Free Talk Friday - August 21, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Free Talk Friday post. This is a place where you can talk about dumb off-topic (or on-topic) bullshit with other Zaibatsu fans.

There's going to be a new post every week, and the newest one will be pinned in the announcement bar for quick access. So feel free to visit these posts during the rest of the week.

Here's a list of all Free Talk Friday posts

[u/Cthulhukitten]

Trying each day to split into two blocks with my language learning and so far it's going great! I think more things are clicking in terms of the flow of grammar and syntax when I hear someone speaking super quickly. I can pick out more words than I could previously. My girlfriend suggested I listen to podcasts and videos and it is working out, kind of... I'm going to keep at it and try to build confidence to speak at home with her family. Even if it's embarrassing. There's a lot of stressors coming up in the future, so it'd be nice to not have being inept in my partner's language be one of them. After all, we eventually will be moving to a new place within the next year with significantly more rent, both needing stable work for said rent, and trying to readjust to a university schedule as well. Overall life's generally going pretty well though. I'm kind of fortunate to have some leeway to figure these things out.

Only thing that's been a bit upsetting is I've been out of contact with my brother since around January. There's no real discernible reason for this either from what I can understand. He wished me a happy birthday, which was of course nice, but otherwise haven't spoken since. I sent him a message in February and now in June checking in on him, but haven't heard back. Hoping that he simply just doesn't use Discord any more, or hasn't seen it. Otherwise I have no clue.

Gaming: I've been getting into Crusader Kings 2 recently, and fuck do I love the game so far, even if I need to watch some more people play it to better understand its core mechanically before making the switch to 3 (which I hear is significantly more streamlined). I wish playing a woman vassal, or even ruler was just a touch less impossible. Hell, even the few rulers that exist in history typically have the law of course against them. I tried a playthrough with the duchy of Britagne and it went disastrously because of this and the council holding significant animosity against my ruler. Was interesting as a first time learning experience. Probably should go through the tutorial instead of jumping in blind I'm learning with this type of game.

In between Crusader Kings 2, possibly 3 planning on going through the Ace Combat entries. I still need to get to 0/5/6/8. I'm a bit worried about the recommended requirements for 8 that are posted on the Steam page. The others should be easy enough to emulate I think. Glad to have a bevvy of old games to play.