At the end of last year, Krikket of Nerd Girl Thoughts put together a list of ten games she wanted to tackle in 2020. I stumbled my way onto this post when she updated how she’s been doing with her endeavor in a blog post during Blapril, and I liked the idea, so I thought I’d try to come up with a shorter list of my own five to six games I’d love to knock off of my to-be-played list (or rather, technically, my massive Steam library) before the end of this year.

This might be a bit difficult, however, because I can be quite an achievement hoarder if I’m enjoying a game. I also play a lot of games with multiple endings/paths (*cough*otome*cough*), so I spend a lot of time going down those rabbit holes, as well. So this could go one of two ways: smoothly and carefree, or never actually finishing anything. I am shamelessly yoinking Krikket’s idea of both checking the average time to beat (I’m using a scale of “completion to full achievements”), and noting how much she spent on the game and when she obtained it.

I’m going to try to be flexible with myself, and see how I’m feeling once I come to what folks would call the “end” of the games, and evaluate if I’d like to explore more of it, or if I can put it down and call it a day. So then, what games do I choose to check off this year…

My Games to Tackle in 2020

I hope your feed reader can handle tables, because it was the easiest way for me to organize everything and get the images to work correctly (all my HTML-for-fun in middle and high school has paid off in life). If not, you may need to click through to the post itself.

	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice for All Time to beat: 18-21 hours // Purchased late 2007 for $24.99 Okay, this might be a tad “cheaty” since I’m already working my way through it, but I’ve had the dang thing since it came out on the DS in America and I’d really like to tackle it. As I mentioned in another post, I’m using a guide to work my way through it, and I don’t think I’ll be doing anything completionist with it, mainly because the DS version doesn’t have any achievements to go with it.
	Sweet Fuse: At Your Side Time to beat: 9-25 hours // Purchased September 2016 for $9.99 This one might also be a bit “cheaty” since I’ve already played some of the routes. I’m on my way to completionist this one (as I do with most otome), and I’d like to finally finish it.
	Life is Strange (Episodes 2-5) Time to beat: 14-18 hours // Purchased Ep.1 December 2015 for $2.49, Gifted Ep. 2-5 in 2018 This is yet another game that I’m only partially through. I played episode 1 on Twitch in 2018, but never played any more after that (mainly due to jerks in chat trying to spoil). I’d very much like to finish it, and I’ve been thinking of putting the playthroughs on YouTube. I’m not sure yet whether I will just finish the story or completionist it.
	The Longest Journey Time to beat: 17-21 hours // Purchased January 2016 for approx $4.99 I love Funcom games. They’re just so good with narrative, regardless of what they’re doing. So I’d very much like to start the Dreamfall Trilogy, finally! I contemplated adding the other two games (Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, and Dreamfall Chapters) to my list, but I don’t think I will quite yet. Maybe I’ll make them stretch goals, or prioritize the games to play with The Longest Journey last for the year so I can jump into the other two after this one is finished.
	OZMAFIA!! Time to beat: 22-40 hours // Purchased April 2016 for $29.74 I was adamant that I needed this game when it came out on Steam, so I picked it up… and then never played it. I do know why I never did (ex), but I’m going to rectify that now, and finally tackle it this year! It’s an otome, so I’ll completionist it. I have to—there’s CGs to collect, achievements to earn, and stories to unlock!
	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Time to beat: 29-46 hours // Purchased February 2015 in the Star Wars Humble Bundle ($12.00) Gosh, I picked this bundle up five years ago, and while I don’t know that I’ll ever play all of the games it included, I have been told time and again that this (and KotOR 2) are worth my time. I’ve been in a Star Wars kick as of late, working my way through the movie/tv chronology, so I figured why not finally give this a whirl. Will I completionist it? Not entirely sure, yet. I’ll need to see what I think of the game, first.

Stretch Goals

Assuming I work my way through all of these since they fall within the 18-40 hour range, I’d like to complete the following games.

	Dreamfall: The Longest Journey Time to beat: 12-14 hours // Purchased June 2018 for approx $7.29 Like I mentioned on Longest Journey, I’d very much like to complete the trilogy. Therefore I’m listing it out as a stretch goal!
	Dreamfall Chapters: The Final Cut Edition Time to beat: 21-37 hours // Purchased June 2018 for approx $7.29 Again, I’d very much like to finish the trilogy once I’ve started it!
	Amnesia: Memories Time to beat: 7-34 hours // Purchased December 2015 for approx $5.95 This is another otome I’ve been sitting on for a very long time, and I’d very much like to finally work my way through it. Plus I hear it’s kind of creepy, too, which I enjoy! I will do a completionist run, of course.

This is post 31/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

My computer is making weird noises. I mean, outside of the hard drives (1 year old), and the graphics card (5 years old), everything else is at least 8 years old by now, possibly 9.

— Chestburster (@ChestnutPlays) May 5, 2020

I got this computer not too long after I started dating my ex-husband. Our Christmas gift that year from my parents was $500 each, so we both purchased computers with it and some of our own money. For what it’s worth, this computer has lasted me a very long time, even if I’ve had struggles with it. But it’s time for a new one.

I’ve been saving up to go to an expo in October for my side business, but I don’t think that will reasonably happen with the world state right now. Instead, I think that I will be using that money to update and replace my computer. I think it can hold out that long. I hope, anyway. I’m not having a lot of the issues that Krikket is, but it does like to make weird noises, even after a dusting and rearranging of cords.

I figure once I’ve the money saved up I’ll poke my polycule to help me choose components and put it together. I may even look at investing in an LED tower case for the first time ever. I know I won’t need to replace the hard drives, which is a nice change of pace (considering how often I’ve had hard drives crash on me…), though I may pick up a secondary SSD for all my other games, and leave my HDD for just data.

I know I’ll need to replace the nuts and bolts (mobo and such), but I’m hoping I may be able to purchase a used graphics card from my polycule, and pay them to help me put it all together. Regardless, it’s still a few months until I’ve the money saved up, so I’m crossing my fingers it all works out. And knocking on wood.

This is post 30/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

Last night, Manthing and I ended up watching the four episodes of What We Do in the Shadows that are currently on Hulu. He’s been sweet and waiting for me so we could watch them together. I absolutely adore this show. The movie that spawned the TV show is in my top five favorite movies ever, and the TV show continues on the amazingness. Nadja is exquisite as always, and I now need a bazillion reaction gifs that are just her. I mean. She has the best reactions. She did in season one as well, but they’ve just gotten better in season two. Guillermo has great reaction faces too, though. I’m loving his character development so far, and I’m interested to see how things go now that he’s joined his club.

More Games

I haven’t had a lot of time to game recently due to a ramp-up of some projects at work, but I did look at some of the games in the Indie MegaBooth Sale (thanks to Krikket for pointing it out like she did for LudoNarraCon!). I already had some of the games in my library (Mini Metro, World Next Door, Always Sometimes Monsters, Monster Prom, Ladykiller in a Bind, Elsinore, Hot Tin Roof, and Tower of Guns). Though I’m honestly confused why I have the last two. I probably redeemed them from a Humble Bundle without looking at them.

I already had two on my wishlist (Coffee Talk, and Interrogation). But I added quite a few more to my wishlist, mainly because they didn’t meet my self-imposed purchasing-during-sales rules. I ended up adding: Astrologaster, Headliner: NoviNews, Sigma Theory, A Case of Distrust, Half Past Fate, Jenny LeClue, Praey for the Gods, The Coma 2, and Cook Serve Delicious 3. I did end up picking up Cook Serve Delicious 2, though. I’m hoping to get in some play time with it this weekend.

I’m also currently eyeing the Play with Friends Humble bundle but I haven’t yet decided whether I want it or not. At this rate, I’ll probably end up skipping it and picking things I like in it separately.

This is post 29/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

At the end of April, MagiWasTaken of Indiecator tagged me in the Quantic Foundry Gamer Motivation Profile. A lot of folks in the blogosphere have tackled it much faster than I have, so I figured it was about time to hop to it! The premise is to complete the Gamer Motivation Profile over on Quantic Foundry, and then answer some questions about your results. Without further ado, here’s mine.

The Questions

What are your results? Share your link, headline, and the graphs you received.

My gamer motivation profile is “Calm, Spontaneous, Completionist, Independent, Deeply Immersed, and Creative”. Well that’s a mouthful. As Magi called out, Naithan posted a more in-depth document from Quantic Foundry that helped to explain the wording they chose. Of course, I couldn’t find it on the Quantic Foundry site easily, so I’ve linked to Naithan’s comment on Frostilyte’s post. As someone who loves this kind of psych stuff, it was an interesting read. According to that document, my headline (paraphrased from their bullet points and tables throughout) could be deciphered as

• Calm: Enjoys turn-based combat, games that can be paused, games that are relaxed and predictable, and low visual stimulation. (e.g.: Sid Meyer’s Civ, Myst)
• Spontaneous: Enjoys reactive gameplay with low cognitive loads and short time horizons. (e.g.: The Sims)
• Completionist: Wants to get all collectibles, complete all missions.
• Independent: Enjoys single-player games and soloable quests. Likes to be in full control. (e.g.: Lego Harry Potter, Hatoful Boyfriend)
• Deeply Immersed: Enjoys being someone else, somewhere else. Enjoys elaborate plots, and interesting characters.
• Creative: Enjoys expression and customization. Wants to explore, tinker, and experiment.

I included some of what I thought were applicable games from when I could pull examples from a chart, and I feel like they’re mostly accurate, but I think I’m supposed to discuss that on a different question.

How do you feel about your survey results?

I feel like they’re mostly accurate, but I am unsure how I scored so low on Social? I get that I’m not a Competitive person, but I also don’t understand why I only scored 48% on Community. Community in gaming is really the main thing that keeps me playing MMOs. And if there isn’t a thriving community, or many friends I can flock to that play it, then I am generally disinterested in it. I mean, for goodness sake, I ran a yearly festival in WildStar when it was around. If that isn’t high community I don’t know what is!

Which categories are the most and least accurate?

It seems I may have answered this a bit in the prior question. Least accurate definitely has to be Social for me. Most accurate is Immersion/Completion for sure.

Are there any major exceptions to your typical gaming motivations?

If I am interpreting this question correctly, it is asking what differs from my profile in the exceptions. With that, I’d have to say… some of the games they list for “calm”. You would think I’d like the Civ games. I honestly wish I did. But to me, they feel much more RTS-based/paced than I would like. And RTS and my anxiety do not get along. I mean, I haven’t tried playing the Civ games since I started my meds for anxiety/depression, though, so maybe with some time they’ll be more up my alley?

Do any of these motivations carry over to your non-gaming life? If so, how?

Oh, immersion for sure. I participate in LARPs. I love TTRPGs when I can get in on them. And I adore reading fantasy and sci-fi of all sorts. I like involved characters. I like unique stories. GIVE ME NARRATIVE.

Which games (in your experience) best satisfy your gaming motivations?

Narration-heavy games, especially dating sims/visual novels are typically my go-to. High-narrative games like Life is Strange also fall into my list. I think if I could find the time to dedicate to story-rich RPGs I’d play a bit more of them, but then they also fall into the highly-active games which don’t always suit me (which is accurate to my gaming profile).

How do the games above compare to the “suggested games” list from the questionnaire’s follow-up page?

According to the niche list, it’s mostly visual novel type games, or Animal Crossing. I don’t have a Switch so I’ve yet to actually play Animal Crossing (and it was never a game I got invested in as a kid because we had limited video game time, even on our handhelds), but I have been rabidly refreshing stock on Switches so I can play Animal Crossing. So I’d say it’s fairly accurate. It threw in some phone games on my list, which are not typically my cup of tea. I don’t care to do much on my phone, to be honest. It also included games like Sims 4 (which I do play, but have to be in the mood), and story-rich RPGs (Dragon Age) which I’ve mentioned I’ve wanted to get into, but I think I need to be in the right mindset to do so.

This is post 28/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

What is the one thing you’re most proud of?

This one is difficult to answer, because there’s a lot in my life I’m proud of accomplishing or doing. I think right now, I’m most proud of how much effort I’m trying to put into making my side business my main business. I’m sure the answer to this question would change depending on when you asked this.

What is the perfect snack for a video game binge?

Okay, this might be weird, but I really love eating toasted cinnamon swirl bread with butter. You know the Peperidge Farms kind? I don’t know why, but it’s my favorite thing to eat when I’m gaming.

Who is your favorite villain in a video game and why?

Hm, in a video game? Okay, I think I’m going to have to go with my murder husbando from Hatoful Boyfriend. I love you, Shuu Iwamine. Why is he my favorite? Well. If you know me, I love the play dating sims, specifically those geared towards the female audience (also referred to as an otome). This game was my gateway into the genre (though to be honest it is more of a visual novel wrapped up in the skin of an otome). I picked up Hatoful Boyfriend for cheap when Belghast and the gang were playing it for Aggrochat, and well, it turns out my favorite love interest was extremely… deranged, let’s say.

For what it’s worth, I unintentionally picked the murder husbando again in Code: Realize (I do my first play-throughs blind!), so I’m thinking I have a trend, here. I’m looking forward to seeing if I pick up any other murder husbandos in other otome once I get to playing some more again.

Do you think there are other life forms in space?

Even before the US Government released UFO footage, I believed.

What is your favorite thing to do to kill time?

Favorite thing, or the one I do most often? Most often, I end up opening up Twitter and scrolling. My favorite thing would probably be reading, though.

What is the one video game world you would love to visit?

I feel like I’ve answered this one before. (Indeed I have!) But, it’s Nexus!

If you were crafting a playlist what would be the first five songs?

I listen to a lot of different types of music, but I’m very much into Symphonic Metal and 2000/2010s Romanian House as a whole, so it would probably revolve mainly around those two. Let’s see, what would my first five songs be…

This is post 27/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

It’s that time in Blaugust Blapril where we discuss anything we’ve possibly learned. According to Bel, this week’s focus is “Lessons Learned”.

The goal as always with Blaugust and now Blapril is to revitalize the blogging community and ignite those fires fresh for another year of posting. As such this is a marathon that we are running and not a sprint, so we continue forward a little bit into the next month for folks to have that cooldown lap and talk about the things that they learned during the month. This could be a discussion of your own personal journey, or focused on some of the things that you learned from the community. The idea being to keep it going just a little bit longer so that maybe the habit of posting regularly sticks.

First, I want to thank Bel for putting this together. I appreciate it so very much, even if I seem to fall into the void after almost every one. This time, though, in combination with antidepressants and being in a better place (even if only by a smidge) fiscally and physically, I’ll be sticking around, or at least that is my intention.

I wanted to take a look back at what I’ve discussed in prior years as lessons I’ve learned. Let’s begin by jumping back to 2015, and moving up from there.

• Blaugust Conquerer (2015): This was back when I was over on Blogger, believe it or not. I pretty much just recapped the year and didn’t discuss what I may or may not have learned, but at the same time, earlier Blaugust events were a bit more challenge-based rather than the focus of continuing the trend of blogging.
• Blaugust (2016): I participated in 2016, but didn’t have a post at the end of it. Mainly because my life was falling apart at the time, and I split with my ex-husband less than a month after August ended. So we’ll cut some slack, there.
• Blaugust (2017): I didn’t participate at all this year, mainly because I was trying to piece my life back together. I’m a bit bummed that I didn’t post this year, because there’s huge gaps I’m missing in my own mind, and blog posts, regardless of what they’re about, seem to jigger my memory.
• Blaugust 2018: Post Mortem: What did I learn in 2018? Well, some things I already knew about myself, but were very much brought into focus during the event.
• Blaugust 2019 Postmortem: 2019 found me with similar conclusions as 2018, but also surprisingly some more than I initially thought I’d learned.

2020 Lessons

My thoughts for 2020 are pretty much the same as 2019.

• Blogging every day is a valiant goal, but is not something I can manage full-time. I do plan to try to continue a three days per week schedule, but we shall see how that turns out as the months continue.
• On the days I blogged, I was less likely to journal in my bujo (bullet journal). Which has kind of been a detriment to me this month with the way the world is right now. My mental health has suffered some from not having quality journaling and self-reflection time.
• When life gets overwhelming, my content creation endeavors take a nose-dive. Ugh, I’m dragging myself. Because yes, this continues to be the case in all of my content creation endeavors, including adult work.
• I miss creating content that is more in-depth rather than more personalized. While I didn’t write anything that was more in-depth during Blapril this year, I do still miss writing article-like content, and I have a bit planned as evergreen material in the coming months (book reviews, thoughts on gaming types and gamification, etc.). I’m also trying to figure out how to extend this to my sex blog to attempt even a two posts a week schedule.
• Numbers seem to be more of a distraction than a help. This continues to be the case. I appreciate how much they help some folks, but I very much scroll past that kind of chat in both Discord, and when it shows up in blog posts. This is not to say that folks aren’t allowed to post it, or should stop. It’s more my own self-worth and depression screwing with me if I focus on that stuff. So I politely scroll past and congratulate folks on their success.
• Content Calendar is QUEEN. I am not sure why I held out on using one for so long. A huge shout out to Tessa for helping me to see the light! The content calendar has helped me so much in both catching up on posts and getting ahead on posts. It’s also helped me to better see what kind of drafts I have available to write, and what evergreen topics I can pre-schedule and move around. I’m a very visual person with certain things, and being able to see my month of blogs at a glance, but know that I still have the opportunity to respond to things going around the blogosphere, or tackle things I may have experienced while nerding, and move out previously-scheduled posts has helped me so very much in renewing my enjoyment for writing, and has even sparked some inspiration.

This is post 26/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

It’s time again for Seriously Geeky Sundays, hosted by Heather of Just Geeking By! This week’s prompt is all about creativity and quirkiness in fandoms! Heather also has her May prompts already available, so be sure to check them out if you’re interested in joining. This one gets a bit existential and comic-heavy.

Freedom of the Press

What is your favorite fictional media outlet?

I honestly don’t know that I have a favorite fictional media outlet. To be honest, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is the Daily Bugle.

Who is your favorite fictional journalist?

Again, the only ones who come to mind are Clark Kent (he was actually a journalist, right? I’m not up on my DC as much as Marvel). And Peter Parker, but Spidey technically wasn’t a journalist. Okay, but question… what is it with comics and newspapers? Isn’t Supergirl also a journalist, or work at a news company or such? (I’ve only watched one episode of the TV series with Manthing, and I don’t remember much of it due to it being a bad depression day.)

Who is your favorite fictional photographer?

Okay, since all I can think of off the top of my head is Peter Parker, we’ll go with Peter Parker.

What is your favorite fictional interview?

Um? I don’t think I’ve ever run across one? And if I have, it obviously wasn’t very memorable.

If you could interview any fictional character, who would it be?

I’m going to be cheap and interview Ally and Lisa from Sunstone, because they come as a pair. And honestly, I’d just go for a sit-down hangout with them. They would be awesome folks to befriend. Their whole circle of friends would be awesome to befriend, really, let alone interview.

Which character would you like to see given an absolute grilling live on TV and why?

Oh heck. I’m not sure. I was trying to think of a character I see as fairly smarmy and unbearable, though not evil, and I’m not particularly thinking of any off the top of my head, except for one in an erotic comic I read. I mean, really, it’s just a porn comic.

In InCase’s Alfie (link obviously NSFW!!), there’s a character called Hana who is completely unbearable and very… old-fashioned in her view of the world. However, we’ve recently discovered how hypocritical she’s being (though she apparently doesn’t realize it). Every time I see Hana in a panel, all I can think to myself is “ugh”.

This is post 25/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

I set myself what I thought were some pretty reasonable goals for April. How did I do? Fair to middling.

• Inventory Management (ESO)
• Pick up the last items I need for learning crafting traits (ESO)
• Figure out where I left off in questing (ESO)
• Complete current event quest (ESO)

I didn’t even touch ESO. I realized that I had missed my opportunity to get the boxes for the month, and I was so angry with myself that I’ve done nothing but make sure the game is updated. I’m going to give myself some time to get back into it this month outside of just logging in for daily rewards, so I’m going to copy these goals into May. Except I think I’m out of luck with the anniversary event quest, so I’ll be knocking that off the list. I did figure out I was in Grahtwood, though, so that’s something!

• Start and complete Ace Attorney (Community Game-Along/Visual Novel)
• Complete current route in Sweet Fuse (Otome)

I started Phoenix Wright, but I haven’t finished it yet. So that’s going to continue onto my goals for this month. I didn’t even touch my Vita this month. I think I am going to need to set myself to completing one game per month if it is not on the computer to give myself more time to experience things at my own pace. Stretch goal for May, however, if I finish Phoenix in decent time is to complete the route in Sweet Fuse, but I won’t be putting it on my goals list.

• Complete five of the six Sunstone Volumes currently available in book format (Comics)
• Complete Song in the Silence (Reading)
• Complete one of the two books I am reading for my business (Reading)

Reading was interesting this month. It felt good to get back to something that I’ve loved so much prior in my life. Towards the end of April I did fall off the bandwagon of reading every night, which did contribute some to only reading one Sunstone volume, so I’m going to try to get back to that. I found that on nights I read before bed, I slept better overall. I did complete Song in the Silence and I’m currently 39% though the second book in the series, The Lesser Kindred. Knowing that I’ve gobbled up a novel and a half this month (almost 600 pages!), I’m going to update my pleasure-reading goals, some for May.

I also have to note that I’m kind of excited to be reading a series that I both know, and don’t. I’ve finally hit a point in the second book where I’m not necessarily remembering everything that’s going on, which means I’m finally getting to a point in the series that I’ve never made it past before. (CW: ABUSE – My ex was jealous that my best friend (then male-identifying) purchased me the third book in the trilogy, so he’d be emotionally abusive about reading, which is one of the big reasons I, well, stopped.)

I have yet to finish either book I’m reading for business, but I’ve been trying to catch-up on some admin things with my business, and get ahead with other admin things, so I unfortunately put reading and professional development on the back burner. They’re also not necessarily books that are a good relax-before-bed option, as they’re very much geared towards, well, improving my business.

• Complete Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 Check!
• Complete Season 4 of Star Wars: Clone Wars Check!

I gobbled up a bunch of Stargate, and am tip-toeing into the next season of Clone Wars, so these will continue for goals in May as well! However, I’m going to need to carefully choose my Stargate goals, as I’ve hit a point in the chronology where I do a lot of jumping between series.

May Goals

• Inventory Management (ESO)
• Pick up the last items I need for learning crafting traits (ESO)
• Do a few quests in Grahtwood (ESO)
• Finish Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (Visual Novel)
• Play Muse Dash (Community Game-Along)
• Complete Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 of Sunstone (Comics)
• Complete The Lesser Kindred (Reading)
• Start Redeeming the Lost (Reading)
• Complete one of the two books I am reading for my business (Reading)
• Complete Season 5 of Star Wars: Clone Wars
• Complete Season 10 of Stargate SG-1
• Complete Season 3 of Stargate Atlantis

This is post 24/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

At the start of the month I outlined wanting to get back into participating as a part of the Community Game-Along. This month was CapcoMonth, where you play a game that Capcom has made. I ended up picking out a Phoenix Wright game that was sitting on my gaming shelf. I didn’t realize at the time that it was actually a sequel game. Regardless, I’ve been enjoying myself in Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All.

My Thoughts

Oh man, the number of times I have started and never finished this game (I purchased it on a whim when it came out on DS in the US) is extreme. I’m not sure how many trials there are in the game, but I’d never made it much past the nurse/doctor malpractice start where the victim dies. I’m finally working my way through it, and while I’m enjoying myself, I am reminded why I’ve never finished the game to begin with.

Logically, I understand why things are wrong, or what’s going on in the story and what reasoning I should be presenting, or questioning. But I struggle with deciding which items to present, or when to present them. Or even when to precisely know when to push a little extra when cross-examining a witness.

So, since I’m enjoying myself, and I very much want to finally knock the game off of my backlog (it’ll have been THIRTEEN STINKING YEARS it’s taken me to finish the damned thing), I’ve decided that I’m not going to beat myself up for using a walkthrough guide when I need it. In some folks eyes, would this make it a fact I never beat the game? Probably. But I’m at a point in my life where I do things because I want to enjoy them, and most of the time others’ opinions on how things sHoUlD bE dOnE!11! just don’t matter to me much anymore. If that means I use a walkthrough to finish a game I’m enjoying, so be it. There are worse things in the world than using a walkthrough guide, okay?

Of course, I’m not yet done with the game, but I’m enjoying the Psyche-Lock mechanic, and the extra layer it brings to the table. I figure I’ll keep it on my nerding goals list for this coming month so I can knock it out and finally enjoy what folks have said is an entertaining series.

This is post 23/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.

At the start of April, Bel posted about some games he was regularly playing, and it inspired me to try something similar. Except, I’m not playing a bunch of games, lately. I’m nerding out over different things, though, so I figured in line with my goals now being called “Nerding Goals” instead of “Gaming Goals”, that this wrap-up of the month would be best to be named similarly.

These wrap ups may or may not cover things that are in my goals for the month. Sometimes, things just hit me differently during the month for whatever reason, and I’d still like to talk about them, but it’s not enough for a full-blown post itself.

Currently Nerding: April 2020

Star Wars: Clone Wars

One of my goals for this month was to try and finish season four of Clone Wars, which I’ve done, and have started working my way into season five. The end of season four blew my mind, and got me so pumped up! I know it’s been out for “forever” at this point, but I’ve never watched it until now, and I appreciate that folks are shying away from spoilers for me. I’m looking forward to what season five brings, though I’m a bit sad knowing that I’m getting close to the end.

Stargate

[SPOILERS IN FAN TRAILER] I wrote about how I finished up Stargate season nine (which was also part of my goals list), but I have also made it all the way through Stargate Atlantis season two, and into season three. I’ve hit a point in my chronology where things will start to get a little wonky (e.g.: After I finish SGA 3.4, I jump back to SG-1 for 10.3-10.12, then back to SGA, then…), so I’m going to have to think about what I want to tackle for my goals for next month in regards to Stargate, soon.

Soap Packing Videos

I couldn’t tell you why I’ve been nerding out about this, but it’s so relaxing to me. They’re sort of vlog-like, but they also show off neat products, and are a behind-the-scenes sort of look at soapers and what they do for taking care of their customers. I’m especially loving Missouri River Soaps for her packing videos, and I’m looking for more soap channels that do the same.

Nail Polish!

I’m trying to get better about doing my nails weekly to help them grow and keep them strong, but I’ve been holding off because I just hate what nail polish remover (even the acetone-free one) does to them. So I’ve been working my way through Simply Nailogical’s videos on YouTube, and have found a few about growing out nails and keeping them healthy. So now I’m waiting for a few nail supplies to come in (peel-off base coat means no nail polish remover!) so I can start taking better care of my nails and cuticles.

I also have dermatillomania, and the biggest thing I do is pick at my cuticles and skin on my fingers until I am bleeding. I’ve noticed when I wear nail polish I do this much less frequently, so I’m also aching to get back to wearing polish because my skin is pretty intense looking with all the stress thanks to the current world situation. I’m also lusting over some Holo Taco products right now, but will have to wait until my next paycheck to think about picking them up.

This is post 22/31 for Blapril. You can find out more and sign up at Belghast’s original post. You can view those participating on Twitter via the Twitter list I put together. Nogamara of Battlestance has put together an RSS feed of all Blapril participants.