DeathscytheX

The first ep was good. Tons in fanservice, and the whole ep was inspired by the end of the main quest on that planet from KOTOR. I enjoyed that aspect more than anything else. They did a good job of keeping the actual mission objectives the same even though the story and end goal was different. 

JET JAGUAR?! AWWWW YEAAAAAHH!!!

Been meaning to watch this since I have Max for free with my cellphone plan. Travis Fimmel is also rumored to be in talks to play Daemon Targaryen in the GoT spinoff.

Boys they did it, we now have a lightsaber (sorry a proto-plasma saber). God damn is this thing fucking cool.

This is worth the download. Its free and the world is pretty big. Combat is pretty simple. You attack with O. you can hold down O for a charged attack or a delayed heavy attack depending on the character. You evade with R1, perform an elemental attack with R2, and a big elemental attack with triangle when the meter is full. Combat is very Zelda-esque. Since its a Chinese game they took quite a bit from Zelda and GW2 from what I can tell, along with other MMOs i've never played. You have cooking, chain element attack modifiers. There are multiple close together WPs you unlock by touching throughout the world. The stamina meter is kinda a let down when it's attacked to sprint, but its generous for climbing and gliding.
There is a gacha for extra characters. The game gives you plenty of free ones. Of course there is a cash shop to buy currency to roll the gacha, but the game does give you currency at a slow rate to roll... in fact I've had 3 10 pulls for free so far just playing the game. For a mobile game port to console the graphics are pretty damn good. There are some framerate issues at times. But it is a free game and a polished game in general for being free.
 

My power didn't come back on until well after the event, and my cell service has been shit since the storm so I got screwed either way.

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2020/09/14/funimation-acquires-violet-evergarden-tv-series-home-video-limited-edition-announced/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=violet-evergarden&utm_content=home-video-announce&utm_term=
You got your wish Strider

I'm not going to lie I just screamed like a fucking schoolgirl while reading that. Thank you Funi, I might have a lot of issues with you as a company but god damn have you just made my fucking day. Now lets see you add that lovely little gaiden story and I'll be over the moon.  Now to start saving money for the Limited Edition set (I MUST HAVE IT!).

https://www.funimation.com/blog/2020/09/14/funimation-acquires-violet-evergarden-tv-series-home-video-limited-edition-announced/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=violet-evergarden&utm_content=home-video-announce&utm_term=
You got your wish Strider

This show was awesome.  That season 2 finale though. wtf.
With how they left the season on such a huge cliffhanger, I really hope covid doesn't screw up the production start date of season 3 too bad. Those kids grow fast in between filming seasons as it is. We might have a CW Riverdale situation where a bunch of actors noticeably in their 30s are playing high school students.  
After watching the first two seasons, I still emphasize with Johnny. Hes a great guy but everyone has their own flaws. This still reminds me of this video showing Karate Kid from Johnny' perspective:
I can't remember who made these original quotes, but they apply to this story like almost everything else:
"Everyone is the hero in their own story"
"There is no bad guy, just people with different opinions that are doing what they think is right."
Its all about perspective, I like when Johnny explained what happened on the beach way back then to Miguel. From his perspective Miguel was basically "Wow, Danny was a dick".

Ok so here is the brutal part. If someone is in your home that doesn't need to be there, you shoot to kill. There are too many risk factors involved with keeping someone injured and alive. Why are they there? What kind of person are they? I listened to a podcast done by a "retired" burglar. He basically said if he had gotten held at gunpoint he would have surrendered and beg for his life but not everyone is the same. He also said laminated windows was the best deterrent against thieves as they're too much of a hassle to break and get through. Most burglars will just give up because its too time consuming which increases the risk of being caught. Its always an in and out job... mostly in the day time. All that night time stuff is mostly just Hollywood.
But back to the issue of shooting someone. If you hit someone with birdshot, unless its in the face and you take out eyes, once they get their bearings again they could be dangerous, especially if they're under the influence of meth or some other type of drug. These people may have had no intention of harming anyone but now they're hurt, scared, and not thinking rationally. They're bleeding, they might have transmittable diseases, they're going to attack you now because they chose fight instead of flight. Maybe its just someone down on their luck, you shot them, they lived... now they're going to sue you for their hospital bills and try to get some extra. (there are actual cases of this happening). Shoot to kill... dead people can't sue you or attack you after the fact. Killing someone can be traumatic, but is the stress of the unknown worth holding someone at gunpoint with a phone in your hand until the cops arrive? What if they flee? I'm sure your state is much less forgiving by law if you shoot someone in the back even if its in your own home that they were robbing. You know this, and let them escape... will they come back for revenge? Are they waiting outside for you when you take out the trash to hurt you for trying to kill them? Maybe and most likely not.. but its always gonna be in the back of your mind. 
Now when I say shoot to kill, you shoot someone, they go down... if they're still alive writhing in pain. I'd say tell them not to move. Again its a fine line... don't empty the mag/clip/tube into them to make sure they're dead. That will definitely constitute as an execution. I don't know your state laws, I'm just going on what I know from certain states where this is such a touchy issue. In my state, you can in fact shoot someone in the back, in your yard, in your car... that all constitutes as your "castle" as they call it. Now if they drive off in your car you can't go driving after them and empty a mag... you'll get hit with reckless endangerment.

If you want to go the route of non-leathal there is insurance for self defense shootings. the USCCA provides it from like $30-50 a month. It provides you with legal defense in case someone sues you for shooting them. In some instances your homeowners insurance can cover it. It's def something that needs to be researched.
And one more time. Get off the .22!!! Unless you gonna be shooting snakes, squirrels, groundhogs, and other small mammals. Plus if there is ever another school shooting, or any kind of mass violence, .22 ammo will be non existent. People buy them all up in a panic because they're cheap. I remember after Sandy-Hook and congress started discussing gun control there was an absolute frenzy on ammo in almost every caliber. But even after things calmed down it was months before .22 was available regularly and the price jumped significantly. Its a shit round good only for the things I just mentioned. Its more to do with the velocity of the cartridge than the actual round size. A .223 or .17 hornet is basically a .22 with a shit ton more gun powder behind it. Basically its the difference between putting a philips head screw bit at the top of your 8th grade science class baking soda rocket and then doing the same but putting it at the top of a Saturn V rocket. .223 doesn't kick bad if you're worried about your wrists and elbows. There is a reason the military uses .556 (just a .223 with more umf... a gun chambered with .556 can shoot a .223 much like a .357 mag can shoot .38 special rounds... just don't shoot .556 out of a .223 or a .357 out of a .38... the frames aren't designed to handle the pressure).
Here is a coyote gun for under $500 with the scope. Savage Arms is a pretty good budget brand... and this video isn't 20 min. It shows the kick pretty good. There is a heavy barrel variant which will mitigate recoil further.
I saw this at sportsman outdoors site with a rebate. I don't know if you have any brick and mortars of these up there. The thing about gun retail is that the prices can wildly vary from gunshop to gunshop and big box retailers. Big box places like Academy and Bass Pro are going to be more expensive most the time than your local FFL dealer. And its always worth scoping out the price on the internet at places like budsgunshop. To buy a gun online, you'll have to consult with your local gunshop, they order it for you. But you have to ask what their transfer price is. The shops generally have a set price for transfers so they can make some money off a better deal you found online than they have in their inventory.

If you want to see some wrist breaking action tho.....
Its time stamped to skip to the good part.

That shotgun looks like it'd be great for me. All I'll be using it for is home defense so as long as its reliable and functional I'll be good with that.  Thats some impressive range with a shotgun. I like that.  I mentioned in that snapchat, I was thinking shotgun for slugs for defense for everything, but that .22 could be good for shooting theives in the neck. lol. Or least for wildlife control. If I need to put down a coyote from some big distance or at least scare it off the .22 might be good for that. I know people that like to use their .22 for killing ground hogs to remove them from their property. Birdshot could be good for in home defense so I don't accidentally kill anyone with a slug going through drywall. Eh.. In the end I don't have much money for gun purchases, I'll probably stick with just the shotgun and slugs when I can afford it. Good news is I feel safe enough to actually own a gun now.  Safe as in my nerve issues in my arms has reduced significantly. I think its all thanks to the exercises I've been doing over the last couple years. Its been a year since I've had any numb arm issues while sleeping and I haven't had my fingers or thumbs twitch in a year either. I've dropped a couple things a week ago but that was me being clumsy and my hands were wrecked from using heavy ass pipe wrenches that entire day. Before I couldn't trust myself to own a gun when I could have potentially dropped a loaded weapon.
Lol. When I first moved I had to do the same thing. We moved in October but it was too late to update our voting registration so we had to drive 20 mins to the old polling place. But we still lived in the same district so it wasn't really a big issue.
We have been using scantron ballots here for years. Since they all have a unique barcode and number for each one and that number is then attached to the person voting, it ensures everyone gets their one vote. I never signed up for mail in ballots this year so I'll be going to my polling place and using the good old scantron and feeding it into the machine. As far as I know the mail in ballots are the same scantrons and once they are received by the elections, they feed them into the machine themselves. 
I think its funny how some people think that voting fraud can happen so easily when it seems like a good system with accountability. I think the scenario most people think about is some old 80s movie where they stuff the high school prom ballot box full of fake votes to make sure someone gets to be king or queen. Its so stupid.  Voting in an election is taken way more seriously than that. I will say tho, if there ever is any voting fraud it needs to be fully investigated and people need to go to jail.
The latest article I saw for voter fraud was where people voted twice in Georgia. But it was discovered and they'll be prosecuted.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/1000-georgia-voters-face-prosecution-for-casting-multiple-ballots/
Well now those people can spend the next 1-10 years in jail. In NY, if someone got an absentee ballot, mailed it in and then went in to vote, it would be spotted pretty quick by the computers once those ballots are scanned in. People who intentionally vote twice deserve their sentence.
I will say tho, I'm glad mail in voting is become more available, theres some places with crappy polling locations that serve way too many people. If I had to wait in line 5 hours to vote I doubt I'd ever do it. Every place I've ever lived has been pretty straight forward tho with only a 10 minute wait on average during a presidential election.

Voting in my state use to be similar, but now you must have ID, and the ID must match the address listed. I'm generally a cheap bastard when it comes to renewing my licenses. It costs $40 now I think? for 4 years. (use to be 5 but I guess they trying to get that money). So one year I moved in the middle of my licenses lifespan... and I had to drive 20 min to my old polling place rather than the one 5 min from my house.  
We also use to have electronic booths. But after so many complaints about hitting something and the opposite lighting up, and hackers, etc we now do scantron ballots. You fill them out and then you feed them to the machine yourself.
Getting a firearm takes less than 10 min here. No waiting period. Just have the money and pass the background check and you're bringing home a new handgun/rifle/shotgun. 100 round drum mags? No prob. I have a 50 round mag for my glock I casually bought for $50 with my debit card, in and out.

I think you have some misconceptions about the .22. You won't kill a bear with that or much of anything outside of a squirrel. Shooting a bear, you're gonna pray it gets scared and not pissed off. There are videos of guys shooting beers with 00 buck shot from a 12gage  and they just get scared and run off... To kill with a 22, you'll have to hit a vital organ. bears are big, it won't crack the skull at range, and it won't hit their heart at range. You'd have to hit the heart of a human, otherwise they'll easily survive and continue their attack. Getting shot is def not like in the movies. Plenty of videos of people committing a crime and getting pumped full of .45 and they run off full sprint and die somewhere else. No one falls down and dies instantly unless it hits the brain or explodes their heart.

No birdshot either. 00 and slugs only for defense. Dick Cheney shot someone in the head with birdshot and they lived. Its literally just 20 or so BB gun pellets packed into a shell. Its designed to do what its named after. Kill a bird. You def won't harm a predator animal with it. If you get a rifle there are tons of things to consider. First .22 is not good for self defense from people or animals. 30-30 and higher is... but you have to take into account your surroundings. You don't want to hit someone's house and hurt them. Bolt actions are impractical outside of hunting, and I doubt Semi-Auto is worth getting in your state. So a lever action like a Winchester or Marlin 30-30 would be optimal... but they'll run you $700+.

Get a Maverick 88. Its Mossberg's budget shotgun you can get for like $200. 12 gauge, perfect for what you need. It's going to kick... but most of the time that's overstated. Yes your shoulder will hurt if you go out and shoot it 30 times. If a firearm isn't kicking its either heavy enough, or you can't defend yourself with it..... or you're rich and can own a Kriss Vector. Which you probably can't in NY. The Maverick's cheapness seems to come from the lack of luxury features. A full on mossberg will probably cost $500-600. I have a semi-auto Mossberg and I paid $680 for it. You can easily buy a Maverick and get the after market pad for the butt stock among other upgrades. Firearm accessories are straight forward and easy to install most the time only requiring your hand or an allen wrench.
 

His political incorrectness makes from some good comedy... but I love this more than anything:
 

I marathoned season 1 over the weekend. I started season 2 yesterday and I'm half way thru it. I might finish it tonight. I'm loving this show. It's like they accomplished an 80s feel in current times. The comedy parts of Johhny being so stuck in the 80s is hilarious.

Whoa, season 2 was really good. They end on a big cliffhanger. I highly recommend this series. Its a fun watch with a lot of good comedy balanced with heavy issues. It's a must for Karate Kid fans that are now adults.
Edit: Its on Netflix now btw.

I was kitted for full on damage, health gain, and stealth (those two up-gradable charms you get from the Inari shrines are broken). I was two shotting enemies like they were nothing in the end (and if I was wearing the Sakai Clan armor I was damn near just insta-killing people). With that I had no problem gaining resolve since I was literally decimating people left and right (once I got sprinting slash I felt bad for archers, bastards just dropped dead and I sprinted by them). I guess for me I was fully upgraded on everything come the end of Act II so I guess that would make Act III a cake walk (fully upgraded sword, fully upgraded Sakai Clan armor, maxed out stance trees and ghost weapons) but I still wish there was a noticeable increase in difficulty. Than again not everyone plays a game like I do and actively seeks to make sure they're in top form before beating an area (80% of my gameplay is just me searching for charms, supplies, and anything else to give me an edge in battle (and with the Charm of the Inari it was a cake walk to have enough supplies to upgrade everything by the end of Act II (gold was the only issue since it's linked to liberation areas))).
Out of all the Mythic quests Uchitsune, Heavenly Strike, and Yarikawa's Vengeance were my favorite just on their visuals alone (and lets face it in a game littered with amazing visuals topping the standard is rather hard and they did it). See I hated the duel in the cave as I couldn't see shit and while the ambience was cool after I beat Kojiro I couldn't find my way out of the blasted cave (pissed me off, spent almost 5 minutes searching for the exit (might need to tweak my brightness settings on my TV)).

So I finally beat it (yea I know, Strider bringing up the rear but I wanted to really enjoy it and Platinum it (which I did)). Have to hand it to Sucker Punch, this was a hell of a game. Probably my second favorite story behind Detroit (yea yea Nier was a great story, a fantastic story but Detroit was just so much better (for me, granted I know a lot of people had differing opinions on it)) though there are a few areas I found it lacking (just little gripes, mostly with how Jin's treated (hypocritical as fuck considering Samurai were just as devious and underhanded historically, even worse than Jin in some cases (though I'm not 100% sure I agree with the Act II finale shenanigans (not going to ruin it for Sledge) but I understand why it happened). I will say this that finale though was spectacular even if that final fight with the Khan was underhanded and while I still disagree with Shimura's treatment of Jin that whole end sequence is fucking heart wrenching (yea you know what ending I chose). Again though my favorite part of the story was watching Jin come to terms with what he was becoming and what he had to do to save his people. Act II was the real turning point for his character and it was really great watching him finally settle into his role (and if there was any reason I'd give to play this game it would be that. Jin's progression as a character is by far the best part of this game and is a wonderful arc).
Combat wise this was a blast. As I said before it's punishing until you master the basic combat fundamentals. Quite honestly I don't agree with the massive difficulty spike between Act's I and II (was kinda eye opening how powerful enemies became in the matter of one tale) but I was disappointed by the lack of difficulty in Act III (granted it wasn't a complete cake walk but considering the jump between I and II I was expecting III to be harder than it was). I guess you can chock that up to being comfortable and more familiar with the combat system but once you get Ghost Stance the game is practically easy mode (especially if you wear the fully upgraded Ghost Armor). Three guaranteed kills with a 25% chance to scare other enemies is broken as fuck (and I generally terrified 3 mongols on average every time I used Ghost Stance making liberating areas a cake walk). I gave up on being stealthy toward the end and just bum rushed into combat. I still had fun don't get me wrong but I guess I just wanted more challenge (hell the so called most difficult duel in the game was a cake walk, two shotted him no problem). Plus once you max Wind stance spear guys are a joke. Really wishing I would of known that in the beginning, I'd of just maxed it as soon as I unlocked it (yea I didn't read the upgrades right away, I was more interested in being stealth ninja man and upgrading my Ghost weapons).
I really enjoyed the side quests with your four (five if you count Kenji) main supporting NPC's. Very interesting and rather personal tales that fit in well with the story as a whole. As a whole I really enjoyed Masako and Norio's tales the most (with Masako's being my favorite. Hey I like crazy old ladies with a vendetta apparently) but Yuna's probably had my favorite part (I won't say what but I'm sure you can guess). Overall I thought all the other tales were rather interesting but like slippers said a lot of them get repetitive and after awhile it becomes a chore to do them (much like liberating areas) and the mythic tales were quite interesting though I fail to see the need for some of them (I really don't see the need for the flaming sword one, while cool that tale was a bitch to complete).
I give it a 9/10 (would be a 10/10 if it wasn't for some of the choices they made with the story) and like I said earlier I'd give this my Game of the Year if it wasn't for the fact Cyberpunk is coming out this year. Well that and the remaster of Kingdoms of Amalur coming out next month (probably one of my favorite games of the PS3/360 generation). Overall though a thoroughly enjoyable game well deserving of the hype it received. SP made a very rare gem in this rather bland era of gaming history and I tip my hat to them. Now to see what this new co-op mode brings to the game this fall (what with it's supernatural theme and whatnot).