And another multipurpose post
Phew, finally, I finished the Rio mission fic yesterday in time for the QuoteMe challenge at Section VII. I'd started that fic late February--things and term papers and general distractions waylaid me from completing it until now; it wasn't supposed to be for the QuoteMe challenge, but as I neared the posting date for the challenge, I began to put it together more and it ended up fitting, so... yeah. Hopefully the next installment in that saga won't take as long--though I'm currently working on an amnesiac Napoleon fic for a different comm challenge at the end of the month--and I need to finish the DW/MFU crossover by June 10. And the Hogan's Heroes annual short story contest is up and running with the deadline of the 4th, so... Yeah. Part 3 of the Baron Saga might be a bit delayed, heh...
(gif by Kelsey; thank you much!)
In other news, I've been playing through more of Kid Icarus: Uprising, and it's everything that I hoped it would be and more! I just finished Chapter 9 (out of 23 chapters, I believe), and Hades has just shown up, so there's going to be trouble ahoy... But aside from the fun gameplay (which is a hybrid of Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Zelda in playstyle), the amazing graphics (seriously, I can't believe this is a handheld--and it was released pretty early in the 3DS's run, too), and the engaging storyline, it's Pit's devotion to Palutena that really has me squeeing. The Undying Loyalty trope is one of my favorites ever (that's evident to anyone who reads any of my stories, I'm sure), and Pit and Palutena demonstrate that marvelously--in spite of Palutena's teasing and their mutual banter, Pit would do anything for her, and she goes out of her way to keep him safe while he's on missions for her. And in Chapter 9, when Medusa tries to get Pit's faith in Palutena to waver by taunting that Palutena may be devious and untrustworthy (as Greek gods and goddesses were sometimes--Palutena is meant to be Parthena/Athena, who was known for cursing people into monsters, and Palutena has done so more than once--Medusa, for one, both in actual Greek legend and in the game series, albeit for different reasons--in the original myth, it was because Medusa desecrated her temple, in the game it was because Medusa was terrorizing humans, so the game makes her a bit less petty), and Pit just yells at Medusa to shut up, pointing out that Medusa is the one hurting people while Palutena tries to protect them. He just won't hear anyone falsely accusing Palutena, just like Illya won't hear of anyone falsely accusing Napoleon.
The other interesting/amusing thing about the Kid Icarus series is that it appears to be set in the modern day, with the implication being that the Greek gods and goddesses have been continuing to do their thing for centuries, even if they were more or less forgotten by the mortals--Palutena expressly says "Back in the '80s..." at one point, and it explains how Pit was using explosives in this game and credit cards in the first game (LOL). And it also explains how Pit knows and adores Mario (which is really adorable to see) and has a rivalry with Link.
And speaking of Link, I've been alternating my Kid Icarus playing with dungeons from Link's Awakening. I did have to peek at a guide at one point, but for the most part, not only do I remember enough to play without a guide, but I even remembered my shortcut in the seventh dungeon that shaves off literally half the time and prevents you from seeking out an extra key. I'm on the final dungeon now; hopefully I remember that just as well!
But, yes, I'm definitely enamored with Kid Icarus--pity there aren't many games in the series--the first NES game (which I have via the Virtual Console), the Game Boy prequel (which I don't have and don't know if I will get it; Mr. Sakurai seems to have tossed it out of the timeline altogether as Uprising makes no mention of its events), and Uprising itself. People have been asking for another Kid Icarus game and, hopefully, now that Smash 4 is done, Mr. Sakurai might consider another game in the series.
And, lastly, the NCIS season has wrapped up, and Ducky has survived! Not all of the other characters were that lucky, but at least Ducky was; hopefully we'll know for certain soon about how much longer he will be with the show. I am concerned that we'll have to say goodbye to Ducky eventually if David wants to retire (which he apparently was hinting at in an interview from late last year?). Still, I don't have to worry about that for a while now!
(gif by Kelsey; thank you much!)
In other news, I've been playing through more of Kid Icarus: Uprising, and it's everything that I hoped it would be and more! I just finished Chapter 9 (out of 23 chapters, I believe), and Hades has just shown up, so there's going to be trouble ahoy... But aside from the fun gameplay (which is a hybrid of Kingdom Hearts and Legend of Zelda in playstyle), the amazing graphics (seriously, I can't believe this is a handheld--and it was released pretty early in the 3DS's run, too), and the engaging storyline, it's Pit's devotion to Palutena that really has me squeeing. The Undying Loyalty trope is one of my favorites ever (that's evident to anyone who reads any of my stories, I'm sure), and Pit and Palutena demonstrate that marvelously--in spite of Palutena's teasing and their mutual banter, Pit would do anything for her, and she goes out of her way to keep him safe while he's on missions for her. And in Chapter 9, when Medusa tries to get Pit's faith in Palutena to waver by taunting that Palutena may be devious and untrustworthy (as Greek gods and goddesses were sometimes--Palutena is meant to be Parthena/Athena, who was known for cursing people into monsters, and Palutena has done so more than once--Medusa, for one, both in actual Greek legend and in the game series, albeit for different reasons--in the original myth, it was because Medusa desecrated her temple, in the game it was because Medusa was terrorizing humans, so the game makes her a bit less petty), and Pit just yells at Medusa to shut up, pointing out that Medusa is the one hurting people while Palutena tries to protect them. He just won't hear anyone falsely accusing Palutena, just like Illya won't hear of anyone falsely accusing Napoleon.
The other interesting/amusing thing about the Kid Icarus series is that it appears to be set in the modern day, with the implication being that the Greek gods and goddesses have been continuing to do their thing for centuries, even if they were more or less forgotten by the mortals--Palutena expressly says "Back in the '80s..." at one point, and it explains how Pit was using explosives in this game and credit cards in the first game (LOL). And it also explains how Pit knows and adores Mario (which is really adorable to see) and has a rivalry with Link.
And speaking of Link, I've been alternating my Kid Icarus playing with dungeons from Link's Awakening. I did have to peek at a guide at one point, but for the most part, not only do I remember enough to play without a guide, but I even remembered my shortcut in the seventh dungeon that shaves off literally half the time and prevents you from seeking out an extra key. I'm on the final dungeon now; hopefully I remember that just as well!
But, yes, I'm definitely enamored with Kid Icarus--pity there aren't many games in the series--the first NES game (which I have via the Virtual Console), the Game Boy prequel (which I don't have and don't know if I will get it; Mr. Sakurai seems to have tossed it out of the timeline altogether as Uprising makes no mention of its events), and Uprising itself. People have been asking for another Kid Icarus game and, hopefully, now that Smash 4 is done, Mr. Sakurai might consider another game in the series.
And, lastly, the NCIS season has wrapped up, and Ducky has survived! Not all of the other characters were that lucky, but at least Ducky was; hopefully we'll know for certain soon about how much longer he will be with the show. I am concerned that we'll have to say goodbye to Ducky eventually if David wants to retire (which he apparently was hinting at in an interview from late last year?). Still, I don't have to worry about that for a while now!