I finished Life is Strange: Double Exposure!

tl;dr — I really enjoyed it. It might be my favourite LiS game. (Someone ask me my ranking. I dare you.)

Full spoilers below the cut.

( Welcome to the temporal mosh pit )

My last entry, if anyone had the misfortune of seeing it before I privated it, was definitely an exercise in 'check my menstrual calendar before screeching into the void of parasocial interaction'. And, like, I meant everything I said—including my immense sadness at what happened in Vancouver—but definitely was imbalanced in a way I didn't love and don't care to use when expressing myself.

Anyway! Here's a few fun things.

— Buying Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 this weekend. I refuse to let you all continue to have fun without me.

— I had to miss bar trivia this past Wednesday due to aforementioned biological assault. My group named their team for the week Team We Miss Jes. ♥ Legend is, I remain a puddle of human delight to this very day.

— I randomly signed up to write a pinch hit for caseficexchange and I'm excited to write it! Hopefully producing 3k+ of [redacted] fic will be the kick in the pants I need to return to my Be Gay And Do Crimes larger fic for the same canon. I'm glad I committed to something with a meatier word count after basically doing the bare minimum for AA FMK and Phoenix Down.

— I've been taking a local improv class for the past few weeks with some friends! I feel like it's kind of a deep cut? But also a form of comedy I really enjoy when done well. (I'll be honest, I wanted to learn more improvisation for if I ever end up DMing again.) Our last session is next week and I'm on the fence about signing up again. I probably will.

— I am really digging S2 of The Last of Us, even though this continues to be a fandom I want no part of. Sure, now you ungrateful fuckers love Abby? I loved her before it was cool! Go step on some legos. 😡 (But yes, definitely recommend it!!)

— The Leafs had a 3-0 lead, managed to blow it spectacularly, and only just crawled out of that pit by winning game six. We're totally going to win the Stanley Cup this time, guys.

— Have my first ever home viewing today. I am on my way to becoming a homeowner!!!!

Had my first serious earthquake!

It happened while I was at work. I was standing in my office and almost tipped over; for a second, I thought it might have been the construction crews in the back shaking the floor.

(We're getting additional washrooms put into the building, to bring it up to code with our staff headcount. Today was SURPRISE JACKHAMMERS day.)

Branch Manager comes out like WTF?

I, too, leave my office to WTF? at people. We quickly find out it wasn't an isolated thing and was, indeed, a quake. I start texting friends and housemates. No one was injured and nothing was damaged at home or at work, thankfully.

Estimates of the magnitude are anywhere from 4.7 to 5.4, depending on where you were.

There were roughly a million earthquake posts in my localised subreddits, which was fun. And a few more about the Big One, the magnitude 9 earthquake projected to hit my area within the next hundred years; it's not surprising that people would be thinking about it.



Also, someone on the train ride home was taking pictures of my feet until I tucked them behind my backpack. I guess they really liked my boots.

1) Do you like your birth-name? Why?

My birth name is Jessica. It's fine! I'm not particularly attached to it based on its strength as a name, although I like how common and unexciting it is. Unsurprisingly if you know my father, but my parents had a boy's name all picked out (the thought of having a girl never occurred to them, but that's a different subject)—they were going to name me Gregory Kirk, and have me go by Kirk. After Captain Kirk. Jessica was a last minute decision when I had the unbelievable nerve to pop out with a vag.

2) If you could change your name to anything else, what would it be?

Realistically, I would be more likely to change my last name to match my maternal grandparents. I'm not going to, because I'm lazy and the process is onerous; but if it was seamless, I probably would.

I wouldn't want to change my first name. I've been alive too long to adjust to a new one.

3) What names would you consider giving your children?

Girl: Gwen, Hannah, Mia, Rory, Harper, Avery, Victoria, Melanie.
Boy: Cale, Theodore, Benjamin, Owen, Matthew, Logan, Wyatt, Emmett.

I'm not planning on having kids but if it came down to it, I would probably prioritise gender neutral names. Just in case.

4) If you had a band, what would you name it, and why?

Out The Airlock. 🎸!!!!

5) Is there a name that you completely hate? Why?

Not really! I think hating a name is a bit weird. It's a name. It's a completely neutral social necessity and can't hurt me. There's no malice involved to incite hatred. But I find tragedeigh-style names to be concerning and a social trend that needs to be nipped in the bud. Like, don't name your kid Raefarty, Khaleesi, Aireyola, or Tyffane. Give them a fighting chance to make it to adulthood unscathed! Countries that have naming laws have the right idea.




I started to feel a bit rough earlier in the week and somehow dragged myself to the office only to shuffle around like a zombie and need a five minute nap roughly every hour. Also, I had to sit a midterm exam yesterday and didn't want to have my tissue box on my desk, so... it was a snottery affair. You're welcome! tldr; I'm sick, ugh.

I saw Presence in the cinema! I don't know if I liked it but I'm definitely fascinated by it.

There will be full spoilers below the cut.

( you choose )

Hey, I want to play Mass Effect: Andromeda¹!

No problem, let's just open the case— oh, hello, Nier: Automata. I'll just put you back in your box and— oh, the From Up On Poppy Hill DVD. Where... where is your box? Seriously, where is it? Oh, there it is! And there is, huh, nothing inside but the film's other disc. Okay. I'll just eject whatever disc is in my PS5 and continue the search that way. It's probably Silent Hill 2 because that was the la— Oh! Dragon Age: The Veilguard! You were ultimately so forgettable that I, uh, forgot I played you. I'll just pop you in your box and— yup, hello Silent Hill 2. I knew you'd be the DA:TV case the whole time.

Also, at some point, I also had the disc of Dragon Age: Inquisition floating about. I can't even trace that particular genesis. It just sat on my knee like an abandoned puppy while I fought my game collection and lost.

Anyway, that's the story about how I had to open six cases, including one for a movie and not a game, just to find one (1) game disc.




¹ Hey, remember when I pledged to only play new games in 2025 and, very specifically, not any Mass Effect? Neither do I! And that's the last we will discuss it.

A shipping preferences meme! Because why not. I saw kradeelav do this and wanted to do it too.

( straight to jail )
In other news: this year is a week old and I'm already feeling like like Psyduck. More on that later.

Yanked from lokifan. If you would like to play, comment with your favourite phase of the moon and I will give you five questions of your own.

1. Where would you want to go on holiday, if money was no object?

If money was no object, probably a Nordic trip! I would love to go to Norway, Iceland, Greenland, etc. Largely for celestial reasons—they have some of the best unobstructed stargazing in the world and are frequent hosts of the northern lights. But then I would also be remiss if I didn't list Hawaii—Mauna Kea and volcanoes and surfing!

This isn't money-related, but there are a few countries I would like to visit if it was safer for women to travel alone, such as India, Egypt, and Morocco.

More specifically, I want to go to Australia in September 2025 so I can be in the next path of totality. Hopefully I can afford it!

2. Favourite place you've been/holiday you've had?

Living in Glasgow was basically a ten month holiday. I miss it dearly and hope to go back soon! Probably will not be this year, alas.

3. Are there any games that've really surprised you by being a lot better or worse than you expected?

→ FFXVI surprised me by being a lot more boring than I expected. I feel like the series keeps bringing out games (XVI, Stranger of Paradise) that make me wish I was playing XV instead. And, like, I love XV, but it has some fumbles. I never imagined this forced nostalgia.
→ Dragon Age: Veilguard had some rough moments but overall was quite fun considering how low my expectations were! I really liked the party, the return of Darkspawn as a plot element, and the choices/consequences.
→ Honourary mention: I didn't mind ME3's ending and really loved how expertly the game drove home the horror and futility of war.

I feel like this is an interesting question because I rarely go into games with much expectation. My tastes are so unique and I tend to find fault in things other people don't (and likewise forgive things other fans don't), so I don't create expectations off of shared opinions or promotional materials. I just grab and play! (This is why having a PS Plus subscription is perfect for me; I save so much money overall not buying games I'm unsure about.)

4. Favourite FFXV character? Or favourite FFXVI character if you prefer, I just like FFXV.

Nyx Ulric! He's my guy, always and 5ever.

If that's not an option— Probably the Regalia. I made it hideous!

5. Who's your favourite Muppet and why?

Statler and Waldorf. They're my guys.



In other news, it's inventory at work today. I bought a sandwich this morning with the expectation of eating it tomorrow because we get pizza on inventory day. When I asked [receptionist], she told me there wasn't going to be any pizza today due to a different celebration meal happening later this month. I sadly ate my sandwich. Hour later, guess what arrives?

Did you guess 🍕? You're right!

Anyway, that was the story of how my lunch was a beef, cheese, and mustard sandwich and also two slices of pizza.

With regards to Metaphor: ReFantazio and Final Fantasy XVI, I'm either on the threshold of or mostly finished endgame— with the former, I was having a miserable time with the endgame boss's final form; with the latter, I, uh, got bored. (I've been resolutely refusing to remove it from my DW pinned entry of media I'm elbow deep in, but... it's been a while.)

I haven't done one of these polls in a spell! Feels nice to get back to it.

ETA: Some late game spoilers for Metaphor: ReFantazio in the comments!

Especially when they collapse on you as you're recovering from a covid vaccination.


( Full. )

He does a lot of weird things! He likes to drag one of his many blankets over to his water bowl and leave it draped there, occasionally chewing on it between bites of dry food. He knows how to turn on the roomba and will do so just because he can. If you have a bag, regardless of what kind of bag it is, he will find his way inside it. And he loves to pounce on and chew toes through the bedspread. I call him "my little love." I call his brother, who is kind enough not to hiss at me when I feed him, by his given name.

Turns out, I'm still a cat person despite having been without a cat for many years.

It's also been really nice staying in my boss's condo and having complete control over the kitchen and living space. I like my housemates, but I'm definitely ready to move on from communal living.

They have a kitchen island! The millennial dream! And TV channels, which blows my mind. I have watched so much Food Network in bed this week. Did you guys know that there are new iron chefs? Masaharu Morimoto retired or something. I didn't think he legally could.