While I haven't been updating this site much, I've finally created a links page with links to my Tumblr and to my AO3 account. I thought it was only fitting, since those are the other sites I use the most. I also wrote another Silvaze fic (my second, in fact), and posted it to AO3. Well, technically I posted it last night (and even then, one could argue I posted it today in the early morning), but I digress. I had a very rough day yesterday, with work being really stressful and involving a great deal of personal injury, so writing and posting something fluffy was a really nice thing to do. It's good for the soul to write something like that.
I also ended up starting a rewrite of "Future Uncertain," my Silver-centric Sonic AU. This time, it's going to have a first-person perspective, which I think will enhance the emotional stakes of the story, though I'm not sure if I'll be keeping it. The first-person perspective at least led to me writing 1000 words for the rewrite last night without really meaning to, and I still wanted to keep writing, even after I told myself I needed to sleep. I'm really excited about delving further into this fic, I think with the experience I've gained in the year since I last wrote anything related to my Sonic AU, I'll be able to make something that's a lot better than if I'd just continued on from what I'd written before.
Moving on, I've lately found myself kind of fixating on the 2000s and 2010s, with this blog somewhat being a consequence of that fixation. I think there's a part of me that longs for the past, for an age without smart phones and social media and feeling so lonely because of how many people are constantly only connected to their favorite social media platforms and not the people around them. I even ordered a DSi, to somewhat replace the one I had back in the day, but also because I really wanted an original DS model to play those games without needing to rely on my all-too-broken 3DS. The DSi was only about $50 ($60 with shipping and handling), which was an absolute steal. It's certainly a lot less than a New 3DS (I still hate that name, it makes it hard to differentiate between the phrase "new 3DS" and the upgraded model), where prices are usually in the $200-$300 price range. I'd not mind delving into 3DS games at a later date, but I think there's a part of me that needs to revisit the DS library and that era. Again, good for the soul.
I think I also just long for a world in which things weren't all digital, where there's an app for everything and you need a billion apps just to navigate the world around you. Where MMOs are decently accessible and decently popular. Where games focused on accessibility and connectivity. Where Disney movies didn't suck, and Tron was just becoming relevant again. I probably sound like an old man when I say this, but I suppose I just resent the ways in which the modern internet has ruined the world at large, or at least that's what it feels like. A part of the reason I have this website is I'd love to contribute to the movement that says we should return to the way the internet used to be, and perhaps build a better internet that combines what we have now with the culture we had online before. A time when fourms were relevant. I was only ever active on the LEGO forums (and even then not for long), but even then, I wouldn't mind interacting with forums that were actually active. Most forums I've seen are dead as a doornail, even the Dollars BBS I frequented in my junior year of high school (and even then, it was just for the first semester that I frequented it and I never actually posted anything there).
Perhaps this indulgence in nostalgia and yearning for the past is unhealthy. Perhaps my diving into pure escapism is equally unhealthy. But at the moment, my life just royally sucks, with worsening stress, tiredness, and epilepsy symptoms, and a job that also seems to be getting worse every time I clock in, and a reprieve from that sounds nice. I know my childhood, personally, sucked (with bullies and a heaping helping of poor treatment from quite a few adults in my life), but I know, too, that there was some good. This came in the form of video games, but the Wii has since lost its luster, though that might also be because I'm just not in the mood for console games at the moment. I do get in moods like that, where certain things seem more appealing and something I used to be into seems extremely unappealing. For now, I'm going to savor this time and enjoy playing the DSi. I'd love to get to where I can play Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, since that game seems really fun, and perhaps I could dive into The World Ends With You, too. Another game I'd love to try out is Animal Crossing: Wild World, which, from what I can tell, is the best in terms of everything I love about the series. The only thing that I wish was in the game was furniture customization, but thta wasn't a feature in the series until New Leaf. From what I've seen, Wild World focuses more on villager interaction, which could perhaps give me the sort of friendships I've been looking for. My other online friendships have just felt lacking recently and I can't connect with them like I used to. You know what? I'll just make the rest of the games I want to play (but don't have) into a list:
Now, most of the above list is for my benefit, and no one else's, since a lot is kind of a "what if" sort of deal, a list I'll follow through with whenever I come into some extra cash that I might want to spend on a new game. It's not necessarily a hard, materialistic wishlist where I absolutely need every single item, it's more a "this seems interesting, I might look into it more before I go and write off any DS games I don't already own" thing.
Now, in terms of games I already own, of course I'm going to say Dragon Quest IX, since I never finished it and I'd not mind perhaps making DQ versions of some of my original characters. I already need to imagine more characters perhaps to fill other roles within my daydreams, because using the same 2 or 3 over and over again can be a tad mentally repetitive. I could always do another playthrough of the MegaMan Star Force games, or at least the first one. And of course, replaying games I did enjoy and finish back then, like Then there's the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game I own, Explorers of Sky, which I also never finished as a kid. I think that one would be fun to play, especially since I've heard such good things about it. And, of course, I could delve into some other games, like Pokémon Conquest or New Super Mario Bros. if I was looking for another game to add to the list of "games I own but never finished back in the day." Then there's the big one, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, a game I always wanted growing up but didn't have until earlier this year. I never got around to playing it, especially with how much my 3DS refuses to function, but I know now I'll get around to playing it sooner rather than later with an actually functional DS.
Assuming the DSi functions well, of course, which isn't a guarantee. But the listing said it did, and I want to believe that it's the truth.
I don't really have lists to make today, but I want to say, even with some of the royally awful things within the past (like the fashion, homophobia, etc.), I still can't help myself. I wish the internet and technology was back in that era that was the 2000s (and even some of the early 2010s). It was weird, it was experimental, it sometimes did things that were too ambitious or downright unnecessary, and that's amazing. Nowadays, it seems like technology is nothing but a fashion statement, something you buy to fit in, make other people jealous, and look cool. I don't care about looking cool to others, I want technology that actually looks cool, and not like it was designed purely so that it'd fit in with the makeup brands you buy everywhere. Or like it'd fit right in at a Kohl's. I think Apple and Google are easily the worst offenders when it comes to this aesthetic. I mean, look at the average Apple store. Look at how Google's interfaces and such look. B-O-R-I-N-G. Even just plain text is better. Heck, I think the reason I haven't looked for a theme for my blog posts just yet is because of how much I think plain text is better.
Though actually, on that subject, a part of me has debated the potential of making blog posts have the same theme as the home, about, and links pages I've set up so far. I'm not sure if the blog page would change its appearance to match, though, since I love the .hack//IMOQ theme. Though I do have to admit, there's a charm to the plain text on my site, especially with the pink background.
Well, I'm sure there are plenty of changes in store for this website, and plenty of games and new blog posts in my future, but until then, this is Cosmos, signing out.