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mysmashplaythroughs · 2 years

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What’s the rush?

I always start these things with ‘it’s been a while’ but in this case actually if you follow my blog you might have noticed I’ve done a fair few more posts than normal (which I guess arguably is something like two a year at this point so anything would be more than usual) Well, the main reason is I decided recently I wanted to do a couple of posts and I looked at who I had up next to do. I realised looking at my list I was getting close to the end of the Melee roster and a lot of them weren’t characters I was going to do a full game for. Due to this I tried to make it a goal to get the Melee characters finished by the end of the year. That didn’t work out as you could probably tell (no I’ve not secretly got Roy and Mr. Game & Watch ready to be posted tomorrow) but I am pleased I’ve gotten so many more posts done than normal. I hope if anyone does actively follow this blog (I understand if not given how often I neglect it) that it’ll be a nice surprise perhaps. With that said hopefully these aren’t too ‘rushed’, although that implies previous ones had heavy quality control or something.

For my actual list’s progress, well things haven’t been going too hot. Last time I mentioned playing through FF5 and Tales of Symphonia. Well, I got very into FF5 and finished it, however I was finding it hard to get the motivation to carry on with Tales of Symphonia. This isn’t a knock against that game, it’s just simply sometimes I have a block when playing certain games, the same thing happened with Dragon Quest 6 where I lost motivation and took a big break. When I came back to that however I really got into it and I actually found it a really enjoyable game overall. Tales of Symphonia has another aspect to it now however, the announcement of a port to the Switch. Honestly, with that announcement I decided it would probably be best to wait on the game until I can get it on Switch, especially as I can take screenshots with it then. Due to this I’ve skipped ahead to the next game on my list, or at least I intended to, however the other big issue with my progress with my list is that simply too many fairly big games have come out that I’ve wanted to play that have caused a delay to me getting to the next game. First was Live A Live, then Lego Star Wars the Skywalker Saga, then Xenoblade Chronicles 3, then Splatoon 3 and now Pokemon. Usually before now I’ve somewhat justified these things because often they have some aspect from my list, especially when spirits were still being added. This time however a lot of these games don’t really provide something specifically new that I could find to justify them having a place on the list, with only Splatoon 3 doing so (how I won’t say as it’s a spoiler for the endgame of single player.) There is one thing I’ve done which will help me progress with my list however, my PC is not capable of really running a fair few of the games I have on my list and can only access through Steam, so for the first time since, probably the Sega Megadrive I bought myself a non-Nintendo console and now own a Steam Deck. I haven’t admittedly played any of the games yet (I’m currently trying to sort out what I need to play it on my TV) however I have installed the majority of the games I planned to play, so for example Tekken 7 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

Finally then, the last point I guess I should go over, although I don’t want to in detail, 2022 has been a really miserable year for me. I will say it’s not due to anything really ‘serious’ (well, I did lose my job but I have got a new job now at any rate, still didn’t make it less of a big deal completely changing what I’d just gotten used to) and it’s personal as opposed to world events (granted one of those world events resulted in me ending up having to self isolate on the first two weeks of my main holiday off work for the year so that was definitely not fun, granted I was pretty much asymptomatic.) it’s more been a lot of different things that have caused me issues that have built up over the year. This in part has led me to not make much progress with my list etc and there was one thing I don’t want to detail that actively caused issues, although I’ve gotten very lucky and been able to salvage most of it at least. I’m also a big worrier and there’s been various things I’ve felt are hanging over me a fair bit this year, one of which that really doesn’t help is what’s coming up for the 3DS and Wii U eShops next year which has resulted in me scrambling to make sure I get everything I want/need before that happens. A lot of the general discourse around games this year has been a somewhat miserable pit I feel even more than normal (then again, it could be that I’ve not been actively avoiding such discourse like I have previous years, I’m starting to think perhaps I should think a bit more about that for my own mental health in 2023.) so yeah, that on top of other things hasn’t left me feeling my best this year.

With all that negativity out of the way, here’s hoping for a good 2023, there’s already stuff on the horizon I’m excited for like the Mario Movie (really couldn’t care less about the Chris Pratt stuff at this point, I wouldn’t have chosen him but I think people are going overboard about what’s at worst to me a bland performance, not that that’s therefore ‘acceptable’ but I’m just saying there’s people they could have gone with who’d have actually made me hate the movie rather than just not think he sounds particularly good) and of course Zelda Tears of the Kingdom (although, I really really hope we see some actual information beyond another cryptic shot again personally, granted I’d imagine lots of people think we shouldn’t but we know less about this game now than we knew about Breath of the Wild in the period where all they’d shown off was the Great Plateau. I’ve got no knowledge on the subject but it doesn’t seem that good for marketing to me.) For my Smash Playthroughs I’ve got a nice mix of games I’m looking forward to getting to in 2023. Personally I think there’s a very real possibility I could finish every game on my list (besides unobtainable ones) up to the games that I chose to represent various Spirits and Trophies which would be a huge milestone. With that said, there’s a couple of pretty big games in there so it really depends how much time I dedicate to the list next year as well as what else might come out etc. With that said, if you read this nonsense then I’ll finish by saying I hope 2022 went ok for you and here’s hoping to a good 2023!

#off-topic #My Smash Playthrough #My Smash Playthroughs

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pokemon-strategy-dex · 4 years

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Who needs banned?

Of the new and returning Pokemon to OU, here is who I think should be banned or kept in OU with a bit of reasoning for each. I’m obviously not going to talk about something like Altaria, that’s kind of obvious. I’m just going to cover the Pokemon who were unbanned and the returning Pokemon who were once Uber. since this is a pretty long post, I’m just going to put the names here and then put a read more with my reasoning for each.

Needs Banned Immediately:

Genesect

Melmetal

Naganadel

Zygarde

Will Need to be Banned:

Cinderace

Kyurem-Black

Magearna

Tornadus-T

Can Stay in OU:

Blaziken

Glastrier

Landorus-I

Pheromosa

Spectrier

Needs Banned Immediately:

Genesect:

Genesect gets released into OU every generation and then gets rebanned in like a week or two. This generation shouldn’t be any different. This bug boy is still insane and just rips through Pokemon it shoulldn’t be able to. It does everything, and then some more. It has few reliable answers, and absolutely no reliable ones which can handle all of its sets. Please get rid of this thing as soon as possible.

Melmetal

MY BOYS BACK...and should probably be banned. I love this thing so much. I put it on every team I can and it always puts in so much work. It knocks out everything and tanks every hit thrown at it. Literally nothing takes more than a couple of hits from Melmetal and he just eviscerates Pokemon who are normally quite bulky. It has its checks, but its just so overwhelming for most teams that those checks become mandatory and restrict building. No matter how much it pains me to say it, he needs to go.

Naganadel

Beast Boost is one hell of an ability and now Naganadel gets Spikes! As if that wasn’t broken enough on Ash-Greninja last generation. It sets up and just blows everything apart. Just like in gen 7, Tyranitar is like the only thing that can check it and now Tyranitar is kind of horrible. Even though I love this thing almost as much as Melmetal, Naganadel also needs to go.

Zygarde

Zygarde is one of the scariest Pokemon in the tier right now. It sets up on everything with the sub-coil set and it breaks through everything with the Choice Band set. Its nearly impossible to deal with since common checks last generation like Tangrowth and Landorus lost HP Ice. We also don’t have Gliscor who could kind of handle it. Zygarde is a menace who terrifies me in game and in the team builder.

Will Need to be Banned:

Cinderace:

Cinderace is still an absolute menace in the tier. With the release of the 2nd DLC, a lot of offensive Pokemon were added, but not too many defensive ones. The only real major defensive threats are Landorus-T, Heatran, and Tapu Fini. Cinderace rips all three of these to shreds just like it did all of the other defensive walls the tier had before. The only way Cinderace got worse was the speed creep which came with the dlc, and Cinderace no longer outspeeds the entire meta-game. Even so, I still think that Cinderace has no hard counters and its checks are very limited. As such, it restricts team-building and should return to Ubers.

Kyurem-Black

Kyurem-Black is pretty much the same as Cinderace. It eviscerated the tier’s defensive checks and that hasn’t changed. Kyurem-B is worse at sweeping thanks to things like Melmetal, but it needs banned too. Kyurem-B is still incredibly good and needs banned. I would probably focus on some of the more broken Pokemon first, though.

Magearna

Again the same as Cinderace and Kyurem-B. Magearna was banned because there weren’t any defensive answers to it and nothing has changed. Sure Heatran is pretty great, but Magearna runs Focus Blast. It still sets up and still blows everything apart. The only reason Magearna doesn’t seem completely broken is because of broken Pokemon like Melmetal.

Tornadus-Therian

Tornadus is probably the most unassuming Pokemon on this list. Well Tornadus got a few new tools that make it absolutely broken. Tornadus has Heavy Duty Boots now, which makes the bulkier sets even better than they were last generation. That’s saying something because Tornadus was ridiculous. It also gets Nasty Plot now, making the offensive sets better than they ever have before. Tornadus hasn’t been popping up too much because everyone’s playing with the new toys, but I promise that once the dust settles and a few of the most broken Pokemon get banned, Tornadus will become overcentralizing. For context: it was banned in the national dex meta which is way more ridiculous than the normal meta because it has everything we have plus megas and z-moves.

Those that should stay in OU:

Blaziken

This might be the first generation since it got Speed Boost that Blaziken can stay in OU. Blaziken has one of the worst cases of four-moveslot-syndrome. It needs both of its stabs for obvious reasons, it needs Earthquake for Toxapex, it needs Knock Off for things like Latios, it needs Protect to get the Speed Boost against offense, and it needs Swords Dance to break against bulky teams. If you run the protect set, then you’re going to struggle against bulky teams and probably can’t break Toxapex. If you run the SD set, you’re near useless against offense due to Blaziken’s fragility. You’re also walled by the Lati twins who are really good this generation. I could see Blaziken needing banned in the future, but it certainly doesn’t need to be banned right now.

Glastrier

I’m only including Glastrier because its new. It has a good movepool and a solid attacking stat. But its so incredibly slow and has a terrible defensive typing. It’s insane on Trick Room teams, but its not great otherwise. Its no better than Stakataka.

Landorus-I

Landorus-I isn’t broken yet. And I mean yet because it will be. Losing HP Ice hurt, but I don’t think its enough to make it not broken. It will do what it does every generation. It’ll start off slow and then absolutely destroy the metagame once it settles down. It thrives in a metagame that is fairly uniform and consistent, but struggles in the early stages when it doesn’t know what to run. Give it like three months and this will need banned, but for now it can stay.

Pheromosa

I don’t think Pheromosa is all that good. It’s decent, but without Z-moves, it’s nowhere near what it once was. Close Combat was nice, but it certainly doesn’t make up for its faults. It just doesn’t hit hard enough without a Beast Boost in an attacking stat, and then its kind of slow with how insane the speed creep is. I could see it being broken in the future when a lot of the more broken stuff is gone, but for now it’s just kind-of average.

Spectrier

Spectrier is pretty cool. Pure ghost is always great and its got a pretty great stat spread....but that movepool is atrocious. I know we joke that ghost types only need to click Shadow Ball, but we didn’t mean it literally. The thing runs Mud Shot for gods sake. Its pretty strong and ghost is ridiculous, but it just can’t do enough on its own.

Things like the Tapus and the new galarian birds are good, but they aren’t near ban worthy. Tapu Lele may become suspect in like a year, though.

#pokemon #competitive pokemon #crown tundra #ou #i really hope people don't mind me mentioning the horses #if you think I should avoid them for the next few weeks please let me know

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nickburn · 4 years

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Things I Enjoyed in 2020 Despite Everything

Seasons Greetings! This year has felt like an eternity for so many reasons, and before it’s over, I’d like to take a look back on the distractions that got me through it. Along the way, I’ll occasionally point out where I was emotionally at the time and whether I got into a particular thing before or after the pandemic hit in mid March. I hope you enjoy this little retrospective of some of my experience during one of the worst years of human history!

Games & Mods

Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven

When I was making my 2020 resolutions list late last year, one of my goals was to play more old games in my backlog and not buy many new games this year. That goal largely went on hold, because, well, I sought out enjoyment wherever I could find it instead of forcing myself to play one thing or another. But before Covid, I was really enjoying my new playthrough of M&M6. I’d made attempts at it before, but it was really GrayFace’s mod that made the game click for me. Modern features like quick saves and mouselook make the game much more accessible, and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to try an old-school RPG. It’s a great stepping stone into a mostly-dead genre. I’m hoping to get back to it soon. I just jumped ship to simpler ventures like Doom Eternal after the pandemic hit and haven’t looked back since.

Pathologic 2

I learned about the Pathologic series late last year and have since become a little obsessed with it. Hbomberguy’s lengthy video essay on the original game really intrigued me and lead me to trying the sequel/remake in April via Xbox Game Pass. In a weird way, it was cathartic to be a doctor in an even more dire situation than our current one and still see signs of the townsfolk trying to help each other deal with a supernatural plague and little help from their local government. The game helped me express a lot of what I was feeling at the time, when I was still getting used to working from home and wondering just how long this could go on for. I’ve gone back to it recently, and I’m hoping to finish it someday, if I can find a way to stop dying. Above all, Pathologic 2 teaches you how to make choices in no-win scenarios with little information or resources and still persevere, despite the world going to Hell around you. And that’s maybe the most important thing to practice at the moment.

Overwatch

I’ve continued to look forward to weekly Overwatch nights with my friends every Thursday, and it’s really important to have something like that right now. Even if it’s just a new episode of a show airing, a new video from a favorite YouTuber, or a regular Zoom call with coworkers, it helps so much to have something to anticipate from week to week and month to month. Otherwise, it’s really easy to feel like nothing’s going on besides the entropic deterioration of the universe. Overwatch itself helps with this, because it’s such a positive, bright, and optimistic game, as only Blizzard can create. And it’s improved a ton in the past couple of years, in a lot of ways. If you haven’t played in a while, hop in and check out all the new content with your friends; I think you’ll have a great time. It’s looking more and more like Overwatch 2 is right around the corner, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

I learned how to play Go after watching a documentary released this year about AlphaGo, the computer that beat the Go world champion, and I have a huge appreciation for the game now. I think it’s even more beautiful than chess, though even more insidious to learn. If you haven’t played before, start with a 9x9 board, teach yourself the basics, and try playing with another beginner friend. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the amount of strategy and imagination that a game ostensibly about placing black and white stones on a grid can inspire. Go’s one of several new hobbies I’ve picked up this year, and those new hobbies have really helped me pass the time in a way that feels productive as well as take my mind off whatever depressing news just got blasted across Twitter.

Doom 64

Doom Eternal was fine, but Doom 64′s where my heart lies. The PC port on Steam is great, allowing everyone to easily play the game with mouse and keyboard. Its levels are tight and colorful, often asking the player to backtrack multiple times through the same areas to unlock new ones and take on whatever new twists await down each darkened corridor. It’s a surprisingly fresh experience. Unlike many modern Doom mods that strive to be sprawling marathons, 64′s levels are short but memorable, and the game is a great entry point to the series for newcomers because of that. Retro FPS’s continue to inspire and entertain me, and Doom 64 is one of my new favorites.

Golf With Your Friends

I’m not usually that into party games, but Golf With Your Friends strikes the right balance between casual tone and skill-based gameplay. The maps are vibrant and devious, the different modes are creative and often hilarious, and the pacing is near-perfect. If you’ve got a squad itching to play something together for a few nights, I guarantee you’ll have a lot of laughs trying to knock an opponent off the course or turning them into an acorn just as they’re about to attempt a nasty jump.

Quake 1 Mods

I probably sound like a broken record by now to a lot of you, but I won’t rest until I get more people into retro FPS’s. The outdated graphics and simple gameplay can be off-putting at first, but it doesn’t take long at all to get hooked after you’ve played the likes of excellent mods like Ancient Aliens for Doom 2 or Arcane Dimensions for Quake 1. And it’s only getting better, with this year marking probably the best year for Quake releases ever. The industry even seems to be taking notice again, with many talented mappers getting picked up for highly-anticipated, professional indie projects like Graven and Prodeus. And while the marketing around the retro FPS renaissance as the second coming of “boomer shooters” should be much maligned, the actual craft involved in making mods and brand new games in the genre has never been stronger. I even contributed four levels to the cause this year, but you’ll have to play them yourself to decide if they’re any good: https://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/?filtered=burnham.

Streets of Rage 4

I had not tried Steam Remote Play before this year, but it works surprisingly well if you have a decent internet connection. Because of Remote Play, I was able to complete Streets of Rage 4 with my friends, and it was very close to the experiences I had as a kid playing brawlers like Turtles in Time on the Super Nintendo. The game is just hard enough to make you sweat during the boss fights but just easy enough that the average group of gamers can complete it in a night or two, which is ideal for adults with not a lot of free time.

Hard Lads

Hard Lads is a pure delight of a game by Robert Yang about the beauty of a viral video from 2015 called “British lads hit each other with chair,” which is even more ridiculous than it sounds. It made me smile and laugh for a good half hour, and I think it’ll do the same for you.

Commander MtG

The Commander format for Magic: the Gathering is one of my favorite things, and in 2020, I dug into it more than any other year. More so even than playing or watching it being played, I created decklists for hours and hours, dreaming up new, creative strategies for winning games or just surprising my imaginary opponents. I sincerely believe this little ritual of finding a new legendary creature to build around and spending a few days crafting a brew for it got me through the majority of this summer. I didn’t have a lot of creative energy this year, but I was able to channel the little I did have into this hobby. Especially during the longer, more frustrating or depressing days at work when I had nothing else to do or just needed a break, I could often dive back into card databases and lose myself in the process of picking exactly the cards that best expressed what I wanted to do for any given deck. And it’s nice to know I can always fall back on that.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

I played a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh! growing up but never had the cards or the skill to be particularly good at it. I just knew I enjoyed the game and the 4Kids show, but I quickly them behind when I got to high school. Fast forward to 2020, and the game and franchise have evolved substantially, not always for the better. But I do find it so intriguing, with a skeptical kind of adoration. It’s not nearly as well-supported as Magic, but what it does have are gigantic anime monsters on tiny cards with enough lines of text to make your head spin. And it’s so interesting to me that a franchise like that can continue to thrive alongside more elegant games like the Pokemon TCG and Hearthstone. And the further I’ve delved into how the game has changed since I stopped playing, the more invested I’ve become, going so far as to start buying cards again and looking into possible decks I might enjoy playing. An unequivocal win for Yu-Gi-Oh! is Speed Duel, which seeks to bring old players back to the game with a watered-down, nostalgia-laden format with fewer mechanics and a much smaller card pool. So if all you want to do is pit a Blue Eyes White Dragon against a Dark Magician, that’s 100% still there for you, but the competitive scene is still alive, well, and astoundingly complicated. And I think that’s kind of beautiful.

Black Mesa

I wasn’t expecting to have the tech to play Half Life: Alyx this year, so Black Mesa seemed like the next best thing. And it really is a love letter to the first game, even if it’s far from perfect. I even prefer the original, but I did very much enjoy my time with this modern reimagining. If you’ve never played a Half Life game before, I think it’s a great place to start.

VR via the Oculus Quest

Around halfway through this year, I started to get really stir crazy and yeah, pretty depressed. It seemed like I’d be stuck in the same boring cycle forever, and I know for a lot of people, it still feels like that. So VR seemed like the perfect escape from this dubious reality where you can’t even take a safe vacation trip anymore. And you know, I think it works really well for that purpose. The Oculus Quest is especially effective, doing away with cords or cables so you have as much freedom as you have free real estate in your home. I don’t have a lot of space in my studio apartment, but I have enough to see the potential of the medium, which is completely worth it. Next gen consoles are neat and all, but I’ve got my heart set on picking up the Quest 2 as soon as possible.

* Beat Saber

I was most looking forward to trying Beat Saber on the Quest, and I was not disappointed. You’d think rhythm games had reached their peak with Rock Band and DDR, but the genre keeps on giving with gems like this. It’s hard to convey if you’ve never tried it, but the game succeeds so well in getting your entire body into the rhythm of whatever song you’re slashing through.

* Half Life: Alyx

Again, I really did not expect to be able to experience this game as intended this year, and I still don’t think I really have. The Oculus Link for the Quest is admittedly a little janky, and my PC barely meets the minimum specs to even run the game. And yet, despite that, Alyx is one of my top three games of 2020 and maybe one of my all-time favorites. Even as I was losing frames and feeling the game struggle to keep up with all the AI Combine soldiers running around, I was still having a blast. For me, it is one of the best reasons to seek out and own VR and a pinnacle of game design in its own right.

Hades

For me, Hades has mostly been similar to every other Supergiant Game that I’ve played: fun and well-polished but ultimately not engaging enough to play for very long. And there’s always this sheen of trying to be too clever with their dialogue, narration, and music that rubs me the wrong way. But Hades is certainly their best game, and I can’t deny the effect it’s had on people, much like Bastion’s reception back in 2011. And I’m really hoping Hades gets more people into roguelikes, as a more accessible and story-driven approach to the genre. Timing-wise, I wish it hadn’t come out around the same time as Spelunky, because I think it did make some people choose one over the other, when the best choice is to play both and realize they’re going for very different experiences. The precise, unforgiving, arcade-like style of Spelunky isn’t fun for everyone, though, and Hades is thankfully there to fill in that gap. I’m really glad I found more time to play it this year at least to succeed on one escape attempt; it’s a fun game to think about in a game design context. And I do think the game has a lot of merit and is doing some clever things with difficulty that the studio likely could not have honed nearly so well without the help of Early Access. The most impressive part of the game to me is not the story or the music or the combat but the massive amount of contextual dialogue they somehow found time to program, write, and record at a consistently high level. All of this is just to say, Hades is obviously one of the best games of the year, and you should play it if you have any interest in it at all.

Spelunky 2

I’ve spoken a lot about this game on Twitter, so I’m not going to rehash much of that here. For me, it’s been a journey of over 1,000 attempts to learn the intricacies and secrets of a deep and demanding game that’s been as frustrating as it’s been rewarding. But it remains a constant source of learning and discovery as well as mastery and pride for me, and I still have hopes of reaching the Cosmic Ocean and getting all the trophies someday. It’s been a joy to watch other Spelunky players too, even as some fair worse than me and others fair far better. And the Daily challenge keeps me coming back, because seeing my name high up on the leaderboard just makes me feel so damn good (or at least I’ll get a good laugh out of a hilarious death). At its heart, Spelunky is a community endeavor, and I think it succeeds at that better than almost any other game this side of Dark Souls. I think it is my Game of the Year or at least tied with Alyx, I really can’t decide. If you don’t think you’d enjoy it, all I’ll say is, the frustration and difficulty are integral to the experience of discovery and surprise, and your brain is better at video games than you think.

Chess

Okay, yes, I watched and enjoyed The Queen’s Gambit, but I think 2020 had already primed people to get into chess this year regardless. Like Yu-Gi-Oh!, chess was a childhood pastime of mine that I really enjoyed and then quickly left behind as I discovered things like music and the internet. If I had to assign a theme to my 2020, it would be rediscovering old hobbies to remind myself how good life actually is. And now I’m more committed to chess than I ever was before. I’m watching international masters and grand masters on YouTube (as well as the incomparable Northernlion), I’m playing regularly on Chess.com, and I’m even paying for lessons and probably my own theory books soon. Like most fighting games, chess is a complicated form of dueling a single opponent with zero randomness, so mistakes are always on you. And modern chess platforms offer extremely good analysis tools, showing you exactly how, when, and why you screwed up so you can do better next time. Like Hearthstone, it’s a quick, addicting, tense, and rewarding way to train your brain and have fun. And it seems more popular now than ever, in part due to a certain Netflix original TV show...

The Queen’s Gambit

I think a lot of people want to be Beth Harmon, even if they know they shouldn’t. It must feel so good to be the best at something and know you’re the best, even while under the influence of certain substances. It’s what makes characters like Dr. Gregory House so fun to watch, though you’d never want to work with the guy. For me, anyway, I always wanted to be a prodigy at something, and what little success I’ve had made The Queen’s Gambit very relatable to me. More so, it’s easy to relate to growing up in a conservative environment with few real friends and fewer outlets of expression, only to realize you’ve finally found your thing, and that no one can take it from you. That’s mostly what I’m going to take from The Queen’s Gambit anyway, more than chess or the Cold War commentary or the problematic relationships Beth has with her cadre of rivals/boyfriends. The show gets a strong recommendation from me for fans of chess as well as lovers of optimistic coming-of-age stories.

March Comes in Like a Lion

Similarly, March Comes in Like a Lion features a protagonist who is scarily close to a version of myself from like eight years ago. My best friend has been urging me to watch this show for years, and I’m still only a few episodes in. But I love how it portrays a young person who’s moved to a big city away from home for the first time, with nothing more than some meager possessions and the hopes of becoming the best in the world at something. And Rei is not confident in himself or outgoing at all, he’s extremely depressed despite pursuing his dreams and trying to distance himself from his somewhat toxic family. It’s a great reminder that the smallest kindnesses can often change our entire perspective on the world, and that even the people that seem the most well-equipped to handle life often still need help. I’ve been very fortunate to have people like that despite mistakes I’ve made, and I hope to be that person for others too.

Umbrella Academy

I’m pretty burnt out on superheroes, but UA put a good enough spin on them that they felt brand new. The show is rough in places, but it’s surprising in some really clever ways. And the comics are some of the wildest stories I’ve ever read, like Hitchhiker’s Guide meets Watchmen.

HunterXHunter

I binged about 100 of the 148 episodes of HxH this year, which I recognize is not a significant number in the wider world of long-running shounen anime, but it’s quite an undertaking for me to finish a show of this length. The series goes places I never expected and made me care so strongly for characters I thought I’d hate at first. It’s the smartest and most endearing show about a band of misfits going on crazy adventures and punching people for the good of the world that you’re likely to find.

Hannibal

This is the rare show that’s simultaneously comforting and nightmare-inducing if watched for extended periods. I can remember nights after binging a few episodes where I couldn’t get many of the disturbing images out of my head. Fair to say, Hannibal is not for the faint of heart, nor is it without some low points. But for those who enjoy gory thrillers or gritty detective dramas, it’s a must-watch.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Original Series, English Sub

You can probably imagine my surprise as I discovered this year that the Japanese version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime is not only much better than the 4Kids version we got in the States, but it’s actually a decent show. The plot makes much more sense, it’s more interesting, the stakes are higher, the voices are better, and overall it’s just more enjoyable to watch. I don’t know if I’ll stick with it long enough to finish it this time, but this is definitely the way I’d do it and would recommend to others.

Fargo Season 4

It’s a miracle we even got another season of Fargo this year, let alone on time and of the same high quality as the first two seasons. It has a great setting, cast, and conflict. I love Chris Rock, and it was so cool to see him act so well in such a serious role. There’s a Wizard of Oz homage episode that is nearly flawless. And the post-credits scene at the end of the season is just the cherry on top. If you haven’t checked out Fargo by now, you are really missing out on some of the most interesting stuff happening in TV. I can’t wait to see what Noah Hawley does with the Alien franchise.

Movies

Cats

I had to include this one because it was the last full movie I saw in theaters before the pandemic hit. I technically went to Sonic too, but my friends and I walked out after about 30 minutes. The less said about that movie, the better. Cats, though, is a strange and curious beast (pun intended), adapting an already unruly animal (pun intended) to the big screen and yowling to be recognized (pun intended). But for every awkward or embarrassing scene, there’s one of pure joy and magic, like the extended ballet sequence or Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat. The film knows exactly what it is and leans into it hard, like a familiar yet slightly insane feline begging to be stroked, which I imagine is exactly what fans of the musical wanted.

Children of Men

There’s not much I can say about this film that probably hasn’t been said better elsewhere. I was intrigued to watch it when I learned it was one of my friend’s favorite movies. And I have to say, it’s really profound in a prescient way. Clive Owen gives one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. You should watch it, but only when you feel like taking a severe hit to the feels.

Basic Instinct

Vertigo is probably still my favorite film, so when I learned this year that Paul Verhoeven made a bloody, sex romp homage film to it in the 90s with Michael Douglas starring, I simply had to watch it. And you know, it’s not bad. It’s nowhere near as good as Vertigo, and you can see the ending coming a mile away. But what it does have is the immaculate Sharon Stone, who you cannot take your eyes off for the entire movie. And the movie knows it, making her look as alluring and suggestive as her character is to the detective investigating her. You could do worse than to watch it, just don’t expect any of Hitchcock’s subtlety or looming dread to seep into the final product.

Books

Dune

I finally finished Dune this year, and I can genuinely say it lives up to the hype. It’s not the easiest book to get through, but it’s by no means one of the most difficult either. I’m still bummed that the new film was delayed, but it might give me time to read the rest of the original book series.

The Fifth Season

Another fantastic piece of fiction, I cannot recommend this book enough. N.K. Jemisin is one of the best living authors of our time. If you want an original setting with a brilliant magic system and complex, compelling characters, look no further.

Video Content

Northernlion

I’ve been a fan of NL for years, though I’ve never been that into The Binding of Isaac. He just has a charismatic intelligence to him that sets him apart from most “Let’s Play” YouTubers to me, and he’s very funny to boot. I guess I’d say he seems a lot like me or the person I could picture myself being if I were a professional video content creator. So I was really excited for NL’s series of Spelunky 2 videos, and I still watch them every day, months later. And now he’s teaching me how to get better at chess, being a good 600 ELO higher than myself at the moment. His sarcastic and improv-laden banter have withstood the test of years and gave me some much-needed comfort and laughter in 2020. Somehow, the man even found a way to keep up his prolific output this year while raising his firstborn child. There are those who said it couldn’t be done...

The Command Zone - Game Knights

Josh Lee Kwai and the rest of the crew at The Command Zone continue to put out some of the most well-produced tabletop gameplay videos on the internet. It’s perhaps no surprise, seeing as how Lee Kwai created trailers for such blockbuster films as Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Jimmy Wong had a supporting role in the live action remake of Disney’s Mulan. But the crew around the two hosts are just as important and talented, and it’s clear that they all share the same singular vision for the channel’s future. They’ve carefully crafted a team of expert editors, animators, cosplayers, and voice actors to deliver one delightful video after the next at a consistently high level. If you’re into Magic: the Gathering at all, you simply need to watch Game Knights.

Cimoooooooo

I found Alex Cimo’s channel shortly after the algorithm learned I was interested in Yu-Gi-Oh! again, and at first, I was less than impressed with him. But it’s clear to me now that he not only loves what he does, he’s an expert Yu-Gi-Oh! player and analyst. Plus, he’s very good at explaining some of the more complex concepts in the game in a way that newcomers can understand. I’ve watched every new episode of The Progression Series and The History of Yu-Gi-Oh! so far, and they’re the best way I’ve found to learn how the game developed and changed over the last 20 years.

Team APS

This is another great Yu-Gi-Oh! channel, focusing more on skits, gimmick videos, and casual games rather than analytical or theoretical content. Mostly, they seem like a really great group of friends that just have a blast playing Yu-Gi-Oh! together, and their love for the game makes me want to play more too.

Tolarian Community College

Somehow, a community college English professor’s channel went from a quirky little deckbox review platform to the most popular Magic: the Gathering channel on YouTube in only a few years. But it’s easy to see why when Brian clearly loves what he’s doing more than most people ever will. He’s not only a fantastic reviewer and MtG scholar, he’s one of the most outspoken voices for positive change in the community and the game. Is he too hard on the Magic team at Wizards of the Coast? Perhaps, but without his measured and well-reasoned takes on all things Magic, I think we’d be much worse off.

IRL

Cooking

Even I get tired of eating the same things every day, so I’ve taken it upon myself to learn how to make more dishes, mostly out of sheer boredom. And I know I’m not alone in that, but I have to say it’s been a rewarding and fun adventure. It’s really surprising what you can throw together with a decent recipe and a little creativity in a modest kitchen when you decide to break away from the microwave for once.

Chinchillin’

Like many people, I felt that I needed a pet to survive this year, and I’ve always wanted a chinchilla. So I took a risk and bought one from a seller on KSL a few months ago, and my life has definitely changed for the better. No longer simply alone with my thoughts all day, I have a furry little companion to commune and bond with. And it’s more difficult to find time to feel sorry for myself when a basically helpless tiny creature depends on me for almost everything. Not to say it’s been a perfect experience however, people don’t say chins are difficult to care for for nothing. And I have learned more about them than perhaps I ever cared to know before, but that’s only made them more interesting to me as a result. Overall, I would recommend them as pets, just be prepared to give them a lot more time and attention than you would to say, a fish or a hamster. I’ve seen the commitment compared to that of a large dog, and I think that’s fair, though chins seem far more difficult to train and are far less cuddly. Basically, imagine a fluffy, super fast squirrel that can jump half your height, shed its fur at will if grabbed too tightly, that sleeps all day and bathes in dust, and that cannot get wet or too hot or eat 99% of human foods without serious complications. And they get lonely, and they all have their own surprisingly distinct personalities, some shy and mischievous, others bright and social, and everything in between. But I’m glad to be part of my little buddy’s life and hope to make it a long and enjoyable one for him. Part of why I wanted a chinchilla so badly is they typically live between 10-20 years, much longer than the average rodent or even many cats and dogs. And they’re sadly endangered in the wild, poached for their incredibly soft fur, which is why I believe it’s critical that we care for and learn more about them now. And above all, I adore my chinchilla’s antics, even when he continually tries to dig up and eat the paper bedding below his cage when I’ve provided perfectly edible hay and pellets for him in much easier to reach locations.

And that’s all, folks...

If you’ve read this far, know that I really appreciate it and hope you learned something new about yourself, art, or the world. And please do let me know what’s kept you going the most this year too, as I suspect I’ll still be searching for new distractions next year, even after I’m able to get a Covid vaccine injection. As Red Green would say, we’re all in this together, and I’m pullin’ for ya. <3

#2020 #hobbies #art #youtube #reviews #entertainment #games #books #film #tv #netflix

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lithalwrites · 4 years

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There Was Only One Bed

“How was your trip?” Yaku asked Kuroo, stirring his drink.

“Aren’t you curious?” Kuroo asked with a smirk. “You never cared about how my trips were back in high school.”

“Yeah, because you never went on any, you shithead. And I’m bored, so there’s that.”

Kuroo clutched his chest, pretending to be offended. “We meet up to hang out after a whole year and you treat me like this, Yakkun? You break my heart.”

“The hearts of people like you don’t break this easy.”

“C’mon, Kuroo-san, tell us about your trip!” Lev said, bouncing excitedly in his seat. He was still as excitable as ever, even in his third year.

“Why are you here again?” Yaku asked Lev, arching his eyebrow.

Lev pouted, and Kuroo watched in amusement as Yaku instinctively patted his head as if he was a puppy. “I wanted to see both my dear senpai.”

“How sweet,” Kuroo said. “Are you sure you wanted to see both of us?”

Lev nodded a little more forcefully than needed. “Now tell us about your trip!”

Kuroo sighed and put on a show of giving in. “Fine. Since you want to know so badly, I guess I’ll tell you.”

“You know, maybe we’ll ask Kenma instead.”

Kuroo laughed. “We all know how that’s going to go. I’m your best bet if you ever want to know what happened.”

“Fine. Continue,” Yaku said.

“So last summer, I found this amazing deal for really cheap airline tickets to Canada, and I decided it would be an excellent opportunity for me to go practice my English. And Canada seems like a nice enough place to visit, plus I figured I deserved a break, so it was really a no-brainer. And because I’m always nice and think about my friends, I asked Kenma if he wanted to go with me.

“He said yes, on the condition that I’d do all the planning, because he trusts me, and also because he was way too busy with the freelance project he was working on to actually be able to help me. Obviously, the major reason was the fact that he trusts me and not how busy he was. (“Obviously,” Yaku rolled his eyes.)

“Anyway, I planned our trip out in a lot of detail, because the cheapest round-trip tickets were for a month, and I was going to make the most of that month away from school and work and everything. My mom was a little skeptical when I told her about this plan, but she eventually came around to it. She knows she can trust me to be responsible (“More like she can trust Kenma to keep your ass in line,” Yaku muttered.).

“So when the time came for us to go, we had one large carrier between us, plus our carry-ons, mine mostly containing things we’d need, and Kenma’s containing his laptop and gaming consoles. I told him he wouldn’t get a whole lot of time to game while we were there, but he ignored me and packed them anyway. I suppose it was a good thing he did that, but I’m getting ahead of myself in the story. All will be revealed in good time.

“The flight was very long, mostly because we had two layovers, and one of our flights was very delayed because of the weather. By the time we landed in Toronto, we were both very tired of being inside planes and airports, and just wanted to sleep.

“When we got our passports stamped at the airport, the border agent asked us what we were visiting for, and she looked very surprised when we said we were there for a vacation. She said it was an interesting time for us to visit Canada, and wished us luck. I think she also mentioned something about warm jackets, but I didn’t really catch most of it. She was speaking pretty fast. Anyway, after that, it was time for us to get our baggage and head to the hotel. Baggage claim was uneventful, and we got our bag pretty quickly.

“I suggested we take public transport to our hotel, but Kenma glared at me and so we got a taxi instead. The taxi driver was a very nice and very talkative man, but he spoke way too fast for me to understand what he was saying. He didn’t seem to mind that I barely said anything for the whole ride. (“The thought of you staying silent for any considerable length of time sounds like a dream,” Yaku snarked.)

“We got to our hotel without a problem, and it turned out to be fairly decent. It was clean, which was pretty much all we hoped for, really, for the price. We stayed there for the two weeks we were in Toronto for, and then I went and picked up the car I had rented. Kenma was a little wary because they drive on the right side of the road, but I was confident I could do it. It would save us all the hassle of public transport, and we could easily bring our luggage with us, so really, it was a pretty solid idea. It’s not like I get the chance to drive a lot here, so I didn’t think the adjustment would be that big of a challenge.”

At that moment, Kenma walked up to their table, and slid in next to Kuroo. “Hi, Yaku-san, Lev,” he said. “Was he telling you about our trip?”

“Yes, and it’s been pretty standard so far. A logical progression of events,” Yaku said. “Kind of boring, not going to lie.”

“Oh, don’t worry, it gets more exciting after Toronto,” Kenma said, shaking his head slightly. “Did you order for me?”

“Of course,” Kuroo answered. “I told the server to wait though, but it’ll be here soon now that you’re here. Okay to continue the story?”

“Yeah, can we skip to the good parts?” Yaku asked.

“Yaku-san, you have to be patient,” Lev said, surprising everyone there. “What? I can be serious,” he said defensively, when everyone stared at him, Yaku turning half in his seat in his shock.

Kuroo laughed. “Clearly. How you’ve grown. I’m proud of you, kid.”

“You sound like an old man,” Kenma said.

Kuroo chuckled, and put on his story voice again. “Where was I? Ah yes, the car rental. I successfully managed to pick up the car, but I hadn’t realized how terrible traffic in Toronto would be. Well, let me tell you, it was pretty bad. It’s a good thing I’m patient, or it wouldn’t have worked out very well. Once we were out of Toronto, it was fine though, and we were soon off to Niagara, because I had heard the falls look great when they’re frozen over.

“I didn’t know if they’d be frozen though, because there didn’t seem to be a lot of snow around. Nor was it extremely cold, and I wondered if all the stuff about how cold Canada is was just an exaggeration. The drive to Niagara started off fine, and I decided to stay off the highway because I wasn’t really used to driving at all, and didn’t want to start off with driving really fast. Kenma agreed with that decision, but maybe it was so he’d be able to play Pokemon Go more conveniently.

“Funnily enough, the only real prep he’d done for this trip was to purchase a roaming data plan that worked in his favour. (“What a Kenma thing to do,” Yaku said with a smile. “I like to have internet access at all times,” Kenma said.) Anyhow, the trip takes around three hours if you don’t take the highway, and when we started it looked a little cloudy, but we didn’t pay it any mind.

“Turns out, we really should have. About an hour or so into the drive, it started snowing real hard, real fast. Which probably explained why there was so little traffic on the roads. The visibility was so poor that I had to pull over at the side of the road before we got into an accident.”

“That sounds really scary,” Lev said, looking a little concerned. “How long were you in the car for?”

Kuroo looked at Kenma, who shrugged. “I think it was about two hours. We ended up getting back on the road while it was still snowing, just not as much.”

“We had to crawl along at a snail’s pace, because the road was covered with snow, and I wasn’t sure if the tires on the car were suitable for snow. I hadn’t really thought to ask at the rental office, which was an oversight on my part but it was too late to lament that. Since we weren’t very close to our destination, I asked Kenma to look up any motels nearby, and I’ve never been more thankful for his insistence on having a working internet connection.”

“There was a motel fairly close by, thankfully,” Kenma piped in, before taking a bite of his apple pie.

“So we decided to call ahead to confirm that they had a vacancy. Kenma dialed, and then put it on speaker so I could talk to them. They informed us that they had had a sudden influx of people coming in and that most of their rooms were taken, but that they’d probably still have one or two left by the time we made it. They couldn’t promise to hold the room for us, which is reasonable. They couldn’t just turn other people seeking shelter from the storm away. Since we were only a few minutes away, we decided to stop by and hope that they still had a room left for us.

“So that’s what we did. We pulled into the motel parking lot, which was pretty full, and thankfully the sign still said ‘vacancy,’ so we went in to the office to try our luck. There were a couple of people ahead of us still, and when we got to the front, we were told that there was just one room left. We didn’t really have a choice but to take it, so we did. I casually asked the owner how long the snow storm was supposed to last, and he looked at me a little strangely and told us that there was a lot more snow coming. The region was under a blizzard warning, and people were being told to stay indoors. He also told us that they offered breakfast in the mornings, but couldn’t really offer us lunch or dinner, and that there were a couple vending machines that we could use.”

“I told you we should’ve gotten more snacks,” Kenma said disapprovingly.

“Yes, you did, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. We did have some snacks, though,” Kuroo said.

“Yes, but not nearly enough. And most of them were healthy,” Kenma said with disdain.

“Kenma, I’m not going to apologize for healthy snacks. It’s a good thing they were healthy, particularly since we didn’t have much else to eat,” Kuroo said. Kenma huffed, but didn’t answer. Yaku watched the exchange with interest, and Lev just seemed excited to get back to the story.

“The room wasn’t very large, but it was a room and it was clean, and there was a bed to sleep in, so we were happy. We were still pretty tired, what with jet lag and all, so we decided to turn in early and then take stock of the weather the next day.

“Well, the next day didn’t look any better, and everything was white when we looked out the window, so we had to accept that we could be stuck at the motel for a while. Hopefully not for too long, since we had less than two weeks left of the vacation.”

“This isn’t very exciting, still,” Yaku commented.

“Patience, Yakkun,” Kuroo clucked his tongue. “Learn from Lev.” He ignored the glare Yaku leveled at him.

“We were inside for three days straight, subsiding on snacks and the breakfast the motel provided. I spent most of that time reading, or watching Kenma play games. I even played a little, but I was really bad at it, and Kenma didn’t want me to take over the console for too long. On day four, we had a fight.”

Kuroo paused for dramatic effect, and Lev filled the silence with a shocked gasp. Even Yaku looked surprised. Kenma rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t call it a fight.”

“It was as close to a fight as we’ve ever gotten,” Kuroo amended, but Yaku and Lev remained shocked. “I woke up to find Kenma already awake, sitting on the chair, playing a game. I asked him if he’d slept okay, and he gave me an annoyed look before he said he’d slept just fine, but he’d have slept much better if someone hadn’t left crumbs in the bed. I refused to believe that I was the culprit behind the offending crumbs, but Kenma held firm, and I got a little annoyed.

“I was also very tired of the breakfast they served us every morning. I know it was stupid to complain because they were doing their best, but I was still tired of it. Plus I was getting antsy from being cooped up in the room. So I decided that it would be a great idea to go out and find us something to eat, since it wasn’t snowing outside.

“Kenma didn’t look happy when I told him I was going out to the nearest grocery store, which wasn’t all that close, but he didn’t say anything other than to drive safe. I think he also wanted to be free of me for a little while.

“I made it to the store, and took my time picking out things we could eat with only a microwave and a kettle at our disposal. I can’t have taken that long, but by the time I was done, it had started to snow really hard again. So I had to stay in the store and hope it would subside soon.

“It let off a little about thirty minutes later, and I decided to try to get back before it started snowing again. I didn’t get very far before I found myself caught in a blizzard, the visibility practically zero. At this point, I was pretty freaked out, and my phone had turned off because it was too cold, so I was relying on my vague recollection of the directions to the motel.

“Well, the snow stopped about ten or so minutes later, and I found myself kind of in the middle of nowhere. There were trees on both sides of the road, and I have no idea how I got there. I didn’t remember taking any turns, but I must have at some point, because I didn’t remember coming this way. I tried to turn my phone on, but it stubbornly refused, and I didn’t even have a charger on me to plug it into the car.

“I contemplated turning back, but then I saw a house tucked away in a small clearing, and someone was out shoveling the driveway, so I figured I’d go ask them for directions. I stopped the car, got out, and called out to the person. It was a man of indeterminate age. He could’ve been my age, or five years older or younger. I couldn’t tell.

“He seemed nice enough, though, and when I asked him if he could direct me towards the motel, he said he was actually heading out that way, so I could just follow his car. That seemed like a great enough idea, so I thanked him and waited until he pulled his car out on the road. It was a very old car, but looked like it was in great shape for how old it must’ve been. He drove fairly slow, so I could easily keep behind him.

“By this time, it was starting to get dark because winter, and I hoped we’d be back soon. I hadn’t been able to text Kenma about what had happened, and I didn’t want him to worry.”

“How did you feel about that, Kenma?” Yaku asked Kenma, eyebrow raised.

“I was very worried,” Kenma said. “It was out of character for him to be that late and not send a text. He didn’t answer my calls so I figured his phone must’ve died, but still.”

“Sorry about that,” Kuroo said. “I should’ve taken my charger with me. Anyhow, this car led me straight to the motel like I had been promised. He pulled into the parking lot ahead of me, and I followed a few seconds later. But when I pulled into the lot, I couldn’t see his car anymore. It was like it had vanished into thin air. I honestly felt a chill down my spine at that moment, and I’m pretty sure I was saved by a ghost that day.”

“Really? You told us this whole long-winded tale and turned it into a ghost story?” Yaku asked, eyes narrowed in disgust. “He probably just left via the other exit.”

“There was no other exit, though. That parking lot only had one entrance and exit. There’s no way he could’ve left without me seeing him. It was bizarre. I can’t make you believe me, but I’m convinced he was a ghost. A nice one, luckily for me, but a ghost nonetheless.”

“That’s so cool!” Lev said, excitedly flailing his arms. “I want to meet a friendly ghost. Yaku-san, let’s go to a haunted hotel and stay there.”

“Not a chance,” Yaku said. “And don’t tell me you believe the ghost story.”

“I do. My grandma tells me stories about ghosts she’s seen in Russia all the time. They’re real,” Lev said sagely. Yaku didn’t argue. Instead, he turned to Kenma.

“Do you believe the story?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kenma said. “I saw the car pull in and fade away, so.”

Yaku stared at Kenma, as if trying to gauge if his leg was being pulled, but couldn’t make up his mind. He let it drop.

“That’s probably why Kenma didn’t yell at me, if I’m being honest. He told me he’d swept the crumbs off the bed, and that I was an idiot to have gone out when the weather was like that, and a bigger idiot for not even taking my charger. The end.”

Lev clapped. Yaku didn’t.

“So,” Yaku said slowly. “I can’t be sure, but from your story it sounds like there was only one bed in your motel room.”

“That’s because there was,” Kuroo answered easily.

“Oh,” Yaku said, and stared at them.

“Wait, why is that imp—ohhh,” Lev said, as it clicked. He laughed. “This sounds like a romance novel where the main characters are forced to share a bed in a hotel. Did that incident bring you closer together and spark a romance between you?”

“Lev!” Yaku said, looking both curious and scandalized at Lev’s audacity.

Kuroo laughed, and Kenma smiled. “It didn’t need to spark something that already existed,” Kenma said, amused at the shocked looks on Yaku and Lev’s faces.

“Wait, since when?” Yaku asked.

“End of high school,” Kuroo answered.

“There was only one bed that time too,” Kenma added.

#kurokenweek2020 #kuroken #Kuroo Tetsurou #Kozume Kenma #haikyuu!!

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inikavulpixelreviews · 5 years

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Let’s Talk About Pokemon - Gen 7 Retrospective

That's at least a little more sizable than the XY generation was. Granted we have some Alolan Forms to help inflate the numbers a bit. Sure, if you were to count Gen 6′s Mega Evolutions, Gen 7 would be the actual smallest Gen to date. But remember what I said last generation's recap with how Gamefreak seemed to be taking a “quality over quantity” approach for that generation? That mentality seems to be back in full force here. 'Cause we're looking at my second favorite Gen right behind Gen 5.

I did bring up that Gen 6 was my third favorite generation in terms of the new, numerical Pokemon introduced. What has Alola muscle over it is how it's crammed as much inventiveness into the designs as they could think. The starters, the Legendaries/Kinda-Legendary Ultra Beasts, even the common fodder Pokemon have a little more going on than their typical ilk. And even some of the more boring designs like Oranguru and Passimian have interesting battle mechanics by changing the way you can approach double battles entirely on their own.

That also seemed to be a focus this generation. Not all of course, but a lot of the new Pokemon seemed to be based on different gameplay interactions and having unique abilities or signature moves. Between Salandit's Corrosion to Minior's Shields Down to Mimikyu's Disguise to Toucannon's Beak Blast and to Toxipex's Baneful Bunker. They really tried taking a shot at making each Pokemon have something unique to bring to battles. They even essentially made a more tournament-rules friendly alternative to Arceus in Silvally.

But there's a little subject more contentious about Gen 7 than the Pokemon, of course. That being the games themselves, which feel like they got the fandom split. I like Sun and Moon, but even I'll admit Gamefreak's gotta try a little harder for Gen 8. All the inventive things they've tried from a gameplay perspective ultimately don't change much. The game still had an 8-mini-act structure just like the Gym games. HMs getting replaced with Ride Pokemon is nice, but is still the same mechanic with different dressing. The biggest changes in the usual story structure don't even matter that much, the biggest change feeling like you get to know the region's Legendary Pokemon from the very start in the form of Nebby. Otherwise, it's just A Little Bit Better Written Than Usual. Y'know, not that Pokemon games tend to be master classes in writing anyway, its only real competition there being Black and White's story. (And even then, Sun and Moon's in desperate need of a Skip Cutscene button.)

Then there’s the Let’s Go games, which I suppose are technically Gen 7 games. Those got even more divisive. Some love it, others hate it. I personally just find it boring as a rather dumbed down remake of the Kanto games, only really playing because it was an excuse to use Melmetal. There’s some neat things in there that I wouldn’t mind seeing implemented in the main series (namely overworld-wandering Pokemon and AVs replacing EVs.) Just please keep the very poorly implemented Go-imitating catch mechanics as far away from the main series as possible.

Pokemon’s also starting to get more competition recently as well. Other than Digimon of course. Ni No Kuni, eventually Tem Tem, of course, the rise of the mighty Yokai Watch, which to my understanding, has been wrecking Pokemon in terms of sale numbers in their home region. Each of them implementing monster-catching RPG mechanics in their own unique way. I can’t speak for Yokai Watch, but Ni No Kuni is a lot more like a traditional JRPG, with the monsters being familiars that still fight in battle, but the trainers themselves also participate in the battle as well! And Tem Tem, while very much like Pokemon, is giving it more of an MMO angle. While I’m not one to shout about how much Pokemon just NEEDS to make an MMO with ALL THE REGIONS already, I am interested in seeing where TemTem winds up. It IS a Kickstarter game that made way more than it asked for, but as we know from a certain Strong Numerical Value That Is One Less Than Ten, that’s no guarantee it’ll be amazing. But worth keeping an eye on. It still has the potential to be something Gamefreak’s gonna have to watch out for.

Whether I like these other games or not, I appreciate that they exist, because they mean that sooner or later Gamefreak's gonna have to get their ass in gear and do something about it. I'm really getting burnt out on a new Pokemon game coming out literally every year. What I've wanted more than ever is for Gamefreak to at least take a hiatus from the yearly releases to have the game that comes after said break to really kick it out of the park. I get that the Ultra games probably didn't take up much development time and from my understanding Let's Go was made by a whole different team, so those games coming out in the years between Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield might not have much bearing on the latter's quality, but still. Pokemon's not had a major mechanical update since they introduced Abilities in Gen 3. I just hope Gen 8 does something interesting or has some form of major mechanical overhaul. Not asking Pokemon battles to be in real time or anything. Just some new Super Forms and powerful one-off moves aren’t gonna cut it for me. After over 20 years of Pokemoning and on, what, year 8 of a new Pokemon game coming out every year? I'm a little bit fatigued.

...Okay, let's end this on a better note than that.

I AM still exciting to see what Gen 8 has to offer, and I hope they mean it when they say they're trying something different. And of course, I'm ALWAYS gonna be excited to see some more new Pokemon. Gens 5, 6, and 7 are proving they're nowhere close to being out of steam yet, and I can't wait to see more Gen 8 Pokemon come our way in the coming months.

Top 10 Favorites of Gen 7:

Dangit this is hard. So many to love! So many new super-duper-tippity-top favorites!! Shout outs to Palossand, Silvally, Salandit, Xurkitree, and Buzzwole. There's just too many good'ens!!!!

Bottom 10 Least Favorite of Gen 7:

Amazingly, the only Pokemon here I really “dislike” is Zeraora. The rest are just that cherry-picked handful of Alolan Pokemon I don't really care that much about. Hurray!

Bottom 10 Least Favorite Overall:

Almost got through with no new additions. Almost.

The Cutest:

God this Generation was good for Pokemon I just want to pick up and hug. Or in Mimikyu's case, get horrendously murdered by because I got a little too close to taking its rag off. And I'd still say “Thanks.”

The Coolest:

The Prettiest:

The Spookiest:

This gen was really good to scratch a Halloweeny itch. A BUNCH of cool new ghosts, complete with the eerie head leech Pokemon I never would’ve suspected would make it into Pokemon!

Most Creative:

Weirdest/Most Unique:

This section here could've been filled with Ultra Beasts alone if I really wanted to, haha.

Most Forgettable:

Magearna is here not necessarily because I think the design is forgettable, but gee wizz I keep thinking it's not a Gen 7 Pokemon.

Most Personality:

Here's a new section! Gen 7 had a lot of personality-based designs, so there was actually a fair bit of competition for a slot like this. Buzzwole and Bewear are just hilarious, and I'm still thoroughly impressed with Meltan. They managed to cram so much adorable personality into such a simple design. And I’ll eat my hat the day we get a Pokemon more smug than Salandit.

Most Under-Appreciated:

Poor Stakataka keeps getting dismissed because of its bad typing... not that I can blame anyone because Rock/Steel is easily the most boring of all the UB typings, especially when we had room to have a Ghostly duo between it and Blacephalon to have us our first Rock/Ghost type!

Most Long Overdue Concepts:

Seriously, how'd it take 7 generations to get a wolf and a mosquito? Let alone 6 generations to finally get a second MANTIS and traditional horse Pokemon?! As far as spooky Pokemon go, you'd think a shipwreck would be one of the easier and more obvious concepts to go after, even if the one we finally got didn't take the form I expected it to. And Araquanid's just here because a fully evolved BUG/WATER was a long time frickin coming.

Best Regional Variants:

At least I'm naming the category that way because Regional Variants better be a series mainstay from now on!! These are the Alolan Forms with the most fun alternate take on their original forms. And Vulpix and Ninetales are there because fox solidarity.

Best Ultra Beasts:

Again, I really hope Ultra Beasts won't be an Alola-Only thing. I want to avoid talking about Gen 8 spoilers to be considerate of anyone that wants to avoid those, but a certain image carved into the ground in a particular scene has me hoping Ultra Beasts might be returning. And that Xurkitree could have a big brother in the near future. There's hardly much basis because said carving could literally be anything, but. Please.

Anyway, I love the Ultra Beasts as a concept of extra-dimensional alien beings. Some sell the look of freaky aliens better, especially ones like Nihilego, Xurkitree, Kartana, and Celesteela. But nonetheless, these 6 are my favorites out of our roster. HOPEFULLY so far.

Pokemon That Should’ve Gotten Alolan Forms:

I tend to agree that limiting Alolan Forms to Gen 1 Pokemon only was a silly thing to do, but even minding that, I feel like there was crazy amounts of missed potential here. Seel and Dewgong just desperately need some fresh attention to stop being Pokemon’s more forgettable critters. While I suppose Lapras and Tentacruel are excusable given they’re sea dwellers regardless, I totally wouldn’t mind electric jellyfish versions of the Tentas, or even a Kracken-based form for the former. This was also MORE than an opportunity to redeem Dragonite with a more Dragonair-like variant. And some tropical jungle variations of Paras and Venonat would be neat. I’m just saying, a Venomoth turned into more of a Tropical Hawkmoth would’ve been killer.

And Parasect hurts the most. You’re telling you’re gonna have Parasect inhabit this jungle area along with another, brand new mushroom Pokemon. AND you’re gonna introduce the concept of Gen 1 Pokemon taking on new forms based on the new and radically different habitats in Alola. And you’re just NOT gonna place some glowing mushrooms on their backs, turn them pale white, and call them Bug/Fairy types?!?!?! Hello?!?!!??!?

...Oh, am I forgetting something?

Top 50 Favorites Overall:

...Surprise! Yeah, just sorta decided “why not?” This is our last Gen for the rest of the year, so let's end it on a “Look At All My Favorites!” type of a bang. Also because it pained me to see all these not make it to some sort of Top Favorites highlight. And of course, they might not be 100% consistent with scores or previous Top 10 favorites. I'm only a human with a finicky brain that is constantly changing how absolutely precisely I feel about every single one of these.

And... that's it... that's every single Pokemon reviewed. Every single Gen Recapped. We've had lots of ups and downs and plenty of getting a little too excited about cartoon animals. Gen 8 is still a ways away, and even when it comes out, I'd like to wait a few months to let the new designs settle into my mind before I go writing opinion pieces on all of them. And of course, for official artwork to be out for everybody.

BUT I do have a handful of ways to pass the time until Gen 8 does come out... What's up next exactly? Well, we won't have to wait too long, thankfully...

[Archive]

#Pokemon #Gen 7 #Pokemon Reviews

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carolnein · 7 years

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here’s the other thing i already wrote for the esports girls i posted last night

this one also has an issue with game stuff between america and japan, where i spent more time trying to look up details of a specific event pokemon distribution in japan than actually writing the whole thing, before giving up and using the american distribution as a stand-in

under the cut

The nearest game store was a little out of the way of Aiko’s usual daily routine, but she finally had a day off work and only morning classes. She just had to go to the register and pick up a card with the serial code from the promotional distribution, and then she could get udon for lunch at a great place she rarely had an excuse to go to, which was the real reason she was driving to the other side of town for a game she barely had the time to play.

She didn’t particularly need to make the trip, but she had been playing Pokémon for a long time and was never able to get a Mew in the newer games. There was no guarantee she’d be able to get everything from the year-long event, so she might as well do what she can.

The trip went as usual; the store wasn’t particularly busy on a weekday, and the only sound that stood out over the speakers was a loud girl with a stack of used games in her hands, asking another girl out on a date.

“I’m not…like that,” the cornered girl responded, backing away in palpable discomfort as she picked up a game box off the shelf.

“Ah, really?” The louder one raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down quickly like she didn’t believe her, but shrugged. “Can’t blame me for trying, right?”

She didn’t get a response, and Aiko ignored the pair to ask the employee at the counter for the code. She’d only just turned away from the counter to leave the store when someone blocked her way. The loud girl, just spurned, was now standing in front of her with a cocky smile. When Aiko tried to move out of her way, she was met with, “Hey, wait.”

“What is it?” Aiko didn’t have the time or patience to deal with someone desperate enough to hit on every girl she saw if she wasn’t at work, even if she was tall and pretty.

“You’re picking up the Mew code, right?”

“I already did, and that’s all I came here to do.” She took a step to the side, but the opposing girl took a few steps back to meet her.

“You know, most girls who play Pokémon should be pretty interested in me,” she told her, grinning obnoxiously.

“Why’s that?” Aiko asked, deciding her chances of a clean escape were better if she humored her.

“I’ve been told I must be part Lickitung,” she boasted, licked her lips suggestively.

With a disgusted groan, Aiko turned on her heel and left the store, not looking back to make sure she wasn’t being followed but listening for the lack of footsteps behind her. She made it to her car without incident, reassured in the knowledge that at least her lunch wasn’t going to check her out.

---

Late shifts ending at almost midnight didn’t leave much time to cook dinner, especially with a stack of homework to finish. Aiko kept her bitter thoughts about the coworker she was expected to cover to herself, and with the extra hours she could at least afford to splurge on a premade bento to save time for studying.

She was at this particular Family Mart between work and home at least twice a week because of work, and even more often when school became particularly rigorous. The occasional bento or rice bowl was a nice break from instant noodle cups, when she dared treat herself.

The only other person in the store was another girl with an armful of sodas and snack foods; she was familiar, but it wasn’t a feeling so strong Aiko could place her memory anywhere, nor did she care to try when it was this late. However she was struck with realization when the other girl grinned smugly and asked, “Have I seen you somewhere?”

“Doubt it,” Aiko lied, not wanting a repeat of their last meeting at the game store.

“Hmm.” She bit the inside of her cheek in thought before her face lit up. “Ah! You were the little Pokémon master getting Mew, right? I don’t easily forget cute girls that don’t tell me no.”

“Then I’m telling you right now I’m not interested,” she said firmly, ready to tell the store attendant she was being harassed.

“Ah?” She looked confused, but then shrugged. “Alright.”

Aiko looked at her suspiciously, but she only smiled. At her silence, she finally introduced herself. “I’m Ren, by the way.”

“Alright.” She didn’t offer her name in return.

“What are you doing here so late, anyways? Long night planned?” Ren wasn’t aggressively flirting anymore, but she wasn’t leaving her alone, either.

“Yeah, studying,” she said, making a point to emphasize she was doing something important. “You?”

She’d only asked out of the forced habit of indulging a customer in conversation, and winced when Ren started speaking, now engaged. “My little sister wanted to marathon some older games, I’m on a snack run.”

There was a lot in that sentence that didn’t match the impression Aiko had of Ren. “Your sister?”

“Yeah, she’s probably just sneaking a nap while I’m out, we started yesterday so she’s tired.” Despite her words, she didn’t look like someone who had been awake for about 36 hours. All-nighters for Aiko meant an even grumpier disposition than usual, dragging her feet and spacing out when she wasn’t buried in work. “But she doesn’t want to get caught sleeping before I do, thinks it’ll make her look weak.”

“Sleeping is weak?” Aiko asked this skeptically, almost judgmentally, at the statement.

“Eh, she’s 16, let her think what she thinks for now.” Ren grinned again. “And she’ll never get through the Castlevania games if she doesn’t refresh her mind a bit.”

“I can’t even remember the last platformer I played,” she said absently. If a game didn’t have a save function, she was guaranteed to not have the time to finish it, and the platformers she grew up with were intended to be beaten in one long session.

“Wanna skip the books and come over?” Ren’s smile turned hungry. “I was hoping to invite someone over for an excuse to sneak off into my room, catch a nap myself.”

Aiko decided that was definitely enough socializing with Ren for the rest of her life, and placed her bento on the check-out counter, ignoring that she was there before her. “Good luck staying awake for your sister.”

---

The thought of old-school platformers had stuck to Aiko’s mind even weeks after her last meeting with Ren. Maybe she didn’t have the time for one she grew up with, but a quick Google search assured her that the modern games in classic series had save functions. The Wii U she’d received as a gift a long while back had barely gotten used, but there were Mario games for the console. She could find the time for a level or two now and then.

It rested better on her conscience to buy a used copy, since she was putting an advance on her free-spending limit. The itch to play couldn’t wait another two weeks to be scratched.

One of the last people she expected – or wanted – to see was in the store already, browsing the Playstation shelf. Ren looked up and saw her, smiled, and Aiko’s stomach sunk in dread before Ren did absolutely nothing. She gave her a quick wave of recognition before turning back to the games display.

Aiko was more shocked at her inaction than her forward actions the previous meetings, and stayed on her toes on her way to the game, and then while in the line. She berated herself for the invasive thoughts – “she’s kinda tall,” “she’s pretty when her mouth is closed,” – and kept focused on the counter at the front of the line. Some yen and about three meters were all that was between her current position and leaving unscathed with the game.

Her self-control wavered at the counter when she paid, and was unable to not ask, “Can I borrow a pen?” She stepped aside while the next customer in line paid and scratched her email onto the back of the receipt.

Aiko called out, “Hey!” while walking up to Ren, catching her attention and shoving the receipt into her chest. She spoke over her before she could flirt and ruin her bold moment. “I’m not online until late most nights, don’t expect a response.”

Ren only managed a shaken, “Huh?” before Aiko turned on her heel and rushed out the door, heart pounding in anticipatory regret. She’d only given Ren her email, not her phone number or something else easily traceable. If she did regret this, it was easy to block and ignore her.

Thoughts of everything that could possibly go wrong, minor and major, weighed her mind down. She was almost nauseous with worry on her way home, and the ping! from her phone alerting her to an email did nothing but exacerbate it. In her rush to return to her apartment and check the message, Super Mario 3D World was forgotten in the car’s front passenger seat.

Aiko threw herself to the couch immediately, taking up every cushion in an effort to get as comfortable as possible before diving into risky territory. She opened the email, and read the short message. “Hey there Pokémon master, what made you change your mind?”

Her immediate reaction was to bitterly send back, “It’s Aiko.” It was too early in their...whatever stage of their acquaintanceship it was, for pet names. Before Ren – it was obvious that the unfamiliar address was her – replied, she sent a second message. “Changed my mind about what?”

It was a few seconds before the next message came. “You said you weren’t interested, and then you throw your email at me. Can’t stand not making the first move?”

Aiko paused to think about what it was that changed her mind. “Because you remembered that.” She didn’t have much more of an answer. What was most flattering wasn’t her efforts to get close to her, but that she remembered her, and more importantly, remembered what she’d said.

“Are your standards that low wwwww,” was her quick reply, and Aiko felt a twinge of irritation that she was taking her honest praise so lightly. It was followed with, “But I told you I remembered.”

“I didn’t expect you to remember, honestly.” She seemed too carefree, like she was spreading herself too thin to remember anyone for as long as the months between their initial meeting.

“It’s hard to forget a girl as cute as you, especially one who’s interested.” She punctuated it with a winking emoji.

“Or it’s easy to remember if your flirtatious gimmick drives them all away, and I’m the only one who didn’t shut you down.” She worried she sounded too annoyed; she was annoyed, but charmed by the brazen front that had some substance behind it.

“It worked on you, didn’t it?”

“What ‘worked’? Who said we’re anything?” Aiko had realized she was essentially accepting being asked out, but wanted to see what other depths she was hiding.

“So you don’t wanna be my girlfriend then?”

Aiko paused and considered the question. It sounded like a strong word for two people who were only just now emailing each other, but the thought didn’t turn her off either. “Maybe if you take me on a date first I’ll consider it.”

The next reply came quickly enough Aiko wondered if she used it before. “Get out your Pokémon and let’s battle. If I win, I get to take you out to dinner. You win, and I’ll treat you to dinner.”

It was cliché and corny, but Aiko let herself smile at the attention directed at her. She texted back, “Tonight is the only night I’m free this week.”

“Then I guess I’d better cancel my date with Zelda, I’ll see you at 7.” She followed it with a kissing emoji, and some options for restaurants that they could go to. Aiko slowly felt that free time rut veer away, with school work not on the table, and something more exciting than a game coming up in just hours.

#watch it be like four more years before i write about these girls lol #i haven't even posted about the other set of ocs i'm actively using rn from something that's plotted for a full novel #i was actually gonna write that but then i got a full-time job 50 hours a week instead #chriswrites #lynxocs #esports yuri

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rueur · 4 years

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Morning Pages No. 57

Thursday 20th August - 9:27am

I’ve done everything I need to do for the morning, except eaten but I’m not too fussed about that. I used mouthwash, and I’m feeling pretty clean. Popped a pimple. I have work at 2:30pm, and I’m looking forward to it because I get to leave the house, and I know it’s going to be an easy shift. I kinda still want to watch Indiana Jones, but I also want to play a little Pokemon, and maybe I also want to be productive, because I’ve spent the last few days being really, really productive and it feels weird to actually have ‘free time’ now, but I also deserve some free time. I’ve been working too hard.

I had a phone call with Sarah last night. That went for about an hour. I took it outside with my headphones on, like just sitting on the side of the house by the carport with Lonzo’s red saddle jumper draped across my knees, as I stitch up that velcro patch that’s been coming off. I managed to do one entire side of the patch, so there’s just the other long side and then the short top that’s left. I’m keen to do that today. Or I can bring it to work and do it at work, but I feel like that may be a slap in the face for my managers, I don’t know. It’s true that we just don’t have a lot to do at work right now, so it would make sense to just bring things in, but at the same time, I have so much time at home. I shouldn’t be bringing chores into work. They don’t know that I actually don’t have that much time at home.

Sarah’s been having a weird couple of months with Rishi, so we chatted about everything and she was asking me what she should do in order to get their relationship to a place where talking about sensitive issues comes with more stable terrain, or more familiar territory. I spoke to her about the past three years with Evan, and the necessity to lay a groundwork on how you handle arguments. Sometimes it can feel like when you’re fighting, you fight in different ways and need different things from each other in order to attain closure. But when you need different things at the same time that neither of you are able to give, it can feel in that moment like you’re just totally incompatible. Evan and I have had our fair share of those fights, where he doesn’t want to say anything either because he doesn’t entirely know what to say in order to accurately express how he feels, or he simply doesn’t want to say anything out of concern that it’ll make things worse or just upset me further. But then because I’m full of nervous energy most of the time, and because I need to hear communication from him, him being stoic and speechless usually ends up just making me upset anyway. And it’s curious, but it was only during my conversation with Sarah that I realised that Evan and I haven’t had an argument like that in a long time now, like an argument that’s filled with awkward, tense, silent pauses because neither of us wants to speak. It’s actually a lot easier for us to hash things out now because Evan expresses himself more efficiently now. And I think it’s just because we’ve been together long enough at this point to understand how to speak to one another, and how to attain closure by working together to address our grievances. It only took like three years and one minor break-up to get to this point, but now I mean...we’re strong. We don’t have any doubts about one another, and about our equal commitment to this relationship. It’s nice, actually, to be in a space where for the first time, my partner is equally committed to me as I am to them. It’s really nice. And Sarah deserves that too.

I think a major contributing factor is that Rishi’s our age, he’s younger. Like Ashwin, but Ashwin also has a job and has somewhat of a direction he knows he may like to follow, with being the practice manager. But Rishi’s unemployed, he has no streams of personal income aside from his parents, and a business that’s just not moving fast enough yet for him to be profiting off of it. And Sarah also said he may be spending on overheads prematurely, like a warehouse space and an EMPLOYEE. The boy is living boldly. I mean I understand that though, it can be tricky being an entrepreneur and not having any real groundwork to follow when it comes to plotting out your career trajectory. ‘Entrepreneurship’ is just stabs in the dark until you find something remotely similar to what you’re looking for, and then just making it work from there. One of the articles I had to write for this month was on why you don’t need a lot of capital to start your own business. One of the major points made by other entrepreneurs is that if your idea can’t make money unless you have $10,000 or something, then your idea probably isn’t as strong as it could be. Some people say they need money for marketing, like in order to get their product out there...but then at the same time, you have a lot of online businesses that get their start from just playing the social media game really, really well. You don’t necessarily need to pay Facebook or Instagram for a promoted platform or anything like that, not if your product is good enough and fills enough of the gap in the market that you’ve sussed out.

Whenever I think of the phrase ‘gap in the market’, I think of people patching up water pipes and shit with duct tape, like just the most haphazard pipe in the world that’s filled with duct tape patches of all shapes and sizes. That’s what ‘the market’ looks like to me. People like to pretend that civilisation is orderly, completely organised to the point where the world exists off of squares and grids, linear systems. I know that’s not the case now, especially since lockdown, but I knew it during my undergrad too. You can just see the cracks more readily now, and you can see the desperation of the bodies that govern us - be they governmental or corporate - as they try to ‘keep the economy afloat’ like it’s the only thing that matters. I know it’s also easy for me to talk because I still have a job, but for the past few years I’ve had the bare minimum of a job. Twelve contracted hours a week, it’s usually lucky for me to make $400. And now that there’s no commissions it’s lower than that. The way that I see my job is that it only really covers rent, and if I want to support the rest of my life, I’ll absolutely need to take on students and have as many SEO jobs as I can hold.

Anyway, Sarah and I chatted about a lot of things, but mostly it was about Rishi and what she should do. She also told me she’d been asking Amy for advice and Amy’s response to Sarah’s qualms have been a little bit more defensive or protective, I should say. It’s because of everything that had happened with Sonny. Also it doesn’t help that apparently both Rishi and Sonny are scorpios, and Amy’s doubly wary for that reason too! Evan and I were talking about how much we enjoy being pisceans, and the more I think about it right now, the more I realise that I actually do love being around other pisceans. I feel like I just get their energy, their nature, and I know what to expect from them because it’s all me too. Amy’s also a piscean, which is just the most fitting thing ever. Our emotional intuition is off the charts, and I’m yet to meet a person who’s as in tune with themselves as Amy is.

It’s 9:50am, and I feel like I’m making good time with these pages this time around. I struggled through yesterday’s, and I think it’s because I knew I just had a mound of work waiting for me once I’d typed out these pages. But I know that all I need to do for the rest of today is just chill out and wait for it to be 2pm, when we’ll leave so I can make it to work! It’s going to be an easy day. If anything, all I should task myself with today is organising both the zoom chat with Steve and the zoom chat with Dan. That sounds like a perfectly fine workload. I’m just not sure when I’ll be able to organise either of those chats. I feel like I should prioritise Steve, just because I haven’t dedicated much time to Julie’s project because of the agency this week, but I did tell Julie ahead of time, so I’m not feeling badly right now. Also, Dan’s still getting stuff together, so it’s going to be a pretty preliminary conversation. Even so, I should get in touch with both of them today.

I feel like I need to go to the bathroom again. Second poop! Oh second poop, how long must you plague me for? How do I absorb you into my first poop? Or am I just always doomed to feel the nagging pains of second poop on every commute for years and years to come? I kind of regret writing this out...but hey, it’s my stream of consciousness. Penny!

Yesterday’s 21 Days challenge was to interact with our Abundance Accountability Buddy (AAB), and mine is a woman named Penny. Nichole and Amy were paired together, and Evan has both Braden AND Anthony, so initially I felt a little iffy about being paired with a complete stranger, but at this point I just trust Sarah and I believe she paired Penny and I together for a reason that I’ll come to know through interacting with this person. I’m hopeful that our chats turn familiar and we share some pretty nifty insights with one another. And that maybe I’ll make a friend? I’m not entirely sure how old Penny is. I had a look through her profile pictures out of curiosity, and there are two women in a lot of them: one older, one younger. At this point, Penny might either be the mother or the daughter, I don’t know! I mean, I know it doesn’t matter too much, but I just don’t know how to handle the text speech. I feel like I text differently when it comes to people from different age brackets or different personal backgrounds, I don’t know! But I trust Sarah! She paired us together consciously, for a genuine reason. And I will talk to Penny and only through talking to Penny, will we both come to realise what that reason is. I mean at the same time, it may have also been completely random.

It’s a beautiful day, as I can see it out of my big front window. I’m honestly digging the long grass in the front yard, even though I know it cannot be encouraged. Maybe I’ll ask Evan to mow it at some point today. Or we can do it together tomorrow. There are some dog poops that I could pick up, and I could work on clearing the garden beds at the very least. I’m still keen to plant some lavender and rosemary along the house. It’ll complement the house’s muted colour scheme really nicely. Interesting...with a greater number of paragraphs, my word count for these pages has gone from an average of around 2100, to now 1993. I should write more paragraphs. 2000.

#sarah #morningpages #streamofconsciousness #57 #artistsway #21days #penny

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wbwest · 8 years

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New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/01/18/west-year-ever-pop-culture-review-2016/

West YEAR Ever: Pop Culture In Review - 2016

Thank 8 pound, 6 ounce newborn Baby Jesus that 2016 is over! I mean, I guess there was some good stuff peppered in there, but it was an overall rough year for a lot of people. I tried to keep my sanity here on the blog, but even I checked out for the month of November. Like Kenny Rogers told us, sometimes you’ve gotta know when to walk away. But I did make a return in December just to kick the year in the ass on its way out. So, besides celebrity deaths, what did 2016 bring us? Well, there was that week we were all mesmerized by Pokemon Go! Those were fun times. We got new X-Files episodes. Peyton Manning retired after winning the Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos. Atlanta and Luke Cage came along and entertained us on television. And things weren’t too shabby here on the blog either.

During Spring Break Week, I discussed several of the most underrated TV theme songs, including Webster, California Dreams, and Enterprise.

I also covered the worst Batman comic ever written, in the form of Just Imagine Stan Lee’s Batman

I did my annual Fall TV Upfronts post, where I discussed the upcoming fall lineups of the major broadcast networks.

A post that was several years in the making, I ranked the Hot Moms of Teen Shows over on The Robot’s Pajamas

I also did a guest post ranking the hottest Power Rangers Villains

It wasn’t all fun and games, though. The country was going through some dark stuff, and I’m particularly proud of this West Week Ever where I discussed the racial problems in the country.

I also experience my first live wrestling event as I attended a taping of WWE Monday Night Raw.

I brought back my graphic novel review column, Adventures West Coast, where I covered Wonder Woman: Earth One.

I also brushed off my Comical Thoughts column, where I discussed IDW’s disappointing Hasbro-centric Revolution event.

Finally, I closed out the year with a post that I’m particularly proud of, discussing the greatest problems facing comic retailers.

I saw about 13 fewer movies in 2016 than in 2015. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but there are only so many hours in the day. As you know, I’m not necessarily Mr. Movie, so I’m not even going to try to rank them. Here they are, simply in the order that I saw them. Wanna know my thoughts? Plug the title into the search box up on the top righthand corner!

Movies I Watched This Year

Lucy

Beauty Shop

Bikini Spring Break

Fifty Shades of Grey

X-Men: Days of Future Past (The Rogue Cut)

We Don’t Live Here Anymore

Gone Girl

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2

The Martian

Inside Out

Sisters

Batman: Bad Blood

Son of Batman

Batman vs. Robin

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Tomorrowland

Deadpool

San Andreas

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

Autism In Love

Cop Car

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Dead 7

Justice League vs. Teen Titans

Pacific Rim

All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records

CHAPPiE

Unhung Hero

Trainwreck

Confirmation

The Boss

Captain America: Civil War

They Live

Ted 2

Creed

Zoolander 2

The Ladykillers

10 Cloverfield Lane

X-Men: Apocalypse

The Intern

You’re F@#k’n Dead!

LEGO DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered

LEGO DC Comics Superheroes: Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom

Focus

The Good Dinosaur

Sleeping with Other People

Big Hero 6

Keanu

Southpaw

The Night Before

The Equalizer

The Bronze

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Batman: The Killing Joke

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens

Suicide Squad

The Day

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Independence Day: Resurgence

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Meet The Hitlers

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising

Doctor Strange

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

West Week Ever Recipients of 2016 (with commentary)

1/8/16 – Fall Out Boy’s “Irresistible” video

I’m a huge boyband fan, so the news that one of my favorite bands (Fall Out Boy) had reimagined the It’s Gonna Be Me video by one of my favorite boybands (*NSYNC) definitely made my week. The sheer fact that it didn’t really move the world of pop culture, however, shows you how slow of a news week it was. There would be many weeks like this in 2016.

1/15/16 – Power Rangers

This was quite the week for the Power Rangers franchise. First off, it was revealed that Saban would be skipping the train-centric sentai series Ressha Sentai ToQger, and instead adapt Shuriken Sentai Ninninger as Power Rangers Ninja Steel. This announcement was almost a year to the date of the premiere of the show (scheduled to debut next Saturday), and we spent the next few months getting casting and toy news about the show. Meanwhile, the #0 issue of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic was released by Boom! that week, setting up a series that is so much better than it has any right to be. I’ve written about it several times over the year, as I’m a big fan. And finally, former Wild Force Red Ranger actor Ricardo Medina was formally charged that week for killing his roommate with a sword. All in all, I think Power Rangers truly earned the West Week Ever that week.

1/22/16 – DC Entertainment

The Suicide Squad trailer was released this week, as well as the series premiere of Legends of Tomorrow. The Suicide Squad promotion machine would see its ups and downs over the year, the Legends premiere was fairly strong, even with a bunch of useless characters (I’m looking at you, Hawks). The show would get stronger in its second season, but this is where it all started. We also got a DC movie special hosted by Kevin Smith, giving us some Wonder Woman and Justice League footage. Marvel usually dominates the news cycle, but DC showed that they can also step up to the plate.

1/29/16 – The X-Files

When news of an X-Files revival hit, it was pretty big news. Then it launched, and it wasn’t exactly what folks were expecting. Clocking in at 6 episodes, only half of them focused on the conspiracy aspect of the show, plus they were aired out of order. I went from really liking the premiere to completely forgetting it existed, in a very short amount of time. If it was going to get the WWE, it would had to have been this week of the premiere, as it ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

2/5/16 – UnderScoopFire Podcast

I appeared on the UnderScoopFire Podcast 8 times over the years, and had a great time on every one of them. Those guys are some of my good friends that I’ve met online, so of course I was sad to see it go. After 150 shows (give or take a few. Yeah, I’m not letting that go!), I think their swan song deserved the West Week Ever.

2/12/16 – Denver Broncos

I couldn’t give two shits about sports, but Lindsay’s from Denver, so we’re a Broncos household. So, everything was coming up Milhouse this week, as the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. Not only was it a nice, round, milestone number, but it also served as future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s final game. It was the perfect storybook ending that sports fans seem to love so much. So, yeah, they totally deserved the West Week Ever.

2/19/16 – Deadpool

Deadpool came out and blew away everyone’s expectations. I mean, this thing is getting nominated for awards. And not Razzies, too! Personally, I thought it was too gratuitous. I’ve gone over my reasoning before, so I won’t rehash that here. Still, it went on to become the second highest grossing superhero film of the year, just behind Captain America: Civil War. Totally deserved.

3/4/16 – Fuller House

After Girl Meets World came along, the runway was cleared for any and every nostalgic reboot to come along. And along came Fuller House. Every fan of TGIF awaited it with bated breath, hoping for the same mindless entertainment they got from the original show. And it did not disappoint! The second season just debuted a few weeks ago, and it’s already been picked up for a 3rd on Netflix. This show not only showed the power of Netflix as a home for original comedies, but also showed that old dogs still have some fight left in them. I think this was definitely the high point of that week.

3/11/16 – Jay Pharaoh

This was a slow week. Sure, Pharaoh did an amazing impersonation spree during that week’s Saturday Night Live Weekend Update. Like, it was AMAZING. And to pay him back, the show fired him at the end of the season. He’s OK, as he immediately booked a Showtime pilot, but the fact that this was the most noteworthy thing of the week shows how slow things were.

3/18/16 – Nothing

Some weeks you’ve just gotta call a spade a spade. Instead of insulting anyone’s intelligence, nothing had the West Week Ever.

3/25/16 – Wonder Woman

Like a lot of people, I did not like Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Like a lot of people, I also felt that Wonder Woman was the brightest spot in that dark film. Totally deserved

4/1/16 – Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

I may not have liked it. A lot of folks may not have liked it. But it made some money. A lot of money. And it was the true springboard to DC’s cinematic universe. So, for its money-making and its importance, I think it earned the West Week Ever. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It just wasn’t for me.

4/8/16 – American Idol

Idol‘s series finale aired that week, marking the end of a pop culture juggernaut. Unlike The Voice, Idol actually created household names. It gave us Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, and Fantasia. On the flip side, it also gave us William Hung, Taylor Hicks, and Daughtry. It spawned so many copycats, but it was the original recipe. Its influence may have waned in later years, but no one can deny what it was in its heyday. I think it’ll eventually come back, but this was when we said “Ta ta, for now.”

4/15/16 – Marvel

That week, we found out Natalie Portman wasn’t coming back for Thor: Ragnarok, we got a teaser trailer for Doctor Strange, an we learned that the new Spider-Man movie would be called Spider-Man: Homecoming. Marvel definitely dominated the news cycle that week.

4/22/16 – Harriet Tubman

While it was pretty monumental that a woman (a Black woman, mind you) would be adorning American currency, it doesn’t really move the pop culture needle that much. So, I ended up giving the West Week Ever to a dead woman – in a column that has a pretty strict No Death policy. This was kind of a slow week…

4/29/16 – Beyoncé

The singer dropped the surprise album Lemonade following their airing of her HBO special. One of the songs alluded to the possibility that her husband, Jay-Z, might have cheated on her. For the next week, everyone was pondering the identity of “Becky, with the good hair”. This is the kind of thing the drives pop culture. Totally deserved.

5/6/16 – Captain America: Civil War

I had seen the movie, and thought it was excellent.

5/13/16 – Captain America: Civil War

Then the movie made a lot of money. I mean, a fuckton of money.

5/20/16 – Nothing

It was just one of those weeks

5/27/16 – DC Universe: Rebirth #1

DC Comics lost a lot of fans after the New 52 event, in which they rebooted their universe. So, the Rebirth event was something of a mea culpa to those fans. More like a “Please come back! We promise to make stuff you’ll like again!” And for the most part it has worked. This special not only brought fan favorite Wally West back into the fold, but it also sort of introduced the Watchmen comic into the mainstream DC universe. We don’t yet know how that’s all going to play out, but this move helped DC to dominate more market share than Marvel for most of the year.

6/3/16 – Ecto-Cooler

I never really liked Ecto-Cooler. I mean, it tasted kinda like tropical piss, but I loved the fact that Slimer was on the box. That’s about where my nostalgia ended. But a lot of y’all out there LOVED that shit! So, when it was announced that Coca Cola was bringing it back in conjunction with the Ghostbusters movie, y’all started assembling street teams to track it down. I swear, if the 2016 election had been run in a manner similar to the vim and vigor displayed trying to track down green sugar water, I might actually have some hope for tomorrow!

6/10/16 – Awesome Con 2016

Slow week. Cool show, great company, but slow week.

6/17/16 – Hamilton

I discovered the Hamilton soundtrack the same week that it won 11 of the 16 Tony Awards for which it was nominated. We’ll talk more about the show later, but the West Week Ever was deserved, even if the wins did fall short of the Tony Award record.

6/24/16 – Black actors in Hollywood

This was more of a joke, as every Black actor in Hollywood was being cast in the upcoming Black Panther film. That trend has continued since this post. Still, slow news week.

7/1/16 – The 683 New Members of the Oscar Academy

Another joke. Due to the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, signifying that the Academy was lacking in diversity, 683 people were invited to be members, bolstering the number of women and minorities. Still, slow news week.

7/8/16 – TNA’s The Final Deletion

Oh, man! This thing was incredible. They went on to milk it for the rest of the year, andI missed all subsequent installments. Still, this got me to pay attention to a wrestling promotion not owned by Vince McMahon, and for a brief moment, all wrestling eyes were on TNA to see what Matt Hardy would do next. Completely deserved.

7/15/16 – Pokemon GO!

This game came along and took the world by STORM. To say it was a success would be an understatement. It was envisioned to promote fitness, as kids would have to walk around to find perks and to get their eggs to hatch, but there were workarounds. Hell, I drove around looking for Pokestops. For about 4 weeks, this was all anyone could talk about. It was the Tamagotchi of a new generation, and I think, outside of all the political stuff, it’s one of the things we’ll remember most about 2016.

7/22/16 – Ghostbusters

It was a slow week, but Ghostbusters and the Republican National Convention were the only newsworthy events of the week. As much as we want to pile on that movie, it did take in a respectable $46 million, and it set a record for Paul Feig/Melissa McCarthy movies. I know a lot of folks don’t feel the movie’s deserving of any kind of accolades. As you saw above, I didn’t watch it, but I still think it’s not as bad as people would like me to believe. I swear, though, had they named it anything other than Ghostbusters, we’d still be talking about it.

7/29/16 – DC Entertainment

DC, back with their SECOND West Week Ever of the year? The word on the street was that they “won” San Diego Comic Con, with their new footage of Justice League, as well as the debut of the Wonder Woman trailer. Considering Marvel usually dominates SDCC, this was a feat worth acknowledging.

8/12/16 – Suicide Squad

The movie made $160 million in 5 days, which is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I actually enjoyed it. I didn’t like it as a component of DC’s cinematic world building, but I liked it as a standalone thing on its own.

8/19/16 – Ryan Lochte

He was an Olympian at the center of a fake robbery attempt in a foreign country, who then fled to let his teammates take the fall. It’s the stuff of a great Aaron Spelling show. He had the West Week Ever simply because he got away with it.

8/26/16 – Guardians trailer

Slow news week, even if the trailer is pretty awesome. Billed as “Russia’s Avengers”, the English version of Guardians trailer started making the rounds because of its crazy action and gun-wielding bear man. Yeah, you’ve gotta see it to believe it. The movie might not even be released over here, and if it is, it’ll never get higher than cult status. Still, if you want to know what everyone was talking about that week, it was Guardians.

9/2/16 – Are You Being Served? one-off special

Some might say this was a slow news week, but I think this applied the West Week Ever to an international stage when I typically just focus on the US. After all, this special didn’t even air in America (nor has it since, nor do there seem to be plans to do so in the future), and I had to resort watching it on YouTube. Still, I grew up with Are You Being Served? and I was more than curious to see how an update of it might hold up. With a few small exceptions, it was pitch perfect, and definitely in the spirit of the original series. This one might’ve been a bit personal for me, but I think it was the best part of this particular week.

9/9/16 – Atlanta

The show just won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. I think I called this one correctly.

9/16/16 – Better Late Than Never

Another personal one for me, but it’s my site, so whatever. I’m more than certain none of my friends were watching this show, but I watched it weekly with my mom and we enjoyed it. I wrote about it to get folks to seek it out, but I doubt that happened. Still, in a week when nothing happens, things like this are allowed to shine.

9/23/16 – Lindsay West

Mah wife. Running your first half marathon is pretty impressive. And nothing happened in the overall pop culture world. If you’ve followed West Week Ever since the beginning, you know that every so often some random person gets the honor. Hell, last year, my kid had the West Year Ever, so you never know where I might play that card.

10/7/16 – Luke Cage

It broke Netflix! So many people tuned in that Netflix couldn’t handle it. I still haven’t seen it, but I haven’t heard a bad thing about it other than the fact that it kinda drags in the middle – like most Marvel Netflix shows.

10/14/16 – Will & Grace

Considering I think I was the only one impressed by this Will & Grace special that was designed to get folks to get out and vote, I’m sure a lot of folks disagreed with this choice. Still, if you were a Will & Grace fan, then you can’t deny how great it was to see those characters in a way that felt like they’d never left us.

10/21/16 – Logan trailer

Can’t say much more because the movie’s not out yet, but we were ALL talking about this after it dropped, and it’s on most folks’ most anticipated movies of 2017 lists. I don’t think it’s going to disappoint.

10/28/16 – The Walking Dead

I don’t watch it, but I did tune into this episode just to watch a man die. Or two men. Whatever. All folks could talk about this week was whether or not the show had gone too far. The Walking Dead dominated the discussion, so this West Week Ever was well-deserved.

11/4/16 – The Chicago Cubs

Um, the “cursed” team won their first championship after 108 years. Yeah, this was deserved.

12/2/16 – Search Party

I don’t feel like a lot of my readers had seen the show when I wrote this, but I know a few who checked it out because I’d written about it. That’s why I do this, kids! It was one of my favorite shows of 2017, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, I’m not quite sure what you’re waiting for.

12/9/16 – Hamilton

Hamilton for the second time this year. The last time was for its Tony wins, but this one was two-fold: The Hamilton Mixtape was released and a beautifully pirated copy of the play was uploaded to YouTube. I watched it during the 5 days that it was allowed to stay on the site, and I can now die saying that I saw Hamilton. This was on the heels of a controversy where the cast members took a moment to address Vice President-Elect Mike Pence while he was taking in the show. For the next week, the conversation was whether or not they should’ve done that. So, it’s safe to say that Hamilton was on everyone’s lips around that time.

12/16/16 – WWE’s New Day

Yeah, then the lost two days after I posted this. I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles. Still, they deserved the West Week Ever for all they had put in leading up to this point.

12/23/16 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

It was the last thing to make a dent in pop culture before the clock ran out on 2016. A lot of folks are saying it’s one of their favorite Star Wars movies. I don’t really get that, but I’m happy for them if that’s the case. I thought it was entertaining, but I didn’t really like it. It’s hard to explain, and I’ve tried. Still, there’s no way anything else is going to take center stage when there’s new Star Wars to be consumed.

So, who had the West Year Ever? In the past, I’ve added up who had the most West Week Ever wins and then it’s a runoff. If we’re being honest, Death had the West Year Ever. There were SO many celebrity deaths this year, that it would take another post just to do a proper In Memoriam for everyone we lost. And of course, you have those guys who wanna “Neil deGrasse Tyson” everything by pointing out that people die all the time, or that the year is an arbitrary number. Whatever, asshole. That doesn’t help anybody, and it’s why you don’t get invited to many parties. Anyway, I don’t like to focus on death in West Week Ever -not because it’s morbid, but more because I feel like I’d have to acknowledge every celebrity death, even when I didn’t personally give a shit about that person. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

Doing the math, it’s a three-way tie between DC Entertainment, Captain America: Civil War, and Hamilton. DC Entertainment really stepped up this year, taking a good chunk of the comics market share away from Marvel, as well as by launching their cinematic universe. After years of being the joke of the industry, DC finally started pushing back. And the Rebirth initiative didn’t hurt things, either. Meanwhile, not everyone loved Civil War. I did, but even I’ll admit that it’s basically “Dawn of Justice Done Right”. They’re both superhero slugfests that surround the concept of dead moms. Some called it “Civil Bore”, but I don’t agree with that. Still, I have to kind of acknowledge that there is a divide out there. Finally, there’s Hamilton. It had a big year, but I don’t know if we’ll look back and say “Hamilton really came into its own in 2016.” If anything, that’s more likely to happen at a time when the show can more easily be consumed by the masses. So, Hamilton’s year may actually be ahead of it, but it’s not 2016. So, I think it’s pretty clear. 2016 was the year where retailers stopped buying everything Marvel was selling, and so did the fans. The quality of Marvel’s output was in question more this year than it was in recent years, yet people still seemed to be able to find positive things about the DC Universe. Meanwhile, their movies might not be your cup of tea, but they made money, and the critics haven’t deterred them from forging ahead. So, with that, I believe I simply have to admit that DC Entertainment had the West Year Ever.

#80s #Adventures West Coast #Batman #Boybands #Comics #DC #Marvel #Movies #Music #Pop #Power Rangers #Race #Star Wars #Television #West Week Ever #West Year Ever #Wrestling #X-Men

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