Daniel Brady Lynch is a Savannah, GA-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who began writing and recording his own original music at a very early age — and over the past few years, Lynch has developed a number of musical projects that showcase a wide array of…
your tags..you think its delusional for jack to see here lies love? i was thinking some of the cast might..?
As much as I’d love it (like “grinning with joy” amounts of love) I wouldn’t anticipate that happening. I mean every member of the cast was in NYC at some point while The King & I was running, yet only Jack actually went to see it. With Seattle being a bit less common of a trip than NYC…the likelihood would be slim I’d say.
Though Jack did just take a random weekend trip to Seattle back in October, so he remains the most likely I suppose!
(If you ask a pessimist a question, you’re gonna get a pessimistic answer. That’s just how this works lol.)
Lulls come in various degrees of insecurity and displeasure. They can be fairly insignificant, explained in passing as “I have been feeling off lately”, yet you’re back in the swing of things in a matter of days. Other times, lulls last months as we experience intense over analytical periods of self-worth, constantly comparing ourselves to the seemingly successful lives of our peers. More often than not, at least for me, the latter is far more prevalent than the former.
Rewind to about a year ago, and I experienced an extensive lull myself. Only this time, it was one of the longer bouts of depressive self-deprecation I have ever experienced.
I had just graduated college and moved back home for the summer. At the time, I was applying to various writing positions while in the warehouse of a printing company to make some cash. Ironic, I know. It wasn't a terrible situation. I didn't have to pay rent or buy groceries, school obligation was no longer factor, and my part-time job wasn't too demanding. It wasn't until I started noticing the pictures of my high school mates graduating from college, followed by a status that said something to the effect of, 'Can't wait to start the next chapter of my life at my dream job!' It was overly braggy and sinfully normal, but it got me thinking. The majority of the people I graduated with from high school were offered their dream job right out the gate. Meanwhile, I was working second shift (3 pm - 11 pm) four days a week, in a windowless warehouse, making ten dollars per hour.
To make matters worse, I was living with my parents. I love ol’ Mr and Mrs Willard, but the difference between living on your own and living with your parents is jarring, as I am sure you know.
I started looking at the lives of my peers, and their success loomed large in my mind. Although their success may not have been life-changing, the mind of an individual feeling mentally vulnerable can exacerbate apparent mild achievement. Especially when you begin comparing yourself to others, a trend that has become uncomfortably familiar in my twenty-four years.
Every day was routine: I would wake up at 11, make my lunch for work, watch Netflix, go to work until 11 pm, drive home, and finish the night playing video games until 2 or 3 in the morning. Rinse, and unfortunately, fucking repeat. I started losing motivation. At the beginning, I applied to jobs every day. Then a few days a week. Then once a week. Eventually, I stopped applying. Naturally, I turned to video games.
It wasn’t because video games offered an escape, they provided accomplishment I wasn’t feeling in my every day life. Every night I could complete a mission, gain a level, defeat a boss – there was always progress to be made, something the Japanese RPG Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch handled well.
You play as Oliver, a boy with magical abilities who becomes lost after his mother dies through mysterious circumstances. Members of his quaint town Motorville attempt to cheer Oliver up, but it’s no use. He is consumed by his sorrow.
One day, as all stories go, Oliver is crying in his bedroom, clutching Drippy, the stuffed doll his mom gave to him when he was a baby. As Oliver’s sobbing intensifies, his tears fall on Drippy and the doll awakens. Drippy reveals himself to be the Lord High Lord of the Fairies who was cursed to be a doll by the Dark Djinn. I am sure you can imagine what happens next, but if you haven’t inferred, what ensues is a journey full of magic, discovery, and intrigue.
When you enter the Other World, the fantasy world parallel to Motorville, Oliver and Drippy begin encountering NPCs who are “brokenhearted”, individuals who have lost a piece of their heart to the darkness spreading throughout the world. Oliver acquires a locket which allows him to give the brokenhearted the piece of their heart they are missing: kindness, enthusiasm, courage, restraint, belief, confidence, love or ambition. This specific mechanic was what helped me through my extended lull.
Having the ability to mend the hearts of others, and watch the world around you become a better place because of you is an incredible feeling. There are few video game settings where you can see the noticeable change your good deeds have on the world. With every broken heart you cure, the world becomes better, and in turn, the player feels better.
As I applied to more and more jobs, received more and more rejections, repairing something as intimate as the heart in Ni no Kuni was a major win for me. Yes, it was a form of escapism, but I was seeing progress in the lives of the characters which ultimately helped me mentally. The more time I spent in the world, the more I could sense myself realizing this moment of heightened insecurity would pass.
The routine of my every day would wear me out to the extent that the only energy I had was to pick up my PS3 controller and play. I had the fortune of Ni no Kuni being the game I played. One of the pieces in Oliver’s locket he is able to give is ambition, exactly what was instilled in me after completing the game. I found my freelance job as an associate editor for a video game website, I moved out of my parents house, and now I am here telling you about it.
Ni no Kuni is great for many reasons. The story is poignant, the gameplay is wonderful, the world is charming, but most importantly, it helped me through an emotionally awkward time. It motivated me, and it brought accomplishment when I was striking out in other areas. When life was nothing but bummerville, Ni no Kuni made me feel like I was doing something meaningful. That will always be special to me.
