For those that got one?.... why not~ it's L.E.N.N.Y
Love,
Empathy,
(and)
Not
Necessarily
Yiff

as for stories.. I have some in the works.. sadly complications came up in my personal life, but those have been resolved. I still intend fully to continue writing stories, and for my current story, the 4th in the first raffle set, I am happy to announce that once I finish his story, I will give him another one of his choice but that will come after the second set. I have kept too many people waiting way to long.. it's almost wrapped a whole year now, and granted, I set that up pre-maturely because I wanted to get things settled before hand, I never anticipated things to take this long.. a lot has happened, not all bad thank goodness, but.. I won't give any dates~ Take things as they come please <3

 Risenpaw Just hit his 350 watcher count~ which believe me, I know must be a great feeling. I love seeing the growth of an artist over time and I truly believe that he has great potential and that his growth over the past year has been great looking back through his submissions.

So to celebrate, he has opened a poll to anyone wanting to put in their vote, watcher or not, for three different sets of images that follow a theme~ Here is the journal article where you can find the three options to choose from, and the one with the highest vote by next Friday will win, so we have about a week~!

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8569012/

options are:
1. R-18 comic of Risen's characters, Temper the Typh and Blade the Dewott.(8 pages)
2. R-18 doujin manga of Buizel x Archen from PSMD(12 pages)
3. A lewd magazine of Risen. (just lewd pics of Risen with some texts in it. X3)

IF you are not already watching, please be sure you do so that you may be able to see which of the three options will win, and then of course see the results of it~ I am personally excited for all three options but myself voted for the Buizel and Archen comic as the Buizel and Archen are from the Super Mystery Dungeon game and heavily need their ship to be complete~

Please go and show your support for this wonderful artist~

I have a really good friend,  NeoArcadianX And you can see for yourself his work~ Honestly, I think he undersells some of his art, so what better time than the Christmas to take advantage of this offer~! It's simple:

Full Bodies are $10
portraits are $5
+5 for extra character and +$2 for color (no shading)

example: A 3 character portrait will cost $15 or $17 in color
A 2 character full body will cost the same amount as well~

I personally think that this is a really good deal~ and it helps a friend out~ of course you can get something of just your character alone for super cheap, in case the holidays have you a bit strict on your budget.

All that is asked that no really super complex characters, robots, or creepy characters are asked for. Does not have to be really simple, but no over the top character designs~
Also, SFW only. It's a time to get sweet~

If anyone has any questions, note him in his FA or go to his stream and give him a whisper and he will talk it out with you~
https://picarto.tv/NeoArcadianX

Well.. this has been an eventful month, full of ups and downs, but right to the point. I have one month to get to college, and you know what that means. BUM RUSH!!!.............. naa.. not yet. I need to calm down from all the hype and get back to the harsh reality. Note: I am not super sad, and definitely not depressed, but still, here is where I have been for the past month.

College: Biggest news out of the way. I got a scholarship.. a new one starting this year that few knew about.. it gives me 2 year of free tuition in a community college and a guaranteed transfer to a college of MY CHOICE, so long as I keep getting good grades. of 231 people who applied, only 10 got selected.. and I am lucky enough to be one of those 10 ^-^.

Birthday: Like the title suggested, today is my birthday~.. and the reason that I don't put it as the biggest thing is because I did not get the word out there like I wanted too before. A combination of exhaustion and general feeling bad for the past few weeks made me feel this way. Sorry for those that would have liked to know in the past.. and if any of you are thinking of getting me a gift or something, please, really REALLY think hard before you do so.. Gifts are iffy with me.. I understand that some watch me for a reason, and I don't dispute the fact that I think my writings are good. I think they are~ <3 heck, I am approaching my 200 watcher mark, and it grows every time I write a story.. but seriously. I don't expect anything.. but if you feel you must, whether it be because you personally know me, or something else.. please make it a small gift, or at least if it is going to be something along the lines of a picture, let it be one that I can use as a thumbnail for a story of mine.. fan art of stories would make me overjoyed, but again, really think about if you want to spend YOUR money on me.. especially if I do not personally know you, and besides, my B-Day passed.. in one hour of making this journal. :P

car: I got one :D and that is about it. How did I not get one before for college? I rode a bike *puts on sunglasses*

and now.. the reason I got so much grief.. to save the TL;DRs out there, here is where the

BAD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (is)

So.. my method of storing my documents that I write my stories on (google docs) was run by a high school account that I had for years, and found that I kept my first year of college.. cool......... well it just closed.. no warning or anything, but the account closed. I can no longer access it. It took me a while to realize, but after I checked my computer's personal files and documents and on my 2 flash drives.. I found that all progress I made on my latest story, Barnyard Troubles, was instantly, literally overnight gone one day.. I was almost done with it too.... and for artists that know the feeling of drawing a picture only for the power to go out or for your stupid Window's 10 to do an automatic update (FK you Windows 10) without saving a nearly completed pic.. it just kills you inside.. I have not written anything for 2 weeks now.. But I know I need it done.

Azil31 I am so sorry.. I know you have been waiting for a long while, but I only want to give you the best story I can. Especially after that wonderful gift you gave me around 3 months ago.. I really want to give it my all. The good news is, the skeleton is made, and remaking the story should not be hard at all, but the thing is.. I have to remake it.. an I know I wrote things already.. I worry I may rush or try to get to a certain part faster. I am a firm believer that the first copy is always the best one, and that edits make it better. I mean.. what would happen if Shakespeare scrapped an entire play to rewrite it, do you think it would be better, the same, or worse having to rewrite everything while making sure you don't miss the smallest detail so that everything had the same, if not better, impact. That is my main worry as a writer.. and the main cause of my sadness. But I know I must move on. It is not fair to Azil31, it is not fair to the second set of raffle winners. Though these may be free raffle stories, I should not get lack luster with this. I need to stay efficient and determined.

Why I made this journal.. an update.. and a way to get me back in action. They story should not take long. I appreciate all your patience, and I hope that you all like what is to come in the near future.

---

BUT FOR FUNZIES

as stated above, near 200 watchers... wow.. I am sure my next story can get me to that number, and once it reaches that, there will be a straw poll for a 5th story after the second set of raffle winners. but for now ASK ME A QUESTION! any question at all. Pokemon related, general life related, opinions and suggestions (but personal bias toward pokemon questions but still) Anything you want to ask me, please put in the description, and ask as many as you want, please <3 It makes me happy to answer questions, and I want to see what people want to know about me~ heck, a question can be "Red or Blue?" (red~) I am excited to see what your questions are~ (also, please don't be offended if I politely tell you that I would not like to answer a question that gets a bit too personal, but I don't think anyone will seriously go that far without doing it on purpose)

This is an update Journal to those who have been waiting for something from me. As most may also be experiencing if you go to College (as well as those few who may be "18 in High School" taking AP courses :V) I have also experienced these, but now that they have come to a close, I have much more time to put my mind toward my stories.

As for the slight depression bit, most of it was caused by some worry that you guys may be waiting and waiting for my next story or for another post, especially those currently waiting for their stories and the winners of the second raffle set. I apologize if any of you have been inconvenienced by this, but I assure you, I am getting the ball rolling again <3

And finally, Breaking my writer's block. I got a strong start again from helping  Totodice1 With completing a story for our friend  Vee4eva as it was his birthday a few days ago. I wrote over 4000 words in that one day. Once I was finished, I was baffled.. and now I have the inspiration to begin writing again. It has been such a huge turn for me.. and I hope it does not die any time soon. If people are curious as too what story I am referring to, it can be found here. Please do favorite the story if you like the story and accompanying picture. The picture was done by  Blitzdrachin Whom I have already praised many times before for being such a wonderful artist.

Picture and story: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/23678713/

Lastly, I would like to post the lyrics of a song I just recently heard again after a very long time. It comes from one of my favorite childhood games, and though it may be a bit of an obscure title, those that have played and remember the game may shed a tear from hearing it again. Call it nostalgia, but hearing the music and taking in the lyrics makes the memory big enough to make me feel like my entire body is glowing from the joy this song brings me. Even if you have not heard it, by the time you get to the middle of the song, past the first two verses, the refrain will tug at least some of your heartstrings. Of course, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if everyone liked the same thing, then we would have no opinions. But I truly believe this song from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is one that lifts the spirit and softens the soul. Call it "Sound of the Wind" as it is called in the OST if you wish, but I will always call it by its unofficial name: Morning Sky

Dreaming of the stars on high
That speak to me in secret sighs.
Drifting on a breeze
Only I can feel and hear.

--

Could it be the sacred wind,
That's calling me to now begin?
To walk into the dark,
Carrying the light of tomorrow?

Beating of the wings up high,
Beyond the earth, beyond the sky.
Come now, don't hesitate.
Don't look back we got to go now.
Don't fear, you'll be safe from now on,
Morning sky watching over all~

Deep inside so silently my heart will speak
Weeping silently
Memories flickering and shimmering on
Endlessly.

--

Keeping close to the path,
Morning sky watching over all~

Moving on the endless mountains up so high.
Walk into the light.
Your heart will see the path and you will find the way~
Just wait and see~~
Moving on the endless sky up so high.
Tomorrow,
We'll follow any route, your promise is today,
Just wait and see~

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q6ygqCwTIo

(Note: The Lyrics in the Video here are kinda wrong in places, I believe, you can judge yourself, but I believe mine are correct <3 Please enjoy and be inspired)

Thank you all for reading

List Randomizer

There were 30 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

11
8
20
16
5
3
7
25
24
6
14
19
29
2
1
22
21
30
4
26
12
17
10
18
23
9
27
15
13
28
IP: 204.126.10.226
Timestamp: 2017-04-18 11:25:05 UTC
(These numbers were retrieved from random.org using their "list" tool. I leave the time stamp and IP here for those that wish to verify the legitimacy of these results. I don't know how to do that, but I assume the IP is for this purpose.)

As said in the last journal, the first four numbers will be the winners, so without further ado, here are your 4 winners in order:

#11:  farellfoxx Drowzee male x Miltank female
#8:  blitzdrachin Grovyle x Celebi from the Pokemon Mystery dungeon games
#20:  ReezyTheGarchomp Garchomp male x Haxorus male
#16:  Asbel_Lhant Drowzee male x Quilava male

Congratulations to these four! I will be noting them individually later in the day to make sure they are aware that they know they won and to let them know what they can start doing concerning their story and plot.. and concerning #8.. guess I gotta replay Pokemon Sky on my WiiU ^w^ Need to get familiar with those two and how they interact.... it has been a while.

---

Now I did mention something of a 5th story. I will be doing one, but I need to get some things situated. I want to really give myself to a very select few amout of people who have been there for me through some hard times. Zen, Toto, SMN, Phos, Terry, Koma.. A lot of people that have helped me through tragic loss and hard times. I want to give back to them all at some point in some way. A lot of these people that helped me are in this raffle in fact, mainly because I made sure they knew about it myself.

I want to give them a second chance, but not really with a raffle.. that would be a bit too unfair to everyone.. What I would think I would like to do is ask each of them again what they want for a pairing and I will list them on another journal in the future and hold a straw poll for everyone to reply on for which story they want to happen.

I know that it may seem unfair to those I will not ask, but this is something I really just want to do. I am still trying to build up from stuff, but because of these people, I was able to work myself back up again. Could I just write a story for any of them at any time I wanted? Yes, Of course. But I want to include your opinions as well. Not saying I won't write a story for the people that the general public does not choose, just who you guys would like for me to write first...

It is hard to say what I mean to say. It is early in the morning and I am kinda also focusing on a lecture at the same time as writing this ^w^;; Not a good combo. But I did say that I would get the results but this morning at the latest.

---

I hope that everyone loves the results, and to those that did not win, do not distress~ I will run more in the future and with more watchers, I plan to make bigger raffles with more winners. And like the suggestion above, there will be events where everyone will be involved.

Thank you all so much. These were all wonderful ideas, and hay~ now I got a reason to do M/F stories ^w^ (Ish bi, not gay~ tho male pref slightly. It really just depended on the person I found <3)

Thank you, and have a wonderful life
-Ray

Below is the list of people along with their respective number(s) and pairing:

#1:  vee4eva (Arcanine male/ Garchomp male)
#2:  Phosaggro (Aggron male [Phos possibly]/ Mudsdale male)
#3:  Asteyr (Grovyle male/ Croconaw male)
#4:  Le_Skarmory (Skarmory [Le]/ Heliolisk [Ray])
#5:  LogenPikachu (Ampharos [Amphy]/ Heliolisk [Ray])
#6:  draggysharky (Flygon male/ Marowak male)
#7:  totodice1 (Meganium male/ Salazzle male)
#8:  blitzdrachin (Grovyle/Celebi [Mystery Dungeon: EoT/D/S])
#9:  LeRandonGuy123 (Rockruff male/ Poochyena male)
#10:  ExplosiveCrate (Furret [OC]/ Serperior female)
#11:  farellfoxx (Drowzee male/ Miltank female)
#12:  Akamura (Lopunny male [mega included]/ Purugly male)
#13:  HalouDoval (Pidgeotto male/ Lairon male) [OC in mind]
#14:  Syrilth (Charizard male/ Dragonite male)
#15:  anthrosaurfan123 (Gengar male/ Scrafty male)
#16:  Asbel_Lhant (Drowzee male/ Quilava male)
#17:  Noble_Kira (Lucario male/ Zoroarc male)
#18:  Wolven-Sokolov :Noivern [Wolv]/ Charizard male [Mega X included])
#19:  Tazila21 (Zekrom [ask]/ Heliolisk [ask])
#20:  ReezyTheGarchomp (Garchomp male/ Haxorus male)
#21:  HexxAcorn (Buizel male/ Dewott male)
#22:  monroethelizard (Feraligatr male/ Groupon male)
#23:  Mr_Komo (Salazzle female/ Aggron male)
#24:  ToruToraToro (Kammo-o male/ Druddigon male)
#25:  AdolescentAuthor (Weavile male/ Goodra male)

Bonus (from posting journals promoting this raffle)

#26:  vee4eva
#27:  LogenPikachu
#28:  Totodice1
#29:  farellfoxx
#30:  HalouDoval

(I will be double checking to make sure I did not miss anybody and to make sure there are no errors)

So, 4 of those 30 numbers will be chosen~ no repeats/ double winners.. that is about a 5-8% chance of winning if you want to be optimistic about it~ instead of the flat 1/25, because that number would be if there was just one winner :p and ya, the numbers don't add up when you think about it, but hay, statistics is a strange thing to analyse ^w^;;

But here is how it works. I either run a single random number generator to get 4 different winners, or I run a full 30 number generator and look at the first 4 numbers listed.. I think I will run the latter so that I can show those people who say I "rig" this >w> What do you have to say now, huh~!

JkJk. I love all of these ideas, and while I will not lie, I do have ones I really like, I don't like rigging anything. This is for the people that watch me, and so I wish everyone the best of luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor~

Winners will be posted within 4 hours, or tomorrow morning~ I have to work on a play for a while, and setting this list up.. took a bit longer than I would like to admit ^w^;;

EDIT: Oh! I almost forgot! There will be a 5th story, but I have to contemplate how I want to handle it~ So keep in touch with me so you can listen out for it.. you don't have to watch, but it would be the best way. If not, then make sure you have someone that is so they can tell you.

This 5th story can also involve others who did not make the raffle as well. It will be something like a straw poll me thinks~

And one more thing to keep in mind. I have one half of a story and one more after that I can quickly finish before starting these, so for the first place winner, I will ask for you to think hard about what you want your plot to be and a small amount of patience~

Thank each and every one of you, and to quote one of my favorite Youtubers that just loves his speed runs, "Have a wonderful life"

Even though there was a small surge of suggestions near the end of the past few days due to my recent journal stating that the suggestion window will close soon, I think that most everyone that wants to participate has already done so. But just in case, and to give me something else to point to (this being technically the 4th notice at least) The raffle suggestion window will close at 5:00 pm (17:00) EST which if you look at the time of this journal, will be just about 10 hours from now. Get your requests in, and remember, if you want to change your pairings, you are allowed to do that. Just change before I run the numbers. If you win and then want to change your pairing when I get to you, I will not accept that. I would not be fair to others, so make sure that you are completely 100% A-OK with your suggestions.

And again, Thank each and every one of you that has put up a suggestion and helped out in some way. I really like each and every idea that was put in there, and even saw some great emotion and enthusiasm behind some suggestions, and that will definately help for when I want to write a story. I have already gotten messages that regardless of the outcome, that people are excited to see what I can make for a final product, and the best part is that I am making 4. I still plan to do a little something extra so keep your eyes peeled for that. It may not be today or this week, but what I will say is that I am planning a 5th story.

Be sure to keep track of my journals so that I can keep you all updated. And once again, thank you~

-Ray 'Lisk

I have a free story raffle going on here:

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/8161915/

Suggestions will close either Monday or Tuesday depending on some factors, so to be safe, today would be the BEST day to get your ideas in. Also, After the posting of this journal, any new journals made supporting this raffle will not count toward the bonus. This avoids people who waited till this point to get their chances of winning to be higher by waiting till it would be too late to matter. The bonus is not meant to be something to be used for people who wants a second number, it is to support me and spread the word to people who may be interested. The point where the word would be spread has passed.

Thank you to all of those lovely people who did spread the word in the intended manor~ My thanks to you shows next to no bounds <3

I will make another journal when the suggestion window closes, telling who has what numbers, and then I will run the randomizer~

Thank you to everyone to wanted to take part in this. It is really fun for me in general, and I am so happy to see so much creativity in this community.

Has it really been about 9 months since my first announcement for a free raffle.. gee I took a while, but anyway, 5 stories later, I am back at it, and ready to hit the road running~ So for those new watchers, and those that have been with me from the beginning, here we go again ^w^

I like to write stories, and because of this, I like to make people happy by writing stories about characters they like and through a scenerio they choose. So, I have set up this raffle, and I will keep it the same as last time with the number of winners. 4 people~ But I do plan to do something extra. I found that my second story: "Krook in a Bandit's Den" Was really fun for me to write, mostly because it was a story idea that I had and got interested in. So in addition to those 4 people who win the raffle, everyone will also get a say in a 5th story that I will make out of 3 different ideas. These three story ideas will come out later today in a seperate journal so that they will not interfere with this journal.

The rules of the raffle will stay the same mostly from my last raffle: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7696175/

(Please be sure that you do not post your replies in that journal, I will only accept responses to this journal)

For a quick rundown, this is how the raffle will work:

I will write 4 one shot stories, each consisting of 2 main Pokemon suggested by the winners below.

Anyone can enter, and you don't have to "watch" me (however, it is advised, mainly so that once I make more journals about the raffle and other topics of interest, such as when I set up another raffle, it can't hurt you, it only helps~)

Once I decide to close the raffle for suggestions, numbers will be given to people down the list of accepted suggestions and I will run a randomized that selects a number from one to the n number of people

Each person will set up their suggestion in a simple format of:
--
Character #1 (Primary character) and gender
Character #2 (Secondary character) and gender
--

Nothing else other than this please~ If you win, I will ask for specifics and then go on from there. The stories will be written in order of who won based on which numbers came up on the random # generator first to last.

Again, I highly suggest that you read the first journal posted above all of this so that you get a really good idea of how this will work, I did not but everything here, just the basics. But now, you can all post your suggestions. And the bonus will still apply.

BONUS: If you make a journal spreading the word about this raffle, you will be given an extra number into the system. I will need to see a link to this journal in your suggestion post, and I will check regularly to make sure the journal does not get deleted at all through to the end of the raffle.

When the suggestion opportunity closes, I will show who has what numbers and then the following day or later the day I do that, I will run the RNG and present the winners in a seperate journal along with their pairings and what order the stories will be done like before.

---

So in short: Make a suggestion of 2 pokemon, list their genders along with them, if you would like spread the word with your own journal to double your chances of winning, and have a good time ^w^

(Note: I am somewhat tired and sleepy while writing this, so please excuse any grammatical errors or anything I may have missed. If you have a question concerning anything, please put it at the bottom of your suggestion and I will address it ASAP)

Thank you to everyone who will become involved in this. I am off to finish  Hexxacorn 's story, and getting started on  azil31 's story.  Galaxia22 's story is also still in the middle of it's works and is just about complete as well~ really it is all coming up and expect to see 3 new stories very soon.

So part two is officially completed, unchecked, but completed. Now all that is left to do is the third where some sexy stuff will happen and  Hexxacorn 's story will be completed. So for those that knows what this means by following my past journals, this means that I am ready to set up my next raffle. Key words being SET UP. I will be leaving the raffle up for a good while so that people will have enough time to get the word out, and for those that do spread the word, you will be getting a small boost like the last raffle.

I plan to be doing things a bit differently.. getting over 100 watchers is a bit flattering, but I understand that it does lower the chances of each individual winning, so I want to try something different with the formula done with the last raffle, with most of the rules staying the same for the most part concerning the suggested pokemon, and everyone will have a chance to win the initial, as well as a little something extra if I can put it together correctly.

So when will this new raffle be set up?...

Try tomorrow :P get your brains working people~

Note: I will need to finish at least one story after this current one before starting any of the stories from this new raffle, so for that person, don't worry. You come first <3

---

Original rules could be found here to get a base idea: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7696175/

My next story is still in the works, but I am getting close to the point where I can actually say "Hay, I am ready to post this". I have informed the winner of the raffle about this, and though he has not at the moment replied, I hope that he will soon. In the meantime, I want to hear your guys' opinion about how I should handle the posting of this story. Like the last story I posted here, this story is most likely going to be too long to put in the post discription, so if I were to put it in one post, then the only way to read it would be to download the Word file.

Honestly, that does not sound like too much trouble to me. It is just a word file, and nothing should be wrong with that, but I make a habit of putting the story into a discription just in case some people like it that way more than just downloading a file. So here is the deal, I can either:

A) Post the entire story in one post with just the word file and a short discription of the story in the discription that most do, meaning the only way to read it would be downloading the file.

Or

B) Post the story into 3 seperate parts. The story is divided internally already to take place at three different times and events for purposes of character development and natural story progression. This would allow me to make three seperate Word files and allow me enough space in the discription to post the story there in three seperate posts.

However I think it is worth mentioning that I would like to avoid the latter. It would make it look like I am favoring one story over another by giving it special treatment that I did not think to give to my previous story, and the only benefit to it would be catering to those that either can't (or the more likely case: won't) download the Word doc.

I have asked the one whose story this is for, and if he does reply, his decision is final over mine and anyone else's in this matter, but as a writer, my audience should have a say in how I should present my material so that it is more convient to them.

So please, tell me how you think I should handle this situation, and I will look at what you all think and make a decision based on that, unless the raffle winner replies soon enough.

---

Thank you for your time reading this journal. I would make a seperate journal for this topic as well, but I don't want to pull too much attention away from it. I want to let you all know that I officially have another raffle set up and planned with the rules of it written down on a document. It is just a matter of posting it when I want to, so for those watchers, new and old, keep your eyes out. I will be doing some more writing for some lucky lucky winners~

Once again, thank you for your time and patience.

(Also, sorry for any grammar mistakes. It is in the morning a few days after we jumped the clock forward an hour, and that hour is really messing with my sleep schedual =w= I will make it though~)

This is the first of what I hope to be many journals that I will write giving my thoughts toward certain topics, and this one is based on by a question posed by  monroethelizard and he asks:

"Is education valuable in itself, or does the value lie in what someone does with their education?"

So first, let's take a look at education in general. I don't know about most of the people who are reading my journals, but I live in the US of A. Virginia to be exact, and though I have not learned much about how other countries work their education, this is how America handles it:

Each child is required to go to school up until a certain point (Not quite sure what that point is, but let's say they do not have to go to college) and they have two choices depending on the parents' choice, private school or public school, and this lasts from pre-education/ Kindergarten all the way through to the 12th grade (end of high school). Public school tends to have some lower quality attributes, but mostly not that bad and is paid for by the government funds they get through taxes. Private schools are not funded by the government and instead get their money through tuition payments made by the parents directly, which means that they need better quality than public schools to make sure that the students keep going to them. (Topic that I may mention later, one of the problems in this country are the complaints that parents give when they still have to pay some tax funds that go to a public school when their child attends private school, but that may be for a later topic.)

I have had the pleasure of going to both private and public schools. First going from pre school to 3rd in public school, then switching to private school all through 8th grade (end of middle school) and then moving back into public school to attend an academy that school offered. The differences are apparent, and while yes, private schools are more strict and well balanced, you still have your bullies and teachers you don't get along with, and there tends to be more work, but it is for a greater product (also, not just bullies, but because of what kind of school it is, there are now rich snobby kids too [uugggggghh])

But anyway, the education that you can learn at either of these schools can become either very valuable to you or not valuable at all in the long run. Of all classes, 4 are absolutely required: Math, Science, English/ literature, and Social studies/ history. These four core fields tend to be main keys to split from to grow in more knowledge if a student wishes to learn more on it in high school. An example could be that with your knowledge in math (at this point if you are putting effort toward it, you are taking core classes of Algebra II, Pre-Calc, AP Calculus BC) then you can also take classes like Statistics as a side coarse. With Science, you can take Chemistry as a core course but then also take Organic and Biochem.

There are a lot of things that your education can give you, and the value of knowledge itself is a very powerful thing, but the thing is that once you set yourself on doing a certain profession, certain subjects and areas of knowledge become obsolete, unneeded. If someone were to become an engineer, he or she won't need to know who was killed to start the First World War (archduke Franz Ferdinand). The only time that this knowledge could be considered helpful is in an intellectual discussion or in Jeopardy (the TV show). Granted, intellectual discussions are very nice, so long as it is done properly, but in the long scheme of things, we have all eventually forgotten a lot of what we learned in the past.

That is not to say that what we have forgotten was not important though. I like to think of knowledge as a "potential". The more you know, the more potential you have to be able to do a wide variety of things. I plan to become a nuclear engineer for the military, but if that does not work out, I can be a civil or aerospace engineer. If not engineering, I could definately try to become a physics teacher because these are things I have learned to do and qualify myself in through my education.

In all, everything you learn in school usually always has a real world application other than passing the next test, quiz, or exam. Sure classes in your early years may be set on a wide variety of topics, but once you enter your later stages in education, you are given the opportunity to do classes that focus on certain fields, and this can extend into college where literally almost all of your classes are chosen by you to fit what you need to get your professional degree. It is what you want to work toward that is important, and so to answer the question above in my own opinion:

It is more important in the application and practical use of the knowledge learned in school. While the knowledge itself is very helpful and powerful, it will need to be used for a purpose in the first place in order for its power to be realized. Education can be poor or great however, depending on where you go to school, so this opinion can be altered based on experiences. Another thing to note is that I can learn how to work a programming language, and then eventually become a hacker and criminal in the process. I believe that personally, the education did not cause this, the person did. Education is a tool, and it is up to the person on how to use it, and there I will bring up the word "potential" again. Just like my opinions on guns, they are tools. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Education and knowledge is a tool. How will you use it? That is what is most important to me.

---

How did you guys like it? What are your thoughts? Please leave your opinion on the topic in the comments below (goodness I sound like I am on YouTube =w= ) and if you would like to suggest your own idea for a topic you would like me to give my opinion on or anything else, please also leave a comment on it and I will respond. This is really really fun to me and I greatly enjoy sharing my thoughts on the internet (because nobody will attack me for that right.. r-right?)

Thank you all for reading~

(Edit: also, sorry for any typos. This was not done on a computer per say, but I think I did well on it~ most likely will see lower case "i"s or some minor misspellings or autocorrect errors, but the base message should be easy to see)

My last journal actually garnered a lot of attention, way more than what I ever thought I would get, and seeing how I am about to approach 100 watchers, I think that it would be a neat little thing if I did more journals based on topics that you guys would like to see. Kinda think of this as a "you tell me what you would like me to talk about" sort of thing. Kinda like the Q&A I have in another journal (that is still open for anyone to ask any question, srsly) but for general topics.

Not sure how well this would work, but hay, like I said in the last one, if I don't do anything, then nothing will get done. Gotta try right~?

So please, go ahead and tell me what you would like to talk about in general. It can be about RL things, suggestions, what I would do's, or even things that pertain to a set of things.. it's hard to explain, but basically, if you want me to talk about anything, here would be the place to ask me ^w^ If this gets a lot of attention, then the way I plan to do this is taking one topic/ suggestion/ question at a time and then doing a separate journal for each one. If this does not get much attention (like I think it may) Then I can just redirect you guys to a Q&A and we can leave it at that~

So if you want to suggest something, go ahead and leave a comment. I check this cite almost regularly every moment I am awake~ I await to see what possible topics you guys come up with

Seriously... Read everything.. if you look away or stop reading, it only proves my point.

Let's talk about opinions.. "Oh no! You mean that thing that if I talk about, I am ridiculed by half the internet!? That's suicide man!"

But completely serious here. Fuck political correctness, screw the heavy feminists, the PC Master Race and Console Wars, Trump v Hillary, and for the main topic of this Journal: Artist v Style. I have had enough, I am doing a journal on opinions because I have had to deal with this for over a YEAR now, and on top of others who I try my best to keep on track with their depression, having to deal with my own personal school work, stories, and the death of two of my best friends, I am not holding back any more.. I may be broken by the end of this, but if this is going to do anything, I don't care anymore

Those of you who know me will know that I am level headed and kind, considerate, if a bit stern. I try to be. I grew up under a hard knock southern family household, learned to keep my mouth shut, smile, grin and bear it, while also helping and standing for others that I believe in. Such could be found on the oath I made near the bottom of my user page description. But now, I am going to step outside of the box, and oh boy, do I rarely do that.

Opinions are NOT facts. Something you all have heard of before, right? Then why the hell do a good few of you not follow it? I am not saying that any one particular person here does it, but people do this.. a lot more than we would like to admit. And the worst part is that it is natural, like breathing, for us to want to make others believe in what we believe. It provides a sense of unity and lets you know that there are others who agree with you, giving you a comforting and safe feeling. It is also why we feel offended and threatened when someone denies our opinions or flat out calls an opinion "false" (which I will get into later). We feel attacked, left out, vulnerable, and frankly insulted, and ya that's what happens. But we all need to remember once again that opinions are not fact.

Why do I bring this up? It is not common from what I see (and I could be just missing it a lot of the time) But some special set of people in this community apparently think that because they think that a person's art style is bad, that it is their duty to make sure that others think that too. It happened to  Dreiker on e621 about half to 3/4 ths of a year ago, and it is happening to someone else I know now. Not going to name any names, because frankly I am friends with one of the people who are doing the offensive side of things, and if that person is reading this right now, you know who you are, and I don't mean to attack you through this, but something needs to be said.

Why do artists do things the way they do things? Because each person is different. Style is something unique to each person because we each have our own unique method of getting things done. Sure, multiple people may follow the same path of getting things done, but there is not going to be one set of foot prints on that track if you catch my drift. It is fine to say that you disagree with a certain style, or that you think that an artist could be better, but this needs to be done when speaking one to one with another person or group, or if stated in public, it must be accompanied by the words "I think" or "in my opinion". The moment you say something like "His art style is not good" or "His style has become worse over the years" Are two of the most common statements I see, and it only does 3 things. It makes you look like an ass, it makes others feel bad if they in fact do like the style, and it heavily insults the artist.

Another thing. You can not, under any circumstances, say to another person that their opinion is wrong, unless the subject is fact based. But guess what, preference is not fact based, it IS an opinion.

Why do people do this? It baffles me. If someone does not like an artist's style, then black list them or just ignore it or something.. nobody is "forcing" you to look at their art, and if someone brings it up, they are definitely not doing it to spite you.. for god's sake, the world is not out to get anybody here, and that is just concerning opinions in general.

Sorry about the rant.. And I may have been a bit illogical about this entire rant, and yes, I do think of this as a rant, and I apologize about this. It is just that a lot has been happening to me recently, and I have been beating myself up over and over again for not being able to handle things, getting the stories done, and balancing everything that I need to do.. but priorities are priorities, and I know I can deal with them.

Just, whoever you are, and this is in general: Have thick skin. The world is always going to have someone who is going to hate someone. That is why there will never be world peace. In order for that to happen, people can't have an opinion. So ya, be ready to encounter these people, because they won't care for what you have to say. Those groups I mentioned at the beginning are prime examples. And on the other side, please.. Before you say something, really think to yourself about how your words will affect others, their opinion of you and the person you are talking about as well as if it will have any real affect.. If you are just saying something to incite conflict, then see a therapist, or get a hobby, their is either something very wrong with you, or you are way to bored with what you have.

Once again, I apologize for this.. but if you think my message is good enough to be spread, please, for the love of everything, spread this message by either linking it or saying something to the same effect.. I took the time, I know you can too. I took the risk, and now I will take the flack. I am not scared.

If you would like to comment, please go right ahead.. I encourage it actually.. please, it would really help, considering that there is not counter that I know of that lets me know how many people look at these, and I put a lot of effort into these.. It helps a little.

I wish you all a great day, and please.. Make someone happy today. It sounds preachy today, but seriously.. It's the human thing to do. It may help more than you could ever know

Most of the stuff is mentioned in the newest commission that I just posted from  Winick-Lim, but just as a quick recap, Sun and Moon delayed the story a little along with school work, and to top it off, I lost the story file. So I am currently in the process of remaking the story. I really really apologize to  HexxAcorn for such a long delay, but I am really trying to get it done while still having it with the same plot I had when first writing it, with the same good quality that I try to put into all of my stories. It will take some more time, but I feel really bummed out about the entire thing.

So to cheer me up, I want each of you to ask me a question. Any question. It can be about pokemon, preferences, and other things like that. What I do not want to talk about are anything pertaining to personal inquisitor questions, like where I live, my relationships with other people, just give me a fun question to answer. I want to be uplifted, not stressed about personal stuff right now. Trust me, I had my share of that last month.. again, don't ask. If you ask a question that I do not want to answer because I think it is too personal, then I will just reply with a "I don't feel comfortable answering that" so literally the worst that can happen is that I say "no".. So go ahead you crazy people!

Ask the little Lisk what you want.

Hello all~ and for those that are watching in America, Happy Thanksgiving ^-^ This is just a little update on my status, and my current thought process about what has been happening around me, because those willing to watch me disserve to know when to expect stuff, and other stuff that you may be interested in *hint hint, wink, read till the end*

I am currently working on  HexxAcorn 's story right now from the raffle, as well as talking with  Galaxia22 about his story from the trade we did where he made my ref sheet. It seems that he has his computer fixed or will have it up and running soon, so we can finally get talking about that in greater detail. Now, his story will be done along side the raffle stories, so don't worry raffle winners, I am still going to be working on yours as well, especially because I have a lot more free time. Which brings me to my next point:

I was cast in a play recently and we have performed our 6 shows and completed our set strike, so the show is now officially completed! (woohoo!!!) Meaning that I can now focus on the stories more as a result. I am currently about 3000 words in on Hexx's story, which may not seem like much, but with balancing the play with college, it is actually a good amount.

So when should I have this story up? Give me about a month max, 2 weeks minimum... maybe a little before that, but still.

Now, while I was gone for a small time on this cite, I noticed that I now have 54 watchers! Wow. That actually blows my mind a little.. I know it may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but it still feels like a great feeling ^-^ And I promised someone that I would do this if I ever got that many watchers. I will be hosting another free raffle, however, it will be done differently than the first. I will not say what that is, and I will not submit the idea of the raffle until I am done with this set of raffles, just 2 more stories, then I can run the new raffle. WATCHERS ONLY, is the main rule I will try to implement and keep, but I may change that so that it is more open..

Anyway, thank you al for reading, and thank you for showing your support for me in any way shape or form, from watching me, favoriting, leaving comments, and everything else. Thank you so much. I will stay in touch.

 galaxia22

This is a journal for a friend of mine who has been going through some personal trouble recently. Not a lot, but still, he has had to deal with it, and just recently, his computer got fried, "smoking" even. From what I have heard, he tried to save as many files as he could on Flash drives, and any system he could. I do not know the complete outcome, but he has mentioned to me that he will need to hold off on commissions until he can either fix his computer or get a new one, and if it is the latter then he will need to download all the programs again, etc.

So the point: He has not asked me to do this, but I am doing it anyway to keep him from having to do more work, so long as he has not done much already). If you have commissioned him recently, this journal was to inform you. your progress files may or may not be saved, but he has told me that he may message you to let you know and that if you want, refunds may be offered if necessary.

He is sorry for this heavy inconvenience, and if he wants me to pull down this journal, then I will. I just want to inform his followers. If he does accept this journal, then I want him to make his own, simply linking to this one so that he does not need to sit on his phone or whatever and type this out. He has had too much to deal with and I think that his computer fucking up is just absolutely terrible. Please understand if you are waiting for a commission from him, and please keep him in your thoughts.

-Bombly

Well. I'm still here guys, don't worry. I know I have not posted the next story yet, and it has been a long while since I finished  argonvile's story, but I assure you that I am still working on finishing the next story in line. The reason I have not finished it yet is two fold:

1) it's going to be a long story... like I estimated around 10,000 words when I started... hahaha! I WISH!

2) I hit my first ever writers block... Now I understand what others meant by it literally coming out of nowhere sometimes. I am not bored with the story, and nobody made me feel upset or down, I just lost my motivation for a while. I have since picked it back up and am working on it again...

Sadly, due to this delay, I will not be able to complete all 4 stories before the end of Summer. I will still do them, I just failed to reach my pre-set goal, and I apologize for that.

I just wanted to give you guys an update to let you know that I am still working on this... if I had to give an estimated time of completion from now... give me about a week and a half... I know that is a long way from now... but I think that is how long it will take.

Thank you all for being so patient with me. and thanks for being with me in the first place, it really helps me a lot!

if you have any questions whatsoever, ask in the comment section below, and I will be glad to answer them :)

-Bombly/ Ray

OH YA speaking of, This guy:  Galaxia22

He's making me a ref sheet for my Heliolisk character and sona, Ray, as part of an art/story trade. Don't worry, I will still keep the raffle as a priority, but I will work on his story bit by bit until it is complete, and I do plan on working on it during the raffle. I just won't put his story over the raffle too much because I know I already made a commitment to those that won.

what is his story going to be... well out of respect for him, I won't say much, just that it has the pairing of a Kecleon x Gengar :P

His artwork is just, really REALLY good. And if you can and have not already done so, please leave him a watch as well as some favorites in his gallery for some of his works that you really like~ He disserves it, not for making me a ref sheet, but because I actually think this person is a really good artist.

again, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask... also feel free to type random stuff in the comments, that sounds really fun :P and it also lets me know that you read this... srsly, how is there no way to figure out how many people read this thing?

Anyway, Thank you all so very much.

ADDED NOTE: I feel like I should apologize to Argon for this, as well as those that may also have a problem with this... but yes, this story will have a great length, much longer than any of my other stories... and I understand if you feel cheated or some other similar feeling, but i'm telling you now that I do not choose favorites. I make a story with the information and plot given. If the story does not take much to get want I want in there "in there" then the story will be short, and it is the same the other way around. This story just hit that very hard to reach sweet spot for me and will contain multiple points that the winner and I wanted to have in the story, therefor it will be long. The story is long because it has so much that I can write about it.

Please do not accuse me of picking favorites, or anything of that nature, it is simply not true. I am not saying that anyone is thinking this way, but just in case, I am saying it now.

The next story, if you haven't already heard form me, is going to be a doozy. It is going to go back to the emotional aspect of my writing, and I am really excited about that... I genially think that I am going to cry sometimes while writing this story with what me and  Totodice1 have planned for it... I think it is going to be so good.

Now, there is a lot of setup for this story, making an entirely new area from scrap as well as some backstory for the area and the character's background. Below you will find the first part of this story (Unproofread at the moment so sorry if there are any typos or odd things in it, I will get around to fixing them at some point I promise) which is basically the backstory of the setting and of the two main characters: A male Slowking and Nidoking. Neither character is introduced directly here, but you do get to see what families they came from and what they are... It makes a lot of since if you read it, so...

Here is the first part:

To Whom a Prince is Most Loyal

This story takes place within a large, hilly span known as the Mid-Lands. The Mid-Lands are located in a relatively secluded area, having two large mountain ranges on the east and west ends and large bodies of water on the other two sides. The region spans along beside these mountains, covering about 1000 square miles in distance along both ranges with around 700 miles between them. Within these lands stands a large kingdom, established there many decades ago by a group of traveling nomads in search of a place to settle. There were many different species of pokemon traveling among the group, the leader of which was a Slowbro who, despite his odd appearance, was a very smart and was a capable leader. When he came upon a river flowing across the center of the Mid-lands, he decided to establish a village based around it, and thus the new civilization grew. The Slowbro still remained a massively popular figure among the people, as he was very intelligent with how situations or problems should be carried out, thus, he was chosen to lead this new civilization.

However, things would not always be that simple for the new settlement. They were not the first people to settle there, as other traveling groups had already set up and established their own settlements in that area, and though neighboring communities accepted their arrival, some felt threatened by their placement of settlement, as their location in the middle of the Mid-Lands with easy access to the river and nearby towns made some of the neighboring villages fear them and their rapidly growing community. Whether it was due to fear of invasion or wanting more control over the river, the new civilization came under siege from some of the other established communities.

The Slowbro was able to keep his enemies at bay for a time, however there was only so much he could do having recently arriving at the Mid-Lands a few years prior. He did not know the land well, and his people were poor fighters, so he turned toward other nearby communities for aid. None seemed interested in sending soldiers to help defend a new settlement that did not belong to them, finding that sending soldiers to die in a war that they thought would not benefit them would be pointless, however one did find something of value in this new kingdom. Close to the eastern mountains there was a small clan mostly comprised of Nidorino and Nidorina with a few Nidokings and Nidoqueens. Due to their location, their access to supplies were limited as to one side stood a mountain and on the other a land heavily contested by neighboring kingdoms. When word got to them asking for aid in battle, many saw this as a chance to open relations with this other community. Most Nidokings and Nidorinos left home to help in the fight, leaving their families in hopes of being able to return with supplies and hopefully more.

Upon arriving, The Nidos helped fight and defend under the guidance of the Slowbro, and after a year or so, the fighting became unpopular to the opposing clans so one by one, they pulled their forces back, victory was achieved, but at a cost. As with many wars, hundreds of lives were lost in battle, leaving many parents childless, wives widowed, and children orphaned among the two settlements. Though he may have won the battles, to the Slowbro, so much had been lost. He offered the clan to come live within his settlement as thanks for their assistance in battle, as well as a means of comfort for those that had lost loved ones in battle. The Slowbro had also made the head of the clan, a Nidoking, in charge of the community’s military and defense, however the Slowbro vowed that he would never want to have his community experience another war, so he had the Nido’s clan send out messages to neighboring villages stating that he had never had the intent to fight, and that if they wanted to have something that his location or community could provide, trade relations could be established.

The communities listened, as they had agreed to trade with this central community, and thus a trading network was formed, with the Slowbro’s community becoming the center of it due to its location.

Over time the village prospered as it grew and grew in wealth. Soon neighboring settlements decided to move into this prospering one in hopes of obtaining a better life, and soon enough the village expanded in size and population as the years went by. The Slowbro was greatly pleased with this development as he watched the scars of war start to grow smaller and smaller as time went by, watching the mixing of different settlements come together in one place, however so much time had passed and he had grown quite old. The people were starting to worry about their leader, wondering what would happen if he were to die. A simple solution was then put into place: Each 30 years or whenever the current ruler died, a new ruler would come into power, and this ruler would be the firstborn son or daughter of the previous king or queen. While some questioned this decision, those that had known the Slowbro agreed without question knowing that his knowledge and wisdom would be passed down his family tree and that his children would become great rulers themselves.

Thus, a year later, he died of old age, and a few days later, his first born son had been crowned, not just a leader, but the king of the new Kingdom of Mid-land. The Kingdom prospered under his wise leadership. Like his father, he was very intelligent and knew how to handle situations in the best and most efficient manner. However, unlike his father, he understood that having a kingdom meant that it could be invaded by any number of things, not to mention criminals within his own walls. Therefore, he approached the son of the Nido clan’s leader and offered him to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the head of a newly formed Royal Guard, whose purpose would be to protect the kingdom from outside invaders and internal threats. He graciously accepted the offer, becoming the head of the Royal Guard and personal protector and secondary advisor to the King.

With this new policy put into place, peace was finally in grasp, and the Kingdom continued to grow in prosperity. A castle was built atop a hill overlooking the river and the central village that would house the Royal family and the leaders of the Royal Guard.

Years began to pass as the people have grown to be happy and more accepting of each other, no matter where your ancestry came from or what species of pokemon you were or what class your family was in, everyone accepted everyone else as equals for the most part. Crime was something that happened in instances few and far between, yet when it did happen, depending on the crime, a person could be locked up, banished, and in rare cases even be executed. Crimes were dealt with by the Royal Guard and the Kings had given them power to decide upon a person’s innocence and punishment.

It has been many years now since then, The Slowking’s family tree consistently ruling over the Kingdom with a kind heart and a wise mind with the Nidoking’s clan of now well trained soldiers in the Royal Guard helping to maintain peace and order within the Kingdom, and thus:

The real story begins:

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Tell me what you think of the story so far! I am really excited about this one, and I think it will come out great.

Edit: Well, I am no longer pissed about it :L, maybe still a little salty, but not angry. (beware slugs and snails)

If you have been watching me for a while or have looked in my scraps folder, you would know that I have some Dank Memes (not really) in there focusing on Pokemon GO and joking off of some of it's problems, starting with the well known server issues near launch, so some of the games' more inner problems, such as repetitive pokemon species spawning, all of which were not to be taken seriously and as a joke to let people laugh at somewhat commonly agreed upon "problems" the game features.

One of these has been removed from my scraps folder, and for those that did not notice it, it was the one with the Dawson's Creek Sad Face meme with captions that somewhat held these words:

Top: I decided to play Pokemon GO after a hard day of work

Bottom: But my battery was left at 15% after only 10 minutes

The reason for this deletion was because (according to whatever system or group of people scan for this purpose) it violated point 2.5 of the "Acceptable Upload Policy" which basically states that any work that I post on my user page that was not made by or for me must credit the original artist.

Now, I would understand if FA deleted this pic because I did not credit the website used to create the meme, but then I run into 3 personal problems:

1) The idea of the meme, along with the time and effort to make the meme, came from me thereby making me the creator and using the cite as a catalyst for making it. If it does not belong to me, then it does not belong to a specific person but rather the general public, leaving me with nobody left to credit, either way, if it belongs to me or not, I should not have to credit anybody.

2) My other memes in the scrap folder are still there. What, are they special in some why or something? 2 of which came DAYS before this one and the other came literal minutes after the one that got deleted.

3) Artists don't have to credit software or program they used to make their picture/comics/ whatever, and writers do not need to credit Word, or any other document format/ program... why should I have to credit the site whose program is free to use to the public. Yes I used you, but like I stated in #1, I had the idea, I took the time to make it, I should be credited with making it.

Another possible thing could be that someone came by and saw the picture and funnily enough made a similar meme, whether they used the same background or same text or some combination of both. This possible reason is extremely unlikely, but I will still address it. If you look in the description of the pictures, each will say at some point that I MADE THE MEME... and I did not lie there. The time would have been spent playing Pokemon GO, but since I could not spend my time for that purpose, I decided to use that now spare time to create a light-hearted joke meme for you, my watchers as some means of thanks and to hopefully make you laugh.

Now, to avoid any other dumb conflicts, I am not going to send a complaint (mainly because I do not think it will do anything) and rather I will just repost the picture with this extra mention that I have added to the descriptions of the other memes in the scraps folder:

Note: This specific image was made by me at https://imgflip.com/memegenerator
If this meme bears a striking resemblance to one of yours, I assure you this was made directly by me on this cite.

Also, because this made me feel so oddly frustrated in a way that I felt really pissed off yet still couldn't care less, I will be making an additional meme, and to give you guys a head start, it will have something to do with comparing FA to the problem YouTube users have been having for some time now.

If you think I am missing something and am going completely out of line, please do not hesitate to tell me. Everyone has their faults from time to time, and I could be missing something very important. So please, if this is the case, please tell me to stop being an ass. I'll love you for it~ :)

IMPORTANT!!!

Apologies, it was section 2.6 that was violated, but literally nothing else changed because this is what the message told me I violated:

“Acceptable Upload Policy: Section 2.6 - Content that was neither made by nor for the uploader is prohibited, unless part of a derivative work (See Section 2.5 for more information).”

... yes I see... I STILL MADE IT!

This Journal idea has been floating around in my head for a while now. I don't know why, but I think that some of you might be interested about where I come from and where I plan to go. Who knows, you may have a lot in common with me. It will basically be split into 4 different parts: My early life, middle and high school, present day, and my future. This also helps me because it causes me to look back and appreciate where I cam from and be happy with how I got to where I am today as well as allowing me to look toward the future through a sandy path, though the path may shift, I still know where I want to go. There will be a lot of points where I include seemingly sarcastic statements, and those are to represent what child me felt and thought at that time. Here we go:

Early life:

I was born to a well to do family, not rich, but nowhere near financial danger. I don't remember much from when I was 4 and under, like most people, and my earliest memory that I can recall was when I was 3 and I hit another child in the head while playing with one of those big smooth solid wooden building blocks... I know I was an absolute brute when I was in pre-school, quiver in fear at how I fall flat on my face sometimes. Anyway, I went to a daycare most of the time before going to kindergarten, and I honestly don't remember much from that area other than that every Friday, children were able to bring their own toy to show-and-tell... I always brought a fluffed bear I called Denny, I still have him too.

Anyway, time flew for me while I was going through my first years of school, and few memories were made, most likely due to me still being a wee boy. I did not like to talk to others that much because I was afraid of what they would think of me... I mean come on, there's nothing worse than someone throwing the word stupid or idiot at you, so just avoid the people that could say that to you, and be sure to learn and succeed so that they won't say it, because if your are smart, NOBODY WILL INSULT YOU! So I studied (actually sat and listened to the teacher whenever she taught) and did relatively well, especially in math and science. I loved math and science so much, it intrigued me and made me think about why things are the way they are, the biggest thing to me was gravity and space, so I set my mind to get the best job in the world: to be an astronaut!

I had done well throughout elementary school, switching mid-way during the third grade to a private school where I finished my elementary and middle school years. (little note: Children in private schools are MUCH worse than those in public schools in my opinion. Ya you have those brats and general pricks in public school, but in private school you have RICH general pricks.) I continued doing well in math and science, even learning the higher level math coarse when I transferred to private school, so now I was taking 5th grade math in 4th grade... which took some to get used to, that jump was ridiculous *WHAT DO YOU MEAN LATICE MULTIPLICATION IS THE WRONG WAY TO DO IT!* my little naïve mind thought.

I became a little more social upon the switch, but I was still mindful to make sure that I remained smart in order to keep myself confident in my own image. Time flew again, and while more memories were made, a lot of them fade for me.

I was a heavy gamer during this time, practically being raised by Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario 64, Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin 1 and 2, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Mario Sunshine, and so much more... But aren't I forgetting something?

Oh ya, fukin' POKEMON, holy shit. December of 2003, low and behold the tiny hand held screen surrounded by purple plastic that had the words "Gameboy Advanced" along the bottom part, and along with it came a copy of Pokemon Ruby. Initial reaction: "OMG, There is a frickin' dinosaur on this box art, what do I even do?" I look over to my sister that got a similar present except with Sapphire version, and I knew that I got the better version because mine had a dinosaur and her's had a whale, I was victorious.

Sure enough I played that game almost immediately when we were done opening presents, but I was soon faced with the hardest decision in my life: "Chicken, gecko, or fish thing?" I ended up choosing Mudkip because back then I thought that water beat both grass and fire, because grass NEEDS water to survive... (Oh don't worry, this is only the start to my noob-lord journey.) So I got Mudkip and May got Treecko. I just played the game by battling onward, not paying much mind to the story because games aren't supposed to force you to read, what is this school. I then got to the encounter with May under the bridge, with my Marshtomp being the highest level pokemon in my party, as well as being the ONLY pokemon in my party, and thus I got rekt like the scrub I was whenever May had her Grovile use bullet seed. So, I did the only rational thing I could think of and started a new file, this time picking the fire starter, but was absolutely duped when May suddenly chose Mudkip instead of Treecko, THE HACKS!! I reset one last time and ended up picking Treecko for this run, as well as getting gud and actually capturing a Ralts as well as an Aron and adding them to my team. Now I was prepared for that bridge encounter and I absolutely destroyed her team with my Kirlia... only to be destroyed by Watson in the next town about 3 times before beating him... sigh.

I continued through the game, eventually picking up a Machop, Tentacool, and my friend traded me a Sableye, and that team is what I faced the elite 4 with... And I loved it. This easily became my favorite game, and to this day, gen three is my undisputed favorite gen and Grovile is my favorite pokemon, for reasons this game gave me, as well as some future experiences that I will talk about later.

Middle and High School:

"The best years of my life"?? naaa, that's too meta.

Middle school was a blur, much like elementary school. The transfer wasn't as big for me as it might have been to most people because i was still going to the same school, only going to the 6th grade this time. Some people left and some people came, and the biggest difference: OMG I have 7 teachers i go to every day!" History class actually became history class, English class actually started teaching us how to write "proper" English, and math and science became serious, We're talking Earth Science, Physical Science, the laws of the UNIVERSE; Algebra, geometry, FOIL-ING! I mean, the very first day I memorized the quadratic formula when showed a poster of all the major algebraic equations we would need to know.

School work became harder and more challenging, but I love a good challenge, so I took it head on. Some more people came to me, wanting to become my friend, and I was more than open to having them around. "These people would never negatively judge me." So I continued through 6'th and 7'th grade as usual, nothing majorly different from before.

A huge change in my life: Christmas 2007, I had gotten my original DS along with Pokemon Diamond from my birthday earlier in the year, and I was given a new game: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. I had no knowledge of this game and was rather curious about it, not knowing what to think. I started to play it, and at first I was kind of embarrassed at how uber friendly most characters were in the game, but that quickly faded as i got used to it. Each character had their own charm, especially your partner. I had been chosen to be a Treecko, funny I know (it gets better) and my partner was a Cyndaquil. This game... just this game, made me feel so many things that very few games have made me feel then, in the past, and even to this day. It made me laugh, cry, and understand so many things about myself and how I thought. I was scared yet determined in such an irrational way when we were chased out of town, and nothing could prepare for the heartbreak at the end of the game. This game connected with me, got me to relate with my character and therefor with everyone else in the game I interacted with. This game changed me, making me more open to other people, and I think that this was the main reason I wanted to actively help other people and make them happy. Words can not describe everything that I love about this game and it became my new favorite game... UNTIL PMD EXPLORERS OF (everything) CAME OUT. "Why did this game need to be perfect and become more of a emotional roller-coaster? You improved everything! Grovyle here officially made that species my absolute favorite pokemon, not to mention that I was chosen YET AGAIN to be a Treecko. *Hears the tune of 'Don't ever Forget'* Stop it right now, you are going to make me cry (Super Mystery Dungeon's Partner's Theme [Music box]) *sobs*".

This game series in general is a great one and really exemplifies the meaning of how the journey is more important that the destination. You learn to care and protect others as they do the same for you, and there are very few games that I play that make me stop and seriously think whether o not I want to delete the save file to start a new one... and actually causes me to stop, MULTIPLE TIMES. If you haven't played the series before, please do, you will not regret it, all the games are available on the Wii U and 3DS E-Shop, with Red and Blue Rescue team as well as Explorers of Sky being below 10$ each, and I recommend starting with those two... and from what I hear Gates to Infinity is really skipable. I have recently played Super Mystery Dungeon, and I love it to death, but it can be really hard at time, especially to newcomers to the series...

Ahem, back to my life. After that game was introduced into my life, I did end up making more friends, but not too many because I started becoming more timid due to the was some people were treating me around the later part of 6th grade due to my appearance, and how I sometimes secluded myself when given the chance... Oh ya I did that a lot. Even when friends were around, I liked to spend some time alone, to sit down and just think... and think, that's really all I did. Eventually 8th grade came and went and I applied to a math and science academy in high school... and got in.

Problem was, the transfer from middle school to high school was huge for two main reasons: I was going back to the public school format, and I was the only student from my graduating class that decided to go to this school... So I came alone and was going back to a school format that I was mostly unfamiliar with... Joy. It was during high school my interest in writing grew because I now had a lot more time to think. That time to think also caused me to realize more about myself, such as "hmmm, I like girls, but I think I like guys too." and "Gee, I kinda find animal sex hot."... leave your creative and interesting responses in the comment section below, and don't forget to like, share and subscribe...

Anyway, so ya... I found this here site... preeeeety neat. So ya, I started drowning in porn for a while, still putting my studies ahead of me as well as my work in various after school activities because, well, life is a real thing. I continued studying math and science, doing extremely well in chemistry and Algebra II Trig in the 9th grade, somewhat hating Biology in the 10th grade, and blasting right through Physics 1 in the 11th grade. Math had started becoming repetitive and in the 10th and 11th grade, a lot of the material Was stuff I already knew how to do, and I had to wait till the end of the year to learn new things... I hated limits in Calc. High school, was much more fun I will say. I did more after school, mainly plays in the school's theatre company, and those were fun to work on. Studies became more challenging, and I like a good challenge, and it was over all a good time... Senior year was great too, but I think people blew how great it would be a bit to far out of proportion. But that's just me :P

Now:

I am currently doing well in school, majoring in nuclear engineering and I aspire to become a, well, nuclear engineer for the military at some point. During my free time, I might play games during my free time, Major ones currently being Hearthstone, The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth, and Undertale. I am starting to also spend more time on this cite and really enjoy seeing what you guys can come up with... My favorite people the watch are listed on my user page, but I do enjoy watching everyone on my "is watching" list. I have wanted to give back to the community by giving my mind in the from of writing stories, currently working through a raffle that actually received a lot more positive reactions than I originally hoped for, and I humbly thank each and every one of you that participated in that raffle and has given me feed back.

I would like to give a huge special thank you to  totodice1 For being a very kind soul and talking with me during the past 2-3 weeks. He is an extremely nice person, and well worth mentioning here. (I am sorry if you feel a little uncomfortable about me mentioning you here, but you are such a wonderful thing.")

The future:

As stated before, I want to become a nuclear engineer... and that requires work. I plan to keep writing stories for you guys so that I can make you happy in one way or another, but I may not be able to do this for much longer, which breaks my heart. The future is scary, it really is, but that is no excuse to stop, I must keep going. If I had the choice to stay with you all forever, I would take it, but sadly, life will eventually knock on the door needing me to continue along the path with it, and I will go. I expect this to happen in about 2-3 years, so I have time. Don't worry about me, I am not afraid of life, and it gives me only more determination to make you guys that much more happy. Who knows, maybe I will be put in a set of circumstances that allow me to stay here for a much longer time and bring you more stories.

I wish for nothing more than to make you guys happy. I love to write stories for you guys, and so much has already come out of it, one of my favorites being my very first OC: Ray the Heliolisk. I hope to one day get a ref sheet for him sometime in the future, maybe soon, with him and his little pack and sash, and everything, and if any of you would like to propose a trade for it, please contact me. I say trade, because money to me is... limited, and I tend to save up for that one problem that may or may not happen... Plus, a picture/ a set of pictures being traded for a story is something one of my friend's does sometimes with his friends... so I might try it out :3

This journal will be set to be my main journal once the raffle stories are done.

I hope that you guys like my stories... After all, the entire reason I do them is to make you guys happy. So please, if you like my stories, tell me what specifically you liked about them, as well as what you did not like. It really helps me become better, and it lets me know that you guys are interested in this kind of stuff. So please, tell me what you think, I really want to know.

Oh ya, little note: I have 2 identities when it comes to FA and my writing: Ray the Heliolisk and Bombly the Klefki. Whenever I write a story or leave a comment or anything else that involves my writing or typing on FA, I am Bombly (hence the Klefki icon). For everything else... basically my everyday activities and just socializing with others, even through FA, I like to think of myself as Ray. Think Bombly for business, and Ray for non-business. :P

Thanks to those who read this entire thing. I just thought that it would be a neat idea to do something like this so that you guys get a better idea of where I come from. Sorry if there are any typos, I tried to keep track of them throughout the process of writing this, so hopefully it's not too bad.

Gotta go back to writing  Argonvile's story. Currently at about 3000 words, and planned to be posted on the first of next month and this time, i bring you a title: Learning to Adapt.

Thank you all, for everything.

-Bombly

Numbers (in order of pulling the from the RNG ranging from #'s 1-12):

#5: Argonvile : Croagunk X Wartortle (M/M) (Winner #1)

#11:  totodice1 : Nidoking X Slowking (M/M) (Winner #2)

#7:  totodice1 : Nidoking X Slowking (M/M) (already won)

#10:  HexxAcorn : Quagsire X Sceptile (M/M) (Winner #3)

#2:  azil31 : Typhlosion X Ampharos (M/M) (Winner #4)

Alright'y! Congratulation to:

#1:  Argonvile
#2:  totodice1
#3:  HexxAcorn
and #4:  azil31

you guys have won the raffle and I will be sending messages through notes to each of you. To those that did not win, thank you so much for participating in this event, and better luck next time... which in all honesty might happen some time in late September-early October.

Also, if you still really want a story, trades will still be open. The way I do trades is that if you want a story done by me for you, there are two ways we could go about this:

1) I write a story with whatever requested characters and details you want, and after I am finished you can read it and we both decide on a scene that you draw, OR

2)You draw a picture and I write a story around it.

However, if you do suggest a trade, please understand that it will take a back seat to the raffle winners' stories. I will still work on YOUR story, but don' expect it to be done within 3 weeks unless it really inspires me.

Again, thank you all for participating in this raffle! I will message the winners soon, and the next story to be posted will contain gay Croagunk on Wartortle awesomeness.

Also, happy birthday to me!!! \("w")/

For some entertainment, here is a video about the history of Japan in under 10 minutes... be sure to turn down your head set a bit if you have one, it might get loud at some points if you have them turned all the way up. Also, this video is mostly a joke, but it is extremely accurate most of the time, and you can actually pause to see the names of some of the people places and events, it's really a cool video (that half of you might have already seen, but watch it again anyway):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh5LY4Mz15o

-Bombly

So with the release of "A Krook on a Bandit's Den", I have today completely free from any writing, so I am going to relax, probably play some Pokemon GO if the servers aren't bad again, and just in general relax. I will still check this cite multiple times today in case someone leaves a suggestion for the raffle, but nobody has placed a suggestion in the last 2 days, so I think it might be safe to say that it is going to stay that way for the most part. But even so, it is still open for those that have not given a suggestion, but you only got until... 9:00 PM (EST) to summit an idea. The more the merrier.

BUT THAT TIME HAS PASSED SO:

For those that have posted a suggestion, your suggestion is posted along with your icon and number. I will run this random number generator until I get four different suggestions as a result:

https://www.random.org/

Thank you for all of your ideas, and to those that helped spread the word, you have my gratitude. Now, the winners will be revealed to everybody tomorrow at 12:00 Noon (EST) after which I will send a note to all winners. The #1 Winner and I will start discussing plans for the story the day after, and we will continue from there. I am going to have a lot of fun with this little project, and I can't wait to see what you people can come up with.

Also... 2 hours and 32 minutes till my Hatch Day! YAY \(*w*)/ (Currently 9:28)

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!!

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Anyway, this is the way it will go down:
Here is a list of the people who have given a suggestion and their corresponding number(s):

#1:  Capt.Cerulean : Kecleon X Dragonite (M/M)
#2:  azil31 : Typhlosion X Ampharos (M/M)
#3:  ToruToraToro : Druddigon X Blastoise (M/M)
#4:  HexxAcorn : Quagsire X Sceptile (M/M)
#5:  Argonvile : Croagunk X Wartortle (M/M)
#6:  LeRandomGuy123 : Rockruff X Poochyena (M/M)
#7:  totodice1 : Nidoking X Slowking (M/M)
#8:  Asbel_Lhant : Scolipede X Typhlosion (M/M)

All M/M ... <.< / >.> ok, this should be fun. hehe~
(bonus numbers)

#9:  azil31
#10:  HexxAcorn
#11:  totodice1
#12:  ToruToraToro

Those are the numbers that I will be pulling out of the RNGenerator. If another person suggests, their # will be placed after the last non-bonus number. the Journal bonus opportunity has now passed, but if you still want to make a journal to spread the word real quick, you can do that, there just won't be any benefit for you at this point. Thank you to those who have left a suggestion and to those who have spread the word. If I had left out someone's information or inclusion in the bonus, notify me IMMEDIATELY, I did a Thorough search around the journal and your user pages to make sure that I got all the correct information, but I may have missed something. Once the raffle happens, everything will be set in stone, and I will post a journal listing the #1, #2, #3, and #4 winners (oh ya, if you did no see the last journal, there are 4 winners now \(*_*)/) and I will personally contact the winners by sending them a note. If they do not reply within 1 week (or if the user in question is winner #1 3 days), their win becomes null and void, and I will run the RNGenerator again to pick a new winner. The stories will be written by me, with heavy influence given by the WINNER ONLY, they will help (and mostly decide) Characters, setting, personalities, title, and they will also get access to multiple drafts during the story's creation (unless they don't want to see it.) Some stories may take me a week to complete, some may take me 3 weeks to complete. So if you are the #4 winner, you will have to wait quite some time before I get to you, I am sorry about that, but you cant rush work... it makes a bad product. If you do not win, please do not get upset or angry at me, and ESPECIALLY do not get angry at the winners.

I do not think I have left any info out, so please, enjoy today, don't let the excitement kill you (there probably isn't that much excitement to other people, but I am literally about to blow up in happiness with tomorrow being my hatchday and the day of the raffle.) I will check back often and update this journal if anything changes, and for the sake of ease, here is a link to the raffle journal:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7696175/

Thank you all, and have a nice day.

-Bombly

"Status of the 4th Story"

I already told you guys this in the previous journal about the pre-determined 4th story, but I have made some decisions. Here we go!

The story will focus mainly on a male Krookodile and a GROUP of Salandits (genders vary) that are rivals in their craft. The specifics of the story have not been finalized, nor have I made a plot line yet. What I do know is that both pokemon will be thieves of some sort (what do they steal or how? IDK, I will figure that out later while I am thinking of the plot). The setting will most likely be in or near a desert like town, meaning that I probably will not model this after any region in the main pokemon games. In fact, a possible idea that has been going through my mind is having the town comprise of only pokemon, in the vain of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Could this mean that I could use the town from SMD? Possible, up in the air on that right now. Like I said, I need to think a bit more before I set anything to stone, these are all just neat ideas.

NOW, why I made this journal. You guys now know at least a basis of what I want to write about and I would like to title this bad boy. The way this will work is through a simple lettering system. I will give two titles that I think could work for this story: Title "A", and Title "B". In the comment section below, YOU guys will decide which title you want by simply typing the either letter "A" or "B". The other thing you can do is suggest your own title! simply put the next letter in the alphabet down in your comment followed by your title. People can then vote for that title by putting your letter in their comment.

Just two simple rules:
1: Please do not suggest a title that makes no sense.
2: please be nice to people if you do not like their idea

Here are my suggestions:

A: A Crook in a Bandit's den
B: A Thief among Thieves

Also please if you haven't yet, check out my free raffle found here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7696175/

Edit: A lot of progress has been made in the story the day after this journal was made, so I decided to do something special :) read about it here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7700663/

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"Some thanks"

And concerning the bonus that you receive upon creating a journal, thank you to those who have spread the word, it helps me tremendously. I will be creating a list of numbers that each approved user has the day before the RNG is run and it will show who has what numbers. The next day, the winning numbers will be revealed along with the user and their pairing.

I also would like to know if there is a way other than shouts or notes that I can use to get information like this to the people who are interested in this raffle but do not watch my channel. I don't want to be like, "just watch my channel to get all the information about whenever I do something like this." because that to me sounds kind of rude, but I still want them to get every bit of information so that everyone knows the same thing as everyone else without having someone say, "when was this?". I want people to watch me because they like my stories, not just for information about a free raffle or something like this. (And THANK YOU to those that do watch me for my stories.)

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"Something I need to say"

Which brings me to my final point. I sent out my first messages about the raffle journal to  LeSkarmory,  Argonvile, and  Asbel_Lhant because they are all nice, great people who (I think) would be interested in the raffle, and because they entertained me through conversation, artwork, and streams I wanted to give something back to them by letting them be the first ones to know about this raffle. I will still send out more notices to other Users that have entertained me over the entire time I have been on this website. some names that come to mind are  BAGINAZARD, and  insomniacovrlrd, but I want to make something clear. These people have a great talent and therefor have a HUGE following of people. I am NOT informing them about this raffle because I want some of their watchers, they worked hard for that, I need to work for mine. I just want to give them a chance to win in this raffle. If these people listed above decide to spread the information about the raffle (which is honestly a scary thought, I mean look at some of their "is being watched by" lists, I would drown in suggestions, and honestly would probably raise the number of winners to 4 due to the amount of people that would probably suggest an idea.) I would hope it is because they think I am good at what I do here and that they want to share me with their people, and just one story may not good enough to prove that. I am not trying to discount those of you who have spread the word, thank you for the help, and I hope that no negative feelings are made by me saying this. I actually feel guilty about sending the first three notices as shouts instead of notes, because that forces myself and my raffle on their page without their consent. So please, do not think I am doing this just for publicity. Even though that is a big part of this entire project, I want to entertain people, give back to those who have entertained me, and most importantly become a better writer. So lastly, if you do like what I do here, again spread the word if you feel I deserve it, you do not have to if you do not want to (good example is argon, he left a suggestion and that was it: quagsire x croagunk. Thank you for the suggestion). This subject is hard to talk about without sounding like a jerk or a hypocrite, so I am sorry if I do sound like one.

Thank you to those who are watching, who read my story, who gave a suggestion, who will give a title. Thank you all for everything.