The_Schield's recent activity

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

    The_Schield
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    AC Valhalla I'm a Viking. I loot, I raid, I play dice. Beautiful to look at. Fun to kill in.

    AC Valhalla

    I'm a Viking. I loot, I raid, I play dice.

    Beautiful to look at. Fun to kill in.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on What is your dream game? in ~games

    The_Schield
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    As a child, I longed for a first person Pokemon. I didn't know how game designed worked, so I'm not sure how that would be translated today. Crawling thru grass and random chance encounters just...

    As a child, I longed for a first person Pokemon. I didn't know how game designed worked, so I'm not sure how that would be translated today. Crawling thru grass and random chance encounters just seems to get cheesy the more realistic it gets.

    4 votes

  3. Comment on Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ finally breaks Mariah Carey’s all-time record for weeks at US no. 1, eclipsing ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ in ~music

    The_Schield
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    I work at a credit union and it plays every hour. I imagine the all radio plays at my one credit union would explain the chart topping, but it's clearly playing on the public radio at every other...

    I work at a credit union and it plays every hour.

    I imagine the all radio plays at my one credit union would explain the chart topping, but it's clearly playing on the public radio at every other public junction like mine.

    I'm the same way though, just a country hit that came from nowhere and didn't notice it until it was already a part of my every day.

    3 votes

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

    The_Schield
    (edited )
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    Assasins Creed Valhalla I am pretty engrossed in right now. Eivor the male protagonist, portrayed by Magnus Bruun, feels a lot closer to Geralt of Rivia than I expected. He's smart and eloquent...

    Assasins Creed Valhalla I am pretty engrossed in right now.

    Eivor the male protagonist, portrayed by Magnus Bruun, feels a lot closer to Geralt of Rivia than I expected. He's smart and eloquent and courageous. There is a much different vibe to this game than previous ones.

    The HUD was reduced from Oddysey and no longer feels like I'm looking at a cockpit.

    The villages and monasteries look and feel different from each other, less like copy/pasted Greek communes.

    The design of the game tries to keep you in one region but it is not at all required. I felt in oddysey there was like "go, explore all of Greece!" But this game learned that is painfully daunting, and you can enter into "pledges" at your base camp to complete a set of story quests in one region first before moving onto the next.

    The old English spoken by anglo Saxons is fun.

    Vikings are just so much more interesting than ancient greece, and despite the cool sequences in oddysey with Medusa and fire trolls and minotaurs it just felt stiff compared to how breathable Valhalla is.

    A few tweaks make this game a little more engaging:

    • I can't craft or auto craft arrows, you have to reclaim from bodies or pick up from stumps or ammo cases. Which also means you aren't scowering the open world for iron or wood all the time either like in oddysey. If I run out of arrows, well I'll have to adapt. And that's cool.

    • Forts contain wealth and gear and ability books but clearing the fort of every loot and enemy is not some pop up objective tied to the big XP payout. It was kind of automatic to me in Oddysey to go for any fort and 100% it for the XP it would give. But then I'm spending so much time on one fort and the game becomes a fort simulator. Valhalla let's you spot the wealth/spots of interest, sneak or massacre your way there and then leave without a threat of XP FOMO.

    • Side missions: these are a lot more like stranger missions in GTA, honestly. They're written so affable and native to the world. And maybe it's the navigation settings I have saved, but the side missions keep their waypoints very minimal, which means if I look away and the npc I was supposed to follow walks off, then I genuinely won't know where to go and it's like the world continues on. Granted, they'll return to start over if you leave without completing the "world event" but there is a lack of handholding that feels so tight, so refreshing.

    Also it has a bureau featuring actual assassins and I'm looking forward to how these factions intertwine. Edit: how the Assasins story and the volatile story happening under the Vikings intertwines, that is.

  5. Comment on Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore in ~music

    The_Schield
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    Robert Kraft was like "yeah macklemore can't play here because he's just like harshing the vibe of what concerts should be." /s For sure. I consume art to feel, I don't go to the 3hr Art Making...

    Robert Kraft was like "yeah macklemore can't play here because he's just like harshing the vibe of what concerts should be." /s

    For sure. I consume art to feel, I don't go to the 3hr Art Making Arena and lose all my vibes when someone gives a speech about something I'm also passionate for, or says simply "free Palestine"

    5 votes

  6. Comment on Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore in ~music

    The_Schield
    (edited )
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    I feel a little disheartened at the discourse of genocide being labeled as an "issue" that can be shoved down our throats like it's a matriarch incessantly asking for grandchildren and not a...

    I feel a little disheartened at the discourse of genocide being labeled as an "issue" that can be shoved down our throats like it's a matriarch incessantly asking for grandchildren and not a burning moral decay in our system of capital. We cant just say "don't do this" - it's thorn in the side of people unaffected, and it "makes me feel bad or something". Edit:
    And then the sentiment is that it is shoved down our throats, our nihilism and egos try and hide us from the feeling that we all go to bed at night knowing more could always be done. (End edit)

    But I honestly never feel more like a seen and loved child of the universe than when I see a justified moral decision openly made in service of others. It doesn't give me fatigue to see justice be done.

    Perhaps I don't see standing for Palestine as political, but I see removing an artist for standing for it as political, and funnily enough I don't get fatigued by this, I get angry.

    34 votes

  7. Comment on In search of the hypothetical iPhone Duo buyer in ~tech

    The_Schield
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    I think a lot of people are waiting to see if a foldable phone is doable after Samsung. But I honestly think this phone is kind of like a bread and circus moment in relation to apple watches now...

    I think a lot of people are waiting to see if a foldable phone is doable after Samsung.

    But I honestly think this phone is kind of like a bread and circus moment in relation to apple watches now listening in to transcribe your real time conversations

    https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/audio-intelligence-apple-watch/

    6 votes

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

    The_Schield
    Link Parent
    I did not even try to start the Atlantis DLC. I felt I had seen all I needed to and the Greek myths in the original release were enough for me. I think I'm okay with certain holes in the story so...

    I did not even try to start the Atlantis DLC. I felt I had seen all I needed to and the Greek myths in the original release were enough for me.

    I think I'm okay with certain holes in the story so if I need more backstory I'll look it up. Valhalla might get to more modern day stuff, but for now I'm content in the past.

    That's good to know though - I looked up the release dates of the latest games and was pleased that I had played them in the right order on accident - Origins, Oddysey, now Valhalla - then Mirage, then Shadows

    1 vote

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

    The_Schield
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    I finally beat the main story of AC Oddysey - I think it's the second game that uses its redesigned fort infiltrator mechanic. I found it declined in quality from AC Origins, which felt like a...

    I finally beat the main story of AC Oddysey - I think it's the second game that uses its redesigned fort infiltrator mechanic.

    I found it declined in quality from AC Origins, which felt like a fort infiltrator simulator with a good story, AC Oddysey tried to make its story into a telltale games design with the same fort simulator style and the story suffered for it.

    I'm playing AC Valhalla right now, only about 6 hours in but I think I do love it more than Oddysey already, perhaps simply because there are actual Assasins in it, or perhaps it doesn't run like an old jalopy because it's not supporting the weight of a vast Greek world with nothing but forts on it.

    I'm looking forward to AC Shadows though, especially after Valhalla

  10. Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv

    The_Schield
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    Some absolutely legendary moments that still come to me and make me laugh. One of my favorites was the prop based game where each player holds an item and has to do an impression tied to that...

    Some absolutely legendary moments that still come to me and make me laugh.

    One of my favorites was the prop based game where each player holds an item and has to do an impression tied to that item, so like a flashlight would mean Scooby Doo, a map would be John Wayne, and a scarf would be elvis.

    I can't remember exactly how it happened, but at one point Collin hands Ryan Stiles both the flashlight and the map and Ryan combines his impressions of Scooby Doo and John Wayne.

    One of the funniest things I've seen in my life, bar none

    4 votes

  11. Comment on What's a show you love that's from before your time? in ~tv

    The_Schield
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    Whose Line Is It Anyway is kinda recent in comparison, but it'll always be close to my heart, I think

    Whose Line Is It Anyway is kinda recent in comparison, but it'll always be close to my heart, I think

    15 votes

  12. Comment on What made that wedding that you attended particularly memorable? in ~life

    The_Schield
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    Some friends of mine from high school who were high school sweethearts and never split up were/are big fans of game of thrones. Me too! We all 3 obsessed over fan theory videos and what might...

    Some friends of mine from high school who were high school sweethearts and never split up were/are big fans of game of thrones. Me too! We all 3 obsessed over fan theory videos and what might happen next.

    Well, a few years later, they had a 1920s themed wedding where the wedding party dressed in old fedoras, flappers costumes, black fishnets, and pocket watches.

    And when the party came out, they came out to AC/DC's Thunderstruck.

    And when the bride and groom finished their vows, they did the couple's pledge from George R R Martin's hit series Game of Thrones:

    "Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers/his, and s/he is mine, from this day, until the end of my days."

    It was a tough time to put on a straight face. But ultimately I've settled on letting love be love.

    They also named their child after one of the direwolves, Nymera

    :]

    3 votes

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

    The_Schield
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    Still on Assassin's Creed Odyssey Send help. Lord knows if I'll ever find myself finished

    Still on Assassin's Creed Odyssey

    Send help. Lord knows if I'll ever find myself finished

    1 vote

  14. Comment on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ snags no. 2 with $15.4m as ‘Spider-Man’ nears ‘Avatar 2’; ‘Dog Stars’ put to sleep in ~movies

    The_Schield
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    Lmao, imagine an M rated Bugs Bunny, like a 'Deadpool' equivalent where he is put in culturally relevant situations and bites hard with his commentary and visuals. Imagine a quick jump cut of Bugs...

    Lmao, imagine an M rated Bugs Bunny, like a 'Deadpool' equivalent where he is put in culturally relevant situations and bites hard with his commentary and visuals.

    Imagine a quick jump cut of Bugs pretending to be a mummified Mitch McConnell.

    Why am I trying to extract content from Bugs Bunny in a Monday morning?

    Dear diary...

    10 votes

  15. Comment on Death toll rises in Nepal-China border disaster as a lake poses new flood threat in ~enviro

    The_Schield
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    KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety Friday, as Nepal and China raced to respond to catastrophic flash floods that killed more than 500 people and left more than 1,500 missing.

    Rescue teams were put on high alert for more flooding from a new lake that has formed high up on the Himalayan mountains after the initial floods on Wednesday. Experts warn that the lake, formed after the glacier collapse that triggered the floods, was starting to overflow.

    The floods have killed 538 in Nepal, the country’s disaster management authority said Friday. Nepali police later put the number of deaths higher at 547. There was little information on survivors on the Chinese side, where the death toll rose to five Friday as state media showed evacuations of villages and leaders’ efforts to direct the relief response.

    More than 3,700 people have been rescued in Nepal so far, but 977 people remain unaccounted for in the country. China’s state media previously said 558 people were missing on the Chinese side. Hundreds of the missing are foreigners in the area to work, trek or make a pilgrimage to a sacred peak.

    Authorities warn of further flooding from a new lake
    Nepali police issued a fresh alert Friday after receiving information that a dam on the Tibet side has burst. Security personnel and rescue and relief workers were told to stay on high alert and immediately move to a safe location if necessary.

    It is unclear if the dam bursting is related to flooding concerns over a barrier lake that formed after the initial flash floods. Chinese broadcaster CCTV said the newly-formed lake, located more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Gyirong Port, the hard-hit border crossing with Nepal, sits at an elevation of 2,950 meters (9,680 feet.)

    Nepali and Chinese authorities earlier warned of further flooding from the barrier lake, which was already overflowing. Rescue workers heading to the disaster zone were ordered to stop temporarily Friday morning due to concern the lake would release more torrents of water and debris, and people in potentially affected areas were urged move to safer ground.

    6 votes

  17. Comment on How rigid/fluid is your LGBT identity? in ~lgbt

    The_Schield
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    I feel a bit like your cis straight counterpart. A few of the men in my life have my heart in ways that I would appreciate a happily ever after, and I've also wondered if I've repressed that side...

    I feel a bit like your cis straight counterpart.

    A few of the men in my life have my heart in ways that I would appreciate a happily ever after, and I've also wondered if I've repressed that side due to norms and habituations, but I can't help but shake the scents and hairstyles and sensitivities of women and how they light my fire.

    I also like to paint my nails, have picked up sewing, and consciously avoid masculine centered interests like sports or cars.

    But I also think I'm in the eternal dance of trying to intellectualize what a feeling is rather than just experiencing it fully.

    Sudden tangent that I decided to keep in this comment rather than move to my journal:

    I think ultimately I just love how thoughtful and curious I am in my 30s because this life has shown me enough to warrant a desire to retreat, but still I persist.

    21 votes

  18. Comment on Tim Curry, outlandish star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80 in ~movies

  19. Comment on Tim Curry, outlandish star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80 in ~movies

    The_Schield
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    Makes giddy to think about... Man how fucked up is that, lmfao

    Makes giddy to think about...

    Man how fucked up is that, lmfao

    3 votes

  20. Comment on Tim Curry, outlandish star of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show,’ dies at 80 in ~movies

    The_Schield
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    Hayden Panettiere Dolly Parton Tim Curry The rule of 3's is crazy. Hopefully it won't take anymore. I mean unless fate wants to do a rule of 3's on a certain government roster or something

    Hayden Panettiere

    Dolly Parton

    Tim Curry

    The rule of 3's is crazy. Hopefully it won't take anymore.

    I mean unless fate wants to do a rule of 3's on a certain government roster or something

    20 votes