Some Kirby merchandise that I saw while visiting Kinokuniya New York and Nintendo New York 🏙️

I beat Pokémon Crystal for the first time!

As i played through Pokémon Crystal for the first time, I simultaneously felt regret at not having grown up with the pokémon series and overwhelmed at how different the older games are!

I enjoyed the music and delightful 8-bit pokémon designs. There's something very charming about the overall presentation. Importantly, I was so happy to play as a female character! It was a lot of fun discovering this region for the first time, even though it was difficult at times to change my play style to accommodate this older title.

I have played games with HMs before, but I guess its been a while. And playing this just really feels like constantly having a doduo peck at your head... reminding you incessantly how annoying HMs are. Almost as annoying as HMs are the waaaaayyyy too frequent phone calls! I was happy at first to see a way to rebattle and earn more money and xp, but by Arceus did I not yet realize how often the trainers would call. It's so bad It makes me question if it was ever playtested at all. It's so disruptive!

This is my first game without the fairy type, and without experience share. So that's been a learning curve as well. I feel quite spoiled by the newer games in how much less grinding is required to have a decent team. Of course, I always support the players that want a more challenging experience, but for me... I don't want to go back to the grind fest lol. Admittedly, I had to spend a lot of time readjusting my team as I learned some differences with this older game, and that inflated my playtime. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad. I did a lot of mindless grinding on Victory Road while walking on the treadmill or watching documentaries, so it didn't feel like I was really wasting my time lol.

Given the tech this was originally released on, the chip music is delightful and the Pokémon sprites look great. The encounter music in particular stood out to me and some of the pokemon have such expressive little poses! I swear Graveler never looked cuter. Meganium didn't really serve me particularly well as my partner pokemon, but Sweetpea was cute so oh well lol. I always disliked Jynx, but I got a shiny Smoochum in my odd egg. She ended up being my MVP big time. Thank you, Belinda. I'm sorry I was ever harsh with you! Pupperoni the Arcanine also served me well. And Spicey Gee, my shiny gyarados was welcomed into my party as well. Ms. Pidgey was nice to have in a pinch, and Last Hope the Lanturn was a last minute addition to help with my battle against Lance. I actually took very little damage and never used any potions so I guess I did alright lol.

I have to admit I don't often dabble in pokémon postgames, but I suppose I'm not experiencing the full game if I stop now. So I will fight the urge to move on and see what Kanto has in store for me! Plus, I have to catch the legendaries at the very least.

I do have some complaints with my experience on virtual console. A lot of optional features in Pokémon Crystal were meant for the Gameboy Printer, and while obviously they couldn't support that, they absolutely COULD have tweaked those and other features to work on 3DS, including online trading. None of that matters now though, as Nintendo has shut down support for the 3DS anyway, but STILL. It is a bit of a bummer I can never complete my pokedex if I wanted to.

So with this Johto experience behind me, the only other region I have never visited is Unova! The next pokémon game I play will probably be Black or White!

--------

For clarity, my Kanto experience was Let's Go Eevee and I have never played R/B/Y or FR/LG. I own Red on VC.

My Hoenn experience was Omega Ruby, and I first explored Sinnoh in Shining Pearl.

In the future, I'd love to play SoulSilver and Platinum.

Life update (LOOONG)

Happy new year! I was gone for a month, first because of the holiday shopping and gatherings, then some freelance thingies and then I went to Ljubljana for 5 days!

I packed my trusty travel buddies, Al Pacino (get it lol) and Piggy <333 I am used to traveling with them, Al Pacino is canonically a party animal and Piggy just has a good cheerful vibe <3 Ljubljana was more expensive than I thought it would be, I come from a seaside tourist town so I thought it couldn't get more expensive than that XD but it was like 15% more expensive. Still we had so much fun just exploring the city, there are tons of galleries and cool decorations and also WE FOUND A SIGNED SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK BOOK XD!!! also I found Style Boutique 3ds games I always wanted hehe, Nintendo 3ds games are so hard to find in Croatia :P

We traveled by train, first time around we were in the cabin with Jehovah's witnesses XD It was pitch black outside, the train was very silent and it was just us six (two plushies) in the cabin, the JW couple talking about Bible predicting the end of the world...I had so much fun tbh, what are the odds of something that liminal happening? I felt like I was in an indie horror game XD

Unfortunately, on our way back something very stupid happened ;_; We were rushing to our train and Piggy slipped out of my pocket ;_____; I realized that 5 min before train started, I ran out immediately to look for him but I was in so much menstrual pain and ran a little bit before I realized that I most likely dropped him on a first platform which was too far away to go back to. I came back to my cabin and cried for the rest of the day :'c I am extremely sensitive when it comes to my plushies, I was extremely heartbroken. The ride was beautiful tho, it was 8 am, the sun was slowly rising and the sky was pink, trees were covered in snow and you could still see the moon.

There is a happy ending though. What happened was, yes, Piggy ran out of my pocket when I was on the train station. Apperently Žižek lived nearby and Piggy wanted to pay him a visit. He then promptly returned the next morning to my local Muller store where I first found him. Only one Piggy was there, so yes, it could be no other :)

Someone probably saw him at the station and adopted him, he was cute and clean and tbh I would've picked him up and take him home too XD I have no doubt he will make someone happy. But I also know that finding Piggy the day after at the spot where we first met, and him being the only Piggy there, it was exactly how it's meant to be. He is now on house arrest though and he will never travel again XDDD

I will be posting web dev updates and random stupid stuff soon <333 I am not giving up on Tumblr yet, there are some extremely cool people on here :D

EGX

on October 12th, we visited the EGX expo in London. I was very surprised to see companies such as Nintendo and Sega, and even Five Nights At Freddy’s which does not frequently appear with official stores in person. The event was also sponsored by Tiktok and there were a lot of banners and promotions for it. The Five Nights At Freddy’s van have out free pizza, which i wasn’t aware of, i thought the pizza would be overpriced but it was completely free. although the queues, again, were also long. I can agree with the long queues for this though since FNAF doesn’t appear for real events very often. This van was here to promote the Five Nights At Freddy’s movie that releases October 25th.

The Nintendo area was in the middle and it was quite large, the area has multiple consoles set up where you can play Super Mario Wonder. This game hasn’t released yet, it releases on October 20th 2023 so i was also surprised to see it there and got to play it before it even released. I played it with a friend. we also got free paperhats afterwards which i loved. there were lots of people walking around with paper mario hats. We didn’t play this early on when we arrived because the queues were quite long. They also had displays of the Nintendo Switch OLED model which i thought was cool, i had never seen one before.

They also had costume performers of Mario and Luigi which i thought was fun. I didn’t end up taking a photo more closely because the lines for it were also long, but they were walking around the event too.

There was also an area for Persona 5 Tactica, a spin-off game for Persona 5 which is also yet to release. I really wanted to play this, but i unfortunately didn’t because the queues even towards the end of the day were very long. Although the lines for Persona 3 Reload were much longer. They also gave out free hats of Morgana from Persona 5 similarly to the Nintendo area.

almost a full quarter of the event was for retro games and tabletop games. They had old games from older consoles from NES, SNES, N64, Sega Megadrive and the older playstations. i played the original GTA, banjo kazooie, super mario 3, street fighter 2, and also a FPS game for the PS2. i wasn’t sure what that game was called but i played it with 3 of my friends.

They also had a lot of old arcade games from around the 1980s, i played frogger, elevator action, make trax, asteroids, raiden fighter’s jet, and an arcade game that was similar to street fighter. there were also driving games and fighter jet games where you would control the vehicle with a steering wheel or a control handle and the seat would move. i was terrible at them.

there were lots of indie games i hadn’t heard of before. but i didn’t end up trying them unfortunately. there were always a lot of people waiting.

I didn’t get any close ups of the stalls, but there were a lot of sellers. there were a lot of independent small businesses that sold their own artwork too.

personally, i think a lot of the items were overpriced. but this is understandable, since the sellers most likely understand that a lot of people are coming to the event and they know they can make profit from them. it costs a lot usually to set up a stall like these, so they were probably wanting to make a lot of their money back. it did stop me from buying a lot of things though.

there were a lot of copyrighted characters’ merchandise being sold. a lot of anime, sanrio and game characters were having merchandise sold of them. these companies do not have the time to worry about small businesses reselling their characters in merchandise, other than nintendo. nintendo would probably shut them down completely if they found out. i think they avoid copyright claims by the companies just not knowing of their reselling.

i bought this pair of nintendo star earrings from a business called lethe charms. they were £10, which is actually reasonable for a pair of earrings that look to be hand made. although they did have keychains for £8 which i consider a little overpriced considering their sizes.

i bought these two kirby keychains from a stall, and none of their products are made by them. these two together were a deal for £6, which i didn’t consider too overpriced.

i also got this kirby beanie for £12. which was definitely overpriced and i could’ve bought it elsewhere. this merch was also not made by the business selling them.

the two genders: cute and cool

There were two editions of Harvest Moon DS: Cute and Cool. In both games, you were able to grow crops, raise animals, and bond with villagers. However, the gender of your character was determined by which edition you bought. In Cute, you were forced to be a girl. In Cool, you were forced to be a boy.

I played Cool first. This was back in the day of video rental stores, many of which included a small section for video games. My parents took me occasionally and allowed me to pick out a game to play for a night or two. I had a Nintendo DS and, although I can’t remember if I had the Wii yet, I regularly got games for both.

Cool was the only edition of Harvest Moon: DS available at the rental shop. So that’s what I got.

I fell in love with this game, although it was incredibly mediocre in hindsight. For one, that game doesn’t allow same-sex relationships. A lot of spiritual successors, such as the Rune Factory series still don’t allow you to date girls as a girl. And of course, I always date girls in the Harvest Moon-esque game (except in Stardew Valley, where my savior complex fought my love for women and won). I dated the rich girl in Cool. She was easy to impress. Her favorite gifts were common in the mines: jewelry and gems.

Although I grew attached to the game, my parents made me return it. But a few weeks later, as I was still bugging them about it, they brought me to Gamestop for the purpose of buying Harvest Moon: DS. I hopped and skipped the way there and waltzed to the Nintendo DS section of Gamestop. 

But Cool was not there. In its place, a single copy of Cute. But goddammit I didn’t want to play as a girl. My mom called over an employee, who broke the horrible news to me that they didn’t have Cool. He was a white teenage boy and looked at me like white teenage boys looked at gay and gender-non-conforming folk. 

My parents wouldn’t let me return to Gamestop later when they did get Cool. Either I was a girl or I couldn’t buy the game at all. 

I enjoyed playing as a girl, even if all the male romantic interests sucked complete ass. It was fun dressing up. But, fuck man, I wanted to be a boy and date the rich girl.

While I was playing the game, a wave of melancholy overcame me and I was compelled to visit the rich girl. But she called me a frumpy country girl and I, very offended for my character, never visited her again.

Marvelous has released new information and screenshots for Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town introducing the game’ pioneering elements, as well as new characters including romance options.

Get the details below.

■ Clear the Forest and Build Your Very Own Farm

Story of Seasons is a cozy life simulation series in which you can enjoy life on a farm filled with nature, growing fruits and vegetables, tending to livestock, meeting the townspeople, and building romance.

In Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, you can clear the land yourself and enjoy a cozy life simulation with more freedom than ever before.

■ Starting Your Farm from Scratch

Clear the Land

Start your farm from scratch by clearing through a vast forest. Cut down trees, break rocks, and mow weeds… This work requires patience, but various discoveries and encounters await those who pioneer the land.

Various Encounters Await

—Obtain and grow new crops.

—Encounter animals that you can raise on your farm and even ride.

—Take photographs of wild animals and insects for the town museum.

—Discover fishing spots to catch big fish and unusual aquatic products.

The Biggest Farm in the Series Yet

At the start of the game, the farm consists only of a small plot of land covered in trees, a broken hut, and a tent for you to live in. However, by clearing the forest and gathering resources, you can repair and build new facilities to gradually expand the land and what you can do with it.

—By mending broken bridges or collapsed valleys, you will be able to go to new lands.

—By fixing up the deserted house you discover, you can turn it into an animal shed where you can raise your livestock.

Layout the land you clear as you like! Use tools to freely develop your farm, from the positioning of the animal shed to the scope of the field, various patterned roads and fences, sprinklers, and more. Whether your farm is huge, large, or has a slightly unusual use of space, this vast land is yours to create as you please!

■ Full-Fledged Farm Management

The farm management of previous Story of Seasons games has been even further enhanced in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town.

Livestock and Farming

Plow the land, sow the seeds, and keep them watered to grow all sorts of crops. By shipping out harvested crops for money, you can gradually develop your farm to become even bigger.

By taking care of your livestock, your can obtain animal by-products, then either ship those out or go to the extra effort of processing to sell it for an even higher price.

By using the various ingredients obtained through livestock and farming, you can cook various cuisines. While you can ship out and sell the cuisines you cook, you can also eat them yourself to restore stamina, allowing you to carry out your farm work even longer.

The money obtained through farm management can be used to upgrade tools such as your axe, hoe, and watering can, which will only make farm life easier such as by increasing the amount of land that can be plowed at once.

And there are various other fun things to look forward to, including beekeeping, mushroom growing, fruit growing, and more.

Coropon

Coropon are spirits you encounter as you live your life on the farm. By befriending the Coropon, they will give you crops and materials produced in their village. While there are not many Coropon at first, you will discover many as you pioneer the land. In the process of clearing the land and befriending them, they may even take you to a “special place”…

■ The Residents of Olive Town

Victor

The mayor of Olive Town.

Gloria

Museum curator and Victor’s wife.

Patricia

Animal shop owner who loves conversation.

Nigel

A kind-hearted carpenter and poor conversationalist.

Jason

A good-natured man who manages the town hotel.

Sally

The dependable cafe hostess.

■ The Love Interests of Olive Town

Ralph

A ranger who preserves the town’s nature. A calm man of few words, he is a leader type who takes the initiative when the time calls for it. It seems that he used to play sports���?

Jack

His family runs the general goods store. He is often scolded by his younger sister Cindy for his lack of motivation, but for some reason is difficult to hate. He is always thinking about whether there is anything he can do for the town.

Lara

An easygoing and reliable big sister-type. She is the tour guide of Olive Town. She cares for her family very much and takes care of her father, who is in poor health.

Blair

A cheerful and determined girl who works at the bistro. She dreams of becoming a star and leaving Olive Town. She used to live in the city.

■ New Features

In Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, you can freely take photographs of your farm life using the in-game camera function. Take photographs of the animals you discover, your farm, and unexpected moments with the town residents to create your very own album of memories.

Additionally, by uploading your avatar data, your character can visit other players’ towns as a tourist. (You cannot actually visit other users’ towns yourself, however.)

■ Nintendo eShop Purchase Bonus

Users who purchase Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town via the Nintendo eShop will receive the “Neil’s Jacket Style” outfit downloadable content as a bonus. (Neil appeared in Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning.)

Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is due out for Switch on February 25, 2021 in Japan and March 23 in North America and Europe.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

their animal crossing: wild world playing style [hcs]

characters: bokuto koutarou, sakusa kiyoomi, akaashi keiji

genre: humor and crack. what’s new

warning(s): I repeat, this is crack; also swearing

notes: y'all I'm talking specifically about animal crossing: wild world here. for the nintendo ds. that shit hit!! take me back. also, please bear with me; the chaotic energy here is just off the charts for absolutely no reason. when I finished this, it was suddenly midnight and I was listening to k.k. slider music on youtube. what a trip that was. enjoyed it tho.

CHAOTIC

dude the inside of his house has so many different vibes happening

the floors and the wallpapers in every room don't match??

he calls it creative freedom. no, he’s just a cheapskate since y'all know he’s only using that free stuff that he shot out the damn sky or found in the ground.

thinks it’s fun to chase the roaches that are always in his house

boy loves donating his fish, bugs, and fossils to the museum

just so he can go through and admire his work, like yes I caught that!! aren’t I the best??

keeps some of his catches tho and displays them at home. also names them.

once he found out that you could hit rocks and get bells, he was running around town hitting every. single. rock.

is really, really bad at catching bugs bc he just RUNS everywhere and scares them off

loves shaking trees to collect fruit

has been stung by many, many wasps because of this. poor boy can never make it inside in time lmao

talks to all the villagers like they’re actually his friends. also knows where they live by heart. visits their houses. vibes most with nibbles.

girl, don’t even get me started with his villager

y’all KNOW he’s at able sisters making his own clothing patterns with that tiny stylus in his fingers. the concentration is UNMATCHED

same goes for the town flag.

it’s raining. this boy says umbrella? there’s umbrellas in this game?? and proceeds to run around in the rain without one

villager’s hairstyle? permanent bedhead. if kuroo does it, so can he.

NEVER REMEMBERS TO SAVE

resetti’s always on his ass about it every time he opens his ds and turns on the game. poor guy. but he needs to save.

his town’s full of weeds. he don’t give a fuck. he’s just tryna have fun.

drinks way too much coffee at the roost. brewster is concerned for him.

visits omi’s town against his will. akaashi actually lets him come over. 

let him visit you! he’ll plant his fruit for you and send you a love letter

okay, y’all. omi shits on this game at first but ends up secretly loving it

I mean, it’s so easy for him to form a routine and maintain task focus

he thrives off that!! the only thing he hates tho is that it never actually ends. that’ll keep him up at night

his routine: wake up, pick weeds, catch fish/bugs, dig for treasure, make bank

there’s not a single weed in his town. he picks them ALL.

his house is all one, cohesive theme. low key boring.

literal minimalist with like no furniture

he don’t need it, he’s always out grinding and only comes home when it’s time to sleep bc he’s just that hardcore

makes an event out of going to the roost every saturday night to listen to young k.k. slider play his groovy jams so he can collect ALL the cds

wants to catch every. single. creature. y’all know it makes him heated that those plaques in the museum are empty n that there are gaps in his lil handbook

has hella bells in the bank. pelly + phyllis want to be his sugar babies.

his character is probs dressed in the most basic ass outfit but with a ~ mask ~ since that’s on brand for him. picks one look and sells the rest of his fits. truly focused on the coin.

he’s just tryna pay off his mortgage, get a big ass house, and upgrade nook’s store to its fullest potential

is constantly trying to find ways to kick all the villagers out of his town. won’t accept the fact that he’ll always have neighbors. 

will run for the fucking hills if any of them get that lil expression like they have something to say to him. he ain’t doin a damn thing for them.

got his hair done. came out lookin a fool. was too annoyed to go back and get it fixed. has worn a hat ever since.

always outruns the wasps. this bitch ain’t getting stung. 

the way his villager looked after he got stung the first time made him gag so he vowed to escape the wasps like his life depended on it after that.

you wanna invite him to your town? he's taking your fruit, planting it back home, and selling it to turn a profit. your trees will be empty.

special town events? he’s never heard of em. fuck em. unless there’s money involved. then he’s there. wins the fishing tourney every time.

similar to sakusa in that he enjoys task focus, but will put way more effort into the experience

for example, his house is most definitely themed

like every floor has its own, cohesive vibe, complete with matching furniture placed in a very exact manner

visits tom nook’s store like everyday to see if he has the last item to complete his furniture sets

has a different k.k. slider song playing on every floor on his golden stereos. only the bangers tho.

roaches? he doesn’t know them.

his town is completely free of weeds. he hates them.

will help the villagers if they need it but will not enjoy it.

just let him fish, damn

speaking of, yall know how hard he’s smashing that button when the fish bites? hard. that bitch aint getting away. will catch them on the first try!

is a professional bug hunter. the bugs literally never see this man coming!! he is stealth.

spends a lot of time in the observatory and the aquarium sections of the museum bc they have nice vibes

grabs a cuppa at the roost every now n then. will come for the k.k. slider concerts and listen to the entire song. bless his lil cotton socks.

his villager is stuntin. like fully accessorized, new day new outfit type of deal. wardrobe is thriving. we love him for that.

if it’s rainin, he’s poppin his umbrella. he came prepared.

sends the most basic letters but on the ~ fancy ~ paper

will write thx 4 having me over on the firework paper or some shit lmao I can't.

will spend the bells on his haircut until he’s happy with his look. remembers the combo so he doesn’t have to mess around every time his villager wakes up with bedhead.

town event? he’s there. he’s all in for the experience. savors the special moments

is that villager with the sparkler on the 4th of july. also, gets all the love letters from other villagers on valentines day bc he helps literally everyone n remembers their birthdays. he deserves the best.

is 100% that bitch who plays at night just so he can listen to the 10/11pm rainy day music on repeat whilst strolling around the village by himself, twirling his umbrella n getting in his feelings low key (that was also me haha I just called myself out)

invite him to your town! he’ll fish with you and y’all can go to a k.k. slider concert together <3

animal crossing direct thoughts

I should have posted my wish list for the direct -_- but I was pleasantly surprised that they finished adding the basics 2 years later before they added dlc ...

but then again, I’m very easy to please and don't really think about things until I see someone with big brain energy thinking...

also my serious thoughts are at the very bottom

Brewster

Glad he’s back, after almost 2 years...

Hopefully Celeste gets her observatory to make the museum symmetrical but after this being the “Last Major Free Update,“ I don’t see that happening

No cafe job shown but I hope we do get one 

Hopefully NPCs that show up are on a constant schedule for when they show up at the cafe (not daily but like weekly or even bi-weekly)

Glad you can invite friends and amiibo but i don't have any :(

Kapp’n

No Kapp’n family in sight

1000 nook miles!!!!!????? (that kind of expensive...)

Vines are interesting !! and pretty.

Glad for new fauna.

Different times and seasons for the new mystery islands are exciting but I hope they’re going to be mini games!

Harv

Hariiiiiiiettttt

Reese and Cyrus are back !!!!

Katrina !!!!

Tortimer!!!!

I wish you can only get these new hair styles from Harriett

Happy to see some sort of main street come back to animal crossing

We got exercising back from Population Growing!!

Motions controls too!! it sound fun!!!!!

Ordinances - i wasn't really missing them but i’m glad they're back for those who wanted them

More customization and expansion always welcomed

Cooking DIYs/Veggies

Cooking finally being implemented into the game 

Love the new crops tho

But nowhere to put them, i need to terraform again :(

Woah the foods!! And you can make flour and sugar

I’m glad that this is going to be before Harvest festival

Design and Customization

Accent walls, oooohhh

Glad to see things from HHD being implemented, nice

Custom fencing -- white fencing that everyone wanted

Everyone can make there white fence suburbia now!

New reactions !! hopefully Shrunk Funk Shuffle is in there.

Camera Updates: Reactions from characters that are in the photo are cute!

Custom designs we can wear, i feel like we should have been there this whole time?

It seems like in other games the ability to wear/decorate with custom designs was always there

Again, there should have been hairstyles exclusive to harriet just so we have something to go back to her for

New fencing! they look sooo cool! and more bridges and ramps!

External storage shed, glad it’s there now

Should have been implemented with the first storage expansion.. but super convenient

ADB - Super convenient

New K.K. singles dropped and cute music box(es)

The ladder set up kit is really neat!!

I hope there’s no limit to how many ladders you can have

I love that it’s less bulky than the staircases/ramps

Squeezing into tight spaces is sick - Didn’t HHD have this feature?

House visits  - They’re back!!

Finally!

and new villagers! woahh

Gyroids

Watering fragments is super cool

Gyroids, my beloved

The new designs are super cute

Love that you can customize

Hopefully Brewster can store them this time

What I wanted but didn’t see

No Nook Shop updates

No Celeste observatory

No bananas in sight or the other tropical fruit

No returning furniture sets

Last free update *distress emote*

But we take away everything that was already set up in previous games what exactly is new to ACNH?

All this to say Nintendo added what should have been there from day a year and a half later. I really don't want to hear people say “Oh they finally listen to us!!” because  they started working on ACNH close after the release of New Leaf so they pretty much had this all planned out but for what? Why release (what is now considered) base game updates almost 2 years later? 

also i change my mind about being happy about HHP being 25, it should have been like the welcome amiibo update because these “free updates“ should have been in the game since day 1

Everybody Knows You're High, 1/4 (Rajila) - Dartmouth420

“I found myself all alone in the grocery store, more stoned than I think I’ve ever been before.”

Summary: Raja smokes way too much weed and develops horrifying self-awareness, Manila’s there to rescue her but takes none of her bullshit. Maybe, just maybe, they fall in love. A lesbian college AU friends-to-idiots-to-lovers tale based on the song Everybody Knows by Partner. Loosely inspired by Off Limits by V&albatross but like wayyyy dumber :) 

A/N: my computer died and I’m in the process of getting all my files back so I wrote this mostly in the notes app on my phone to cope lmao

tw: weed induced anxiety & paranoia

-

It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon and Raja had been taking massive bong rips for the past two hours because why the hell not.

She sat in a sunbeam on her couch in the living room, deeply at peace with the world. Her roommates were out, and Raja was supposed to be working on a paper for her philosophy class that was due this week. But whatever, wasn’t a big part of college about having fun?

Raja glanced over at her Nintendo controller and stared at it for a good minute before reaching for it and selecting Super Smash Bros. After several minutes of staring glassy-eyed at the screen and trying to beat the computer generated competition, Raja blindly reached over for the bag of chips that usually rested in the corner of the couch and found… it was gone.

Raja paused the game and glared at the corner of the couch, suddenly really hungry.

She got up and went to the kitchen, digging around in the cupboards, reasoning she could always pay Delta or Carmen back for chips if they had some… but to no avail. If Raja wanted chips, she’d have to leave the house.

But that wasn’t such a big deal, the grocery store was a block down the street which was part of the reason they’d picked this house in the first place. Raja knew the route like the back of her tattooed left hand.

So, Raja took another big hit off her bong for courage, enjoying the satisfying bubbles in the dank bong water and subsequent thick smoke that went deep into her lungs.

Then she left the house, lazy in loose shorts and a crop top, yellow-tinted sunglasses to take the glare off the sunny afternoon, and her wallet reliably in her back pocket. What a beautiful day, it almost felt like a movie as she wandered down the street in the golden afternoon light. The clouds were small, fluffy and perfect. It just like how Raja imagined the 90s.

Glancing up at the big three-pane window in the house a few doors down across the street, Raja wondered if anyone was home. A few other students lived there, including Manila, who was one of her close friends. Raja decided not to stop and kept walking, the need for chips overpowering the desire to stop by and visit Manila.

At the grocery store Raja smiled to herself, took a plastic basket and wandered gently down the brightly lit aisles. Mmm, food. She got to the chips aisle and put a couple of different bags in her basket, letting elderly people and families and other folks pass her as she moved slowly. Then Raja decided she might, in fact, want ice cream too and moseyed over to the dairy section.

But as the cool air of the diary aisle hit her Raja began to experience doubt. She didn’t smell like weed, did she? Her mouth still tasted a little smoky, but surely it wouldn’t be a problem…

… and suddenly Raja saw somebody behind the glass in the big wall of fridges, blending in to the little cartons of whipping cream. Who the hell was that?

Raja peered closer, curious about the weird gremlin that lived in the fridge only to realize, with absolute horror, that it was her own reflection.

Long, greasy black hair, a slack expression, yellow tinted sunglasses through which her bloodshot and lined eyes were clearly visible. A twenty-year-old mess.

Clearly and distinctly, a voice inside Raja’s head said, Everybody knows you’re high.

Shit.

Raja looked around slowly, and inched into the corner at the end of the aisle between the shredded cheese and a big granola bar display. Her breath grew shallow as the sudden anxiety swallowed her whole. Oh god, oh no, everybody could tell-

What the fuck was she supposed to do now?

Raja gulped, completely glued to the spot as she watched the other shoppers go by. She needed a rescue mission. She took out her phone, holding on to the basket of chips for dear life.

Raja stared at her phone. Delta and Carmen were both out today and too far away, Shangela was mad at her, Raven was out of the question, who else, who else lived nearby… 

Raja hit call.

“Hello?” came Manila’s voice, a little out of breath.

“Manila,” whispered Raja, shrinking further into the corner between the display and the glass fridge, as she realized that everyone in the store knew she was high and could probably also hear her conversation, “I need you to come pick me up.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“I’m like… super high,” whispered Raja, anxiety spiking as her too-slow body fought her too-fast mind, “I’m at the grocery store and everybody knows and I’m trapped in the diary aisle and I can’t move.”

“What?” laughed Manila, “Oh my god, how much weed did you smoke?”

“I dunno, I did like… thirteen bong hits,” whispered Raja pathetically, “I needed chips.”

“You are so stupid,” said Manila with affectionate exasperation, “I’m out for a run, I’m just around the corner. I’ll come get you.”

Raja whispered a thank you and hung up and took a deep breath and stared at the floor. The floor was moving a little bit not too badly.  Maybe she could just walk down the dairy aisle and people wouldn’t be able to tell how high she was- but no, everybody knew. Someone was probably calling the grocery store cops right now and Raja would go to stoner girl jail and she’d never get to tell Manila how much she liked her…

After what might have three minutes or possibly an hour, Raja looked up and saw Manila approaching from the end of the aisle. Raja breathed a sigh of relief, but found she still couldn’t move. Manila’s curly black hair was up in a high ponytail, her face glowed a little from her run, and her colourful leggings were really showing off her legs…

“Hi, bitch,” said Manila, stopping in front of Raja with a huge, teasing grin. “I can’t believe you did this to yourself. Come on.”

With that, Manila turned and motioned for Raja to follow, her but Raja couldn’t.

“Nnh-“ managed Raja, shaking her head. If she left the corner now-

“Raja,” said Manila, rolling her eyes. She reached out and took Raja’s loose hand, forcefully leading her down the aisle. Very shocked to suddenly be moving, Raja followed her passively, letting herself be led. But when they got to checkout Raja froze again, causing Manila to jerk to a stop. Raja shook her head frantically.

“Are you like actually having a panic attack or something?” asked Manila, concerned, looking carefully into Raja’s expression as Raja suddenly noticed a few loose curls that had come loose from her ponytail, sitting soft and almost weightless on Manila’s head-

“Nope, you’re just really high,” said Manila to herself, shaking her head, and then redirected her. “Self-checkout it is.”

They made it through the self-checkout and paid for the chips even though Raja really didn’t like the beeping machine and kept asking it to be quiet. And then finally Manila led her back outside into the sun. Raja breathed out a sigh of relief, glad to have escaped. They crossed the hot expanse of the parking lot and headed for home. It was rare that weed made her anxious and paranoid like that, but it did happen occasionally.

Manila let go of her hand and Raja immediately missed it, because Manila’s hand was warm and soft and fit nicely in hers. Hmm. Manila always showed up for her, reflected Raja vaguely, she was an exceptionally reliable force in a flakey world. Raja kept walking, gently swinging her plastic bag full of chips as her anxiety faded. Manila said something but Raja wasn’t really paying attention.

“Do you want to come over and play Nintendo?” asked Raja instead. “I’ve got Super Smash Bros.”

“That’s your response to what topic you’re doing for the paper for Professor O’Hara’s philosophy class?” laughed Manila.

“Uh, I’m working on it,” answered Raja, noticing the way the sun caught in Manila’s hair. Had she noticed these things about her before? They’d been friends for a while now, and Raja was pretty sure Manila liked girls too… or was at least willing to experiment. “I’m gonna write about Plato’s Symposium, probably.”

“Yeah, cool,” replied Manila, nodding so that her curly ponytail bounced, “I’ve got about six hundred words on The Republic so far.”

“Are you like dating Alexis?” asked Raja, changing the subject, “Or was that just a casual thing?”

“No,” said Manila, momentarily hesitating, “Well yeah, uh, it was unclear. But we ended it a little while ago, she’s with Yara now.”

“Right, I thought I saw them together. I didn’t realize you two were over.”

“Yeah I mean, you had your own drama going on…”

“Huh?” Raja couldn��t recall any drama in her own life. Raja liked to keep things really chill.

“Uh…” laughed Manila awkwardly, “You were dating Raven and then you broke up with her like super callously right in the middle of that party at Morgan’s and she screamed at you and then knocked that bottle of wine off the table and it broke and went everywhere and someone filmed it-“

“Oh yeah,” said Raja, shrugging and recalling the incident, “Well, she’s a very intense person. I don’t remember you being there, though?”

“I don’t know where you went but I was trying to help Morgan get the stain out of the carpet while she panicked about her damage deposit and Raven locked herself in the bathroom,” said Manila dryly.

“Well,” said Raja, and looked up at her house as the approached, blinking slowly, not sure if she had anything to add to that, “I guess I should apologize to her or whatever. But uh, you should come over anyway, all my roommates are out.”

“Okay, I’ll come up,” said Manila, poking Raja’s arm, “Just to make sure you drink some water and don’t green out on me.”

They went inside and Raja threw herself on to the couch on her side with a bag of chips in her arms, melting down into the cushions with a contented sigh. This was where she was meant to be.

Manila walked in to the kitchen and came back out with two glasses of water, sipping hers and handing the other to Raja.

“Ooh, thank you,” said Raja, half-sitting up to take the glass, and chugged the entire thing, only now noticing she was totally cotton-mouthed and thirsty. Finally hydrated, the munchies were hitting hard and she tore open the bag of chips.

Manila sat down on the couch, shoving Raja’s long legs out of the way.

“Mmm, salt,” commented Manila dryly, taking a handful of chips and shoving them into her mouth. Crunching happily, she wiped her hand on her thigh and asked, “So, where’s the controller?”

Raja pointed it out and Manila picked it up, cancelled out Raja’s long-abandoned game on the screen across from them, and returned to the main menu with a flick of her thumb on the mini joystick. She held the controller with an easy confidence, and it made Raja wonder what else Manila could do with with her hands and how exactly Alexis had benefitted from that…

“Are we gonna play two player or are you just watching?” asked Manila, turning towards her.

Raja considered everything for a moment: the beautiful golden sun streaming in the window, the glorious high she’d relaxed back into, the tasty chips, Manila’s truly beautiful ass that was just about touching Raja’s knee given the way they were positioned, and the fact that, well, Manila was really pretty and recently single and Raja had always preferred casual hookups or friends-with-benefits to relationships anyway, especially given the recent disaster- no, situation, with Raven…

“Do you wanna make out?” asked Raja instead, with what she hoped was a very seductive look.

Manila hesitated for a split second, then burst out laughing and said, “Uh, no?!”

“What, really?” complained Raja. She couldn’t recall the last time a girl had said no to that suggestion. Raven, Mariah, Alaska, Bianca, Shangela, Yvie, Courtney… they’d all been into it, even if just for an afternoon or a night.

“As if!” said Manila, affecting her voice like she was Cher Horowitz before she laughed again and shook her head. Manila leaned forward and flicked through the menus, selecting the single player option, then her character and the arena. With a satisfied little smirk on the side of her mouth, Manila added, “Ask me again when you’re not stoned out of your mind.”

The music played out and Raja sulked and ate her chips and watched Manila play without really seeing it. Being stoned and mildly horny was usually a really fun combination, except when the other person wasn’t interested. Which like never happened! Maybe she’d invite Manila to stay for dinner, let her high fade and they could hang out and maybe things would get interesting a little later in the evening…

“Uh, so,” said Raja again, after watching Manila repeatedly beat the computer generated competition as Pikachu. The screen was starting to hurt her eyes a bit and she put the bag of chips down, craving human contact. Their friendship was platonically affectionate and hopefully that would still be on the table today. “Can I braid your hair?”

“Has anybody ever told you how weird you are?” said Manila in response, jabbing the A-button as she kicked Luigi off the platform.

“People think I’m very cool…”

“Yeah, but that’s what you make them think. I can see right through it, though. You’re afraid of commitment, you’re kind of an anxious bitch and you use weed and the idea of being chill to cover all of that,” stated Manila, “But yeah, you can braid my hair.”

Raja decided to ignore the first part of what Manila had said and sat up, shuffling around behind her until she sat with her legs apart, Manila perched on the edge of the couch cushion between them as she bent forward with her elbows on her knees to play.

While Raja was mentally celebrating the perfect position for hair braiding she’d placed herself in, Manila aggressively jabbed at the controller and kicked the other players off the platform and won the round.

“Sweet,” said Manila, as the victory music played, reaching back and pulling the elastic band out of her ponytail to let her hair spill down her back. Happy and hazy, Raja carded her fingers through Manila’s hair as Manila loaded up another arena. 

Manila continued, “Better hope Carmen isn’t mad that I’m beating all her high scores. I’m gonna unlock metallic Peach for her.”

Raja spent an indefinite period of time gently braiding Manila’s beautiful hair in a soothing repetitive pattern as her high slowly faded and Manila kicked ass at Super Smash Bros. Raja hadn’t ever really noticed Manila like this before. They were pretty good friends, and they’d always had a flirtatious undertone, and Manila went out of her way to hang out and even do favours for her… but Raja had always assumed she was just like, nice or whatever, but maybe it was something more that Raja simply hadn’t registered before. Playing with Manila’s hair wasn’t helping Raja feel any less horny, and there a low strum of sexual tension between them that Raja was sure Manila must be picking up on as well.

Suddenly the door opened and Raja looked up, dropping her hands. Delta was in the doorway, calling out a hello. Raja called back to her, vaguely shocked by the existence of other humans in the universe other than herself and Manila.

Manila paused the game and got up off the couch and touched the back of her head, feeling at the multitude of little braids in her hair. 

“Ha, I must look a mess,” said Manila, then she stretched her arms over her head, grimacing as her back cracked and continued, “Well, you’re barely high anymore and Delta’s back, so I take it my work here is done. I have to finish that paper tonight, see ya.”

With that, Manila sauntered off towards the door, leaving Raja distinctly abandoned on the couch.

“Uh, bye?” called Raja sarcastically after her as Manila shut the door.

Delta gave her a strong side-eyed look.

“What?” asked Raja.

“Since when are you into Manila?” asked Delta bluntly, sitting down into the couch next to Raja. Delta was keenly observant and it was something Raja admired about her, except when she was on the receiving end of that power.

“Since like an hour ago?” replied Raja, and told her about the grocery store adventure.

Delta laughed and totally roasted her while Raja whined complaints.

“She said to ask again when I’m less stoned, so I’m gonna do that the next time we hang out,” said Raja, with complete faith that the idea would work without any problems whatsoever, “What were you out doing this afternoon anyway?”

“Fooling around with that chemistry major I told you about,” replied Delta smugly, poking Raja’s arm, “I can’t believe you got too high and let a cute girl get away on you, you’re losing your touch.”

“You’re a terrible roommate,” complained Raja, but her smile gave her away, “And she’s not just some cute girl, she’s our friend…”

“Sure, but that can all change real quick if you get intimate…”

“It won’t change anything, it’ll be totally casual,” said Raja, casually, “She’s gotta be into me, she’s always nice, and we’re both like queer or whatever,” Raja flipped her hair over her shoulder and adopted a sexy voice, “So why wouldn’t she wanna make out?”

“You’re so annoying,” laughed Delta, and then shook her head, “Just don’t break her heart, bitch, that’ll make our parties super awkward.”

Then they hung out and made dinner and Raja remembered she was still pretty greasy and took a shower. After that she was really, truly, no longer high and it was time to actually work on her philosophy paper.

But Raja knew that something today had shifted. Maybe getting super high, freaking out in the grocery store and having Manila rescue her had brought something to the surface that always been there. Or maybe the affection and desire was totally new. It didn’t make that much of a difference to Raja. The next time the moment struck, she’d simply ask Manila again if she was interested. If Manila genuinely wasn’t then Raja would leave her alone, they’d remain friends, and she’d move on to someone else. But should Manila say yes… well, that would be super fun, wouldn’t it?

Survey #442

“the more you suffer, the more it shows you really care, right?”

Would you ever sell your soul? No. Do you believe that something is going to happen in 2012? Welp, clearly not. I never believed it. Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? No, but I'd love to! When was the last time you slept in someone else’s bed? Uhhh not since I visited Sara, I think. Do you like your music loud or at a reasonable level? Loud, for sure. Louder than I should listen to. Did the last person you kiss have a tattoo? No. What’s the last song you heard? "The Bird and the Worm" by The Used. Has anyone told you they missed you lately? No. What are you most likely to do when you’re exhausted; take a nap, drink some coffee, or go for a run to get yourself pumped up again? Naps definitely win. What are you most likely to pick if you got to choose your topic on a research paper; drug abuse, mental illness, or the death penalty? Mental illness, for sure. What is your favorite month of the year and why? October, bc aesthetic. What’s your least favorite animal? Probably wasps. They're mean fuckers that kill bees. What was your class song when you graduated? Some super shitty country song. Have you ever had to spend the night outside (not camping)? No. What`s the scariest living animal that you`ve petted? A tarantula, I'd say. She was a sweet rose hair that I literally did pet, which you absolutely should not do to tarantulas, but I knew nothing about them at the time. The urticating hairs on their abdomens cause serious itching, and I tell ya, that sure happened. So did you play old school Nintendo or Atari or Sega? If so which one? We had an old Atari for a long time. When/where did you meet your first love? In the hallway, during my sophomore year of high school. Is there anyone you dislike, that you have to see/speak to regularly? Hm, what qualifies as "regularly," really? I don't like my sister's husband, who I see semi-regularly, but I don't really talk to him. Does your family eat any unique foods for Thanksgiving that aren’t the norm? If so, what are they? Nah, not that I can think of. If you eat oatmeal, do you add water or milk to it? What is your favorite flavor? Milk; I don't like it with water. I only eat the apples and cinnamon kind. Was the last video you watched on YouTube a music video? If not, what was it of? It's a let's play. Have you ever been brave enough to cut your hair in a very different way? If you have, did you regret your decision after? Yes, and I still love it. What was the last book you had to read for school? Did you enjoy it, or were you just trying to get through? The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I loved it. Has anyone you know personally ever won the lottery? If so, how much did they win? Would/have you ever play(ed) the lottery? No to both questions. I have a very addictive personality, so I don't really mess with dangerous things that might tempt that behavior. What band/celebrity/etc. do you know the most information about? Who would you like to learn more about? Markiplier, ha ha. As for who I'd like to know more about... hm. Have your friends met the last person you kissed? Girt has. Who has made the biggest difference in your life? Jason. You get a text from someone saying that they want to hang out - who would you most like it to be from? Also Jason. -_- What is the name on your birth certificate (feel free to withhold your last name for privacy reasons)? Brittany Marie is all you need to know. Even if shopping isn’t your favorite... every girl has a favorite store. What’s yours? My favorite physical store is Hot Topic, but my favorite store overall is Rebel's Market, which I'm pretty sure is just an online source. Which type of undies do you wear most: Thongs, bikini/briefs, bootyshorts, or granny panties? Don't you dare laugh, I prefer "granny panties" lmfao. They're what I'm comfortable in, okay. How many nail polishes do you have, if you were to take a guess? *I* have none. Idk about Mom, but I know not a lot. Are you on birth control? Do you use condoms? I use birth control to regulate my period and ease cramps. If I was sexually active though, both would be musts for me. When did you start your period? How did you react? Who did you tell first? When I got home from school sometime in middle school. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I was EXTREMELY upset. Like, I cried, because I didn't feel like a kid anymore. My mom was the first to know. Have you ever had sex while on your period? If so, would you ever do it again? NO NO NO NO THAT SOUNDS SO GROSS LKASDFJ;AJW;LKERJA;WEJLRKQWLKE;JR. Which way do you swing (boys, girls, or both)? I'm bi. Or pan. I really don't know. Tell me ALL about your longest/most serious relationship. Are you still in that relationship? How about I don't, because doing that I'm sure will send me in a PTSD spiral. No, we're no longer together. Who is your ALL TIME best friend (don’t count your boyfriend, either, silly!)? Sara. I don't think I've been as close with any other best friend. Which one of your friends has the best singing voice? SARAAAAAAAAAAA. What shade are you in foundation or concealer? I don't have a clue. I don't wear either. Have you ever showered with someone? Boy or girl? Were you completely naked? "Were you completely naked." No, I shower with underwear on. I've showered with my little sister as well as my best friend as a kid. I've never shared a shower as an adult and don't want to. Do you think you’re good enough for the person you like? No. Are you a cuddler or no? If I'm really into you, YUP. And if it's not hot. Wouldn’t it be kinda annoying to have to share a bed every night? No. I miss it sometimes. Have you ever walked on a beach at night? Yes. It's beautiful. Could you go the rest of your life without drinking alcohol? Pretty easily, yeah. Would you marry someone you didn’t love if you were paid 10 thousand dollars? No. I just wouldn't be able to stomach doing that. I'm solely marrying for love. Have you had sex today? I haven't in many years. Do you still care about your last ex? Very very much! Do you own more then one bathing suit? Nope. Is there any alcohol in the fridge? Yeah, but none I like. Who have you recently made up with after fighting? Nobody. Who do you WANT to make up with? Jason. Megan. Do you get scared easily? Hm. It really depends on the situation. Have you seen UP? Never the full movie, actually. I need to. How many coats of mascara do you use? I use it so rarely that I barely know. Two, maybe? What’s your favorite bracelet? The one Sara gave me. I used to always wear it, but it's worn down with time and is too loose for me now, so it's just with my jewelry. What color hair does your mom have? It's naturally gray now, but she dyes it black. Favorite song to listen to when you are mad? "Headache" by Motionless In White does it. What restaurant would you want to work at? NONE. I ain't working with hungry people. I don't want to work with people - period. When people ask “how are you?” do you say “good” even if you aren’t? Depends on who's asking. If it's a stranger or someone I barely know, odds are I'm just going to reply with "fine" or something like that. Were you honestly a good kid? Yes. Is anything wrong with your eyes? I have to wear glasses, so. Have you kissed or hugged anyone today? No. What is your mom’s and dad’s favorite TV show? I don't really know for either. Mom watches loads of shows, and I don't live with Dad, so. I know he really likes The Big Bang Theory, though, which Mom also loves. Have you ever suspected your mom or dad of having an affair? No, but ~supposedly~, Dad did with his now-wife. I don't know what the fuck is true between my parents, though. Do you think buying second hand clothes is gross? It depends on the type of clothing (ex., used underwear is a huge fucking no), as well as the state it's in. Does it gross you out when your parents kiss? They're divorced. That would be incredibly weird, uncomfortable, and impossible with how I know at least Mom feels towards Dad. Do you have a playlist made on YouTube? Yeah, multiple. Do you like dollar stores? I mean, sure? They have good deals occasionally and are a good option to stop for a quick snack or something. Mom doesn't actually *shop* in them, though. What’s the last thing you bought from one? I think a honeybun. Do you think it’s weird how babies are made? Well, yeah. Science can be crazy, though. Have you ever lost a friend over the opposite sex? No. Are you comfortable in a short skirt? I wouldn't be comfortable in ANY skirt. Do you and your family go on a vacation ever year? We essentially never do. Vacations cost money. We don't have money to spare. When you were going out with your last ex and you had the chance to date your celebrity crush, would you have left your bf/gf for them? No, because it's not like I know him personally, while I know her very deeply. Who was your most romantic moment with? Jason. Do you sweat easily? Like you wouldn't BELIEVE. A side effect of one (or even multiple) of my meds is hyperhidrosis, so I can sweat an ocean in two minutes, it seems. It's disgusting, and I am so self-conscious about it. What’s one memory you wish would just vanish? Just a specific moment with Jason that is particularly agonizing to recall. Are you in love with someone? No. Partying or watching a movie? Partying isn't my thing. I'd have more fun watching a movie with friends. What pisses you off the most? Child molesters/rapists, probably. Where do you want to be at a year from now? I just want a job by then, dude. I also hope I've lost a lot of weight. Do you like pickles? Only dill pickles. If you saw someone broken down on the side of the road, would you stop to help? Honestly, no. I don't trust people. What do you do with your plastic grocery bags after you unload your things? We put our plastic bags into one big bag for later use. Have you ever slept in a water bed? Yes. How often do you use Flickr? I don't. I only ever check my friend's for meerkat photos, ha ha. Share three nice memories you have of the person you fell hardest for. No, unless you want me to cry. Have you ever made any of your friends cry? Not deliberately of course, but yes. Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? God no, I look high. Out of all the guys you know, who would you trust to not cheat on you? Girt. I know he never would, especially because HE'S been cheated on. How do you plan on disciplining your children? NOT by physical means, I can tell you that much. If I actually had kids, I'd teach them through (hopefully) primarily deeply talking things out. If need be, there'd be time out, grounding, things like that. I do NOT support methods like spanking your kid, so that's a big no. If you could live in another country, would you? What country? Yes; Canada. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Quinn, probably. What’s one health problem you wish you didn’t have? It's a tie between depression and anxiety. What is your cure for hiccups? NOTHING works for me. It's the worst. Did you ever do anything in class that annoyed other students? I mean, I don't think so. Have you used a Ouija board and had a freaky experience with it? I've never messed with one, and I don't want to. I don't know if I believe in their supernatural abilities or not, but I ain't fuckin around and finding out. Do you stick with a political party, or vote for who you like best? I pick based on their policies and morals, not necessarily their party. Do you know anyone who is an albino? No. Word search or crossword puzzle? Word searches. When you watch a game show, do you like to see people win or lose? Aw, who wants to see them lose? It's great to see people win and be so excited. Do you have a pair of fake redneck, vampire, etc. teeth? No. What is your favorite Pixar film? Finding Nemo. Do you get really mad when you lose a game? Not at all. I'm not very competitive, and games are about having fun. When was the last time you used a pay phone? I actually don't think I ever have. Who did you have your most amazing kiss with? Jason. Do you go to church every Sunday? I never go to church as I'm not religious. If you had to get famous for one of the following, which would you choose: music, acting, writing, modeling? Writing. What do you think of girls with huge boobs that don’t wear bras in public? Who the fuck cares. If they're comfortable and at least have a shirt on, let 'em. Most women have breasts, big whoop. Do you even like politics? God no. What’s it like at raves? Oh god, I'd never go. Have you ever had a dream in which you were making out, or more, with someone? lol yes

Year in Review - Animal Crossing New Horizons

I started writing this review/criticism in May of 2020 but decided to update it as the year went along and post it on the anniversary of NH’s release. I would like to preface that this is mostly going to be full of questions of criticisms, I love this game. I have not been able to put it down since I got it on March 20th. My first AC game was NL and then I played HHD. I was ecstatic when they announced NH at E3 2019 and kept trying to find other games to fit in my AC shaped hole in my heart but I wasn’t able to fill it till this game came out. I feel like the pace of the game is great with how you build up to unlocking terraforming and 5 stars, and I feel like the updates are well timed especially with how crazy 2020 was for everybody. That being said there were some things that irked me. 

Some of the points I will bring up came from other people/commenters I have seen on here, Discord, Reddit, and Twitter that I also agree with. Some other points are from Youtubers such as ShayMay and ChuyPlays. And others are from me. 

With that out of the way, let’s get on with the review. Warning, I guess, don’t expect this to be an essay, this is just a patchwork quilt made up of thoughts.

Terraforming

I wish cliffs/tiers had a smaller level? Like how we’re able to make stepping stones for our rivers if we don’t want to put a bridge down/use our vaulting pole. I just wish there was a cliff alternative. 

Another cliff alternative would be if we could put bridges between cliffs. I think we’ve all been there where we see this picture 

          thought ‘we can do that!!” then realized it was photoshopped

When we go into terraforming, I wish a grid showed up on our island. It would make it much easier to avoid hitting the wrong square when I’m trying to change a river. 

Having us be able to “close” a waterfall from a lower level but not create a new on at the same spot. 

Also the fact we can add a 4th tier but can’t put anything on it is just strange to me. I know we have to have a limit to how high we can go, but at least let me put nature stuff, such as trees/flowers/bushes, on top of it instead of just a flat piece of land. 

Houses

Why no ceiling items? Find it odd they added a bunch of stuff in HHD and didn’t add that to the new mainline game

There’s no reason I can think of to why we can’t access our storage when we’re crafting inside our house. 

Buildings

Dodo Airlines

The Dodo Islands right now are very boring and barely use them. I have enough money and materials to not go farming and save up all my NMTs for when I go villager hunting, which has also become a rarity. I think it would be a good idea to make some islands seasoned themed. Have them be all rare, but have an island where it’s fall and has maple leaves falling, a cherry blossom one, one with snowflakes. I wouldn’t recommend they make Holiday themed ones, but having seasonal ones would be nice.

When I mess up a dodo code or accidentally hit ‘make a bridge’ instead of incline, etc. why do I have to restart the ENTIRE conversation instead of the characters just being “oh? did you mean “x” or “would you like to retype it?” like is it that hard??  

Resident Services

As much as I love Isabelle this game has made me very indifferent towards her. I think they gave her a role that didn’t need to exist. They could have either let us roam around without any warnings to who was roaming around our island, in the campsite, or any weather updates. Just have us rely on our villagers, the TV, and our eyeballs. OR they could have given us a social media like app and/or a weather app. Instead, they gave us Isabelle that only announces something once a month.

Nook’s Cranny

This might just be me but can they add a little DIY area in the store? Maybe just make to where you can only customize things?? This is more out of convenience than an actual problem  

Speaking of customization, since you can make medicine but also buy can we do the same for the custom kits and bait. Like make it where we can buy bait and also make our own custom kits? I just think it’s weird that they give us either/or for medicine but not for the other 2 that I honestly use way more than medicine.

Why do the Able Sisters get to have all of the colors of an item in their shop but Nook’s Cranny can’t? And why can’t we just be able to customize all items that have multiple looks/colors? Example, why can’t I just be able to change the wood type for the antique set instead of having to buy each one? I get that the furniture catalog is already small, but that’s not my fault. They’ve decided to not add past furniture sets into NH. 

Able Sisters

Let us multi select clothes instead of it just being how much we can wear. idc if it’ll just put those clothes in our personal storage and then we’ll have to run home and put it in that storage, I just hate having to walk back in and out every time I want a dress in multi colors. ALSO tell us if we already bought it, like a little storage icon or something

Why can’t we hang any article of clothing on the back wall, why do we have to either make it or have the OG qr designer come to our island? 

Why can’t we have the transparent option when designing clothes? I think it would make many designer’s lives easier instead of having to make 8 versions of the same outfit.

NPCs

I have played this game almost every day since it came out, minus 2 days. I have also been able to make friends on discord that help with trading/cataloging/etc. I have all of Saharah’s, Kicks’, Label’s, and Redd’s items. I have all of the fish/bug models I want and have no desire to “catch them all”. I haven’t talked to Wisp in months because I have most of the items and his idea of “expensive” is 10k bells. The only NPC I actively look forward to is Celeste because even though I now have all of her DIYs, she still gives out star fragments, regular large or horoscope, when I talk to her. 

What I’m wondering is if they’re planning on doing anything else with these characters. Before I speak further I’m going to weed out characters that I am actually fine with. CJ and Flick will always be there if I want a bug/fish model, I understand that Saharah/Kicks/Redd have a ton of stuff to get and w/o the help of my discord friends, I probably wouldn’t have gotten everything till late 2021. 

So that leaves Label and Wisp. I understand Wisp is there for beginners, but now that I’m at a point where I am a bell millionaire and have most of the Nook’s items cataloged, there is no reason for me to talk to him. I wish Nintendo had put in a system where depending on the person who Wisp is talking to, it determines how much money you have in your bank account/looks at your catalog, Wisp’s item’s worth goes up.

As for Label...I never saw her as viable. I also thought the tickets were dumb and you don’t even have to talk to her to have her items show up in the shop the next day. I think it would be great if when you bought all of her items, she decided to join the Able’s sisters in their shop like in NL and then have Gracie show up in her place for the weekly NPC. 

Where is Blanca? Or Brewster? Or Shrunk, Katrina, Gracie, or Kapp’n and his family? I understand we will probably never see characters like Harriet or Pete because they have been replaced by a new system, but what is the excuse for these other characters? I’m hoping they show up in year 2 of NH but...we’ll see.

Villagers

I think having your first villagers living in basic homes is a good idea but one that quickly gets annoying. I found Sherb while villager hunting for the 1st time and have had him ever since, but his house is stuck at basic lazy setup. Instead of me going back and forth on whether or not i should trust somebody enough to hold Sherb, get somebody else out, then get him to move back to my island, You can have it to where you let them leave, then just wait till he comes to the campsite to visit and reinvite him. You get his actual house and he still remembers you. This could also go for you accidentally letting somebody go or letting somebody go then regretting it. Also it’d be fun to see some old villagers again.

I was curious and looked back on past games to see how many new villagers were released each game and NH has been the least amount. NL released 112 new villagers in total while NH has released 8. I’m hoping they might release more down the line but, hella disappointing imo. Along with the Sanrio update and adding those characters to the game, I am more hopeful that they’ll be adding new characters!

Having an “event” of sorts where you visit a villager’s house and they’re looking inside their closet. They look at you in surprise when you walk in and sheepishly explain that they were going through their clothes/items. They then decide to ask you for help since they can’t decide what to get rid of/what to keep and think you have a good eye for that sort of thing. Basically, a way to get rid of any clothes/items your villager somehow received bc I guess Isabelle scolding them isn’t enough.

A big problem I feel like everybody has is the villager dialogue. Yes they added sub personality types for each personality but they are not perfectly cut in half, ex. are the Sisterly types where there are 4 B types and 20 A types, like?? How I have “fixed” this problem is by having one of each personality type on my island so I always have different conversations with my villagers, but I understand not a lot of people do that. Some people just want normal/peppy types on their island bc they’re cute as hell, I get it. I know it would be...difficult to come up with unique dialogue for all 399 villagers, including Sanrio, but....you could at least for the “gimmicky” villagers. Some examples of these villagers are Ribbot and Sprocket, Lucky and Ankha, the super hero squad, and Kabuki. 

Quality Life stuff

Why cant we sit AND wish on stars? And I don’t mean the sit emote; why can’t I sit on a bench and wish on stars?

It sucks when I’m about to hit my rocks or just do a lot of dig work and then my shovel breaks in the middle of it. To show the tool is about to break, cracks should start to form on the handle and get deeper/longer as you keep using it, starting when you have 5 uses left. You can also add an auditory element by making the tool sound like its struggling when you are using it. Net/Shovel/Axe/Fishing Pole can have cracks show up on the handle, Slingshot can have crack show up at the bottom of the 2 spokes while having 1 at the top of the handle. And the watering can have cracks at the base of the can.

If our inventory is full when I dig up a flower, why can’t I replace it with another flower to bury? And if I can dig up an item at an diagonal item, I should be able to bury it again at the same angle.

Other

Having more...liveliness?? on the island, idk how else to say it. Example is whenever you travel by plane there's a chemtrail in the sky afterwards, maybe just seeing other planes go by throughout the day. Maybe you can get a hint Redd or Gulliver will be visiting you tomorrow if you see their boats beyond the horizon, Redd’s just crusin’ and the Gulls’ boats looking messed up. On a week where you don't have a new camper, maybe have an old villager visit. That leads me too

I wish villager’s doors could count as “exterior decorating” and we can just put any ornamental on there instead having to hope that your villager will put the wreath on their own door. 

Conclusion

If you read this whole thing holy shit, thanks!! Go treat yourself on my part lol If you disagreed with me or whatever feel free to chat with me about it! 

Haha, you didn't really thought that this would be the last time I used this tag, right.

No, instead, for the real last Miitopia post, I will talk about almost all of the Miis in my party.

Why you ask?

Because I want to.

So, let's get started with Teammate number 1, a stubborn Warrior:

The Dark-Matter-Swordsman

And to be honest?

There really isn't all that much of a backstory for him.

I chosed him because he was one of the Miis I still had and I didn't knew that you couldn't change your party members, so he just stayed in the party, but at least I like him a little more now.

Teammate number 2, a kind priestess:

Princess Rosalina

Now I have something to tell:

Super Mario Galaxy was my very first Videogame experience.

One of our relatives had a Wii with this game, and one time we were visiting I was allowed to play on it.

I mean I was very bad at it, but I still remember how I sat on this couch and was absolutely in love.

I actually think that this game not only made me a Nintendo fan, but a huge fan of video games as a whole.

And that's how Super Mario Galaxy shaped my life, and why Rosalina deserved to be a part of the Team.

Teammate number 3, a cautious Scientist:

Professor E. Gadd

This is basically a follow up to the mario galaxy Story.

After playing on the Wii for the first time I knew that I wanted to have my own console.

So little kid me annoyed the shit out of my parents until they finally gave up and got me a Nintendo 3ds plus Luigis mansion 2 for my Birthday.

I played this game so much as a kid, I'm pretty sure that there is still my very first safe state on it.

So, as a representative for my first, own game on my first, own console,

Welcome E.Gadd.

Teammate number 4, a laid-back imp:

Midna

Look at her.

That is literally the pose that the Imp makes.

No childhood backstory here, I didn't even played twilight princess that much, I only got to the second dungeon, but I still remember her.

I loved her character, her design, the game she appeared in and that was reason enough for her to be in the Team.

Teammate number 5, a cool popstar:

Dedf1sh

Splatoon 2 is just one of these games that I love with every cell of my body.

I can't even tell you what about this game makes it so special to me, all I know is that I just saw this game in the store and instantly knew that I must have it.

And I still believe that Octo Expansion was one of the best DLC Nintendo ever made.

So as a representative for a game that I love, Dedf1sh joined the Team.

Teammate number 6, a stubborn princess:

Kersti

Oh, I can hear the salty paper mario fanbase crying and screaming from here, so let me say it again:

Paper Mario Sticker Star is not a bad game.

Literally every discourse I ever had about this Series always revolved around "PaPer MarIo iSn't a gOoD SeriES anYm0re", and it sucks.

Paper Mario still is a good game Series, it just isn't the one you're used to anymore.

When I played Sticker Star, I didn't expect a bad continuation of a great Series.

I didn't expect a dull and empty chell of a beloved franchise.

What I expected was a game I could play and have fun with, and guess what, I got exactly that.

I will admit that, looking back, the game could have been more, but I won't change my Opinion of this game.

So, as a statement against the paper mario fanbase, kersti got into the Team.

And now, the last Teammate, a kind flower:

Taranza

Haha depressed Spider Boy goes brrrrrrrr

What, you expect me to explain my totally normal and healthy obsession with this Character just like that?

You wish, I will tell you about it when I feel like it.

Ok, this was really the last Miitopia post, back to inconsistent Meme-posting.

Bye

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct 2.20.2020

screenshots

Overview

Features New to the Series!

Life on the Island: Nook Inc. confidently recommends a trip to a remote deserted island. And that’s not just because it’s the only company that offers this type of package! On the island, life is as peaceful and relaxing as it gets. Since the island is deserted, you can create your new life from the very beginning – just like a pioneer! Time flows as naturally as in the real world, including seasons and day and night cycles that mirror real time.

DIY: By collecting specific materials around the island, you can craft a wide variety of things, including tools and furniture. DIY workshops teach you how to enrich your life by crafting DIY recipes. As you become more familiar with DIY, you can even learn special skills like changing the color of your DIY furniture or decorating them with custom designs.

NookPhone: Nook Inc. will provide some basic necessities and services, including your very own NookPhone. It has standard apps, like a camera and map, but over time, new applications will be added to support your island needs. The camera can be used to take in-game photos all over the island – you can even add fancy filters like all the cool kids are doing!

Nook Miles: For players looking for more concrete goals, and to help offer guidance and inspiration on the island, you can take advantage of the Nook Mileage program. As you fulfill certain challenges and experiences, you will earn miles to pay off the cost of the getaway package or, eventually, to exchange for in-game rewards. Rewards range from in-game Nook Inc. merchandise and helpful items that can enrich your time on the island, to tickets that you can use to visit distant islands.

Island Tours: These “mystery island tours” are at the whim of the pilot, so you never know where you will end up! Once on these smaller islands, feel free to gather as many items as you want – like DIY materials and creatures – and take them back with you to your island.

Party Play: With the Nook Inc. Deserted Island Getaway package, up to eight people can live on one island.* In Party Play, you can call up to three other players to explore the island at the same time. Whoever calls the others will be the Leader, making the others the Followers. It’s easy to change out the Leader, letting others quickly take charge. Any creatures or items found by Followers will be stored in a recycle box at the Resident Services building!

Land Development: While you can cross rivers on your island by pole-vaulting and climb elevated land using ladders, you can also change the landscape by adding bridges and slopes. Once your island is fully decked out, you’ll receive a permit to freely pave your own paths, as well as perform major construction like changing the paths of rivers or building and demolishing cliffs. With your own maintenance and construction permits, you can flex your creative muscles on the land itself, not just the stuff on it.

NookLink: Yes, Tom Nook likes to put his name on everything. But when it’s a Nook product or service, you know you are getting something that’s high quality. With NookLink, which is part of the Nintendo Switch Online app, you can scan a Custom Design QR Code pattern from previous games Animal Crossing: New Leaf or Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer with your real-life smartphone and then download them to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. When connected online, you can talk with friends who also have the Animal Crossing: New Horizons game with the Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app using your smartphone as a keyboard or for voice chat. NookLink will launch in March, soon after the selected departure included in your Deserted Island Getaway Package.

A Detailed Breakdown of the Getaway Package Experience!

Choose Your Island: Before boarding your flight to the island, you will choose the island from a range of options. Choosing to live in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, for example, will affect the timing of the seasons, so select the location that suits you best. When the seasons change on the island, so do the activities. For Northern Hemisphere residents, spring will just be starting when the game launches on March 20, so expect blooming cherry blossoms to show up soon!

Orientation: After landing on the island, you will receive a helpful orientation session from the Nook Inc. staff. At this time, you’ll be provided with the tent that’s included with your getaway package. You can chat with other island residents about where you want to set up your new home, and help them choose their home locations as well.

Resident Services: The Resident Services facility is available to support your daily needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They provide you with services such as the sale of everyday goods, the purchase of unwanted items and helpful advice.

Become a Home Owner: The tent provided to you by Nook Inc. is great, but have you considered a house? Home loans have no deadlines, interest or assessment, and you can pay your loan back at your own pace. A house offers much more space than a tent and also includes storage space for any extra furniture and baggage. Once you own a home, you can channel your inner interior designer, setting up the walls, flooring and furniture however you like. You can also use extension and remodeling services to expand and customize your home even more.

Customization Deluxe: Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers more customization options than ever before, from personalizing the look of your character all the way down to skin tone, hairstyle and clothing, to placing buildings and items wherever you want on the island. You can even decorate the inside and outside of your home! Turn that island into a MY land!

Airport: This is the first place you will land on the island. (It is an airport, after all.) It’s also available to use 24 hours a day, beginning on the day after your arrival. At the airport, you can invite residents of other islands to your own island via the internet or local wireless. You can also travel and visit other islands yourself! Up to eight people can play on a given island at one time**, so feel free to get a good group together and make some fantastic memories.

Island-wide Broadcasts: At the start of each day, Mr. Nook, CEO of Nook Inc., will make a broadcast to all residents, updating them with the latest on important island events and advice about how to best enjoy island living.

Features and Updates to Further Your Island Enjoyment!

New Residents: When you first land on the island you will only have a few animal residents living there with you. But as you develop your island from the ground up, more neighbors will visit and choose to move in. You can even invite some of the new residents to live there yourself! There’s nothing better than a welcoming neighbor.

Free Updates: Free updates will be added after the game launches, with seasonal events continually added throughout the year. The first free update will be on launch day, March 20. By installing this update, you can celebrate Bunny Day with a special event in April. If you own both Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp for mobile devices and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll receive special items in each game. Details will be announced at a later date on the official Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Twitter account.

Additional Facilities: As you grow your island, more facilities will be built. This includes a museum showcasing the rich ecosystem of the island, a shop full of ready-made furniture and goods you can’t craft yourself, a tailor offering clothing and fashion items, and a campsite where you can invite guests for recreational purposes.

Tourists & Events: Your island will not only be home to new residents, but also tourists as well! These temporary visitors are always welcome and can offer up items that cannot be crafted on the island. Visitors can also participate in fun events like Fishing Tourneys and Bug-Offs, which will pop up throughout the year. Through free updates to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, new special events and seasonal guests will be introduced.

amiibo Support: Animal Crossing: New Horizons supports amiibo figures and amiibo cards from the Animal Crossing series. You can also invite these familiar faces to Photopia, an island that exists in the game, where you can place models in creative photo shoots.

Twitter Takeover: Keep an eye out for social media savvy Tom Nook, who is rumored to take over the @AnimalCrossing Twitter account right after today’s video presentation.

Best Five Switch Games to get you through lockdown

With the world on hold, times have never been tougher. By now you’ve probably done all those craft projects and completed all those walks and cycle routes. With lockdown set to stay for at least another few weeks, people are turning to more indoor activities – namely gaming. Finding a console and a game that’s family friendly is always tricky. However Nintendo’s current console, the Nintendo Switch, has been out for three short years and in that time, it has built up a plethora of games suitable for all ages. Here are my top five recommendations to help you through lockdown.

Tetris 99:

A wonderful nostalgia trip with a modern twist.

Tetris 99 brings all the joy of a beloved classic mixed with a couple of snazzy extras to make it relatable to the newer generation of players. Tetris 99 is basically a battle royale. You can pick either to go against other players worldwide or as part of a team. Now I’m not going to lie. If you are no good at tetris, this game will not be fun. You might get a couple of good combo shots in but the sheer amount of opponents means the chances of winning are slim to none. However, it’s a fun way to spend half an hour or so, depending on your skills. The game is also free to download if you have a Nintendo online membership with additional extras like 2p mode and cpu battles available to buy from the Nintendo e-store.

Splatoon 2:

Modern shooter/turf war.

When Splatoon first launched on the Nintendo wii u back in 2015, it started an amazing franchise which has seen a rapid rise in popularity. You play as ‘Inklings,’  a futuristic race of shape-shifting kids who can turn into – wait for it – squids! That main aim of the turf war mode is simple. You and a team of three online players are allotted a random colour. You face off against another team of four on the opposite side of a symmetrical battlefield. The aim is to cover as much of the battlefield as you can in your teams colour in a three minute match. You use coloured ink from a variety of weapons, many of which look like modernised super-soakers and can also shoot at your enemies to destroy them in a glob of goo causing them to re-spawn and start the assault over again. Splatoon 2 follows this simple but highly addictive game play. Along with a separate hero mode single play story and hundreds of customisation options, this family friendly game can easily turn minutes into hours... you have been warned.

Breath of the Wild:

Also known as ‘Zelda Scrolls.

Hailed as possibly the best Zelda game of all time Breath of the Wild will most likely consume your life and destroy your regular sleeping patterns. Previous games in the legend of Zelda franchise have followed a very linear storyline with not being able to progress in the game until you complete tasks in a certain order. Breath of the Wild is the exact opposite. The title was actually a launch title when the console was released in March 2017 and met with a hugely positive feedback. You play as protagonist Link, waking up from a hundred year slumber with a heavy case of amnesia  and having to regain your strength armour, weapons collection and memory  in order to save Princess Zelda from the clutches of Calamity Ganon. The way you play is up to you. Echoing the freestyle play of Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls, you can spend your first three hours picking food and collecting weapons, or run straight to Hyrule castle in nothing but pants (not recommended though). There is literally no limit to how you play this game or the way you play it. There are hundreds of side quests to keep you amused for WEEKS – maybe even months. The graphics and music are simply beautiful and make you feel like you’re playing through an epic movie.  Highly recommended!

Ring Fit Adventure:

Fitness is fun.

RingFit Adventure is great fun for the whole family. Way back in 2007, Nintnedo launched wii fit. This revolutionary kit was a must have for fitness fanatics. With the trusty wii fit meter, balance board and optional yoga mat, many of us were eagerly following a rigorous regime of exercises and burning those pounds. Then in 2019, ring fit arrived on the switch. The downside is it’s expensive. You will not see much change out of £70 for the setup. But for that you get the game, the resistance ring and leg strap. Ringfit is a hard task master making wiifit look like childs play, but it gives plenty of options on levels of difficulty making it as easy or as challenging as you want. Recently Nintendo downloaded a couple of extra mini games to keep things new and shiny so for the cost of less than two months gym membership, this is a great investment. Be warned they are extremely popular at the moment, selling out at most online and retail outlets, so keep a look out and be ready to order as soon as you see them.

Animal Crossing :New Horizons:

A simple delight.

There is nothing not to love about this game. Animal crossing is a delight that even your nan will love. In 2001 this gem arrived on the gamecube, and over the years new games and spin offs have been trickling along. When New Horizons launched in March 2020, the fans went nuts. Much like Zelda Scrolls, New Horizons gives you as much freedom as you want. The main aim of the game is still the same tried and tested method as before. Arrive on an island, build a house, build another house, build a town hall, build a park... you get the idea. You build stuff. You can also harvest fruits, catch bugs and fish and dig up jewls and rocks to sell. Once you have sold your finds for bells (the games currency) you can buy more stuff, and build more stuff, and furnish your home. There is no right or wrong way to play the game and its certainly kept a lot of us sane over the lockdown seeing hundreds of hours being plunged into the story. The game also has plenty of online features, making it possible to visit people who have their own island and allowing groups of up to eight to connect and play together. It’s almost like having a social life again – which I truly believe is why it is as popular as it is. An absolute must have, this game provides hours of fun and is proving a huge success with players of all ages. The highest recommendation for your switch.

Damnit. They got me.

So, a couple times a day, I’ll check CheapAssGamer for deals... yesterday, I happened to spot Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa, a visual novel available on the Nintendo eShop, reduced to a dollar. It’s been quite a while since I last played a visual novel, and “seven mysteries” is always a fun topic (it’s kind of a cliche that Japanese high schools have seven mysteries about them), so I looked into it. I was surprised to find that the screenshots on the Nintendo website included what looked like a “match three” puzzle game, and that the game was normally priced at thirty bucks, which is what it’s also selling for on Steam... so as an appreciator of good bargains and someone who is always willing to risk a dollar on something interesting, I decided to buy it.

The game is a little weird at first, with impossible-to-miss spelling errors and some groan-inducing use of recent internet slang like “big mood”, but is competently-produced for the most part. One weird but understandable thing it does is use a handful of mix-and-match assets to create nameless background characters... see how those two are standing upright and facing the viewport, looking significantly less dynamic than the president on the left? Well, note the hairstyle on the boy.

Must be a popular way to part your bangs in this town. I’m not complaining; in almost every other visual novel you’ll have the nameless background characters existing purely in dialog without any kind of sprite for them. It’s just kinda weird that you see a lot of the same parts used on the background characters you see the most often. Also, I should note that Female Student 2 and Female Student 3 always appear together, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a Female Student 1.

Anyway. Each chapter in the story is dedicated to one of the seven mysteries, and you go through them surprisingly fast... I got to the end of the fifth chapter in just a couple hours. The game kinda rushes through things, with simple explanations being revealed for everything... but here and there, you pick up hints that something else is going on. As you talk to people, you acquire phrases relevant to the mystery, which are stored in a book... but you never really use them. Collecting one of these increases your attributes for the puzzle game portion (more on that in a moment), but the phrases themselves seem entirely pointless... the mysteries are so simple that you’ll grasp what’s going on a third of the way through. Even if you somehow weren’t able to piece it together, the game is completely linear, and you’re not asked what you think you should do before going off to what is essentially the boss battle for each chapter, which takes the form of a puzzle game.

I was surprised to learn, seeing as this is a game on a Nintendo console, that it’s basically Hunie Pop: as you complete combos, the clothes of the person you’re interrogating are removed. The in-universe explanation for this is that your character received a power from a fox demon that allows them to peel away the layers of someone’s mental defenses to force them to answer a question truthfully, and since this is all happening within the mind of a teenager... yeah, it takes the form of stripping their clothes off.

Surprisingly, the game itself is a bit different from your typical match three, with the tile you select teleporting to the top of its column and all ones that were above it falling into the gap. This requires a lot more consideration than similar puzzle games, as you can’t just swap two tiles to make matches, so it’s a good thing you’re not timed. You do have a limited number of moves available, with a couple mechanics in place to get more, but I’ve so far had no real trouble... the puzzles have been just as easy as the visual novel portions.

With all that in mind, I was a little underwhelmed by the game. I only had two mysteries left, and it had yet to offer any real challenge, engagement, or interest. There was something a bit unusual with the phrases I was collecting as I played, though. In a couple of the chapters, you can select the order that you want to visit locations in, but that doesn’t seem to affect the outcome of anything, and there was no such choice in the first chapter... so why was it that the page for each chapter in my book of phrases was only half full? What was the point of having the phrases award experience points to my attributes for the puzzle game if by the end of the fifth chapter only one of them had leveled up?

The most likely explanation was that, after some event late in the game, you would be forced to revisit the mysteries... but even that felt a little weird, with how cut and dried some of them were. Like, spoilers from here on out, but in the second chapter the mystery of “there’s a hidden library that makes you super smart” turned out to be “honors students have access to an exclusive archive”. What more could there possibly be to add to that?

Well, as it turns out... again, spoilers ahoy... after the end of the fifth chapter, a demon sends you back in time to the start of the first chapter (with all your memories intact), and knowing that there is DEFINITELY something amiss with one of the students, you forge a different path ahead to find the truth. Yep, the entire game up to this point has apparently just been a very elaborate window dressing, and the REAL plot appears to be uncovering the truth behind a girl’s suicide (or, possibly, mmmmurder?).

I just reached this point, and needless to say, the game has my attention in a way that it didn’t before. I really don’t know what will happen from here on, which is kinda exciting... instead of investigating the first mystery, the protagonist has decided to cut to the chase and just start in on the mystery from the fifth case right away. Man, I love it when games do things like this! This was definitely worth the dollar (well... the dollar in My Nintendo gold points) I paid.

A day at Disneyland; Chris Hemsworth x reader

*Author’s note*

Hello and good afternoon everybody! So this is a request that I have had done for the past couple of days but I’ve been on a deadline with another request that I’m trying to get done before their bday tomorrow (I’m about half way done with it) but this one is probably my first ever Hemsworth story I had ever done (So I’ve done half of the Chris quartet). Now my knowledge of Disneyland is minimal to none cause I’ve never been to Cally so the only Disney experience I’ve had is Disneyworld down in Florida, but I hope I still did some justice for this fic.

No warnings except PURE, UNADULTERATED, TEETH-ROTTING G RATED FLUFF!!!

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

_______________________________________________________

I was packing up the car getting ready to prepare for the 2 and a half hour drive to downtown LA so that the kids and I could go to Disneyland.  My name is (y/n) (l/n) and I’ve been a single mom for three years.  My ex-husband and I were having some problems, constantly fighting until finally one stupid mistake on his part landed him in the LA prison.

Furious and disappointed, I filed for divorce because I didn’t want his bad influence to affect our children and it was hard on us, especially my eldest son Dean.  He and his daddy were close ever since he was born, but when I was forced to tell him that his daddy wasn’t ever gonna get out of prison, it was hard for him to cope.

It was tough raising not only 2 growing boys but a newborn baby girl at the same time.  My little girl, Leia will never get to know her father because of his stupidity and I don’t want to expose her to him. At first I thought I’d never get to have the father figure my kids needed because it was just me and my sister and my mom who was helping me raise my kids, my dad sadly passed away due to a stroke shortly after my second son Henry was born.

That was until by sheer luck of fate as I was coming home from the store when I accidentally dropped all my well-paid food, that a handsome blonde stranger came into my life.

I had no idea at the time who he was until Dean (whose obsessed with all things superheroes both Marvel and DC) that when we saw the second Avengers movie Age of Ultron, it was shocked to see that it was him.  Chris Hemsworth.

We kept in contact and whenever he wasn’t too busy, he’d come over for a visit and we’d have a couple of dinners.  Soon couple dinners turned into months’ worth of dinners, then starting a relationship until just recently about a year ago he moved in with me and the kids.  Right now he was busy filming “Avengers: End Game” down in his homeland of Australia.

One night as we were all facetiming with each other, Chris had given us a surprise.  He said that he and the entire cast would be in Disneyland to help promote the film and not only that, he got all four of us tickets to go throughout the park and spend an entire day at Disneyland.  The kids were so excited that they were finally gonna go to Disneyland, especially my little girl since she’s finally big enough to ride some of the rides.

Which leads us to here.  As I was putting the bags into the car I said.

“Dean, don’t forget to bring your chargers okay?”

“Yeah mom.”

“Leia, do you got your Simba plushie with you?”

“Right here mommy.” She exclaimed as she held out her stuffed Simba plushie that Chris had given her last Christmas.

“Henry you’ve got your lightsaber right?”

“Yeah, do you think I could really fly the Millennium Falcon?” he asked me.

“We’ll see. Okay Got the bags, toys, gaming consuls, DVD is all set up. Everyone got everything?” My kids all cheered out in choir unison. “So whose ready to go to Disneyland?” they all cheered and raised their hands and I continued, “Alright. Tickets are in my purse and off we go!” I started the car and started up the installed DVD player which played Leia’s and Henry’s favorite movie “Hercules”.

Thankfully with the help of a movie and Dean busy playing on his Nintendo, there wasn’t much complaining from the kids (which was perfect for me).  Finally after the long drive, we finally reached the archway of the entrance into Disneyland.

“We’re here! We’re here! Look over there I can see Woody!” All my kids were in pure awe as we drove under the archway, I could just feel from the front seat the energy these kids were about to unleash.  I was now waiting in line to pay for parking and when I had gotten up I greeted the worker and handed her my license and money.

But when she saw my picture she handed me not only my license but the cash back as well and she told me.

“No payment necessary ma’am, we’ve actually been told of a special reserve spot for you to go to.” At first I was confused but then it dawned on me.

“That Aussie I tell you what.”

“One of our workers will escort you to your special reserved spot.” It was then another worker came up and he asked if he could hop into the car so he could be my navigator. I allowed him in the passenger seat and he told me exactly where to go.

We drove around for about 5 minutes till we reached the reserved front corner entrance where standing there with sunglasses on was Chris.  He grinned and waved to us and the kids waved back to him.  I parked in the parking spot and as soon as I turned off the engine, all the kids raced out and glomped him.

 “There are my favorite three little munchkins!” Chris proclaimed as he wrapped his arms around all three of my kids at the same time and even lifted them up and spun them around, making them laugh and cheer.

“And what about me? Am I just the cabbie driver? Or just some old maid here to serve your favorite three munchkins?” I teased.  Chris set my kids down and he said.

“On the contrary, you my lady are the beautiful good witch who protects and nurtures them. A witch that has put even a god like me under her spell.” He wrapped his arms around me, swaying me gently from side to side grinning down at me.  I grinned up at his sweet talk before our lips joined together only to be disrupted when a choir of voices cried out.

“EWWW!!!!” We separated to see all three of my kids with a look of disgust on their faces.

“Ahh no it’s not gross. Be patient soon enough all of you will be doing this.” Said Chris.

“Over my dead body.” I mocked.  “I want my babies to stay this young forever! Especially my little man.” I said as I walked up to my kids before hugging my eldest son close.  I swarmed his face with kisses and ruffled his ‘lion mane’ like hair that he inherited from his father.

“Mom! Mom, you’re messing with my mane!” Dean cried out as he tried to get out of my embrace. When I finally released him he backed away and tried to readjust his hair to that sweep-over hair that looked like it belonged back in the 1980’s.

“I need to plan an appointment to get your haircut mister.”

“No!” he then raced over to Chris and hid behind him.

“No worries mate, I won’t let any barber cut this hair of yours.” Chris said as he stroked my son’s hair.

“Coming from the very man whose worn the same long blonde wig for years.”

“Hey the last few movies I didn’t have to wear one. But this meeting isn’t about haircuts, now whose ready for a full fun day at Disneyland?!” The kids all raised their hands crying out ‘me! Me! Me! Me!’ “Awesome, already got our tickets, so let’s go out there and have a full day of family fun!” We all cheered before racing onward into the park.

There were so many rides that it was almost impossible to pick just one.  However my daughter who has always favored the merry-go-round no matter whether it was a state fair, amusement park or whatever, anytime she saw a Merry go round she wanted to go on it.

So as a nice little warmup, we all got in line for the merry-go-round.  We waited for I don’t know 5-10minutes in line before they let the next several people to go aboard.  My sons went straight for the two twin black horses while my baby girl went for a white stallion with a pink saddle on it.  As I was about to get on my horse, Chris came up and he said.

“Allow me my lady.”

“Why thank you good sir knight.” I mocked in probably the worst British accent I could muster. I felt his hands go to my waist and he gently hoisted me up and I ended up rising side-saddle but then what I didn’t expect was for Chris to get right behind me.  “Uhh Chris, I don’t think we’re allowed to do this.”

“Relax love, it’ll be okay.” He assured me.  The bell soon sounded off and soon an accordion version of ‘A dream is a wish’ started plaything through the speakers and the ride began.  

All around us, kids were cheering and waving to their parents who were standing along the railings watching their kids ride all by themselves, young couples riding side by side holding hands or riding in the sleighs nonchalantly kissing each other.

I felt Chris take my hands in his and I felt his head gently lean against mine and a kiss at my temple.  I smiled and nuzzled against him as the ride continued to go on.

After the ride we continued to walk around the park riding more rides like the Mad Hatter’s teacup ride, and Toy Story Mania that was until we finally reached the famous Splash Mountain.

“Ohh mom look! Splash Mountain!” Henry proclaimed as he was now riding on top of Chris’ shoulders.  

“I see it Henry.”

“Can we go on that next, please?”

“I guess we can, but I’m not sure if everyone’s tall enough to ride it.” I teased as I looked down at my daughter who was holding my hand.

“Yes I am mama! We measured me last month! I’m big enough.” She said as she pulled on my hand.

“Ohh that’s right, well let’s get a second opinion from the official park height measurements.” We all headed over to the line entrance of Splash Mountain and Leia immediately went up to the height chart.  “Okay, now stand still baby girl.” She hummed happily as she could barely contain her excitement. “No cheating now.” I told her in my mom voice and that made her stand still.

In the end, she was eligible to ride Splash Mountain.

“Okay, everyone stick together now.” Leia cheered happily and her brothers high-fived or fist-bumped her and even Chris did a double fist bump with her as he cheered and picked her up.

“Alright that’s my girl! I told you were growing like a weed!”

“Okay everyone let’s get into the line before it gets too long.” We all got in line and we waited. After what felt like forever and the kids complaining about when the line would move faster, hanging off both mine and Chris’ hands and arms, we finally got closer to the ride.  Since there were five of us we decided to divide up the group, I took Henry and Leia while Chris and Dean rode together, being the big boys that they were.

I got in the log first with the help of the ride attendant and I told Leia to get in first so that way she would be in the middle and Henry could ride up front.  Once we were buckled in and the guy gave us the all clear and the worker at the controls gave a thumbs up and soon we were off.

We went along the trail before going up the first hill.  Hearing the ticking of the controls as it took us up higher and higher before finally dropping us downward on the small uphill.  We were all cheering and laughing as we allowed the current to push us faster than we did when we first went out.

We were now shrouded in darkness as we were now inside the mountain before we would go off the big hill that would take our picture.

“Is this the big drop yet?” asked Leia.

“Yeah Leia, and watch this, this time I’m gonna have both my hands up in the air!” proclaimed Henry.

“Just make sure you don’t unbuckle yourself Henry.” We soon saw the light at the end of the tunnel and I said as I hugged my daughter’s waist. “Here we go.” As soon as we went off the drop-off we all screamed before finally splashing down at the bottom, getting soaked with water.  Both my kids were laughing and clapping. “So Leia, was it everything you thought it would be?”

“It was better mama! We went up and up and up till we went SHOOSH!!” I smiled down at her and I saw Henry was about to get out as soon as we saw the exit point.

“Hold on Henry, wait till we come to a complete stop.” Another worker soon placed their foot on our log and she said.

“Please watch your step as you exit the log, and we hope you have a good rest of your day at Disneyland. And don’t forget about our fireworks show tonight at 8pm in front of Cinderella’s castle.”  She helped my kids out and I got out on my own with a bit of help from her.  As we collected our stuff, we waited at the bottom of the exit point for Chris and Dean.

A few minutes later we saw them coming down (well Dean was more like racing down while Chris was the one walking).

“Did you boys have fun?”

“You bet we did, and how about you Princess? Was it exciting?” Chris asked as he scooped up my daughter and she laughed giddily.

“It was soo much fun, can we go on it again?”

“Maybe later, for now let’s go see our pictures.” He answered.  We walked further down the trail till we reached the giftshop and went up to the picture booth and waited and that’s when I pointed out for Henry and Leia.

“Look there we are.” All three of our faces filled with screams or joy.  Henry as promised had both of his hands in the air and his eyes were wide.  Meanwhile I turned and saw Chris and Dean’s pictures.  Chris had covered Dean’s eyes with his hands while his blue eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his sockets, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Shall we get a copy?” he asked.

“I don’t know…..”

“C’mon this is my treat.”

“Baby I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of your well-earned—”

“You’re not. This is me treating my lovely girl and her children on a day of fun.” He pecked my cheek before turning to the kids giving them the signal to back him up.

“Please mama, please!” They all ganged up against me giving me the puppy dog eyes, Chris included as he had all my kids in his arms looking right up at me.

“Ohh…..alright.” The kids cheered and then turned to Chris telling him what they wanted.  In the end Dean got a keychain, Henry got a small picture frame and Leia got a small locket, and Chris got him and I a copy of a picture frame of our picture.

After a few more rides, we all began to get hungry so we found ourselves a nice little food court restaurant called “Mickey’s Italian shop”.  As we ordered out food, like you would see on Youtube of the characters coming up to the guests just to hang out with the customers.

So we ended up having Mickey and Pluto coming over to our table.  Pluto being my daughter’s favorite Disney dog was thrilled and gave him a big hug and of course Pluto hugged her back before using that tongue that always hangs out to give her a ‘doggy kiss’.  It was so adorable that I just had to get a picture of them together, I also got some pictures of my boys with Mickey and Chris took one with me, Pluto and Mickey.

The day continued to press on and soon it was nightfall and everyone gathered at Cinderella’s castle to grab the best spot for the fireworks show that was about to happen in the next 7 minutes.  Even with the crowd of people that were already sitting down, we still managed to get good enough seats to still see the castle’s full stature.

After waiting a few more minutes the lights went off and we all cheered as the castle first lite up a lightshow for us.  Showing images and clips from various Disney films as ‘Circle of Life’ blared from the speakers.  Chris and I looked at each other before leaning against one another watching the light show and seeing the kids stare in awe.  Then the big event happened.

A giant red firework shot up and exploded into the sky.  Everyone oohed and ahhed as more fireworks began to fly into the sky before exploding into various colors and sizes.

“Did you have a good time love?”

“This was the most wonderful time I’ve ever had at Disneyland. Even when I was a kid, it didn’t compare to this.”

“I think this might get a little more interesting.” He said.  I was about to ask him what he meant by it but he pressed a finger to my lips and turned my chin back toward the sky.  We continued to watch the fireworks but then something happened I had never seen happen at a Disney firework show.

One firework that went off created an image of Mjolnir, Thor’s famed hammer before three fireworks fired off immediately spelling out.

“YOU AR WORTHY TO ME.” My jaw slowly dropped and I felt my heart stop.  Soon another phrase spelled across the sky, “WILL YOU LET ME BE WORTHY OF YOU?” I turned to Chris who now stood on one knee holding out a small ring.  A spotlight came down onto us and I could hear everyone gasp and cry out around us.

“(Y/n), these past few years have been the best years of my life. I didn’t think I would be happy, until you came into my life. Will you make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me?” he opened the box revealing the ring sparkling under the spotlight’s bright light.  I was in tears as I was covering my face with my hands.

Everyone around me, including my kids telling me to say yes.  I nodded rapidly and kissed him with as much passion as I could muster while all around us, everyone was applauding and my kids cam around us and hugged us.

“Ladies and gentlemen we’d like to have the honor of introducing Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth and his new fiancée!” I cupped his cheeks and he kissed my forehead, down my cheek before reclaiming my lips with his.