fanfic meme
Aug. 21st, 2021 11:10 pmSaw this meme over on Pillowfort and decided to fill it out. Lately I've been stuck in a rut where I want to write but don't actually DO it; I'm trying to self-motivate by reminding myself that writing is, in fact, a thing i'm capable of.
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
After all these years....16, orz
2) What's your total AO3 word count?
35,018
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
On AO3? Blazblue, Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive, Resonance of Fate, Ghost in the Shell, Left 4 Dead, Persona 4/Q, Soulcalibur, and Star Wars; eight total. There's a lot of drabble-length and microfic floating around livejournal/dreamwidth and old kink memes but i'm too lazy to try rounding them up at this point.
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Accidental Bliss (Persona Q, P4 Protag/P3 Protag)
these vices are my service (Persona 4, Adachi/Yu)
Merger (Ghost in the Shell, Hacker/Makoto, NON-CON)
Stain Your Hands With My Blood (Soulcalibur, Raphael/Siegfried)
Play the Angel (Blazblue, Tsubaki/Noel)
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
I am horribly inconsistent about replying--honestly, i'm horribly inconsistent about even *reading* comments in the first place, mostly due to anxiety. I've been trying to chip away at this particular habit but there's still like, a 50% chance I will deal with a comment by pretending it doesn't exist.
6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?
i think all but 3 of my fics are angsty so not sure what to pick....
8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?
no
9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
no, but i did have one reader complain about a lack of pussy eating in a femslash fic which honestly is a valid complaint.
10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
yes, the...uh...uncomfortable kind?
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
no
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
no. i did have someone draw a whole comic from one of my first fics (back when fanfiction.net was the only major fic archive) which is....not at all the same, but pretty neat, right?
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
no
14) What's your all time favorite ship?
I keep going back to Raphael/Siegfried so i guess this rarepair that pretty much only i write is The One
15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?
all of my WIPs are things i no longer want to finish due to lost interest. That's kinda why they're WIPs in the first place (the 2nd place is that most of what i write is microfic one-shots). WHOOPS
16) What are your writing strengths?
I think i'm pretty decent at conveying internal conflicts/mixed emotions and describing tactile sensations.
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
the actual act of sitting down and putting words down orz
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I think it's difficult to do well, and very easy to fuck up and break immersion, so I avoid it. If the character in question has a habit of using more than one language in their canon dialogue I use that as a guide, but I think adding phrases that a multilingual character *doesn't* use in canon is ahh...not a great idea?
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Skies of Arcadia, back when I was still in high school. I used to ask my friends to read/review it at lunch lol :')
20) What's your favorite fic you've written?
I'm actually pretty happy with how Accidental Bliss turned out. Like, I wish I could write more unabashedly PWP fic lol. I'm usually dissatisfied with my """serious""" fic after writing it.
1) How many works do you have on AO3?
After all these years....16, orz
2) What's your total AO3 word count?
35,018
3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
On AO3? Blazblue, Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive, Resonance of Fate, Ghost in the Shell, Left 4 Dead, Persona 4/Q, Soulcalibur, and Star Wars; eight total. There's a lot of drabble-length and microfic floating around livejournal/dreamwidth and old kink memes but i'm too lazy to try rounding them up at this point.
4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
Accidental Bliss (Persona Q, P4 Protag/P3 Protag)
these vices are my service (Persona 4, Adachi/Yu)
Merger (Ghost in the Shell, Hacker/Makoto, NON-CON)
Stain Your Hands With My Blood (Soulcalibur, Raphael/Siegfried)
Play the Angel (Blazblue, Tsubaki/Noel)
5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
I am horribly inconsistent about replying--honestly, i'm horribly inconsistent about even *reading* comments in the first place, mostly due to anxiety. I've been trying to chip away at this particular habit but there's still like, a 50% chance I will deal with a comment by pretending it doesn't exist.
6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?
i think all but 3 of my fics are angsty so not sure what to pick....
8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?
no
9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?
no, but i did have one reader complain about a lack of pussy eating in a femslash fic which honestly is a valid complaint.
10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?
yes, the...uh...uncomfortable kind?
11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?
no
12) Have you ever had a fic translated?
no. i did have someone draw a whole comic from one of my first fics (back when fanfiction.net was the only major fic archive) which is....not at all the same, but pretty neat, right?
13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?
no
14) What's your all time favorite ship?
I keep going back to Raphael/Siegfried so i guess this rarepair that pretty much only i write is The One
15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?
all of my WIPs are things i no longer want to finish due to lost interest. That's kinda why they're WIPs in the first place (the 2nd place is that most of what i write is microfic one-shots). WHOOPS
16) What are your writing strengths?
I think i'm pretty decent at conveying internal conflicts/mixed emotions and describing tactile sensations.
17) What are your writing weaknesses?
the actual act of sitting down and putting words down orz
18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I think it's difficult to do well, and very easy to fuck up and break immersion, so I avoid it. If the character in question has a habit of using more than one language in their canon dialogue I use that as a guide, but I think adding phrases that a multilingual character *doesn't* use in canon is ahh...not a great idea?
19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?
Skies of Arcadia, back when I was still in high school. I used to ask my friends to read/review it at lunch lol :')
20) What's your favorite fic you've written?
I'm actually pretty happy with how Accidental Bliss turned out. Like, I wish I could write more unabashedly PWP fic lol. I'm usually dissatisfied with my """serious""" fic after writing it.
book log 003
May. 26th, 2021 11:32 amtitle: The Grip of It, Jac Jemc
started: 5/26/21
ended: 5/29/21
thoughts:
(5/27/21)
- already love the structure: short chapters, (about 2-4 pages long) with POV alternating each chapter--alternating POV is hit or miss in my experience, often it feels sloppy or confusing, but here it's easy to follow and leads to a lot of interesting emotional juxtaposition between the two main characters.
- reading this after House of Leaves is interesting because they share some broad similarities in plot and theme (a haunted/living house, the unreliability of memory, how we never fully understand the people we love the most and if that matters) but in structure they are polar opposites. it is really striking at how much Jac Jemc reveals by being straightfoward and brief.
started: 5/26/21
ended: 5/29/21
thoughts:
(5/27/21)
- already love the structure: short chapters, (about 2-4 pages long) with POV alternating each chapter--alternating POV is hit or miss in my experience, often it feels sloppy or confusing, but here it's easy to follow and leads to a lot of interesting emotional juxtaposition between the two main characters.
- reading this after House of Leaves is interesting because they share some broad similarities in plot and theme (a haunted/living house, the unreliability of memory, how we never fully understand the people we love the most and if that matters) but in structure they are polar opposites. it is really striking at how much Jac Jemc reveals by being straightfoward and brief.
book log 002
May. 13th, 2021 11:34 amtitle: Eye of the Shoal, Helen Scales
started: 5/13/21
ended: abandoned
genre: nonfiction, popular science
thoughts:
(5/13)
- In the first two pages of the prologue, I learned about Anableps, a fish genus also known as four-eyed fish, which was fun.
- the prologue does a lovely job at conveying a sense of being surrounded by water and watching fish. it's calming in a way that's hard to articulate. the first chapter, though....it rambles.
(5/15)
- impressed with how evocative the descriptions of fish are. I feel like a lot of modern popular science books rely on high-quality photography & illustrations instead of descriptive text, so reading such detailed passages is a treat. I'm especially impressed at how much Scales is able to convey in relatively few words--she's able to capture a fish's shape, size, and movement through their environment within a few sentences. It's a bit like watching an ink wash painter.
- eloquent fish language aside, the first few chapters have not been engaging. lol
started: 5/13/21
ended: abandoned
genre: nonfiction, popular science
thoughts:
(5/13)
- In the first two pages of the prologue, I learned about Anableps, a fish genus also known as four-eyed fish, which was fun.
- the prologue does a lovely job at conveying a sense of being surrounded by water and watching fish. it's calming in a way that's hard to articulate. the first chapter, though....it rambles.
(5/15)
- impressed with how evocative the descriptions of fish are. I feel like a lot of modern popular science books rely on high-quality photography & illustrations instead of descriptive text, so reading such detailed passages is a treat. I'm especially impressed at how much Scales is able to convey in relatively few words--she's able to capture a fish's shape, size, and movement through their environment within a few sentences. It's a bit like watching an ink wash painter.
- eloquent fish language aside, the first few chapters have not been engaging. lol
book log 001
Apr. 24th, 2021 11:37 amtitle: House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
started: 4/28/21
ended: 5/4/21
thoughts:
(4/30/21)
-really really good use of run-on sentences
-enjoy how the narrative is deliberately confusing, but never gets so confusing it becomes obtuse or frustrating to read. appreciate how there is always a thread of narrative normalcy for the reader to follow even when the formatting goes full-on indulgent bullshit
-on the fence about how women are written but leaning towards 'yikes'
(5/4/21)
-there is exactly one fully realized woman in this book and the rest can be categorized as women that the protagonist wants to fuck, women who the protagonist doesn't feel strongly about and fucks, or his mother. mom genes and mom-related trauma are also a major factor used to explain the protagonist's more deranged moments which is always an ~EXCITING~ trope to run into when you are a woman with a great deal of both personal and professional experience with mental illness and its treatment.
- the novel's conceit of having all references to The Minotaur and the Labyrinth struck out by the original author, then restored by the protagonist (who has to go through some effort to do so) is something i enjoyed a lot
- in general, this is a book that LOOKS intimidating but in practice is fairly easy to follow. like i really appreciate how whenever i got to a point where it felt like the formatting was getting impenetrable, there'd a narrative or visual lifeline thrown your way.
or, to lift metaphors from the book: a fishing line to follow through the shifting hallways.
overall impression:
very engaging to read but i am once again disappointed that an otherwise skillful and thoughtful author failed so much at writing women as more than a shadow of an idea.
started: 4/28/21
ended: 5/4/21
thoughts:
(4/30/21)
-really really good use of run-on sentences
-enjoy how the narrative is deliberately confusing, but never gets so confusing it becomes obtuse or frustrating to read. appreciate how there is always a thread of narrative normalcy for the reader to follow even when the formatting goes full-on indulgent bullshit
-on the fence about how women are written but leaning towards 'yikes'
(5/4/21)
-there is exactly one fully realized woman in this book and the rest can be categorized as women that the protagonist wants to fuck, women who the protagonist doesn't feel strongly about and fucks, or his mother. mom genes and mom-related trauma are also a major factor used to explain the protagonist's more deranged moments which is always an ~EXCITING~ trope to run into when you are a woman with a great deal of both personal and professional experience with mental illness and its treatment.
- the novel's conceit of having all references to The Minotaur and the Labyrinth struck out by the original author, then restored by the protagonist (who has to go through some effort to do so) is something i enjoyed a lot
- in general, this is a book that LOOKS intimidating but in practice is fairly easy to follow. like i really appreciate how whenever i got to a point where it felt like the formatting was getting impenetrable, there'd a narrative or visual lifeline thrown your way.
or, to lift metaphors from the book: a fishing line to follow through the shifting hallways.
overall impression:
very engaging to read but i am once again disappointed that an otherwise skillful and thoughtful author failed so much at writing women as more than a shadow of an idea.
unsorted overwatch headcanons
Aug. 20th, 2020 07:40 pmi figured i might as well start cataloging all of the random stuff that i think up for overwatch. maybe someday i'll work these ideas into a scintillating piece of fan-created fiction! but probably not tbh.
- widowmaker has had a terrible, unrelenting crush on ana ever since they met. like 'oh no i can't believe i didn't realize i was gay until after i got married and met the most incredible woman in the world through my husband's work' level of obsession. it's also the only emotion that carried over from her pre-brainwashing life so basically any time ana is even remotely involved in something widow is one glance away from combusting due to frustration.
ana is aware of this. if you want to know why ana faked her death, 'how do i deal with this amelie issue? maybe i'll just die' is right at the top.
- lucio has a master's level understanding of music theory and is crazy good at math but he has a hard time explaining or writing out what he's doing; a lot of stuff comes to him naturally and he struggles to convey that to others with words (or mathematical equations), so he doesn't.
- sigma unironically thinks doomfist and moira are upstanding members of society based on their public personas as CEO of a cutting-edge prothestics company and Oasis' minister of science, respectively. he totally buys into doomfist's pitch about evolving humanity (akande glosses over the "through conflict" bit, ofc) and that their methods are harsh but a reasonable price to pay for scientific advancement. his feelings on the ethics of research got a bit warped after the whole "subject sigma" treatment.
(i prefer sigma being complicit in his relation with Talon rather than oblivious per his official profile. like damn if putting hyperspheres in people's heads is what you call field research you have to be at least vaguely aware that the people you're working with are Problematic.)
- sigma is a lucio fanboy. there is no way that a man born in today's amsterdam (capital of playing techno in the grocery store) wouldn't recognize a bangin' dance anthem when he hears one. the music of siebren de kupier's youth is an armin van buuren 'a state of trance' cast, he absolutely has lucio's debut album on loop while he unravels the mysteries of the universe in his lab.
i had more but i've lost the motivation to keep writing. tbf, most of my overwatch headcanons are dumb things like "who is most likely to use weed recreationally" or "what terrible EDM subgenre does each character jam to." i'm a very high-brow individual.
- widowmaker has had a terrible, unrelenting crush on ana ever since they met. like 'oh no i can't believe i didn't realize i was gay until after i got married and met the most incredible woman in the world through my husband's work' level of obsession. it's also the only emotion that carried over from her pre-brainwashing life so basically any time ana is even remotely involved in something widow is one glance away from combusting due to frustration.
ana is aware of this. if you want to know why ana faked her death, 'how do i deal with this amelie issue? maybe i'll just die' is right at the top.
- lucio has a master's level understanding of music theory and is crazy good at math but he has a hard time explaining or writing out what he's doing; a lot of stuff comes to him naturally and he struggles to convey that to others with words (or mathematical equations), so he doesn't.
- sigma unironically thinks doomfist and moira are upstanding members of society based on their public personas as CEO of a cutting-edge prothestics company and Oasis' minister of science, respectively. he totally buys into doomfist's pitch about evolving humanity (akande glosses over the "through conflict" bit, ofc) and that their methods are harsh but a reasonable price to pay for scientific advancement. his feelings on the ethics of research got a bit warped after the whole "subject sigma" treatment.
(i prefer sigma being complicit in his relation with Talon rather than oblivious per his official profile. like damn if putting hyperspheres in people's heads is what you call field research you have to be at least vaguely aware that the people you're working with are Problematic.)
- sigma is a lucio fanboy. there is no way that a man born in today's amsterdam (capital of playing techno in the grocery store) wouldn't recognize a bangin' dance anthem when he hears one. the music of siebren de kupier's youth is an armin van buuren 'a state of trance' cast, he absolutely has lucio's debut album on loop while he unravels the mysteries of the universe in his lab.
i had more but i've lost the motivation to keep writing. tbf, most of my overwatch headcanons are dumb things like "who is most likely to use weed recreationally" or "what terrible EDM subgenre does each character jam to." i'm a very high-brow individual.
Title: more than you bargained for
Fandom: Soulcalibur
Characters: Raphael Sorel, Azwel
Rating: T (implied violence)
Words: 200
Summary: Azwel and Raphael have a conversation after the latter's encounter with Nightmare. Spoilers for Raphael's Soul Chronicle.
( I must repay you )
Fandom: Soulcalibur
Characters: Raphael Sorel, Azwel
Rating: T (implied violence)
Words: 200
Summary: Azwel and Raphael have a conversation after the latter's encounter with Nightmare. Spoilers for Raphael's Soul Chronicle.
( I must repay you )
Recent adventures in the Borderlands
Jul. 5th, 2019 09:46 pm★ I finished the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC. My feelings are...mixed? The story bits are great, but the level cap increase was implemented in the weirdest way possible and honest to god, it took the community like an entire week to figure out what happened to Overpower levels and equipment. I spent most of my time from levels 72 to 80 wondering "what level is this thing that just dropped" and "can I use this--I guess so?" so THAT was a good time.
( Spoilers ahead )
( Spoilers ahead )
i don't approve of grinding
Jun. 10th, 2019 09:27 pm★ Last week the student I work with one-on-one cut her math worksheet in half and tried to pass off one half as the whole sheet. This is one of the cleverest things I have ever seen anyone do and while I made her do the other half of the sheet I really wanted to....not do that.
★ I've only been working at this school for a month and I've lost count of how many times I've been asked about staying on during summer school or next year. I can't give anyone an answer since I'm working through a placement agency, and the only reason I'm working at the school is because the district underhired at the beginning of the year and now they're scrambling to put bodies in classrooms. So, IN THEORY, the district will hire at least slightly more people than they did this year, as hiring LNAs through an agency is Not Cheap, but in practice it sounds like nobody is applying for open positions so maybe??? I will be here for summer school/next school year???? I don't mind but I am not impressed by the school district's personnel practices.
★ Since I've been paring down my physical video game collection for the past few months, my backlog has gone down considerably, and I'm trying to set aside at least an hour a day playing something instead of looking at a shelf full of stuff and getting overwhelmed by it. I've started several games, though I haven't finished any of them yet. I've sunk the most time into Tactics Ogre, which I never played when it first released on the PS1--I love the storyline so far but grinding new classes has become excruciating, so I'm taking a break for a few days. Whoever decided all classes start at level 1 should be punch...er, ashamed of themselves.
★ BORDERLANDS 2 HAS A NEW EXPANSION AND IT'S FREE AND HOPEFULLY WE LEARN WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP WITH THE END OF THE PRE-SEQUEL \o/
I'm not looking forward to the raised level cap tho, the exponential scaling made getting to level 72 one of the most painful grinds I've ever experienced. It's been years since I last played BL2 and in retrospect, the whole "overlevel" thing, and having it gated behind the Digistruct Peak arena, was a really weird way to handle the issues created by exponential scaling. I was hoping they'd ditch it in BL3 but I'm fairly certain they confirmed exponential rather than linear leveling is still in effect. :(
★ Meme: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Chrono Trigger
★ I've only been working at this school for a month and I've lost count of how many times I've been asked about staying on during summer school or next year. I can't give anyone an answer since I'm working through a placement agency, and the only reason I'm working at the school is because the district underhired at the beginning of the year and now they're scrambling to put bodies in classrooms. So, IN THEORY, the district will hire at least slightly more people than they did this year, as hiring LNAs through an agency is Not Cheap, but in practice it sounds like nobody is applying for open positions so maybe??? I will be here for summer school/next school year???? I don't mind but I am not impressed by the school district's personnel practices.
★ Since I've been paring down my physical video game collection for the past few months, my backlog has gone down considerably, and I'm trying to set aside at least an hour a day playing something instead of looking at a shelf full of stuff and getting overwhelmed by it. I've started several games, though I haven't finished any of them yet. I've sunk the most time into Tactics Ogre, which I never played when it first released on the PS1--I love the storyline so far but grinding new classes has become excruciating, so I'm taking a break for a few days. Whoever decided all classes start at level 1 should be punch...er, ashamed of themselves.
★ BORDERLANDS 2 HAS A NEW EXPANSION AND IT'S FREE AND HOPEFULLY WE LEARN WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP WITH THE END OF THE PRE-SEQUEL \o/
I'm not looking forward to the raised level cap tho, the exponential scaling made getting to level 72 one of the most painful grinds I've ever experienced. It's been years since I last played BL2 and in retrospect, the whole "overlevel" thing, and having it gated behind the Digistruct Peak arena, was a really weird way to handle the issues created by exponential scaling. I was hoping they'd ditch it in BL3 but I'm fairly certain they confirmed exponential rather than linear leveling is still in effect. :(
★ Meme: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Chrono Trigger
hi dreamwidth, sorry i missed a uh, a lot!
★ i have a temporary job as an assistant in a disabled classroom. i don't know if there's a permanent position for next year (it's possible given that one of the long-term assistants is retiring this year). it's been pretty nice so far although there's an awful lot of assistants/teachers walking in and out on very...flexible schedules. There are only 3 people there all day. (the teacher, myself and the long-term assistant) The kids are pretty well-behaved, they just...don't like doing schoolwork, which is pretty relatable, especially this time of year.
★ i've been trying to clean up the house since my parents want to sell it in a few years and it's been a very slow process. it mostly consists of me cleaning up stuff that hasn't been used for years, then putting it in the barn for eventual donation/sale/taken out to the dump. there's just...so much stuff to work through. :(
★ i've sold a large portion of my uhhhh i guess i'll call it nerd memorabilia. it started with games but now it's expanded to basically all media stuff i own. i've been trying to sell off the most expensive stuff but the actual act of selling is extremely annoying and i'm already tired of it. on the plus side, i've already gotten $350 through sales so i should probably keep up with it instead of giving up and just giving it to a thrift shop or whatever.
★ finally, meme:
For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
End of Eternity/Resonance of Fate
i can't remember who i have and haven't tagged so uh, consider EVERYONE tagged.
★ i have a temporary job as an assistant in a disabled classroom. i don't know if there's a permanent position for next year (it's possible given that one of the long-term assistants is retiring this year). it's been pretty nice so far although there's an awful lot of assistants/teachers walking in and out on very...flexible schedules. There are only 3 people there all day. (the teacher, myself and the long-term assistant) The kids are pretty well-behaved, they just...don't like doing schoolwork, which is pretty relatable, especially this time of year.
★ i've been trying to clean up the house since my parents want to sell it in a few years and it's been a very slow process. it mostly consists of me cleaning up stuff that hasn't been used for years, then putting it in the barn for eventual donation/sale/taken out to the dump. there's just...so much stuff to work through. :(
★ i've sold a large portion of my uhhhh i guess i'll call it nerd memorabilia. it started with games but now it's expanded to basically all media stuff i own. i've been trying to sell off the most expensive stuff but the actual act of selling is extremely annoying and i'm already tired of it. on the plus side, i've already gotten $350 through sales so i should probably keep up with it instead of giving up and just giving it to a thrift shop or whatever.
★ finally, meme:
For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
End of Eternity/Resonance of Fate
i can't remember who i have and haven't tagged so uh, consider EVERYONE tagged.
no sense of restraint
Feb. 13th, 2019 10:57 pmI got a few games during Steam's Lunar New Year sale, despite having an enormous backlog of games already and a dwindling budget. At least this time, I actually played them instead of letting them sit uninstalled in my library forever. Some thoughts:
Strange Telephone
Okay, this wasn't actually part of the sale, but I did have a coupon for it that was about to expire. Strange Telephone is a pixel adventure game where you play as Jill, a girl who wakes up locked in a strange room. A floating, living phone named Graham serves as her only method of leaving the room: by dialing any six digit number, Jill can connect to a random "world" which may or may not have something that will help her escape to her own world.
The creator cites Yume Nikki as a direct inspiration for Strange Telephone, and while they share the same pixelated, eerie-cute aesthetic and gameplay that focuses on finding items and using them to interact with the strange worlds you encounter, Strange Telephone is more directed and linear than Yume Nikki, and less unsettling as well. It's also much smaller in scope; even though the potential number combinations you can call exceed 3 million, there are only 10 or so world 'templates' available, and each world is the size of a single screen length. (Exiting the world by walking off screen sends you to another number based on what your initial dial, i.e. if you dialed 222222, then walked off-screen right, you'd be in world 222223. I called about 7 numbers (2 given to you at the start of the game, then 5 numbers from my IRL address book) and between them I managed to see every generic world within an hour. The variety comes from the creatures and interactable items you find within each world, but there are not a lot of characters or items either so the fun that comes from exploring wears out quickly.
Being an adventure/escape the room game, there are a fair amount of puzzles. Unfortunately, they're not done particularly well; the clues given are pretty vague (if any are given at all) and a lot of puzzles lead to alternate endings and thus end up being self-contained--having absolutely no bearing on solving the major puzzle of the game, unlocking the door in your room. Thankfully, it's easy enough to brute-force most puzzles just by using your entire inventory on any object or character you come across. Eventually something will happen.
I ended up clearing the game in about 4 hours (11 endings, all items, completed library) and while it was an enjoyable game I probably won't be returning to it again.
....and I was going to write more, but I'm falling asleep at my desk so I'll continue tomorrow.
Strange Telephone
Okay, this wasn't actually part of the sale, but I did have a coupon for it that was about to expire. Strange Telephone is a pixel adventure game where you play as Jill, a girl who wakes up locked in a strange room. A floating, living phone named Graham serves as her only method of leaving the room: by dialing any six digit number, Jill can connect to a random "world" which may or may not have something that will help her escape to her own world.
The creator cites Yume Nikki as a direct inspiration for Strange Telephone, and while they share the same pixelated, eerie-cute aesthetic and gameplay that focuses on finding items and using them to interact with the strange worlds you encounter, Strange Telephone is more directed and linear than Yume Nikki, and less unsettling as well. It's also much smaller in scope; even though the potential number combinations you can call exceed 3 million, there are only 10 or so world 'templates' available, and each world is the size of a single screen length. (Exiting the world by walking off screen sends you to another number based on what your initial dial, i.e. if you dialed 222222, then walked off-screen right, you'd be in world 222223. I called about 7 numbers (2 given to you at the start of the game, then 5 numbers from my IRL address book) and between them I managed to see every generic world within an hour. The variety comes from the creatures and interactable items you find within each world, but there are not a lot of characters or items either so the fun that comes from exploring wears out quickly.
Being an adventure/escape the room game, there are a fair amount of puzzles. Unfortunately, they're not done particularly well; the clues given are pretty vague (if any are given at all) and a lot of puzzles lead to alternate endings and thus end up being self-contained--having absolutely no bearing on solving the major puzzle of the game, unlocking the door in your room. Thankfully, it's easy enough to brute-force most puzzles just by using your entire inventory on any object or character you come across. Eventually something will happen.
I ended up clearing the game in about 4 hours (11 endings, all items, completed library) and while it was an enjoyable game I probably won't be returning to it again.
....and I was going to write more, but I'm falling asleep at my desk so I'll continue tomorrow.
shoot all the things
Jan. 29th, 2019 05:53 amI put in a bunch of job applications last month, which means this month has been a lot of interviews. I've had two places decline already (oh well) the rest are undecided because it takes like a billion years to get through the hiring process in health care. There are a few other places I'm thinking of applying to, but they're either farther away, basically my old job but with a different agency, or sound a bit too uh...new-age....for my tastes, going by their mission statements. But a job is a job, and if nothing pans out locally I guess I'll have to look elsewhere.
anyway, since I'm basically waiting or calling people back all day, I've had a lot of time to...do nothing, really. Except play games even more because what am i doing with my life.
★ In Downwell I can get to the normal mode boss with some consistency, but I don't know if I'll ever get to a point where I can beat it...I get there with about 6-8 HP, then blow through it really fast because I can't keep track of where I am on-screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I was using the floaty style at first for easier combos but now I use the arm spin for the guaranteed gun modules + the health/ammo upgrades they give. (also i just really love the sprite animation ♥) I might switch to the style that starts with extra health since my boss strategy is to tank most of its stuff @__@
★ I actually did this awhile ago, but mentioned it exactly nowhere: I customized an arcade stick. I'm thinking about painting the chassis with a more fitting color than black, but idk that would probably take more work than I'm willing to do.
I'm getting used to it by playing DoDonPachi Resurrection. My runs have been better overall so far, but I have trouble doing very slight movements with the stick. I'm still using the stock joystick, and I don't know if I should change it out...I'm not sure what the best choice would be for this particular problem. I don't think it's a matter of just switching from a square to an octagonal gate, since I don't have any issue with diagonal movements. Switching to something with high-tension sounds like it might help but I don't know for sure. I wish I knew where to ask around for help with these things. x_x
★ Taken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Tsukihime
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Type-Moon's writing, but I like Tsukihime a lot.
today's tag is![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
masu_trout! ♥
anyway, since I'm basically waiting or calling people back all day, I've had a lot of time to...do nothing, really. Except play games even more because what am i doing with my life.
★ In Downwell I can get to the normal mode boss with some consistency, but I don't know if I'll ever get to a point where I can beat it...I get there with about 6-8 HP, then blow through it really fast because I can't keep track of where I am on-screen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I was using the floaty style at first for easier combos but now I use the arm spin for the guaranteed gun modules + the health/ammo upgrades they give. (also i just really love the sprite animation ♥) I might switch to the style that starts with extra health since my boss strategy is to tank most of its stuff @__@
★ I actually did this awhile ago, but mentioned it exactly nowhere: I customized an arcade stick. I'm thinking about painting the chassis with a more fitting color than black, but idk that would probably take more work than I'm willing to do.
I'm getting used to it by playing DoDonPachi Resurrection. My runs have been better overall so far, but I have trouble doing very slight movements with the stick. I'm still using the stock joystick, and I don't know if I should change it out...I'm not sure what the best choice would be for this particular problem. I don't think it's a matter of just switching from a square to an octagonal gate, since I don't have any issue with diagonal movements. Switching to something with high-tension sounds like it might help but I don't know for sure. I wish I knew where to ask around for help with these things. x_x
★ Taken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Tsukihime
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Type-Moon's writing, but I like Tsukihime a lot.
today's tag is
masu_trout! ♥are tags an advertisement or a warning
Jan. 26th, 2019 12:13 amI've been cleaning up my A03 profile, summaries, and content tags, and I'm having a hard time tagging my M-rated fic. I'm generally someone who under-tags, as I've always felt that having too many tags is frustrating to readers. But undertagging means a reader has less control when it comes to content they want to avoid, so I'm trying to find a happy medium between over- and undertagging. Help me out, flist?
Related, how useful do you find style tags--"present tense" "drabble format" "second-person POV" etc? Is it something you appreciate when provided, or do you not notice/ignore it?
anyway, meme time.
Taken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
i've never beaten this game, or any Ecco game for that matter, despite playing all of them.okay, not Ecco Junior.
today's tag:rutato who i don't think visits here anymore, but 🤷
Poll #21200 AO3 Tag Etiquette
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4
What is your preferred method of tagging sexual content in M/E rated fic?
View Answers
Tag with every sex act that occurs, whether it is explicitly described or not
0 (0.0%)
Tag for sex that is explicitly described only (vague or implied acts are ignored)
1 (25.0%)
Only tag for acts that are uncommon/fetish/high trigger potential
2 (50.0%)
Only use general tags (i.e. "sexual content" "choose not to use warnings" etc.)
0 (0.0%)
I don't have any preference
1 (25.0%)
how explicit is explicit anyway
0 (0.0%)
what are tags
0 (0.0%)
Related, how useful do you find style tags--"present tense" "drabble format" "second-person POV" etc? Is it something you appreciate when provided, or do you not notice/ignore it?
anyway, meme time.
Taken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
i've never beaten this game, or any Ecco game for that matter, despite playing all of them.
today's tag:
rutato who i don't think visits here anymore, but 🤷FARM ESPORTS
Jan. 23rd, 2019 08:55 pmfrom twitter, this "all these words make sense individually but not together" style headline: Farming Simulator Esports Expands with League and Farm-Tech Sponsors
things i have learned:
★ Farming Simulator League has a prize pool of $284,000 (US) what the F U C K
★ There's a FarmCon specifically for the Farm Simulator series, not for farm simulators in general or, uh, actual farming.
★ The competitive mode is 3v3 hay bale stacking
★ Logitech produces a line of Farming Simulator-specific controllers and is planning to expand this hardware line
★ Farming Simulator devs specifically barred farm-tech companies from sponsoring the league as they did not want to create conflicts of interest between sponsored teams and the league
★ Farming Simulator 2019 sold 1 million copies in the first 10 days of its release which lbr blows most video game sales out of the water and explains why all of the above exists
I, for one, am looking forward to the heated discussions on what is considered "cheap" "low-skilled" "uncompetitive" in team-based hay bale stacking and any other competitive farm activities the devs create.
things i have learned:
★ Farming Simulator League has a prize pool of $284,000 (US) what the F U C K
★ There's a FarmCon specifically for the Farm Simulator series, not for farm simulators in general or, uh, actual farming.
★ The competitive mode is 3v3 hay bale stacking
★ Logitech produces a line of Farming Simulator-specific controllers and is planning to expand this hardware line
★ Farming Simulator devs specifically barred farm-tech companies from sponsoring the league as they did not want to create conflicts of interest between sponsored teams and the league
★ Farming Simulator 2019 sold 1 million copies in the first 10 days of its release which lbr blows most video game sales out of the water and explains why all of the above exists
I, for one, am looking forward to the heated discussions on what is considered "cheap" "low-skilled" "uncompetitive" in team-based hay bale stacking and any other competitive farm activities the devs create.
Taken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Melty Blood: Act Cadenza
today's tag isweber_dubois22! (if you're interested in doing this ^^)
i wonder how many people on my subscribe list are still active?
Melty Blood: Act Cadenza
today's tag is
weber_dubois22! (if you're interested in doing this ^^)i wonder how many people on my subscribe list are still active?
it is hard to git gud
Jan. 22nd, 2019 07:23 amTaken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Final Fantasy X-2
today's tag isfujicori! (i got ~fancy and used a virtual name drawing site this time)
Some other game stuff:
★ I got Downwell during the steam winter sale and uhhhh I LOVE IT. Very disappointed in myself for dying to bats like 90% of the time. Very pleased that one of the abilities you can get is gaining health by eating the bodies of your enemies. I also think this might be one of those games I play for a long time but never actually beat.
★ In Overwatch I've been trying to re-focus on improving my support play--for the past few competitive seasons I've basically been a D.va one-trick with some DPS fills when necessary (which happened more often than usual during the last two seasons.) But I feel like D.va + hitscans that aren't McCree is too narrow a hero pool and my performance is too streaky on DPS to make them my main role. I've been trying to get better at shotcalling as well, since I think I've got decent enough awareness to do so, at least for my rank...it's gone alright so far? At least when I'm playing Mercy or Lucio (I've had a few games where I've literally told the team's Reinhardt what to do, like "drop your shield and start swinging" levels of micromanaging...) I'm struggling a lot with Zenyatta, my aim is okay but I never feel like I'm using discord efficiently. I just kinda pick whoever's closest to me, or the Widow if they have one lol. I don't really know what to look for in terms of prioritizing discord targets :/
★ Soulcalibur VI released a balance patch last week and i've spent an inordinate amount of my free time trying to figure out how badly my main has been nerfed. (A LOT LOL) I've worked out how most of the changed stuff works, at least at a basic level, but I'm kind of nervous about posting it on public forums because I've never labbed stuff like this before, and I'm worried about being wrong. Only, being wrong is totally normal thing when you're trying to suss out game mechanics and it usually takes a group effort to do so...I shouldn't be nervous, but I am anyway hahAAA. I've just been sitting on this growing txt. file trying to talk myself into posting it.
Final Fantasy X-2
today's tag is
fujicori! (i got ~fancy and used a virtual name drawing site this time)Some other game stuff:
★ I got Downwell during the steam winter sale and uhhhh I LOVE IT. Very disappointed in myself for dying to bats like 90% of the time. Very pleased that one of the abilities you can get is gaining health by eating the bodies of your enemies. I also think this might be one of those games I play for a long time but never actually beat.
★ In Overwatch I've been trying to re-focus on improving my support play--for the past few competitive seasons I've basically been a D.va one-trick with some DPS fills when necessary (which happened more often than usual during the last two seasons.) But I feel like D.va + hitscans that aren't McCree is too narrow a hero pool and my performance is too streaky on DPS to make them my main role. I've been trying to get better at shotcalling as well, since I think I've got decent enough awareness to do so, at least for my rank...it's gone alright so far? At least when I'm playing Mercy or Lucio (I've had a few games where I've literally told the team's Reinhardt what to do, like "drop your shield and start swinging" levels of micromanaging...) I'm struggling a lot with Zenyatta, my aim is okay but I never feel like I'm using discord efficiently. I just kinda pick whoever's closest to me, or the Widow if they have one lol. I don't really know what to look for in terms of prioritizing discord targets :/
★ Soulcalibur VI released a balance patch last week and i've spent an inordinate amount of my free time trying to figure out how badly my main has been nerfed. (A LOT LOL) I've worked out how most of the changed stuff works, at least at a basic level, but I'm kind of nervous about posting it on public forums because I've never labbed stuff like this before, and I'm worried about being wrong. Only, being wrong is totally normal thing when you're trying to suss out game mechanics and it usually takes a group effort to do so...I shouldn't be nervous, but I am anyway hahAAA. I've just been sitting on this growing txt. file trying to talk myself into posting it.
10 Days of Unexplained Screenshots, Day 2
Jan. 21st, 2019 01:33 amfrom tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Deathsmiles
...not providing any sort of context is proving harder than i thought. it's like, you want to say why this moment and this game is impactful to you, but that's against the rules. :P
Wildly waving my cursor over my mutual subs list landed onjack_of_none, if you would like to do this. :>
Deathsmiles
...not providing any sort of context is proving harder than i thought. it's like, you want to say why this moment and this game is impactful to you, but that's against the rules. :P
Wildly waving my cursor over my mutual subs list landed on
jack_of_none, if you would like to do this. :>a meme with no context
Jan. 20th, 2019 04:20 amTaken from tumblr: For ten days, I post an image from a video game that has impacted me without a single explanation and nominate somebody to take the challenge.
Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium
taggingtehexile, whose drabbles have made me think about PS a lot lately :) (of course, don't feel pressured to do this if it doesn't interest you!)
Phantasy Star: End of the Millenium
tagging
tehexile, whose drabbles have made me think about PS a lot lately :) (of course, don't feel pressured to do this if it doesn't interest you!)
Title: these vices are my service
Fandom: Persona 4
Characters: Yu Narukami, Tohru Adachi; Adayu
Rating: T (mild sexual content, consent issues)
Words: 1100
Summary: A late summer evening. Adachi presumes too much, and Yu doesn't know how to respond. No direct references to P4's ending but I'd consider it spoilery all the same.
Notes: I literally do not remember writing this but it was in my Google docs, so ??? I also do not remember the Marie-Adachi scene mentioned at the beginning; it might have been from the mostly terrible anime adaptation, idk.
( I didn't mean to scare you. )
Fandom: Persona 4
Characters: Yu Narukami, Tohru Adachi; Adayu
Rating: T (mild sexual content, consent issues)
Words: 1100
Summary: A late summer evening. Adachi presumes too much, and Yu doesn't know how to respond. No direct references to P4's ending but I'd consider it spoilery all the same.
Notes: I literally do not remember writing this but it was in my Google docs, so ??? I also do not remember the Marie-Adachi scene mentioned at the beginning; it might have been from the mostly terrible anime adaptation, idk.
( I didn't mean to scare you. )
