Let's Play 2023 - LUNAR: Eternal Blue Complete

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I decided to do a double post since my last post was way long.

Serak Palace

I finished the events with Mauri. Poor Leo and his self-doubts. The events seemed to subside super quickly, and I'm glad Mauri is healed, but I can't believe everyone has just accepted it all at face-value, especially after we know that the possessed Mauri could fake being nice. And what about all the other villagers that Mauri made to drink Zophar's blood and also become possessed?!

Raculi

I went back to Raculi and it appears everyone is also healed. Since Mauri was the first and the binding agent of the whole ceremony, when the curse was lifted from her, I guess everyone else reverted back to normal, too.

Anyway, it's off to the Red Dragon Cave! I thought it was the island back on the previous world map with Neo-Vane - the one with the giant wolf-head-shaped rock formation - but it's not. I've spent like 20 minutes going all over the world (especially now that we've made a full circle and can go pretty much anywhere now), and I can't find it.

I finally pulled up a walkthrough and lo and behold, it's literally back at Serak Palace in the room with Mauri. Geeeeeez.

Red Dragon Cave

Nice to see Nall again. Nice, uh, pep-talk to Ruby, I guess. Although I like him talking about his feelings with missing the loss of Alex and his old friends. I'm sure he's had other friends in the past 1,000 years, but I can imagine how hard that would have been.

Lots of cool items in this cave -- particularly Dyne's Armor!

Anyway, I've reached the Fire Fiend and am saving here. I'll tackle him tomorrow. If I remember correctly, it's a pretty hard boss!

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo!!!!--I just finished a Survivor session so I'm just taking a break right now, and I thought I'd check to see if you've posted. I drank like 4 beers and I'm feeling really good right now. I was just musing to myself how much I've changed from 20-year old alcoholic me getting wasted everynight to me now just popping open a beer and enjoying myself on the couch, so to speak. I think alcohol can definitely be a good thing if you don't abuse it, I think I have a much healthier relationship with it now than I did in my early years!

Oh, I've heard nothing but good things about Xenoblade Chronicles. I'll definitely have to pick it up when I can. It's part of the Xeno universe, amirite? Like Xenogears-Xenosaga? That's a throwback, for sure. I haven't done much with Xenogears since middle school. I think the Xenoblade games are pretty hard to get / expensive, though? I'll see what I can do about it here, since you like it so much. I have been wanting to sink my teeth into a meaty JRPG I can pour hours into and really obsess about. lol

Survivor is definitely family-friendly viewing. lol I'm sure you'll all enjoy the challenges. I think kids get a dig out of everyone being dirty not showering, being hungry and the depravation. It's funny to watch during dinnertime when you're all eating lol. There's strategy stuff if you're more business-minded and a lot of psycho-babble about morality and junk if you're into thinking about thinking hahahahaha lol. There's a little bit of everything for everyone.

In terms of our gaming adventure in LUNAR 2, I just am wandering around the Red Dragon Cave. Not doing much at the moment lol

Re: my life. I was actually thinking today how I'd go crazy if I was still in the US and be forced into a routine of some sort. I think going to school all through High School kinda forces us into a routine or schedule of some sort and that kinda follows us into adulthood and to work. I'd probably kill myself if I had to, for example, wake up at 5:30, drink coffee/eat breakfast, get ready for work, -the commute- , work and sit on my ass for 8 sedentary hours, -the commute home- , pick up groceries for dinner, cook dinner for the family and I'd have like nothing left to do what I really want to do i.e. hobbies / play a video game / watch something. Like, I would just.kill.myself. I'm pretty lucky I manipulated my life into what it is now and I have a very free schedule.

Have I ever mentioned how when I was young I thought being "locked in jail" was in a way kinda 'romantic'? Obviously, it's not but being locked in a room all woe is me for years upon years is kind of funny. I always wanted to be a prisoner when I was a kid and to work for McDonald's as a cashier. Those were my dream jobs. I was a weird kid. lol BUT,--now I've been kinda emulating the model prisoner like locking myself up in my house for days and just writing and writing and writing. That'd be a cool social experiment. The prisoner's diet/exercise routine is so interesting to me cause they get in such good shape over just continuous exercise out of sheer boredom on very little nutritional food! Also, I think it goes against the norm or what-have-you, but being locked in your room with no stimulation and provided you have no one to speak to but yourself you'd just be thinking and thinking and thinking. I honestly noticed in HS I constantly talk to myself in my head continuously and I even had trouble sleeping cause I couldn't stop thinking and it'd keep me up at night. I haven't told you but I LITERALLY FORCE MYSELF to play video games, watch Survivor episodes, write in a journal, go online and use the internet just to keep myself from lying in bed and just thinking about my life all day for hours and hours. I dunno if this's normal, but I think as long as your thoughts aren't negative, harmful or evil then anything goes! I admitted to my psych that sometimes I "talk to my friends" like in the US in my head all the time; like they'd ask me what's up and I'd say something and she told me that's the most normal thing she's ever head before! Lol

I'm an only-child and I'm very imaginative. I don't like being overstimulated like other guys I almost prefer being understimulated so my low-priority shit I like to do seems that much more fun when I do it! I definitely don't have ADD or anything since I like love slow, boring lifes. Like taking up smoking cigarettes is really interesting to me cause I take a moment away from life to be by myself, quiet and just think about whatever. I dunno if it's that lingering stoner-ness.

Honestly, if I could be any JRPG character it'd be any guy from the 90s JRPG trope they all have similar stories: a commoner, from a small village, some sort of farmer or self-resourceful individual, leads a quiet life but fights to protect his love, his family or the world. From evil. Then after the adventure is done, he's happy, fine and fulfilled to go back to his usual simple life. Any of the Ryus, Tirs, Alexs is fine with-by me! <3 No offense but I could probably never relate to mains if I had some crazy corporate job. Even at all my minimum-wage fast-food jobs I was fine being low man on the ladder, being stepped on by everyone, having to deal with all the customers and still putting all my effort into being the EVERY GUY in the restaurant whether it's cooking, doing the dishwashing, cleaning the bathrooms or taking out the garbage at night. I mean. I knew my place. I was always the lowest. But I was expected to do everything. And I'll probably get fired once... whatever they get bored of me.

Anyway. That's all for tonight, Boo!!! C: I'll probably sit in a stupor and think about alcohol's true meaning in my life. lol Bye.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Tonight's going to be a short post for me. We had company all night and I'm pooped.

I only played for a little bit and beat the Red Dragon Fiend, and I saved right after. I didn't think through the fact that we're about done with the game now that we've got the power of the four Dragons. Of course, the late-game content is pretty large (I remember the dungeons being long), and then there's at least several days of content with the Epilogue. But man, we're almost done!

Oh, I've heard nothing but good things about Xenoblade Chronicles. I'll definitely have to pick it up when I can. It's part of the Xeno universe, amirite? Like Xenogears-Xenosaga? That's a throwback, for sure.

There are three series, but each one is independent from the other. The only carry over between the three are just the shape of the Zohar (a sort of cross-like motif).

• First was Xenogears (which is a single-entry title) on the PS1;
• Then there's the Xenosaga series (which has 3 game "episodes" that literally pick up where the last game left off, a la Mass Effect) which were all on the PS2;
• Most recently there's been the Xenoblade Chronicles series (which has 3 games loosely tied together by a singular plot thread, but the three are also completely independent and you don't need to play any of them to understand the others);
• There's also Xenoblade Chronicles X, which was a WiiU exclusive and is sort of a bastard child unaffiliated with the others, but still falls under the Xenoblade Chronicles titles.

So yeah, three unique series that are only related by the creator and the Xeno-moniker. Outside of that, they aren't really related.

Re: my life. I was actually thinking today how I'd go crazy if I was still in the US and be forced into a routine of some sort. I think going to school all through High School kinda forces us into a routine or schedule of some sort and that kinda follows us into adulthood and to work. I'd probably kill myself if I had to, for example, wake up at 5:30, drink coffee/eat breakfast, get ready for work, -the commute- , work and sit on my ass for 8 sedentary hours, -the commute home- , pick up groceries for dinner, cook dinner for the family and I'd have like nothing left to do what I really want to do i.e. hobbies / play a video game / watch something. Like, I would just.kill.myself. I'm pretty lucky I manipulated my life into what it is now and I have a very free schedule.

Way to rub it in, hahaha... Jk... But for real, it's a very unsatisfying existence. It's no wonder where so many Americans are defeated, distraught, and unsatisfied. I know I am.

I haven't told you but I LITERALLY FORCE MYSELF to play video games, watch Survivor episodes, write in a journal, go online and use the internet just to keep myself from lying in bed and just thinking about my life all day for hours and hours.

I feel like, after a certain point, that would get old and you'd start getting antsy. Maybe not, but one would think! I know I couldn't do it! I have to stay active -- I like to hike and get outside, or to write. My dream job would be as a writer, but I don't have time to even write as a hobby anymore.

Honestly, if I could be any JRPG character it'd be any guy from the 90s JRPG trope they all have similar stories: a commoner, from a small village, some sort of farmer or self-resourceful individual, leads a quiet life but fights to protect his love, his family or the world. From evil. Then after the adventure is done, he's happy, fine and fulfilled to go back to his usual simple life. Any of the Ryus, Tirs, Alexs is fine with-by me!

I get this! I could never be a Tidus or a Zidane or a sort of leading man.

Anyway, today was a good day. We go to church on Sunday mornings, so we did that. I ran errands and took my daughter to her sports practice, and then I managed to squeeze in a 4-mile run. I try to run 3 or 4 days a week, and normally run 3 or 4 miles each time. Running it really important to me, as it helps me clear my head and de-stress. I tend to be an anxious and stressed person, so it helps me keep my levels low. Then our friends came over and we made homemade potato-broccoli soup and had grilled cheese sandwiches. All-in-all, a nice day.

Hope yours was good, bud! Chat at you tomorrow!

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo. I've been looking forward to talking to you all day. I'll try to keep my post concise this time instead of just rambling to you.

So in terms of LUNAR 2 I beat the Red Fiend. I was thinking disc 3 was gonna start. Yeah, I'm looking forward to just getting the game over with I hope you're in it for the long-haul as I am cause I'm still down to beat the game if you are. I was thinking today how funny it would be if either of us gave up! I'm still down to play more JRPGs with you I was thinking if we can keep it to reliving the classics that'd be great for me. I really love picking up something old and analyzing it today. I feel I have more stirring in my head now than I did when I was like 13-years-old lol.

I didn't mean that comment about killing.myself literally it's just the way I speak. I'm quite the opposite of scheduling/routine I sometimes think 24 hours is way too small a window to get everything done in a "day" so I sometimes I have 48 hour days. Like I try to stay awake for 2 days and get everything I need to get done and then maybe I'll take a nap or finally pass out lol. My busiest time was probably High School (lol) I just had so many hobbies and interests going on at that time and I always thought to myself "how I wished there were more hours in a day?" I would go to sleep at 4am-and wake up at 7:30am for school, and I just felt like I was giving it my all and really crunching out my school days. I felt like I was in my prime. I dunno what happened after I graduated. I'm kinda reaching in deep and hoping to find that deep something within my that I had back then.

I just kinda felt like a lot of the stuff I've said was kinda heavy so I apologize for that. You just seem like a down to earth guy and I started diarrhea at the mouth. I'll try to keep it light from now on. C:

You seem to have a wonderful life and you seem to have everything together. I think you're so cool and awesome!! Sometimes I think I'm still aspiring... for dreams and shit. lol I think I'm still learning even at my age. Maybe I died when I was younger and, I was re-born again??! Anyway I think the key to life- to anything is just keeping a happy attitude. That usually always keeps me going if I'm just happy inside doing whatever I have to do.

You know I really admire your corporate grind just because I could probably never do that. Like especially dealing with those types of people everyday. I think I'm more tribal? And hands on? Like I just like animals and farm land. Consoles are the closest thing to me and technology. And I guess the computer. And cell phones now, of course. I've never really been a tech-savvy kinda guy. I always fake it whenever I have to talk about computers and such lol. I still like keeping notes in a analog notebook. I guess I just like to keep it old school vibes. My books. lol

I was gonna say I much prefer using a message board to give and receive messages since Discord seems like a real live chat and it's just too messy. I can pick what messages I want to read on an MB.

I hope you're keep up the Super Dad thing. You must be really good at it. I just finished Survivor 4 I think you'd really enjoy that season there's a few characters in it that remind me of you. I think it's where Survivor finally picks up. And the locale is random, and wonderful. And unknown. lol

I've just been really trying to get back in touch with my roots here in my life. Like getting closer to nature, living in my culture more. That kinda stuff. But I mean I still enjoy JRPGs. I love analyzing Survivor so much though, I was thinking when it comes to getting to know people I still think video games is a really niche topic, whereas T.V. is much more appropriate for say a work-setting or work-environment. It's just a safe topic to bring up when you're at work. Especially Survivor, it's been water cooler talk at the office since 2000. I can't believe you still haven't watched it and you say you work in Corporate America. I wanna say shame on you!! :p

I'll retort with a short post of mine own. Um well yeah. Everything's going great here. The bank opens at 8 or 9am here and I'm just staying up and getting ready to drop in on them. I just think sleep is the death of me, it just restarts my body so-MUCH-so it takes hours for me to gain my bearings after nodding off. I just hate sleep. I dunno which I hate more: sleep or food. So yeah after I get some pocket change I can start to make more orders on what I need around the household/ranch villa. lol I love blowing money sometimes lol.

Aiight, keep up the good work Boo!! I catch ya around!!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to just getting the game over with I hope you're in it for the long-haul as I am cause I'm still down to beat the game if you are. I was thinking today how funny it would be if either of us gave up!

Yeah dude, I'm in for the long-haul. Especially now that we're just about at the end-game. We gotta knock this out of the park!

I'm still down to play more JRPGs with you I was thinking if we can keep it to reliving the classics that'd be great for me. I really love picking up something old and analyzing it today. I feel I have more stirring in my head now than I did when I was like 13-years-old lol.

I'll probably want to take a little break, since all of my gaming time is now going into LUNAR 2. I'd like to probably play Metroid Prime Remastered or finish Death Stranding, and then I'll be ready for our next game!

I didn't mean that comment about killing.myself literally it's just the way I speak.

I knew what you meant, hahaha... I didn't take it literally!

I just kinda felt like a lot of the stuff I've said was kinda heavy so I apologize for that. You just seem like a down to earth guy and I started diarrhea at the mouth. I'll try to keep it light from now on.

Naw man, this is real talk! Everything is on the table for the VidKid and Boo video game hour! I enjoy our chats, even when we foray into sensitive or deep topics. You don't need to change the topics or do anything differently. If I don't lean into a topic it's not intentionally -- my mind is probably elsewhere and I simply can't dig into every topic without missing something along the way. I also tend to bounce around in conversation, so it just goes with the territory. Don't change a think, bro.

You seem to have a wonderful life and you seem to have everything together. I think you're so cool and awesome!! Sometimes I think I'm still aspiring... for dreams and shit. lol I think I'm still learning even at my age. Maybe I died when I was younger and, I was re-born again??! Anyway I think the key to life- to anything is just keeping a happy attitude. That usually always keeps me going if I'm just happy inside doing whatever I have to do.

I mean, I certainly hate my life about 50% of the time. I love my wife and kids and the life here at home, but I certainly hate the other half that has to deal with work and having healthcare, and the future state of the world. I haven't even scratched the surface of how deep my frustration goes, haha... But like you said, the key to life is just to be happy, keep a good attitude, and I do think we just have to roll with things. It doesn't mean we can't change things or fight to change our lot in life, but I do think sometimes we just have to accept things for what they are.

I've just been really trying to get back in touch with my roots here in my life. Like getting closer to nature, living in my culture more.

This is what I'm trying to do, too. I'm just slower at it, haha... I also don't really have much of a culture to fall back on. My parents are the stereotypical American descendants of immigrants from England, and the culture they did prescribe to was moreso that hateful, evangelical Christian outlook that I have denied. Life is better when you aren't judging others and steeped in hatred; I wish more people saw that. I'm sure that most people *aren't* that way, but since it's my entire family, it's hard to escape from. I've definitely pushed my parents and siblings out at arms length as a result of it. I still love them and we have a good relationship, but there's just so much toxicity there that I have to keep them at arm's length or else I end up on the verge of a mental breakdown, haha...

I can't believe you still haven't watched it and you say you work in Corporate America. I wanna say shame on you!! :p

I have watched it! I just haven't watched it since, like, season 8 or season 9. I saw every season before then!

The sun is shining here after like a week of clouds and rain, so I'm going to go for a walk with the kiddos before the sun sets. Later tonight I'm going to finish up events in the Red Dragon Cave and move on to returning to the Goddess Tower. It's time to start finishing this!

One thing I'm hoping for is more context for Ghaleon - I just realized that he's hardly in the game, and what we are given is pretty thin. I know we'll have the final showdown with him and he ends up sacrificing himself as a hero, but I hope we get a little more than what we've gotten. His character really could have been anyone, specifically a new character!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Dang, I wrote a huge response and my power went out. I lost the entire post!

I got nothing for today now. I played LUNAR 2 a little today, finished the Red Dragon Cave, and had a confrontation with Ghaleon...

A summarized list of my thoughts...
1.) I wonder what the deal is with the Dragons. Are they somewhat omniscient and produce offspring before they know they're gonna die? We saw Quark do that in the last game, and the red dragon in this one. Or does each color of dragon always have a child out there in the world, which only ascends with dragon powers when the parent dies? Again, like we saw with Quark in SSSC and the Red Dragon in EBC.
2.) I need to find the timeline for the lore of LUNAR. Dragon Song takes place 1000 years before SSSC, and EBC takes place 1000 years after SSSC. The dragons in LUNAR DRAGON SONG are all entirely different dragons than the ones in SSSC, which makes me think the dragons are NOT immortal, despite a throwaway line from Ruby. Also, when did Althena bring humans to Lunar from the Blue Star? I thought it was about 1000 years before SSSC, but now that I think on it, that can't be right.
3.) What's the story with the False Althena? She is working with Zophar because she was promised eternal life and beauty, but where did she come from? Does she have any powers? Is there any backstory there?
4.) I'm still annoyed at the whole revival of Ghaleon subplot. He died in SSSC, and Zophar blindly revived him because why? Because Ghaleon was powerful and previously fought against Althena? I'm curious. I do remember that Ghaleon ends up betraying Zophar, but I'm curious to some of the machinations here.

Alright, that's the condensed version of my thoughts from today's post that was lost.

[VidKid369]

Aiight.
Drinking binge over. I'm back.
I ended it all with taking a pill last night and finally falling asleep. I can't wait to get back into LUNAR 2 it's the first thing I thought about when I woke up today, all in a haze.

I'm not a total expert on the dragons but I kinda think they're reborn just like Althena. When Dyne gave up his powers, Althena was reborn into Luna and Dyne gave both the baby and Nall to Alex's dad. They never outright explain it but I think hinting there's some rebirth going on. Like mythological creatures tend to do that right, like the phoenix?

Yeah, I don't think the dragons are immortal they live a long time but as we see with Quark they do age, I think sometime during this time they have offspring like Nall just happened to be around when Quark was old and near-death. The Red Dragon in SSSC was young but I guess she had Ruby before EBC.

I'm pretty sure Fake Althena is just any old regular human girl. She wants eternal youth and goddess-like beauty. She's meant to represent the shallowness and superficiality of humans, as she is a human posing as a real goddess. She does have powers you eventually have to fight her, evil powers.

Zophar basically made a move to revive Ghaleon thinking he'd seek out revenge on Althena; plain and simple. He was so close the first time he might be willing to bat twice. I actually think they show Ghaleon a fair bit he pops up now and then. I'm happy he doesn't get too many lines I don't want the whole story to be about him.

-I'm happy like 100% of the time. If I stopped having fun I'd probably take myself out. Sometimes I wonder if I'm hypermanic like I'm just SOOO happy but when I get sad I really feel it and get super depressed and sink down into a hole.
-I think white people are interesting. I sometimes wanna ask them where they're from originally or what blood they have, but I dunno if that'd be rude or if I'm just gonna get a state as an answer? I can usually tell from the last name like O'Brien/Carroll is Irish and van den Berghe is German? Do you have any deep connections to England? I think English girls are cute and I love their accent. Oh, I'm pretty close to my immediate family--Moving out at 18 isn't a 'thing' here and everyone lives together under the same roof all in one house and NO ONE thinks it's weird or even a thing, like we do in the U.S.
-Survivor's really taught me about the good attitude during trying times thing like cause they live on and island with nothing lol. It's also taught me life's all about disappointment cause my favorites don't ever seem to win. It's always the most random person you can think of they crown the winner. I think you get knocked on the chin a lot in life and it's important not to get down. I love watch Survivor on repeat cause I love repetition and watch the same thing over back and see if I have any different thoughts or add to my analysis.

Ok. Gonna jump on LUNAR 2 now again, Boo. Take care!! Bye!

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Aiight.
Drinking binge over. I'm back.

Haha, I hope you had a good time and you were safe.

I'm pretty sure Fake Althena is just any old regular human girl. She wants eternal youth and goddess-like beauty. She's meant to represent the shallowness and superficiality of humans, as she is a human posing as a real goddess. She does have powers you eventually have to fight her, evil powers.

Right, I just hope for maybe a little more backstory for her. She's sort of evil for evil's sake, so I'd like to see what made her desire all those things, and how'd she fall in line with Zophar? Like how'd they meet and how did she even end up in a position on Patagulia to claim to be Althena reborn? That being said, I think you're right about her being a representation of humanity's shallowness, so maybe that's the point and we don't really need much more than that.

I'm happy like 100% of the time. If I stopped having fun I'd probably take myself out. Sometimes I wonder if I'm hypermanic like I'm just SOOO happy but when I get sad I really feel it and get super depressed and sink down into a hole.

I've struggled with depression off and on for the past 15 years. I've seen professionals for mental health and tried medications. Currently not taking anything, but it certainly can help. Just gotta balance the good and the bad (which is easier said than done). I'm appreciative of my wife and kids because they keep me going. I'm a little bit of a nihilist, so they keep me from descending too far into the existential abyss, haha!

I think white people are interesting. I sometimes wanna ask them where they're from originally or what blood they have, but I dunno if that'd be rude or if I'm just gonna get a state as an answer?

Haha, I don't think most gringos would mind, although the blood type question would throw most people off (Asian or otherwise), simply because that's a very Eastern tradition. I know when I was in Japan that was one of the earlier questions I was asked by the locals, haha...

Speaking of blood, I gave blood late last week and I am still recovering. My energy level has been really low. I gave two units of red blood cells, so they took a bit extra compared to whole blood. I donate about five or six times a year and it always takes me a little bit to recover, but this time has been particularly rough. All I want to do is sleep but I can't!

I can usually tell from the last name like O'Brien/Carroll is Irish and van den Berghe is German? Do you have any deep connections to England? I think English girls are cute and I love their accent. Oh, I'm pretty close to my immediate family--Moving out at 18 isn't a 'thing' here and everyone lives together under the same roof all in one house and NO ONE thinks it's weird or even a thing, like we do in the U.S.

Naw, no connections to England. My dad's side of the family came from Scotland in early 1800s, so they've been here for many generations, and they seemed to have mostly married English settlers. My mom's side is entirely English. We have been told we have some Native American in us, but when my dad did a DNA test all we saw was Iberian (Spain). We don't have any cultural ties to England, although I spent a summer in Scotland and it was a blast. I even visited the island where our original Scottish ancestors came from!

So all in all, I'm as generic white boy as it gets.

I'm gonna dive into LUNAR here in a bit and will double post with any thoughts I have. I didn't get to play yesterday. We're having bad weather here tonight and school is canceled for the morning, so fingers crossed.

[VidKid369]

Heylo, Boo. I've mostly been re-watching Survivor for the past few days and it sure is refreshing rather than playing video games like 24/7 lol. I just got done watching my favorite season, so I'm like on a high lol! Sometimes I go back and forth between researching JRPGs / and analyzing Survivor so, I'm glad I have both these two hobbies in my life they kinda balance each other out lols.

Um, unfortunately I don't know too much else about Fake Althena other than she's just a human girl. Maybe Zophar tapped into her desire and chose her that way lol?

Um. I go back and forth between believing the doctors that diagnosed my "depression." I think I was just overweight and lazy, and they thought those were early-signs of it? I never think about it anymore and I struggle now with balancing my happiness. I feel I should be feeling different emotions everyday instead of being 100% happy, positive, fulfilled with my day and satisfied with my life all the time? I don't think being happy all the time is healthy. But I'm not gonna like read sad animal stories just to feel sadness, you know? lol

Oh I probably meant bloodline not blood-type. lol I got my blood tested like a few years back and found out I'm "AB" Negative. I googled it and apparently it's the rarest of the types. lol I know the Japanese in particular believe it tells lots about one's personality. I don't think we care too much about it in the U.S.

The only thing I know is when I was stuck in the hospital the white staff put "White/Latino" under my race lol. And I read the police report and it said White/Latino again. I complained to my social worker that I'm Asian and she said everybody thought I was Spanish from the way I looked like and my last name. :shrug: People in America are weird.

Anyway Boo, you know me I'm just waiting for you to give the go-to signal as to where you are in the game and that's my cue to trudge forward and make it to just before that point. I'm really glad we're doing something other than video games all the time though it's so refreshing. lol

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

Oh dang, I didn't realize you were waiting on me. I'm in the Goddess Tower saved right before fighting Ghaleon the final time.

Anyway, we've been without power for almost two days, so I haven't gamed any the past two nights. In fact, we've had such bad storms here a few people have died and lots of trees and powerlines are out. Our electricity came back on about 30 minutes ago.

Today and tomorrow I'll be trying to clean up the yard (we had two trees go down) and I'll be helping the neighbors. I may or may not be online for another day or two. Once I am back, though, I'll go into detail on the gaming updates and continue our normal chit-chat.

EDIT: I've been without power most of the day. It's been off and on. It was off for the past two hours or so and just now came back on, but I'm not holding my breath seeing as how it's been. It's also cold here (about 45 degrees F).

I'm over this crap.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I go back and forth between believing the doctors that diagnosed my "depression."

I get this. My doctors were quick to suggest anti-depressants, when exercise and healthy living did far more for me than any medication did. Not that medication doesn't serve a purpose in the equation, but "depression" as a whole is thrown around very easily. Like you said, it's all about balance.

Oh I probably meant bloodline not blood-type. lol I got my blood tested like a few years back and found out I'm "AB" Negative. I googled it and apparently it's the rarest of the types. lol I know the Japanese in particular believe it tells lots about one's personality. I don't think we care too much about it in the U.S.

Hahaha! Yeah, I thought you meant blood type, which is pretty much horoscope for them.

The only thing I know is when I was stuck in the hospital the white staff put "White/Latino" under my race lol. And I read the police report and it said White/Latino again. I complained to my social worker that I'm Asian and she said everybody thought I was Spanish from the way I looked like and my last name. :shrug: People in America are weird.

I shouldn't laugh, but this is kinda funny.

Some gaming thoughts I had from before but never got to post here...

I thought the animation of the dragons destroying Pentagulia was awesome. I love seeing the dragons come together and just reign destruction. I often underestimate their power and forget that they're essentially demigods in their own right.

It was also good to finally get some motivation from Ghaleon on the Dragonship Destiny. He claims to want to destroy the world with Zophar only so he can rebuild it in the image he desires. Also - I noted in that conversation that Ghaleon flat-out calls the world LUNAR, as in with all capitalization. I think that's something you called out waaaaaay back when we were first starting. I don't remember having seen it that way elsewhere in this game, although it may have and I never paid it any mind.

Also - costume change again for Lucia, and she's back to her original red outfit! I like how they take a lot of Russian / Eastern European / Scandinavian influence in the look for the outfits in this game. I LOOOVE it, actually. All that fur and cross-threading.

There was that one room where Lucia and company gives full background to Zophar and the events of LUNAR and the Blue Star. I remembered all this already, but it was cool seeing it again and with more context. The chamber was supposed to be using the Goddess Tower to channel magical energy back to the Blue Star so that it may be healed. I know I've mentioned it a million times, but there's so much room for sequels and more stories in this series, and it's a damn shame this series is relegated to cult classic...

I know I've said it before, but I'm really tempted to play DRAGON SONG. Probably a modded version of the game (if such a thing exists) where the combat and game system isn't so terrible. If I remember correctly, walking in that game is a slog and dashing costs HP, not to mention the weird battle mechanics.

Anyway, my next session will be defeating Ghaleon and then going on to the final battle against Zophar. I may try to beat the game in my next session. I'll wait and see where you're at before I do anything further, though.

Thanks buddy. We're almost there!

[VidKid369]

Hey, Boo. I've been just catching up with my Survivor re-watch while I, basically, waited for an update from you I thought for sure you were just busy but it's TOTALLY FINE with me. lol I needed a much-needed break from video games and just sitting back, eating snacks while watching Survivor was and still is a great-way to relax for me. I've been into it for 23 years and watching the early seasons all over again brings back so many memories, about HS and what-not lol. It's all such a blast from the past! lol

Ok. After I get done with this post I'll pop in LUNAR 2 again and do the events after the Red Dragon. Tbh, I kinda forgot what happens. I know Lucia fights Zophar in a dramatic anime clip and then there's fighting Zophar itself, and then the events in the Epilo-goo. lol

-I think not thinking about depression at all really helps. I just don't even think about it anymore, forrealz. lol. I just think if you're really struggling with it, and you keep thinking stuff like 'why do I have this?' or 'what did I do for this to happen to me?' I think it'll just not ever fix itself. Definitely getting the motivation to go out even for a walk, and get your basic needs taken care of like personal hygiene is really important. I think everyone deserves to be happy and take care of themselfs. lol Well, as a former-stoner, I get really excited getting to play with prescription medication now as I've never had access to it before. :p There's tips & tricks like cutting your pills and stuff that I never knew of before.

I shouldn't laugh, but this is kinda funny.

Oh, I meant for that to be a funny story so please laugh if you found it funny as well. It was just weird cause all the little nurses thought they were like experts on peoples' race/and their physical description/like having to fill in that little box. I've always identified as Asian. I do get a LOT of interactions with people where they have no idea what I am though, sometimes they ask sometimes they just give a funny face and I don't know what that's supposed to indicate. I go back and forth between just putting down Asian or being forrealz with myself and thinking "what is my physical description/if I have to fill out a really important form?" I guess, I have learned that most people from America find me to be White/Latino which is supposed to be its own specific description. I just take it to mean I look kinda white with a little bit of Latino heritage. Probably from the food I ate in the U.S. and all the different types of people I see growing up. People tell me here, that if I had stayed in the Philippines I would probably look different. I think talking about race is hella funny, dude. lol

Tbh, I've gotten so used to just telling someone what they expect to hear instead of me having to explain I'm Filipino and why I look like this. It just saves both of us time.

I dunno how to explain it but I always took Lucia's red garb as some sort of Muslim thing? Like how the women wear that fit that covers their entire body except their eyes. I've always associated it with that.

Lol, hopefully we can keep having fun with the next game we do, Boo. I'll TRY to get my hands on the game if I don't already have it in my collection. You already know my type - like oldies but goodies, 1990-2000s JRPGs is always fine with me.

Ok, I just have to shave my face and I'll do LUNAR now.

Oh, well just to reiterate LUNAR refers to the video game, and Lunar refers to the in-game world a.k.a. the Silver Star. Maybe Ghaleon was just yelling or the writers got LUNAR/Lunar mixed up, for once haha.

EDIT: Ok I just beat Fake Althena and watched the ending scenes of Disc 2. Those two scenes have to be my favorite of all-time. I've always loved the scene with Old Luna. It actually made me cry this time seeing her again, last time I watched it just made me teary-eyed. I haven't cried in awhile, my tears were cold as ice. Then I think everyone's favorite scene in Lucia vs. Zophar. I've always enjoyed watching that scene. I love watching LUNAR's anime cutscenes after a while of not having seen them. This makes me not be able to wait until I watch the Trinity of Terror in SSSC. I love having a perfect save on my PS3 with the Rememberizer so I can re-view the scenes whenever I want to. Some of the scenes you can miss like the Springs in SSSC. lol

Goodnight, Boo.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

I put some time in today to get to where you are. There's not really much to talk about on the personal front. Things have been hectic with all the power outages and storms. After I posted yesterday evening, the power went down again and we were without power until this morning. Knock on wood, but so far we've kept power all day today. In fact, the weather was great today (although there was lots of pollen).

I'm just trying to stay sane. Admittedly, I've been progressively more stressed over the past few weeks; it's just a combination of work and the constant movement of school and kids events. I am the type of person who needs some downtime/alone time, and it's sometimes days between having a minute outside of 30-minute(-ish) Lunar sessions. I haven't been getting that at all, so I'm in a bit of a bad place mentally. I did squeeze in a run today and ran four miles, and running is the one thing I force into my schedule, as the endorphins / seratonin from running helps keep me from getting into a slump.

Anyway --

Goddess Tower

First I defeated the transformed false Goddess Althena. Her mutated form reminds me a little of some monsters from the Elder Scroll series, which are essentially blue/grey-skinned scantily-clad ladies with the bottom halves being giant spiders.

But dang, a lot of FMV here! I think this events between here and Zophar's final dungeon are longer than anything we'd gotten in SSSC. It's so epic!

First...

I find it funny that Nall knows all the answers for Lucia, but Lucia herself - as an avatar of the Goddess - doesn't have them. I guess that's because Lucia has been asleep since the events of on the Blue Star and has no idea what's happened since (and is happening) here on Lunar. How'd he get here to the heart of the Goddess Tower anyway? Has he always been able to go here? Or has he just been locked out since Pentagulia set up the magical barrier?

As for the scene with Luna / Goddess Althena... Okay, this confirms what I always thought: that Althena became human once and for all and was reincarnated as Luna. Goddess Althena no longer exists, period. This is what I originally thought, but the game definitely gives the impression that Goddess Althena does this every so often in a cycle: she chooses to become human for a time, dies, and her deity essence essentially "reforms" and she becomes the deity again.

There's always the prospect that there are other avatars of the Goddess imbued with her power, just like Lucia... but yeah, Althena literally doesn't exist anymore. But these daughters of Althena (or avatars, or whatever you want to call them) can claim her power.

Regardless, when Lucia claimed those powers she stole the magic from the ENTIRE WORLD. And just in time for Zophar to awaken!

World Map

I like how this game is sort of an escalation and a fallout from what happened in SSSC. We got the backstory to how and why Althena brought the humans to Lunar, and the events that transpired. Zophar is a bigger threat than Zophar ever was. I also like that Zophar is this weird sort of Cthulthu-esque entity in the end and is truly beyond normal human behavior.

The scene between Lucia and Zophar was pretty rad. It's interesting that Zophar was indeed defeated back on the Blue Star, and it is only because of the darkness of mankind that he was able to revive. I wonder if this means that he could always come back again one day...

END OF DISC 2.

I finished the events and am waiting before I commit to going into the final dungeon, as once you do, there's no turning back. I'm just glad we finally get Leo as a party member. I like his character growth (even if he was an ass-hat initially), and I think he's a cool combat character.

[VidKid369]

Heya, Boo.

As for the game, I beat Ghaleon on top of the Guild's roof. I decided I was gonna do a few things before entering Zophar's Domain (if the game lets you): a) I'm gonna re-visit all the town maps if you get control of the Destiny. There HAS to be line changes by now for everybody. And b) I'm gonna try to grind out the Chiro monsters in the White Dragon Cave that you were previously too weak before to kill in one round before it runs away. I'm pretty sure Hiro's Triple Sword and Lemina's Catastrophe is enough to kill it in one turn of the party's. I'm lv. 52 btw. From what I can remember, they give out lots of EXP points. I'm also gonna try to max out my Star Light capacity of 20 just because I don't want to struggle in the dungeon lol.

Oh, I meant to say sorry about the blackouts you've been having. (We call them 'brownouts' here, it wasn't until recently I found out the Mid-west calls it brownouts as well.) We get a lot of blackouts here too where the electricity just shuts down for an hour, sometimes multiple times a day it's pretty much just annoying especially if I'm playing a game and haven't saved yet. We have a generator on the property that runs on fuel so we just turn it on everytime the power goes down. It's pretty old like 5 years old but it still works. It's pretty helpful to have around the house just in case.

I feel you Boo about needing me time I'm exactly the same way. Whenever I force myself to "socialize" when I'd rather be doing my own thing I feel fake even if mental health professionals say you have to have face-to-face interactions with non-family members everyday. That sounds kinda old to me. Don't they know times have changed and much more communication is done online nowadays? lol I disagree with the 'norm' a lot of the times.

Yeah, Leo used to be my fav but you get him so late in the game it's like pointless. lol

As for me, I'm still doing my Survivor thing. I looove strategizing to myself about what I need to order, or self-care stuff, stuff for my dogs, things I need around the farm et cetera. I've been keeping a calendar I drew by myself in just my notebook I keep track of things like how many hours I walked today and how many sit-ups/push-ups I did. lol It helps me tons. I try to write in my journal whenever I can it's just another way to shittalk. Mostly, I've been doing lots of self-care I'm in love with this comedone that helps get rid of all the junk in your pores. I'm obsessed with clean and now I guess cleaning my own body. Maybe I'll finally get a girlfriend soon if I keep it up? (Yeah right, I snore.) Yeah I've been getting more into trying to look presentable, normal and just having good hygiene. I gross myself out a lot so I can only imagine other people? I've been ordering more food I want to teach the cooks what I like to eat like: more couscous, paneer tikka masala, etc. I get tired of rice everyday.

Yeah that's pretty much all I've been up to. Right now, I'm gonna pop in another episode and experiment with body lotions and stuff like that. I bought teeth whitening foam. I have stretchmarks under my arms from High School when I used to run track so I bought cream to get rid of it finally. I'm messing around with talcum powder. I wanted to ask you since you're a runner if you know any good foot creams or what to do when your feet get all hard and calloused from walking/running? I just bought this stuff from Thailand that smells like banana. And I have a foot scraper. I've been trying to clip my nails literally the day they need to go. I like my nails super short since I game a LOT. I also wanna get some hand creams cause I game a LOT. Been doing a lot of hand exercises as well.

I also just mess around with rubbing alcohol. lol

Well, das' it.

I love items, lol.

[Boo the Gentleman Caller]

As for the game, I beat Ghaleon on top of the Guild's roof. I decided I was gonna do a few things before entering Zophar's Domain (if the game lets you): a) I'm gonna re-visit all the town maps if you get control of the Destiny. There HAS to be line changes by now for everybody.

Good idea! I'll probably do the same tonight. I def know I need to refill my restorative items, so I plan on doing the same.

I'm lv. 52 btw. From what I can remember, they give out lots of EXP points.

I've level 50.

We have a generator on the property that runs on fuel so we just turn it on everytime the power goes down. It's pretty old like 5 years old but it still works. It's pretty helpful to have around the house just in case.

We keep talking about getting one but it has yet happen. They're not cheap here and having a spare $500+ USD doesn't seem to be in the cards any time soon.

I feel you Boo about needing me time I'm exactly the same way. Whenever I force myself to "socialize" when I'd rather be doing my own thing I feel fake even if mental health professionals say you have to have face-to-face interactions with non-family members everyday. That sounds kinda old to me. Don't they know times have changed and much more communication is done online nowadays? lol I disagree with the 'norm' a lot of the times.

My job is very, very social. I meet with a lot of different team members, I have 7 direct people reporting to me, and I meet a lot with stakeholders / C-level leaders. It's very social and exhausting. I'm an extrovert-introvert (moreso extrovert than introvert), but the older I get, the more that seems to be flip-flopping.

Maybe I'll finally get a girlfriend soon if I keep it up?

Go get them, king! The hard thing I could totally see is that you're not in a huge metro area. Where would you meet eligible bachelorettes? My buddy is single and uses Tinder, and I live about 30 miles outside of a major metro, and when he tried to swipe in my area he exhausted his options in one sitting. Suffice to say, not a lot of options if you're in an area where there aren't many people.

I wanted to ask you since you're a runner if you know any good foot creams or what to do when your feet get all hard and calloused from walking/running? I just bought this stuff from Thailand that smells like banana. And I have a foot scraper.

Your skincare routine is much more robust than mine. I just use plain old soap from Costco on my body and face, and I do washcloth scrubs with a face wash about every other day or so. Obviously skin type really plays a big role. For example, I naturally have really soft skin that is only moderately (healthy) oily. My wife's skin is more ashy. However, I scar REALLY easily and she never scars, so I'm not sure how all that works, but it is what it is.

I still get pimples every now and then, especially around my hairline, which is caused by hairspray and hairwax that I use when I go into the office. I have to really watch that.

As for my feet, I have a pumice stone and scrub my feet about once a week. I started about a year ago and I had to do it every few days for a few weeks until my feet could finally get soft and the dry skin gone. I also used a lotion for sensitive skin every now and then, but that isn't often.

There is a product called Blue Emu I use for my knees. It's moreso to help my knees since I was having bad knee problems for a while. I rub it into my knees two or three times a day and it seems to have some skin softening agents in it, as my knees are now shiny soft, hahaha... Unintended side effect!

When I run now I have to wear compression sleeves on my knees. Between those and new running shoes (and the Blue Emu mentioned above), my knees are in a much better place. I've also started sleeping with a thin pillow between my legs, to stop my kneecaps from grinding each other, haha...

Anyway, I'm signing off for now and will try to check in tonight after my gaming session. We're so close and we're going to be at the Epilogue within the next few days!