Empress of Mars: Undisputed @zebratron2084@awoo.space

@JulieSqveakaroo He's gonna run for 50 yards. He's got the heart of a champeen. ;______;

@JulieSqveakaroo Cat cafes, though? I had one of the best experiences of my life in one of those. I also had one of the most CAT experiences of my life at one. Have I told y'all this story? =^_______^=

Today's mood: debilitating cultural allergies.

#moodsnapshot

It's gotten to the point where if I see an ad for a corporation, and it doesn't advertise a specific new product, my first reaction is "Huh, I wonder what _they_ got in trouble for?" and I go check if they're trending.

It was a Tyson commercial that triggered this observation, BTW. It was just generally about how great and socially responsible their chicken is.

@Phorm "Huh. I didn't expect that to work." ​

*wipes off the marker with a microfiber cloth, blanking you out for a moment, and doodles a geniefox doing something very lewd with her mouth in its place* <3

@hystericempress Happy birthday, too!

@hystericempress Congratulations, sis!

@Phorm *paints a stoned, dizzy geniefox face with swirly eyes on the shiny black ball*

There! Now you're legal. And correctly labeled.

Have you ever found yourself just getting an anxiety trigger *stuck* in the on position even though you know damn well you've resolved the problem? Like the control panel light won't stop flashing even though you know you cleared the alert?

That's basically been me all afternoon. I'm pretty sure I've run through all the worst-case scenarios on Shemp's paw, the latest tropical storm headed for NOLA, my finances, and none of them are going to happen. Things might actually be roughly OK, by this year's standards.

But I'm still sitting here in defensive mode, and I can't focus because it feels like I'm supposed to do... something... about something...

Wow, there are some staggeringly stupid, hyperbole-prone jackasses on both sides, and I think the only thing keeping me from cheering for the meteors is our cats.

This message brought to you by the Earnest Young Queer Furry on Birdsite raving about how absolutely all government is evil and harmful, as if someone had asked him to demonstrate Horseshoe Theory for us.

This is why the only people I distrust more than conservatives who used to be liberal are liberals who used to be conservative, but converted purely because they turned out to belong to ONE group conservatives don't like.

They didn't have any critical thinking skills when they were conservatives---and to the best of my knowledge, George Soros doesn't send us a package of them when we convert, so why should I believe they have them now, just because they're nominally on my side?

Birdsite kid, your lazy-ass generalizations are even MORE dangerous to me now. You're just bringing us one step closer to becoming Mirror Trumpies. Having the "right" ideology doesn't matter, if you apply it in the same dunderheaded conspiracy-minded manner of a Trump cultist, oversimplifying grown-up matters until they fits into a 280-character soundbite suitable for screaming by angry teens.

Shemp is still limpy, poor thing. :( It's not nearly as bad as it was when we first started, but he is definitely down one (1) claw. No signs of swelling or infection, and he's still getting around okay. (It's not like he has a demanding lifestyle. :p )

So we're figuring it's best to let him heal naturally and spare him the trauma of vet transport or captivity. He''s certainly in no mortal danger, and doesn't seem to be suffering much, just a little hesitant with that paw and a little extra-meowly.

He remains the sweetest boy and didn't do anything more than fuss as we held him and had a look. He's also extremely licky today, but I think that's equal parts "I love you, food people" and "mmm you are covered in tasty salt because it's 90° out."

FIGHT THE POWER

@Phorm Never thought so for a moment! I took it for granted you were just kidding around,. ^___^

(Actually, I have to take one part of that review back: Disco Inferno made me feel a hell of a lot like I was roleplaying... But Griftlands is still the best deckbuilder I've ever played.)

Oh wow, the second protagonist has a lucky coin and his negotiation mechanics are totally built around it. I can't wait to see what they do with the third one.

Oh, and I'd decided my previous Sal, the one I won with, was an animal lover. She lost her crabyote pet early in the game, decided to execute the ones responsible, and refused to kill another animal from that point forward. She finally got a pet vroc and they lived stoically ever after.

Also, the fact you're already being gently encouraged to sculpt a persona around each incarnation of Sal means that picking cards is a little more fun than in the usual dry cerebral CCG.

e.g., me just now as Sal on a therapeutic "let's just break stuff and hurt people" run, looking at a card named "Bedlam" and going "Ooh! That sounds fun!" in Scorpia's voice.

@001zlnv I mean, you ain't wrong. ^_^

I finally won my first game of Griftlands and it was a wild experience. I've seen plenty of CRPGs that have told good stories, but this is the first computer game in years in years that made me feel like I was actually roleplaying.

It's all based on a really good, well-balanced deck-builder engine, one that offers a lot of meaningful choices. You have two separate decks, one for combat and one for negotiation, and the rules for each one are completely different.

But what really sets this game apart is the quality of the procedurally generated storytelling. The writing is generally fine to good, but the game has the sense to make most of the story unfold through the mechanics.

There are a fixed number of NPCs, and virtually all your missions affect their opinions of you. And the politics of this world are fairly brutal, so it's far from impossible that you'll find yourself, say, ordered to kill someone you put a lot of effort into befriending. But I also did pretty well adopting a "Nice Gal" persona.

Oh, and the first protagonist is virtually fanfic of Scorpia from the new She-Ra. The game felt just very non-gender-tropey in general. And while sometimes battles are mandatory, there are lots of opportunities for non-violent conflict resolution and potentially serious consequences for violence. (It sure fucks up an Influence deck. >___< )

If you don't care for card games, this game probably isn't going to convert you. If you. But it's the smartest and most culturally mature deckbuilder I've ever seen--and Slay The Spire is *extremely smart*. There are just some genius bits in this game.

I think what really made it for me was the first replay where my best friend from the last run immediately developed a murderous hatred for me during the next one. I love this game as an exercise in perspective. There's clearly no interest in good guys and bad guys.

CW for the fact you can lose a pet frighteningly easy in this game. Do the smart thing: if you bond with them, get them back to Fssh as soon as possible and check them into your room! You CAN pet the terrifying crabpuppies though.

Oh, and CW for the fact that one of the two paths you can take is basically "cop." But it doesn't really feel like copaganda. The game is VERY cynical about the Authority; they're essentially treated as just another gang. The game will warn you that most people won't like you too much if you're seen working for them.