All posts by josechurape

Digimon Seekers Chapter 1-5: Thunder is sound of the Police

I’ll be rewriting the novel to fix some of the awkwardness of the translation. My version comes out the Monday after the official release, but make sure you always check out the original. If you’ve been enjoying this project, make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends.


There are two major ways to obtain Digimon. The first is by capturing them with a special AI tool. The other is by hatching them from eggs known as Digitama.

Digimon aren’t like the animals we are familiar with. Digimon have no gender, and don’t reproduce. When a Digimon dies, it leaves behind data. Think of this data like a Digimon’s soul. This data moves through the Digital World and becomes a new Digimon somewhere else. It’s sort of like reincarnation, but there is still a lot we don’t know about Digimon ecology.

It’s night. The dark sky is full of stars, and there is a stillness that echoes over the ruins. A closer inspection of the sky reveals that the sky isn’t full of stars but the flowing data between the interconnecting networks that exist above the firewall.

Below this sky sit ruins covered by mounds of garbage. Between it sits a putrid rotting sea of rusted sludge. It breaks against a shore filled with sand of a similar color. Bubbles form on the surface and pop, releasing a vile odor into the air.

How did this land become so rotted? A theory suggests that data from the real world accumulates here and poisons the land. Without natural defenses against this foreign data, the land is left to decay.

Ill intentioned men roam within this rotted canvas, but so do the police who exist to stop them.

A schematic of the area appears on the virtual monitor. Below it, the words “The Last Coast” blink in a simple font. Whoever named it had an odd sense of humor. In recent years, it’s become a hotspot for poachers. Digitama sometimes wash up on these bloody shores, and they can sold for a decent amount of digicoin on GriMM.

The police radio crackles “We have a suspicious Digimon in sight!”

A red dot appears on the virtual map. It’s an unidentified Digimon.

“Tamahime here. Continue the search with caution”

“Understood. Looks like…an Espimon, child, cyborg, virus type”

Tamahime watches the screen as the video from the search team starts to come in. “Got it, so it’s like a Tin toy?”

The Digimon looks like a retro robot toy. It has a large domed head like a snowman with long metal robotic arms. It propels through the air on the rockets it has for legs.

“Four bodies total” the voice reports

“We’ve got code crackers. These bots are toast.” Code crackers loved using Digimon, and Cyborg-type Digimon are the easiest to control. These Digimon were sent here with the commands to search the area for Digitama. If this were a real server, the Digimon would be looking for secrets or personal information. Here, the code crackers are looking for scraps.

“How many Digitama did you get?” One of the Espimon asks.

“Only one so far” the other responds.

The culprits don’t know their chat room has been hacked. The police listen in on the conversation. The voices are young. They must be kids in high school. To them, it’s probably just a game. A way to practice. The first step to becoming real code crackers.

“What are you going to do deputy leader?”

Satsuki Tamahime analyzes the virtual map as the team waits for her orders. Police can’t pick and choose which criminals to go after. “Arrest them”

Ten green dots move quickly surrounding the unsuspecting Espimon.

“Jam their coms. Commandramon squads move in. Cut off their escape”

Many voices reply in unison, “Understood!”

The Espimon continue their search. Their code crackers wouldn’t be aware of the ambush either. They most likely don’t even know where their Digimon are. The only thing the code crackers see are crude pixel images on simple LCD screens. But the police have more advanced tech than the rudimentary Digimon Docks the code crackers use. Satsuki can see everything through the eyes of her Digimon.

“How dare you?! How dare you code crackers come here?” Her warning rings. The Commandramon stand up, and the Espimons find themselves surrounded.

Commandramon (child, cyborg, virus type) are standard issue for the DigiPolice. They look like dragon men. They wear helmets and body armor with the word “Police” written on them. Each Commandramon carries an assault rifle. Commandramon’s skin emits an electronic camouflage that lets them blend into their surroundings. This allows them to approach undetected. All that was left to do was to make the arrests.

“Who is that?” asks one of the panicked code crackers.

“It’s the DigiPolice. Run!”

It is too late. Satsuki continues, “Stop resisting. There is no escape. We already have your schools and names. There is no escape”

“Arrested? On what charge? We’ve done nothing wrong” one of the voices responds.

“You are in violation of the Unauthorized Computer Access Prevention Act, the Basic Network Act, and the Digital Vandalizm Prevention Act, and for the Poaching of Digitama!” Sastuki says bluntly.

“The Japanese police don’t have jurisdiction in the Digital World”

Satsuki sighs. Her Digimon, who had been hiding underwater, surfaces.

Squeeeeeeee!!! The sirens blare. The red patrol lights start to rotate. The Epsimon tremble at the sight.

Satsuki continues “you are all Japanese citizens and as long as you are committing crimes, you are going to be in trouble with the Japanese police”

The Espimon press a red button on their belly and vanish in an instant. Vanishing magic? No. It’s their AI defense protocol. Optical camouflage.

The Commandramon fire at the space where the Espimon were, but the bullets find no target. They slip past the police unnoticed.

‘Mekanorimon” As soon as Satsuki gives the order, two large robots appear behind her.

Mekanorimon stand larger than the fleeing Espimon and the Commandrom they served with. These are the DigiPolice’s special purpose vehicles. Each Makanorimon has a Commandramon piloting it.

A twinkling beam erupts from one of the Meknorimon, grazing one of the Espimon. It erupts into a flurry of sparks as its camouflage dissolves. The Espimon falls onto the beach. The remaining three Espimon continue to flee, unaware that they are now visible.

“Don’t let them get away. Fire!”

“The weapons are still charging. We won’t be able to catch all of them” the Mekanorimon unit responds.

Petite Impulse

Suddenly, a bolt of lighting crashes into the rusty coast between. The bolt of lightning catches the police off guard.

“The Espimon?” a confused voice reacts from the radio.

One of the Espimon is left blackened, melted under the lightning’s heat. Bolts of lightning come down for the remaining two.

“What’s going on?” A new marker appears on the screen. It sits there, motionless.

A yellow Digimon stands over the deactivated Espimon. “Is that..Pulsemon?”

Character design/illustration illustrator: malo

The Commandramon squad points their guns.

A voice comes in over the police radio “Looks like you just got beat by the hacker Judge!” says a familiar voice.

“Orders?”

“Judge!”

Pulsemon glances at Satsuki’s Digimon and blows her a kiss before turning into a bolt of lightning and disappearing into the sea of networks.

“God Dammit!” Satsuki bangs her fists on the table.

“Squad leader?” The Commandramon wait for orders. Satsuki shakes in anger.

“We’ve got the Espimon and Digitama. We’ll leave the rest to the police.”

“And the Pulsemon?”

“Leave it. You can’t catch him anyways. Pack it up. There’s no overtime.”

“Yes Ma’am….Huh?” The radio goes silent for a moment. “The Digitama. They’re gone!”

Destiny 2’s Annual Guardian Games Return May 2nd

The Guardian Games are returning to Destiny 2, and now might be a great time to come back if you’ve been away. The event will pit guardians against each other as they compete to earn bragging rights and some pretty cool cosmetics. You won’t need the latest expansion to participate, so if you’ve been away for a while or are new to the title, it is completely free to play. Who knows, you might like the game enough to stay.  

The Guardian Games begin on May 2nd and will run until the end of the Season of Defiance on May 23rd. To get started, speak with Eva Levante to unlock the Guardian Games quest and get your class item.  

Participants will earn medals across the game or through PvP which they can exchange for exclusive cosmetics. More specifically: 

Activities that award you low-tier (Bronze or Silver) Medallions include Gambit and Quickplay Crucible matches, anything from the Vanguard playlists, as well as most Neptune activities and Defiant Battlegrounds. For high-tier (Gold and Platinum) Medallions, play Nightfalls, raids, dungeons, Competitive Crucible, Trials of Osiris, or Legend Defiant Battlegrounds. 

Use these medallions to unlock these year’s Guardian Games weapons: 

The Traxippos  – The first Legendary Strand Scout Rifle in the game

The Title – The Void Submachine Gun is back with updates, including the fan-favorite perk, Repulsor Brace

Players will also have access to the Guardian Games event card for additional cosmetics. There is a paid tier available for 1000 silver that might be worth it if you want the additional cosmetics.  


This event also marks the return of the Guardian Games Cup. Anyone can join so make sure you grab your fire team and help raise money for some great causes. This year, Bungie is teaming up with International Rescue and Direct Relief. Participants of the cup will be fighting for the chance to win: 

  • Top team in the Technical category: custom art of your fireteam by PherianArt 
  • Top team in the Charitable category: custom art of your fireteam by Gammatrap 
  • Top two teams in the Technical and Charitable categories: Guardian Games Pendant ($200 MSRP) 
  • Top three teams in the Technical and Charitable categories: Apricot Dawn emblem 
  • Top four teams in the Technical and Charitable categories: Bungie Store discount codes 

The technical category is for the number of medallions earned throughout the event. The charitable category is for the amount of money raised. Make sure you go to the official website to register and start earning.  

Participants who donate more than $25 will earn an exclusive Quantum Relay emblem.  

I am terrible at PvP, but it might be a great time to dust off my old guardian to start earning some cosmetics.  

*images taken from the press kit

Digimon Seekers Chapter 1-4: The Job Offer

I’ll be rewriting the novel to fix some of the awkwardness of the translation. My version comes out the Monday after the official release, but make sure you always check out the original. If you enjoy this project, please leave me a like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends!


“Digimon are alive!” The words linger in dead air.

Eiji breaks the silence with an involuntary chuckle “It be cool if Digimon were alive. Lots of people have Digimon. Some folks keep them as pets and others collect them. Digimon are pretty useful tools.” Eiji thinks of his Tyrannomon. Tyrannomon are popular with code crackers because they were common and easily caught. Most Digimon exists as code traded, bought, and sold between people on GriMM.

“Hmm,” Ryusenjji responds, somewhat lost in thought.

“So, when will Digimon Land be ready? Where are you going to build it?”

Ryusenji snaps out of his thought as a look of disappointment fills his face. He begins to shake his head “We had to stop development on Digimon Land…Permanently”

“Seriously?”

“The park presented many challenges, some of which were…. impossible to overcome. There’s a reason why the digital world has to be kept a secret. People aren’t ready.”

Eiji thinks about the plane crash. He can still hear the screams and the terrible sound of the plane slicing through the air as it fell

“There are bad people out there Eiji. People who will misuse Digimon. Digimon Crimes started small. A game server would crash or a website would get overloaded, but they were brushed off as pranks. Soon, the news started trickling in about identity theft and random acts of terrorism. You saw what happened to that plane. There are already people committing Digimon crime at a concerning scale, but the world leaders and international organizations are covering it up!”

Ryusenji takes a moment to compose himself. His hands shake from the anger but slowly still. “Can you imagine what would happen if a criminal used one of the park’s mascots for an act of cyber-terrorism? Can you imagine the scandal? Publicizing the Digital world means publicizing Digimon Crimes, and the world just isn’t ready. Imagine the panic that would cause.”

Eiji nods his head as he listens.

“I can hear the news outlets fear-mongering headlines,” the professor continues. “Digimon are coming for your freedom, more on this at 11,” Ryunsenji looks flustered as his rant grows angry. “It is shortsighted to assume all Digimon are evil…People just aren’t ready to understand.” The professor’s words trail off, turning into an incoherent rant.

“Professor?” Eiji asks, attempting to bring him back.

The professor wakes from his trance and remembers where he is. “There is another world beyond the network where Digimon are alive. The real world and the digital world both coexist. Do you want to see it?”

“Yes of course” Eiji replies with a hint of skepticism clinging to his words. He’d only known the digital world through the black and white screen of the palm-sized device he made from salvaged parts.

“Do you know why what I am telling you is top secret?”

“Because its real?”

Ryusenji smiles as he nods, “Yes. That was real footage from the digital world.”

Eiji looks at the Modoki Betamon on the screen. It’s alive! He thinks of the Tyrannomon he’s been using. They’re alive too. They’re all alive.

“That is why I have devoted my life to studying Digimon. To D4.” The transfer of Modoki Betamon is complete. The professor unhooks Eiji’s handmade device and looks over it once more.

Eiji moves forward with his arm extended “Thank yo..”

SNAP

Ryusenji tosses Eiji’s Digimon dock to a nearby bin.

Eiji moves quickly and catches the dock before crashing into the trash can and stumbling to the floor. Eiji spent a lot of time building it. Even though it was made from mostly junked parts, it cost him a lot of money. “What are you doing?” His face still recovering from the sting.

“There was an error in the memory”

“Seriously?!” Eiji couldn’t believe it. The memory had never been an issue.

Ryusenji was a Digimon Collector, and like most collectors, he was precocious about his collection. “My research requires Digimon data to be perfect, or else its worthless. That Modoko Betamon data was nearly destroyed.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to throw it away. It may be worthless to you, but this stuff is expensive. I don’t have the funding of a huge corporation or access to expensive equipment” Eiji snaps as he looks over his device for signs of damage.

Ryusenji ignores Eiji’s outburst. He seems preoccupied on a new thought.

“…Hello?” Eiji waves, trying to regain his attention. The man may be a genius, but he had no right.

“Sorry about that,” the professor replies suddenly. “You just gave me an idea. Let me see you left arm”

“My..arm?” Eiji studies the professor suspiciously. Ryusenji stands over him, flashing an eager smile. Eiji offers his arm up cautiously. Rysenji attaches something to Eiji’s wrist.

Eiji looks down and finds a stylish smart watch wrapped around his wrist. The sight of the gift makes him tear up. It’s been a while since he’s gotten a present. He fights back the tears. He wants to be professional.

“It’s Abadin Electronics’ latest Digimon Dock. Make sure you take care of it Eiji”

Eiji studies his gift. AE products were top of the line and highly sought after by Code Cracker. Eiji could only dream of owning AE parts, but here he stands with the latest model strapped to his wrist.

Character design/illustration illustrator: malo

“Now this is just a prototype I’ve been working on so there might be some bugs.”

Eiji manages to rip his gaze from the watch. “This is amazing professor, thank you!”

The watch starts cycles through the startup process. “It has a biometric vital sonsor. Only you will be able to use it,” the professor explains.

“Just for me?!?!” Eiji can’t hide his excitement.

The professor nods “It can record your pulse, blood pressure, and other medical data. Most importantly, it supports Digimon hololization. Digimon hololization is only allowed in at the DDL and a few other facilities, but this…is a special exception”

Eiji is too excited to hear the explanation. He continues to turn over the watch to appreciate it from every angle.

“But here’s the thing” the professor begins. Eiji’s heart sinks. Of course there’s a catch. He knew better than to think there wouldn’t be a catch, but he also wasn’t ready to depart with his new watch. “I want to see what the famous Cracker Fang can do with it the next time I ask him for a favor”

“You got it chief!”

“That was fast. Good. I like that about you.” Ryusenji takes Eiji’s arm and presses the switch on the side of the Digimon Linker. The screen begins to glow a faint green. A mysterious flame flickers across the screen before vanishing into black. Words scroll past the watch reading: Loogamon, child, dark beast, virus type

Eiji looks at the strange Digimon occupying his screen. A small blue…

“It’s a..Dog?” Eiji asks stary-eyed.


Eiji passes through the security gate alone. The professor’s words echo in his head. Digimon are alive. The digital world is real.

Eiji passes the reception desk.

“Oh, good evening!” This time Hatsune speaks to him first.

Eiji turns away from his watch “Do I return the pass here?”

“Yes please. Put it here. Thank you very much.” She says, pointing at a small basket in front of her.

As Eiji returns the bass, he notices Hatsune eyeing his watch curiously. “The professor gave it to me. It’s a Digimon Dock.”

Eiji shows off his watch. Hatsune scurries around the desk. She grabs his hand to get a closer look and whispers “Isn’t that the newest model? I thought those were top secret?”

Eiji is surprised by how well-informed Hatsune is. “It’s just a prototype. The professor asked me to test it for him.”

“Wow, that’s impressive.” Hatsune says, reexamining Eiji. “The professor must really trust you.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutly” Hatsune lowers her voice “The professor is so…strange. He wouldn’t give this to just anyone.”

“He is peculiar isn’t he?” Eiji blurts out. Eiji is surprised by Hatsune’s sudden change in attitude. She is a lot nicer towards him now. “I’ll see you later?”

“Sure Nagasumi.”

“You can call me Eiji”

“Likewise…eh..you can call me Hatsune or whatever. Oh, this is your admission record. I noticed you left your occupation blank. If you don’t mind, what should I put down?”

“My occupation?” Eiji thinks for a bit before declaring proudly “I’m a Code Cracker!”

Movie Review: A Tourist’s Guide to Love

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I just watched A Tourist’s Guide to Love, and it is as cheesy as you’d expect. While I prefer it to Ghosted, it is a hard movie to recommend because the writing is terrible. This movie is another lazy generic romance movie, but one with decent actors who give solid performances.

Amanda finds herself trapped in her boring routined life. When her boyfriend of five years breaks up with her, she goes on a work trip to Vietnam. Amanda intended to do research for her job, but she discovers something more meaningful. She finds love. Her charming handsome tour guide shows her more than just the sights; he shows her how to be her truest self. But will this adventure give Amanda the courage to follow her heart, or will her business get in the way of love?

A Tourist’s Guide to Love is a bad movie, but the actors save it from being terrible. I commend the actors for doing their best with what they were given, but they deserve a better script. The plot is generic, lazy, and forgettable. There isn’t much to say about this movie because it doesn’t do anything you haven’t seen in other generic romance movies. If you enjoy the genre, you might appreciate it a bit better, but I am not sure anyone can stomach how cheesy this movie gets. The best bits of this movie is when it occasionally flashes bits of the beautiful Vietnamese scenery. 

This movie has me in a weird place because it is bad, but I’ve seen a lot worse. That said, I already forgot I watched it. Don’t watch this movie unless you enjoy watching cheesy romantic movies. Even then, I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it. For those still curious, you can stream it on Netflix. 

Game Review: Strayed Lights

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I was sent Strayed Lights as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity, but I will be sure to keep my review honest.

Strayed Lights is the most beautiful adventure game you can play on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC via Steam, GoG, and Epic Games.

You play as a being of light and darkness as they go on an adventure of self-discovery and personal growth. You must travel across a dream-like landscape and face off against deadly monsters. Do you have what it takes to complete this journey?

This game is by far the prettiest game I have played by far. I spent too long admiring the wildlife, enjoying the colors, and appreciating the composition. And the music? This game has a soundtrack that will be winning awards. I cannot express how perfectly this soundtrack was composed to elevate this already stunning game to the experience that should be mandatory for all gamers. I see the word atmospheric thrown around a lot to describe games, but Strayed Lights has finally given the word its proper definition.

1 / 7

Exploration in this game is fantastic because the world is beautiful, but the combat is what makes this game fun. Battles are fast-paced and engaging. You have your traditional attack and dodge action, but the parry sets this system apart. Your character can swap between two colors, but monsters can swap between three. Matching your color with the monster’s while you complete a successful parry heals your character and fills your energy bar. Combat becomes this elegant dance as you learn when to attack, dodge, change color, and parry till you meet the win condition. This system kept combat feeling fresh, even when I learned a monster’s attack patterns. 

Finally, I need to mention the game’s story. Strayed Lights has a fantastic story. You get to watch your character grow as it makes its way through the world helping others from the darkness. There is no dialogue, but it isn’t necessary. I am blown away by how much narrative exists without the use of words. You aren’t killing monsters, but rather helping other beings of light get rid of their darkness. I loved watching the different ways the main character heals the monsters. Each time you heal a monster, the character will grow from the experience. You will see the main character complete a full life cycle, and how that growth manifests into the world is something you need to see to appreciate.

I can’t stress how much you need to play this game. It is a beautiful and unique adventure game that deserves your attention, even if you aren’t a fan of the genre. It has a great story, beautiful art, fantastic music, and fun gameplay. Strayed Lights is $24.99, which is a great price for what you are getting. You can pick up Strayed Lights on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC via Steam, GoG, and Epic Games.

Game Review: Super Meat Boy Forever

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I was sent Super Meat Boy Forever as a review code. I am very grateful for the opportunity, but this will be my honest review.

Super Meatboy Forever brings the infamously difficult platformer to Android and IOS. DR. Fetus has stolen the meat baby Nugget, and it is up to Meat Boy and Bandage Girl to get him back. But can they survive the deadly traps that wait for them?

I’ve only ever played the unreleased Dr. Fetus’ Mean Machineso I can’t speak on how it compares with the original platformer. I have never been a fan of platformers, so I’ll admit that I was hesitant to start this title. I quickly learned that as frustrated as this game made me, I couldn’t put it down.

In classic Meat Boy fashion, this game is hard. You will die a lot, but the sense of accomplishment when you finally complete a level remains unrivaled. There were moments when I couldn’t put it down because I just needed to beat the level.

Super Meatboy Forever plays like the Super Mario Run mobile game, but I would argue it is more fun. The characters run automatically, and you tap either side to jump or complete other actions. When you die, you restart at a checkpoint. This game is generous with checkpoints, so you won’t need to replay too much of a level when you die. To clear a world, you must complete a set number of stages before facing off against the world’s boss. Boss fights are creative, but you might break a few phones trying to clear them. This game also has challenges, a leaderboard, and collectibles to help motivate players further.

Super Meat Boy Forever is the cutest platformer to make you angry. I loved this game despite my aversion to platformers. The gameplay loop is addicting, the art is great, the music is fantastic, and the story is adorably dark. If you are looking for a fun phone game and don’t mind the challenge, you need to buy this game. You can pick up Super Meat Boy Forever for $0.99 on Android or IOS, and for that price, it’s worth it.

Unveiling Dragonbane: A Swedish RPG Gem with Stunning Art

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I’ve been playing  Dungeons and Dragons for a couple of years as a player and a DM and have enjoyed every minute. I have made some great new friends, and I look forward to hanging out with them every week. That said, there have been times in my D&D career when burnout has gotten to me. This burnout has made me curious about other systems. Sometimes just I want to live in a new system for a session or three to keep things fresh. Over the years, I’ve researched a few systems to sprinkle into our sessions. This time, my search brought me to the classic Swedish RPG Dragonbane

What first drew me to this system was the beautiful art style. If nothing else, you need to look up this system to appreciate the artwork. The system looks simple enough to pick up quickly, and it has an interesting parry/dodge mechanic that could make combat more interesting.

2 / 7

If you want to play Dragonbanethere is a free QuickStart guide you can download with the basic rules and even a short adventure you can run. You will not have to enter any payment information if you order it through the site, but the delivery does take a couple of minutes to get to you. I suggest you get a copy directly from Drivethrough RPG instead.

You can preorder the core set from the official site for $53.93. For this price, you’ll receive a copy of the rule book, an adventure book with 11 adventures, a set of dice, five pre-generated character sheets, five blank character sheets, a double-sided map, custom treasure cards, and cardboard standees for characters and monsters. People who preorder will also get immediate access to the PDF of the rulebook, so you can start playing immediately. The core set has everything you need to get you hooked for a very reasonable price. You can convert the pricing on the store page to your local currency but not the cart. A quick Google search should remedy this. They do ship to the US, but I am not sure about anywhere else. The shipping cost was reasonable if I did the conversion correctly.

Dragonbane looks to be a solid system if you are looking to get into a new TTRPG. I will be trying to get my players to join me on this adventure, will you be doing the same?

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Movie Review: 65 (2023)

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65 is a solid B movie with sufficient action, story, and cool-looking dinosaurs. It isn’t winning any awards, and it is a bit slow, but it is fine for what it is. If you are curious about watching this movie, throw it on in the background and enjoy the good bits. Adam Driver is transporting groups of people across space to make money for his sickly child. His latest mission is interrupted by an uncharted asteroid system that forces him to make an emergency crash landing on an undiscovered planet. He and a young girl are the ship’s only survivors. Now the two must brave a world full of dinosaurs as they make their way to the only remaining escape pod. Can they make it off this planet? The leads have good enough chemistry to make a movie with very little dialogue work. I do take some issue with the little girls’ problematic representation, but it wasn’t so bad that I had to turn it off. I would have preferred it if they spoke the same language, but the movie handles the language barrier well enough. This movie is dumb. The story is on the generic side, the science is too magical, and there is a fair amount of ex-Machina. There are also some slow bits you could gloss over, but the movie is fine. It’s fun to watch Adam Driver blasting away Dinosaurs, and the relationship the forms between the two leads is cute. It’s not a movie you should be rushing to, but it is an option when you need something in the background that doesn’t require your full attention. I liked it enough to watch it again, and I liked it a whole lot better than After Earth. So throw it on, skip through the slow bits, and enjoy this silly bit of alternate history. 

Digimon Seekers Chapter 1-3: Digimon are Alive

I’ll be rewriting the novel to fix some of the awkwardness of the translation. My version comes out the Monday after the official release, but make sure you always check out the original. If you enjoy this project, please make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends!


Eiji finds himself in a domed room, staring at a massive hologram of networks swimming around his head. He stood surrounded by game servers, social networks, and cat photos, all presented to him in almost tangible clumps of code and data. The professor smiles as Eiji is left speechless by the impressive display.

Before them, a hologram produces a map of a strange yet familiar looking world. While not the best rendering, it was beautiful nonetheless. It was a world separated by distinct biomes. A world with islands and continents. Mountains and oceans.

“Welcome to the Digital World,” a warm mechanical voice begins. “A world that exists outside the sea of networks. A world inhabited by digital monsters known as Digimon.” Suddenly a new hologram begins to materialize before Eiji. At first glance, the monster looks like a frog or rather a tadpole on the verge of becoming a frog. The creature is green with black stripes that make it resemble a watermelon. A dorsal fin runs down its back. A single sharp claw stems from its arms and legs, and its tail rests lazily behind it. Sharp exaggerated fangs spill out of its mouth and its red eyes stare down at Eiji.

Below the Digimon, words apear reading “Betamon, child, amphibian, virus type.

“Digimon are living AI” the recording continues.

Living AI? Eiji thinks, Is that really possible?

“Digimon can resemble living, mythical and theological beings. They can take the form of mammals, plants, insects, machines, and even gods” The hologram cycles through visual representations to aid its explanation. “Digimon can evolve. Throughout its life, a Digimon will exist in one of five stages. Baby, child, adult, perfect, and ultimate form.”

“Digimon are our way of interacting with the digital world,” Professor Ryusenji chimes in over the recording. “This new world suddenly appeared on our network, and it has since helped prop up humanity. Digimon have played an important part in revolutionizing society. The application of Digimon as AI tools has lead to remarkable discoveries in different fields like software development, cryptographic security, and even medicine.” the professor is unable to hide his passion. 

“However” he says in a sudden change in tone. “There is a lot we don’t know about Digimon or the Digital World. Most people don’t even know it exists”

The dome begins to vibrate as an electric buzz begins to fill the room. The images in front of them disappear.

“Even if they did” the professor continues “they wouldn’t understand. Most people aren’t ready to understand.”

The dome continues to shift around them. Suddenly, the pair find themselves inside the cabin of a passenger plane. The flight is full. The engine roars as it carries the plane over clumps of clouds.

“There are two sides to this new world. While Digimon have been instrumental in important scientific advancements, there are people who will misuse them as weapons…” the professor’s voice trails off.

The scene starts to play around them. One passenger films the cabin with his smartphone. In the seats next to him, his wife and daughter sleep soundly.

BOOOOH!!!!

The serenity of the cabin is suddenly interrupted by a deafening roar. Eiji is startled by the sudden outburst. The cabin erupts into chaos with a sudden flood of noise followed by an ominous silence.

ROOAAARRRRRR

The scene starts to go dark as the camera begins to shake violently. An alarm starts to sound as the oxygen masks come down. Panicked screams mix with the confusion and….

Eiji averts his eyes. He can’t watch anymore. Tears start to fall from his shut eyes as the scene continues to play around him. The airplane begins to lose altitude. It crashes through clouds and falls out of the sky.

Character design/illustration illustrator: malo

Eiji follows the professor to his lab. He tries to shake off the sadness of what he saw and get serious.

Inside, it looks like an ordinary university laboratory with tables filled with parts and unfinished gadgets. On the wall are shelves crammed with tools, materials, and cardboard boxes. One of the walls is made of glass, revealing an empty hallway. The two are alone except for the occasional whirling of machines.

Ryunsenji inspects the palm-sized gadget Eiji brought with him. A Digital Dock. “Wonderful,” the professor says as he inspects the device. He is visibly impressed by Eiji’s work.

Ryuesenji connects Eiji’s dock to the lab’s equipment. The Digimon Eiji captured appears in a hologram. It is a familiar tailed frog-like creature.

“A Modoki Betamon, just as I requested. Look at how beautiful and gentle it looks” Ryunsenji smiles widely as he continues to study the creature.

Eiji scoffs at the remark “It took four Tyrannomon to capture it!” Eiji sets his belongings on one of the tables.

Ryuensenji continues to study the Betamon “wow, sounds rough,” he says flatly.

Eiji remembers the fight. The cornered Betamon fighting back furiously, the shockwave emitted from the creature’s dorsal fin, and the Tyrranamon lost in the process.

“This Betamon is different from the others,” Eiji begins his appeal.

“How do you mean?” Ryusneji seems miffed. He looks at the Betamon “Oh. You don’t know the difference between Betamon and Modoki Betamon?”

Eiji shakes his head in embarrassment. He didn’t like disappointing his clients. “Umm, is it the color?”

“That’s it!” the professor exclaims “so you do know the difference. I’ll make sure you get a bit of a bonus with your reward”

“Thank you so much!” Eiji’s mouth begins to water at the thought of meat for dinner. It’s been a while since he could afford meat, or any food really.

The professor seemed satisfied. He begins to transfer the Modoki Betamon data into the strange device.

Ryusenji turns to Eiji and asks “I’ve been meaning to ask. What did you think of our little experience from earlier?”

“Earlier…” Eiji shakes himself from his meat bowl dream “Oh you mean the video in D4? It was amazing!”

“That was a promotional video for our planned Digimon Land. The idea was to sell Digimon as characters to the general public to help educate them on the Digital World.”

Eiji’s imagination begins to race with ideas for the Digimon AI “I especially liked the bit about Digimon being AI creatures. If I were a kid, I’d be hooked!”

Ryunsenji shakes his head as he turns his attention to Eiji. “You don’t understand,” his hand lands on Eiji’s shoulder “Digimon are alive.”

Movie Review: Ghosted (2023)

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I just watch Ghosted, but I wish I didn’t. This has to be one of the laziest and most boring action films I have seen, and I have sat through some terrible movies. This movie is so boring that Anna Del Armas slept through her whole performance. This movie is so boring that the best part is when they played My Sharona, even though the action scene it belongs to is terrible. For those few who were thinking of watching this movie, don’t. It is a huge waste of time.

A farmer meets a girl at a farmers market and falls madly in love with her after one date. She ghosts him. Instead of taking the hint and moving on, the farmer tracks her down without her knowledge to attempt a big romantic gesture. Instead of finding romance, the farmer finds himself in the middle of a covert CIA operation. It turns out that the love is life is a secret agent. Will he be able to find love between the rain of bullets and lies?

Ghosted starts off as one of the most awkward romcoms but quickly turns into an incredibly generic action movie. This movie doesn’t work. There is absolutely no chemistry between the leads, which was essential for this movie’s success. I blame the lack of chemistry and mediocre acting on the terrible writing. The writing for this movie is lazy. You can guess down to specific lines what will happen next. At least they had they lacked the nerve to sequel bait because that would have thrown me over a ledge.

As an action movie, it doesn’t work because the action is boring. I preferred the romcom bits of the plot because at least sometimes it would be funny. For this movie to work, it needed a tangible villain and real stakes, anything to make it less goofy.

The worst part of this movie was the couple. They meet after a very awkward and obnoxious fight and somehow still end up going on a date The guy, who everyone agrees is obsessive, uses a tracking device that only he knows about to track the romantic interest. The movie tries to play it like the male lead is quirky, but it is creepy. It doesn’t make sense when in the end they are in love because there is no reason for them to be.

I knew Ghosted was going to be bad when I saw how hard Apple was pushing it up to its release. They even shamelessly collected name-brand actors for seconds of cameos to trick people into watching this garbage. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen all the good parts. It even shows you bits of the climax. I avoided using names in this review because the characters are so generic that the names don’t matter. You can watch this movie on Apple TV, but I wouldn’t waste my time. Go watch Killers instead. That movie does this plot a lot better.

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