@SwampCreature I went to a small tech/gaming convention back in 2016 because a friend of mine was competing in a live League of Legends tournament. It was a lot of fun, and I got to have my only experience with VR to this day, but I really hope to see something of the scale of a SDCC or NYCC.

@mianngu I'm definitely with you on that one, I switch to fanfic immediately, but the hop back to novels always feels impossible 😭 I can for sure relate to sticking with bad books, but my worst weakness is books that I know are good, and everybody loves, but my brain and eyes will not keep reading (or worse with a series that "gets really good on book 3" 💀)

@SwampCreature The one with the dog... that's part of the Clocktower series, I think? Unless you're referring to Rule of Rose.

SIlent Hill 2 is legendary and for good reason. I got my start with that series with that one. It holds a dread ambiance like nothing else.

If you like Fatal Frame, have you tried the DreadOut series? They're somewhat similar as I understand. I like DreadOut, but it's not balanced as well as it could be with some of the bosses.

The most recent horror type game I've played is Withering Rooms. It's a survival title in a haunted mansion and while it has some Clock Tower elements, it's more of a focus on being a rogue-like style these days. It's not intensely scary or anything, but there's some good monster designs.

Honestly, I can't think of any pure horror titles that have clicked for me in a while. I couldn't get into Amnesia and while FNAF is good for jump scares and dread, I never liked the controls, so I would just watch YT'ers play it.

Come to think of it, the last really scary thing I played was the Silent Hill mod for Fallout 4. Coupled with a few other mods for fog and such, that was a genuinely nerve-wracking experience. Just trying to survive nights and having a real reason to be hyper-cautious in houses and streets (compared to the base game) truly brought out a terrifying style of gameplay.

@Mariano The Uzumaki anime is FINALLY dropping - I don’t think there’s a solid release date yet, but before the end of the year. And there’s a new trailer!!! I’m so geeked ahhhhhhhh

Other than that I don’t really have anything in particular I’m watching at the moment, but I’m going to Youmacon (anime convention) in November and we’ll see if anything catches me eye.

And I have no idea when the new Berserk anime is releasing but the teaser looked pretty decent! I’ve been burned before by Berserk anime so hopefully this one is better.

@Alexander-Salkin It's either been a lot of fun and time is flying, or your players are spending so much time exploring you feel like they're making a third of the progress you'd expected lol

@SwampCreature Last game I've played is Maplestory. I think I'd do well in the first three episodes of this isekai because I've played the lv. 1-30 areas for thousands of hours; but I would immediately do horribly in the rest of the game. Curse my lack of attention span and discipline, why did I have to keep making new characters? 😭

One of my favorite games ever! I still remember when I first started playing it (literally years ago) and was blown away by how BIG it is! It’s beautiful, unique, and endlessly fun to play. I recently introduced my partner to it - he’s not much of a gamer but is a big Zelda fan nonetheless - and he will play it for hours without actually advancing the plot in any way, which I think is a sign of a really well-crafted world. And of course the art and music are both gorgeous. I don’t know if I have a favorite shrine but I love the ones that require you to combine your powers in interesting ways. I also loooove the giant horse, the Lord of the Mountain/Satori, the dragons, the Great Fairies, and the sand seals!

@Alexander-Salkin 376730eb-1e50-4de9-80b3-e47d466f2ba8-image.png Actual image of my Drake Companion.

@Mariano I have a rule that I have to eat it >.> I made it or ordered it... gotta eat it.

Here we go. I’m not entirely sure how to define “fandom” but I do tend to go really hard with the things I love.

The Mountain Goats: Everyone who’s known me even a small amount of time knows my obsession. They may not know the extent of it: my largest tattoo, personalized license plate, bumper stickers, vinyl records, 23 shirts (that I can recall, I probably have more that I can’t remember), 11 posters (9 of them are tour posters and one is signed by the lead singer), countless stickers/patches/buttons, and limited edition promotional pogs for some reason. I’ve seen them live nine times and framed the ticket stub from the first time I ever saw them. I’ve met the lead singer (and cried).

Final Fantasy: I own and have played most of the games, have cosplayed FF characters, I have figures, music boxes, jewelry, game guides and art books, one tattoo (and another on the books for December).

Actually all but one of my tattoos are fandom adjacent: one from a book, three from bands, one from Final Fantasy. Another Final Fantasy one coming up (as mentioned above) and two more band tattoos planned but not scheduled.

@mianngu Omg I remember renting this movie from Blockbuster thinking it was going to be related to the seasons I was watching on TV and understanding 0% of it

@Mariano said in Starfield!:

Bethesda

It looks beautiful and the premise sounds intriguing. My husband was following it for a long time, and he grew tired of the toxic Bethesda fanboy culture surrounding it. So I've kind of brushed it off as not my game.

@SwampCreature I would bring back 2009 Maplestory. The game still exists but they made a lot of changes that made the game less enjoyable to me. There's a lot of private servers running the old version, but if we can remake it and make it look nicer, it will also be easier for me to convince friends and loved ones to play with me.

@Mariano I started with Mistborn too! I keep wanting to get into the Stormlight Archives but they are just so massive that I feel like I never have the time to just read for large blocks of time like I want to lol.

@SwampCreature Nintendo is the GOAT of OSTs in my opinion: particularly Pokemon stands out to me, but LoZ and Mario have a lot of bangers. Other than that, I was obsessed with the Last of Us OST when the game came out; and lately I've been listening to the music in Ooblets to work to.

@K-O Hide in the back of the house, in the hopes that neighbor kids think no one is home.

@K-O said in Gen Con:

@AGreaterMonster Yes, they are booked in advance! I did check them out before deciding maybe I should just wander (@Faye and @Hanzilla were much more organized than I was and did this much earlier), and most were already full by the time I had checked (in May or so). It's really exciting to see SO many enthusiastic people into a similar hobby as you are, all in one place. I am trying to remember in the AMA if you mentioned where you live now; I know you said you lived in Chicago at one time. If you're close enough, you should come to Gen Con next year, it was totally worth it, and with your DMing and acting/writing/art expertise, I bet you would be a hit!

That would be a blast! I would do it for sure if I can find a sponsor who wants me to DM some games.

@Ezra
I was always the dumper, never the dumpee. I've heard "no thanks" plenty of times, and I've been on dates that had no chemistry, but i never was dumped from a long-term relationship. HOWEVER! I did get suckered into a pseudo-science health cult a month ago and two days before my first appointment it was canceled and refunded because the doctor couldn't hold up under the tiniest bit of skepticism from my intake form.

I gotta say it didn't feel good, and I didn't have a chance to defend myself. I now know it is quackery because if the doctor believed in his results, he would just laugh and say " In my defense, we get that all the time. but come on in and I'll show you real results". Even knowing this, it still stings even after dodging the bullet of paying for false goods. i haven't exercised or eaten well in 2 weeks because of it, and i learned rejection has a lot of power over me, especially rejection that alters my plans and future goals.

I hope there is a metaphor in there for you somewhere. Maybe if something is worth fighting for it doesn't hurt so much to look at it under the microscope because you know any flaws noticed are worth the risk and assessment and skepticism, but if it's all a facade then it crumbles under the tiniest bit of pressure. So while it hurts now, i hope you'll see the bullet you dodged. And if you are the bullet that was dodged, i hope you have the insight to take the aftermath and turn ashes into diamonds; to be a better bullet in cupid's quiver.

I wanted a little chibi Clamp-style wing on my right shoulder when I was younger, a little homage to my love of anime and also the one-winged angel himself, Sephiroth. I'm not sure I'll ever end up getting it now, and like with most things, now that I'm trying to think of something else I would get, my brain has gone blank 😂ccs.jpg