I've been playing a VERY laid back run of Ultra Moon. Most days, I just play long enough to do the dailies on the first two islands... I've only JUST arrived on Ula Ula for the first time in this run... and I keep my plaza up to date. BUT something weird is happening! At the lottery in Hao'oli city, I've won a Master Ball... THREE TIMES!!!! I've never won a Master Ball at any of the Lottery on any of my Plazas... the last time I won a Master Ball was in Ruby... NOT Omega Ruby, Ruby... way back when.

Mind you, I'm not complaining!

(or at least for people who play Pokemon Ultra Sun or Moon... in the US)

Start the game and go into Mystery Gift.
Choose to receive the gift via the internet.
You'll get a "Rare Berry gift".
Now, start the actual game and go to a Pokemon Center.
Talk to the Gift Attendant and he'll give you:
Enigma, Micle, Custap, Jaboca and Rowap Berries

No need to rush. The event will be open until September 02.

Excelsior! And thank you.

Whenever I post a new chapter, I feel very much like the raccoon character from my books, Master William Sawyer. I craft something, putting my heart into every bit of it and when it's done, I submit it to the court of public opinion and then wait, hoping desperately that people will enjoy it. In the case of our erstwhile trash panda, he is skilled enough that his works always seem to be quite popular. But I'm sure he would agree with me that the worst thing that he could get... worse than harsh criticism, is apathy. To have nobody care would be the worst reaction to an artists work. Thankfully, my most recent chapter has 2 faves, or I would be convinced that nobody cares that I'm still writing... and trying to get back to one chapter a week. Not one person has taken a few seconds to leave a single comment in almost 2 days. I'm not even sure it's worth the work and then the emotional disappointment any more.

Not giving up... yet.

Just venting my disappointment.

I'll shut up now.

The laundry room where I live has increased the charge for each machine by an extra quarter. So, now, each load is gonn' need about t'ree fi'ty!

Something that many people don't understand about furries is that we can sometimes know too much about animals. Case of point: I once had a dream that I had become an eagle. I remember having 3 thoughts. In order, they were:

OMG! This is amazing!

Holy crap! I can fly!!!

Wait! Do I even HAVE a penis???

Some movies have to have been made by Dr. Who's Silence! Movies like Assassin's Creed or Venom were OK while I was watching them, but the moment they disappeared from my field of vision, I forgot they ever existed. I still have a hard time believing I saw Venom... and it was YESTERDAY! And I remember NOTHING about AssCree except how boring it was.

OK, confession time here. A lot of the time that I go weeks at a time without posting a chapter, it's because I've gotten wrapped up in a new play-through of any number of Pokemon games. I'm totally a Pokemon Junkie. And, of course, whenever there's a new Pokemon at Gamestop or Target or wherever, you can bet I'll be right there. (Can't wait for the 19th! Zeraora is FINALLY coming to North America!!!) So, here's why I'm writing this journal:

There's a Target store just down the road from where I live and there's almost NEVER anyone in the Electronics section. Add to that the fact that when they have the cards to get a free Pokemon, they just leave the great big box full of them sitting on the counter to help yourself. So, I do... and as the month is getting closer to ending, I help myself to more and more... As a result, the Pokemon for August was Thundorus/Tornadus (depending if you have Sun, Ultra-Sun/Moon, Ultra-Moon) and I have 35 cards left over. The codes are still valid, (I just tested it with e fresh install of Ultra-Moon... and I COULD ebay the codes, but I'm feeling generous.

If you would like a code for the North American Version of ANY Gen 7 game (Sun, Moon, Ultra-Sun, Ultra-Moon), just reply here and I'll PM a code to you. If you need more than one, feel free to ask. (I may not be willing to give more than 5 to any one person, but we'll see how much demand there is.)

So, that's it! Just reply and I'll PM you a code! No risk. No worries.

Here's the real reason people in Rukis's Red Lantern Universe don't wear shoes or boots: https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/commen.....sed_to_before/ It'd be incredibly hard for Luther to look cool or badass like that. For Grayson... I can see him like that... maybe after too much rum.

BTW, next weekend is Furry Migration (Sept. 7 -9 in Minneapolis). Once again, I'm in charge of the Dealer's Den... so if you're in the area, stop by, say hi and SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!!! ;)

Every once in a while, I'll be looking through YouTube there'll be a list like "The Top Ten Scariest/Most Disturbing/Whatever Characters from Children's TV Shows" And I'm always like "Am I the only person on Earth who remembers Candle Jack???"

Then I freeze... because I realize I just said his name, and he's coming for me...

Before I begin, I'll just say that the next chapter should be ready in a day or two.

Now, I've heard it said that “The only people who hate Pokemon are the ones who have never played it.” That has never applied to me. I've always loved the games. I would have imported the original games back in '96 if I'd known how much I'd enjoy them. I was 35 when the cartoon started airing here in the states (in 1998), but I still watched it. (Favorite episode from the first season, the one where Ash and Pikachu fail so miserably against Lt. Surge and Ash has to decide whether or not to force Pikachu to evolve into a Raichu... before realizing that since Surge admitted he'd evolved his as soon as he could, that meant it had never learned the speed attacks that it could only have learned as a Pikachu.)

My favorite games were always Ruby and Sapphire... until Gen 6 and we got Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. (Omega Ruby is my fave of the two because that one has Zangoose... my go to damage dealer.) I've played and beaten every game in the main series, except Gen 2 (Silver and Gold) and Gen 4 (Diamond and Pearl) because I got bored with them because of some of the choices they made that I didn't agree with.

Any way, I've played through Omega Ruby at least a dozen times, to the point that I know what Pokemon almost any trainer or Gym Leader will throw at me. I've even completed the Pokedex in it (LOT'S of trading required, but that's what the GTS is for). But, even though I feel I've pretty much mastered the game, there was always one challenge that I'd never worked up the nerve to try: The dreaded Nuzlocke Challenge. But today, April 23, 2018... that has changed! I took the challenge and I was victorious!

In case you've never heard of the Nuzlocke before, it's a challenge where you impose several rules on yourself that the game doesn't.
Rule #1: The ONLY Pokemon you are allowed to catch are the first ones you encounter in any path, cave, forest, etc. If it runs away, gets knocked out or you run out of Pokeballs, too bad. It's gone and you've lost your chance to get one there.
Rule #2: You HAVE to assign a nickname to any Pokemon you catch. That gets you to think of them as individuals. It's not JUST a Sharpedo anymore. It's Roughneck!
Rule #3: If one of your Pokemon gets knocked out, it's dead. You can't revive it and keep going. It's gone forever and the first chance you get, you have to put it into a computer box reserved for dead Pokemon or release it.
I also used the Dupes Clause which means that if the first Pokemon you encounter is the same as one you've already got (or is part of its evolutionary line) you get to try again.

The thing about the Nuzlocke Challenge is that it forces you to use a variety of Pokemon you normally wouldn't. I was REALLY hoping I'd get lucky and catch a Zangoose when I got to Route 114, but I got a Nuzleaf instead. :( It also encourages you to develop feelings of attachment with your team.

Some highlights of my adventure:

I started out by choosing Torchick. I would normally have gone with Treecko (renaming it to its Japanese name of Kimori), but I felt the Fire/Flying (later Fire/Fighting) typing would give me a greater advantage... especially in the early section of the game, where you are most vulnerable. I named him Dealer since I am in charge of the Dealer's Den at Furry Migration. As soon as he learned Double Kick, I knew I was ready to go.

Along the way to the first Gym, I caught a Wurmple that I named Winnie (which evolved into a Dustox), a Zigzagoon (Monty) who had Pickup, so he kept finding me all sorts of stuff throughout the game! (Zigzagoon/Linoone are also excellent TM Slaves!) I also got a Wingull (Carrie), a Slackoth (Nick) and a Poochyena (Archaic). The first Gym uses Rock-type Pokemon and even though Rock is super effective against fire AND flying, I knew my Combusken (Dealer had evolved by this time) was fast enough that nothing they could throw at me would EVER get a chance to attack. (They didn't. It was a MASSACRE!)

On the way to the second Gym, I caught a Nincada (Wesley... which evolved into a Ninjask and a Shedinja named Earl. If you have a vacant spot on your team when Nincada gets to Level 20, it evolves, but its shed skin ALSO becomes a Pokemon... So, I got a twofer!), a Whismur (Brad), a Magicarp (Lily) and a Tentacool (Jerry (I was watching Rick and Morty at the time)). Combusken's flying attacks made short work of Brawly and the other trainers in the second Gym. And I caught a Makuhita (ChiChi) in Granite Cave. Oh, I also did the first Challenge Contest and got the Pikachu (Ginger).

At that point, I suffered my first death. My Slackoth had gotten to Level 17 and only needed 20 points before he would evolve into a Vigaroth... but he got confused in a trainer battle and I got stubborn and kept him in. (I always do full Affection and Super Training... so there is NO WAY he should have remained confused FIVE TURNS and hit himself in his confusion EVERY SINGLE TIME! AAAARGH!!!!) All he needed was to attack once! That was really aggravating.

On my way to Mawville and the third gym, I got a Minum (Courtney). Wattson (the gym leader) and his people never stood a chance. Combusken's fire and Double Kick took them all down. That's something REALLY useful about Double Kick: it hits twice in one turn. So any enemies with Sturdy (Sturdybitches!) think they're SO clever because it allows them to survive the first hit, get taken out by the second.

After that, I immediately caught a Geodude (Scrape) who became one of my MVP's. Continuing on, I got a Koffing (QuickyKissIt... 10 points if you get THAT reference!), a Spinda (Rent), the Nuzleaf, and a Solrock (Genmo... I heard someone on TV talking about GENetically MOdified food). After beating Maxie at Mt. Chimney, I got a Spoink (Secret Cat... another Bob's Burger's reference), and the egg with Wynaut (Epcot... going to Disney World in a month) in it. The fourth gym was Fire and couldn't hold up against Scrape (now a Golem) and Dealer (now a Blazicken).

I held off going to the desert, on the off chance that I MIGHT get super lucky after I dealt with Groudon, and catch a Gible (I ADORE Garchomp! Psuedo-Legendary!) Blazicken DESTROYED my father's gym (the fifth... with its normal types). None of them even got an attack off. (Blazicken gets faster every round of combat!) After that, I encountered Latios (Nikolai). After beating Team Magma in the Weather Institute, I got a Castform (GLaDOS). On Route 120, I made sure to catch a Pokemon so I wouldn't be forced to take the Kecleon (Since I could get one later). That turned out to be an Absol (Nebulous)... not great, but Pressure can be useful.

The Sixth gym is Flying types... but Scrape had the devastating combo attack of Knockdown (a rock type attack that allows ground attacks to hit Flying types) and Bulldoze. He learned Earthquake while in the gym... so it got even MORE powerful.

As I passed the Safari Zone, I stopped in and caught a Psyduck (Jenny). In Mount Pyre, I got a Duskull (Button). I then caught a Gloom (Marathon) on my way to Lilycove. In the Team Magma Hideout, I got an Electrode (Shame On You). After I got the Super Rod (in Mossdeep), I came back and took the chance to catch a Staryu. No luck. I got a Wailmer instead.

I took on the seventh gym and that's when tragedy struck. It's Psychic types and the Gym leader is twins, so it's a Double Battle. I was counting on them being unable to cope with the combo of Scrape and his Earthquakes and Latios (being immune to them). Like an IDIOT, I forgot Solrock's Solarbeam is a GRASS type attack!!! Of course, it targeted Scrape, who went down to 1 HP, since he had Sturdy. And also of course, the Lunatone hit HIM with Psychic. Farewell Scrape. I owe you a lot!

In the Cave of Origin, I caught a Mawille (Dutch Baby... more from Bob's Burgers). I decided to just use the Master Ball on Groudon (Pink Ball... I have no idea why) since I'm not planning on doing the Delta Episode as part of this challenge. (I'd normally save it for Deoxis.) After that, I went back to a few areas that I hadn't been to catch the Pokemon there. In the Desert, I didn't get a Gible. It was a Sandshrew (Walker).I also got a Electrode (Shame On You) in New Mauville (had to get Thunderbolt!), a Chinchou (Fox) underwater, a Roselia (Mickey) on Route 117, a Golbat (Sofa) in the Seafloor Cavern. I also got a Carvahna (Roughneck) on 118, a Feebas (Cyril) on 119 (which I DID evolve into a Milotic!), a Sealeo (Endorphins) in Shoal Cave, a Masquerain (Felicity) in Petalburg City, a Clampearl (Bonnie) underwater on 126, and a Medicham (Whip) on the Victory Road I also got an Archen, Tynamo, and Minccino in various Mystery Islands but decided not to use them since it didn't seem in keeping with the spirit of a Nuzlocke. Same goes for the Braviary and Ho-Oh.

Wallace and his gym eight crew stood no chance against my team. In fact, I think I started Brad (now an Exploud) with Echoed Voice on the first round and just kept it building in power throughout the last fight. It gets more powerful every time you use it consecutively.

I did a bit of grinding so that Roughneck (now a Sharpedo) would stand a chance and FINALLY went after the Elite Four and the Champion himself. Dealer (my Blazicken) DESTROYED Sidney's Dark types. Nikolai (the Latios) and Roughneck tore through Phoebe's Ghost-types, Dealer Melted all of Glacia's Ice types (except Walrein... I had my Groudon take it out with Thunderbolt) and Nikolai just Dragon Pulsed every one of Drake's Dragon-types into oblivion.

Against Steven's (the champion's) team, every one of my team got a shot in... even Linoone. My last death was when his Aggron hit Roughneck with a lucky Stone Edge. (I'd have thought that since she was a WATER/Dark type, that would have lessened the impact... but apparently not!) Dealer ended the fight by taking out his Mega-Metagross with one Flame Kick (so badass!).

After the credits, May showed the difference between me and herself. She was satisfied by giving me a tap with a Quick Attack. I just devastated her Pokemon by hitting with Super Effective attacks.

And so my Nuzlocke came to an end.

Was it worth the effort? Absolutely. It gave me an appreciation of some Pokemon (Golem, Latios, and Exploud especially) that I normally wouldn't bother with. And I got a real sense of achievement from completing it. Would I do it again... maybe in X/Y or Sun/Moon? Maybe. But, not for a while.

I'm not going to have the new chapter up this week after all. We're going to be leaving for Motor City Fur Con in a couple of hours. (Should get there around noon tomorrow) This chapter's been fighting me. But I think I have a handle on it now.

For anyone who doesn't watch "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver:
https://www.betterbundobook.com

When he found out the Vice President's daughter had written a book about her pet rabbit (a book partially funded and endorsed by "Focus on the Family" which is one of the largest and best funded Anti-LGBTQ groups in the country), he got an alternate version of the story published... One in which Marlon Bundo meets another rabbit named Wesley and they fall in love. This is an actual children's book meant to be read and enjoyed by children, so there's no bad language or middle fingers raised to Mike Pence (other than the book simply existing). And if that wasn't a good enough reason to buy it, read this: "All proceeds go to the LGBT organizations the Trevor Project, which “provides crisis and suicide-prevention services for LGBT youths,” and AIDS United, “which works to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States.”

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/26635597/

Chapter 58 of "The Season of Two Fleets" posted at about 5:00am (central time) on Saturday the 10th of March.

Just in case anyone didn't notice.

ever since my roommate got the Hue lights
Me: Alexa, turn livingroom light on
Alexa: There is more than one device with that name.
Me: Alexa, turn living room light on.
Alexa:___________
Me: Alexa, turn livingroom light on.
Alexa OK.
Me: Alexa, turn living room light on.
Alexa: OK. (turns living room light on)
Me: bitch

There are a couple of games on Kickstarter that I'm backing that looking really fun and one of them needs some more support to get funded. Just trying to get the word out.

The first two are already funded, but you can help them obliterate some stretch goals and get them as rewards.
the first is https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....ma-board-games Monster Slaughter. It got funded about a day after it appeared on Kickstarter and has burned through just about every stretch goal they've put up. I'm not surprised. It looks like a fun and well-designed board game with some kickass miniatures. I just know that if someone brings it to a furry con, there's gonna be a riot from everyone wanting to play as the werewolves! ;)

Second is https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....ight-and-right Root. Again, fully funded but a bit more cartoony and not as inspired in terms of gameplay (a bit more traditional board/wargame). But it IS much more furry. ;)

The third one is the reason for this post. I'm really hoping that https://www.kickstarter.com/project.....of-peacemakers Dawn of the Peacemakers makes it. It's about 1/2 way to its goal and 1/2 way through the time limit... so it may not make it. It's very furry and has miniatures. Even if you're not interested, spread the word to others and help it get funded! I want to play! ;)

For the next few weeks, you can get Pikachu in a new, distinctive hat each week. Right now, if you enter the code PIKACHU20, he'll be wearing Ash's (Satoshi's) hat from the anime. He also has a new Z-Crystal that does 10,000 Bolt and is pretty badass. If you want a different hat, just wait a week or two to enter the code. According to the Pokemon website, this is the schedule for which hat you get:
9/19/17 – 9/25/17: Original hat (Kanto and Johto regions)

9/26/17 – 10/2/17: Hoenn region hat

10/3/17 – 10/9/17: Sinnoh region hat

10/10/17 – 10/16/17: Unova region hat

10/17/17 – 10/23/17: Kalos region hat

10/24/17 – 10/30/17: Alola region hat


and the Pikachu itself will be:
Level: 1
Nature: Hardy
Gender: Male
Ability: Static
Moves:
Thunderbolt
Quick Attack
Thunder
Agility

In case you play Pokemon Sun/Moon, live in the USA (or maybe just North America) and don't know: I have some code for you to input on the "Receive Mystery Gift screen".

Go to Receive gift by code and once it connects to the internet, enter:

M2DESCENT
to get Mewtwonite X and Y Mega Stones

INTIMIDATE
to get Mawlite, Beedrillite, Audinite, and Medichamite

AZUL
to get Pidgeotite, Steelixite, Heracrossit, and Houndoomite

MATSUBUSA
to get Sceptilite, Blazikenite, Swamperite, Cameruptite, and Banettite

SABLEVOLANT
to get Tyranitarite, Abomasite, Manectite, and Aggronite

POYONG
to get Galladite, Gardevoirite, Lopunnite, and Diancite

DRACHE
to get Ampharosite, Altarianite, Latiosite, and Latiasite

That won't help you "Catch" 'em all... or any, really, since you'll have to trade for the pokemon (or use the PokeBank) and then win the game and get the Mega Bracelet from Sina & Dexio on Poni Island. I hope these help

I got the beginning of the new chapter written, but I'm afraid the rest will have to wait until next week. Tomorrow (WAY too early) we'll be flying out to Reno, Nevada for Biggest Little Fur Con! See you when we get back!

Had an eventful drive to get bere. About 60 miles from the hotel, the engine started making a weird noise and the car started vibrating and all power went out. We got a tow to a service station and the next day they said that a rod went through the oil pan... AKA the engine's dead, you need a new one. We're getting a used one to replace it, but that means we won't be able to head home until Thursday at the earliest.

I'll keep you informed if that changes. No new chapter til things get settled.

Back to my left eye again...

When last we left off, they said that there'd been some swelling but nothing bad... that the lens had been scraping the underside of the iris. Well, it hasn't gotten any better. It's gotten significantly worse. The "floaters" are still there (tons of them) and now there's a spot in the middle of my field of vision that looks like the afterimage of a dozen flashbulbs.

The doctor looked me over and dilated, and took a macular scan and said that there's a film on the back of the lens that they put in on that eye. That's not at all uncommon, according to him. I have to go back to the place that did the surgery (they'll call to schedule it this week or next). They'll sit me down and burn the film off with a laser. Should take about 20 seconds. But at that point, I should be back to 20/20 (I struggled to get to 20/25 today).

I'll update you once it's over

I've been trying to get back to doing a new chapter every week, but I'm going to have to skip this week. I'm heading to Fur Squared (a convention in Wisconsin) tomorrow and won't get home until Sunday night. I'll try and get the chapter finished ASAP. In the meanwhile, if you're near Milwaukee, be sure to stop by and say hi! I'll be mostly at the Rabbit Valley table in the dealer's room. I hope to see you there!

It seems the story of my eye surgery has one last chapter to tell...

I woke up this morning and my left eye was kinda sore, REALLY blurry and I had a ton of "floaters" in it. So, as soon as the eye doctor opened this morning, I was waiting at the door. He examined both eyes and initially said they both looked a bit red and so dilated them and had a couple of tests run. He finally verified what he suspected was causing the problem. Basically, he said that sometimes the new lens scrapes against the bottom of the iris (the colored part of the eye) so he prescribed eye drops with prednisone ( a steroid) and said to take it 4 times a day (in both eyes) and call him Monday. I should notice a real difference by Friday. If by Monday, it's getting back to crystal clear, we'll taper me off the drops.

When I was at MFF, my left eye, (the one I had the surgery on less than 3 weeks earlier) got REALLY dry and sore. Thankfully, a bottle of Clear Eyes eye drops helped but it bothered me until after we got home on Monday. I had my follow-up appointment with the eye doctor on Thursday and he said that everything looked perfect. The implants are in exactly the right spot, the eye pressure was perfect, there was no sign of macular degeneration. My left eye WAS crystal clear before the dryness, but it's a bit blurry again. He didn't seem worried but ran an extra test to be sure. In the end, I didn't even have to get a new prescription for my glasses!

So, the story of my cataract surgery has a happy ending... especially after I got the bill in the mail... after my insurance: I ended up owing...

$6.00!!!

I had my followup with the eye doctor. He said that everything looks great. They broke a blood vessel and there was still some swelling, but nothing at all out of the ordinary. I go back in 2 weeks and my eyes should have stabilized enough, by that point, that I can get a new prescription on my glasses (I'll still be near sighted) ;)