Nuzlocke 13: A Spider with Six Legs?

A quick post, since I just noticed my last post never went up properly when it should have. This really happened in game, and it's moments like this that make Nuzlockes totally worth it.

IRL EXP: My Gaming Family

This little blog is based on a quick thought I had.

If I were to divide my family into character classes, this is what we would be.

Me: I would class myself as a thief. I like to bounce around, climb walls, while I. shoot and stab things. If you doubt my skills, then check me out bouncing around my children as they run around trying to avoid me. The stabbing comes from my love of sharp objects. Shooting comes from my love of arcade games like "Time Crisis" and "House of the Dead".

Nicole: If we were to go with the 4th Edition D&D, Warlord. Easy. If we were traditionalist, we would go with Wizard. She gets things done.

Ellie: She's a cleric, since she cares so much about family. Well, that and band-aids. We go through a box a month because of her alone.

Autumn: Barbarian. 'Nuf said.

Emerson: The tank of the family, a Fighter. You should see his little baby muscles.

Looking at this, I have a fairly standard adventuring party. Cool.

IRL EXP: New Game+

My wife has noticed that I have been depressed as of late. I have felt it, yet don't know why I feel like that.

I just came back from a graduation party (Go Marty!) where we had a conversation about youth today. So much potential, so much ability, and yet no drive to do anything. After High School, they just get a job and stay there.

Maybe that's what I lack. Drive. A new quest to embark on. It may be a tad bit harder to start a new quest, since I have a family to take care of. The military kinda puts a kibosh on most things I can do as well. So what can I do to give myself drive, while keeping my obligations to my family and country?

Hmmm. No wonder I'm depressed.

IRL EXP: The Tables Have Turned

Rewind to a younger time. 1990's or so seems good.

I'm the oldest sibling out of six children. (Oldest brother and at number 3 out of 12 if I include my "Adopted" family) So naturally, I'm used to my younger siblings wearing my clothes or playing with my old toys; the "hand-me-downs" of a family. I would, in turn, be the guinea pig of the bunch when new stuff came around. If it worked and outlived me, it gets passed down the line. If it didn't work, then the younger kids get a swing.

Fast-forward a few years to today.

I go visit my loving younger brother (2 out of six, and 5 out of 12) and visit with him. I feel bad, because he gives me stuff I can't buy: A computer he isn't using, a DS and a few games, spare change to get this really cool game that he owned once. Just today, we talked about Pokémon Gen VI and how I needed to buy a 3DS just to play it. My brother looks at me and says, "I can give you my 3DS to use; After I buy the 3DS XL, that is." I shouted a profanity at him and a thank you immediately afterwards.

Then we realize: His computer, his old DS, and now his 3DS... I, the eldest, have now started receiving hand-me-downs! He smiles in delight as I ponder these newfound feelings. Not very good feelings, by the way. I asked if this is how it feels to get used stuff from me. "Eh, give or take, yeah."

My children will get their own toys and clothes as they grow up.

Nuzlocke and You: Johto and my empty Pokéheart

My first death in this run (Yeah, THIS run, #12 in HeartGold alone.) was my Raticate. Ecruteak City's Gym decided to not hold back. A Mean Look and Curse took her, my lovely... Oh, wow. I can't even remember her name. Did she matter that much to me?

My next two deaths were my Dratini "Desy"(Casino, a long time to win) and my Golbat "Seras"(I almost had her completely happy). Morty's Gengar took them quickly with Shadow Ball. I wasn't ready. I wasn't prepared. My highest was Seras at Lvl.22, and his Lvl.25 Gengar was much faster. My Croconaw, "Killer", took it on and won by mere health points. So now... I don't know. Three in one place, that's a big deal.

Jean. That was her name. I named her after an old friend. Yeah, she was a Lvl.3 Ratata when I found her, but she almost killed my starter. I named her Jean because the real one always kicked my ass all the time. And now, I feel really hurt. The real life Jean is fine, thankfully. But what if this was the real Jean? I could have saved her, had I just payed attention.

So now, we move on. I will look for more to help me in my quest. I need something to cheer me up. Oh look, my chubby baby boy! Yay!

IRL EXP: I Hit a Deer and It Was 'K.

Exhaustion takes it's toll on people in different ways. Many feel sluggish and worn down. Others feel like they just hit "E" on their energy and need to rest there and now. Me? A cop could have pulled me over, gave me a breathalyzer and hesitantly let me go; I was riding those last bits of energy and bouncing off the walls.

My daughter had just finished her first dance recital (I'm so proud... *sniff*) and I had to pack up. Just because everyone else goes home didn't mean I could. So after an additional twenty minutes, everything is ready to go; dancing equipment, dance floor, and my dancing coworkers.

But just because I'm buzzing like a bee doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. Not even five miles from the recital, a doe (A deer, a Female deer.) decides to walk onto the road. I see this deer and slow down. I mean, she's a good 40 or so feet away. I see the vehicle behind me is at a safe distance. I look at my dashboard and we're at 30 mph. She's still walking in front of me. Don't you see the really bright lights coming at you? Look to your right, you ridiculous hunk of meat! LOOK RIGHT!

At ten miles per hour, I slap a deer with the front of my 2007 Chrysler SUV. I watched in awe as the doe rolled over, stood back up, and limped quickly into the bushes. Well, time to call the police.

Weird thing here. I had thought that if you hit a deer, the call center send an officer to you for a report. Turns out I may be wrong or gullible. The lady on the other end said the nearest officer was thirty minutes away. If I wished and if there was no damage, I could just not file a report. You know, despite the fact that I may have just doomed a living creature to a slow, painful death.

Taking a look at the front of my vehicle, all I had was hair. Deer fur everywhere. No blood, no cracks, no dents. So I took the nice lady's advice and drove home.

Now thinking about it, I should have just sat there and waited. I feel a little guilty for not doing so, especially since I'm, like, Lawful Stupid at most points of my life. Chances are my insurance company is fine with my decision, since they really don't like me right now. Or ever. But those events are different stories for a different time.

IRL EXP: Increased Difficulty

Babies are hard work. (HA HA, of course they are, let's laugh at the n00b and point for a bit) I'm a bit out of shape on the whole "New Dad" thing. I have two girls already, so how hard can three kids be?

I forgot the fact that my daughters are nearly self-sufficient and don't need Daddy 24/7. (Nope, just once every two hours.) My son, Emerson (late announcement: I HAVE A SON NOW) is dependent on us for EVERYTHING. Eating, moving, breathing, hugs, everything. And I feel pretty awful for forgetting it.

For those who need that gaming analogy to understand (or for those who read this blog just for those analogies), here we go.

You're really good at your game of choice. Excellent doesn't cover your ability. You were made for this game. And now the developers have released a new difficulty for additional play-throughs. So you try it out for a "decent challenge" for once. You start up the game, and the items carry over from your last game. First enemy of the game, and you're ready for whatever this game will thro- GAME OVER.

Whoa, rewind. What just happened? You played this part before. Granted, a long time ago, but this party's a cake walk. Okay, restart, go in slowly and WHAT IS THIS FREAK DOING HERE? This thing is in the final levels. Why, in the name of chocolate bunnies (SEE WHAT I DID THERE? Easter tie-in.), is this level 50 nightmare walking with this level 0 minion? So now that you know the game is evil, you do what everyone else does: search the Internet for a walkthrough.

"Patch 3.1.034: This is the update that introduces Hard-Core mode! You will be allowed to restart the game, carrying everything over from your last save. However, this mode also carries over all obstacles, enemies and bosses as well. In order to keep you on your toes, enemies will spawn randomly over the course of the game, in addition to regularly encountered enemies and bosses. Also, Herobrine has been removed."

WELL. That would be a horrible game mode indeed. Not as bad as Dark Souls, but pretty bad. That would be like how I feel right now. I was expecting something totally different and now have to level grind all over while dealing with monstrosities that will OHKO me, given the chance. Do I deal with it? Yes. Do I like it? Well, yes. I'm a bit masochistic like that. That's kinda why I'm a gamer in the first place.

The challenge is there, and like a bad rage face comic, I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE. Life is hard, and hard games remind me to not give in when life throws me curve balls like this. Emerson is my son, and I will help raise him while raising Ellie and Autumn at the same time. It is my responsibility as a good parent to do so, and I plan on being a Great Parent. (I wanna be, the very best...)

P.S. If anyone knows a game like the one I described earlier, give me a shout. I like hard games.