#whoops it's three in the morning dangit

[magicallygrimmwiccan]

Close My Eyes From My Recent Disgrace

Summary: Thomas moved to this small town expecting an average, normal, boring life. What he found instead was a new family. Sure, they were weird, but it was all worth it. Even if he did have to deal with a lot more smashed dishware than he’d like. Written for Inktober Day 13: Specter.

Notes: … Internet still isn’t fixed, so have this a day late. Heads up, a couple of my OCs slipped their way in there. Whoops. They’re not super important, though, so no need to worry. By the way, I am starting a series off of this after October. It’s going to deal with some dark and potentially triggering topics, but none of those are brought up in this story. I’ll warn you ahead of time on what triggers there are, don’t worry. Anyway, thank you for clicking, and enjoy!

Thomas woke up to a house that was at least twenty degrees colder than he remembered it being when he went to sleep last night. That could only mean one thing: Virgil was having a bad day. Thomas sighed and heaved himself out of bed, prepared to maybe call in sick for the day. He had sick days to burn, after all. He didn’t even bother changing out of his pyjamas, just grabbing his phone and walking downstairs, fully prepared to deal with the situation, whatever it may be.

He emerged into the living room to find Virgil standing in front of a shaking Logan, glaring at Roman with murder in his violet eyes. Literally, Thomas swore that his eyes were glowing with rage. Patton appeared to be attempting to moderate, a pinched smile on his normally genial face.

“What happened, guys? Because the house is like twenty degrees colder than it should be,” Thomas asked, projecting his voice and adding in an undercurrent of sternness. He’d learned the hard way that that was the only way to get Roman to listen to you when he was engaged in a Battle of the Murder Eyes.

“Logan and I were merely having a disagreement, and then Virgil here threatened to destroy the painting!” Roman complained, his bright red eyes shooting even more daggers in Virgil’s direction.

“Oh yeah, after you made him go into a panic attack because someone thought it was a good idea to tower over him!” Virgil shot back, the temperature dropping at least two degrees as he spoke.

“Now, kiddo, Roman didn’t mean it-” Patton started, but was cut off as Virgil shot him a glare almost as venomous as the one he was giving Roman.

“Like hell he didn’t! He just casually ‘forgot’ how Logan died!” Virgil growled, his eyes resembling a neutron star imploding at this point. Ice began to form around his hands, and Thomas figured that he should probably step in right now unless he wanted this to turn nasty. He slid in between the angry ghosts, ignoring every single survival instinct screaming at him to do anything but that, and held his hands up in a placating gesture.

“Hey, guys, let’s all calm down, okay?” he soothed, hoping and praying that Virgil still had enough sense to not attack him too. Patton instantly backed away to let Thomas handle it, inching his way out of Virgil’s sight and around the back of the couch to get to Logan, who Thomas could now see had two silvery tear tracks running down his face. Roman growled low in his throat, and Thomas braced himself for the inevitable confrontation.

“Why don’t you tell Darkness Personified over there to calm down first?!” Roman shrieked, his voice reaching octaves that Thomas didn’t think possible. Virgil shot back with a heated “Tell him to apologize to Logan first!” Thomas sighed and gritted his teeth. He loved his unexpected housemates, he really did, but it was at times like this that he remembered how difficult they could be.

“I have nothing to apologize for!” “Oh, sure, you didn’t just make him curl up crying on the couch because you can’t control your temper.” “He’s the one who escalated the situation!” “And you’re the one who made it worse!” “You didn’t need to get involved.” “Like hell I wouldn’t jump to my boyfriend’s defense.” “He didn’t need it!” “Says who?!” “Listen here, you little-”

“ENOUGH!” Logan screamed. Roman and Virgil both instantly fell silent, and Logan looked at them both with tear-stained cheeks, his voice shaky.

“It was my fault, alright? It was my stupid brain chemistry kicking in at the worst possible moment. Stop blaming each other, stop plotting murder, and just… stop, okay?”

“Oh, honey, no, it’s not your fault,” Patton soothed, going to wrap his arms around Logan. His arms passed right through his small frame, and Patton’s eyes filled with so deep a sadness, Thomas wondered how he could still smile. Logan was the only one of the ghosts that no one could touch, not even Roman, and Patton, in his need to offer comfort, had forgotten that his prime method would fail him in this instance. Logan sniffled and wiped at his eyes, offering Patton a watery smile.

“Thank you for trying, Patt. I truly do appreciate it,” he said, his voice soft. Thomas stepped forward then, eager to resolve this situation as soon as possible. He really should go to work today, but he didn’t want to leave Logan and Roman alone in the house together.

“Logan, how do you feel about coming to school with me today? I’m introducing the kids to a new topic, and I think I’d like your help on it,” Thomas offers, hoping his solution goes over well. Logan sniffs again but nods while Virgil shoots Thomas a murderous glare.

“Relax, Virgil. I think getting out of the house for the day will do me some good. Try not to murder Roman while I’m gone, eh?” Logan soothed, standing smoothly before following Thomas back upstairs. Thomas quickly prepared for the day before swinging downstairs to grab a muffin and a coffee that Patton and Roman had somehow prepared for him with Virgil’s help. He slung his bag over his shoulder and paused at the front door, looking at Logan.

“Are you ready?” he asked, bracing himself for the cold sensation he knew was coming. Logan nodded, and in the space between one breath and the next, Logan nestled himself in next to Thomas’s soul while leaving Thomas in full control of the body. There was still a lot of Logan in there, but he’d gotten better at not taking full control when it wasn’t necessary, something that Thomas was immensely grateful for.

“Bye, guys! Try not to murder each other while I’m gone!” Thomas called before exiting the house and starting his ten-minute walk to the local high school he taught at. Once he was a decent distance away from the house (about three blocks), Thomas mumbled “Okay, Lo, you can come out if you want.” Logan immediately materialized next to Thomas, trepidation still painting his face. Thomas understood completely. The only way for a ghost to leave the area they were tied to was to possess another human with the human’s consent, and they weren’t supposed to stay outside if they ever left the host. Of course, Thomas had found a loophole in that and had spent the better part of a month tracking down objects that had once belonged to each of his boys that could act as portable conduits when he left the house. It only worked if they possessed him before he left, but it kept them outside the house if they ever chose to leave his body, which Thomas counted as a huge success on his end. It was worth it to have to deal with all of his boys’ weird relatives if he could see them happy and relaxed like this.

“You sure you’re okay, Lo?” Thomas asked, glancing over the specter in concern. Logan affectionately rolled his eyes and responded with an exasperated “Yes, Thomas, I’m fine. My neurotransmitters just acted up, that’s all.”

“If you say so, Lo,” Thomas answered, skepticism practically dripping from his voice. The former teacher had a habit of downplaying his problems until they became too big to ignore. Thomas resolved to either keep an eye on him himself, or have one of his students do it for him. Logan needed the help today, and gosh dangit, Thomas was going to give him it.

“Morning, Mr. Sanders! Morning, Logan!” Thomas turned around from writing the lesson plan for today on the board to see Danielle Leifsson, one of his more enthusiastic students. Her long blonde hair was tucked behind one ear, and her grin threatened to fall off her face with how large it was. Thomas secretly smiled to himself. Logan was Dani’s favourite, and best of all, she understood Logan’s issues, having dealt with her best friend’s similar situation for many years. She was perfect.

“Good morning, Dani! Quick question: I’m super busy today, and I don’t want Logan getting bored. Would you mind if he went around with you today?” Thomas asked. Logan’s eyes widened, but Dani ignored it, her grin growing even larger.

“Absolutely, Mr. Sanders! Do I need to do anything in particular?” she asked, slipping into what Patton had affectionately dubbed her Serious Student Mode.

“Yeah, I just need to you keep this necklace close and give it back to me at the end of the day. Think you can do that?” Thomas answered, handing over the thin silver chain that held Logan’s old engagement ring. Dani took it carefully and fastened it around her neck after gaining Logan’s approval. With that, she grinned, dropped her backpack at her desk, and bounced out of the room, calling back “I’ll be back, Mr. Sanders!” Logan followed her, shooting Thomas one last panicked glance before following the bubbly blonde athlete to wherever she was going. Thomas wasn’t worried; almost everyone in the school knew about the ghosts by now. And if they didn’t… well… better they met Logan first than Roman.

The five minute warning bell rang twenty-five minutes later, and students began to flood into his room. All of them waved hello or murmured a verbal greeting, and Thomas couldn’t blame them. He’d rather be in bed still as well.

“Morning, Mr. Sanders. No ghost today?” Alessa Alvarez called, strolling in in her usual bright red flannel and cream Converse high tops. Her fluffy ponytail was filled with even more curls than usual today, making Thomas think that she’d woken up late. The curlier her hair, the later she woke up.

“No, he’s here, he’s just off with Dani right now,” Thomas replied, opening up his Powerpoint for the day’s lesson. Alessa arched an eyebrow but shrugged, taking her usual seat to Dani’s right.

“Mr. Sanders, can I just go to sleep?” Shiloh Mizrah groaned as he walked in, his chestnut-auburn hair flopping into his brilliant green eyes. His boyfriend, Keith Choi, elbowed him from behind, glaring.

“If I’m up, you’re up,” he grumbled before giving Thomas a two-fingered salute. “Morning, Mr. Sanders.”

“Good morning Keith, Shiloh. Late night?” Thomas asked, grinning. Keith stared Thomas dead in the eye, took a long sip of his extra-espresso coffee, and said “Bold of you to assume I slept at all.” Sometimes, Keith scarily reminded him of Virgil. Maybe he should ask Virgil about the possibility of the two of them being related.

“Keith, do I need to drug your tea to make you go to sleep?” Alessa asked, concerned and angry at the same time. Keith rolled his eyes and dropped into his seat on Dani’s other side while Shiloh sat behind him.

“That’s not going to help and you know it,” Keith replied, taking out his materials for class. Thomas made a mental note to bring Virgil tomorrow to talk to Keith about his unhealthy sleeping habits.

Just before the final bell rang, Dani swept back in, Logan trailing behind her. Everyone in the class perked up at the sight of the ghost; when Logan was around, the lesson was sure to be interesting, especially if you could get him on a tangent about astronomy. This was a feat, Thomas thought, because this was an AP English course, not a science class.

The bell rang, and Thomas called out “Okay, everyone, take out a notebook because we’re taking notes on how to write a good rhetorical essay today!” Groans went up from the class, and Logan smiled while “leaning” (read: floating in a tilted position) against the desk.

“Think of it this way. If you do it now, you won’t have to do it in college,” Logan offered. The grumbles died down after that, and Thomas shot Logan a silent glance of thanks. Logan shrugged, and Thomas continued with his lesson.

“Now, first, we’re going to study this graduation speech about women and their role in society. Can anyone point out at least one rhetorical device they see being used?”   

“So, who wants to watch a movie? I’m tired of grading essays,” Thomas asked later that night, putting down Shiloh’s essay on why libraries were crucial to American culture and society. The kid was brilliant, Thomas couldn’t deny that, but his handwriting was atrocious. Thomas was fairly certain he had started using Hebrew characters halfway through instead of English letters, and Thomas was too tired to decipher his scrawl.

“Ooooh, me! Me! Can it be Disney?!” Roman cried, bouncing up and down. His aura started to glow brighter, and Thomas giggled a little at the ridiculously adorable sight.

“Any objections?” Thomas asked. Logan looked up from where he and Virgil were attempting to solve a puzzle together and shrugged. Virgil seconded that motion and went back to pointing out where certain pieces should go so that Logan could telekinetically fit them together. Patton squealed and flopped down on the couch next to Thomas, narrowly missing Alessa���s (surprisingly) legible essay. Thomas put them all into a stack, separating out the graded ones from the non-graded ones, and selected Moana from the Netflix cue. He then settled back, content to just spend the rest of the night with his dead roommates. Thomas had moved to this small town expecting an average, normal, boring life. What he found instead was a new family, one that he wouldn’t trade for the world. Sure, they were weird, but it was all worth it. Even if he did have to deal with a lot more smashed dishware than he’d like.

Notes: Thanks for reading, guys! I’ll see you tomorrow!

[cyberramblings]

3DS: Time for Playtime

It's been fun getting a Wii U lately, but I wanted to look back on all the use I've gotten out of my 3DS in the last year by running down my most played games.

Super Smash Bros. - 154 Hours

This is still my most played game after recently getting back into the 3DS, despite playing zero Smash in that time. I played a lot of this game when it came out and then leading up to the release of Ultimate. This game was a godsend for someone like me who didn't own a Wii U but wanted to stay involved with the series.

Pokemon X - 56 Hours

Again, this is from when I first got my 3DS. I played this one over a whole summer vacation off and on! I still can't decide how I feel about XP Share.

Pokemon Ultra Moon - 51 Hours

Okay, this one is this high because after beating the game, my girlfriend tried to catch all the Pokemon and collect all the totem stickers. I really enjoyed this one, but the Ultra Necrozma fight kicked my butt.

Link Between Worlds - 49 Hours

I actually own the special edition Triforce 3DS which came bundled with this game! As my first game on the system, it is no surprise to see it so high, even though I got stuck on the final boss. I consider this to be one of the best Zelda games.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - 41 Hours

This one makes a lot of sense. When I played all that Smash Bros before the release of Ultimate, this was the one other game I played during that time, to the point of actually beating it and a good chunk of the daily puzzles! I even missed a college lecture because I was so wrapped up in the climax.

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire - 27 Hours

Finally, a game I played recently with no shenanigans or excuses. This was an interesting "book ends" with Omega Ruby, as OR was the first Pokemon game I played in my recent endeavor to play them all, while AS was towards the end. Backwards of their names, huh?

Pokemon Omega Ruby - 26 Hours

Fitting that this game should be so close to Alpha Sapphire. I would think that one of these two games would've been left running overnight or somehow had the playtimes differ more, but it somehow makes me hapy to see them side by side. I appreciated Wally's Theme much more the second time through.

Pokemon Y - 23 Hours

Considerably less than the time I spent in X all those years ago. This was one of the last Pokemon games I played in my recent playing of all the games, since I had already technically beaten X. It was a lot of fun to revisit though, and I love Sylveon!

Ocarina of Time 3D - 21 Hours

This one also makes sense, since I owned it during my original teenage years of owning the 3DS. I can't believe I paid 40 bucks for this just to get stuck on the Forest Temple for years! OoT doesn't resonate with me the same way as everyone else seemingly.

Pokemon Red - 19 Hours

Again, this makes sense. I think this was the third game of my recent Pokemon marathon, right after Alpha Sapphire and Ultra Moon. It was a short run thanks to an overlevelled Venasaur and the three legendary birds. I enjoyed crushing this game.

Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy - 16 Hours

This is the game I just finished. I love the series and it was nice to finish it out. I think the ending was silly but the presentation value was nice to see.

Pushmo - 14 Hours

This was my go-to breakfast game for weeks, but phone-scrolling has replaced it as my morning activity while eating.

Shovel Knight - 14 Hours

This used to be the premiere downloadable title on 3DS. I think this game still holds up, but it has lost the sheer novelty of being a Kickstarter retro success over time.

Shin Megami Tensei IV - 13 Hours

I liked Persona 4 so I thought I would like this. It was too difficult for me back then, but now I don't have the patience. This was one of the games I actually paid 15 bucks to download back in highschool.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate - 13 Hours

The first of my several attempts to get into Monster Hunter. I bought, played, quit, and sold this game all back in high school. I would later go on to buy, try, and sell Monster Hunter World as well. It just isn't for me.

Metroid: Samus Returns - 12 Hours

I tried and hated this game on PC emulator, but it has a lot more charm on the actual system. I still generally dislike the melee mechanic but I generally enjoyed this game. It helps that I even beat the original first! Hopefully Dread fixes the few things wrong with this game.

Kid Icarus: Uprising - 12 Hours

I don't know if I ever fell in love with the "unique" control scheme of this game, but I definitely fell in love with all of the characters! This was a great one to play with my girlfriend watching. It's also great to have more of a context for Pit, Palutena, and Dark Pit in Smash now!

Pokemon Sun - 11 Hours

I haven't beaten it yet, whoops.

Rhyhm Heaven Megamix - 11 Hours

One of the last purchases I made before the Switch came out and killed my 3DS playing nearly permanently. I paid 30 bucks! As much as I love this game, I don't know if it was worth that.

Super Mario 3D Land - 10 Hours

A rare game that I played before AND after the rift of me playing 3DS. It's...fine. Definitely Mario.

Picross 3D: Round 2 - 9 Hours

I have always loved Picross and this is no exception. I really should dive back in sometime!

Animal Crossing: New Leaf - 8 Hours

I just can't get into it, I've tried but I can't.

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright - 8 Hours

This was actually a birthday gift! I was very excited for the concept but hugely turned off by the time travel and setting. I need to give it another shake, perhaps after replaying some of the Ace Attorney games.

Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D - 7 Hours

One of my few highschool digital purchases. I played a lot of Mercenaries in 6 and 5 (which this is based on, seemingly). It's...fine. But I should have just replayed Revelations on 3DS instead.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy - 6 Hours

It was 7 bucks at GameStop used, so I guess I almost got a 1:1 ratio of hours to dollars. I would've enjoyed this game more now, after playing FF7 Remake.

Pokemon Picross - 6 Hours

Free AND Picross? Yes, but also grindy and scummy. I wish you could just buy a physical copy of this game with everything unlocked.

Paper Mario Sticker Star - 5 Hours

Ten dollars on clearance was too much for this game. Maybe I will try it again sometime knowing ahead of time that it is a joke of a video game. I spit on this game's grave.

Mario Tennis Open - 5 Hours

A lot of the games I acquired within the last year have much lower playtimes, so I was not expecting to see this game this high. I guess I played a few tournaments. I feel like I quit because Waluigi cheated, then played just the tutorial of Mario Golf before quitting that too.

Elite Beat Agents - 4.5 Hours

This game rules.

Tetris Axis - 4.5 Hours

This game drools.

Kirby Planet Robobot - 4.5 Hours

Cute game, but I only play it with my girlfriend.

New Super Mario Brothers 2 - 4.5 Hours

I am surprised it is this low considering I got stuck on the final boss in single player and beat around 2 worlds in coop.

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - 4 Hours

I need to play more!

Super Smash Brothers Demo - 4 Hours

Hell yeah this was such an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan! Trying to get ahold of this demo was like getting a Willy Wonk golden ticket. I was so excited to play as Mega Man, Villager, Mario, Link, and Pikachu even if just on Battlefield.

Kingdom Hearts 3D - 3.5 Hours

A surprisingly competent action RPG. This game kind of reeks as part of the PS4 collection, but it really shines on the original version.

Layton's Mystery Journey - 3 Hours

I like the idea of playing as Layton's daughter, but I don't like having a talking dog and an insufferable simp as sidekicks. I hope the next game just returns to the original crew.

Mario Kart 7 - 3 Hours

It's...Mario Kart. Not a ton more to say.

Mario Party Island Tour - 3 Hours

I have trouble keeping the different 3DS Mario Party games separate in my mind, but anything that's not Top 100 is fun with friends. Top 100 only has one, miserable board! Why???

Ultimate NES Remix - 3 Hours

A great game for pick up and play, but not for long sessions.

Art of Balance Touch - 3 Hours

Recently got into this. Tons of fun until the difficulty gets a little too high!

Warioware Gold - 2.5 Hours

I completely beat this game and it is still this low. Fun, but hard to recommend at any price but free.

Luigi's Mansion 2 - 2.5 Hours

Cute game....but feels hard to play for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Dead or Alive Dimensions - 2.5 Hours

Again, all I did was beat the game and then quit. Surprsingly competent for a 3DS fighting game, but too barebones with content compared to Smash.

Boxboy - 2.5 Hours

I feel like I played this game way more. It's cute and fun, but now I have a hard time picking up the puzzles where I left them.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo - 2.5 Hours

This tricked me into buying the game! Dangit

Mario Party Star Rush - 2.5 Hours

Oh god, I can't keep this one and Island Tour straight.

Pokemon Shuffle - 2 Hours

I feel like I played this one way more, but that is probably because the phone version also exists.

VVVVVV - 2 Hours

Beat the whole game! Not a bad way to spend time, but this makes it worth only 2 dollars according to my 1:1 ratio of dollars to hours.

Final Fantasy Explorers - 2 Hours

I like some things about this game but I just cannot play anything related to Monster Hunter.

Tri Force Heroes - 2 Hours

This suffers from "Overcooked syndrome" where you have to rely on your teammates so much that it becomes a total chore.

Theatrythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call - 1.5 Hours

I played that much just to unlocked multiplayer.

Super Street Fighter IV - 1.5 Hours

I think I paid for this game full price back in high school and then barely played it. I've always tried to delude myself into thinking that I can play real fighting games that are not Smash.

Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX - 1.5 Hours

Again, I feel like I played this game for days and days. I suppose rhythm games feel like time slows down when you play them. Thumbs up for including Puyo Puyo! I am surprised this game released in the West at all.

Rune Factory 4 - 1.5 Hours

I got this far as a favor to a friend. I just can't play any game where there is an optimal way to act that sounds exhausting but possible to me. I know I could easily talk to all the NPC's every day... but I do not want to.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate - 1.5 Hours

This was exclusively played with friends. Not a fan.

Pokemon Rumble World - 1.5 Hours

Free games. Novelty as a kid. No time for them as an adult. Nothing about this game is appealing beyond the price point.

Attack of the Friday Monster - 1.5 Hours

My biggest memory of this game is playing it on the schoolbus when a little kid asked if he could play/watch and I told him I was playing a boring game that he wouldn't like. As cute as this game is, yes, it is boring and not very fun.

Sonic Generations - 1.5 Hours

I somewhat enjoyed this game until the Shadow boss fight. Can't figure it out. Not fun.

Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - 1.5 Hours

Cute, played it with girlfriend.

Super Mario Land 2 - 1 Hour

I think I got this with Club Nintendo points?

Rage of the Gladiator - 1 Hour

Medieval offbrand Punch-Out.

Mario Party: The Top 100 - 1 Hour

ONE BOARD?!? At least it has the storybook minifame from gamecube Mario Party.

Trace Memory - 1 Hour

Bought used from GameStop. I was told it was a hidden gem, but I didn't have the patience.

Mario and Sonic Rio 2016 - 1 Hour

Cute game to play with friends but some of the minigames suck. Thumbs up for less common Sonic characters.

Azure Striker Gunvolt - 1 Hour

Not bad, just helped me realize that I don't really like Mega Man style games all that much. The genre of "Mega Man" just feels like a Metroid with no exploration or meaningful progression.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - 1 Hour

I tried to get into this franchise but it is so booooorring and slow and unappealing to me.

I've been rounding to the half hour, so the next game is Zelda Oracle of Season at 44 minutes, which would round down to half an hour. I will take that as my cue to finish here.

In conclusion: games I owned longer tended to be played longer. Shocker. This was all just an excuse to ramble about Nintendo games anyways.