NonoAdomo's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on How well do you cook? in ~life.men
NonoAdomo LinkI grew up in a household where my grandfather did most of the cooking. My grandmother did the baking. I personally didn't really cook until after I graduated college. I found some random...I grew up in a household where my grandfather did most of the cooking. My grandmother did the baking. I personally didn't really cook until after I graduated college. I found some random approachable recipes online and gave them a try and HEY! They kinda worked!
I didn't cook too much until I got married though. Once I moved in my wife, I also found myself unemployed as I had moved countries to be with her. I became a house husband and felt that I needed to be productive while I searched for a job, and took on cooking duties. Turns out, I got pretty good at it. My variety of dishes is driven by my wife's desire for a unique variety of tastes. It pushed me from serving generic mid class American meals to exploring various flavors from cultures all over the world.
Ultimately, I learned though YouTube. Honestly it's been a great source of information: from the weird experiments of Babish to the food mythbusting of French Guy Alex. There's also the history element of Tasting History and Townsends, providing context into how people cooked before modern technology, and also how to properly perform some good cooking techniques from professionals like Gordon Ramsay. Because of this, I'd say I'm a solid intermediate and capable of cooking just about anything thrown at me and I have a variety of information that I could learn from and experiment with.
I couldn't imagine myself doing this before the internet. Without confirmation of the progress in videos, I likely would have screwed up a few times, got frustrated and quit, resigning myself to a life of takeout and hoping I find a spouse that could cook for themselves and feed me in the process. Now? I'm someone who apparently is the envy of people at my wife's workplace when she brings in lunches. I've also gotten comments from female coworkers when I say I'm the primary cook along the lines of: "Oh how nice that would be, I wish my husband would do that." I wouldn't trade that ability to break down just some of society's gender roles for anything. It's empowering.
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Comment on What is the process for adult ADHD diagnosis? in ~health.mental
NonoAdomo LinkMy experience was to go to a Therapist for a completely different issue, and talk to them for a couple months. Then she turned to me one day and said "Yeah, you have ADHD, I'm going to read the...My experience was to go to a Therapist for a completely different issue, and talk to them for a couple months. Then she turned to me one day and said "Yeah, you have ADHD, I'm going to read the entry from the DSM to explain how I came to this conclusion" and I felt both simultaneously attacked (by the book) and vindicated (for my suspicions that I had it all along).
Go find a therapist and just chat with them. Don't tell them right away, just talk about your symptoms and struggles. Let them come to the conclusion without you tainting their perspectives by hoping for an ADHD diagnosis. If they're worth their salt, they'll come to their conclusion themselves.
I don't trust a GP to make that diagnosis though. The first time I went to a GP about my symptoms, he told me "You're just not getting enough sleep. Here, have some Ambien, call me if you have any issues" and I took it exactly once, hated it and knew that wasn't the solution. The second GP years later said "Hey, you should probably go talk to a therapist, here's a reference. Go talk to them"
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Comment on Where does your username come from? (Following up on last year's thread) in ~tildes
NonoAdomo LinkIt's my Final Fantasy XIV character's name, and that character has essentially become an extension of myself. FFXIV was literally a life changing game for me, so Nono Adomo will be my name...It's my Final Fantasy XIV character's name, and that character has essentially become an extension of myself. FFXIV was literally a life changing game for me, so Nono Adomo will be my name forever, with a plus that nobody will ever take it!
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Comment on American election mental health thread in ~health.mental
NonoAdomo Link ParentI'm unfortunately well aware of this. Thankfully he hasn't given me the same fear of him blowing up everything yet. I'm hoping for several years of just ineptitude.I'm unfortunately well aware of this. Thankfully he hasn't given me the same fear of him blowing up everything yet. I'm hoping for several years of just ineptitude.
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Comment on American election mental health thread in ~health.mental
NonoAdomo LinkI barely got any sleep last night. At about 1130pm EST, I made the foolish decision to check progress. When I left off, things still felt close, but in hand. I saw how victory would be razor thin...I barely got any sleep last night. At about 1130pm EST, I made the foolish decision to check progress. When I left off, things still felt close, but in hand. I saw how victory would be razor thin and immediately got out of bed and set up camp on the couch so I didn't disturb my wife.
I already knew the answer.
For the first time in my life, I understood the desire to want to find a solution to your problems at the bottom of a bottle. I turned on a long twitch for noise and laid the phone down out of reach. I decided to use that as a distraction for my intense desire to chemically drown my sorrows.
I'm not well but I have a strong support from my wife. I live in Canada now as well, so I won't be in the middle of the shitstorm, but living next door to it instead. It is sad to see the country I want to be proud of go beyond being a laughing stock and jump head first into fascism.
The next few years are going to be awful in a way that I just don't know how to quantify yet and I don't know how to mentally cope with it right now.
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Comment on Why the US General in charge of nuclear weapons said he needs AI in ~tech
NonoAdomo Link ParentHaving worked in missile defense in the past, I can assure people that he's not looking to do anything new, he's looking to improve his agency's capabilities. The satellites see lots of data and...Having worked in missile defense in the past, I can assure people that he's not looking to do anything new, he's looking to improve his agency's capabilities. The satellites see lots of data and they are hoping to utilize the latest advancements in machine learning (colloquially known as AI) to speed up the analysis process.
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Comment on Crokinole, the greatest game you've never heard of in ~games.tabletop
NonoAdomo LinkI'm in the market for a quality crokinole board for my wife. She's canadian and loves the game and I want to get her one for Christmas. Preferably made in Canada, does anyone have any recommendations?I'm in the market for a quality crokinole board for my wife. She's canadian and loves the game and I want to get her one for Christmas. Preferably made in Canada, does anyone have any recommendations?
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
NonoAdomo Link ParentYou never truly miss out on the good stuff, it's just stuff you haven't seen yet! I do look forward to your experience and how you grow as a fan.- Exemplary
You never truly miss out on the good stuff, it's just stuff you haven't seen yet! I do look forward to your experience and how you grow as a fan.
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Comment on PocketPlay phone case in ~games
NonoAdomo Link ParentSame here. I love my S23 Ultra, great for emulating touch centric DS games. I just want a manageable controller to clip to it to play just about anything.Same here. I love my S23 Ultra, great for emulating touch centric DS games. I just want a manageable controller to clip to it to play just about anything.
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Comment on Thoughts on the friendzone in ~life
NonoAdomo Link ParentIf I were to give my younger self some advice, it's that you can't be trying to make friends for a goal of anything besides having social contact. You don't need to evaluate individuals on their...If I were to give my younger self some advice, it's that you can't be trying to make friends for a goal of anything besides having social contact. You don't need to evaluate individuals on their compatibility with you for intimacy at all times. It's OKAY to be just friends with people.
That's where I think people who complain about the friend zone struggle. They see friendship as a required stepping stone to an intimate relationship. They treat it like a dating sim where the end result if you work hard enough and say the right things and bring the right gifts, then you are owed an intimate relationship and that's just not the right way of doing it.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
NonoAdomo LinkI've been busy moving to a new home this past month, so I haven't had much time to have a discussion here so I'll give an update on some recent things I've been partaking in: Nichijou is a comedy...I've been busy moving to a new home this past month, so I haven't had much time to have a discussion here so I'll give an update on some recent things I've been partaking in:
Nichijou is a comedy that's basically the spiritual successor to Azumanga Daioh. I've been wanting to watch it for ages, but every time I do, something conspires to get in the way and I had never finished it until now. It's the show that has the famous deer suplex scene, it's one of my favorites from the series. It starts slow, with some disjointed bizarre comedy as it introduces the characters, but it's still good. By the time it hits mid-series, (~10 episodes in) it has built enough continuity to build off of the smaller, easier jokes it made in the series. In a wild snowball effect, I felt myself enjoying it more and more as it went on, when shows like this tend to overstay it's welcome. I'd put it up next to Azumanga as paragons of it's unique genre that few IPs have come close to rivaling.
Speaking of rivaling, My Deer Friend Noko-tan was really bizarre and fun out the gates, but either there's some really subtle wordplay in the Japanese that I'm missing or it's just not landing the way I hoped it would. It has a few good gags, but overall I felt wanting, especially after having just finished the enjoyable journey that was Nichijou. I may try to finish it later, but I've shelved it for now. Maybe I just need more time to separate from a better experience.
March Comes in Like a Lion has been an excellent drama that captures the life of a young professional shogi player as he pulls himself out of the depressive void that he had been existing in and learns to interact with the world and find meaning in what he does. Trying to avoid spoilers, but it's been a wonderful ride that I haven't had since shows like Your Lie in April or Barakamon. The character designs are so evocative, that even in the opening scene you quickly can read their emotions in a way that wants to use your emotions like a speedbag. If you want to a good character driven drama, you'll find this one more than enough to meet your needs.
While my wife and I wait for the Haikyu!! movie to finally come out somewhere we can watch it (legally) we still crave that quality sports anime. We stumbled on Yowamushi Pedal: Grande Road from 2013 which features this happy-go-lucky, first year highschooler, Onoda, who travels everywhere on his bike. He does so to save money so he can spend it on his anime stuff and this causes him to travel large distances. When he turns up to school one day, he goes up the more difficult, steeper back hill so he can sing his anime theme songs without judgement since nobody else is around. He's so good at it, he catches the eye of the cycling team and that's how we get an adorable little anime nerd pedaling with a whole host of talented young cyclists. The animation is simple, but what else do you expect when the major action is the repetitive motion of cycling. What sells it is the execution. Like Haikyu!!, you slowly grow to love and appreciate (most of) the characters, even if they are on rival teams. It's an excellent show to watch if you can't pay full attention, like cooking or doing chores, but still want something interesting to follow. Definitely a recommend from me.
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Comment on Metaphor: ReFantazio reviews in ~games
NonoAdomo Link ParentI have to figure out how to fit Factorio - Space Age in this mix as well. It's going to be a busy gaming season for all of us.I have to figure out how to fit Factorio - Space Age in this mix as well. It's going to be a busy gaming season for all of us.
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Comment on Magic the Gathering: On the future of Commander in ~games.tabletop
NonoAdomo LinkWell, I hope the people who acted awful and prompted this decision are happy, because if I were still an active player I would sure as hell not. I'll hide my reminiscing and rose tinted glasses...Well, I hope the people who acted awful and prompted this decision are happy, because if I were still an active player I would sure as hell not.
I'll hide my reminiscing and rose tinted glasses about Commander in here.
Back in the day, Commander (then Elder Dragon Highlander, or EDH) was just a causal format to sling around weird and interesting decks and have fun with your friends. It was (and still is) the only really enjoyable form of multiplayer for M:tG I've ever played. I remember playing over 10 years ago, and I looked forward to building new and fun decks with cards that were not typically played, but interesting to use.But then WotC started slowly catering directly to the market. The precons started coming out, and they started directly shaping Commander as well as legacy formats inadvertently. It didn't take long for the speculative market to catch on that cards like True Name Nemesis were really damn strong in Legacy and they started aggressively buying up the precons and rocketing the price. (whoops.) Every year after that, they progressively started adding more cards as throwing a bone to Commander players, as well as making themed precons. At first, it was easy to appreciate that they were caring about their community but for me, it didn't take long to realize that "Oh no, this is quickly going to get out of hand into a format that is heavily reliant on getting these specialized cards"
I hate it when I'm right. It quickly became a chore to keep my commander decks up to date, as every time you turned around there was a new "Perfect card for your needs" that showed up. You paid money to obtain it and update, or you just got left behind by people who kept their "casual" decks cutting edge and upgrading them. This frustrated me and, combined with the increasingly non-casual nature of the players around me, I quickly drifted away from the format.
The one thing that held true through for me in all of this is that the rules committee was not with WotC and their "recommendations" of a banned list was always built with concern for the concept of "fun". Their rules and banned list were there, from day 1, as a framework and not the gospel. In their FAQ (Linked here) they frequently speak about how the rules can be tailored to your playgroup's needs, but this should be the starting point. Want to play commander with some broken, otherwise banned cards? Go for it. Does your play group have a different interpretation of the planeswalker as commander rule or how to handle Hybrid mana? Go for it. You guys have fun. I love this philosophy up to the point where two people of different groups need a common language to speak. Then there's only one place for them to go: the common rules. Now there's a strong reliance on this pillar to perform well to keep the format stable and I'll give them credit: They did this well for a long time.
This was a disaster that was waiting to happen with Jeweled Lotus.
- The card was from a (relatively) small print run, meaning there wasn't lots of supply around
- It was really good, meaning there was a super high demand. If you didn't use it, you could fall behind your opponents who did.
- It was purpose built for commander. If it wasn't good there, it literally could not be played anywhere else for any reason.
This set the price sky high, and made everyone protective of their investment. If you touch it, people will get upset. Past bans always have a small vocal minority upset they spent money on cards that are now worthless, but most people just remind them "Buyer Beware" and move on. Most format bans result in a sigh of "Good riddance" with those who played the card saying "it was fun while it lasted" and everyone moves on (except for the Splinter Twin fans, I swear their dying breath will be "Unban twin")
Commander is different. You shape your deck yourself. I guess you could go to someplace like EDHRec.com and get decklists, but even then you still craft and shape the deck to your desires. You now spent ~50-100 USD on a card to keep up with the Joneses and now it's a worthless piece of cardboard. Everyone could just let their groups Rule Zero it back in and do what they wanted, but then you'd have endless fighting between the "pro-Lotus" camp and the "Rules as Written" camp. Knowing games, that would have been ugly so the "pro-Lotus" camp, wanting to protect their investments, went ahead and and acted like complete psychopaths by harassing and threatening the rules committee. I don't blame them for washing their hands of it. I would too. People get wild when their money or investments are involved.
Now WotC has it. They don't have the same independence and leeway as the commander rules committee had. They have pressures from the company, from the C-suite and a goal to make their sales go up. I'm sure the investment crowd will love this, as they continue to sink their money into their cardboard stocks. As someone who just likes games to be fun? I hate it. Much like I've hated most of the decisions made since just before the pandemic. Clearly I'm not their target audience, so I'll just slowly sell my extra magic stuff as I drift farther and farther away with no intention of going back anytime soon.
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Comment on Magic: The Gathering ban and restricted announcement in ~games.tabletop
NonoAdomo Link ParentThis is correct, WOTC just helps amplify the signal to those who don't follow the commander rules committeeThis is correct, WOTC just helps amplify the signal to those who don't follow the commander rules committee
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
NonoAdomo LinkThe reason why Bubblegum Crash seems so odd is that the two studio entities that worked together on Crisi had split between Crisis and Crash, taking the talent in two directions. I do remember...The reason why Bubblegum Crash seems so odd is that the two studio entities that worked together on Crisi had split between Crisis and Crash, taking the talent in two directions.
I do remember liking the crisis reboot, 2040. It has been many years since I've seen it, but I do remember it leaving a good impression on me.
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Comment on Helldivers 2's crucial 01.001.100 update completely reworks weapons, adds new Galactic War feature, and changes much more in bid to make the game easier in ~games
NonoAdomo LinkI disagree with the assertion that they are "making the game easier." It's an argument that completely ignores the primary reason for these changes: the nerfing and tweaking of weapons and...I disagree with the assertion that they are "making the game easier." It's an argument that completely ignores the primary reason for these changes: the nerfing and tweaking of weapons and strategems took away the fun. It drastically limited the toolkit at the players disposal and made them play in ways that they weren't interested in playing.
I haven't gotten to play lately, but based on how the game played when I last got the chance, it was in dire need of this course correction. It wasn't fun being constantly overrun with Chargers with no way of dealing with them, nor was it exciting to have bots seige your team with infinite rocket ammo.
These fixes are a welcome step in the right direction. Games like this should make players feel powerful against overwhelming odds. I fully support this direction of development.
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Comment on How should you prepare for the end of the honeymoon phase? in ~life
NonoAdomo LinkMy recommendation is communication. I was afraid like you of not feeling the head-over-heels, goofy grin love that you have right now. I was right, it did fade, but that wasn't a bad thing. We...My recommendation is communication. I was afraid like you of not feeling the head-over-heels, goofy grin love that you have right now. I was right, it did fade, but that wasn't a bad thing. We found a routine of what makes us both happy and how to deescalate when stress takes its toll (or lack of food)
All of this comes from open communication. Leave as little as possible to assumptions, as knowing what your other half thinks on important relationship matters not only level sets expectations, but also allows for them to feel like you care about their opinions and feelings ( to which I assume you do)
Finally: even after the new relationship boost wears off, don't forget to nurture and maintain the bond though small acts of affection. Physical contact, affirmations, small gifts (favorite foods, small flowers, things that make them smile) are always important. Don't drown them in affection, just do enough to remind them they are loved. Also, don't neglect date night. Even after you've been together years, setting aside time for the two of you to go out on a date helps. I stand by the idea of date night and have found it a huge boon to my marriage. I encourage anyone reading this that's in a relationship to try it out and see the results!
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
NonoAdomo LinkThe wife and I have been churning through a batch of shows lately The Royal Tutor was a surprisingly balanced and good story for what it was. The premise is: A king of a vaguely prussian territory...The wife and I have been churning through a batch of shows lately
The Royal Tutor was a surprisingly balanced and good story for what it was. The premise is: A king of a vaguely prussian territory is worried that if something happens to his eldest son, the none of the 4 younger boys would be suitable for the throne. They've all been very antagonistic to any tutors that come along, until the story's tutor arrives and begins the process of shaping them from spoiled, self-centered children to young men who are worthy of the throne. It's a sweet and charming show of helping people become better people with character growth as it's centerpiece. I would give this one a 7.5/10. A relatively low budget show, but incredibly well executed.
Brave Bang Bravern is... a show. Really good, but requires a really REALLY specific mood or acceptance criteria. This show is a mecha anime about earth being invaded by aliens, and their only hope for survival is the mysterious mecha Bravern showing up to save the day. If I were to describe this show without revealing too much: It's a B-tier Gurren Lagaan. It takes itself seriously and plays silly at the same time. It's the most absurd anime I've watched since Golden Kamuy (which is a 10/10 recommend from me, btw). This show is a 7/10 in my book. Another B tier show that over performs it's budget. It's not winning any awards, but I think it's well worth the watch.
Tower of God is starting it's second season right now, but before my wife and I jump into it, we're going to rewatch the first. We spent some time last night going through the first three episodes and are reminded just how good and interesting this show is. The premise is: There exists a tower for which anyone who can reach the top will be able to fulfill their wishes, essentially becoming god (hence the name). Enter our protangist, a young boy named Bam who wishes to climb the tower just so he could see his friend, Rachel, again. Rachel left to climb the tower and Bam (Bless his pure and innocent soul) wants to climb it to follow in her footsteps. Along the way there are many perilous trials that have each candidate risking life and limb to progress to the next floor. With an incredibly diverse cast of characters and a slew of interesting plot twists, this show delivers well on an engaging story. I would give this one a 9/10, highly recommend if you haven't seen it.
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Comment on What is your favorite Final Fantasy game? in ~games
NonoAdomo (edited )LinkFinal Fantasy XIV, and it's no contest. I feel like everyone who likes it has a story on how it changed their lives in some way, shape or form. I'd like to take a moment for myself here and just...- Exemplary
Final Fantasy XIV, and it's no contest. I feel like everyone who likes it has a story on how it changed their lives in some way, shape or form. I'd like to take a moment for myself here and just go over how it changed my life for me.
I have always been someone who makes more friends online than in the real world. Growing up in the middle of nowhere with nobody your age around you puts you in a position to seek those bonds elsewhere. I tried with the online group I was rolling with at the time to play FFXI (the first MMO) and found that I was late to the party. For those who don't know, FFXI was horribly grindy in the early gen MMO way. It would take ages to go anywhere or do anything. Leveling was an atrociously long affair. I have yet to play another game that even comes close to the amount of effort it took to do that. I stuck around as long as I did because of friends, but after a while I realized I was just going from killing enemies in the dunes to killing enemies in the forest. Standing in a corner and just beating the hell out of digital mobs for pocket change levels of XP just wore away. It was around this time they announced that that FFXIV was in development. I knew my experience in FFXI, and I knew I wanted to get in on the ground floor to get the most of it.
I built myself a new computer around this time, knowing that there was a graphical improvement from FFXI's PS2 era graphics. Eventually FFXIV came out into public beta testing and I was there. I wanted to be a part of that first wave! For those who don't know, this was is referred to as: FFXIV 1.0. This was also a game that was an abject failure by all accounts. It was super confusing to navigate due to the vast distances between places and littered with unnecessary daily and weekly caps because of a very prominent Japanese fear at the time of people turning into Hikikimori, or shut ins who just isolated themselves and played video games without a lick of real person-to-person interaction. Needless to say, many people (including myself) bounced off of it fast. It was REALLY pretty though (for it's time).
Eventually, they replaced the Director with (the now legendary) Yoshi-P who took one look at the situation and made the bold move of just resetting the game. For those who don't know, they had a whole narrative event where the lesser moon Dalamud just crept closer and closer to the word, Majora's Mask style where eventually broke open, had a demi-god pop out of it and essentially destroy the world with an epic cutscene. A few years later, the team had rebuilt the game as FFXIV: A Realm Reborn and I was back in on the public alpha and beta.
FFXIV ARR was awesome. An absolute night and day difference that scratched that itch of MMO that nothing had been able to successfully do in a long time. It was a big enough release that even some of the fellow gamer nerds at my office were eager to get in on it. I joined them, and we started a Free Company. It was exciting, and it was tons of fun. We met others in the game who joined our FC and made a big, happy online family that worked hard to beat the game's hardest challenges. My office friends eventually drifted away, but I stayed with the game. I made plenty of lifelong friends and also met my wife (we've been married for 6 years now) and even have moved from the US to Canada to be with her. This game literally changed my life in ways that I couldn't imagine. For this I will always be thankful. My user name online is now just my FFXIV character name, as it's the first time in my many years online that I feel that I have a name that actually fits me and who I am.
Obviously, if you're wondering what this game is like for you, someone who just wants to play an interesting game, I would highly recommend this one. Think of this game as a long JRPG with a heavy multiplayer focus. Multiplayer is not required, as they have added tons of solo play NPCs that can help, but honestly I recommend leaning into it. Overall the community is full of helpful people who just want to enjoy themselves as well, so your negative interactions will honestly be minimal compared to other online multiplayer games.
Each major expansion is essentially a whole JRPGs worth of content, full of story, cutscenes and locations to visit. Honestly, if I were to recommend this game (which I do), I wouldn't sell it as a game, but as a high quality story. It's like trying to convince someone to read your favorite fantasy novel series. Yes, it's going to take you a while to get through it, but the journey is so worthwhile. The emotional highs and lows, the visual designs of the world, the ambiance of the music... it all comes together in a way that, after Shadowbringers, solidified it as the best Final Fantasy story for me. I don't think my opinion will ever change, honestly. (Emet-Selch is the best FF antagonist, Sephiroth is a chump in comparison) Finishing the primary story arc in Endwalker, I felt an incredibly satisfying conclusion to a story that took nearly a decade of my life to finish and I implore anyone else interested to try.
I haven't tried Dawntrail yet. I think my wife and I are going to wait a bit before we do. In our depths of FFXIV adventures, quite a few other games have built up that we wish to play and we have to chisel through our backlog more before we head back into FFXIV for a brand new adventure.
I am still slowly building and expanding my factory in Factorio. I haven't even left the planet yet, as I want to feel that Nauvis is not pulled together with Bubblegum and duct tape and will fall apart the second I leave. To accomplish this, I decided to build a train focused base and I am quite enjoying the QoL on train logistics (interrupts make me so happy)
Someday I'll move on to other planets, but i only get roughly 2 hour sessions and i genuinely enjoy building this stability first. It's comforting.
My wife has been playing the Dragon Quest 3 HD2D remake. It looks great and she's been having a blast.
We also have been playing the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC. Both parts have been quite fun, and it's good to get that pokemon fix from time to time. I honestly think as a long time fan, most of the criticism of the series as of late is overblown and borderline hyperbolic. The games are still good, they just aren't what you need right now.