The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

You know when you get in a certain mood sometimes, and you just have to act on that mood? Well, last night I was in a "pull out my heart by each of its strings" mood, and I just had to act on it. For several days now, I have had Song of the Ancients playing on loop in my head. Each time it would repeat, it would increase my need for a bit of a cry. So, I started up a new save file of Nier.

Now, for those of you who have played it, you probably agree that its story is quite an emotional one, especially for being as dark as it is. For those who haven't played it, I highly suggest you stop whatever it is you are doing, run to your nearest video game store, buy the game, and play it.

But that opening sequence is all I needed t satisfy my desire to feel emotional. It is a great way to start a game. And after that, I kept on playing. Not because I wanted to feel things, but because of my desire to complete the game 100%. I never did upgrade every single weapon. Anyway, I reached the point in the game where you have access to the Junk Heap. And then I was too tired to keep going.

It was after I finished that opening part of the game that another thought crossed my mind. What if one of these video games, not just Nier, is actually predicting the future? Take Nier, for example. It starts out in the year 2049, specifically Summer. Summer, and yet what appears to be snow is falling to the ground. And then 1,312 years later (the year 3361, if my math is correct) human-kind is decimated to what appears to be a handful of tiny villages. And surrounding the villages are monsters called Shades, but (and I will try not to spoil things too much) they're not really monsters at all.

I guess it's easy to say that because the game takes place in the distant future, anything is possible, and it could very well happen. And then you could go even further and say that it is just as likely that Nier and the Xenosaga series are possible.

But back to my main point. Not in that it is possible to happen, but what if the creators of a game, any game, came together, their minds formed something that actually predicts what will be of our planet? Sure, with the current political/economic/weather/etc. climate, it'd be more likely to say that Fallout 4 would be a better predictor of the future. But Facebook gets flooded with these "What video game/anime/TV Show world would you live in?" threads from time to time, and I would honestly say that not only would I think I'd like to live in the world of Nier, but I think it is somewhat possible for that world to actually become a reality.

Yeah, weird stuff (referring to the Blog Posts's title). Moving on...

Since my last entry, I have driven some more, and even drove by myself for the first time. My sister doesn't believe me when I say I did a good job by myself, but I truly did. I went from the Messenger (in the center of the village) to the community building (on the Eastern edge of the village) all by myself. I still hate driving, but I am getting used to doing it, and I guess you can say I am getting kind of good at it. If I just practice a bit more, I will be ready to take the license test. The driving on roads part I am fine with. It is just that whole part where they have you in an fenced-in area, and you are expected to negotiate reversing and moving forward while not hitting any cones. I hate that they are consider human during the test. Every human I know is smart enough to move out of the way if a car is coming toward you. If a human is just standing there while anyone, not just me, is coming toward them in a vehicle, they deserve to be hit by a car. I mean, what idiot is going to be like, "Oh my, this car is moving backward right at me, I think I will be dumb and just stand here while it happens."?

*Note: I know that there are people who can't move as fast as others, and they may need more time to get out of the way. But I can easily account for that by waiting until they move out of the way. I'm not completely heartless 24/7. Just most of the time.

I think I have mentioned before that I am taking a class for Joey's bus driver, yes? Well, the class is almost over. Only 3 weeks until the final exam. But I am not talking about cheating right now. I am talking about how it has made me want to go back to school myself. I applied, and submitted the financial junk, and even my transcript from high school. Everything is ready and up to date. However, in order to continue with the enrollment process, I have to take a placement test on campus. So, I have been getting everything prepared for that. I know the material on the test. I secured transportation to and from the campus. All that was left was for me to make sure Joey had someone watching him while I was gone, because the test starts at 4:30pm and ends at 7:30pm. On Sunday, I asked Carma if it would be okay if I went to take the test and to find someone to watch Joey. She flies off the handle and says that Joey is my main priority, and that she's getting tired of me putting him to the side while I do what I do.

Like, what?! Seriously, what? You don't want me to go to the college and take a mandatory test! It's not like I am telling you five minutes before I leave to take it. I am giving you four days notice that I have to take this test to complete my enrollment, and you are mad you have to find someone to watch him! But no, because I have been working more, and getting home after he gets off the bus (but always before 4pm when she leaves for work), she is mad that I am making arrangements that don't involve him. I said, "fine, I will just cancel the test," and walked back to my room.

My main priority has NEVER been Joey. My main priority has always been to get into a position where I can one day leave this place and live on my own. I am thankful for Carma putting me up with no financial woes these last two years, but I never signed on to be a butler. What did she think was going to happen if I ever got my driver's license? The plan is to find a job that makes enough money to move out.

Anyway...

She later said I could take the test. But then yesterday when I called to schedule for it, I found out the all of the spots were filled for it on Thursday. So, I have to start the process all over again: finding transportation, scheduling somewhere for Joey for be, and then calling again. I haven't even told Carma that Joey's bus driver wants me to go with her to prepare her for the exam at the end of the month. Such fun!

In other news, I have been working more, which is nice. It leaves hardly any time to play video games, but it gives me plenty of money to buy more. And I really need to stop doing that! So far this month, I have bought probably $100 worth of games on PSN, and $50 at GameStop. And why, so they will collect digital and physical dust, and just sit there, never to be played? I even went to a used video game shop and bought a copy of the original Grand Theft Auto. Why? Because it was just sitting there, and I wanted to add it to my collection.

So, I am putting my foot down. I am not going to buy any more video games. I will, however, download the free games from PS+ each month. I mean, there's no sense in going completely crazy. And besides, it is free.

Well, that's all for now, I think. I should get dressed and ready in case Joe (Iris' boyfriend) wants me to work at the farm today. So, I hope to see you around the forums, and until then...

Later!

Michael