I am now the proud owner of a secondhand Steam deck! Rec me games!
Jul. 5th, 2025 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rydra_wongA whole world of games not playable on Mac has opened up to me, and it's Steam summer sale time!
Please rec me your favourite games, bearing in mind that I have very limited reflexes/co-ordination.
(I'm not completely ruling out games involving them, but the threshold for entry has to be very very low. I am currently enjoying Refunct because it allows me to try some simple platforming in a very chill and pleasant environment with no time pressure and no penalties for taking several hundred tries to get a jump.)
Please rec me your favourite games, bearing in mind that I have very limited reflexes/co-ordination.
(I'm not completely ruling out games involving them, but the threshold for entry has to be very very low. I am currently enjoying Refunct because it allows me to try some simple platforming in a very chill and pleasant environment with no time pressure and no penalties for taking several hundred tries to get a jump.)
Wax's summer vacation, the only time we can do renovation tasks
Jul. 4th, 2025 11:03 pmcimoreneIt's taken five years to caulk the seam between the two pieces of butcher block on our counter, so I had to dig a bunch of breadcrumbs out of it first with a fruit knife (it's right in front of the toaster). We also re-caulked the seam between the butcher block and the stainless part of the counter by the sink. (The sink is only a few cm from the edge of it, which is very bad design, and the edge of the butcher block there has inevitably suffered and swollen, as the caulk was never going to be adequate; there was no easy way to get the whole counter in stainless, but we should have figured it out anyway. Or alternately, just called up the companies that make tiles and fireplaces out of Finnish soapstone until we found one that would sell us a counter, even though none of them make counters.)
We also oiled the hinge of the bathroom door - the one modern, new door in the house - which has been squeaking for years (unlike all the other doors, which are from 1950 and work flawlessly). And then we glued the aluminum threshold down over the tile floor at that door - it was already loose when the contractors left because the initial adhesive they had used wasn't in contact with the front face of the cement under the tiles, because the tile sticks out a few mm proud of the subfloor. I scraped a layer of gummy glue off the back of the threshold (glue which had never stuck to the tile and instead became impregnated with dust and dirt), then applied some construction adhesive. It's extremely stinky upstairs now as it dries, even with the windows open.
But anyway, all that didn't even take all day. We've done a bunch of laundry and sat on the sofa cuddling cats in between. Can't believe it took us five years.
We also oiled the hinge of the bathroom door - the one modern, new door in the house - which has been squeaking for years (unlike all the other doors, which are from 1950 and work flawlessly). And then we glued the aluminum threshold down over the tile floor at that door - it was already loose when the contractors left because the initial adhesive they had used wasn't in contact with the front face of the cement under the tiles, because the tile sticks out a few mm proud of the subfloor. I scraped a layer of gummy glue off the back of the threshold (glue which had never stuck to the tile and instead became impregnated with dust and dirt), then applied some construction adhesive. It's extremely stinky upstairs now as it dries, even with the windows open.
But anyway, all that didn't even take all day. We've done a bunch of laundry and sat on the sofa cuddling cats in between. Can't believe it took us five years.
Fancake's Theme for July: Working Together
Jul. 4th, 2025 09:25 amrunpunkrun
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancake's theme for July is Working Together!If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!
ZhuBai picspam (sort of)
Jul. 2nd, 2025 02:35 pmsakana17I'd mentioned to mumblemumble making desktop wallpaper calendars from Zhu Yilong & Bai Yu photos, and to commemorate my 6th Guardianniversary here's a little picspam of what they have looked like.
( Years 2020-2025 )
mumblemumble making desktop wallpaper calendars from Zhu Yilong & Bai Yu photos, and to commemorate my 6th Guardianniversary here's a little picspam of what they have looked like. ( Years 2020-2025 )
The Sun Down Motel, by Simone St. James
Jul. 2nd, 2025 08:27 amrunpunkrunOne of those thrillers that splits the narrative between two women—both twenty years old, working at the same grubby motel and living in the same apartment, one in 1982 and the other in 2017 trying to solve the mystery of the first one's disappearance—and their stories run so parallel they're basically interchangeable and you start wondering if maybe the author should have only told the story once. It certainly would have cut down on the amount of clunky exposition and awkward dialogue.
The thrills were not thrilling, but the mystery might have been interesting if we weren't getting it from both ends. As it is, not worth the time.
Contains: References to rape, domestic abuse, and child death; descriptions of dead bodies; ghosts.
The thrills were not thrilling, but the mystery might have been interesting if we weren't getting it from both ends. As it is, not worth the time.
Contains: References to rape, domestic abuse, and child death; descriptions of dead bodies; ghosts.
6 years
Jul. 1st, 2025 09:17 pmsakana17My 6th year Guardianniversary was a couple of days ago. ♥ I have a Guardian-adjacent post in mind but it requires some digging through folders and I haven't finished that yet.
Instead, today's post isn't about Guardian... ( but about a sus AO3 encounter )
Instead, today's post isn't about Guardian... ( but about a sus AO3 encounter )
a loaded god complex, cock it and pull it
Jul. 1st, 2025 10:15 pmmusesfoolLast night I watched a cute movie on Netflix called Nonnas about that restaurant on Staten Island that hires grandmas as chefs. Lorraine Bracco, Brenda Vaccaro, Talia Shire, and Susan Sarandon play the nonnas, and Vince Vaughn plays the guy opening the restaurant. It's kind of a nice mellow detox from The Bear in terms of a bunch of Italian-Americans yelling at each other in a restaurant kitchen. *g* Plus a really horrifying rendition of capuzelle, which is a roasted (or baked?) sheep's head, which is one of those dishes I try to forget knowing about. Anyway, the restaurant still exists, and now it has grandmas from all different backgrounds who cook there (a review of the real restaurant).
Today was my Monday, and tomorrow is my Friday at work. I could get used to a 2 day work week!
*
Today was my Monday, and tomorrow is my Friday at work. I could get used to a 2 day work week!
*
the extroverts were right
Jul. 1st, 2025 12:40 pmcimoreneI was making smalltalk with the bus driver along with the other guy at the bus stop and he asked if I was a student, lol. (Wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses took twenty years off I guess.) I said, No, but I'm going to driving school!
And he said close enough and gave me the student ticket rate.
And he said close enough and gave me the student ticket rate.
waiting for the moment to turn
Jun. 30th, 2025 06:24 pmmusesfoolRecs update ahoy:
unfitforsociety has been updated for June 2025 with 15 recs in 3 fandoms:
✭ 13 Batfamily
✭ 2 Percy Jackson crossovers
✭
I'm not sure why I went looking for PJO crossovers but I'm kind of glad I did?
Anyway, I took today and Thursday off and I'm looking forward to this 2 day work week. *g*
✭
unfitforsociety has been updated for June 2025 with 15 recs in 3 fandoms:✭ 13 Batfamily
✭ 2 Percy Jackson crossovers
✭
I'm not sure why I went looking for PJO crossovers but I'm kind of glad I did?
Anyway, I took today and Thursday off and I'm looking forward to this 2 day work week. *g*
✭
For anyone I've successfully lured: my top Disco Elysium tips
Jun. 30th, 2025 03:19 pmrydra_wong* SAVE OFTEN, especially in the early game when you may be very fragile and the game's auto-save is infrequent.
BUT -- don't reload from a save unless you actually die or otherwise hit a "game over."
This game is about failing, and it rewards you for playing forwards through failure. Some of the best moments in the game come from failed checks. There are always alternative routes and ways forwards. If you tried to savescum it, you would miss most of the game and all of the point. Embrace failure.
Okay there are those two specific checks where failing is so emotionally devastating I would not judge anyone for savescumming. But apart from those.
* You can just pick one of the Archetypes for a starter build, and leave messing around with custom character creation until you've seen the stats in action and understand how the system works. Don't stress about it. Or, if you want, you can throw yourself into custom character creation despite not having a clue how it works, and you will also have a fun time. Your initial build and your later choices about what you put points into will radically change your experience of the game, but you can't do it "wrong"; there are no optimal builds which are "better".
* Press tab to highlight objects you can interact with, or activate "detective mode" in the settings to do it automatically. Yes I know this is the sort of thing that is probably obvious to people who have played video games before.
* If your Health or Morale (displayed on the lower left of the screen) fall to zero, you have about 5 seconds to apply a healing item (if you have one) by clicking the cross above that stat.
This is the one timed element in the game, and also the one mechanic that some of us initially have trouble grasping.
With all the other mechanics in the game, you can not only learn them by flinging yourself in and floundering about, this is IMHO the best and most enjoyable way to learn them. No idea what the Thought Cabinet is or what Internalizing A Thought means? Try it and find out!
* Perhaps the most important tip of all:
If you feel you are flailing around and failing on most of the checks you try and you've just been informed you have acquired a Thought you can internalize in your Thought Cabinet and you have no clue what that means or maybe you just had a heart attack and died before you even got out of your hotel room or you had a nervous breakdown because a child insulted you and you have no idea what you're doing and it's been three days and you still haven't got the body down from the tree --
THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME "BADLY". THIS IS IN FACT THE UNIVERSAL DISCO ELYSIUM EXPERIENCE AND MEANS YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME CORRECTLY. WELL DONE.
BUT -- don't reload from a save unless you actually die or otherwise hit a "game over."
This game is about failing, and it rewards you for playing forwards through failure. Some of the best moments in the game come from failed checks. There are always alternative routes and ways forwards. If you tried to savescum it, you would miss most of the game and all of the point. Embrace failure.
* You can just pick one of the Archetypes for a starter build, and leave messing around with custom character creation until you've seen the stats in action and understand how the system works. Don't stress about it. Or, if you want, you can throw yourself into custom character creation despite not having a clue how it works, and you will also have a fun time. Your initial build and your later choices about what you put points into will radically change your experience of the game, but you can't do it "wrong"; there are no optimal builds which are "better".
* Press tab to highlight objects you can interact with, or activate "detective mode" in the settings to do it automatically. Yes I know this is the sort of thing that is probably obvious to people who have played video games before.
* If your Health or Morale (displayed on the lower left of the screen) fall to zero, you have about 5 seconds to apply a healing item (if you have one) by clicking the cross above that stat.
This is the one timed element in the game, and also the one mechanic that some of us initially have trouble grasping.
With all the other mechanics in the game, you can not only learn them by flinging yourself in and floundering about, this is IMHO the best and most enjoyable way to learn them. No idea what the Thought Cabinet is or what Internalizing A Thought means? Try it and find out!
* Perhaps the most important tip of all:
If you feel you are flailing around and failing on most of the checks you try and you've just been informed you have acquired a Thought you can internalize in your Thought Cabinet and you have no clue what that means or maybe you just had a heart attack and died before you even got out of your hotel room or you had a nervous breakdown because a child insulted you and you have no idea what you're doing and it's been three days and you still haven't got the body down from the tree --
THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME "BADLY". THIS IS IN FACT THE UNIVERSAL DISCO ELYSIUM EXPERIENCE AND MEANS YOU ARE PLAYING THE GAME CORRECTLY. WELL DONE.
PSA
Jun. 29th, 2025 01:54 pmrydra_wongDisco Elysium is currently 90% off in the Steam summer sale, making it a mere £3.49.
Play Disco Elysium, everybody. Yes, even if you don't play video games.
(It was the first video game I ever played -- apart from having once(?) played Pac Man as a child, many many decades ago -- and it was a perfect choice.)
If you understand the principle of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, have a vague sense that "stats" and "levelling up" are things, and can grasp "click to go to a place/interact with an object," you are sufficiently equipped.
ETA: Okay, I will add inastrogirl's excellent content warning:
Play Disco Elysium, everybody. Yes, even if you don't play video games.
(It was the first video game I ever played -- apart from having once(?) played Pac Man as a child, many many decades ago -- and it was a perfect choice.)
If you understand the principle of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, have a vague sense that "stats" and "levelling up" are things, and can grasp "click to go to a place/interact with an object," you are sufficiently equipped.
ETA: Okay, I will add in
astrogirl's excellent content warning:It's definitely not for everybody. I mean, for one thing, it gets pretty much all the trigger warnings for everything. Alcoholism and substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, discussions of sexual assault, gore (not visual, but some of the descriptions are very vivid), you name it. A number of characters are giant racists. (Towards fictional races/ethnicities, mind you, but it's still ugly.) Evil children will hurl homophobic slurs at you. That sort of thing. And whatever your politics, the game will try very hard to make you feel uncomfortable about them.
self-censorship
Jun. 27th, 2025 02:02 pmrivkatno good, very bad thing: for the first time ever, I carefully concealed my Star of David scrunchie to do an interview in case it became a distraction. I try hard not to self-censor, but ...
motor vehicle here I come
Jun. 27th, 2025 02:47 pmcimoreneDriver's license learner permit acquired! Total cost:
Application fee: 25€
Driving lessons: 875€
ADHD tax: 152€
I'm going through the obligatory little quizzes and informational videos about traffic safety and they've been machine translated without proofreading and then dubbed into English with an AI that speeds up or slows down its talking speed sometimes multiple times per sentence to ensure that it takes exactly the same amount of time in English as in Finnish (which means a lot of surreally slow talking that sounds like a tape got stuck in the player and might catch fire soon).
Application fee: 25€
Driving lessons: 875€
ADHD tax: 152€
I'm going through the obligatory little quizzes and informational videos about traffic safety and they've been machine translated without proofreading and then dubbed into English with an AI that speeds up or slows down its talking speed sometimes multiple times per sentence to ensure that it takes exactly the same amount of time in English as in Finnish (which means a lot of surreally slow talking that sounds like a tape got stuck in the player and might catch fire soon).
half an hour earlier tomorrow
Jun. 26th, 2025 10:30 pmmusesfoolTodd Zeile: Pete's been chasing breaking balls
My brain: don't go chasing breaking balls, stick to the sliders and the fastballs you're used to
*facepalm*
*
My brain: don't go chasing breaking balls, stick to the sliders and the fastballs you're used to
*facepalm*
*
Looks like the mass lobby got NUMBERS \o/
Jun. 26th, 2025 07:49 amrydra_wonghttps://www.thepinknews.com/2025/06/25/trans-westminster-lobby-ehrc/
The organizers are estimating circa 900 people showed up, putting it on a par with the biggest LGBTQ+ lobbies ever (against Section 28).
Outstanding work from the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, who also organized the legal briefing for MPs in May:
https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/trans-legal-experts-warn-supreme-court-ruling-could-be-breaching-human-rights-in-parliamentary-briefing-483801/
You can support them and get the "Maybe I'm trans?" badges or just support them without badges:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/maybe-im-trans
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/solidarity-projects-campaigns-fund
The organizers are estimating circa 900 people showed up, putting it on a par with the biggest LGBTQ+ lobbies ever (against Section 28).
Outstanding work from the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, who also organized the legal briefing for MPs in May:
https://www.attitude.co.uk/news/trans-legal-experts-warn-supreme-court-ruling-could-be-breaching-human-rights-in-parliamentary-briefing-483801/
You can support them and get the "Maybe I'm trans?" badges or just support them without badges:
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/maybe-im-trans
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/solidarity-projects-campaigns-fund
what the mama saw, it was against the law
Jun. 25th, 2025 05:15 pmmusesfoolIn addition to various Spider-Man and Captain America-themed items, I ordered a Batman shirt and a Robin shirt for Baby Miss L and then I was like, but does she know who Batman and Robin even are??? So I went looking for toddler-friendly Bat-stuff, and lo and behold, there is a show called Batwheels on Cartoon Network (and HBO Max) about the Batmobile and other Bat vehicles (the Redbird, Batgirl's bike) coming to life like the toys in Toy Story! With DUKE as ROBIN and CASS as BATGIRL!!! I love this!!! (mainly because I was afraid it was going to be Damian as Robin and Babs as Batgirl and that's just weird.) I don't know if any of the other kids exist, but there is a Batplane they call Wing, so maybe Nightwing is around? I didn't watch it, just read the wiki, but I mentioned it to my niece, so maybe Baby Miss L can get started early on loving Robin, and she can enjoy Tiny Titans when she's a little bit older. (I am still sad and bitter that Tiny Titans was cancelled so unceremoniously because it was the best.)
*
*
Service Model, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Jun. 25th, 2025 08:52 amrunpunkrunI will read anything Adrian Tchaikovsky writes, and I read this, where a robot valet makes a decision his programming can't account for and is then thrust out of the safety and predictability of his manor home and into the chaos of the unknown, but it's a book that can't seem to commit to a perspective or tone. I mean:
This is not a page turner. At one point, I swear to god, Libby predicted it would take me 23 years to finish reading it. But it's Tchaikovsky, and so finish it I did. Even when dealing almost entirely with robots, his science fiction is humanist, concerned with individual choices, with no one person or group being the big bad. Instead the friction comes where systems overlap without comprehension.
There's also a short story set before this book that you can read at Reactor: Human Resources by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Contains: the collapse of human civilization, robot harm and death.
Inside his decision-making software there were two subroutines in the shape of wolves, and one insisted that he stay, and the other insisted that he could not stay.Is this robot valet on Tumblr? Nothing in the text justifies such a distracting choice.
This is not a page turner. At one point, I swear to god, Libby predicted it would take me 23 years to finish reading it. But it's Tchaikovsky, and so finish it I did. Even when dealing almost entirely with robots, his science fiction is humanist, concerned with individual choices, with no one person or group being the big bad. Instead the friction comes where systems overlap without comprehension.
Charles, House said at last. We are only following instructions.This book is a world-building slow burn that examines the overlap of automation and humanity, and comes to a dire—but logical—conclusion.
There's also a short story set before this book that you can read at Reactor: Human Resources by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Contains: the collapse of human civilization, robot harm and death.