#slice of life fans be like what happens in the next episode. bro nothing

[half1spin]

Go back to how things were

[aylinaliens]

I am officially caught up on Oxygen and I started it yesterday, so that’s a new record. I’m so freaking obsessed! And, I’d love some recs because I need more to watch. My first step into the world of Bls came from My Engineer which was brilliant and frustrating, but I loved it. Now, I’m just looking for more and more and more, and this started in July 😂. I’d love some recs and to pop in randomly to chat about the bls if you’d be up for it because they all kill me ~♉️

Sorry for the delayed response but I wanted to take some time to compile a list of recs for you. I tried to mainly rec ones that are mainly available on YouTube, Viki, Line TV, and Netflix but if you need help finding links to watch them let me know!

I highly recommend these (based on the previous ones you’ve seen or ones that I personally loved):

Cherry Magic: This is a Japanese BL that’s currently airing but it’s so good and easily my favorite of the year. It has a wacky premise but it’s very heartwarming, realistic, and soft.

Like In The Movies (aka Gaya Sa Pelikula): This recently ended like a week ago but it was a masterpiece. GSP accurately depicts the struggle of being the LGBTQ+ community and is just generally really well made in terms of the script, cinematography, and OST. There were quite a few BL’s from Philippines released this year but IMO this was the best.

He’s Coming to Me: Incredibly underrated which sucks because it’s really good. The premise is very unique and it’s another accurate depiction of the struggles that LGBTQ+ individuals have to go through. This is pretty angsty but hilarious/heartwarming/adorable at the same time.

Theory of Love: People either absolutely adore TOL or absolutely despise TOL. I personally adored it because I’m a big fan of angst, flawed characters (oh boy were they flawed), and OffGun so it’s one of my favorites. But fair warning the characters are frustrating. So frustrating that you’ll probably want to reach through the screen to smack them but if you hang on till the end it’s worth it. Plus they just released a special episode like a month ago and it really improved any issues I had with TOL.

The Untamed: this is technically labeled as being a ‘bromance’ because of China’s censorship laws but like...it’s extremely obvious that the two ML’s are more than just platonic bros. In the book it’s based on they were together romantically and the drama does a good job of expressing the love they share with subtle (and not so subtle) looks, dialogue, cinematography, touches, and music. The Untamed is very long and at times confusing but 100% worth it.

History 3 Trapped: This was my first introduction to BL and it spoiled all other ones for me. It’s about a gangster and a police officer who go from enemies to lovers. The plot is messy but the chemistry between the leads + second leads makes up for that.

Where Your Eyes Linger: This is a Korean BL and almost everyone I talked to ended up loving this. Sadly this is really short (only 8 episodes that are 10 minutes long) but it’s worth it. It’s about two childhood friends—one of them is the son of a wealthy family and the other is his bodyguard. It handles the friends to lovers excellently and plus the leads have a ton of chemistry.

Mr. Heart: Another Korean BL that was produced by the same company that did WYEL. It’s also short but it’s fluffy and adorable which is a big shift tone from WYEL but I loved both equally.

Life Love On The Line: Another Japanese BL! It came out this year and I feel like it’s really underrated. It’s based on a short manga so the length of the series isn’t that long (4 ep that are 20-30 min long) but it still manages to effectively tell a beautiful love story.

Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday): I’m only on episode 1 but...woah. People need to stop sleeping on this. It’s a slice of life drama centered around two men in their forties who are already together. It’s wholesome, soft, and makes me feel all warm inside. Please give this a chance okay?

I Told Sunset About You: I haven’t finished this yet but it’s honestly a masterpiece. The cinematography...the OST...the acting...the script...I’m in complete awe of the whole thing.

Gameboys: Another wonderful PINOY BL! It’s set during this year when the pandemic is going on and it was really good—so good that it got a GL spin off (Pearl Next Door, I highly rec this too even if it’s not BL) and a season 2 which comes out next year.

Hello Stranger: Honestly the Philippines are thriving this year because this was another stellar BL! It’s kind of like Gameboys in how almost the whole drama is filmed over video chat/social media but it was very cute. I believe Hello Stranger is also releasing a movie next year.

Ingredients: This is literally just a very long supermarket ad that’s been going on for 8 months now but it’s adorable. It’s a very low stakes fluffy BL where nothing happens plot wise yet you can’t put it down. Plus...they were roommates ;)

Sotus/Sotus S: not one of my favorites but it’s one of the OG bl’s for a reason. So many people loved the first season but didn’t care for the second (but it was the complete opposite for me). This is kind of the one of the most quintessential Thai BLs out there so feel free to give it a try.

History 2 Right or Wrong: Bls rarely center around mature individuals let alone parents so when I found out the premise of this I was sold. Its only 4 episodes so it’s not the most fleshed out thing ever made but it was incredibly adorable, fluffy, and as honest as they can to address LGBTQ+ parenting. Basically it’s about this college student who ends up as a babysitter for his professor (yeah okay that premise is not for everyone so just be aware if you don’t like that kind of thing) and they fall in love. The whole thing is so fluffy and heartwarming!

Ossan’s Love: This is a Japanese BL about this thirty year old office worker who finds himself in a weird love triangle between his married boss and roommate. I know it sounds like a mess and trust me it definitely is but it’s hilarious. It was a wild ride start to finish but I loved (and hated) every second of it.

Diary of Tootsies: Okay this isn’t a typical BL I guess but it’s about three gay men + their lesbian best friend so you know what? I’m including it on this list. It’s hilariously dumb yet also addresses serious topics like homophobia/sexually transmitted diseases. It’s underrated and I’m so sad about it because it’s genuinely a delight to watch.

YYY the Series: do you know those crack videos on YouTube full of memes and references? Yeah. That’s basically YYY summed up. The whole thing makes zero sense because of how chaotic it is but despite how it’s constantly makes everyone ???? it also has a TON of heart. It’s so dumb but it had me reflecting on my life all the time. I really rec this not just because of how hilarious it is but also because it breaks the mold of other BLs! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t have a comedic show and talk about consent and how important healthy communication is in relationships because YYY does it perfectly and so much more.

Dark Blue Kiss: I didn’t love this but you might. It’s a sequel/spin off to like two other series (Kiss Me & Kiss Me Again) but you don’t have to watch the others to understand this. Just know that the leads have been dating awhile before the start of the series.

Great Men Academy: People debate if this is a real BL because the main character is a girl who can transform into a boy but I think it still counts. I really enjoyed this and thought the whole cast had a ton of chemistry between them—it was sweet, funny, and had the right amount of angst.

HIS: this is a Japanese movie (I know you said dramas but I enjoyed this so I figured I would include it too). It’s beautiful, angsty, and sweet. There’s a prequel series this is based on but you don’t have to watch it to understand what’s going on.

I have way more recommendations but I figured I would stop there. Hopefully if you give these a go you enjoy this and my asks are always open if you ever want to talk about BL :)

[bottlesandcats]

Pardon My 15x20 Rant

I woke up this morning with Thoughts, so time for a ranty post. Be prepared this is going to read more like word vomit than anything, but I just wanted to get my thoughts down on paper. No one may even read this bc I don’t have a lot of followers but it feels good to just get this off my chest and out into the Universe. Warning, there is a gratuitous use of caps.

So....I see so many fans on Twitter saying how beautiful and perfect that ending was and, I have to say, I’m truly bewildered by that.

 Even if you aren’t a Destiel fan, I’m not sure how you could’ve found that ending to be remotely satisfying. See list of non Destiel-related reasons below (bc I’m trying to see this from the perspective of someone who isn’t in that part of the fandom):

1. The MOW was crap; wtf was with the Halloween masks? When have we ever seen that with vamps? The dumbest shit I’ve seen. 

They trotted out some extra from season 1 like it’s supposed to be some fun little Easter egg. Why are we supposed to give a shit about her? I didn’t even remember her with the flashback. Who are you, again? NM, I DON’T CARE. It also honestly made no sense to feature a MOW episode after everything that just happened, it wasn’t necessary. It was clearly just a means to an end to get Dean killed.

2. They shoved some random family, for Sam, into the last ten minutes of the episode. Sam’s kid is named Dean? OF COURSE HE IS. And that whole father-son montage was so clunky and awkward, I would’ve been more convinced if you told me Sam actually just wandered into some anonymous woman’s backyard and started playing ball with her kid. 

We’ve seen how emotionally invested Sam gets in his relationships and we’ve had such beautiful moments: Sam/Jess, Sam/Madison, (even Sam/Ruby), and of course Sam/Eileen. And now we are supposed to care about Anonymous Brunette Woman #4? GTFO. I’ve seen some people saying they couldn’t get Shoshanna bc of COVID, but give us something to indicate it was Eileen. Have Sam sign something to her from across the yard; IT’S THAT SIMPLE. But no, not one single mention of her in either 19 or 20, after Sam nearly broke when he lost her in 18.

 I couldn’t even feel happy for him bc I had 0 emotional investment in this life of his. And it was all just rushed through so we could get to the “good part” where Sam dies and is reunited with Dean in Heaven. 

Also small note, what happened to Dean’s dog???

3. The wardrobe department really needs to reconsider some of their life choices. I’ve seen tufts of cat hair in the corners of my house that would’ve made a better wig than that rag they threw on Jared’s head. It was so ridiculous, I started thinking this was going to wind up being some big gag like The Mystery Spot” and The Trickster was going to pop out. 

And why did Jim Beaver’s beard look like they spray-painted cotton balls brown and glued them to his face? It was honestly distracting. 

4. After 15 years, and FINALLY achieving freedom and happiness, Dean gets taken down by a rebar and a Vamp-mime. The only way I could justify this to myself was that, now that they are no longer God’s puppets he’s not bending the rules for them and they don’t have that death-defying luck on their side now. But even that is weak. After all his fighting, sacrificing, and wanting nothing more than to chill on a beach with Sam and Cas, this is what he gets. This was a show about defying destiny, THAT WAS THE WHOLE PLOT OF S15.

 Dean always said he figured it was his destiny to die bloody, and that’s exactly why he shouldn’t have gone out this way. STORY ARC, WHAT’S THAT? Cas told Dean, when he first met him, that good things do happen. So basically, the only way Dean could get his happiness was to die? What a heart-warming message. 

5. Dean’s lack of emotion over the loss of Cas was the most OOC I think I’ve ever seen from him. Dean DOES NOT accept the deaths of those he loves in any way. He does not cope, he does not move on, he does not happily eat a bunch of pie. We’ve seen how Dean has handled Cas’s death in the past. It’s...not good, and it only became more unhealthy as the show progressed, with the last time (before 18) having Dean literally killing himself. Even in 15x19, we still got that desperate heartache from him with Dean demanding that Chuck bring Cas back. We also saw him sleeping amongst a pile of empty liquor bottles, which is very on-character for him. But in 15x20, he’s the one telling Sam they need to move on and keep living (oops) over a giant tray of pie slices at a county fair. Even Sam feels off. One minute he’s all “I’m sad about Cas and Jack” and the next he’s putting a pie in Dean’s face and is like “I feel better now!” You’ve got a direct in with God!Jack now, and we know from 15x19 that God can pull beings out of The Empty bc he did it with Lucifer! THAT WAS YOUR IN, YOU IDIOTS. You ask Chuck to bring back Cas, but not the one to whom he was a father to????????? 

6. Even if you weren’t a Destiel shipper, you should still be disappointed in the noticeable absence of Castiel, especially since he was left with such a cliffhanger of character development and was mentioned multiple times in episodes 19 and 20. He was a pivotal part of the show for 11 years. Even if you take out the Destiel stuff, the boys have called him their brother numerous times. Dean’s call him his best friend. Wouldn’t his ideal Heaven have his best friend in it?

7. I’m not going to rail on the scene between the brothers while Dean is dying. I didn’t really get Wincest vibes from it, though I never put much stock into that side of the fandom anyway. My one issue is this was the “love confession” moment they gave us. Dean dying in a barn and telling Sam he loves his baby brother. *SNORE*

8. The big reunion moment we were hoping for? They wasted it on Dean’s car. A FUCKING CAR. Yes, I get the Impala is important to the story, but come the fuck on. NO CHICK FLICK MOMENTS. MUCH BRO. 

All-in-all the whole ending felt like 1 step forward, and 15 years back. After all the character development and story arcs, it’s like they just threw it all out the window. Nothing changed. Everyone was back to where they started: Cas working for God, Dean being a good soldier and dying bloody doing the only thing he knows how to do, Sam being left to pick up the pieces with some distorted version of an apple pie life where he was basically just living to die so he could be with Dean again. I felt like the lesson was that the only way you get what you want is to die. It was gross. It was a disservice to the actors, the characters, and the fans. I can’t begin to even see this as fan-service bc I’d love to know who the TPTB thought they were serving with this garbage. And honestly, I don’t think they knew either. I feel like they were so worried about pissing off all the different subsets of the fandom that they went as safe as they could. *slow claps* Way to go, guys, really groundbreaking stuff.

At the end of the day though, it’s my fault for being disappointed. I shouldn’t have expected so much of a show that had mostly cis white men working behind the scenes. A show that’s killed almost every female character who stepped up to the plate (also, POC anyone? Nahhh). A show that took their one real LGBTQ character (also female), killed her and left her body in a bathtub (FRIDGING IS FUN) for absolutely no good reason. A show that, at the end of the day, is just a show about a couple bros who kill monsters, on the CW, and the CW is hardly the go-to place for real boundary-pushing content. A show that has managed to drop the ball at almost every opportunity though we, as a fandom, have continued to lower the bar for them.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 100 times? 

So with all that being said...

Peace out bitches.

[datleggy]

a list of every anime i love/recommend, accumulated over the last 10+ years

1. NATSUME YUUJINCHOU 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is a teenage boy named Natsume, whose parents died when he was too young to remember them properly. He’s passed around random relatives homes, but because he can see yokai (spirits), he’s ostracized by classmates and his foster families (ALL HIS CHILDHOOD FLASHBACKS ARE SO FUCKING SAD) and eventually very distant relatives (an older couple who never had kids of their own and have so much goddamn love to give D:!!!) take Natsume in, and the story basically starts from there. 

It’s a very heart-warming story following Natsume’s new life in this new town, accepting his ability to see yokai, forging new relationships in the form of friends and family, and even with the yokai themselves. 

This is honestly probably my favorite anime/manga period, because it’s so sad but so cathartic and you watch as the main character grows and learns to trust those around him, and finally gets the unconditional love he’s always deserved, not to MENTION THE FACT THAT THEY DO A WHOLE EP WHERE NATSUME IS TURNED BACK INTO A LITTLE KID AND IT IS SOOOO GOOD OMG

Plus for those of you who enjoy whump, this show has a decent amount of it. Mainly emotional whump, but also some episodes where Natsume is injured or sick--as well as I believe one where his companion (the chubby cat on his shoulder who’s actually a pretty badass yokai) gets shot with an arrow and is down for the count. 

10/10 would and have watched again. 

2. KODOCHA NO OMOCHA 

SUMMARY/REVIEW:  The main character is a sixth grader named Sana. She’s a gifted actress on a t.v. show everyone likes and she’s silly and fun, very intuitive and surprisingly empathetic for a child. 

Her main problem is in school, where Akito, who she deems the leader of her class’ wolf pack of rowdy rude boys, lets them terrorize not just the teacher, but all the girls in class, as well. 

I don’t really want to give a lot away, so I’ll just state the obvious. This anime/manga is shoujo, which means that it does focus on a romantic relationship throughout the series. Mainly the one between Sana and Akito. Sana is absolutely oblivious about her own feelings, while Akito is a stubborn little shit. 

I remember watching this at like, age 12 maybe? And I really enjoyed it because (although I do enjoy your typical silly doesn’t take itself too seriously slice of life shoujo) this particular anime, while super funny and light hearted at times, was also really dramatic and even kinda dark, which was surprising considering the characters ages and the general kid-friendly vibe (especially the opening for the anime). 

3. DETECTIVE CONAN

SUMMARY/REVIEW:  Our main character is initially Shinichi Kudo, teenage detective, who’s on a date with childhood sweetheart Ran (whose father also happens to a detective but like....not a good one lmao), when his nosy ass self decides to go and check out some shady business and gets “poisoned”. 

The poison he’s given is intended to kill him, but what it actually does is turn him back into a child. And now, as Conan Edogawa, (who’s 7 but like....we just supposed to believe all these cops and detectives on the force are cool with a seven year old wee lil babe on these really gruesome ass crime scenes??? lmaoooo) we follow him on his adventures as he solves crimes and tries to solve the biggest mystery of all, his own! 

I absolutely LOVE this anime/manga, even though I’ll be honest, there is SO MUCH FILLER, but I like the characters enough that I really don’t mind. The show is at least 900+ episodes in at this point, and there are a total of 26 movies so far, last time I checked. 

Also, the show is a whump fangirls’ dream come true. The main character is thrown out of windows, balconies, shot at, and in one occasion actually shot, he’s had broken bones, sprains, almost been blown up or drowned/burned, been sick, and oh, his occasional transformations from child to teenager are incredibly painful. 

This show is probably at fault for my love of whump, since it was one of my first animes at like, age 9. smh. 

4. THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER!

REVIEW:

I’m not even going to summarize this one. The title does it for me. This is truly one of the funniest animes I’ve ever seen. Motherfuckin Satan works at a McDonalds part time and it is the BEST. 

Technically I would count this show as a kind of harem, but only because there are like three main girl characters after the overlord Satan himself. I usually dislike harem type animes but the way this is done is sooooo good I couldn’t resist. 

I would watch a million filler episodes of Satan trying to solve problems at his minimum wage job tbh. I love every single character, I love the plot, I love everything about this anime! In terms of comedy (with the occasional plot driven serious moments) this is IT bro. 

5. BLACK BUTLER

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is Ciel Phantomhive (roughly 14 years old). His parents are killed, his house is burned to ashes, and he’s kidnapped (around age 9 or 10 I believe) and abused. During this abuse Ciel calls upon a demon to free him and help him get revenge on those who harmed the Phantomhive household, which is where Sebastian, one “hell of a good butler” comes in. 

We then follow Ciel and Sebastian on their path of vengeance, and along the way we meet Ciel’s human servants, three very clumsy and seemingly bad at their given tasks characters (i love them all), and some of his extended relatives and connections. 

My favorite thing about Black Butler is the art, both in the anime and manga. Everything is so detailed and pretty! 

The characters are interesting, the plot is dark but they manage to make most of the series overall pretty light-hearted and funny in general. Though of course there are chapters/parts of the series that get really grim (which duh, the whole thing focuses on revenge so...) 

I have to say, the arc I enjoyed the most has to be the movie, Black Butler: Book Of the Atlantic. It is beautifully drawn and sooooooo entertaining. 

6. INUYASHA 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

Our main characters are Inuyasha, a half-demon, who’s been in a sort of spiritually binding coma for the last few decades, and fourteen year old Kagome, who falls into an old well in her family’s shrine and finds herself being transported into another time period. 

Together, she and Inuyasha travel across the lands in the feudal era to find the scattered shards of the shikon jewel, a powerful jewel which grants anyone who possesses it ultimate power. 

I was too young to stay up and watch Inuyasha on adult swim, so my mom would tape the show on a VCR for me to watch the next day after school--yes, I’m old old. lmaoooo I ADORE this show. 

It’s so good! It’s got everything! A tortured lil half-demon with a sad past who’s stubborn and rude but got a good heart! A fierce and equally as stubborn main protagonist, who’s whole ass family knows exactly where she goes off to??? and are supportive af????? like???? her mama packs her and her squad of demon/exorcist/demon hunter pals bentos?!?! lmao i love it. 

The characters are awesome and funny and likable as all heck, and of course they all have their sad backstory, but like, unlike some animes (lookin at YOU Naruto) they don’t go mega overboard on it, at least not without some plot behind the episode. 

7. YU YU HAKUSHO 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

Before I even start in on the summary, ya’ll should watch this soley bc of the cute ass 90′s style animation alone. LOOK AT ALL THAT SHINY HAIR!

ANYWAY. Main character is teenage hooligan and overall cutie pie Yusuke! He gets struck by a car and fucking DIES in the first episode after shoving a little boy out of the way, only to end up in the spirit world where the head honcho up there (who looks like a wee baby) tells him “Oh shit, didn’t expect you to like, actually do anything self-sacrificing EVER so like, you’re not on our list of people who were supposed to die today...” 

And uh, I don’t wanna give anything away, so I’m just gonna say that if you haven’t seen this anime yet, you definitely should! It’s hilarious and dramatic, the fight scenes are very well done, all the side characters, who eventually become main characters are a blessing (specifically Hiei, who’ve I’ve had a crush on since I was 12) and the ending is a satisfying one, which you can’t really say for a lot of media. 

8. CHRONO CRUSADE 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

I still get weepy when I think of this anime, so all I’ll say is it’s about a badass demon slaying nurse and her demon companion and some very tragic shit. 

It’s a great anime overall, especially if you like crying yourself to sleep at night :) 

9. GHOST HUNT

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

The main character is high school student Mai, who is hired by Naru, the head of a Shibuya psychic research, and together, with a group of questionable exorcists/psychics, they encounter paranormal phenomenons and some outright scary shit. 

I’m not really a fan of the horror genre tbh but I do like mystery, and the series deals with that quite a bit. They deal with each case for several episodes so nothing feels too rushed. 

The series is really fun in a creepy, wtf is that way. I recommend the manga, only because it’s more detailed in terms of plot than the anime. 

10. ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM 

SUMMARY/REVIEW: 

I didn’t really make this list in any particular order but if I had to say, Assassination Classroom and Natsume Yuujinchou probably tie for BEST ANIME PERIOD! 

This anime is about a weird ass “alien” creature, no one knows where it came from or why tf it’s here on earth, all they know is that in one year it’s threatened to blow the world up. 

His only request to the government is that they let him become a teacher for Class E, the worst class of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, and he will stay put, so that they can attempt an assassination on him during this one year period. 

AND LISTEN! I am a shallow hoe, so I literally never would have read this manga or watched the series had I not been roaming Barnes and Noble one day with my S.O. and picked it up to read as a JOKE! 

I was hooked after the first chapter and I am soooooooo glad I picked this manga up, bc it is absolutely not the type I would normally go for, cover art wise. I finally, after many many years, learned not to judge a book by its cover bc LORD this anime is so goddamn good, you don’t understand! Like, I’ve watched it so many times and still laugh at the same parts, cry at the same parts, am proud af at the same parts! like, this anime is an instant classic and should definitely be more popular than it is. 

assassination classroom and natsume yuujinchou????? MASTERPIECES! 

[ddrkirbyisq]

Life has just been chugging along, it seems.  Nothing spectacular has been happening, but that's not a bad thing really at all.

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Crunchyroll Expo 2019 happened and I stopped by on Saturday to hang out, walk around, and go to some things that seemed interesting.  I got to go see the premiere of the first two episodes of Season 3 of Chihayafuru which actually ended up being a highlight of the entire thing, I had no idea I was going to enjoy it that much!  That moment near the end when _____ finished playing their match and thought to themselves _________ and the other member on their team suddenly realized _________, omg, that really really got to me for some reason.  So yeah, that was great!  Makes me want to rewatch the first two seasons at some point, especially to refresh my memory about all of the other more minor characters that I completely forgot about, haha...oh!  And I just remembered that there's a live action movie series as well...maybe I'll give that a watch too =X

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I bought and played through all of Mega Man 11!  I pulled the trigger after watching some reviews and such and since it was on sale on Steam.

I ended up enjoying it quite nicely!  It's a nice blend of old and new as far as Mega Man goes.  The thing with Mega Man is that the old tried and true formula is really just great at its core -- running and jumping and shooting.....more running and jumping and shooting....it's just good 2D platforming at its finest and I've always been a huge fan of it.  That said there ARE already a ton of classic Mega Man games out there, so as much as I'd love more games in the vein of Mega Man 9 and 10 (which were faithful to the NES series) (various fangames also exist, some of which I've played through), I will say that the fresh coat of paint that Mega Man 11 offers does make a lot of sense.

The graphics were pretty decent and I didn't mind the 2.5D much at all!  Unlike a certain other popular game pretty much everything was very readable -- just look at the screenshot above and how obvious it is that the yellow center pieces of each gear are in the foreground, while the rest of the gear is in the background.  One thing I thought looked a little odd were the "fuzziness" of the black outlines on the cel shading, but maybe I should chalk that up to me playing on a monitor with only 1280x1024 resolution?  Perhaps it looks better with a higher pixel density, but maybe rendering thin outlines is just not a strong point of the cel shaded look.

The bosses were pretty well designed -- they had a lot of personality, both in their animations and voice acting (I played only with the Japanese VA).

Maybe I was a bit biased after watching a video analyzing the level design, but I really did appreciate the designs of most of the stages and how they made for interesting progressions despite only using a few unique elements per stage.  It felt like they really made the most of many (perhaps not all, but many) of the different "gimmicks" they introduced in each stage, and that sort of clean, logical, and pleasant progression reminded me a little bit of Celeste.

The main "new mechanic" of MM11 is the "double gear system", which allows you to get a temporary limited boost to your power or slow down time for a bit.  It was an interesting concept, and actually played out pretty neatly in practice a few times -- those moments when you activate the both (double) gears at once for a last-ditch attempt to beat a miniboss and then finish the fight at low health.

However, one of my complaints about all of these "extra" 2D platforming abilities -- whether it be special weapons in mega man, additional items in shovel knight, or even magic spells in hollow knight -- is that they tend to provide a sort of frantic decision paralysis in the moment while you're in the middle of an intense fight or platforming section.

The issue is that platforming and jumping around and shooting and all of these things already occupies so much of your brainspace in terms of attention required, that it's really hard to also add in the double gear system and trying to use the different special weapons and all of those things.

Now that I'm writing about this, it really gets me thinking about 2D platformer ability design.  I know that other people might really enjoy switching between different weapons during the middle of a Mega Man level, but I've always found it to be cumbersome, and a weak point of the series for me personally -- I always Buster my way through most of the stages unless there's something particularly well suited for a particular weapon (e.g. a tricky room, a platform that I need to air-dash too, etc).

There are multiple reasons for this:

- Weapons have limited ammo available (whereas the mega buster has unlimited ammo), so you naturally want to conserve them for situations where you actually NEED them.

- In addition, the bosses at the end of each stage typically have a significant weakness to a single weapon, and you don't know what it is ahead of time.  Since the boss battle can be one of the most difficult parts of the entire stage, this incentivizes you to save all of your ammo for the boss.  Again, you don't know which weapon type you'll need, and frequently you'll need all of the ammo of that type to beat the boss.

- Switching weapons requires either opening up the menu -- which is awkward in terms of game flow -- or quick-toggling via the right analog stick or the shoulder buttons.  The right analog stick selection is actually great, but there aren't enough opportunities to really =practice= mapping each direction to a weapon in order for it to become second nature.  Because of this, switching weapons requires you to stop and think about which weapon you want to use, figure out which direction to press in order to switch, THEN go about using the weapon.

So even though I thought Mega Man 11's eight special weapons were GREAT in their variety and design (you could tell they each would be useful in very different cases), I didn't find myself using them much outside of boss and miniboss battles.

I know this is part of Mega Man's fundamental core design, so I don't really blame Capcom for not iterating on it, but I do wonder if perhaps a different mechanic for boss weapons would work a little better.

If you look at abilities in Metroidvania games, you'll see that they fall into two different groups:

Some abilities fit very naturally into gameplay and you find yourself using them again and again very naturally.

The most common way for abilities to fall into this category is for them to just be upgrades to your existing powers.  Get a main weapon upgrade?  You're automatically using it all the time.

Note that some abilities are not "direct" upgrades but natural and very obvious extensions of existing powers.  A doublejump ability, for example, is very straightforward to grok.  The speed booster upgrade in Super Metroid is the same way -- there's nothing complicated about how to activate it, you just keep running.

Another common way for abilities to fall into this category is for them to be required to be used very very commonly.  The morph ball in Metroid falls into this category -- you use it soooooo often that it becomes second nature for you to use it again and again and again.

Other abilities don't really become part of your regular rotation.  They're either too situational, difficult to use, have a cost associated with them, etc.

The X-Ray scope in super metroid sort of falls into this.  Not only does the X-Ray scope stop all of your momentum, but you often don't really =know= when and where you need to use it.  So oftentimes your only choice is to go through the entire world pausing every so often to x-ray scope......but nobody does that because that would take foreeevvverr.

Most of the attack spells in Hollow Knight tend to fall into this category.  Not only do they require mana to use (mana which could be used for healing instead!), but there aren't a lot of enemies where using a certain magic attack is required or even significantly recommended over just using your sword.

The good thing about the offensive spells in Hollow Knight, though, is that they're very easy to execute, like the special moves in the Smash Bros series: Button press gives you a fireball.  Up + button press gives you an upwards attack.  Down + button press gives you a dive.  Very intuitive.  So even though I never really ended up using most of these most of the time, they're still easy to remember.

Perhaps that's really the key -- the control scheme associated with the abilities.  The WORST way to add a new ability is to simply add a new button or key for every single ability you gain.  There are some games where at the end of the game literally every button on the controller performs a different action: Jump, Attack, Sprint, Dash, Glide, Special Move 1, Teleport, ....

So maybe =intuitive button combos= and =contextual actions= are the way to go.  That still doesn't fix the problem of having limited ammo though.

What about something like this?

Every time you beat a robot master, you unlock a new ability.  These abilities have various intuitive input commands, for example:

Jump + Attack (while in the air): Performs a mid-air forward dash with a sword slice.

Special button + no direction: Creates an energy shield around you that absorbs enemy projectiles.  The next time you press the special button, the shield fires in the direction that you are holding (or facing)

Special button + either side: Shoots a boomerang in the direction that you're facing.  It has some tracking ability, which means you can direct it upwards or downwards by jumping before or after the shot.

Special button + down: Sends an energy bolt downwards.  When it reaches the ground, it splits into two energy balls that travel along the ground until hitting an enemy.

Special button (while mega buster is fully charged): 

Button combinations and contextual actions are used to help your muscle memory instead of forcing the player to memorize the arbitrary position of each of 8 different weapons.

These abilities all draw from a =shared ammo pool=, encouraging you to choose the ability that best fits the situation.

The shared ammo pool replenishes every time you die.  Normally Mega Man weapons encourage you to AVOID using them carelessly, because if you use up ammo on a boss and then die, you're left in a worse situation than you started with -- having to face the same boss battle, but with less ammo available.

In addition, the shared ammo pool also replenishes through normal gameplay, via something like:

- Gradual replenishment over time

- Replenishes with each enemy destroyed

- Replenishes via random pickups from enemies and scattered around the level.  There's also a large pickup before each boss.

The point is to encourage the regular use of these weapons as the situation demands, rather than incentivize saving ammo for the very end.  You need the player to become comfortable with using each of these abilities and the only way to really do this is to incentivize them to use them repeatedly.

So I dunno, maybe that's not a perfect solution.  But I do feel like there is a lot of room for experimentation and iteration here.

One thing that Mega Man 11 DID do right was giving rush coil/rush jet it's own button.  Woo!!!

=====

Have been continuing to drill puyo transitions -- I've gotten sort of comfortable with the sandwich transition and am now trying to wrap my head around GTR.  Building the GTR core is ok, but I find myself having trouble finding the right forms to work on both the first and second floor simultaneously with GTR since it's only 3 tall and I don't yet have a handle on managing color conflicts.

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

Don’t Laugh At Delonte West

He was in a Jack in the Box parking lot, donning a hospital garment and no shoes, when a devotee approached him. His attentions continued close off two word-paintings, after having “wander[ ed] the street of Houston” for some time. He was asked whether he was the Delonte West, the eight-year, well-known NBA alum. To that question, he greeted yes, and no. It was indeed West, who’s NBA career purposed about four years ago, when he and the Dallas Mavericks parted lanes. You possibly remember West as the Cleveland Cavalier who may or may not have had an occasion with teammate LeBron James’ mother during James’ first stint in Ohio. You may recollect West as the person who was arrested after veering his motorcycle in front of a polouse automobile, then, upon investigation, located loaded with a variety of weapons. And maybe you even recollect him as the person LeBron had to talk down during practise one day, after he was going through heavy emotional agitation when divorcing his longtime significant other. Answering the fan’s question the coming week, the ex-NBA participate apparently, tragically, said: “I used to be[ Delonte West ], but I’m not about that life anymore.” That follower went on to write about the incident on social media, joking that “bro had hospital robe on like he escaped from the psych ward or some s ***. I asked wat happened and he said life…….d ***! ” The post has since been deleted. But for the sake of this participate, who has had his most intimate, personal visitations strung out in the glaring public light-colored for all to see and adjudicator, for the sake of this soul who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder eight years ago and, crucially, for the sake of all those other men and women suffering from ills like West’s, this incident provides as a required, timely reminder that there is nothing amusing about mental illness or those who are afflicted by it. West was solid in the NBA for years, especially throughout his tenure with the Cavaliers. He was the backcourt mate to LeBron right as he was peaking — in those pre-Miami seasons when LeBron was the unblemished, irreproachable savior of all things Cleveland. West hit the three-ball with ease and was one of those gritties, never-say-no actors who’d employed their own bodies on the line for a apparently nonsensical loose ball in a game’s opening moments. ASSOCIATED PRESS But, somehow, stuffs descended apart both rapidly and dreadfully gradually for West. To throw it in cliched expressions, his fall from grace was literally and figuratively like a vehicle crash — none of us could turn away from witnessing this gentleman crumple before us, in the motorcycle happen, the hotel room episode or any other of the handful of pseudo-scandals that followed West as he battled his illness. One of the worst characters was that you knew he meant well. You knew he was fighting this. As the Washington Post observed last year, a bit while after leaving the NBA, he had his pregnant lover move into his home — but yielded his too-few paychecks and the too-high cost of practicalities, the family was forced to endure an East Coast winter without a hot water heater. He educated tubs for her by heating water up on the stove. He proposed to her applying a sliced-off patch of jump-start lasso, reportedly saying, “It’s all I can render, baby. I’m separated, hot ain’t toiling, intelligence ain’t wreaking right, but I love you.” The Washington Post via Getty Images Delonte West with his wife Caressa and son Cash constituted for a photo at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. This, of course, isn’t the first time a professional jock has surfaced in the rumor article with signalings of mental distress. It isn’t even the first time for West. But in a nature in which oft spiteful red-hot takes rack up retweets and shares on social media, this sad updated information on Delonte West is a reminder that mental illness does not discern — it sneaks its room into the heads and natures of my best friend and our heroes, those we grab lunch with every week and the idols we watch on the hardwood every weekend. So next time you recollect the Delonte West the incidence of 2009, 2010 and 2016 — all those rumors and all that gossip, all his prohibitions and all his admittances — remember that this was a guy who had stimulated it. Who was one of the rare few to actually achieve his dreamings — to check off the top destination on his laundry list and play video games amongst the best good of the basketball world. He had his life and his job before him, before it all came crashing down. His cancer is, inherently, an unbelievably private one — but its own position became it public. And because of that, it’s now all of its own responsibilities to consider him with respect, were informed that such an affliction can punch any of us at any time, even though we think we have it all: even when each of us is touching proverbial 3-pointers in our respective living and occupations. Delonte West is one of us. Delonte West could be any one of us. So where reference is see this man “wandering” through fast food parking lots, “re missing a” duet of shoes and wearing that hospital costume, we need to stop laughing and start be informed about what we can do to help. Read more: www.huffingtonpost.com http://dailybuzznetwork.com/index.php/2018/09/18/dont-laugh-at-delonte-west/

[sueboohscorner]

#iZombie S3 Ep9 "Twenty Sided, Die" Recap & Review

Welcome to the ultimate episode for not only nerds; but Veronica Mars fans too! Yes, Logan has arrived! Well, actually Jason showed up last week as the new head of Fillmore- Graves, but for some reason I didn’t recognize him! Dumb me!

Don't Fear the Reaper!

We pick up where we left off last week with Ravi going undercover at Harley’s anti-zombie meeting. Harley plays the video of Justin in full on zombie mode and explains the danger at hand. Ravi definitely seems concerned! He even outs D.A. Baracus-future zombie mayor. John’s has the security guard; Billy Cook tell what he saw at the Max Rager party again. John’s then starts passing out dossiers on suspected zombies and asks for volunteers to keep an eye on them.

The Scratching Post is under new management and Blaine is falling into his old boss roll just fine. Don E is now his number two!

His goals are simple, keep the money flowing and get his new blue juice biz going. So- he asks Don E to try part of a brain soaked in the juice for twenty days, twice as long as Ravi’s recipe so should make for a hell of a trip. Don E isn’t into it but his weirdo sidekick (whom I am not sure has a name) is very into it! I am pretty sure Curly would be into taking just about ANYTHING!

Back at the meeting, Harley has assigned his zombie trackers. Harley wants his people to capture zombies, starve them and then he can broadcast it on a live stream.

Ravi must stop the madness so he stands up and explains that capturing zombies is a very bad idea-one could get scratched and turned into one and start the Zombie Apocalypse. He covers by saying he is working on a zombie vaccine to stall for time.

Harley agrees to go ahead with the surveillance plan minus the capture! Good save Ravi!

Outside the meeting Ravi meets a cute girl, Rachel, who explains she is not so much a zombie hater-she’s just an artist who would love to photograph one. Then she gives him a ride on her motorcycle! Go Ravi…

Finally, the nerd setup we have been waiting for. A game of D and D is taking place until the dungeon master takes a sip from a chalice and chokes to death. Nerd brains for Liv! Not only that, the strange IT guy from a former episode is BACK! I hope he makes some regular cameos on the show.

On the way to the crime scene Ravi fills in Liv and Clive on the details of the meeting. Clive isn’t quite sure what dungeons and dragons is but seeing the game definitely takes Ravi down memory lane, although he denies is a bit.

“Do I look like a nerd?” -Ravi

Clive is introduced to other players and some happen to work at the station. Since the goth guy is from IT I am going to guess the others are as well.

 I am stereotyping here, I realize but I do know IT guys and the ones I know DO play Magic the Gathering every week.

Back at the lab, Liv cooks up a type of brain stew soufflé of some sort. It actually looks rather good!

After the stew kicks in Liv heads to the station to question the first suspect, Vampire Steve-our goth guy from earlier in the season. She is now starting to speak in story structure and rolling die to make decisions.

Clive explains to Vampire Steve that the victim, Master Dan was found to be into online poker which could be a motive for murder.

 Vamp Steve explains Dan did not talk about his wealth but did just purchase a high-priced nerd item. Join the club Dan! Ostensibly, he owned a rare piece of art but Vamp Steve has not seen it in a while.

Liv discovers the entire group was poisoned in the game last week-ironic since Dan was killed the same way. Liv and Vampire Steve have an off topic back and forth and Clive is noticeably confused and irritated. Sometimes I wonder if Clive feels like dealing with all of Liv’s crazy personalities are worth the trouble. Anyone else?

Suddenly, after rolling her die, Liv gets a vision of the night the group all died in the game and they were all rather distraught by the news. Next suspect to visit-Zoe, the token girl of the group.

Meanwhile, Blaine is reviewing Curly’s notes of his blue juice trip. The brains came from a World War II vet who happened to be a lady’s man so yes, Curly had the trip of his life.

“Boys, we’re gonna be rich!” -Blaine

Obviously, Don E does NOT want to be left out of the fun so he downs a rather generous slice of the blue juice brain while no one is looking.

Over at bro-mance land, Ravi discovers Major has found a giant stack of hate mail that he has been hiding from him back when he was the accused Chaos Killer. He finds him reading them in a depressed state.

“I may never be loved, or have sex again…” -Major (Major have you looked in the mirror lately)?

Ravi tries to get him to stop, but Major finds a letter from a girl named Shawna who supports him explaining she also had been accused of a crime she did not commit. She includes a picture and a phone number, but Major isn’t buying into it.

Over at Peyton’s office, she is still working on the Dom case from a few weeks ago. She is interviewing one of the victim’s psychiatrists who insists there is no way her client would be visiting a dominatrix.

Liv and Clive visit suspect, Zoe’s place of work at a comic book store where Clive reminisces about his comic book reading days. He loved The Flash! Suddenly, they spot the piece of art missing from Master Dan’s house, now for sale at Zoe’s work. The painting triggers a vision of Zoe in an erotic cosplay session with Dan.

Zoe explains the piece isn’t missing, she won it off Dan in a bet. Liv suggests that she possibly won it during the cosplay session. Zoe also informs them that another player, Jimmy had a thing for her and was possibly jealous because of a naughty text he spotted.

Liv and Clive haul in Jimmy who denies the crush at first until Clive brings out his sketchpad complete with naughty heroic sketches of not only him Zoe-but one of Liv too!

Clive wonders how far his obsession might take him but Jimmy suggests they take a look at another player, Diego’s back.

Diego gives up the goods but explains he regrets his ink foible and explains he’s actually not the obsessed one either. It’s Vampire Steve whom had the real issue. Evidently, Steve used to be just regular ol’ Steve but because of Zoe’s Twi-Hard status he became who is today-Vampire Steve. The guy we know and love!

So, they haul back in Vampire Steve who explains he did not become V Steve for Zoe. He came to Vampirism of his own accord, he claims, and that despite her tryst with Dan- he believes him and Zoe will be together one day. Clive is frustrated with the dead-end suspects. He suggests they do some more digging.

“On a quest!” -Liv

In order to speed up some visions, Liv hosts her own D and D game, as master of course, and I cannot even write about it. It is seriously one of the funniest scenes I have ever witnessed on this show and possibly even ever on any show. I would absolutely love to see the outtakes from this scene.

Liv is obviously taking the game very seriously, as is Ravi. Major and Peyton are more reluctant along with Clive-well, for a little while anyway-he eventually become a little TOO involved!

I mean, honestly there is nothing I can say-you just have to watch it for the genius of it!

It does, however, spark a vision for Liv where she discovers Master Dan has a secret room so after the all-nighter her and Clive go to check it out.

Clive is pretty proud of himself!

“Hey, maybe we could have a regular game!” -Clive

Liv and Clive find the secret room which turns out to be a computer geeks paradise. Clive makes another white people joke-my favorite thing he does!

Back at the station they bring Zoe in to discuss the secret room and the computer they found in there that had a connection to Russian power plants. But the interview is interrupted by Clive’s boss saying they are shutting down the case and handing it to the feds. Dan was a possible hacker attempting to infiltrate Russian computer systems, so it’s out of their hands now.

Suddenly, his boss mentions the case has gone to Dale Bozzio, Clive’s old flame from Season Two.

If you recall, Clive was never able to explain all the things he had to cover up one he discovered Liv was a zombie so he rushes out to find her. Cue the sad love music.

He does find her! Just in time!

“You were right about Major Lilywhite not being a Mass Murderer, turns out he was just a Mass Kidnapper!” -Dale

She asks him if he wants to communicate anything new to her and although I am sure he wants to, he understandably cannot.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you, I’m absolutely lost without you…” -Clive

He asks her about the latest case and she tells him she can’t trust him. So, sad…

CUE SAD MUSIC

Back at Liv’s, she downs some army brain mush Major brings her to get rid of her personality so she can act normal for Justin at the fundraiser for Baracus.

Justin picks her up (looking pretty nice in a suit)!

Major seems slightly uncomfortable so he takes off home.

Back at The Scratching Post, Don E is having serious consequences to eating the large portion of the super charged brain! He’s trippin’ hard and he hauls ass out of the bar but no one cares enough to go after him. I find this wrong. When your friend is having a bad trip, everyone knows you are supposed to be there for them! Not that I have any personal experience…(clears throat).

Justin and Liv arrive at the Baracus event and Liv finally gets to meet Logan! I mean Chace Graves! The meeting is brief but I am definitely looking forward to more of him.

Peyton shows up explaining she came straight from work.

“Can you least pretend that this takes some effort?” Liv to Peyton.

Peyton grabs her boss, Baracus, to discuss the dom case but he wants, for obvious reasons, to let it go. Liv is there to give her the scoop on the real reason he wants her to let it go.

Meanwhile, at the lab, Ravi is working hard painting his D and D figure, when Harley arrives with an emergency.

He is all excited because he caught himself a real-life zombie! Not only that, the surveillance has led them to the existence of The Scratching Post and they figure Ravi has some tranquilizers to mellow out the captured zombie.

Guess who the zombie is??? His friends SUCK!

Back at Major’s place he is sulking on the couch, obviously depressed because he can’t be at the party protecting people like Justin and also just saw Liv leave with a date. Even “The Love Boat,” theme bums him out.

The Baracus party is still in full swing and Liv and Justin are about discussing going home for some sexy time! She points out Chace Graves to Justin and he confesses about him shooting him because of the missing cans of Max Rager on their wild night out. Liv is pissed and makes her way to confront him when abruptly -a mass shooting breaks out! Baracus freaks out and starts to turn into full on zombie mode but Liv talks him down.

All these big events, the helicopter crash and the shooting, have to be related and far too advanced for the likes of Harley and his inept crew! Does Fillmore Graves have something to do with it?

Back at sad Major-land, he appears to be getting ready for something and gives us this…

Thank you, Robert, director, camera man-whomever!

Of course, the girl from the letter, Shawna shows up and he lets her in.

Finally, Blaine pays a visit to his dad in the well…I was wrong! He did come back to feed him! Well, some scraps anyway! He even reads him the news…so sweet! Father and Son bonding time-iZombie style!

“That’s from an impotent proctologist, by the way…enjoy!” -Blaine          

“Don’t fear the Reaper,” plays as Blaine feels pleased with his new life.

Somewhere else...a car pulls up and guess who is back?

Mr. Boss.

Cannot wait to see how this plays out!

Episode 10/10 Best one of the Season and one of the best overall!

Here are some more pics from this episode-ENJOY!!!

[ethelbertpaul444-blog]

Don’t Laugh At Delonte West

He was in a Jack in the Box parking lot, donning a hospital garment and no shoes, when a devotee approached him. His attentions continued close off two word-paintings, after having “wander[ ed] the street of Houston” for some time. He was asked whether he was the Delonte West, the eight-year, well-known NBA alum. To that question, he greeted yes, and no.

It was indeed West, who’s NBA career purposed about four years ago, when he and the Dallas Mavericks parted lanes. You possibly remember West as the Cleveland Cavalier who may or may not have had an occasion with teammate LeBron James’ mother during James’ first stint in Ohio. You may recollect West as the person who was arrested after veering his motorcycle in front of a polouse automobile, then, upon investigation, located loaded with a variety of weapons. And maybe you even recollect him as the person LeBron had to talk down during practise one day, after he was going through heavy emotional agitation when divorcing his longtime significant other.

Answering the fan’s question the coming week, the ex-NBA participate apparently, tragically, said: “I used to be[ Delonte West ], but I’m not about that life anymore.” That follower went on to write about the incident on social media, joking that “bro had hospital robe on like he escaped from the psych ward or some s ***. I asked wat happened and he said life…….d ***! ” The post has since been deleted.

But for the sake of this participate, who has had his most intimate, personal visitations strung out in the glaring public light-colored for all to see and adjudicator, for the sake of this soul who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder eight years ago and, crucially, for the sake of all those other men and women suffering from ills like West’s, this incident provides as a required, timely reminder that there is nothing amusing about mental illness or those who are afflicted by it.

West was solid in the NBA for years, especially throughout his tenure with the Cavaliers. He was the backcourt mate to LeBron right as he was peaking — in those pre-Miami seasons when LeBron was the unblemished, irreproachable savior of all things Cleveland. West hit the three-ball with ease and was one of those gritties, never-say-no actors who’d employed their own bodies on the line for a apparently nonsensical loose ball in a game’s opening moments.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

But, somehow, stuffs descended apart both rapidly and dreadfully gradually for West. To throw it in cliched expressions, his fall from grace was literally and figuratively like a vehicle crash — none of us could turn away from witnessing this gentleman crumple before us, in the motorcycle happen, the hotel room episode or any other of the handful of pseudo-scandals that followed West as he battled his illness.

One of the worst characters was that you knew he meant well. You knew he was fighting this. As the Washington Post observed last year, a bit while after leaving the NBA, he had his pregnant lover move into his home — but yielded his too-few paychecks and the too-high cost of practicalities, the family was forced to endure an East Coast winter without a hot water heater. He educated tubs for her by heating water up on the stove. He proposed to her applying a sliced-off patch of jump-start lasso, reportedly saying, “It’s all I can render, baby. I’m separated, hot ain’t toiling, intelligence ain’t wreaking right, but I love you.”

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Delonte West with his wife Caressa and son Cash constituted for a photo at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas.

This, of course, isn’t the first time a professional jock has surfaced in the rumor article with signalings of mental distress. It isn’t even the first time for West. But in a nature in which oft spiteful red-hot takes rack up retweets and shares on social media, this sad updated information on Delonte West is a reminder that mental illness does not discern — it sneaks its room into the heads and natures of my best friend and our heroes, those we grab lunch with every week and the idols we watch on the hardwood every weekend.

So next time you recollect the Delonte West the incidence of 2009, 2010 and 2016 — all those rumors and all that gossip, all his prohibitions and all his admittances — remember that this was a guy who had stimulated it. Who was one of the rare few to actually achieve his dreamings — to check off the top destination on his laundry list and play video games amongst the best good of the basketball world.

He had his life and his job before him, before it all came crashing down. His cancer is, inherently, an unbelievably private one — but its own position became it public. And because of that, it’s now all of its own responsibilities to consider him with respect, were informed that such an affliction can punch any of us at any time, even though we think we have it all: even when each of us is touching proverbial 3-pointers in our respective living and occupations. Delonte West is one of us. Delonte West could be any one of us. So where reference is see this man “wandering” through fast food parking lots, “re missing a” duet of shoes and wearing that hospital costume, we need to stop laughing and start be informed about what we can do to help.

Read more: www.huffingtonpost.com