Talcon's Corner

Hey! Welcome to my corner of the internet. I'm Talcon, or Shawn, I'll let you know that much. I'm a feminist, game developer, and lover of many things cute. Much Kingdom Hearts obsession, and major SoKai shipper. Let's enjoy this adventure we call life together?

[talcon]

This is a recording of a poem I wrote for my Social Justice and Representation class. It pulls on common themes from the literature we've read, as well as heavily focusing on my own anxieites of my mixed-race, white-passing identity.

[iga-bloodstained-blog]

IGA is building a new castle.

Igavania.com

[cullenrutherfurds-deactivated20]

Everywhere you look in the kingdom hearts universe there are zippers and straps and huge feet

[talcon]

Chapter 4: A Transgressive Lesson

I was dead. I never thought I’d die this way, but there was no hope for me now. For almost two months I had managed to keep on the Eaglenator’s good side, but this was where it ended. These were the thoughts that coursed through my head as I wondered what my funeral would be like? They’d probably bury me in a dress – I highly doubt my parents would want to cremate me. We were supposed to write a 500 word op-ed on a piece of recent news – I had not wrote a word of it. It was due at the start of class, typed up. Twice I had got away with ‘forgetting’ assignments like this on my printer, but the Eaglenator only gave you two chances, and then you were on his shit list. He would not accept an excuse like that again. In fact he made a habit of reminding all of us with only one strike left of this daily. His social studies classes were really fun, but the man had very strict guidelines. He was eager to read what I said I was going to write about - there was no way he wouldn’t destroy me for letting him down like that. The worst part was, I probably wrote a thousand words to Jason on the topic over instant messanger.

If only I could cast spells in the school (not that I’d mastered even the simplest of time magic), I could cast a time distortion spell, run home, write it, and come back here. I’d have what felt like 2 hours, but really was only 2 minutes. That was VERY high level magic though, and to maintain a spell outside the points where that other realm fully intersected with our own – a higher level still. There was nothing I could do. Nothing. I sighed and whispered to myself the answer to Jason’s question in possibly one of the most defeated voices ever uttered from me, “no”.

And as I whispered that, a stapled set of sheets of paper appeared on my desk. Size fourteen font, Times New Roman, properly formatted for paragraphs, and with the proper page margins. I recognized the words. They were my own, the very ones that I had rambled towards Jason over messenger the night before. Before I assulated Dunban’s keep. How had he known that I didn’t do it. “Jason, what how?” I whispered to him.

The only response he gave me was a shake of his head. How did he know? Did he know about my foray’s into the magical underbelly of society? I had kept it a secret, partly to protect my friend, partly because I wanted to keep it to my self. I know that is selfish, but sometimes there are things, especially when you spend so much time together and share so much, that you just want to keep away from your best friend. “Seriously dude, don’t mention it.” He added as I stared at him dumbfounded.

Breathing a sigh of relief I took the pages and placed them atop my opened binder. I had been emptying my backpack as I went over my contemplation of my impending doom. The binder was open to the section for social studies, new fresh pieces of loose leaf sat atop it, ready to be written upon. A mechanical pencil with .7 lead (seriously, who used .5? Scrubs that’s who.) lay neatly below it, awaiting use.

We were even when I sat down to my desk, but already I was indebted to my charming friend once more. He was too good, maybe I would have to try and question him about his connection to the magical world after all. I’d been exploring this since I was ten years old, alone. Maybe it didn’t have to be alone anymore. Things were getting more dangerous as I rebelled against Dunban too, so help was probably something I needed anyways.

As my mind wandered to the future, the rest of our classmates entered the room. First there was Daniel, Dan, and Danny (all three named Daniel of course, but thankfully they all wanted to go by something different). Then there was Sean, Shawn, and Shaun. It was impossible to get only one of their attention, and they were constantly bickering over whose name was the proper way to spell it (for the record, I’m in the Sean camp). Hana and Hao walked in, holding hands. It was a big scandal in their families that the two were dating. They were Japanese and Chinese, so it made things kind interesting. I honestly loved hearing the updates during the lunch hour, it was like peaking into a soap opera. Julie, Jodie, and Robin came in, they weren’t friends, but they weren’t not either, they did walk to school together because they were neighbors. Julie and Jodie were the president and vice president of the anime and games club despite only being in the ninth grade. Kayla and Katie were followed into the class by: Alex Gregley, Alex Gunn, and Al (yes, he too is an Alex). Alex Gregley, she goes by Greggles, Alex Gunn goes by Alex or Gunn, or A G (Wow, that kid really has a lot of nicknames). Curtis, and Ryker were no where to be seen, the two were probably off somewhere filming something for Youtube. Their absences were too frequent to mention. In next came Randi and Randy – both female, and dating. People asked them if they planned to adopt a girl and call her Randi squared. I can’t imagine how tiring that became. Surprisingly Conor (female) was nowhere to be seen. She was always studious and shy, and hated missing school. This was the cohort that was my homeroom class, as well as my social studies class.

Actually, we took all our core-classes together. It was only electives that we got to go to different rooms and meet different people. Every year you had more electives and got to go to more different classes and meet more different groups. Grade 12 I was so excited for, the only class I was required to take was English. It would be THE BEST. The best I say. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my homeroom, but I just REALLY wanted to define MY education to be as unique as possible. It was something I couldn’t quite understand – but still, it was exactly what I wanted from school.

As the last of my classmates entered the classroom and sat down, the bell rang to announce the official start of the school day. Static played from the intercom as the office connected to the classes. The voice of our principal, Madam Morrell, came out of the small gray speaker in the corner of the room. “Good Evening students of Eastwood High. Would you please rise for the singing of O’Canada” She requested in her typical prim and proper voice. Her French accent curling around the words, when she spoke it always felt like she was glaring into your soul, even if she wasn’t in in the room.

I stood up and put a hand over my heart, then folded them behind my back, then I made a strange interlacing of my hands in front of me as our National Anthem played. Every morning, the day is started with the playing of the national anthem, followed by announcements. I never knew how best to stand during this. It always felt just a little bit too awkward. Nothing against my nation, but the daily standing for O’Canada felt kind of pointless and just like busy work. Either way, at least they got drama kids to sing it each morning instead of just playing a recording. At my middle school, they played a recording, but knowing that the singing is live, at least for me, makes it more bearable.

After the song ended we all sat down a small mummer of chatter emitting from my classmates as the announcements began. It was all the typical stuff, but one thing stood out for me. “The school fencing club, as well as the school wrestling team will be hosting try-outs tomorrow after school. Anyone interested please sign up in the office during lunch hour.” Said the voice of Student Council president Brian Hanson. He had a tired, bored tone to his voice. Apparently he wasn’t really student council president by choice, but instead got signed up for the job by his friends, and elected in. He ran for the position seriously, apparently, it was all before I was here obviously. Still – both wrestling and fencing were things I wanted to try out for. They used the same space in the school, so I could theoretically join both teams. I felt excitement welling up inside of me at the prospect of this. Jason turned his head to me smiling, “We’re joining both” he asserted, and I quickly snapped back, “I don’t know if they’ll want or need you after they see me.”

Class began and Mr.Eagles began collecting the homework assignments. It was a pretty rudimentary class for the first ten minutes as we wrapped up our discussion on culture in China and the differences in their educational system. What wasn’t expected at all was Mr.Eagles next statement. “Let’s talk about the LGBTQI community.” My eyes peaked up. This was dangerous, especially in a class of grade nines. Everyone looked tense around me, Jason especially. He kept looking at me, a little worried. Conor walked into the classroom at this point handing her assignment to Mr.Eagles She went to say something and he said, “Don’t worry miss. Anderson, I got your email. Now take your seat.” She sat down in front of Jason.

“As I was saying, we’re going to talk about the LGBTQI community. To start things off, and don’t feel obligated to out yourself, but who identifies under this spectrum in here?” Randi and Randy both raised their hands, as did Al. This was surprising, but not like in a bad way. My hands were tight on my desk. Nobody knew I went by Seth. Nobody knew the dysphoria I had with my changing body. I wanted to share it, to be open, but I was still too scared. I was shivering and quivering. Were people looking at me right now? I was turning my head left and right, I saw a couple people in similar positions as me. Once I realized people weren’t staring at me, I felt my heart begin to slow down. I finally looked at Jason to give him a smile, but I was caught by a surprise.

Jason raised his hand and I was so confused. How did I not know this? He cleared his throat and said, “You forgot A sir.’ Mr. Eagles looked at him seriously for a minute, and then a soft smile washed over his face. “You’re right Mr.Abudo. My apologies” he replied. My mind dashed over what the ‘A’ meant. It came to me quickly, ‘A’sexual. My eyes wavered on Jason for a second, I couldn’t decide if he was just championing inclusiveness, or was ensuring he was represented there. It didn’t matter either way, I was just curious. We were best friends, we were supposed to share everything, but I had my secrets, so should he.

Jason put his hand down as soon as his statement was addressed. I didn’t know how to read this moment at all, and I didn’t know if I should even be TRYING to read it. I swallowed hard as I tried to move on from that particular string of thoughts, this was helped along by Mr.Eagles continuing his string of thought. He cleared his throat before saying, “Yes, the LGBTQIA community, some people say queer community, other people say gay community, and don’t even get me started on all the slurs we can find slung at its members. Already I’ve had some excellent think pieces from you wonderful people about the treatment of this section of society, however none of you have begun to breach the topic of why. This is where you’ll get your first proper assignment from me. More than these 500 word think pieces a proper eight page paper!” He began, and a groan released seemingly from every person in the room. Neither Jason nor I were exempt from this.

“Now now, don’t prove the other teachers right in their claims that grade nine students can’t do proper homework assignments! You’ll have a month and a half to complete this paper. I expect it by the first day of December. That gives you fourty-five days since it’s the fifteenth of October. I do NOT recommend leaving it until the last minute. I want you to frame this like a news editorial. I want you to write a retrospective on the plights of the Queer community. Write this like it’s at a time where equality has been won. I want you to compare it to the history of another marginalized group. We live in Canada, so try to keep it in a Canadian perspective. Feel free to ask me any questions after school, or send me copies of completed drafts to receive feedback on. This will be an interesting assignment, I want to see you all apply a critical eye to the topics at hand. MLA citations are expected, which we will go over how to do today. Are there any immediate questions?” He spoke with a clarity and intensity that I’d never seen come from our teacher. He always seemed intense, but this was a level I’d never seen before.

A murmur broke out as people began to discuss the assignment. Before the Eaglenator could quell the discussions the bell rang signifying that we should head to our next class. The room began to pack up as Mr.Eagles sighed and sat behind his desk. “Leave your assignment on my desk on your way out” He instructed as he reclined in his chair, rubbing his temple. This assignment was so transgressive. I couldn’t believe how bold he was being, sure this was Canada, so civil rights were generally better here then our southern neighbour, but there would be outcry from a few parents for sure.

As I packed up my stuff into my school bag I found myself staring at Jason. Wondering if he was just being a good ally, or if he was actually asexual. It wasn’t my place to know or ask, but at the same time I felt like I needed to know. His gaze caught my own and he cocked an eyebrow. As I felt my cheeks reddening, I stuck my tongue out at him and flung my backpack back on.

“Come on slow poke, we’re going to be late for math class” I said to him. I wouldn’t ask though, invading his privacy wasn’t even his best friend’s place.

“You know I can’t bail you out if you forgot to do your homework this time” he retorted.

“Shut up” was all I could muster in reply.

We both laughed at our exchange as we walked out into the hall and power walked to Mrs. Smith’s classroom.

[talcon]

Chapter Three: The road to homeroom

Hey! Here's the next chapter! Finally~ I've been so busy this past weekend! ... I almost wrote busty... haha

The issue with magic in this world in comparison to magic as displayed in most fiction is that magic, it doesn’t really let you use it whenever. Magic is the manipulation of a spiritual energy of another world that is intersecting with our own. As such, you can only cast spells in places where this world is crossing over with that other plane of existence. That’s why nobody ever sees dragons or the like flying around. Creatures like Big Foot, the Yeti, and the Loch Ness Monster are all denizens of that world with incredible presence. Occasionally they transition, just for a moment, into our world. During those brief few seconds, even adults can see the creatures. Some Arch-mages theorize that the worlds could or will someday completely integrate. The math isn’t done yet, and nobody wants to do math when you could be figuring out how to summon dragons.

As such, it didn’t matter how much of a master magician thief Seth the daring was. Right now Suzanne the student was just a sitting duck as he and his best friend attempted to make it across the school to their homeroom without seniors interfering with the process. As my mind raced through all the possibilities available to me to make this ten times easier using magic, I could hear my heart beating a bit faster than I would like. I could cast an invisibility spell, only a master scryer would hope to see us then. Alternatively, I could put up a sound distortion field. It would be a bit more conspicuous, but generally the silence just confuses people. There was also the option of transmogrification, it would just be an enchantment, but I could make us temporarily look older or like a completely different person. Unfortunately, there was no way to make a transmigration spell permanent.

I was lost in thought. I felt myself pulled back into the world suddenly and sharply. Jason has his hand grasping my arm as I looked up. A large senior girl was standing in front of us. She probably weighed close to 350 pounds, and all of it was pure muscle. Her legs were like tree trunks. Her arms like the scoopers on a construction vehicle. With large breasts and a sixpack both pressing against her usually tight shirts, she was a sight to behold. She was glaring at me. Deep brown orbs of pure anger gazing into my much more shallow greens. I had almost walked straight into her. “You see, this is the problem with grade nines,” she began. Her voice was like velvet. Somehow it was reassuring and comforting while also grating to hear.

I gulped in reply. I began to stammer, that was Janice Bastarache. Despite initial struggles against it, star lineswoman for the men’s football team, and the best wrestler in the school. If life were a bad movie, she’d be the character always walking around in a letterman jacket (which she does wear, our school doesn’t have them, but her father’s school did) and would always be picking on the nerds. So I guess life is a little like a bad movie.

“Uhhh Janice-“ I began but she quickly cut me off with a stern glare. “Can it Suzanne Lapointe. I didn’t say you could talk, could I?” she barked back. I could swear, just for a moment, her head morphed into that of a large pitbull. “Look, we don’t mean you any harm. Suzie here,” Jason began. I was glad he wasn’t using my true name publically. I wasn’t read to deal with that. Not yet. Right now definitely wouldn’t be the appropriate time to come out. This beating would probably already hurt enough.

“No Jason, just can it. I’m tired of dealing with fat ass bullies like Janice.” I say. Just as I begin the brave standing of my ground three more people come around the corner. First there was Frank Killam, with his silky brown hair and a sly face. He’s tall, probably close to seven feet and he’s very lanky. His arms look comically long hanging beside him as he walks. Over half of his height has to be his ridiculously long legs. I’m pretty sure where I go in a hundred steps; he could casually go in five. Beside him, the much shorter Ian Bastarache (no relation to Janice, I swear, there’s like only five French family names, and half of us with them aren’t even French) walked.

Whereas Frank was wearing a basketball jersey and athletic shorts, Ian was wearing a black hoody. He came in at shorter than me. He was exactly five feet tall despite being almost five years older. He had a crew cut and planned on joining the military once he finished high school. His tiny frame was admittedly firm and muscled, so he couldn’t fully be called small. Flanking him were the Pauley twins. Sarah and Sami (Samantha).

Sarah was a blonde, and Sami was a brunette. If it wasn’t for this, it would be impossible to tell the cheer co-captains apart. They were literal identical twins. Their personalities were similar to a level only seen in works of fiction. They dressed the same. Always had the same thing for lunch (okay, that’s pretty common for brown bagging it, there’s only so much food one home can have), and their voices were even eerily similar. Jason would say that Sarah has a higher pitched voice, but I think he just has a crush on her. Still, for all their beauty, their perfectly make-uped faces and their perfect synchronization, they were both utter bitches.

How did we have the luck of running into the entire senior crew? Like, the literal monarchs of the school were before us right now. Student council, grad council, social elite, and star athletes, and all of them with great grades too. Sometimes I wondered if all that other achievement made it impossible for them to be kind. Other-times I was hoping that the cleaning puck in the toilets had recently been changed. Swirlies with old toilet water are significantly worse than swirlies with new toilet water. I mean, both are bad. But one is worse.

They were now surrounding us.

In that moment, we were two grade nines back to back with the five senior elite standing in a circle around them. It felt strange and surreal to me right then and there. There was absolutely NO way that this could do anything BUT end badly.

“What was that you little freak?” Janice asked as her gruff voice grated on my ears. The visceral sound of the grinding of her joints as she cracked each knuckle on each finger caused a shiver to run down my spine and have me retch slightly in reaction.

“well, you see. . .” Jason began, his voice stammering to try and get something out, but nothing seemed to want to come from his mouth. I could feel his heart, even back to back, beating so fast. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to find inner calm and peace.

Come on Seth. You’ve talked your way out of worse. Remember when you were just discovering the magical world, not a spell to your name. You talked your way out of a DRAGON’S lair. With a prize for your guts and daring. What’s Janice compared to a dragon? Nothing.

I could feel that prize hanging around my neck. It was a solid gold locket. Inside I kept a picture of my family. A reminder of the love I’ll always have in my life. I think. Gulping I repeated myself. Hopefully Jason would be able to react in time. I had a plan, and it would only work once. I had to time it JUST right.

“You heard me you oversized Jelly-filled doughnut. I am sick of FAT. ASS. Bastards like yourself. Just bullying people cuz you didn’t get enough to eat for breakfast. I’m sorry the third helping wasn’t enough you Neanderthal.” I began. My voice spoke quickly, but clearly, one word barely giving even a breath’s space between the next. The entire crew was in utter shock. It was clear they had never had a grade nine give such an intense rebellion. It was ballsy, but I knew it was our best chance. I was never making it to school early again.

“You little ingrate. I own this school. I am going to remind you who owns who and why you don’t speak to your masters like that!” Janice yelled in frustration. Her hands clenched tightly. She wasn’t fat, and calling her such was kind of a low blow. She was just far too large for the traditional image of female beauty. It was probably a sour spot for her. Unfortunately, being beat up was a sour spot for me. Especially when my crime is, existing.

“You gunna get swirlied upside down, AFTER my boy Frank took one of his beans and wieners dumps” Ian chortled out. Frank hit him upside the head in frustration. My stomach turned over in protest. So much in that sentence I didn’t like, combined together, it might have been one of the worst sentences a person could hear. Right behind, ‘you have 17 scrotum cysts covered in hair’, but coming after ‘this type of leech currently sucking your blood cannot be removed without injecting lethal poison into your body, thankfully it will die naturally within a week and then will harmlessly fall off.’

Sami rolled her eyes while Sarah became a giggling mess. Sami huffed before saying, her sister joining her in chorus halfway through. “I don’t think an ugly bitch like you has any right commenting on who or who isn’t fat. Do you even eat? Like you probably are one of the most bulimic attention seekers I’ve ever seen. Fucking grade nines.”

I closed my eyes in frustration. The Pauley twins were my least favourite. They would say anything. The five of them were laughing to themselves. They were all looking at the two of us. Downwards too. Normally I hated having not yet hit the higher heights of my teenage years. Right now was NOT one of those times. They were looking down at us shorties. Paying no mind to the people around us.

“Oh crap! Mr. Munn wants me to come over to him. He probably heard me swear. He’s doing that thing where he just stares at you gesturing. I’ll have to take a rain check on this well deserved retribution. I’ll make sure to reflect on my crimes.” I said quickly again. Not giving them the time to really think about what I said. Putting emphasis on the principal’s name and the word gesturing. It worked like a charm.

All five took a step back in surprise. They looked to the left and to the right with worry and fright. Mr. Munn did not like bullying at all. Rumor has it he was heavily bullied as a child. A trick like that, calling wolf would only work once though. I grabbed Jason’s hand and tugged on his arm as I began power walking through the space between Ian and Frank. Jason seemed confused but he was thankfully NOT frozen in place.

The two of us darted out of there. As soon as Jason had gotten past Frank’s shoulders he was moving much more quickly. We darted down the hall, and around the corner. My shoulder slammed a locker door closed as we could hear the protests of our would-be captors behind us. We just needed to get to home room. That was all.

Jason turned and I was right on his heels as we slid into our grade nine homeroom. I was breathing heavily as our feet pounded against the hard tiles of our school.

“Were you two running?” our teacher asked as he looked up from his book. He was a man in his mid-thirties. Bald with just a small dusting of blonde hair around his crown. He had deep piercing blue eyes and a nose just a little bit too large. I gulped. Mr. Eagles always kind of scared me. I think his voice was just a little bit too stern.

“Yes sir. We’re sorry sir. We’re just feeling so eager to learn about the wonderments of the world.” Jason quickly replied as I stood caught in my tracks. I was thankful for my best friend, but a little sour he was already returning the favour for my saving of us with the senior crew.

“Very well Mr. Abudo. Just be sure to calm your hormones for the rest of the day. You too Miss Wright.” He said before burying his face back into his book and drinking another sip of his coffee. I breathed a sigh of relief as we took our seats in the middle of the classroom. We were safe for now. That’s when I remembered Jason’s original question. Did I do my homework? The answer was no.

[talcon]

Daily Chapter  2: A Mundane Quest

My body aches as I arch myself out of bed to stare at my current condition in the full body mirror hanging on the back of my bedroom door. Standing in the center of the room I look around me. My Dresser, adored in stickers from my younger years, Barbies, Hot Wheels, Superheroes, and fairies all stare back at me smugly. Some of the older stickers have begun to peel off with age. Beside the dresser sits my desk. Its large oaken frame gazes vacantly. The stained wood is covered in scuffmarks and a plethora of scratches that can only be explained away with the fact that I’ve had this desk since I was eight. On the desk sat my metal cased laptop, which was surrounded with a host of papers covered in both poetry and mindless scribbling. A black laptop bag sat beside the charging machine on the desk. A couple of textbooks and a Duo-Tang identifying it as my school bag peaked out from within. An equally wheezed oak chair sits in front of it. The wood cracking with age but the chair itself still plenty sturdy for my occasional use of the desk (mostly for homework and the occasional poetry). On the other side sat a large chest, its innards being every game console I ever owned, and the games for all of them. Beside that a television stand hosting a modest 22-inch television.

The entire room was covered in my dirty clothes. Not compelled to help that situation, I removed my pajamas and tossed them haphazardly as I stripped down to my birthday suit. Staring at my unkempt ginger hair and freckled adorned face I sighed heavily. Shrugging my wiry frame I grab a towel hanging off a hook on the wall next to my door. I wrap it around my lower half and open the door to the loudness of the house.

I’m assaulted immediately by the sound of my younger sister crying. It’s definitely 7:30 A.M. I hope that my older sister hasn’t got into the bathroom yet so I can take my shower in a reasonable time frame. I quickly plod across the hall from my room to the bathroom. The sound of my mother trying to coo my little sister with song drifting up the stairs as a sound track to my much more mundane quest.

“Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby” She has begun singing. I contemplate the song. I definitely haven’t heard it before. The loud sound of my older sister’s alarm begins to scream through the beauty of the song making the next set of lyrics a bit more difficult to hear as I stand at the top of the stairs listening, squinting at the sound of my sister’s alarm clock.

“Somewhere, “BEEP” over t“BEEP”he rainbow, skies “BEEP”are blue And the “BEEP”dream“BEEP”s that yo“BEEP”u dare to“BEEP” dream really do c“BEEP”ome true” My mom sings. I squint harder as the beeping stops. I could swear she sings this one every night I assault one of Daniel’s lairs. The sound of my sister’s room unlatches reminds me of my current mission. I quickly bolt to the bathroom door as her door opens. I slam the door shut behind me and quickly lock it. I can hear my sister’s cries of protests as I drop my towel over the final bit of my mother’s Lullaby.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly Beyond the rainbow Why, oh why, can't I?”

My mother’s serene voice accompanies the sound of the water beginning to run as I test it for the appropriate temperature. After about fifteen minutes I find myself drying the cleansing water from the shower off my body. I stare in the steamy bathroom mirror. I wipe the steam off the glass as if I were shaving morning stubble. Someday, maybe.

I escape the backroom with the towel around my waist once more. My sister is sitting on the stairs annoyed. “Suzanne! You totally took way too long in there. God! I’m going to be late! And wear your towel properly! What if dad were walking around, have some decency!” She screeched at me. I roll my eyes internally at the nineteen-year-old girl. Margaret, or as she goes by, Maggie was going to a local university taking courses in philosophy and psychology. She planned to double major but didn’t have a clue what she wanted to do next. Dad said that was fine, but Mom worried about it a lot. At least my younger sister had stopped crying. Mom worried too much.

My mother gave me a peck on the cheek and my father gave me a hug after I quickly dressed and ate a hurried breakfast (pancakes and sausage cooked by my father). They wished their baby girl a good day at school. Internally I rolled my eyes but externally I simply snark in reply, “I don’t think Steph is quite ready for school yet. She can’t even say her name yet.” I laugh at myself and my parents suppress a giggle. I give the little baby a kiss on the forehead as she stares at me intently. I wonder for a moment if babies can see the magical world even better. Is perhaps the ability to comprehend and speak language a by-product of becoming less in-tuned with the magical realm? Too many questions arose but nobody to answer them. More importantly, for the moment anyways, I had to get to school. I ran outside into the crisp September air. I looked around me at the Canadian city rising all around. I quickly ran and ran, my backpack slamming my textbooks against my back as I attempted to catch up to my best friend. He never waited for me, but we always walked to school together. I put my hand on his shoulder as I caught up.

He stopped walking and turned to look at me smiling. “You’re early. I didn’t even get to worry you were skipping school dude. Impressive. Did you get the home work done?” The dark skinned boy of almost fifteen years (his birthday being in three days time, and he will not let anyone forget this fact) laughs in spite of himself. I roll my eyes, this time externally.

“Come on Seth, I’m just playin’” He defends hastily as we continue along the concrete sidewalk. I chuckle in reply before finally speaking.

“I know, I know.” I console him. Hearing my true name I smile broadly. My family don’t know and I can’t handle telling them that they only have two daughters. Jason here, he’s known before I knew. He was reading Super Mario Fan-fiction when the word first came into his vernacular. I had been voicing severe identity issues during the twilight of my twelfth year on this planet. Things were getting bad. That’s when Jason asked if I thought I was transgendered. My answer was instantly yes. I didn’t even need him to define it. From the word alone I could deduce the meaning. I still remember the day all this self-clarity came to me in Jason’s tree house. I nearly kissed him in thanks. I cried and he thought it made things worse, but no, it made things so much better.

We arrive at the school with excess time for once. Both of us make a beeline for homeroom though. We needed to get to our grade nine classroom before the seniors find us. Seniors make it very clear you’re not supposed to arrive early as a grade nine. We did not want to incur their wrath.

[talcon]

Daily Chapter 1: An Epic Quest

So I started this thing where when I wake up each morning, after breakfast, in an hour I write (rougly) 500 words of fiction. It's based on a similar challenge that a good friend of mine executes daily in conjunction with her thesis. She's an amazing writing and it helps her focus. I am hoping this wil help me focus too!

Not every kid can see the magical world. Humans are by far the least likely to be able to tap into this secret underbelly of society. It’s a wonder that modern civilization has been allowed to continue existing. Then again, even I fully don’t understand how this secret underbelly of the world really works. All I know is that I’m a 14-year-old kid and I’m about to die unless I catch that ledge.

My hands firmly grip the ledge as I’m pulled out of self-reflection on the marvels of the secret world I explore every night. People question why I’m always so tired at school, if only they knew the truth. My eyes grow wide as I stare at the firmly packed dirt that my fingers are gripping onto. I grip hard as I pull myself up. Below me is a pit of fire. Behind me is an axe on a rope, arching up and down a long stone hallway. I had just escaped the dungeon of the arch-mage Dunban the dangerous, or as his mother calls him, Daniel.

Daniel’s a 16 year old who is obsessed with not losing his connection to the magical world when he turns eighteen. As such, he has been kidnapping all sorts of magical beings in an effort to discover the secret to not forgetting, Satyrs, Centaurs, Elves, Gnomes, Owls, Cats, Grate Danes (I was surprised too to know, only Grate Danes are capable of magic, or at least the magic required to converse in English (or whatever language that particular human speaks)), and a host of other creatures both known and only spoken of in fantasy novels. I had taken on the task of trying to free as many as possible.

Mere moments ago I was in the deep research labs of Daniel’s magical keep. In there I found an entire parliament of owls pouring liquids from one beaker to another. Cauldrons of strange multi-colours liquids bubbled with steam escaping as the fires underneath raged bringing light to the dimly lit dungeon. The cold stone walls were damp with who knew what and each owl had long sad faces. Gulping, I whispered a spell and the manacles attached to their talons, keeping them pinned to the ground as if part of a ford production machine, opened as a green light filled the room for a moment. Most of them flew off but one looked at me with sadness in their eyes.

“He will punish you.” The owl said in an airy voice before also taking off and disappearing in a puff of smoke. The entire room filled with smoke as the fifty some owls all disappeared. It seemed there was some sort of anti-magic charm on these manacles. I would have to avoid getting captured by one at all costs. That’s when I saw one of the hard metal balls come flying towards my face. I ducked down and dived out of the room, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind me. Heavy breathing escaped me as I heard the dull thuds of the manacles with their balls and chain slamming against the door.

I carefully got to my feet, my back pressed against the door as I pulled a heavy wooden bar down in front of it. The bar kept it in place as it shook in its frame. Dust flew from the door in every direction as I bolted down the stone hallway. The sound of my quick steps pounding against the cold hard ground rung out as I jumped over arrows bolting from the wall and slid under harsh jets of flame. My hair singed a bit on the end. I’d have to have that cut before going home. That’s when I saw the five-foot gap with the pit of flames. I had found one of the underground exits to his lair. As I took two steps back the sound of a sinking stone tile was all I heard to know I didn’t have time to look back. I ran as fast as I could and jumped. The axe flew through the air at me but I managed to cross the gap.

Slowly, gingerly I pull myself up and onto the hard dirt. This kept getting harder. Still, I had to do something or the entire magical world would fall under his evil rule. I took a moment to rest, sitting on the cold dirt as I watch bits of the edge where I was gripping crumble down into the fires below. Thankfully, he hadn’t managed to scry my identity yet. Relishing in my luck and safety slowly I get to my feet and walk out into the crisp cool night air, ready to return to my regular life.

[insertbadpun]

remember last year when we thought miss canada’s costume was as canadian as it could get

well look at this year’s costume

we were all so wrong

[listen2futurefunk-deactivated20]

Reblog w the anime that made u cry the most/hardest

[talcon]

My Top 10 Games of 2014 (That I have played)

I need to preface this with the fact that this list is entirely composed of games released this year that I -have- played! I do not need to have completed or even beat the game for it to be included. I Just have to have played enough of the game to get a full sense of the game's feel. This has been mostly a back-log year for me, so there is a chance that some amazing games just didn't make it on the list (Dragon Age Inquisition, I'm looking at you). So The Criteria are: Released in 2014, and I think I've played enough to comment on it. I may end up writing more on some than others.  So without further adieu, here is Talcon's top 10 games release in 2014!  All below the read more

#10 Five Nights at Freddy's

Initial release date: August 8, 2014 Series: Five Night's At Freddy's  Genre: Point and Click Survival Horror Developer: Scott Cawthon Rating: No ESRB rating - Personal T for Teen Publisher: Valve/Steam Platforms: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows

The premise is simple. A pizza joint needs a security guard to look at their camera's over night for five days. The old guard is on vacation or something. He serves as the closest thing to a Navi-like guide, leaving messages on the answering machine each night. Most of the game's world is built through these one sided phone conversations. The pizza joint has a host of colourful animatronics, in the vein of something like Chucky Cheese. From there you spend the night looking at a tablet that lets you sift through the various security camera feeds. A battery back up is all that the place has to rely on for power through out the night. Accessing the Tablet drains electricity, closing one or two doors to the room drain power. Turning on lights drain power. Finally, just letting time pass drains power. What though is the threat that has you turning on lights and closing doors while frantically looking from security camera feed to security camera feed? It's not burglars! It's not mice with the plague! It's not even undead space cows from Alpha Centurion, it's animatronics! It turns out they kinda go whacko after hours and try and turn any person into one of their kin. How they do it is quite graphic, and I"ll leave the game to to explain it. Overall the game does an amazing job at the build up to a jump-scare. You don't have a health meter. You're just trying to survive till 6 AM. If you do, you go on to the next night of your job. One night more alive. One night closer to your pay. The folly of the creaks of buildings and the static of fuzzy displays leaves for a heart pounding experience that is culminated in either elation of the dawn bells ringing or the horror of the startling appearance of the animatorics coming in to assimilate you into their fraternity. They occasionally spook you by their just vacant expressions appearing on security monitors as you switch feeds but that's not the crux of the game's mastery of the uncanny. The game is great in the dread of waiting knowing there's very little you can do. The game gives you a lot of agency over your fate with minimalistic controls. The game is shallow with only five nights of game play. The only real scares are simple jump scares. Still, it rightfully caught gamer's attention by storm upon its release. It more than earned its spot as # 10 on this list.

#9 The Binding of Issac: Rebirth Initial release date: November 4, 2014 Designer: Edmund McMillen Developer: Nicalis Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, OS X, GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows Rating: No ESRB rating, My personal Rating M For Mature Genre: Twin Stick Shooter, Rogue-like, Horror

Okay. I will admit this is kind of cheating. The Binding of Issac is an indie horror game that originally released in 2011. The original game was fun and addicting. With Tones of content and a couple DLCs to boot. How could it get better? What if the engine was overhauled - making it more optimized, 100's of new items, and a few extra characters to play as were added? Also A host of -brutal- challenges that make the already INCREDIBLY difficult game, (remember folks, this is a rogue-like) even more difficult. That not enough for you? What if we take this precisely, but loosely controlled game and turned the twin stick shooter into a bullet hell in the additionally added level for the remake? The game's plot is dark and disturbing. It involves the voice of God demanding that the titular character's mother abuse, and then kill the boy. Issac, after having all his worldly possessions taken from him escapes into the basement. As he destroys hundreds of previously killed brothers and sisters, destroys fires, kills flies, explodes bombs, vanquishes demons, and makes deals with both the devil and heaven, Issac is constantly crying. That's right, your main weapon is your tears! This game is great and so much of the content is procedurally generated. With that in mind, you won't have to worry about retreading the same areas. This is a game of stories. About "that one run". It begs for you to come back to it again and again. It also has seed support. So you and your friends can share the same experience by creating the same dungeons to explore with the same seed. This is great for races. Ultimately though, it is just a refresh of an older game, so it is lower on my list. #8 South Park: The Stick of Truth Initial release date: March 4, 2014 Designer: Matt MacLean Publisher: Ubisoft Awards: The Game Award for Best Performance Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows Developers: South Park Digital Studios LLC, Obsidian Entertainment Rating: M for Mature Genre: RPG

About two years ago, nobody would have ever guessed a license title would be making it onto anyone's top ten games of the year. The first usual problem with license games is that they don't feel like their license! Stick of Truth does not have this problem at all. The game lives and breaths being South Park. The humor is crude, but critical (most of the time, sometimes it's just a poop joke, and that's okay). The Game -looks- like the show. The animations everything just emits the feel of South Park. It's fabulous. The game-play is really solid, if not a little bit -easy-. Not that a game being easy is a bad thing. It lets you feel like you've really entered into the South Park world.  This game is a lot of fun. It is comprised of simple, traditional RPG mechanics, with timed hits that harken back to RPG classics like Super Mario RPG Legend of The Seven Stars. It's great fun, and the exploration of the world is surprisingly interactive. You can walk into people’s homes and destroy their stuff like you’re Link and you’re in a pottery barn.  This is definitely a great addition to the the gaming realm. 

#7 Pokemon ORAS (Omega Ruby + Alpha Sapphire)

Initial release date: November 21, 2014 Developer: Game Freak Games: Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon Omega Ruby Publishers: The Pokémon Company, Nintendo Platform: Nintendo 3DS Nominations: The Game Award for Best Remaster Genre: RPG Rating: E for Everyone

A remake, but Pokemon remakes are NEVER just carbon rehashes. I have to trust others, as I've never played pokemon games from generation three, but this game, based on LPS alone, is nothing like their Gen III versions. Is it a good series of improvements/changes though? 7.8/10 too much water That's the consensus. But seriously, this is a game of polarizing opinions for me, much like the two different criminal organizations. The PokeNav is great and the Dex data on screen, with the chance to catch Pokemon in the wild with Egg moves is super neat. They just keep adding more agency to the -catching- side of pokemon and the -raising- side of Pokemon, making the online battle scene much more accessible without having to resort to more illicit, hacking-oriented routes. With way less work, you too can have a Max IV, perfectly EV trained Pokemon in about 1/4 of the time it would have taken in the original Ruby and Sapphire. That's all great. The music, the animations, they're the best the games ever had. The new Megas are all super cool too! Flying on Laitias back. AMAZING. I hope this becomes a series staple.  My problem is in exploration. Gen III was the most HM heavy of the generations. 8 HMs. How we interact with the map in Pokemon is fundamentally flawed, besides fly and surf, I would never seriously use any HM move. MAYBE strength on a normal pokemon that I didn't know what to do with. To fully get around, you need to teach pretty much everything. There's a reason HMs in newer games have been allocated to only secret areas. Perhaps it's time for Pokemon to get a field move slot for HMS separate from TMs.That's really the only solution I can think of. Beyond that I am not sure of the solution, but I do know it needs one. 

I will admit there's a certain level of dullness in the game, but maybe it's more just the timing between my last run of X and this current run of Alpha Sapphire. I really like the cosplay pikachu. It's just so cute~ Overall though, it is still a phenomenal game with great additions giving it its own identity. The demo version sucked though. 

#6 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix Initial release date: October 2, 2014 Series: Kingdom Hearts Designer: Tetsuya Nomura Publisher: Square Enix Platform: PlayStation 3 Rating: E10+ Genre: Action -Adventure RPG

I swear, this is the last remake on this list! I will admit this one is sort of a cheat. However, much like 1.5, 2.5 is a great example of how to do an HD remake right! The game really feels like a PS3 game. I'm still not a fan on how they handled the cut-scene delivery for Kingdom Hearts RE: Coded, but it is what it is. That said, having Mickey read the texts dumps to you as opposed to just having dull text on a static background is a vast improvement. The trophy creation is good, and the game controls better than ever.  Admitedly, there is a lot of slow down. The PS3 struggles to run these fast. The wait isn’t too bad, but you will find a much longer wait for drive forms than was required in the PS2 version of Kingdom Hearts 2 and BBS’ load times have somehow even gotten worse than the PSP version of the game. Never more have I wished that Square had decided to install game data to help with the running of these titles.  These are old games, and part of my favourite franchise. The original Kingdom hearts 2 is my favourite PS2 game. I adore everything about this exisiting and am just glad to finally have the final mixes of 2 and BBS in North America. This is the perfect chance for people to pick up a modern rendition of the franchise as they play Dream drop distance on the 3DS and wait for the PS4/XB1′s Kingdom Hearts 3. 

#5 Luftrausers Initial release date: March 18, 2014 Developer: Vlambeer Publisher: Devolver Digital Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, OS X, GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows Rating: No ESRB rating, personal rating E 10+ Genre: Shoot-em up

This game one of my close Designer friends first got me excited for. It's an action game by a well spoken designer who embodies the "Juice" concept of game design. Shots give great feed back, every ship you destroy is DESTROYED. And the game is hard as dicks. As you go through, you are presented with challenges that unlock new parts for your plane to get better. Playing as German fighter pilots in a clearly WW2 kind of setting is a little unsettling, but the story is as minimalistic as possible. The character designs are fun and interesting and feel right for the super powered plane that shoots laser beams and can fly through the the ocean and other vehicles (assuming you pick the proper parts). The game is fun and addicting. The short quick challenges you complete to up your rank (which you can compare against your friends and the world) are handed out frequently enough to keep things fresh and interesting. It's constantly giving the "just one more run" vibe, which is exactly what you want from a fast paced shoot-em up. I've probably launched my craft 100 times in my short playtime. Every time you do a run, the run will last from 30 seconds to a few minutes. This game is just fun! Exactly what a game needs to be! #4 - Super Smash Brothers - For the Wii U Developer: Bandai Namco, Sora Ltd. Publisher: Nintendo Designer: Masahiro Sakurai Release: November 21, 2014  November 28, 2014  November 29, 2014 December 6, 2014  Genre: Fighting Rating: E10+ Series: Smash Bros. I was not a fan of the 3DS port of this game. To the point I regret buying the 3DS version. The Wii U version of this game is much better. One of the key aspects is the controller, The game-pad, classic controller, and GAMECUBE CONTROLLERS are just superior input peripherals for Smash than the 3DS. (Gamecube controllers especially) The biggest offender is the Circle-pad. It's just too clunky.That said, if you disagree with me, you can use your 3DS to control it! Smash Wii U updates the graphics, displays the game in stunning HD. The Roster is great. The maps are wonderful and some have super neat Gimmicks.  I don't own the game right now, and I don't own a Gamecube adapter (which have been painstakingly under-produced), but over the Christmas Break I logged close to 25 hours into Smash Bros for the Wii U at various houses. I know it's once again the perfect party mode game. 8 Player smash is way more fun than I expected. 8 Captain Falcons on a small map is great! The controls are the tightest they've ever been. I love the roster and it has the most different feeling cast. Even Marth and Lucina feel different just from their attack boxes. This is by far the definitive version of Smash brothers. Sakurai has done a great job! Their effort to appeal to competitive players AND party players with For Fun and For Glory is fabulous. I love this smash brothers. However, unlike size, controller matters ;) 

#3 Hyrule Warriors  Initial release date: August 14, 2014 Series: The Legend of Zelda, Dynasty Warriors Developers: Koei Tecmo, Team Ninja, Nintendo Publishers: Koei Tecmo, Nintendo Genre: Action, hack and slash Rating: T for Teen

This game is so much more than I was expecting. This isn't JUST a dynasty warriors game with a zelda skin (which is what I was expecting and Eager for), it is a Zelda game made in the fashion of Dynasty Warriors. There are puzzles, and the world breathes likes a Zelda world breathes. The game though makes you feel POWERFUL like only Dynasty Warriors, or Warriors Games as people call them, can. No matter who you're playing as, there is just an immense sense of might garnered to the player. This game draws heavily on that. Equipment like bows, bombs, the gale boomerang, and the hookshot help in the matter. THE HOOKSHOT POWERED UP VERSION SUMMONS A LITTLE MOON TO CRUSH YOUR OPPOSITION. It is a shame that it is only adventure mode you can do online - and even then it’s just playing against your friends AI characters like some sort of street pass mechanic, this isn’t Fire Emblem and the lack of online multiplayer is a set back for sure, But, that being said, the couch co-op is super solid and playing on the gamepad feels really natural.  The game's story is simple enough, but I found it fun, if predictable. The game is a little grindy for unlocking all of the weapon variantss. There's also tones of  DLC, which is definitely worth the price you pay for it. Horse combat feels so different, when i thought it would just be dumb. I LOVE fighting with the electricity book! It's the best weapon. Every character feels super unique, as do each of their weapon types. For any Wii U owner, this game is a must have.  #2 Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor Developer: Monolith Productions Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Platform: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Release date: Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 4 & Xbox One NA September 30, 2014 EU October 3, 2014 AUS October 8, 2014 JP December 25, 2014 PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360 NA November 18, 2014 EU November 21, 2014 AUS November 26, 2014 JP March 5, 2015 Genre: Action role-playing Rating: M for Mature

Shadow of Mordor is also insanely fun. I haven't played it extensively, only 3 hours, but in those three hours I was instantly hooked. My roommate informed me that there's major texture popping and massive menu load times on the PS3/X360 version so I only recommend the PS4/Xbone/PC versions of the game. This game is massive and so pretty. The combat is fabulous and you really feel like you're in the heart of the armies of Mordor. The Captains can be brutal to fight. The Nemesis system is wonderfully rewarding. The RPG mechanics add so much more mechanical depth to the protagonist. This game took Devil May Cry, Assassin's Creed, and the Batman games, and made a WONDERFUL love child. You need to play it NOW.  #1 Bravely Default Developer: Silicon Studio Square Enix Publisher: JP Square Enix NA / PAL / KOR Nintendo Platform: Nintendo 3DS Release date: JP October 11, 2012 For the Sequel JP December 5, 2013 EU December 6, 2013 AUS December 7, 2013 NA February 7, 2014 KOR April 16, 2014 Genre: Role-playing Rating: T for Teen

I know. There was another version, and this is technically a remake. However, that was Japan exclusive, while For the Sequel is the only one people outside the land of the rising sun ever got. Therefore, I'm keeping my no more remakes on this list promise. Totally. I love RPGS. So of course an RPG is on my number one spot. There's two mechanics in the game that alone cemented it as my #1 for the year. The Brave/Default System. This adds a whole new host of risk/reward to the battle system. The best part to me is that default is also your guard command, so not only are you taking less damage, you're building up the ability to do more damage next round.  The second thing is the ability to control encounter rate. I LOVE it. Just it's fabulous, paired with speeding up battles and the brave/default system, grinding has never been easier. On top of that, only really boss encounters threaten to ever drop your party as you can literally TURN OFF RANDOM encounters. The characters are great. THE MUSIC IS AMAZING. The voice acting is spot on. The story is simplistic, but I think that's a benefit not a boon. The party talks are a nice touch, but I wish they were voiced. With the Tales games having had voiced ones for awhile, this makes them just feel a bit empty. The world is beautiful, both the maps and the interiors, especially towns really pop out and just feel so vibrant! This game is the pinnacle of all the JRPG genre has been up to this point. The sense of comradeship, adventure, power, and exploration are all there in spades. It uses great use of both street passes and sleep mode. The game incentivises you to pursue both with the town you can rebuild, the (way unbalanced) summons you can get, and Bravely second points which accumulate while the game is in sleep mode. These are all just neat add ons. I never saw the price of Bravely Second potions in the e-shop but you CAN buy them. You in no way need to, so I don't mind at all that you can. This game is just chocked full of features and components, but it doesn't ever feel too cluttered.  I love that enemies also have jobs and can end up using the super broken job team ups that players can use. The game is full of so much attention and love and it all gets siphoned back into the player as they play the game. This game is a testament to learning from the past and looking towards the future. The title even has that, as the offical japanese name is, Bravely Default: For the Sequel.  This game is great and has revitalized my hope for Games, and RPGS from the east. You know I will be picking up the sequel on day one!  Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear all of your own lists and ideas. Games that interst me off the top of my head that I have not played released in 2014 Alien: Isolation Sunset Overdrive The Walking Dead Season 2 Borderlands The Presequel  Tales from the Borderlands Telltale Game of Thrones Game Dragon Age Inquisition  The Crew Far Cry 4 Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Watch Dogs Dark Souls II Shovel Knight Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair The Wolf Amoung Us Fantasy Life Professor Layton vs. Pheonix Wright:Ace Attorny Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call Drakenguard 3 Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Bayonetta 2 Tales of Hearts R Tales of Xillia 2

[petitlexicon]

ppl who think that saying “I love you” to someone a lot makes it lose it’s meaning are so boring literally what could make you think that? if someone tells you they love you like 3 times in an hour it means that 3 separate times they were sitting there and thinking about you and how wonderful you are like. smh. say I love you to everyone that you love as often as possible bc sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are people who love you

[rolodextra]

having an okcupid profile is not a green light to sexually harass someone

[talcon]

[talcon]

Found yo~~~u

[talcon]

you found me, but I've no clue who you are hahaha

[talcon]

Found yo~~~u

[iraffiruse]

How puppies help when you’re sick.

[kylekallgrensaysgoaway]

I’d like to think that “problematic” needn’t be a substitute for “evil.”

If you call something “problematic,” remember that problems exist to be solved.