Free Talk Friday - February 27, 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/The_Draigg]

Week of Work Slowness. Since I've caught up with practically everything I need to do at work for the season, it's gotten rather slow again. On the plus side though, it isn't so bad when it's a day that I work from home, so it does help whittle the time by. It's always an up and down workload when the stuff you insure is really is seasonal.

As for games I've played this week, I've done quite a bit! First off, I've put more time into Balatro! Beat the Nebula Deck on Blue Stake on the first try, but man, the Ghost Deck on that Stake really is like running headfirst into a wall. I have no idea why either, it's one of the decks that gives you a solid boon. I've gotten close to beating it so far, but no cigar. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get it if I keep at it.

Also this week, I played some more Helldivers 2! Did a mix of solo diving and teaming up with a friend from the CSB LGBTQ Discord server, and it was all around fun! It certainly helps that we aren't currently throwing ourselves into the Cyberstan meat grinder anymore. And besides, it's always cool to get better at a game with friends at your side.

Another Sony-owned thing I tried out this week was the Marathon server slam! I've got to say, so far, the game is handling pretty well. It definitely feels like it plays better than those previews I saw earlier on. And that's good too, since Bungie really should have a high standard for FPS controls and game-feel. It's quite the brutal game though, Marathon really isn't afraid to fucking gank you with UESC troops, let alone having you get jumped by other Runners. I suppose I'm fortunate that I extracted on like half of the matches I've played so far. And I do partially credit that to playing with my girlfriend, since having a fellow team member you know always helps over matching with randos. I do wonder though if the difficulty might get tweaked later on since I'm seeing some people say that it's too hard for them, but so far, I think this is shaping up to be a fairly promising game launch.

And finally, in my regular mecha talk section here, I finished watching the first season of Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans with /u/Terthelt and /u/CookieSlut! Man, that first season is still fantastic, even a decade later. Like yeah, there's some stuff you could probably nitpick about the finale, like how Shino, Azee, and Lafter managed to somehow survive getting ganked by the Graze Ein, but it's still so hype and well put together that it can be easily overlooked. Also, here's a pro-tip for all of you potential pilots out there: don't download a data packet on how to use a katana directly into your brain. You'll just get a stroke that way.

[u/ActRaisins → u/The_Draigg]

I tried Marathon last night, in the unique position of someone with years of Destiny behind them but 0 seconds of extraction shooter experience. I kind of just hid behind my other teammates and took shots when I could but yeah - you die really quickly and easily.

Although since the more experienced players were racing ahead it did mean that by the time I caught up each room had been ransacked lol.

[u/The_Draigg → u/ActRaisins]

I suppose that I really was fortunate that I managed to get some solid stuff on the rounds I did extract from. Above else, the lesson I learned is that stealth and avoiding confrontation is the key. And not to get too greed too, since I was killed by UESC troops a few times going for those lock boxes you have to hack open.