Flashfall's recent activity

  1. Comment on What have you been eating, drinking, and cooking? in ~food

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    I saw this video for making an easy michelin star quality apple tarte tatin so I bought some puff pastry and apples to give it a shot. I used a small ramekin instead of a pot or pan since I don't...

    I saw this video for making an easy michelin star quality apple tarte tatin so I bought some puff pastry and apples to give it a shot. I used a small ramekin instead of a pot or pan since I don't have any with oven-safe handles, and it took 2 failures to dial in the time and temp to work with my oven. The third and final try still wasn't as caramellized as it was in the video, but still turned out pretty dang good if I do say so myself.

    I have just rewatched the video and realized that he specified 160 degrees Celcius, while my initial two tries were done in Fahrenheit. Makes a lot more sense in hindsight but oh well, I'll get it right next time.

    Still had some puff pastry leftover from that, so I made a chicken pot pie with just a top crust (puff pastry gets all soggy on the bottom). Wild how much it adds to the dish despite being just flaky butter bread, both taste and appearance wise. I should buy puff pastry more often.

  2. Comment on A simple fix for exemplary tags - only give it to posts you disagree with in ~tildes

    Flashfall
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    Well that's news to me, I guess I haven't tagged anything as Exemplary yet then. It seems like making that response visible to everyone and not just the author would be the next logical step, if...

    Well that's news to me, I guess I haven't tagged anything as Exemplary yet then. It seems like making that response visible to everyone and not just the author would be the next logical step, if we did feel like we needed one extra thing for people to consider before tagging. With the size and relatively high level of respect (for an internet forum) of this community though, I don't think that change should be needed anytime soon.

    1 vote

  3. Comment on A simple fix for exemplary tags - only give it to posts you disagree with in ~tildes

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    While I don't disagree that exemplary tags being used just for posts or comments you agree with is the wrong way to use them, I'm wondering if their "misuse" has gotten to the point where it's...

    While I don't disagree that exemplary tags being used just for posts or comments you agree with is the wrong way to use them, I'm wondering if their "misuse" has gotten to the point where it's potentially problematic enough that we need to agree on an unspoken community rule about them. My anecdotal experience isn't worth much as I haven't been going through all of the threads and seeing if comments with exemplary tags are meeting some arbitrary criteria, and I personally rarely even upvote comments, much less tag them as exemplary, but exemplary tags never seemed nearly as problematic or pervasive as, say, giving gold to a comment or post.

    Just downplaying your concerns while offering no solutions of my own would be a bit of a dick move, so here's my suggestion: labeling a comment should also require you to reply to it, so some modicum of thought and effort must be put in at least. I wouldn't go so far as to highlight the user that actually gave the label since we probably don't want to reduce the amount of anonymity we currently have, but if you're the first or only one to reply then it wouldn't take a genius to connect the dots. With an upfront requirement like this though, it encourages the one giving out the label to provide context to it, and other users won't get into a virtual slap-fight with each other when someone inevitably uses it the "wrong" way according to them.

    7 votes

  4. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Started and caught up with Sayonara, Lara in the last week and this has immediately jumped into my seasonal top 3. It's an original story made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of studio Kinema...

    Started and caught up with Sayonara, Lara in the last week and this has immediately jumped into my seasonal top 3. It's an original story made to celebrate the 15th anniversary of studio Kinema Citrus, and it's an original adaptation of The Little Mermaid. It's a huge love letter to 80's and 90's anime, where it's done digitally but made to imitate celluloid animation and the character designs also match that era. The story's easy to understand, the characters are all distinct and likeable without being suffocating coughkyoanicough, the opening is lovely and also has a nostalgic feel, and the whole package is just really charming. Strongly recommend if you like character-driven stories with a bit of romance.

    3 votes

  5. Comment on Google Assistant shutting down on Android and Wear OS in September in ~tech

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    Yeah this is just an annoying change for me. First they ruin my pixel buds by outright disabling assistant on those when they were initially phasing in Gemini (thought that got me to look for...

    Yeah this is just an annoying change for me. First they ruin my pixel buds by outright disabling assistant on those when they were initially phasing in Gemini (thought that got me to look for higher quality IEMs than Google was offering so blessing in disguise?), now I can't even use assistant to do the purely deterministic simple tasks that I was using it for previously? One of these recent updates for my Pixel switched Gemini on by default and I had to go out of my way to switch assistant back on instead because I didn't want a voice to tell me everything it was doing every time I just want to turn on the lights in the living room, and there's no option to mute Gemini for some godforsaken reason.

    I just want a voice activated remote control, is that so much to ask for? Why does it have to come with the acceleration of human misery?

    5 votes

  6. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Caught up with The Ghost in the Shell (2026) and these latest episodes also cover the chapters that were adapted by the Mamoru Oshii movies. It's neat to see which parts of the original work that...

    Caught up with The Ghost in the Shell (2026) and these latest episodes also cover the chapters that were adapted by the Mamoru Oshii movies. It's neat to see which parts of the original work that Oshii chose to keep while adding quite a bit of his own touch to give it a much darker, grittier tone. I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, but the differences that are there are so massive that it's hard to even call it an adaptation, more like an alternate timeline take. Still thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was a bit sad that I didn't get to see Batou go on a rampage through the gynoid factory in this art style.

    4 votes

  7. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Flashfall
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    Well see that's probably the biggest issue. By "3rd difficulty option" I assume you mean Heresy, first and second being Uprising and Malice (Sedition difficulty seems to have been removed...

    Mind you I've yet to play the 3rd difficulty option, but we will try soon with my group.

    Well see that's probably the biggest issue. By "3rd difficulty option" I assume you mean Heresy, first and second being Uprising and Malice (Sedition difficulty seems to have been removed altogether at some point, I guess the devs thought it was too easy?). The amount of experience and resources you gain increases a fair bit from going from Malice to Heresy, and then it jumps even more from Heresy to Damnation. If you have the skill and acceptably usable weapons to move to the next difficulty once you unlock it, leveling from 1 to 30 is actually pretty fast, maybe a day or two at most, and at damnation it's not unusual to get a few hundred plasteel and diamantine on each mission as long as folks remember to pick them up.

    Also something very important about spending resources for gear and upgrades at Hadron - doing so before hitting level 30 is usually a waste, because the gear level in rewards and the shop goes up as you level up more. You can still buy a weapon to have one to use in the meantime, but don't invest heavily into anything until you hit the level cap. You may also want to look up what the "dump stat" for your weapon is, as well as the recommended perks and blessings, so you don't waste resources on a poorly rolled weapon and don't spend extra dockets switching perks and blessings around. Same thing for curios, just get 3 cheap toughness curios until you hit level 30, then look for ones with 16 or 17% toughness to keep and upgrade.

    Mortis Trials is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand it's purposely imbalanced with how it'll throw silly amounts of a single enemy type at you. On the other hand some of the modifiers it can give you will give you stupid amounts of killing power you can't get in the other game modes. It's not really meant for newer players though, more of a randomizer mode to spice things up for folks that want a change of pace. Also a fantastic way to farm penances, but again that's very much a thing just for experienced players.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    Aside from the occasional Destiny 2 dungeon or raid with my clan, I've been playing a lot of Warhammer 40K: Darktide to complete all of the class penances (achievements) and weapon masteries. I'm...

    Aside from the occasional Destiny 2 dungeon or raid with my clan, I've been playing a lot of Warhammer 40K: Darktide to complete all of the class penances (achievements) and weapon masteries. I'm playing the classes in the reverse order I made characters for them, so it's like going back in time. So far, I've finished all of the weapons and most of the penances for Skitarius, Hive Scum, Arbitrator, and Ogryn, which just leaves Veteran, Zealot, and Psyker. This is what's stood out to me so far:

    • The penances for DLC characters were A LOT quicker to finish than the Ogryn's were. Either Fatshark figured they didn't want penances to take as long for paid characters, or they realized the penances for the original classes were just way overtuned in terms of how much you needed, or they learned how to create penances that you'd finish reasonably quickly through just regular play.

    • Ogryns are an incredibly strong class, and I actually prefer them over arbitrators. They won't be deleting monstrosities in one hit or melting everything in sight with low effort but they can still dish it out and take it like nothing else.

    • Trappers are bullshit and they shouldn't be allowed to shoot while behind other enemies.

    • The drip options for base classes you can unlock for free are actually pretty good, which is nice because I hate this game's paid cosmetic store and will never spend any money there. The drip options for the DLC classes are basically nonexistent though, paid or otherwise, and that's kinda sad.

    Veteran and Zealot will be interesting to finish since I've never used the stealth skills on either of them despite having almost 700 hours in the game. This really is the most replayable horde shooter in terms of build variety and skill expression, bar none.

    3 votes

  9. Comment on What are your favourite anime and/or manga? in ~anime

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    OddTaxi, Spice and Wolf, Rakugo Shinju, and Ping Pong all on the same list that isn't mine? You have exceptionally good taste. If you haven't already seen them, I can recommend these to you:...

    OddTaxi, Spice and Wolf, Rakugo Shinju, and Ping Pong all on the same list that isn't mine? You have exceptionally good taste. If you haven't already seen them, I can recommend these to you:

    • Sangatsu no Lion (2 seasons)
    • Uchuu Kyoudai (like 100 episodes but really good)
    • Houseki no Kuni (read the manga after you finish the anime, s2 probably not happening)
    • Mob Psycho 100 (3 seasons)
    • Medalist (2 seasons)
    • Yuri!!! on Ice
    • Nippon Sangoku
    • Uchouten Kazoku (2 seasons)
    • Shiroi Suna no Aquatope
    • Hyouka
    • Mahoutsukai no Yome (2 long seasons)

    And if you enjoy a calming, slow-paced iyashikei show here or there, try these:

    • Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (just 2 OVAs)
    • Hakumei to Mikochi
    2 votes

  10. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Don't think I'll do a week-by-week update on all the stuff I'm following unless I come across something particularly intriguing in that week's episode. With that said: Yani Neko continues to...

    Don't think I'll do a week-by-week update on all the stuff I'm following unless I come across something particularly intriguing in that week's episode. With that said:

    Yani Neko continues to surprise both in how low it makes its characters go, and also how random some of the bits are. It just randomly name-dropped a niche manga that I really enjoyed and that was a total mental flashbang. Still have no idea how this got greenlit and has so much talent behind it but thanks I guess.

    Finished the spinoff season of Ousama Ranking, Yuuki no Takarabako, which was only 10 episodes long and focused on other events happening during the course of the main story that really flesh out some of the characters. Huge positive energy in it just like the previous season, and another banger of an opening too. Not sure when we'll get a second season but I'm looking forward to it.

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Do I belong in tech anymore? in ~tech

    Flashfall
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    I work in a pretty new AI tech division of a fairly non-tech company, and a lot of the people around me (in spirit anyway, it's a remote team) are extremely hard working and genuinely seem to...

    I work in a pretty new AI tech division of a fairly non-tech company, and a lot of the people around me (in spirit anyway, it's a remote team) are extremely hard working and genuinely seem to enjoy or at least have great interest in the work they do; they keep up with the latest developments, attend talks and stuff like that, and are excited to share things they learn. I uh, I really don't give a shit. I probably should, I'm pretty young and early in my career and if I did care more it would probably lead to greater growth and pay, but I just really do not care. I don't hate it, and I do have a tech background so I'm not entirely unfamiliar, but the ONLY reason I am doing this job is for the solid pay and good benefits. I do not do tech related stuff in my free time to build more skills, I play games and watch shows like the common consumer sheep. I do my job and I do it to the standard it should be done, and if I'm asked to do a bit more then I do that, maybe I'll spend some time after hours to finish something I'm stuck on (it's remote so it's barely an issue for me honestly).

    Point being, my work life and my personal life are somehow very separate from each other but it works and I'm not particuarly keen on disrupting that balance. I like to think I'm part of a silent majority but I'll never know because usually people that are satisfied don't feel the need to talk about it.

    8 votes

  12. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Started a few more of this season's shows and keeping up with a few others. Ongoing Sparks of Tomorrow still feels like it could almost just be an audio drama, that's how little time is left for...

    Started a few more of this season's shows and keeping up with a few others.

    Ongoing

    Sparks of Tomorrow still feels like it could almost just be an audio drama, that's how little time is left for silence. At least we got some actual electricity stuff going on finally but all these personalities are just suffocating.

    Yani Neko has introduced more catgirls living in the same building and all of them are degenerates in one way or another. Funny to watch but I would absolutely despise needing to put up with any of these people in real life, which is kinda the point I guess.

    I do like how Youjo Senki S2 makes use of the character's knowledge of politics and history from their past life to their advantage. Still jarring to see the lieutenant whenever she shows up, I can't get used to her eyes being the size of dinner plates.

    Yomi no Tsugai continues to be a fine shonen anime. They did have clips from that one episode in FMA playing on the TV, which is a fun easter egg.

    Didn't think I'd be learning this much about Mongolian ceremonial traditions from Tenmaku no Jaadugar but it's pretty interesting. Seems like we've also gotten to the point where the plot's about to get a lot more interesting, so I'm committed.

    Just started

    Saw the first episode of the new Ghost in the Shell adaptation. I love it, I love it a lot. There's so much more personality to all the members of section 9 compared to all the other shows and movies, especially the major. It's funny and so colorful while still maintaining the dystopian cyberpunk undertones, which is kind of incredible. Between this, Jaadugar, and Dandadan, Science SARU has been absolutely cooking lately.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    Reading this made me slightly annoyed that people don't know about Nanahira but then I remembered that normal people listen to whatever's topping the charts on Spotify rather than random Japanese...

    Also, aside from IOSYS, I don't recognize anything else, who Nanahira is, etc

    Reading this made me slightly annoyed that people don't know about Nanahira but then I remembered that normal people listen to whatever's topping the charts on Spotify rather than random Japanese songs with anime thumbnails on Youtube (recently it's been more alt-rock and shoegaze). Rhythm games aren't really my thing but I bet some of the tracks in that game are going to end up in my playlists at some point.

    2 votes

  14. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Started a few of this season's shows. Youjo Senki Season 2 continues the story of the ruthlessly efficient office worker reincarnated as a female child soldier with a talent for magic in...

    Started a few of this season's shows.

    Youjo Senki Season 2 continues the story of the ruthlessly efficient office worker reincarnated as a female child soldier with a talent for magic in totally-not-WWI-Germany due to Christian God having a bone to pick with him in particular for being staunchly atheistic and also kind of an asshole. For the sake of simplicity we'll just refer to them by their reincarnation, Tanya. The quality has definitely been retained from the first season, as well as the other hallmarks of this series, such as our protagonist suffering the reward of doing good work (more, harder work), lots of violence, dramatic music, and some intentionally cringey moments when the protagonist tries to leverage their "cute little girl" aspect to some end.

    Sparks of Tomorrow is an original story that's animated by Kyoto Animation, and naturally it's gorgeous, especially the character designs and the eyes. The premise itself seems interesting, with electricity not taking root as quickly as it did in our timeline, so we get to see a much more steam-oriented version of pre-WW2 Kyoto. The storytelling though, at least from the first 2 episodes, has been at a breakneck pace. Characters are constantly yelling, running, chasing, doing things, and basically never really slowing down to allow viewers to absorb what's going on or just admire the art for a bit. Maybe it'll slow down later and actually explain more of what's going on but for now it's kind of loud and overwhelming.

    Yani Neko makes me really glad I don't have any close friends or family members that have a crippling addiction to some substance. This catgirl is a total disaster and it's funny to watch her fail at stuff but it's also painful to see her younger sister doing her best to still love and take care of her. It's good propaganda to scare people out of smoking or doing drugs while still being humorous about it. Also the opening is a straight banger.

    Tenmaku no Jaadugar so far seems to be the sleeper hit of the season for me. I don't want to spoil any of the story here since I think it's something worth experiencing without any prior knowledge, but yeah I like the story a lot so far. The art style is also a far departure from typical anime, with more of a children's storybook look that seems simple and very clear, but also quite pleasant to the eyes. It's got some historical elements in it too, though I think the character and events aren't based on anything from real life. Out of all of the ones I've listed here, I would recommend this one first.

    2 votes

  15. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    Flashfall
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    Honestly I think I would prefer a CRPG at this point. As much as I enjoy the free-roaming design of all the games built on the creation engine, the actual gameplay has always felt a bit stiff,...

    Honestly I think I would prefer a CRPG at this point. As much as I enjoy the free-roaming design of all the games built on the creation engine, the actual gameplay has always felt a bit stiff, especially when it comes to interacting with NPCs.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games

    Flashfall
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    Far Harbor takes place in Bar Harbor in Maine, and the only place in the US further north than that would be Alaska. Unless you count Operation Anchorage (it's a simulation so not really), that's...

    Far Harbor takes place in Bar Harbor in Maine, and the only place in the US further north than that would be Alaska. Unless you count Operation Anchorage (it's a simulation so not really), that's the farthest north the games have gone.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

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    Finished the last episode of Nippon Sangoku and damn what a way to finish the season, everything is just delivered with such gravitas. It really nails the romance part of Romance of the Three...

    Finished the last episode of Nippon Sangoku and damn what a way to finish the season, everything is just delivered with such gravitas. It really nails the romance part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There's some massive setups for the next arc in the story as well, so I'm hoping the sales do well and a second season gets greenlit because this was definitely my favorite watch of the season and that means a lot when you have Witch Hat Atelier as competition.

    2 votes

  18. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Flashfall
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    It's not so bad if you view it more as a very expensive adoption for a very traumatized orphan.

    It's not so bad if you view it more as a very expensive adoption for a very traumatized orphan.

    2 votes

  19. Comment on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is coming this fall in ~anime

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    I can't believe we're getting cyberpunk Sasuke before GTA 6. Jokes aside, this looks like it's going to be another wild and beautifully animated ride with a depressing ending. How are they...

    I can't believe we're getting cyberpunk Sasuke before GTA 6. Jokes aside, this looks like it's going to be another wild and beautifully animated ride with a depressing ending. How are they possibly going to top the emotional trauma of listening to I Really Want to Stay at Your House?

    5 votes

  20. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

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    Played the Breach of Trust DLC scenario for Frostpunk 2 and it was fun and a little challenging, albeit short. The premise of this scenario is that there are two colonies, the main colony built by...

    Played the Breach of Trust DLC scenario for Frostpunk 2 and it was fun and a little challenging, albeit short. The premise of this scenario is that there are two colonies, the main colony built by a volcano using geothermal energy for heat, and another built by a frozen lake with effectively unlimited food, which are dependent on each other, but the last captain of the main colony was a bit of a tyrant so the food colony revolted and seceded, and then the captain offed himself, which is how you assume the position of First Citizen. Your job is to get the colonies back together, whether that's by peace through trading, or by force through war, while also managing the threat of increasing unstable geothermal activity.

    The closest comparison would be to the Fall of Winterhome scenario in Frostpunk 1 where you start off with a messy situation and need to figure out how to stabilize it, though I would say this one is easier than Winterhome once you learn what the proper "solutions" are. The trading and war mechanics are nice new additions but feel a little underutilized, as does the volcano, and the scenario's very front-loaded as you'll likely spend most of the run in the first chapter, while the second is pretty quick and the third has a short time limit. I managed to clear it on hard difficulty on the same day it came out, and then cleared it on very hard without any deaths the next day. Fun, but I hope any future scenarios they add last a bit longer.

    Also tried out the new class in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, the skitarii alpha primus (non-40k translation: they're techno-cultist cyborg soldiers). Some folks are relishing in the futuristic M1 Garand and ripping heads off with mechanical claws, I on the other hand have focused more on electrocuting everything I can in every way I can. Having a skill that's literally just aimbot is also nice since I can be lazier with my target acquisition and still quickly drop priority targets at a distance. Praise the Omnissiah.

    2 votes