#and many players stealthed the whole hospital

[jackietaylorsghost]

people who talk in their meta defending tlou2 about how joel was selfish and took away ellie’s choice and say he was morally reprehensible and massacred an entire hospital (no he did not lmao) so ofc he should have died he had it coming and it was deserved and made narrative sense are the ones who don’t understand nuance, actually. that whole prologue is a manipulation you know that right?

[turtle-steverogers]

I Watched TWS for the Millionth Time So Let’s Over-Analyze This Shit

-TFA theme at the beginning 🥰 (that theme is so fuckin good)

-Sam’s lil jogging route around the Tidal Basin/Mall

-Steve being sassy , just as a general

-Steve’s sadness errands

-Sam relating to Steve on the soldier front and making him feel seen

-Just. Sam Wilson

-The way that Steve’s to-do list in the movie varies from country to country (For instance, the UK list has Sherlock instead of I Love Lucy and The Beatles)

-Also I wanna know Steve’s thai order

-The fact that this whole exchange is happening at 6:39 am

-Natasha drives with all the recklessness of a 16 year old that just got their license

-Stealth Suit Stealth Suit

-Steve deflecting Nat’s date suggestions

-Steve’s aversion for parachutes...reckless endangerment ✨

-Steve speaking/understanding at least a little french

-Tony having designed the Helicarriers to have arc reactor power instead of turbines because “he got a close up look at the turbines” in The Avengers 2012 when he got caught in them

-“This isnt freedom, this is fear” aka the embodiment of Steve’s character

-Steve’s exhibit being in the Air and Space museum even tho he flew a plane once and crashed it

-Bucky’s display having two different birth years (1916 and 1917. the correct one is 1917)

-In the little video of Steve and Bucky, Sebastian Stan was saying “We *are* friends” after the director told them to “act like friends” for that shot

-Steve acknowledging Peggy’s family and therefore acknowledging that their relationship with each other, while still close and special, is not romantic anymore and Peggy telling Steve to move on and start over wtf endgame

-The parallel of Peggy losing her memory as Bucky regains his

-Sam Wilson willing to show vulnerability and not being ashamed of his PTSD and treating Steve like any other attendee and hoping Steve will open up too if he sees that it’s okay to

-Steve’s face after “it was like I was up there just to watch” cuz he gets it and both sam and him had to watch their other half fall

-“What makes you happy?” “I don’t know”

-The Winter Soldier theme is just Bucky’s scream pitched different and made to sound mechanical because Henry Jackman wanted it to sound like a man trapped in a machine

-Why is Steve a lucky bastard that has his own laundry machine

-Steve leaving his apartment building after Sharon points out the music and then SCALING THE SIDE OF HIS OWN BUILDING AND CLIMBING IN THROUGH HIS WINDOW LIKE CAN YOU IMAGINE SEEING CAPTAIN AMERICA JUST CLIMBING INTO HIS APARTMENT THROUGH HIS WINDOW ONE NIGHT

-STEVE’s APARTMENT I HAVE MANY THOUGHTS (i might make a separate post on that)

-The fact that “A Long, Long Time” is playing when he sees Bucky for the first time in the future and the song is about lovers reuniting after the war i’m not saying it’s gay but i am

-He calls Fury “Nick” which really indicates theyre not close in the slightest

-Steve is excellent in adapting under pressure (him immediately catching on and using Fury’s code story: “who else knows about your wife?”)

-Steve is Awful at lying but hes also Excellent at lying

-How tf did Steve get the flash drive in the vending machine without the vending machine dude noticing i-

-“Captain Rogers” “Neighbor >:(“ petty little shit

-Steve’s observation skills are A+++++ as we can see in the elevator scene

-More reckless endangerment like imagine just going through your work day and captain america falls through the ceiling

-Steve stole someones gym clothes after escaping SHIELD. let that sink in

-Natasha has about a billion masks on at all times (“I only act like i know everything, rogers” “the person that programmed this was slightly smarter than me. slightly” “the truth isn’t all things to all people all of the time”) also she’s quite insecure, especially when it comes to being perceived as a good, trustable person

-Meanwhile, Steve’s consistently himself even if it costs him

-Bucky trained Natasha in the Red Room (at least in the comics) so theres a good chance she made the connection between him and Steve and withheld that information

-The honeymoon in New Jersey😭😭

-Steve and Nat both have very different, but entirely valid approaches to situations: Steve’s is that of a tactiction, Nat’s is that of a spy’s. We see this in the scene at Pentagon City Mall

-Steve’s looking for someone with shared life experience and bucky has that

-Bucky killed JFK

-When Zola tells him that his death and life both amount to that of a zero sum, he punches the screen with his bare fist, not his shield, indicating just how much that upset him

-Pierce offers Bucky milk cuz he knows “the asset” can’t refuse or accept offers. He’s taunting him

-Sam drinks orange juice straight from the bottle and also doesnt refrigerate his mustard. There’s also a baseball trophy in his apartment so,,,,, baseball player sam anyone?

-Sam is also a gem who immediately helps out Steve and Nat with no judgement in his tone so they don’t feel ashamed

-Nat straightened her hair somewhere in Sam’s house

-“Cuz thats really not your style, Rogers” “you’re right, it’s not” *rubs sitwell’s arm* “it’s hers”

-Steve and Nat banter Steve and Nat banter

-Sam is just *clenches fist* so cool

-Nat immediately knows where Bucky’s gonna shoot when he lands on the Sam’s car and later she knows how to affectively fight him best because he trained her so she knows his fighting style

-Steve alone saying “Bucky?” was enough to break Bucky’s conditioning the slightest bit

-Sam met Steve like 36 hours ago and he’s already being arrested and made into a government fugitive with him and it won’t be the last time

-Steve is the only one entirely restrained

-“Even when I had nothing I had Bucky”

-Everyone meets Sam and is just like “aight let’s trust him with the highest clearance security information”

-Steve looks super nauseous all through the scene where Rumlow is handcuffing him and later when he says, “he looked right at me, like he didn’t even know me” he sounds sick and choked up

-Steve carries a lot of weight on his shoulders

-Steve’s “Bucky?” after the highway battle and Steve’s “Bucky?” in Bucky’s memory in the Vault Scene being different (in Bucky’s memory, he looks more heartbroken)

-Sebastian’s acting. Just all of it. And the way Bucky just opens his mouth for the mouth guard before he gets wiped....heartbreaking

-Steve realizes an organization that was meant to protect the people has become its own antithesis so hes like “aight. get rid of it” damn that’s the right mindset right there

-In the memory scene after Sarah’s funeral, Steve is so out of it and distressed, that he can’t find his key but Bucky immediately knows exactly where it is and what he’s lookin for

-Bucky was vain as shit and also had money: tailored suit, hair w shit ton of brylcreem in it

-The big breakfast Steve had was at Sam’s house

-The whole scene on the helicarrier between Steve and Bucky is incredible here are some highlights: Steve never backing down from a fight until it’s Bucky he’s fighting, Steve dropping the shield for him, Steve being ready to die if living means he’s living in a world where Bucky’s alive and doesnt remember him

-Their acting in that scene is so genuine and heartbreaking i can’t- i can’t-

-Steve’s got a comm i’m so chances are Nat, Sam and Maria can hear a portion of what’s going down on the helicarriers

-“I’m with ya to the end of the line” is basically “til death do us part” so the equivalent of wedding vows between Bucky and Steve is what ultimately broke Bucky’s conditioning

-When bucky fell, steve didn’t jump after him but when Steve fell, bucky went after him even tho he’s brainwashed. don’t think about steve’s guilt surrounding that. youll only get sad

-Bucky waited until Steve took a breath to leave him

-Sam waited by Steve’s side in the hospital

-In the end credit scene, Bucky and Steve originally were supposed to make eye contact, but the writers didn’t want it established that Bucky remembered Steve until CW

----

Every time I watch it from here on out, I’m gonna add a lil more as I notice hehehe

[ozzdog12]

2020 Top 7 (and 1)

2020 am I right? We saw an insane amount of games come out and 2 brand new consoles. What a wild and weird year for gaming, and life in general. In case you are relatively new here, and to be honest that would be completely fair considering I don't post very often on Tumblr anymore, every year going on the last 4 years (on here) I have done a Top 7 (& 1) for my favorite videogames of the year. Check out 2019, 2018, & 2017. What’s wild, as I look back on my list of games that I’ve completed and played, only maybe 10 came out this year. 2020 was a huge backlog year. 

Lets get on with the ‘And 1!”

Favorite Game that Didn’t Come out in 2020: Control (PS4)

Control may very well have been my 2019 Game of the Year, had I played it in 2019. I LOVED Control. I wanted to play it in 2019, but initial reports that it was a little rough on base consoles put me off until it was fixed. And Holy smokes what an insanely fun and trippy game once I finally started it. I knew within the first 20 minutes this was going to be the shit when I went down a hall, walked into a room and talked to the “janitor” left out a door behind him and the entire building had shifted. I’ve always liked Remedy games, but from a distance. Max Payne 1&2 and Alan Wake all oozed with weirdness and intrigue, but never enough for me to finish them. I missed out on Quantum Break. The story is Control is just the right amount of mind f*!$ for me and builds a universe I didn’t know I needed. It take some time to piece everything together, then everything just clicks. The game does have a weird difficulty spike when fighting bosses and the checkpoints were too far apart at times, but those were later patched. I spent an insane amount of time within the Federal Bureau of Control building and even more time after that with the Foundation and AWE DLC and it STILL wasn’t enough. I wanted more. Outside of Prey, I can’t think of another game that stuck in my brain more after I’d finished it. Control is absolutely a MUST PLAY title. In a world where everything sort’ve feels similar, Control stands out of the crowd.

Number 7: Astro’s Playroom (PS5)

I never thought in my wildest dreams that a game I had almost zero interest in playing would end up on my list of favorite games this year. Astro’s Playroom is being labeled as a ‘Tech demo’ but that feels like an insult to what it is. It’s a full fledged game and its free! I’ve paid more for less. A charming little platformer that lives and breathes the history of the Playstation. So many cool Easter eggs and references. It certainly centers its gameplay around the DualSense controller and everything it can do, but at its core, its a completely approachable and forgiving 3D platformer. I played it just to see what it was about, next thing i knew I had completed all the levels and wanted to further explore all the nooks and crannies within the game. I wanted to see everything the game had to offer and I had an absolute blast doing so. Makes me kinda wish I’d played the previous game on PSVR (I’d have to have a PSVR too)

Number 6: Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5)

Another quality title, albeit a spin-off, from Insomniac to add to their Spider Man universe. Gameplay felt obviously like Spider-Man, but Miles has unique abilities that made the game feel different enough, especially the cloak and stealth. I enjoyed the fact that it was short and concise. The issue with most ‘open-world’ games is that they are entirely too bloated with unnecessary filler content (I’ll get to that in a later game), something I felt the first game suffered from, but I also understand why they are there. However I could’ve use one or two more story missions to help flesh out some characters, but it wasn’t required and didn’t change my opinion one way or the other. My one BIG gripe was with Miles himself. He is an extremely smart young kid, but so incredibly naïve. Peter Parker tells him the one thing he SHOULD NOT do is tell people he is Spider-Man. I get it, that’s part of his growth, but Miles thinks he can just solve his problems by revealing his identity and it almost certainly never works out. 

Number 5: The Last of Us: Part 2 (PS4)

The Last of Us Part 2 may be the most polarizing game in the history of the medium, but for the absolute wrong reasons. I’m in the minority that I very much enjoyed my experience with TLOU2, quite a bit actually. Its better in every single way over its predecessor, except the overall story. There are plenty of fair criticisms to be had about the story and various things within the game itself, but I thought the gameplay was so tight and crunchy. There were genuine moments of suspense and terror that I felt that no other game has ever given me. The entire hospital section (2nd time) was so susensful, I had to put my controller down to gther myself. Some of my favorite moments in the series I experienced with a character I wasn’t overly fond of. How many games can do that? The Last of Us Part 2 was meant to invoke emotion, not necessarily joy. I think that's what people lost along the way. Say what you will about the direction Naughty Dog has taken over the years, but you would be hard pressed to find a studio that makes games graphically better than they do. Yes, I know about their crunch culture, but this is not a place for that. I will say, the game was a tad bit too long, which is not something it typically say for a single player, narrative driven game. The pacing and the way the story was told wasn’t my favorite, but I respect what it was trying to do, even if it failed in some aspect of that, I finished the game within the week it was released. Something I RARELY ever do. I’m a father and I related with Joel a lot in TLOU, but I also recognized how wrong he was. There is a lesson to be learned. Your actions always have consequences and while he was doing what he thought was the right thing, it wasn’t his choice to make, and in doing so set up a series of events that were entirely avoidable, but again, that’s the point isn’t it?

Number 4: Grindstone (Switch)

I’m counting this as a 2020 game since it just came to the Switch this year ( less than a month ago) but its not the first time I’ve played it. Grindstone was the only reason I kept my Apple Arcade subscription and when I let it lapse, there was a void I just couldn’t fill. I bought Puzzle Quest on Switch but it just wasn't the same. Its THE perfect game for bite sized play, even though in its addictive nature, you’ll clear a few levels and an hour has passed before you know it. It has the perfect amount of depth that most ‘match’ games don't. You have different weapons, items, and outfits w/perks to use and experiment with to keep it fresh. I went months without playing my Switch and when this was announced in August, I couldn’t wait! Sadly, I had to wait 3 months, but since then I have spent so much time on the Switch. It gave me a reason to play it again. The art style and humour is great. The variety of enemies and challenge is just right. I can’t recommend it enough. Seriously, check this game out!

Number 3: Doom Eternal (Xbox One)

I will be the first to tell you, I did not like Doom (2016). I found it extremely boring and trite. I understood what Doom(2016) was doing and it succeeded, maybe too much. Nostalgia is a helluva thing. So in saying that, I was mildly interested in Doom Eternal. Doom Eternal is nothing like 2016 outside of it being a Doom game that connects to the rest of them (& also being a sequel to 2016). The mechanics are drastically different with more platforming (for better or worse). Eternal is challenging, at times very hard, especially early on. Eternal has no respect for its players, in a weirdly good way. It laughs at how you’ve played FPS before this one and WILL MAKE you play it its way, not your way. Yes, you point and shoot, but ammo is scare and you MUST use everything in your arsenal. No more using just 2 guns for the whole game. The enemies are relentless. Sometimes you have to pause and take a breath after a battle because you go a 100 mph for the whole fight. You have to continuously move or you die. There is an enticing rhythm to it. I categorize Eternal as ‘Blood Ballet’. Its a game where when your feeling it, much like a rhythm game, you get in the zone and there is no stopping demons from getting slayed. Surprisingly, unlike most games in the genre, it seemed to get easier (sans one extremely frustrating platforming section late in the game) the longer you played it. Was that a testament that I ‘learned’ the Eternal way or it truly did get easier? I don’t know, but the final Boss(es) were....easy.. I had more problems and deaths within the first 4 hours than I did the final 8-9 hours. The multiplayer was also surprisingly fun. The older I get, the less interested I am in multiplayer, but I found myself coming back for more for a good month or so. 

Number 2: Gears Tactics (Xbox One)

As 2020 comes to a close, I came to a stunning realization. I might be a bigger Gears of War fan than I had previously thought. Don’t get me wrong. I love Gears, but I seem to love Gears more than I thought. I'm way more invested into the lore than I recall. Anyways, Gears Tactics is everything XCOM 2 SHOULD’VE been. Not only does Gears Tactics utilize the Overwatch action, its makes it EXTREMELY important. The story revolves around the father of Kait Diaz, Gabe and a ragtag group of mostly random soldiers to take down Ukkon. Anyone who is remotely interested in the Gears universe will love the story and references. The gameplay is just so damn satisfying. The bosses are very challenging and different. I actually had to change my strategy to finish the final boss. I experimented with a totally different style of class and was rewarded for it. The post game stuff is also aplenty. This game scratched a VERY specific itch for me and I’m itchy to jump back in. I’m glad this came to Xbox One because I’m current computer could not run it.

Number 1: Ghost of Tsushima (PS4)

I have a very odd relationship with massive open world games. I love them, but I get very burnt out on them. They all have a relatively same-y formula and are often populated with bloat. GoT does have some of that but to its advantage, its not very populated, in a good way. One of the things that I really appreciated about GoT and its side quest is most of them felt meaningful. The thing that really stood out to me about GoT is the absolutely satisfying combat. It just feels SO GOOD. It requires timing and patience. There are different fighting styles for different enemies and even the armor you wear is more than just cosmetic. The combat is so fun and satisfying that I was immediately excited when they announced Legends, a multiplayer add on, for free. Its so much fun and is a blast to play with a group of friends. I’m sporadically still playing the Legends mode. I initially wanted to play the game in ‘Kurosawa’ mode but I am glad I didn’t because the game, even on the PS4 is stunning, and on the upgrade on PS5 is jaw-droppingly smooth. I did play the entire game in Japanese with English subtitles. I still don't know what Jin’s English voice sounds like. GoT does a good job a drip feeding you new abilities and things to keep things fresh. I love stealth and once I unlocked it, I spent the majority of every battle taking out as many enemies as I could while in stealth mode. Ghost of Tsushima does a lot of things very well, that the few things it doesn’t can be easily overlooked.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #344

“my whole existence is flawed”

Have you ever thought about becoming a crime scene investigator? No. Do you think you could win on Jeopardy? Not at all. What do you normally call your mother? (mommy, mom, mother, mum, etc.) Usually "Mom" or "Ma," sometimes "Mama." Does your significant other complain about the way you dress? I'm single, but I would never tolerate an s/o who complained about/told me how to dress. Like bye, fuck you. Have you ever been in an abusive relationship? Are you right now? No, thankfully. What would you do if a stranger smacked your ass and whistled? They're getting fucking punched. In the face. Do you know anyone who has died from cancer? Multiple people. Ever have to call the cops on someone? Not me personally, but my sister did while I was in the car with her due to a clearly drunk as fuck driver. Are you comfortable enough around your friends to change in front of them? Hell no, I avoid changing even in front of my mother. Have you ever dated someone in secret? Dated, no. But Joel and I were a secret. What’s something you really want right now, be honest? What I really want right now is a job. What are you listening to right now? A slowed-down with reverb version of "Closer" by In This Moment. It's p hot. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes. What confuses you most? Why terrible things can happen to the most undeserving of people. Have you ever been called a bad influence? Yes. Not like she was a good one whatsoever. What's the weirdest compliment you've ever received? I don't know, really. Have you ever thought you could 'save' someone? No. It's funny, apparently Jason thought I could "save" him, and would'ja look at that, he scarred me for life. Do you prefer weed or cigs? I've never smoked either, but at least weed has benefits, so. What do your parents say about smoking? Well, my dad smokes like a chimney, but he does tell my sisters and me to absolutely never start it. Mom is very firm about us not smoking. She'd probably be heartbroken if any of us started. Do like kissing with tongue or without? I mean, that depends on the mood as well as how serious we are. What show is hilarious to you? That '70s Show absolutely cracks me up. Who last made you upset? My Dad and stepmom, ranting about how the Covid vaccine is being forced on us and is dangerous. I'm very much for it and am getting it myself soon, so I was just like... shut the fuck up. I just kept my lips zipped, but by god did I want to say something. Does he/she usually upset you? I sometimes regret having my stepmom on Facebook because of her shitty political views, but she in general doesn't upset me. I love her, really. Dad doesn't upset me, really. What would your parents do if you got a tattoo? They don't care, especially knowing how much I love them. What is your favorite musical? None. Do you have any interest in visiting Japan? Yeah, though I don't think it's something I'd go out of my way to do. If I had the opportunity though, I'd surely go. I would love to take photos there, and it's this odd desire of mine to visit Aokigahara Forest and just walk along the "safe" paths and just... feel it. I don't want to find any bodies because I think that would shatter me, I just want to allow myself to like, drown in empathy for all those that left their lives in those trees. I feel like I'd cry a LOT, because I'd prefer to do it alone and just talk to whoever may be able to hear from wherever they are now, and just let them know they're not forgotten or abandoned and that they were never alone. This is honestly getting me really emotional so I'm moving onto the next question. But in summary, I feel like it could honestly be a life-changing experience. What is your favorite Japanese name? I like A LOT of Japanese names I've heard, but they're all evading me now. Do you ever listen to Jpop? No. Who do you go to for advice? Mom or Sara. Have you ever ran a cash register? Yeah, when I worked at the dollar store. Have you ever worked as a server? No. Did you collect Bratz dolls when you were younger? I didn't collect them, no, but I shared a few with my sister. Do you think your mom is attractive? I think my mom's beautiful. Her smile especially puts gold to shame. She actually kinda broke down the other day because she thought she was ugly, and it just broke my damn heart. Do you like the feeling in your stomach on a big drop on a roller coaster? I've never been on a roller coaster and don't plan to try one, but I reeeaaally don't like that feeling in any situation. What is your most severe allergy? Pollen. How and when were you baptized, if applicable? I was baptized as a baby the traditional Catholic way. Would you rather paint or carve a pumpkin? I think carving is more fun. Have you ever walked through a haunted house? One that was part of a Halloween attraction, yeah. What computer game did you used to play all the time? I played lots as a kid, but my favorite had to be I Spy: Spooky Mansion. My lil sis and I were obsessed. How do you feel about Motorhead? I don't love them, but I do enjoy some of their songs. I never thought Lemmy was that great of a vocalist, but I respect him as an artist and hope he rests in peace. What’s the weirdest way you’ve ever pulled a muscle? *shrugs* What’s your favorite symbol? (i.e. the pentagram, the cross, etc.) If we're talking only real-world symbols and not ones that only exist in fantasy media, I actually think the Satanic (no, not inverted) cross is a cool design. It has nothing to do with my stance on Satanism, I just think it's an appealing look. What methods are most effective for you when you’re trying to relax? If I REALLY need relaxation, just leave me alone and let my put on earplugs and just like, disappear from the real world for a bit. Would you rather date your opposite, your ‘twin’, or someone in between? Someone in-between, I think. More similar to me though would be preferred versus someone that's my opposite. How many videos do you have favorited on your YouTube account? I think I'm actually at the max? I think they just get replaced with newer ones by now. Do you know anyone who has carpal tunnel syndrome? Me, actually. My older sister does, too, and actually had surgery for it. Which do you prefer: M&M’s, Skittles, or Reese’s Pieces? Reese's Pieces, but I love all three. If you could be the sidekick of a superhero which superhero would you pick? If I was Spiderman's sidekick, could I throw webs and zing around like a monkey too? ;_; I think being Batman's sidekick would be pretty cool too, seeing as to my knowledge he's more about stealth, which would be fun to go along with. Do you think that you could ever win a food eating contest? No fucking way. They gross me the hell out. What is your favorite thing about the country you live in? How much freedom we have here. Although, it can definitely be abused, and some people do abuse it... Have you ever snuck somebody into your house? No. Have you ever snuck into somebody else’s house? No. Honestly, have you ever thrown garbage out of the window of a car? No, and you fucking repulse me if you do. It is not that challenging to hold onto your shit until you get out of the car and find a trashcan. Honestly, have you ever stuck gum under a table or desk? No, that shit is disgusting. Just get your lazy ass up and spit it out. Which would you find more menacing: dinosaurs or dragons? Well, considering dragons can, you know, breathe fire... Can you name three different kinds of dinosaurs? Spinosaurus, allosaurus, stegosaurus. What’s the name of the last person you kissed? Sara. Is your heart broken at the moment? Nah. Who’s the last guy you argued with? I don't know. I avoid arguing with guys to the absolute best of my ability because I'm terrified of making them mad. What about the last girl? My mom. Would you marry the last person you kissed? Not at this current time, but later down the road of us both building ourselves up, I possibly would. Who’s the last person that asked you out? Girt. Out of all of your exes, who treated you the best? Sara. Who is the person you have hurt the most? My damn self. Who is the person that has hurt you the most? Jason. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? It feels like it sometimes, but when it really comes down to it, no, I don't. Who was the last baby you held? My niece Emerson. Who’s the last guy to give you roses? Tyler. Did your parents do drugs when they were younger? My dad did quite a lot before us kids were born, apparently. I can guess pretty damn easily that Mom made him cut that shit out before having my sisters and me. Mom, to my knowledge, has never tried anything at all. Do you still talk to the person you lost your virginity to? No. Did you cry at your high school graduation? I remember I teared up slightly. What was the last non-papery substance you drew on? I have no idea. Do you ever name objects? (i.e. mp3 players, guitars, cars, etc.) No. What do you beat yourself up about the most? I'm 25 fucking years old and have never had a stable job or just felt "adult" in general. Which has hurt you more: friendship break-ups or bf/gf break-ups? The breakup with Jason, who was my boyfriend, so. What’s the most terrifying thing you’ve ever done? Gone to a mental hospital. The first time was so, so scary. What’s the highest fever you’ve ever had? I don't know. Have you ever been to the ER? Many times. Have you ever been mistreated by a cop? No. Have you ever experimented with any sort of witchcraft? No. Which animals are you afraid of? Some bugs and spiders, and whale sharks are a phobia of mine. I also find giant squid to be terrifying, but also very intriguing. Oh yeah, then there's my extreme aversion to maggots and similar larvae. Did you pray to God when you were a child? Usually. Mom raised us to, but some nights I slacked with it and just wanted to sleep. What is your favorite flavor of frosting? Maaan, don't make me choose. What color is your skin naturally? Very pale. Do you own a pocketknife, or any other kind of multi-tool? No. What was the last thing you took a video of? I have no idea. I have no recordings on my phone, so. Have you ever been somewhere where you didn’t fluently speak the local language? No. Have you ever had famous neighbors? No. Do you have any medication that you keep with you at all times? Yeah, one of my anxiety meds. What are some things a house would need to have for you to purchase it? Besides the very obvious, mine has to have a dishwasher. I. HATE. Washing dishes by hand. Do you own a pet spider? No, but I DESPERATELY want some tarantulas. :( I've tried convincing her, but Mom's very adamant about the fact I will NOT own one so long as I live with her. I also love jumping spiders and attempted to convince her about one of those versus a tarantula, but still, answer's a firm no, haha. Do you call your animals “baby names”? Well duh. Have you ever been stood up? No. Do you own a fishtank? No. Do you like the song “Barbie Girl”? God no. I'll sing it jokingly, though, because y'know, childhood and all. Do you own a feather boa? No. We did at one point, though. A hot pink one. Are you allergic to peanuts? No. Do you wear ribbons in your hair? No, my hair's too short for that. I never did, though. Do you use cheat codes on video games? I generally only use codes that you can actually earn in the game for like, new outfits or weapons in subsequent playthroughs. I won't use the kinds of codes that make you invulnerable and stuff, but rather just fun little cosmetics and such. Have you ever gone mudding on a fourwheeler? Ugh, no. I don't like getting dirty, so that is NOT my kind of fun. What is your favorite flavor Jolly Rancher? Watermelon. Have you ever played Dance Dance Revolution? Of course! We had the dance mat as kids and loved to play the games. What is the last thing you dropped? I don't really remember. Have you ever done the “Cupid Shuffle?” Yeah, at school dances and such. Do you know how to do the Soulja Boy dance? Haha omg, I did as a kid. My friend, sister, and I all learned it. How long has it been since you’ve eaten a Reese’s? My mom actually got me a Reese's egg for Easter, so not long ago at all.

[enigmaticjblake]

Best Video Games of the last decade

The last decade was sensational, a lot of stuff happened, there were dramatic changes all across, especially in videogames. Technological advancements in computer hardware pushed graphical limits and the visual fidelity in gaming kept evolving. Games got more immersive and believable.

The videogame industry saw major changes like the rise of digital gaming platforms such as Steam, Origin, Epic Games Store and so on.

Even the Consoles saw dramatic changes. The PS4 was a major player in the market but Steam on the other hand dominated the PC landscape. Epic Games Store also got a lot of attention.

Even VR stepped out of the shadows and major companies like Microsoft, Google, HTC, Samsung, Facebook and many others discovered the potential of the medium and embarked on the ultimate quest of making the best VR headset in the market. Even Sony made a VR headset for the PS4.

Technological advancements are fine but it is important for us to understand that Videogames cannot just solely depend on technology to be an immersive and unforgettable experience.

They have to have an engaging story, solid and balanced game play mechanics, immersive sound design, perfect balance between narrative and pacing and a few other major factors are what determine a good game and a great game. Ultimately they have to deliver an unforgettable experience.

So after all the trials and tribulations, a few games have emerged to show the world how powerful the medium can be.

So without any further ado, lets jump into the list of best games of the last decade.

  Read Dead Redemption 2

The critically acclaimed open world wild west adventure game comes straight from Rockstar Games, the same team that has made the GTA Series. RDR2 is considered as one of the most successful titles of the last decade as it gives you a vast sprawling open world with staggering amount of detail. This is one of the most detailed games of the decade, coming somewhere close the end of the current generation of consoles; it utilizes the fullest potential of modern day hardware and delivers a stunning dynamic open world experience like never before.

 CS:GO

Yes, you might be wondering why is CS:GO on this list, well it is there for a good reason. Not only this online classic tactical shooter still among the largest and most played games of all time, it is fun to play even in this age and day. CS:GO manages to bring back an old formula and still keeps it relevant at this age. Countless events and tournaments are centered around CS:GO. Back in the day CS was mod out of another legendary game which we will definitely discuss some day. CS single handedly showed the world what mods are capable of achieving and gave birth to the mod culture. There are quite many games which were mods of the past and apart from that, the game is still fun as hell and me and my friends still play it.

 Fortnite

Fortine has a very strange history, it was originally a defense game like minecraft where you build during the day and protect during the night but it wasn’t that successful. People had already seen the idea before, so when Battle Royale was gaining popularity, Fortnite decided to mix its defense formula with BR. The ratings for Fortnite just went off the charts and many people played it as it was released as a free to play title. It had a cosmetic market though which got Epic tons of revenue and that’s how Epic Games Store came into picture. So if a game can do so much for a company, you can definitely process the impact it had on the industry overall.

DOTA 2

Talk about mods again, DOTA was originally a genre defining mod of War Craft 3 but someone else saw its potential. DOTA was more of an underground thing, it was never so popular in the mainstream and very few knew a genre like MOBA even existed. It was around 2009 when I first saw DOTA in a cyber café where some young kids were playing it on LAN. At first, it looked like War Craft 3 but the mechanics were totally different. Soon I learnt it had a cult underground following and Valve made the smart move of acquiring the talent behind this mod and decided to make this thing into a fully blown sequel. DOTA 2 which pushed MOBA into the mainstream. Obviously there were others who joined the bandwagon of MOBA and tried to distinguish themselves. League of Legends is also another MOBA game which is popular but DOTA 2 is still considered as the king and despite of its age is still among the top played games on steam world wide. There are people who have played the game for a staggering 10000 hours and still find new and interesting things. It’s a game which is easy to learn but difficult to master.

Batman Arkham City

Batman needs no introduction, for those who do not know, Batman is a fully ripped grown man who wears Egyptian cotton underwear over a grey suit and is passionate about jumping from building to building during the night and saves the city from bad peeps. He is THE Superhero.

If you haven’t played any of the Batman games of the Arkham trilogy, stop reading this list right away and immediately go and play it! Its really good.

It is debatable which one of the trilogy is the best and its very difficult to make that choice. I personally like all the games but Arkham City is amazing for several reasons as it is an ultimate battle between Batman and Joker, the game goes open world and Gotham City is such well crafted. The Unreal Engine does a marvelous job of putting it all together and the game runs so well AND this is why I could not chose Arkham Knight over Arkham City. Arkham Knight is miles ahead of Arkham City but I made the ultimate mistake of playing it on the PC which was a bad experience. Infact the game was such a mess, Steam had to pull it off and give out refunds to the buyers. It was a great experience on consoles but this misstep was the sole reason why I did not chose it for this list.

BUT now the game has been patched extensively and is in good shape. So if you are a PC gamer and want to be like Batman, this has to be the Ultimate Batman Experience.

Bloodborne

Ever heard of souls like titles? These are considered to be difficult as combat in them is of a different nature. These are not your ordinary action games where you go in front of your enemy and start spamming attacks on them. Souls like titles have be played tactically, timing and accuracy are the name of the game. When to strike, when to dodge and parry are crucial for every encounter and even the most basic enemy can strike you down if you are not paying attention.

Bloodborne is an Action RPG title developed by From Software exclusively for the PS4, set in a dark Victorian world we are tasked to hunt down to take down perils of an odd strange world. Blood Bourne stands out for its unique art style, game play mechanics and an engaging narrative, atmospheric and immersive world design and ruthless difficulty. This game has a deep and interesting lore so a lot of content awaits.

Be warned, this game can crush your soul.

Neir Automata

Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future where sprawling urban scapes are retaken my mother nature, humanity is wiped out by what was considered as their best creation.

Take role of an enhanced cybernetic warrior who is deadly and beautiful at the same time and hack N slash your way through hoards of deadly AI constructs as you make your way to the answers of all the questions that surround the collapse of civilization.

The stunning art style, the graphics, the immersive world and level design blended with fast paced combat makes Neir Automata an unforgettable experience.

INSIDE

Inside is developed by Playdead, the same studio who made Limbo. Inside is a staggering achievement in the 2D side scroller category of games. You take role of an unknown kid who just appears in this strange dystopian world where society has changed. The world is hostile and humanity is engulfed into some kind of a strange social experiment where a few selected individuals of the upper echelon are on the verge of creating something far beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

Inside is ruthless, deadly and hostile but the art style, presentation, pacing and its subtle yet effective gameplay pulls out the unimaginable out of a genre that is so old. It redefines the side scroller genre.

Inside manages to pull you in right from the get go and as you play further, you are just lost in it.

Its depressing, dark, bold and ambitious.

Don’t miss this one out.

Horizon Zero Dawn

A PS4 exclusive developed by Guerrilla games, HZD is an open world action RPG where civilization has moved beyond its post apocalyptic phase and mankind has once again emerged out of the darkness of this cataclysmic event and is facing a whole new world.

Civilization is rebooted but is engraved on the remnants of a past civilization. It is still unknown what cause the wiping of the earlier race.

What is known are the strange metallic beasts which roam around the waste lands of earth.

Imagine fighting a giant robotic T-Rex with a bow and arrow.

That’s HZD in one line.

Metal Gear Solid 5

You wake up in a hospital one day and the doc informs you that you were in comma for 9 years, how will you feel?

Well, Snake doesn’t feel bad at all. Only few hours after waking up you are hunted down by an unknown mercenary group who simply wants you dead for reasons unknown and weird things happen that night. You still manage to make an escape, thanks to your buddy who was undercover as a patient and was protecting you all these years. Soon you embark into a Journey into the heart of Afghanistan to find the answers.

MGS5 is developed my Konami, this is when the legendary Hideo Kojima was part of the team.

MGS5 had a rough development cycle but it turned out to be a great game.

It’s a sandbox stealth action title where you can approach your target or objective anyhow you like or find it convenient. There is a lot of freedom in this game.

You can even hide in a cardboard box and turn it into a makeshift stealth device.

There is base building, you recruit captured soldiers and make them a part of your team.

It’s a damn fine game and the story sometimes just catches you by surprise.

Portal 2

Portal 2 is a first person puzzle platformer developed by Valve. These guys are magical, whatever they touch becomes gold. Portal 2 puts you in the shoes of a test subject who is a part of a scientific experiment where they are testing teleportation technology, you get hands on a portable teleportation device or simply put, a portal gun. It shoots portals of walls.

You solve puzzles by shooting portals and make use of physics. Stuff such as gravity, momentum, reflection and so on come into the picture. Thanks to the Source engine. The story is also engaging and characters are really deep and well written.

You teleport your way out of these test chambers only to discover all is not what it seems.

Portal 2 is definitely one of the finest games of this decade.

GTA 5

Seriously? Wondering why this is on the list. Go play it!

Elders Scroll 5 Skyrim

Its not everyday that you bump into a fellow adventurer who has stopped adventuring cause one fine day he took an arrow in his knee.

Skyrim is open world action RPG that is bold, ambitious and probably the best game made by Bethesda Game Studios.

Skyrim takes place in an enigmatic fantasy world which is engulfed in a political conflict and suddenly an old prophesied threat emerges and is bent on destroying the world.

You take role of an unknown traveler who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but as events unfold. Turns out you are not an ordinary person, you are THE dragon born. The only thing that stands between the dragons and the destruction of Skyrim is you.

Skyrim has a lot of content, side quests and the story is deep. You can keep playing Skrym for hours and hours and get lost in a different dimension.

The last of Us

Naughty Dogs knows what it does. They are the masters of their craft when it comes to developing breathtaking narrative driven experiences. The sheer amount of attention to detail which was earlier observed in the Uncharted games successfully transcends into The Last Of Us.

Exclusive to the PS4, The Last Of Us puts you into the shoes of a man who has lost many things. The world has collapsed and strange mutants ravage the world. As the man of a family it is upto you to protect your loved ones from the perils of the new dangerous world.

The production quality of the game is what sets it apart. A dark and mature story backed by well choreographed cinematics, well acted characters and a blend of stealth horror action gameplay totally set this game apart from anything on this list.

You should get a PS4 only to play this game. Its that good!

Battlefield 1

This in my opinion is the best battlefield game in recent years, obviously there are other battlefield games and I was thinking of voting for BFBC2, this one won for many reasons.

BF1 is a fast paced action multiplayer experience with a solid punch of World War 1.

The originality and the attention to detail BF1 offers is insane, right from the vast deserts in the middle east to conquests in various parts of Europe, Dice has made the perfect formula for World War 1. Its frantic combat is better than ever, tweaking a few mechanics the game is now more enjoyable and fast paced. Its like the perfect spot between fast paced combat and quick general perception of reaction to things.

The game looks beautiful and environments, animations weapon and character models are so well detailed, they all scream authenticity.

64 vs 64 players never gets dull. Also EA was less greedy about this one, I still feel bad for the Star Wars Battlefront games.

Black Mesa

This one is not a game, it’s a mod but it has to be on the list because it’s a Half-Life fan remake on the source engine, if you are unaware of Half-Life, you are dead to me.

Black Mesa is a masterpiece and it totally reimagines the original Half-Life in a way just like Valve would have. Seeing new areas in Source Engine is a visual delight, its hard to believe Wwhat limits can be Source pushed to, considering its such an old engine. Valve was truly thinking long term when they made the source engine.

Basically Half-Life puts you into the shoes of the theoretical physicist who works at a the Black Mesa Research Facility. One day an experiment goes horribly wrong and you rip open a dimension into an alien world and now its upto you to fix things.

Half-Life 1 was revolutionary and helped defined the FPS genre. SO YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS.

The Xen levels are out now and the game has left early access, so now is the perfect time to play this timeless masterpiece.

Crowbar Collective has done a neat job.

Overwatch

This one is my eyes is the true spiritual successor to Team Fortress 2. Made ground up by Blizzard, this one was a very different thing from them.

Overwatch borrows heavy inspiration from TF2 and manages to fuse it with MOBA perfectly.

On the surface I’ve seen many people complaining this is a TF2 ripoff and its rich dudes Paladin, tbh it is like Paladin but both games have different dynamics.TF2 is more of an old school class based shooter at this point and OW is more fast and streamlined.

The wide variety of characters in OW may seem unnecessary but believe me, each one of them is well made and balanced. Its like Blizzard has a secret recipe of game balance and it becomes very clear how important it is to nail that balance in this hybrid genre when you get your hands on similar titles who achieve this perfection.

The art style is spot on and meant to age well. The graphics will never go old, such is the art style.

Jump into a few games and you wont even realize how the hours pass.

Resident Evil 2

Later this decade a legendary face re-emerged from the mythical shadows of mystery. Resident Evil is Capcoms that comes into everyones mind when we speak of survival horror games, this was the title that created the genre back in the day.

The remake is very faithful to the original, it successfully captures the tense atmosphere and the struggle of managing resources while scavenging the same old corridors of Racoon City Police Station.

While graphics and other things are aligned with 2019 standards, what is more surprising is the fact that the game is so perfectly transferred from those pre rendered 3D environmental backgrounds with fixed cameras into true 3D yet it manages to retain the whole essence of the thing. Its is big achievement and the game does its own thing in a great way.

Animations, Models, Textures, Sounds, Gunplay and the Zombie AI are perfect and the all new Mr. X is totally rad!

Resident Evil 2 being a new comer in this decade has made a solid spot on this list.

Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

The game that saved Star Wars, honestly there were not that many good Star Wars titles in the recent years, both Battlefront games had their issues, while the 2nd one had a good production value, it stirred up the hive with its surprise mechanics. It was basically a Star Wars themed Casino and was brutally P2W. They have patched it now and is pretty playable but whats gone is gone.

Jedi The Fallen Order takes places after order 66 is executed. The Jedi order has fallen and the remnants are forced into exile. The empire has gripped the galaxy with its iron fist and the game puts you into the shoes of a young jedi who is accidently discovered by a high ranking Sith Inquisitor, the event propels the young Jedi into an epic journey of self discovery.

You travel across various planets in the galaxy and learn stuff about the lore which gives the series a fresh angle. It is clear that Respawn entertainment has put a lot of heart and soul into this game, it shows deep respect to the source material.  Star Wars needed that. Also, the combat is fresh. It borrows the best of all the successful mechanics introduced in various games of the generation like platforming, souls like combat give a realistic sense to saber battles. It feels like a true Star Wars game.

Overall, this one just came out at the end of the decade and took all of us by surprise.

The Legend of Zelda Breath Of The Wild

Zelda always hands over the torch to the next generation of Nintendo Consoles. BOTW is a fresh take on the long running Zelda series. The series departs from its previous gameplay styles and throws Link into an open world filled with perils. But unlike most games, Zelda is a very relaxing game, the art style is soothing and the game is fun.

You can play this one at your own pace and follow your objectives the way you like. The game looks simple on the surface but whatever goes down the hood is very complex as the game takes interactivity to a whole new level. Climb huge rock faces, cut trees, cook food, find rare loot, craft rare stuff and do all this at your own pace.

DOOM

Rip and Tear baby! Doom 2016 is simply awesome, its fast, brutal, frantic and fluid. Story is classic as ever, where the UAC accidentally opens a portal to hell and now all the demons are pouring in from everywhere. The key difference between the previous Doom games and this one is, earlier you were stuck in a room with demons, now the demons are stuck in a room with you.

Doom gives you a huge arsenal of weapons at your disposal and heaps of demons to kill, kill them the way you see fit.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

OOF…..Witcher 3….what can I say…..

CDPR has dethroned Valve in terms of game design, this is what has happened this decade. There was a time when Valve used to make the best games, now its these guys.

You step into the shoes of Geralt, a professional monster slayer who has embarked on a journey to find his missing daughters in a land that is engulfed in conflict.

Witcher 3 takes place on a vast open world which is stunningly detailed, every 45 seconds you bump into something fresh and exciting. The world of Witcher 3 is well crafted, every section of this world feels vivid. The main story line is engaging but even the side quests are meaningful which is not commonly seen in most games.

The game lets you make choices and the story branches out as per the choices you make which drastically alter the outcome of the game which also gives it a high replay value.

If you call yourself a gamer, you have to play this.

[chinad]

bliss in new Asus flip chromebook

Apr 10, 2018

dreamt with my Tibet artist friend, Benba Chungdak, and his friend. we together build a company. the enterprise grows with our ages. in handling developing issues we stepped into middle aged and each have child. I saw touching moment daughter with dad. This week quite boring, for I relentlessly need assured our ordered Asus chromebook smoothly delivering to us, evade PRC customs’ deter or domestic censorship. Life can be easier with help from our dorm canteen’s aid, the woman loaned me ￥700 to pay alipay credit debt yesterday. It not only remove the tension, also let my ability to handle something in failing prison of PRC economic winter. Yesterday I also seeking equip our usb-c reader a tf card for data transferring and storage. woz's coming Asus chromebook has 2 usb-c ports while normal usb only one port, so I preparing shifting my usb and usb-c reader stick to him, now that his Intel NUC shifted to me and equips me a build-in card reader. We are migrating from usb stick to sd card. I long time intending upgrade our backup card storage, but always felt economically unfit for it. Now I am almost assured worthily to invest it. I also intended shift our old Dell notebook to my son’s mom, the small man long time complained her notebook I left her without battery, even I told our notebooks’ battery were shits. I even guessing she brought Trojan horses from PRC surveillance into the dell notebook my son and I used to play steam games, for she insisted worked on the notebook even she already had an old Hasee notebook I left her, after all my warns not to mess with our dell notebook. Now she can has a taste of her own bait. I felt glad to rip off the dell notebook, for it frequently refused windows’ patches. It also lagging in booting up, even running programs OK. After move it away from my son’s bedroom, my son will has a new desk to work on. I long time preparing my son an office space, but the dell notebook always occupied one. So my son usually wrote homework on a cheap table his mom used for her profiting tutoring. Now with 2 light chromebooks, my son has 2 fix computer desks to work on. that’s I long time intended, against his cheap mom's efforts to put him and her students in slavery situation, where only main business is tutorials, like in Mideast or Islamic. God, dad, its a yellow morning now. Sandstorm more and more common scene now here. Looking into future, so many holy discipline including severe genocide ahead. Quite some races deserve no future but hell. God put the chosen breaks through hardship and wasteland, and deserted. Bring rest to breed racing. Bring me my Royal China, my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, into tangible world. God, dad, bring me to top view of the canyon.

Apr 6, 2018

first dreamt kill a bear. I don't want to hunt but soon I slayed it in fear of prey. then dreamt in my hometown just after wedding. I enjoy enviable sexual life with my bride, each time I never anxious but just insatiable intercourses. yesterday is our monthly cinema time with my son, woz. we watched blockbuster "ready player one". we almost missed it with fake Russian product, snow queen 3 which mimics frozen 3. we watched frozen 1 and 2 and impressed, and without hesitation we chose the snow theme movie, till 2 days before the lunar Mourning day I found we cheated by the Russian title. my son soon accepted my suggestion of change. and that's rewarding. I think "ready player one" is quite impressive in visual presentation. before the movie, I told my son my decision to put investment before deposition, in risk of CCP tyrant seizure. we never felt unease upon saving woz some pocket money via alipay's yuebao, till last Sunday we found yuebao restricting our automatic deposit, delayed more than ￥800 in cash account without profit for months, due quota restriction new CCP puppet financial regulator setup aiming to disable or malfunction the world largest fund. then I saw PRC tyrant relentlessly constrains civilian's cash flow while under table covertly leaks into its underground reservoir. I felt threatened and need to take action rather than passive been robbed. also in past months, our intended purchase, convertible chromebook, turned more dearer and scarcer on amazon China. we need response swift. my son agreed. after movie we ate hotpot near the cinema. the peanut sausage ran short, and a neighbor cheap mid aged man occupied himself unnecessary a full bowl of it against shortage. we used groupon and additional cash for more mutton. after returned to my dorm, I felt the rich meal let me energetic and delayed to sleep. I checked my purchase target monitoring and amazed by new chromebook on sale. I at once ordered it and paid by my deposit money for woz in last half year, near 2000 CNY. its so satisfying that I watched lately another episode of "the office" for completion of the wonderful lunar Mourning holiday. now last night dream is so sweet that I never know aging. God dad, bring me sooner my Royal China. bring me my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for I waited decades. grant us one more child for prosperous Eastern Asia. thx God, in this sedative morning.

Apr 2, 2018

dreamt history creation by 2 pals in three kingdoms period Chinese well known. one of them is Yuwei, with his family ie. his mother and young wife, forging his southern China country from scratch. I witness his charisma, his conquer over territory he bestowed. another guy's expanding his national border near southeastern China also in details in dream. its a sandstormy morning. last week I ripped one of zhone cms, https://agarten.in ,replace it with a tool site, a project management site. even still in experimental phrase, I already felt satisfying. my son last week installed an old famous file explorer on his android. I deleted it at once, and warn him the dangers of PRC government overtaken tool softwares. the file manager was a wonderful tool, but now manipulated by PRC government for large scale surveillance, like it purchased hundred of once perfect software tools mostly created by individuals or small enterprises, esp rooting tools. my son nodded. in night we co-operated online to assure his google voice forwarding phone enabling. but it turns out his forwarding phone consistently working for I called his google voice last year more than once, unlike my google voice never received phone call in last year, hence google require to re-verify to enable it. I told my son we should soon seek a grocer near our public spa so as not to lack fruits on our diet. I pray God grant me budget for the delicious food. my son now a considerable smart teenage, but he still hijacked by his sinful mother, who relentlessly challenged me and my parenthood. I warned my son not to frequent hospital, but last sunday soon after we returned from spa, he was arbitrarily brought by his mom left their house, left me alone updating his linux. they likely haunted eye hospital for my son's sight, on which the small woman recently fantastically obsessed. I told my son I day by day upset by Chinese teachers. they killing creativeness and smother orthodoxy. what a low moral they wholely obtained! even worsen than PRC government employee! God, dad, a new month starts yesterday, when we enjoyed downtown hostel pork steak so much. this month my credit debt again near 600 CNY. help me clear our debt and deal our daily budget lightly. bring me sooner my Royal China, my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for spring 2018 just budding new life and hope of life. bring my son his enjoyed game and ready office space he will step in with affirmative. thx God dad.

Mar 23, 2018

dreamt tutoring a kid playing game, in which there is a scene of lofty gate, player has to climb up to get reward to continue the game. later dreamt of math exam, on which I always reluctant to touch while my son seemingly excels in dream. its a pale morning. after a busy week preparing migrate my work space from acer chromebook to dell chromebook, this week I mostly resting. the solution expanding chromeOS side by side with linux works perfectly for me, with installing a tool crouton under chromeOS dev mode, I now enjoy security of google ChromeOS and versatile open world of linux, which so powerful and robust. Reviewing my clumsy linux experience so far, I see clearly windows losing. Bill Gates in half century spend half world wealth to improve world health and poverty is invalid. Its no hatred, but discipline or natural giveup Holy spiritual glad to see. Now Trump sees it, and Gates persuading USA president to continue to adopt the fake savior. God, world at large, esp abnormal humans desperate for their abnormal world staged so many ugly shows including obesity, LGBT, anti-society, etc. there are so many abused food/drug eaters in developed countries while average people encounter hanger everyday. Killing in mid east mostly exchange for food, but so many unfair between healthier living and sick food/sex/drug addictive. God dad, the Earth citizen needs merit based cleanse, like Trump’s new migration law. If man can’t live a healthy life, lives him hell. So does to drug esp opium takers, and breed racers. US entertainment circle stealth too much applause and selling too much cheap and unhealthy idols. USA esp weak democrats promoted too much cheap democratic notion upon world among which quite some disqualifies, esp hate culture and competing in breed nations, like Africa and Mideast. World crisis now mostly due to cheap human cattle, which noway to preceding nor prioritize animal and grand nature. cheap hurts but decency nutritious. A society can’t self-rely nor self-sufficient, a nation wiped from its land like Mideast. But Europe and USA still missing rule Israel learns thousand years, they let enemies inside. God dad, its a new salary day now, but yet QRRS release my salary so far. Yesterday I review my near 2 decades in QRRS Dorm, my youth and loving among PRC most exciting era, so called open policy period when PRC penniless but polite peasants adopted to work mills by Capital American buyers, on the land my ancestor bestowed. I saw my old friends here and found their hidden gay. I found my seeking family esp offspring efforts in all my half life, on this fresh land I chosen to pick up and grow upon to polarize. God dad, bring me sooner my Royal China, bring me sooner my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko. Grant us offspring new to Royal China. Blessing me new monument to develop zhone web. After workday I will fetch my son visiting my dorm monthly, permits us joyful reuniting this afternoon. Thx God dad.

via Blogger https://ift.tt/2JB5aP8

[ohgoddard]

Storyteller.1.

AN: This will be an infrequent story series comprised of short stories taking place within a dnd world. 

The campfire burned with a soft heat, illuminating the grasslands around it. The crimson embers shone with quiet intensity as it warmed those sitting around it. Above in the sky resides a setting sun, with its departure beginning to release a swath of stars. Upon the opposite horizon rises the twin moons, their opposing pale blue and bright white auras bouncing off each other, creating a shimmering wave of light across the coming night sky. Around the fire, two figures rest upon two fallen logs, roasting their hunt upon a stick. Above them, Pteranodons croaked and screech as they flap away into the sunset, chasing smaller birds.

One figure at the campfire pulls in their stick, and raises it to their face. With their free hand, they remove bandages around their face, revealing a beak. He begins eating into the jackrabbit he had on his stick. The man was a tall, spindly thing with wraps tightly clinging to long, thin arms. His body is obscured mostly by a large green cloak, only tightly wrapped arms and legs betraying his stealth. His feet were large,bird-like claws, colored a fading gold. 

The other figure sitting across from the cloaked man was almost the complete opposite of him. She was a short-ish, slim elf girl with long golden hair ending in an intricate braid. She wears a light blue frock, accented with small yellow elements. Her pants were a black leather, with a simple leather belt holding everything together. She wore upon her feet a furred boots. Her perky ears stand straight up, with a slight bend pointing behind her. She was currently devouring a small rabbit, which she had roasted over the fire. She finished it ravenously and eyed up the man in the cloak. Her eyes, in contrast to the wrapped man’s glowing amber, were a vibrant emerald green. And green they were, as she jealously eyed up the larger creature the man ate.

“Hey. Hey Armak.” Her voice came out in a beautiful melody, akin to a siren’s song. It wavered in soothing patterns, and lesser man would’ve fallen into a spell listening to her. Armak, the man in the cloak and wrappings, grunted. “Were you planning on finishing that hog there?” Armak slowly turned his head, staring down the elf. Looking at Armak head on, one could see he was an ancient aarakocra. His bandages wrap around his face, gripping it tightly, thus betraying ha rather large eagle head perched atop his rather spindly body.

“Yes.” Armark’s voice came off as a wise man’s. That gruffness that came from ancient knowledge instead of screaming and yelling of anger. It had a slight accent to it, which no one from the continent of Avondale had been able to pin. When asked about it, Armak only replied that, “it is the sound of my people.” People would usually be put off by the man’s appearance, appearing far ancient than his race would allow. He bore no feathers, save for the grey and white that encompass his head. 

“Are you sure? You know, I’ve worked quite hard for us today.” The elf jumped from her log stool and walked to where Armak was sitting. Armak had still not stopped eating the whole pig he had stuck. “Holly, you were almost trampled by the animal I am currently eating. I do not think you did much for us today besides laying out the fire.” Holly, the elf, stopped her little walk and immediately went into a pose that suggested a childish pout. She turned and began to walk back to her log stump, when Armak continued. “Plus, you must not eat much, else you lose your figure. Elf men are a pretentious lot, you should know.” Armak ducked out of instinct, and as he did so the log stump Holly was sitting on sailed over his head. He continued to eat.

“I offer only words of wisdom. Is that not what you write in your book?”

Holly was standing across from him, visibly fuming, her face very red. She took several deep breaths, muttering some mantra in elvish to herself in closed eyes, regained her composure, and addressed Armak. “Just so you know, the wisdom you claim to spout is very rude. Second of all, I do not write down what you claim to be wisdom. I write the stories you tell. I’ve told you this many times.”

“I am aware. I just choose to think you write about my wisdom.” Holly hmph’d before retrieving her stump and putting back where it was, grumbling the entire time in a language Armak could not understand, nor in that moment would wish to know what she was saying. Once Holly had situated herself where she began, she was still eyeing Armak.

“Holly, you can quit your jealous gaze. I am not going to give you my meal.”

“No, no I think I deserve something as an apology after that rude comment you made. And if not your food, then something else.”

“You have been getting a bit round around your bottom.” Armak ducked once more as a rock sailed over his head.

Holly spoke once more,a bit more subdued anger in her voice. “Yeah, rude like that. I want a story.”

Armak looked up from his food, looking at Holly. “A story? It is late, and I am tired. Maybe later.”

“No, now. Or else I won’t help you rebandage yourself.”

Armak thought on this. He could easily rebandage himself, but it is such a hassle to do it. He weighed the options..

“Fine, you have forced my hand. I shall tell you a story.”

Holly excitedly started digging the bag sitting next to her, pulling out a journal with a pencil. She propped her legs underneath to form a table, and was facing Armak with glee on her face, ready to write.

“This story is about the time I bested a djinni in a game of chess, saving my life and the life of the yuan-ti princess he had taken as her prisoner.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, Flightless One, make your move.”

Armak sat across a man of towering height and awesome strength. His skin was a burgundy red, the only contrasts upon him being the gold bands around his arms and neck and the coal-black pointed facial hair he adorned himself in. His legs were a red mist, billowing below him, and his teeth were whiter than the moons. His arms were cross in front of him, and he was smugly looking down on Armak. He had removed his hood and head wrappings, showing the brilliant grey and white feathers and faded golden beak. They sat in a large, red tent, with beautiful tapestries floating all around him. Below him were carpets that felt softer than the touch of an Aasimar, and more colorful than the feathers of a parrot. Behind him was the tent flaps, being guarded by two large sphinxes. And behind the Djinni, a large golden cage.

Armak had been asked by the local Malekeh, a yuan-ti queen to a nomadic people in the desert long since gone to the sands of time known as the Kasseem, to retrieve her daughter from the great trickster Djinni Bhismah. He had come in the middle of the night, disguised as a prince from another tribe of yuan-ti. He had convinced her to come run away with him. But it was a trap, as when he did so he captured her and planned to extort a ransom in the form of worship from the Kasseem. Armak had been in the area looking for just such a thing, a Djinni would grant him any wish if he were to best it at its own game. He gladly took the Malekeh’s request and tracked the princess to the Djinni’s tent. And this is where he found himself now.

“Great Djinni, I need to hear the stakes once more, so I know I am not to be deceived.” This would not be the first time Armak had tangled with the Djinn, and each was more trickier than the last. “But of course, Flightless One. In this game of chess, if I am to win you AND the princess will be mine, except I will consume you. If you win, I will release the princess into your custody and allow you to leave my tent without harm.” 

Armak knew the trick the desert spirit was pulling on him. Not only would he cheat in this game, should he lose it he would send his sphinxes to attack him the minute he left the tent, so he had to think this through. “Thank you for stating them once again. I had to be certain.”

“No foul feelings, Flightless One. Shall we begin?”

Armak could not play chess what-so-ever, and the Djinni knew this. However, he had a trick up his sleeve. Before venturing out here, he asked if the princess could play the game of chess. The Malekeh told him that she is a renowned player amongst the tribes, which gave Armak an idea. He had polished his chestpiece he wore under his cloak to a shine which blinds a man in the sun. Once the game had been decided and the terms set, Armak moved his cloak away from his chest, revealing the chest piece. The princess caught on immediately. 

The Djinni had made the first move, a pawn. Armak pondered greatly about his next move, his eyes darting to the princess. His shiny plate had mirrored the game board perfectly to the princess behind the Djinni. She made gestures with her hands indicating the grid square to move, and Armak did just that. A few moves later, and seemingly out of nowhere, Armak won.

The Djinni was speechless, as he had never beaten in chess before, much less by a creature he knew could not play it.

“Well, Flightless One, it seems you have beaten me. And I must abide by my word, as governed by the laws of nature. You may leave my tent with the princess.” He snapped his great red fingers and the cage containing the Yuan-Ti princess opened, releasing her. She quickly walked out, her elegant dress trailing behind her as she attached herself to the arm of Armak.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Great Djinni.” Armak stood and bowed before the crimson creature, and stood tall once more to speak to him. “I do have a question, however.”

The Djinni’s face grew somber, and he shook his face. “Flightless One, I know of your condition. My magic, nor any others, can remove the curse placed upon you. Now, leave my tent.”

Armak bowed once more. “Thank you, Great Djinni.”

As Armak and the princess walked out of the tent, Armak subtly moved his hand to his waist, which lay his short sword. He and the princess left the tent and, to Armak’s prediction, did not get very far from it until the sphinxes attacked. The Djinni could be heard laughing from his tent, as it shimmered away akin to a mirage, leaving only Armak, the princesses, and the sphinxes. Armak drew his short sword, a simple iron thing, and threw it. The accuracy was deadly, the sword lodging into an eye of one sphinx, felling it instantly. The other sphinx charged the princess, but Armak jumped and wrestled with it to the ground. The sphinx bent its head and snapped at Armak’s head, narrowly missing it. He grabbed a dagger from his boot and plunged it deep into the sphinx’s neck. The creature bucked Armak from its body, sending him flying into the sands behind him. The creature shot up and was staring down Armak, growling. Then, the princess called out in broken common, “Quick move now!” Armak dove to the side, as the sphinx turned around. The princess pointed his hands at the creature and out from it came a beam of orange light. The light went into the body of the beast, slowly enveloping it until, after a minute of straight energy being expelled into the animal, the light show ended with the creature no longer being there. Then, exhausted from the attack, the princess fainted into the sands.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“After that, I carried her back to the camp of her people and left.”

Holly was speechless. Her pencil, while never stopping during the story, now lay idle. Her mouth was agape. 

The sky above them was now magnificent shades of violet and blue, with a swath of stars across them like a painter’s canvas. The moons are now high in the sky, casting their pale light onto the duo now. The sounds of cicadas and other insects echo now, as glowflies float in and out view as they illuminate the air. The fire had long since died, only the embers give any faint glow. Armak had finished his meal, and was lounging back on his log.

“You killed a SPHINX?!” Holly exclaimed.

“Coulda just been a rather large dog,lion thing.”

Holly was beside herself due to the company she found herself in. Not too long ago in the city of Clearmont, she met Armak at a bar, and having a hunch decided to follow him. She could sense the history in his voice, and wanted to hear what he could say. She had heard many stories from him, and each one carried an adventure with it. Sometimes however, his stories would be so outlandish she did not fully believe him. “No, I do not believe you felled a sphinx. They are an immortal creature.”

“Think as you must, you asked for my story and I gave one. Now, will you readdress my bandages before I retire?” Holly got up from her stump, and gave herself a stretch. 

“Fine, a promise is a promise.” Holly walked to Armak’s bag and started rooting around for new bandages.  However she found something else while doing so. With the story still on her mind, she rooted around and found something strange. A large claw, wrapped in an ornamental desert sash.

Perhaps Armak had truth in his story after all.

[daleisgreat]

Batman: Dark Knight Rises

I picked up the BluRay for today’s film, 2012’s Batman: Dark Knight Rises (trailer), shortly after it hit video way back in 2012. I have neglected it to the backlog for so long because by the time I saw it in theaters I overdid it on the caped crusader’s films and needed a break. I say this because to get hyped for director Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film I watched the four Batman films from Burton & Shumacher in the weeks leading up to Dark Knight Rises and our local theater was doing a release day special to watch all three of the Christopher Nolan Batman films in a row which a friend and I did after I got done helping him move earlier in the day. It made for a long day, and while it was an unforgettable experience, it was still spending nearly half a day in the theater and I kind of associated the Nolan films with that memory for a period of time and so I needed a break from them for a bit. Nolan was riding high after the critical and commercial success of his previous two Batman films, so expectations were through the roof for Dark Knight Rises. This picks up in the aftermath of The Dark Knight’s ending where Batman indirectly killed a rogue Harvey Dent, but him and Commissioner Gordon decided to cover-up Dent’s darker half and celebrate Dent as a fallen hero that Gotham needed to absolve its crime dilemma. It is now eight years later and both Batman and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) have disappeared from the public eye. The first act helps establish a new evil is on the rise going by Bane (Tom Hardy), who quickly accumulates power and establishes a base in Gotham’s sewers that prompts Wayne and Batman both to return to Gotham and meet his biggest foe yet.

Dark Knight Rises introduces a few other new players to Nolan’s films with the biggest standout being anti-hero master thief, Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman (Anne Hathaway). This was my first major exposure to her and she is flawless as Batman’s off-and-on ally. Officer Blake (Joseph-Gordon Levitt) is an up-and-comer for Gotham PD, and is one of the more proactive members of the force to react to the Bane threat and quickly gains trust from both Batman and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman). Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) is trying to become a player in Gotham by establishing a future clean energy source. Upon this re-watch I was flabbergasted I completely forgot about Detective Foley (Matthew Modine) who is an incompetent cop who wants to bust Batman. It would be criminal if they were absent, but Nolan knew it would not be a Batman film from him without the returning affable Batman allies in tech-man Luscious Fox (Morgan Freeman) and his loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine). I loved the first two acts of Dark Knight Rises. Nolan does a great job at establishing the new characters with Selina taking advantage of her stealth and cunning to keep me guessing which side she is really on and Bane gradually amassing resources and power to become a legitimate threat to Gotham. I loved how it plays off the consequences from the aftermath of The Dark Knight in a big way to set up the present-day Gotham. There is a fine balance of action and exposition sequences that constantly kept me glued in for the next big set-piece sequence. There is the nice gradual build in pacing in the first two hours when there is this sudden shift into overdrive I was never fully able to settle in with to the film’s detriment.

A nice side-effect from holding off nearly eight years to re-watch Dark Knight Rises is that I recall some negative press from critics on how Nolan’s trilogy wrapped up and I wanted to distance myself from it to go into this again with a fresh set of eyes. The chief criticism I recall was there being not a lot of fans for the voice used for Bane. The Elephant Man-esque voice has been the butt of many Internet jokes in the years since. I will admit, it does not sound all that menacing, but it grew on me throughout the film and that combined with Tom Hardy’s excellent use of body language resulted in it not coming off as a hindrance all these years later. A qualm I vaguely remembered is that even though Dark Knight Rises is two hours and forty-five minutes long, it flies by because it tries to crunch in about four hours’ worth of cinema into that timeframe. This is not knew from Nolan, and as a matter of fact he is usually pretty good at this type of filmmaking and making longer films breeze by with his brisk cinematography in mind-benders like Inception and The Prestige. However, I do not know whether if it was due to a poor script, clashes with corporate officials, budget or filming restraints, but something happened with the filmmaking here that results in many ‘straighten-your-tie’ moments. Minor-yet-pivotal points of the plot happened in a blink-of-an-eye, and there were several points where I found myself rewinding to pick up on some of these little details. This mostly breaks down in the final act where a lot happens in terms of events and time passing by. Bane pulls off a power grab at a football game in a big trailer-pleasing moment (featuring one completely unaware of his surroundings Heinz Ward) while Batman is banished to a mysterious pit. A lot of time goes by while Gotham succumbs to martial law, but the way it all plays out seems haphazard and confusing to keep up with. It felt like Nolan was told he had a half hour to forty-five minutes of cuts to make to keep the film under three hours and he chose the all-important final act to take the brunt of the cuts.

The last stretch of action also comes off clumsy and rushed. It requires a lot of suspension of disbelief where the seemingly unstoppable Bane established in the first three quarters of the film all of a sudden comes off as easy pickings for Batman and Catwoman. I get the whole ‘Batman does not kill’ edict from DC comics, but this once again leads to Nolan having to find another way for Batman to indirectly kill off a major villain for the third film in a row, but it comes off incredibly weak on-screen. Finally, there are convenient lines of dialogue thrown out for Batman somehow surviving a severe stabbing and escaping a six mile nuclear bomb blast radius…..sorry Bats, but I simply could not buy it. The BluRay has a bonus disc that has nearly three hour of bonus features on it. Far and away the marquee extra is The Batmobile. It is an hour long, in-depth look at the history of the Batmobile from its humble beginnings in the comics and early TV serials, until it started to really pop in the Adam West 60s TV show and evolved into the elaborate designs from the last several movies from Burton, Shumacher and Nolan. They interviewed designers of the cars from nearly all eras, have a great showcase of all the Batmobiles next to each other at a vintage drive-in and it wraps up with a touching tribute by bringing the Batmobile to a children’s hospital. Definitely do not skip past The Batmobile.

The rest of the extras are divided up into three areas: Ending the Knight, Gotham’s Reckoning and Reflections. Ending the Knight is comprised of about a dozen smaller features mostly highlighting an individual action sequence or set-piece moment and how the production team pulled it off. Gotham’s Reckoning is character profiles of Batman, Bane and Catwoman and is where we see the most interview time of Bale, Hardy and Hathaway. Reflections is only a couple quick features touching on the crews memories from making three films together and putting a bow on their trilogy. I am a sucker for these, and a lot of these are well made and do not come off as quasi-trailers like a lot of other shorter, thrown together behind-the-scenes pieces on other home video releases. From this two hour lot of extras I would say the half hour of character profiles and the Gameday feature detailing the football game bomb sequence stood out to me the most. A superb collection of extra features all around; I would have been bummed with the lack of a Nolan commentary, but he is featured prominently throughout these extra feature interviews so much that it more than makes up for it. I know it sounds like I bagged on a lot of the film, but it is mostly the last act of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises where things fall apart. Again, this is purely speculation on my part, but it mostly boils down to feeling like Nolan being told he had to cut a half hour out of the film and he decided to sacrifice a good chunk of the last act. The strong first two acts combine to make this a quality comic book movie and despite being a couple notches down from Nolan’s previous two Batman films, I would still rank it in the top third of comic book movies all things considered. Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hercules: Reborn Hitman Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[stompsite]

Im-prey-ssions

So, I started Prey 2017 up around midnight last night. Eleven hours later, I had to stop playing because I needed sleep. The only reason I’m not playing Prey 2017 right now is because I promised you I’d blog once a week, every week, and since I was busy apartment hunting, playing Prey 2017, and going to the hospital.* I still feel awful; I need several treatments, not one every six months, but dang it, I told you guys I’d write something this week, and I’m gonna do it, even if it’s just one draft. Then I’m going to go play more Prey 2017.

So, right off the bat, this game’s like a 9/10.

Like, if that’s what you want to know, there you go. I love playing this game. Now to get into the nitty gritty. I’ll be talkin a lot about positives and negatives, and I’m trying to be somewhat comprehensive. Just bear in mind: from what I’ve played so far, I like it as much as Dishonored 2 and Doom, my favorite games of last year. It’s Extremely Good.

As some of you may be aware, I really did not like Prey 2017’s demo. There are a few reasons for that, chiefly the fact that I desperately needed to go to the hospital. Literally everything was irritating me and getting under my skin. Everything. This includes Prey 2017’s melee system. Now, let me be clear here: I don’t like the melee system. I didn’t like it in Dead Island, and I don’t like it here. But the melee system is a small part of a huge game, and I happen to enjoy that game a whole heck of a lot.

Would the game be better without a stamina bar? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. The stamina bar adds nothing but annoyance to the game. It does not benefit Prey 2017’s design in any way. If they patched out the stamina system tomorrow, Prey 2017 would only benefit.

So, after the demo, I was pretty worried.

Now, something like 10 hours in: this game is a delight. I love how the station feels persistent; leave a room, come back later, find all the bits you moved right where you left them. It’s WONDERFUL!

The level design overall is Extremely Good Stuff. So far, my favorite level is Psychotronics. It feels the most reminiscent of System Shock 2, and it has two of the my favorite moments in the game so far, which I won’t spoil here. There’s an area above two big metal pods I’m still trying to figure out how to access, so I’ve got reasons to go back.

The Arboretum is fantastic. Crew quarters are ace. On and on I could go; I like every single level in this game with the sole exception of G.U.T.S., which is a long tube with zero gravity and some annoying enemies with it. Zero G outside of the station is super cool. Zero G in G.U.T.S. isn’t my thing. As a System Shock 2 comparison, G.U.T.S. is The Body of The Many. But this is one level out of like... a dozen, and as far as I can tell, you don’t have to use it again once you unlock the elevator. 

One of the coolest features of Prey 2017, which I hope everyone copies in the future, because it’s great, is the crew tracking feature. Everyone who dies leaves a corpse behind. You can use computers to pick a person to track, then find their corpse. Doing so can net you things like key cards and supplies, which opens up more of the station, allowing you to explore.

There are two kinds of Looking Glass fans, those who prefer Thief and those who prefer System Shock. I’m one of the fans who prefers System Shock; I enjoy exploring more than sneaking. It’s why I prefer S.T.A.L.K.E.R. to System Shock. It’s why I’m enjoying Prey 2017 so much. Finding a keycard and having that ‘oh yeah, I remember where that is!’ moment, going back to that spot, and finally getting to open a locked door you’ve been keeping in the back of your mind for the past few hours... it’s a great feeling. 

One of the issues I had with Bioshock is that you rarely had a reason to navigate Rapture. Bioshock 2, my favorite game in that series, went in the opposite direction, turning into a series of linear sandbox maps, like Thief. Dishonored and Dishonored 2 do the linear sandbox thing too. It’s perfectly fine design, but I’ve been hungry for a game world that I really felt like exploring.

Prey 2017 is the first truly satisfying game world I have explored since S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky in 2008. The entire thing is open, you just have to find the right keys and hack the right doors and lift the right crates. It’s a game that rewards exploration, not with a “+100 XP: Crawled a vent” popup, but because as you explore, you get this really satisfying sense of “oh, this goes here, and that goes there, and it all works like this...”

Prey 2017 satisfies my exploration itch. You have no idea. It’s why I didn’t want to stop playing until I physically couldn’t play anymore. The only games that have held my attention so strongly in the past few years were Dishonored 2, Doom, Metal Gear Solid V, and Mad Max.

The symbiotic relationship between “hunt for crewmembers” and the station’s many locked doors creates this insatiable urge to explore. I love it.

Do I have complaints? Yes. The stamina system doesn’t benefit the game. G.U.T.S. isn’t fun to explore or traverse. The dudes who stop you from moving are just Not At All Fun To Encounter. The combat is something where I sigh and go “oh well, here I go again.” Great combat should be emotional combat; there should be highs and lows, a great rhythm, elation and relief in victory.

It’s not like a great stealth game, where you don’t want to enter combat because stealthing is more satisfying. It’s not like System Shock 2, Alien: Isolation, or STALKER, where combat can be thrilling and terrifying in equal measure, due to player vulnerability. It’s... just kinda there. It’s easily the game’s greatest weakness.

Prey 2017’s combat is annoying. The enemies feel samey (they’re all fast, teleporty, and take a bunch of shotgun damage before they die) and are way too visually consistent to be exciting. If you look at System Shock 2′s enemies, there’s a lot more interesting visual variety in the designs, which makes the experience more enjoyable. There was a lot more tactical/strategic depth in System Shock 2 as well.

Fortunately, you spend far more time exploring than you do anything else. It’s so effin good, man. Like... I’m over here writing about Prey 2017, when all I really want to do is go hop back in Prey’s world and explore Talos I some more. The level designers outdid themselves.

Even fundamental, basic stuff like mantling and crouching feels super good to do. The game world is just a joy to exist and interact in when you’re not fighting dudes. The only problem I have with the game world is that certain areas (especially the maintenance/labs area) have really predictable enemy spawns, which makes the world feel a lot less ‘real’ than it might otherwise.

Basically, I like the game. I like it a lot. I like it better than every game that has come out so far in 2017. It’s right up there with Dishonored 2 (which I adored) for me. It’s engrossing, thrilling, and awesome.

With some better combat and enemy design/spawning, Prey would be as close to perfect as a game can get. If my opinions change significantly as I continue the experience, I’ll probably right a review. If I was the scoring type, it would be an easy 9/10 for me.

So, one last thing: the default settings are a bit strange.

Change mouse sensitivity to 50, turn off Damage Numbers, rebind ‘tab’ to inventory, and bind your mouse wheel to weapon changes. It’ll feel a lot better. It’s still kind of weird to navigate menus (you can’t use the scroll wheel to scroll down lists?), and for some reason, moving your mouse moves your ENTIRE CAMERA when reading computers (compare this with Doom 3′s more satisfying implementation of computer screens). Sometimes, clicking works, other times, you have to press F, and sometimes, you have to press G. It’s kind of strange. It makes sense to use G to, like, repair items in the world, but less sense to use G on a menu where it seems like F or Mouseclick will do. 

The game has a ton of these weird little UX issues that, if tweaked, would significantly improve the game. I wish they’d been caught prior to release, but I hope they get patched.

There’s no FOV slider, but that should be coming soon. For some reason, the intro videos are unskippable. You can’t click through them or anything. You can, however, turn them off by editing your game files.

I do have Extremely Negative Impressions about how the game’s been handled, though. You see, I like Prey. That’s the Real Prey, the 2006 FPS Prey. The one with Blue Oyster Cult and Art Bell. I liked that Prey a lot. If you install Prey 2017, and you have Prey installed, 2017 will be installed in Prey’s directory. It’s frustrating.

It’s also frustrating that the game is named Prey at all; did we really have to lose the original game on Steam for THIS? Did the sequel really get canned for us to play this? I can take Prey 2017 on its own merits, and it’s a great game, but the way Human Head was treated, and the way the original game is being treated leave a really bad taste in my mouth. I love Arkane. I love Bethesda. I don’t like how the whole “Prey” situation has been handled. They could have given this game so many names and avoided the problem entirely.

The Prey for the Gods Situation is really bad. Some Bethesda PR dude said somethin on GAF about “we have to protect our trademark,” but that appears to be untrue. Here’s CDPR talking about that very subject. So it seems like folks at Bethesda are being dishonest, and that really rubs me the wrong way.

It sucks that a game I’m loving right now is associated with so many negative things.

Overall, best game I’ve played since Dishonored 2, appeals to my personal sensibilities a lot more, I don’t really like the combat so I try to avoid it as much as possible, I love this world so dang much.

*I was in the hospital because of my illness.

[entergamingxp]

The Last of Us Part II Review — A History of Violence

June 24, 2020 11:00 AM EST

Tense, heartbreaking, and profound, The Last of Us Part II is an affecting examination of consequences and a masterful sequel by Naughty Dog.

**Editor’s Note: This review, while being largely free of major story spoilers, does mention some of The Last of Us Part II’s second half that changes the perspective of what players experience in-game. I felt this aspect of the game was important to address in order to highlight the direction of the story and tone that Naughty Dog chose with The Last of Us Part II and to better inform what to expect from the game. However, other than that, the rest of the review will try to be as vague as possible regarding some of its larger story moments and reveals to avoid spoilers.**

The ending of The Last of Us, which saw Joel raid a hospital occupied by the Fireflies in order to rescue Ellie, ultimately left players with a question–rather than a definitive statement–of whether his actions were the right ones to take. Saving Ellie’s life was a result of their growing bond, but also came with a heavy cost for the rest of humanity. More importantly, the ending cast Joel’s actions in a different light and was willing to let the player make their own judgments about what had happened and where things could go from there. The ending, more or less, put a period on an emotional story about love and compassion, while forcing players to reexamine how they ultimately felt about Joel’s actions, whether they were noble, reckless, or otherwise.

The Last of Us Part II, by comparison, changes that period to an ellipsis and forces an entirely different read on the events of the first game. Picking up from where Joel and Ellie’s story left off was never going to be an easy task, let alone trying to wrangle the complex emotions of the first game, especially in its final moments. However, calling it “Part II” feels like an appropriate extension of what Naughty Dog was trying to accomplish with this title. On that part, the studio has crafted a game that doesn’t just build off of its predecessor in every way, but puts it into a very different, challenging context.

For a multitude of reasons, The Last of Us Part II is probably one of the most complicated games that I’ve ever had to review. Like many others that loved the first game, I initially was hesitant about what a sequel to The Last of Us could add to its story, given how Joel and Ellie’s journey was told so effectively by Naughty Dog. Then there were the leaks in April that revealed several of the game’s major story beats months before its release, some of which I had (unwittingly) ended up seeing, and the resulting fallout of internet backlash and discourse about those reveals. Then there are the real-world situations surrounding it, from the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic, to a current political and social climate fueled by tension, division, and hate. Though The Last of Us Part II is obviously removed from the circumstances that we’re facing right now with very different contexts, there are moments where it doesn’t feel too far off either, making the game’s similarities to the current state of our world feel even more prescient.

The polarized response to the direction of the story in The Last of Us Part II, in many ways, speaks to the strengths of its writing, performances, and its overarching themes. Initially described as a game about “hate” by director Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us Part II definitely reflects those emotions once players begin their initial quest for revenge as Ellie. But by its end, The Last of Us Part II encompasses so much more than that. Though the game often shows people as their absolute worst through violence and cruelty, its moments of humanity and levity save it from becoming the worst version of itself, in a lot of ways. Whether you’ve seen the leaks beforehand or not, The Last of Us Part II is an experience that can only be fully understood by playing through it for yourself to come to terms with what it has to say.

“The Last of Us Part II is an experience that can only be fully understood by playing through it for yourself to come to terms with what it has to say.”

There is a lot to unpack from the story that Naughty Dog tells in The Last of Us Part II, both thematically and emotionally. Sometimes that’s to a fault as the game’s story is dense and complex when taking it all in, compared to the precise, focused storytelling of the first game. Part II’s unique narrative structure twists players’ expectations at every turn, and in a lot of ways might warrant a second playthrough to fully grasp it. And as much as Part II manages to tell a captivating story over a much longer experience than the original game, it often loses grasp of the many narrative threads and themes it is trying to pull at once. But long after I’ve rolled credits on the game, seeing where Ellie’s path of vengeance winds up hasn’t left my thoughts for days, and likely won’t for some time to come.

Picking up about five years after the events of the original game, The Last of Us Part II shows what happened once Joel and Ellie reached the end of their journey across America. After reconvening with Joel’s brother Tommy in Jackson County, Wyoming, Ellie and Joel have made a life for themselves in its survivor encampment. While the Jackson community has established itself as a safe haven in the midst of the post-apocalypse, Joel and Ellie haven’t been on good terms in some time once the truth is revealed about what happened at the hospital in Salt Lake City.

After a brief introduction to the idyllic Jackson community and a few new characters that play a big part in Ellie’s life, such as Jesse and her partner Dina, the wheels of The Last of Us Part II’s story are set in motion by the arrival of a group of survivors led by Abby. After a violent confrontation with Abby and her group, Ellie is left physically and emotionally devastated by the encounter, and begins a plot to track the group to their base in Seattle, Washington to settle the score.

“There is a lot to unpack from the story that Naughty Dog tells in The Last of Us Part II, both thematically and emotionally.”

There is obviously much, much more to the plot of The Last of Us Part II than that, but it’s difficult to truly reveal what ends up provoking Ellie’s search for revenge without completely spoiling the context for the rest of the story. Even the trailers and gameplay footage since its reveal have had to dance around some major events that set-up the entire premise of the game and to hide its biggest reveals. That said, what sets The Last of Us Part II apart from what initially seems like a simple “revenge story” plot is a major perspective change that alters the course of the story dramatically, and provides a clearer picture of the “cycle of violence” that defines it as a whole and its characters.

After playing as Ellie for the first half of the game where she and Dina venture out to Seattle, a major turning point leads to a perspective change for players in the second half of the game by playing as Abby. By switching perspectives midway through the story, The Last of Us Part II not only completely recontextualizes what happens in the first half from experiencing Ellie’s point of view, but also reframes the events of the first game entirely. Gradually players uncover Abby’s role in the story, while also highlighting Part II’s larger theme of portraying flawed characters that don’t neatly fit into black-and-white moral archetypes. For all intents and purposes, Abby is the “antagonist” of the story, making it remarkable that the second half of the game is able to show her in a much deeper, more empathetic way. For a character that players are almost immediately meant to hate, Abby’s story proves just as compelling as Ellie’s, which is a testament to Naughty Dog’s writing and Laura Bailey’s performance of her character.

“Part II’s unique narrative structure twists players’ expectations at every turn, and in a lot of ways might warrant a second playthrough to fully grasp it.”

The narrative and emotional weight of The Last of Us Part II does much of the heavy lifting for what players will experience in its 20-30 hour journey, alongside its standout performances from Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and newcomers like Shannon Woodward. However, the devastating and enthralling story of Part II is also backed by its tense, dynamic gameplay that consistently engages players to fight for survival. While Ellie and Abby both have their own unique feel to them–Ellie being more agile compared to Abby’s more strong-armed approach to encounters–The Last of Us Part II makes a number of refinements to the series’ stealth-oriented gameplay that is incredible in motion.

This is especially compounded with the diverse range of enemies that players will encounter throughout the game, human or otherwise. The Infected–humans mutated by the cordyceps fungal outbreak–once again are a major threat, and The Last of Us Part II introduces a few new variants of the Infected alongside the infamous Clickers and Bloaters. There are also the two main human factions that players will face throughout the game, the pseudo-militarized Washington Liberation Front (colloquially known as WLF or “Wolves”) and a religious cult known as the Seraphites (or “Scars,” who unsettlingly communicate by whistling). Notably, these two factions are at odds with one another throughout the game, leading to some situations where players (as Ellie or Abby) are able to use these opposing factions against each other to their advantage.

“While the violence in Part II at first is meant to be unsettling and brutal, I can’t help but feel that it begins to lose its meaning when every encounter leads to essentially a bloodbath.”

Whether fighting off Clickers or hunting down Wolves or Seraphites, the combat and moment-to-moment gameplay of The Last of Us Part II is undoubtedly satisfying and a big improvement over the original game. But perhaps more noticeably than its predecessor, Part II delivers a much more brutal approach to combat and violence, as a means of both upping the intensity of encounters and making the player reflect on their own actions. Enemies are killed and eviscerated in far more graphic detail, and taking out an enemy will often have their companion shout their name or call out for them if they’ve gone missing.

This intention of humanizing the enemies you’re facing is undoubtedly chilling, and Naughty Dog went the extra mile in making the player feel tense and uncomfortable with the combat in Part II. However, while the violence in Part II at first is meant to be unsettling and brutal, I can’t help but feel that it begins to lose its meaning when every encounter leads to essentially a bloodbath. In the major story moments where violence is impacted on the characters we know and are meant to sympathize with, the brutality and callousness of it absolutely works and reinforces the story’s theme of violent actions having violent consequences. But when faced with a group of enemies that stand between you and the next objective to move forward in the story, killing them in cold blood begins to show the seams where Part II’s narrative ambitions run against the limitations of using horrific violence to make a point. Part II makes us feel and mourn major character deaths (of which there are many), while also leaving Ellie and Abby with a heap of bodies behind them.

“With Part II, Naughty Dog has outdone itself with some of the most meticulously crafted levels and environments that I have seen in a game.”

Much like the original game, players will have to utilize stealth and careful resource management to navigate Part II’s series of environments, which have notably been expanded from the original game. Taking a cue from the more recent Uncharted titles such as Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us Part II features more extensive open areas that not only give the player flexibility in how to approach incoming enemies, but give far more room to explore, gather supplies, and witness more of the story through its world and setpieces.

With Part II, Naughty Dog has outdone itself with some of the most meticulously crafted levels and environments that I have seen in a game. This is especially the case once players reach Seattle with Ellie and Dina, which is easily one of the biggest, most impressively detailed environments that has appeared in a Naughty Dog title. From venturing through lush forests, to wandering the overgrown streets of downtown Seattle, The Last of Us Part II utilizes its spaces to an exceptional degree to make exploration and discovery not only crucial to surviving, but as a way to enhance its storytelling. Granted, these environments can be detailed to a fault; there were several points where I sometimes found myself unclear where to go next and would accidentally backtrack. But thankfully, the game will help point you in the right direction if you end up getting lost, and sometimes it’s for the better to appreciate the intricate details strewn throughout each area.

“The Last of Us Part II utilizes its spaces to an exceptional degree to make exploration and discovery not only crucial to surviving, but as a way to enhance its storytelling.”

Likewise, the signature world-building and environmental storytelling that made The Last of Us so memorable is on full display in Part II. There are ample opportunities to explore different rooms filled with their own stories of the people who once lived there. Some of them are harrowing, some of them are poignant, but they’re never uninteresting and give a huge incentive to more thoroughly explore each environment. Going off the beaten path has always been encouraged in The Last of Us, and Part II draws on the strength of its environments and subtlety to create an even more richly-defined world.

By the end of The Last of Us Part II, I came away from it experiencing some of the most powerful, emotional moments that I’ve ever seen from a video game, let alone any other story told in another medium. Naughty Dog’s long-awaited sequel has the kind of raw storytelling that comes only a few times in a generation, and the fact that the studio was able to pull this off in a follow-up to the original is a feat in and of itself. From the perspectives of Ellie and Abby, The Last of Us Part II succeeds not only as a dark and haunting story of revenge, but as an examination of consequences and redemption. While Part II sometimes falters in its delivery of extremely heavy subject matter, it also proves itself as a poignant exploration of human emotions and all their extremes, whether that is hate, love, or anything in-between.

“Naughty Dog’s long-awaited sequel has the kind of raw storytelling that comes only a few times in a generation.”

Like the journey for revenge that its main characters seek, The Last of Us Part II is often bleak, complicated, and doesn’t provide easy answers for its challenging moral questions. In a lot of ways, The Last of Us Part II will make you angry, it will upset you, and it will break your heart as much as its glimpses of warmth and humanity will lift your spirits. It is a challenging game to play at times; there were several points where I felt completely overwhelmed by what I was experiencing. But the raw emotions and storytelling heights that Naughty Dog reaches with The Last of Us Part II are worth seeing through to the end, as hard as it may be to get there.

June 24, 2020 11:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-a-history-of-violence/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-last-of-us-part-ii-review-a-history-of-violence

[be21zh]

Apr 10, 2018

dreamt with my Tibet artist friend, Benba Chungdak, and his friend. we together build a company. the enterprise grows with our ages. in handling developing issues we stepped into middle aged and each have child. I saw touching moment daughter with dad. This week quite boring, for I relentlessly need assured our ordered Asus chromebook smoothly delivering to us, evade PRC customs’ deter or domestic censorship. Life can be easier with help from our dorm canteen’s aid, the woman loaned me ￥700 to pay alipay credit debt yesterday. It not only remove the tension, also let my ability to handle something in failing prison of PRC economic winter. Yesterday I also seeking equip our usb-c reader a tf card for data transferring and storage. woz's coming Asus chromebook has 2 usb-c ports while normal usb only one port, so I preparing shifting my usb and usb-c reader stick to him, now that his Intel NUC shifted to me and equips me a build-in card reader. We are migrating from usb stick to sd card. I long time intending upgrade our backup card storage, but always felt economically unfit for it. Now I am almost assured worthily to invest it. I also intended shift our old Dell notebook to my son’s mom, the small man long time complained her notebook I left her without battery, even I told our notebooks’ battery were shits. I even guessing she brought Trojan horses from PRC surveillance into the dell notebook my son and I used to play steam games, for she insisted worked on the notebook even she already had an old Hasee notebook I left her, after all my warns not to mess with our dell notebook. Now she can has a taste of her own bait. I felt glad to rip off the dell notebook, for it frequently refused windows’ patches. It also lagging in booting up, even running programs OK. After move it away from my son’s bedroom, my son will has a new desk to work on. I long time preparing my son an office space, but the dell notebook always occupied one. So my son usually wrote homework on a cheap table his mom used for her profiting tutoring. Now with 2 light chromebooks, my son has 2 fix computer desks to work on. that’s I long time intended, against his cheap mom's efforts to put him and her students in slavery situation, where only main business is tutorials, like in Mideast or Islamic. God, dad, its a yellow morning now. Sandstorm more and more common scene now here. Looking into future, so many holy discipline including severe genocide ahead. Quite some races deserve no future but hell. God put the chosen breaks through hardship and wasteland, and deserted. Bring rest to breed racing. Bring me my Royal China, my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, into tangible world. God, dad, bring me to top view of the canyon.

Apr 6, 2018

first dreamt kill a bear. I don't want to hunt but soon I slayed it in fear of prey. then dreamt in my hometown just after wedding. I enjoy enviable sexual life with my bride, each time I never anxious but just insatiable intercourses. yesterday is our monthly cinema time with my son, woz. we watched blockbuster "ready player one". we almost missed it with fake Russian product, snow queen 3 which mimics frozen 3. we watched frozen 1 and 2 and impressed, and without hesitation we chose the snow theme movie, till 2 days before the lunar Mourning day I found we cheated by the Russian title. my son soon accepted my suggestion of change. and that's rewarding. I think "ready player one" is quite impressive in visual presentation. before the movie, I told my son my decision to put investment before deposition, in risk of CCP tyrant seizure. we never felt unease upon saving woz some pocket money via alipay's yuebao, till last Sunday we found yuebao restricting our automatic deposit, delayed more than ￥800 in cash account without profit for months, due quota restriction new CCP puppet financial regulator setup aiming to disable or malfunction the world largest fund. then I saw PRC tyrant relentlessly constrains civilian's cash flow while under table covertly leaks into its underground reservoir. I felt threatened and need to take action rather than passive been robbed. also in past months, our intended purchase, convertible chromebook, turned more dearer and scarcer on amazon China. we need response swift. my son agreed. after movie we ate hotpot near the cinema. the peanut sausage ran short, and a neighbor cheap mid aged man occupied himself unnecessary a full bowl of it against shortage. we used groupon and additional cash for more mutton. after returned to my dorm, I felt the rich meal let me energetic and delayed to sleep. I checked my purchase target monitoring and amazed by new chromebook on sale. I at once ordered it and paid by my deposit money for woz in last half year, near 2000 CNY. its so satisfying that I watched lately another episode of "the office" for completion of the wonderful lunar Mourning holiday. now last night dream is so sweet that I never know aging. God dad, bring me sooner my Royal China. bring me my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for I waited decades. grant us one more child for prosperous Eastern Asia. thx God, in this sedative morning.

Apr 2, 2018

dreamt history creation by 2 pals in three kingdoms period Chinese well known. one of them is Yuwei, with his family ie. his mother and young wife, forging his southern China country from scratch. I witness his charisma, his conquer over territory he bestowed. another guy's expanding his national border near southeastern China also in details in dream. its a sandstormy morning. last week I ripped one of zhone cms, https://agarten.in ,replace it with a tool site, a project management site. even still in experimental phrase, I already felt satisfying. my son last week installed an old famous file explorer on his android. I deleted it at once, and warn him the dangers of PRC government overtaken tool softwares. the file manager was a wonderful tool, but now manipulated by PRC government for large scale surveillance, like it purchased hundred of once perfect software tools mostly created by individuals or small enterprises, esp rooting tools. my son nodded. in night we co-operated online to assure his google voice forwarding phone enabling. but it turns out his forwarding phone consistently working for I called his google voice last year more than once, unlike my google voice never received phone call in last year, hence google require to re-verify to enable it. I told my son we should soon seek a grocer near our public spa so as not to lack fruits on our diet. I pray God grant me budget for the delicious food. my son now a considerable smart teenage, but he still hijacked by his sinful mother, who relentlessly challenged me and my parenthood. I warned my son not to frequent hospital, but last sunday soon after we returned from spa, he was arbitrarily brought by his mom left their house, left me alone updating his linux. they likely haunted eye hospital for my son's sight, on which the small woman recently fantastically obsessed. I told my son I day by day upset by Chinese teachers. they killing creativeness and smother orthodoxy. what a low moral they wholely obtained! even worsen than PRC government employee! God, dad, a new month starts yesterday, when we enjoyed downtown hostel pork steak so much. this month my credit debt again near 600 CNY. help me clear our debt and deal our daily budget lightly. bring me sooner my Royal China, my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko, for spring 2018 just budding new life and hope of life. bring my son his enjoyed game and ready office space he will step in with affirmative. thx God dad.

Mar 23, 2018

dreamt tutoring a kid playing game, in which there is a scene of lofty gate, player has to climb up to get reward to continue the game. later dreamt of math exam, on which I always reluctant to touch while my son seemingly excels in dream. its a pale morning. after a busy week preparing migrate my work space from acer chromebook to dell chromebook, this week I mostly resting. the solution expanding chromeOS side by side with linux works perfectly for me, with installing a tool crouton under chromeOS dev mode, I now enjoy security of google ChromeOS and versatile open world of linux, which so powerful and robust. Reviewing my clumsy linux experience so far, I see clearly windows losing. Bill Gates in half century spend half world wealth to improve world health and poverty is invalid. Its no hatred, but discipline or natural giveup Holy spiritual glad to see. Now Trump sees it, and Gates persuading USA president to continue to adopt the fake savior. God, world at large, esp abnormal humans desperate for their abnormal world staged so many ugly shows including obesity, LGBT, anti-society, etc. there are so many abused food/drug eaters in developed countries while average people encounter hanger everyday. Killing in mid east mostly exchange for food, but so many unfair between healthier living and sick food/sex/drug addictive. God dad, the Earth citizen needs merit based cleanse, like Trump’s new migration law. If man can’t live a healthy life, lives him hell. So does to drug esp opium takers, and breed racers. US entertainment circle stealth too much applause and selling too much cheap and unhealthy idols. USA esp weak democrats promoted too much cheap democratic notion upon world among which quite some disqualifies, esp hate culture and competing in breed nations, like Africa and Mideast. World crisis now mostly due to cheap human cattle, which noway to preceding nor prioritize animal and grand nature. cheap hurts but decency nutritious. A society can’t self-rely nor self-sufficient, a nation wiped from its land like Mideast. But Europe and USA still missing rule Israel learns thousand years, they let enemies inside. God dad, its a new salary day now, but yet QRRS release my salary so far. Yesterday I review my near 2 decades in QRRS Dorm, my youth and loving among PRC most exciting era, so called open policy period when PRC penniless but polite peasants adopted to work mills by Capital American buyers, on the land my ancestor bestowed. I saw my old friends here and found their hidden gay. I found my seeking family esp offspring efforts in all my half life, on this fresh land I chosen to pick up and grow upon to polarize. God dad, bring me sooner my Royal China, bring me sooner my Crown Queen from Japan, Asoh Yukiko. Grant us offspring new to Royal China. Blessing me new monument to develop zhone web. After workday I will fetch my son visiting my dorm monthly, permits us joyful reuniting this afternoon. Thx God dad.