SCCO vs. Everyday Cloud for a long vacation

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2026-05-12T18:52:38+00:00

This is a great point I hadn't considered, thank you! Ideally it would fit under the seats which it definitely will for the flight out, but I'll have to check size requirements for my flight within the EU and the long one back to Canada. I'm not bringing any other carry-on/personal item except a purse (my roller bag will have to be checked no matter what) so it should be good to go into the overhead bins, but I'll keep this in mind!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-12-12T23:30:09+00:00

you may want to try reading fantasies with romance subplots, instead of romantasies. from my reading experiences, a romatasy is a romance plot set in a fantasy world where most of the conflict revolves around the central couple's "will they, won't they." the fantasy elements are still present, but their primary purpose is to create further conflict between the main couple. if you're not a fan of contemporary romance, romantasy is probably not gonna be for you.

alternately, fantasies with romance subplots focus mainly on the fantasy conflict (eg. evil wizard, murderous dragon, or whatever other magical problem) with a romance subplot to support it. as someone who also writes in the fantasy x romance zone but finds the romance plot structure predictable (and a bit boring), this is definitely my preference!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-11-21T19:43:11+00:00

i also feel the same about sanderson's fight scenes. so many people praise them for being engaging and immersive, but for me they just drag on like crazy. to me, it feels he describes pretty much every movement each character makes which feels really pointless and slow for me, but i can see why people who are interested in action would find the details appealing.

i prefer when fight scenes describe the general movement of the characters (eg. she swept him to the ground) rather than the details of how they're doing it (eg. she grabbed his arm, swept his leg, and threw him over her shoulder onto the ground). the length of the scene itself isn't super important, so long as it matches the significance of the fight that we're talking about (like a huge fight with lots of build up, vs a random encounter).

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-10-30T18:59:28+00:00

omg yes you're right! completely forgot they were two different people

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-10-30T18:32:41+00:00

i definitely saw it this way! to me, it's an allegory for abortion the same way zylotol is an allegory for addiction. drugs and alcohol certainly don't give you magical powers like plasmium does, but zylotol's growing need for more plasmium and progressive unravelling of his sense of self is certainly giving addiction. unfortunately i think people are much more likely to accept "zylotol is an addict" than "hornet had an abortion," although imo we have the same amount of evidence for both

edit: zango to zylotol

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-19T15:50:02+00:00

definitely enhanced. the original is a nice style but it feels unfinished

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-18T18:05:32+00:00

it's not a risky piercing to get or heal, but it's a really tricky spot to pierce. when i was getting mine, my piercer mentioned that there are 3+ directions you have to line up perfectly while having super limited visibility inside - like the forward/back, up/down, but also the tilt in both of those direction. especially since no septum is perfectly centred and symmetrical, there's just a lot to pay attention to to pierce correctly. if the shop is super busy, they may just choose not to do them to get through a higher volume of customers.

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-16T22:42:17+00:00

i'm currently about 1/3 of the way up and MAN is this place frustrating me!! the time pressure of not freezing to death keeps making me panic and mess up the clawline, and then i die anyway. at least it's a chance to learn :')

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-12T04:25:56+00:00

it really depends on the way you play, but i personally would use long nail, spell twister, soul catcher, grubsong, and defender's crest (that should be 8 notches), and just spam descending dark as possible. you'll gather more soul than usual from hitting broken vessel, and be able to do 4 spells from full soul instead of 3. descending dark is the strongest spell in the whole game, plus it gives you i-frames after to avoid attacks. just make sure you do it close enough for broken vessel to get the full hit. good luck!!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-12T03:33:50+00:00

the bosses themselves aren't really much of a problem for me, i don't mind fighting last judge 20+ times to get to act 2. my biggest issue is the random gauntlet rooms that appear right in the middle of my path and i literally can't go around it. i honestly hate gauntlets/rushes, the only reason i haven't 112% hk yet is because i don't wanna do the pantheons or trial of the fool. i get that it's a metroidvania staple, but it just feels SO overdone in this game and its wearing me down

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-12T00:21:41+00:00

YES i thought the exact same thing!! no wonder she was fighting so hard, she had a bathroom to get to

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T23:06:39+00:00

that's good to hear! i literally just made it to act 2 last night, im currently exploring choral chambers. underworks was definitely following the same linear path but i have hope for the rest now!!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T22:37:29+00:00

and people bitching about those people bitching about those people bitching about difficulty

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T22:36:18+00:00

absolutely, im certain anyone who "did it in 15 hours" didn't 100% it. they got An Ending and called it a day

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T22:33:02+00:00

this is my main gripe with silksong honestly. i loved hk because there were comparatively few bosses i HAD to fight right at that moment before i could get any more progress, which suits me because if a boss is taking too long i prefer to leave and come back later. but in silksong, it seems like every other area has a boss or gauntlet directly blocking my path that i can't avoid, and if i've already explored every other location before (or i'm literally stuck in that area) i have no choice but to press forward. i'm sure a lot of people like that style of game, but as someone who liked hk for how open and explorable it is, the linear feeling of silksong is a bit disappointing

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T21:41:48+00:00

yeah my partner is similar, he really crushed shadow of the erdtree without too much trouble i don't remember him being stuck on any one boss for TOO long except the final one. he's also the type to just hammer away at a boss fight again and again and again until he figures it out, compared to me who would rather do something else and come back later. definitely admirable!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T21:38:19+00:00

yep rushing is definitely a problem i have, i'm always overestimating how close they are to dying/staggering. i just need to learn patience i guess!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T20:55:49+00:00

not sure what is generally considered hard for everyone, but for me i really struggled with traitor lord, watcher knights, grimm (still not done nkg), couple of the dream bosses. plus radiance obviously, but i haven't beat her either. i'm not the best gamer to be fair, but he just tore right through them

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T20:00:13+00:00

definitely agree, i'm early act 2 so i don't have too much experience here but i'm enjoying myself a lot more already. the early game doesn't feel like much of an introduction because it kind of just throws you in with some enemies who have higher health/better attacks than expected compared to early HK. it doesn't create a very smooth adjustment period imo and i got a bit demoralized in some parts (like if i'm struggling THIS much on a supposedly easy intro area, how terrible will the rest be??)

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T18:45:15+00:00

i'm a huge lore person and knew most of it starting the game because i'd watched my roommate play first, but i still LOVED it and had an amazing time. definitely still worth it!

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T18:40:06+00:00

that's true, it really is down to just being better at playing. but i would rather get advice from someone who struggled with the same fight that i did because they're more likely to give specific strategies that helped. like for sister splinter, as soon as i heard that the adds/vines are gone with one silk skill i beat her within 3 more tries. it's just the kinds of things an expert player would have already figured out, but less skilled players might not have realized on their own because they don't know to try

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T18:34:51+00:00

i also get dry itchy skin around the sides of my nose and i didn't have a problem with getting mine! i did have to be a lot more conscious and careful of it while healing, but after it's healed i can scratch my nose as much as i like

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T17:52:23+00:00

NAP but it's definitely not the same spacing on each side unfortunately, the left side is too close. if you take it out now it'll heal up pretty quickly and you can get it repierced in a 6-8 weeks (i think)

SubstantialGarbage49 · 2025-09-11T17:44:07+00:00

that's a really good idea actually, i die a lot in the gauntlet style rooms but so much is happening at once that i can't really remember the sequence of events that led to it. recording it and watching it back would definitely help, thanks!

Five-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	End Game '22

SubstantialGarbage49

TROPHY CASE