August, 2022 - Fishing for Metaphors

Elden Ring Impression: I’m the Bored Centaur Who Likes to Explore

August 26, 2022November 27, 2023Halsdoll1 Comment

I remember one of my favorite pastimes is exploring the Dark Souls universe and I am surprised by this blog; I discontinued my adventure for Dark Souls prepare to die edition. Should I resume my half-finished journey? That was many years ago when I started dabbing my feet into blogging. Met a few gaming bloggers for sure, but most of them have abandoned their blogs and/or have moved on with their lives. I don’t blame them. All things have an expiration date. Even I deleted my old blog when I lost the motivation and the inspiration to write. My naïve self didn’t realize that by nature, gamers are overall just competitive folks, or perhaps as my friend said, people are just more honest and open to how they really feel online, which most of the time really has nothing to do with anyone but the individual. I wish I understood this sooner. My blogging journey would have been more of a pleasant experience. Writing about my gaming adventures was one of my favorite things about blogging but it’s also the least popular among readers. Somewhere along the way, someone is going to get offended and that is something I cannot control.

So here I am now continuing my adventures. If anyone enjoys this sort of content, welcome. Happy you are joining me. I decided to play Elden Ring. By now, most” hardcore souls/borne fans” have probably already completed the game. Once upon a time, I was a Fromsoftware enthusiast too. I once resonate with the game developer as being a tiny entity that rose from the ground and came on top. It makes a great tale. In fact, it’s a classic tale that works pretty well in video games even in books and it speaks a lot to those who enjoy those types of games. It does give you a sense of tremendous amount of achievement when you defeat all odds. For someone like myself who often got overshadowed by my peers for having neonate features that made me look a lot younger than my actual age, it felt really good to say I beat Dark Souls and got the platinum trophy, although it was my patience more than skills that got me through.

Fromsoftware brands itself for making difficult games and what you buy is what you get. You buy games to get slapped in the face repetitively. Now that doesn’t sound fun. But for some people, they like a good slap in the face, a challenge that reminds them they are not dead. Not just yet. It feels good to feel pain and overcome hardship. Well, that’s just my opinion, but is it?

Quote from an Interview done by The New Yorker

I bet Rooney, the suicidal girl from the survival horror game Nightcry would do well with Fromsoftware games. Only when our lives are threatened, that’s when we fight for it with all our might! Yes, go ahead and laugh at people like me. I suppose me and Rooney are the same. I don’t think I ever said I was sane. I mean “It’s okay to be undead just have a level head,” I quote the Blacksmith from Dark Souls II. Not everyone is fit for this type of game. Not everyone is born with perseverance. So, no hard feelings. Just move on and stop being a hater.

Drawing of Rooney from NightCry — Rooney from Nightcry picture source

So, what there’s not to love about Elden Ring? It’s a massive fantasy open-world game that got me just aimlessly exploring. In fact, I don’t know if I am going to the right place. That is a bit of a problem in my book. I’m not a fan of open-world games. There’s no sequence to anything. I just roam the landscape and pick up plants for crafting. Certain areas made me feel as if I am in heaven. Some pretty sights to see over the cliff by the sea.

Looking over the sea in Elden Ring — I feel as if I am already on top of the world even though I haven’t beat the game yet!

Standing by the bald evil in Elden Ring — Standing next to the bald eagle. At least I got more than one companion. Did I ever mention I love trees?

So far, I defeated a few optional bosses found in the caves; one field boss named Tibia Mariner which wasn’t all that difficult and Margit, the Fell Omen. All the other boss fights are too difficult for my under-level character at the moment. I really don’t want to have to summon other players to help defeat a boss. It can be quite fun if you are into multiplayer games, but not for those who play for the atmosphere. Luckily, you can always summon NPC if it’s available.

I wonder why this game is not called Dark Souls 4? It kind feels like a souls game. Just look at the picture below. I suppose this one feels like you are playing inside a fantasy instead of a fairy-tale book.

Views from the Cave in SIOFRA RIVER — View from the cave in SIOFRA RIVER. I wish I could live there. I am already somewhat of a cave woman anyway.

It’s so magical and I love that! I could just escape to its world and never come back to reality. As I mentioned before in my blog, I love books and games. Plus, the monster designs are actually pretty impressive and fun to battle with.

hawk-like animal in Elden Ring attacking player fiercely — The monsters in Elden Ring feel very real at the same time fantasy-like. If you look closely, it’s clutching two blades with its feet.

It’s like going to a zoo–except that I get to be more interactive and engaging with the environment. How awesome is that? And yet, I still don’t know if I will ever complete the game. All it is, it’s just a polished souls’ game, which is a great thing. However, this game requires massive time investment if you want to enjoy it to its max. And I wonder is that why I had the game sitting on the shelf for almost a year now? I’m not ready to invest my time in it. In the back of my mind, I feel that my time should be used for something else more worthwhile. But at the same time…it’s a great game to pass time.

The game has a lot to offer, especially if you love to explore; you’re a lover of fantasy; and you love lore. There really is much to love.

To be continued…

Watching Horror Films Is a Ticket to the Amusement Park

August 19, 2022November 15, 2025HalsdollLeave a comment

I’m already looking forward to cooler weather. I always do around this time of the season. My favorite season has always been fall. There’s something exciting about going back to school (I am thinking about my elementary days. Children are just by far more imaginative, open-minded, and shockingly wiser than most adults I came across). The greatest excitement of course was going to our local fairground (As I’m writing this blog post on Aug. 16th, I learned today is National Roller-coaster Day. How seasonal and festive of me to be in tune with society. Normally, I don’t celebrate holidays). I was always looking forward to the haunted house ride, eating caramel apples and cotton candy. I believe I enjoyed the haunted house more than the roller-coaster rides. The haunted house left a bigger impression on my childhood memory.

This really got me thinking about why I like haunted houses. One of my all-time favorite films is House on Haunted Hill (1999). It’s really not all that great in terms of plot. However, the costumes, props, and humor were well worth the time. Plus, I learned how to play Marilyn’s Manson Sweet Dreams on the guitar. I thought the song really summarized the plot pretty well. Recently, I read Shirley Jackson’s novel. She is the author of The Haunting of Hill House (1959). This book inspired many spin-offs such as Haunting (1999). After reading it, I realized I have a fascination with haunted houses and ghost stories. I often wonder why ghosts are often trapped and dwell in one area. In reality, I think there are many living people resembling a walking corpse. Anyway, you have a haunted spaceship. The Event Horizon (1997) is another fun film to watch. It has a scary concept of a haunted spaceship! And of course, recently I watched The Wind. It was pretty decent. The haunting element is the prairie, not the house in the middle of nowhere. The film will probably appeal more to a female audience. There is definitely not much gore and unnecessary eye candy shots. It has a feminine touch where pretty women are more of a tease than sexualized.

Most horror films made in the past are directed by men. It was nice to watch something different for a change. A distressed woman holds a shotgun to protect herself from the “demon prairie.” Was the demon her imaginary or was it real? Some scenes reminded me of a hair product ad, prairie horror style. In the bathing scene, instead of full breasts exposure–the protagonist’s long hair covers her chest. She stares at the camera. Besides her is a shotgun. Yes, the shotgun is very powerful and so is she.

I can always tell when a woman directed a film. The Wind was directed by Emma Tammi. There’s a level of classiness in the way women view their bodies. As a female audience, I find it irritating to see a naked woman. It feels like she’s being tossed around like a rag doll. But have things changed for the better just because there are more female directors out there? It seems like women still care a whole lot about making a political statement. They focus on this instead of creating a genuine horror story. But I could be wrong. Before watching The Wind, I also watched another horror film with a strong political statement. I watched Umma directed by Iris K. Shim. You can also find it on Netflix. Watching The Wind and Umma made me wonder. Is making a statement the director’s intention? If so, then sadly, women still have a long way to earn the respect they deserve in the film industry.

So, why did I have all these questions about female directors in horror films? Am I prepping readers for more horror content? It might be because I feel like being a nice witch. It’s also because the spooky season is only two months away. Am I trying to stir the feminist pot?

Halsdoll playing Dark Souls II — Oh, I wonder why I like *Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin* so much…Heh heh heh.

I hope this post will give my readers what to expect in the upcoming future. I tried to discipline myself by creating content. However, I rarely find the motivation to blog consistently as I used to. I am no longer stranded in the middle of a city. I don’t need to write SOS messages to the world anymore. Instead, I feel more like I am in the middle of nowhere, the Midwest. That does affect my ability to write. The cowboy environment slows me down and puts me into a sleepy spell. I haven’t been feeling like my usual self. I feel quite dead when I’m not utilizing the creative parts of my brain. Hopefully, cooler weather will fix this writing slump!