Rat Race Escape

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Even weeks after the fact, I wonder whether or not if it was pity or something else that drove me to undertake a journey that was roughly an hour and a half down the motorway on a weekend to meet up with Bachelor number 7. It’s a difficult situation to navigate, especially when I consider how incompatible our lifestyles currently are. And yet I also don’t want to cut off all connection immediately, fearing that if I do, he might believe it was a poor reflection on his part. Still, it won’t be fair to string him along for too long either. Particularly if if he’s hoping for something more and it’s not something I can deliver.

Ah, but I’m getting ahead of myself. I must needs tell the story from the beginning, yes? Provide context and build up a tantalising narrative for you, dear readers, to enjoy.

So, where to start? Well, it should be known that my meet-up with bachelor number 7 was my first one for the year of 2023. From the end of November 2022 to February 2023, I was caught up in holiday celebrations. While I did chat with a few other individuals during this time, and they did ask to arrange a meet-up, they simply didn’t provide much in terms of substance.

One was a Daddy’s boy, reporting to his father every interaction we shared. It didn’t help that his father was adamant about fighting his son’s battles for him as well, constantly calling and messaging my mother as we had met before through our shared mortgage broker. Goodness, if I could strangle but one man, it would be this man’s father.

The other was someone a friend of mine tried to set me up with. His first text, no joke, was: hi Kyndaris, someone gave me your number. If I didn’t know already that someone might text me out of the blue, I would have either blocked them or gone: new number, who dis? Since I was aware, I asked if he was Mister Blah n Blah. His response? how did you know? So, when he asked me out, I denied him. If a man is not going to put in the effort into texting about himself (he said he doesn’t like revealing himself too much through text – but gosh, why would I be a scammer? We were introduced by a mutual friend At least give me something. You aren’t even a cute himbo!)

Sorry. Where was I? Ah yes, so after a few missteps earlier in the year, and during late 2022, I started chatting with Bachelor number . He is five years younger than me and had liked one of my photos or had left a comment on one of my prompts – I can’t quite remember. But as I was perusing his profile, wondering if I ought to reject or match with him, I noted that he was wearing a lot of Kingdom Hearts related paraphernalia. That was my kind of fandom.

Honestly, it doesn’t take much to impress me. 

So, we started our burgeoning ‘relationship’ through Kingdom Hearts. After all, I was convinced that any fan of the franchise couldn’t be terrible. And even if nothing eventuated, we could still be friends! At least, that’s my hope. For now, we’ll just call him…Ansem (so I don’t have to call him Bachelor number 7).

But I will say that there wasn’t much in terms of practicality to our relationship. Yes, we had a few shared interests but as one of my work colleagues pointed it, if the relationship was ever going to lift off the ground, it would need a lot of work. And, to be honest, she was right. Ansem told me quite quickly that was on the autism spectrum – diagnosed with Asperger’s when he was younger. He also recently had brain surgery. As such, he was currently taking a break from working retail at the local Reject Shop. Although, he did have aspirations to work in politics in the future, be it local or state related.

As yet, though, he had no immediate plans about what he truly wanted to get into.

The vibe I also got, as we were chatting, was he might not be as flexible as I would have liked when it came to stepping out of his comfort zone. And that may come from the fact that he was neurodivergent (no judgement there). Which makes a lot of sense as one of my old high school classmates, who was later diagnosed with autism later in life, told me how they very much disliked it when their plans went awry. And that it was very difficult for them to adjust to change – leading to friction during a trip to Europe in their early twenties. 

So, with Ansem, I felt like he was very much fixed in his ways and sticking to how he foresaw the day going without too much deviation. One example that sprung to mind was the cafe that he offered as a meeting point. Even though there wasn’t much in terms of food options, he never volunteered another place as a substitute once we had glanced through the very short and select menu. Although, now that I think on it, he probably didn’t much care as he had an early lunch just prior.

There were other limitations too. Ansem didn’t drive. And I got the sense that he wouldn’t be very interested in moving away from his home in Shellharbour and heading to the big city. 

Whereas my job was in the big city. As were most of my friends, although we lived in separate suburbs that weren’t just a street away. 

Those were two major factors that were immutable and I wasn’t very inclined to move to a place that would lengthen my already long commute to work every day.

But worse, in the grander scheme of things, I was further along the path of life than he was.

In summary, it simply felt that our lifestyles were simply incompatible. We might have shared a lot of similar interests and were both only children but that was where it ended. Even our relationships with our parents were different. Not to mention what we wanted out of our lives. 

He did comment once that he saw little worth in money. And while I agreed with his sentiments, living paycheck to paycheck isn’t appealing either. I’m not trying to say that his view was wrong, given the fact that money is really just an ephemeral concept where we place value on scraps of paper that can be used in exchange for goods and services, but I also don’t want to be turned out on the street and just toeing that poverty line. Not that he was homeless, but it felt like with Ansem that there wasn’t much he aspired to be. Except maybe being a politician somewhere down the track. Whenever that might be. He certainly didn’t seem to be in any rush.

So, could the relationship work? Maybe. But it would need a lot of blood, sweat and tears. 

Still, the door remains open for another date and feeling out where it might go. Hopefully, we can arrange a date at a place that a middle ground for where the two of us live. But if it continues to be long distance (yes, yes, I know that we’re in the same country and also in the same state but driving one and a half hours for someone I barely know and haven’t formed any definite feelings for is a lot of investment!) I don’t think it’ll last. Especially if I feel like I’m not getting as much, as the saying goes, ‘bang for my buck.’

One of my friends mentioned having to chaperone her now-husband a lot back during the time that they were dating. But back then, they lived far closer than Ansem and I currently do. And they also had a year of friendship to buil up on. Ansem, for all intents and purposes, is just someone I’ve met in-person once and had a somewhat average first meeting.

Don’t get me wrong, it was fun to talk about the things we were both passionate about and shared in common. But as with most of the first dates I’ve gone on, I’ve found myself always passively listening to their much more excitable chatter. Not that I mind. I do engage and add a bit of dialogue to guide the conversation, but I often find it easier to see what the opposite party wants to talk about and then offer my two cents as needed. It provides a little insight into who they are and allows me to weigh up the pros and cons of what the relationship may entail. But maybe it also distances me from making a true connection.

Is it the wrong approach? Perhaps. But I don’t think there’s a right approach to dating either. This is no smut story where I swoon at the hottest guy that even thinks to look in my direction.

I can be witty and provide excellent banter if required, but the circumstances need to be just right if that is to happen. And with Ansem, that may be a struggle. For better or worse, I’m still wrapped up in the rat race and haven’t given much thought yet to retiring to the south coast seaside. Still, all hope is not quite lost just yet. But as ever, Shrek does appear to be the best contender when it comes to affairs of the heart.

On the plus side, I did get a few nice brochures for possible walks in the Illawarra region in case my friends ever decide to do some hikes in the near future out of the trip!

But let’s just say that a cheese and bacon baguette was not what I was expecting for lunch. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Following on from the massive Pokemon Violet, I felt it imperative that I tackle something smaller in scale for my next game. I was, after all, planning to travel overseas soon anyways so sinking 30ish hours into a 100-hour game and then return after three weeks away didn’t feel like the best use of my time. Don’t get me wrong. It’s doable, true, but it wouldn’t be much fun. And so, I picked a game that I knew could be completed in record time and still have all the craziness that the series has come to be known for: New Tales From the Borderlands.

Following on from the events of the first Tales of the Borderlands and the divisive Borderlands 3, which was known for the way it riffed on internet culture, New Tales From the Borderlands stars characters that are no longer denizens of Pandora. 

Welcome to Promethea and Meridian City! 

You would think that going to a different planet and seeing what they had to offer would be a breath of fresh air after being stuck on a desert planet for so long. Pandora’s story has been retrod countless times and so, yes, I did think it was refreshing to see a game take place in a different part of the Borderlands universe and provide new things to savour (even if Meridian City did feature in Borderlands 3). Unfortunately, when it comes to the Borderlands franchise, one cannot escape from the fact that even in space, capitalism knows no bounds. And in this action-adventure game, instead of a rockrolling adventure with space treasure hunters, New Tales from the Borderlands focuses on tackling the issues of unscrupulous megacorporations and their primary interest of making money and more of it by an means necessary. Mostly in the context of corporate wars of one-upping each other as often as possible.

In New Tales from the Borderlands, players step into the shoes of three different individuals: Anuradha Dhar, Octavio Wallace-Dhar and Francine Miscowicz. The three of them are, as our erstwhile narrator Marcus called them: absolute nobodies. ONe is a scientist working for ATLAS. She has big dreams and on the day that Tediore invades the city down on the planet below her where her adopted brother lives, she had just been fired from her job for releasing living test subjects aboard a space station. Octatvio, on the other hand, is a street-wise entrepreneur wannabe. He might not be the smartest tool in the shed, hustling from one get-rich-quick scheme to the next, but there’s a lovable charm to his character. And then finally, there’s Fran, the owner of a froghurt shop that was damaged during the last megacorp attack on the city. She, unlike the others, has a penchant for punching things. Given her proclivity for anger, her desire for violence is quite understandable.

After having one of the worst possible days in their lives, our heroes come together to get revenge on Tediore. In so doing, they stumble upon something beyond their own comprehension. Escaping from the vault located down in the sewers of Meridian City with a healing shard, they strive to make something out of their terrible circumstances and start a business.

So begins what felt like a days long journey that sees them to try to hawk their idea of a healing ray device, fail in their plans as they get captured by Tediore before getting embroiled in a ‘save the world’ scenario as they face down chairwoman: Susan Coldwell. It’s an oddly paced story that comes off as both whacky and endearing in equal measure. The characters all have large chips on their shoulders, which serves to impede the start of their adventures, but are all neatly resolved by the end. Which actually has five different endings that are dependent on the relationships between characters and their overall team score – represented, of course, with skateboards. Why? Well, L0U13 simply wouldn’t have it any other way. And after seeing these mechanics in so many games I’ve played, why not denote relationship status with skateboards? It seems to work just as well as any other metric.

But what I loved about the game was seeing Anu, Octavio and Fran coming together to solve the problems before them. In my blind playthrough, the team were a bunch of strangers at first. However, as the game went on, they started to trust each other better. I still didn’t get the arguably ‘best’ ending but all of my team members survived AND they were able to pursue what they were individually interested in. 

Just like the Telltale game that came before, New Tales from the Borderlands game mechanics are quite simple. Yes, there are areas where Anu, Octavio and Fran can explore their environment, usually a tightly confined place, but most of the gameplay comes in the form of choosing a response for a conversation or pressing a button in reaction to a quick-time event. 

In fact, much of the game felt like sitting down and watching a movie unfold with me, the player, with the occasional prompt to have me press something on the gaming controller. 

Still, in comparison to the first Tales from the Borderlands, I was impressed by how smooth and fluid the motion of each character was when I could explore the environment. They also included a few fun options by having Fran engage in a turn-based battle with her anger management bot! And the writers were quite smart when it came to dealing with battles.

Whilst the Borderlands franchise usual MO is to have vault hunters shooting up a storm in a vault, Anu, Octavio and Fran don’t have the luxury of being armed with guns. Even if they did, none of them are particularly skilled with them. Rather it’s their wit and ingenuity that see them through. 

And while I couldn’t control most of their actions – seeing as they were mostly scripted – I did enjoy how they were still able to defeat what felt like huge threats by taking advantage of whatever skills they did have and what opportunities were provided to them in the environment.

Was it the perfect game to wind down after playing through Pokemon Violet and trying to catch ‘em all? Yes, I think so! It was just the thing I needed to serve as a palate cleanser after getting too rundown by another very long and huge open-world game. Will I be playing a lot of these types of games? No. They work in small chunks and I think I need to be in the right mood for them. But they do serve as a fun way to just sit back and enjoy a story. 

Oh, and the fact that Fiona makes an appearance at the end, voiced by the ever lovable Laura Bailey (who made a cameo at the Encanto Bowl performance that was shown on Disney+ with toddler Ronin) was just icing on the cake! Here’s hoping for more expansion of the Borderlands universe and figuring out the mysterious of the ancient alien race that came before.

Pokemon Beta: The Real Treasures were all the Friends we Made Along the Way

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Following on from what felt like such a huge leap forward in terms of what Pokemon could be, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet felt like taking two steps back. This was especially true when it came to gameplay, performance and quality of options. And while the story provided players with an illusion of choice, it was clear form the start that they would all converge to a central point and thus remain a very much guided experience with a singular ending despite its protests of openness. 

Worse, one could not rush to the very end with a paltry team of Level 5 Pokemon and hope to take on the big bad right from the very start. Breath of the Wild, this was not. And therein lay Scarlet and Violet’s greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness when it came to linear storytelling.

It should be known that I usually play the first game in every new release. That means, Red, Gold (although in terms of the Johto, I was more enthralled of Lugia, so Silver it was for me), Ruby, X, Sun and Sword. However, this time round, I played Violet instead as the concept of fighting future Pokemon just seemed much more enticing.

The game started out as most Pokemon games do with the protagonist starting off in their small humble town that doesn’t even sport a Pokemon Centre. In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the conceit is that it’s your first day of school after moving to Paldea. As you come down the stairs, having dressed in your version specific uniform, there is a knock at the door. Director Clavell serves somewhat in the role of the professors of old, introducing the player characters to the world of Pokemon and even giving players the option to choose one of the three starters to begin their journey in earnest: Sprigatitto, Fuecoco and Quaxly.

Suffice it to say, I picked the fire crocodile.

And as I stepped out of my casita (with its Encanto vibes), I was sent straight into a battle with new rival: Nemona (who lived down the street in a palatial mansion and several wait staff to attend to her every need). Nemona was a a rival that I very much liked. She was a breath of fresh air from the excitable Hau and the almost forgettable Hop. Fearless and always eager for a battle, she was also used sparingly through the game. So, even as I was going from gym to gym, gathering badges, Nemona wasn’t entirely forced down my throat. Yes, there were a few battles here and there but it wasn’t constant. AND she was pretty helpful in those first few hours – teaching players how to catch Pokemon before leading us to the Academy at Mesagoza. Although she was of little aid when my character fell down a cliff and found the mythical Miraidon.

Still, the fact that I now had a legendary HM slave in my arsenal was nothing to sniff up. I even cleaned up all the different Pokemon that were immediately available in and around Los Platos and whatever else that could be found in the area.

By the time I finally made it to Uva Academy to begin my education, even my Fuecoco had evolved into a Crocalor.

At the Academy, I was then introduced to a plethora of new characters, each unique in their own way. From Team Star and Penny to the teachers. One of my favourite teachers was Ms Tyme and her very first trick-question that wasn’t entirely based on maths but on actual game mechanics. I also loved Salvatore and Saguaro. As for Professor Hassel, there was something about his design that reminded me either of a Pokemon or a character of another game. Initially, I thought his design was similar to Isabelle from Animal Crossing but the more I looked at the two of them, the similarities began to fade away.

Someone, anyone, help me identify who this dragon-user Elite Four Professor looks like!

Once I was introduced properly to the school, and after maybe a week or two of in-game time had passed in quick succession as part of the story, Director Clavell announced what we had all been waiting for: the Treasure Hunt. And suddenly Paldea opened itself up for proper exploration with its ‘three storylines.’ Which, as I’ve stated above does get funnelled into one story where the player characters along with the allies they made throughout each storyline work together to save the world in a fairly cliche Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) story.

Still, I really liked getting to understand the motivation and backstory behind Team Star. In fact, it was probably my favourite ‘storyline’ that got explored. As for the gym badges and the hunt for the Herba Mystica – they very much leaned into traditional Pokemon tropes that only lent a little to the characterisation of Nemona and Arven and were just gimmicky ways to improve Miraidon or proceed down the tried and true path of becoming a Pokemon Master.

The only downside to the whole game was the fact that GameFreak, once again, refused to implement any form of ACTUAL voice acting. Unfortunately for me, whilst I wouldn’t have minded voicing all the characters like I did with The Great Ace Attorney, I caught a cold/ flu/ possibly COVID at the start of the new year. Which left me with a horrid cough that threatened to take away my voice on multiple occasions and refused to go away. Nevertheless, it could not stop me from giving Nemona a very questionable Spanish accent and voicing a few of the cinematic cutscenes.

WHY ARE THERE CINEMATIC CUTSCENES WHEN YOU DON’T INCORPORATE ANY VOICE ACTING?

Honestly, it boggles my mind to know that GameFreak has moved to 3D sprites with MOVING mouth flaps and they still don’t feel the urge to add voices to pivotal scenes.

But maybe that was beyond the skills of the developers? After all, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet had many things wrong with it when it to performance. In fact, it’s the Cooperajah in the room. Because even though I started my Pokemon journey almost two months after the most ardent fans, I still found myself struggling with dips in frame rate and the long load times when it came to Pokemon boxes. Then, of course, there was the strange motion of non-playable characters (NPCs) that were no further than ten metres away. 

Some have pointed to the hardware of the Switch for the poor performance of the game. Which I honestly do not believe to be true. Why? Well, even though the Switch is pretty old, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which I played in mid-2022, also sported a huge world to explore with an enviable draw distance and I didn’t encounter as many issues as I did in Pokemon Violet.

The lack of optimisation and performance issues for Pokemon Violet was enough to be grating. And yet I pushed on. For, despite the fact that the game crashed on me three to four times during the entire duration of my playthrough, I was still able to to find a semblance of  fun and joy in the game.

And complete my Pokedex with the help of a few friends.

Admittedly, the lack of quality of life options in the game was also a letdown. Especially when it came to its ‘Let’s Go’ mode. While some of the mechanics were explained in the lessons at the Academy, these were usually after the third badge. Which meant that a player could have conceivably grinded a Pokemon to their evolution level via the R or ZR button but not have it evolve. 

While moves could be ‘remembered’ on the fly, there was no option to simply allow a Pokemon to evolve once it reached the conditions needed. An oversight in my opinion when it came to the ‘Let’s Go’ feature of the game.

Even fast travel was poorly explained with the Flying Cabs. And the fact that you could lock the map by pressing down on the right analog stick. Which could have all been done through a few additional tutorial boxes.

Now to the Pokemon in question. A lot of the new additions felt quite gimmicky in terms of gameplay. That isn’t to say that they were bad but none of them truly stood out except the Tinkatink evolution line. Smoliv was cute, true, but Arboliva wasn’t as majestic as I could have hoped. 

Although, I’m sure professional Pokemon battlers will find use for them regardless. For me, though, I ended up keeping the composition of my previous Pokemon teams with the only addition being the starter I had chosen: Skeledirge, Gyarados, Lucario, Garchomp, Luxray and Grimmsnarl. I like my heavy hitters! There’s nothing wrong with that!

Overall, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are a bit of a mess. And not in the good way. Did I still manage to enjoy myself? Yes. But it was at the expense of Pokemon’s good name and reputation. Although, from what I’ve heard, it’s been an issue for quite a while now. 

Will it mean that the next game will be a slower purchase? Possibly.

I’m not going to pay top dollar for a broken and unfinished game. It might be endearing the first time but it should not be acceptable. Especially when even the patches purported to fix it don’t seem to do much at all.

And so, it feels like a beta that is trying to dominate and be an alpha. But failing hard at it. Just stick to your own beta! No omega is going to ever want to be with you! 

Quiet

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Almost after the first date, Spring was busy trying to plan the second. Initially, we had settled for a film. Spring, after all, was incredibly intent on watching the latest masterpiece from the director behind Your Name and Weathering with You: Suzume no Tojimari. Unfortunately, the date for when it would arrive on western shores was still a little far off. And so, Spring scrambled to find a replacement film for the two of us to watch in an attempt to keep the time between the first meetup and a second date shorter than three to five months. A considerable period of time – especially if one is hoping to pursue the hope of something romantic.

At first, he suggested Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A film I had already watched recently with a work colleague in the best (and most expensive) way possible. Yes, that’s right dear readers. I spent $44 to be pampered in Gold Class with its reclining seats and food deliveries! 

Was it a ridiculous waste of money? 

Yes. But it was a nice enough novelty to experience at least once in my life.

But was Spring going to cough up that kind of cash for a unique experience? Hell no!

Running out of options, he then wondered perhaps if we ought to go for karaoke instead. A sudden change from what would have been an innocuous movie outing. Annoyed at his inability to stay the course, I sternly chided him on his decision to switch to karaoke with just two people AND while only on the second date when we were still testing the waters.

It didn’t help that I could already predict the songs he would be selecting. And I did not relish having a sober karaoke session with a man that was already giving me bad vibes. Especially when it seemed that all he wanted out of a relationship was a female version of himself.

That, and the fact that he thought it was a sign of old age to just ‘listen to the radio’ instead of throwing up Spotify to listen to his curated playlist. Reading that text message, dear readers, was enough for me to roll my eyes at the inanity of his ‘observations.’ 

Let it be known here and now that I’ve been listening to the car radio for as long as I can remember. Was 5-year-old Kyndaris ‘old’ because I hadn’t been able to listen to anything except the radio and was unable to put music that I was interested in?

Realising his faux pas, Spring then tried to backtrack, racking his brain for any film that would entertain. But rather than pick a date and review what might be available during those times, he just offered up Black Adam – a film that he had already seen and was about to end its run in cinemas. So, I pivoted to a few other films by checking to see what was available in cinemas in the back half of November. The Menu and Matilda: The Musical were the ones I selected as being the best choices from the paltry selection available. At least for the day that we finally settled on to go on our second date.

Spring was picky about that too. He had hoped for a weekend, but being the busy little bee that I was, I couldn’t find time to cater to his request on the weekend that Matilda: The Musical was showing in cinemas. I did offer up a Thursday but Spring didn’t want to go out on a work night. This was despite the fact that he wanted a Monday date when he had just got back from Europe and therefore had plenty of free time.

In the end we opted for a Friday.

But I still feel obliged to say my piece: Mate, I’m sorry but the world does not revolve around you! And just because I’m ‘flexible’ doesn’t always mean that your ‘preferences’ will come first. Please think about what might be convenient too for other people or compromising should schedules potentially clash!

As you can see, dear readers, Spring had certainly pressed a few of my buttons. And not in a good way.

So, finally after settling for a date on a Friday to watch Matilda: The Musical (Spring was keen to tell me that he had watched two other musicals before. Never, of course, at the theatre, but film versions. Grease and possibly Hairspray? I can’t remember the second one he mentioned), we set up a time to meet up on the day. 

Unfortunately for Spring, bad traffic on the way home meant he was running a little late. By the time he had arrived, I’d purchased a few cheese tarts for my family and already had the movie tickets in my wallet, ready to whip them out as soon as we were asked to show them for entry.

Although he was late, we were still able to sneak in a quick dinner at Sushi Rio located close to the cinemas without cutting too much into the viewing time of the film. After all, there’s always 20-30 minutes of advertisements now before the feature. 

As we were eating our plates of sushi, I happened to glance to my right  and saw a friend and her boyfriend also indulging in a few plates of sushi after a shopping adventure for anime figurines. On the premise of just checking the time, I’d subtly texted her. To my dismay, he was not one to check her phone messages. And seeing that my message had gone unread, I then tried desperately to remain unnoticed. A very difficult feat because, mind you, this was at a sushi train and I had to look in their general direction to see what delectable sushi I might pluck off the conveyor belt. And they were less than ten metres away. 

Suffice it to say, my efforts were in vain.

After they had finished their meal, they approached and said ‘hi.’ Embarrassed a little that I’d been caught on one of my many ‘dates’ to find the one, I don’t recall if I introduced Spring. I do think I might have mentioned that the two of us were watching a film but I didn’t want to exactly define our relationship as yet. In my head, after all, I knew it wouldn’t go much further than this second date if I had any say in the matter.

So, after a brief catch-up chat with the friend and her boyfriend, Spring and I headed into the cinemas to watch Matilda. 

And I’ve got to say, it was an excellent film. While people online have compared it the 1996 classic starring Danny DeVito and Mara Wilson, this was a beast of a different nature. it was an adaption of the stage musical, which was itself an alternate interpretation of the novel by Roald Dahl. The musical itself had visited Sydney a few times though I hadn’t been able to catch it live.

But from the opening number, you could see that it was meant to be a fun, quirky and magical experience. Although I did feel like Matilda’s precognition abilities were a ham-fisted attempt to provide some backstory for Miss Honey. Honestly, Miss Honey’s parents being an escapologist and trapeze artist was just a little…unbelievable.

Still, I liked many of the songs. Be that: Naughty, When I Grow Up, School Song and Revolting Children.

And even Spring was mightily impressed by the dance choreography. He even said that it was more impressive than the cinematic blow-by-blow of superhero films because of all the editing tricks and the green screens. Gosh, my dear readers, wait until he sees musicals live on the stage! Then he’d be really blown away!

Okay, that was probably a little unfair on Spring, but I was already tired of his ‘gosh, work sucks’ attitude and ‘I’m surrounded by such normie work colleagues’ chatter. It just seemed like he simply wasn’t interested in getting to know those around him on a human level. Rather, he’d write them off as one-note side characters in his main story life.

It was honestly not the best experience to see how callous and ego-centric he saw the world. And while he might have explored more of the world than an ex-friend of mine, the narrow way that they perceive the outside world was just tiring to endure. All of ‘his’ observations were apparently new and sudden and unique. No one else was singing his song. And oh, how wonderful would it be if he could just find someone that could like what he liked.

Did I mention that one of the people he dated was someone I knew at university? No? Well, there you have it.

And I’m not sure if it was a red flag or a green flag.

Regardless, when we went our separate ways at the train station after the film, we exchanged a few messages afterwards about the fact that common sense is no longer really ‘common’ anymore and that was about it. I’m not sure who ghosted who but at least it was a mutual one.

And thank goodness for that.

A Jaded Bookstore

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A week or so after my date with Spring, I met up with bachelor number 6. Tall, Caucasion, with a head of wild unruly curls and younger than me by four years, he was the only one to offer the date that I’d been craving from the start. A first date at Kinokuniya – the Japanese bookstore in the heart of the city. So, you can imagine the dilemma I found myself in. How could I say ‘no’ to books? Even if the date turned out terribly, it was simply impossible to tear myself away from the bait that had been lain before this bookworm.

Not that there were any immediate red flags when it came to Mr 6 – who shall henceforth be called Benoit. Plus, it was going to be a date in the middle of the day AND it was in a populated store. No chance of being brutally murdered. I hoped.

Benoit met me outside the store. Or, at least he tried to, but since I’m a slippery eel of a bookworm, I’d managed to sneak in and head to my favourite section: Fantasy and Science Fiction. After looking through a few titles, I saw a notification on my phone and responded sheepishly that I had slipped into the store but would try to meet him at the entrance. Once introductions were properly made, we resumed roaming the shelves of my favourite genres and chatted generally about our lives.

Much of the conversation devolved into him – Benoit – asking me a few questions and me responding. Once I had finished, I often had to remind myself to reverse the question and learn more about him as well. You know, simple getting to know each other stuff. A dance one would think I’m already aware of having gone on quite a few first dates.

Alas, I can see why people want to skip the small talk.

Regardless, somehow the conversation came round to Rian Johnson’s Knives Out film. It was probably because I was recounting how utterly disappointing Amsterdam was. In any case, we both expressed our delight at the upcoming Glass Onion film (yes, this was in early November 2022. I know the post is up in February 2023 but give a girl a break when it comes to detailing the adventures of her love life, will you?), even as we strolled through the Fantasy and Sci-Fi section for several long minutes as I pondered what books to buy.

Was I disappointed that he didn’t offer to buy my books for me? A bit. But in our current economy (or the economy of November 2022), it didn’t feel appropriate to demand such favourable treatment. Especially when Benoit was still studying to be a speech pathologist. 

Can you imagine? Truly? Me, the woman was raking in more dough – albeit saddled with a hefty mortgage – requesting a poor penniless University-aged boy (okay, they probably aren’t that destitute nor is the world so Dickensian) to buy me gifts on the first date? It just wouldn’t be fair. 

After all, I’m a strong independent woman who don’t need to man. Except maybe Henry Cavill’s depiction of Geralt of Rivia. Or Viggo Mortensen’s portrayal of Aragon?

Phew! When did it get so steamy in here? And what was I talking about again?

Ah, that’s right. The date with Benoit. So, because we both liked our mystery thriller films and Benoit himself was fascinated by accents, especially the ridiculous one affected by Daniel Craig, his codename was formed.

Once I had roamed my fill, I walked away with two novels. Benoit, too, had also picked out a novel he had been eyeing for a while. Jade City by Fona Lee. Apparently he, like a bookish online friend that I know who reads this blog but doesn’t like or comment on these posts, had also fallen for quite a few Chinese authors and was also dabbling with their online works. He also heaped quite a bit of praise on Cixin Liu and the Three-Body Problem. 

It’s probably a sign that I ought to buy a few of his novels and give them a spin myself. See what the fuss is all about.

By the time we had shopped to our hearts content, our stomachs were grumbling for food. Eager to have a variety of options for lunch, we headed towards Pitt Street Mall and the food court on the upper levels rather than the one down underneath Myers. After all, this was a first-rate date. It needed to be fancy. No expensive McDonalds burgers for us!

Though Benoit was able to settle for a karaage rice bowl, I was less decisive with my food options. It wasn’t after a few minutes of looking through everything that was on offer before I settled on going Greek and grabbed a pita wrap from Zeus Street Greek.

FANCY!

And just like our conversation in the bookstore, Benoit would ask me question after question. I suppose the one thing I felt could have been better was if he allowed some topics to breathe. Instead of dissecting more on the lore of World of Warcraft, he would jump to the number of pets I had rather than allow for a sizable rant about what the writers had done to poor Sylvanas character and the blatant favouritism shown to the Alliance over Horde leaders.

Not that I’ve played World of Warcraft much over the years. I’ve dabbled with it but each new expansion seems to retcon backstory or walk back character developments so quick as to give anyone that wants to follow the lore whiplash.

Regardless, I learned that he had an older sister that had gotten him invested into the Warcraft universe, that he wasn’t much of a comic reader and that he had gone back to university to pursue something he was passionate about instead of coasting on his first degree that had proven to be less than enjoyable.

Once lunch was done, we even had pancakes at gram!

Big fluffy pancakes that left me stuffed and unable to move.

But as with all good things, the date had to come to an end. As we both took the train, we headed to the closest train station. And as we said our goodbyes, Benoit leaned over and gave me a hug before I could duck out of the way! The sheer nerve of the man! How dare he! 

Still, trying to be polite, I patted him awkwardly on the back and so, the date concluded.

While I like to keep an open mind, a part of me wonders if Benoit will be the one. He did offer a second date to watch Glass Onion when it was in cinemas but I was busy during that time. A disappointment, to be true, but after I’d managed to catch it on Netflix, I was able to provide him with quite a few insights on what I thought about the sequel movie to Knives Out. 

Can I just say that the ending, as they were smashing the glass statues, I was honestly terrified for Helen’s feet. She was wearing open-toed sandals for goodness sake! She could have totally cut herself up if she hadn’t been careful!

Other than that, my favourite character was Peg and her ‘so done with this bullshit’ attitude when it came to dealing with Birdie. I don’t think I could ever willingly get into such a toxic codependent relationship – be it with a partner or friends – but I loved how Jessica Henwick portrayed Peg in the film. Including her outfits that weren’t quite cool enough.

Don’t get me started on the stretching in the background when everyone was still getting introduced. So good!

Long story short, I just wanted an outlet to talk about Glass Onion following everyone falling in love with Daniel Craig as the gay southern detective. And maybe ruminate on relationships? I don’t know. Probably not.

It just felt good to chat with someone that I can connect with when it came to talking about mystery who-dunnits. Now we just need Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot (I’ve honestly been loving the Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. The fact that Emma Mackey got to display her acting chops beyond Sex Education is GREAT!) to go up against Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc and see who is the superior scenery chewing detective with a ridiculous accent.

What? You want more? You’re saying that it’s not enough to just chat about something I like and that you want a deep discourse about the human condition or something something connection with another being?

Fine. Well, there’s still the second date with Spring that I can ruthlessly dissect for your reading leisure. Stay tuned to the next episode of…

DATE 2.0: The Kyndaris Story.

Yes, I’ve even added a secondary title to it. I hope you’re happy about living vicariously through my relationship failures.

The Nature of a Thing

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Ever since I was young, there were two things that captured my imagination. The first were stories that mostly revolved around the hero’s journey. It could be from books or games, but the idea of saving the world always encouraged me to be the best version of myself. The second, of course, was mythology. Greek, Norse and Egyptian were the main three that caught my eye. I was obsessed about stories revolving the gods, demi-gods and whatever shenanigans they might have gotten themselves into. Many of these are already known by the wider world and through emphasis in popular culture: the drunken adventures of Loki and Thor, the murder of Osiris by the envious Seth, or Heracles and his twelve labours.

What I didn’t realise was that many of the character I looked up to played into very stereotypical archetypes. After attending selective high school and learning about tropes in high school, as well as watching copious amounts of video essays on YouTube, I like to think I’m now a dab hand at pointing at a character on screen and rattling off their attributes. This is, after all, their ‘nature.’ It doesn’t matter if they’re reluctant heroes at the start or attractive anti-heroes, in the end, the end of their story was dictated by them. And the journey that they go on has very predictable beats. The self-doubt that creeps in, the mentor that steps in to bolster their confidence…

Tell me, how many of you, dear readers, can hear the word ‘Japanese role-playing game (JRPG)’ and not know that the game will have the main protagonist start off in some small rural village doing something as innocent as rescuing a cat up in a tree before slaying the cruel god of the world right as the credits roll?

Form and settings can change, but the nature remains the same.

And this is the very thing that is explored in God of War: Ragnarok. One that is excellently brought to light when Kratos and Freya visit the Nords and realise that prophesy is merely the understanding of the moving parts of the world.

But we’ll get back to that later.

Years have passed since the events of the first game. Atreus has grown up into a curious teenager, eager to find his own place in the world and chafing at the direction his father sees for him. True, he doesn’t always make the right decision, but he’s learning. Kratos, on the other hand, feels like he’s been stuck in a rut since the revelations at Jotunheim. He has seen the patterns and fears for the safety of his son. During the long years of Fimbulwinter, he had prepared his son to live without him but he is also scared of leaving his son alone. A typical parent fear, if you think about it, when children have grown up and want to leave the nest.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected Kratos to be such a protective parent when it came to his son, having seen his rage dictate most of his actions in the Greek era of games and his more stoic and standoffish approach in the first game. But while he does make the occasional misstep, it’s clear that Kratos loves his son dearly and wants only the very best for Atreus. 

Besides, you have to also love the fact that Mimir also essentially serves as a second father to Atreus. What with his stories and the occasional pearls of wisdom that he drops. A far different approach to what Kratos brings to the table.

And so, from a simple hunting trip out in Midgard, where they are attacked by a still vengeful Freya, Kratos and Atreus are soon roped into a quest to stop the end of days: Ragnarok and rail against fate. Or, at least, that’s what they initially assume. As the game goes on, and prophecies are unveiled, their quest becomes one to stop the machinations of Odin, the All-Father. In comparison to the first game, it’s a bit more complex with a lot of moving parts. In fact, rather than keeping the game solely focused on Kratos, the game also puts gameplay focus on Atreus as he tries to find a way to keep his father safe and forge his own path.

It all plays well with the theme of letting go of one’s preconceptions. And, when it comes to parenting, allowing your children the agency to make their own choices and mistakes rather than dictating them at every turn. Something Kratos initially struggles with but learns to accept after his trip with the Norns.

And, just like last time, there are no cuts when it comes to the camera. While this did make transitions between scenes more difficult to manage, somehow the team of Santa Monica managed to pull it off. Even if it was a little awkward at times – such as with the dream sequences, and the change in perspective from Kratos to Atreus and vice versa. I mean, let’s be honest, I couldn’t have been the only one that thought Atreus placing his knife on a barrel, only for Kratos to pick up the exact same knife was a little strange, right? Nor did I much like how the walls and bedding had to be placed behind Kratos as he transitioned from a dream with Faye to being back in his soft bed. 

It was like seeing the magic behind the scenes rather than being pulled into the story.

Still, I have to commend Santa Monica for committing to their artistic vision. Even as I was frustrated at the fact that half the time, the camera was solely focused on Kratos and his reactions whilst other character flitted in and out of the scenes from behind or entered just out of view of the camera. What’s worse was that there were no footsteps or acknowledgement of the other character until they stepped into view.

I know Kratos is unflappable but he merely grunted when Hildisvini came up from behind in Muspelheim to say that he was taking Mimir with him to Niflheim.

This might have been an issue in the combat but thankfully companions are able to provide ample warning, allowing for frequent blind dodging on my part, as well as the occasional use of the block button. From a combat perspective, I did feel like the Ragnarok was a lot more fluid than the previous game. It helps that Kratos begins the game equipped with both the Blades of Chaos and the Leviathan Axe. But the Spartan Rage ability was also a lot more versatile. Yes, Kratos can still unleash it to pummel an enemy into oblivion and regain health but he is also able to simply use it solely to heal and in an all-out attack.

Unfortunately, during the intervening years of Fimbulwinter, Kratos also somehow lost the armour he previous had and the skills he had acquired over the course of the last game. Why? Who knows. But hit skill tree was woefully empty and all my maxed out armour pieces were missing. Kratos did provide a semi-explanation but I don’t feel like it was adequate.

So many hours…wasted…

Still, I felt like the sets in Ragnarok were better able to cater to my play style. In fact, it’s probably the only reason why I was able to nab the platinum for this game. Yes, you read that correctly, dear reader. Another platinum has been claimed! And that was because this game was much more forgivable than its predecessor. You gotta love armour perks that heal you!

The one other thing that irked me about the game was how wooden characters would be when it wasn’t a cutscene. During my treks through Yggdrasil or the other realms, Kratos, Mimir, Freya and Atreus would occasionally banter. But when I looked back at my companions, the dead-eye stare I received back was perturbing to say the least.

Other than that, I very much enjoyed my time with Ragnarok and the story it wanted to tell. As well as the philosophy many of our protagonists had in terms of fate and prophecy. After all, this wasn’t so much a battle about free will and determinism so much as it was the choices one makes can dictate the path we walk in a bid to ‘be better.’ 

And while Kratos, Atreus and Freya understood that assignment, Odin – who was adamant about knowing what the future might bring so he could change it to his benefits and be in control – was ultimately unable to acknowledge that he could make a choice to end the vicious cycle he found himself in. During the final battle, he highlighted that fact with his dialogue, exclaiming that he “didn’t have a a choice.” Funny how the person who wants the most control is always the one that seems to have the least of it or claims that his failures are not the result of their own actions but those that had been put upon them.

After all, he didn’t have to kill Thor.

He could have chosen to give up his quest for knowledge and lived a happy life with his sons.

Could have stepped down from being the All-Father.

But he chose none of these alternatives.

So, I suppose if there’s one good thing about Odin, it’s the fact that he’s tenacious. And really really really good at deflecting personal fault and blame.

Music-wise, the game was excellent. Bear McCreary is talented at creating evocative pieces that sell the story beats. Did it deserve to win the Game Award for Best Music? Honestly, I’m going to have to say that Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was robbed. 

What about Best Narrative? To be fair, A Plague Tale Requiem’s endingpulled at my heartstrings more. That was a story about a girl and her brother trying to live out their best lives and hoping to find a cure to his condition. The problems they faced might not have been supernatural Gods but their battle was so much more personal and heartfelt – and more in line with the 2018 version of God of War. 

Still, God of War Ragnarok is still up there as one of the best games that came out in 2022. And when you play quite a bit of the smaller titles, rather than just big budget releases, that dig into elements of the human condition, 2022 was a pretty good year for video game releases.

Overall, I’m sad that we didn’t get the story of Loki turning into a horse to distract a stallion and coming back after 9 months with the 8-legged Sleipnir, but I’ll take what I can get. I do hope that if there is another God of War game, it’ll follow Atreus and see his wanderings across the realms of myth and legends. Hopefully we, the players, can join him as he looks to uncover more hidden giants. Preferably in Celtic folkore. It would certainly be a better choice than Egypt – a mythology that’s already been done to death in popular culture.

That, or the franchise can take us somewhere completely different.

Can you imagine: Kratos against Sun Wukong? I wonder how that might work. 

P.S. LOVED that Deborah Ann Woll was in this. I didn’t quite recognise her voice but seeing Faye’s model, I was like: isn’t that? AND I WAS RIGHT!

Humdrum Blues

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

A couple of days after what felt like an excellent and fun date with Shrek, I had a meet-up with another of the hopefuls. His codename? Honestly, it’s pretty hard to come up with these. And there wasn’t anything about him that really jumped out. So, for now, let’s simply call him ‘Spring.’ The other ones I thought of using would only serve to be insulting for a group of individuals that I somewhat connect with but don’t delve as deeply with.

What to say about Spring? Well, initially, he initially portrayed himself as a worldly individual. After all, with borders lifted and international travel reinstated, he was enjoying a quick holiday in London (of all places)! In the land of Harry Potter and mythical legends, he was enjoying the sights and sounds of a proper autumn.

To be frank, I was perfectly jealous. After all, I had wanted to visit the UK again back in 2020. Of course, those dreams were summarily dashed with the coming of COVID-19.

So, after a few chats – where I complimented his cosplay game (although he didn’t actually make them himself), he was eager for a meet-up in person. Consequently, he set up a date a few days after his return to Sydney. That day, of course, being a Monday. For him, it was fine. He was, after all, still on leave and could enjoy a workday outing without the pressure of work the next day. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite take into account my own circumstances: a working woman that had a job in the new central business district (CBD) in the heart of Western Sydney. But hey, I’m a flexible lady. So, I accepted going on a date. On a Monday.

When we first started chatting, Spring was eager to show me around the city and talked about all the Japanese food in and around the Galeries (which, honestly, I could have also told him about), but then he forwent all our previous discussions and asked if I liked Italian. Blindsided a little and a bit miffed that I wouldn’t be enjoying sushi or a nice bento set, I told him that Italian was fine. Armed with that knowledge, he made arrangements for a meet up outside an Italian restaurant near the Apple Store on George Street in the heart of the city. 

Little did I know that he hadn’t actually booked anything. He was hoping to wing it because it was a Monday night and there wasn’t that many people out and about.

If I could shake him, I would. Who flip flops this much in life? Still, at this stage, I didn’t quite know about his tendency to posit suggestions before changing his mind abruptly. Forget women, Spring is the very epitome of Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

After arriving at the city a bit earlier than the designated meeting time, I made a pitstop at Kinokuniya to take a look through the new released at Kinokuniya. Even then, I arrived at the restaurant with minutes to spare. Spring was already there, though, staring at his phone as he waited. 

Introductions were then properly made before we entered the establishment. Seated at our table, we made our own separate orders on our phone and then chatted as we waited for the food to arrive.

So far, so good.

And yet, to be perfectly honest, dear readers, after what felt like a great date with Shrek, I was already highly resistant to the idea of this one going anywhere. Which, I realise now, was very unfair to Spring. Maybe if I had given him more of a chance at the start? Or been more open? 

Alas, I was already pinning my hopes on Shrek. 

Despite starting at a disadvantage, Spring was still able to draw me into a proper conversation. At least for a while. We chatted about his recent trip overseas and the flaws of the London Underground. We even talked about how odd it was that they had commercialised their transit system. There was also some chatter about hobbies and interests. As well as our approaches to finding love on the dating app.

Spring was very adamant about the fact that he only had the capacity to chat with one person at a time. Whereas I’d opened up my options by playing the field a little by chatting to multiple people and then comparing each individual I did meet (either in real life or online)  to see what it was that I wanted out of a relationship and whether or not we might be compatible. After all, there was no guarantee of anything in life and it seemed foolish to waste time and energy by investing into the wrong person. Especially if I wasn’t very interested in them as a life partner. Something it seems Spring knew about intimately for, shortly afterwards, he told me that he had dated two women previously. Both relationships had lasted about a year before he broke up with them. Why? Because he hadn’t grown feelings for them and felt that they weren’t as invested in his interests as he was. This was, also, despite them trying to learn more about his hobbies and actively trying to make the relationship work.

Never once, during our chat, did he ever mention if he bothered to learn what his previous girlfriends liked. Or being invested in their hobbies or interests. Initially, during the date, I thought little of this fact, and was actually trying to advise him that many of my married friends didn’t always share the exact same passion for every little thing. Nor were they joined at the hip. For that kind of codependency and devotion was nigh impossible. I told him that as long as the couple share a certain outlook on life and have similar values, there is a strong chance that love can eventuate. Spring didn’t seem convinced and I walked away from the date knowing that I certainly didn’t feel like I was up to ‘loving’ everything that he did and eschewing my own likes.

Of course, by the time I had given it some thought and was telling my work colleagues about the sordid details of my date the next day, I began to realise how problematic Spring’s wants in a relationship were. And yet, pressured after having a belly full of pasta, I’d agreed to a second date! Curse my luck!

After all, when it comes to most fandoms, I skirt across the surface. In all honesty, it’s best to describe me as a jack of all interests and master of none. And perhaps that’s a good thing. Because I certainly don’t want my personality to just be defined by a single label: weeb, gamer, writer, reader, etc. I indulge in a lot of different shows, exposing myself to a variety of genres. I like dabbling in different side projects when I have time and mixing it up on the odd occasion (or as my routine allows). True, I have a few favourites but I like to keep my mind open to new things.

Spring, on the other hand, seemed very focused and intense on what he liked. The feeling I got was that he wasn’t one that would expand much of his horizons. And so, what he wanted from a relationship was basically a social media echo chamber. His future partner had to share the same interests. No doubt, they also had the share the same ships. The same opinions. And literally be a female clone of him.

That, to me, was not something that I wanted to be a part of. It spoke of a very self-centred viewpoint. Relationships, based on the things I’ve read and witnessed are about compromise and open communication.

And, maybe it’s an idealistic viewpoint, but I don’t want to feel beholden to someone else’s view. I am independent. i am woman. And to quote Katy Perry once again: Hear me roar!

There are multiple facets to who I am. Watch as I troll my friends about male representing nipples and in the next second, see me flop on the couch, controller in hand as I game. I am unapologetic in what I like and I am blunt in my assessments of others. And yet, if we are good friends, though I might tease and talk shit to get a laugh, I like to think that I’m also a good listener. A shoulder to cry on when the going gets tough. And also readily available to provide acts of service to those in need without thought of reward or recompense.

Fortunately for you, dear readers, I was unable to close the chapter on Spring at the end of the first meetup. And so, of course, there’s a part two to this tale. I hope you enjoy my poor decision-making skills!

Are You Mine?

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

So, I wrote another short story! It was actually finished back in 2022 but well, given how…’busy’ my life has been with all the dating and the games (I’m even behind when it comes to those posts), here’s a short story to break up the monotony of reading about my life!

Besides, who doesn’t like fictional anguish anyways? For those that want to read it in its entirety, look no further than my FictionPress – scattered wind. Or look up Kyndaris on Wattpad.

Sitting in peak hour traffic, the rain pissing down on the windscreen, I realised that I was completely and utterly in love with my best friend. When had it begun? As I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, I tried to pinpoint exactly when I had fallen head over heels for Felicia.

It didn’t make sense.

People had always told me that I’d know the very moment I would fall in love. That I’d instinctually know who my soul mate was the instant I met them.

But that hadn’t happened.

When I first met Felicia, we had got along in that awkward manner when it came to first dates. Over coffee, we had decided that it was better if we kept it friendly. There had been no immediate spark. No romantic chemistry. A sudden bolt of lightning hadn’t come through the roof of the coffee shop and struck me down just to tell me that she was the one. Nor had there been any declarations of love or strange gooey heart action.

No. Love wasn’t like that. Not for me, at least.

At most, I might have felt nauseated on that first date. For too long, my parents and peers had pressured me into dating. After holding out for so long, I’d finally caved in.

Felicia had seemed amicable enough through text. The fact that we shared quite a few hobbies was a plus.

In the end, love was something that had slowly crept up behind me, bludgeoned me hard on the head and robbed me of all that I was worth.

Oh God. Was boardgame night going to be weird?

Yet, the more I thought about it as I waited for the traffic to move, the more I came to realise that nothing needed to change. What I felt for Felicia was a deep abiding fondness. Our relationship wasn’t one that was built on false pretences. Felicia and I knew each other intimately in the way of all best friends did.

In my mind, she represented comfort; like coming back home after a long hard day at work.

That thought carried me through the worst of the jam. Even when a truck driver swerved into my lane and would have taken me out if I hadn’t seen it coming. On any other day, I would have thrown out a mouthful of expletives for their poor driving skills.

By the time I parked outside the house, it was nearly eight. My stomach was rumbling and I desperately needed to use the bathroom. Thankfully the rain had stopped.

Before I could exit the car and stretch my legs, the door to the house opened. Out stepped the woman that had been on my mind for the last hour or so. Her long black hair was kept in check by a floral headband and peeking out from the curtain of black were two pointy ears. Felicia always loved pretending she was an elf or woodland Fae.

There was a look of relief on her face when she caught sight of my car and she slipped her phone back into her pocket. Felicia hurried over as I clambered out. “There you are Leah. Shit, I thought that something had happened. I was just about to call you.”

“Traffic was hell,” I said, opening up the boot of my car and retrieving the three games I brought every time, hoping we’d get a chance to play them (spoiler alert: we never do). “Remind me why we always do this on Wednesday night?”

Felicia rolled her eyes. “Well, not everyone is as free as you are,” she retorted. “I have dance on Thursdays, Damien has to wrangle his brood of children on the weekends, Anna has several commitments, and Viktor…”

I sighed. “Yes, yes. Viktor is busy trying to find his one true love at every single possible moment after Julie dumped him. It’s a mystery how he pencils in all those dates AND somehow manages to come to game night. If you ask me, the way he goes about it makes it all feel so transactional. He’s not going to land the big fish he wants by schmoozing through all the ladies in the country.”

“Tell me about it. I think he ought to take a break. Maybe re-evaluate what he wants in a partner, you know?”

There was truth in Felicia’s words. At this rate, Viktor’s love life was doomed to failure. His recent choices and the way he discarded most of his prospective partners for the next shiny thing had us all worried.

With Felicia’s help, I managed to close the boot and lock the car. Together, we walked back to the house and I took the opportunity to study Felicia from the corner of my eye. In the glow of the street light, I saw that she had on a t-shirt sporting the Attack on Titan survey corps logo I had bought her last year when we had gone to a convention together. At the time, she had been wearing a cosplay of Sakura Matou from Fate Stay Night. I, on the other hand, had worn my usual getup of flannel shirt and ripped jeans.

Damien met us at the door. Being the chivalrous man that he was, and the clearly lawful stupid paladin that he often liked to play, he graciously offered to take the stack of boardgames from my hands. Naturally, I foisted them onto him.

“There’re still some pizzas on the kitchen table if you’re hungry, Leah. We even ordered Hawaiian just for you.”

“Thanks. Let me just go to the loo first and I’ll come to gobble up all that pineapple goodness,” I said, removing my boots.

“You know, it honestly boggles my mind that you actually enjoy pineapple on pizza. My ongoing theory is that you’re an eldritch being from another plane of existence.”

“Your own children eat Hawaiian too, Damien,” I retorted as I headed down the corridor towards the bathroom.

“Exactly. Those scamps are clearly alien changelings posing as human children,” he called out after me. “I’m onto you, Leah!” I stuck my tongue out at him before I slipped inside the bathroom and shut the door.

Sitting on the porcelain throne, I went over my interactions with Felicia, trying to dissect them and figure out if the brief conversation we had exchanged was normal or if I had cocked our friendship up quite badly. Each word was mulled over for God knows how long as I tried to determine if I had let the realisation slip.

A knock on the door pulled me from the ruminations.

“Leah, it’s been about five minutes. Please grunt or make a noise so I know that you’re still alive and haven’t fallen in.”

I hastily wiped, got up and flushed the toilet. “In a minute!” I called out. “Just washing my friends…sorry, hands right now.”

Felicia gave a strange look when I finally emerged. “Well, that was a strange Freudian slip that I’m not sure I want to unpack,” she commented as we headed back down the corridor towards the kitchen.

“Just got a few things on my mind, is all,” I said, wiping my still wet hands on my jeans. “Now, where’s that Hawaiian pizza? I’m completely and utterly famished. You don’t know how bad traffic was with all the flooding in the area. It took twice as long just to get out of the city. The roads were chock-a-block with cars. It’s lucky that you’ve still been working from home.”

She nodded absentmindedly.

“Good to see that you haven’t fallen inside the toilet,” said Damien as we stepped into the kitchen. Anna and Viktor were on the couch, each holding a Nintendo Switch in hand. “You were in there so long, I started portioning out a few slices of pizza for you to reheat.”

“Thanks Dad friend Damien. You know, you’re the real MVP,” I said, grabbing the plate of pizza he had set aside and popped it into the microwave.

Thirty seconds later, I scoffed down the piping hot pizza. Where once my stomach had been empty, it was filled with pineapple goodness. Damien had also seen fit to gift me two pieces of cheesy garlic bread and some Dutch pancakes. When I had cleaned off the plate, I smacked my lips and licked off the last remnants of sauce on my fingers.

The look on Damien’s face made it seem as if he was witnessing Vecna commit some unforgivable crime. Honestly, it was downright insulting. Pineapples added a sweetness to the meal. Even a Domino’s supreme pizza had the delectable fruit on top to give it some additional flavour.

“What?”

“Nothing, he said, shaking his head, and padded over to the table covered in a million and one board games. “All right everybody. Gather round. It’s time to pick out something to play. We have Catan, Pandemic, 7 Wonders, Cards Against Humanity, Hues and Cues…”

The list seemed to go on forever. Finally, after a rigorous debate, we settled on something that wouldn’t take too long and would still pose a decent challenge. Tsuro it was.

Given that all of us all had work tomorrow, it was probably for the best. I’d need to start driving back at 10PM anyways. The realities of what our lives had become was not lost on me. Or on any of the others. Life had been a lot simpler in our early 20s. But with each year that passed, it was becoming harder and harder for our schedules to match.

For now, at least, I’d do my best in schooling them all in the delicate art of keeping my dragon stone marker on the periphery of the gameboard.

~

“You really don’t have to drive me back, Leah. Viktor could have also dropped me off just as easily.”

“It’s not that out of my way,” I said, downplaying the circuitous route that would take me an extra twenty minutes. “Besides, we haven’t had much of a chance to talk recently. Too busy, I suppose, with all the things that are happening in our lives, I suppose.”

Felicia leaned back into the passenger seat. “You can say that again. Work has been pretty terrible these last few weeks. Deadlines everywhere. Other staff members not pulling their own weight. Clients being fussy and almost impossible to please.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, so, remember how I mentioned that big looming court case last time? Well, surprise, it’s here! And things aren’t looking good. Things have been especially difficult because we’ve been completely blindsided by some evidence the plaintiff had brought to light. I can’t go into much detail but the defence we had carefully constructed for months has just been blown clean out of the water.”

I shifted gears, keeping my eyes focused on the wall. “Yeesh. That sounds rough.”

“Right? And the client has been so tight-lipped. They won’t tell us anything and that makes is so much harder to mount any sort of counterargument. Honestly, makes one want to throw in the towel. Not everyone can stick in a game for as long as you, Leah. Who would have thought that Damien had just the tile to finally get you off the board, hunh?”

“That move was freakin’ bullshit!” I exclaimed, head swivelling quickly to the side to look at Felicia before I turned back to the road. “I had the tiles all figured out. It was statistically impossible for him to have pulled that out!”

“Oh? Is that so?” teased Felicia.

I nodded once, definitively. The loss still stung. For a moment there, I had thought the game was mine. Damien, of course, would have never been satisfied without coming in first.

A companionable silence descended over the two of us as I navigated the streets. We crested a hill and just as the road dipped down, a sportscar came screaming past in the opposite direction, headlights on high beam and definitely going faster than the speed limit. It narrowly missed us as it drifted through the turn and gunned it as soon as it hit the straight.

A curse left my lips as I kept a deathlike grip on the steering wheel. People these days thought they owned the roads. Not even caring that they could have just been involved in an accident.

It was nearly eleven when I pulled up outside Felicia’s house. Barring that one heart-stopping encounter, the rest of the drive had been smooth.

“Looks like we’re here. Thank you for choosing Leah’s Driver Services,” I said as I whizzed around to face Felicia just as she leaned in. Our heads bumped against each other and I reeled back, clutching my nose.

“Shit. I’m so sorry, Leah.”

“It’s all good,” I replied after a few moments as the pain began to subside. Gingerly, I checked to see if anything was broken. Thankfully, there was no blood. A nosebleed would have been the cherry on top of the cake for how much of a disaster tonight had been.

Felicia peered at me through the gloom. “Are you sure? I can go grab a few tissues for you.”

“No, no. I’ll survive,” I said, waving away her concern. “Besides, it’s late. I don’t want to impose. And don’t you have an early start tomorrow morning?”

She reluctantly nodded and unbuckled her seat belt. “Well, I thank you for your 5-star service then. Good night, Leah. Drive safe.” Felicia opened the car door and stepped out. About midway to the door, as I put my car back into gear, she hurried back towards my car. I winded down the window. “If it’s any consolation, I was cheering you on in those last few moments. Damien needed to be toppled and I was hoping you’d do it tonight. Perhaps next time, eh?”

I grinned up at her. “You bet. I’ve a secret weapon next games night that King Damien won’t see coming. Soon, Felicia. Soon. The title of King Gamer will be mine!”

Felicia straightened and barked out a laugh. “Sometimes I don’t know if you’re serious or if you’re just psyching yourself up,” she said, wiping away a tear from her eye. “Well, if it’s Munchkin or Catan that gets picked, I’ll talk to the others. See if we can’t forge an alliance to help pave your way to victory.”

“I’ll look forward to it. That and maybe some compensation if my nose truly is broken.”

“You’re such a baby, Leah.”

“Says the woman that struck it with her forehead that’s as hard as a bag of rocks.”

She leaned in through the window and kissed me on the tip of my nose. “There. Better?”

For a moment, I sat there; stunned. Had Felicia just…?

Before I could mount a response, she had vanished back up the path to her door. With a cheeky grin, she waved at me before slipping through the entranceway and shutting the door.

Light in the Darkmess

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

When I first bought my Nintendo Switch all those years ago, one of the very first games I played was a little known title called Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Who would have guessed that Mario characters – wielding guns no less – mixed with the crazy and rambunctious Rabbids from the Rayman series coupled with XCOM inspired gameplay would prove to be such a potent combination? I, for one, instantly fell in love with the game. And when Sparks of Hope was announced, I noted its release date down in my calendar, eager to give it a spin when it was finally out. 

But what makes the connection so perfect was that, just like all those years ago, after trading in my old Nintendo console for something new, I was ready to have a Mario + Rabbids game take my new console out on its maiden voyage. Yes, that’s right. I got myself a new Switch OLED. 

Now, I know you may be asking if I needed a new Switch OLED, and the answer is no. But with the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet inspiration for it, how could I say ‘no’ to a work of art? But back to the actual game in question.

Unlike my previous games, Sparks of Hope was a breath of fresh air from gritty realism. Far from the full browns and grey, it was a game infused with vibrant eye-popping colour. Better yet, it also contained a plot that didn’t take itself too seriously.

Following the events of the previous game and the battle with the Megabug, Mario and friends are enjoying a day out at Peach’s castle when suddenly, they are attacked by a Manta, infused with Darkmess. Once they defeat the enemy, rescuing Rabbid Peach along the way, they learn of the threat to the wider Mario universe: Cursa. With a handy spaceship already on hand, Mario and friends jet out into space to rescue the Sparks (a combination of Lumas and Rabbids) and put a stop to Cursa’s nefarious plans.

Such a simple and easy setup, yet it works so well in the context of the world. There’s no moping or indecision on the side of the protagonists. They just jump in, feet first, ready to help. Or, as happened during the exploration of one of the worlds, jumped several thousand metres from a flying ship into a raging maelstrom.

As can be expected in games such as this, the plot is fairly simple. Mario and his gang of friends, including their Rabbid counterparts, journey from planet to planet, fighting the Darkmess as they ultimately make their way to Cursa. There’s not much in the way of shock plot twists except, perhaps, the reveal that Edge had been the leader of the Spark Hunters created by Cursa.

Along the way, Mario and friends befriend the guardians of each planet and help the denizens with restoring peace and order to their worlds. While most of the additional content are simple side missions that pad out one’s time with the game, my favourite sidequest was the romance between a dryad and a lumberjack on the planet, Palette Prime. What enticed me was that though the two had differing views on the cutting down of trees (and what might have been considered commentary on climate change), the two were able, after some help from Mario and friends, to arrive at a common ground. The lumber that the lumberjack would use would be trees that were already dead or dying while the new sprouts would be left alone. 

Unlike many sequels that would simply rest on their laurels, Sparks of Hope brought with it a lot of changes to the tried and true formula of the first game. While many of these were quality of life improvements, such as the flexibility in character movements where they could dash and jump with certain impunity across the ground, there were also changes to skillsets of many of the characters. 

This opened up new ways to play the game, allowing much more variety in the teams brought into each battle. My favourite tactic, of course, was whittling away at an enemy’s health with a lot of the movement attacks (which didn’t use action points) and then destroying everyone up close and personal with the Dukes from Rabbid Mario.

Occasionally, I’d use Luigi, with his sniper’s steely stare to destroy enemies from halfway across the field. Or, I’d have Rabbid Luigi hit multiple targets with his frisbee.

Sparks of Hope also introduced three new playable characters. Enter: Rabbid Rosalina, Edge and Bowser! One is the epitome of every teenager told to do chores. The second is a ‘too cool for school’ type and, of course, the last is an enemy turned reluctant ally. If ever there was a chance for an enemies to lovers story between the Mario gang and Bowser, this game is it!

And yes, I know people have jumped onto the Bowuigi train already following on from the trailer of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but well, to add to everyone’s collective headcanons regarding their relationship, did you know that there’s a sidequest in Sparks of Hope where Bowser and Luigi team up?! No? You didn’t? Well, now you have it! You’re welcome!

Diversion aside, these new characters bring with them new ways to fight against the corrupted Rabbids under Cursa’s control. Rabbid Rosalina had the ability to bring about ennui in enemies, making them unable to move, shoot or use techniques. Her primary attack is with a gun shaped like a Luma plushie, acting almost like a machine gun with its rapid fire. More importantly, it helped add to the aesthetic Rabbid Rosalina was going for. And honestly, that’s probably the most important thing.

Edge, on the other hand, was almost a parody of skilled swordsman in many a turn-based strategy game. With hair colour that was a combination of black and green, she evoked the heroes of years past. You know the ones: gruff and stoic, looks cool? I mean, it’s in her very name! Edge! If you add a ‘lord’ to it, you basically see where they were going with it.

As for Bowser, well, the king of the kappas was always keen for an explosive entrance in my playthrough. His stomps and the bazooka he wielded were excellent at targeting groups of enemies, even if the damage he inflicted was fairly subpar compared to the other characters. Still, as I soon learned in Sparks of Hope, crowd control was a very important skill to have on many a map.

Combined with the revamped Mario and friends, the additions made for versatile team combinations depending on the objective. Better, they were all very fun to play with. Especially without the worry of permanent death of a beloved character should they be knocked out in battle. Plus, there were also ample ways to heal up each character after a scrap. True, some might prefer a hard-as-nails strategy game, but with these colourful characters from a beloved IP? Are you insane?

It needs to be accessible and fun! Not frustrating.

In this, Sparks of Hope succeeds. Though there were the occasional tough battles, most of the game was pretty forgiving. And with the ability to adjust difficulty, I’m sure it would as a perfect entry point for those that are curious about the genre as well as appease a few of the strategy-game purists on the internet. Especially since it doesn’t have too complex a setup or unfair difficulty spikes.

On the other hand, I did feel Sparks of Hope faltered a little when it came to memorable bosses (Hello, Phantom?). Still, they managed to keep them challenging and were also able to match the bosses with the unique themes of each world that Mario and the gang stopped at in their quest to save the universe and put a stop to the evil Cursa.

Oh, and before I forget, let me just regale everyone with how excellent the music is in Sparks of Hope. From the minds of three GREAT composers comes the soundtrack to this second entry of tactical strategy Mario games: Grant Kirkhope, Yoko Shimomura and Gareth Coker!

For those that don’t know, Gareth Coker is the composer behind all of the beautiful pieces in Ori and the Blind Forest. Grant Kirkhope on the other hand, has been known for many pieces behind classic Nintendo games. As for Yoko Shimomura, well, there’s no need for an introduction here on my blog. As a fan of Kingdom Hearts, Yoko Shimomura has been a huge part of my gaming journey. And the pieces that she composes are absolute FIRE!

Overall, Sparks of Hope was just the game that I needed after playing through the emotionally taxing A Plague Tale: Requiem and the political masterpiece that was The DioField Chronicle. Colourful, cheery with a plot that needed little brainpower to understand (even if the puzzles did), was just the palate cleanser I needed before I tackled the very serious Dad simulator that is God of War: Ragnarok. Beyond that, it’s a good game that brings a lot to the table, even if it didn’t quite blow my mind as the first game: Kingdom Battle did with its unique take on the world of Mario.

Ice, Ice Baby

On By kyndarisLeave a comment

Dear readers, after years of not going anywhere for fear of catching COVID and only doing the most sedentary of activities with friends, I was seized by the sudden and inexplicable, although still very understandable, impetus to go ice-skating. Who wouldn’t? In fact, I even organised a Facebook event for my friends where we would go out into the wilds of a shopping centre and do activities that were more akin to what we did in our early 20s or fresh out of university.

To Shrek, I sent what he most probably presumed was an odd message. Especially since it was a little out of the blue. “Can you ice skate?”

He replied shortly later with an affirmation, followed by a questioning why. And so, taking the plunge, I went forward with my plan to enjoy some time of the ice and not some other tiresome second date activity. 

To his merit, Shrek agreed. And, over the course of a few days, the date was planned for an outing to Macquarie Shopping Centre – the only shopping centre in Sydney that also harbours an ice rink within its walls.

We arrived fairly early at the rink. Yet, although Shrek advised he’d arrived minutes earlier than I did, when I ventured to the entrance, he was nowhere to be seen. Wondering if he had already entered, I ducked inside before he messaged me his location and I greeted him outside in that awkward fashion most people do when they’re still testing the waters. With that out of the way, we went in, bought our tickets and slipped on our skates before stepping out onto the ice. 

Almost immediately, it was clear that there was a vast gulf in skill levels between us. Despite not having skated in three years, a few minutes on the ice had me showing off by skating backwards. Shrek, on the other hand, stacked it. Twice.

But he simply got back up again. Like a trooper. And kept skating. Even though he was flat-footed AND he had just done legs the day before at the gym.

It wasn’t long, however, before he was limping on the ice. Well, limping isn’t quite the right word because ice skating is all about gliding on thin blades attached to the plastic boot that’s been strapped to your foot. But it was clear that he couldn’t keep at it. Not for long, anyways. And so, Shrek retreated to the sidelines to nurse his cramp and watch as I carved up the ice (to a degree) on my lonesome. Although, I did stop many a time at the wall to keep him engaged so he didn’t feel too left out.

Was it a trial by fire like he said? Perhaps. But it should be noted down in the record that that hadn’t been my intention. I had been fuelled by fleeting scenes of couples holding hands as they circled the rink over and over and over again. It was supposed to be, for lack of another word, romantic.

After I had exhausted myself on the ice, we enjoyed lunch at one of the many restaurants in the centre and even had some dessert too. Why? Well, we’re adults and if we want to enjoy ourselves, who’s to stop us? 

No one! That’s who?

Hey! What are you doing? Why are you taking away my brownie? No! You can’t stop me from eating something unhealthy, mother! I’m not a child anymore! I’m a GROWN-UP. And I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. 

Yes, yes, fine, I’ll start dieting again. But please, please, please just let me have this cheat day. Okay? Please?

Ah, right, where was I? The date.

Just like our first date, we chatted about the inane topics – keeping it light. Shrek told me more about his sister and a little bit of his faith. We even geeked out a little about European and Middle-Eastern architecture and the influences across cultures. It was the first time that I’d found myself smiling so openly during one of these ‘dates.’

Shrek was just easy to talk to and it didn’t feel like there were too many conditions. I even started to think that even if this attempt at a romantic entanglement didn’t shake out, we might still end up as good friends. And in this day and age, when friendships are so few and far between, making a new one is all the more important.

When our stomachs were full, Shrek even took the lead to do some shopping as he wanted to get a basketball and shoot hoops with his father in a bonding activity. That small titbit of information warmed my heart as I remembered days of playing with my own father when I was younger.

So, down to the Kmart we went.

Along the way, we got distracted by a HobbyCo next to the Kmart on the ground floor and we ducked inside to take a gander. While there were boardgames and Gundams aplenty, what caught my eye was the chess set that was on display. As Shrek browsed, I took the opportunity to set up a few opening moves until he joined me and we played a round of chess.

To say that Shrek is an unorthodox player is a bit of an understatement. He surprised from almost the very first move and our game became a chase where I kept his king almost always in check before checkmating him on the H border.

Was he intimidated by my ruthless killer instinct on the chess field? Who knows.

Did he have fun? Well, you’d have to ask him.

Did I have fun? Why, yes. It’s always enticing when you can dominate your partner in almost all things with surprising flexes. Go for the jugular, I say! Let them know it! 

You are the one that wears the pants! Not them! 

And these skills don’t often up in general conversation. Especially when the right questions don’t get asked.

So, anyone up for some, you know, light bondage? I’ll grab the ropes and the whip. And as my good pet, you’ll sit there and take it. Won’t you?

Anyways, once the basketball was bought, I also took the opportunity to grab two screen protectors (one was merely for insurance) for my new Switch OLED as the one that I had bought earlier in preparation for the console had cracked when I attempted to push out the air the night before.

Honestly! So much for tempered glass! You were meant to hold my weight! Not crumble under the slightest pressure!

And so ended my second date with Shrek.

When compared to all my other dates, Shrek does indeed to be the top contender. He makes me laugh, seems engaged in conversation and isn’t afraid to be a bit vulnerable. When it comes to making decisions, he doesn’t appear if he minds if he takes the lead or allows me to do so.

Does that mean he’s the one for me? I can’t say for sure. I’m not someone that feels a sudden spark and in conversations with a few of my friends that have married has also indicated a sharp prevalence of this within our social group. Although some might argue that familiarity breeds contempt, in my situation, familiarity brings with it ‘inside’ jokes and an easy rapport that could weather any storm.

A strong foundation needs to be laid before a house can be built. The same could be said of relationships too. For what good is jumping in feet first when you don’t know how deep the pool is? I know I’m mixing a lot of metaphors here but this whole idea of pursuing a romantic connection is still a new experience to me.

Sure, I’ve been accused of crushing on individuals back in school, but the more I think on it, it has almost never been that way. I’ve had good friends and sometimes I have thought that they might be good companions to be with in the future, but I don’t think I’ve ever fallen head over hills in love with anyone. Not yet, anyways.

But the more pressing question, of course, is whether he seems me as a fit for him? Even now, I’m not entirely sure how he feels about me. What if he doesn’t like me? What if he only sees a mousy Asian woman and who has a tired and exhausting personality that matches her lazy outward appearance?

Still, relationships go both ways and open communication is key. Just because I like someone or if someone likes me doesn’t always mean it’s reciprocal. And if that’s the case, well, I suppose that’s that. The other person doesn’t owe you gratitude or love or romance. Nor should you expect it in turn. 

Does it hurt? Kind of. But the important thing is putting oneself out there and seeing what comes. At least, that’s the advice I’ve seen from many a television show, books and from people I know.

They can’t all be wrong. Can they? CAN THEY?!