#i'm getting mixed messages ds

[measuringbliss]

love seeing you blitz through my madman ramblings. how are you doing? tell me more about those medias you rbed saying they were essential to experience? they sounded like games, what's neo twewy. how's the weather? it is presently unusually cold here and since I'm cold blooded it's got me very sleepy. have a lovely day and happy early new year! speaking of, do you have any resolutions if you do that sort of thing? okay bye!

okay wait too much stuff happening i (luv you)

I'm doing really well since I'm getting back home after having spent three days doing fun activities and eating good food with my dad and some of my family, so it was very entertaining and full of surprises. so I'm good but I've been dying to replay TWEWY and NEO TWEWY and I couldn't even listen to the soundtrack during this weekend so i'm slightly frustrated.

Okay so essential media.

I was going to suggest Hannibal but its appeal is very niche and the content can make people uncomfortable and I wouldn't say it changed my life.

What changed my life though is Chuck (2007-2012)

Romcom drama spy action pastiche series Chuck is about a nerd getting every secret from the government transferred to his brain, to the US government's dismay. They send a hot blonde and a grumbling Republican to make sure Chuck (the title character) doesn't get himself killed by other spies interested in the US's secrets.

Throw in a forbidden romance (agents shouldn't date, but Chuck and his partner Sarah aren't indifferent to each other), (b)romances (nothing textual but Matt Bomer sure gave a lot of yearning glances at our protagonist...), twists, treasons, awful-but-actually-great musical covers, and a lot of cameos and you've got basically a sibling series to Community, in that both shows had similar nerd audiences and had fan campaigns to renew them.

It aired at a point where I needed reprieve from everything else and it was perfect–it made me laugh and gasp, and it has a killer soundtrack. Also? Women? Beautiful.

TWEWY & NEO TWEWY (2007 & 2021)

In The World Ends With You, antisocial Neku is forced to participate in a deadly game in an alternate Shibuya where cooperation is key amidst strange fashion choices (that give you better stats), good food (ditto) and colorful badges/pins (a few hundreds to collect and make evolve, used to attack enemies).

The soundtrack is a mix of J-Pop, electronic music, rap, hip-hop and overall denotes a strong sense of identity. The visuals are incredibly stylish and the gameplay is both confusing and enthralling. Why is Neku playing this game? Who is the mastermind and what is their plan? The message is basic, but the storyline is captivating.

The original version came out on DS and made full use of its capabilities; battles took place on both screens, you used the touch screen to control Neku and buttons to control his partner on the top screen–at the same time and in synchronicity. It got rereleased on smartphones, and more recently on Switch, with updated graphics, music (the game going from ~40 tracks to about ~150) and gameplay (going from two screens to a single one) as well as a new chapter setting up the sequel, NEO: The World Ends With You.

While I applauded the original game for its creativity, smart script and ideas and audacious gameplay, it wasn't quite a perfect game for me. It all changed with Neo, which brings a new set of protagonists, a new gameplay (this time, one button is assigned to each character who each control a single badge), a new music style (more rock and metal, I listened to the album again and again and again and it helped me a lot with coping with shitty stuff happening last year), a similar artstyle but 3D this time and a MUCH longer script. NEO TWEWY is about double the original's length in spite of its similar structure notably thanks to its script style–however it's still very well written and thus, is not annoying to follow.

TWEWY is available on DS, smartphones and Switch. I recommend playing it before NEO TWEWY as plot points are continued and some characters come back. There's also an anime that compresses the story. If you go that way, make sure to check out Another Day, the chapter exclusive to the Switch version.

NEO TWEWY is available on Switch (that's the version I played), PS4, EGS and Steam.

SENSE8 (sometime this last decade)

Do I really need to introduce this show? Eight people from all around the world are psychically linked. Why? And what is this mysterious organization stalking them?

Helmed by Matrix creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski, this show was the first time I saw a trans characters. It's hot, it's funny, it's sad, it's sci-fi, it's a thriller, it's a lot of things (you might notice I love me some variety) and it's queer as fuck. Got canceled during Pride Month but got rescued (through a 2 hours long movie), and once again, everything I mentioned here has been cancelled or otherwise didn't receive the appreciation it deserved–multiple times.

Chuck's first season got hit by the Writer's Strike, then from the second season on it risked cancelation every season, sometimes multiple times (which is why both S3 and 4 seem a bit disjointed). TWEWY was a hidden gem only niche enthusiasts knew about, and NEO TWEWY's wider release wasn't any different. All three of these franchises have seen deep love from people who stumbled upon them.

Ahem.

The weather was surprisingly fine! I heard that in the US a lot of people got hit with blizzard and that kind of stuff, well here it's been warmer than usual. Didn't have to wear gloves or scarves, and it was sunny too! Definitely a pleasure to be outside.

I hope things get better for you!

I don't have any resolution because I tend not to fulfill them lmao. How about you?

Happy new year! 💛💛💛💛💛

[the-firebird69]

GASGAS GOES BIG WITH TWO FACTORY EDITION MOTOCROSS MODELS FOR 2023!

This is the motor I'd redesigned and it's lighter and more powerful and last longer and it moved them over to liquid cool shortly after most bikes were not they didn't do too well and that's why it's just a small system but it's jacketing and use the same block and you just change the top lock and now it's a combined liquid in the air as redundancy and they matched it but really they went out of business in 2017 it stopped building them fully and we have some of the factories we can move it out here it's quite a move and it's quite a thing you end up defending it like crazy when I understand you want to build ordinance out there and you have to do it or you just going to lose it and I suggest you start with this and work your way up and they agree this is a hefty bike even though they're just a 450 the frame is built to support people who weigh a lot cuz these guys get fat real quick and they could never carry their weight around so the frame is real strong and sturdy it makes a race much nicer I can lay the power down instead of it slipping out underneath you like my husband's bike does sometimes the ATK is overpowered and he knows it doesn't care cuz when you're bigger you need it these bikes are powered and a little bit overpowered but they're still grip. It's a wonderful new design it's a beautiful looking bike they're extremely fast very reliable and made in the United States and we're going to send samples we started producing them already well we have some from 2018 and it's practically what we're going to build and they're very nice they're fast and effective and efficient and I can't wait

Hera

What these guys are doing with these bikes I hear it's quite illegal and against Max and it's like the concept of recycling and using a recycled bike that really never I don't think it took off they say I'm wrong but I don't think they see any this would be a bit different story and a whole bunch of these lamos will go out there to try and stop you and it's really something that probably would keep them trickling in and the bikes are very sound and powerful and you change the firing color and you have what you want and they'll get you quite a distance they have big tanks she says it's a 3.5 gallon which is huge it goes about they're saying 250 miles if you're cruising and they like that that's pretty far if you're not cruising it's about 200 miles but these things are beefy but when you call a gas gas there's your reason why they needed that and it is a warlock bike but it's our design and mostly it's got Terry cheesman's name on it and that we hear that it was him and he decides bikes at work like the V-Rod and the gas gas does mean something it means you're giving it the gas but you're not giving it gas and you're burning up the wrong fuel so it's got red on it like the Japanese

Zues

That's their code and we want these bikes and we want to use them for military application we passed on the recycled bike because it was too big and too loud and the smaller one was not as powerful as we need but these have a lot of power and they're small so we're going to use them and he went back to the drawing board on the recycle bikes so we can use those for messaging they go really fast and the real light and I can hold a lot of fuel and just keep going and we're going to mix them together I'm going to recycle from here and he's got another great idea of putting a big recycling plant in to make these bikes the boats and recycled motorcycles and more and the small one is great and sippy it's like the DS 100 and it is just a dream cuz you need to zip around and the electrics are great too they work well inside very well so we're going to go ahead and sit down and meet about these and we want to start up when we can we have to wall it off now though and I have a whole bunch of wall contracts coming out

Mac

You see something we don't like but we do understand as much worse things going on you sort of get it too

Camilla and henry

We have to get this straight they say they're going to use it against us

Mac

Okay we're going to set the plants up okay who builds it but they have the equipment in the molds and the motor and they can make it better if we need it in different models like an adventure bike it's going on right now they were calling for them to build it I'm putting the order and we need security too and we need two layers of walls and all that stuff

Mike tew

I'm getting involved and I can't stand the guy who's with me he's a rebel he knows all sorts of stuff he says about the clan and he does and their rebels and back to a bunch of it so I'm calmed down I do see that these people are worthless now we're moving on this now and we're going to make these bike shops and we're going to sell them too and I know why

Justin

We like these bikes too and they have one that's big and it can move us it's an Enduro so interested in it being made here you also like the fact that he could ride around on them quite easily it's just kind of bike his kind of bike

Billium

We don't want him on ice and to get injured so we don't really want to ride the thing unless they have a smaller Enduro at the ds100 size it was a great zippy bike and going around town and stuff would be a dream it's real easy to get around he's really easy to get in and out of places and it's pretty pretty fast in agile and handles so I'm going to see if they can come up with that listen to take the 125 and turn it into an Enduro it's not real hard and she's going to work on it. So we have a deal attentive deal and they're going to send samples and lots of them

Mac

I got the code and I analyzed it and it took it apart and see it's origin and Aaron Mike was being pushy and she's been was designing them she's been was designing them anyways it's the cheese guy and he is the first clone and he's an a******.. it means gas gas and that says to gas them and use the gas and pull them out so we're going to head and taking them down for it and we use gas on them

Daniel

He didn't know about the knockout gas I guess he might find out the hard way

Trump

This is terrible we're talking about knockout gas and how he would pull Aaron out but really it's kind of too heavy it's a lot of stuff going on and we're researching this now might be a bit heavy I don't think so

Mac

[petermacleish]

[5ivebyfive]

2, 4, 11 (and what?), 25, 31, 36, 56, 59, 60: How are your pets doing?

2. what would you name your future kids? I don't plan on having kids, but if I get another cat it'll be a little black cat named either Kimberly or Trini depending on its personality. And if it's a boy it'll be Zack.

4. what are you looking forward to? Thursday afternoon! Because I'll be done with my job!! (I expect some congratulations then.)

11. are you listening to music right now? My Jemily playlist "Only You" by Little Mix

25. role model I don't really have role models, but Becky G. and Naomi Scott come close because they seem like amazing women.

31. 3 random facts Hmmmm. 1. I'm crunching ice right now because if I don't keep my mouth busy (ice, gum, jolly rancher), I subconsciously chew on my tongue constantly. 2. I've become really bad at chatting/messaging/texting and I have no excuse for it, except depression and nothing to talk about. 3. I have a kid's Aladdin book on my bedside table because it has Nay!Jasmine on it.

36. 3 dreams you want to fulfill? 1. As has been for years now, I want to go to England to see @wizardofemon. 2. Go to NYC (or Greece, wherever she is) and meet @bluearrow126. 3. Travel. Everywhere.

56. favourite food(s) Food and I are complicated. There isn't much I can eat that doesn't upset my stomach. That being said, when I don't care about the pain, I love sushi, Trader Joe's macaroni and cheese, quesadilla's with cheese and jalapeños, these awesome chips I can only find at Wh*le F**ds that are made with chicken and cassava, yum.

59. why i joined tumblr @dealltheknives and another couple friends made it seem like a fun place. Four blogs later...

60. How are your pets doing? They're good! They got their Chanukah presents yesterday. The dog is happy with hers, the cat is not playing with the toys, but that's normal. The cat is far more interested in the fact that my roommate has been ordering a ton of stuff and leaving the boxes in tact all over the living room and it's become his playground. The dog is currently wearing her red hoodie that says "I'm ride or die". They have both lost interest in me for the evening because I'm done eating dinner. They're fickle.

get to know me, pick some numbers

[savage-rhi]

I know you have chronic pain but when is the next chapter of ds rewind coming out? No pressure! Please take care of yourself I'm just excited .3.

Getting this message got me excited! Hopefully soon. I need to go over it, review some plot points so I don’t get mixed up, and then it should be out maybe late tonight or sometime tomorrow if my body works with me. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding!

[kplays]

Mod K here, willing to take a shot at this. Shared accounts have some weird rules. I know messages not allowed, and think asks might not be either. I'll ask Jumin if they feel up to it too.

1. Absolutely. Want the collectables.

2. Hmm, loyalty is a hard thing in this day and age. I suppose Game freak, as have played all the mainline pokemon games but lets go pikachu/eevee. Still, did not like the turn for monetization in S&S. To be able to gigantamax with friends or nearby people, you need Nintendo online a service that is $5 canadian a month, or $25 a year. It also blocks wondertrading. To buy the game its self is $80, closer to $90 with tax new. Gigantamax was supposed to be a selling point of the game, and you have to pay for it. Then maybe you want to do trading. You can get the free version of pokemon home, with limited features, most damning the number of pokemon that can be deposited. To do a lot of deposit and trading you could get +, sorry premium, for $16. And S&S was kind of like X and Y, not the most story heavy entry in the series, or solidist, but introduced some new pokemon and features. If the features they keep for the games going forward are paying for features that were once free, I'm going to be mad. Then they also gave DLC, $38 for an expansion pass. For a feature that would have been post game on a DS version. Or an event. I get to pay to visit new areas, with new Pokemon, a reward I could previously get for beating the game. So $90+38 for the game content at $128 then $25+16= $41 for a years worth of doing stuff with people online. And its the pandemic. Making it $169 if my math is right. Plus any tax I forgot.

Nintendo, you don't need to compete, you are already setting your own standards. Your known for making solid games. Breath of the wild rarely goes on sale despite being old enough to have originally come out as a WiiU game,it has not really come down in price over time. None of your big games really tend to anymore, and buying old nintendo games years later, tend to have some of the highest prices for resale value. You don't need to have people pay for features that were previously free. You are selling better then ever, you don't need cash grabs. You don't need DLC. People are paying $90 for it new, so just make a solid game please.

Which gives me mixed feelings on BDSP. On one hand, glad this region is getting a remake. I have felt that the DS antagonists and stories were pretty solid ones in the series, and glad to see the region getting more love. On the other hand, DPP the first DS game of the Pokemon series. The first time where you could trade over the world without travelling, the first time where you didn't need a link cable to trade between games. It really opened up the world of pokemon trading. The GTS had its problems. People asking for unreasonable trades, hacked trades, and really odd ones. But put a reasonable trade out there, and someone would find it. So it makes me feel kind of sad to have BDSP coming out in a time where a majority of the trading is behind paywalls.

3. Best is subjective to my ADHD moods. Some days I might say Horizon Zero Dawn, others I might say Fire Emblem Awakening, To the Moon,or even a final fantasy.

4. Fobia. I put the time in to complete it, but retrospectively it wasn't worth it.

5. None that come to mind right now, but I am refusing to get into Geshin impact. It looks good, have heard rave reviews, but I already have enough games on my phone, and feel sick of games asking me for money,as you might have guessed from above.

6. Hmm. Changed the most? Not quite sure what you mean. Plenty have had an emotional impact on me. Final fantasy tactics advanced I guess got me into tactical style characteristic of Fire emblem. And pretty into FF and FE. Which leads to things like crying over Zack Fairs death, and other amazing and sad moments. Sure its probably not the most well remembered today, but it stuck with me.

7. Again, not the most well known, but probably Jenne D'arc. A wacky little psp game that tells the most anime version ever of Joan of Arc. Featuring demonic possession, fighting both england and demonic warriors from ancient times, magical armlet transformation, animal people and elves that discriminate against them, OP archery skills (skydart anyone), and a giant purple frog. Among other things.

8. No fair. Soundtracks are pretty good. How am I to pick just one. Maybe just a pokemon one. Gen 3 music is my fav, and while RSE is good, Pokemon colosseum has a soundtrack that has just stuck with me hard.

9. FFBEX, or FEH. Not because I don't like the music, so much as to preserve battery on my phone. Mobile games in general.

10. KH union X was also ultimately something I put a lot of time into on my phone, and lost the file when it went down. So much for google play. Never picked it up again. (This was before accounts on it)

11. I don't tend to be good at shooters. Not great aim. So maybe the last of us, given how bad some of my stealth attempts could get lol.

12. I played to the moon straight overnight. Couldn't put it down. The emotions. I'm no speed runner.

13. Some of the DS pokemon titles probably. And maybe 13 verses (lol). I don't tend to get too hype anymore, but am looking forward to seeing Horizon Dawn Forbidden West.

14. I'll be honest, I'm cool without voice acting where they don't have it. In a reverse of the question, where would you want subtitles where they don't have them?

15. I think Bioshock and Assassins creed would make an amazing crossover. A major worldbuilding aspect of Bioshock is reusing and revolutionizing genetic material, and a major plot point of assassins creed is viewing history through genetic material. So Desmond Miles being an Ex little sister in the way of Eleanor Lamb, and so being one person who can take others genetic material without major long term physical side effects... Well more then already happened. Oh boy, what would both sides want to do with that. Or, the one time where rule 63 is plot crucial.

16. I try not to hate the character, but get mad at the creators for doing it to them. Do kind of get upset when they restrict me in ways I don't feel is needed (morgana let me out) or insult my other party members. But hate is a strong word.

17. You assume I talk to a lot of people. I also run a blog where I post pics from stuff I play. I have a variety of games some of which I have never brought up in convo. For instance, a series of unfortunate events. For movie tie ins, I did like them. The inventions were neat, the style between gamecube and gameboy was different, and I actually liked playing both of them. Except for the part where it switched to a first person shooter in the gamecube version. That part sucked and was mandatory for plot.

18. I don't know. Go play the sims Urbz Gameboy. Best plot to me. Starts with you being fired and ends with time travel. Bustin out had funnier dialogue options, and Sims 2 gba TV plot style was genuinely neat.

19. I want to play eternal darkness from the gamecube era. And maybe get that sequel the creator tried to make lol.

20. Maybe an older one, but my earliest one I remember was a GBA copy of finding nemo. Back when the levels were gotten to by codes you wrote down. That and his pokemon Emerald.

21. Idk, maybe 8?

22. I used to want to imagine myself in a lot of them, but I've grown up enough to know I would not like the rules and rights existing in most of them. Would Gaia, Spira,or any of the FF worlds be beautiful. Sure, but theres often a sadness in that beauty. Crystal Chronicles was gorgeous for its time, but also full of danger in its air. Would it be cool to see history through an ancestor. Sure, but not at the cost of kidnapping, brain damage, or recruitment. If I did find myself in one, I would probably explore, while trying to stay inconspicuous. Try out some of the food. Shoot, if I had a camera.

23. I'm sure theres plenty, but off the top of my head, the limitations of Noctis's teleporting powers.

24. Middle to casual usually.

25. Yes. Walk through walls and others especially to get the pokemon events in DPP. Pearl. One time it glicthed so bad that it was permanently night, and all the doors were permalocked. Had to restart from that one. Was sad to lose some of the pokemon there.

26. Both.

27. Yes. When you get attached to a character and they die. It works because the game has taken time to build attachment. And sometimes its just that emotional. To the moon was beautiful.

28. I kind of want the indestructible quality of their clothes. My fashion would be a lot more interesting if I were dressing up like video game characters lol.

29. Hmm a good story can keep people invested despite mediocre and sometimes bad gameplay, but there doesn't always need to be much a story to have engaging gameplay and have that be enough.

30. Atlus, I am begging you, give persona's 1&2's a full western rerelease.2 Eternal punishment only came out on the ps1, and the others came out on the psp. I'm playing on emulation, because I can't find the parts to fix it. Or even just take all the psp games with a bit better graphics, translate 2EP, and resell them to a new generation like pheonix wright. The story is good pretty good, the difficulty could have scales to cater to those who want old school, and the music is great. Leave that alone, or at least offer the option to switch like you did in ISpsp.

As for stuff that has never been translated, SMT If, that unofficially started the persona games. Or some of the untranslated Devil summoners. Speaking of SMT, get yours off the 3DS shop while you can, as the nintendo E 3DS shop is going down next year I think.

RIPS SHIRT OFF TALK TO ME ABOUT VIDEO GAMES

1: Do you try to stay away from walkthroughs?

2: Company you’re always loyal to?

3: Best game you’ve ever played?

4: Worst game you’ve ever played?

5: A popular series/game you just can’t get into no matter how much you try?

6: A game that’s changed you the most?

7: A game you’ll never forget?

8: Best soundtrack?

9: A game you turn your volume off every time you play it?

10: A game you’ve completely given up on?

11: Hardest game you’ve played?

12: Shortest time you’ve beaten a game in?

13: A game you were the most excited for when it wasn’t released yet?

14: A game you think would be cool if it had voice acting?

15: Which two games do you think would make an awesome crossover?

16: Character you’ve hated most? From what game?

17: What game do you never tell people you play?

18: A game you wish your friends knew about?

19: Which game do you think deserves a revival?

20: What was the first video game you ever played?

21: How old were you when you first played a video game?

22: If you could immerse yourself in any game for one day, which game would it be? What would you do?

23: Biggest disappointment you’ve had in gaming?

24: Casual, Hardcore, or in the middle?

25: Be honest; have you ever used cheats (like ActionReplay or Gameshark)?

26: Handheld or console?

27: Has there ever been a moment that has made you cry?

28: Which character’s clothes do you wish you owned the most?

29: Which is more important, gameplay or story?

30: A game that hasn’t been localized in your country that you think should be localized?

[ember373]

Funny Thing...

So here's a funny story...

I'm a gamer chick. Not hard core, but I do like to game. And I'm not talking line up a bunch of candies and get a high score.

Me: Yeh...I'm a gamer chick

Dude: Oh really? So what's your high score?

Me: High score...?

Dude: Yeh. On Candy Crush.

Me:... ... ... ... I've never played Candy Crush...

I like to play MMORPG games on console and similar games on my phone/ipad. The first game I played like this on my ipad was Dragonstorm, or DS. That was a fun game. I met some good people on there. That's where I met Panda. Once that game crashed I played a few others but nothing had my heart like DS. Until I came across Dragon's Bane Elite, or DBE. I dare say the game itself was even more fun than DS. The social aspect was as well for awhile. One of the guys I gamed with on DS told a few of us about DBE so I thought I'd give it a try. It was involved, had some fun people on the server I joined, and kept me busy. Which was key at that point in my life. I was desperately looking for something to keep me busy so I wouldn't have to focus on my life.

There were some characters in that game, to be sure. One was this chick named BloodRaven. Japanese. Said she lived in Seattle. Was always talking nasty about periods and sex and other raunchy stuff. I instantly liked her. Lol. She called me sis. I thought something was a little off, but I didn't think much of it. I take everything people say in games with a grain of salt. Most people invent whole new personas when they game. I'd like to say I'm pretty true to myself, but my flirt game went thru the roof on that game. I was a vixen. I didn't lie about what I looked like tho. I'd never do that. That's not cool. But I know gamers that have, and I understand it. That's just not me tho.

So anyway, one night Raven gets on and she's drunk. And we're talking and she tells me to look up this band that she's in. She tells me to look up Deeper Deeper by One Ok Rock. So I do. I watch the video and I'm hooked. I instantly fall in love with this band. The vocals, the lyrics-what I understood of them because they mix English with Japanese, everything. And the lead singer is a hottie!! The whole band are hotties but Taka and Toru make me swoon. So I tell her I loved it and asked if those were her boys. She tells me that's her band. Ummm...Raven...the band is made up of all guys. There are no girls in this band. So 'she' pm's me and tells me shhhhh...she's a dude. Bingo! The off I felt whenever I talked to 'her'. I laugh. Turns out he's in the band. I'm like cool, which one are you. He tells me he's Taka. What?!? Ok...I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. We talk for a couple months whenever he can get on. He leaves Seattle to go back to Japan to go play Yokohama Stadium and messages me when he's drunk. No deep conversations by any means, but it was fun. Eventually he got busy (bored?) and didn't show up on the game much. Meanwhile, I'm falling more in love with this band and decide I need to go see them.

I get my opportunity a month or so later. One Ok Rock is playing in Cali at Knotfest. I buy tickets, ask my friend to go with me, and off we go. So Knotfest is a 3 day event. They have bands playing on various stages all day and then Slipknot plays the main event on the last day. paid a pretty penny for these tickets. I look up the playlist. One Ok Rock is playing first on the first day on the smallest stage. Being a Japanese band, and pretty unknown in the States at the time, they didn't draw a huge crowd. There were maybe 100 people? Not many for a venue like that. I was fine with it tho. I was there for them, not their fans. ;) The show rocked. They seemed a little unsure and awkward...a bit stagey...but the music and vocals were spot on and I was within feet of both of my crushes. I had visions of Taka seeing my in game message and us meeting up and both of them falling madly in love with me.... Reality-he never got my messages and we went back to the hotel after their show was done. We weren't interested in any of the other bands. As we left the gate people were incredulous. You can't get back in once you leave. We told them that's fine, we saw who we came to see and we're happy. :D A couple just arrived and they were like 'You mean you're not going to watch Slipknot?!?'. Nope. Lol. Then the guy told me I had nice boobs and asked if he could motor boat them. To be fair to the guy, I was wearing a corset and my boobs are nice. But I politely told him no and me and my friend left. My heart was full. I saw Taka and Toru in person.

I never really saw Raven much after that. I'm sure he thought I was some kind of stalker, but not really. I know he's a person with a life. And if we ever met, it would be like

Hey

Hey

Well, it was nice to meet you...

Yup...later.

I mean, most Asians don't like fat chicks. And he's a hot Asian rock star. With tons of gorgeous skinny ass Asian women falling all over him. And I'm old. And fat. And, oh yeah, married. So I wasn't stalking him. I just thought it would be cool to meet and see the person I'd been talking to all that time. But it wasn't meant to be. And Raven disappeared from the game. Some argued that Raven wasn't Taka at all. They thought me incredibly silly and naive. But, you know, I didn't even really care if he was Taka or not. He was fun to talk to. That's all that mattered. If he wanted to be Taka, then so be it. But I will tell you, a lot of the stuff he talked about matched up. And he said stuff that you couldn't find online anywhere. He could have made it up. But I chose to believe. It made life more interesting that way.

So I still played the game and missed Raven and listened to One Ok Rock. Then came the second tour. They were tourning with All Time Low. I'm so going to this one. I even went twice. ;) My friend Cel and I (same one that went with me last time) hit them in Seattle and again in Portland. Seattle was first. They were the opening act. I loved every minute of it. Then we caught the show in Portland. A better venue than Seattle by far. Both shows they were more in their element. More comfortable. I think the bigger the crowd, the better they do. It's cute. :) Once again, we're only there to see them and they are the opening act. I would love to see them for more than 30-45 minutes, but I'll take what I can get. After the show they did a meet and greet for autographs so me n Cel run downstairs and stand in line. I have nothing to sign. They did this in Seattle too and we had them sign the paper ticket we got. But for PDX we used our cell phones-no paper ticket. So, I had them sign my arm. They looked at me funny, but they did it. It was hilarious. I love them so fucking much for that. I wanted to have the autographs tattooed on me, but the oppressor would have lost his shit. I was floating on cloud nine. THEY TOUCHED ME. Yup...total geeked out groupie. As Cel and I are walking around the building to walk back to the car I realize we're by the loading dock or whatever. I tell her, let's wait here a bit. There's a group of about 10 of us standing there. I think we all have the same idea. A few minutes later we are rewarded!! Ryota comes streaking out and sprints across the street to one of the trailers parked there. Yes!!! Tomoya comes out a few seconds later. A group of people ask for pics. He obliges. I don't want to bother him because he looks tired and there were like 8 of them. So I hang back and just revel at being so close to him. Ryota comes back and the group take pics with him too. Cel and I joke that he had to go pee and that's why he ran so fast. They both head back to their trailer. I kick myself for not taking a picture at least from afar. Stupid girl!!! The group leaves and there's just me, Cel, and some cute blonde girl. I tell Cell, Taka and Toru haven't come out yet. Let's wait a bit longer. We talk to the blonde girl. She came all by herself because she loves One Ok Rock too. She's shaking from having seen Ryota and Tomoya. It's beyond adorable. About 10 minutes later...Toru comes out!! O...M...G!!! It's just us so I gather up my courage and ask to take a pic. He's so sweet and agrees. Then I ask if he'll take a pic with cute blonde girl because she's waaaay too shy to ask. She's almost in tears she's so happy. Toru heads to the trailer and about 10 minutes after that...Taka. Sweet Jesus, it's Taka. I have to ask. I...HAVE...TO...ASK. I'm a nervous wreck. My stomach feels awful, I'm horribly afraid I'm going to say something stupid or burp or fart or pass out. It's just all sorts of riduculousness.

So I approach him and ask if he'll take a picture with me. Being the ever polite Japanese person he is, he agrees. He looks dead tired. But I can't help it (sorry Taka!!!). Then I ask.

Me: Soooo...I play this game on my phone...

Taka: Game?

Me: Yes. It's called Dragon's Bane Elite...

Taka (looking confused): Dragon Bane...?

Me: Yeh. So funny story. That's actually how I heard of your band. A guy in that game said he was you. Have you ever played it?

(At this point I'm furiously fumbling with my phone trying to bring the game up

to show him because there seems to be a language barrier. I talk fast when I'm nervous. And all the while inside I'm pleading please be him...please be him...)

Taka: Me? Nooooo...I don't know that game.

Me (crushed): Ok. I thought so. Thank you for taking the picture with me. Can you take one with her now too? She's too shy to ask. :)

And in one short conversation, my little dream world came crashing down around me. I realize now I was probably talking to some fat kid from the Phillipines or something, but whatever. For a brief time, I thought I was a bit special. I knew someone that was going to be famous. And while I didn't care for the fame itself, it's just one of those things like you're proud of them. 'Yeh, I know them. They're pretty cool'. Except I didn't. And the real Taka probably walked away that night thinking I'm a huge loser and laughed about it when he got in the trailer. Or maybe he didn't talk about it at all. I'm still a little heart broken about it all, but at least I discovered a kick ass band unlike any other I'd ever heard.

After that, One Ok Rock signed on with Warner Bros Records. They were really trying to break in to the American market. And to do that, their next album was sung all in English. I have it. I've listened to it a handful of times. It's just not the same. I'm not going to call them sell outs. They're just trying to make it in this market and they discovered that this market won't buy your records if they can't understand what you're saying. (Cue the redneck voice shouting 'Hey! You're in Merica. Learn to speak English!'). They have another tour too, but my hearts not in this one. I love the sound of the Japanese language and it makes me sad that the lyrics are all in English. I loved the blend between the two. It was different. It was beautiful. The new album is good, I'll probably love it once I'm able to give it a chance, but I'm still heart broken over losing the obscure band I discovered to a bigger band that is headlining their own American tour. That's right. They are finally headlining and I'm not even going. Heart breaks again. But I'm beyond happy for them. Ryota got married. Tomoya got married. I hear Taka might get married. The boys are growing up and they're doing well and I'm so filled with joy that they are 'making' it.

Oddly enough, I was looking up past tours because I couldn't remember who they toured with the second time and I noticed that they are playing in Seattle tonight. Wow. I'm ver sad that I'm not there. That I won't see them. I just didn't have the opportunity or the money to see them this time around. :( I'm not as bold as I was then. I don't have the same opportunities. I have to pick what I do carefully. Limit the trips. Put the restrictions back on my life and myself.

But I will always have this funny story. And I will always forever laugh at myself for being silly enough to believe that I had this cool little relationship with this hot Japanese Rocker who was unlike anything I'd ever heard. I may be a fool, but I'd rather be a fool who believes in a bit of magic every now and then, than a cynic who never lets the magic in.

On to the next adventure...who will fool me next? ;)