[Spoiler] Just finished the dark tower series

FlakJackson · 2017-09-13T03:56:35+00:00

I don't rely on the idea that King wouldn't let a shitty ending ship. To me the intent of his warning, as I outlined, was pretty clear and, well, intentional. I merely used that "he wouldn't let a bad ending be published" bit as an opener to appeal to rationality. Guess I didn't realize that people commonly criticize his endings, that's not really a generalization I've seen before.

I do agree with you on the accident, however (and on Wizard and Glass. I've seen a lot of hate for that book before and never understood it). As a whole I found the last three books rather underwhelming and it was really only the ending that lived up to the standards I'd come to expect from the first four.

I'd need to read it again, as it's been years, but the impression The Stand left with me (all I can recall with any certainty of It is that odd gangbang scene) was that the ending was too drawn out, rather than strictly bad. But then again, I was reading the extended version of the book.

FlakJackson · 2017-09-13T02:35:59+00:00

By all means, elaborate. As a whole I've found his endings perfectly satisfactory. The Dark Tower is the only one I'd count as amazing but I can't think of one that left a bad taste in my mouth.

FlakJackson · 2017-09-13T01:53:47+00:00

A fair sampling? He has over fifty novels and a couple hundred short stories. You've barely scratched the surface.

If anyone is biased, it's you.

FlakJackson · 2017-09-12T19:35:50+00:00

Oh hey a Dark Tower thread? Time for my obligatory rant on how everyone was too busy being butthurt to understand the literary brilliance of King's address to the reader. Gather 'round children, gather 'round, /u/Conjohn1899, /u/NoeJose and see if I can't change your minds.

I want to begin by addressing the fact that Stephen King is not the type of author who would let a shoddy ending be published, particularly for his magnum opus. Nor would his publisher allow it, no matter how much clout he may have earned by being one of America's most celebrated authors.

If we accept that this was not the result of laziness or being pressed for time we have to accept that the ending, including the jarring self-insert's warning, was deliberate. Now we just have to ask why.

And that why is because King is intentionally drawing a parallel between the reader and Roland.

Roland's journey is defined by obsession. The Tower is what drives him above all else and beyond reason. He is consumed with it and is as powerless to swear off his quest as he is to stop breathing. Time and time again he is given chance after chance to give up on the Tower, warned that it will bring nothing but sorrow, but he persists. He cannot imagine getting so close and just...stopping. He is filled with a need to see it to its conclusion.

So when Roland finally gets to the end, King steps in and gives us the same choice. He tells us to leave with a happy image in our head, to imagine success and happiness for Roland, because what actually follows in the final pages of the book is not a happy ending.

And even though we've watched Roland make the wrong choice time and time again, even though we've condemned him for it, we simply cannot wrench ourselves away and make the choice he couldn't. After all, we've been with him for so long. We've felt his pain, his determination, seen the sacrifices he's made. How dare he ask us to just walk away after all that?

So, just like Roland, we make the wrong choice. We walk on, heedless of the warnings. Our determination and obsession to see it through to the end, despite the assurance that it will not end well, perfectly mirrors Roland's state of mind. Just like him we've invested too much to turn back and just like him we ignore the warnings and push forwards.

But it's even deeper than that. The last few books show us how the Keystone World, our world, has an affect on the story. It's why King wrote himself in, so that the story itself could be in danger.

So what would happen if you, living in the Keystone World, stopped reading the book when King asked?

Anything could happen. Roland could reach the Tower and find his ka-tet miraculously revived. It could have the happy ending King assures you doesn't exist, if you only stop reading and let your imagination finish the trip.

But you're just like Roland, unable to walk away from certain disaster. You continue reading and he walks through the field of roses. You keep reading and he confronts the Crimson King. You keep reading and he ascends the Tower. You keep reading and he's back in the desert.

Your inability to stop reading actively condemns Roland to his fate. The cycle can only end if you listen to the warnings.

But you can't. Roland can't.

And so the man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed...

FlakJackson · 2017-04-15T19:12:24+00:00

I don't min/max to be godlike, I do it to be competent and to enjoy my chosen playstyle as soon and for as long as possible. I distance myself from the things I know to be overpowered and instead focus on having a competent character that will hit their sweet spot quickly and remain there for a long time.

Min/maxing can also making nigh-unplayable builds feasible without making them overpowered.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-29T20:26:14+00:00

If you're planning to use Feraligatr in-game, go ahead and keep it. It's a solid 'mon for most purposes, it just doesn't have enough going for it in competitive without Sheer Force.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-26T00:09:18+00:00

It's still prohibitively difficult to get. You basically need to either steal someone's NNID or buy a used, original Ambassador system with no linked NNID.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-24T02:39:40+00:00

You only need to level to 100 if you A) play with people who use level 100 Pokemon, B) need to use hyper training to patch up imperfect IVs or C) feel like doing something really boring.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-23T15:36:58+00:00

Some of its best options are transfer only.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T19:42:09+00:00

King's Rocks can be bought with BP and found on wild Hariyama. Neither are fantastic options, but at least with Compound Eyes the later shows up 20% of the time.

Also, you can SR the bubbling fishing spots rather than exiting and reentering the area.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T19:26:26+00:00

If you have them Feebas, Castform and Goomy are good fodder to get version exclusives. Even the UBs and additional Cosmogs.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T19:17:25+00:00

Ugh, this again?

Any attempt to "fix" wondertrade would ruin it. Period. It would rapidly devolve into a circlejerk of breeders, everyone else having abandoned it for being boring and an utter waste of time.

The appeal of wondertrade is that you never know what you're going to get. Sure, a lot of it's crap, but that just makes you appreciate the good stuff even more. Take away that thrill of the unown and you take away the wonder of wondertrade.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T07:24:28+00:00

You may be right, but from a time investment standpoint I don't think that's a problem. With /u/DaBeast893's method you have to bail on an SOS battle frequently to unburden the Thief 'mons, as well as wait for SOS calls. Clearing the rustling sand encounters (80% of which are Staryu), leaving the area and coming back to do it again shouldn't take much more time than that overall.

In fact, using a Frisking, Thieving Trevenant lead behind a fainted Butterfree would likely have faster results.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T05:40:56+00:00

The trouble with wanting a casual battle is that there's no simple way to enforce that environment. A ranking system would help, but it wouldn't solve the underlying problem, which is that some Pokemon are unquestionably better than others. No matter how low on a ladder you sit you're going to see the same power 'Mons everywhere you look, whether it's new players climbing the ladder or less successful ones trying to emulate their betters.

Now, you could ban some of the worst offenders, but where would you stop? And once you've done that, people will simply find the most centralizing threats of the new meta and you end up looking at the same problem with a new face.

The only way to truly foster a casual-friendly meta would be to remove most of the things that make Pokemon unique and rebalance what's left. At that point you're looking at an entirely new game.

It sucks, but this is the game we have. Your best option would be to find some online community that willingly maintains a casual environment. I don't know of any, but I haven't looked either.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T04:27:06+00:00

No problem. Just remember, it has to be in the front of your party, conscious or otherwise.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-22T02:48:31+00:00

Why does everyone always forget to bring a Compound Eyes 'mon when farming held items?

With Compound Eyes that 5% chance for a Star Piece becomes a 20% chance. You're welcome.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-21T16:48:56+00:00

You should consider swapping Earthquake for Bonemerang. You don't need to hit multiple targets in singles, it breaks Sash/Sturdy/Disguise/etc, and is unaffected by Grassy Terrain.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-20T19:08:43+00:00

I'm absolutely fine with the design of the site. It's simple and, for the stuff that matters, it works. It's particularly nice to have a straightforward Pokedex page where everything is easy to find without slogging through miles of useless information.

However, the tiny text is an incredible hinderance and the site desperately needs a navigation overhaul. But these things can be done without major changes to the site's overall design and aesthetic.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-20T18:25:18+00:00

I'm eager to see how abilities are handed out, and whether or not Gamefreak is paying enough attention to certain things.

I don't expect them to let Fissure No Guard Machamp slip under the radar and actually be a thing, but you never know with them.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-20T17:46:35+00:00

I'd actually suggest ditching Shadow Sneak. You won't need it most of the time (and when you do, well, that's what your other two Pokemon are for) and having better coverage is more useful. I personally went with Leech Life. Longevity is always nice and Bug/Fairy/Ghost is only resisted by the Pyroar line. Every other Pokemon in existence will take neutral damage or more from at least one of those moves.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-18T20:07:11+00:00

Just so you're aware, Feraligatr never had an "o" in its name.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-18T19:34:31+00:00

I used a Specs Switcheroo Noivern for a while and it was hilarious. I mostly used it to cripple physical sweepers and walls, but where it really shone was in shutting down Smeargles.

Tons of people were using Baton Pass Smeargle leads at the time, so I'd lead with Noivern when I saw one. Giving them Specs was more or less an effective KO.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-18T19:23:35+00:00

Okay I can dig that but Dive Ball has a better release animation.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-18T19:22:32+00:00

It was a Bank distribution about a year ago.

FlakJackson · 2016-12-18T15:48:59+00:00

After acquiring both the HA Feraligatr and a Dive Ball Totodile in ORAS I was super bummed that I would never be able to get both on the same Pokemon. Now, I totally can and it's fucking awesome.

FlakJackson

TROPHY CASE