namely the rotating pillars in Hades. I had heard for years how bad those were so I just noped out from the start and super jumped past them.

To be honest I was shocked by how few truly frustrating puzzle/platforming gimmicks I ran into given the era this originally launched in. Aside from those Hades pillars my only other truly hated segment was the Poseidon chambers. That damn water way with it’s moving walls almost made me quit the game.

Just...why? WHY!? I mean, I probably could’ve cheated there too but I was having enough fun prior that i was trying to avoid it. I was even successful of getting past that spot eventually but hot damn just knowing that little chamber exists makes me not want to replay any time soon.

Those spots withstanding the overall level design of the game is amazing for it’s time. I was having fun and knew most deaths were my own fault for not knowing what I was doing.

I even had moments where I was thinking about how surprised I was that a PS2 didn’t crack in half. Namely those scenes of Ares razing Athens to the ground as a backdrop while you’re roaming around fighting hordes of monsters.

And make no mistake, I was using the actual PS2 version/disc and an emulator, so I got the full glory of those moments as they were meant to be. It was a sight to behold.

Combat

I sucked at it but by hell if it is not fun. Even 18 years later it’s fun to play. It was a similar yet different system to what I expected based solely on my history with DMC.

There is a combo counter, there is incentive to be as creative as possible, to maintain that counter as long as possible, but solely for the multiplier it adds to red orbs and your own satisfaction. There’s no STYLISH rankings or similar which I enjoyed tbh.

I only had two weapons and I used Poseidon's wrath more than I did anything else offered so it had limitations in it’s variety but it’s by no means limited in application. You just have to master it which I was unable to.

If anything, I’ll make a few old fans cringe and say I came to really like the Artemis Blade more than any spell or the Blades of Chaos. I just loved the stun power and buffed guard.

A complete contrast to my style from God of War (2018) or Ragnarök since I heavily favor the Blades in that duology.

I would add more but with only two weapons and my lack of mastery over the Blades of Chaos I’d just make myself too look the fool. I couldn’t get air juggling down. lol

Story

It was told more through backstory (if anything the story was backstory) than I expected but it did reaffirm my stance from the GoW Remake post I made. This titles self contained nature and the sheer fun of it really makes me wish they’d remake it for some anniversary event.

Nothing grand, no story changes, just giving it some love and revamping it with the glorious peak that I am told can be found in GoW 2, 3, or even Ascension depending on who I ask.

You see a bit more of human Kratos in this entry. It’s not too deep due to the limitations of 2005 and the focus on it’s gameplay but I genuinely can see some of the Kratos I first met in the 2018 Norse title.

It convinced me enough to look into getting or playing the rest of the series so I can see how this broken man descends into the stereotyped man he is by the third title.

His lust for power as a general, his descent into despair as the Ghost of Sparda in GoW 1, to his loss of self from madness and rage in 2 and 3, I want to see just how far gone he gets first hand.

Miscellaneous

This entire post is more disjointed than my usual due to my tired brain but I decided to add this section to reflect on a previous statement. I said in a previous post about how I think this title specifically works best with it’s stand alone story when Kratos is just a mortal who toppled a god.

Well upon using a code to take a peak at some unlockables I now see that Kratos being Zeus’ son has been a long standing idea. There’s a few trailers that throw out ideas that would be reused later, one detailing Kratos father.

Between the Gravediggers words, the mural in that shot above, and so on I guess they set up this backstory but put it in the back pocket for later. Understandable decision but I will ultimately feel the impact of slaying Ares is a bit weaker.

Granted, it doesn’t hurt the feat as much as ‘Chains of Olympus’ does with Kratos trapping Atlas and slaying Persephone years prior to fighting Ares but oh well. It’s honestly too fun to care at the end of the day.

The End~

Before I go to bed, wake up, and regret how poorly I wrote this I want to take a moment to show this shot. ^

There’s this really cool unlockable video of a what-if (well now anyway) of Kronos’ fate. I’m not sure what sequel bait they had in mind with this idea but there was just something cool about it.

The idea that the modern world was about to have a crash course with its mythological past. An omen of mystical things of ill intent to come all because modern man found the corpse of a titan.

It’s a very forbidden type of feeling like the humans in this trailer weren’t meant to find this and now that they had shit was gonna unfold for the worst.

I’ll always wonder what the idea was there, oh well, goodnight~

===========

P.S. My only real complaint is that my Blade upgrades nor the Artemis Blade carry over into new files.

[averydavery]

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Inbetween of the Playstation 2

Intro

To me, the Playstation 2 is the best video game console ever. Period. Its catalogue is undeniably strong but I am definitely very biased as well, not to mention that the dualshock remote looks almost exactly the same from PS2 to PS4... But mainly, there is a reason many iconic titles from famous series are from this system and era of video game history. The PS2’s time in the spotlight (1999- 2011) was the real start of the hayday of video games.

So, in honor of my love for the system, here is my rankings for the games i’ve played so far and why!

***I will only be judging games that originally launched on the system, including bridge games, NOT PS1 games that are backwards compatible. So sorry MGS1 and FFVII

From Top to Bottom

1. Shadow of the Colossus

5/5 stars. One sentence review: I’m sobbing.

2. Metal Gear Solid 2

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: “No, that is NOT the real Solid Snake!”

3. Resident Evil 4

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Fixed camera and gun controls making me want to get the Las Plagas fr.

4. God of War

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: I don’t know what’s more unforgiving: the game itself or playing it on the PS2.

5. Bully

4.5/5 stars. One sentence review: I really wish people gave Bully more attention than GTA.

6. GTA Vice City

4/5 stars. One sentence review: For some reason my PS2 had a hard time running Vice City and this game is significantly smaller than others on this list.

7. Onimusha

4/5 stars. One sentence review: I really enjoyed this story and I would’ve loved it a lot more if the controls didn’t feel like I was committing a felony.

8. Devil May Cry

4/5 stars. One sentence review: “I should’ve filled yoUR DARK SOUL WITH LIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!”

9. GTA III

4/5 stars. One sentence review: Just didn’t do it for me story wise as much as the others, i dont know.

10. God of War II

3.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Least favorite God of War game besides Chains of Olympus, not that it’s bad it’s just okay.

11. Crazy Taxi

3.5/5 stars. One sentence review: Very fun but only for about ten minutes.

12. Yakuza 2

2/5 stars. One sentence review: I’m a diehard Yakuza/RGG/Like A Dragon fan but I stg this is the worst game in the series, I never even beat it.

13. Devil May Cry 2

2/5 stars. One sentence review: Bad mechanics and bored me.

The Superlatives

The Best Title in a Series

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

An easy pick for this category and a game that is second only to Shadow of the Colossus, is Metal Gear Solid 3. It is a fantastic game as much as it is a great entry in an amazing series. For those who don’t know, MGS3 is a prequel for the entire series and takes place even before the old 8-But Metal Gear games. MGS3 follows Naked Snake who becomes the infamous Big Boss, the notorious antagonist for the rest of the series, and is the first game in the series to really perfect the stealth combat with the addition of an over the shoulder camera and new camouflage mechanics. Other notable aspects of MGS3 are that graphics for the game still hold up today, the characters are some of the most memorable in the series (I LOVE YOU BOSS!!!!), and the boss fights are engaging. Not to mention that if I had to guess, you’re probably humming “Snake Eater” to yourself right now.

MGS3 is such a good MGS title that I believe it sort of set Kojima up for failure with every game that came after it.

The Best Game You’ve Never Played/My Personal Favorite PS2 Game

Blood Will Tell: Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo

The only reason Blood Will Tell isn’t number one is because I felt bad putting Shadow of the Colossus as number 2. I fucking love this game with my whole heart and soul, I really don’t know where to begin. The title of “the best game you’ll never play” isn’t one that I came up with myself, many people refer to Blood Will Tell by that superlative and you’re probably wondering why that is. Blood Will Tell was released by SEGA in 2004 and flopped in the Americas despite many looking back on the title fondly, as a result of its recent popularity (largely due to the 2019 Dororo anime and rise of the collector’s market) and little supply, it became an incredibly rare game with the highest selling price for a PS2 game I have ever seen. Blood Will Tell goes for anywhere between $400 to $700 USD, for reference: Silent Hill 2 goes for about $100. Which is why I don’t give this superlative away lightly, even the copy I own isn’t legitimate. There’s no way I’m spending that much money on a game without playing it myself.

So this brings to the second superlative I gave it: my personal favorite PS2 game. It’s the best game you’ll never play for a reason, there is a demand for it for a reason. While the dub is laughably bad, the game itself is incredibly rich. The goofy voice acting adds to the game’s charm and, in my opinion, makes a fantastic game more enjoyable. The gameplay is addictive and one of the most fluid for the 20 year old console, Blood Will Tell is a hack-n-slash that feels like a mix of Sekiro and Ghost of Tsushima to me —which is funny because both of those games came out the same year and fought for the GotW award. You play as Hyakkimaru, a boy with swords for arms who is cursed after his father gave away all 48 body parts to demons in a deal for power. Now it’s your job to get your body back, piece by piece. This plot allows for incredibly unique visual story telling that is astounding for the time it came out in. For example, in the beginning chapter Hyakki is blind. They show this by making the world entirely black and white until he gets his sight back in which color floods your screen in a beautiful way. Since he can’t speak he has a filter that makes it sound like he’s talking in his head… etc. Even some of the 48 bosses are hidden and optional, something I didn’t expect to see in a game this old. On my first playthrough, I missed some bosses because the map is deceptively big. I think my only critiques besides the silly voice acting (personally, I like it) are that Dororo’s sections of the game aren’t great but they don’t drag on either so I don’t mind them and that the music is stale and repeats.

All in all, I can yap about this game all day because I love it so much. If you are unwilling to spend $700 on Blood Will Tell, I highly recommend that you buy a cheap repro or emulate it on your computer. If neither of those are options for you consider watching a playthrough on youtube or, better yet, reading/watching all the other adaptations of Dororo! Blood Will Tell is based of the 1963 manga Dororo by Osamu Tezuka (the mangaka of Astroboy and Black Jack) and there are many versions of this story!

The Best Adventure Game

Okami

I like to call Okami “the game that raised me” because it pretty much did. I first remember playing it in sixth grade and have played a run through of it probably once a year since. I’ve played it on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, and Playstation 2… and I’ll honestly say that it plays best on Switch. When Okami came out it originally launched on the Wii, which is why it plays so well on Switch as well. The reason for that is because of its unique, never before seen gameplay. Okami’s premise is that you play as Okami Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun in the form of a white wolf, who is resurrected in order to save the world from darkness. Ammy’s special ability is that she can manipulate the Celestial Brush, which has 13 different techniques that allow the player to literally play God by painting onto their surroundings to summon things like wind, water, fire, and vines or to literally stop time or cause nature to bloom. This Celestial Brush is why it plays so well on Nintendo consoles, which is actually why I recommend playing this game on one instead of on PS2. Okami has been remastered and really has no reason to be played PS2. In addition to why it isn’t fantastic on the PS2 is that Okami is most known for its visuals. The entire game is done in a painterly style with cell-shaded brush strokes that outline everything decoratively to aid it’s themes of traditional Japanese mythology… And one thing that makes that style look even better is when it is not played in low poly on the PS2.

So to put the kebash on this one, Okami was the best adventure game on the PS2 despite not being suited for the console itself. So please, play the remaster to enjoy the story even more!

The Best Fighting Game

Yakuza

I know a lot of you might disagree with me on this but please know I am only going off games I have played and that I also don’t care about what others think. I love this series. There are 8 Yakuza games, 10 if you count Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth and Gaiden, 13 if you count Ishin, Ishin (Remake/Remaster), Kenzan!, and Dead Souls, 15 if you count Kiwami 1 & 2, and 17 if you count the Black Panther games… but it all started with this one game. Yakuza is a beat ‘em up that was advertised as “Japan’s GTA” which I think is an apt description only for the street fighting you do. In actuality, Yakuza is a game that follows the ex-yakuza Kiryu Kazuma as he fights to save the people he cares about and struggles with his loyalty to his former life a made man. The combat is fun and engaging with its use of combos and cinematics, however the controls are a bit finicky but nothing that will drive you up the wall. Another drawback of this title is the voice acting for the same reason as Blood Will Tell, it is a horrendous English dub. But I think it’s enjoyably bad, Mark Hamill and John DeMagio jumpscared me when I first heard their voices.

Although, I don’t necessarily recommend Yakuza to anyone who doesn’t have a PS2 at all, really, and that is because Yakuza Kiwami exists —which is a remake for modern consoles of this game with a million new things, better graphics and combat, and no English dub. This remake highlights everything that was so good about the original.

The Best Horror Game

Silent Hill 2

I think I can keep this one short because Silent Hill 2 is a game that needs no introduction. It practically invented the psychological survival horror genre as we know it be today and still is an amazing game that manages to always unnerve me. From its multiple endings to its atmospheric environment, Silent Hill 2 sets the bar for what should be a good horror game and inspires many series still. But above all else, Silent Hill 2 has the best soundtrack out of any game that I’ve mentioned so far. Akira Yamaoka is a genius songwriter.

The Worst Game I’ve Played So Far

Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir

I love Fullmetal Alchemist (if my account was any clue into that haha) and I thought that my love for that series was going to help get through this game. But I was so wrong and I should’ve listened to my gut. FMA works really well as video game if you actually try to make it one or else it doesn’t work, the ingredients are there you just have to follow the recipe. But Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir takes this way too seriously. Not only does it harp on the most boring episodes of the original series, it does so in the worst manner possible. The game itself looks like plastic, it’s cellshaded blandly. The music is loud and at times annoying, the fighting is stiff and uninspired when alchemy could be so much fun if done right, and it follows a clunky visual novel style in cutscenes for no reason. Even in the menu you can see that it was trying to be an RPG but never committed and I think this game could’ve shined if it was one, instead of the lame fighter it is now. The only benefit I see in this game is that the voice acting is all the original cast. So that’s nice… everything else? Not so much.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for me to play!

[remzarci]

A Creepypasta about something that TOTALLY HAPPENED GUYS!!

Once upon a time I was hungry so I decided to go to Tiffany's for a bite to eat.

As I drove from Tiffany's I saw a yard sale. Not wanted to pass up some neat bargains I parked my car and walked over. As I looked over the wares this old man had I saw a box of old Video Games! I took a look and found SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab. And I was his with a wave of nostalgia!

I turned to the old man and asked him how much. He had a sad look on his face and told me I can just take it! And then limped away back to his lawn chair. I felt bad so I took out my phone and began to to record him. Making HIM the main character of real life for a little bit! He didn't do anything particularly interesting outside of selling someone a DVD boxset of Friends. Anywhosen, I got back in my car and drove home! Funnily enough Ocean man was Playing but it was kind of off.

What I could make out was:

Ocean Man, let go of my hand, I don't understand, leave me on the sand

ocean man, the journey to rock bottom's bus station is a real trip

Probably nothing but it was strange.

then I got home and was getting ready to play my FAVORITE childhood game. So I dug out my Wii and started plugging things in. But then I noticed my conkeldurr sitting cuties plush was crying what I thought was blood but in actuality was Mountain Dew Code red, for FOUR minutes and TWENTY seconds!

I didn't think much of it as I continued to install my ps2

once my Wii was ready I placed the game cart in and got ready to go down memory lane.

But the title screen was strange. It looked worn and dusty. and spongebob looked a little too high def. Also Tiny Tims Tip Toe thru the Tulips with Me was playing at 1/10th speed.

And then things took for a turn.

Once I started the game...A GHOST CAME OUT OF MY TV AND STARTED PUNCHING ME IN THE FAAAAAAAAACE!!!! it just pucnhed me the face repeatedly! I tried to get away but the ghost was far too strong! Just as I was losing hope the Door swung open and there stood Markiplier!

his face wore an expression of extreme rage. his eyes were red and HYPER REALISTIC!

And then he darted over and began to stomp me in my pancreas. The ghost markiplier combo continued to beat on me as I wailed in pain! Just then Jeremy Pascal came in. And then joined in on the beating!

"Why are you all doing this to me?" I asked painfully! Then all three of them threw me into the tv where I fell sixty-NINE meters!! I watched as the ground quickly approached me and all I could say was "AW THIS IS GONNA SUCK!!" But before I could hit the ground The song The Time is Now blared as an unseen force rescues me in the nick of time!

I then awoke in a hospital bed. Sitting in the corner was the old man I turned into the main character. he told me that game belonged to his late grand-niece-in-law who, while watching a cursed looney tunes episode, died from having an anvil dropped on her and now the game is cursed unless I eat a spoonful of cinnamon without coughing it up, to cleanse the game of it's horrible curse. of summoning people to beat me up!(edited)

So! against the wishes of my nurse and doctor I limped to the store and grabbed a thing of cinnamon and went back to my house! There the trio were there ready to beat me up! But I took a HUGE spoonful of the stuff! God it was awful but through my tears I saw the Ghost get sucked back into the tv, Markiplier got weirded out and just left and Jeremy Pascal? uhhhh he just vanished. The deed was done! The game came out of my PC and I placed it back in the case. you know, it could be the brain trauma I'm suffering but I think I lesson is to be learned here and that lesson is:

Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. -Me, Just now

So I sent the game off to sea. thanking it for such a profound lesson.

Thank you SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab. Thank you

This has been a Crappypasta written with friend. thank you for reading!

[crispywisp]

this is an excuse to go off about silent hill if youd like (im considering playing it)

(i let out the most devilish laugh upon reading this LOL)

my god i don't even know where to begin. i'll just talk about SH1 and SH2 bcuz 1. those are the two games im more familiar with (i've watched playthroughs of all games but it's been several years so my knowledge has rotted away lol) and 2. if i had to tell someone where to start playing, i'd say either SH1 or SH2, depending on how much you can tolerate old-school game jankiness (SH1 is definitely rough around the edges, but im enjoying it so far)

even though my SH posting has spoiled a lot of details, i'll try to avoid talking about the bigger spoilers here in case other ppl care about that

silent hill 1

(huge heads up: you can only control harry via tank controls. this is one of the major factors as to why a lot of players skip SH1 since tank controls are a very archaic way to control a character in a 3D space. but honestly with some time and practice, you'll learn to get used to it and maybe even appreciate the way how the game handles certain fixed camera angles to create a sense of unease)

SH1 is about a widowed father, harry mason, going on a quest to save his daughter, cheryl, after crashing the car off a cliff and into the town of silent hill, which is where cheryl wanted to go for a vacation. silent hill has been warped by a supernatural force and you must go through what's essentially a haunted version of the town and fight through monsters to find cheryl. idk how to explain more than that without spoiling the good parts, so just take my word that the reasoning behind the town's supernatural stuff is actually super tragic

there are multiple endings: good, good+, bad, bad+, and UFO. the endings are determined by which side quests you do (or lack of any side quests for the bad ending). you can only get the UFO ending after beating the game at least one time and playing on "new fear" (this is basically new game+), so if you don't have the time for that, you can just look it up on yt

silent hill 2

taking place after the events of SH1, SH2 is about a widowed man, james sunderland, who travels to silent hill after receiving a letter from his late wife, mary, where she tells him to meet her there. the place still has supernatural forces, but now it seems to be tailored to whoever is drawn to silent hill, as shown with the other characters featured in SH2. as james continues his search, both he and you gradually learn that there's something that james is repressing, and the town is trying to tear it out of him to make him face it head-on

idk if you know the ending of SH2 already, but in case you don't, the buildup to the big reveal is honestly pretty fucking insane (it's the one thing i wish i had no knowledge about so that i can truly play through the story blind), and it's why SH2 is usually regarded as the most popular in the series

again SH2 has multiple endings: leave, maria, in water, rebirth, dog, and UFO. instead of side quests, the first three endings are determined by certain actions you take throughout the game, they can either add or deduct points from an ending point system, and your final count will determine the ending. rebirth, dog, and UFO can only be unlocked after beating the game at least once and playing in new game+

EDIT: oh my god i forgot to mention something crucial, if you're gonna play SH2, do NOT play the HD collection version, it's just a straight up downgrade. get the enhanced edition for PC if your computer can handle it, or just emulate it for ps2

~~~

so yeah, i used to be soooo obsessed with silent hill as a kid/teen, i even watched the godawful movie adaptations lmao. but now that im a big boy, i recently started playing through the games myself so that i can get ready for the potential shitstorm that the SH2 remake may be

anyways lemme dump a bunch of harry mason images i saved on my phone/laptop lol:

and of course, the SH2 texture mod that im still searching for lol:

[blueberrygorilla]

God there is this game I’m so normal about- War of the Monsters

A ps2 monster brawler from my childhood with plenty of homages to existing Kaiju/monster tropes playing off of a 50’s monster movie aesthetic. THE MUSIC, THE STORY AND OUGH THE MONSTERS- this game was so fun and so fucking BIG BRAIN. It luckily got a port to ps4 where I can play it again and I couldn’t recommend this game more to anyone who loves giant monsters. HERE IS THE MONSTER LINEUP Each had their own unique special abilities and backstories, 4 different playable skins for each one. You would get cutscenes of each monsters origin ( Save for Raptros and Zorgulon for some reason??? ) after finishing the story mode with your chosen monster!

And each level had these really cool 50's style movie posters when loading in! Here are a couple:

And of course- my own personal tier list according to which monsters were my favorite/least favorite

Last but not least, The Soundtrack I absolutely loved the soundtrack. Had that old movie vibe to it as well and OUGH I even made a fan OC years ago for it!

This has since been deleted from DA but from what I could remember; Mintora was female, her map was a movie studio and her special attacks involved raising spikes through the ground. Never got around to making a backstory for her though-

I WISH they would remaster this game or make a sequel. This game was on par with Godzilla back in the day. Monster brawler games are a dying breed and I have A CRAVING-

[beefgnawpolis]

I am now the proud owner of a Retroid Pocket 3 Plus (transparent blue) and after a week of playing this thing pretty much nonstop, here are my impressions.

[tl;dr: kind of a grind to set up, but works pretty great once you do!]

If you decide to get yourself one of these devices, I cannot recommend Retro Game Corps' starter guides highly enough. Here's one specific to the Retroid Pocket 2+/3/3+/Flip. Here's one that goes into more detail on RetroArch. And just for giggles, here's a general Android emulation starter guide. Oh, and you might be cool with Retroid's frontend but you'll probably like Daijisho a lot more, so here's a guide for that (sadly only in video form).

Initial setup and copying of ROMs and whatnot was a slog. Mostly because pretty much all the emulators on my PC work fine with ROMs in unzipped .zip files while (according to the wiki and I'm going to cry if I spent all that time unzipping .zips for nothing) most of the RetroArch cores other than MAME want the ROMs unzipped and hand-fed to them. Also, you'll probably need to reconfigure some controls and other settings. HOWEVER! Once you've got all your shit where it needs to go, and once you've got all your emulators set up and Daijisho in and pointed to all the right paths, that's the hard part done and over with. From there on out It Just Works. You can even set Daijisho such that you never even have to see the Android behind the curtain. Battery life is pretty decent. It feels fairly comfortable in my tiny hands, I wish there were grippy-bumps or whatnot on the back but now apparently Retroid is making a grippy case add-on? The buttons feel good, though apparently future stick drift is a possibility. One that can be fixed for about $25 with a pair of Gulikit hall sensor sticks, so I'm not too worried about that right now. The screen is nice and bright and apparently can be software-tweaked to be better but I didn't bother, this is fine. Audio is... okay but that's why God made earbuds and whatnot. Also, one caveat: playing heftier stuff on this system will make it hot. Never alarmingly "oh shit turn it off now" hot and it barely gets lukewarm on older-system stuff, but it's definitely noticeable with PS2 and graphics-heavy games like NieR: Reincarnation.

Now, as for what it can play:

The RP3+ can, in my personal experience so far, reliably play pretty much everything up to PS1/PSP/Sega Saturn tier with no or minimal tweaking, with a couple of exceptions (I had to twiddle some settings for N64 and MAME, and Duckstation and AetherSX2 have to be hand-fed a BIOS in initial setup).

My current values of "everything" are:

Atari 2600

Game Boy

GBC

GBA

Arcade (MAME)

NES

SNES

N64 (mixed results; Mario Kart runs like a champ but Pokemon Snap crashes)

Genesis

Saturn

PS1

PSP

As for systems beyond: I've had mixed results that skew "definitely playable" with PS2 and had to change some stuff in the AetherSX2 setup wizard to get that. I haven't played a lot of PS2 stuff on it yet but Final Fantasy XII seems to run pretty great so far. Fatal Frame runs pretty well (though apparently there's something I need to tweak in the per-game settings to make anomalies and whatnot show up). Magic Pengel, of all things, ran like hot garbage but that was before I RTFM and reran the setup wizard with changes so it might do better now. Sadly my PC's DVD drive has shat the bed so I can't rip anything else until the replacement comes in. There's a community spreadsheet linked in the RP3 setup guide up there that will tell you what per-game tweaks you might need to make.

I haven't tried Gamecube or Dreamcast yet, but word is it's the same deal as PS2. It can run DS/3DS/Wii emulators, but honestly I can't stomach the idea of playing DS/3DS on a single screen (and besides that is what I have a hacked 3DS for but never mind that) and the WiiWare I've tried runs okay but Wii with touchscreen-instead-of-wiimote just feels weird (and that is what I have a hacked Wii for but never mind that)

And of course, being an Android device, it can of course run Android games. NieR: Reincarnation ran like refried ass on my phone, but it runs great on the RP3+. It does have micro HDMI out, and you can pair it with an Android-compatible controller, though I haven't tried that yet. And of course you can install your streaming apps of choice on it if you want.

Anyway, it's definitely a lot of handheld for not a whole lot of money and I'm digging it!