Thoughts on Fire Emblem Engage

                It was a cool Fire Emblem game, there’s an enormous cast of characters, so much so that it’s really the only major drawback, you can’t use them all every time and even trying to use just your favorites often exceeds the limit of units in one area.  Other than that, there’s a wide variety of characters, mostly new, but some old favorites from across the franchise.  Great returning characters include Marth (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal), Micaiah (voiced by Veronica Taylor), Eirika (voiced by Kira Buckland), Lucina (voiced by Alexis Tipton), Byleth (voiced by Zach Aguilar) and Edelgard (voiced by Yuri’s wife, Tara Platt), Marth, Lucina and Edelgard being my personal favorites due to Marth and Lucina acting as mentors and Edelgard acting as a relatable, enthusiastic peer.  Dimitri, who shares a slot with Edelgard, is played well by Chris Hackney, and the two with Claude, plus Byleth, if all are engaged and the House Leaders’ unit performs a certain attack, do my favorite attack in the game, Houses Unite +, where Byleth instructs the House Leaders to strike the foe one-by-one and gives you a bonus turn as a reference to his “Goddess Dance” move.

 

               My top 5 new characters in this game were Yunaka (played by Laura Post, who was also Catherine in Three Houses and Melony in Pokémon, though Yunaka sounds and acts nothing like Catherine), Alear (played by Laura Stahl as a woman), Panette (played by Melissa Hutchison, who played Arval in Three Hopes), Citrinne (voiced by Brittney Karbowski, best known as Wendy Marvell in Fairy Tail and Camie in My Hero Academia) and Veyle (voiced by Megan Harvey, the voice of Sophia in Persona 5 Strikers).  Yunaka is funny and exciting, though that is to mask her difficult past as a cruel assassin’s apprentice.  Alear starts off bright-eyed and a little oblivious, and the game is mostly about her coming into her own as a heroine and the bonds she makes along the way.  You can also play Alear as a man.  Panette seems ladylike and proper on the surface, but underneath is aggression she is happy to unleash upon an enemy using her axes and Emblem weapons.  Citrinne is a wealthy woman who seeks to pamper and spoil her friends and allies, but that stems from a past relationship where her own, personal gifts were seen as cheap by a “friend.”  Veyle is a shy, slightly depressed girl that Alear has a close connection to, as well as other secrets that are plot important.

 

               I didn’t like this game as much as Super Paper Mario or Three Houses, but it was in the general area of those games and around the same level as the Dynasty Warriors-inspired Switch games I’ve played (Hyrule Warriors; Age of Calamity, Persona 5 Strikers, Three Hopes), possibly better, it’s hard to say since Strikers and Hopes’ relationships between Joker and Makoto and Edelgard and Monica (respectively) have still stuck with me to now, and I even used Bond fragments to pay for all the bonds between Veyle and Eirika in the arena in this game solely because their actresses were Sophia and Ichinose in Persona 5 Strikers.  I’d definitely say, while under Smash Bros. Ultimate, Three Houses, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Fairy Tail and maybe the Naruto fighting game, Persona 5 Strikers and tied with Three Hopes, it’s easily in my top 10 Switch games and it’s doubtful it’ll get dethroned.  Next new one will likely be either Metroid Prime Remastered, Splatoon 3 or (this is coming in July, I pre-ordered it) Trails into Reverie.

Lessons learned

 I've been a little terrified of that codependency diagnosis, since I'm afraid it means I'm turning three specific voice actors into what Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus used to be, or Britney Spears before them, which is why I wanted to quit Twitter (that and I hadn't taken a significant break in a while).  I would like a new hobby, but I'm not sure about composing since I mostly just know the C major scale on the piano/keyboard.  I did get batteries for my Wii controllers, so I can sing the old Rock Band games, which I did on Super Bowl Sunday, and probably will do more to mix it up.  I also have a ton of DVDs I haven't watched yet, I just can't decide on the order or if I want to watch something else first.  In the past, I've watched Godspell, Like A Country Song and Wonder Woman during Lent, so there's at least three ideas, I just need more out of what I have.  Also, the codependency diagnosis came from a psychiatrist because I was trying to get into an anxiety support group and it was apparently because I want to fix other people's lives from the outside without any real means to do anything significant.  I honestly post pictures of same-gender couples in the media online in the hopes it will reduce homophobia in the Western World, but I'm learning that isn't likely.  Childhood gave me this idea that the world could be changed and made better with good ideas, drive and effort, but apparently, you also have to have the right job and a ridiculous amount of money, too, and kind people, while well-connected, seldom get that wealthy, because it takes a willingness to do anything, including make deals with the enemy, to succeed that well in this nation's economy.  So I'm having to learn there will always be people who let others think for them, there will always be bigotry, but that just means I always choose the other path.

 

The musical highlights of this week and last week were voice actress Erika Harlacher (Ann Takamaki in Persona 5, Venti in Genshin Impact, Shinobu in Demon Slayer and Mei Kamino in Godzilla; Singular Point) releasing an early Taylor Swift-inspired country-pop song called "I Finally Do," Bebe Rexha's single "The Heart wants what it wants," Dolly Parton singing duets with the late Olivia Newton-John and still-here Dionne Warwick, Kitt Wakely and Orianthi's instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven," the "Die For You" Remix duet between The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, the single "Light and Darkness" by BabyMetal, the 2023 Remix of "Can You Hear The Wind Blow" by Whitesnake and a box set of 1970s rock band Trapeze, lead-sung by Glenn Hughes, with a live reunion disc recorded on my 3rd Birthday, May 16th, 1992.

Godzilla VS. Mothra; Puget Sound Destruction Directive Treatment

 This is a story I've had for 20 years and I think it's improved since then.  I doubt Toho or Legendary will make it real, but I wanted to write it anyway.  I'm going to do things I WANT to do, not what I think other people want me to do or what I think other people expect of me.

Godzilla vs. Mothra; Puget Sound Destruction Directive Treatment:

    The year is 1984 AD.  We start on one of the Washington State ferries, probably near Anacortes or the San Juan Islands.  People are relaxing, laughing, having a good time.  Suddenly, Godzilla, sporting his 1964 Godzilla vs. Mothra design, emerges from the water, roars, shoots his heat ray, then submerges as the ferry catches fire and parts of it explode!

    Governor’s office, Olympia.  John D. Spellman is a mixture of furious and panicked.  He proclaims the action likely the result of a Soviet satellite and comments the state doesn’t have the budget to defend public transportation from violations of the UN Space Treaty.  A cabinet member has visited one of the victims in the hospital, who claims Godzilla was responsible.  Spellman orders the cabinet member to take the day off, adding “There’s no way Godzilla survived that Red Bamboo nuke 18 years ago!”

    The cabinet member arrives at home, unsure what to do as he believes the survivor’s story.  After talking about it with his bus driver wife, who doesn’t believe him either, he sees in the newspaper than Mr. Martin, Emiko Yamane and Shinichi Chujo have arrived in Seattle to help protest Hanford and the arms race.  He hurries there, interrupting a press conference by flashing his badge and saying there is a survivor of a nautical disaster they need to see.

    The three question him, Emiko growing nervous as the details are all-too-familiar to her.  Mr. Martin is also uneasy.  Mr. Chujo uses a Geiger counter, which nearly spikes.  “We’ll need to speak with your boss.” He tells the cabinet member.  “Meanwhile, you should head to this location and ask for help.”  He hands him a map showing him a small island halfway between Japan and Indonesia.

    That night, another ferry is out.  People aboard are uneasy due to the previous night’s maritime disaster.  Within plain view of the coast, Godzilla re-emerges, roars and shoots his atomic ray, setting fire to this ferry and making parts of it explode.

    Due to the numerous witnesses, John D. Spellman permits the three into the cabinet meeting to offer expertise.  They lay out the kaiju/Titan history of this world;

1954-Godzilla attacks Tokyo, is killed by the Oxygen Destroyer, which also kills Dr. Serizawa

1955-Godzilla and Anguirus attack Osaka while battling each other.  Godzilla wins and heads to an island of ice, military bombardment buries him under the ice.

1961-Mothra’s twin fairies are abducted from Infant Island, causing her to destroy Tokyo as a larva and San Francisco (represented by New Kirk City stock footage) as an adult.

1964-Mothra’s egg is held by greedy businessmen after it washes ashore in Japan.  It is theorized in the last 9 years, the ice around Godzilla melted and he got caught in the typhoon, which is why he also washes ashore.  Godzilla goes on a seemingly unstoppable rampage and fights and kills the adult Mothra.  The twin larvae hatch and cocoon Godzilla, causing him to tumble into the sea.

1966-A group of people end up on Letchi Island, which is defended by the giant lobster/shrimp Ebirah.  Godzilla is also on the island, asleep, and is awoken to stop the terrorist organization Red Bamboo and free the slaves from Infant Island.  Godzilla defeats Ebirah, a giant condor and the Red Bamboo’s air force before briefly fighting Mothra.  A nuclear weapon detonates the island after Mothra rescues the people, they think they might see Godzilla swimming away, but are unsure.

John D. Spellman notes that only Mothra can beat Godzilla and asks how to get her help.  Mr. Martin replies they sent his cabinet member to Infant Island to ask for help.

    The cabinet member arrives on Infant Island.  It is desolate, there are vampire plants and skeletons of wildlife everywhere.  He wonders if the arms race and “Star Wars” nuclear weapons idea are truly what the world needs.  Daiyo, from 1966, finds him and takes him to the fairies.  He asks them for Mothra’s help, stating that Godzilla has returned and is destroying his country.  The fairies berate him, his country bombed their island and practices uncontrolled nuclear weaponry and capitalism, preying on the weak and destroying those they disagree with.  Why should Mothra fight Godzilla a third time to defend such a place?  Better that it burns in the radioactive fire it spawned in the first place.

    The cabinet member agrees with the fairies’ assessment of America, but states the country has the potential for good.  People are protesting the arms race, they are asking for a better nation, they want a hopeful world, and such people deserve life.  Where Godzilla is attacking is full of such people, and because his boss doesn’t agree with him or those people, the cabinet member knows with or without Mothra’s help, it is doubtful he will have a job next January and will need to find new work, which will be easier if Mothra tries to stop Godzilla.  The fairies relent and sing, Mothra, sporting her 1992 Godzilla and Mothra; The Battle for Earth design, takes off for Seattle.  The cabinet member thanks the fairies and heads back to the Pacific Northwest.

    Godzilla makes landfall in Tacoma, destroying much of the city underfoot or with his heat ray.  Tanks, F-15 Jets and Frontier Missiles (on cruisers) are brought in, but they don’t phase him.  Godzilla destroys the tanks and jets with his heat ray and while the missiles cause him to fall in a crater, he gets back up and roars defiantly.

    Mothra flies in and Godzilla stares at her, remembering their past battles.  Mothra hits Godzilla with antennae lasers, Godzilla roaring angrily at being caught off-guard.  He shoots his heat ray at her, but she dodges and blasts him some more, strafing him.  Godzilla roars, slamming his tail onto the streets as if to say “come here and fight like a man!”  Mothra flies at him, blasting him, Godzilla grabbing her head and shooting her back with his heat ray.  He tosses her into some buildings and shoots again, making a big fireball come up.  Godzilla snarls and looks at it for several seconds, then heads North.

    John D. Spellman screams Mothra was worthless and he shouldn’t have trusted hippies to save Washington State and should’ve phoned Reagan instead.  The fairies appear in his office and assure him that Mothra is still alive, just resting for the moment.

    Godzilla rampages through the mountainous forests between Tacoma and Seattle.  More tanks and jets are sent in, firing upon him.  Artificial Lightning Generators are constructed, as well.  Godzilla pretty much ignores all their attacks, shooting down the jets, melting or trampling the tanks and knocking over the generators.  He heads towards Seattle and roars.

    John D. Spellman groans, “This is going to ruin my re-election.”

    “That’s all you can think about, not the dead and wounded?!” asks Mr. Martin.  “Good Lord, you really are just a politician, aren’t you?!”

    “He’s right, you’re no leader.” Adds Emiko.  John D. Spellman sighs with resignation.

    Godzilla enters Seattle, smashing any famous downtown building in 1984 that isn’t the Kingdome (Alvin Davis and Mark Langston need to get 1st and 2nd for Rookie of the Year SOMEWHERE) or the Space Needle (saving that for the final battle).  Mothra chirps overhead.  Godzilla glares at her and roars in response.  Mothra strafes him with antennae lasers so hard he falls over into the inferno he just created!  She flies northward, Godzilla getting up and roaring indignantly.  Mothra hovers around the Space Needle.  Godzilla slams into it, tearing its base apart and knocking it over, trying to hit her with it.  It doesn’t work as she moves out of the way and blasts him.  Godzilla hits Mothra with his heat ray, then strikes her wing with it, causing her to falter.  He approaches her, crushing the Pacific Science Center (if it exists in 1984) underfoot.  Mothra rights herself and unleashes a yellow powder, annoying Godzilla.  His spines light up, but his heat ray doesn’t fire, Mothra has disabled it!  She blasts Godzilla with her antennae lasers as he claws at her, trying to get through the powder cloud.  Godzilla loses balance and falls to the ground, Mothra grabbing him as he lays on his back.  She flies up to the Arctic and drops him into the ice, which freezes around him as he gives one last spiteful roar.

    There is celebration among the three past heroes in Olympia, John D. Spellman wonders if he’ll get re-elected and if his focus on power has put him out of touch with humanity.  The cabinet member comes in, saying he was watching it all at home on the news.  He shakes the hands of the three past heroes and resumes his post in the cabinet.  John D. Spellman gives him a wry smile.

    “What do you think my chances of re-election are?” he asks.

    “Nowhere near as good as the Gipper, John.” He replies woefully.

    “That’s what I thought.” States John D. Spellman.  He resumes business as usual.

The End

Post-credits scene:

Godzilla breaks out of the ice and roars, heading through the Arctic back towards civilization.  Vengeance will be his!

Updated Smash Bros. World Timeline

 I decided to do this as a way to try bring a sense of closure to my video game career, and because I honestly just enjoy doing this kind of stuff, writing lists of events in fictional worlds.

6,000,004 BC-The fallen angel Tabuu is cast into Subspace by Din, Nayru and Farore for trying to overthrow the Lord of Creation.  The three, Master Hand and Crazy Hand are appointed guardians/testers of the Smash World.

 

 

2,000 BC-Hyrule is founded and the Master Sword forged (see The Legend of Zelda; Skyward Sword)

 

 

1,000-993 BC-The ancestors of the current bearers of two-thirds of the Triforce fight Ganondorf Dragmire (see The Legend of Zelda; Ocarina of Time)

 

 

900 BC-Ganondorf attempts escape from the Dark Realm through a Twili named Zant (see The Legend of Zelda; Twilight Princess)

 

 

600 BC-Ganondorf succeeds in escape, Hyrule is flooded to seal him away.

 

 

100 BC-A young boy named Link meets Pirates, assembles the Triforce and seals Ganondorf back in the Dark Realm (see The Legend of Zelda; Wind Waker)

 

 

800 AD-The continent of Fodlan is placed under the rule of a self-proclaimed goddess named Seiros.

 

 

1,000 AD-Ganon attempts escape from the Dark Realm using a fragment of his power named Aghanim, only to get sealed back again (see The Legend of Zelda; A Link To The Past)

 

 

1,700 AD-Ganon escapes again as Calamity Ganon.  He is either stopped by the Hyrule Warriors, or they delay him for 100 years. (See beginning of The Legend of Zelda; Breath of the Wild/Hyrule Warriors; Age of Calamity)

 

 

1,800 AD-Link and Zelda either stop Ganon again or the relatives of the Champions go back in time 100 years (see The Legend of Zelda; Breath of the Wild/Hyrule Warriors; Age of Calamity)

 

 

1981 AD-The current age of heroism starts.  Major battles between good and evil erupt around the world and continue to rage for decades.

 

 

1999 AD-Master Hand reveals himself and starts “Smash Bros.”  Mario, the Current Link, an alien lifeform named Kirby and a bounty hunter named Samus Aran join the event.

 

 

2001 AD-Crazy Hand reveals himself in the second Smash Bros. event.  Bowser and the current Zelda join the event.

 

 

2006 AD-Mario teams with Mallow, Geno, Bowser and Peach to defeat the robotic Smithy Gang (see Super Mario RPG; Legend of the Seven Stars)

 

 

2007 AD-Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Peach save the universe from certain doom at the hands of the Chaos Heart and Dimentio (see Super Paper Mario)

 

 

2008 AD-A massive worldwide battle breaks out, resulting in the deaths of the original Master Hand and Crazy Hand.  The Smash Bros. combatants discover the fell demon Tabuu, who reveals himself as the originator of Smithy, Dimentio, Phazon, most of Kirby’s adversaries that aren’t King Dedede or Meta-Knight and most of the rest of the villains plaguing the world.  Samus begins fighting without her armor, attracting the romantic interest of Zelda.

 

 

2009 AD-A group of youths on Tatsumi Port Island destroy the Dark Hour, a by-product of an industrial accident caused by research at Kirijo Corporations (see Persona 3)

 

 

2012 AD-Princess Peach is transformed to Queen Peach and marries Mario. A different group of youths in Inaba stop mysterious deaths in the area due to the phenomenon known as the Midnight Channel (see Persona 4), They, with the group from Tatsumi Port Island, take on a new phenomenon that resembles an Arena arranged by the split personality Sho Minazuki and a powerful demon.  For some reason, both groups stop aging physically at this point. Samus and Zelda are married.

 

 

2013 AD-In the other world of Remnant, Team RWBY begins fighting.

 

 

2014 AD-The fourth Smash Bros. event is started by the mysterious return of Master Hand and Crazy Hand.  Byleth Eisner (f) becomes professor of Black Eagle House at Garreg Mach Monastery.  A war breaks out between the Adrestian Empire and the Church of Seiros.  Team RWBY’s Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long, Rise Kujikawa of the Inaba group and Erza Scarlet of the Fairy Tail guild join Smash Bros.  Blake and Yang move into the guest room of Hyrule Castle and admit their romantic feelings for each other.

 

 

2016 AD-A third group in Shibuya stops a false Holy Grail from corrupting the masses (see Persona 5)

 

 

2017 AD-This third group stops a malevolent smartphone app from declaring itself to be God (see Persona 5 Strikers) They also stop aging physically at this point.

 

 

2018 AD-At the start of the fifth Smash Bros. event, an army of Master Hands descend, revealing the malevolent, self-absorbed deity of light, Galeem.  The equally malevolent and self-absorbed deity of darkness, Darkhon, is revealed shortly afterwards.  Both are defeated and the original Master Hand revives to help break through an army of shadow puppets.  Many join the Smash Bros. event, which is still ongoing.

 

 

2019 AD-Professor Byleth Eisner and Empress Edelgard Von Hresvelg of the Adrestian Empire eliminate Seiros, revealed to be a dragon called “The Immaculate One.”  The two women then wed after engaging the day after the war in Fodlan ends.  Most survivors of the opposing army are arrested, but some are given non-violent positions to rebuild their lives due to their unique talents.  Joker, the leader of the third group of Youths, joins Smash Bros., the rest of the Phantom Thieves arriving as backup and support.

 

 

2020 AD-Byleth joins the Smash Bros. event, with Edelgard becoming a second for her and backup and support.  Dorothea of the Adrestian Empire, now moved to the Island of Brigid with her wife Petra, also becomes backup and support, as does her wife.  Callie and Marie, pop stars in Inkopolis, also join the Smash Event as Mii Fighters.  Tifa Lockhart joins the Smash event as a Mii Brawler.  Sephiroth joins Smash Bros. after Bowser beats him in combat.  Erza’s guildmates Wendy, Juvia and Mirajane join Smash Bros as Mii Gunners (Wendy and Juvia) and a Mii Brawler (Mirajane).

 

 

2021 AD-Pyra and her shared body-mate Mythra join the Smash Event proper after being support and backup Spirits.  Marina of Off the Hook joins Smash as a Mii Gunner.  Long-awaited Smash Bros. contestant Sora arrives, bringing with him Mii Swordfighters Aqua and Xion.  Annette, who joined Black Eagle house prior to the war in Fodlan and is married to Caspar, joins Smash as a Mii Gunner, teaming with Edelgard and Byleth on a regular basis.  Chrom, Caeda, Tharja, Tiki and others go missing for a period of time, helping Itsuki, Tsubasa and Kiria in Tokyo as Mirages before rejoining Smash Bros in their old roles.

 

 

2022 AD-Edelgard and Monica from Universe 1 appear (this is Universe A for Annette) and after a misunderstanding with Edelgard, Byleth and Annette, befriend them and Monica joins Smash Bros. as a Mii Gunner.  Irida arrives from the past due to the space-time rift, befriends Melony and joins Smash Bros. as a Mii Brawler.  Shiver of Deep Cut joins Smash Bros. as a Mii Gunner.  Temari and Sasuke join Smash Bros. as Mii Swordfighters.  Bowser makes Mii Brawlers Roman Reigns and Bayley his entourage and goes around doing as he pleases, though he isn’t a threat to peace, at least, not as much as Ganondorf, Ridley, Sephiroth, Kazuya, Dark Samus and Thales’ influence, which sometimes possesses a second Ganondorf and/or Palutena.

 

 

2023 AD-A male Byleth from an alternate universe that never saw war (but did dispatch Rhea and Nemesis) arrives, along with his Dimitri and Claude (Edelgard chose to stay behind with Annette).  Our Edelgard, Byleth, Annette and Monica befriend the trio.  Mii fighters named Alear, Yunaka, Citrinne and Panette arrive from the future and fight alongside Marth, Chrom, Lucina, Edelgard and male Byleth.

 

 

Unknown date AD-Dragons arrive and wipe out most of the Smash Bros. fighters, the ones from the future return to it.  The remaining Smash Bros. fighters and Spirits have their souls locked away in rings and bracelets for future use after the war.

 

 

500 years after that-Sombron, the fell dragon arrives.  He is defeated by the souls of the past and one of his children, Alear, turning against him.  Alear almost dies in the process, but Lumera puts her in restorative sleep to become a Divine Dragon.

 

 

1000 years after previous-The events of Fire Emblem Engage occur.  The world is at peace, it ends.

A new phase

 Nothing is fun anymore; I keep feeling judged by an invisible crowd online for whatever I post.  I’m just trying to spread positivity and no one cares about the means I’m trying to use to spread it.  I know I can’t change the world with video game screenshots, but can’t I at least have the satisfaction of brightening someone’s day?  I’m losing interest in gaming because I’ve played so many, done so much, and it feels like everyone’s still the same level of miserable they’ve always been, possibly worse.  I’m also not seeing ways out of my situation, even though I sent 3 emails on Friday that should’ve fixed the problem!  The only solution I’ve gotten so far is to join Co-Dependents Anonymous, and I’m a little scared.  I don’t fully understand my problem, other than this obsession with fixing the world and the problems of usually women does wear me out and make me angry at more people than I should be angry at; the days are spent complaining that Western Society is irredeemably stupid, misogynist and homophobic, based on the election of Trump, the formation of the Tea Party and the MAGA cult, the Depp-Heard trial, the attacks on Arryn Zech similar to the attacks on Amber Heard online during, before, and after, said trial, the dismissal of rape charges against a Trump SCOTUS nominee, America not voting Democrat after the Pulse Nightclub shooting, White Sox pitcher Steve Clevinger not losing his job due to spouse abuse allegations, the online murderous hatred of Mitsuru Kirijo and Edelgard von Hresvelg, the hatred and pornification of Erza Scarlet, Ariana Grande, Amber Heard and Miley Cyrus and pornification of Samus Aran, Gal Gadot and AnnaSophia Robb and general belief that conservatives are the only patriotic American Christians.  Nobody challenges that authority unless they’re Democrats, who are called “godless woke liberal satanic communists,” even if they read their verse of the day in the Holy Bible app and have been trying to go to Church, and thus, they are dismissed as unknowledgeable, evil, stupid, naïve and worthless, so they go to Twitter to soothe these wounds and don’t get any likes except on their rock opinions, which makes them feel worse, because only one aspect of their personality seems to fit into society and they don’t understand WHY DOESN’T ANYTHING WORK?!  So they bury themselves in JRPGs because they can understand the characters in those better than people in society, even their own families, and become Twitter acquaintances with the voice actors this way, but this causes them to panic if they run out of games their favorite voice actors and actresses are in, because then how will they communicate unless he spends $450 he doesn’t have on the next generation of gaming?!  He can’t just relive their fighting games over and over forever on Twitter!  What is he going to do, the clock is slowly, or maybe even rapidly, ticking away.  What are you going to do to get Tara and Yuri’s attention after Engage, Daniel?!  And after Trails of Reverie, how are you going to get Abby’s attention?!  Time’s running out, the Switch is going to probably be replaced in the next two years, 2023 or 2024, and you can’t afford a streaming service, which is where everything that is not a game is going!  RWBY is on Crunchyroll, so you can’t watch it unless you pay for that, and most Anime is going to Netflix or Funimation, and you can afford those, either?  It’s all going away!!!

 

SMACK!

 

I have to walk away now; I was getting caught in a doomspiral.  This is happening a lot lately.

 

5 hours later...

 

I was diagnosed today as codependent.  I think I’m only gaming because I think that’s what other people want me to do.  I’ll finish Engage and Trails into Reverie, then stop gaming, because I don’t want to do it myself anymore.  Hopefully by the time I’m done with that July release I’ll have a job or at least new hobbies, because this isn’t working anymore.  I don’t want to be on Twitter, I don’t want to keep tagging voice actors, I don’t want to have this life of gaming, anime or excessive spending on music.  This gaming isn’t going to stop the next Pulse Nightclub shooting, or dehumanizing legislation, or an executive order for anti-LGBTQ+ concentration camps/death by firing squad, nothing is.  And not every LGBTQ+ human is Matthew Shepard, Miley Cyrus, Rob Halford or Tyky.  I want to leave Twitter and stop playing video games, find some entertainment that isn’t music, movies, comic books or video games to invest in and dedicate myself to that for a while.  I’d be open to fiction books, but I prefer non-fiction and autobiographies.  I want to put all of this behind me and start a new phase of my life.

Top 50 Love Songs, 2023 Edition

 Hello, internet, here are my top 50 love songs as of Valentine's Day this year.  

1.)    Heart of Gold-Neil Young

2.)    Heart of Gold (Live)-Neil Young

3.)    Heart of Gold-Johnny Cash

4.)    Malibu-Miley Cyrus

5.)    Jet City Woman-Queensryche

6.)    Why Can't This Be Love?-Sammy Hagar and the Circle

7.)    Never Thought I'd Fall In Love With You-Billy Ray Cyrus

8.)    BWU-Tegan and Sara

9.)    Yesterday-The Beatles

10.) Oh! Darling-The Beatles

11.) Sweet Child O Mine-Guns N Roses

12.) Jealous Guy-John Lennon

13.) Stand By Me-John Lennon

14.) (Just Like) Starting Over-John Lennon

15.) Woman-John Lennon

16.) She's Not Him-Miley Cyrus

17.) Her Body is Bible-FLETCHER

18.) I Would Die For You-Miley Cyrus

19.) Love Reign Down-Black Label Society

20.) Treasure-Jeff and Casey Lee Williams

21.) Something (Live)-Paul McCartney

22.) Something-The Beatles

23.) Photograph-Ringo Starr

24.) Six O'Clock-Ringo Starr

25.) I'm Yours-Ringo Starr

26.) Anastasia-Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators

27.) Good Hearted Woman-Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

28.) Bmblb-Casey Lee Williams

29.) Give My Heart To You-Billy Ray Cyrus

30.) If She Ever Leaves Me-The Highwomen

31.) Is This Love?-Whitesnake

32.) Fat Bottomed Girls-Queen

33.) See You On The Other Side-Ozzy Osbourne

34.) After All-Whitesnake

35.) Love-John Lennon

36.) Open Arms-Journey

37.) Don't Let Me Down-The Beatles

38.) I Need You-The Beatles

39.) Ain't Got No Money-Bob Seger

40.) My Kinda Girl-Chickenfoot

41.) Tush-Joan Jett

42.) Crimson and Clover-Joan Jett

43.) Faithfully-Journey

44.) Only God Could Stop Me Loving You-Billy Ray Cyrus

45.) Nothing Breaks Like A Heart-Miley Cyrus

46.) Whole Lotta Love-Zepparella

47.) Whole Lotta Love-Led Zeppelin

48.) Whole Lotta Love-Sammy Hagar and the Circle

49.) Whole Lotta Love-Santana and Chris Cornell

50.) Without You-Billy Ray Cyrus

 

Last weekend had a good album by Paramore, unfortunately, I will not be able to see them in Seattle due to ticket prices.  Revolution Saints also had a good single (their album drops April 21st), as did The Hu with William DuVall of Alice in Chains.  I also found out about The Dio album by Paul Gilbert, an upcoming album where songs sung by Ronnie James Dio will be played as guitar-centric metal instrumentals, which I'm looking forward to, the album releases April 7th.  Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus releases March 10th and I see Carrie Underwood at the Climate Pledge Arena a week later.  March 10th is also Carrie Underwood's 40th Birthday.