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soratoninn · 2 years

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i hate the fact you moved on!

( rindou + black reader )

summary: after rindou gets locked up for the second time when he was sixteen, the reader decide move on. finally, she’s eighteen and has another boo, but when rindou sees this, he has no choice but to swallow his pride and move on, just like you did.

cw: a lil angst. fluffy for the most part. reader has a y2k style and a few piercings.

tags: @aaphroditeee @mayubbu @mrssmiya @s4nzuchiyo @casper4hunnid @blessedfatui @the-princess-button

Rindou couldn’t believe the sight that stood before his eyes. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that you both ran into one another in a coffee shop you both used to go to when you were together. “Hi, Rin. Long time no see,” You smile, and Rin can’t help the butterflies that rush to his stomach. Your entire style and demeanor had changed. You pierced your belly button and nose? He tried not to be perverted, but because of the thin fabric of your shirt, he could also see you pierced your nipples. Damn did you look sexy in those embroidered jeans with the skull wings on the back. You looked totally different from the last time he saw you.

“Hey,” he replied shallowly, and he watched as you looked him up and down menacingly slowly. “When did you get out?” You ask, and Rindous eyes just fell to the side and then down. “About a month ago. How have you been holding up?” He asked and you moved a piece of your hair from your eyes, tucking it behind your ear. “Pretty well. I’ve gotten a job and I’m working on starting my own business,” you responded, and Rindou just smiled. “Let me guess, you’re gonna start a business in cosmetics?” You chuckled, and Rindou felt his heart warm.

Rindou couldn’t lie. He missed you. He couldn’t look at any other woman in the same way he looked at you. No one could make him feel as nervous as you did. He gulped before deciding just to try and shoot his shot. But, before he could open his mouth, a man came in who seemingly caught your attention. He had a slit in his eyebrow, pretty brown skin, and he was tall.

Some competition he had.

He walked closer and he watched as your eyes lit up. He wrapped his arms around your waist, and you didn’t fight back. Oh… So that was what was happening. “Hey, babe. What’s taking so long?” Rindou watched as the guy eyed him down with a smirk on his face, evidently trying to spite him.

“Nothing, I just ran into an old friend,” Rindou bit his lip down and just looked down.

“Well I’ll wait for you in the car. Just be careful and if you need me, call me,” he kissed your forehead, just like Rindou used to. Rindou watched as he walked out of the cafe, and his eyes slowly looked up to you. “He seems nice,” Rindou says as all excitement drains his voice, and he goes back to that nonchalant expression. “Hey, Rin… After you got locked up and we broke-“

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I get it. You’re grown and you have every right to make decisions for yourself,” your expression shifted into astonishment at his words. Rindou Haitani really matured. Your cheeks heated up at his words, and you smiled. “I wish you nothing but the best, Rin,” you walked up to him and wrapped your arms around him.

Rindou breathed in your familiar, sweet scent, before wrapping his arms around you. “Same to you, Y/N,” he whispered, resting his chin on your head. You pulled away from the hug, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Bye, Rindou,” He watched as you walked out of the café. His mood shifted entirely. Maybe you two could’ve still been together if he wasn’t such a dick as a teenager. But, he couldn’t change the past, so he had to deal with it. Maybe he’d have a chance with you in the future.

He’d just have to wait for you.

2022 written by toruzaki on tumblr and miruizaki on wattpad. do not copy, modify, redistribute, translate, or write spin off stories based off of my own content. remember, plagiarism is illegal.

#toruzakiwritings #Tokyo revengers #haitani rindou #rindou haitani #rindou x black!reader

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jungwnn · 3 years

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Hi! Saw you were taking ship requests! May I have a ship with enhypen and txt ? :)

Appearance: 5”6, natural dirty blonde hair but just recently got blonde highlights (kinda like britney spears y2k highlights) I have blueish-greenish eyes and am hungarian/american so kinda eastern european looking. I describe my style as comfortable but fashionable, my ideal style is similar to enhypen’s not for sale performance outfits, I enjoy flowy comfy pants with colorful tops and nice jewelry:) i enjoy wearing makeup but i always just go for the simple/natural look.

Personality: I’m a sagittarius 02 liner (sag moon pisces rising) mbti is isfj-t and my enneagram type is 3! I have a friend group that only consists of my 2 best friends, and I’m a year older than both of them so I’m considered the mom friend. I honestly prefer being alone most of the time, I really value my alone time and everytime I hang out with my friends or spend a day with a group of people I tend to need alone time after to recharge. Most of the people I know have said I was very intimidating when they met me, but I most of the time am a very kind soul who is wise and intelligent in many areas.

Hobbies: I absolutely am in love with traveling, it’s all I want to do in life, I love experiencing new adventures, hearing new languages and learning them, while learning about new cultures as well. I also love listening to music, it really is my way to escape reality. Some of my favorite artists include bts, enhypen, itzy, txt, alessia cara, bazzi, and coldplay!

Likes: cats, rainy weather, learning new languages, the smell of lavendar, thrifting, ICED COFFEE🧎🏼‍♀️ blueberry eggo waffles </3

Sorry if this was a lot:( thank you so much

PLS U SOUND SO COOL BYE 😩✋

okay okay while I was reading this I immediately thought of my boy heeseung like I know y’all would instantly click if y’all met !!

Where do I even start like omg, just let me add y’all would be the most fashionable couple to exist I don’t make the rules, Everyone wishes they were the both of you, I JUST KNOW YALL WOULD TAKE SOME BOMB ASS PICTURES TOGETHER BYE. pls just power couple goals everything that anyone could want BYE. He would be so respectful and sweet like dude just wants to make you happy like it’s insane how much he loves you!! He is a boy who enjoys his alone time as well so He would immediately respect that you need your own as well! Y’all are both so chill this relationship would be so fun and feel so calm! But this is Heeseung we are talking about! He will still tease you, in a playful way of course!! He would walk over to you in front of your friends like “ hey ramen face” and you’d stand there like 🧍I’m breaking up with you. He would always call you weird ass nicknames just because he likes seeing your reaction and he always gets a kick out of it. PLS I JUST KNOW HIS ASS TRIED TO ACT ALL COOL AND SLICK WHEN YALL BARELY STARTED DATING, I just know his ass sat there and did the whole fake yawn and arm over the shoulder shit BYE. He just thought you were so cool and pretty (which you are😩✋) that he wanted you to think the same about him! He would never admit it his massive heart eyes that he has for you, like everyone can see it. Just by the little touches and small acts of affection he does! Your hangouts would usually consist of sleepovers and late coffee runs. Like one day y’all thought getting coffee?? At 7 pm would be a good idea.. yeah y’all didn’t sleep that night. The night consisted on laying on each others shoulders, cuddling talking about where you would want to travel, what would you want to do. The conversation just natural,y flows between you two. As the night passed he convinced you that y’all should make ramen at 6 am🧍 so y’all went downstairs and y’all tried key word is tried to be quiet, but Heeseung pulled the pan out of the cabinet which caused a loud grumble, both of your sleep deprived heads thought it was the funniest thing ever. Heeseung wrapped his arms around you in a back hug hiding his face in your neck to stiffen his own laughter, both of y’all just being close to tears at how funny it was. That was then a sleepy Sunoo walked in telling y’all to quiet down. Did you try? Yes, did you succeed? No.

Okay okay !! So the overall relationship would consist of:

☼texting each other random animal photos

☼small kisses before leaving each other

☼lots and lots of inside jokes

☼gives you his rings or necklaces that he thinks would look good on u

☼likes to play with your hair

☼always talking about how much he wants to see the world with you

☼pls wear his sweater he’ll be so red and so shy all day

okay okay txt !! I ship u with mr. kang taehyun himself!! Look at this cutie pie !

Pls I just know this boy would adore you, He would instantly melt when he looks at you. He ain’t gonna let you know that because terry ain’t no simp. He was definitely a lot more shy in the beginning of your relationship. He isn’t very huge on PDA but he loves holding your hand and he loves loves loves!! hugging you especially in private. He really values his time with you and loves to just be around you whenever he can. He’s a busy busy boy but he always makes time for you whenever you want to hang out or just call on the phone. Speaking of phone calls!! He loves calling you at mf crack ass dawn in the morning during his workouts! Which you get kinda grumpy but like his smile is so cute how can you say no. He secretly thinks your grumpy face is cute ngl. You make his heart just melt In general how dare you. He always brings you a coffee whenever he sees you like he got your coffee order memorized in his heart. He is always doing things just to show you how much he loves you!! He may seem so calm and cool but every time you kiss his cheek or even do something simple like lay your head on his shoulder he is screaming internally. The way you make him BLUSH is insane how do you have that power!?!? Soobin and Beomgyu will tease him in front of you just so he can be embarrassed it’s not funny. “Hey Hey did you know Taehyun alwaaays talks about you?” Soobin would start “He even bought those waffles you like just in case your hungry~” Beomgyu would say. And no joke taehyun would deadass stand there like this emoji 🧍like he was trying to keep his cool and composed image and they out here exposing that he’s soft for you? the nerve. Dude is just head over heels and you make him so happy. Pls just give him all the love you can so he can smile !

your overall relationship would consist of!!

☼this man will tickle you so much

☼coffee shop dates coffee shop dates

☼teases you abt your height like calm down terry 🙄✋

☼y’all both so smart I know y’all be coming up with the best comebacks

☼HE LIKES TO SHOW YOU HIS MAGIC TRICKS

☼he gets so smiley seeing your reaction to them

☼if you don’t know much already he would most definitely teach you Korean !!

a/n; aaaa!! I hope you enjoy it < 3 MWAH MWAH MWAH !

#enhypen x you #enhypen imagine #enhypen x reader #heeseung imagines #heeseung x reader #taehyun imagines #tommrow x together imagine #txt imagine #taehyun x reader

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endlessymphony · 3 years

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oH! 🧸 my name is miliane but i go by liane. (she/her). i’m a 5’4, ravenclaw, bisexual, brown eyes, brown hair, morena skin, who loves anything art-related, astronomy, reading books, binge watching, music, styling my clothes (i’m stuck between kidcore, y2k, cottagecore and indie) and eating food (more than necessary). i’m a sarcastic twat who’s often misunderstood bc it’s basically my mother tongue, but i’m a nice person. INFP-T. and when it comes to relationships, i would love a guy who’s gonna be willing to put up with my impulsive bs sometimes lol, like sneaking out in the middle of the night to eat at the kitchens, watch movies together and dance like we’re the only ones left. he wouldn’t force anything out of me til he and i know that i’m ready. and i would rlly love if he would give me one or two of his hoodies, and he would spray them with his cologne bc he knows that i love the way he smells, and maybe sneak in a small note for me to read in the pockets. i love forehead and nose kisses, i’m a goner for those. pet names are one of my weaknesses, (love, lovely, darling, babe, baby)— and i’m yours. i’m not much of an affectionate person as i didn’t have much of it during my childhood, so simple handholding and hugs would make me a bit flustered and awkward but very much appreciated. (PFT- i just copy and paste this whenever i see a ship post <3) i hope this helps eek—

hi liane!

you and george would be an absolute power couple, no doubt about it in my mind.

you were relaxing in your dorms after class ended, the ‘lights out’ call happening about an hour ago.

“knock knock.” George says, voice a bit groggy as he tries his absolute best to be quiet. he wandered in, shutting the door behind him gently.

you looked up, a small smile gracing your face. “you do know that you’re supposed to actually knock, not just say it out loud.”

“oh, you don’t say?” he retaliated as he sits down on the end of your bed. “I have a surprise for you, get changed.”

“what’s wrong with what I’m wearing right now?” you swung your legs off the side of the bed, standing up and gesturing at your house coloured pyjamas.

“if you want to walk around in those, well, be my guest” George lets out a small chuckle, “I just figured you’d be much more comfortable in something else.”

“give me a minute, now get out so I can change.” you say, walking past him and gently patting his shoulder.

he whines in protest, but you shoot a glare in his direction and he immediately stands up. “i’ll wait outside.”

you took a few minutes to pick out a new outfit, eventually settling on something. wandering over to your mirror, you smooth out the wrinkles of your shirt and head out to follow the tall ginger blindly. oh boy.

after almost getting caught multiple times due to the two of you bickering, taking turns telling each-other to ‘shut up because you’re being too loud’. you eventually reach the astronomy tower, George hummed nervously as he waited for you to see his ‘surprise’.

the inside of the tower had been decorated to the nines, fairy-lightly glimmering softly as they hung from the walls. he had set up a blanket on the floor, complete with pillows, snacks and a bottle of your favourite soda.

the gentle light illuminated your face, he took a moment to admire you before speaking.

“i was hoping that we could spend the night watching the stars.” he paused, trying to read your face for a reaction.

“is that alright with you, darling?”

#liane 🍄#harry potter blurb #hp fic #harry potter #z blurbs #george weasley

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sunflowerdarlingx · 3 years

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hey, m! congratulations with your milestone, you deserve it <333 i was wondering if i could have a 🖤? thanks, love ya :-)

my name is miliane but i go by liane or millie. (she/her). i’m a 5’4, ravenclaw, bisexual, brown eyes, brown hair, morena skin, who loves anything art-related, astronomy, reading books, binge watching, music, styling my clothes (i’m stuck between kidcore, y2k, cottagecore and indie) and eating food (more than necessary). i’m a sarcastic twat who’s often misunderstood bc it’s basically my mother tongue, but i’m a nice person. INFP-T. and when it comes to relationships, i would love a guy who’s gonna be willing to put up with my impulsive bs sometimes lol, like sneaking out in the middle of the night to eat at the kitchens, watch movies together and dance like we’re the only ones left. he wouldn’t force anything out of me til he and i know that i’m ready. and i would rlly love if he would give me one or two of his hoodies, and he would spray them with his cologne bc he knows that i love the way he smells, and maybe sneak in a small note for me to read in the pockets. i love forehead and nose kisses, i’m a goner for those. pet names are one of my weaknesses, (love, lovely, darling, babe, baby)— and i’m yours. i’m not much of an affectionate person as i didn’t have much of it during my childhood, so simple handholding and hugs would make me a bit flustered and awkward but very much appreciated. (PFT- i just copy and paste this whenever i see a ship post <3)

Hi Millie, thank you so much, you’re so sweet! I hope this is okay <3

I ship you with the one and only George Weasley!

I see George as a big softie and 1000% think that he would be in love with you!

He would love having a girlfriend who had so many different passions and would love trying to guess your style for the day.

He would love your sarcasm and will often match it when your out, I feel like yous would be the types to call each other “bro” “bestie” etc when you’re messing about but when your alone or when George is in a cuddley mood then you will definitely be darling or baby.

No matter what time of day it is, he will always be up for an adventure and will even sneak out to get you food by himself just so you dont get in trouble if yous get caught.

I believe that George will always wait for you to initiate the next steps in your relationships, and will ensure a proper in depth conversation happens before anything physcial does. I think even in terms of opening up emotionally to him - he will still make sure you know you are safe and can trust him no matter what.

After a month of dating you will have a small collection of his sweaters, each of them homemade by the great Mrs Weasley. He would try to find a spell which will help you keep his scent but after a few failed attempts he would just make sure you had some of his cologne and will definitely give you a blanket as well for when you need it.

I think he would leave you little love notes everywhere, in pockets, bags, books, each with different messages like

“you look absolutely stunning today darling”

“baby you literally took my breath away this morning”

“don’t forget your potions essay love, due 6th period”

“I love you gorgeous”

He would love how flustered you would get when he gives you affection but would make sure he gave you it constantly! His family are very affectionate and I think he would feel the need to prepare you for all of the hugs you will get from his mother.

Finally, he would constantly remind you about how much he loves you and would always part ways after giving you a kiss on the top of your head since there is a very big hight difference between you.

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jtq1844 · 5 years

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Musings from the Car ...

Ensuring that my pre-owned, book-on-CD from a few days ago would be put to good use, I listened to Amy Tan’s Opposite of Fate. It is a series of essays where Ms Tan’s sets the record straight on a few things like spurious internet-propagated “facts” about her professional and personal lives and what is family-history-inspired and what is fiction. She examines the synchronicities and hurdles of her writing experience as well with wry skepticism and deep gratitude. After an essay on how the events of 9/11/01 inculcated themselves into her life, I thought about the same.

Here is an essay I wrote which may be part of a vaguely-realized memoire-style set of essays which might eventually be entitled Living with the Extraordinary While Washing Socks:

Where Was I on 9/11/01

On September 11 every year, someone invariably asks, "Where were you when the World Trade Center fell?"

I’ll tell you, but first, I have to mention a few things that happened in 1999. The Millennium Panic that year still annoys me because the 2nd Millennium didn’t end in 2000; it ended with 2001. It’s a math, off-by-one, how-to-count-years thing. Because of mostly harmless short-sightedness by some software engineers, there was potential for some computer programming problems. The real concern was in regards to mischief-making, troubles that might be devised to be symbolic. My husband, having a background in "thinking like a terrorist” or other kind of trouble-making, headed up the Y2K Preparedness program for Cisco Systems. In brief, they planned for many contingencies and he knew a lot of people.

The morning of 9/11/01, his cell phone bleeped extra early. I got up and turned on the news. We never turned on the TV in the morning, but this time I did. Mike shouted to me, “Turn on the News. Something happened.”

“It’s already ready on.” We watched the Towers standing there with smoke billowing from one of them, as a newscaster explained that a plane flew into the one of the Towers. It was unclear whether it was an odd accident of some kind.

Mike quickly dialed the phone, barking orders as he occasionally did, particularly when talking to people in the New York City office. It's a speech pattern thing. He said, “Just go with your gut. Grab whatever you can and start walking in the direction away from the Towers.” The Cisco Offices were located in a building next door to the Twin Towers. “Just. Do. It.”

We watched live footage of the second plane flying into the tower. It seemed like several moments before the building collapsed. The collapse was gratefully an implosion onto itself, taking out a minimum of its surroundings which could have included thousands of more lives. News reports of the Pentagon airplane and Pennsylvania crashes were filtering in.

On the house phone, Mike called one of his Y2K crisis management associates on the East Coast. His cell phone rang – it was the CEO. It seems that the big full-time Disaster Management Team at Cisco were at an all-hands, brainstorming meeting and were incommunicado. (Yes, we got the irony.) Could he please head this up in the meantime? Of course.

It should be explained here that the emergency communications center for all of New York City – Fire, Police, Ambulance, etc – were located in the bowels of the WTC Twin Towers. They were gone. Out. Nothing.

On the home phone, Mike next dialed one of the NYC Cisco people whom he hoped had followed his orders. “Now, go to a cop and see how you can help.” In his cell, he spoke to others. No, that’s not right. He barked at others. This went on for several minutes, but Mike needed to get to his office. He barked back and forth like a General commanding troops over the two lines, occasionally hitting the flash button for call-waiting. I held fresh underwear for him to step into, pulled up his pants, buckled his belt, put on his socks, tied his shoes, buttoned and tucked his shirt all while he spoke with, ordered, devised, advised, and otherwise communicated. Maybe I should mention that Mike had had a kidney transplant nine months before and was on high amounts of steroids making his barking extra barky and his circumference extra challenging. From my point of view, dressing him was a heroic act.

At one point, both phones were quiet. He went rigid and started to vibrate, reliving his own bombing trauma. Oh, did I mention his survival of the 1983 truck-bomb into the American Embassy in Beirut as a covert CIA agent? This was how he had gotten his thinking-like-a-terrorist-or-other-kind-of-trouble-making training. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His limbs were both floppy and locked at the same time. His cell phone buzzed. The tears stopped immediately, his body re-engaged. “Mike here. What do you need?”

He was out the door in 5 minutes with a banana and thermos of tea.

The remarkable communications recovery caught the eye of Interpol, trying to understand how in 24 hours, after losing ALL emergency communication systems, “How did NYC do it, Mr. Giuliani?” “I dunno. Ask Cisco.” “How did Cisco do it, Mr. Chambers?” “I dunno. Ask Mike.”

Mike did his part, as did so many people. Because of this and his position at work, he and a few others had an idea. What if every Cisco office anywhere in the world no matter how small reserved a closet to hold an emergency network backbone kit? It could be deployed within hours after any disaster needed communications to help with recovery. Mike doing his best Cap’n Pickard said, “Make it so” to the six gorilla cases in a closet in every Cisco office on Earth. This little plan was tested to its limits soon enough, during the Indonesian Tsunami. Then Katrina and ever since. Under his aegis, his group created Cisco-sponsored emergency vans with communications equipment that drive to disaster sites. It has made a difference, largely an unsung difference. This is as it should be.

Great changes at the Dawn of the New Millennium did bare out as the events of 2001 did in fact change everything, just not in the literal sense which to my mind is among the least important. What other prophetic events would have some credence if we just looked at them another way?

Where was I on 9/11? At home, washing his socks.

#amytan #oppositeoffate #911 #washing socks

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ernmark · 6 years

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Because I’ve been posting a whole lot of really sad stuff lately, here’s something a little bit more fun.

The prompt comes courtesy of Kya, who requested Juno undertake a very particular kind of case, with some details based on a conversation with @crownsnbirds.

Rita’s laid down the law: there will be no more dry spells in the Juno Steel Detective Agency. Juno has two weeks to recover, just long enough for the sunburn to finish peeling and the vertigo to fade into mild dizzy spells when he stands up too fast, and then he’s back on the job.

He should probably thank her for that, at least when he’s done being annoyed at her about it.

After everything that’s happened, the current case is a relief. There’s no conspiracy, no murder, no hostage situations, no rigged elections. Just a run-of-the-mill Uptown blue blood whining because their favorite tiara went missing.

“No, not a tiara,” insists Theophania Frost. “It’s a diadem. An antique from my dearest grandmama.”

“Your... diadem.” Goddamn rich people. “Right. Now are you sure it’s actually stolen? Have you checked with your staff? Made sure it’s not out for cleaning or repairs or whatever?” Hell, maybe somebody left it in the refrigerator by mistake. God knows he’s done that with his eye patch once or twice after a long night.

“Detective Steel, I wouldn’t have called you here if I wasn’t absolutely certain it’s been stolen-- and I know who did it, too!”

Juno sighs. The tone of their voice tells him he’s going to be in for a long day. “Do you?”

Frost leans in conspiratorially and drops their voice to a whisper, as if they might be overheard. “Have you ever heard of the Bouquet Bandit?”

Oh god, not this again.

“Is this one of those crooks with a theme song trying to get into the Fortezza? Because this is a hell of a bad time to cash in on that deal.”

“I don’t know, Detective, but I’m not the only one who’s been stolen from. Sam Spare, you know, the botanist? Xir diamond shears went missing a month ago. And Telemnachus Wake’s collection of antique horsehair necklaces was taken two months ago, and on the same day, they were sent flowers.”

“Flowers.”

Frost takes Juno’s exasperation for enthusiasm. “That’s right! Every time he takes something, he always leaves behind a dozen roses.”

“Thus the name, I got it.”

Why did Rita have to pick now to start doing her job?

Whoever this Bouquet Bandit is, he’s good. The crime scene is spotless, and there’s no signs of forced entry whatsoever. While Rita goes over Frost’s security system for footage and signs of tampering, Juno looks into the other alleged crimes of the serial burglar, looking for something they had in common.

The best bet is in the delivery personnel-- people this rich get a lot of deliveries, and nobody thinks twice about a person in uniform with a box in hand walking right up to the front door. There are a few people on the security feeds that Juno pegs as suspicious, and not just because of the one thing they all seem to have in common: no matter where they are or what they’re doing, Juno can never get a good look at their faces.

He scours the timestamps on the videos, looking for others that might give a better angle or reveal some kind of other identifying mark, but there’s no luck so far.

And honestly? He’s kind of loving it. After all the shit that went down, he’s been in need of a good, clean, straightforward case. It’s been too long since he’s done legitimate investigating that he could feel good about.

The thought barely has the chance to cross his mind before he hears Rita start talking to someone at her desk. A moment later, she’s poking her head inside his office.

“Hey, Boss? You got a delivery.”

She looks about as concerned as he feels. Because in her hand is a bouquet of twelve red roses.

“What the hell?” He starts to his feet. “Rita, did you see who delivered these?”

“Don’t worry, boss, I already asked. It was just a kid. She said some man stopped her on the sidewalk and gave her a whole bunch of money to deliver these to you.”

“Did she see his face?”

“I asked, but she wouldn’t say nothin’. She just gave me the flowers and ran.”

Juno grabs the card from among the roses and turns it over. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Juno’s still got the card in his pocket when he arrives at the meeting point. Rita insisted she come with him when she saw, but this time he was the one who put his foot down-- the last time she joined him on a job, she fell in love with a murderer, and this time he’s going to cut off the inevitable tragedy before he has to buy two pints of ice cream and sit through her forty favorite sad movies.

The card itself is infuriatingly unhelpful. The paper is high-class cardstock, but nothing so fancy that you couldn’t get it at any stationary store in town. The text is digitally printed in a fancy but publicly available font. The message is short:

Detective Juno Steel

Meet me at the Jacobi Convention Center at 3 PM on July 5.

Don’t be late.

It screams ambush-- which is another reason why Rita isn’t coming.

Even if the ambush is apparently going to happen at the local Y2K Faire.

It makes sense in its own ridiculous way: there are hundreds of people coming and going, half of them in costume, and everyone’s going to be carrying a shopping bag or a replica glock or sword or whatever, and there’ll be enough reenactors demonstrating fake duels that nobody’s going to notice if things get heated until it’s too late.

Old Americana-style signposts mark the different sections of the faire, their directions spelled out in big white letters against reflective green rectangles. One catches Juno’s eye: its metal pole is decorated with a dozen roses. It looks like a regular decoration, but he takes it as a sign and follows its lead. It’s not hard to find a second sign post covered in roses a little further, and another, until he’s on the far end of the convention center. By now the trail is easy to follow, laid out in a path of rose petals on the floor. They’re fresh, not quite dried out yet, not nearly as trampled as they should be, given how many people are here. The bandit can’t have been here more than half an hour ago, tops.

The trail leads to an exotic animal exhibit based on old-fashioned Earth petting zoos. Which... can’t be right. Juno checks all the way around the enclosure, just to make sure he got it right, but no. That’s where it ends.

What the hell is he supposed to do with this?

He stares, perplexed, at children reaching through the bars to offer handfuls of pellets and sliced vegetables to cows and ponies and old Earth species of rabbits-- the kind that are fluffy and bright-eyed and small enough to hold in your arms.

The kind I’m used to eat carrots and wrinkle their little nosies.

The thought makes Juno’s heart ache a little bit. Reminders of Nureyev always do.

He’s staring into the enclosure when he notices something that doesn’t belong: a bit of paper, fancy card stock the same stiffness and shade as the card in his hand, carefully pinned to the wool of a star-horned goat on the other end of the enclosure. He hurries over to the spot of fence closest to it, but as soon as he gets there, it’s on the move, meandering around to the other side.

“Goddammit,” he mutters under his breath, and sets his foot on the metal gate. He wasn’t planning to get cow dung on his shoes today, but whatever.

“Hey!” barks a man who smells like he’s been working with these things for a long, long time. “You can’t go in there.”

Juno would ignore him and make the leap anyway, but the guy grabs him, and hot damn does he have a strong grip. Apparently wrangling a bunch of four-legged antiques for a living builds muscles or something.

“I said you can’t go in there,” the caretaker repeats slowly. It’s a warning. It won’t be repeated again.

There’s even odds that Juno would win any fight between them, but no matter how it goes, he’ll end the fight by being dragged out by security, which means he’ll lose his only lead on this case. The Bandit’s got a game to play, and Juno intends to win it.

And that means playing by the rules.

“Sorry about that,” he says as sweetly as he can get away with. “I’m just so excited. I’ve never seen a goat up close before.”

The caretaker gives him a weird look, but backs off. “Yeah, well, you’re going to have to do your watching from out here. It stresses the animals out too much to let people into the pen.”

“Do you think you could bring one over for me to get a closer look?” He points at the star-horned goat with the note on its wool. “How about that one over there?”

“Listen, buddy,” the caretaker says. “We can’t do that. If you want them to come closer, we sell food pellets for a cred a bag.”

Sometimes, being a Private Eye means asking the hard questions-- like whether he’s going to include “petting zoo food pellets” in his expense report at the end of a case.

He decides to swallow the cost along with his pride and he buys a bag.

And then he buys two more; the one goat he’s after looks hungry, but apparently not as much as the rest of the animals in the enclosure. In seconds he’s swarmed by livestock, and Juno runs his hands over all of them, just in case the goat wasn’t the only one with a note in its fur.

And... okay, so they are really soft. It’s not like this is his first time at a Y2K Faire, but he’s never bothered to pay money for a chance to pet the animals. It’s actually kind of nice. Especially the cow-- she keeps bumping his hand with her soft, velvety nose, and scrubs her long tongue over the palm of his hand in a way that should be a lot more gross than it is. It’s a shame there aren’t more of these on Mars.

Sure, a few people are complaining about the smell, but Juno spent half his childhood wading through the sewers with giant rabbits. If anything, the smell of hay and manure and animal fur feels a little bit nostalgic.

It’s not until he trades a handful of pellets to a six-year-old in exchange for a bunch of carrot slices that the goat finally starts heading his way, nosing at one hand while he fumbles to unpin the note from its wool.

Just like he guessed, it’s the a perfect match for the card that came with the flowers, with the same paper, the same font, and the same obnoxious lack of helpful information.

Hungry, Detective?

Meet me in the Foode Courte.

Even without the little heart at the bottom of the card, there’s something ridiculously flirtatious about the whole thing. But that’s this thief’s schtick, isn’t it? Some kind of hopeless romantic who goes around tossing roses all over the place. Just watch, when Juno finds him he’ll be wearing a top hat and cape. Maybe that’s why he picked this place to sneak around in, so his getup won’t cause any suspicion.

After he washes himself off, Juno follows the signs to the circle of kiosks selling “authentic” twentieth-century cuisine-- things with bizarre names like “deep fried twinkies” and “mashed potatoes” and “blooming onions”. Thankfully, the trail of rose petals on the floor leads him past the more exotic options to a plain-old popcorn stand that’s offering nothing more historic than cheddar-and-caramel among its flavors. The smell of the popcorn is subtle compared to the other foods lingering in the air, but when he’s this close, it’s enough to make his stomach grumble.

Just like before, there’s another note, tucked into one of the pre-portioned bags of popcorn, and he swipes the beg the second the cashier’s back is turned. All expenses paid or not, there’s something criminal about charging seven creds for a quarter’s worth of popcorn.

Okay, so the popcorn isn’t half bad. Not good enough to justify that price tag, but still, not bad. And he was just thinking he could use a snack.

The note is spotted and translucent with cooking oil, but it’s still readable enough.

Join me for a game.

“That’s funny, I thought we were already playing one,” Juno says aloud, just in case the Bandit is watching him... which he probably is, dammit.

There’s a section of kiosks dedicated to old Earth carnival games, and sure enough, there’s another trail of rose petals leading him to the right booth: a target shooting game backed up against a funnel cake stand.

He’s not even surprised when he finds the corner of another note sticking out of a cut in an oversized teddy bear.

“Joke’s on you,” he mutters. “I’m great at these things.”

He used to do these all the time when he was in high school, winning the biggest prize he could carry just to show off for his dates.

He pays a couple creds to the lady behind the counter and takes aim. All three shots go wide, barely hitting the target.

Anywhere else, that might disappoint him, but not here. Sure, his aim isn’t ever going to be as great as it was when he had the THEIA on and active, but these games are always rigged. The trick is that now he knows which way the laser is skewed, and he corrects his aim accordingly.

Seven bulls-eyes later, and he’s walking away from the stand with a stuffed bear almost as big as he is. Rita’s going to love this thing-- maybe it’ll make up for not letting her come.

He slips the last note out of the little hole in the bear and unfolds it.

If you want to look into my face, you’ll have to look into your own.

I’ll be waiting in the hall of mirrors.

Finally something direct.

There’s no trail of rose petals this time-- just an “out for lunch” sign and an unlocked door on the old twentieth-century attraction. He never got the appeal of places like this, where everything is dim and warped and confusing. But then, he never really got the appeal of mirrors, either.

He leaves the bag of popcorn and stuffed bear just inside the door, and he sets out.

“Alright, I’m here,” he calls into the twisting halls. “Enough of this scavenger hunt. Come out and we’ll settle this.”

His only answer is in footsteps. He whirls to follow the source of the sound, but he only manages to catch reflections of a retreating figure. In the warped glass, he can’t make out a face or a body type, but there’s something about the pattern of the footsteps that feels familiar.

The Bandit is running, so he gives chase. He keeps seeing flashes of the man, bits and pieces that should all fit together but don’t. All of it feels too familiar.

And then he’s out of the hall of mirrors and into another corner of the funhouse, this one full of holograms and wax figurines, all of them of celebrities and historical figures and beautiful people through the ages. Some of them are moving, repeating cliched one-liners and overused quotations, and it’s all coming from everywhere, sending false signals from every corner. His senses are so confused that he’s even smelling things he shouldn’t, animals and food and cologne.

Cologne.

“No,” he whispers. “No, it can’t be.” But the more he looks at it, the more obvious it is.

Pet the fuzzy animals. Have a snack. Play a game. Hell, even the flowers--

It’s so obvious. It’s terrible.

Jesus, why do people keep doing this to him? Sending him on cases that aren’t cases-- it wasn’t even a year ago that he got dragged all over Oldtown for Sasha’s performance review, and then Ramses staged a goddamn assassination for a job interview, and then apparently the stakeout that was a bad excuse to get him to rest up from a stab wound, and now this?

“Goddammit, Nureyev,” he snaps. “Is this supposed to be a date?”

Nureyev is still out of sight, lost in the dim lights and mannequins, but his voice wafts over Juno. “Are you having fun? I certainly am.”

“You couldn’t just ask--” No, he couldn’t. Because that isn’t Nureyev’s style, and Juno’s never exactly been the type to openly accept that kind of invitation. So he changes tracks. “I gotta say, the location threw me. A Y2K Faire seems kind of low-brow for you.”

“That’s hardly my fault. It did take you some time to respond to my calling card, after all.”

His... oh, goddammit, the serial robberies. “You’ve been trying to get my attention.”

“For months now, thank you for noticing. And you’ve been playing hard to get.”

Juno sighs. “I wasn’t playing. I was just...” How is he supposed to even put it into words? “My head’s been a real mess.”

“I can imagine,” Nureyev hums, and his voice is soft and so close that Juno can feel his breath in his ear. “Would you like to talk about it over dinner?”

#the penumbra podcast #writing prompt #fanfiction #100

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kaiserdingus · 6 years

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MegaMan PSP Games - Powered Up / Maverick Hunter X

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The Mega Man series has always been tough for newcomers to dive into. Its a series based on challenge, skill, and memorizing stages and patterns. The original series was restrained by the technical limitations of the time, so they look more cartoony and kid friendly. The Super Nintendo’s Mega Man X series was a sequel intended to carry the torch and bring the Blue Bomber into the 16-bit era with a new look, new moves, and a new, more mature storyline.

In 2005 Capcom announced a pair of simultaneous releases for Sony’s PlayStation Portable handheld console. Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X were remakes of the first games in the Mega Man and Mega Man X series that utilized the 3D capabilities of the PlayStation Portable to render new ways to experience these gems of gaming. Both were remade with the idea to be accessible to newcomers, and plans were in the works for sequels to both games based on Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X2.

Unfortunately, sluggish sales would lead to both sequels being canceled. Today we have the Mega Man and Mega Man X Legacy Collections to give us our fill, but these titles were more than just ports. There were new features, new bosses, they were practically their own games worthy of their own discussion. That’s why today we’re going to be taking a look at Mega Man Powered Up and Mega Man Maverick Hunter X.

MegaMan Powered Up

It’s said that when designing Mega Man, Keiji Inafune wanted to use a “super deformed” style for the characters. Big heads on little bodies for a funny, cute look. The problem was that the technology of the time made it difficult to portray this style, so a compromise was made. The characters were still cute, but the proportions weren’t as exaggerated as originally intended. Inafune would get his chance to try his “chibi” designs when Capcom announced Mega Man Powered Up in 2005, a complete remake of the original Mega Man, updated for Sony’s new PSP handheld.

Gaming had changed a lot between the 1980’s and the mid-2000’s. Before, game design was influenced by arcade trends. Challenge and difficulty were added to games of the time to hide the fact that these games theoretically could be beaten within the span of a few hours. The original Mega Man games came from an era where rental services like Blockbuster made it easy for someone to spend $5 instead of $50 on a game for the week. If a game could be beat in an afternoon, then there was no reason for the gamer to buy the game. This was also helped by the lack of save features in these early games.

In the mid-2000’s, however, these tricks were irrelevant. Game development had reached a point where games had enough content. There was no longer a need to pad a game with challenge to keep them from beating it in a single sitting. With this in mind, Capcom sought to re-work the original Mega Man series for the next generation of kids who hadn’t grown up with the originals. Now there are multiple difficulties to cater to different kinds of players.

The premise, characters, levels, music, almost everything in the game are based on the original Mega Man, but now everything is expanded upon. Characters pop-out in 3D, and the levels follow the same designs, but now the world feels more alive. The story is played out through character dialogue and little cutscenes. This game would go on to influence the story and characters in the Archie tie-in comics.

Two new characters were created specifically for this game, each with their own unique level. Time Man and Oil Man bring the game’s original six Robot Masters up to eight, in line with the rest of the series. Oil Man’s design would cause controversy as it closely resembles the “Blackface” stereotype, with his black skin and big red lips.

For some background, Japanese artists are influenced by those who came before them, and a lot of the original manga artists learned from American cartoonists. Blackface portrayals were prominent in American cartoons and comics, which were imported to Japan after World War II. The average person in Japan doesn’t have any context for the history of Blackface in America, which doesn’t excuse the depictions. Because of this cultural misunderstanding, Oil Man’s skin was turned dark blue and his lips were colored yellow.

My favorite addition to this game is the ability to play as the boss characters you defeat. Each boss has their trusty weapon as their base weapon, and now the empty hole they left in their stage has been filled by a rogue Mega Man who’s looking for trouble. There are other playable characters, but I won’t spoil them for you.

I’m disappointed that we never got to see any sequels to Powered Up. It seemed like the perfect formula for Mega Man. Remake 1 through 6 in this style, maybe 7 and 8, then they could’ve done 9 and 10 too. Every time I see a new trailer for 11 I just think of it as a sequel to Powered Up, but with a more streamlined design. Don’t get me started on Mighty No. 9, the unfortunate “spiritual successor” to the Mega Man series.

Mega Man Powered Up is one of the best PSP games, and possibly one of the best Mega Man games. It’s unfortunate that it came out too early in the PSP’s lifespan to really take off, maybe if Capcom had ported the game to the PS2 or Gamecube it would have fared better.

MegaMan Maverick Hunter X

Maverick Hunter X, the companion title to Mega Man Powered Up, is a remake of the 1993 Super Nintendo classic Mega Man X. Unlike Powered Up, which completely redesigned the classic Mega Man, Maverick Hunter X stays relatively true to the original design and style of the Mega Man X franchise. It features anime cutscenes, similar to those used in Mega Man X3 and X4. One could argue that the animation and voice acting are noticeably better this time around.

While Powered Up was designed to be accessible for anyone, Maverick Hunter X is designed to be a more mature challenge. There’s no Easy Mode this time, only Normal and Hard. The first Mega Man X was never as challenging as later games in the series, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. Maverick Hunter X isn’t easier, but it does feel a little tighter to control.

The MegaMan series has never been strong on plot, but the Mega Man X sub-series does have a surprisingly strong lore. This has only ever been casually hinted at, with little exposition besides a few animated cutscenes or slideshows. Maverick Hunter X delivers a decent story in the form of an animated opening cutscene, as well as character dialogue between stages. Each boss battle opens with a back-and-forth between X and the boss in question where they explain their perspective before jumping into the action.

Once you beat the game you unlock what’s probably the coolest bonus a video game can have: a 25 minute animated film. The Day of Σ is a self-contained animated special that ties in with the game. The special is a prequel that ends where the game begins, and it tells the story of Sigma and the other reploids going Maverick.

This approach to video game storytelling works surprisingly well because it doesn’t interfere with the gameplay. Most story-driven games feel bloated with unending cutscenes, other games don’t feel fleshed out enough when they don’t include any cutscenes. Maverick Hunter X including an anime OVA is similar to 2003’s Dot Hack series from Bandai, which also came with a four part animated mini-series. 2010’s Dragon Ball Raging Blast, also from Namco Bandai, similarly featured a 20 minute special called The Plan to Eradicate The Super Saiyans.

Fans of the Mega Man X series have noted some inconsistencies with Maverick Hunter X and The Day of Sigma compared to the rest of the franchise. These story inconsistencies wouldn’t matter if Capcom had gone through with their plan to reboot the X series. Had they continued the groundwork started by Maverick Hunter X, future games would fill in the blanks, and re-tell the original stories in new and exciting ways.

As far as fan speculation goes, we can draw all of Mega Man’s problems in the late 2000’s/early 2010’s right here. Mega Man Powered Up and Maverick Hunter X were great games, but for one reason or another neither title was very successful at the time of release. What’s worse is, Maverick Hunter X was available digitally on the PlayStation Network Store when the PlayStation Vita debuted, but Mega Man Powered Up couldn’t get the same treatment due to technical issues.

Both games are great and it's a shame that they’re lost to time, trapped forever on a long forgotten handheld. I have nothing against the Mega Man Legacy Collections, but I miss the days when developers attempted to remake their classic games for later generations. While there’s no arguing against the value of preserving original games and making them available to be played as originally intended, I think the world would benefit from more modernized remakes that take advantage of today’s technology to do things they could never originally do.

I hope one day Capcom releases both Mega Man PSP games. Possibly alongside other mid-2000’s curiosities like Mega Man X Command Mission and Mega Man Network Transmission. There are enough oddball Mega Man spin-offs to fill a few more Legacy Collections, I think.

Where to Buy

Mega Man Powered Up (PSP)

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X (PSP)

Mega Man Double Pack (PSP)

Click Here To Support Y2K Fun Zone On Patreon

#Mega Man #megaman #mega man powered up #megaman powered up #mega man x #megaman x #mega man maverick hunter x #megaman maverick hunter x #sony psp #psp #ps vita #playstation portable #capcom #sony

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tsw-story · 6 years

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Chapter 73 - Runnin’ with the Devil

Everybody gathered, again at Deena's house. Perhaps she was getting used to it, or perhaps she was biding her time to one day kill them all for intruding on her home for the hundredth time. Either way, Eldrian explained all he knew—about Rend, about Kali.

“But no leads,” Deena immediately said.

“No, but I figure with all of us, we can start looking into it tomorrow. We'll probably discover something. But also, everybody be as careful as possible. Any of those guys could be after us. Watch your backs. Stay in public, where they wouldn't dare out themselves.”

“Roger!” Renatta said. “I will not be hypnotized into trying to kill you again.”

“That's good to know.”

“This is such a scary situation. I do not know what to do in the meantime.”

Eldrian thought deeply. “Guys. You've become like family to me. I've learned so much about each of you over these months, but you know almost nothing about me. If it's all right, I'd like to tell a story. I don't often do this, for the safety of my family.”

“You don't have to,” Deena said. “There's no point in doing it. So casually trusting all of us, if it's that important.”

“It's important that you know I trust you. So if you'll listen, I'd like to tell the story. My story. My last name, and how I survived being a magic child.”

***

I was born in Benito, Manitoba. My parents Eleanor and Dominic were born there, but their parents came over from England. They're caring and nurturing people, and don't worry. They're still alive. This is why I don't even tell people my last name. It isn't like my existence is exactly legal, unfortunately.

Lochwood is my last name, by the way. Eldrian Lochwood.

As you know, the existence of magic is swept under the rug by the people in charge, like a joint agreement among all countries. Nobody believes it should be common knowledge. Therefore, when a wizard child starts showing they have powers, the government swoops in and puts a stop to it. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I believe they erase the minds of everybody who knows, and then takes the child away. They might claim the child died, or perhaps that it never existed. Pretty messed up.

Now I've heard rumours too that wizards aren't always killed or imprisoned, but sometimes completely changed into servants for the country. Mind wiped, turned into a tool. Now that's scary.

I was lucky. Even though I was always an imaginative child that drew pictures and wrote stories, my powers manifested late. And where I was from was so small, and places in Canada are so spread apart, that word didn't spread quickly enough. It would have eventually, if it wasn't for him.

It was the 90s. The houses themselves were made of denim, CDs were the future, and the looming threat of Y2K was gradually approaching. It was a great time. See when my powers first showed themselves, my parents kept it under lock and key, but things got out one way or another.

I was playing outside one day when I saw a man leaning against a fire hydrant. He had a cowboy hat, a poncho, and baggy clothes. His hair was brown and passing his shoulders, and he had stubble on his face.

He was eating a pear, I think. It was a strange image, but even stranger was how friendly he seemed. When he spoke, he had a heavy southern drawl, so I knew he wasn't from around there. I had never heard such an accent at that point.

“Boy howdy!” he said and swallowed the food in his mouth. “Your Eldrian, ain'cha?”

I didn't know who he was, so I was a little uncomfortable. I nodded though.

“Don't be afraid. I've got some important things to tell you if you'll listen. Has to do with that little gift of yours. You know what I'm talking about. I hope you haven't gone around showing it off.”

I shook my head. I wanted to, but I felt like it was a bad idea somehow.

“Good. Don't. If you do, someone will take you away.”

“Who?” I asked.

“The man. See, people like us aren't allowed to exist, for some reason.”

He went on to explain everything. Spellbreakers, children disappearing, and the rest. It was too much to take in, but over time, I figured it out.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Well I'm the Travelling Liberator. Call me TL.”

And with that, he left without another world. That day always stuck with me. I couldn't focus on anything else for quite some time, and I didn't tell my parents what happened. I just pleaded with them never to tell another soul of what I could do.

I started drawing him. TL, the vigilante that went around stopping crime, with his partner, the Dark Mage. We liberated other people like me, and lived together in a castle on top of a mountain. But that was only a dream. I had no idea anything about him in reality.

One day, I did the unthinkable. I went out looking for TL. Worst of all, I found him, or rather, he found me. I ended up in the woods, and something was closing in on my position. I was easy prey, and it would have been better if it was a bear or wolf. It was much worse. The creature that emerged from between the trees was a demon.

I can hardly remember the nightmare I saw. I remember long blades coming down from its arms, and there was more than one mouth on its face.

Before it could strike me down and probably eat me, one of its blades shattered upon contact with a bullet. It was no ordinary bullet. From the side stood TL with a gun he materialized in his hand—cartoony in appearance, purple and white. When he fired, it was a blast of magic energy.

The demon wasn't pleased, so it turned to fight the threat instead.

“The hell you doing out here? Boy howdy!” TL cried out. “This is no place for a child. You'll get yourself killed, you will! Damn. Get somewhere safe.”

I did, and didn't. On one hand, I hid, but on the other, I stayed, because I had to see what was going to happen next. It was like my stories, and my pictures. TL was fighting an ultimate evil.

He continued to fire magic from his pistol. Soon, the demon was in pieces on the ground, and dissolving into a black puddy. When he saw me lingering though, he looked incredibly unhappy. It was clear he was going to come over and lecture me. He stopped in his tracks, and I had no idea why.

It wasn't until later that I realised the broken blade piece manifested into a tiny creature. When he wasn't paying attention, TL was impaled from behind, and the living blade dug deep into his body. He tore it out and destroyed it, but I had never seen so much blood.

I was running over, and as I went, he spoke on the phone. I still have no idea who he was speaking with. He was telling someone he loved them, and he mentioned my name. When I ran over to him, he was cold, and his eyes weren't on me when he spoke.

“Don't be afraid when the Devil finds you. Boy howdy. You'll never know what kind of face will save your life.”

***

“It wasn't long before I met Lucy. Many years passed, and eventually I moved away to make sure my parents didn't meet the same fate. With Lucy's help, I was able to find a place, and I lived alone. I still don't know why she helped me so much, but I owe her my life. I grew up, and I started helping her with demons. I felt like TL, yet I never even leaned his real name. I always wondered what would have happened if I copied his style too.” Eldrian laughed. “Imagine if I was a cowboy-themed wizard.”

“I didn't even know that stuff,” Kevin muttered. “That's rough.”

“Obviously I can't remember most of the details. But I think that's the important stuff. I'd like to know more about TL one day. Where he came from, how he heard about me, all of that. He told me enough to help me survive being caught, and that's what matters. We need more people like him.

“We have a job to do now. People's lives could be in danger. And boy howdy, Aegis Arcanum won't ever let that happen. Right?”

“Right, buddy!” Kevin cheered. “We're all in this together.”

#action #adventure #fantasy #fiction #story #writing #serial #web serial #demon #demons #elf #elves #high fantasy #humor #humour #magic #wizard #wizards

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evenstevensranked · 7 years

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#47: Season 1, Episode 1 - Swap.com

A true piece of Even Stevens history right here, guys! This was the very first episode to air... ever! It premiered on June 17th, 2000 (yes, 17 years ago!!!) and introduced us all to a baby-faced, comedic boy wonder Shia LaBeouf. And a bright, young actress (pre-Kim Possible) Christy Carlson Romano.

Strangely enough, our first glimpse into the Even Stevens-verse is an episode centered around a one-off character. Louis desperately wants to possess a rare trading card. Ernie Morton, the school nerd, owns the card and is willing to give it up for a price: A date with Ren.

This one opens with Louis and Twitty at school in some computer/Geography hybrid class. As their teacher begins a lecture on Afghanistan, we get the very first actual dialogue of the series, and it’s pretty good imo:

Teacher: Now, if you turn your attention to Afghanistan... Louis: [shouting at the computer with joy] YES!!! Twitty: Louis, it’s just Afghanistan. What’s the big deal?

Of course, Louis isn’t celebrating over the wonders of Afghanistan. He’s talking to someone online who’s willing to sell him what’s clearly supposed to be a knock-off of a rare and highly coveted Pokémon trading card. This is so funny in retrospect because the entire planet was playing Pokémon Go! last year. Points for maintaining relevancy! But basically, Louis really wants to own a Roaring Drycon... Which is not a Pokémon, but is definitely supposed to be a Pokémon:

Yes. The internet used to look like this.

It turns out, the seller of the card is none other than Ernie Morton. A frankly nasty, unhygienic, arrogant, nerdy creeper to say the least. Thank god he’s a throwaway character and only here for this one episode. He tells Louis that the price he’s asking for is a date with Ren.

Louis says to himself: “Why couldn’t he just ask for something easy? Like my mom’s Volvo.” - This is a small, but interesting parallel to Boy Meets World and was only brought to my attention when I read through this ranking of every BMW episode. Apparently, Cory puts on music, Topanga asks where he got it from and he says “I don’t know. It came with my mom’s Volvo.” Idk. Like I mentioned before.. there are a few (stronger) similarities between the two shows. I might even start a similarities tag, lol. But, yeah. This really stood out to me for some reason.

There’s a scene where two girls approach Twitty all flirty in the hallway and Louis makes them run for this hills after awkwardly shouting “WAAAZZZUUUP?!?” at them. (Which I’m assuming is a reference to the classic Budweiser commercial that premiered in 1999 and became a popular catchphrase.) I’ve seen so many gifs of this. I’m even guilty of using one on my about page. Louis tells Twitty that he made the deal with Ernie, explaining “Ernie just wants to hang out with a popular girl, and I happen to live with one.” Once again, reminding me that Ren is supposed to be popular! I still think it’s cool that she’s not the stereotypical, vapid popular girl you usually see though.

Ren really wants to beat this chick Adrienne Dunmore for Service Volunteer of the Month. She’s currently falling behind her and needs to work 4 more hours over the weekend. We see another one of Ren’s early placeholder BFFs, an Asian girl named Jewel. Random, but both of Ren’s placeholder best friends were minorities. Doesn’t really mean anything, lol. Just something I noticed.

Ren staring at Adrienne all green with envy after checking their volunteer hours. But, can we talk about how Ren’s entire bellybutton and stomach is showing?! What the heck, Disney?! I know it was in style I guess. But, for an 8th grader? Also, aside from it being purple... It doesn’t really seem like something Ren would wear. Probably just a first-episode hiccup.

And here’s Jewel. She’s also very peppy like Charlotte.

We see the Stevens family at home that night celebrating Ren’s birthday! There’s a pretty funny bit where Donnie gives Ren various pictures of himself, blissfully unaware of how narcissistic he is. The show makes good use of this later on. One particular picture of Donnie “on vacation” is seen on Ren’s bedside table in After Hours! I love good, subtle continuity! It helps make their world feel a little more real.

Donnie’s gift in this episode.

...and here seen in S1, E13. This is actually pretty funny. Another photo he gave her of himself playing baseball can be seen in the bottom/left, too. Haha, perfect. The only weird thing is that it looks like she has some strange Donnie shrine, lol wth.

Louis obviously forgot to get Ren a gift and tries to play it off by saying “I got her a thing. It’s a very very nice thing. But, I got it over the internet. These things don’t just pop out of the screen” with a mouth full of cake. It’s funny, but also a little sad. Steve says “Oh, Lou. Not again...” (which I hear perpetually in my mind whenever Louis messes up) before the entire family clears out of the living room -- disappointed as he rambles off his excuses. Oh, god.. I’m seeing shades of Uncle Chuck.

Louis is wracking his mind trying to come up with a way to get Ren and Ernie to hang out together alone. Once he gets an idea, there’s a bit where he knocks on her door to tell her. It’s been gif’d a bunch and is a very popular post on here. Being clever (and selfish) he tells Ren there’s a program called “Adopt A Friend,” where you hang out with a needy young person for a day as some form of community service. Okay, I’m actually dying now that I have to write this out, oh my god. LOUIS!!!!!!! He tells her that Adrienne Dunmore is considering doing the non-existent program, which piques Ren’s interest. We get a voiceover of Louis telling her about Ernie, blatantly lying about the kind of guy he is. Using words like “nice, giving, helpful, and great!” This is juxtaposed against a montage of the real Ernie doing various things that are the complete opposite. He’s basically the worst kind of human.

Cut to the mall now! Ren meets Ernie and wow he didn’t even try to look good.

I can tell ya one thing -- If this was The Bachelorette, Ernie Morton would not be receiving the First Impression Rose.

For whatever reason, Ren treats him like a special needs child or something? Talking to him in simplified English, slowly and loud as if he’s deaf or has trouble understanding. Louis said he was NEEDY! Not impaired in some way! (Well, maybe socially impaired...) This bit is kinda funny but it’s also kinda like... Wut. Anyway, Ernie takes Louis aside and gushes about how he can’t believe he pulled off this date. He does this really creepy/annoying thing where he sticks his tongue out constantly and I hate it. Ew.

But, yes. Ernie is under the impression it’s an actual date. He even says he’ll only give Louis the trading card after he gets his “goodbye kiss.” Problem, indeed.

Louis spends the rest of the mall sequence sneakily running around like a freaking stalker... hiding in plants and behind newspapers -- to make sure Ernie doesn’t try anything, and that no one from school sees Ren and Ernie together.

The worry in his eyes and lack of discreetness is making me laugh harder than anything else.

Ren spends 4 hours with Ernie and actually ends up having an okay time. She genuinely thanks him for “a wonderful afternoon” after taking some photobooth pictures together -- and that’s apparently good enough for Ernie. He gives Louis the card!!! Louis is stoked, but then the remorse starts to seep in. (I love remorseful Louis, though. It helps gives him more dimension.) He notices Ren window shopping and staring at a pearl necklace ~longingly~ before they head home.

Ren is super excited to turn in her hours at school (going above and beyond, writing an entire paper on her experience) only to discover there is no “Adopt A Friend” program. Yeah. I’d be pissed, too. Not only that, she finds out that Ernie has been telling the entire school that they’re dating. She lashes out at him in front of everyone saying she wouldn’t date him if he were the last guy on earth and storms off. A little harsh, but is it really? Ernie was way out of line spreading fake intimate stories and lies.

Ernie left in Ren’s dust, being made fun of.

This show has a lot of heart. You actually feel for Ernie here. But you also feel for Ren because she was played by Louis. But, you ALSO feel upset for Louis because he knows he f’d up. The conflicting emotions. That night, Ren is fuming after she figures everything out. Louis hides from her by hooking himself onto the back of his door. This is also a pretty popular/memorable scene. We get a micro-mini mirror talk here, as well! I love the Season 1 mirror talks honestly!!!

“Man. Tell 20 or 30 lies, and right away you’re a bad guy.”

Ren discovers where he’s hiding and we get a line that’s not exactly great, but was used on a lot of Disney Channel commercials back in the day. (“What are you doing back there?”/ “...Just hanging out.”) But a line I do like is when Ren asks “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SHOW MY FACE IN SCHOOL AGAIN, HUH?!” and Louis dryly responds “May I suggest plastic surgery?”

After talking through the situation (the cover image of this post) we find out that Louis ended up trading in the Roaring Drycon card for money to get Ren the necklace she was looking at for her birthday. Awww. Ren loves it but hates the idea that he got the money from his scheme. She comes to terms with her own faults though when Louis makes her realize she only hung out with Ernie for selfish reasons. Can we also talk about Ren’s Y2K rubber band, pigtail hairstyle in this scene?! I 100% wore my hair exactly like this in elementary school -- with blue bands and everything, because I saw Ren Stevens wear her hair like that. Miranda Sanchez rocked this look too. Why was this style ever a thing? lol. Who came up with all of these crazy Early 2000s looks?!

In the end, she turns around and gives Ernie the necklace. Apologizing & saying “This belongs to you.” Really??? WHAT A WASTE. At least keep the free necklace, Ren! Ernie and Ren makeup and he asks for a friend-to-friend hug. It’s kinda nice for a split second, but then we see his friends pop up and snap a photo of them ~embracing.~

AGAIN WITH THE TONGUE THING! What a creeper. x

This was a bit of a slow episode in retrospect. It’s super clear in my memory because Disney usually beats the first few episodes of a series into the ground. It’s a pretty safe and predictable plotline. Not a horrible episode, but definitely nothing too unbelievably special either. Not the greatest choice for a first episode, imo. Ren and Louis don’t really get to shine 100% and really flaunt that bickering sibling dynamic that the show is based on. It basically switches from Ren and Ernie sharing the screen, to Louis and Ernie sharing the screen. I mean, that sibling element is definitely there. But, you don’t really “get” that Louis and Ren are opposites always at odds. Louis just seems like a little brother who means well but messed things up for his sister, here. You also don’t really get to know anything about Louis as a character, his interest in comedy, or any of that.

There aren’t a lot of laughs, either. But to be fair, it’s the first episode!!! Much like All About Yvette, the show obviously hasn’t really hit that signature Even Stevens stride! So, taking that into consideration.. It’s pretty solid and entertaining enough. I was going to rank it higher for the mere fact that it was the first episode to air and it isn’t totally bad, lol. But, I think I’m okay placing it here. Something else that’s a little “off” is that it’s missing that signature swing-jazz style music throughout the episode that’s so prevalent in others down the line. It uses mostly generic, quirky sitcom music. Another sign that it hasn’t found its place as a show just yet.

This episode actually recently aired on Disney for their “Firsts on the First” marathon! They aired the first episodes of some of their most popular shows over the years to celebrate the New Year. Did anyone catch it? I did! I was actually home sick that night and it made my day so much better to see baby Shia’s face back on my television, honestly.

Thanks for reading! How do you feel about this being the first episode ever? Chime in below as always.

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mattwillisgames · 7 years

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The Joy of Deving #2: Art Direction

How do you do fellow kids? Yes it is I, the Hip Master General, Dinosir. Here once again to tell you about games I am making. This time we'll be focusing on art direction of my newest upcoming smash hit game entitled, Super Sportsball. In the last Joy of Deving I talked about how there are multiple answers to the same problem when developing games. I also covered how there aren't necessarily right or wrong answers, just some work better for different people. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the #devlyfe. If you missed the last entry check it out here.

This week we'll be focusing on a recent change in art direction and why I came to this decision. For reference please see the picture of the old art style down below. It wasn't near as detailed as it would've ended up looking like when finished but it's good to have a reference.

Originally there were several reasons for this initial art direction. Firstly, proceeding the development of Aftermath Y2K I really wanted to develop a title that would show of my talents as not only a pixel artist but an animator as well. This called for a larger sprite set so I could have more detail. However I didn't want to go too large. You see in my head this game looked like Super Mario land on the gameboy. I wanted very pixely art. So instead of doing 100x100px or 64x64px I went with 32x32px. In the end I couldn't really achieve anything I wanted with this sprite style. It just looks meh and generic. Really I should've known from the beginning because my original vision strongly contradicted what I was trying to accomplish. So I had a decision to make. Either follow my original vision, or pursue further detailed sprites of 64x64 or 100x100.

(a 64x64px sprite blown up to 256x256 for ease of viewing)

So why didn't I go larger? This looks pretty good right? Well the answer is time. To give you an idea this game was a temporary hold over until I decided which game I was going to pursue next. To which I now know. Thus I planned on developing this game for around 2-3 months. However this would not be possible for 64x64 or 100x100 sprites. It would've taken me far longer than that to properly develop art and animate a decent roster for this game. Not to mention how long it would take to properly make gorgeous background images to match. It would've been swell in my portfolio but I just want to move on.

(8x8px sprites on a 160px wide background)

So I chose smaller. It was faster, easier and it closely matched what was in my head. Now I say closely because if you remember I was talking about SML style.

The issue with that is that:

1) Gameboy palette is ugly. It just is. Those greens make me sad. Nostalgic but sad. I could've pursued black and white but because the reason listed in number 4, that didn't make sense either.

2) the gameboy palette is very limited.

3) I just made a game with a limited palette and I kinda wanted freedom from that.

4) Most importantly it would've been difficult in a 4 player game to tell the difference between characters with only 4 shades.

Thus, I changed my idea and found a true compromise. Between what was in my head and what would work. Overall I'm very satisfied with the current art direction. The art direction also fits the theme of micro-rounds. Each round is only 10 seconds long right now. Thus having micro sprites seems appropriate.

However I would be lying if I said that how the game looked was the only factor in this decision. In order to save time in development I decided to use GameMaker Studio 2's built in physics engine. Unbeknownst to me this engine has a huge flaw in it. The max speed of an object is directly tied to the framerate. I found out that an object could only move 20 px a frame. So the ball in the game was locked to a max speed of 20px/fr. Which seems fast, and it is; however when you screen is 480 px wide. The ball would take 24 frames or roughly 1/3rd of a second to cross the entirety of the screen. This was fine, but I really wanted to make the max power give an extra speed bonus and make it near impossible to dodge. (This is because the throw speed uses a meter like the one in tecmo bowl where if you wait too long the meter starts over and thus you have ~1 frame to get a perfect throw, and if you miss that one frame you get a 0 throw speed and fumble the ball. On top of that there is a recovery time until you can try and pick the ball up again. So I wanted to reward those willing to risk it to get 100 power.) It wasn't too terribly easy to dodge/catch, but 1/3 is very doable especially with how forgiving the engine is with catches. Still at 32x 32 it wasn't bad, but if you recall I was thinking of moving the sprites at least 64x64 which meant that the backgrounds would've also increased to at least 960x wide. Then at 20px a frame, it would've taken the ball 48 frames to reach from or 2/3rds of a second. That's way too much time. Now of course I could've decided to just increase the framerate to 120 fps. While I don't for see that causing many issues, it may have. Who knows? I didn't do this, and this ball speed wasn't the main factor in my decision but it did play a large factor. To give you an idea the screen in now 160px wide and at 20px/frame; it takes 8 frames or a little over 1/10 of a second to travel the width of the screen. Which seems to be in a sweet spot for fairness to dodge and reward for the thrower to risk going for max speed.

Lastly I'd like to cover my decision for anthropomorphic animals. Why animals? Cause animals are super awesome, that's why! However, there's also a more practical reason. With an 8x8 based sprite having different animals allows for each character to have a different silhouette. Why is that important? I'm glad you asked Timmy! Well, in a fast paced game like this or even fighting games; having a different silhouette allows your brain to quickly recognize which character is you, and which is your opponent. Now normally this is done with outfits and having other factors come into play, like physic, hairstyles, and even moves or stances between characters being different. However with only 8x8 to work with you can't really make silhouettes of people different. Animals though, you can. The have different ears, tails, body, nose, etc. that you can work with. This helps the silhouette become far more prominent, and thus the choice, for me was obvious. Also did I mention how awesome animals are?!

(see how different the silhouette looks)

(here we see two human sprites vs two animals. The human sprites are harder to tell the difference of when compared to that of the animals. )

Well that's all folks. I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my brain and the decisions I make. Also If you want more info, or have question or just want to contact me; HMU on the twitters: @ Megadinosir

#pixel art #pixelart #indie #indiedev #gamedev #game developers #game development #game dev blog #game dev stuff

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