2039: He’s On the Manga

I decided today — and not for the first time — that with my interest in all things Japanese, it was high time that I got involved in manga: the print side of Japanese popular entertainment, and, in many cases, the original source of various series that go on to become popular anime series.

People who are big into manga are always going on about how the original manga (or, if you’re a real otaku hipster, light novel) is, more often than not, better than the 13-episode anime adaptation. And, to be fair, I can sort of see their point; while anime has a lot more immediacy about it thanks to the combination of colour, music, sound, voice acting and, you know, animation, the longer format of manga allows it by its very definition to go into more detail, to explore characters, themes and storylines further, and to provide a more “comprehensive” experience for fans. Plus it’s the otaku equivalent of watching a movie adaptation of a book and going “well, the book was better” (which it often is).

Anyway. The manga I decided to jump into are ones that I’m already reasonably familiar with the anime adaptations of. I considered picking up the Sword Art Online manga, but I kind of want to check out the light novels rather than the manga, since that was the original original version, and most people say that it explores the storyline at a much more manageable pace than the breakneck speed of the anime. Instead, then, I picked up the first volumes of Monster Musume and High School DxD.

I haven’t checked out DxD yet, but I’ve read the first couple of chapters of Monster Musume. So far I’m impressed with how true the anime has stuck to the tone and feel of the manga, though the manga itself is a bit more explicit in a number of ways — most notably with the presence of nipples, but also in another sense in that it fleshes out the storyline and characters’ inner thoughts a lot more. So far it hasn’t been vastly different from the anime, but I understand that differences between anime and manga tend to come a little later as a series progresses; anime often skip out large chunks of the manga with varying degrees of success, and I believe in Monster Musume’s case there are characters who are in the manga who aren’t in the anime. Possibly. Maybe.

The other advantage of reading the manga — assuming you stick with it through multiple volumes, of course — is that you can read further on in the story than the anime tends to go. A lot of 13-episode anime seasons end just as they’re getting interesting — DanMachi (aka Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) was the last show to do this — and then present their audience with a substantial and frustrating wait before they can see any more. Meanwhile, in many cases, the manga comes out first, allowing you to continue following your favourite characters’ (mis)adventures well before the adaptation hits the airwaves.

So far I don’t know how long I’ll stick with these series or any others I decide to pick up. I’ve enjoyed the couple of chapters of Monster Musume that I’ve read so far, and it’s a fun, different way to engage with a series that I’ve come to enjoy a whole lot since it launched. So we’ll see!

I should probably reorganise my bookshelves in anticipation, though…

2037: I Killed a Volcano

Another Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment post, I’m afraid, but, well, deal with it; it’s good, I’m enjoying it, and I want to talk more about it.

I was describing the game to a friend earlier and the thing that struck me is how utterly different from your typical JRPG it is. It’s extremely non-linear at heart — that is to say, there are a number of parallel linear objectives to follow at any given moment, but it’s always entirely up to you which one you pursue at any given moment, or even whether you pursue them at all or just decide to grind out a few levels fighting powerful enemies.

So far the “main” quests I’ve encountered include the ascent of Aincrad, which is the way you “beat” the game; the storyline that unfolds as you unlock access to each part of the Hollow Area; the “Grand Quest” which mysteriously appears on one trip to the Administration Area; and a line of waifu-specific objectives that demand you go into the Hollow Area with a specific companion and complete a particular kind of Hollow Mission, the exact details of which are usually given in fairly vague terms, so you have to figure out exactly which missions will fulfil their criteria for yourself.

In my relatively brief session on the game earlier, I chose to forego the waifu quests I had previously been working on (largely because I couldn’t find a Hollow Mission that involved fighting kobolds or goblins to progress Silica’s questline) and instead continue with the Grand Quest. This part of the game — which I believe was added in a free update post-release on the original Vita version — involves entering a mysterious new part of the already mysterious Hollow Area, known as the Abandoned Area, and promises the reward of powerful new Sword Skills that you can’t get anywhere else.

The Abandoned Area is introduced to you with a beautiful garden, one end of which is dominated by an enormous pair of doors — doors which are, of course, locked. However, since Sword Art Online is well and truly aware that it is a game, it very much follows the rules of a game, and consequently there are two obvious depressions in the door where “something” most certainly fits. And, wouldn’t you know it, there are two pathways out of the garden, each of which leads to a different “dungeon” area — one in some fiery caves, another in the mountains. And oh! It just so happens that your map indicates that there’s a powerful Area Boss waiting in the furthest reaches of each of these areas. Guess what you have to do to progress the Grand Quest?

It’s not just as simple as wandering in and smacking the boss about a bit, though, not least of which because the bosses are challenging encounters with plenty of mechanics to figure out. In order to even get at the boss of the fiery cave area, you need to complete a number of different Hollow Missions that reveal some interesting facts about the local fauna — most notably the explosive bugs that become petrified when they die, and which conveniently explode with sufficient force to knock down walls when triggered by the correct catalyst. Once you’ve discovered this useful piece of information, you then have to scour the area for other instances of these petrified bugs, blow them up and see if they reveal a convenient pathway through to the boss.

The mountain area is similar in execution, though it is set up in such a way as to prevent you from progressing too far without completing the fiery caves first — you need a key item to melt open a door that is frozen shut. In this area, however, you quickly encounter the Area Boss without too much difficulty, who promptly screeches at you with a noise so terrible you’re forced to retreat. The challenge here, then, is to uncover a means of protecting yourself against his powerful sonic attacks. I’m yet to discover exactly what that means is, but it will almost certainly involve a convenient Key Item somewhere, because that’s how games work and, as previously noted, Sword Art Online is very much aware that it is a game.

The fiery cave area boss — dramatically known as Gaiard the Volcano — is a great fight that is far more than simple hack and slash. It’s a fight where you’ll have to pay attention to what moves are coming up — they are telegraphed in various ways — move carefully to avoid them, order your companion around (assuming you brought one with you) and take every opportunity you have to get in your most powerful attacks. It’s an intense fight that really doesn’t let up for a moment; opportunities to attack are short and easy to miss if you’re not paying attention, and you need to keep a close eye on your partner’s condition, too; letting them die is as instant a Game Over as if you died yourself. It’s extremely satisfying when you finally clear it, however; it took me a good few attempts, but like the very best boss fights, it never felt like I was being smacked around by cheap, unfair moves — I learned something every time and progressed a little further, until eventually I was able to counter almost all his earth-shaking attacks and take full advantage of the openings that were presented throughout the battle.

If you’re the sort of person who enjoys setting their own objectives and pursuing things in whatever order they like, then, Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment is something that will very much appeal. Plus I was delighted to see today that it appears to be a top-seller on PSN right now, which means that it’s a game that is getting noticed, played, enjoyed and promoted by people who like it. That makes me really happy; while it is far from the most technically proficient game in the world — the upscaled PSP graphics and somewhat inconsistent frame rate will be a culture shock for many — it’s a beautifully designed, enormously addictive and extremely playable game that I can see myself spending a very long time with before I move on to something else.

2035: I Pledge Allegiance

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “I Pledge Allegiance.”

“Are you patriotic?” asks the Daily Post today. “What does being patriotic mean to you?”

Hmm. My initial reaction to this would be to say “no”, but on a bit of reflection it’s a little more complex than that. I mean, I don’t consider myself patriotic in the sense that I’d be willing to die for my country or anything, and I have no desire to go into politics or the military or any other field that would allow me to represent Great Britain on the world stage.

But I do kind of like being British, even though there are things I hate about it and there are things about it that I am ashamed of. For a lot of outsiders — particularly Americans — stereotypical Britishness (such as that which I have a tendency to exhibit) carries with it a certain air of respectability and even authoritativeness, and that’s quite a nice feeling. Plus supposedly girls find British accents sexy, which is not something I’m particularly concerned with now I’m married, of course, but again, it’s quite nice to know.

Really, the thing I don’t like the most about being British is the fact that thanks to the international nature of the online age — the “global village” as I believe people used to like calling it — I have a lot of friends all over the world: some in Europe, some in Australia, some in Japan, some in the Americas, some in Canada. And while I welcome the opportunity to be able to talk to these people every day online thanks to places like this blog, Twitter and other services out there, it is occasionally a bit of a bummer that I only have relatively few friends who are actually local to me, and thus it’s quite a challenge to be able to get people together to do things that we’d all enjoy. I’m a little envious of those people who do live near friends that they’re able to see more than once every couple of weeks, to be honest.

This, of course, isn’t specifically tied to being British, but I think it’s a contributing factor in there. The things that I’m into, I feel, are not stereotypically “British” in nature. I’m supposed to be into football and cricket and motorsports, and I don’t like any of those things (except, in the latter case, in virtual form) — instead I relish geeky pursuits such as video games, board games, anime, writing, music, that sort of thing. All of these things “feel” like they’re more popular, more widespread, more accepted in places such as the States. And while there are small communities of people who get together to indulge in these things here in the UK, I feel like I’m yet to really latch on to any of them. Andie and I used to attend a regular board gaming get-together in a local pub, but for one reason and another (primarily the amount of time it took us both to get back from work at the time) we stopped going along.

I’m also trying to involve my friends in my enjoyment of anime, but this has proven to be a bit of an uphill struggle to date. Perhaps I just need to pester them a little bit more; the last time I mentioned it, there was at least a little bit of interest, particularly at the prospect of an “anime, food and drink” evening shamelessly stolen from my Canadian friends who hold such an event on a regular basis.

I feel like I’ve kind of got off topic a little bit here, but no matter. I guess, to return to the original question, no, I don’t especially consider myself patriotic, but I’m not ashamed to be British, either. I don’t try and pretend I’m something I’m not, but I’m also aware that the path I walk is a little outside that which we can call “normality”, for want of a better description. And I’m kind of cool with that; it’d just be nice to be able to share these things a little more easily with others, I guess.

2034: The Hollow Area

Been playing some more Sword Art Online Re:Hollow Fragment for the past few days, and I’m thoroughly enamoured with it. It’s quite unlike any RPG I’ve played before, though I must say, it does a pretty good job with the whole “simulated MMO” deal, particularly as you can even play it in cooperative multiplayer.

I’ve mostly been exploring the “Hollow Area” part of the game, which is the vast new section originally added in the Vita version of the game; the original PSP version only covered the last 25 floors of Aincrad up to the final boss on Floor 100. Aincrad is a mostly linear experience; the Hollow Area, meanwhile, though gated by story progression in a few places, is much more non-linear in nature since you can freely move between regions, take on any “Hollow Missions” you choose or simply explore, fight monsters and seek treasure.

Interestingly, this aspect of the game is the one area where Re:Hollow Fragment differs from a real MMO: while the first time you enter a new zone in an MMO you’ll probably take some time to explore and map it fully, most MMOs design their areas in such a way as to be easily navigable by large groups of people, and once you’ve been everywhere, you’ve been everywhere; no further exploration needed. When it comes to dungeons, any kind of exploration is usually discouraged entirely in favour of a linear sequence of encounters culminating in one or more highly scripted boss fights. There’s nothing wrong with this; when it comes to herding a group of players towards their objective together — particularly when they might not be able to communicate with one another due to issues such as the language barrier, console players not having a keyboard to hand or people simply being unwilling to talk — it’s best to keep things as simple as possible so no-one gets lost, everyone can have a good time and work their way through efficiently.

Since Re:Hollow Fragment doesn’t have to worry about “real” players (for the most part — multiplayer assumes you’re already familiar with how the basic game works) it’s free to be a bit more interesting with its areas. So we have mazes, networks of caves, perilous clifftops (that you can fall off and die instantly) and dungeons with multiple routes and secret passages, many of which you’ll need to pay return visits to at a higher level to get the most out of. It’s an absolute pleasure to explore, and all the more rewarding when you come across a powerful monster to fight or a treasure chest containing an awesome treasure item.

The “powerful monster” aspect is worthy of some note. I’d heard a few people compare this game to Monster Hunter when it first came out; I haven’t played Monster Hunter myself so can’t comment with a huge amount of authority, but it never struck me as a particularly obvious comparison to make. That is, until I started ranking up some of the regions in the Hollow Area and coming across the “NM” (Named Monster) and “HNM” (Hyper Named Monster… I think?) encounters, which pit you against powerful, boss-tier enemies that demand a little more than just hack and slash. Now I kind of Get It… that moment when you think “That thing looks awesome… let’s kill it!”

That said, the game isn’t particularly hack and slash even with its trash mobs, anyway; it has an interesting combat system based around a combination of carefully timed button presses (Phantasy Star Online-style) and skills with cooldowns a la traditional MMOs. While Kirito starts a fair distance down the Dual Wielding path he’s depicted following in the anime, you’re free to change to any other weapon type whenever you like, and in fact if you want to farm Skill Points to learn new abilities, you’re going to need to do that, since Skill Points are earned most reliably by levelling up weapon proficiencies. What’s nice is that each weapon type has its own unique set of skills to learn along with its own unique animations and timings for “Exact Attacks”. Branching off each weapon type are support skills, too, ranging from healing and buffing to passive abilities that improve your overall position in battle.

Then there’s the Implementation system, which works alongside the skill system. While the skill system is presented as being part of the Sword Art Online game Kirito and his friends are trapped in, the Implementation system is the game’s equivalent of turning on Google Labs in GMail; it tasks you with “researching” various things during Hollow Missions (and only during Hollow Missions) and then rewards you with experimental game adjustments — anything from stat buffs to the ability to receive new item drops from NMs and HNMs — and even entire new game systems, such as the Original Sword Skill system, which essentially allows you to record a “macro” of your favourite skills and chain them together at will. The challenges you’ll be tasked with completing range from the simple (defeat 20 enemies) to the infuriating and time consuming (land 200 perfectly timed Exact Attacks) but the rewards are very much worth it, and this array of challenges — there are well over a hundred of them in total, I believe — give the game a great deal of variety as it becomes less about simply hacking your way through monsters as quickly as possible, and more about defeating them in specific ways in order to efficiently complete these research objectives.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Re:Hollow Fragment is the fact that all this stuff is technically optional. All you have to do to finish the game is climb to floor 100 of Aincrad, beat the last boss and hooray, you win. Any RPG player worth their salt knows that making a beeline straight for the final boss is rarely a good idea, though; sure, you might clear the game quickly, but you’ll also miss out on potentially some of its coolest aspects. As such, I’m unsurprised to have found myself well and truly captivated by exploring the Hollow Area, while my progress on Aincrad has stalled after just two floors. The Assault Team don’t seem to mind, though, and the game’s generous complement of waifus are more than happy to accompany me on my various adventures, so all’s well.

I can see myself spending a long time with this game, and I’m actually keen to play some more multiplayer (particularly as two trophies relate to multiplayer sessions — though you can play “solo multiplayer” in a party with your characters from single player) — it’s been a very pleasant, enjoyable surprise so far, and I’m looking forward to continuing to explore its hidden depths. And then jumping right into Lost Song when it comes out in a few months!

2031: Delayed Contact

How would you get along with your sibling(s), parent(s), or any other person you’ve known for a long time — if you only met them for the first time today?

WordPress Daily Post, August 12, 2015

This is an interesting question! What it’s really asking, I guess, is how I’ve changed over the years. And I’m certainly not going to deny that I’ve changed over the years — in some ways for the better, in other ways for the worse.

Let’s consider the “big things” first. The first thing I’d want to address is my depression and anxiety. As anyone who has had a depressed or anxious friend will know, we can be a handful: prone to bouts of irrational emotion, having a tendency to back out of appointments and commitments because we’re not feeling up to dealing with people, in some cases full of seething rage or unbearable grief at nothing in particular, which is difficult for anyone not living it to truly understand.

Now, I address this because I tend to think of my depression and anxiety as a “recent” thing, though on reflection it’s something I’ve clearly been carrying around with me for a lot longer than I might have initially thought. It probably stretches all the way back to primary school, to be honest, when I was, yes, full of seething rage at nothing in particular and would often get into trouble at lunchtimes and breaktimes for the 10 year old equivalent of casting “Provoke” on a dinner lady or school bully.

Actually, to say said seething rage was at nothing in particular isn’t quite accurate. It was something of a vicious cycle. I wasn’t comfortable in who I was, and kids being kids would pick on me, sensing weakness. I’d then be upset — particularly when, as often happened, my friends abandoned me and sided with the “cool” kids (who were often also the bullies of the playground) rather than with me.

But this isn’t specifically about my history with depression, it’s about whether people I’ve known for a long time would get along with me — or if I’d get along with them — if we happened to meet for the first time today. And the depression and anxiety side of things is interesting to consider; these days, I’m a lot more open and honest about talking about it in most circumstances — sometimes needing a bit of a prompt or leading question — whereas in my childhood and adolescence, when, in retrospect, I was clearly suffering from both of these issues, I didn’t recognise them for what they were and consequently didn’t know how to deal with them. My first girlfriend even left me because she “couldn’t take my moods” — though she did also cheat on me at the school prom, so fuck her, basically.

I digress, but the point, I guess, is that anyone I met for the first time now would have to be able to deal with someone who is aware of their own mental defects, be willing to support them when necessary and be willing to leave them the fuck alone when they need to be alone.

Now, onto other matters also worthy of consideration. Let’s keep things self-deprecating and consider my personal appearance. At school I was fairly unremarkable-looking, though I had terrible hair (still do), bad skin (still do) and zits (thankfully long gone). I felt like I was a bit fat at school compared to some of my friends, but looking back at some old photographs, I really, really wasn’t. I steadily gained weight over the course of my time at university and beyond until I got to the point where I was so uncomfortable I needed to do something about it — hence my joining Slimming World back in February. (As of tonight, I’ve lost 4.5 stone in total, incidentally.)

Let’s be realistic: people judge each other on appearances, like it or not, and six months ago I was absolutely ashamed of my appearance. I didn’t like going out because people would see me; I didn’t like walking past windows because I could catch a glimpse of myself; I didn’t like wearing any of my clothes because none of them really fit properly any more; and mirrors, well, no. Just no. I’ve always had something of a lack of self-confidence — again, this can be traced in part back to my school days; at primary school I was taunted on a daily basis for having “big ears”, while at secondary school the aforementioned crap hair, bad skin and zits were picked on — but this was the absolute lowest point I’ve ever been.

Today, though, some 4.5 stone lighter, I know I still have some way to go, but I’m much more comfortable in myself and, when depression and anxiety aren’t laying me low, I can actually notice myself being more open, confident and less embarrassed to be myself. Just yesterday I successfully made some small talk with the store clerk in Game when I was buying Splatoon and didn’t come away from the experience thinking “they hate me” or “they think I’m disgusting”, which are things I’d thought following a passing interaction in the past. And while this may not sound like much, with everything I deal with in my head, this felt like a noticeable and significant victory, and worth celebrating.

I’m conscious I’m talking generally while the question implies I should be thinking about specific people, but I feel these points are relevant; self-confidence is something that is important in your interactions with anyone, and while I’m certainly not in a position where I’d call myself “confident” or “outgoing” — I’m still an introvert at heart — I am in a position now where yes, I feel like I could meet someone new, have a conversation with them and not make them never want to see me ever again.

Finally, then, there’s the matter of changing interests. My interests actually haven’t changed all that significantly over the years; I’ve always been into video games, board games, computers, music, reading and writing. Perhaps the biggest change is in the “subgenres” of certain aspects, specifically my enjoyment of Japanese games, anime and other popular media. As many of you will know, a lot of this sort of thing is enormously polarising and very much an acquired taste, so if there’s anywhere I think I’d struggle with if I were meeting an old friend for the first time today, it’d be with regard to these niche interests, and particularly a lot of the mainstream popular assumptions about what people who like that sort of thing are into. (That’s a rant for another day, of course.)

There are people I’ve drifted away from due to diverging interests. There are also new friends I’ve made as a result of these diverging interests, that happen to converge in different places. That’s how life goes; as much as we’d like to believe certain things last forever, sometimes we move on, we grow, we change, we become different people.

Ultimately I like to believe that I’m a decent person, and that anyone I’ve known for a long time I’d be able to at least get along with today. We became friends for a reason, after all, and in many cases friendships are struck up over that simple, indescribable “click” you get when you start interacting and realise that the person you’re talking to is someone absolutely on your wavelength. It’s difficult (though, sadly, not impossible) to get rid of that “click” once you’ve had it, and so, to finally answer the original question: I do think I’d get along with people I’ve known for a long time if I only met them for the first time today. Our relationship might develop differently to how it did in reality, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; true friendships allow you to get along regardless of circumstances and regardless of differences.

2028: Obstacle Course

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Obstacle Course.”

In yesterday’s look at the sad archive that Plinky.com has become, I stumbled across the fact that WordPress.com now has a “Daily Post” writing prompt. I’m not hugely involved with the overall WordPress community, really, but thought this might be an interesting means of finding some new people — or at the very least, providing myself with some inspiration on what to write day in, day out.

This is today’s prompt, then:

Think about what you wanted to accomplish last week. Did you? What are the things that hold you back from doing everything you’d like to do?

Well, this is going to be a fairly bleak post as I’m in a fairly bleak mood today, but as regular readers will know, sometimes the act of getting those thoughts and feelings out onto the page can prove to be a form of “therapy” in their own right. So we’ll see. Expect honesty.

No, I did not accomplish what I wanted to accomplish last week, though this is partly due to the fact that I didn’t really have anything I wanted to accomplish last week. The trouble I have at the moment is that I’m just sort of “drifting” with occasional freelance work and nothing concrete to occupy my time and thoughts day after day.

In some ways, this is pleasant. Not having any “commitments” as such means that I can essentially do what I want to do, though it’s not long before anxieties over things like money start creeping in and making me feel that I should be doing “more”. More what, I’m not exactly sure, to be honest; the feeling that overtakes me at these times is always simply “you should be doing more” without any specifics attached.

Let’s ponder the things I did achieve, at least: since the Slimming World job I mentioned a few posts back isn’t going to happen for the moment (I need to be a bit closer to my target before I’ll be considered, which is fair enough) I applied to another job. Just a part-time job in retail, so nothing particularly exciting, special or indeed well-paid, but if I’m successful it will be something that provides at least a bit of reasonably predictable income each month that I can use to support the sporadic freelancing I’ve been doing. From there I can decide if I want to pursue that in more depth and attempt to make a career out of it — probably not, but we’ll see — or if I simply want to keep it as one of several things I have on the go at once. I’m inclined to think that the way I can be “happiest” (for want of a better term) is to have a number of different things to do rather than getting bored and frustrated with just one thing — or, worse, getting bored and frustrated with nothing.

One of the awkward things, though, is the fact that I’ve picked up some piano pupils and have been enjoying teaching them so far — and both they and their parents seem to like me, too. This in itself isn’t awkward, of course, but with the current timing of the lessons I have with them, it would make a “regular” job on “normal” hours a little tricky on the day of the week when I teach them. This is proving to be a bit of a mental block for me, to be honest; the prospect of either having to tell a prospective employer that I can’t work on a specific day after a specific time is anxiety-inducing, and at the other end of the spectrum, the prospect of having to juggle around commitments that I’ve already made is also anxiety-inducing. Still, it’s a bridge I will no doubt cross if I ever reach it.

Other achievements? Well, I lost another pound. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say; some people in our Slimming World group aren’t particularly satisfied if they “only” lose a pound in a week, but me? Having not been able to lose any weight for years and now consistently losing at least one pound every week, I’m happy with that. It’s one of the very few things I feel that is going right at the moment, so I cling onto these small victories for all they’re worth.

To answer the second part of the question, then, I think it’s probably pretty clear from what I’ve already written above that the thing holding me back the most from achieving things is anxiety. I had been taking anti-anxiety meds for a little while, though I don’t feel like they’d been having much effect. On reflection, though, now I’ve run out, it’s quite possible that the way I’m feeling today is proof that they had been doing at least something; if not alleviating the anxiety altogether, then at least keeping it at bay somewhat. I’m going to attempt to make a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning and refresh my supply to see if that helps. I would look into proper therapy, too, but while I don’t have a stable income the prospect of having to pay up for that, ironically, fills me with further anxiety.

So all in all, then, things are a bit fucked at the moment. My “obstacle course” doesn’t feel like it’s altogether fair; it feels like I’m surrounded on all sides by impassable objects, and the only way past them is to do something difficult, unpleasant or outright painful. It’s a rubbish feeling and I sincerely hope it passes soon.

For now, though, it’s an evening of stewing in my own bleakness, I guess; it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. Thanks, as always, for giving ear to my problems, and I hope that one day — preferably soon — I have something a bit more positive to share with you all.

2027: Questions, Questions, Questions

I like questions. They’re a good starting point for conversations, and they’re a great writing prompt. For this reason, I’m very fond of social sites like Retrospring and Ask.FM, though it can sometimes be a challenge to get people to actually ask interesting questions.

Today, then, inspired by the fact I’ve been playing with Retrospring a bit recently — ask me anything here (caution: Umaru boobs) — I thought I’d work through a few questions as writing prompts. Rather than just being lazy and using my Retrospring answers, though — which is tempting, believe me — I thought I’d make use of the dearly-departed Plinky.com, and use some of its writing prompts that it still has available. I’m not going to spend more than a paragraph on each, mind.

All right! Let’s begin.

Was there a toy or thing you always wanted as a child, during the holidays or on your birthday, but never received? Tell us about it.

Lots of things, I’m sure! Every child wants absolutely everything because they have no concept whatsoever of what money is or how it works. (I remember when I was young and my mother remarked that they were a bit low on money that month, and in my primary school wisdom I suggested they just “go to the bank and get some more”) Specifics, though? Hmm. I quite wanted Red Venom, the evil counterpart to the awesome Manta Force toy that I had, but never got one. I also wanted a Mega Drive to go along with my Super NES, but never got one. I’ll probably live.

Write about a noise — or even a silence — that won’t go away. (We’ll let you interpret this in different ways…)

Thanks, mysterious question master. Well, there are indeed lots of ways this can be interpreted. It could be interpreted as something simple like tinnitus — I like to listen to music loud in the car and on headphones, so occasionally give myself mild bouts of this — or it could be used to describe an “earworm” of a piece of music that just won’t go away. In the latter case, I think the opening theme to Monster Musume definitely counts as this, particularly the bit where Centorea is doing her “whooshwhooshwhooshwhooshwhoosh” bit with her sword.

What’s your learning style? Do you prefer learning in a group and in an interactive setting? Or one-on-one? Do you retain information best through lectures, or visuals, or simply by reading books?

Whoa whoa whoa there, sparky, one question at a time. My learning style… uh… I’m not really sure, actually. Depends somewhat on my mood, but I’m quite good at learning by myself using books. I like to have practical examples of the things that I’m learning and ways I can practice those skills. If I’m learning under someone, I generally prefer one-on-one as there’s less scope for embarrassment if you can’t do something while everyone else can. I loathe passive lectures, though; they put me to sleep, particularly if the subject matter isn’t something I’m particularly interested in in the first place.

You have 15 minutes to address the whole world live (on television or radio — choose your format). What would you say?

Given my self-imposed “one paragraph” rule, I’ll paraphrase: I’d tell people that they need to be better to one another, and that they need to stop judging each other on stupid things, be it skin colour, race, gender, sexuality or even tastes in entertainment. Everyone is different, and that’s something that should be celebrated, but we should also enjoy it when we manage to find people on the same wavelength as us. Worry less about what’s “problematic” and “troubling”, and focus more on the positives. Stop listening to blowhards like Anita Sarkeesian, Jonathan McIntosh and Michael Pachter. (One of these things is not like the others.) Make up your own mind about how you feel, and don’t berate other people if they feel differently. (Unless, of course, they’re actually hurting someone, in which case you can give them a swift kick in the genitals.) Above all, don’t be a massive cunt.

Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

I’m not in full-time work at the moment, so all day is technically “playtime”. That’s not true at all, of course; I spend a considerable proportion of the days when I’m not working worrying about the fact I’m not working and that I’m not earning any money, then attempting to be proactive about getting some work to do. Playtime, though, is extremely important, as it helps you to unwind and switch off from the stresses of the day. Everyone should play. Exactly what “play” means is different for everyone, but you should find something that (preferably) has nothing to do with your job, and indulge in it until you feel happy and content.

Are you good at what you do? What would you like to be better at?

It’s difficult to say “what I do” these days. I’ve been through so many jobs and things that I’m really not sure what my “identity” in this regard is any more. The one real constant has been writing, though, and I think I’m quite good at that. I’d like to be better at music and computery things on the technical side (both hardware and software); these are both things I was really good at when I was a youngster, but my knowledge hasn’t really “moved with the times” over the years, unfortunately. I’ll happily throw myself into attempting to learn things, but some stuff just doesn’t stick; I can still program complicated things in Atari BASIC, for example, but I can never remember how fucking JavaScript works.

Share the story of a time you felt unsafe.

I’m not good with any situation where I worry I might hurt myself, so I try and avoid them whenever possible. One example that springs to mind is a time some university friends and I went up to Sheffield to visit a friend who had moved there. During our stay, we went walking in the impressive hills nearby, and several of our number decided they wanted to climb a rock face, and did so without too much difficulty. I got a few inches off the ground, became utterly terrified and refused to go any further. I’m not proud of that, really, but I’m also glad I didn’t go through with it, as the shoes I was wearing really weren’t suitable for that sort of thing, and I probably would have hurt myself.

Think about something that drives you crazy. Now, think about something that makes you happy. Does it change your perspective on the former?

Nope, unfortunately, because the thing that drives me crazy is the way people act towards the thing that makes me happy. Get out of that little paradox, if you will.

(Last one for now.)

What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?

I’m scared of all sorts of things — many of which would appear to be stupid to the average observer, but such is the nature of anxiety-related issues. I think the thing I’m most scared to do is simply the mundaneness that is finding a job that is worth my time and effort, sticking with it and accepting that that is who I am: nothing special, nothing remarkable, nothing out of the ordinary. Or perhaps I’m just too proud to do that. Either way, it’s something that isn’t happening at the moment, and it probably should; ultimately, it’s going to be that ol’ faithful motivator money that makes me do something about it, I guess.

2026: Hollow Fragment

The next “big game” of the moment for me is Sword Art Online: Re: Hollow Fragment, a PlayStation 4 rerelease of an earlier Vita game, which itself was an expanded version of an even earlier PSP game. The Vita version had a notoriously dreadful translation, but I’m pleased to report that the PlayStation 4 version is at least readable — though the conversation system is still bafflingly nonsensical at first.

Sword Art Online, for those not into the animes, was a popular show a couple of years back. It was one of those “mainstream” shows that became really popular and which everyone subsequently decided they hated for one reason or another. I never quite understood the hate; sure, it was cheesy as fuck in places, but it was an enjoyable, beautifully presented show with an amazing soundtrack and a concept I’ve always loved ever since I played .hack for the first time: the MMO that is trying to kill you.

The Sword Art Online anime concerns Kirito, a protagonist who is a blatant self-insert for the writer, but I won’t hold that against anyone, since self-inserts can be a wonderful means of escapism. Kirito becomes trapped in the new virtual reality MMO Sword Art Online after the game launches out of beta and the “logout” button is removed by its designer, capturing all 10,000 launch day players in the virtual world. To make matters worse, said designer — the villain of the piece — informs the players of a little tweak to the rules of the game: if they are forcibly removed from their VR equipment, or if they run out of HP and “die” in the game, then their VR equipment will fry their brain with microwaves, killing them instantly.

There’s a get-out clause, though; if the game is cleared by someone defeating the final boss on the 100th “floor”, everyone who survived will be allowed to escape. After two years of the game, it becomes apparent that this goal is still a long way off, and player numbers are dwindling as more and more people either fall victim to carelessness or despair along the way. Ultimately, the first arc of the anime concludes with Kirito and his friends defeating Sword Art Online’s designer and freeing themselves from the virtual world of Aincrad, only to find themselves in numerous subsequent adventures in other virtual worlds. You’d think they’d learn.

Hollow Fragment, meanwhile, takes place in a reality where Kirito’s defeat of Heathcliff at the end of the first arc was not the end of Sword Art Online, and the players find themselves still trapped within the game. Moreover, they discover that once they pass the 75th floor — the floor where Kirito defeated Heathcliff — they are unable to return to the lower floors, and many of their skills and items become “corrupted”, mere shadows of their former selves. The game, then, continues; it looks as if the only way to escape really will be to defeat the boss on the 100th floor.

Except that’s not all, because clearing out 25 floors of dungeon would be far too easy a task. In the opening of the game, Kirito finds himself transported to the “Hollow Area”, an unexplored part of the Sword Art Online world where strange things happen and rare, high-level monsters and items abound. Acting as a sort of “testing area”, the Hollow Area allows Kirito to uncover a number of mysteries surrounding the virtual world of Aincrad as well as beef up his own character’s power significantly through various research trees. The flow of the game then becomes a journey back and forth between three distinct components, then: Aincrad, the Hollow Area, and what I like to refer to as Waifutown.

Aincrad is pretty straightforward. Upon arriving on a new floor, you’re shown a big tower off in the distance and informed the boss is waiting for you at the top of it. Between you and said tower are several overworld areas populated by enemies, so you’ll need to fight your way up to the boss room in order to challenge it. Along the way you’ll also need to gather intelligence on the boss by completing quests and defeating specific named monsters (NMs) as well as helping your fellow “players” to level up enough to take on the challenges ahead. Each “floor” is pretty linear in its design, though the dungeon at the end of it is more maze-like and unfolds across several levels, and you’ll be doing a fair amount of backtracking to complete quests.

The Hollow Area works a little differently. Rather than a linear sequence of areas leading to a dungeon maze, the Hollow Area is an interconnected network of zones more akin to a regular RPG or even MMO map. The Hollow Area is split into several different regions, each of which you’ll need to build up points in by completing “Hollow Missions” that appear and disappear in real-time as you play. While completing Hollow Missions, you can take on research tasks, which give you specific objectives to complete; once these are completed, you can then implement the research into Kirito’s character to improve it. You have to content with bosses here, too, though in the Hollow Area they guard region transitions rather than separate floors.

Waifutown, meanwhile, is what you do when you’re not adventuring. The town on the 76th floor that acts as your adventuring home base is home to most of the characters who got their own episode in the original Sword Art Online anime arc, along with a couple from the later arcs (Leafa and Sinon) who have been shoehorned in for the sake of having a few more waifus to pursue. In town, you can shop, upgrade weapons and hang out with your fellow adventurers. This latter aspect is important; by hanging out with your prospective adventuring partners, you can increase your relationship with them (up to and including sleeping with them) which subsequently helps them perform better in battle. By building up your relationship as well as “training” their AI by praising it when it does well, you can tailor each of the companion characters to your own liking. Or you can pick a waifu and spend the whole game with them if you so desire.

Sword Art Online is an enormous and surprisingly complex game. There are a lot of different systems at play — it’s going all-out with the “simulated MMO” aspect in this regard — and, while it’s daunting to begin with, the many different ways in which it’s possible to progress in the game make it feel like you’re always achieving something, and that there’s always a choice of things to do at any given moment. While its graphics look like butt outside of the beautiful 2D artwork — its PSP roots are very apparent — it really doesn’t matter all that much; it plays satisfyingly well, feeling quite like a high-speed Phantasy Star Online at times, and there’s a wonderful, constant sense of discovery and exploration as you work your way around this strange and wonderful virtual world. (And yes, I’ll probably make a video about this at some point so you can actually see how it plays.)

Also you can bed Lisbeth. 10/10

2025: Building Character

So, since I “rebranded” this place on day 2000, you’ve probably (maybe, possibly not) been wondering who on Earth the people who appear in the images of questionable quality that appear at the top of each post are. So today I’m going to explain who they are and not at all make up backstories and personalities for them on the fly. No sir,

(Layout of this post might look a bit weird if you’re not viewing the site at its full width. I apologise.)

This is me. You all know me. You may wonder why I am never facing the “camera” and the reason absolutely, positively is not that Manga Maker ComiPo! doesn’t have any “beard” attachments for character faces. Rather, it is simply to maintain an air of mystery about my person and to reflect the fact that I am someone who tends to enjoy watching things unfold rather than necessarily taking an active part in them — at least when it comes to things like social situations and the like.

My choice of appearance is due to the fact that I quite like wearing suits (although damn, they are hot and unpleasant to wear in the summer) and I have messy hair and glasses. I’m somewhat larger than this depiction, but I’m on the way to a slimmer, leaner self thanks to Slimming World.

This is Midori. She’s named after my Japanese evening class teacher from a while back; while I’m not taking those classes any more, Midori inspired me and encouraged me and made me believe that one day I might actually be able to understand the Japanese language. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m on the way.

Midori is 16 years old, and an energetic, enthusiastic, sociable girl, albeit one who isn’t the sharpest tool in the box. She makes up for her overwhelming lack of common sense with the amount of passion she exhibits when throwing herself into an activity — any activity. She reflects the part of me that enjoys enthusing about things with people who share my hobbies and interests, and the part of me that wishes it could just “let go” a bit and be a little less up-tight and highly-strung at times.

This is Yumi. I originally created her to effectively be the “opposite” of Midori in almost every way besides gender, but she started to develop a bit of her own personality in her own right as a natural result of this process.

Trope-wise, I’d describe her as a combination of kuudere and tsundere tropes; she’s quiet and softly spoken, yet prone to impatience at times and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Despite this, she’s been best friends with Midori since childhood, and tolerates her friend’s quirks because she secretly finds dealing with her more fun than she’d ever let on in her own right.

Yumi represents the part of me that is concerned with doing things that are “right” and “respectable”, and the part that sometimes just wants to get on with life without anyone else interfering.

This is Luther. He’s just a prick. Also I apparently forgot to give him any shoes when I created him, so that just makes him even more of a prick.

Luther doesn’t represent any part of me in particular (except, perhaps, the part that can be a prick) and instead largely exists as a character that can be on the receiving end of various unpleasant happenings because I feel bad making bad things happen to Midori and Yumi. (Although I did run over Midori with a spaceship in yesterday’s post, so…)

He was originally created so “I” had someone to punch in the face for the post I wrote about arcade games a while back. He was subsequently also kicked in the bollocks by Midori in my post about Heroes of the Storm a couple of days later.

There you go, then. I hope that was enlightening, or at least fun. Now it’s time for bed for me!

2023: The Infinity Dreams Award

So I don’t do a whole lot of “networking” on this blog, since I primarily use it as a personal outlet/journal sort of affair. I should probably do a bit more, though, particularly as I’m quite active on other forms of social media such as Twitter, where I’ve found a great number of people who are interested in the same sorts of things as me — which, believe me, is really important.

These blog “award” things are posting prompts that I’ve seen before, but never really participated in. They can be fun, though, so when Nick of The Skycorps Blog mentioned The Infinity Dreams Award on Twitter yesterday and was looking for people to pass it on to, I volunteered. So thanks, Nick! Me stepping up may not be quite the same thing as someone nominating me without prompting, but I’m grateful for you following through (and the links!) nonetheless.

So what is The Infinity Dreams Award? Well, unlike other blog awards that do the rounds, this isn’t a list of questions to answer followed by the opportunity to send on some of your own questions. Instead, it’s much simpler: all you have to do is list seven dreams — as in ambitions, not night-time dreams — that you have, and be as personal as you want about it. Well, you all know I have no problem in laying myself out there on this here blog, so let’s get intimate.

In no particular order, then, here are my seven dreams.

Dream 1: Finish and publish one of my stories

Shamelessly stealing this from Nick here, but since his first couple of dreams resonated strongly with me, too, I thought I’d give my own thoughts on a similar situation.

I absolutely love writing, particularly creative writing, and so it would be fantastic to actually finish a complete novel-length story and publish it somehow. As long-standing readers will know, I have actually finished several stories in blog format on this here site, but those are largely improvisational and unplanned in nature, and as such would require some heavy editing in order to be publishable.

I do, however, have a number of different stories floating around in my head, some of which I’ve started writing and others of which are just an interesting idea. The main barrier to me actually knuckling down and finishing one is the fact that I can do Beginnings, and I can do Endings, but it’s the middle bit that leads from one to the other that I find myself struggling with a bit. My absolute favourite story that I’ve been writing for years now has a very clear beginning and a very clear end, but I have absolutely no idea how to join them up together.

Dream 2: Find a good job

Nick’s second dream also very much applies to me, as regular readers will know. I’m currently in a situation where I know that “conventional” employment is not a particularly good fit for me, but where freelance work isn’t enormously forthcoming for one reason or another. As I noted the other day, there’s the possibility of going into business by myself as a Slimming World consultant, and that’s something that very much appeals — though the start-up costs for that are significant, and that, frankly, frightens me a bit. As the days go by, though, I’m starting to think more and more that I need to face that fear and just jump in; the job itself, I feel, is something I could do well at and be happy with, so I’m inclined to pursue it and see what happens.

This is, of course, assuming that they interview me and want me in the first place, which remains to be seen, so all of the above may be a moot point.

Dream 3: Publish a successful magazine

Matt at Digitally Downloaded and I have been working hard on our first edition of our magazine, which we’re aiming to try and get out of the door at the end of this month. I’m really pleased with what we’ve developed so far, and I’m very, very excited about the future.

I believe there’s absolutely a market for what we’re doing, because it’s very distinct from what websites offer. I much prefer the sort of thing we’re doing — in-depth readings and criticism rather than questionable journalism — and I feel the whole “make the sort of thing you want to see” philosophy is a good basis for creating something. Because chances are you aren’t the only one to feel the way you do, as lonely as opinions outside the “norm” can feel sometimes.

Dream 4: Build up my music teaching client base

I already have two piano pupils, with a possible third and fourth coming later in the year. That earns me a few quid each week, but by no means enough to actually survive on. I would love to have more pupils, though in order to do that I know I need to make more of an effort with promotion — it’s figuring out where to start with all that. This is one area where the Slimming World job could potentially help me out — a big part of that job is promotion, so it would give me some great ideas on how to get noticed.

Dream 5: Become fluent in Japanese

This is a long-term one, but I’m making the effort. Since my evening classes are no longer running, I have to self-study, which at times can be challenging, but I’ve found the online courses at YesJapan.com work well with the way my brain works and offer a variety of activities to learn in different ways, so I’m going to continue with those as long as possible. The natural realisation of this dream is the point where I can import a game from Japan and be able to understand everything that is going on in it at the same speed I can do with an English game. In the short-term, I’ll just be happy with getting my head around both hiragana and katakana, the former of which I’m getting reasonably confident with, the latter of which is still a mystery.

Dream 6: Reach my target weight and continue losing

I’m still a few stone off the “target” I set for myself when I joined Slimming World, but I’ve already lost over four stone since February and am continuing to lose, on average, at least a pound every week. I already feel way better about myself than I have done in years, and I can’t even imagine how much more self-confidence I will have with a few more stone off my body.

Dream 7: Conquer my depression and anxiety

I don’t know if this one will ever come to fruition, but in many ways it’s the one I most hope will come true. Depression and anxiety have absolutely crippled and almost destroyed my life up until this point, and I despise them for it. I am better than I was, but my horrible experiences with my last job set me back a good year or two in the “recovery” process — a fact for which I will never forgive those responsible. One day, I would like to be free; for the moment, however, I’ll be happy with the odd day of contentment.

I’m supposed to nominate some people now, who will then run with this and continue in their own way — or perhaps ignore it completely. Either way, then, I nominate the following people and blogs:

Pete Skerritt of Consoleation
awesomecurry of カレーまみれ勇者の冒険 Curry Chronicles
Chris Schilling of rudderless
Jud House of Jud’s Game Reviews and Jud’s Jottings

Not sure quite how many people I’m supposed to nominate, but four is probably fine for now. Drop me a comment or pingback if you decide to participate in this; I’ll be very interested to read what you have to say.