Reading

Two months later, finally posting about finishing Metaphor: ReFantazio. Looking back at my last Metaphor post I was only at the Dragon Temple on Virga Island, but looking at my notes on my phone I stopped writing anything down until near the end lmaoo.

So, thoughts overall: I enjoyed it. If you enjoy the format of a Persona game but would like it set in a fantasy world (dungeon crawling mixed with social links, turn-based battles with summon strategization) then you'll probably enjoy playing this too. The battles are fun but I think the characters are the real highlight of the game. Like with many RPGs, there's a colorful cast with lots of drama and heartfelt moments. I think Eupha and Basilio remain my faves, but I also really liked Hulkenberg and Junah too.

( Metaphor ReFantazio yapping continues )


After beating Metaphor I finally started playing Hades II! It's just as fun as the first game and I'm enjoying the new stuff they added to the gameplay. I think my favorite weapons are the axe and the knives and the skull....but they're all pretty good except for that mecha armor thing I used it once and was so bad at it sjdhfkjsdf never again.

( Hades II yapping continues )


Unfortunately the past few weeks my free time for gaming has been taken up not by Hades but by Overwatch instead. 😑 Every time I think I'm free... And now they've released 5 new heroes at once and this damn Sanrio collab!!!

( Overwatch yapping continues )

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It was my birthday on Monday, and now I am 45 years old.

Which feels fake, if you ask me. I do not feel like a 45 year old person. And yet I am.

I didn't do anything - just stayed in and chilled. Watched Labyrinth and Back to the Future. Then got bored of watching films, because I prefer to watch films with someone, and I do not have anyone else at the moment. So I watched a bunch of stuff on youtube instead.

I had the preceding week off work, and I'm not entirely sure I know where it went. I had a nurse's appointment and a dentist appointment, but they were on two separate days, so it's not like either of those swallowed one entire day. (Although I had shenanigans with the buses on the day of the dentist appt, so that swallowed more of the day than I would have liked).

Before I was off work, one of the ladies that I work with gave me a sewing machine that she wanted to get rid of, as she was having a clean out, and she'd never used it. It's pretty basic, but it does some fancy stuff (buttonholes, basic overlocking). I have tested it but not really messed with it much, but I am looking forward to using it. I would like to be able to make some clothes with it, because that way I can make things I like the look of, from the type of fabric I would like (natural fibres). I am already daydreaming about things beyond my skill level, lol.

Well, I say that, but actually making a basic jacket is one of the things I want to do, and really it's not that hard. I say, hubristically. But also my mum made her own clothes at one point, so I have books on how to make stuff as well as the internet so, fingers crossed, I might be okay!

Other than that, I thought work might be calming down, but no chance! I should know better by this point! Also I finally joined my workplace's union - I'd thought about it when I first started the job, but didn't think I'd be there very long, then didn't really think about it after that. But then the union rep asked me about joining yesterday (she's been on a bit of a mission to recruit members lately for reasons I'm not going into on a public post), so I did. It's only taken me two and a half years, heh.

I have also been doing some boring house stuff (mostly decluttering cupboards) and now I need to do another tip run before I can do the next bits.

And that's really it for the time being! Time to go and look at some books, I guess!

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Finally got around to checking what units I qualify for considering I failed 2 things. Going ahead with Y2 stuff, but only parttime this year. Hopefully having only 2 campus days a week will let me rest.

3-4 days a week last semester was genuinely brutal — they weren't long or hard sessions by any means, but I am no longer in the state to handle it. 2 days in S1 was way better, and probably explains why I didn't crash and burn until after it was over.

By Year 12, I was so worn out mentally and physically that I was regularly sleeping 12 hours daily, completely unable to bring myself to do any work in the 4/5-ish free hours I had each schoolday. Thank everything that is over.

Lately, my wrists and hands have been a bit upset at me.

I'm getting more frequent symptoms of carpal-tunnel syndrome. It's unfortunate, but I saw it coming for various reasons.

In Year 12 and probably earlier, I had semi-frequent cases of my arms losing all strength (especially grip strength) from the elbow down. At the beginning, I'd assumed it was just stress, then I worried if I had some kind of mental condition or brain injury, before I settled on overuse+stress, which seemed to be right because it almost completely stopped after grad. It mostly affects handwriting, so the general lack of handwritten assessments so far has been a pleasant change.

What I experience now is mostly a pain between my metacarpals that is hard to describe. It's not sharp or pulsing, but it's not quite dull either. I suppose it's a touch similar to the "overstimulation pain" I sometimes experience on my skin (particularly if I forgot to moisturise) where it feels like getting sandpapered. In a way, it makes my hands feel delicate, like they might suddenly shatter (no, I don't think it's reasonable to assume I've actually broken anything, unless I've managed to get very even stress fractures in both hands). I would say it's weird that it happens in both hands, but I'm realising that beyond single-handed activities like drawing and writing, my usage is pretty even.

The other, uncommon symptom is a type of heat/tingling. It's pretty much the same as what I sometimes experience in my pelvic region during my period (I'm non-binary, btw) — it's extremely uncomfortable, and overwhelming to the point of pain (in a different way to what I described in the last paragraph). In fact, one of the first times I remember this symptom in my hands, it actually started as a full-body experience during my period, before the sensation eventually only persisted in my arms after a few hours.

Evidently, I really need lift weights for wrist strength, and do more stretches.

In less depressing news, games!

I tried out osu! and it is pretty fun, but I played it in a weird position and totally messed up my shoulder-neck muscles for a few days, so it's very much an occasionally-only affair.

Not gotten around to much HWL lately, but I did pick up Triforce Heroes somewhat again. It's much more fun with friends, but alas, everyone's busy.

Alexander lent me The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. I don't like playing "one time experience" games often, but I hadn't indulged in one since P5R so might as well. It interested me due to the heavy use of the DS touchscreen and other features. I'm right at the boss of the Ice Temple, might complete it after posting this. I like PH so far, the graphics are charming and the touchscreen is mostly responsive, though it's a little awkward to constantly only have one hand fully holding my 3DS, so I've been switching between resting it on a table/my lap, or on my stomach when lying down.

Finally fought Irontomb in HSR and man, I kinda forgot how easily I cry. I haven't been paying attention to most of the story, but that doesn't matter to my tearducts aha.

Well, I'm hungry, tired, and need to shower, so goodbye for now.

The universe continues to be a pile of Something.

On a brighter note, Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers continues to be fucking amazing so far.

This is the part where I'd normally be making Iiiii neeeeeed icoooons noises -- but I actually need to prune icons so I can transition from premium down to paid on here. First steps and all.

This time, Aline will fix it. This time, she'll make it right.

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Aline & Verso, Verso & Clea, time loop + bad parenting + psychological horror + etc, ~16k words.

Read here on AO3.

( author's notes (spoilers ahead) )

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