#finished the dlc last night and I am So Normal about this okay

[katiemcgrathisdaddyaf]

waves come crashing

“The open sea ahead and Fleet’s End disappearing behind us… along with everyone in it.”

Aloy feels a pang of sympathy. “Why do you put up with them?” Perhaps she’s never understood this bond to a tribe, never had the opportunity, but she struggles to see why someone would want to stay with people who don’t appreciate them.

“Well, it wasn’t always like this. I was a good marine. A good sister. I felt like I belonged,” Seyka explains. “That belonging is a strength, one that keeps me going even in the roughest seas. When you have something like that, you can’t cast it aside.”

Aloy thinks of Beta, of her friends who she’d go to the ends of the earth for. With them is the only place she’s ever truly felt like she belonged, not a tribe or a place. She supposes she can relate to that.

“I see,” Aloy starts. “You know, your people don’t know how lucky they are… to have you.”

Aloy’s stomach leaps up to her heart as she says it. It’s the way the boat hits the wave, the moment the hull leaves the water and they’re in the air. That’s all it is. Nothing more. A simple human reaction, not unlike the fall from her Sunwing earlier, or the countless times grappling from the side of a sheer cliff.

“I don’t know about that,” Seyka says, doubt laced in her voice.

Aloy winces at the sentiment. It doesn’t sit right. Seyka is clearly talented, strong-willed, intent on the survival of her people.

There’s a deep, angry burn in Aloy’s chest.

Seyka deserves better.

Aloy can’t help but imagine how well she’d fit in with the rest of her friends — how they seem to be a group that doesn’t quite fit in anywhere else. She wonders what it’d be like to bring Seyka to the base, what bunk she’d get, how their spears would stack alongside one another by the door. Maybe she’d like Zo’s cooking, or Erend’s Oseram ale.

But she's getting ahead of herself. Seyka has too much to worry about as it is. She’s not ready to learn about Gaia, the Zeniths, Nemesis, the imminent destruction of their world. She doesn’t need that burden.

No. Aloy will help Seyka find her sister, take care of Londra, and be on her way. Back to the Forbidden West, back to her own mission.

“I do.” The words slip out of Aloy’s mouth before she can stop them.

There’s no wave to excuse the flutter in her gut this time. The silence between them is louder than the engine propelling the skiff.

Aloy mentally kicks herself for saying it. She’s not even sure why she feels the need to push this.

But it’s true. Aloy knows. She may have only just met Seyka, she may not understand the customs of the Quen, but Aloy knows what it’s like to come from a tribe that doesn’t see value in her.

She knows that pain — the desire to be accepted, to be recognized — going as far as to risk her life for them. The burden is a heavy, ceaseless weight, harder to bear alone. And if Aloy can help her bear that weight…

“There,” Seyka points out. “My people’s boats.”

She drives the skiff onto the beach. The awkward conversation is left behind with the water as they turn their focus to the mountain and the Horus on top. There’s no time to sort out her emotions — there never is. Defeating Londra is what’s important, preparing for Nemesis. This… this feeling can wait.

~also posted on ao3~

[marveloussupernerd]

Christmas in the Penthouse - Jumin Han

Summary: this takes place after Jumin’s ending in the Christmas DLC. Basically just what you guys did when you got to his penthouse :) not inappropriate tho even though it sounds that way from this description

Merry Christmas to you all, happy holidays if you don’t celebrate Christmas. I love you all so much

“I can’t believe it’s all over. The fundraiser, and we took everything down all in one night!” You smiled at Jaehee and Yoosung. “You two did a great job.”

“I’m glad you came early. It helped a lot!” Yoosung smiled.

Jaehee nodded. “It did. It’s almost 11 at night. I need to be getting to the office. Please tell me when you both get home safely.”

Oh yes, going home. You’d just call another Uber, even though they made you nervous, especially at night. It’d be okay.

“Thank you Jaehee!”

She left, hurrying to get to the office and get right back to work.

“I wish I could make sure you got home okay,” Yoosung pouted.

You shrugged. “That’s okay. I’m going to stay for a little to say goodbye to Jumin after he’s done talking to V.”

“I can’t believe you two...”

Your face was heating up. “We didn’t do anything. But I do like him.”

“Well it looks like they just finished talking. V looks relieved. Hopefully this is good news for the RFA.”

“Yoosung, you did a great job today. Rika would be so proud. Go home and get some rest.” You gave him a hug and said your goodbyes, then made your way to say goodnight to Jumin. V had already left it seemed.

“Jumin, tonight was...” how would you put it into words? “So special. Thank you.”

He was blushing. The lights had just shut off, leaving him illuminated by the moon and a few streetlights. He looked handsome as ever. “I should be the one thanking you. You’ve made this holiday unforgettable.” He tugged lightly on the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Are you going home?”

You tightened your scarf around you. It was cold. “Yeah, I’ll take another Uber.”

His eyes were wide, filled with concern. “Are you sure it’ll be okay?”

You nodded, putting on a smile. “Of course...” you couldn’t look him in the eyes.

“I may have just met you today but I can tell something’s wrong.”

You looked up at him. He was right.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he grabbed onto your hands gently, moving them slightly to bring warmth back into your fingertips.

“I... that Unknown guy messaged me last night,” you confessed. “And it kinda scared me. He said he wanted to come to the event and when I wouldn’t tell him about it he went on and on about getting his revenge...”

His face fell. He almost looked... angry. But then it was back to normal. “I’ll tell Luciel. Why... why don’t you stay at my penthouse tonight? I have security guards and two bedrooms of course and you could finally meet Elizabeth the 3rd.”

“I’d like that a lot. And then I can go home in the morning,” you nodded.

“Okay. We’ll do that.”

Jumin held your hand the entire way to the penthouse. In Driver Kim’s car, while he called Jaehee, the way up in the elevator. He wouldn’t let you go. He stopped outside of the door to his penthouse. “This is my head of security. This is the RFA coordinator. She’ll be staying here tonight. Her safety is the upmost priority.” He informed the man guarding the door. The guard gave you a polite wave. Jumin still had your hand.

He put on a kettle for tea first. Then he showed you around, taking his time to detail where you could find books or cups or anything you might need. Then you got to meet Elizabeth. He couldn’t find her at first, but the moment you sat down on the couch she joined you, sitting by your side.

You reached your hand out for her to sniff, which she seemed to do approvingly, then gently let her head. “Hi Elizabeth,” you smiled, focusing on the way her eyes closed when you got the perfect spot on her ear.

“She seems to like you,” Jumin smiled, sitting down on the couch next to the cat. “I’m happy to see that. Oh! I didn’t realize you still had your scarf on. I can take that.”

You untied the scarf then handed it to Jumin. And then it hit you. It seemed to hit him at the same time. “You don’t have any clothes to change into.”

“I just realized that as well...” you looked down at your outfit. The event was formal! So of course you were wearing a sweater, and like a fancy suit jacket, and a skirt. And that wasn’t comfy to sleep in. You unbuttoned the jacket and took it off. “It’s okay. This isn’t too bad to sleep in.”

“I’m so sorry. I would offer to get you some new clothes but I don’t think anything is open, especially at this hour on Christmas.” He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. “I can call Assistant Kang and-“

“No! It’s okay.” You looked up at Jumin, a smile on your face. “I’m okay.”

“I have some pajama pants for me? I could give you those? I have sweatpants too! And shorts? They won’t fit you right but you could wear those if you’d prefer.”

As if you’d turn down the chance to wear Jumin’s clothes. “I’ll take a look if that’s okay.”

Jumin’s closet was huge. Most of it was dress clothes. But there was a part of the rack with some sweaters, like two t-shirts, and sweatpants. “I didn’t realize you wore this kind of stuff. But I guess you can’t wear suits all the time.”

“Yes. Well, this is for gardening. I’ve never worn the pants to be honest.”

You glanced at his line of striped dress shirts, your fingers instinctively reaching to it. “I can’t just wear this?”

His face was so red you thought he was going to faint. “No! No you can’t. That’s not suitable. I can show you my pajamas too. They’re over here,” he grabbed your hand, practically tearing you away from his dress shirts.

“I didn’t realize that would fluster you so much. It’s just a shirt. It was soft,” you told him, a giggle in your throat, as you kneeled down to go through his pajama drawer. Going through his drawer felt wrong. But he didn’t seem to have anything to hide so you assumed it was okay. You pulled out a plaid pair of pants, then teetered back to the closet to snatch a t-shirt. “This is okay though?” You asked, holding it up to him.

He let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. That’s perfect.”

You walked towards his bathroom. “I’m going to get changed. And you should too! I know you practically live in suits but I’ll feel super overdressed if you don’t change.”

He was in a silky set of powder blue and white striped pajamas. You were already on the couch when he entered the living room, your clothes folded neatly and set on the coffee table, Elizabeth in your lap.

He took a seat next to you, trying not to be obvious with how he looked you up and down. He chuckled. “My pants are too long on you.”

You had to roll them a few times for them to fit. It was no secret Jumin was tall. “I like it though. I don’t know, I feel all warm and fuzzy in this.”

He sat close to you, wrapping his arms around you like he had done earlier in the night. He moved close to cuddle you, nuzzling his cheek into your shoulder. “You feel warm and fuzzy too.”

“Can you turn on the tv or something?” You asked. He nodded, turning it on and handing you the remote. “With all the excitement I need something to unwind before I can fall asleep.”

You stayed cuddled with him. He had his phone out, doing some messages for work due to the fundraiser. Every once in a while he’d kiss your cheek or squeeze you tighter so you knew he was still there. You knew you were getting tired. You’d just close your eyes for a minute.

Your phone was vibrating. Nonstop. You opened your eyes, reaching for it. Jumin was still holding you right. “4 missed calls from Zen!? Seriously,” you groaned.

“He found out you were staying here.” Jumin’s voice was low and quiet. He sounded tired.

You picked up the phone. “Zen? I was sleeping”

“Tell me you’re not at his house!?” He sounded like he was spiraling over the phone.

“Yeah, I’m with Jumin right now.” You glanced at him. He was smiling.

“You need to leave. All men are wolves, especially at night. You think he’ll be a gentleman just because it’s Christmas!?” He was half shouting. You had to hold the phone away from your ear.

“Jumin is a perfect gentleman,” you stated simply.

“No! I won’t let you fall for his tricks. I’m coming to pick you up right now.”

“And then what? I stay at your house? But all men are wolves Zenny~” You cooed. Jumin chuckled, pulling you closer even and kissing your head. You looked back at him and winked.

“Ah! I!” The line went silent. “Call me if you need anything! Anything! He’s not right in his head.”

“Okay. Merry Christmas by the way!”

“Merry Christmas Zenny!” Jumin called over the phone. You exploded into laughter. Zen groaned an hung up first.

“It’s time to get you to bed,” Jumin smiled, standing up and stretching. “As cute as your giggles are.”

“But Jumin! You promised you’d say something cute,” you reminded him of his promise earlier during the event.

“Oh! Have I not said anything cute this whole time?”

“You’ve got me there,” you shrugged. “You’re very cute.”

He walked you to your bedroom, stopping at the door. “Here’s your room for the night.”

You had finally had him. He had you. And it sucked to spend time away from him while under the same roof. “We really can’t share? Or just cuddle on the couch and sleep? You’re going to go back all the way to your room?” You crossed your arms.

“I am. Forgive me. I... I would not want to overdo anything tonight. I’m just so happy to have you here that I don’t want to do anything wrong.” He looked awkwardly to the side. “But if you need anything I’m right down the hall.”

“Okay,” your voice was soft. “Good night Jumin. Merry Christmas.”

One of his hands cupped your cheek, pulling your face so close to his that you could feel his every exhale. The other arm settled on your waist, pulling you slightly closer. “Could I give you a good night kiss?” He whispered.

You nodded eagerly. That was all he needed to close the distance, soft lips meeting your own in a slow, but loving kiss. He didn’t stay for too long, afraid of overstaying his welcome. He pressed one more quick kiss to your lips again. “Merry Christmas.”

[princepestilence]

2020′s “worth it” things.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that 2020 was a uniquely bad year for everyone. There’s a lot of things that made this year even harder, though, not least of all the fact it was coming off the back of 2019, which was a deeply difficult year for me in many ways. I went into 2020 with high hopes for getting back on track with my life after being sick for so long, and things... did not go as anticipated. 

All this said, as I started compiling this list, I realised that despite everything else this year had going on, an incredible amount of really good, life-changing things happened for me too, and I want to celebrate that, so here it is: 2020 was Surprisingly Good, and Here’s Why. 

In no particular order:

health! I had surgery earlier this year and it fixed basically everything: the pain and nausea I was living with every day is gone now, and I feel so, so much better. I’ve been able to start getting back into a more normal kind of life throughout this year and hopefully, this won’t ever be a problem again. I’ll be able to live pretty normally going forward (apart from check-up tests now and then). I can’t ever take up kickboxing again, which is kind of disappointing, but in the scheme of things, that’s okay. This is a load-bearing change and because of it, so much else has been/will be possible for me, and I am so glad. 

holiday in Melbourne! Clair and I went on our first proper holiday together, before the plague. It was so much fun and it’s hard to believe that happened this year: the past is really feeling like a different country right now. But hopefully we’ll be able to do something like this again before too long, because I absolutely loved it. We saw a gallery, the aquarium, went to the theatre and night markets, swam in a pool by ourselves some fourteen stories above the city with a thunderstorm swirling outside the glass walls, and I’d love to do it all again. 

editing work. The project I’ve been working on has been finished and sent off for publishing, and I’ve been given a new contract and a new project, which is very nice. It feels great to be building up my resume--and it’s a huge compliment to be rehired so many times over. I’ve also been doing some editing work on the side, for various ttrpgs, etc. and I’m keen to do more of that too.

summer session teaching. I taught a summer session at the beginning of this year (back when the fires were happening), and now I’m teaching a different summer session again now. I really didn’t think I would ever teach again, after the collapse of academia this year, so it’s been delightful to have this chance. I’m hoping next year I’ll be able to do more, somehow. 

written over 70k+ words. I didn’t expect to be able to write nearly as much as I have this year, but I’m thrilled. It’s so nice to do and I’m looking forward to doing more of the same next year as well. 

got an apartment!! Finally! It only took about two deeply exhausting, stressful months where neither of us could support hobbies or mental health or general well-being because we were too busy trying to keep afloat while trying to find somewhere to live. But the important thing is that it’s done now. We get the keys in four days. I can’t wait. 

reconnected with a great friend. Last year I really struggled to maintain a lot of friendships. Being sick took most of my energy and attention, and sapped a lot of the cheerfulness and enthusiasm I wanted to have in relationships. This year, I’ve done a lot better, and I’ve been able to reconnect with a friend I’ve missed in a really positive, excellent way that brings me joy daily. 

joined a writing group! Connected to above, I’m now part of a regular weekly writing group of cool, talented people, and I’m hyped. It’s so fun and it feels so healthy to have this regular contact and conversation. It’s very much what I was missing and looking for, and I hope post-plague I’ll be able to find something similar in person too, so that I can have a local and international writing circle to bounce ideas and workshop with.   

ran a Dread game! It went so well and I had a ton of fun. I overprepared by a lot, but it was a terrific learning experience, and I’m itching to do it again soon. I’ve also got my hands on Monster of the Week (and am apparently getting Blades in the Dark as a late Christmas present from my little brother), and I’m very keen to get more into GMing, because I think this is where my passion lies. 

played D&D! And I’m loving it. I got hugely pulled into Dimension 20 this year and also finally played at the table properly for a campaign. I’m still very baby but it’s something I can definitely see myself getting into, and I hope we’re able to resume weekly games in the new year. I was very nervous before starting, but I’m getting my confidence more and more as we play. 

didn’t reconnect with some people from the past. At the beginning of 2019, I ended things with some friends I used to have, and it was hard to get to that year anniversary. Throughout the year there were some major temptations to reach out again, but I didn’t and I’m proud of that. They weren’t good relationships to be in, and I’m in a healthier, happier place without them. 

saw Six the Musical! And it was so great. I really wish I could have seen it again before the plague struck. I’m hoping it’ll come around again in the next few years, because once really wasn’t enough. 

I got a triple helix piercing! I’ve wanted this for years but this year I actually went and got it. I really love it. I’ve still got the plain titanium posts in while it heals 100% but I’m going to get hoops and fun ones soon and start switching them in and out for the thrill of it. 

backed some super exciting stuff on kickstarter! Kind of a weird entry but I’m so excited for it. There’s a gorgeous tarot deck coming from an artist whose work I’ve been following since I started on tumblr, and then Wanderhome is coming out about midway next year and I am very hyped to try it. We’re going to live that Beatrix Potter fantasy. 

saw my family. Earlier in the year I caught up with some cousins I haven’t seen since we were like twelve, and then for Christmas I saw the other side of my family, who I haven’t seen since Christmas 2018. It was really nice and I’m hoping we can keep in contact more, especially because my nieces and nephews are growing up so fast now. 

great year for games. Not really anything to do with me, but something I’m very grateful for. I’ve had such a good time with the titles that have come out this year: Hades, Monster Camp, Spiritfarer, Animal Crossing, Pokemon Sword, Megaquarium DLC, etc. Truly kept me sane (enough) at certain points. My switch also got fixed and returned to me recently, which is also very cool and good. 

started the program. Probably the single biggest, most impactful change this year, apart from surgery. It takes up a lot of my time and brainspace and energy, but it’s a lot better than the alternative, which did the same but in an evil way. I’ll be returning to it officially in exactly two weeks, and mostly how I feel about that is optimistic and happy. I’m excited to be well, which is an interesting feeling and mindset. I want to be doing better and I’m proud of myself for everything I’ve done this year to work towards that, because at no point so far has any of it been easy or fun. 

roller skating! I went roller skating (with Clair) for the first time in about ten years, and I didn’t stack it even once. There were a few close calls but it was a great time and I’m keen to go back and get good at it again. I’ve missed it all these years, and I think it’s going to be a super fun date night going forward. 

[roc-thoughtblog]

I am now feeling the great and mighty call, wailing from the abyss of my dysfunctional mind, to abandon this experiment in favour of the charming alternative: absolute jack-nothing. It's a pressure, a really common pressure, that one where you absolutely can't seem to start doing anything, no matter how much you want, should, need to or like doing it. I hate it.

I absolutely reject this call. And I think, for once in my life I'm actually empowered to do so. I have medication that helps me focus. I'm emotionally stable enough to have a consistent degree of confidence. I have a purpose and a goal. I have every intention to completely power through this horrible siren of immobility.

Hell, this was half the reason I started this whole reading/writing blog to begin with, to see if I can keep it up for once.

If personal change can come by spending one hour every day reading or writing, as consistently as possible, I have to do it. I don't know an easier road.

Especially reading, it holds such a unique place for me. I love it enough to constantly want to do it, but my concentration span for novels is so poor that I am basically never at risk of losing control. Watching shows, playing games, spending any time on the sprawling mess of hyperlinks and algorithms that is the internet, I'm so vulnerable to hyperfocusing and losing days and weeks of my life to the unforgiving maw of the un-time.

I just lost the last two or three days like this already, because I accidentally sucked myself back into FE3H. I don't even play the game very fast, or possibly much at all, I just spend hours going into days messing around in the menus. Silly, right? Life shouldn't have to be this way, though, and I am going to Learn Control.

Standard self-management techniques I have ever tried do not work for me. Scheduling and time-management, alarms and reminders, they don't function if I don't have a basic mechanism that cooperates with them. This blog is baby steps, and I will keep fucking walking like the baby I am until I have that basic mechanism that I might then extend to every other part of my life.

I would like to be able to start and then finish personal projects. That would be amazing. And, wow, could you imagine how much better I might be at studying if I could do it?

I restarted a sketching blog too, which I haven't managed to maintain in the past week. But no beating myself up over it, because baby steps involve taking everything you can get first before worrying about more. I'll incorporate it into my proto-schedule as soon as I'm capable of doing so. If I spent one hour every day drawing, who knows how much I could have drawn or how much I would improve.

And streaming! I started streaming on Monday mornings to try to enjoy a game without getting sucked in. And it's working! I played DDLC for three hours the first monday, and then I consciously put it down and waited a whole patient week to play it another three hours the next monday! I didn't get fucking consumed by it! Only one real-life friend is actually watching my terrible quality 480p stream, but who cares! The extra layer of accountability of publicly playing the game has kept my impulses in check and my general brain upright and sane, and the general busywork of setting up a stream and finding convenient, private times to do so has been just enough resistance to stop me launching straight back into things prematurely like I do with a normal schedule I abjectly fail to follow.

I just cannot describe how pleased I am to be able to enjoy something I like doing with some measure of control. Generally I end up caught in that awful cycle where I simply can't do anything I love or want to do because I know that as soon as I do... goodbye life. Being able to play a game guilt free? On a SCHEDULE? That I MAINTAINED? Revolutionary. It even helped me get up in the morning. I’ll be sad when circumstances change to make streaming impractical for me again.

Where was I even going with this, I'm rambling. Rambling is a part of this blog too. I think too much and can't write nothing, which is an absolutely amazing trait to have when you need to write an essay. I want this blog to train myself to just, make my thoughts exist somewhere, on a page, that I can use. Anything. Proofreading is optional, because even basic perfectionism is the death of production. There's a reason why despite the bulk of this blog turning into literature readthroughs, that I started it with a review of Sephiroth DLC for Super Smash Brothers. It was the only thing I could think to write at the time. And I'll take it. I will definitely take anything I can start writing on. Beggars can't be choosers, etc. If I can write more naturally like I am right now, rambling into a .txt, if I can turn that back around into stories or studies... that would be grand.

Anyway, how do I end this. Call back to the beginning and conclude. Okay.

Long story short, I refuse to stop even though all natural feeling compels me to lose interest, because I think I can fight the urge now. AH MOSQUITO. Screw it I'm leaving that in here. It would be so nice to be able to control when I do and do not do things, and I hope I can use this blog to improve my life.

Oh yeah last thing. I want to try and get this proto-schedule such that I will read during the weekdays, but on weekends I'll try to branch out and write about something else. I'll default to reading if I can't manage to get any writing started.

Bit of a long and nebulous to-do list, but I would still like to write a review for Idoru, finish the comparisons on narrative voice with S&S. Also, I took a bunch of notes on No Maps for These Territories I'd like to process along with Idoru. And I did play two sessions of DDLC, with lots of notes! I'd like to write something about that too. And there's so many more small things that strike me every day that could be a good thing to write about. Thoughtblog and all that.

'Kay, it's 3AM now, somehow, so I'mma try to fix my sleep cycle. 'Night.

[dlamp-dictator]

Allen Summarizes His Total Warhammer 2 Experience

So, I’ve been playing Warhammer 2 for about 60 hours now. That’s not enough time to play every race and warlord in depth, but it’s enough to get a good idea of things. I’ve played a little bit of everyone save for the Dwarves and Vampires, and I only got a handful of the DLC, namely the stuff for all the default races. Anyway, here’s the general experience I’ve gotten:

The Empire

The Empire is a well-rounded faction that covers just about everything. The only they lack is monster units... unless we count the Steam Tank. They’re pretty good at any level or point of the game.

Much like Hyde from Under Night though, their simplicity does not make them easy. Properly using the Empire to it’s fullest requires you to actually think about your unit composition and positioning. I personally find that either going for heavy on infantry or range works. Either a lot of infantry with some archer support, or a lot of archers with some spears guarding them. Having a cavalry unit or two on the side to flank or finish off the infantry helps too. 

And much like Cao Cao’s Three Kingdoms campaign, the Empire’s ““““Easy”””” starting difficulty is literally the first province and that’s it. From that point on you’re surrounded by stingy Elector Counts, cagey Frenchmen, incomprehensible Dwarves, and Skarsnik. Expand east and you’ve got deal with Vampire. Go south and you’ve got Orcs, the Border Princes, and even Dwarves if you aren’t careful with your relations. Go north and you have NORDLAND to deal with, and then the relentless Chaos after that. And Sigmar help you if Bretonnia get’s Marienburg first, because there goes your economy heartland.

Also, your daily reminder that Nordland are DICKS.

The Greenskins

The Greenskins are like Azrael from Blazblue: Big, hard-hitting, recklessly aggressive, and only requires single brain cell to use effectively. At least on easy and normal difficulty.

I’m not joking, 10 units of Orc Boyz, some archers, and maybe a cavalry unit or two will utterly clean house in most battles, at least in the early game. I barely needed to work in order to win my fights until I ran into the Dwarves.

I’ve got mixed feelings about the Fightiness mechanic. On one hand, it really helps you get into character as the Greenskins and encourages more reckless smashing and stacking to get an entirely free full-stack army. On the other hand, after playing the Empire I am very use to slowly advancing, planning my steps, and carefully looting a handful of areas while I work on infrastructure, which clashes with the greenskins’ rush army playstyle.

I’m never able to get past midgame with these guys because of it, and I really want to get there. It’s honestly fun being able to play this game without worrying too much about infrastructure and logistics.

The High Elves

Here’s a completely accurate image of Allen playing the High Elves:

I’m not joking. A solid line of Lothern Seaguard, a line of archers in the back, and you will blot the sun itself with arrows. These guys are the zoners of Warhammer, like Hilda from Under Night, but with arrows instead of swords.

Unless you’re playing as a buffed-up Tyrion. Then you’re playing Wagner, and it requires just as little thinking.

I honestly haven’t played much of the high elves. I don’t really care for them and getting through the islands are kind of a pain. Aside from the MASSIVE archer fire I didn’t have much fun with them. Though I know the basic generals can get DRAGON MOUNTS, so maybe I’ll try again after this 100-turn Empire run I’m doing.

The Lizardmen

Just have an ancient Kroxigor as your general and they’ll do 80% of the work.

Okay, in all seriousness, the Lizardmen get some pretty powerful units in the early game between the army-destroying Kroxigor generals and slightly overpowered Saurus Warriors. It comes at the cost of Saurus warriors being expensive as hell, but almost worth it.

The spawning pools can give you some ridiculously good units with little to no cost, which is just wild depending on the army composition. 

Haven’t played around with the flying units yet, but it’s pretty fun time all around.

If I were to compare to a fighting game character, I’d say their like Merkava from Under Night In-Birth. They’ve got a lot of good tools and strategies, but it just comes down how much you’re willing to deal with some of their wonkier mechanics like the Geopanels, spawning pools, and early-game cost.

The Darks Elves

If the High Elves are Hilda, then the Dark Elves are Gordeau. Extremely offensive, extremely powerful, but can’t really play defensive, or at least not catered to doing so. And with Murderous Prowess you really need to get in there and fight.

I thought the Warhammer community was just meme-ing, but no, 5 Sisters of Slaughter units really can do 90% of work, at least on the lower difficulties.

Apparently, having Harpies in your army is a really big-brain power move in the Warhammer community. After seeing them shred a Chaos artillery unit I can see why.

I was surprised how peaceful Malekith’s campaign was at first... and then I confederated with a faction and everything went to hell.

Seriously, confederation is some bad civ man, at least for the Elves. I ran into the same issue in my Tyrion campaign too. I confederate, realize all too late that my ally didn’t build anything in his province and left themselves (and by extension, my new flank) helpless as other filthy troglodytes make war on my new property thanks to the power move lowering my reputation all around the board.

The Skaven

I have no fighting game comparison for the because nothing in fighting games should reward mindless mashing like the Skaven spams its slaves and clanrats. 

Seriously, I can never get past the early game with this faction, it just feels too brainless to really use properly. I know their mid and late-game stuff it pretty good, but this early game is just... too mindless for me.

Also, as much as I like the idea of the Under Empire, very few of the campaigns really had it in mind save for Ikit Claw. It just doesn’t make sense for the other warlords given their enemies, goals, and locations.

Other Small Notes From Allen

Naturally, I can cover every race and faction in 60 hours, so here’s a quick rundown of the more miscellaneous things:

The Vampires seemed really cool until I realized they didn’t have ranged option. Then they became unplayable.

The Dwarves also seemed really cool until I realized they didn’t have cavalry. I know they have war machines, but even the Skaven have Doomwheels as a work around. Maybe the Dwarves can get some steampunk-styled tank to ram into enemy flanks? The Empire has them, so why not the Dawi?  

Mannfred von Carstein can suck Karl Franz’s Imperial nuts with his cavalry spamming armies that somehow got 8 units of armored cavalry right out of his ass with his pitiful economy and sacked lands. It’s like he knew most of my armies consisted of archers and only a handful of spear units.

On that note, Nordland can also suck Karl Franz’s Imperial nuts with how much their being dicks. Apparently the lore says they hate the Empire because of Gelt pranked the Elector of Nordland too hard and he couldn’t take a joke, but I wish Gelt just offed the guy while touring the countryside because these people just won’t give me military access as 40 turns of being nice and being at war with the Greenskins invading their lands.

I’d honestly play as Bretonnia if their peasantry mechanic didn’t make me think I was playing Civilization 5 again. Civ 5 is a good game, but I can’t do logistics and conquer the world at the same time, no matter how stupid strong the cavalry is.

I understand how the DLC works, but I don’t agree with it. Ten-dollar DLC every three to four months a year sounds fair for a 60-dollar game that has hundreds of hours of replay value, but I wish they had DLC packs for those of us that got to the party late. Like, just pay an extra 30 bucks and get all the DLC from last year or something like that. The current model does works for the dedicated fans, but us stragglers really feel burned.

Anyway, that’s really it for my quick thoughts. Magical Girl Raising Project: Joker came in the mail last night, so I’ll be reading that for most of today. Anyway, see you folks later!

[spinji]

50 Games in Quarantine (Part 1: Katamari and Rhythm)

So one of the things that I have decided to do during quarantine was to play one video game per day for 50 days. I had ended up purchasing quite a few games around the same time just before the lock down and I also came to have my childhood PlayStation 2 in my possession again which gave me quite a few games I wanted to revisit. I figured I would turn this into something productive and give my thoughts on all the games later. I’ve put the games through a randomizer every day for the last month and sorted them into groups of five and I’ll be writing these reviews with every group I finish.

Disclaimer

I am not a huge gamer or a game critic. I do enjoy video games but most of the consoles I own are past generations and most of the games I own are not part of gaming’s most well-known franchises. Also, I am rating these games largely on my own enjoyment so if a junky licensed game gets a high rating than a ten outta ten gaming icon, that is why.

Katamari Damacy (2004/2018)

While I did technically play the switch rerelease of the game, Katamari: Reroll, I did also own an original copy of the game and am quite familiar with it. Katamari was one of my gateway games as a child and it was nice to return to it. While I do think the original is serviceable as a relaxing and fun game, it feels a bit bare bones compared to the others in the series. I played this game AFTER Katamari Forever in my quarantine so at that point the amount of levels felt very minuscule and I beat the entire thing in one night. Still, it’s fun and the fresh coat of paint on the graphics for Reroll is very satisfying to see. My favorite levels were by far the constellation levels (Cancer especially) since they all revolve around collecting specific items instead of getting to a certain size. It’s very fairly priced and I do recommend it if you never experienced the series before. 7/10

We Love Katamari (2006)

Where is the rerelease Nintendo? Are going to announce a rerelease for this one too Nintendo? It’s the best game in the series, Nintendo. Nintendo???? Okay in all seriousness, this may be my favorite childhood game on the PlayStation and it has held up wonderfully. Because of how young I was, playing games was usually a collaborative effort with the adult who owned it. Because of that I have never 100% completed this game by myself. It’s a tough feat but I really want to because the bonus cousins’ level and rose quest is by far my favorite. The levels are a lot more unique in setting and concepts in this game, the cousins are all playable, and the over-world is a joy to just mess around in. And while on the surface there seems to be a similar amount of levels, there are multiple versions for most of the levels. You can get to the credits pretty fast but that is the tip of the iceberg for what is in this game. Get your hands on a copy and keep the pressure on Nintendo to revamp this game as well because it really does deserve it. 10/10

Katamari Forever (2009)

As much as this game is still fantastic, I don’t think it reaches past the second one’s quality, despite the upped graphics. A lot of the aspects I liked were more style choices and smaller details. The monochrome style of the King levels was nice. A few of the new cousins were cute but none of them really pass up my favorites. The new levels were interesting but not a lot of them stood out. I did have fun but there’s not a lot to talk about. If you like Katamari this will scratch any extra itches if you never caught wind of this game before now, but it just doesn’t raise the bar like the last one. The only thing I could really say if that it’s way easier to unlock endless modes this time! I never even knew there were endless modes for levels until I played this game and I have been playing these games for 14 years! I’ll likely be going back for secrets but it’s just not my first choice for Katamari content. 8/10

Groove Coaster: Wai Wai Party!! (2019)

Since I hadn’t been a position to own a rhythm game with Vocaloid music in it until very recently my attention was drawn to this game while I was anxiously squirming around for the news of Project Diva’s next western release. I’m happy to say that this game is unique enough that I’m not going to stop playing it now that Mega Mix is out. A lot of it’s songs aren’t present in the Project Diva series and it also includes things outside of Vocaloid like original tracks that absolutely slap, Touhou music, including Bad Apple and Night of Nights, and even a few anime themes. The ad-lib mechanic and mission system has been very fun to go through to unlock the rest of the songs. The two player mode wasn’t good at all, especially compared to the arcade cabinets but it’s not that essential to the game, so whatever. Creating your own challenges was a nice way to kind of play your favorite levels back to back. There’s even an Undertale DLC which I would totally get if the e-shop page wasn’t just shaped like one big middle finger. This game is a solid $60 with additional DLC packs for $16 each. For comparison, Project Diva Mega Mix is $40 without the DLC, every song pack is $7, and if you know that you want the DLC you can pay $60 for the entire game right off the bat on the e-shop. Unless you are a huge rhythm game person, or you adore Vocaloid AND Touhou despite it now being 2020, the price is a bit too much for what you get. Also, epilepsy warning for this one because there are a LOT of flashing lights and colors. 7/10

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix (2020)

SPEAKING OF MEGA MIX! Or Mega 39s because Japan likes to be cute with titles that do not translate well internationally. This was my first Project Diva game outside of playing the arcade cabinet at conventions. It was great to finally experience it all for myself and I picked up the gameplay really easily despite it being more complicated than Groove Coaster. The Mix mode was interesting but my left joycon was a bit too clunky to play effectively. For whatever reason it always broke about halfway through The Snow White Princess is and I could never finish. I had heard people making a big stink about the graphics before the game released but I did enjoy them just fine. They’re on the same level as Project Diva X for me. Not hyper detailed and gorgeous like Future Tone but the simplicity keeps them slick and satisfying to watch. Considering that this game has to allow for handheld play and a lagging rhythm game would be the WORST, I am totally cool with that decision. I haven’t taken in the full track list but from what I’ve seen they kept all the gems from Future Tone, added a few fan favorites, and most of the cut songs were the more obscure ones with the older and jankier videos which I am totally fine with. The difficulty feels very fair. It’s easy to pass a level just fine but mastering a level and especially challenge segments takes practice but it’s not so picky for perfection that it isn’t accessible for people who aren’t rhythm veterans. I passed every level I played on normal regardless of its labeled difficulty but I have yet to earn a gold metal score. If you’re miraculously still into Vocaloid after this many years, I do recommend checking this one out. 9/10

[crying-saeyoung]

Can I request RFA reacting to MC proposing to them? c: Was thinking about that earlier today !! lol

I’ve read this HC before and I loooooovee ittttt sooo much I love this headcanon aaaaa I hope you guys like it as much as I do!! -Green

Yoosung:

-honestly, it wasn’t planned at all. Kinda. You did have a whole plan for a date, very romantic and a night to remember for sure.

-but when you woke up and saw Yoosung right there, sleeping so peacefully, you just had to do it. God, you just had to marry this man. Right now .

-so you get out of bed as quietly as you can, and you whip him up a sweet cup of coffee that he taught you from his barista club, and some strawberry pancakes with whip cream 

-this boy loves sweet things so you write on the side of the plate with caramel ‘will you marry me, baby?’ 

-you did some basic latte art on his coffee, just a simple heart but you thought it was cute 

-you put it all on a small tray and brought it over to the bedroom, where Yoosung was still sleeping 

-you set the tray down on the nightstand, and sit right next to him, petting his hair and kissing his shoulders and cheeks to wake him up 

-his lil sleepy eyes are so cute that you wanna ask him right then and there but you SomeHow resist 

- “I brought you some breakfast in bed, honey” you give him the tray and he’s already surprised because !!! he loves your cooking, but what’s the occasion???

-first yoosung smiles at your cup art and drinks some of that, complimenting how cute you are and how good you are at making coffee!!! maybe even better than him?? ooo

-when he looks at the plate to see what you made, he almost misses the little words by the side. but he does see it

-at first he thinks it’s a joke. were you reinacting one of your books or something?? 

-but when he looks back at you to see you on one knee by the bed with a ring in your hand he actually screams

-without even thinking he totally throws the breakfast off the bed the coffee is safe on the nightstand thank god and jumps into your arms 

-making the two of you fall on the hard floor but he doesn’t care because “yeah!!!! yeah!! yeah, i wanna marry you!!” he doesn’t even say YES he just keeps saying YEAH. because. YEAH!!! we’re getting MARRIED! 

Saeyoung: 

-saeyoung deserves the best of the best okay

-so you make a GAME out of it 

-you make him search for the ring and it’s so complex that you honestly forgot where you put the ring

-you hid it the other night and woke up at the butt-crack of dawn, waking up your soon to be fiance along with you 

-he’s cranky about it, but once he hears that you two are going on a scavenger hunt he’s BLASTING OUT THE ROOM 

-saeyoung please put on clothes we’re going outside 

-it’s really fuckin cold in the morning so you guys have to dress up warm, which to Saeyoung means 707 layers of jackets heheh

-the puzzle was made to be really challenging because you know how smart Saeyoung is, even if he pretends he isn’t 

-it’s kind of like his Valentines Date (DLC) except a lot less romantic ,, and more adventurous 

-one moment your in the bathroom until he breaks it apart to find a key, and the next moment you’re in the garage unlocking one of his babes. inside there you find a tub of ice cream, so you go to Saerans room! You find a bouquet of flowers, so now your suddenly at the supermarket! Just like that, and it goes on FOREVER  

-the last stop (where the wedding ring is) is at the top of the hill in a small dog park where the two of you had your first date. by the time you get there it’s the middle of the afternoon 

-Saeyoung isn’t even TIRED. he’s having so much fun!!!

-he has to climb one of the trees to find the ring, and you’re down on the ground and you kinda just go “o. that’s where i put it” because, again, you fucking FORGOT 

-he hangs from one of the branches and hands the ring to you, and you see the confusion on his face, but also the playfulness 

- “what could it mean??? i don’t remember a ring in our relationship. hmm… you truly are a master, because frankly, I’m stump-ed.” bu-dum cccchhhh 

-you join on in, observing the ring curiously even if you knew what it looked like.

-it was a beautiful ring. you didn’t want it too flashy, that didn’t really match his personality. it had a diamond in the middle, with two moonstones shaped in crescents to hug the diamond on each side. one reason because it was his birth stone, the other because. it was a moon stone. spaaaace

- “hmm, the only time I remember there being a ring in our relationship is when I proposed to you??” 

-Saeyoung laughs because it’s like lololol funny joke MC but then all the sudden your getting on one knee and he’s kinda just like. w h a t 

- “don’t tell me you’re going to say no and ruin the adventure already? we still have to go to the moon, you know.” You try to be cocky but your voice is trembling. you’re literally proposing to Saeyoung who is hanging upside down from a tree like a damn monkey 

-he falls off the tree 

- “OH MY GOSH, ARE YOU OKAY??” you try to help him but he’s scrambling away from you. Your heart breaks a lil bc of that,,

-and then you see that your boyfriend is crying and he’s trying really really hard for you not to see and you don’t know if that’s a good sign or not 

- “are you crying because you love me or because you’re hurt because I’m really worried about both” a legitimate question you have to ask

-AAGAHHH it’s cause he loves you!!!! hell yeah he wants to marry you!!!

-that’s what he wants to say but he’s crying so much it comes out as a bunch of nonsense. “h yeh.. wa -nanabb… maaaarrRRYYyy-mmm y-yo-uugh-ouuu ehhhehHH!!!”

-after you get him calmed down he kinda just bursts into tears at random times the rest of the day because he’s so overwhelmed with LOVE FOR YOU 

Jumin:

-you don’t even beat around the bush with this fuckin dork. You’ve TRIED. it DOESN’T WORK Y’ALL 

-if you don’t tell him outright about something, he’ll never know what you mean 

-you’re out at a very very fancy dinner. You don’t want to propose there because of paparazzi. you figure that the dinner will help the romantic mood though 

-after the dinner, you two go out to his private garden, and you spend the rest of your date there, walking and talking

-at one point you stop the two of you at a small little bench and request to sit down

-you continue talking while you make a flower crown for the both of you because he’s a very pretty boy and you can’t resist.

-also you need something to do with your hands because you’re so nervous and jittery 

-by the time you’re finished with them, you place one crown on your head and then offer him his 

- “would you like to be my prince, Jumin?” 

-he smiles at you, because gosh. u are… so cute. Of course he wants to be your fuckin prince !!!

- “forever. be my prince forever, okay?” 

- “okay, MC. I promise.” 

-you place the crown on his head, and without really thinking about it you place the ring on the top of his head too 

-Jumin is like “?????” 

-very confused

-when he picks it up, and sees it is an engagement ring, he almost laughs because when Jumin looks at you again you are struggling to get on one knee in the grass 

- “are you asking me to marry you, MC?” 

-UGH YES JUMIN YES I AM aSGHHGH HELp me

-Jumin full out just giggles. He’s got a little blush on his cheeks and everything. he looks damn beautiful. It’s like the guy is shining under the moonlight 

- “please god marry me Jumin Han” kinda just slips out of your mouth before you can think about it 

-he brings you up to him and gives you a very deep kiss before putting on the ring. 

- “MC, if you need me to, I’ll be your king.”

Jaehee:

-you had brought the whole RFA together at your apartment for a casual get together and game night

-and you planned to propose with everyone there 

-you just wanted it to be fun and memorable for the both of you, and to have your RFA family with you sounded amazing

-you were. v v nervous but you couldn’t tell anyone because literally everyone in the RFA would snitch without even thinking about it they’re terrible

-the party was finally at that calm, but fun air you wanted it to be. Yoosung and Saeyoung playing Just Dance on the TV, Jaehee and Zen chatting about their daily lives and his musicals while you were preparing food with Jumin.

-I think out of everyone in the RFA, Jumin is the happiest for you two, whether he say it or not

-and really…. he was the only one who wouldn’t snitch…. 

-so while you were pouring drinks for everyone, you told Jumin you planned to propose to Jaehee tonight but you weren’t sure when the best moment would be

-surprisingly he gave you a?? side hug??? 

-he was so proud of you guys aaaaa

-Jumin wasn’t the most romantic person, but he did give you good advice. Let it come naturally. Don’t think of her saying no, just think of her saying yes, because she will. Jaehee will say yes

-and that was such a relief to hear that you gave Jumin a big ol hug and a smooch on the cheek before bringing out the food 

-an hour goes by and you all are playing monopoly 

-Saeyoung and Jumin are getting all the expensive houses and constantly competing for each others cards. No one knows how Saeyoung got so much money. 

-Yoosung is making a little home with all the really cheap blocks and Zen is pulling his hair as he has to pay Jumin yet again

-then there’s you and Jaehee who watch the fire burn and maintain a normal board of moderately expensive houses. 

-and you just feel so good at the moment. You and Jaehee cuddled in a blanket with your friends all around you 

-so you turn around, kiss her on the forehead, bring out the ring and ask her to marry you

-ALL EYES ON YOU 

-the fighting IMMEDIATELY STOPS and everything is so quiet

-…

-..

- “DAMMIT JAEHEE IF YOU DON’T SAY YES, I WILL” Saeyoung SCREECHES at the top of his lungs and he looks like he’s gunna c r y 

-Jaehee does finally find her words and says yes, then the two of you kiss and everyone is standing up and cheering for the two of you 

-they force you to do a slow dance together and really you wouldn’t have it any other way 

Zen:

-you don’t want to do it in public, because of paparazzi, but… Zen does love attention..

-so you decide to propose to him after one of his shoes back stage 

-you watch the whole performance with a nervous heart and shaking hands 

-the whole time you just stare at Zen and you watch how beautifully he sings and preforms. He’s amazing at what he does. You just… feel so proud of him

-you really, really hope he’ll say yes. You need him to. You don’t think you could ever get over it if Zen said no. 

-When the show is over, there’s usually a meet-and-greet with all the actors so you have to act quickly before he leaves for that and is too tired for a proposal 

-you greet him with a big hug and a kiss, which he appreciates a Whole Lot

- “hey, Zen, I was.. wondering something today.” 

- “yeah? what’s that?” 

- “would you ever… in the future.. would you ever like to get married?” 

-you catch him off guard and now he’s blushing like a FOOL 

-of course!! especially if it’s to you, and he winks. He’s just casually flirting but you’re just like THE TIME IS NOW 

-you slam down on your knee so hard that you actually start crying and Zen is just ????!!!!!! what h a p p e n e d 

-you explain in tears while bringing out the ring that you wanted to propose but you got too excited.. 

-YOU’RE SO CUTE, O H MYG OD,,,

-Zen just laughs, picks you up and gives you a really big SMOOCH on the lips. pretend i didn’t say smooch because it was actually really romantic 

-he dips you, what a nerd 

-god, he loves you. he’s looking at you with such a sparkle in his eyes as he says ‘yes’ and putting on that ring, you forget all about your injury and go in for another kiss as he spins you around

-after he smugly shows all his fans the ring in pride