Been Awhile!

Wow. No pastes from me in awhile. No streams from me in awhile! SO I figured I owed y'all an update...

GDQ
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Didn't get into SGDQ - not a major surprise. But it was a bit discouraging that they went with a solo run of DKC2 any% instead of a race (few things say "you're not good enough" than putting in a run you submitted but not including you...), but after little-to-no-reflection I wholeheartedly agree with that choice. Kanis and I are simply on different tiers, and though I think I could close the gap a bit in the interim, it wouldn't have been a competitive race. Moreover, that category deserves to be shown in a solo context, and I can't think of a more deserving runner than Kanis to be the one to do it! And though I spent the next few days toying with the idea of going (mostly because the idea of hosting again sounded fun), something else ended up coming up that would have prevented my attendance completely! Even if I had gotten accepted, I couldn't have gone. So.... yeah! It all worked out for the best, I'm not discouraged, and I'm beyond thrilled for Kanis.

Streams
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Have been relatively non-existent since before even that. I think about wanting to play almost every day, but my life is so busy right now that I just can't find the time. It's lower on the priority list than everything else. We're finishing my basement, my wife's Etsy store is crazy busy, I've been completely slammed at work, and we're doing a massive re-watch of Thrones to try to catch up and be ready for season 8. I'll get back to streaming again soon, may be a few one offs here and there, but I don't know when I'll make it consistent again.

When I've gotten into situations like this before - where I wanted to stream or felt pressure to, but wasn't able to for whatever reason - it's contributed to a lot of depression and mental struggle. So it's a pleasant surprise to not be feeling that way right now. I've got a lot of stuff I'd like to stream, but I feel like I have that rightly ordered relative to the rest of my stuff.

Speedruns
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Still very interested and very motivated in pursuing both a 39 in any% and a 1:29 in 102%. Planning still to attempt any% first until I get blocked on that, but then I'll shift over to 102% when I feel ready. I like that I don't feel any particular pressure to do it on a given time frame. I've put a lot of pressure on myself to reach certain milestones as quickly as possible in the past. Most of that came from feelings of comparison or inadequacy. The need to prove myself, to feel like I belonged. But I kind of don't really care so much about that anymore - I know who I am and where I fit, and that's good enough! The times will come when they come. (or never!)

I also would like to do another Diablo II speedrun soon. I really enjoy that game, and that speedrun is a really fun way to play it. I also look back fondly upon the SNES Pentathlon suite of games... and wouldn't mind digging into those again. And Mega Man is always lurking around the corner...

Other Games
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-Got Yoshi's Crafted World. I like it - maybe not quite as much as Wooly World - and it seems like it's quite a beast to complete. But complete it I shall! So I'm moving through it very slowly. Meanwhile, my son has already almost beaten it. 100% vs any% in action.

-I organized a Smash Ultimate tournament at work. We've got 27 players, which is the high end of what I dreamed possible - so awesome!! I organized them into pools, so everyone will get at least 5 games - then the best players in the pools will move on to a tournament. Should be quite fun. I tried playing online a bit this week to prepare myself - and I got super wrecked. Apparently beating single player has no impact on being good against people. So I expect not to make it very far in this - we have a few good players here. (I would not mind advice on how to *get good* at this game...)

-Beat New SMBU Deluxe 100%. Generally enjoyed. Is a nice, relaxing game. Looking forward to playing New Super Luigi U some day.

-Still only halfway through Octopath. Beat all the "noble" character routes and got the "secret" jobs. Gotta do the rogues and then finish the game. Who knows when. Likely months away.

-I want to finish playing Spider-Man PS4 on Ultimate difficulty. I'd also like to stream a lot of this playthrough. I LOVE this game. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Starting to get the itch to play it again.

-I want to finish the FFXV DLC, as well. Who knows when. Maybe I could stream that, too.

The Hype
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Is so real I can't even stand it. Two weeks until Avengers Endgame. I'm losing my mind with anticipation. Not even the final season of Game of Thrones can distract me from it (something that, two years ago, I was also out of my mind with hype for - so that's saying something). After Endgame comes out I'll probably shift into proper Thrones hype as we drive towards the finale.

(On which note, I love the world of Ice and Fire a lot. Some people like Thrones as a TV show, but I love it for the fantasy world. I recently read "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" - which is a collection of very entertaining short stories about the knight Ser Duncan and his squire Egg - and "Fire and Blood" - the Targaryen family history. Though I wish I could use these things to be ticked that Martin was writing them instead of Winds of Winter, I ended up loving them. Great reads. Unfortunatley, they are also "unfinished", as there are more stories to be told about Dunk and Egg, and there is a part two about the Targaryen dyansty... so EVEN MORE THINGS I NEED TO WAIT FOR HIM TO FINISH WRITING!)

Lastly
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Really strongly considering doing another FF9 E2PG. Perhaps after my basement is finished and I can set up a more permanent streaming location....

Thanks everyone! God bless, take care, and hope to see you next time!