Tag: comfort food | A Banana Peeled

The image I project is that of a tough, wisecracking woman* who don’t take no shit from anyone. It’s mostly fiction, but it’s served me well. To a point. I walked, strode, really, with my sunglasses on and a firm set to my chin. Most people take one look at me and leave me alone. I knew, however, that if someone was serious about attacking me, they wouldn’t be fooled. That’s why I started taking taiji classes. This post isn’t about that, though. It’s about my softer side that I rarely show. This side of me loves plushies and fluffy animals. The latter at a distance, however, because I’m allergic to most of them, including cats. But I love cats so I have one.

I also like cheesy pop music, unapologetically. I don’t believe in guilty pleasures because if you like something, why feel guilty about it? I can cheerfully admit that I have terrible taste in music for example, but I never feel guilty. about it. I boggle some people’s minds by being so matter-of-fact about liking what most people consider is bad music. It’s the same as when I say I’m a terrible driver (which I am). People are nonplused, which is partly because that’s not what you want to hear, I’m sure. but, the reality is that not everyone can be an above-average driver.

My point is that while I appear to be edgy and tough, I have a soft side that people may not know about. I don’t hide it, but it’s not as if I bellow it from the rafters, either.

I don’t watch much TV or movies, but one thing I like is what I call gentle competition shows. The Great British Bake Off is the original one (now The Great British Baking Show, but I stopped watching it after Sue and Mel were forced off). It was a surprise hit and afterwards, it spawned a plethora of similar shows in a category I call gentle competitions. That means people compete against each other, but they’re not trying to crush their opponents. It’s not Cutthroat Kitchen or whatever it’s called–I hate that show. There is no sabotage and everyone is so supportive of each other.

down to the wire with the dancer. — Tears of Denial saved my ass!

Hi, my name is Minna Hong, and I’m addicted to Dark Souls III. I have written before how it’s not the best Soulsborne game (Dark Souls. No question. But, man, is it so janky and has issues), but it’s the most replayable–at least for me. It’s also a game I can comfortably play on my laptop, so it’s my go-to when I’m in the mood to play something, but I can’t be stuffed to get up and go to my desktop. (Like when I was sick. I didn’t even want to get up and move the two feet to the recliner I use to play Bloodborne on my PS4.) I’ve also gotten back into Binding of Isaac: Rebirth to finish off the achievements, but that’s another post for another day.

I’ve played all the Soulsborne games more than once except Demon’s Souls, which I haven’t played because I don’t have a PS3, please god let it be remastered for the PS4, but I hadn’t done more than NG+ on any of them. I also hadn’t played a tank character up until I finished Dark Souls III and decided to give it a try. I’d heard all the griping in ‘the community’ about how easy magic/casting made the game, that it was babby mode, that only scrubs used magic, and I decided I had to give another build a try so I could make a comparison of my own. Before being a tank, I would still have argued that being a caster is more difficult because I had less health and stamina, had to wear lighter armor, and I didn’t have enough magicks/pyromancy/miracles to make my way through a whole area or boss fight. That meant I had to do some melee, usually with a starting/first area weapon (Battle Axe was my jam), which meant plinking away for potato damage until I reached a bonfire and replenished my spells.

One of my favorite changes to DS III was switching from a limited number of spells to mana (FP, focus points, but it’s mana) and having two Estus Flasks (Ashen Estus Flask to replenish the FP bar) which you can allocate any way you like. By the end of the game, I had fifteen gulps of my Estus Flasks, and I had a ten/five split between regular and Ashen.

Once I finished the game as a pyromancer, I decided to do another pyromancer run and a tank run (separately). I needed to know if my hunch that being a tank would be easier in the long run was right or wrong. Short answer–right. Having that fat health bar and endurance for days made such a difference. Being able to wield the Greataxe (what I used for my first tank run) or the Executioner’s Sword (another early fave) with ease meant dishing out massive damage. Being able to use more than a base shield meant blocking was viable, and if I wear the Wolf Ring +3, I don’t even flinch when I get hit.

When I started the first Dark Souls game, I chose pyromancer because I like fire, yes, but also because I thought being ranged would be better for an old, slow-reaction gal like me. After playing a lot of tank, however, I have to say that being a tank is better if you have slower reactions. Why? Because as a caster, I had to do a lot of dodging. A LOT. As a tank, I could trade blows and come out mostly intact. Right now, I’m rocking the Black Iron Set with the matching Black Iron Greatshield +10. If I wanted to truly cosplay as Black Iron Tarkus, er, Knight Slayer Tsorig, I’d use the Fume Ultra Greatsword, but I find it too unwieldy and, frankly, underwhelming. I switch up weapons during different playthroughs (and for different bosses), but my main is Lorian’s Greatsword, which is by far my favorite weapon in the game.

Tag Archives: comfort food

I like a bit of gentle competition

Dark Souls III: Bossing My Way Through NG Pluses