Going to Take Break From SF for a While

[Interdimensional Observer]

Hello Everyone!

I've decided to ask for a temporary ban from SF. I've been on the site way too much and it's become an addictive force in my life, with ultimately minor repercussions, but ones I could have avoided and wish I had. Not being able to stop myself from popping on anonymously, I hope that ban of on my posting abilities for a while will allow me to quit this terrible habit. The ban will be until the 26th of December, or later if I can't get a ban precisely that long, whatever Eclipse can do.

Let this be a warning and tip for all- social media is be a drug, particularly if you have procrastinating habits already like me. My concentration has been hammered by the ability to easily click onto SF and check it again and again and again for new posts. And to write ridiculously long ones with also burn up a lot of time. And its cost me tens, possibly hundreds of hours by this point. It's not truly fun, it's problem and I hate it.

So, see ya later. I like SF, but this is what I deserve for not getting my habits under control. I've been needing this for a while.

[Rex Glacies]

That's unfortunate, though respectable. If this site takes too much of your time, you should take a break, and if a ban is the only way, then so be it. After all, social media is indeed addicting, and we can all afford to take breaks every so often.

That said, you'll be a missed face in the time you'll be gone. I suppose I can only say "Farewell!" and an early "Merry Christmas!" until you come back.

[Jingle Jangle]

Hope to see you soon, you do respond to a good portion of my post. It's not the same without you.

[Rezzy]

I know how that can be.  Hope you get everything sorted out.

[LucarioGamer812]

I hope to see you again and that you can overcome this, I know we rarely talk but I still see you around and you certainly have an interesting point of view that I respect.

[Flee Fleet!]

Unfortunate, but I understand your decision.

We haven't talked much, but I've seen your posts around here often, so I will miss you. Take care.

[Harvey]

Instead of a ban, why not just change into a random password by getting yourself blindfolded to purposefully forget it and wait for a while to again access SF? You wouldn't need to waste a Mod's time by banning your account temporarily... just saying.

 

 

[Dandy Druid]

Look at you, taking responsibility during this critical time for students and working adults.

I should do the same, but I don't have the same level of determination.

[Icelerate]

I'm with you 100% man. How can one study when they can access sites like these on the click of a button? 

[Slumber]

Hopefully you get whatever you need out of a break.

[B.Leu]

That's a shame, I enjoyed seeing you and your posts there and there. (that.... sorta sounded creepy)

It's understandable though, there's a lot of things in Serenes, it's not a forest, it's a jungle, and if your dedicated enough, lot of time can be taken.

Whelp, that's not a goodbye Take care, see you soon, my Anguished pal ! (reference to his avatar)

[Jave]

Good luck, man. Hope you work out everything you need to during that time.

[Randoman]

I hope you're able to sort things out during your SF hiatus. And as I've said a few days here before on SF, there's no shame in taking an online hiatus if that's what things boil down to.

[Interdimensional Observer]

Well I’m back everyone!  Just wanted to point this out.

Parnasse is thrown out of my sig now that the holidays are over, and in comes the snowy backdrop from Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

 

I decided to take a sabbatical longer than I stated I would to develop internal strength and restrain against temptation. There was some withdrawal cravings to prematurely return, but publicly announcing my withdrawal and setting a date on it were sufficient shackles on such desires to never once violate it. Why I even had a nightmare that I was on SF at one point. And even now to post again for the first time since my sabbatical, I’m afraid I’ll return to my old, wretched ways and I don’t want that to happen.

 

I got an A- in one class, which I consider a mark of failure owed partly to SF addiction, given my usual record of straight As and having no good reason why I couldn’t have gotten an A instead. It doesn’t have an real repercussions on my current academic standing I think, but what it does mean is that no later than 3 weeks into a semester, I’ll completely or near completely (if I can moderate my behavior) withdraw from SF again until the semester’s end. I won’t let myself slip up again. I might fill in my procrastination void with something other than SF, for with guilt, I did a Corrin solo of Lunatic Rev while off SF while school was still in session (boring but interesting that its possible), plus several Lunatic CQ chapters (fun if quite challenging), but even if it is inevitable I will flee to the dark playground to some degree, tis best to minimize the places I can flee to.

 

Unless my raison d’etat finally comes to Heroes (which would with certainty either be TMS rep or Seph, maybe something else I can't imagine), I’ll probably try to avoid overdoing it there, since that was a major contributor to my little addiction. And even for now, I’m going to try to be less on SF, since playing actual video games is so much better than rechecking a board for the 19th time for new posts and replies to myself within a 24 hour period.

 

The holidays were nice, got a Switch, SMO, BotW, XC2, and also DQIV and Sonic Generations on the old games side of things.

The remainder of this is just me blabbing about the games I got for Christmas.

Spoiler

Already beat DQIV (the DS version), originally being an NES RPG it took less than 30 hrs to clear even with some grinding and Torneko money exploiting. I’m not going to grind to beat the Chapter 6 super boss duo to unlock the bonus character right now though, maybe later. I find it badly designed you hardly get any time and reason to really use the bonus character. They needed another bonus dungeon or something.

 

XC2, well school is back in session a few weeks so I’m not sure if I have time to clear it. Given its an immersive story heavy lonnnggg JRPG, it isn’t a game I could play during the semester. I’ve made the mistake with other JRPGs of partially completing them and then returning months later, its a little jarring to the experience.

 

SMO I’m nearly done with the story of methinks (found out where the final confrontation will be). I know I’m not going to 100% the game already because of the 100 volleys and jumps challenges, the RC car isn’t much better. This said, I’m going to go for as many Power Moons as I can get, and hopefully all the regional coins, I’ve already finished 3 areas, and have several others nearly done, with a few very infuriating coins missing! And I’m not spending a single regional coin until I get all 50/100 for a given area, so those costumes and other stuff are just going to keep on mocking me. I’m curious what those big gray blocks that show up every and remind me of NES cartridges do, heck the screens on laptops in NDC even show them and have a readable phrase wondering what they are. I’m guessing they are unleashed like Purple Comets in SMG 1 upon beating the final boss and either let me replay story Power Moons (like NDC upon first arrival with the tanks, insects and rain all abound) or unlock the ultimate challenges that I’ll die over and over on before I complete them. Don’t tell me what they do, I’m playing blind for now.

 

I’m loving SMO by the way. Sure a lot of the Power Moons are real easy to get, the Galaxies were certainly more challenging, and possibly Sunshine (some things, like 30 Blue Coins per world and pachinko and lily pads were just awful and not hard though). I don’t recall 64 so well and I only have the DS version which I don’t think is hard, particularly when Luigi makes a lot of the jumping segments so easy. 

Even so, I wanted to cry when I first started playing and have been truly enjoying the experience. I’ve liked all the Kingdoms (I’m hoping one that I’ve been shown a sneak peek of so far won’t be a ridiculous unlock like a certain SMG1 location); and I’ve liked the overall design approach to the Kingdoms. A blend of peaceful openness and structured platforming plus mini worlds hidden via doors, rockets and pipes. I wish the Snow Kingdom was bigger, but that is the only major letdown so far. I totally called the final battle destination the moment I saw the world map. If they included that so prominently, you just know they have to send you there, it’s too good to exclude. 

 

I’ll certainly try to play BotW before I’m back in class, but SG I might not, since I’ve been getting a good bit of platforming in between SMO and Shovel Knight which I downloaded in October but didn’t play until this break. It’s been intense (the Polar Knight battle is evil!), but very fun too. I’m ready to head to the Tower of Fate.

 

[Infinite Dreams]

Welcome back!  

Sounds like you might be a bit too hard on yourself if you consider an A- a failure.  I can understand how you feel, though, since you're not used to it.  However, from my perspective, if you're getting straight As, you're doing great!  Not many students pull that off.  Even though you fell short of your own expectations, you're still kicking school's ass.    

[Interdimensional Observer]

I'm thinking SF is getting the better of me again. So I'm going to try to restrict my usage once more, but the only way I can exercise self control is via having a little outside assistance.

Rather than ask for a temporary ban this time, I'm just going to declare here I'm taking routine breaks.

Since I admit to loving FEH gossip, even though I still don't play and things are typically quite slow on the other boards on SF. Until the beginning of May, if you see me on here posting and it isn't two nights before to the day after a new Banner/GHB/TT is revealed and or dropped, then I demand to be publicly called out on and shamed back into withdrawal from this site! If you see my name show up in the "Who's online" or "recently browsing" thing at the bottom of the forum page or looking at any topic as of tomorrow, hit me with PMs to kick me out of here. Hopefully that will not be needed, because I won't hopefully be on now that I've said it.

Any FE Switch news I will not permit myself to show up for (but when a Heroes announcement comes up I will purview what has happened on the other boards, but only then for the allotted days) since as cool as that would be, I want to avoid the hype for FES. And as long as it doesn't bomb or end up being something ridiculously absurd that IS had to be binge drinking stoned to think of it, I'll buy it later regardless; Nintendo must love such a blind and loyal purchase (and I actually regret buying Revelation- but no other game in the series).

So, looking at the Heroes Calendar, it appears the next big event is a Voting Gauntlet on the 2nd of March. Actually, I'll skip showing up for that, VGs aren't so fun when you don't play them, and the toxicity they spawn feels like running a gauntlet of thirty or so whips thirty times. They're also too tumultuous with too much multiplier uncertainty for me.

The next thing after that is a new, what appears to be standard new non-Seasonal Banner on the 9th of March (I'm assuming the 4* and 5* Banner on the 3rd is one of those filler skills ones). Therefore, if you see me here prior to the night of the 7th, heckle away at me! 

So goodbye for the next nearly two weeks, and when I return, may I discover IS has made a flawless unobjectionable in every way possible banner for once, and that a drop of junk 5*s and addition of more 3*s is announced by then too, that Soren is getting a Tornado refinement to make him better, and that TMS characters will be eventually added. Barring this outrageous fantasy, well here hoping it's Thracia, or if not that, then Binding or Gen 2 Genealogy or Gen 2 Awakening! Rep the entire seriesssssssssssssssss!

Again, bye for now!

[Interdimensional Observer]

And I'm back for the next few days, before I depart once more. By the 11th, I will get gone again until the next major new banner release.

I know I might have sounded rather silly and upbeat when typing that, but in truth, I was rather dismal. The day immediately afterwards as it became almost 24 hours since I last was on SF, I internally wanted to go “Arrrrggggh!” and break down and hop on again. That I think is proof enough SF was becoming a serious addiction for me. That, combined with countless hours being wasted on it, and I fear an addictive sense of escapism and apathy towards other things was seeping in. I’ve gone through life never having done drugs or alcohol, and I’m not on any other social media site. I managed to be successful academically while lurking before joining, and even participating in SF for a semester without any issues, but becoming so invested in my posting seems to have sent me off a cliff. I could wake up and immediately want to check SF to see if anyone responded to any of my posts from last night, despite knowing such a check would destroy my concentration for the day; sometimes I’d later recheck the site midday- not just at night; I would check again and again for an hour to see if anyone added new posts to present topics- I craved new posts. I think someone in the “video games possibly being labeled an official addiction problem” said a social media addiction isn’t an official psychological disorder- if so- why not?! 

Long story short- I’ve done okay in my short and precious life so far, I don’t want a love of chatting in heron land to derail it! That would be inexcusably my fault and utterly pathetic.

To not force this whole thing on you and make it not look as long to someone just doing a glance, I’ll shove most of the rest of this in spoilers.

Spoiler

But at the same time, I don’t want to leave SF completely for the time being. I like it here. I want to find a happy medium between hard work without any breaks and hedonism with little work. And perhaps, this might just be the addict talking trying to justify their addiction, but outside of SF, I have no social life. I was okay with this most of my life and still largely am, just myself and family at home, and school where all I had were “classmates” and acquaintances, but no friends (despite several attempts to manufacture them on the part of the school’s counseling services). Why would this be bothering me now? Delayed awaking to awareness of the desirability sociability? Perhaps knowing my most social, youthful years are nearly if not completely gone. (That might be my mortality anxiety side taking though- oh how wonderful that black dog, or as I used to see it as when I was younger and enthralled by Tales of Symphonia, that Presea Combatir, is.)

I thought I could permit myself some video games still, nothing story heavy as that is too immersive to play in small controlled doses, but that isn’t the case I think. I permitted myself in the story-limited Etrian Odyssey- I got much too caught up in venturing through the labyrinth and thinking out every skill point I use and looking forward to what will emerge over the long journey. I then planned out my future EOV team as much as I can without having played the game or the demo or looked at skill/monster data (could I actually ask for advice on my planned team here?). And then knowing EOU3 might be a pipe dream (unless Atlus decides to move EO to the Switch- it’d be odd without the second screen though), went and looked at all the classes for that game. The good news- I like the Wildling’s looks as I thought I would for some reason I thought the idea of the class was cool. I like the males at least, the ladies don’t appear to have any bottom clothing at all pants or underwear- they have their tops covered completely while the men are shirtless, but I don’t think it’s a perfect tradeoff in terms of sexualization. I also heard that Wildlings are quite weak in EO3, the game overall from looking at all the classes skills and reading about the good/badness of each class makes EO3 seem much more scatterbrained in terms of balance (this is what the series was like before EOIV? Atlus definitely learned how to balance things better in the 3DS games). Yggdroid, besides having designs that don’t match my expectations at all, have TP issues worse than the Bushi in EOIV, and a worse Blood Surge, and Wildling seems to be a crude Arcanist. And Farmer wouldn’t fly in a modern EO- the idea of needing a Gathering unit/team is abhorrently outdated- EOU3 would need to massively overhaul it for actual combat potential- EOIV (no need for Gather skills to take a lot of stuff) and EOU2 (get a Grimoire Stone with a decently leveled Natural Instinct and copies of it) did away with this burden. I then went about making a list of suggestions for improving Wildling and Farmer (the boys are adorable here by the way- the green girl is good, but the blue looks a little too fancy for a farmer). Master procrastinator at work here!

…I’ve now restricted myself to some Picross and that is about it. If I abstain I’m good, I haven’t been on my Switch in a month, but if I bite, I’m off the wagon for some time. But through PSAs here on SF that I’m leaving for fixed periods of time, I can have a healthier SF experience and life.

I will say my effort to curtail myself for the past nearly two weeks was successful. Never once, I am being honest, did I lurk here anonymously. I managed to successfully stay off the site. I didn’t quite work as hard I as hoped I would though in the meantime. The first day off, probably from being up late at night, I had a headache through it all. And on subsequent days for a bit, some video games replaced SF, but staying sober long enough should restore my focus and get me working hard again. IIRC, I read a 500 page repetitive monstrosity on Emperor Meiji in 3 days once, I want to get back to a life of being able to do that agony. 

I did admittedly type this whole thing up before returning to SF today, with the intention of posting it. But at the same time, I feel I have some justification in having this as a record of how I felt. Many of my thoughts are also portrayed in my head as forum posts, others are often arranged in the format of a late night talk show though, and I don’t have a similar addiction to them, so I don’t think there is an issue here.

[Icelerate]

I have the same issue as you.