The Winter Court of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

Does anyone use Fire tablets, and type on them? I have the most horrible time typing on mine. I turned off Autocorrect, but I'm still having weird problems. It spaces after opening quotation marks, tries to make new paragraphs start with lower-case letters, and if I type a word wrong and go back to fix the typo, it will split the word in half at the point where I'm fixing it. Does anyone else have this problem? It is absolutely maddening! I did a little research and learned that some people having typing issues with Fires, but the described problems don't sound anything like mine. I wonder if it's a browser problem, but I can't see anything to even change the settings of the Silk browser.

And fic-wise, I've been pondering on what human Duel Monsters the Big Five might be able to portray, like if I ever did a fic where they ended up thrust into the game body and soul (or if I wanted to do some fun drawing exercises, like I did with the bikers years ago). Lector would probably be great as the White Magical Hat, and maybe Nesbitt as Cyber Commander (albeit I would remove the face plate so it wouldn't be covering half his face), but I can't think of anything for the others. Possibly contemplated Johnson playing Chow Len the Prophet.... I did have a cracky idea of Crump possibly put in as a human version of Nightmare Penguin, and his reaction is basically, "Seriously?!" But I'd rather find a human Duel Monster character.

Also keep pondering on doing a story with them in Capsule Monsters, and in the arc there's five trials to test one's intelligence and skills, and it would be interesting if there was a test for each of them in the fic, something specifically tailored to them and their personalities that they would have to pass. Not sure what said tests would be like, though, or what they would test....

So I just saw a Tweet KB Toys made several months ago saying "We were always better than Toys R Us anyway." Boo! Never! **hugs Toys R Us.**

I did get to see Geoffrey's Toy Box, and I'm over the moon to have seen any piece of Toys R Us existing! I took pictures of the logo. I did see some stuff I would like, and some other stuff that was sold-out that I'd like to see too, such as a telescope. Mine has always worked funny. Maybe one by a Toys R Us brand would work better. I'm hoping they'll restock, or that another branch will have the out-of-stock stuff.

I also bought a Wreck-It Ralph plushie at The Disney Store. I wanted him when I saw him on my prior shopping trip, but I thought I'd see if I could find a bigger plushie for the same price somewhere else. I couldn't, and when I returned to Disney, that one looked pretty big to me. And he even has real clothes, not just clothes-shaped fabric pieces sewn on! All the attention to detail made me feel the price was worth it (he was $20). So, I got him. It's been fun cuddling with him, although it's not so easy when laying down. My plushies made with the blank plushie bases seem to be ideal for cuddling while laying down, amusingly enough.

I'm having a lot of trouble with the DVD player on the desktop computer. Things pixelate, my Odd Couple discs will rarely play right, and I often have to restart to play more than one disc of anything. I either want to buy a DVD player for my TV or get an external CD drive for my laptop. I'd prefer the latter. Except now I'm wondering if buying one that's around $18 would give me the same trouble as if I tried buying a regular DVD player for that price. I'd be looking at horrible quality if I did that. But if I have to pay $40 for a decent external drive, I'd rather pay $35 for a regular DVD player like the one we have in the living room now.

Duel Links is finally giving us another unlockable DM character, Tristan! He's unlocked if you beat Zorc in this latest incarnation of the Monster World RPG. Manga Yami Bakura has trapped Tristan's soul in a game piece. Free him and you can play as him in the regular Duel Links game! I'm at Area 12 and he's unlockable after passing Area 20. And since I play as Yami Bakura, it makes for an odd situation and reminds me of the plunnie of Manga Yami Bakura getting loose in my anime verse and causing trouble. I consider that in Duel Links, I play my post-series anime verse Yami Bakura, so he's traveling with Tristan while the Manga Yami Bakura is presiding over their torment. I may have to write a blurb, although I think in it, Tristan's soul isn't trapped, but he and Yami Bakura are simply trapped in a life-size Monster World game.

Meanwhile, my current YGO fic has taken various odd twists and turns. The Big Four got back to their bodies thanks to Yami Marik, they've decided they don't want anything to happen to Lector, and Khu is free now as well and wants to kill Lector for possessing him to keep him from killing Mokuba. Of course, this will lead up to hurt/comfort and angsty situations in the climax, with the Big Four trying to protect Lector and all being caught in a blast from Khu's staff. This Khu is more of a loose cannon than the old timeline Khu, but he's still very cunning, cruel, and sadistic. Of course, now that we know P. Seto is a good guy, unlike years ago, Khu has taken on the desire for power while P. Seto is the rational brother. And since they're half-brothers in this verse, Khu's motivation is fury at Ahknadin for deserting his mother and for focusing on P. Seto when Khu wanted power and P. Seto didn't. Khu now wants to prove himself a worthy son to Ahknadin, which will creep the Big Five out when they realize. Deja vu much?

I've rewatched the Big Five episodes so much for fic research, by now I'm really figuring out the various intricacies of the characters. I also watched most of the Lector and Seto duel in Japanese and decided I prefer Lector in the dub. He's angry at Seto's apparent heartlessness in both versions, but he's more emotional in the dub and more devoted to justice. The Japanese version is rather coldly businesslike for the most part. I also had more of a sense that Lector might care about Mokuba in the dub. I also prefer the Seto duel over the Merger duel. If Lector was interested in justice to begin with, I think losing to Seto made him snap, as he seems much more concerned with just getting out of the VR world any way he can after he loses to Seto. He's much more interesting in the Seto duel.

I definitely like how they all seem to be trying to find ways to all get out, instead of being "every man for himself!" They did squabble over bodies in one episode, and yet they all figured they'd each have one. It's kind of refreshing to see antagonists who aren't trying to backstab each other any time they can. I've been noticing how well they work as a team and how they really only have little spats that aren't serious and are likely quickly forgotten. Of course, that makes me want to think they could really care about each other. I was already exploring that concept in the second fic of this trilogy, where they're all shaken by Khu trapping Lector in the darkness once it looks like Lector's been killed and assimilated into it. Them still being shaken over that is partly why they're so determined to protect Lector from Khu in this fic. They know that they do care about Lector, even though now Lector is tired of revenge schemes and wants to try doing something else. I'm planning that they will all decide to try to move on eventually, and they will stay together and embark on a new venture together (maybe making Crump's wildlife preserve/penguin theme park). After sharing so much together, they realize they all want to keep being together. Crump especially considers them his family, since he came from a very dysfunctional family and was introduced to very different interactions when he met the rest of the Big Five.

I also wanted to work with a random angsty blurb where Mokuba and Lector are caught in an explosion and Mokuba wakes up to find Lector seems to be dead. Mokuba is badly shaken, especially since Lector was trying to protect him. Mokuba tries to revive him but cannot. Seto finds Mokuba later and tries to comfort him. Then it decided it wanted to be a fic and not just a blurb and that I should show how the Big Four react to this. Nesbitt impulsively runs off seeking revenge on whoever set the explosion. Of course, Lector will be okay, but probably not before a lot of chaos happens. I won't be focusing a lot on writing this until my multi-chapter is done, and maybe I won't even have the courage to post it if or when it's done, like I'm still having trouble deciding to post that fic about Yami Bakura being swallowed up by the darkness.

I remember I used to occasionally encounter people (usually kids) who liked Lector. I think my reaction to any member of the Big Five being liked was approximately "..." But of course, it figures that eventually I would be sucked in too, since Lector is one intriguing antagonist during his duel with Seto. I am always fascinated by antagonists who seem to be seeking justice for some real or imagined wrongdoing.

I also decided to try making a Lector plush to see if I could do it. I had two plushie bases here, although they were earmarked for other characters. I can replace one easy enough, and considering I had fabric markers to color a plushie tan, plus I had left-over brown fake fur from my Baxter plush that looked like it would be just enough for the hair, I wanted to jump right in and see what would happen. Well, it's been interesting. Especially constructing the hair in the back, as I had to use many little scraps to fill in places. But I don't think it looks too bad, and tonight I got material for clothes. Instead of a business suit, I wanted to make that awesome trenchcoat he wears at the beginning of the Seto duel (or something approximating it, more likely), and I decided that under it he's wearing black pants and a black shirt. I plan to make the fedora too, but Walmart was out of purple felt tonight (and most other colors). WTH.

(I think I'd better always have at least one plushie base on hand from now on, and maybe certain supplies that could be used for multiple characters, like the brown fabric markers and certain hair materials, so I can start plushie projects any time I feel like it. I really want to make pretty much every YGO character eventually. I think right now, plushie-making is my second favorite creative expression, right behind writing.)

I want to draw a picture of Lector standing under a lamppost in the trenchcoat and fedora too. Haven't got to that yet. Maybe I'll try it after I post this.

Seriously, this is not something I planned on happening. I suppose that's the case for any sudden obsession, though. I wouldn't actually say I'm crushing on Lector, but he fascinates me enough to do all this, and from past experience I know it's very likely I could end up crushing on him.

Mama Mia....

I am not kidding. Last night we started hearing weird noises. At first it sounded like someone going up and down stairs, but no one was there to do that (unless it was one of the ghosts Mom and I know hang out here). A little later, more odd sounds. The house makes lots of odd sounds all the time, and has been doing it even more the last couple of months, so I didn't pay a great deal of attention ... although when it kept happening I got more suspicious. Then I went into the kitchen and heard a distinctive crash of something metal. I thought either a cat was locked in the garage or that maybe I'd forgot to lock the door and a creep was in there. I turned on the light ... and saw the attic was caving in. Dad's been trying to fix up the basement and apparently he stored too much stuff up there. Gah. It looked sturdy, but it apparently wasn't as sturdy as it seemed. I had to wake him up and he didn't believe me at first, but then I got him to go look and he saw I was right. He had to hurry out there and find stuff to try to brace it so it wouldn't get worse. I had him turn off the electricity in the garage today, so that if it tears free and takes out an electric cord hooking up a lightbulb attached to a beam right over the mess, there won't be the potential of the cord breaking and starting a fire. He's hoping to get some people to help him tomorrow with a truck and getting beams from Home Depot to try to fix this mess before it gets even worse. He said it wasn't as bad as it looked and that it was one little section falling in, but honestly, it looks to me like the whole thing is strained and could all come down at any time. I hope he's right that the beams still standing are strong enough to hold it all up with the assistance of the braces.

Man, I'm sure glad no one was in the attic when that happened. Or in the garage. Some of the boxes fell through the floor and hit the garage floor, and more are poised to do that if something doesn't hold in the bracing.

Ugggh. My Ginger and Lou webcomic was originally created to document house problems large and small. I feel like I should try to make a comic out of this mess. Maybe turning it into something to laugh at will help. Hearing the weird noises, dismissing them, and then finding the attic caving in would work. I don't know if I'll keep it that it's happening in their house, though. I don't want to break their house. I might have it be something weird happening at a bed and breakfast they're staying at or something.

One thing that was certainly a comfort amid all the madness was the awesome package I got yesterday from ThickerThanLove! Squeeee. She surprised me with a ton of Sailor Moon CDs, a couple of the old TokyoPop comics (one from R arc and one from S arc), a charm necklace, and two YGO DVDs! It was incredible! So much awesomeness. She said she was sending a little something, and I sure never expected anything like that!

I also had some nice conversations in the nighttime and into the morning. I was talking to JP when the attic caved in and was exclaiming to him about it. I've also been renewing an old friendship and it's been wonderful.

I did end up buying those magnets, by the way, and they arrived on Thursday. So much awesomeness there, too! The seller was only missing a few out of the 100 set, and almost everything there had doubles. I have two Yami Bakura magnets, one regular and one shiny, and the same for Seto! And many cute Yugi ones, and some awesome Atem ones, and there's also Joey and Mai. And Pegasus. I need to contact the friends I know who like Pegasus and ask if they'd like my Pegasus doubles....

I wish the Japanese PVC figures weren't so expensive I can't afford them, because they're so awesome! I would like to have them all, but I would especially like the previously mentioned Yami Bakura one, of course, and also both Marik and Yami Marik. The Yamis I don't have in figure form at all, and even though I have the Mattel Marik figures, this one is in a class by himself! If I ever could get them (which I never could), I'd probably display Yami Marik with the freaky face option he comes with so I could get a good laugh, LOL. As horrifying as the faces are, they also amuse me in a "WTH, you are seriously messed up" kind of way. Mom commented on what it would be like to wake up with that looking at you every day. LOL.

We also have dental appointments this week. I'm really hoping that will work out even with this attic mess, because I've needed to see about a tooth that's been bothering me for ages. We go to my brother dentists, and the nearest one practices about an hour away, and it's been difficult getting up there. I'll have to miss the activity with the church girls this week, most likely, but I think I need to jump on the chance to finally be able to see about the tooth.

I can't deny I'm also hoping that while I'm up there, I'll be able to both get to at least one Toys R Us and also see about my smartphone or tablet problem at Target (maybe). I wore out every possibility of getting Duel Links to work now, including Android emulators. The only way anything will work here is if I install it on a device Dad uses frequently, as those are the only ones with current operating systems. I really don't want to do that and I don't think he would like it too much either. I want to have the freedom of having it on a device of my own, so I can do whatever I want with it. The phone just doesn't seem to be working out; it doesn't have enough free space because of all the bloatware. I'm concerned to get it and try it because of that. It's a ZTE Maven 3, and the reviews for it are pretty frightening. I'm now leaning instead towards getting a Fire tablet. Google Play Store can be installed on it (I've read about and seen demonstrations of how) and people have been playing Duel Links on it and say it works beautifully. Plus, my poor tablet really is getting on and I think I need a more recent tablet anyway to handle some other stuff that isn't working on the old tablet anymore. Even if I could get the Maven 3 phone to work, I think a tablet would be a better choice in the long run. Fire tablet is about the only tablet I can afford that has good reviews. And even at that, it's a strain right now. I need a Target gift card from one of my survey companies to really hope to make it work. I have enough, but the last few points haven't processed yet. Hoping they will in time....

Then Toys R Us.... I don't think it's really sunk in yet that they're all going. I knew that would probably happen once they filed for bankruptcy, but I still hoped. And there's a businessman right now who's trying to get enough money to save 400 of the stores. I don't think he's going to make it, but he and the people able to donate are sure trying. His fundraiser goes through Memorial Day. http://www.gofundme.com/helpsavetoysrus/

Anyway, with that slim hope, I keep wanting to believe they really won't all shut down. But I know they likely will, and regardless, I want to get to the liquidation sales before everything good is gone. So much of the good stuff flew out of K-Mart so fast, like the Pony stuff and the Miraculous Ladybug figures at the nearest branch. I would like to go to both the Toys R Us up in the approximate area of the dentist and also the one closest to us, but definitely at least one of them. And I suppose I'll need to prepare to break down crying when I really see everything going. It was hard enough with K-Mart and Borders. (Not so hard with Media Play, because then they just changed ownership and names and the store basically stayed the same, with 85% of the same contents.) I love Toys R Us much more.

One thing I do know: I'm pretty sure that I do not want to see any Toys R Us on the last days it's open. It was too hard and too wrong seeing that with K-Mart especially.

And I don't think I've ever mentioned how much I love the Evanescence song Imperfection and why. Of course, what really frustrates me about it is the unnecessary F word. I always liked that Evanescence didn't swear in their songs, and then they go and do it in a really beautiful one, one of the only recent songs of theirs that's really stood out to me. I went through the lyrics of the songs I hadn't heard from their vinyl compilation album as well as Synthesis (neither of which I even knew about until recently) and Imperfection was one of the only ones I really liked. Luckily for me, I found a clean version someone put up that I can play on Repeat while I'm learning the song myself. I can mostly sing it now. (And needless to say, yes, I'm singing it clean.)

Just on its own merits, I think the message of the song is quite powerful. And then for me, I can relate it to my current YGO verse and that makes me love it more.

To elaborate: I picture it during a fight between good and evil, perhaps THE fight that's started looming over everybody since my verse began with The Pendulum Swings. Yami Bakura has always struggled with trying to be good, since he's lived most of his life in hate. Shadi has warned him if he fails, the Infinity Ring will abandon him and he will be burned alive and fall to the shadows. No pressure. (**sarcasm.**) But Bakura insists he can do it, and that he will always be there to help him. He also insists that Yami Bakura is good, despite Yami Bakura's insistence to the contrary. The song, to me, is Bakura trying to buoy him up, encourage him that he can do this, and that he isn't alone. And also, that Bakura loves him just as he is, that even in spite of the embarrassment of him eating like a wild animal and him still getting a kick out of teasing people by scaring them (albeit more harmlessly now), Bakura could never and would never replace him.

My version, then, with two slightly tweaked words, goes like this:

The more you try to fight it
The more you try to hide it
The more infected, rejected, you feel alone inside it
You know you can't deny it
The world gets a little more screwed up everyday

I'm gonna save you from it
Together we'll outrun it
Just don't give into the fear
So many things I would've told you
If I knew that I was never gonna see you again

I wanna lift you up into the light that you deserve
I wanna take your pain into myself so you won't hurt

Don't you dare surrender
Don't leave me here without you
'Cause I could never
Replace your perfect imperfection

The way you look us over
Your counterfeit composure
Pushing again and again and sinking lower and lower
The world is on our shoulders
Do you really know the weight of the words you say?

You want a little of it
You just can't let go of it
You've got an ego to feed
Too late to rise above it
Don't look now but the little boy's got a grenade

I'm gonna lift you up into the light you deserve
I'm gonna take you down to the real world so you can watch it burn

Don't you dare surrender
Don't leave me here without you
'Cause I would never
Replace your perfect imperfection

We stand undefined
Can't be drawn with a straight line
This will not be our ending
We are alive, we are alive

Don't you dare surrender
Don't leave me here without you
'Cause I would never
Replace your perfect imperfection

Don't you dare surrender
I'm still right beside you
And I would never
Replace your perfect imperfection

And then alternately, strictly thinking of canon, I've also pictured the song as Rishid to Marik as Marik's trying to fight against Yami Marik. I like that interpretation too, but I do find myself partial to the Bakura and Yami Bakura version in my fic verse.

Ugggh. This has been a day when so many things go wrong and very few things go right. About the only thing going right was getting to spend some time with my local friend. That was fun. The horrible insomnia beforehand wasn't fun. Neither was fighting with the computer for hours because apparently Flash and all its other Adobe products were so out of date they were messing things up and they hadn't bothered to tell me they needed updating long ago. When they get like that, it takes an hour or more to update when it should only take 10 minutes.

And I believe I mentioned everyone getting interested in Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I was the only one in the household who wasn't thrilled by the prospect of the characters getting romantically involved. I know how that sort of thing usually changes the whole show, ruins characters and relationships, and can totally fall short of people's expectations.

Season 4 started strong and was just a mess by the end. Of course, the female lead's near-absence from most of the final episodes was most likely because the actress was fighting breast cancer at the time, so a lot of that can be forgiven ... although I think they should have just gone on hiatus until she was well enough to be in the episodes as a main character again and not just as a walk-on role in her own show. Of course, maybe that wasn't an option. They were probably being pressured to get the season finished. Ratings had already dropped and they gambled with the marriage thing to try to pick them up. But the episodes with very little of Amanda right after the wedding probably went the rest of the way in killing the show. There's only one episode after the wedding where she even has much of a part. And the very last aired episode had them having marriage problems and Lee really being kind of a jerk to her (6 pages of quirks he didn't like about her?!) until the end of the episode.

I'm used to keynote episodes being lame, and the marriage episode was really lame. I expected them to be on a case for most of it, as they were, but I'd expected a better case. It was so pathetic. And then the honeymoon had Amanda critically shot and that was the first of the episodes that didn't have her much. I hate having someone badly hurt on a special occasion to begin with, and then not having them in the show much because of it, or even afterwards, makes it so much worse.

One thing we loved about the show was that it was pretty clean. Season 4 had many innuendos with unmarried characters, both the leads and other characters. That was another thing I was afraid would happen once romance was brought into it.

I also think Francine was usually shafted by the writers in all seasons. There was the issue of how sad she felt that Lee wasn't as interested in spending time with her anymore, even as a friend, which made me really feel for her and relate to her. In some ways, I think Francine was the real underdog of the series, and I tend to root for underdogs. (Of course, I rooted for Amanda too, but I really feel sad for how the writers treated Francine. Amanda, on the other hand, usually got a good break.) Then Francine was the trained agent, but it seemed like she was always getting in trouble and unable to get herself out of it, whereas Amanda was able to figure out how to get out of it despite having no training. That would be okay a time or two, but the way it was set up, Francine just came off looking incompetent a lot. I was glad that at least one of the last episodes showed her being a resourceful agent and pulling some Jim West level tricks to get out of a locked crate. The episode also revealed some of her backstory, how her dad pushed her to compete in a man's world and she felt she had no choice, which was both interesting and sad. She also seemed to have some longing for romance. Early episodes seemed to show she liked being an agent, though, without much interest in settling down and with an apparent dislike of kids. I rather prefer that version of the character (even though I don't dislike kids).

It was also frustrating how Francine seemed to go back and forth on characterization. Season 1 had her being rather passive-aggressive to Amanda, season 2 had her being nicer, than seasons 3 and 4 had her being nastier again, especially in 3. In 4 she was nice again sometimes.

It was neat seeing Amanda progress from being a civilian worker to actually having a job as a trained agent. But I have to admit, I think a lot of the charm in the show came from her housewife skills coming in handy on cases, rather than her just being another agent with a gun. One of the most priceless exchanges was in an early episode, when Francine complimented her on some wild driving and she said it came from taking her kids to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. ROTFLOL.

Ultimately, I miss the show when things were at a friendship level. I think season 2 was when it was at its best. I didn't like the cheeky, cute approach of the show four years ago, but I warmed up to it and now I miss the classic episodes when there was friendship stuff going on and there were plots like Amanda being given a weird, mind-altering drug or a hitwoman having plastic surgery to look just like Amanda. I had all seasons on my Amazon list, but I think I'll remove season 3 since that's when things started getting mushy. We watched it all from Netflix and there are very few episodes there that I'd like to rewatch. On the other hand, I want season 2 more now than ever, not just for the Luke episode but because that was the show's high point. I might also like season 1. Lee was kind of standoffish in season 1, though. Season 2 was just perfection.

I'm worried Mom won't even want to watch the episodes we haven't seen of 1 and 2, though, or rewatch the classics from 2, because she's so frustrated by how 4 spiraled downhill. I don't think that should make us hate the part of the show that was good, but she tends to feel that if a show ends bad, what's the point of seeing any of it. I can feel that way too, depending on the show. In this case, I see no reason why I have to accept all the seasons into my headcanon. I'd rather just think of the first two seasons as canon and then it splits into two different paths and the path in my mind probably stays closer to season 2. And if they ever do get romantically involved, the show wouldn't lose the charm that made it so special in the first place.

I feel sad for Mom getting so disappointed, especially since she was so excited when Dad presented season 4 as an anniversary present. But honestly, if she wants a good show with a married team of crime-solvers, Hart to Hart is way better at handling that angle (most of the time). She loves that show too. I wish I could have found out things about season 4 of Scarecrow beforehand, like Amanda not being in her own show much after the wedding. There weren't user reviews of those episodes on IMDB, I don't think. Maybe I should have read the reviews on season 4 on Amazon, if there were any. Maybe they wouldn't have helped, but maybe they would have. Mom might have still wanted to see 4 anyway, but at least if we could have been prepared for those lame twists, it wouldn't have been such a let-down for her.

In lighter viewing news, I finally got hold of a copy of the third Pokemon movie from the library, as well as the later Lucario film. I loved them both and want to own them. I especially loved that Team Rocket really didn't do anything villainous in either film, they helped save Ash in the third film (and obviously just didn't want him dead, in spite of Jessie's excuse about why they saved him), and that Meowth saved Pikachu and didn't think once about stealing Mew in the Lucario film. He just seemed sad most of the time and like he wanted to go back to Jessie and James. And it was heartbreaking when he thought they were dead.

I never watch episodes in order if I can help it, and on the last time I was able to catch a couple of episodes, for some reason I decided I wanted to see the last Orange Islands episode and see how Johto was set up. I ended up supremely sad to think of that arc coming to an end. For some reason, the Orange Islands seems to be my favorite Pokemon season. Part of it is probably my love of the second movie. And Team Rocket (especially James) getting some chances to shine in episodes. But that's not all it is. For some reason, the whole area and the way the arc is set up fascinates me. I can't explain why, especially since I don't even like tropical locations that much. But it's my favorite, even above season 1 in some ways. (Although I still have those special season 1 episodes I love as major favorites too.) I'm glad I don't watch episodes in order so there's still a few Orange Islands episodes I haven't seen yet. I think, though, that for my next viewing session, I may want to settle in with Pokemon and Turtles episodes I already know I love, especially when it's been such a bummer day for the most part.

Yesterday I struggled with a scene in my multi-chapter fic for a long time and finally accepted that I needed to write my oneshot fic about the starfish Pokemon before posting any of the bigger fic. Some references just wouldn't make sense otherwise. I knew it wouldn't take long to write, and indeed, it was done in less than 90 minutes. I had a horrible time actually posting it, which was another frustration, but I finally got it up. Maybe later today I'll start posting the bigger fic.

I also worked some on the Turtles fic. I can write about the Pokemon characters, but I don't really click with them as I do the 87 Turtles crew, writing-wise, and it felt so good to get back to Baxter and Barney.

It's interesting how the two shows have some similar humor, though. Both are fond of breaking the fourth wall. Both are light and silly and usually have fairly happy endings.

YGO is really the deeper show between it and Pokemon, and it's certainly better on characterization, but it's interesting how Pokemon has the depth of real animals while YGO is just cards (except in certain circumstances, of course). I will always love YGO better, but I think Pokemon's lighter nature is more in line with how tired I am of dark things right now.