Current Events > MLP Social v2505: "Make us whole."

(+) Yeah! (+)

Okay, now that I'm more awake, I realize that the bacon I cooked in the oven yesterday might have something to do with it. I cooked it a couple minutes too long, so it was kinda burnt. But it also did hours-later beeps on days where I only used the stovetop. It also easily gets an error message with accompanying beeps if you don't crack the door post-bake and let it vent that way. Definitely avoid Frigidaire brand ovens.

Also, had a dream that involved a crossover with Starfox and Hardspace: Shipbreaker. The characters hijacked some big enemy ship, beat up everyone on board, and took the ship back for dismantling. I think it could work. Make the dismantling less complex and more exciting than Shipbreaker's, and you could have something good on your hands. Certainly couldn't be any worse than Starfox Zero.

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Unlocked a new Binding of Isaac character called The Keeper. He also sucks. He uses coins for health, so if you get hit, you need to find a coin to heal. It's an interesting idea, since you have to decide whether to grab coins immediately for spending money, or leave it for a health refill. Plus, he can buy devil deal items with money instead of health, and since devil rooms vanish when you leave them or the room outside them, that makes the coin grabbing conflict even tougher.

The issue is that for some reason, his coin health starts at two and maxes out at three, no matter how many health upgrades you find. And he can't take half-units of damage like normal heart users, so that's two hits at most that he can survive. The only reasonable way to survive is to get a shield orbital or an item that can generate coins on the spot, and there's not many of those.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

ah yes, that newest black dress everyone loves. tho, it is a really good look.

https://youtu.be/C3qYAvmiKRs?si=vU7rQDc4l-Sx7sdT

The music from the Megaman X series holds up extremely well, even decades after release, and the X Vs. Zero theme is a prime example. It's a very popular song to remix, and for good reason. It's the perfect music for a duel between two highly experienced brothers-in-arms combat robots.

Boy, a lot's happened since the last time I mentioned Sweet Baby Inc. A Steam group was discovered that lists games they worked on, and over the course of a month, over 350,000 people joined. Assassins Creed: Valhalla is on the list, which likely explains why it was the worst of the trilogy. Saints Row 2022 was on there once, but was removed since their involvement wasn't confirmed.

For some reason, SBI got pissed at this. Wouldn't they want people to know what they worked on? They wanted people to mass-report the group and its owner to get them taken down, but Steam sided against them, since the group wasn't harassing them. All they do is say "SBI worked on this game, and here's proof".

Because of the increased attention to SBI, people were able to find that a lot of them and companies like them were very discriminatory towards... "non-diverse" people. The increased attention means that they're finally starting to get some well-deserved pushbacks. Nature is healing.

It's been over a month since my hospital visit, but I haven't received any bills in the mail yet. Knowing my luck, it'll show up... well, not tomorrow, since it'll be Sunday, but ASAP.

The cat's not looking good. My brother believes she had another seizure last night. Today, she was walking slowly, limping on her right back leg a bit, and is now just laying on her belly in the middle of the living room. She's still awake and breathing, but you can tell she's not at all feeling 100%. I... I think her time may be coming soon.

My day so far:

Get woken up multiple times at stupid hours like always to help my mom sit up or adjust her legs since she's too weak to do it herself. Witness our beloved cat in a noticeably weakened state from an apparent seizure and kidney failure. My mom pukes, I take her bowl to the bathroom to empty it, only to bump my hand on the toilet lid and accidentally spill some on the toilet, so I had to clean that up. The whole day, my mom's been coughing and hacking up phlegm like she has been for the past week.

The whole time, I'm dealing with a headache caused by either stress or bad posture. The posture is from my mom's room, which is cramped and messy, so the only good view of the TV can be gotten with a slanted pillow with a regular pillow on top. Until I can majorly clean it up, I can't really sit normally there, and I don't feel comfortable doing that while she's still around.

The cat can only walk in short bursts and has to lay down between each one.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

I'm sorry to hear that, Mega

My brother tested positive for covid, and he thinks the cat might have caught it from him, which explains why she's been extra sluggish. Can an animal as old as her fight that off?

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

I wasn't even aware animals could get it... o_o

I'm on my back patio and the eclipse is starting. I'm letting my brother borrow the eclipse glasses so he can set up a camera to record it, then I'll wipe them down and take them back.

Annoyingly, there's carpenter bees buzzing around. I'm glad they don't have stingers, but I still can't feel entirely relaxed with their loud buzzing.

Man, this is surreal. It's like someone put a dimmer switch on the sun.

I wonder when the last eclipse was. Was I stuck in school then?

Edit: FULLY COVERED. IT FEELS LIKE I'M WEARING SUNGLASSES, BUT I'M NOT. HOLY SHIT.

Edit 2: For two brief, glorious minutes, it was like a late sunset at only 3 in the afternoon, and I could look without glasses.

The cat's not getting any better. She hasn't been walking around, just laying down. She can't even get to the litterbox and has just been wetting herself. There's no doubt, her time has come.

I don't think my brother has set a time for her to go yet, but I won't be able to go with him. My mom's been needing to have her legs adjusted much more recently. According to my phone's call history, she's called me for an adjustment every 30-60 minutes. There's no way I can leave her be for the time it'll take for the cat to be sent off.

She's gone. There was absolutely no chance of recovery, so my brother's taking her off to end her suffering. As predicted, I had to stay behind to take care of my mom, so no being there for the cat at the end, and no comforting my brother at the loss of his beloved pet of 18 years. Guess it's fitting, in a way. It was just him and her at the beginning, and it's just him and her at the end.

At least she lived to see one hell of an eclipse and one final gorgeous Spring day. Before he left, I reassured my brother that he was an absolutely amazing pet owner who gave her a long happy life.

He's back. They gave him her body to keep overnight. Guess they'll cremate her tomorrow morning.

He says she threw up while they were waiting, so she was just getting even worse. Seems he sent her off at just the right time. Any further delays would have just magnified her suffering significantly.

Think I'm starting to develop a sinus infection. Sure, why not. Join the party! After all, I've got thieves oil, so it'll be out on its ass soon enough.

I can't believe the cat's gone. While the male cat only became friends with me in 2018, the female cat was fairly friendly towards me as soon as she moved in in 2015. Helps that she had seen me before in prior visits to my brother. She was so long-lived and energetic for her age that it felt like she was gonna be around forever.

Yesterday, my brother had carried her outside since she couldn't walk anymore, and he brought her back in so I could pet her for the last time. It still feels like if I go in my brother's room, I'm gonna find her curled up on his bed, just enjoying another nap.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

I still have a hard time having just lost one cat, losing two would be rough. but at the same time, you and your brother gave both cats great lives that many cats don't get to have.

How come you never got another cat, Cart? Is it because you moved into a new house a few years back, and it's not a good environment for one?

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

How come you never got another cat, Cart? Is it because you moved into a new house a few years back, and it's not a good environment for one?

yeah, partly. we've been in three houses in El Paso already. my cat passed while we were in the first, and we downsized so there was just no room for the things a cat would need.
we're now in a somewhat bigger house (which we bought, not renting), but we just haven't been able to go for another cat, like our lives have moved on from pets for the time being.

I know that feeling. I haven't had a pet in over a decade now, at least. There's stray cats outside that are pretty friendly, but it's not the same.

https://imgur.com/a/3SHbHBS

She was a very beautiful cat... who sometimes got into staredowns with our other cat.

Was feeling really crappy today, so I decided to use one of the covid tests we got in the mail.

Positive. -_-

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

Was feeling really crappy today, so I decided to use one of the covid tests we got in the mail.

Positive. -_-

aw crud. hang in there, Mega.

The neighbor made us another lasagna. Once again, she's proven to be the sole bright spot in my life.

Don't worry, I wore a face mask, latex gloves over clean hands, and I told her I'm infected while a safe distance from her.

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MegamanXfan21xx posted...

oh my

Robocop: Rogue City is awesome! Little surprise, since it's made by the same studio that made Terminator: Resistance. Much like Resistance, it's an adaptation of a beloved 80s property that's heavily based around that property's golden era; in this case, the first two RC films, with it being set between 2 and 3. Robocop is voiced by his original actor, Peter Weller, just like he was in Mortal Kombat 11, and the guy's still got it.

Like Resistance, it's an FPS with immersive sim elements. Since it's set in a functioning society unlike Resistance, there's more dialogue, and even skill checks that show up if you have high enough stats or found clues. You can conduct smaller-scale policework on the side, and get public trust by being lenient towards minor crimes; letting your humanity show. What public trust does, I don't know. It's not openly tracked, so it probably affects the ending.

I really like the environments. They're smaller, but packed full of detail. I've always had an odd fondness for fictional, dystopian, crime-ridden cities. Every inch of New Detroit is grungy, littered with trash, covered in graffiti, and the city streets are perpetually rain-slicked, like any good 80s action movie city should be. They really gave it their all to give this craphole a personality!

You always have access to that signature burst-fire pistol with infinite ammo, and can carry a second weapon taken from killed enemies. You get the ability to modify it with these booster chips to increase its stats, as well as give it special abilities, like different firing modes, infinite ammo, splitting bullets for close-range targets, and one special just makes enemies spew more blood.

It's hard to believe that the studio behind this made the absolutely awful Rambo rail shooter from 2014. Guess giving them enough budget for a game with free movement was just what they needed. I wonder what they'll do next? My only guess is something involving either the Alien and/or Predator franchise.

Also, does anyone miss when street punks were portrayed as having colorful spiky mohawks, crazy piercings, leather/denim vests, tattoos, and screechy voices? They were not only distinct, but also very entertaining fodder to be mowed down in droves by the hero.

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MegamanXfan21xx posted...

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heh
and I always did wonder if an eclipse was ever a thing in MLP when sun and moon are controlled by ponies. like, there should've been a prophecy or legend about if one ever occurred.

It's my birthday today. I'm 34 years old now and can already feel the liver spots forming.

Last year was glorious, with me getting a PS5 and RE4make. This year, we're on the heels of our cat passing and my mom being in at-home hospice, bedridden until she's no more. I'm not feeling particularly celebratory this year.

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Four years ago, I was on the back porch, drinking coffee, playing Cozy Grove on my Switch, and enjoying the company of our two cats as they wandered around, basking in the sun.

The impossible has happened. I'm actually feeling nostalgic for 2020.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

The impossible has happened. I'm actually feeling nostalgic for 2020.

I weirdly had that not too long ago.
granted, we should never want a horrible global pandemic to happen, but everyone having no choice but to slow down was perhaps more nostalgic to being young and having no worries in life, just a lot of free time on our hands.

Mom's either getting worse, or she's in a major slump. She's weaker than before and can barely speak, likely because of her phlegm. I doubt she'll be around in the next two months. Her suffering has spread to us, ensuring we're all miserable. As much as I'll miss her when she's gone, I'll also feel a sense of relief. She'll be free, and me and my brother won't have to suffer any more emotional damage from the state she's in.

I won't go into details, but she's definitely gotten worse. She needs supervision now more than ever.

God, she's been throwing up for over 20 minutes...

She doesn't have long. Another day at most. She's just laying there breathing heavily. I'm taking a brief break to type this, then back to holding her hand.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

sorry to hear that, Mega. stay strong, my friend.

Well my second of two haul pics include some MLP:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/869a0b97.jpg
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She's been taken to hospice. Once we get a room number, we're off to stay with her until the end.

^^^Well haven't talked with you, but condolences for what happens.

Antiyonder posted...

^^^Well haven't talked with you, but condolences for what happens.

Thanks. Sorry about the bad timing.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

Thanks. Sorry about the bad timing.

No problem.

She's gone.

MegamanXfan21xx posted...

She's gone.

well, there aren't really any words that'd work right now, but just know we're here for you.

Cartridge88 posted...

well, there aren't really any words that'd work right now, but just know we're here for you.

Thanks.

Sad as I am, I'm relieved she's not suffering anymore. No more arthritis, no more cancer, no more sickness, no more being too weak to even get out of bed. She's back with my grandparents, aunt, our cats, and her brother who passed in the 70s.