all made up with nowhere to go

1. I learnt to make home-made oven chips after seeing my sister-in-law make some at Easter. They're so bloody easy (although a little bit time consuming) that I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Also they're reasonably close to chippy chips*, although not quite, as they haven't been flash cooked in oil.

*I realise this descriptor likely means nothing if you don't live in the UK. Sorry.

2. I bought Loop Hero because it was on sale on Steam, and I feel horrible right now. I played two hours of it yesterday, and had a great time! Although it makes my computer run hot (whoever thought putting the fan on the underneath of this thing was a good idea was WAY wrong), but that could've been because I was sitting in bed with a duvet underneath it? *shrugs*

3. relatedly: I am rapidly losing interest in Slay the Spire.

I read some Steam reviews of Loop Hero, and one was all, "THIS GAME IS TOO SAMEY!!!1!!!" and then I went and played StS, and realised that it is extremely samey, even though there is the random element to the game in what relics and cards you get. Whereas with Loop Hero, you can at least mix stuff up a bit more in what cards you unlock and are using. I dunno, I might change my mind in a week or so on that, who knows?

4. I got my new glasses, and now my bank account is sad :(

It is nice to be able to see properly but OMG I wish there were more financial help for people with vision problems. And, although I am currently saying this from a selfish place, I wish it were true regardless.

5. I don't have a #5, but five things make a list, right?

I was watching this video about shameless video game ripoffs from Outside Xbox, and Jane, in her infinite wisdom (assuming she wrote this part of the script), came up with the exact description for how I feel about FFXV:

"2013's Unearthed: Trail of Ibn Battuta, to give it its full name, is an action adventure game that resembles Uncharted in the same way that a Wish prom dress resembles the dress in the photo when you ordered it online. Which is to say that it's a massive letdown, has pretty much all the recognisable parts of the thing it's trying to imitate, but each part is, in its own way, much worse."

Yes, she is (obviously) talking about a different game here, and that description feels a little harsh vis-a-vis FFXV now I write it out, but that's still kind of how it feels to me. I wanted a Final Fantasy and got some half-finished nonsense instead. Which isn't to say I haven't enjoyed parts of it, because I have. I wouldn't still be going back to it and attempting to finish it if I hadn't, but the fact that I am at the end, and there is still so much missing from it feels horrible.

On the other hand, Jane and Ellen referencing Ignis' cooking skills in the Animal Crossing update stream made me grin, because I had the same thought.

Again, massive apologies if anyone reading this likes FFXV. As we have already established, I am old and bitter. I also have never had a reaction like this to a mainline game, even the ones I actually dislike. I am one of those people who doesn't really understand why everyone seems to have such visceral reactions to each new instalment. Until now, I guess!

There are things I like about it! I promise! I love the landscapes, and the soundtrack (when I can hear it. I had to turn the music down to hear the dialogue, but now I can't hear the music properly, sighs). I like the item harvesting. The monster design is interesting! (Although Bahamut's design is firmly in uncanny valley for me, esp because you have to spend so long looking at his face). I like driving. I like the weather effects.

But there are way more things I didn't like. Basic things like looking for items being a pixel hunt a lot of the time (and why don't all the things have markers? If they can do it for treasure, why not everything?) And the same with interacting with NPCs, especially if they also have a quest as well as normal dialogue! You should have had the option to click through and get a choice for what you wanted to talk about. They could do it for other options, so IDK why not implement it there also. The run and walk cycles are HORRIBLE, as are the interaction/collision physics. I felt like walking past/into people was like playing one of those games were the physics are ridiculous on purpose.

(I firmly believe some of it is down to directors being changed, and the FNC ties being made less apparent that hurt it, and that's why the story is a mess, but it doesn't explain the interface problems or anything else).

To maybe(?) make things up to you for being such a whiner lately, here's a link to an unpopular opinions thread on the FF games on Reddit, but I honestly don't see how most of these are unpopular! Which is why I'm linking it, as the top comments are positive things about the series that I absolutely agree with!

~

In other, less game related ranting news, I made baked ziti for the first time ever yesterday! Well, baked penne, since I've never seen ziti, let alone heard of it until a couple of y'all mentioned it.

Anyway, it was really good! Part of that was probably down to using a premade sauce rather than making my own, but I really enjoyed it. I didn't have the right types of cheeses, but I wasn't that bothered (I'll eat cheddar cheese on p much anything).

I would definitely make it again, and it was a lot easier than I was expecting! Which is always good!

It is drizzling outside, and boy am I glad. We've just had three days of +25°C weather and nope. DO NOT WANT.

Thankfully, it is not going to be that hot again for a good while (I'd like to say "ever again this year" but given we had a 33° spike last summer, I'm not holding out any hope).

~

Stream: Outside Xbox and (some of) Dicebreaker play Werewolf! (no, not That One). I'm linking this mainly because it's daft a f, and maybe it might cheer you up if you're in need of a laugh.

Apparently there's going to be a second part?? Which will hopefully be as ridiculous.

~

I baked a cake! Peach and white chocolate, following a recipe by Jack Monroe. All the fruit and the chocolate sank to the bottom, because that's what happens with me and cakes, but it turned out all right! I might cook the next attempt for less time, however (it came out a bit burnt in places).

I've been eating it with ice cream, which was a suggestion from hmpf, and it was a Very Good One.

~

I'm still playing FFV - I'm just about to go to the Library of the Ancients, I think? I haven't really switched up anyone's jobs because I agonise about what to choose, but also remember the first time I played where, as soon as I could, I made everyone a Samurai and cheesed as much as possible with Zeninage. Which I only did because I used to not fight everything that came along, and subsequently be underlevelled, but then also didn't want to grind because it's boring.

(I'm glad my outlook on that has changed to some degree, although I still find grinding boring, but I will try to fight everything if I can).

~

Also still reading Robin Hobb! I'm about a quarter of the way through Assassin's Quest, and it's taken me forever to get this far. Not because it's a bad book (it isn't! I just read a really interesting bit!) but because right now I'm only reading a chapter a day.

I thought that, after finishing this one, I'd read a different book instead of diving straight into the Liveships trilogy. I think that's the best, and I think that's part of my problem here, is that I shouldn't have done all three in row, even though I've done that with other trilogies recently.

(That said, I have no qualms with what's happened in Assassin's Quest so far, as it doesn't seem to have dragged, even though it's covered 200+ pages. Though I did think it would be weird if a certain thing happened this near the start of the book, rather than closer to the end, where it would make more narrative sense).

Stream:

Jane plays Two Point Hospital - Making People Happy?!

I'm making a bingo card off the back of one of the comments I saw in the chat, and I think Jane must have also seen it, because she mentions TPH Bingo a couple of times.

~

I've spent most of the weekend and yesterday playing OG FFVII. It turns out I did not quite finish the first disc, but I also was not very far from it (though I had to resort to a walkthrough to find out I needed to go to Bone Village, because I was at Gongaga, because that's where the plot dumps you, for reasons, I guess?)

And now I am at the Northern Crater! All I have to do is survive past Master Tonberries, etc., and figure out my way in, and then it's the final three bosses! And then maybe the final cutscenes and the credits, provided I don't screw up said boss fights hilariously!

I haven't been at this point in the game in likely a decade? (The last time I have a save file from is, according to my twitter, 2015, where I played for two hours and then gave up! And since I deleted my LJ, I have no other way of telling).

I'm actually surprised how much I remember, but I guess I played it a lot when I was really into it. Though I had forgotten Jenova's boss theme plays when you fight the final boss of disc two (makes sense in context) and that was cool because I got to bop along to it while fighting :D

~

Been doing some more baking!

Made some orange and cranberry cupcakes - they were a bit of a disappointment, as they didn't taste very orangey, and seemed to dry out very quickly.

Also made some lemon cupcakes, and they are better! Though next time I make them, I'm going to put less sugar (the recipe calls for almost 400g!!) because they came out FAR too sweet. Though they are lemony, but not lemony enough for my tastes! (also I need to remember to put less mix in each cupcake wrapper, as they almost all overflowed).

Next up is two banana breads, as I have enough soggy bananas for two. Although now I'm tempted to just make them into cupcakes, because I can freeze them individually, and I always struggle with cakes to get them to set in the middle properly. And cupcakes is basically cake mix but divided up.

I'm also going to make some savoury things - likely cheese straws and pasties, since it would be nice to be able to make things that aren't cakes.

Stream: Luke plays AC:NH - KK Slider Fest 2020

I didn't get a request in but KK started singing Mountain Song all by himself, which made me giddy.

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The cookies I made were okay! They came out HUEG, as I mentioned - about the size of ones you get from supermarkets, and they were quite soft, which was nice as my teeth are, well, my teeth*.

I am going to bake some basic bread rolls next, I think, because I've been wanting to do that for as long as I've been able to bake bread. And they don't require bread flour, which is good, because AFAIK there still isn't any, and I'm saving what I've got for either cinnamon rolls or iced fingers (still can't decide, might flip a coin).

~

Nicking ruuger's version of the Covid-19 meme, questions and answers behind the cut!

( Read more... )

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*I had a bout of sinusitis or whatever close to Easter and I think I've mentioned before that every time it happens now my teeth hurt! Which is wonderful, obviously.

I made a carrot cake the other day! It was a recipe specifically for a small cake, and it turned out pretty well! The only thing I'm not happy about is the slight aftertaste of bicarbonate of soda in it, and I think the only way I can fix this is self-raising flour, so I might do that next time I make it.

I am also going to make iced fingers because they are hands down one of my favourite things, and also some cinnamon rolls. And brownies and cookies, because they're always on my baking list.

I can't remember if I mentioned the cherry muffins I made, but they turned out great, although they could've used some extra flavouring besides vanilla essence.

~

I have had some thoughts about the Ivalice map! Originally, I was going to cross stitch it, because I'd seen all these awesome Mario overworld maps*, and because I was using the map from Tactics Advance which, of course, is already pixels. And also I have a mountain of evenweave, as noted before, to do it on (I even have a scroll frame I can sit it in, which is fortuitous).

HOWEVER. I am currently working on a not cross stitch embroidery, and I thought how about doing it that way? It means I don't have to cover every single part with thread (that map is A LOT of yellow, y'all) and also: I can put the locations where I had them in my completed playthrough** and I can put in the location names! (The default map picture that I have has no places, and it'd be such a pain in the arse figuring out how to get the place names on there. I'm sure it's doable, but I don't want to be the one to do it).

I'm kind of excited about this! I don't think I'll get to it any time soon, since I don't know that I have a piece of fabric large enough/the right colour for it, but it'll be fun to tinker with and set out, I think.

~

*I think I've seen some Zelda ones, too, but I couldn't swear to it.

**I know there's, like, an "ideal" way to do that but honestly I've never been arsed to do it.

# A week last Thursday, I went to pay off the last of the money owed to the funeral directors, and also I was able to pick up mum's ashes while I was there. I don't know where to put them, so since then they've been sitting on a side table in the living room. I will move them eventually.

# It was my nephew's birthday last weekend, and he is now SIX! SIX! When did that happen! He seemed to have a good day, and he always seemed happy enough when I spoke to him, so I really hope he did.

# I went to the doctor about my yucky joints, and said I had arthritis. When I said it was probably osteoarthritis, she countered with, "but that's an old person disease." Which. Yes, but also my family gets arthritis early (both my mum and gran did, so I'm not hopeful, and most of my joints have been shit for years). Anyway, she's referred me for some blood tests on Monday, which are going to check for infection markers, but also markers for rheumatoid arthritis. So I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

# I went on an impromptu shopping trip yesterday. It was mostly for boring things like cat food and socks, but it was also to get a t-shirt with glow in the dark skelly bones on! I'm actually wearing it today, so I will try to get a picture later on. I'm really glad I've got it, although I probably shouldn't have bought it because I need to save my money for things like heating and rent. And food.

# A couple of days ago, I finished the main quest in Oblivion! *strikes that from the list of games*

I am mainly "meh" about it, though the plot feels more coherent than Skyrim's (which feels like someone went, "hey you know what's cool? DRAGONS!" I mean, they're not wrong, but also yeah). I am narked that not more is made of the Dragonborn thing (apart from a thing that happens in the finale, which I won't mention because spoilers). I got a good scare in one of the dungeons, because it features zombies, and I didn't know what was coming. You can hear them attacking and eating other monsters! And they shuffle about when they don't know you're there, but as soon as you attack, they come running for you and oh jeebus that was unfun. I don't ever want to do that dungeon again, but I did feel that particularly worked for me.

Then again, I've had a spell for the entire game that forces the undead to run away for up to 25 seconds. And I forgot to use it versus both those zombies, and a dungeon full of vampires. So I suppose this is typical me-playing-a-vidya, huh?

Now I'm replaying Saints Row the Third for a bit, because I miss driving around a fictional city.

# OH AND! I did drawing for three days a in row after not doing any for two months. Which had upset me a lot, because I like making art. I actually considered giving up altogether, because I was feeling so negative about the whole thing. But I am trying not to! I only didn't do anything yesterday, because I decided to make brownies after I got in from my shopping trip (as you do) so then all of me was like, whoa, nelly, sit the heck down. So I did.

But yeah, you may recall I mentioned painting some time ago? Actually going to make a legit attempt to get back into that now I have the time and the space. Kind of nervous about it, weirdly, but at least I don't have to show anyone the results if I don't like them.

I don't really have much to say, because I'm mostly doing Things, am very tired, and am currently pining.

What I am posting this entry for is to say that I made pasta earlier, and made a sauce for it from bacon, mushrooms, cream cheese (full fat), and some garlic and HOLY MACARONI it was delicious. I think I made a bit too much of both the sauce and the pasta, as I couldn't finish it, but omfg 10/10 will be doing that again.

Also had a full-on Silent Hill related dream for the first time in years. I have no idea what my subconscious is trying to tell me with that.

I really ought to make myself some sort of cooking icon. Even though I talk about it infrequently.

I have been convinced for years that chocolate brownies were difficult to make. I made some a couple of days ago, convinced I was going to mess them up BIG TIME. Well, let me tell you, they're literally the easiest thing I've made. The worst part was mixing in the flour and cocoa, but that's because my wrists hurt if I so much as look at them funny. Also I think the chocolate started to set before I could get all the mixture out of the bowl, so it sat there in the middle of the pan looking sorry for itself.

Anyway, they turned out fine and I am going to make another batch very, very soon! (And mum practically begged me at dinner time to make some more. So I guess I am on a promise now!)

~

I have finished watching Lost. I did not think the final episode would make me cry, but it did and, for the first time since I did this rewatch, Matthew Fox actually turned me into a sobbing mess. Though at that point, I'd been crying off and on during most of the episode, so I suppose that was the icing on a very a soggy cake.

I did not remember anything about the episode, even though I've already seen it.

I think the epilogue was pointless (except for Walt - that bit was nice), but that's just imo.

I think there was a lot of wasted space/opportunity, and there are attempts to explain things that probably don't need explaining. Like, there didn't need to be a flashback episode about Richard, I don't think. Nor the one about Jacob and his brother, but that's just my opinion. I think there was too much backing and forthing in the jungle, and I think ( there's a spoiler here ) Again, though, just imo. If I ever watch it again, I might be more lenient on it, I don't know.

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I bought some OPI nail varnishes as a treat, because I've wanted some for years (but they are hella expensive - though I didn't pay full price for these). They are legit the nicest varnishes I've ever used. They go on nicely, and here I am two days later, and they haven't even chipped.

I've got two different green sparkly/glitter ones, one silver one sparkly/glitter, and a bright orange one that has the worst pun name ever (it's called Rolling in the Hague).

~

I did some research about the more deserty states in America, and I am surprised by how empty the US is. Like, there are only 2 or 3 million people in some of them, for example. I always think America is very densely populated, and then you have a state the size of, I dunno, New Mexico, which has less people in its entirety than Wales does. Which kind of baffles me. Perhaps I am just easily baffled, and America is bigger than I think, and has less people per square mile than I think it ought to.

I need to do some more research, though, because holy inspiration, Batman!

helvetica asked: What is your favourite birthday memory?

I do not remember my birthdays so much. I mean there are ones here and there where I think yes, this was my birthday. Like my fifteenth when I had a massive nosebleed in school, and bled all over my science homework, and the dining room table, and possibly myself. My best friend at the time took me (and my bloody belongings) to the nurse's room, and cleaned me up, and we had a conversation about Keanu Reeves while she stopped me crying and bleeding. Or the one where I went swimming with a different friend at the local pool (but I can't remember how old I was). I don't even like swimming!

I never had birthday parties, because I lived in a small council-owned house, and we were very poor. So we couldn't accommodate other children, never mind afford food to feed them. So, like, there's not a particular birthday party I remember (or there is, but neither of the ones I recall are my own).

However! I do have a positive answer for this question.

Last year, I had a really nice birthday. I turned thirty-five. I dug out the record player, and my LP of Low, and I baked cookies all afternoon. It was a surreal experience (because a lot of Low is instrumental and, I dunno, I don't think David Bowie intended it as a baking soundtrack). But it was me, in a warm kitchen, doing a thing I liked, listening to music I liked.