Laughter Through Tears

Loftia looks cool. It's currently in closed beta for the next two weeks or so, which I have neither the time nor the mental space for, but I'm keeping an open eye.

It's billed as a cozy MMO, so something in the same genre as Palia, which I've been playing and loving for about a year. The difference is, although Palia has some sustainability themes in the main quest, Loftia's genre is pretty explicitly solarpunk. From the early gameplay that I've seen streamers do, it's not quite gunky enough to suit my preference for solarpunk, but it's also not fully shiny/fixed/idealized, IYKWIM. There's a salvage skill, for example, where you can collect bits of plastic and stuff from discarded junk.

Plus, the setting is a bunch of flying islands, which is just awesome. No purple elves, though. No elves of any color, as far as I can see.

I'm exhausted today, mostly because of things that I don't want to talk about, but also because this morning, for the first time in literally years, I woke up with a stiff right knee and mild, twinging pain. Nothing like the pain that I used to have (circa 2007 or thereabouts), but I've been limping most of the day, and seriously restricted in Pilates, this morning.

Still watching endless Blue Prince VODs on YouTube, both from Cracking the Cryptic and now also Dr Gluon. Also slowly rewatching all of The Mentalist over the past month or so, in lieu of watching anything new that I need to focus on. And lately, also, reading the novel version of The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine, since the manhwa's new season i getting translated, too. I felt like I'd forgotten a lot and wanted more background material + a refresher.

It's an intriguing case study in something that's technically a romantic fantasy, but with heavy action fantasy elements, an overpowered female protagonist, and some intriguing supporting characters. If I was less worn out, I'd try to write something sensible about it.

The thread I'm hanging by is gossamer-thin, but I'm hanging.

I dare not put my hopes on paper (virtual paper), though plenty of other people have filled the pages of newspapers with their fears. And yeah, the worst case scenarios I can think of are pretty damn bad. But I'd like to think that, even in our world, not all change is for the worse.

Steam is doing a whole event centered around upcoming games, so I had a little browse and downloaded a few demos.

The first demo was a bust, despite a promising concept. The interface was difficult and I just wasn't enjoying myself.

The second game was much better. A mystery puzzle game called Secrets of Suburbia, it features an amateur teen detective in a late 90s setting, focuses on teens' online lives, and captures the spirit of the late 90s internet to a downright alarming degree. I haven't gotten far enough in the mystery to comment on that aspect, but its subject is a girl who went missing. The game is physically very dark, as in, even when the lights are turned on (there are light switches in every room) the light is still very low and washed out. There is also spooky music, so the low light is probably meant to enhance the horror/mystery vibes. It even starts with the teen protagonist home alone while the rest of the family is out.

I've also downloaded a demo for a game called I'm Making a Monster, but I haven't tried it yet.

Then there's Islantiles, a kind of deck-builder/city-builder type game, but I've been playing that demo for a while, so it's not new. The game is due out Q2 2026, so possibly soonish, and the demo just updated, too.

I first tried watching Seven Dials a while ago, with my mother, but she got bored and quit partway through. I was intrigued, and I usually enjoy Agatha Christie adaptations, so I watched all three episodes today, back to back.

It has the bones of a rather fun and intriguing story with three potentially clever and compelling characters. But unfortunately, it is not that story. Instead, it's a bit plodding, misses many of its swings when it comes to emotional beats, and has overwritten dialogue of the kind that makes allegedly clever characters appear rather foolish. Helena Bonham Carter in particular was disgracefully wasted.

Although I wanted to like it, I found the whole thing to be rather a waste of time.

Overnight, I got yet another notification for one of those scammy bot comments on AO3, shilling some bullshit "art" service, or something like that. I had one just like it, about a week ago, and I reported it for violating terms. However, by the time I got around to reporting this one (it came in while I was asleep), it was gone. Although the account is still active. I guess someone else beat me to the punch, since, as I mentioned, the bots tend to sweep through tons of fics randomly.

And it's a registered user, so it's not even as though locking my fics for logged in users would help. I hate this timeline.

Jesus Christ, Windows 11 is complete garbage.

No, I don't want to talk about it. I don't want your links or recommendations. I don't want to hear about Linux.

Sitting myself down and giving myself a stern warning that I'm only allowed to commit to Shiny New Story Idea if I'm still in love with it by Arbitrary Date.

I'm posting this letter on Thursday the 8th (unfinished) so that I can complete my sign-up. I intend to fill in the details by Saturday the 10th (inclusive). If I have failed to do that, you, my assigned writer, have my permission to just use the sign-up itself and go hog wild.

My requested fandoms: ( Fandoms )

General likes: ( General likes )

General DNWs: ( General DNWs )

Fandom-specific prompts:

( Unpacking )

( Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem )

( Alpennia )

( The Ministry of Unladylike Activity )

( England Series - K. J. Charles )

( Beware of the Villainess! )

( October Daye )

( Long Live the Queen )

( The Saint of Steel )

( SPY x FAMILY )

( KPop Demon Hunters )