I am trying to get better at keeping spoilers under a Read More point. If I do mess up, please tell me so I can fix it.
This especially important for me, as my recent Harvestella playthrough has brought me more activity on my page in the last week or so than I've had in the 10+ years I have been on The Hellsite (affectionate) under previous names and I want to make sure if someone else plays this absolute gem because of me, that this portion is as unspoiled for them as it was for me.
Problem is, I'm not used to having such strong feelings about anything, nor am I used to letting myself gush about something this much. But after years of following someone who wholeheartedly gushes about what she loves, it's finally rubbed off on me in a way I wish had never been beaten out of me... and so I want to take a moment and thank you, @gyppygirl2021 because your passion for the X and Zero Megaman games (and many others before that) have made me look at myself and realize... I CAN let my love for what I do flow freely. I CAN be unmitigatedly myself. My own passions have been reignited, and all I can say is, from the bottom of my heart... thank you.
I've rambled long enough. Back to my regularly scheduled heartbreak... which is to say...
...everything about Chapter 5 of Harvestella onwards, until The Greatest Payoff In Gaming History (for me)
Inti Creates could make serious bank, certainly from me anyway, if they would make a Blaster Master Zero spinoff around Leibniz. They even planted seeds for it at the end of 2.
I said it before, of course, but it's worth reiterating
I don't know why my quote from Agarth in Kingdoms of Amalur post blew up suddenly, but thank you all for reblogging it... It made my day ^^
I should replay KoA sometime soon.
Also sorry about the lack of minis lately. I have been trying to relax after some IRL stuff and have been rewatching Record of Lodoss War for some inspiration for some writing and some solo adventuring D&D stuff which may be related to said writing.
I have one other mini I've painted in the meantime but I'm not quite happy with how it's turned out and will be re-painting parts of it before I post it.
For a while I was getting the hang of talking more about things I love and things I was noticing. But I'm beginning to notice a pattern of starting to be more afraid of talking about them. I don't even know or understand why after all this time I'm still afraid to... but I need to try and break out of that more.
My recently acquired love of painting minis is starting to bring me out of my shell more, though. I started painting them down in the common area of my apartment complex to try and get used to being around people more, and I've had people ask me about them... and others being wowed by what I've done. Which... I don't really see it, but others do. I admit to my perfectionist tendencies, and that's another thing I need to work on too.
Anywho, I might start posting some more of my painted minis here. They'll be tagged accordingly, probably something like Aleister's Painted Minis or something.
It's been a hot minute since I posted a life update. So come along, pull up something comfy here in the shadows, and make yourself at home. This is gonna be a long post, as always, but there's some fun things I've been doing in here too. So... here goes.
Where do I even begin...
At the end of last year, I got the call that I was waiting on for a long time: the apartment I signed up to get when the garbage with a former friend went down decided to lease to me. Although it took a bit longer than I had hoped, in February I moved in, and am finally on my own.
Except I'm not on my own. I have a wonderful circle of friends here who have been my rocks, and also most of my neighbors have been incredibly supportive and check on me when I inevitably withdraw on personal projects for days at a time.
Well, aside from the one who decided my gothic fashion choices made vandalizing my bike a valid decision... and management did not mess around and let that stand, slapping them with a material lease violation and a 30 day notice to vacate.
Which, yeah... I've finally decided to fully embrace my love of the strange, dark, and mysterious, including becoming a big fan of internet storyteller MrBallen. And as of the start of this month I can make that a longer reality: after 15+ years of fighting to take back control of my finances, I was finally granted control of my money again! I'm still waiting on what was in my savings through my former payee (SWEET MERCIFUL DARKNESS I LOVE BEING ABLE TO SAY THAT!!!) but once that arrives, I'm going to further update my closet.
In the meantime, I've started taking up a new hobby I've been trying to do for a long time: painting TTRPG minis. Forgive my potato quality phone cam, but here's a few of my recent works.
This one is a Red Mage mini, but I painted it in the style of the GaMetal Bard. It's also the mini I'll be using for my character in my brother's upcoming campaign, an eldritch fighter named Arcus Feldio (named after speedrunner and all around calming guy Arcus... as well as the protag of I Left My A-Rank Party, which has been an anime I've enjoyed immensely of late)
This one needs some touch ups, but the silver-blue blend looks SO GOOD in person. Also incredibly happy with the shield, helm, and pauldrons. This pic is especially rough quality, unfortunately. I'll admit I tried to crop this one and overcompensated. Photography is NOT my strong suit.
Again, I'll retouch this one later, but an orc with a BFS is a terrifying sight. I couldn't find a mini that was actually an orc, so I did what I do best and made do. The plate armor and sword only took one layer to get that sheen and I'm happy with it, but I'll probably give it another just to make it pop a bit more.
This one was the simplest, but I love how the purple flame came out.
My two ambitious minis I'll be trying to paint are both Fire Emblem characters: Tellius's Black Knight and Three Houses' Death Knight. I also have three minis that I am building towards that I want to be fully confident in my skills before I try to paint: David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King, Record of Lodoss War's Parn, and Chrono Trigger's Magus.
I'll probably post more of my minis in the future once I've painted them. And despite my novice-level skill, it'll still be better than AI slop ;)
Aside from all this, I've started also slowly started collecting manga again. I've recently acquired the first 5 volumes of Frieren (not all at once, I bought the first two before I moved and the other three at a rate of one a month) and am looking at starting to grab Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save The World because THAT PREMISE IS SO GOOD (and I loved the anime based on it... season 2 when?!)
I am also potentially planning a grand return to streaming, provided my internet holds up. It will likely be a few hours a day run through Fire Emblem Gaiden (Gaiden Month, Take 3?) starting in June.
Being away from my birth family and moving closer to my chosen family has opened up a number of opportunities for me. I'm grateful to be able to finally do the one thing I've wanted for many years: to fully live my life, unfettered and unburdened.
What can I say about 2025 that hasn't been articulated yet? Aside from the fact this might be one of my worst years on record (and considering how some of them have gone, that's saying something) and also one of the most stress-inducing... It can stay buried. Among the issues, we have...
-One of my best friends ended up turning into a full on stalker and I had to get a protective order
-The fallout of a large part of my family disowning me
-Chronic issues with my scooter, which is still down after it all
-I got passed between 3 different case managers, which caused a great many things to be disrupted
-My payee screwed me out of buying a good Christmas for my friends
Despite this...
-I found a wonderful community of fellow gamers who have been nothing but supportive
-I finally came out as nonbinary, and everyone who matters in my life were welcoming and supportive
-I got my name legally changed so that I'm no longer tied to the people who want nothing to do with me
-I bought an awesome gaming PC for dirt cheap, and it's been the biggest help for getting through all of the above
-I replayed Harvestella, which I can say for certain is now tied with Fire Emblem Gaiden as the game closest to my heart
-After yearly playthroughs of Fire Emblem Gaiden every year since 2008, I FINALLY got an Angel Ring drop (the odds are 0.014, or about 7 in 50,000) which may not seem like much but it was one of my hypest gaming moments ever
I do not go into the new year without hope.
The call I was waiting on heralded the end of the year, and it's my full intent to see my plans finally come to fruition. I've come too far to let it go. And in doing so, I reclaim my life, and all those I should never have let go.
And if anything gets in my way, be it person, beast, demon, or eldritch monstrosity... It will feel the full extent of my wrath.
I end this year with a simple warning: the gloves are off, and I am unleashing my full might upon my future. Whatever it takes, I WILL break free. I WILL be nothing less than myself. I WILL NOT stop until my goals are met, and woe upon ye if you think I'm joking.
I'm taking back control. This world of despair ends with me.
