First Impressions Of Hi-Fi Rush

 Good morning everyone,

First an update regarding my billing issue with PSE&G, apparently, when I got things sorted with the accounts following my mom's passing, no one told me that I would have to wait a billing cycle to have everything implemented back the way it was before. So that explained that sudden panic attack I had.

Anyway, work yesterday was really good, minus the fact the final hour was cut because they needed things fixed for the evening shift... not sure why that would affect those of us on the assignment I've been on since i t doesn't run in the evenings.

Last night we started up Hi-Fi Rush... and I'm really glad I'm playing it on the lowest possible difficulty, because the rhythm patterns and beat isn't something I can hear since I'm not using earbuds or headphones to listen to the game's music. Still I love the art design and the game play is solid. I'm certainly relying on as much basic stuff as I can to overwhelm enemies quickly... and i could do without the parry system. 

Still it's very fun and I do find myself looking to explore everything to see if I can find any secrets along the way. Which means that levels that should probably take me 30 minutes to complete take an hour

We'll continue Hi-Fi Rush on Monday, in what I believe is the middle of the third chapters (as we met The 2nd of the ally characters)  

Hi-Fi RUSH Achievements

• Does that say weakpoint?: Destroy QA-1MIL's face, revealing its shame.
• Feeling the beat!: Land 20 beat-hit attacks on enemies.
• Start with a bang!: Take out the last line of defense at Quality Assurance.
• I look cool. But I can look COOLER.: Equip any costume.
• You can pet the cat!: Play with 808 in the hideout.
• Who put gears in there?: Destroyed your first golden statue of Kale.
• Cream of the Crop: Come out on top with a battle against the head of Production.
• Thanks for the free chip, Peppermint!: Purchase and equip your first upgrade chip.
• You got this, Peppermint?: Destroy 10 barriers by calling in Peppermint.
• Perfect Parry: Sucessfully parry with perfect timing 15 times.
• Alright, that felt AWESOME!: Defeated your first enemy with a Rhythm Parry Attack.

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz as he was still playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

The plan for tonight is to open with Fall Guys, then at 9 PM we'll be switching over to Resident Evil 5 with Iceman to continue our co-op adventures!  

Got a fair amount of writing done regarding the Daria commission request, I'll be looking to finish it after tonight's stream.

Really pondering how I'll going to layout the basement once the Deep Freezer is out of it, because I think I'll some stuff in that far corner. Really considering adding another bookshelf or two as well.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

When every achievement I can get in AOM is a diamond achievement...

Good morning everyone,

Song of the Day: Where Do I Go From Here? By Al Kent

Work yesterday was pretty solid, felt productive and the rude gate keepers were not as rude as they can be. I sweat if I answered phones the way they did, I would've been fired ten times over!

Last night's stream of Agents of Mayhem saw the completion of two story arcs, one for Steeltoe and the other for Aisha, with the first basically flowing into the later. The best part about it is that the actor who voices D.va in Overwatch is also the voice of all five personas that make up Aisha, so I got to make 'D.va Is Pissed' jokes the entire time. At this point there are two major story arcs left to complete in the main game, which we'll do on Monday's stream.

Now in regards to achievements, Agents of Mayhem wasn't well received by so many people for some inane reasons that it means after a certain point every single achievements is a diamond one, meaning it was unlocked by less than 10% of Xbox players who have played the game.  Now I'm not insane enough to even consider going for completion, because of how much good fortune is involved in getting certain things to appear.

Agents of Mayhem Achievements

• #SquadGoals: Fully deck out Firing Squad in their signature outfits.
• Wedding Crasher: Complete "Operation: Machine Man".
• Broken Hearts Club: Complete "Operation: Red Queen".
• Contract Killer: Complete 30 MAYHEM & Agent Contracts.
• Globally Offensive: Complete the Moscow Global Offensive.

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ as he was still playing Prey over at twitch.tv/PowerThumbz 

Now for tonight's stream, we're just playing Fall Guys on tonight's stream as I continue to ponder what will be the next co-op game to play with Iceman. I'm really leaning in towards playing A Way Out or Resident Evil 5.

Of this also raises the question of what game will follow Agents of Mayhem once it's finished, and I'm really leaning towards Hi-Fi Rush

Still not sure what we're starting on Friday's stream in terms of something exclusive to the PlayStation 4.

Did not get any writing done last night, as I got distracted with a few personal projects

And on that note we'll see see you later tonight over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

A Busy Day

 Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was a busy day, as I turned in my Xfinity cable boxes to end that era at my home. While I still have the internet service, I have no use for Cable TV because I don't watch anything on it. If I have the time, I'll watch something on Amazon Prime or YouTube. Also picked up some speakers to plug into my gaming monitor which actually allows me to hear somethings better instead of with the tiny built in speakers. Also wandered into America's Best to see if they accept walk-ins for an eye examine, and the receptionist there was so flippant I can safely say I'm not going back there

Last night's stream of Agents of Mayhem saw the focus on doing the story missions for all unlocked agents so far before advancing the plot and defeating Hammersmith. At this point, I got Franchise Force all up at rank 15. And I'm kind of tempted to try and level up every to Rank 20, but that will take a good amount of time to do. 

Did run into a weird game glitch where the game completely locked when entering a Legion lair, so some progress towards unlocking the agent known as Joule was lost, so we'll have to start that on tonight's stream.

So for tonight's stream, we're going to open with a trip into Legion Lair, and then unlocked the next sets of agents which are Oni, Daisy, Jouel & Redcard, Daisy's is required for main story progression so hers will be last. 

For last night's raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ during their ever endless play through of Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Agents of Mayhem Achievements

• Jump Around: Hit 10 jumps in the city.
• Space Laser: OFFLINE: Complete "Operation: Heaven Sent".
• Chill Out: Destroy an Ice Barrage Emplacement.
• Warp Points Acquired: Unlock 5 warp points via open world gameplay. 

With all the running around I did yesterday, I didn't get any writing done, but it's already, I'm not to keen on the the current commission request I'm working on anyway since it's pro-wrestling focused.

As noted yesterday, because I have more fluidity with what I choose to do in Fitness Boxing: Fist of the North Start, I'm going to stop listing what exercises I did and focus on the daily missions. I'll still do the daily workouts if they match up with the daily objectives. 

Also dropping the joke of the day as I realized I started re-posting the ones from a few weeks ago, completely lost track of what order I was intending to list them in

Song of the Day: Mr. Pitiful by Otios Redding

And on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

Saints Row '22 is finished!

Good morning everyone,

Last night we finished Saints Row, and I have to say, in certainly went in a direction I wasn't expecting. Obviously the big betrayal angle was well telegraphed, but the reason for it was certainly unexpected The Nahualli wanting to take Kev, Neenah and Eli to be his own friends after seeing how they made The Boss better. Then there was the entire 'Life is Strange' style segment that really got weird, before the epic show down and wrapping up of the story. I really did like it ended with just an old fashion duel, but I feel I had the wrong weapon equipped considering the animation indicated it was supposed to be a revolver.

We did go on to do everything reasonably possible in a single play through, completing every single district, placing every venture.. and the big pay off being the Saints singing Love Shack was pretty sweet. We also went after some 'easy' achievements that I didn't do, so I ended up with 44 out of 50 achievements... and I really have no interest in the remaining six, two of which involve multiplayer. 

In terms of what's the Next Monday-Tuesday game, it's going to be WWE 2K22, and I've already went ahead and knock out a bunch of achievements right off the bat. Now there are two story modes in it, we'll probably do just the female one first obviously, and depending how long it takes we'll do the one for a male superstar. On a side note, not sure if I like the control scheme this game has in comparison to what was sort of the standard for nearly 20 years

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbZ as they were playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Saints Row Achievements

• Quality Time: Completed all loyalty missions.
• Chaos Tamer: Defeated all members of the Idols Collective.
• It's a Bird!: Completed all wingsuit challenges.
• Et tu?: Betrayed by a friend.
• Showdown: Completed Showdown.
• The Spins: Performed a barrel roll.
• We could go home, or…: Sang karaoke with the Saints.
• A Golden Age: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 5.
• The Mechanic: Fully upgraded a vehicle.
• Statement Pieces: Customized a weapon, a vehicle, clothing item, and your skin with a Cutting Edge material.
• Free Refills: Refilled the boost bar 3 times in a row with Infinite Boost.
• Fiesta Time: Hit a launched piñata with the Piñata Stick.
• All Mine: Completed all 15 districts in Santo Ileso.

WWE 2K22 Achievements

• Gulak Academy Graduate: Finish the Tutorial (Play Mode).
• CANNONBALL!: Perform a top rope dive as a Super Heavyweight (Play Mode vs AI).
• C-C-C-Combo Breaker: Counter an Opponent's Combo Using Breaker (Play Mode vs AI).
• Getting Creative: Hit your opponent with 5 different objects in one match (Play Mode vs AI).
• First of Many: Win a match (Play Mode vs AI).
• Acknowledge Me!: Win a 1v1 match against Roman Reigns on Legend difficulty (Play Mode VS. AI).

Had a nice conversation with my Uncle Abraham who is getting checked out for different things al this week, glad he's taking the precautions to stay on top of his health.

The job hunt is... going... not sure if I would say 'well' at this point

Finally finished the Mass Effect short story commission, and it's up at all the usual places. Next commission request is for a WWE one based on things that happened at the recent Royal Rumble event.

All recorded another VHS box tapes... finding one movie where Chuck Norris plays the villain... yeah crazy I know! That video will premier next Wednesday on my YouTube channel.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Intermediate Combo #1, Triple Combo #2 and Defensive Combo #1

"I don't trust those trees. They seem kind of shady."

Song of the Day: Smile by Vitamin C.

For tonight's stream, we shall lead off with Fall Guys, will we get lucky with a surprise win like last week? Who knows, then if Iceman is able to join us, Fallout 76 or Gears of War 2... or maybe something else entirely, we shall see

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

Overwatch, Super Bowl and other things

Good morning everyone,

We had a little bit of work yesterday morning just to help close out one of the assignments that came in, so hey, I got to feel productive.

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, picking up two plays of the game as Symmetra and Moira. Big thank you to PandaSweet (who had three Plays of the Game as Moira!) for being apart of the fun as well, as we carried as many people to wins as possible but we ran into some bad luck in regards to people just intentionally preventing progress.

Did finally see the new Antarctica map, with is a best of three capture points, and there is certainly a lot of ground to cover to keep the opposing team from overwhelming you if you're defending the capture area.  My biggest gripe with it is the blue'ish tint it has, which does make it hard to see things

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz while he was playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz

Started writing a new Mass Effect short story commission, getting a fair bit done. I'll tell you, writing two characters is a lot more fun than writing three or more.

Went to a little store yesterday afternoon to pick up a few things, and man I was lucky to find a half-gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and the last pack of Chips Ahoy cookies they had (it's been a few weeks since I had any cookies). I was also looking to see if they had any eggs, and they were fresh out. Oh well.

Did have the Super Bowl on during the stream, and I was wearing my mom's Eagles jersey... now despite them losing, I know my mom would've loved the game. It's a shame the game came down to basically a referee making a call they should've just let slide because of how the game has gone. Sure the result of the game may have still been the same with the Chiefs getting a field goal, but at least the Eagles would've had a chance.

Cousin Frances got every single Trophy in Stray over the weekend, and just knowing that makes me want to put it on the line up of things to revisit during this years gaming tour.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Difficulty Challenge Combo #2, Straight Combo #2 Biceps Shape Focus Combo.

"I got carded at a liquor store, and my Blockbuster card accidentally fell out. The cashier said never mind."

Song of the Day:Lost on You by LP.

For tonight's stream, we're back to Saints Row with the big focus being on the remaining Ventures to the placed, I believe I have two to go along with their respective tasks and clearing out of threats in the areas where they are located at.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden

The Three Amigos In Saints Row, We're Being Sponsored By Raid: Shadow Legends!

Good morning everyone,

Considering the day prior, I really slept in yesterday, but a big highlight was talking to my Aunt Grace and Cousin Frances, as I wasn't sure what would be the best time to reach them. It was a real fun chat, and I'm so incredibly happy just to be able to chat with them. Also found two heart shape clocks that I think belong to Aunt Grace, but I'm not 100% sure. This did lead to a series of hilarious text messages regarding a photo of the clocks I sent to Frances, who thought something looked like Buddha. 

Got an invitation this morning to have my Twitch broadcasts being sponsored by Raid: Shadow Legends, and well that certainly is giving me an excuse to try the game out on the PC side of things, since I don't play any mobile games In fact we'll do that during tonight's stream during the 2nd half. If you want, you can download Raid: Shadow Legends for free using my affiliate link: https://strms.net/raid_fredcasden on either PC or Mobile, and use PromoCode RondaSESP for more perks! https://strms.net/raid_fredcasdenhttps://strms.net/raid_fredcasden

Last night's stream of Saints Row was really focused on completing business ventures and finding all the remaining discoveries, so again there was no story progress. But at this point, only two more ventures need to be placed, then the grind for the skyscraper. After that there would be just the main story missions to do.

On a side note, The Planet Saints missions to obtain trucks was a pain, but I used the helicopter to do it... because I was not going to bother with the wing suit approach the game intended!

That said, I was quite surprised to see a little tribute to the Three Amigos in the game. Now going back to at least Saints Row The Third, the Amigo Salute was a selected emote / taunt, but to see basically a diorama of the Aimgos encountering the Singing Bush in this game caught be by surprise! I know for a fact I still have the VHS tape of the movie in my home, and I watched it a lot as a kid, so this put a smile on my face.

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbz while he was playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz. 

Saints Row Achievements

• Community Outreach: Completed 10 districts in Santo Ileso.
• Masters of Santo Ileso: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 4.
• Challenge Accepted: Completed 25 challenges.

Made a good impact on the Mass Effect short story commission, it's relying on what I can think of regarding Diana Allers and her role in Mass Effect 3, but I think it's coming together nicely.

With the Overwatch 2 Season 3 update, I see they brought back being able to commentate players on the opposing team, because quite frankly as some have seen on stream, if I feel no one was worth of getting a commendation, then I'm not giving one. Not completely sold on a number of the changes on various characters, but the developers are always trying to make changes to break existing 'pro approved' teams.

Had a job 'interview' this morning, and it was more of the company trying to sell me on paying for a training course to work for them, and it raised more questions than answers.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Weaving Combo #1, Body Hook Combo and Beginner Combo #1

"What does a sprinter eat before a race?" "Nothing, they fast!" 

Song of the Day: Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo.

On tonight's stream, we'll be playing Fall Guys for sure, but Fallout 76 will not be on the agenda, as Iceman will not be able to join us this week.So for the second half of the stream, we'll be featuring Raid: Shadow Legends! 

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden.

The Casual Approach To Saints Row is what works best

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday was an okay day overall my brother came over to get some things for mom's funeral, going through pictures I found with her in it. Today's going to be a little rough as I have to sign off of somethings pertaining to the funeral.

My cousin Frances pointed out that Lisa Loring who played Wednesday Addams in the 1960s Addams Family series passed away. Instantly remember the 1977 TV Pilot for a sequel series called The New Addams Family, which most people tend to forget about... despite that some of its plot was used for the first of the two Raul Julia films in the 90s!

Last night's stream of Saints Row saw me completing all the of Side Hustles, and having those off the board is huge, because it's one less thing to distract me. We found over 80 of the packets, and I think we have a good chunk of all the discoverable things covered, but there are still a lot to find. We also progressed the story to where we add additional ventures and to open up some smaller side-stories to grow the Saints empire. Also managed to unlock 100 different costume items, but I'm still struggling to find things to give The Boss a defined look as I did with Saints Row The Third and Saints Row IV

On tonight's stream I think I'll start with going after discoverable items that are on the map already and places a few ventures to start the overall cleanup of the game before doing the next story chapters. It's a plan right? Kind of... sorta...

Big thank you to Kalenal for the raid following their stream of Pokemon Scarlet over at twitch.tv/kalenal! I believe they said they were up to 354 on their PokeDex!

For our own raid, we dropped everyone off at PowerThumbZ while they were doing the Mooncrash DLC for Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Saints Row Achievements

• Untouchable: Completed 10 Crimes of Opportunity.
• Always Be Hustling: Completed all Side Hustles.
• Took It to The Limit: Reach the maximum level.
• Closet Space: Own 100 different pieces of clothing.
• A Young Empire: Unlocked Criminal Empire Tier 2.

At this point I have 4250 Xbox Achieements for a Gamer Score of 98,687

Finally finished that one WWE / NHL short story commission request that I got before mom passed, and got a request for another WWE one based on the Royal Rumble this passed weekend which I did not watch. Also started writing a short story to be exclusives to my SubcribeStar page based on Dragon Ball. 

I did speak brief with my dad to get some clarification on some stories... and leads me to ask my Unlce Abraham about his mighty spoon, or probably not, if I forget about asking.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Waist Shape Focus Combo, Intermediate Combo #2 and Beginner Combo #2 for 21 minutes. You know... ever since last Friday I haven't really been motivated to workout.

"How does the moon cut his hair?" "Eclipse it."

Song of the Day: Everywhere – 2017 Remaster by Fleetwood Mac.

As detailed earlier, the plan for tonight's stream is more Saints Row! So we'll see you all over at twitch.tv/fredcasden this evening!

A Fun Sunday

Good afternoon everyone,

Yesterday started with me starting my vow of trying to speak one family member per day, and first up was my Aunt Maria up in Reading, and I was curious about a building I have a very vague memory of that I swear had RCA on it. Obviously this would've been from like 35 years ago, probably a little longer, but if it was anywhere it was probably in downtown reading.

Last night's stream was a lot of fun, as it was the usual with Overwatch 2... but then again... not so usual, as we were joined by the amazing BestiBunni for the first time ever! Now I've seen then play Overwatch 2 and they are super good in the Team Deathmatch Arcade mode, so when PandaSweet and BangBangBang joined, we ended up with a team of four, and we won the a lot more than we lost as a quartet. Later on in the night LvlStkr joined for a few matches in Quick Play, which was a blast.

As far as my own exploits go, I picked up three Plays of the Game, two as Junker Queen and one as Orisa, and used characters like Junkrat, Ana and Moira throughout the night... and as I type that sentence I realized I had a fourth play of the game as Moira that I didn't mark to save so that I could download it! DARN IT!

For the raid, we dropped in on PowerThumbZ just as they were finishing Prey, it took him 14 different broadcasts to accomplish that. He's a cool dude, check him out over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz!

Anyway, I got most of that commissioned NHL/WWE story done yesterday, just have a few details to add in to wrap it up.

The Eagles beat the Giants yesterday, and I didn't put the game on until my Uncle Abraham DM'ed me through Facebook... and once I saw the score, I instantly thought of mom and how she would stomp her foot up in the living room when the eagles would score... or screw up somehow. So I know she would've been elated! 

Did try to call my Aunt Rosa this morning to see how they were doing, got their voice mail. I'll see 'em Wednesday for sure.

I did get some clothes sorted for mom's funeral on Wednesday... going to wear a long sleeved black shirt she got me for my first a couple of years ago I never had an opportunity to wear.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Double Combo #2, Triple Combo #1, Weaving Combo #2 and Hook Combo #1 for 26 minutes

"I only know 25 letters of the alphabet. I don't know y."

Song of the Day: Trumpets by Jason Derulo.

For tonight's stream, we are continuing Saints Row, with my usual casual approach by doing side quests and exploration to try and find things before advancing too much of the story. It's the best way to get the most out of some games.

On that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

It's A Monday, Visited Mom

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, as I was focused on completing many of the daily and weekly challenges. Big thanks to both LvStrkr and PandaSweet for being apart of matches! Characters I used included Mei, Junkrat, Reinhardt, Bastion, Moira, Ana, D.va, Orisa and a couple of others, with a three plays of the game earned as Mei, Bastion and D.va!

Now during the stream, I did get a call from my mom, but I was not in a position to talk, since I was in the middle of a match at that point. She told me they have her doing some breathing exercises to help her strengthen her lungs, which makes sense considering she's mostly been on her back for the past month. 

I did went to see here this morning, when I got there she was just waking up and she was incredibly groggy. Her bed was locked to keep her head elevated at 30 degrees to keep her airways cleared, so when she asked for it to be raised, it had to be unlocked. When I left,  a respiratory therapist came by to for her to do some breathing exercises. 

If anyone would be kind enough to donate to her GoFundMe in her fight against Lung Cancer and other medical expenses, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz during their 12th night of playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Stream Clip Links

• And I got ran over too...
• Their Moira Is Low... 
• Hey everybody... CHILL!!!!
  

The Hello Fresh campaign is back, as the next several streams I do on twitch will be sponsored! Use Promo code POGHF64483 at hellofresh.com to get 21 Meals and free shipping!

The string of commission fics based on current WWE continues as the series featuring Triple H is going to have a 10th installment, which I plant to write today.

Also already have three subscribers to my subscribestar archive, which is pretty cool. I'll have to make sure to write some stories exclusive to it for them! In fact I have one based on the Addams Family.

On a silly note, some of the screenshots from the previous night's stream of Catherine got flagged on Tumblr... which gave me a little chuckle.Speaking of Catherine, the archive version of last night's stream won't be viewable in Japan because the entire big cut scene where the revelation about the Bartender being behind Vincent's dreams is restricted in that country. Weird.

I did make some changes to my settings for Fitness Boxing 2, so some days there may be 4 exercises or less, this why was in case I'm running late I can adjust things more easily. That said, today's routine included Hip Shape Focus Combo, Sway Back Combo and Difficulty Challenge Combo #2 for 24 minutes. I woke up later than I wanted.

"I thought the dryer was shrinking my clothes. Turns out it was the refrigerator all along."

Song of the Day: Cool Kids by Echosmith.

For tonight's stream, we are back to Saints Row '22, probably with a focus on exploring and side jobs first before advancing the plot.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

So Saints Row '22's origin for The Saints actually makes sense in context

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Saints Row '22 saw us start with off roaming around, doing the side hustles, finding stores and any landmarks we could find before making some headway when it came to the main story, which saw the unlocking of the JimRob's Garage, and the advancement to where The Boss gets canned by Marshall because of the other factions crashed a museum. This lead to mission where the two companion characters who had affiliation with the those other factions basically quitting and which leads to the creation of the Saints. 

Now that may seem convoluted, but one has to remember in the original Saints Row, the Saints were already established, and because of the events of Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell, Johnny Gat basically has an option to reboot the universe, which means the Saints don't come into existence until much later on. So with that in mind, the story actually works.

One thing that was cool was that folks realized that I made The Boss character apart of the LGTBQ community, which just makes sense because of the 'Romance' scenes in Saints Row IV. Regardless of the gender, the Boss has relations with all members of the Saints in that game. 

On a side note: I found an Indiana Jones style hat, jacket and pants with a whip in one of the in-game stores, which was pretty awesome!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Congratulations to Monicaneo who is getting married in October! Hope they and their partner have a long and happy marriage!

 Saints Row Achievements

• Tune Up: Customized a vehicle.
• Food for Thought: Staggered an enemy with a vending machine.
• Performance Review: Got fired.
• Making a Name: Named your criminal empire.

Stream Clip Links

• Sorry Marshall
• Achievement: Food For Thought 
• That screen effect going wonky
  

There was some miscommunication regarding what was going on with mom, but it was discovered that she has some fluid around her left lung that may be causing some shortness of breath. Had a long talk with my brother and one of the doctors who are taking care of mom, and the subject of how weak she has gotten because she's basically been bed ridden since initially going to the Emergency Room back on December 28. If anyone would like to help my mom in her fight against Lung Cancer, please donate to her gofundme at https://gofund.me/6adf8354!

Continued my string of daily commission writings with another Dragon Ball tale, and I have another one in line.as well that is apart of the established series of stories featuring Videl... even if she won't be featured in the next one that was requested. 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Advanced Combo #2, Left-Right Step Combo and Hook Combo #2

"Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera."

Song of the Day: Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons

For tonight's stream, Fall Guys will lead thing off then after the 9 PM break, we'll switch over to Fallout 76 as I work my way to level 100!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden! 

A Good Night Of Overwatch 2

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was a lot of fun, first big thanks to BangBangBang and PandaSweet for joining on matches, as it's always great to be playing with friends. We all ended up getting plays of the game at different points which was really cool. For myself, I picked up four POTGs, two as Junkrat and two as Torbjorn. Other character sued during the night included Moira, Ana, Mei, Junker Queen, Orisa, Reinhardt and several others.

It was funny that I was able to get up to 8 of the weeklies done considering wins were really tough to come by during the course of the week, since I often play Overwatch 2 following the Monday to Saturday streams. Then again, I can almost instantly tell when a match is won or loss pretty quick, so often times I end up just looking to finish the match!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/powerthumbz!  

Stream Clip Links

• En-Tire-ly Unavoidable!
• One By One By One 
• Molten Core For The Win!
  

Been having a little trouble reaching mom yesterday, but I do know my Aunt Grace and Cousin Frances were visiting her, and mom said she was doing okay. We are raising funds for her fight against Lung Cancer, if you'd like to help please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Finished another 2 Dragon Ball short story commissions based around Future Trunks and was given the go ahead to continue this unexpected series of stories. I really should consider starting that Subscribstar account.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Uppercut Combo #2, Front-Back Step Combo and Defensive Combo #1 for 28 minutes.

"My wife said I should do lunges to stay in shape. That would be a big step forward."

Song of the Day: I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

For tonight's stream we're going to start up Saints Row, which was released last year. Now it launched with a ton of bugs and issues, so I waited several months after it go various patch updates. Now I heard it was a mixed bag... but as long as its as fun as Saints Row The Third, Saints Row IV, Saints Row Gat Out of Hell and Agents of Mayhem, I'll be pleased.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Bayonetta's Story Makes No Sense, But It Was Fun!

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Bayonetta certainly drove home the point that the plot of the game makes no sense what so ever. Between apparent time travel shenanigans, the resurrection of a 'god' to destroy and remake the universe, lost memories and more plot holes than an Ed Wood film, it makes my head hurt trying to have it all make sense. Also didn't help with the number of long cut scenes in Chapters 14, 15 & 16 that tried to justify everything.

Still, it was a lot of fun, the boss battles got more over the top, and the reuse of earlier bosses made for a great call back, even if that is a bit cliche. The music in the later half of the game certainly was awesome to listen to, and this certainly was a game that justified my usual 'watch through the credits' because of the 'extra fights' that take place during it, and the dance video at the very end.

Now will I play Bayonetta again? More than likely yes, as there is the Xbox One version, so if and when I play this game again, it'll be that version, just to play it with superior visuals! Real question is, do I feel like I could handle the game on normal difficulty.... I'm not sure, I got dodging down pretty good, but combos could be a pain to pull off.

Question is, what will be the next Monday-Tuesday game, at this time I'm not completely sure as of yet, as I do have plenty of options!

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbZ while they were playing Prey over on twitch.tv/PowerThumbz!   

Bayonetta (Xbox 360) Achievements

• Commander Of Magic: Purchase all techniques.
• Treasure Collector: Discover half of all the Umbra Witches' final resting places.
• Iustitia, Giver Of Life: Defeat Iustitia on any difficulty.
• Feels Good, Doesn't It?: Execute 50 Torture Attacks.
• Sapientia, Controller Of Seas: Defeat Sapientia on any difficulty.
• Double, Double, Toil And Trouble: Create 20 Concoctions.
• Master Of The Heavens: Defeat Father Balder on any difficulty.
• Taste Of The Witching Hour: Complete all Chapters on any difficulty.

Stream Clip Links

• Stylishly Cool!
• So sorry! 
• We just punched it in the face!
  

Mom had an okay first day at the nursing / rehab facility, she is getting along with her room mate. She had her first session of physical therapy, they had her walking a little bit, which is good. If anyone would like to donate to her gofundme dedicated to covering medical related costs, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Had a 45-minute telephone conference that could probably help resolve a few worries I've had since mid-December, fingers crossed!

I've been really working on knocking out these series of Mass Effect short story commissions, and now gradually working to where things can reach the Mass Effect 3 era of the franchise, but there are some lingering tales the client wants based on Mass Effect 2.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Advanced Combo #1, Beginner Combo #2 and Uppercut Combo #1 for 34 minutes.

What did the drummer call his two twin daughters? Anna one, Anna two.

Song of the Day: Malibu by Miley Cyrus

For tonight's stream, we're playing Fall Guys and Fallout 76, if Iceman joins in, we'll be wrapping up his run of the Brotherhood of Steel story arc!

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

We Finished Pokemon Violet! And It Was Awesome!

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Pokemon Violet saw us basically breeze through the Elite Four, the League Champion Geeta, the 6th match against Nemona and have a leisurely stroll to the bottom of Area Zero to finish the game. I'm not kidding, as I had the match up list for each major battle, so I was prepared in advance. I did make sure Meowscarda got the final hits to defeat Geeta and the Turo AI in terms of the standard battles. 

That said I loved how the story played out in regards to Arven finding out that his father died a long time ago, Miraidon having to face a bully version of itself (which ties in nicely with the Team Star story arc) and everything wrapping up nicely while setting things up for 'post credits' content (Gym battle rematches, and so forth.

Oh, my six Pokemon to close out the game were Ceruledge, Meowscarda, Vivillon, Medicham, Raichu.& Floatzel. Outside of Ceruledge who I got in a trade and Medicham which I caught mid-game, the other four were in my lineup since damn near the start of the game. 

Overall I did enjoy playing Pokemon Violet a hell of a lot more than I did Pokemon Shining Pearl. There was never a point where I felt I was under prepared outside of not knowing the Ghost-gym involved 'double battles'. 

As for what will be the game to be featured on Mondays and Tuesdays? I thinking the Xbox 360 version of Bayonetta. I have never played it before.

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz who was playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Stream Clip Links

• Defeating Geeta In A Snap!
• Do It Meowscarada! 
• Miraidon Gets The Job Done!
  

Tried to keep taps on mom yesterday, but missed her several times when I called. She did have a radiation therapy session, and they gave her shots to the stomach to try and deal with the tumors. If anyone would be kind to donate to her GoFundMe to try and cover medical expenses, it would be greatly appreciated. The link is at https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Did a fair amount of writing on the latest Mass Effect short story commission request, granted I'm including EDI a lot more than one would assume in terms of setting up the plot. I should be able to finish it before tonight's stream... or before I go to bed after the stream. Whichever comes first.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Defensive Combo #2, Intermediate COmbo #1 and Triple Combo #2 for 31 minutes.

What kind of dinosaur loves to sleep? Well, now, all of them.

Song of the Day:  I’m Not The Only One by Same Smith

For tonight's stream we're playing Fall Guys to start and then we'll switch to Fallout 76 after the 9 PM break.

So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

First Overwatch Stream Of The Year Saw 7 Plays of the Game

Good morning everyone,

First, update on my mom, the doctors did another biopsy on her, this time on her tongue to see if the cancer spread that far.  There is some consideration of her coming home, but that has not been determined yet. For sure we know she is going to have to go through chemotherapy. We are raising money for my mom in fight against cancer, if you would be kind enough to donate, you can do so at https://gofund.me/6adf8354

As for last night's stream of Overwatch 2 was pretty epic, as we picked up seven plays of the game, 3 as Junkrat, 1 as Orissa and 3 as Junker Queen. It was insane considering that through out the month of December it was pretty rough for me to get POTGs and the first stream of the year sees me get seven. Big thanks to PandaSweet for being apart of the fun, and she even got two POTGs as well! There were a couple of matches that look like they were going to be a clear loss that somehow we turned into victories.

By the way, I put all the POTGs over on my Tumblr page last night.

For last night's raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz as they were playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz! 

Stream Clip Links

• Like rancid pea soup.
• Well... that happened 
• All Hail The Queen!
  

Finished the Mass Effect short story commission request, tried to put a lot of lore and emotional depth into it, which exposed my weaknesses as a fic writer in a major way. Did get the go ahead to write the next installment in this series of commission requests

I'm kind of shocked that I may actually win the championship in one of the Fantasy Football leagues I joined at the start of the season! 

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Block Combo, Difficulty Challenge Combo #2 and Straight Combo #2 for 31 minutes.

Why did the golfer wear two pairs of pants? Because he always gets a hole in one!

Song of the Day: Disco Inferno by The Trammps

For tonigh's stream we shall be resuming Pokemon Violet with my next destination being the Ice Gym in Glaseado, which would be the final gym. From there it's the final two Team Star bases and then the final Titan, going to have to do quite a bit of leveling up as possible, because I don't want my attempt to get through the Elite Four and the League Champion to be the nonsense that I experienced in Pokemon Shining Pearl!

So on that note, we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Two More Gyms and One More Titan Conquered

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Pokemon Violet was certainly more the 'how the hell do I get to where I need to go' aspect, but following a plan of doing things in a set order does mean I'm pretty much over powered in a number of different aspects. Meowscarada can basically one shot most things at level 56, since I have her with two dark type moves, one grass type and one fairy type moves. I'm certainly leaning into doing the rest of this game as I did Pokemon Shield and just over level my core team to brute force my way through the elite four. I mean it worked in Shield & Let's Go Eevee... and technically did in Shining Pearl.

We did conquer two Gyms, the ones for Ghost type, which happened to be the one 'duos' style of battling area I've seen in game, plus the Psychic gym. Again Meowscarada basically did all the heavy lifting in both areas. Figuring out how to 'catch up' with Iron Treads, the Quaking Earth Titan, took way too long for me to realize, but we made short work of him.

Noat this point, I have One Gym left, two Team Star Bases and one more Titan to conquer before starting the string of end game battles. But also discovered there are Shrines where if certain things are removed Legendary 'ruin' Pokemon may be freed to possible battle and / or captured. I doubt I'll go that far as most sites are calling the pursuit of the Shrines to be 'post-credits' content.

For the raid we dropped in on PowerThumbz as they were playing Prey over at twitch.tv/powerthumbz!

Stream Clip Links

• Final Hit In The Ghost Gym
• Flower Trick For The Win... Again 
• Victory In The Psychic Gym
• Defeating Iron Treads, the Quaking Earth Titan 
  

Mom first day of Radiation Therapy went well from what she told me, the biggest issues yesterday being with the prearranged Uber and Lyft rides which clearly are not taking into account how quickly she can move. Most of her therapy sessions are in the afternoons, which gives plenty of time to get her ready... but I'm worried about the ones that are schedules for mornings. If anyone would be kind to donate to her GoFundMe, it would be greatly appreciated: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Started writing the latest WWE commission story request, may end up going with the promo set up route for it, since it's easy to write without me having to track down actual TV segments. Did got a large portion written after the stream.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2  daily workout featured Weaving Combo #1, Body Hook Combo and Beginner Combo #1 for 28 minutes.

What did the clock do when it was hungry? It went back four seconds.

Song of the Day: Big Fun 2017 by Inner City

For tonight's stream, Iceman made me aware that he may not be able to join us, so we may still only with Fall Guys or pair it with Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed or MultiVersus if I decied no t to play Fallout 76. Regardless Fall Guys will be featured to start things off!

So on that note we'll see you later over at twitch.tv/fredcasden!

 https://gofund.me/6adf8354

I'm leaning Raider in Fallout 76

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Fallout 76 saw some heavy story progress done as it relates to getting into Vault 79... and considering all the trauma I went through finding Lou and Ra-Ra on the Raiders side of the story I'm heavily leaning towards siding with the Raiders just for the simple fact I used a ton of ammo to reach them, so one could say I'm invested in seeing how the story progresses. Got so bad at one point I was facing the 'boss', a multi-star Legendary sentry bot with only a revolver and a short rifle... which left me running around ducking for cover and trying to do sneaky ranged attacks.

We were of course joined by Iceman for some leavling up on the scoreboard side of things, using his Fallout 1st. It is always great to have him join in on the fun! Also at this point Fallout 76 has 63 achievements, and I have 49% of them, so slowly but surely I'm getting things done in this game.

We did have a couple of instances of stream lag, thankfully none of it fully effected the game play... I think But good news is that the stream didn't go fully down so everything stays in one VOD. 

Fallout 76 Achievements

• Gold Rush: Gain 300 gold bullion

Twitch Clips

• It's Murder Time Alright! 
• A Box of 9... 
• This took forever 

For the raid we dropped in on Oldish22 who was playing Final Fantasy XIV over at twitch.tv/oldish22! 

I didn't notice until after the stream that the latest Logitech update really screwed with my mic settings as it pertained to things like mic gain. I sweat every time Logitech updates something it breaks one thing or another and takes forever to figure out what went wrong.

So the trailer for a movie on Hulu called Prey... it looks lame as hell.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Triple Combo #1, Weaving Combo #2 and Straight Combo #1 for 28 minutes.

Messed around some more with MultiVersus and discovered that the game does have a similiar unlock system for different builds and perks to what Paladins had early in its life and that each character can unlock the abilities from other characters. Actually this is probably closer to Dead by Daylight now that I think about it. Still I have continued playing as Harley Quinn because why the hell not. 

MultiVersus Achievements

• Aerial Specialist: Get 10 Ringouts using the top of the blastbox
• Credit Where It's Due: Give out 5 toasts to other players
• Nice Speech: Give out 10 toasts to other players
• Stepping Out: Win 10 Matchmade games
• You Mean Business: Get 30 ringouts

You hear about the man who sells dynamite? Business is booming.

I gave my seat on the bust to a blind man. They fired me as driver.

What's big, gray and doesn't matter? An irrelephant.

Why did the snowman pick through a bag of carrots? Because he was picking his nose.

Song of the Day: Hungry Like The World by Duran Duran

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For tonight's stream we'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV, most likely a bit of leveling and dailies will be done. So on that note we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!