360 years ago pt1

"It was wednesday. A light breeze hit through the window. Barely making any difference in the blazing summer temperatures. You could almost hear the wood sill cracking from the heat of the sun.

When the shockwave hit, full of dust and particles that burned our skin. An eerie silence hit the world. Everyone knew this was it. The last drop that would bring all human accomplishments to a halt. Its source unknown, to everyone who survived it came from the same distance causing damage, destruction, violence, and despair. Hell had landed on planet earth." -Ghost girl - Name unknown.

Eastern scavenger warriors 25 years Post-reset. Widespread belief of the air remaining incredibly toxic holds up, one cannot go out of the safe zone without the proper equipment. Their job is to hunt the outside zones exploring and guarding the perimeters of the Central city safe zone.

i think the reason why im so drawn to spirit tracks and pkmn scarvi is that having the legendary/princess as a companion rather than a goal that marks the games completion makes me feel satisfied the way i would after helping a friend

my brother always teases me about how I still havent finished botw after almost 7 years bc "id rather be out picking flowers" which i wont say is untrue. and yes i know Zeldas been holding off ganon for 100 years, yes i can get some sort of idea what her relationship with link was like by recalling memories and going through her diary. ive always loved botw for its unique storytelling and setting which makes it stand out, because it lets you get to know who you're saving.

but because theyre memories, it only works if theres something for the player to investigate that already happened. its retroactive (but effective nonetheless)

on the other hand, spirit tracks does something similar but instead of having the player try to piece together memories and interpret them as a spectator, you actually have an opportunity to get to know zelda yourself by talking to her and working together. besides making it a gameplay mechanic, giving the player control over how they interact with zelda makes it so much more personable.

and I find that making the goal feel personal instead of an obligation gives me more of a reason to work towards it. I know what kind of person botw zelda was but as the player, shes still very much a stranger to me. but spirit tracks zelda? thats my friend!!!! she invited me to go to the beach after we get her body back!!! i dont want to whip her to make her move faster thats mean :(

you know how hostage negotiators are trained to introduce themselves and get to know the person theyre negotiating with because its harder to hurt someone when you know what their favorite food is? its kinda like that, because it feels like im helping a friend than being told or led to do smth

and although i havent played scarvi myself, i feel an attachment to koraidon and miraidon even just watching playthrough clips because its like!! thats my weird scaly dog!! it loves sandwiches and we're friends!!! you know!!!!!!

Some new art of a very very old oc of mine! From like, when I was an 8th grader in middle school to freshman in high school I think, I haven’t thought about this character or the world she’s from in like… years, but my brain suddenly remembered she existed! And so I drew some art of her!

Visually, she’s absolutely mostly the result of my child self sticking Toko Fukawa from Danganronpa and Peacock from Skullgirls in a blender and lettin it fuckin rip. Personality wise she’s a bit different tho… she’s into politics! As in,,, she’s in politics ghgh, she’s like the chief of the surveillance department for the country of (mostly) witches that the story takes place in. And one of the advisors to the head ruler witch,,, she sucks! Hardcore! she’s def a villain lol

sometimes i think about the armor they're a little sad

most of the time i dont think any game is almost ever worth 60+ dollars but pyschonauts 2 was for sure

i cant believe fontaine finally cleaned up its archon quest writing and learned to Actually Proper Balance its npc screentime with its playable character screentime. and yet. AND YET!!! THIS is the nation where i end up hyperfixating on the historical figures with no official designs.

Can’t say I disagree with her at all. Hiking is not fun and I actually can’t stand being sweaty

so like, aw man, this is not what you asked for but AVSNAVDJSVDA so you mentioned a theoretical timeline in which wars does have to go back to his era and has to live on his own in an era that hates him, and I still think abt that sometimes because I’m a sucker for angst. but because I’m an even BIGGER sucker for hurt/comfort, I still hold on in my heart that somehow, SOMEWAY, in that theoretical timeline, legend would not take no for an answer, and— being as stubborn as he is— somehow through magic and the spite and willpower of demanding a happy ending, manage to find wars down the line anyway.

If anyone could do it, it would probably be legend, honestly. Drag chboy back into comfort and safety and the arms of someone who loves him no matter what other people say or do. And honestly, Legend’s earned it. They both have. I know ranch au exists but the idea of both theoretical ends being soft because they just love each other That Much is one that warms me heart.

while it makes me sad that they're not All together, i personally love this idea to bits and i think legend would absolutely be the one to flip off fate and tell it to go fuck itself. the narrative of that is so heartwarming ??

he's done nothing but save the world since he was nine at the request of beings he'll never be able to truly comprehend. he's been beaten and bloodied out of necessity and he's been starved bc nine year olds that come from orchards r not taught how to hunt. the world forced him—a little kid—to destroy himself for it, and he never had any say in the matter. and eventually, he gave up trying to find a hole in the agreement or a promise of freedom between the lines. it's for the safety and security of the kingdom, after all

he never valued himself enough to try harder to escape it. but warriors? he loves wars more than anything. he'd Do anything for the guy. and when legend realizes that wars is prolly gonna get sucked back into his own shitty era, filled with shitty people who routinely bite the hands that feed them, legend felt So much dread at that thought.

warriors deserves better. warriors deserves So much better than that. and thanks to wars, legend now believes that he himself deserves better than this—ripped away from his partner as thanks for keeping humanity alive. he's in a better spot mentally, and now that he truly has smth to fight for that's not just an assigned task by a goddess, he's pretty much unstoppable

it could go two ways—either legend goes to wars' era and lives w him, or he takes wars backs to his own. since wars is in genuine danger of people attacking him in his era, once they have their tearful reunion, they prolly go back to legend's time If they were able. legend might have enough power to make two warps (wow! convenient!)

i rly love the idea of them leaving legend's current house to ravio, and they move to find a bigger space to settle down. they 100% buy a nice home on a more peaceful side of the kingdom and they live in the same space and breathe the same air and they have Never been happier. legend starts a garden and teaches wars how to care for plants n shit. wars becomes an author like he always wanted. they already have enough money to retire cuz bein a hero is a very lucrative business, so their house is Nice and they never go hungry and also they get a dog . i said so.

the end. they live like an old married couple . i Said so

this has been a good year for new games for me, ironically bc i had a shit time with totk and was able to better recognize what i like. totk is a game i have not touched since beating it, while every other game i have played this year have be considerably better and just. idk good experiences

so some reflection on the games i played for the first time this year that i really liked!

i played fire emblem engage this year- i literally forgot that that happened this year, i've only been counting games since totk, and i've played some good fuckin games after totk, but i honestly had a good silly time with fe engage. the music is great, the story is a bit flat and hammy at times but was still engaging (hah) and i was pleasantly surprised by the development of the main character, and it was pretty hard even on an easy difficulty, which each map sometimes taking an hour to get through as the story progressed. plus i can't deny that the referneces to other fe games with the emblem rings was a cool selling point, i'm not too familiar with the other fe games and it was interesting to see some of the characters from them. loading into lucina's paralogue and instantly recognizing the map layout and music got to me pretty good as someone who was introduced into the series by awakening. it was great!

i played persona 5 royal after totk and. what a fucking palette cleanser it's one of the best games i have ever played and i've... somewhat liveblogged my first playthrough and snippets of my second, it's fantastic (not flawless tbf) and just a lot of fun. the music is great holy shit and it was also just a great story to experience, with some interesting messaging throughout with the confidant stuff and the things brought up by the third semester. i didn't even initally get persona 5 with the intention to play it myself, it was for my sibling, who played it once and put it down and hasn't touched it since while i picked it up on a whim and was hooked by the music and style and gameplay and... holy shit it's so good. i don't even mind okumura's palace too much.

i managed to get myself a copy of kid icarus uprising (and also got the guide book by accident, don't ask, it's helpful anyways), and... they sure did make a third person shooter on the 3ds and it sure does. Handle. in all honestly the controls are kind of a mess but the game feels really good to play when you get a handle on them, even if i keep accidentally sending pit falling to his death in the ground segments because just moving him is a bit rough. the game is also surprisingly hard, and i wouldn't just chalk it up to the controls, and the music (esp the tracks for the air segments and the way its timed to the game events... ugh) is fantastic, and what i've seen of the story and characters so far is charming! i have only gotten up to past chapter 9 out of... 30? because each chapter is fairly long and... those controls. it's great!

i also managed to get my hands on shin megami tensei iv! i first found it through the fantastic soundtrack, played the first through hours after it failing to boot a few times and getting fucking destroyed by the earliest enemies because holy shit this game will beat you into the ground if you try, and was like 'hm i wonder why they went with that specific sound for a lot of the ost' and then got to fucking tokyo and i. i do not know a lot abt smt iv's story and i'm grateful. getting to tokyo was a bit internal 'holy SHIT' moment and i am so desperate to figure out what the fuck is going on with this story and world it's really fascinating. i haven't progressed the story in a while even through i know where to go just because i'm trying to level flynn and my demons and do side quests because i am not going to underestimate any new encounter ever it's fantastic.

did i start playing clangen this year? i might have. it's good. it's fun. i've played it on voice call with my friend a few times. i'm currently hooked on starting with 1 apprentice and 1 kit like a lot of people are doing on here, building cool stories based on it. it's neat.

that's (probably) all of the new games i've played (and enjoyed) this year so far, but i found out that fallout: new vegas is ten fucking dollars on steam (20 with all of the dlc) and i might have to give that a shot after tracking down a bunch of mods to keep it from crashing, and just from what i've seen of people talking about it, it sounds like a game i really need to try either this year or sometime next year. i'm mostly still just floored that it's less than thirty dollars.

sighsss thinking abt my voltron aus again

I'm very much a, "fuck yeah and fuck you, I don't need validation! I'm me, cunts!" kinda fella, but sometimes I could use support.

Thinking abt writing just a lil collection abt how messed up the world in dislyte is and how it's canonically speaking like a religious event and a lot natural disasters combined. Like so many people have died/had their lives uprooted by the miracles its crazy

"This extra space next to me belongs to you. I know where I end now. I won't get lost." -- shoot me (metaphorically) and leave me for dead (metaphorically) why won't you. To make this about Dylan and maybe it's about Connor, maybe it's about Brinksy, maybe it's about any journeyman in the NHL. My brain screamed Chris Driedger and his memorable (to me) Players' Tribune article:

And how can you mention Dylan and Zach (Za-ach, the way Dylan says it) without me having a breakdown about them? You simply can't. And for the younger dudes, maybe it's a little Bords/Briss, not yet steady in The Show, a little bit of distance, a summer that tries to erase and make up all the memories they've made separately... and then a blurry insta story in Vegas. Just like old times but somewhere else. Maybe it's not the same bed, maybe it's not the same set of forks, but maybe it's the principle of the thing.

Anyway, goodbye. Sorry for this, your tag walls make me break out in imagined scenarios.

Much love. xxx

please never be sorry for sending me messages <3 i love reading them i love getting them i think they’re beautiful and i love them i’m!!!!! [🥹💕🦋🫧✨💘😭 <- the best approximation of what my heart is doing]

ok NOW i am taking this step by step because every narrative here kicked me straight in the knees (metaphorically) i am w e e p i n g (literally): i knew tangentially about chris driedger going to seattle but i had never read his players’ tribune love letter to seattle & all i can say is oh. oh. and with the part about trains delayed but still being right on time—

sometimes a dream is a truth your heart knows long before you do. the space that the city and the team made for him (“you’d be the only guy on the team”)🗣️🗣️🗣️ !!! but the way that chris talks about needing to put in the work & leo not letting him quit,,, that’s chris filling up the teakettle with twice as much water, crowding one side of the bed (falling asleep against a bus window dreaming), becoming unburdened by the idea of not being their guy, not having the fallback being their draft pick to content and settle himself with. that’s chris betting on a future. that’s the train coming down the tracks, right on time.

(i am feeling unhinged about it)

SECOND. i know i was the one that said zach and dylan to start so technically i brought this on myself but also i have been ktfo by the mere mention of the way that dylan says zach’s name different from everyone else, stealing an extra breath, stealing as much time as he can get with him, which reminded me of a poem i just read:

The Need Is So Great, Jim Moore

^^^dylan still in love with zach even as he’s leaving, can feel himself losing him, and taking every sliver of the love in his smile that he can get. even if he knows zach doesn’t still feel the same way he’s drawing out the long goodbye & saying i love you in a thousand ways without ever saying it out loud (“i have been asking for a time but in ways that have no words” because he doesn’t want to ask too much, to ask for love) in the hope that zach will say it back OKAY I’M LEAVING i can’t do this

that was a lie because THREE. “maybe it’s the principle of the thing” please insert the most ungodly screech how could you just (lovingly) come in straight with the steel chair and bean me upside the head with that l i n e i think this story has the potential for such tragedy in it but also the most tender domestic longing because bords & briss have known each other for a long time (i think) and guys do sometimes lose themselves when they first get to the nhl.

it’s a big scene, you’re with big name guys, you’re finally doing the thing you always dreamed about, you’re no longer necessarily the best because everyone’s the best, you’re not sure how you fit in, you can get lost in the glitz and the glamor of it but you can also literally get lost in it, the slog of the season and getting caught up and down between teams and leagues and endless airports and buses and travel and ice rinks, losing your phone (accidental) and having new people hound you for quotes and fame and connection so you lose your phone (on purpose) and i think where i’m trying to go is: this could play out as the tragedy of borde going to the california coastline and briss shipping off to the vegas strip and both of them getting a little lost.

maybe there’s someone else, maybe i am steadfastly not thinking about “a summer that tries to erase and make up all the memories they've made separately” as either a summer of them pretending things are ok after a year of barely speaking and now being completely different people they never were before OR a summer of them trying to pretend like they can forget about each other because maybe they didn’t think their relationship was the same thing, is all, when they were or weren’t together. maybe it’s nobody’s fault but for the fact that they were scared and tired and lonely trying to make it in the big times and didn’t know how to show it. and then borde shows up with takeout and plastic forks in vegas and it’s december and nothing like winter in ann arbor and still they fill up all the empty spaces in each other with the things they didn’t know they’d miss until they were gone and this is the real thing, not whatever they were trying too hard to be, to recreate their own nostalgia for the love in their memories. it’s the principle of the thing, is all, to always be true to the love they have right now & not what they think it should be.

sorry that i wrote you kind of an essay of an answer but i had so so so many thoughts because your ask was so lovely so thank you for sending it to me (you are always welcome to!! i love your imagined scenarios!!! cannot even explain how much!!!) & thank you for taking the time to read my walls of tags :))) <3

im not gonna lie i expected wendell and wild to be,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, better,,,,,,,

what if i did a funny bit and had my trainersona be a fucking ice type gym leader. the ol bait and switch. it walks around with a weavile and dresses in black and white and is generally lazy and mischievous so you think its a dark type leader and then its like oh you need the hoarfrost badge? fine. we can fight. yeah im the ice leader. i did dark for a while but i got bored of it so i switched to an arguably worse type because i found the challenge more interesting

it still has the wide variety team i doodled it with that you can roll after you win its badge but i think ill add some mythicals and legendaries to it for this theoretical game. one thing i really love about emerald rogue is that from badge like 5 or 6 and up gym leaders and eventually random trainers can have legendaries on their team, especially if you yourself have one, as part of the balancing thing. its awesome. i need to make my pokemon fangame real so bad