…It was at this late hour, with our nightly feast of beans fading into pungent memory, that the watchman sighted land off the larboard bow. After exacting discussion of why he needed to say larboard instead of port, it was decided that a small party would row out to greet any native cultures, and it was decided that we would bear no torches for fear of immolation. We departed in a skiff without a lantern, navigating only by the wind, the light of the stars, and the fact that the land had not so much been “sighted” as “run aground upon.”
After making our camp from native plants, leaves, and decidedly non-native packaged tents, we slept until morning when we broke our fast upon a broccoli omelette with a healthy assortment of cheeses. At this point we noticed the natives, who greeted us in our tongue and bid us welcome, saying that other explorers had already arrived and made contact. So we farted upon them in the name of the Queen.
-Sir Harris Bellweather, O.B.E., c. 1984
What Are You Playing will now follow after a brief intermission with biscuits.
This week’s bonus question: What’s your favorite part of the holidays that isn’t gift-related?
​Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): ​Probably doing some Pokemon Go as usual, and certainly some Super Smash Bros Ultimate at the console party I attend, which is something I enjoy about the season. Seeing and cooking for friends and family is nice, especially when my time is so limited these days!
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): Probably won’t be playing much this weekend – last shopping weekend before I leave for the holiday, after all – but I did score a big stack of meat (yes this sounds dirty, sorry) in Star Wars Galaxies this week and have a bit of food crafting to get going in my factories before I leave!
As for the bonus question? Yeah the gift part is my absolute least favorite, and I’m not big on Christmas in general, but I am a huge fan of Christmas lights. As in, I literally have fairy lights in every room of my house year-round. I love them that much. So December is basically fairy light heaven for me.
Chris Neal (@wolfyseyes, blog): The Battle Pass offered in Dauntless worked in that it brought me back to playing more frequently than usual, so I’ll definitely be chasing those related carrots as well as fight the cool new monsters. There’s also that whole CMA thing with Star Citizen to follow through with and some random Star Trek Online. I’m also likely going to get myself reacquainted with Monster Hunter World and the Charge Blade specifically, though I really wish it had better partying tools.
As for the bonus question: the food! I’m not a chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love to cook and boy do I love winter and seasonal meals. Stews, curries, soups, roasts, big ol’ hearty pies…yes.
Eliot Lefebvre (@Eliot_Lefebvre, blog): My usual Final Fantasy XIV antics, plus some Final Fantasy Type-0 and Granblue Fantasy, plus… you know, finishing out holiday shopping and so forth. That stuff. Things to do while watching the last season of Voltron, in short.
Honestly, my favorite part of the holiday season at this point is probably a combination of the winter break at school and the general number of in-game events to cover. FFXIV usually has some interesting glamour items in there, to boot.
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): I’ll be digging into holiday content in Lord of the Rings Online and FFXIV more likely than not, since there are plenty of cosmetics and goodies to be earned! I’ve also had my eye on Survived By to try that out one of these days…
As for my favorite part of the season, it’s definitely just immersing myself in the Christmas story and experiencing it in a personal and humbling way. Christmas Eve worship is always a very sacred and moving time for me, and this year I get the privilege of delivering the message to our congregants.
Your turn!
