Thar

I'm shocked by these results!

In an action movie, what would be your perfect punny catch phrase after a kill and how would they die before you say it?

have i changed?

LittleBigPlanet 2

Little Big Planet

Red Dead Redemption
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Grand Theft Auto V
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Why hello there, didn't see you come in.

So yeah, I decided to give Warhammer 40k a try.

For those of you who don't know, Warhammer is a tactical wargame where you command an army of miniatures on a table to fight another army of miniatures, but I assume most of you already know that, so we can just get right to it.

Warhammer is something I've been pretty intrigued by for a while now. I'd say at least a decade. I'd see a game going on every so often whenever I go to my local tabletop store. The terrain, the buildings, the custom-built and painted armies... it was quite a spectacle for just a bunch of plastic figures.

Now, why didn't I get into it sooner? Well... in case it wasn't obvious, everything involved in having what you need to play the game is... hilariously expensive. We can get to how much I spent on it already just to have a starting army, but it's safe to say that I've hesitated to even get into it for a long time solely because the investment was just not something I was prepared to dive into. Not to mention, I knew literally no one who even played.

Fast forward to recently: I'm doing quite well for myself, all things considered. A new year has begun and all my years of trying to get into a new hobby has weighed my conscience down for a long time. I needed something new. Something that I can dedicate time to and get involved in with other people, and I needed to get out of the house more and not just for work, shopping, and family visits.

So I decided I'd find an event to attend nearby, and sure enough, the local tabletop place hosted a board game night every Thursday. So I went. I had a blast. I learned a handful of new games, met some people, and we all had fun. I went home that night satisfied with what I did that day and said to myself "I need to do this more."

So then I found out that shop had its own Discord server, which I joined. There were multiple tags that I could assign myself based on my interest, so I joined a couple, and that's when I saw the Warhammer tag. Having been so interested in the concept for so long, I decided "screw it" and jumped in. I was welcomed with open arms. A handful of people, some of which were also pretty new at it besides me, already hit it off with me about the game and were incredibly helpful just with what I needed to know and the best way to get started.

It all started with what kind of army I wanted to start with. How did I want to play? What sort of playstyle was I looking for? What aesthetic appealed to be the most? How much was I willing to spend? This all played a part in how I wanted to approach it, and the options were overwhelming. Literally dozens of factions to choose from, each with dozens of miniatures to build with even for a starting army, each with a few variations of loadouts to choose from for each model depending on how I wanted to play. It was all overwhelming just picking which faction I wanted, and despite me narrowing it down to something either upfront and tanky or glass-cannony, that still didn't seem to help me figure out what I was gonna jump into this with...

...and then I saw it. The energy of this one particular following in the community that I just felt resonate within me like nothing else the game had to offer.

The Orks. The most violent, tribal, and hilarious faction in the entire game. Just a bunch of brutes slapping together whatever scrap they can find to create weapons, armor, and vehicles to accompany their overwhelming numbers that just can't seem to stop growing. Their aesthetic, their carefree attitude, their overall ENERGY that they give out just called to me. It was meant to be.

So here I am, finally committing to something. With a few people in the chat welcoming me to the Orks clan, I went ahead and got the Orks Command Patrol box. Even though it was still pretty pricey, these boxes were the ideal entry point into specific factions.

However, that was just the army. There were still a bunch of stuff I needed to even get started putting everything together myself.

This is my journey into Warhammer 40k.

Vi wasn’t sure whether it was adrenaline or exhaustion clouding her thoughts from the fact that their mission was a lot simpler than she assumed based on this new development of a self-repairing building. In fact, she didn’t even think about who was even controlling the drones that she dealt with at the entrance before she came down the hall to meet up with the others. 

"What does it matter? Our job is to break shit and if it fixes itself then we just have more to break!" Vi took a second to process what Sibyl said in response to Vi's question, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Ah… yeah, you got a point. The fuck am I worrying about?” Vi laughed as she saw her co-worker lunge into what looked to be a robot projecting a barrier to protect itself from the impact, which didn’t seem to be effective. With the force of it causing the machine to stumble backward, Vi noticed Adler behind it as well as another girl she didn’t recognize. The lab coat and glasses seemed to speak for themselves; she must be a thinker, and also must be the one controlling the drones.

“So that means you’ve got a shaker too, huh? Don’t suppose you mind telling us where they might be?”

Despite Vi no longer caring about the phenomenon with Sibyl’s mentality, the answer to her question was still good to know. Wherever this other figure is that’s healing the building, it would be nice to know if not just to find them and incapacitate them, but as far as their intentions were with the building, it hardly mattered. Sibyl was right. They’re there for one thing and one thing only: to cause a distraction.

“What’d you say?” Alder asked Sibyl after breaking off the robot’s leg and causing it to fall over. “We’re here to break shit? Let’s go break more shit.”

“Shit, if I knew you two had this handled, I’d have already moved on!” With a wide smirk, she took a second to take off her hat and put it in her backpack before she swung her umbrella behind her with another wave of energy emanating from her, widening the doorway into the hallway. With more force accelerating her, she dashed further down towards some more doors, one to the left and one at the end. She barely took any time to ponder on which one to smash, as she was already at the nearest one before she just decided to smash that one before the other. They were both being smashed anyway. Mid-dash, she turned to swing at the door on the left, blasting a wider opening as the shockwave sent more debris scattering throughout the space.

As the dust settled, Vi got a glance of the room ahead. A sofa facing a TV, a foosball table, a treadmill in the corner… just a casual lounge area. Vi huffed in slight disappointment but couldn’t help being slightly amused by how mundane it was for a gang warehouse. Then again, she supposed it wasn’t much different from the Clan’s hideout. Still, what’d be better to come across in a rival gang’s hideout than spicy secrets? She figured that’d be something to find deeper inside, which carried through with her unhesitating advance onto the next doorway at the end of the hall. Just like the one before, this one met the same fate as another blast of sound, debris, and air pressure shook the building.

Vi took this time to settle as she went into a casual walk into the new room. Looking around, it wasn’t hard to recognize it as the place’s kitchen, another mundane and boring thing that made her frown a bit. With another huff, she submitted to the reality that she wasn’t there to discover weird secrets anyway. Hell, she was in a kitchen at least, so there might at least be some snacks to grab and - fuck it - also munch on while she’s there.

At this point, Vi questioned how she even got herself in this situation when her other two teammates were in a completely different part of the building and out of sight. She groaned through gritted teeth as she held her open umbrella in front of her like a shield, keeping her aura dense enough to withstand the constant shocks protruding from the floating drones in front of her. She was too distracted to notice Adler was no longer on the street before she made another glance in that direction.

“Tsh…” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, “...show off.”

Almost on cue, she noticed a sudden shift in the movements of the drones around her. At first they were only passive and reactive, but with what seemed like a synchronized movement, they all turned and began to position themselves around Vi. Her first instinct was to go into another defensive stance, but knowing where they were going, guarding only one side didn’t seem to be a viable tactic in this situation.

“Alright, guess I’ll just… wait a minute-” just as she was about to use her brain for once, her vision focused on one drone in particular. Like a spider dangling on a web inches in front of her, she didn’t seem to notice that one of the drones was wearing her hat which had fallen off when she charged in. Perplexed, she blinked a couple times before looking again. She wasn’t going crazy. That drone is really wearing her hat.

“Wha- how the f-” and then it hit her. She didn’t know for sure, but it had to have been, “...you motherfucker…” She didn’t know whether to laugh or growl, but the emotions surged from her once more as she closed her umbrella, holding it to her side as she twisted her hips and pivoted her legs preparing to spin. Once wound up, she executed the motion with a strong release of her aura energy as the air around her violently swirled like a vortex which brought a bunch of the debris from the destroyed warehouse with it. The combined force of the whirlwind as well as the impact of the rubble seemed to have caught the drones surrounding her, causing them to stagger.

The attack didn’t last long. Vi only seemed to want to test it out in the heat of the moment, which appeared to have been effective enough to show results. The drones looked to be less of a threat as the electricity from their shock weapons had less of an impact against her armor. She gave a smug grin as she wound up for the same whirlwind attack, satisfied by the fact that the same debris she would use was almost in the exact same area when it settled from the first. As expected, the same scope of damage managed to finish them off.

…except for one. The one drone wearing Vi’s hat sat floating just outside of the area of effect, and an awkward pause lingered as Vi would’ve locked eyes with it if it had any. With one last scoff, she simply lunged forward for a stab, releasing a burst from the tip of her umbrella on impact that knocked it back against the wall where it lay out of commission under more rubble. The burst caused her hat to fly upwards in an arc that almost touched the ceiling. Not even looking up at it, she turned around to start heading down the hallway where everyone else seemed to have gone, catching it with one hand and putting it back on without even a break in her stride.

At that moment, the adrenaline began to wear off when she noticed the hole she had made before the hallway was starting to… repair itself? Taken aback, she looked around, also noticing the hole to the outside was doing the same.

“Uh, guys?!” she shouted down the hall, making her way down to catch up with the group, “...what are we doing now? The building’s fuckin’ healing itself, who's doing that??”

I also realized just how many games I bought on Steam and how little of them I actually play and/or remember lol

My Steam Replay for 2022 says I played 96 new games and unlocked 829 achievements, for what that's worth

weapon and power of choice in a fantasy setting with magic?

Weapon and power of choice in a fantasy setting with magic?

1 hour ago, LordCowCow said:

In games, would you rather use a character you really like and are okay with or one you don't like much and are great with?

(like as in enjoy, and like as in like the character/design)

The former if it's casual. The latter if it's not.

I joined an RP that I didn't back out of a week later, so that's something.

How about a tournament(s) for best Pokemon music from mainline games?

Lucy from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Elon Musk buying Twitter and running it to the ground in a matter of weeks is pretty hard to top.

Though the shit with Andrew Tate came pretty close.

Yes I'm responding to all of these sue me.

To no one's surprised based on some status updates I made, Sonic Frontiers won the year for me.

Didn't watch much this year, but I loved all the ones I did. Though out of those few, Edgerunners takes it.

Didn't watch much this year. Only two shows come to mind, and I think Andor takes the cake for me. Wednesday is a close second.

Was pretty surprised how good this was on my first listen. Usually it takes a few for me to appreciate something I haven't heard before, but this was an exception.

Following the massive blow to the warehouse that created a big hole in one of the walls, the adrenaline coursing through Vi’s body clouded her surroundings for a moment. It wasn’t until the force of the impact blew her hair into her face when her clarity began to return to her as she instinctively blew and spat to keep anything from going into her mouth. With one big flip, her hair flopped back behind her before she realized her hat had fallen off.

“Ugh…” she growled. She knew it would happen at some point, especially when she lets loose. That hat was never the most practical thing to wear during missions, so leaving it behind seemed, and seems, like the most ideal thing for now. That said, the energy shifted back when she saw Sibyl rush past her through the new opening past the rubble. A glint of excitement came to her as she saw shadows form on her co-worker’s arm, something she could never get tired of. It was only at that moment when she even registered the person down the hall screaming for help. Vi could only let out a laugh of amusement upon seeing them pull out what looks to be a toy gun, only to be pummeled by their opponent like it was nothing.

Her expression changed, however, when she heard what she assumed was mechanical sounds all around her. Confused at first, her first instinct was to broaden her stance with her umbrella held out back towards the entrance to the building. From there, she saw the metal balls on the shelves begin to float around the room with the same humming sound she heard from the one Adler was holding before. Vi’s unsettledness naturally strengthened the rippling aura around her as she opened her parasol, forming a barrier along its outer surface which appeared as a giant contact lens. She watched as the spheres merely wandered the space, specifically around the hole that Adler had made, holding her defensive position.

“These look annoying…” Vi murmured as she slowly inched towards the strange mechanisms, unsure how they work. This uncertainty soon caught her by surprise when she reached a certain distance from one of them that deviated closer towards her than she was anticipating. A quick and powerful shock jutted out from it, striking Vi’s barrier with enough power to knock it to the side. Vi grunted, reflexively jumping back.

“Okay, these things are fucking annoying!” Vi let out another intense growl through her teeth as she condensed more of the aura to surround her entire body with a shimmering armor. The lens-shaped barrier grew slightly as she held her parasol in front of her with two hands with a tightened grip, and she lunged forward. More bolts of electricity shot at her, knocking her around slightly against her armor before she held a strong stance just before them and thrusted the open parasol at them. The barrier bursted, releasing a shockwave intended to damage at least the closest few from Vi and knock them back. Breathing heavier and beginning to sweat, she returned to a defensive stance facing the remaining drones, keeping one eye on Adler who was holding one outside, and another on Sibyl.

“Anyone else wanna come out?!” she heard her shout before the door before her immediately busted open. Shifting glances in both directions, Vi could feel the mission was about to get more difficult than it felt before as she continued to face the swarm in front of her with a phalanx-style advance and upward thrust against what she assumed would be more oncoming shocks.

What I got:

- 17ft aluminum ladder

- LFK Mallho gaming chair

- Charcoal sketchbooks with charcoal sticks, blending sticks w/ sandpaper sharpener, & rubber erasers

- Multipurpose foldable shopping bag

- Stocking stuffers: Shower assortment bag, jelly bellys, harmonica, apple and orange

- Cat's stocking: bird on a string, cat treats

What I gave:

- Air hose reel for dad

- Copper mule mugs for mom

- Giraffe/elephant slippers and windchimes for my sisters

“Interesting is right.”

Vi seemed to time her arrival just right for the other summoned capes to show up right after her. The responding voice came from right behind her before she turned her head to see Sibyl, a familiar face that made it feel like yet another day working for the clan. Despite knowing her for a while before as coworkers, Vi kept herself reserved as she continued to sip her coffee, still not quite awake and still rather woozy from the hangover. It’s nothing she hasn’t been able to deal with before, especially after concerts, but it still hindered her ability to socialize in the mornings, especially as early as this. She merely observed the following conversation with Sibyl and the Fates with slight interest as she read the room, also noticing Adler, another familiar face, entering. As disheveled as ever, Vi had always found the stark contrast of his presence with everyone else in the room to be oddly charming, albeit strange.

With that, the briefing started, and the mission was laid out.

“Ooh exciting, just gotta smash up the joint, yeah, sounds good to me.”

“Hell yeah, I could use a therapy sesh,” Vi responded nonchalantly, delighted to see another person as thrilled as she was for destroying things. On the other hand, she would read Adler in her peripherals, tickled as always by his lack of enthusiasm.

“Yes yes Atropo, I am well aware of the Stanley Parable and how it means even a shrimpy thinker like your sister Lachesis could beat DEUS in an arm wrestling match with two days prep time.” Vi needed a second to process what Adler just said. Aside from some of his phrasing going over her head, the fact that he couldn’t tell them apart was both baffling and hilarious. Vi could feel an instinctual laugh coming on, but she suppressed it just enough to be unnoticed.

“Alright let’s go tear a place up!” Sibyl said, which made Vi even more pumped.

“Sounds great. Tell you two what,” Adler followed up, grabbing Vi’s attention, “if we do a good enough job with scissors-”

Another laugh needed to be suppressed to avoid being rude, but this time it was more difficult. This guy just pronounced Caesar as fucking SCISSOR.

“-little clubhouse, I’ll take you two to Hot Topic and give you each a twenty to burn through, get as many wallet chains as you like.”

“Well, that’s rather thoughtful of you,” Vi replied in a slightly facetious tone, “Maybe I’ll get a hat that’ll actually stay on while I’m flying. Couldn’t even drink my fuckin’ coffee on my way here.”

—--

Once the Fates were finished with Vi and the other two, they made their departure, leaving the trio to make their own. Exchanging glances of acknowledgement, they made their way out.

“Y’know, thinking about it, the main reason I’m assigned to this is to get you two hellions to the objective.” Adler sighed as he pulled a handkerchief of sparkling silver fabric from a pocket of his outfit, as he lifted his face scarf and lowered his goggles. Yet again, Vi held back a snicker. It was such a goofy look, but it works for Adler, so she tolerated it. “Neat, right? Clotho wove it, apparently they figured giving fancy toys could make godlike power even more applicable. It falls upward, and is easy as hell to notice.”

“You never fail to impress me, Adler.” Vi stated passively, barely even looking his direction.

“Each of you put a hand on my shoulder, and probably close your eyes if you have trouble with heights or get motion sickness.”

“Sure, whatever,” Vi said with the same passive tone, doing just that without hesitation with her free hand which was no longer occupied by the traveler of coffee she had earlier which was now stuffed into a side pocket on her backpack, “In case gravity isn’t our friend, better prepare to grab onto me and hope it’s a good enough grip, cause I only have one free hand to grab any of you if you slip.”

With that, Vi let Adler do his thing as they suddenly appeared very high up above the city. Vi was hardly affected by the height, but the slight vertigo came from what felt like the lack of movement between points in space. More headaches came as she tightened her grip on her parasol and a thumb on the button to open it, just in case. The comment on falling from Adler barely even registered. Before she knew it, they arrived across the street from the building. A tinge of relief hit Vi as she could be on solid ground again, despite how quick it was.

“You have arrived at your destination, thanks for flying the friendly skies with Command Editor.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Vi mumbled, rolling her eyes as she wasted no time crossing the street.

“Stand back.”

Vi sighed, backing up slightly. With Adler in front of them, Vi watched as he reached his hand out before a deafening boom, which made Vi flinch and clutch her head, “Ah fuck, really…” She looked back up to see the sliding door standing directly in front of them as Adler pushed it down for it to crash onto the pavement with another loud bang, which Vi was more prepared for. She simply groaned, sighing in acceptance of the amazing shit she just witnessed.

“Okay… that was pretty rad.” Her words went with the sigh she expressed as sirens began to sound before she noticed two chrome orbs the size of basketballs appeared in each of his hands.

“Looks like stealth is out the window. So, you two wanna head in there and raise hell?”

“Now we’re fuckin’ talking!” Before Vi advanced, she looked at the orbs in Adler’s hands, “Hey, are we taking those?”

"I dunno, just thought it looked neat. You want it?"

Vi shrugged, “I don’t care, just wondering if they were important.” Now free to proceed, a smile crept across her face as she looked back towards the building, letting out a long, drawn out growl signifying a release of a heavy rippling of air around her, appearing as heavy waves in the air along a road on a hot day. She let down her parasol to wield it like a club, her growls getting louder as the ground around her cracked and crumbled where she stood as she dashed forward with inhuman speed, the air around her distorting with her movements before she swung upwards at the door towards the back of the room. A shockwave of energy and thunderous sound followed the arc of her swing as the door and the walls in its path shattered, creating a massive hole between the scattering debris.

“Hoo yeah baby, this is my kinda work!”