What is your retro video game spirit animal?

[Gunstar Green]

An early morning fog rolled in through hills. We all ran into it. I could see nothing but grey haze, though I did not slow my pace. It suddenly got quiet. I had separated from the pack. When I emerged from the cloud I was at the summit and standing at the peak was Gunstar Green's spirit animal. Standing alone and proud, looking over the cliff's edge with his cybernetic arms glistening in moon beams, there stood Brad Fang, from Contra Hard Corps.

Haha, I usually always play as either him or Browny, who wants to be normal when you can be a robot or a cyborg werewolf?

[J T]

J T, please tell me what my retro video game spirit animal is!

"Psst! Hey, Dhalsim, are you still awake?" I whispered into his tent in the blackness of night.

"Yes JT. I'm just trying to fall asleep by counting jumping elephants. What is troubling you?"

"I haven't been able to sleep because I just keep racking my brain trying to figure out what Ziggy587's retro gaming spirit animal is."

"Perhaps meditation will declutter your mind and open it to seeing with fresh clarity."

Dhalsim struck a match and carefully lit a tea candle held inside a purple glass holder in the shape of a lotus blossom, then also lit a stick of incense sticking up from a bowl of sand and ash. The soapy smell of nag champa permeated the lightly glowing inner space of the tent. We sat, silently gazing at the golden flame as it flickered from the wind of the warm midnight air.

My mind quieted as I was transfixed by the sensory dance of light and shadow on the canopy walls. As the light crept into new areas it eliminated darkness, but this only led the wily shadows to twist around and creep into new cracks untouched by the light. Darkness and light are inextricably linked: whenever light zigs, shadows zag. The skulls on Dhalsim's necklace looked deathly ominous in the shadow play, but the light twinkling in his eyes looked alive and vital. All are required. All are part of the same grand dialectical cosmic unfolding: light and shadow, life and death, matter and space, being and not being, good and evil... Dr. Light and Dr. Wily.

"Thank you Dhalsim. This was exactly what I needed. I finally figured things out while looking into the light: Ziggy587's retro game spirit animal is Dr. Light!"

"I know. I see it too." he whispered, though his eyes were now closed.



Ziggy587 you are a master of tinkering with technology just like the roboticist inventor Dr. Thomas Light. You try to use your technological know-how to improve the racketboy community by giving us tips on PC building, emulation, AV cables, and other gaming tech, just as Dr. Light uses his technological know-how to create and modify robots to improve the world. You like to help others with advice, as Dr. Light likes to help others by creating justice loving robots like Megaman (aka Rockman), Roll, and Rush. He even takes pride in his earliest out-dated technologies like Protoman, just as Ziggy is the proud owner of a new cassette tape deck! Dr. Light's ultimate wish is that humans and robots be able to live together in harmony and equality. You similarly would like for humanity to have a more harmonious relationship with its technologies. Nevertheless, neither of you can fully escape stupid manipulative trolls like Dr. Wily who use technology for evil. You make efforts to be understanding, but sometimes a mega buster seems like the only answer.

Also dear racketboy members, you might not guess it from looking at Dr. Light, but he really knows how to Rock and Roll! And you might not expect it from Ziggy587, but he can really Hip and Hop with some mean battle rhymes! Ziggy, let your light shine on!

[alienjesus]

I'll bite. What does the mighty Dhalsim see for me?

[Ziggy]

You're awesome, J T! Thanks for that.

Also, I'll probably look like that in enough time since I don't shave very often and I'm already starting to go grey.

[Sarge]

How have I not read this thread until today? Good stuff all around.

I am both intensely and morbidly curious as to what my spirit "animal" will be. I have a few in mind based on my gaming tastes, but... let's see what you and Dhalsim come up with.

[J T]

Amazing! Me, please! I don't want it to be a video game bee by default, those guys are assholes.

"That's not how this works!" Dhalsim admonished. "You don't choose your spirit animal; your spirit animal chooses you!"

Dhalsim twisted his arm behind his back, ran it between his legs, circled it around his head, and then did a big exaggerated face palm and sigh. To be fair to you though, I think he is being more than a tad melodramatic today. He's kind of grumpy because he was just in Spain near where you live and he lost another street fighting match to Vega. He swears he saw you at a dinner table in the background cheering on Vega by repetitively moving your arm up and down in a jerky manner. Nevertheless, what he said about your spirit animal is true.

Erik_Twice, your retro game spirit animal is Buzz Buzz the bee from Earthbound.



His name is Buzz twice, and your name is Erik_Twice. Like you, Buzz Buzz also denies that he is a bee. If it makes you two feel any better, I don't think either of you are assholes. You're nowhere near as bad as those annoying bees that pop out of the trees in Hydlide, or those bees that torment you in Diddy's Kong Quest. You're especially not the cantankerous, down-on-his luck pervert bee from Conker's Bad Fur Day...well...maybe after a few too many beers.

Buzz Buzz emerges from a meteorite and claims he is from 10 years in the future and is time traveling to help Ness keep the world from falling apart, which is similar to how you frequently post constructive political ideas in the "So the whole world is kind of falling apart..." thread. Buzz Buzz is actually a wise alien visiting from another planet, just as you are visiting this largely American forum as an alien from Spain. Being from the future, Buzz Buzz has a wider perspective on things and has made a sweeping strategic plan to help save the Earth from the evils of Giygas. You are also a great fan of wide-scoped strategy, such as the Civilization series, and you even bear the unique distinction of being the only person I know to give a damn about the cryptic Nobunaga's Ambition. Buzz Buzz may seem unassuming, but when Ness and friends encounter a high powered Star Man Junior early on in their adventure, it is only Buzz Buzz who has the ability to stop him. You do have a weakness though, and that is your misfortune of accidentally pissing off dumb people who don't understand your nuanced vision, and thus think too radically and short-sightedly to behave in a sane manner, just as Buzz Buzz meets his untimely end when vacant-headed Lardna Minch mistakes him for a dung beetle, and in a brief fearful fit of rage, smashes his guts out.

[TEKTORO]

"That's not how this works!" Dhalsim admonished. "You don't choose your spirit animal; your spirit animal chooses you!"

Okay I'm interested.

[J T]

If you can source REPO Man's retro VG spirit animal, your chakras are truly overclocked.

Dhalsim says "A spirit animal will not appear for an unprepared mind. REPO Man must ask the question himself; no one else can ask it for him. This will prove he is open to an answer. Until then, we cannot help and the totem shall remain a mystery."

[Blu]

What say you, JT and Dhalsim? What is my retro video game spirit animal?

[J T]

I... uhh... yeah, I'll need a little help even guessing on this one.

I need help, oh spiritual wonder man of the mountains, from lands exotic with spices I know not.

I went out by myself for a walk in the forest to clear my head. I was enjoying the solitude and quiet when suddenly Dhalsim unexpectedly yoga teleported behind me and tapped my shoulder.

"GYAH! Geez Dhalsim! Don't sneak up on me like that! My heart is racing now!"

"Sorry JT. I didn't mean to startle you, but I have something important to discuss."

"It's alright... You've gotta teach me how you do that crazy teleport thing sometime though. What did you want to talk about?"

"Forlorn Drifter has asked us to determine his retro game spirit animal. Forlorn is a complicated soul, both greatly sensitive and greatly guarded. We must approach this together with great compassion. We will dive deep into our own humanity to connect to the wellspring source of all humanity, to then find his."

"Uhhh... I'm not sure I follow... What exactly do you want me to do?"

"Sit cross-legged across from me, hands on your knees with palms up. Do not speak. Look at my eyes without breaking away." He placed his palms downward on mind.

"I don't know about this Dhalsim. It feels kind of silly. Can't we just..."

"Utt ut ut ut tah! Silence." He commanded. "Gaze upon my face. Find our shared humanity, and you will find Forlorn Drifter's as well."

I looked at this shirtless Indian man sitting across from me, eyes gazing deep into mine. His hands were warm against mine and he was so close I could faintly recognize his smell. I felt uncomfortable. I felt like laughing. I felt like I could crawl out of my skin. I felt exposed. I felt like running away. I squirmed a little, but Dhalsim is a spiritual master, and I trust his guidance implicitly. What was he thinking about me? Could he see my discomfort and fear? Was he thinking less of me? His face had softened from its usual stern stoicism and was now long and serene. His breathing became slow and carefully measured. He seemed at peace with me and centered in himself. I felt accepted. This helped me to relax and ease into this strange practice.

As the minutes passed, I took interest in small details like the subtle twitches of movement at the corners of his mouth. His eyes were fiery and alive with consciousness. I wondered what his thoughts were, and what he was experiencing right now. It seemed as though he could see into my soul, and perhaps I was seeing into his. I thought about what Dhalsim's eyes must have been like as a boy, playing in the streets of India. Or what his eyes were like as a young man, first training in the ways of yoga that he now had mastered. I thought about the internal conflict he must feel being a devoted pacifist, yet also entering world fighting tournaments to bring his earnings home to support his village and family. I noticed the lines on his face, and scars from his battles. What stories they could tell! This was a complex man, unpredictable, with an uncommon history.

His calm, unwavering gaze continued on me. I felt I had seen him in a very real sense, and he had likewise seen me. A teary wetness formed over his eyes. I could feel our hearts beat where our hands overlapped in the meditation. We were two humans, binding together in our shared humanity. All of the pain, the joys, the worries, and the sorrows were needed to make up the whole picture. In our connection, a kind-hearted generosity and compassionate love radiated outward from us to all sentient beings of the planet. It seemed as if we were glowing.

And that's when music mysteriously began to play, as if it existed only in the air around our ears.

"What is that song? It's so sad and beautiful." I thought.

"It is Celes' theme." Dhalsim answered, without moving his lips.

"Did Dhalsim just read my thoughts and speak into my mind?" I thought to myself.

"Yes, we are now psychically entwined on a higher plane of transhuman consciousness. This is how you can now hear the music of Forlorn Drifter's retro game spirit animal, Celes Chere from Final Fantasy VI." he mystically thought-casted to me.



Celes is young, yet with a troubled past as a general in the Gestahlian army, she had to grow up too quickly beyond her years. Consequently, she is forlorn and aloof. She is disillusioned with the Empire and their cities, and would gladly reject it for a quieter life out in the country. At a very young age she was genetically enhanced to be a Magitek knight, which gives her a great intellect and power, yet she feels ambivalent about these traits because she feels she did not earn them and she fears what they can do. Forlorn Drifter has similar ambivalent feelings about cities, empires, and his own intellect.

Celes is a creature of sadness. She finds it easier to relate with animals than with people, like how an equine student might feel. Still, she needs love, though she resents being called love-starved at the opera masquerade, partly because she resents having to put on a facade to gain acceptance. Most of the other members of the party have difficulty connecting with her, except for a select few in her life, like Locke, Cid, and Terra, whom she actually relates with quite deeply. In fact, when she believes she has lost Locke and Cid, she jumps from a cliff in an attempt to end her own life. Thankfully, she does not die because she is an important hero in the story, and because she was wrong: Locke was not lost. She awakes to find a bird bandaged in Locke's bandana, suggesting he nursed them both back to health before disappearing again. Celes must learn to not make short-sighted decisions in the midst of depression and know that others care for her, even if it isn't immediately apparent.

Like Forlorn, Celes proves to be a character of great moral conviction, which is how she remains a great hero and helps save the world from the empire. When Gestahl and Kefka offer her an opportunity to rule the world if she will only kill her friends, Celes runs Kefka through with the sword instead. Celes finds new hope for life when she eventually finds her community in Racketboy.. er, I mean the Returners.