Entertaining in a Disturbing Way

I return, triumphant!

Not that I was posting regularly, but you don't think about how much you casually scroll, etc., until you're stuck without a working personal computer. :P

During the painfully horrible (month end close sucks) first week of January, I finally managed the right combination of things which finished off my hard drive. I couldn't boot into regular Windows. I could manage safe mode! So I started in on the task of buying a drive to back my data up. Which didn't work with the first drive I bought (it was slightly cheaper than some of the others, and was corrupted very quickly, apparently). So I bought a Seagate and pulled everything off. Again.

I knew it had to be the drive (well, guessed), because I couldn't get into the recovery environment, and it couldn't wipe and reinstall Windows.

So with my roommate's help, we flipped it upside-down and pulled out the old drive, cleaned the fan, swapped in new memory and... she also downloaded the restore utility - and then applied it.

So now I have a shiny new hard drive (with more space, after all, why not upgrade while I'm at it). And all of my files to add (music is all added back except for the variances between the one backup and the newer one).

But it does mean re-downloading all of my games. I'm not sure if I can just shove them back on the computer (I pulled all of them but the really stupid Pride and Prejudice one, oh, and fucking Time Gap, off the old computer). (also, who knows if all of the files are ok) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

This is mostly just quick thoughts, but gets a bit long. Covers episodes 1-25ish, I think, with one or two not listened to.

The monthly range seems to vary in era and continuity, and while I listened to them generally in order, I don't think it's actually required (outside of a couple linked ones, like the Andy + Norton or Andy + Owen ones).
( Collapse ) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

I'm splitting these in two, so the Torchwood ones can faff about with themselves.

There's only one Companion Chronicle that I listed to, and it was
The Many Deaths of Jo Grant - while at the heart, this is a common SF trope, it still managed to be interesting, if only because of Jo's sheer perseverance in the face of adversity. I sometimes forget how very courageous and brave she is, and this one really encapsulates that. Not to mention her penchant for self-sacrifice. This one just made me love Jo more than I already did, which I was surprised by.

Diary of River Song, series 6 (Series 1-4 are smashing, 5 is the Masters one and also smashing) is a series with ties to four Classic Who episodes--some are closer than others, and except for one, all are prequels of a sort.
( Collapse ) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

I'll get the non MCF game out the way first:

Amaranthine Voyage: The Tree of Life. I love the design in this one--it's steampunk. However, they repurposed a spacey game for it, so the base is a crashed spaceship buried in the jungle, with a castle built on top of it! It's a ridiculous mash of periods, and I LOVE it. The game does suffer from bad acting from Real People (photo-realistic), and the one dude tends to just stand around with his bare feet looking confused. You can click to speed up the dialog without losing anything. The mythology backstory is mostly entertaining. Mostly, though, I drool at the buried spaceship.

( Collapse ) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

Have survived most of 2021.
Got my booster shot for Covid (yay)
Went down and visited family for the holidays (also yay).

Watched Queens of Mystery with my mother, and it was cute (and I want to bang Julie Graham, no lie).

Also have now re-watched all of season one of Leverage Redemption, and I still love it. (reading the comments on imdb/amazon, though, is hilarious. People, if you didn't see the clear Woke Bias in Leverage original flavor, you were fucking blind. And it's a bit disturbing how many people think Breanna calling out Nazis is racist...)

It's like when people go on about how in Their Day, Doctor Who wasn't Political at all. (uh-huh)

I have listened to a bunch of Torchwood audio, played some games, listened to some other audios... I'll post separately for those.

My life isn't particularly interesting. Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

Still working what feels like five peoples' jobs. October was just. I don't even know how to describe it, but I never felt like I had a moment to come up for air at all, and I didn't manage to do anything for Sparktober outside of that first week or so (which was mostly occasional comments in discord, and a watchalong).

Mom and I have two more Leverage Redemption episodes to go, and then we'll be through the season. Definitely enjoying the revival.

Not entirely through my fall down the Narnia rabbit hole (I've still got some of fanfiction.net to get through), but I've found that I am done with Susan Pevensie fic that list any of the following as a tag or description:
forgiveness
redemption
the problem of
solves the problem of
fixes the problem of
earns her way back into Narnia
remembers
etc.

basically. No. No, I do not give a fuck about the problem of Susan. I'm just fine with her being competent and practical, and do not need her to earn her ~rightful place and ~apologize for living in the real world.

It's not my fault I read National Service (well, the one with Susan, first) before I'd ever read any other Narnia fic and imprinted on the Susan in it.

Also, Susan/Caspian just doesn't work for me unless you're crossing the movie Susan with Samuel West's BBC Caspian. And then it's hot, and I'm all right with it (I just. Ben Barnes is not that interesting looking, ok. And West has this ridiculous hair.)

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts at another time.

On another hand, I watched Peppermint (yes, the Jennifer Garner gets revenge movie) and enjoyed the competence porn all over the place. Then I re-watched Ava. I also watched Mr. Right which is very entertaining (and if you liked Grosse Point Blank, you should watch it.) I basically then wanted a crossover of Mr. Right and Peppermint and Ava, with the latter two being like "...the fuck?" and the MR two being like ":):):):) Don't mind us, you're doing good things, sorry about the assassins on our tails. BYE."

I cannot fucking wait for The 355, btw. That will be a 90-minute smorgasboard of "yes, this, and more of this. Thanks." (I mean. Hopefully) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

Probably set season 8ish for SG-1 and Redemption for Leverage:

Smiling, Parker clapped her hands and beamed around the room, including at their surprise guests. "Let's go steal a system lord."

"Did you just say that seriously?" Hardison did not look impressed as he traded a look with Eliot.

Obviously doing her best not to roll her eyes, Colonel Carter shifted in her chair, cleared her throat and said, her tone dry, "I'm not sure you understand the seriousness of the situation, Ms. Parker."

The smirk on Parker's face deepened, "Oh, I understand. I just trust my team to be better than anything they can throw at them."

"The goa'uld, Parker. This isn't some dimestore mall cop. This is Jaffa Warriors who will want to kill us." Again, Hardison was doing the objecting. While it warmed his heart that she trusted them, and thought they were equal to the task, these were evil aliens bent on ruling the galaxy. Those were much harder to fight against than corporate lackeys. Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

1. So, DragonCon. As we lost someone in my team at work there was 0 chance I could fly down or have any days off the week of month end close. This meant that I took the Thurs/Fri before off, packed and flew down to stay with my sister. Which, was awesome, because I don't get to see my sister that often. But also sucked, as I then worked Monday-Friday.

1A. Sis roped me into watching Stranger Things, through season two. I... I liked parts of it? I feel no one should be surprised that I came out a) shipping Jonathan/Nancy/Steve (and disappointed at the straightness, jesus), b) disinterested in the little kids, c) wanting to climb Hopper like a tree (even if I think he's kind of an asshole). I'm aware my taste can be a little sad at times. Otoh, can I just say that MARTINE AS A HOUSE WIFE took a lot to get used to (I mean, I didn't. I kept waiting for her to shoot someone). And Ryder was absolutely amazing (also, I really appreciated that the "there is Something Happening" is not dragged on for too long with people going "you're just hallucinating" for twenty episodes).

1B. Bad news, though, my nephew was home from school as he didn't feel good. Ended up testing positive for Covid on Wednesday. Both sis and I are vaxed, so I wasn't that worried, but she was, so she stayed away from me most of the week (sadly). I suppose I got a lot of work done. Neither I nor my sister have Covid.

2. DragonCon was entertaining, even with masks and not a lot of things I wanted to see/do. I spent Thursday working, then took an uber in and got our hotel room. Friday was all work (including a 8 am meeting taken in one of the long hotel corridors on the 3rd floor. Thank goodness for comfy chairs and everyone sleeping in.). I didn't see a lot, but I watched some stuff on DC TV, and had dinner with GreyCoupon one of the nights.

3. I did watch the first episode of Sense8 a while back. I liked it, and I will watch it -- I just need to carve a time out to bury myself in it.

4. I also re-watched the first Walden Narnia movie while with my sister, and, uh, then proceeded to fall down a Narnia fic-reading rabbit hole (I cannot count how many times I've re-read National Service, and it's hard to find stuff that matches that exact super-competent flavor that hits my id so deliciously---which is not to say I didn't find a lot). I find myself not wanting any of them to be domesticated. I blame Leverage. (now there's a crossover for you)

5. I did read some Stranger Things fic, but as I don't care about the pre-teens, nor for a lot of what I found so, I sort of gave up after a while (OT3 or not, I am sooo vanilla, ok. D/s is just not my thing, no matter who it is, and there's a few too many "Steve and Jonathan love each other more than they love Nancy, who's there to facilitate their screwing" framings for my taste; also, I might want to climb Hopper, but I do not want smut with him, ok.)

6. Mom and I have looped back around to season two of Leverage in our watching. It has been interesting, as I don't think I've re-watched this season quite as much as 1, 3 and 4? We have reached Tara, and I still love her so. Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

Not sure how long or spoilery this is. But yes! I've watched the first eight. Mom and I have been watching Leverage together every two weeks, so the season half got split. And now I've seen all eight, and I'm so so glad this show is back, even if the corporate/bad guy getting away with it stuff is still utterly depressing.
( Collapse ) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)

So, Gunpowder Milkshake crossed my radar a month (two? three?) ago, and reading the cast list was like someone dangling a carrot in front of a giant-ass rabbit.

Lena Headey? Karen Gillan? Angela Bassett? Carla Gugino? Michelle Yeoh? ALL IN ONE MOVIE, and it ISN'T about women falling in love and learning to realize they're Beautiful Inside?

Is it my birthday?

(and not to mock movies about women in love and finding beauty and stuff, lbr, my thing for Carla Gugino happened during her stint as Nan in The Buccaneers, and so did my Mira Sorvino thing. And I suffered a Woody Allen movie for the latter, so, like. No stones here.)

It has been released on Netflix, and in some theaters. I'm still not leaving the house, so I watched it on Netflix. I sort of want to see it on the big screen, too.
( Collapse ) Cross-posted from Dreamwidth. (comment wherever)