#i've lost track of how many times i've played through this game and i'm still finding new content

[stealthnoodle]

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist flew under my radar until a friend recommended it to me, and now I am fully obsessed so here's me passing the recommendation on!

Do you like visual novels? Skill management? Timeloops? Deckbuilding? Gorgeous art? A whole bunch of fantastic queer characters? Staggering numbers of events and endings that respond to a staggering number of choices you make?

Then you should play this game and come scream in my ask box about it! I have said both "uh-oh" and "yesssss" out loud multiple times while watching the consequences of my actions play out. Absolutely delightful. Enjoy a little bit of screenshot propaganda:

Living my best/worst life

Exploring in the pink

Behold my self-insert

Also, you can have up to four different pets following you around and one of them is THIS cutie

[ilkkawhat]

I know I've mentioned the Journal before, but this Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the day that I decided to play Alan Wake 2 for the first time, and my life changed for the better. I've used this journal to keep track of various gameplay stats (not pictured is the AW2 page where I'm literally keeping a tally of how many times I've played it which I'm in my tenth full playthrough); notes such as the stash puzzles, deer heads, etc though I still gotta finish the list of nursery rhymes and maps beyond cauldron lake; dreams I've had involving alan or anything remedy related; doodles and drawings (which is huge for me on a personal level cause I have this like. slightly traumatic experience with drawing early in my life that I won't go into detail here); and even a few poems I wrote...and I hadn't written poems since maybe high school.

This year has been rough on a personal level especially with work but like other cornerstone obsession's I've had, Alan's journey resonated with me on so many levels and gives me strength to keep going. The night I bought and played AW2 on a whim just because I saw a meme that "friendship ended with Silent Hill now Alan Wake 2 is my best friend" will go down as a tremendous turning point in my life. I was on a creative dry spell, I had stopped everything and never thought I'd start again, I had exiled myself from any sort of fandom space/interaction thinking I was poison, isolated myself to such a terrible degree from my family and friends, I was in such a deep depression and a new level of hopelessness than I had ever been in before, and I can just go on and on forever on how much this game means to me but the most important thing Alan Wake taught me is the beginning of the final draft, that realization that all is not lost, that my life is not just a loop of depression then fleeting joy then depression then fleeting joy then depression then fleeting joy (yes, sometimes I wonder if I'm bipolar) and his monologue sums it up best:

A fictional poet once said "Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle, illuminated." I will not settle for a shadow. I will find the miracle, through the night. It's not just victims and monsters; I see now, there are heroes as well. We can find our way through the darkness. We will break through the surface and crash into the light.

[emptymasks]

the copyconductor 980 tx instructional audio tape

i finally have the copyconductor 980 tx instructional audio tape in my possession and here's my rundown of it and my favourite moments, basically me liveblogging listening to it for the first time. haven't seen anyone else talking about this tape so here i am.

i'm unsure if transcribing it or recording it would be in poor taste, but also it was limited edition and sold out and they're not going to restock so in a way you could call it lost media. i'm not sure if that would be alright to do.

for those not familiar, it's official stanley parable ultra deluxe merchandise sold by iam9bit, it was advertised and is presented as an instructional tape for the copy machine that's in the room outside stanley's office. what was actually on the tape was not stated, only that it included voice work from a few different people including the narrator's voice actor so since i love his voice so much and i collect cassettes i had to get one.

after listening note: it's basically a collection of different new snippets of dialogue, extra scenes, and new music. it's not one long new ending. a lot of side b is this long bit of the narrator doing one of those infomercial bits like in the game where he tells us how to tell a joke, but it's about what and why sequels exist and it's my favourite part of the tape.

this ramble got long so there's more under the 'read more' cut. but first here's my favourite quotes from the narrator:

"what about CGI knuckles?"

"i'm getting into D&D"

"what mistakes did the original stanley parable make? well to start off most of the pornography in the game was stolen or pirated and it's time we paid the licensing fees fair and square."

"we'll get to you yet, time dracula"

"if you purchase the stanley parable 2 you'll get this cow's egg"

"who gives a shit? all that matters is it's more content to cram down your insatiable gullet"

"it's only through this connection that we'll defeat time draucla once and for all. don't let the time vampire win, purchase the stanley parable 2"

and now the contents of the tape

started out as an actual instructional tape and i was just waiting for when it was going to shift and it did pretty quickly to the classic "all of his coworkers were gone, what could it mean?" the dialogue continued as normal with the sound effects of stanley moving until

"when stanley came to a set off two open doors" okay so far so normal- "he picked up one of the chairs lining the wall and through it with all of the force he could muster through the window" WAIT WHA. stanley walks around outside until coming across some sort of night club and the music gets louder until he enters and then we just get a full track of stanley parable dance music. it's similar to "Falling Funk" from the tspud soundtrack, but is not the same song, it's slower and i think has different instrumentation.

the narrator gives a watchmojo top 20 sound effects from the stanley parable ultra deluxe. i started hoping "8" would be on there since i cannot read the number 8 anymore without hearing "8" and i thought it would be perfect if it was number 8 on the list and it was. other sounds i recognised more than others: the baby from the baby game going into the fire was number 14, number 1 was "jim".

the music track that plays when you look at the cave painting in the museum in the game then played, (is on the tspud soundtrack as part of 'Ambiences') but faded into new slow, haunting vocals. the tape then cut back into the instruction copyconductor man.

when it cut away from him we get a new man "okay this is day number 295, tape number... i've lost track... nothing feels real anymore." the less sense anything makes. [...] the sheer euphoria i feel every time i pick it up, no matter how many time i've done it, the same feeling... and the emptiness in my chest" i started wondering if this man had a bucket of his own. "i still haven't figured out why i see the world so differently when this bucket is in my hands" yep. the bucket man continued to monologue, he start to think about monetising the bucket, charging people to spend time with the bucket, he worries people will steal his idea, steal the bucket, someone or something appears near him. the bucket man stops talking, stares, then says "Gambhorra’ta" which is what the cavemen chant in the previous song, and i'm wondering if this is the name of the god/creature that was mentioned on one of those tapes you could find in game? but it's been a long while since i last played. there's some creature in the room, making monster noises. the tape cuts out. the name appears on the tspud soundtrack "Gambhorra’ta, Treasurer of The Profaned Vault" though that is not the name of the cavemen chanting song.

the narrator gives us a limerick, a little rhyme over some acoustic guitar.

"and now a message from the bucket" [metal rustling noises]

the narrator returns "it's these kids again, always up and around, always talking about it. it's bloody game of thrones season 8 all over and and i'm just not..." he's rambling on about kids and crime and then out of no where "what about CGI Knuckles though?" and it caught me so off guard i had to stop the tape because i started laughing. he tries to keep rambling but he stops, defeated "no one cares, it's all mp3s and pokemon" i have no idea what he's rambling about, he's still complaining about kids, about theatre "i'm getting into d&d though, dungeons and dragons, can't stand those- [TAPE IS FULL. END OF MESSAGES]."

and onto side b we go.

back to the instructional man, how to load paper into the copy machine.

he cuts out to music, gentle guitar, bossa-nova-esque music. ITS A NEW MEMORY ZONE PIECE. i don't speak the language it's in, i know enough to recognise that unlike the french memory zone song from the game, this is in spanish or portuugese (i don't know enough about either language to confidentially say which one, but i recognise some words). the phrases "memory zone" and "stanley parable" are still in english.

narrator "here is a free steam key for the stanley parable ultra deluxe, however due to printing issues all copies of this tape will contain the same key. please confirm online in regards to who show redeem this" he then lists the key. i have no idea if it's real.

back to copyman, he's still telling us how to load paper.

narrator answer machine message "hello, unfortunately the person you called cannot come to the phone right now. please leave a message after the beep". 'thinking theme' from the tspud soundtrack then plays. then there's a beep.

the narrator tells us about night sharks, where it lives, the depth of the water it stays in, how long it is, etc. i googled night sharks to see if the information was accurate or if this was a gag, only to discover he's literally reading the wikipedia page word for word.

a new man "say there timmy, what's that? it's breakfast of course, but did you know breakfast is getting a sequel? that's right. lunch. [...] with a little luck, we may even get a trilogy series out of it. you know what a sequel is, don't you timmy? why, sequels are the worlds way of clinging helplessly onto the past. we all want more of the things we love and we're all afraid of change." in the style of old commercials, it's sounds like this could be the same voice actor as the narrator now doing an american accent.

"sequels are the bedrock of a healthy functional society, and if you look around you you'll find them everywhere you go." "here's the man who invented breathing, which is the sequel to suffocating and dying a slow death. even you're parents are getting a sequel timmy, their names are rod and jessica, as your real parents are getting sent back in time to fight in a secret war for the government." this goes on for a while about sequels, about the stanley parable getting a sequel.

"you're a man now timmy, which is a sequel to being a boy, and you need a man's game. the stanley parable 2 is the manliest game there is. let's look at the burley man who made the game. huh. his name is gregory eightpack and he's the cutting picture of raw masculinity"

"sequels allow us to correct mistakes. what mistakes did the original stanley parable make? well to start off most of the pornography in the game was stolen or pirated and it's time we paid the licensing fees fair and square. second, the stanley parable was catastrophic for a man named leroy, who had his information including home address, social security and bank address which were displayed prominently in multiple locations throughout the game. although leroy's money and identity were stolen, the fact remains his personal information was the emotional core of the game and absolutely vital to a nuance and understanding of the story. as reparation for the harm we caused him, the sequel will contain a brief and insincere apology to leroy tucked deep within the game where it will be difficult to find. finally, the stanley parable made the mistake of leaking too many government secrets about the nature of the time wars." "we'll get to you yet, time dracula."

omg this sequel bit goes on for so long but i love it. i cannot write it all down here, it goes on for so long omg.

the narrator thanks us for listening to the audio cassette. he say's we have a message from stanley's missing coworkers for us! ... there's nothing. there's no message from them... that's the end of the tape...

[cupidbedsy]

welcome to emma’s spreadsheets ; a guide!

each spreadsheet is exactly the same so i’ll just show one !

navigation ; so the navigation tab is mostly for aesthetics bc i got tired of looking at my draft sheet 8 times in my drive so i made this. but it does still function! each box you can click on and it has a link to that sheet. it's color coordinated (ofc) so purple is for standings and the draft, blue is for the transaction log, and then the pink ones are for monthly + game stats

draft ; so this is the draft sheet! as you can see going from left to right is the round, the round pick, the overall pick, the team they were drafted to, who they are, and then the notes is for if the pick was traded. each round is divided by the blue divider that's at the top underneath the green

wildcard standings ; um i haven't gone back and changed this so it looks like the one on nhl but I'll do that later bc i don't have the energy to do it right now. but basically it's just a way to show who's making the playoffs and who isn't with the stats from left to right as follows: team (separated by conference and division), if they clinched the playoff spot or not, the number of games played, how many games they won, how many games they lost, how many overtime losses they had, and how many points they have

division standings ; a more in-depth standings, I'll fill this out at the end of the year so i can have it in one place. anyway, here are the stats that i'm keep track of from left to right: team, games played, wins, losses, otl's, points, percentage, goal differential, goals made, goals allowed, home record, and away record

conference standings ; these are the exact same as the division ones except it's compared to their whole conference

transaction log ; on the left is the trades so when it happened, who they traded with, who/what they got, and then who/what they traded. and then on the right its other transactions which usually are contract extensions, free agency, etc. this is the date, player, type of transaction (extension, signing, etc._ and then how much money they're giving them if applicable

preseason ; so this is where it gets tedious in my opinion. on the left side is each game individually; the game date, who they played, if it was home or away, final score, if they won, lost, or lost in overtime, and then if the game went to overtime, what kind (ot, shootout - rounds 1-3, or shootout rounds 4+). then on the right is their final record for preseason and then the same stats that i have for the division/conference standings. going back to the games, they are colorcoded by the outcome; blue for wins, purple for losses, and green for overtime losses.

regular season games ; everything is the same regrading the games and their colors and stats. the only thing different is the right side. the purple box at the top i'll put their overall record and their monthly record. and then the red boxes are for the stats, the top one will have their monthly stats and the bottom one will be the overall stats through whatever month ofc.

other notes ; i've thought about making a roster sheet but their roster changes so much i feel like so i haven't made the decision about it yet. i have decided against making the overtime wins a different color because if they win in overtime they still get the same points they get if they win, but it'll still have the overtime box next to it. i also have a general season spreadsheet which just has the standings and draft in it.

if you have any other questions or suggestions, feel free to message me or pop into my inbox :)

[nyxxxx-onepieces-dragun]

A/N: This is part two! enjoy meh lovelies <33

Characters: Mikey x gender neuteral! reader

"Hold My hand~" pt.2

"Let's go on a date." Those words made you stop dead in your tracks, a date!? and you gave him a dumbfounded expression He stopped and turned to you with a lazy tilt of his head "What's wrong?" he asked with a teasing smile "I-you-wha-" you stuttered a blush slowly creeping on your cheeks "y-you wanna go on a date with me!?" you asked in totally disbelief, he laughed and nodded "yea! that'll cheer you up we'll go to an arcade,eat dorayaki, and ride on my motorcycle!" you scanned his face for any sort of teasing or him just trying to make a fool of you but no, his raven eyes held no judgment or teasing and his smile was genuine "C'mon we'll go right now!" he said before grabbing your hand and pulling you to wherever he was taking you,mostly to his motorcycle and you tried protesting but not really because the way your heart fluttered and how hot your cheeks got when he said those words, maybe this wouldn't be so bad afterall.

It was the most fun and the most happy you've ever been. You both laughed hysterically while playing some arcade game to which he lost and hit the machine quite literally breaking the screen "Mikey! you broke the game literally!" you say through a fit of laughs and tears of joy "Shit- well we better get going before we get into some serious trouble" He says with a devious grin and you both run out of the arcade with a angry Karen chasing after you both for almost running over her son, you eventually lose her and stop by an alleyway catching your breaths while still laughing, he made you feel alive like you had a purpose on this earth and it made you so...so...happy.

"Okay now THAT was fun-" Mikey says with a bright boyish smile dusting his pants off as he looks at you with a somewhat serious look "I mean did you see that Karen? she was all like 'my poor baby how dare you incompetent delinquents run in a public place'-" you said still laughing and panting before you felt Mikey grab your shoulders to look him dead in the eye "I-" "I like you Y/N." those words hit you like a ton of bricks and you froze unsure how to proceed a bright pink blush painted your cheeks and your voice got caught in your throat "I like you Y/N I really really do...from the moment we first hung out I've always felt something for you I didn't realize it until today..seeing you smile and be happy with me is something I'll never get tired of"

he said as the a cool breeze passed by his blonde locks flowing effortlessly and his ravenette eyes soft and loving, his confession made your heart burst and your mind flooded with so many emotions it had your head spinning the blush on your cheeks only got brighter in color, you also hadn't realized it but you did like him to "I-I...I like you too Mikey but- I don't think you would like me if you saw another side of me" you said quietly hanging your head, you didn't want to burden him with your whirlwind of emotions and the sadness that consumed you late at night eating you alive, but he reached out and cupped both of your cheeks into his soft warm hands "I don't care, I like you, hell I even love you and nothing is going to change that I love the way you smile I love the way your eyes sparkle when I say some stupid joke and I love the way your always there for me when I need it, so now its time for me to return the favor"

before you knew it his soft lips were against yours in an instant, the kiss sent jolts of electricity through your veins as if you both became one in that moment his lips were so gentle and soft as if they were saying "I'm right here don't be afraid" and you both stayed like that for a moment before he pulled away slowly, leaving you stunned and dazed and he laughed softly "so, what do you say, how about another date where we don't get in trouble?" he said light heartedly as he scanned your face, "Yea....yea that sounds nice" you finally say after a couple moments still replaying the kiss that was now burned into your brain,

"Good, now c'mon hold my hand I'll walk you home" and after that day there wasn't a single dull depressing moment in your life, afterall, He was your Invincible Mikey.

JSKANJKDSDBJAD god this is so good i was literally screaming for joy for the reader and I was writing it but I hope yall enjoyed it go read PT.1 if ya haven't reposts/reblogs are welcome just credit me! <3

Tags: @nakukuu @z3r0aqxa

Link to pt.1: Hold my hand pt.1

[elfenphoenix]

Honest review of Dragon Age: the Veilguard so far

Positive: I like the map layouts, the exploration mechanics, and oh my GOD do I love the hair graphics. I'm still getting used to the equipment upgrade system, but I think I'll figure it out with time.

I haven't met all of the cast yet (outside of reading Tevinter Nights and listening to Vows and Vengeance), but so far they're pretty interesting! So far the least engaging has been Neve, but I think that's just because she hasn't shown very much strong personality yet? Which might BE her personality, but I'll see.

Negatives: i don't like the redesign of the darkspawn. They look like cartoons, now. Part of what made them so creepy/interesting was how they looked very much like twisted versions of the races that each variety came from, but that's all kind of gotten lost in the weeds, i think. They just look like generic beasties now. Like something fortnite would put out for a Halloween skin.

I'm tentative about the world state. I don't like that apparently my Inquisitor's love interest is more important to the narrative somehow than... idk drinking from the Well of Sorrows? And lore-wise i am uncomfortable with the retcon that the elves apparently just... all recognize that their gods are evil? Like that was a HUGE revelation in Inquisition so it feels kind of... dismissive? That everyone is just like "oh yeah the elven gods are EVIL we all KNOW it'd be TERRIBLE for them to return.

And now (true rant under the cut):

I hate the combat. I HATE the combat system. It doesn't feel different at all to play as a warrior versus a mage versus a rogue. The abilities all have different names and different animations, but functionally what you are capable of is the same. Which i don't like. The whole point of having different classes is to accommodate different playstyles, isn't it? I like to play as a warrior because I DO NOT LIKE FAST-PACED BUTTON COMBINATIONS. I like to play as a simple meat shield, cutting through enemies or taking the hits. And with every single other Dragon Age game, that was fine. But with the current mechanics, it doesn't fucking matter. Can't just use a shield--enemies have attacks that you HAVE to dodge. So there's combos for blocking and attacking, plus there's the stagger bar, plus the little aura that shows up when you're about to get hit, which you have to watch carefully becaus if it's YELLOW then you want to block but if it's RED then you MUST dodge... ALL THE WHILE your health bar is on the BOTTOM LEFT corner of the screen, nearly impossible to keep track of while you're ALSO keeping track of all that I've already mentioned. There is so much going on on screen at all times that by the time I remember what buttons to push I've already lost half my health or more. In many ways, the combat reminds me a lot of the Spider-man game, which is a very great game! Which I can't play. But what makes it a good game nonetheless is that it makes sense? Like, you're Spiderman, of course the gameplay is going to be fast-paced and reflex-based. If you don't like that, then play a different game. But what I always liked about combat in Dragon Age up until now is that it WASN'T like that, provided you chose a class that worked for you. It WAS the game i played because I'm not cut out for Spiderman. It still posed plenty of challenge without getting my fingers twisted in knots. And I know people will say "well hey if you don't like it then just turn down the difficulty!" But that's missing the point. If I wanted to play a fast-paced button combo game, I'd play something from Fromsoft. But I don't. Why? Because I'm not good at them. Which is why I play Dragon Age. I got to play an amazing fantasy RPG without feeling like i needed to "get good" just to enjoy the game. It's just... so incredibly frustrating to me that they took one of my favorite things about the franchise and just... destroyed it.

That's not to say that I don't understand the desire to make a different game than what came before. Inquisition had its issues, da2 had its issues, origins had its issues... and it makes sense to want to make changes and improvements, but this...

My friend told me that she thinks the changes are to make it more similar to Mass Effect. I can neither confirm nor deny, but I don't want to play Mass Effect! I want to play Dragon Age.

...anyway. tl;Dr I hate the new combat system and I wish bioware/EA didn't feel it was necessary. Not everyone wants every game to be complex button-combos.

[raaorqtpbpdy]

Found in Glimwood Tangle

The story of how Amity and Danny found each other in Glimwood Tangle and together started their journey to beat the gym challenge and take on Galar's champion! Danny Phantom AU where Danny and company are pokémon and Amity Park is their pokémon trainer.

Written for @crossoverdanuary Week, Day six: General video games Pokémon Sword & Shield | Momentum

I never played video games as a kid, and now as an adult I still haven't played that many. (Although I'm really enjoying Paranormasight right now. If I'd finished it, I might have used it for the crossover instead.) Pokémon Shield was my first ever pokémon game and my second ever video game period, and I know people say it's one of the less good pokémon games but I still have a certain fondness for it.

AO3 Link

[No Warnings Apply]

There was a white-haired girl in the forest, probably only seven or eight years old. Her white dress was stained with grass and dirt and moss. She was sitting on a tree stump. She was crying. She was lost.

He could remember sitting right where she was now, lost and crying... back when he was a boy and not a stump. Curiously, he approached her. He moved slowly, cautiously, trying not to startle her. But she startled anyway when she finally noticed him.

"Ah! A pokémon!" she shouted, falling off the stump and scrambling away. "Please don't hurt me!"

He tilted his head, watching silently with big, round eyes, careful not to move any closer and scare her away. 

Her own eyes were wide with fear. She probably knew that wild pokémon were dangerous. But then, why was she here? Why had she wandered into Glimwood Tangle where it was so dark you could hardly see what was in front of you because the only light came from luminescent mushrooms. Why would she come to a place where the paths were so winding and confusing that even grown-ups sometimes got lost? Why would she go somewhere where ghost pokémon and psychic pokémon lived in such large numbers?

The Glimwood Tangle had been scary back when he was a boy. It must have been scary to her, too.

"H-hey," she said with a trembling voice. "You have green eyes, like me." It was true. Hers were even so bright they could almost be glowing, just like his were. "I've never seen a Phantump with green eyes before. I've only ever seen them with red eyes. But... I don't think you're a shiny Phantump, are you? You just have green eyes."

She seemed to be calming down now, so he risked floating a little bit closer to her. He hovered around her, checking to see if she was hurt. Her knees were bruised, but other than that, she looked okay.

"Dad says wild pokémon are dangerous, but you don't seem like you're gonna hurt me," she said, wiping the tear tracks from her cheeks. "My name is Amity, Amity Park. Do you have a name, little Phantump?"

He keened a response. I don't know. I can't remember.

Of course, she couldn't understand. She shuddered at the sound of his voice, but she didn't try to get away.

"Well... you've gotta have a name," she said. "Hm.... How about Danny? I always thought that was a nice name, don't you? You can be Danny the Phantump. Do you like it?"

Rather than try to answer when she wouldn't know what he was saying, he did a little flip in the air to show that he was happy. She'd picked out a good name for him, Danny. And now that she had calmed down a little, it was time to get her out of this forest.

Danny started floating away, back toward the path.

"Wait, where are you going?" Amity asked.

He stopped and turned back to look at her, nodding his wooden head for her to follow.

"You want me... to follow you?"

He did another flip of affirmation and waited as she hesitantly walked after him. She was tense, and trembling like a leaf, and stumbling on shaky legs, but she still followed, trusting him.

It had been a long time since Danny had gotten lost in these woods as a boy. Now, as a pokémon, he knew every path by heart. When they had to pass through tall grass, he floated high enough that Amity could see him, and tried to keep her away from any other pokémon he could spot.

They were almost to Ballonlea when a particularly bold and naughty impidimp jumped on Amity and she screamed.

Danny immediately flew to her rescue, hooking one of his branches around the impidimp and flinging it off. He saw that it was about to attack him next, but he tackled it and it ran away.

"Danny, you saved me!" Amity shouted, and wrapped her arms around his wooden head in an almost splintering hug.

For a moment, he let himself savor the contact. But her scream and shout would have attracted even more wild pokémon to her, and they would be here soon. He phased out of her grip and urged her forward. They weren't out of the woods yet, but they were so close. He could see the lights of Ballonlea piercing through the thick foliage of Glimwood Tangle.

"Right," Amity said determinedly as she realized what he was trying to do. "Let's keep going."

She stayed quiet and stuck close behind him, and he led the way and kept his eye out for other pokémon. Then, finally, A bright pink pokémon center stood before them, its neon sign lighting up the clearing. They had left Glimwood Tangle.

"Come on, Danny it's my turn to lead the way," Amity said. "My house is that way."

He hesitated, turning and looking back at the forest. He didn't belong in a town. Glimwood Tangle was his home. It was too bright here, too loud, too crowded.

"Do you not wanna come?" Amity asked, her face morphing into something very sad. "It's okay. I understand. Thank you for helping me. If you want to go back, I won't stop you."

Then again... Amity was his friend now, wasn't she? A friend. That was all he'd wanted since he died in those woods. A friend.

Danny did not turn back. Instead, unsure though he was, he floated forward. He cautiously followed Amity past the pokémon center, toward a big round building—the pokémon gym.

There were ropes cordoning off the entrance to the gym from the rest of the town. Amity slipped right under them and kept going without a thought.

"This year's gym challenge is going on right now, so they put these ropes up to keep gym challengers from getting lost," Amity explained. "Ballonlea can be hard to find your way around when you're not used to it."

She led the way up a hill, to a modest wooden house at the very top. It looked almost the same as every other house on the street, except the roof had been painted green instead of purple. Amity pushed open the lavender door with ease. It wasn't locked.

"Dad, I'm home!" she called.

"Amity! Sweetheart, where did you go?" A man hurried to the front doorway to wrap his daughter up in a hug.

Startled and uncertain, Danny tucked himself behind Amity, out of her father's sight.

"I was worried sick. I looked all the places you usually go, and couldn't find you. I was just calling the neighbors to see if they knew where you were. Are you alright? Your dress is all dirty. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm okay, now," Amity assured him, hugging him tightly back. "I heard someone in the woods calling for help. They sounded close, so I thought it would be okay if I went to help them, but whenever I got close to the voice, it would get farther away, and before I knew it, the voice was gone, and I was lost. I was really scared for a while, but then Danny came and showed me the way home."

"Danny?" her father questioned. "I don't know any Danny."

"He found me in the woods," she said. "It's okay, you can come out."

Cautiously, Danny showed himself to Amity's father.

"A wild pokémon?" he said. "Wait, but it has green eyes. I've never seen a phantump with green eyes before."

"Me neither," Amity said. "But he helped me, and protected me when another pokémon attacked. I know I'm only seven and you said I can't start training pokémon until I'm ten, but can I please please please have a pokéball so I can catch him and take care of him. Please!"

"Well... I don't know," her father said. "A pokémon is a lot of responsibility, especially when it used to be wild. I would feel much more comfortable if your first pokémon came from a breeder. I've spoken to Elena, who lives near the pokémon center and she said she'd be happy to breed a nice starter pokémon for you."

"But Danny saved me!" Amity insisted. "I want him to be my pokémon."

Her father sighed and looked back at Danny, his expression halfway between resigned and scrupulous. "Do you want to be Amity's pokémon?" he asked.

Danny keened and bobbed up and down.

"And you'll take care of her and keep her safe?"

Danny repeated the response.

Mr. Park turned to his daughter next. "And you'll take care of Danny, and make sure to train him properly?"

Amity nodded determinedly and clenched her fists.

Finally, her father sighed, giving in. "Alright, fine. I think I have a pokéball around here somewhere."

—

From that day on, Amity and Danny were partners, and Amity took her responsibility as a pokémon trainer very seriously. She would feed him every day, and talk to other pokémon trainers about how best to train him.

When his head got knocked around in a training battle with her neighbor's dwebble, Amity sanded away the splinters so they wouldn't turn into cracks.

On the day the whole family gathered around the television to watch the gym challenge finals, Amity sat on the floor, right up close, with a notebook and a pen, ready to write down everything they did so she could learn from them. Mr. Park sat behind her on the couch with Danny curled up on the seat next to him.

"You know," Mr. Park said softly, running his fingers over the wooden grooves on Danny's head. "I've never seen her so serious about anything. She's always been a light-hearted, carefree kid, but she sure cares about you."

Danny had been surprised to hear that. He'd blinked up at the man, confused. To him, Amity had always been like this. Amity was gentle, and caring, and kind. She worked hard, and studied, and did her best. It was hard to believe she was doing all this for him, and not just because it was her nature.

It was on that day that Danny swore to always protect Amity Park, no matter what.

If she was giving her all for him, then he would do the same for her.

The challenger lost to Raihan in the finals, and Raihan lost to Leon, but Amity had apparently taken a lot of notes on all the fights and was eager to apply them to her own training methods.

—

By the time Amity finally turned ten, she and Danny were inseparable. Everyone around town was so used to them, Danny hardly ever had to go in his pokéball. They were simply another feature of Ballonlea, like that weird guy who made sculptures in an alleyway and wanted to be a pokémon.

Then, on her birthday, something changed.

"Happy birthday, Amity," Mr. Park said, and he reached into his pocket, and handed her a pokéball. "I worked with Elena to pick out a good one for you."

Amity turned it around in her hands while Danny floated closer to examine it, confused. It seemed to be occupied. Danny could even catch a faint whiff of ozone coming from it. How strange.

"A pokémon?" Amity asked. "But I already have Danny."

Her father laughed. "You said you wanted to do the gym challenge this year, didn't you?" he said. "You'll need more than one pokémon if you want to have a chance of beating the champion. Even if your pokémon is as great as Danny."

"No one can beat the champion, that's why they call him Unbeatable Leon," Amity said. "But I guess you're right. As great as Danny is, I can't put all that pressure on him."

She could, Danny wanted to tell her. If Amity wanted to take on the gym challenge with him as her only pokémon, then he would fight like he'd never fought before. But Amity wasn't like that. She never gave him more than he could handle, and she wouldn't make him take on such a huge challenge alone. She was too kind for something like that.

"So which pokémon did you pick?" she asked.

"Throw it out and see," he answered with a smile, and gestured to the door to the backyard.

Once they were outside, Amity threw out the pokéball.

"Alright, pokémon, come on out!" she called.

The ball opened with a popping noise, and in a bolt of light, a little dog pokémon was standing on the moss lawn.

"Yamp! Yamp!" he barked.

"It's a yamper!" Mr. Park said brightly. "Normally, starter pokémon are either fire, grass, or water types, but Elena said especially talented trainers, or ones with more experience, have had a lot of success with electric types, who tend to be difficult to control for complete newbies. We thought yamper would be a good choice. What do you think?"

"Aww, he's so cute!" Amity said, kneeling down to rub her hands on the yamper's admittedly very fluffy-looking scruff. "I think I'll call him Tucker. That's a good name, right?"

"Uh... sure, whatever you like," her father agreed. "Although it's a bit atypical to give pokémon human names like Danny and Tucker, if you like it, that's all that matters."

"Oh, haha," she giggled as she stood up. "Look, the static is making it so his fur is trying to stick to me!"

Tucker ran in excited circles, electricity arcing around him. Danny floated down for a closer look and Tucker zapped him. It didn't seem intentional, but it was still rude. And that silly dog only yapped and rolled over, thinking it was terribly funny. The joke was on him, though. Electic-type moves weren't very effective on Danny.

"Elena says that yamper are best motivated with treats," Mr. Park said. "That should help you train him. He's still young and nowhere near Danny's level, but you have a couple months before the gym challenge to get him there."

"You say that like I'm already registered, but I need an endorsement to even sign up," Amity pointed out.

"Oh, don't be silly, Amity," her father said. "Everyone around here knows you're already a great pokémon trainer. I'm sure Opal is ready to endorse you the first chance she gets. When word got out it was your birthday today, I heard she was thrilled. She said, 'The next champion will come from Ballonlea!'"

Amity laughed. "That didn't happen!"

"Sure it did," her father insisted, though his smile betrayed him. "And anyway, I stand by saying she'll endorse you. I have no doubts about it."

—

At first, Danny was dubious about the new pokémon, but it was only a couple of days before the two of them were getting along famously.

So Amity and Danny spent the next few months training up Tucker. Amity had Danny remember some of his older, weaker moves for training fights with the much lower level yamper. And just like Mr. Park had said, Tucker wasn't very motivated and often had to be bribed with treats, especially sausages. But Amity was clever, and persevered, and soon enough, Tucker was a strong pokémon too.

Once sign ups for the gym challenge opened, Amity was sure her pokémon were ready for it. She took her pokémon to the Ballonlea gym and asked Gym Leader Opal for an endorsement to join. She had faith in Danny and Tucker, but just in case, she made sure to wear her pink dress when she asked. That would surely put Opal in a good mood.

"Why, Amity, I would be honored to endorse you," Opal told her. "But, I am also a gym leader, and it's a point of pride not to endorse just any trainer who asks without first testing their mettle."

"I'm ready," Amity said. "Whatever your test is, I'll take it now."

"Alright then, pop quiz," Opal said. "If I recall correctly from seeing you train them around town, your pokémon are a phantump and a yamper. What will they evolve into?"

"Tucker will evolve into a Boltund once he's strong enough. It shouldn't be long now," Amity answered. "And Danny won't evolve."

"Oh, I'm afraid that's only half-right, my dear," Opal said apologetically. "Phantump can evolve into trevenant."

"Yes, but a phantump only evolves into a trevenant when it's traded, and I would never trade Danny to anyone, even temporarily. You asked what my pokémon would evolve into. And my phantump isn't going to evolve. Besides, I don't think he would want to, anyway."

She was right. Tucker was always yapping excitedly about evolving into boltund, but Danny was perfectly happy just the way he was.

"Hm... I stand corrected," Opal said. "It seems you know your own pokémon even better than you know pokémon evolutions. If you'll come with me to my office a moment, I'll write you a letter of endorsement right now."

And she did just that.

"You take that letter to the gym in Motostoke, and they'll register you for the gym challenge," Opal explained. "It's quite a ways away, so you can call a flying taxi from the pokémon center when you're ready to go, but it's usually better to get to new places on your own two legs from there. You can train your pokémon on the routes between towns, and even catch new ones if you want to."

"I know," Amity said, taking the letter with reverence. "Thank you Ms. Opal. I won't let you down."

"I can't imagine you would," Opal said. "Good luck, Amity. I know you'll do great."

Amity was eager to get started. She went right home, packed her bag, and dressed in her favorite outfit, a white dress, white trainers, bright green leggings, and her favorite white boater hat. She'd gotten a lot better at keeping white clothes from getting dirty over the years, but she could only hope they wouldn't be ruined on her journey.

The ride in the flying taxi was amazing. The driver even let her keep Danny out of his pokéball since he was so well-behaved.

"Look at how small everything looks from up here," she said. Then she looked up at the massive bird carrying the taxi. "Maybe my next pokémon will be a corviknight."

"Oh, I wouldn't recommend that," the driver said. "A corviknight can be a lot to handle from the start. If you want one of these majestic pokémon, you'd do better to catch a rookidee and evolve it through training. That's how we get all the corviknight for the taxi service, that's why they're so gentle."

"A rookidee, huh?" Amity repeated. "Yeah, I like that idea. Danny, from now on, lets be on the lookout for a rookidee. I think Sam will be a good name for it. That will work whether it's a girl or a boy. What do you think?"

Danny keened in agreement, and Amity smiled like the sunshine. It had been a long time since his voice had made her shudder in the woods so long ago. And now, their journey was finally taking off.

[aotopmha]

I finally finished Sonic Mania (played the PC version).

I think I'll focus on all of the Sonic games I've been wanting to get to for a bit because I've been really in the mood for revisiting Sonic stuff recently.

It's a series I love for its lighthearted cheese and corn and I've just been in the mood for that kind of tone right now.

I want to take a little bit of a break from darker media.

Watching all of these Sonic Generations/Shadow Generations playthroughs has also really helped with that these past few days, I think.

It just looks so much fun.

If it was half the price it is, getting it right now wouldn't be that much of a question, but with the current price, it's harder to decide. It's such an annoying position to be in because it *technically* wouldn't be THAT bad of a hit, but it still is one.

It's such a specific, frustrating headache to have.

I think I can get it eventually, but I want it as fast as possible.

Putting all of this aside, though, Sonic Mania is a great first step to my Sonic revisit.

It was just as fun as I first played it in 2017 and thanks to the updated/patched stage transitions, just feels like a fully complete package now.

It probably is my favourite Classic Sonic game mechanically and in terms of level design, though the fact that it's mostly old stages puts it on pretty shaky ground next to Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

To start off, the aspects I basically take no issue with are the gameplay, graphics, story and music.

In terms of gameplay, Mania has a pretty perfect recreation of Classic Sonic physics and control. It's just as fun to pinball around as in any other Classic Sonic game.

Graphically, the pixel art is fantastically animated and shines extra thanks to the stylistic technical upgrade to Sega Saturn level aesthetics as opposed to that of the capabilities of the Megadrive.

These wonderful visuals aid the traditionally silent Classic Sonic story told through fun animations, which has even greater charm thanks to all of these patched-in transition scenes I just mentioned, which weren't there when I played the game back in 2017.

I love how each zone now has connective tissue in the story sense, as simple as it is. I also love the Hard Boiled Heavies as the villain squad in this game because of their distinct designs.

The issue I take "narratively" isn't with the story itself, but the reuse of levels. I still think not letting these developers make a fully original game is one of the biggest lost opportunities because they so clearly know what they're doing.

Finally, in terms of the music, the new tracks and remixes alike are just fantastic.

There are a couple I'm indifferent about: the Hydrocity remix is pretty generic/uninteresting and Titanic Monarch isn't that memorable of a track to me, but these two are the only ones like that and Mania is otherwise just a game with fantastic track after fantastic track, as is pretty common with Sonic games.

There is a glitch I ran into where leaving the game paused for a bit removes the sound from the game, which got really frustrating because I had to restart the game a couple of times, one time during an Act 2, which set me back to Act 1.

The reason why I can't call the game perfect is because of some technical issues and design choices within it that I feel affect it negatively and that I feel created some pretty frustrating moments.

Firstly, I feel some of the bosses were really tedious: the Flying Battery boss is the biggest offender to me, but I also dislike the Oil Ocean boss.

Aside from Flying Battery's boss in particular taking too long to hit and kill, both of these share probably my biggest issue with the game: the collision detection causing many surprise crush deaths.

During those two bosses I mentioned, I died and had to work myself back to the boss multiple times, but it also happened a lot during Titanic Monarch.

It genuinely killed the fun in really frustrating ways sometimes because occasionally you barely even touched the danger area and were crushed regardless.

This has always been an issue in the classic games, but I really felt it in my Mania revisit.

Another issue I had is that the levels got really long by endgame. Titanic Monarch was the worst offender, but I also felt it really strongly in Metallic Madness and started feeling it a little a couple of levels before them.

I also actually think this wouldn't be an issue at all if you didn't have to reset at Act 1 when you lost all of your lives.

Completing special stages and Blue Sphere gets you continues, but I am terrible at them, so I was on a single continue all of the time.

And you can't go back to previous stages on an incomplete save to farm lives, so I constantly had to reset at Act 1, which also added frustration to my fun.

I really think the game should've also saved at all of the Act 2s. Working yourself back to the boss the third time isn't challenge, it's tedium and an unnecessary waste of time because you've already proven you can do it; another element of dated legacy game design I think games need to let go of (and have).

That's about it for any of my negative thoughts, though.

I take issue with the length of some of the late-game levels in Mania, but I think the level design in a general sense fixed many of the issues other classic games had: Mania has a lot better hazard placement and level design flow than especially some of the late-game levels of the old games.

There isn't a Labyrinth Zone or Metropolis Zone in Mania and that gets a big props from me.

All of this said, Mania is a fantastic game I think still holds up 7 years after its release and I hope this team does at least get another chance at making a Classic Sonic game.

[ruvviks]

okay. first all that's left ost question. pls explain the song in what we leave behind 👀

another one thought/question is that i was thinking abt it while making breakfast and i think all that's left would be v interesting as a video game that's divided into episodes. like whatever remedy's doing with alan wake.

anyway i am soooooooo in love with all that's left btw. i'm not even into zombie stuff but this one is soooooo cool. :]

HEHE THANK YOU SM <3 i love zombie media entirely too much i was obsessed with it when i was younger to the point i had entirely too many dreams about the zombie apocalypse. which is where half my zombie story ideas originated from including parts of the story for all that's left LMAO

so in "what we leave behind" the song playing is everyone dies by parsonsfield which is a song that i've always heavily associated with the story for some reason?? specifically because in an alternative ending i came up with, all the main characters did end up dying in very like. regular human ways to die in a zombie apocalypse in a way to show to the readers that, well, everyone does still die in the end despite how beautiful a journey or story can be etc etc and so on, and to show that there IS an end to all this but the main characters' good deeds end when they die, not when the story is over if that makes sense. they keep on being good even after the story is done. but i ended up kind of scrapping that because i preferred a more open ending that leaves room for own interpretation of what happens between like, the end of the story + when the main characters die. but the song has always stayed in my heart

which is why i added it to that chapter specifically! in "what we leave behind" the different players in the story (it's season two so that's three separate parties whose story you've been following the whole time) have all found themselves in predicaments scattered across los angeles; one group has been separated after a devastating breach in one of the districts, another group has been hunted down in the wasteland around the city, and the third group has been chased out of the city for their smuggling crimes (helping people out of los angeles into the wasteland to find a safe community to live in)

it's a chapter in which all hope seems lost which i think fits with the song in a way. there is very much the threat here that people are going to die, but it's part of how life goes, and i think the upbeat sound of the song contrasts the heaviness of the chapter very well which is something that i keep doing with this story because it creates an almost nostalgic feeling (for me personally, idk if it comes across well)?? as if you as the reader are very much aware that the story has already been told and there's nothing that can be changed about it anymore, and the soundtrack is reminiscing on what happened back then :]

and ooohh i never really thought about that tbh!! i think it could work as a video game but it would be a VERY cinematic game and i personally am not a big fan of that because i do like having things to do and especially with all the different perspectives and whatnot it would be very hard to keep track of the story while also trying to put down an interesting game if that makes sense SHGFDJGHDFGKD i did games & interaction in art school so this is like. the game designer in me talking LMAO

i do think some chapters would work VERY well as video game though, especially ones where a lot of stealth is needed or the more combat focused scenes. for example there's one scene in which they're trying to manage a huge horde of ghouls and like, lead them away from a settlement to then gun them down somewhere, i feel like that would be super cool to see in a video game >:^) but there's also a lot of scenes in which there's just a lot of talking and connecting to other characters going on which would be very boring to sit through i think :(

i've always visualized all that's left as a tv show and it would probably work best as that i think, because there's just so many characters and so many stories to tell that weave into one another very intricately. the visuals of the story would also just work best as a tv show because the way i'm imagining it is like a very vibrant tv show, bright colors and almost like, retro-y vibes?? basically the kind of vibes i put in those playlist edits, it contrasts the heaviness of the story very well + goes well together with the soundtrack!!

on top of all that (sorry i'm Going now) a tv show would give the story enough time to build up correctly, a movie would be entirely too short for that. with actual episodes and actual filler episodes focused more on exposition of the world and character conversations and a bit less action to give everyone including the viewer some breathing space, the story can actually be set up correctly and get people interested in the bigger picture of the universe i think :] it would have about 4 seasons of roughly 20 episodes per season, maybe the first season (book 1) would be a bit shorter on account of just following one group, but especially the next seasons (book 2-4 and Maybe 5 depending on how well i execute book 4) would just need more episodes because you're following around three groups in all those seasons. or at Least three. i can't remember my own lore. there's a lot going on just trust me

[bearpillowmonster]

Ok, Sly Cooper.

Well, let me give you some expectations for this game and then see if they lived up.

One of the big three of the PS2 era; Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter. Jak & Daxter I've obviously held the highest but as time has gone on, my opinions have changed on Ratchet and Clank but what about Sly?

Back then, I looked up what was considered best of the series, hoping that it would make the strongest impression on me. So for Easter one year, I asked for Sly 2 and played through a little bit of it. I got to Dmitri for the first time and honestly every time that I've tried to go back to it, I get lost with what I'm trying to do, like I don't remember how to play and can't be bothered to restart it, there's just too many places to go.

While Bentley gives you his visual aid, it only lasts a second and you aren't directly looking at it so it can be difficult to navigate. That mixed with my amateur stealth game knowledge, I sat it out.

I saw a YouTube video of someone explaining why Sly is so important to them and why it was still worth checking out. I lodged it in the back of my brain and thought it best to visit the first of the series, maybe I was being too rash starting with the sequel, I mean it being more linear would be a good thing for me so I put it on the backlog. Then one day, I got a real hankering for it, like down bad for it. I started making OCs, looking for it on eBay (which I logged) and really can't say that I've wanted a game that bad since my KH:BBS rom stopped working and I bought 1.5, 2.5 remix where I just wasn't satisfied playing anything else until then but that's besides the point. I eventually broke down and got it. So is it worth all that trouble?

Let's start with age. It has a remaster collection on PS3 but like the other big three of the PS2 era, they didn't port those over to PS4 or the PS store so you're kind of stuck with this one unless you buy a PS3. This is a game that was defining controls, you can tell what was a breakthrough by how they sell it in game too.

So the controls from time to time can seem a bit finnicky since it's PS2 era, but I imagine the remaster probably ironed out those issues since it runs on a different controller. Let me give you an example. Sly's tail has a blue sheen to it to indicate that he's following a track set up in game so that you can balance yourself better. You can break this track but it's easier to stay straight. It's not your masterful controlling doing this, it's the game. Press circle to latch onto stuff (small beams, ropes, etc.) The platforms can shake with momentum as you move on them, in water they start to sink but only where you're stepping. There were a lot of points where I was surprised to see the modern era take reference like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed, this game impressed me 21 years down the road.

I was thinking it was baby's first Splinter Cell but I was dead wrong, it's got variety. I like Splinter Cell, I'm not putting it down, I'm just stating the fact that some of these levels are quite different from the last, not just stealth. From environments like libraries and pirates ships to controlling a submarine to fight off crabs taking treasure chests and all that's within the first 'area'. Yeah, I said 'area'. I also said that this game was more linear. What I'm getting at is that there's a semi 'hub' or sorts where it's portals to levels inside of a level, you play those levels to grab whatever you may need to progress, it's cool and simple enough to keep track of when it's in bites but it's understandable how I could've gotten lost as a kid.

These areas are split between the five different villains or bosses of the game (which are all great btw), starting with the "missions" back at HQ, just like I remember. But if you don't finish that current mission right away and save and exit then you may need a refresher. How many levels can there be? Who's to say, I mean like I said, variety. I think there are seven levels to the first mission but that crab level was the shortest one of the bunch. What do you value in a level? Do you get everything there is to collect?

There are these bottles with little messages inside that collecting enough throughout the level will net you a code from Bentley which can be used for a vault found in that same level. You can go, get them on your first run. Or get some and come back later. It's up to you but the rewards are actually quite beneficial. You see jump is X, and latching is Circle and attack is Square but what's Triangle? Well, you want a fast attack? A roll? You want abilities? Sure, you get new abilities and none of these hidden ones are mandatory but it's a good incentive to thoroughly explore the level. You use the shoulder buttons to scroll through your favorites.

So length can be varying but let's put it this way, it's set up with lives, you run out and you have to restart the level as there are checkpoints otherwise. It's not a bad compromise though because for one, it gives you excuse to get those missed collectibles and two, it saves the collectibles you've already gotten pretty much no matter what so it's not that bad. You can even finish the level and come back and still have the same progress on collecting, I've collected them all before but had to restart because I did them out of order and I did a speedrun of the level in what? A minute? First run was maybe ten. But you really only get a one hit allowance and die if you land in water. You can also pick up level ups and horseshoes which gain you an extra hit or collect a hundred coins for a horseshoe.

So is it worth it? Let me put it this way. I mentioned how I went through a lot to get this game and when it came, it was packaged really good but it was already scratched and the case was dented before they even put it in there and during the cutscene after the first boss, it got stuck and start skipping. I wasn't positive that I could get it to work again so I asked this question. "Now that I've had a taste, (a demo if you will) would I be willing to buy it again in order to play the rest?" And the answer was yes.

It just felt so good to jump with X and press circle to step onto something. With a little elbow grease and improved controls, this game is pretty golden. 4/5.

[tekutiger]

For the past week or so, I've been logging in to Disney Dreamlight Valley again (after a 2 month hiatus 😅). They have a "Haunted Holiday Star Path" event going on right now. When it comes to games I genuinely like, I do actually have fomo and I hate it, lol. So, here I am 🙃

I've been playing a bit of catch up. Like, they added Beauty and the Beast! That was my favorite OG Disney movie growing up. And then Mulan came along and I was like !!! Okay now those two are my favorites (because I couldn't decide between the two).

I also finally watched the live action Beauty and the Beast for the first time. It's been out for a while now, I know... I'm just slow when it comes to watching movies or anything on tv. In my opinion it was very well done! I'm not a harsh critic though.

I also watched the live action Little Mermaid and I really loved it. It gave the characters so much more depth, and displayed more marine creatures than I thought they would have. The actors put so much life and emotion into their vocals in their songs, I was very impressed.

And I touch on this a bit below, but being an octo-nerd, there were things about Ursula that they added to the movie, that was not in the original, and I was like holy crap! I wonder how many people are going to catch onto that? It's when she's shuffling through her ingredient cabinets to create one of her concoctions and her 'arms' (she refers to them as 'tentacles', probably because younger audiences will be like ??? if she says arms, but the correct term is actually 'arms'). They are acting independently from her because octopuses have nine brains. One brain in each arm and one in the mantle (head). So each arm thinks for itself. When she says she can't find anything, everything always gets lost, it's probably because her eight arms are putting things back on the shelves however they please and her main-brain (mantle i.e. head) isn't paying attention to keep track of it all 😅

Okay- weird thing that I complain about often to my friends cause we all play this, and unrelated to the live action movie. Eric, in this game, stalks me, and it's flippen weird. I think everyone who plays this has a character that stalks them though, as if it's in the programming and it's RNG of who it is. I say that because I'll go to Twitch and watch it happen to streamers, and they'll make comments about their 'stalker'. It's just somehow my 'stalker' ended up being Eric 🤷🏻‍♀️. For some, it's Kristoff. Others, it's Maui. I dunno... it's weird.

(For the record, I know they're all programmed to come and find you, but I mean- in this case, there's ONE specific character that follows you WAY MORE than usual.)

Anyone who knows me, knows I have this obsession with the Ocean (also space) and octopuses, and jellyfish... hence why I have the Ursula attire (she's the Octo Queen!). Her quest line, should you put out the moonstones and buy her bundle, is worth it imo, but I'm also biased as heck. I just find it ironic that I'm literally dressed like Ursula 2.0 and Eric stalks me more than half the time I'm in-game, lol 😓. The sound of his flute puts me in that state of like 🙀 -startled cat, eyes wide, looking everywhere, ducking behind furniture-

Ariel, go pay more attention to your man plskthx. I will give it to the live action production for the movie. The actor who plays Eric is handsome and plays the role well 👌🏻 (doesn't make me wanna hide any less though in-game 😑)

I totally veered off course of why I'm writing this post. My rambling is getting worse, akjdhjs.

SO. The star path...!

Last year when we got the first Halloween star path, if memory serves, I recall it not having any Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas items at all and being really bummed out about it. I figured it was because they couldn't get a contract signed, permission, copyright something or other. The game was still very new afterall.

There's a biome in DDLV named the Forgotten Lands and it's mostly purple hues. I knew the aesthetics would be perfect for The Nightmare Before Christmas if I just waited for it... and now this year a handful of items are in the Star Path event. I've been so ready.

Oh, and we also get... !!

😄

With the new items, I totally remodeled my biome. It's looking cute~

Here's some better shots of a couple Nightmare Before Christmas outdoor furniture pieces (just a couple but they're big pieces). The notorious Skellington's Hill and the popular Frightful Fountain. 👇🏻

And the great thing about this game is, we're just going to continue to get even more fun items and grow as the game develops. We also have the Christmas Star path coming up, at some point. Wonder if there's going to be some interesting items in that 🤔

Oh yeah, I got a cutie Pirate Parrot from this Star Path too ❤️

One Final Edit: On Twitter they mentioned that they added an "AUTUMNBUNDLE" code. If you're playing and missed it, you can copy and paste that in for some furniture pieces.

Should be in the Settings menu > Help > Code box (under 'import avatar') > hit 'claim' after typing it in.

[storiesofsvu]

Reading is definitely one of easiest and hardest things to do. Easy to get into it but difficult to keep the momentum going on especially when the authors had yet to release the next volume or when they were on hiatus. I lost track of how many times I forgot the plot due to the long waiting time or reading different series, and ended up having to read it again.

Forever summer in the one of the countries of SE Asia~ the location of where I'm from will be too obvious if I were to say out other hints 🤣 though November tend to be the rainy season here.

As much as I love horror, violence and gore (hey, don't judge haha, I've been playing horror/killing games since I was a mid single digit age. RE3 = ❤️), one of my favorite thing to read or write is definitely the more causal time, a day off from cop/agent life, like hanging out in a cafe enjoying a cup of beverage before a phone call asking you to get on with a case etc, or a date night with the other half, a more simple and violence free moment.

I always bring my notebook out whenever possible so I can write down random ideas that popped out or do some writing when I'm bored from waiting on friends that had yet to reach.

....

I should probably get back to updating my stories as well since the aching are gone. My arm and shoulder.. and my formely injured knee has been killing me since returning to badminton after being sideline for a bit. Is this what it feels to be a 90s kid? Bones creaking already.

Saw it somewhere that you have hurt your ankle? Gosh, get better soon! Ain't fun at all when somewhere of your leg is injured. When I injured my knee years ago, I couldn't even bend it for a long while so thank the maker for the invention of lifts since my class is always on the upper floors.

I have been following your page for a while now but never really tbought about chatting through this so please don't mind me being an anon~

Oh and 🐯 would be nice 😆

oh my gosh, so freaking true!! when i was a kid i was *determined* to finish the Little House on the Praries series, but every time i lost momentum and stopped and couldn't finish one of the lengthier ones i'd tell myself i had to start from the beginning all over again lol.

hahah fair!!

honestly, those are the points that we don't get to see on the shows! i think that's why those moments and relationships are so important to fic readers/writers. we want to see/experience the little quiet moments and memories.

my notes doc on my phone was so full of notes for fics, or screen shots of conversations chatting with besties about stories. sometimes voice memos LOL. i've drifted off from it SO much now and i hate that about myself, but i do know that this is always the tougher time of year for me to be creative and shit. there's never enough recovery time between shifts, there's extra shifts and shit to deal with, the sun goes down at 4:30pm daily, it's cold af. lol. nothing positive going on but the romanticizing of the holidays (which is why i like to host bingos this time of year and read y'alls creations lol)

oof! oh no! and LOL, yes, yes it is. i've got a shitty shoulder. what did i do? sleep on it wrong LOL. it sucks. returning to stuff is definitely hard too, esp if your body isn't quite ready. (and it will let you know lol)

ugh. yeah. it's been a month now and its definitely not healed. i just happened to hit a crack in the sidewalk downtown (was totally sober and wearing runners) but went down hard. i didn't have any kind of brace or anything to compress it with so the swelling got out of hand until i got a friend to take me to urgent care. it's much better now, and i'm generally not limping anymore, but it still aches after a shift lol. hopefully it's not going to be a permanent thing.

oh of course not! chatting like this is totally acceptable and a way to get to know people too! <3

hope you have wonderful week! sorry it took so long to get back to you, it's been one hit after another since the ankle injury lol.

[bbael]

orchid, ivy, and nutmeg for the ask game <3 (also hello how are you!!)

Hii hellooo dear dola ahemm, iah it's been so long, im sobbing ໒꒰ྀི ´͈ ᵕ  `͈ ꒱ྀི১!!

I've been well fortunately, enjoying the last hours of my weekend so very sad about that and with juicy eyes bc I looked at my phone screen all day but otherwise great!! I saw snow for the first time since I was a kid the other day (from far away but still...) but am waiting for winter to ease off already, too...

How are *you* though? I miss you lots!!

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

I think this song by amiina, which is one of my favorites too ofc, is perfect and also what my brain plays by default when I'm not thinking. The sound of fire crackling and little bells is just sooo special and dear <3 I could play it on loop for literal hours, it probably has like a spell to it and I wish my life felt like it sounds...

ivy ⇢ what are your ‘tells’ for your emotions and moods? how can someone tell you’re happy, annoyed, upset or tired?

I'd say im a weird case? Just a couple years ago I had so much trouble trying to convey anything, that people would always assume I was sad/bothered/upset all the time. And it might have been therapy or meds or maybe just getting older but now I feel pretty much like an open book? I can't even try to hide whenever I am happy or excited, I get giggly and just more active/want to do many things at once. And when I'm sad, I am much more vocal about it too.

I'd say some tells would be that I tend to fall into retail therapy much more easily if I'm stressed out or sad, and also food >_>. Anyone would be able to track my mood just based on how much I eat and how many snacks I buy. If I'm feeling stable I'd never buy a snack bc I lost the habit to. So if you ever see me posting about getting a little pastry you just know it definitely isn't a special ocassion, I'm just going through it ajdjfgj

nutmeg ⇢ how’s your room/home decorated? do you have a specific theme or style going on?

Right now I'm at at this level of home decor lmao...

Normally it's all pretty minimalistic too though.

I really like old furniture, tchotchkes and dark colors, heavy fabrics, etc etc *in theory* and wish I could apply it all to my environment, but alas,, am more comfortable with white walls and negative space and emptiness.

It just feels better and helps my mood a lot.

Think the most adventurous thing I did since moving out was hanging up some white lace as curtains and I already wanna take them off... I still like to have small things around in tables and such like dry flowers/pomegranates, tins, perfume bottles, sun-catchers, paintings my friends or I made, but on a bad day I might box them all up because I get overwhelmed...

[doctorguilty]

ok wait it took me all the way until the boss battle in chapter 7 for it to really hit me why the switch ost remakes aren't vibing with me even though I don't think they're objectively bad or anything but.

hear me out comparing the original vs switch remake magnus von grapple theme

like I'm not denying some level of nostalgia goggles (for your ears) happening but it's also like, I don't think it's just like a Raw Nostaligia (like being a genwunner about it) thing either in that sense I think that's still coming from a place of like, the older music being very intrinsic to being a part of the whole artistic composition of the game and what made it charming and memorable from start to finish

b/c if you compare these two versions, the original one is less complex and idk i lack language for music but, "epic sounding" you know what I mean, but it uses all these weird funky sounds throughout that, without even showing you who this theme belongs to, you might be able to glean what kind of boss it might be! The newer version builds on the main melody and it sounds great and all, but the robotic-alien like sounds end up more in the background, and I just feel like they're way too lost?

I think the switch version sounds great if it were like, a pokemon gym leader theme, THAT'S EXACTLY what it actually sounds like, that's what it makes me picture. and it makes sense given the switch era is like all these 3D pokemon games with ost's composed in this same sort of epic? orchestral? (music words.. idk..) style. but the ISSUE I have is that it doesn't lend itself as well to the aesthetic of like paper mario cause like at the end of the day it's not a 3D pokemon battle it actually looks like this

BUT THE THING IS WITH THAT.. is like my point about the older music being so APART of the artistic composition ... like, the whole world being this papercraft pop up book thing, and the battles take place on a stage with an audience like pic above, it just gets me feeling like the less complex track with all the funky weird sounds makes more sense for a battle you're doing on a stage against a robot that looks like a box with like zigzag paper for legs? like it's supposed to kinda sound silly? but like personally like, as someone who's played through the game and that fight, it is a pretty like epic confrontation in the moment, and by chapter 7 your suspension of disbelief about all the paper and gimmicks is fully held, you're immersed in the world, so regardless of how "silly" anything looks or sounds, it doesn't take away from the challenges or like tone of the story happening (like after this battle for instance, there is an extremely emotional scene the story had been building up to that involves a character death, and I've seen people who've played the remake say it "still made them cry" going through it all this time later)

So that's kind of my assertion here, another strong one I'd back it up with is Doopliss' theme

I find the remake of his themes to be one of the done-dirtier ones!! because, again, it's not that the remake sounds BAD (though I could do without the sharty sounding additional layer they added hfsdgkdsgd what was with that), it's just that it's like, well this is some nice ghost type gym leader music...... but it seems particular egregious to make the changes they did like, getting rid of the church organ (his battle takes place in a steeple...), and pushing the church bells way to the background instead of like practically rattling your bones. like heres the thing with that ok. the chapter is called "for pigs the bell tolls" and the whole thing is when the bell rings a villager is turned into a pig. and it happens many times. sometimes we hear the bell ring off screen and the partner goes oh no mario do you hear that, who do you think got got this time,,, at one point the bell rings after like giving a mother food to feed her starving children and the kids start crying right in front of you. like this is another thing here where I'm like. the music is PART of the entire composition, the whole art piece, I think the track loses a lot of oomph when you're toning down this like, like leitmotif isn't the right word but it's almost like that!! it's this sound you've been hearing that's been a major part of the stakes of the story!

anyway but like........................the weird thing is I have seen very very few people like agreeing with me on this, most opinions I've seen even from like veteran players is that they really enjoy the newer tracks and find the older ones empty in comparison, which is fine and like TOTALLY okay and fair to have that opinion and like in my prev post about it, thanks to nintendo putting the retro tunes badge or w/e they called it, I have no reason to whine and gripe at all like I'm very happy and content because I've been having my cake and eating it too, it's just got me feeling conflicted because it has me wondering if like! like! if someone was going to play the game for the FIRST time......... I feel so compelled to tell them to use the retro tunes badge and experience it with the og tracks, because I truly wholeheartedly believe they are parts of the experience of the game as a whole work of art and the new tracks are just .. not the same, but it also makes me feel kinda like a dickhole genwunner bro like clearly everyone else agrees on the other side of things, I guess it doesn't like Super matter in that sense like it's not like my world will end if they don't experience a piece of work in the 100% more perfect way I think it should be experienced (b/c thats subjective) but maybe part of me is like am I crazy though? like surely I can't be the ONLY one who feels this way, pleading emoji, does anyone else get me about this ...... pleading emoji x2

(and probably what i'd do in the recommending which music to experience case tbh is just like, read me on the Hear Me Out thing and maybe listen to a few tacks to compare the styles but ultimately just go with whatever personally Sounds good to them cause like in the end honestly if someone just thinks the whole og ost sounds shitter than the newer one then it would only take away from the experience to like Tolerate music they don't like than just like enjoy it with the new tracks!)

[hurryupmerlin]

There's a lot going on in my life and today has been hard, cos I spent all day fighting a mental breakdown. I mean, it was just a question of time, really. I've felt it coming for weeks. But I still wish I could feel something else.

So here's a diary entry in hopes of someday reading it and thinking "man, things have be shit but it turned out just fine after all."

In January I posted my to do list for 2024 here. More than half a year has passed since then and unfortunately nothing from this list is checked off and there has been gradually less good news to report with each new month.

All my life I have never had the stamina to learn an instrument. When I stumbled across Handpans, the opportunity arose to change that. I've since been to two beginner workshops and the organizer was gracious enough to lend me a handpan for a month. I was really motivated to follow through with his 17-days-challenge because I knew if I could manage to play every day, even if it was just a few minutes, I had a real chance of forming a habit and finally fulfilling my dream of mastering an instrument. But my days were long. I set up the handpan a few times at ten o'clock at night or even later, completely exhausted. And then came the executive dysfunction. Every day I see her standing there. Every day I want to play it. Every day something in my head blocks me of setting it up. The fear of having to explain to Pierre that I've only played it 5 times this month eats away at me. I want to play. But I can't. And in four days, the month will be over and I'll have to give it back. He'll then ask me if Handpan isn't for me after all. And I'll say: "Yes, it is. It makes me happy. It's fun. It's healing something inside of me. I can let go of the world when I'm just playing for myself. But my broken ADHD brain won't let me and I don't have the money to buy my own and stash it in the closet for the few times a year that I have the strenght to set it up and play." It feels like losing. Like I missed my one chance for something great, that could've changed me for the better.

When I moved into the house, I had these fantasies of sitting at my desk in my tidy, light-filled beautiful room. Drawing digitally, writing, singing. Painting on canvas and composing music. But my aunt interfered in my life and the building site has been frozen ever since. I live between masking film and plaster dust. I've been incapacitated and feel so powerless and helpless. I want progress. And I want my art back.

And then there's the matter of the dog. That goddamn dog Kröte. My colleague told me there's a technical term for when you make a terribly bad financial decision and then cling to it, pouring more and more money and resources into it in the desperate hope of turning it around. She couldn't remember the term, tho. I could be so happy with just my own dog, but instead I've brought this beast into the house. Because of which my own dog has to spend every day alone at home and because of which my neighbors hate me. Because of which my house stinks of piss and because of which my ears are ringing with barking.

My car has been giving me problems since September last year. I've lost track of how many thousands of euros I've spent trying to get the recurring fault fixed. Something between 4500-6000 euros. Most recently it was in the workshop for a month. What's more, after every repair, another new fault occurs. I can't take any more. Emotionally and financially. My aunt's friend is urging me to take it back to his garage. But I thought I'd made myself clear when I said "if it's not fixed this time, I'll keep driving it until the engine fails and I break down." I was supposed to bring my car over today. Which of course I wasn't told directly again, but via the old game of wisper down the lane. Which I said before I will not accept any longer. I put my cell phone on airplane mode afterwards. I can't do it anymore. It's Saturday and I finally needed a day off. I've been borrowing spoons from the future for days - my body told me very clearly that I had overspent.

Things aren't going well at work either. It's not news that we're bankrupt. But the way our bosses and colleagues treat us graphic designers is now unacceptably disrespectful. I am the only employee left who is still interested in contributing her own ideas in order to offer the company advantages and new opportunities. That makes me stand out - in a negative way. Because thinking along might officially be required, but since it also shows where the problems lie, it's actually unwanted. The very real fear of losing my job while being in debt so badly is gnawing on me every day. I am on the hit list. They just need me to finish a few projects first.

Despite all this I cling to hope.

[purplesurveys]

1832

What do you want more than anything else? A weekend. I haven't had one in over a month...and I probably won't have another one until May.

Do you have to cross any bridges on your way home? Yes, just one but it's also really short and takes like 10 seconds to drive through if there's no traffic lol. 10-15 minutes if there is traffic.

What type of phone do you have? I have an iPhone 13 Pro.

Have you ever tried coconut water? No. Beyond coconut milk in curries, I hate coconut in any other capacity. I just find it kinda nasty.

Are you able to keep a lid on your temper? I definitely try my best. Having such a crucial leadership role at work helps with the temper management because I know I can't bitch whenever I want anymore, in the same way I used to be able to. I lead the entire department now, and any move I make will almost always be watched by my team. Can't go about being a bad, grouchy influence at this point.

What colour are the blankets on your bed? It's blue.

What was the last thing you said aloud? "Ugh," when I realized I needed to pick up something the moment I landed on my bed.

Is there anybody who makes you feel empowered? Not really. I can do that for myself.

Does your house have a basement? Nope.

How many online accounts do you have? Or have you lost count? I don't keep track.

Which Asian country would you like to visit the most? I'd honestly just go back to Thailand.

Are you the type to hold grudges? Yes.

What was the last video game you played? Mario Kart 8.

What’s your favourite flavour of vitamin water? I've never tried vitamin water.

Are there any bands/artists that get you all emotional? Certain songs of theirs, sure; but not the actual artists.

What do you think about double stuff oreos? I've never tried but tbh I'm just fine with the normal ones.

Are you happy in your own skin? Sure, I can say that.

Have you ever been to a convention? (comic, Youtube, etc.) Just once, for YouTubers.

Do you have any disgusting habits? I'm sure most people have at least one.

Can you get your favourite fruit all year around, or is it seasonal? I don't have a favorite fruit.

What brand are most of the electronics in your household? I want to say Apple? When both my parents switched to iPhones and my sister got a work Mac from her current company I think it tipped the scales once and for all for Apple hahaha.

Is any part of your body hurting right now? My back, because when is it not in pain hahaha.

What’s your favourite aunt or uncle’s first name? Anna.

Do you prefer your tea with or without milk? I don't drink tea.

What sound makes you cringe? When utensils scrape against a plate in an angle that'll make it have this nasty screech sound.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette? I have.

If so, do you still smoke? Nah.

What do you think about androgynous names? I really like them for girls.

Do you see yourself getting married one day? Not in the cards.

Do you get sick often? I don't. The one exception was the time last year when I got sick two months in a row...first time it ever happened and I was genuinely shocked because I came from never ever getting sick to getting shot down by a fever two months straight.

Who was the last person you invited into your home? Angela, Hans, Reena for my birthday last year.

Are you of legal drinking age in the country you live in? For the last 8 years.

How old were your parents when they got engaged? Not sure exactly which year they got engaged, but I would guess it was when they were 24-25.

Are your parents still together? Yup.

What flavour was the last ice cream you ate? Vanilla.

Are you health conscious? No.

Have you ever done a first aid course? I haven't.

If so, would you be prepared to perform CPR if necessary? I honestly wouldn't be; I need a CPR refresher.

Are you for or against gay marriage? I'm going with the correct answer, which is being for.

Do you have any friends who bat for the other team? They would not be my friends in the first place.

Have you ever written a letter to a politician? Nope.

Are there any songs that get stuck in your head very easily? Chasing That Feeling by TXT is insanely good.