Today's my 40th Birthday

Good morning everyone and Happy Birthday to me...

This afternoon my mom begins radiation therapy in her fight against lung caner. I want to begin the day by saying thank you to everyone who has been so supportive. It really has kept my head straight, and I've passed along anything said in the chats regarding my mom to her. If anyone would like to donate to her GoFundMe, visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Last night's stream featured Final Fantasy XIV, as I continuing my quest of doing all the side quests, finding some things that link sub-stories together, such as the troll who eventually learns how to speak and the moogles from the Twelvewoods meeting their sky island living cousins. It was a pretty chill and relaxing stream on all fronts. We also did once Alliance Raid, and I remembered instantly how much I hate the ones associated with the NieR franchise.

Stream Clip Links

• Just your typical finish to a raid
• Aye... of course... 
• It meowed?!
  

For the raid we dropped in on Kalenal who was also playing Final Fantasy XIV, with a big focus on doing the Rival Wings PVE content over at twitch.tv/kalenal!

The string of Mass Effect short story commissions continues as the client has moved the series into the Mass Effect 2 era of the story. Finished writing the fifth episode a bit before 4 AM

With Jalen Hurts out of for this week's game against the Cowboys, my two Fantasy Football teams are in danger of losing, well one for sure will certainly lose. The other has a slim chance at winning, but it's Kenneth Walker III is questionable.

I did remember to pop into Pokemon Violet to see the Birthday message at the Pokemon center it was cute for what it was. Also a new Pokemon Scarlet/Violet distribution is running through December 25th, enter HAPPYH0L1DAYS in game to get 50 Ice Tera Shards!. Big thanks to Kalenal for informing me about this. 

Big thank you to the FnDanteSavage for the Xbox gift card! Used that to pick up Anthem and The Council.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Biceps Shape Focus Combo, Difficulty Challenge Combo #3 and Difficulty Challenge Combo #1 for 34 minutes. Today is the 900th consecutive day I've worked out since I got the original Fitness Boxing in the middle of 2020. My weight is currently 245 lbs.

Recorded a Tier List video of ranking 80s Cartoons which will be viewable on my YouTube channel on Monday.

What do you call a belt made out of watches? A waist of time.

Song of the Day: Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers

For my birthday stream I'll start as early as possible, but this does mean I'll be taking breaks to check on my mom once she returns from the hospital. But in terms of what we'll play, it's going to be a variety day of different stuff.

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

Just your typical Wednesday

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream started off with Fall Guys, and we were joined for several Duo shows by FelKimChi. We managed to get to round 3 or round 4 a few times, but we had some wonky luck. As a solo, I only made one appearance in the final round. Also had some really bad attempts in Stomping Grounds. I swear (a lot) that the hit boxes on the Rhinos in that mode change week to week!

After the mid-stream break, we switched over to Fallout 76, and was joined by Iceman in order to help him with some of quests in his trip through the Brotherhood of Steel story arc, with the missions 'Missing Persons' and 'Out of the Blue', the first of which he helped me with... and the later being one I did solo. Was super glad I was able to help him out because the Assaultron Sheep-squatch in 'Out of the Blue' was a real bullet sponge.

Stream Clip Links

• Kobe!
• Lost My Tail But Got It Back 
• Using The Ammo I Normally Don't Use
• Really? The Dog Gets Me? 
  

For last night's raid we dropped in on SweetLindir who was playing Rogue Company over at twitch.tv/SweetLindir!  

Update on my mom, she is scheduled to start radiation treatments on Friday... that's one hell of a birthday present for me. Big thank you to everyone who has been supportive and to those who have donated to her GoFundMe, considering her insurance, its helping covered a fair amount. For more information, please visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

I put together the 2022 Gaming Tour Video yesterday, highlight all 60 games we finished on stream. The video can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/0n_MHTIXQeg

Finished work on the fourth straight Mass Effect short story commission. Unlike the recent string of the WWE related ones, these have been fun to write back to back.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Difficulty Challenge Combo #2, Straight Combo #2 and Block Combo for 31 minutes. By my rough math, we should wrap up Martina's Champion EX achievement on either Sunday or Monday.

Why was the snowman looking through a bag of carrots? He was picking his nose. 

Song of the Day: ‘Never Forget You’ by Zara Larsson, MNEK

For tonight's stream we'll be playing Final Fantasy XIV as we'll continue on the Side Quests plus maybe do some daily Roulettes.

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

Abzu is the 60th we finished this year

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream opened with Abzu, a game that is more of an experience because of how gorgeous it is and how incredible the musical score is. I did try to find everything for a 'possible' 100% completion run, but some areas are just too difficult to see where some things are  Still, it does give me an excuse to play it again on stream to try and get the other achievements.

I hope to have the highlight reel featuring all 60 games we finished for this years tour ready by New Years Eve

We did play Smite, and there were two quests that tied into one another, play as a Warrior and play as a Chinese God... so with that I ended up playing as Mulan for the first time, picking up one of her two achievements and coming painfully close in picking up the other, which involved leveling up her weapons. She kind of feels like a less dive heavy version of Nike.

We loaded up Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 to try and get an S-Rank achievement... never got hire than an A-Rank. There has to be a trick to it.

Lastly we closed out with SoulCalibur II HD Online, and I totally forgot that earlier in the year I was messing around with it to try and get several achievements done. Was surprised to pick up one achievement for defeating 50 male warriors. Did do an arcade run as Heihachi, and I have to giggle at his ending basically coming across as it was all a dream.

ABZÛ Achievements

• Breach: Leap from the water.
• Jetstream: Burst 15 fish schools in the jetstream.
• Food Chain: Witness predation while meditating.
• Ballet: Perform a flip while riding a creature.
• Connection: Ride the Great White Shark.
• Leviathan: Breach the water on the back of a blue whale.
• Reflection: Complete the adventure.

SMITE Achievements

• Two For One: Unlock the SMITE Award "Two For One."

SoulCalibur II HD Online Achievements

• Exemplary Fortitude: Defeated 50 Male Characters

Stream Clips

• Achievement: Leviathan
• Achievement: Two For One 
• WakkaWakkaWakka 
• Is that all you got
  

By the way, here is the full list of every game we finished this year.

01/07 - Pokemon Shining Pearl
01/17 - Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
01/20 - Life of Fly
01/24 - Battletoads
01/25 - Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
01/26 - Gears 5
01/29 - Disney-Pixar Brave
02/08 - Life is Strange: Remastered
02/13 - Life is Strange - Before the Storm: Remastered
02/15 - Kingdom Hearts III
02/19 - Life of Fly 2
02/22 - Tell Me Why
02/26 - Mortal Kombat IX
02/28 - Light Fairytale Episode 1
03/01 - Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold
03/01 - Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper
03/01 - Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix
03/07 - What Remains Of Edith Finch
03/09 - WWF SmackDown 2: Know Your Role
03/12 - Teen Titans
03/14 - Sonic Generations
03/15 - P.O.W. Prisoners of War
03/15 - Beast Busters
03/16 - Ugly Americans: Apocalypsegeddon
03/21 - Contrast
03/23 - Gears of War: Ultimate Edition
04/02 - Apocalypse
04/19 - Mass Effect 2
04/23 - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
05/17 - Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition
05/22 - Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes EX Edition
05/30 - Lego Batman: The Video Game
06/02 - Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Xbox 360 Version)
06/11- Capcom Fighting Evolution
06/18 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
06/21 - Persona 5 Royal
07/11 - Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins
07/18 - Persona 4: Arena
07/23 - Tekken Tag Tournament 2
07/25 - Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
07/30 - Persona 5: Strikers
08/06 - Stray
08/12 - My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure
08/22 - Mass Effect 3
09/02 - Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]
09/05 - LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures
09/12 - Murdered: Soul Suspect
09/16 - The Quarry
09/20 - Tekken 7
10/03 - Overwatch
10/10 - The Last of Us Remastered
10/14 - Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight
10/28 - Until Dawn
11/18 - Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
11/21- Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova
11/22 - Dragon Ball FighterZ
11/23 - Fallout 76
12/09 - Persona 4: Dancing All Night
12/13 - Games of Thrones: A Telltale Series
12/20 - Abzu

For the raid we dropped in on FelKimchi as they were playing Genshin Impact over on twitch.tv/felkimchi! 

Found out that mom will probably start getting radiation treatments on my birthday, and the major areas of concern are in her hip and right shoulder. If anyone wants to help with my mom's medical expenses, you can donate to her gofundme at https://gofund.me/6adf8354

The streak of Mass Effect shorty commissions request is now up to four, and I should have guessed that there was a possibility of including Matriarch Benezia. Will have to ponder how to make that work.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Sway Back Combo, Hip Shape Focus Combo and Intermediate Combo #2

What's the best way to carve wood? Whittle by whittle.

Song of the Day: Rocket Man (I think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time) by Elton John

For tonight's stream, the plan is to play Fall Guys and Fallout 76, so silliness and action is expected. 

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

What did we accomplish in Pokemon Violet?

Good morning everyone,

Last night's stream of Pokemon Violet started off with us taking on the Electric Gym Leader, in one of the most surreal ways of me doing dialog ever... it's not easy trying to impersonate an high energy broadcaster. We then set out sights on tracking down the Steel Tighten and then wrapped things up going after the Water Gym Leader. So at this point I have four Gym badges, three Titan badges and two Team Star Badges.

So planning ahead, my next objective will to go after the Poison Crew of Team Star, followed by the Normal Gym Leader. Granted I could go after the Earth Titan since I'm still in that region, but I rather bounce around the recommended order of doing things just to try and have some sort of advantage.

That said, the Gym Tests in this generations Pokemon games are a bit interesting... as they basically are tasks being pushed off onto the player. Don't get me wrong they bet having to figure out the puzzles of Pokemon Shining Pearl, but I guess the emphasis on the open world aspect meant no actual in-door gyms were made.

Also thank goodness at this point all the answers for the 'tests' at the Academy can be easily found, no way I would be able to remember some things.

Last Night's Clips

• Magical Leaf For The Win
• Just Bite It Again 
• The Flower Trick For The Win
  

For last night's raid we dropped in on Kalenal as they were playing Final Fantasy XIV over at twitch.tv/kalenal!  

Mom has another set of appointments today, I believe we'll find out for sure how severe his battle with cancer is because there was a lot of confusion that popped up over the past week. If anyone wants to help with my mom's medical expenses, you can donate to her gofundme at https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Moved a dresser that was being unused in on the 2nd floor of my home down to my studio / office in the basement. It was fairly easy... since I took the drawers out first and basically slide it slower down one flight of stairs, then through the living room and kitchen... then down another flight of stairs.

Also changed some things around, so the stream tonight will look different, contemplating just showing off how large the basement is. 

Got a third Mass Effect short story commission request, and managed to get a good portion of it written. Of course the challenge here is using Tali in a featured role forces me to think of alternatives.

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

Why do ghosts love elevators? Because it lifts their spirits.

Song of the Day: Faded by Alan Walker

For tonight's stream, the plan is to to play and finish Abzu in one stream to give us 60 games finished for 2022 in order to wrap up this years tour.

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

Am I becoming a Junker Queen / Junkrat Main?

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Overwatch was pretty damn good, in terms of getting challenges done to level up the battle pass and in terms of just having fun. Big thanks to BangBangBang, BloodyClown and PandaSweet for joining on many of the matches over the course of the night.

In terms of who I used, where D.va, Orissa, Wrekcing Ball, Moira & Lucio were among the usual suspects but the MVPs of the night were Junker Queen and Junkrat. Between the two of them I picked up 7 Plays of the Game! I think maybe I had 8 but my Antivirus Software caused a slight freeze which prevented me from making note of it. Still 7 in one night is awesome.

But the big question is aim I becoming a Junker Queen and Junkrat main when it comes to the Tank and Damage roles while playing Overwatch 2? I don't think so, because when I'm playing the role as a tank I look at her as being a situational option one some maps. She certainly is a brawler in many aspects and if I can trust my team, I can cause a lot of havoc. With Junkrat, well it's really hit or miss because I can have very good games using him and very bad ones. as well.

Twitch Clips

• Panda!
• One by one by one! 
• Triple Kill with One Knief Throw
  

For the raid we dropped in on annietalksshow as they were playing Valorant over at twitch.tv/annietalksshow! 

My mom has the first of several appointments this week today, with today being for what is called a PET scan. I do like to continue thanking you for your support during this tough period. For anyone wanting to donate, you can do so over at https://gofund.me/6adf8354

I've said it once and I'll keep saying it... Elon Musk is a piece of shit and he can kiss my ass.

Finished writing the second Mass Effect short story commission I received, will be interesting to see if the client wants to go for a third entry straight away.

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Weaving COmbo #2, Hook Combo #1 and Waist Shape Focus Combo for 28 minutes.

What sound does a nut make when it sneezes? Cashew!

Song of the Day: Viva La Vida by Coldplay

For tonight's stream we're playing Pokemon Violet, with our first objective being on the 3rd Gym... I'll probably focus on leveling to make sure we have an easy time with it.

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

A Random Saturday

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream started with DKO Divine Knockout and I'm determined to get Athena to 'level 20' mostly because one of the things that is popular to do over in its sister game Smite, is to put in the play time with each character to rank X even if you're not good as them. I'm fairly good with Athena in certain match ups, so this gives me a long term goal with the game. Big thanks to Reaper for joining in on a few matches as well.

Next we played MultiVersus, and I do like the look of the Game of Thrones inspired arena, just wish I wasn't playing Velma at the time so I could have a better idea of how to recover when knocked off the sides. Also MultiVersus had some weird rendering issues with textures on the characters. Did nab the ugly sweater skin for Arya Stark, because that helped with some challenges.

Lastly we closed out the night with Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, and we had a good stint on it, winning 4 out of 6 matches played. I have to remember next time to hunt for Rifts to fulfill one of the side hustles.

So all in all a good night!

Divine Knockout Achievements

• Air-Time: Achieved 'Air-Time'
• Damage Dealer Gold: Achieved 'Damage Dealer Gold'
• Double KOs Silver: Achieved 'Double KOs Silver'

Twitch Clips

• Get Off My Point!
• Back to Back! 
• Trapped at the same instant the rift was destroyed!
  

For the raid we dropped in on Tracy Doll who was playing The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me over at twitch.tv/tracydoll.

We have nearly raised $1000 for my mom to help cover her medical expenses, ya'll are awesome for helping her out! For information on what's going on in her fight against cancer visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354.

Finished the first in a new series of short story commission based on Mass Effect, and the client wants a second right straight away. Now to figure out how to write the second episode.

Start of a new week, let's recap what we played over the last seven days: Overwatch 2, Pokemon Violet, Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, Smite, Fall Guys, Fallout 76, Final Fantasy XIV, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, DKO Divine Knockout, MultiVersus & Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed

Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Straight Combo #1, Triple Combo #1 and Double Combo #2 for 31 minutes.

There are three types of people in the world. Those of us who are good at math and those of us who aren't.

Song of the Day: Believer by Imagine Dragons

For tonight's stream Overwatch is on deck, as we'll work on knocking out things required for the weekly challenges and so forth. 

SO we'll see you later over on twitch.tv/fredcasden!

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Is A Bit Different Than The Original

Good afternoon everyone,

Last night's stream of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax saw us getting use the mechanics that were introduced in the original Persona 4 Arena which we played earlier this year... however there are a number of differences. I feel Aigis plays a lot different, some of the combo challenges feel awkward in execution, but overall it didn't take me too long to get back into the flow of things. That said, I did notice that characters who had sprites in the original Persona 4 Arena don't look as good when compared to the characters added to Ultimax, and that extends over to how some of the Instant Kills look as well.

In terms of other things done, we did one arcade run, attempted a Score Attach run... and dived in deep into the Golden Arena mode as Naoto, getting down to level 45... once I figured out the RPG element of it. It was great to hear some music I've heard a lot in the Dancing game trilogy over the past several week.

There is going to be a question of how I'm going to handed Person 4 Arena Ultimax next week with my Birthday on the 23rd. I'm certainly leaning towards doing a variety stream next Friday and putting P4AU on Saturday. We'll see what I end up doing.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Trophies

• Baby Steps: You started on the road to knowledge.
• Cram Session: You studied 20 different Lessons.
• 30-Minute Workout: You Trained for 30 minutes straight!  
• Combination Fighter: You completed 150 challenges!
• The Punk's Way: You defeated an opponent without letting them Awaken in Arcade or Network Mode.
• Advanced Fishing Manual: You performed 10 Fatal Counters in Arcade or Network Mode.
• Awakened SP Skill Boosts Made Easy: You used an Awakened SP Skill Boost in Arcade or Network Mode.
• Arcade Novice: You completed Arcade Mode with one character.
• Not Unlike a Boss: You defeated a boss character in Golden Arena Mode!
• Brave Gladiator: You raised a character to level 10 in Golden Arena Mode!

Steam Clips

• Achievement: The Punk's Way
• Galactic Punt! 
• I actually... lost...
  

For the raid we dropped in on x_lumineee  when they were playing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - Reunion over at twitch.tv/x_lumineee!   

Mom was visited by several family members yesterday which was pretty cool, and I got in touch with a cousin I haven't spoken too in a long time. Also, huge thank you to everyone who donated to my mom's GoFundMe yesterday, your kindness and generosity is incredible! For more info on what is going on visit: https://gofund.me/6adf8354

Played a little Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 yesterday and nabbed an achievement in it... granted I was playing it because Windows and Logitech had updates that broke the audio set up I have for OBS

Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Achievements

• ADVENTURE 2: Clear area 3-11 in ADVENTURE!

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

What do you call the security guards outside of Samsung? The guardians of the Galaxy.

Song of the Day: Intentions by Justin Bieber ft Quavo

For tonight's stream, well it's a variety night, so DKO: Divine Knockout, Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed and MultiVersus are things I have planned

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