miona

miona, 7 months ago to random

#SilentSunday

magador, 7 months ago to random

I am feeling a bit dysphoric today, so browsing my past selfies definitely works to fight it 😳

I need validation 😏

#selfie #lewd #gothic

miona, 7 months ago to random

#ThrashThursday

Guitars go prr prr prr prr.
Drums go poof poof poof.

🎶 Legion Of The Damned - Werewolf Corpse

https://song.link/nl/i/1449610539

miona, 7 months ago to random

True to my word, here's a non-sitting selfie~ 📸

#selfie #ootd

miona, 7 months ago to random

Current state of affairs 📸

#ootd #selfie

Miona taking a picture of herself in the mirror. She is sitting in a chair. She wears a black longsleeved top with thin white stripes, a red pu leather skirt, black knee boots and a black face mask.

miona, 7 months ago to photography

📸 Neverending Torii
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

miona, 7 months ago to photography

📸 Yasaka Pagoda in Kyoto, Japan
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #FotoMontag #PhotoMonday #Travel #Japan #Kyoto

miona, 7 months ago to photography

📸 Small eatery in Shinjuku
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

miona, 7 months ago to photography

📸 Shibuya Scramble Square
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan #FensterFreitag #WindowFriday

miona, 7 months ago to photography

📸 Nagasaki stroll
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

miona, 7 months ago to Games

Recently I found a copy of Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure, and I have been playing it a bit this evening.

It's a true nostalgia trip. A lot of gaming memories from my youth are thanks to my dad. My parents divorced when I was young and once every two weeks my sister and I would stay the weekend at my dad's, who at one point bought us a Mega Drive. 🙏

I never owned this game but we often had rental games and this one we rented quite a few times! ☺️

It's a great platformer! It borrows heavily from other games in the genre, but in a good way. There are many stages, and the difficulty ramps up quickly! I'm glad this game has a password system~ 😅

Some parts really need memorizing in order to get through. I don't have much patience so these kind of games are not something I can play all evening without losing my temper, but it's a very enjoyable title. The music is great as well~ 🎶

#Games #ShareYourGames #MegaDrive #RetroGaming

The world map. I'm working my way through the woods, and in the north the cave area is also visible.
Inside the lava caves. Buster Bunny is sleeping because I took this picture instead of playing the game.
A dialog with a duck who I just saved after beating a boss. He was brainwashed!

miona, 7 months ago to random

Cap and sweater day 📸✨

#selfie #ootd

miona, 8 months ago to random

TLDR: Final Fantasy XVI is a masterpiece with serious pacing issues.

It is rare for me to pay full price for a game, but after trying the demo of FFXVI, I was waving my credit card. The unusually dark and violent story grabbed me immediately. And even though the battle mechanics didn't pull me in immediately, I bought the game on release date, hungry for more.

After three months (including a break of a few weeks), and 65 hours of playing, the credits rolled. Finally.

"Finally." That doesn't sound good, does it?

The story being told is great, I love it! The grim atmosphere of the first hours is being maintained throughout and it is a true rollercoaster. It is rather complex though, because there are a lot of things going on, there are many characters that play a role in a very grand scheme, and there is a large focus on political happenings. I've seen people compare it to Game Of Thrones, but I can't confirm that since I haven't watched it. Luckily there's a contextual encyclopedia during each cutscene that explains the setting and relevant characters should you need to remind yourself of the details.

The battle system is a huge departure from the earlier FF installments. The series left its turn-based roots a long time ago, but this time, the party system is also abandoned. That's right, you only play with Clive, the protagonist of the story. Sure, you have companions during the story, and you can give orders to your best friend Torgal, the cutest dog. But that's all. As Clive, you gather various abilities as you deal with Dominants and their Eikons (the summons that FF players are familiar with, such as Ifrit and Shiva) and as such you can shape the way you engage in battle. Unfortunately, you can only have a maximum of three Eikons active, which doesn't give you too much flexibility. Nonetheless, the action is tight and fluid, and it always looks great! Wow! I often paused during battle to use the photo mode.

Besides the main story line, the world is filled with side quests. Lots of side quests, many of which are the run-of-the-mill fetch quests that feel empty (as often in FF games). Only a few of them are worth it, because they use the lore in an impressive way or because the reward is very well worth the effort. Other than the regular side quests, there's also a monster hunt board.

In the second half of the story, some weird choices have been made. Not so much in the story itself, but the gameplay in between feels dragged. Lots of walking, talking and forgettable battles make the game feel a bit like a chore at that point, especially after doing some side quests as well. It's also at this point that the battle system starts to feel repetitive and that's when I decided to push through and finish the main story and abandon all side activities. A good choice because the game would continue to throw (boss) battles at me, and it would still be a while before I'd reach the ending.

"Finally". The game's biggest flaw is its artificial length. It has a negative impact on both the story and gameplay. Should the main story be 20% shorter, I would give this game a 9/10. Because there's so much to love. There are some EPIC battles that just overwhelm with beautiful graphics and the most bombastic music you'll ever hear. The world looks beautiful, the cast is interesting and I love the attention to detail in about everything.

One last thing I would like to mention is that the game often doesn't feel like an FF game. The story, the setting and the battle system are quite different from its predecessors and it is only because of familiar elements such as Chocobos, the summons and the characteristic enemies that you are reminded of playing a Final Fantasy game. I wouldn't mind part 17 to return to the series roots a bit more, but I have to praise how fresh and relevant this part feels as well.

Despite some of the issues with this game, I am happy to have played it. Because at the end of the day, it's a masterpiece. <3

#FinalFantasyXVI #Games #ShareYourGames

miona, 8 months ago to random

#SilentSunday

miona, 8 months ago to random

https://pronouns.cc/@Miona

I set up my pronouns page! Even though it will be a perpetual work in progress, feel free to take a look~ ☺️

miona, 8 months ago to photography

📸 Fukuoka evening
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #FotoMontag #PhotoMonday #Travel #Japan

miona, 8 months ago to photography

📸 Narrow alley in Tokyo
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

miona, 8 months ago to random

画像にはALTテキストを含めてください。そのテキストは、スクリーン・リーダーが視覚障害者に画像をちゃんと説明します。

拡散希望 🙏

miona, 8 months ago to photography

📸 Entrance of Chinatown in Nagasaki
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #Travel #Japan

miona, 8 months ago to Travel

Climbing Mount Fuji recently has been quite an adventure. So I decided to write down my experience. 🗻

When people think of me they will not immediately describe me as "athletic”. That is okay, because I am not. I like to play the occasional game of soccer or volleyball with friends, but I can't say I'm good at it.

When I am on a trip, I am constantly walking. There is often a lot to see. I also like walking trails that take you through beautiful sceneries. But even on the busiest of days, I'm back in a hotel in the evening, resting my legs. So it’s not really that intense as well.

Mount Fuji is a different story. I have seen this Japanese volcano from a distance several times during previous trips. In preparation for the most recent trip though, a fellow traveler expressed the desire to climb this iconic mountain. At that time, I had not yet decided whether I would go along or not. It wasn’t something that seemed appealing. More likely it would be a hassle, too difficult, probably inconvenient....

But watching sunrise at a height of almost 3,800 meters did sound appealing. So I gave it some thought and eventually I decided to participate. Not only because of that sunrise, but also because I think it’s good to challenge oneself every now and then, and to get out of my comfort zones.

The big day arrived. After an early alarm and many train transfers, we boarded the bus that took us to the 5th station of the Subashiri trail. This is at an altitude of 1950 meters. We started with a large meal for power and tried to get used to the thin air before we began our ascend.

The first 100 meters are friendly, with nicely constructed steps that lead you into the forest. But the path soon turns into a steep, rock-dominated trail, where you have to take calculated steps in order to proceed.

Above the tree line, the trail zigzags its way up. We climb rocks, while trying to avoid slipping due to the loose rock and volcanic ashes.

Along the way, there are several stations where you can take a rest, get some food and drinks, make a sanitary stop, and spend the night if booked in advance. Our first goal was to reach Miharashi-kan, located at 3200 meters altitude. The view from there was already breathtaking. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and served a delicious curry to regain our depleted strength.

And then it was time to go to bed! At 8 p.m. everyone tries to catch some sleep because at 1 a.m. the alarm goes off again. Unfortunately, a migraine attack hit me. Very frustrating. Someone can prepare well or prepare poorly, and someone can be fit or not fit and generally that’s something you can influence, but I never asked for migraines. A worrisome development, especially because I had no choice but to continue. Migraine or not, we have to continue up that volcano, and after that we need to descend as well.

At 1:30 in the morning, we were sort of ready to continue the climb. My sore limbs and the migraine made the night climb very difficult. In addition, it was very crowded once we got closer to the summit. The path became narrower and the train of people moved forward very slowly, and often even standing still. The sky was already beginning to lighten and for a moment we were worried that we wouldn't arrive at the summit in time for sunrise.

But we did! We had reached the summit and, along with hundreds of other climbers, we looked at the rising sun. We couldn't have wished for better weather too, it was really clear! ☀️

But then that climax is over. And then fatigue and headaches take over, making me want to leave as soon as possible. A feeling that only increased when the walk around the crater turned out to be a much longer walk than expected.

The way up was tough, but there was the anticipation of reaching the goal. The way down was ten times as hard, because a pounding head, an aching body and lack of sleep makes you long for a hotel room to recover, which at that moment is still hours and hours away. Hours in which you mainly try to walk down paths of sand, pebbles and volcanic ash without falling (I failed).

The whole adventure is, not gonna lie, a succession of highs and lows.

In the end, I was able to reach the starting point. Thanks in no small part to my lovely traveling companions. We laughed together, complained together, supported each other. We helped each other through the tough moments. We immortalized the beautiful moments with our smartphones. ❤️

The experience is absolutely worth it.

But I'm not going to do this again. ☺️

#Travel #Japan #Photography

A view of the surroundings, just above the forest.
The view from 8th station where we stayed.
Many people on the summit, celebrating, resting, hugging, laughing and crying.

miona, 8 months ago to random

#SilentSunday

miona, 8 months ago to photography

📸 View from Kiyomizudera, Kyoto, Japan
🗓 August 2023

#Photography #FotoMontag #PhotoMonday #Travel #Japan

miona, 8 months ago to random

#SilentSunday

miona, 8 months ago to Japan

A Japanese stray cat 😺

#Caturday #Japan #Travel

miona, 8 months ago to Japan

Takeshita-dori on a busy day 📸

#Japan #Harajuku #Travel

The same as the other picture, but facing the other direction.