all made up with nowhere to go

I started watching a let's play of Clair Obscur (not me wanting to hang out with all the cool kids and experience a game I have no chance of playing, oh no), and as of the time of writing, I just got to Monoco's Station.

This game is very French, and I fucking love it. Even though the LPer is playing with the English dub, which is full of British VAs, and I also love that, the Frenchness pervades everything. And it reminds me how much I have liked French media that I've experienced in the past (and I also came to the realisation, I think, that this is a big part of why I love Pizza Tower - McPig (the main dev) is French-Canadian, but his (art)work is very European feeling*, and I really like that).

( spoilers herein )

Anyway, I think that's all I have to say for now. Maybe there will be more later, I don't know right now!

~

*It's not specifically French, as such, like it doesn't give me ligne claire vibes, but it's definitely something not American feeling, anyway. IMO.

So over the past couple of days, I watched Ian from Eurogamer* play a game on his channel called Still Wakes The Deep.

It is a game set on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Everything is fine, until it isn't. And it's way better than that sounds, but I can't say any more without spoiling.

I recognise a bunch of actors who are in it, and it's awesome to have a game mostly full of Scottish accents, imo!**

Ian started off playing like, "Wouldn't it be cool to spend twenty four hours on an oil rig? Just looking around and stuff?" And I was all nope, nope, nope, absolutely not, because I have always been convinced that rigs are terrifying places because they're in the middle of nowhere, on the sea.

(I later found out that the reason for me thinking this was probably the Piper Alpha disaster, which happened when I was seven. I don't remember it happening with any clarity, but I dare say I have heard a lot about it in the years since).

Suffice to say, by the end of the game, Ian had changed his mind about whether he wanted to be on an oil rig or not.

But anyway, I'm glad I watched it - I was in two minds whether or not to, because I didn't know what it was about - but it proper spooked me out. I made the mistake of watching the first part before I went to bed one night, and then last night I woke up sweating (because I'm still ill), and my mind immediately started thinking about stuff that had happened in it.

I might have to watch it again, or watch someone else play it (I kind of hope Johnny will, but I don't think that's going to happen), because I think it will be interesting to watch the story unfold now I know what happens.

It's not often a game messes with my head this much - the last time I remember it happening was when Johnny streamed The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, which left me feeling much the same way, but for very different reasons.

~

*I suppose I ought to give him his own tag; I watch enough of his stuff to warrant it.

**There is also one (1) Irishman, one Yorkshireman, and one Londoner. And afaik, those are their actual accents - the Yorkshireman's definitely is.

A spooky game for the spooky season:

The week before last, Johnny streamed a game called The Excavation of Hob's Barrow, which is a point and click adventure game set in Yorkshire, in a small village called Bewlay, in what I suspect is meant to be late Victorian era. It is about exactly what the title says (except with shenanigans because vidya gaem). I meant to link to it before, but I didn't, because I forgot. Anyway, last week, they streamed it again, as they had been hooked by what was going on, and wanted to know more. AND, as far as I am aware, they are going to finish it off this coming Thursday.

I also want to know what is going on. I think I have a vague idea, but I guess we'll wait for that to be borne out by the next stream.

(Also: no spoilers, please! This game is so new that my attempts to spoil myself were fruitless, and so I've decided to stay spoiler free until Johnny has finished streaming).

In other video game news, my new favourite streamer* is playing Silent Hill 2 for the first time EVER because it's spooky month. He says he knows nothing about it, except that people say it's the best SH game**, and, based on his reactions to some of the stuff that's happened so far, I actually believe him. He also says Pyramid Head isn't that scary, but I don't believe that.

(I had absolutely forgotten about ( this spoiler ) and I forgot how absolutely ludicrous that is!)

He also said it's Inscryption's anniversary on the 19th, so he might stream some of it around that date - but just the base game, not Kaycee's Mod - because that was one of the first games he ever streamed on youtube. And that would be delightful because, although I've not watched anyone playing it for ages, I am still lowkey obsessed with it.

(I don't have an Inscryption tag, w t f ? ? ?)

Anyway, fingers crossed he does? Or I might have to just go back and watch his old streams instead.

~

*I really should stop calling him that, and just refer to him by his username, as I've been watching him for almost a year now(!)

**I would argue with that, but that's because I'm me.

The UK is in lockdown again, just in case anyone doesn't know that that's happened. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

~

My art supplies arrived on Monday, and they are awesome! The only thing I haven't used yet is the printing ink and the roller, but that's because I didn't have a lino cut to ink up (I mean, I do have one, but it's not very good).

(It amuses me no end that I am actually interested in printing and yet, when I was at college, I avoided print classes altogether. I did a bit of screen printing in class, once, and then the stuff I had to do in order to get my HND, I did on my own time).

The Finetec paints I got are AMAZING. They are just as good as all the artists on youtube say they are, and I'm really glad I got them. I'm also glad I only got the two pans, as I think a set of six may have been somewhat overwhelming (weirdly).

I got softcut lino to make prints with, and it still hurts my hands to cut prints (yay arthritis!), but less so than the decidedly elderly lino I had had a go with (also hard lino is easier to cut when softer, who knew! Absolutely not me, that's who!)

~

I found somewhere that will ship sticker paper to the UK (I was going to say they were in the UK, but they're actually in Ireland, which is ABSOLUTELY NOT part of the UK, as well I know). I ordered some samples at the beginning of December, and they have still not arrived. So I put in a support ticket on the 28th, and got a pretty weak reply a few days ago saying, "well, Xmas, and Coronavirus!" which, yes, I understand, but also, IDK, update your shipping information to reflect that? (Shipping info said five to ten days for delivery to the UK).

Also: I've seen bad reviews online, and I know this isn't just an Xmas/Coronavirus thing. I assume I'd get what I wanted in a timely manner if money were involved (but it wasn't, because I wanted to try the paper out first).

They've also redone me a sample order, which includes things I didn't ask for, including paper for a laser printer. I don't own one of those.

I'm annoyed because: I've been wanting to design stickers for literal years (lack of ideas aside). Finding A4 sticker paper in the UK is like looking for hen's teeth so, understandably, I was excited when I found this company.

(I mean yes, I probably could've just got it off Amazon, but I haven't bought stuff from there for six years now, and I'm not going to do that just for sticker paper. And why buy off Amazon, when you can get stuff direct from the seller???)

~

Time for another Post Once A Day question!

forests_of_fire asked: What's your favorite season? Why?

This is really easy. My favourite season is autumn. I love it when the leaves on the trees start turning all sorts of amazing colours, and there's that crispness in the air that tells you winter is coming, but it isn't quite here yet. The best kind of autumn day is when it's cool but clear. When the leaves have fallen, and they crunch when you walk on them, and you can kick drifts of them around.

I also really like it when it's foggy, and the landscape that you know so well looks and feels strange and unfamiliar. I'm surrounded by hills, so when the fog is really dense, the hills across the valley from me vanish, and it's like they were never there. It feels strange, but I kind of like it? Also, you know, Silent Hill vibes. (Although, as I have pointed out in the past, if I were to look out and see Pyramid Head roaming around, I'd be hecking terrified).

Also also: Halloween. October is probably my second favourite month after February.

On Monday, I went and did some shopping in Burnley. I happened to go in a bunch of charity shops, since Jackie had said there's some good ones. In the best one, which also happened to be the biggest, I found a Point Horror book for really cheap. I was supposed to be buying books for other people, not myself, but I couldn't resist it. (And I did manage to find one book for my mum, so it wasn't a total failure).

But it got me thinking about some things, namely how I am a big wuss, and I jump at my own shadow sometimes (you think I'm joking. I'm not). And yet. I think I probably read most of the Point Horror books when I was a teenager ( Read more... )

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The cinnamon rolls turned out well! Even mum said so!

#

I'm chugging away through The Last Remnant. I am at a part I do not think I saw before. It is infesting my dreams, as I had a dream about someone called Irina, who was not Rush's sister. So. That was a thing.

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*There are two SUPER OBVIOUS reasons for this, which I won't mention because they're also SPOILERS. If you're not bothered about things like that, check out a summary of the book. One of them is an obvious thing because I have a tag about it, the other you possibly wouldn't get unless you know me really well or I've told you about it. Or it's a more obvious thing than I think it is (entirely possible).

**I've known this for nearly as long, since in 1998, a search online would bring up more results for the Star Trek character from whom the writer took his pseudonym.

♥ SILENT HILL ♥

So, as you may know, and the above sentence declares, I love Silent Hill.

I first played the first game thirteen years ago (!!) I thought it was creepy/scary/nauseating/weird, but I thought it was great. Playing it seemed to be a weirdly intense experience. And I loved the dynamic. I loved that Harry was so intent on rescuing Cheryl and he loved her SO MUCH even though they were not related, and it's a thing I still love to this day (as past entries on the first game will attest. Mum says it's because I didn't have so good a relationship with my dad, but eh. I dunno).

ANYWAY.

I would like to recommend a Let's Play, if I may: Let's Play Silent Hill by VoidBurger.
(Link goes to the LPA)

I chose this one because it's subtitled with, admittedly, does mean you have to watch it for the commentary, but that's no biggie. I like subtitles. You do occasionally hear VoidBurger speak, but it's rarely (I think she's spoken in maybe three? of the twenty something videos I've watched so far?), and her voice is OK to listen to (to me, anyway. I have mentioned before that I'm picky about voices).

I have been watching it for the last two days (started yesterday evening, watched most of today). I think it's great - it's informative and funny, although I don't find that she tries to be funny - that's often where a lot of people fail, imho. (What I mean is that she just IS funny).

And hey! I got ELEVEN INCHES of the back of a sweater (my first!) that I am knitting done while watching it, so who says you can't do two things at once?*

Things I had forgotten about this game include: that it has bona fide voice acting, and that I shipped Harry and Cybil so hard. SO, SO HARD. I can't even believe I'd forgotten that - most stuff from around that period of my life I remember really well (e.g. playing Resident Evil 2, which was a year previously, and some other stuff from my personal life). Also, you know, because I know I've (almost) always shipped Claire and Leon in RE2**, so why didn't I remember Cybil and Harry? *shrugs*

WHATEVER.

I LOVE THIS GAME.

(I don't think I'm going to break into another phase of drawing Pyramid Head, though, unless I update that pic I did of him and James***, because honestly I think I'm all P-Head'ed out).

Also please may I present to you The Fresh Prince of Silent Hill because Harry being awesome + Fresh Prince is never a bad thing. (And yeah, I realise that goes to my reblog blog and not the original entry on Ask Silent Hill, but I was checking out what was in my tag, and I did mean to link to it. So).

Finally, I miss my Silent Hill icons :(

~*~

*My brother, actually. He once compared me to a PC that runs on Windows when he said I couldn't multitask.
**We don't mention that time I shipped Ada and Leon. No. We don't.
***I've been trying to think of a pic for the Draw This Again meme. I might do that one!

Games I have downloaded to play:

~ Ib
~ Ao Oni
~ .flow (got v 1.0 (which is the most recent English translation) and 1.5 (which is the second to last most recent Japanese version)
~ Proteus (the alpha version - hmpf this is TOTALLY your fault!)

I am also checking out freeware games in general, so any recs are welcomed. The weirder, the better, to be honest. I like my freaky shit (see the tag - it's there for a reason).

(Weirdly: I did some Dizzy fanart last night, and the first game in the freeware games category on Softpedia is Summer Island Dizzy...In fact, there's quite a lot of Dizzy games, canon or not).

On a related note: I would still love to make a game, you know. Probably some type of weird exploration game, but I'd have trouble coming up with stuff. Unless, I suppose, that turns out to be the ultimate use for all these characters I've been creating without purpose? *shrugs* (Thinking about it, I'd like the transition from Tomas' world to Parviz and Leila's (or vice versa) HMM).

(If you want to see who I am talking about, they can be found here)

OK, so there was a time when I swore to myself that I wouldn't touch the new World of Darkness with a bargepole. I'd say I've last pretty well. I've gone almost eight years. It was only out of loyalty to the old World of Darkness though.

And I do still love the old World so very much. That's more than likely the reason I've hung on to the source books even though I've been intending to sell them for several years now (I'm going to get rid of the Shadowrun ones, as a heads up, if anyone wants them?)

But I finally climbed down off my soapbox, and I decided to check the new World out. The core rule book (just called World of Darkness) is pretty interesting in itself, since if you just have that, it's geared towards playing normal humans in a supernatural world. And some part of me really likes that.

But what's really got its hooks into me at the moment is the new version of Changeling (The Lost), and a stand-alone book called Innocents.

Changeling is all about nasty fae, and that the type of fae I like. I adore the stories where the fairies are nasty sons of bitches instead of pretty sparkly twee little things - this is the reason Lords and Ladies was my favourite Discworld book for years and years - the Elves were nasty bastards and didn't understand the humans at all. And they didn't want to. (It was also my favourite because Magrat saves the day, but that's besides the point).

Innocents, on the other hand, is about playing as a child character - generally just an average kid, but they can be altered to become one of the supernatural races, should you choose to do that (and assuming you have the other rule books to hand). The age range is from seven years to twelve. Again, there's just something in that that pings me. These kids that are scared of the thing under the bed, only for it to turn out to be an actual thing. Mind you, I am a fan of the world not seeming to be what it actually is.

This is where I decide I can't end this, other than I wanted to share, and say, "Hey, isn't this kind of cool?" and then I wave my hands about and go, "blah blah FEELINGS~"

(More on this as the situation develops. Also one day soon I may post a list of all those unused RP characters I have. Just for the hell of it. Right now, I should get back to work).

Random stuff:

~ You know, I get the awareness for mental health thing, and I appreciate it, but I wish TPTB would implement it in different ways. Also I realised the other day that the BBC are being incredibly ancivilious(sp?) about it.

I know some anvils need to be dropped (thank you, TVTropes), but there are better ways to go about it.

~ Bio-Oil. I've never used it, and I have no intention of ever doing so. But I mean, god forbid a woman goes out of the house looking anything less than perfect (and it is a woman - always - I suppose men don't get stretch marks* and they look all manly with scars**, amirite?) I dislike my stretch marks*** and I'm not proud of my scars, but fuck it. People aren't perfect. Those scars I dislike are there to remind me not to be stupid.

UGH I JUST. I DON'T EVEN. It makes me so angry.

~ I want all Mass Effect all the time. Although currently only the first game because I (currently) don't like what little I played of the second one.

~ Doing some major working out for a painting. This has been hampered, however, by not being able to find and buy a big enough canvas. I probably have one in my room, but it probably already has something painted on it. I'd intended to start laying down the many layers of background while I was working out the main parts in coloured pencil this weekend but, uh, not so much with that.

It's like the universe either a) doesn't want me to make art or b) wants me to recycle. I'm not going to argue with the second, but the thought of painting over a painting, even if it didn't work, fills me with horror.

Even painting over that one cutting-and-sticking that obviously didn't work. *shakes tiny fists of rage and indecision*

~ I have been playing ilomilo a lot recently. I mean, I like puzzle games, but this is an adorable puzzle game. With awesome music. The story is sad, and mysterious, until you get the whole thing. But I like that kind of thing (it's always about the angst. Except for when it isn't. Like Mass Effect. I suspect the angst is part of the reason I am putting off ME2, aside from that I don't like it).

~ I should probably go to sleep. And maybe dream of distant parts of the universe c:

~*~

*Except I'm pretty sure they do.

**Even if they were self-inflicted, like the majority of mine.

***Anyone who's ever had the misfortune of seeing my thighs or the back of my knees can testify to this - apparently it's because my muscles grew faster than my skin did. Yes, my legs are weird-looking.

Creepiest creepypasta ever:

Does anyone remember Candle Cove?

Yeah, it originated on The Board That Shall Not Be Named, but I read it on Uboachan*. Still seriously creeped out, and I haven't even read the whole thing. See, see, this is like the really good creepy shit we used to tell each other as kids. Except that I can't really remember any any more, just that feeling of dread and unease (which, as it happens, is totes the reason I love Silent Hill (and prob Res Evil, too). Dread and unease in SPADES**).

*Oh shit, there goes another of my guilty secrets. OH WELL.
**Also Harry and Cheryl's whole relationship. But that's a whole 'nother post for another time.