World of Warships
Asia account (Sun 1 Nov)
Two more Seasoned commanders upskilled tonight to 21 pt - J.J. Honore for Jean Bart and R. von Jutland for Preussen. Used a combination of Elite Cmdr XP and Free XP to get them over the line.
Next commanders for focus upskill be the two latest Unique commanders acquired recently - J. A. Collins (Commonwealth) and P. C. Topete (Spain) along with three commanders currently on 17 pts. Their ships are Hindenburg, Anhalt, and Halland but I am running them on lower tiered vessels.
NA Account (Sun 1 Nov)
Not much to say. Usual grind in Tier 4. Managed to earn enough credits to upgrade to a new ship, Tier 5 Italian DD Maestrale.
Checked in on the clan's progress in the latest Naval Battles. They weren't troubled by the opposition so didn't bother participating. Instead did my usual Tier 4 grind and then continued playing the Pacific Fronts card game when on this account. Will do so until I run out of supply tokens which are dwindling gradually. No reason to hoard them anyway now that I have the Monaghan.
=======================
Asia account (Tue 3 Nov)
Mundane session changed up by a couple of highlights: (1) Made the impulsive decision to buy out the remaining phases in the Dockyard event to get the Tier IX Marlborough B. Yes, it cost me dineros, but I justified the expenditure in wanting to discover the details of these missions associated with the pairings. I know I said I would pass on the event, but I changed my mind because curiosity got the better of me and I was bored.
Once I played out the Black Friday mission specific and received the rewards, with the steel and the discount coupon I was also able to (2) acquire the steel ship, Tier X Shikishima. It was a toss up between Shikishima and Willem de Eerste. In the end, settled on the former because it's been on my bucket list longest.
Played both ships. Chose the Marlborough version instead of the Black Friday dockyard one. Played her for the doubloons and steel reward associated with the mission. I then switched over to Shikishima, to familiarise myself with her potency as befits her reputation. Both performed well enough once I remembered to keep my distance and avoid charging in brawling.
NA Account (3 Nov Tue)
Two new ships acquired by grind. Both Tier 5. Which leaves five Tier 4s left to grind to Tier 5. Excluding the Tier 4 carriers which I will grind separately later on.
========================
Samoa vs Tonga (Rugby League World Cup)
Watched parts of it about ten minutes in before switching over to a tv movie. Moments of individual skill and brilliance but bugger all team cohesion or direction from the Sa-sa boys. Reminded me more of touch footy in the backyard than an international game. Didn't believe Samoa would win. And my prediction proved right. The Tongans won out in the end when I checked back later.
Australia will smack Samoa back to the islands in their meetup. Tonga will fare better against New Zealand and may cause an upset. May.
=======================
Stories in November
Enjoying a feast of Lovecraft's works courtesy of Miskatonic Studios. Their use of AI is fine with me because it enhances the storytelling. My current favourites (of those I've seen thus far) include The Shadow over Innsmouth, The Mound, and The Dunwich Horror.
Just watched The Rats In the Walls. Lucius the black cat was my favourite. Rats don't bother me as they should but I would not want to face a swarm on my own. Not without a flamethrower and grenade launcher combo weapon.
At the same time, I've been gorging on the Dredd universe courtesy of Aremacielo(?). Again, its use of AI is fine by me although the people animation are too beautiful-looking which can be detracting at times. But a nice contrast in this violent blasted universe which perhaps accentuates the vivid contrast. Intentional then?
They do have 'ugly' characters like the Angel family but they're so unique and obvious from the general populace that you can't mistake them for the homicidal cannibal maniacs they are.
Anyway, enjoying catching up on the Dredd timeline since I last left it many decades ago. And a lot has happened since I last read it back in the 70s.
In my youth, I used to read Dredd via the 2000 AD comics. Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Nemesis the Warlock, and Slaine were faves and remembered best among a cast including Strontium Dog, Tharg the Mighty, ABC Warriors and so on.
I actually preferred Slaine over Dredd because he was such a blood-thirsty but formidably brave character. Especially when he goes into Berserk mode.
And not forgetting Nemesis in his never-ending struggle against Torquemada the Inquistorial Grand-Master. That Nemesis was an alien didn't bother me because I hated the Inquisition with a passion then. Fundamentalism and religious persecution would raise my passionate ire, as they still do today.
=======================