Since these posts will probably be much longer than they have been, I’ll put a “Read More” line so it’ll be easier to filter through my posts going forward (I know I should’ve done that from the start, so please take this delayed apology). They’ll also be structured weekly rather than daily. I would not subject you guys to daily because that would be insane. And I absolutely do not want these posts to be a mile long (they’re already long enough as it is). I like my sanity, thank you very much.
That being said, here’s everything I did in August!
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⭐ 8/1/24 – 8/3/24
Honkai Star Rail:
~ The next update is live and while I haven’t touched the main story yet, I did finish the entirety of the March 7th event. Collected all those event rewards. (laughs)
~ I forgot that since it’s a new month, the shop gets updated. So with in-game money (not real money), I got 5 red tickets for when Jiaoqiu’s banner comes. I won’t be pulling for Yunli or Huohuo since I don’t really need them. Also with the latest update, they’re giving away red tickets for Yunli being the main 5-star banner. So more red tickets for meeee~
~ Got all the level rewards in Divergent Universe! The gems are mine! (laughs)
Tyrion Cuthbert ~ Attorney of the Arcane:
After a semi-long hiatus, I’m glad I could open up the game to continue my playthrough of the first case! …And I finished it! The story has been interesting so far and I can’t wait for what the other cases bring! I don’t want to dilly dally on completing these cases so I don’t forget any key details, though. I think I’ll set completing case 2 as my goal for next week. If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll even start case 3!
Arkham Horror:
Per usual, Friday was Arkham Horror Game Night and we finished another scenario! My brother showed us the dossiers for all of the important NPCs we would need to look into, but with how the campaign works, we wouldn’t be able to check on everyone. So after we all chose a person we wanted to find more information about, we planned a route and headed to Alaska first (this was my pick since I wanted to learn more about Thorne). They just looked and sounded so cool! And for the record, I still think he’s cool. (laughs) We’ll be headed to Buenos Aires next week, which was Sophie’s pick.
Twisted Wonderland:
Gonna be in gem-saving mode here, too. (laughs) They released what’s upcoming in August a few days ago, and it looks like they’re gonna have a rerun of the Glorious Masquerade event! My goal for the rerun will be the SSR Rollo card since I have the others already (got them all during the first run). He wasn’t pullable when they ran the first run of Glorious Masquerade, so I’m super excited that they’re adding him to the English version!
⭐ 8/4/24 – 8/10/24
Kantei Skill (anime):
Okay, so this one is getting a shortened name simply because light novel titles are notoriously long. On Crunchyroll, the title is “As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World.” …Yeah… (laughs)
But anyway! This one came out of nowhere for me. I remember seeing it on Crunchyroll a few months ago when I was trying to find something to watch, and while I usually don’t gravitate towards the isekai genre, I wanted to give this series a try. It’s been in the back of my brain for a while now, so I’m finally hunkering down and watching it.
I was so hooked that it only took me two days to marathon the first season. An underrated series, in my opinion. It didn’t even feel like 12 episodes, but it also didn’t feel like the pacing was super fast either? I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. (laughs) To no one’s surprise, Rietz (Ritsu?) is my favorite. Though to be fair, when I saw him in the promotional image a few months ago, I knew he would be my favorite.
I did a little bit of research and the second season will be airing in the fall. I need it to be October now!
Tyrion Cuthbert ~ Attorney of the Arcane:
Finished the second case in one sitting, and oh man, that case was a bit of a doozy. Some parts were tricky, but I just had to hunker down and put on my thinking cap. (laughs) Not gonna go into too much detail about the case (for spoilers), but overall, it was a pretty solid case! When the pieces started to come together, it felt awesome. I’m super interested to see how a certain character continues to play a part in the game. And I also have a mighty need to figure out how Tyrion’s Eye of Horus works.
Now that I’m two cases in, I do find it a little strange that, unlike Ace Attorney, there are many times when there is no consequence to presenting or saying the wrong thing. While that is nice in terms of the playthrough, I feel having the penalty bar during certain moments makes the game a little less challenging? I’m not saying the game is not difficult (because some parts still are), but I would prefer if the penalty bar was consistent across the game. I think it makes the importance of choosing the right answer much higher since your client’s innocence is on the line.
I didn’t start the next case immediately since it was getting pretty late and I wanted to give my brain a break. (laughs) But, I was able to start case 3 on Saturday and work through most of it in one sitting. I was planning on playing a bit after Arkham Horror Game Night on Friday, but it was a bit too late in the evening, so I skipped a day and finished the case the next day. Three cases down, two to go!
Arkham Horror:
Friday means Arkham Horror Game Night, and this time, our travels brought us to Buenos Aires! This location was Sophie’s pick since she wanted to investigate “Girl in Carmine Coat”. Playing through this area was a lot of rinse and repeat since we needed to find her to talk to her (and we needed to do this three times). She’s on our side now, and we have one more Key to take along with us. I forgot to mention that after finishing up in Alaska, my brother held onto the first Key. I’m holding onto this new one!
We’ll be in Morocco next (Cory’s pick) since he wanted to investigate Amaranth. And yes, we did make a pitstop in San Francisco after Alaska since that’s what Amaranth’s dossier mentioned. It was why we took the route we did. (laughs)
Twisted Wonderland:
The Glorious Masquerade event started on the 9th and I’m now in Rollo-pulling mode. I’ve been unlucky with my pulls thus far, but I’ve got my fingers crossed! He will come home. 😤
⭐ 8/11/24 – 8/17/24
Tyrion Cuthbert ~ Attorney of the Arcane:
Case 4 was absolutely insane. And I expect the final case to be the same. Unfortunately, talking about either case will reveal some crazy spoilers, so I will refrain. Let’s just say case 4 pulled stuff from Ace Attorney in a way I didn’t think they would, and the number of times I said, “Oh my God” throughout the case was too many times to count. (laughs)
Needless to say, case 5 was absolutely bonkers wild. I’m so glad my brother recommended this game to me because the only reason why I hadn’t played it was because of the art style. My brother did say the art would not inspire me, but damn, the characters and story sure did. And to know there is a sequel in the works? I’m so excited to see what comes next.
Touken Ranbu:
When I got this boy as an event reward milestone, maintenance was about two hours away. I had no more runs left, so I had to buy items for more runs. Look, I was so close to getting this sword boy and I was not going to miss out on basically a free sword. So yeah, I have him now.
Twisted Wonderland:
Rollo has not come home yet, so attempts are still ongoing. The Glorious Masquerade event ends at the end of the month, so there’s still time before I need to shell out money. I’ve already pulled almost 60 times. (laughs)
Hell’s Paradise:
I started watching this on Thursday, which was much later in the week than I was expecting since this has been on my “to watch” list for some time now. I had planned on starting it at the beginning of the week, but I got tied up with Tyrion Cuthbert.
Before it became an anime, I remember reading the first chapter a while back and being interested in the premise. Long story short, I left it on hiatus for far too long… Since it’d been a while since I read the first chapter, I honestly can’t remember it being as bloody/gory as it was. Watching this was an absolute treat and I can’t wait for season 2! Since there’s no set date for the next season AND I found out that the manga is complete, now’s a good time as any to swap over to reading the manga while I wait. But wow, what a series.
Anyway, blasted through half of the manga in one day. (laughs) Just immediately started reading after I finished watching the anime. It’s been a while since I really sat down to read something in one sitting. Usually, I have music playing in the background while I read, but I was so invested that I forgot.
Ikemen Villains:
So it’s been a hot minute since I last mentioned this mobile game. Elbert’s route was added to the English version at the beginning of the month, yet I still haven’t made any progress past the prologue. However, I saw that there was an event going on for three of the guys, two of which currently don’t have their routes added to the English version yet. So of course, I had to play Jude’s event story. They’re pretty short, so I was able to get one ending fairly quickly. I’m working towards the other ending now!
⭐ 8/18/24 – 8/24/24
Hell’s Paradise:
And on the immediate next day, I finished reading the manga. Man, that was the wildest ride. Very good. A+. 10/10. Completely exceeded my expectations. I do admit it got a little lost in the sauce towards the end, but overall, still a good series. Just look at Gabimaru sleeping. He deserves it.
Spy x Family:
After a billion years, I’ve finally returned to this series. I read a few chapters of the manga a few years ago, but put it on hiatus due to too many things going on. No more putting it off. I’m finally watching the anime and blasted through the first cour in one day and the second cour the next day. I definitely could’ve watched more on the first day, but since marathons take a lot out of me, I need to take my time with it. I did marathon Hell’s Paradise recently, so I need to pace myself so I don’t burn out.
I ended up waiting a day (or was it two days?) before continuing with season 2 and finished watching it in two days. Anyway, in between anime seasons, I started reading the manga. I’m still going through the chapters that I’ve already watched in the anime, but I’m really just taking screenshots of Loid. (laughs) As of the end of the week, I’m almost caught up with the manga, so once I catch up, I’ll do my best to keep up with release.
Twisted Wonderland:
I’ve pulled about 120 times and Rollo is still nowhere to be seen (kinda rude, imo). The event ends at the end of the month, so I still have a few days to pull. However, I did get Silver’s SSR Dorm Room card in the midst of pulling for Rollo! He looks soooo cool!
BIG UPDATE. On Saturday, Rollo decided to come home! (Finally.)
Honkai Star Rail:
Luck might not be on my side for Rollo, but apparently, the world said I was allowed to have luck in HSR. (laughs) Jiaoqiu came home! I’m so happy!
Touken Ranbu:
The event has now been considered a success since I hit the event reward milestone that gets me the new sword boy! I’m still not sure how I feel about him, but he’s here. (laughs)
Arkham Horror:
So while I was reviewing this monster of a post for scheduling (on Sept 1 btw), I realized I didn’t actually write about this week’s game night, and if I’m being completely honest, I really can’t remember what happened… All I remember about this scenario was that it was time-based (per usual) and somewhat difficult since not only did we need to find Amaranth, but we also needed to prevent civilians from dying. That ended up being my job since I am the resident clue-getter of the team and that’s what we needed to rescue civilians (4 clues per civilian). The others took care of Amaranth.
We were also running out of time and places to visit, so since we were closest to Tsu San Niang (“Lady With Red Parasol”), we decided to make our way to her location to try and snag one more Key. I can’t recall the reason why, but we “lost” a Key at the end of this week’s game night. It was at random, so I lost the Key that I was holding onto.
⭐ 8/25/24 – 8/31/24
Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions:
I thought I learned my lesson the first time when I had to reread the manga from the beginning to remember everything I had already read at the time, but alas, I left the manga on too long of a hiatus for the second time. So guess who has to start the manga from the beginning again? If you guessed me, you’d be correct! I am once again reading the manga from the beginning so I can remember what the hell is going on in this series. I remember the main points, but not the specific details. It also gives me an excuse to take screenshots of Ron (my beloved).
And before anyone asks… Yes, I have watched the anime (multiple times!), and yes, I am very excited for season 2. (laughs)
Touken Ranbu:
I forgot I had points saved up (and I also forgot the points shop was open), so I was able to basically get this sword boy for free! …Or at least, with minimal effort. I just like his color scheme a lot.
Okay, hello event drop??? While I’m indifferent about him, having another tachi on my roster isn’t a bad thing. My Osafune collection is growing, though!
Ghibli Fest:
Alright, so Ghibli Fest is happening again. I usually try to rewatch the ones I’ve already seen, but I was a little too busy this time around (because of a hobby I have since quit). Now that I’m more free, I really wanted to watch “The Cat Returns” since I had never watched it before. However, when I was looking up showtimes, I saw that it was actually a sequel/spinoff to “Whisper of the Heart”. …To which my brain then said, “What is that?”
Anyway for Ghibli Fest, I watched “Whisper of the Heart” on Tuesday and “The Cat Returns” on Wednesday since that was how the days lined up. I went in knowing nothing about “Whisper of the Heart,” and while I did like it, it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. In retrospect, I think it’s because I’ve only seen the movie poster of “The Cat Returns,” so I always thought it was some sort of fantasy story. And since I had never watched the movie, I was caught off guard when “Take Me Home, Country Road” played in the intro. (laughs)
Of course, I went in blind for “The Cat Returns” as well. I feel bad for saying this, but I enjoyed it more than “Whisper of the Heart.” I think it was because “The Cat Returns” had that fantasy/supernatural element that I was missing from “Whisper of the Heart.” It also had a new cast of characters, so you could definitely watch one and not the other if you wanted to. But man, did Baron steal my heart. Sorry, Howl, but I think Baron takes the number one spot now. (laughs) From a gentlemanly/suave perspective, I got a lot of Professor Layton vibes from him. I watched both movies in Japanese and I was most taken in by Baron’s voice actor. He did such a good job. I never wanted him to stop talking. I would definitely watch “The Cat Returns” again.
Arkham Horror:
Similar to the prior week, it has now been a few days since game night, and I vaguely remember this scenario being very tough. There were a lot of moving parts and I was doing a lot of clue-getting for the team while the others took care of locating Tsu San Niang. We somehow keep surviving, which is good. Since we had just enough time to do something else, we were able to make a pit stop at the location where “Maid With Scarlet Sash” was spotted. Her location was not a scenario, but since we found her, we were able to get her Key as well.
But now we’re really out of time, so the game immediately sent us to our final location located in Russia. I can’t believe the campaign is almost done! One more scenario to go!
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I…am going to have to figure out another way to compose these monthly posts. I already knew these would be fairly long (and I’m sure they will continue to be long no matter how I look at it), but I wonder if there’s an easier way to combine things or make them shorter somehow. I’ll see what works for September’s monthly log, but that’ll be a future me problem. (laughs)
Until next time! Bye bye~
🌸 Hiba
The Skylark's Treasure 