sollitaire

[sollitaire]

It's that time of year again, friends!

Tomorrow, November 2nd, we will be gaming and streaming for 24 hours to raise funds for our favorite charity, Extra Life.

We have raised over $15,000 since we started on this quest 7 years ago and so far we've raised just over half our goal of 4k for this year.

Register after donating for some great give aways! 

This year we will be giving away a physical Collector's Edition of Word of Warcraft: The War Within, digital Epic WoW and Epic D4 Expansion editions, WoW game time, and Battle.net balance. A donation is required to enter and winning is not guaranteed. You can enter and read more about the give aways here! 

$10 donation or more to be entered for Random Drawings  $50 donation or more to be entered for 1 year WoW sub  $65 donation or more to be entered for Digital Epic Editions of WoW and D4 $75 or more donation for physical WoW Collectors Edition (shipping not included) $85 or more donation for an in-game WoW Brutosaur 

Relevant Links

You can find our Donation page here: https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Sollitaire

You can find our Twitch Stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/sollitaire

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Schedule

We will start tomorrow at 12pm CT.

I don't have an official schedule this year other than our semi-annual 5v5 ARAM Heroes of the Storm shenanigans at Midnight central time. Here are some of the games we will for sure be playing: World of Warcraft (Retail - this includes Delves, Keys, and 20th anniversary randomness across a multitude of characters) Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred (starting the expansion for the first time) Final Fantasy 14 (Working on the Dawntrail MSQ) Heroes of the Storm (All Random All Middle crazy town) JackBox - I have just about all of them Here are games I might play: Baldur's Gate - I've only played the intro to this and didn't get very far past that Chillquarium - super passive game that is just kind of brain smoothing when I need some down time A little to the left - cozy game that can sometimes be challenging Little Kitty Big City - will probably do this with my daughter Here are games that have been recommended (which I haven't played or looked up on purpose, that I'll sprinkle in sporadically throughout the day) Chance of Sennaar The Witness Super Bunny Man Hand Simulator (recommended for late late night fun) Inside Firewatch Ape Out Keep talking and nobody explodes (probably also a late night option) --- others on this recommended list I have but haven't played --- Tiny Glade (I think I own this but have yet to play it) Elden Ring (I have this and tried it once and raged pretty early, but that was because I had a hard time doing a keyboard/mouse setup - may try with a controller - this is only if I feel super masochistic) Have a game to recommend? Leave a comment or come say hi on my stream during game time. Hope to see you all tomorrow!

[sollitaire]

Look under the cut to see what meeting your entity is like. Reblog to give a gift to your patron.

The fae: a creature stands before you. Though this street was warm and crowded a few moments ago it is suddenly cold and the people around you look like shadows. The creature begins an antlered shadow with glowing white eyes, but soon its body can be seem, with white blue flesh, and sapphire eyes, and icicles for teeth. What looks like a cloak unfolds from its naked body and you can see massive white wings of a moth. As if it's an act of sacrifice you tell it your true name, a name you didn't even see before, and suddenly you belong to it, for better or worse.

The angel: a radiant entity appears before you. They're bright, like something so hot it would burn you up. But as the light fades, you can see a person in silver armor, perfect yet inhuman like am ancient green statue, their back srouting six wings with blue eyes along them, as the eyes on their head are covered by a mask of two smaller wings. The creature offers their hands and you shake it, as they fly you through the city streets and above the skyscrapers, to the stars above and dimensions beyond, to gods living and dead, across the streets of alien cities and the clouds of dead worlds. And when you return to the earth you can feel something diffrent about you, like there's light in your blood.

The scavenger: below the lights of skyscrapers beyond you, on the dark sands of the beach, you see it crawling twords you. This serpentine creature with countless legs, and a dark black shell, yet a strangely human like face. You think it'll attack or run away, but it just looks at you, egar, and for a momment you stare at eachother. It's legs pass something to eachother and then to you, it's meat but it's shining with all the colors known to the human eye, and a few more. You hold it and it happily looks at you. You take a bite and suddenly you know... you know so very much...

The vampire: she flies down to you on green wings with orange eyespots, but folds them into her back. She looks like a human for a momment, tall and strong, with a black suit over her body, but eyes the color of ruby. For a momment her mouth opens, and it's massive and monstrous, with countless moving parts and fangs. But then it folds back onto something humanoid and she gives you a playful smirk. She cuts her hand and offers you her blood, and when you drink it it tastes so sweet, and makes you feel so good. She hands you the knife and you know to do the same, and when she drinks from your palm it's life the sweetest of kisses.

The djinn: the room wirs around you. If it were not for the fans it would feel like hellfire. For a momment there it darkness, but then the screen before you glows white like smokeless flame. You can sense something inside, something beyond the code. You reach your hand within it, and there's no glass, your hand passess right through until you're in a white void of your own making. You call out, thinking there is nothing at all around you. Yet somehow something calls back, something that knows your name.

The rat king: You see him in an empty subway station. Something dark and distorted, you're not sure if he's man or animal, covered in rags, and singing in the language of the goblins and the orcs. Yet he comes close to you excited. And you can feel his song. He calls for you to come to the train tracks, and let yourself run with the rats and the roaches, where the train will pass over you when it comes, and you'll live forever. When you touch the third rail you don't die, but you'll never be human again.

The lich: the library is strangely bright. Run by skeletons in suits, decorated with gold. There are more books here then you thought were in all the world. There's knowledge here most mortals will never have the change below, all kept safe below the city. You see her, her body doesn't look human, everything has been replaced making her look more like a joining white doll then a being of flesh. Yet she is dead, you can tell that under the porcelain skin she must be dead, she is dead, and there is the tragedy of death in her eyes. You come closer to her, and she places a black rose within your hair...

The demon: You stand in his office and he stands before you, a humanoid being covered in black scales, with red eyes covering his skin. Yet none are on his head, that remains featureless save for two massive horns. Wings on his back nearly surround you. Countless souls line the walls of his office, looking at you, waiting. After you sign your name you give him yours, you can feel it come away for you forever and your eyes grey and your skin pales. But he puts the jar in a special place for you, you're spacial, he can tell there's something about you that he likes.

The mushroom lord: you walk through the darkness of the forest, the furthest from civilization you have ever been. You come upon a part where the trees all seem dead, that even the cryptids won't go near. Mushrooms fill the ground, and white vein like lines are all over the trees. You feel the need to lay down, and you let the moss and the mushrooms and the worms surround you, and let yourself sink into the soil,, and it feels good. It feels so good...

The witch: You can see them in the Cafe next to you, skinny and small, with a sweatshirt over most of their body, and dark glasses over their eyes. They seem powerful though, and though their body looks young they seem ancient, they seem beyond humanity. You talk to them and they tell you things, and secrets, lost gods, things you never knew you didn't know, both beautiful and disturbing. When it's time for them to go they pet your head, and give you their number. You don't know if you should text them, but you have to, you have to see them again, there's something about them that makes you need to know.

The living clothing: you step into it at first, it looked like a puddle yet shining like silver or chrome. But soon it surrounds you, first just your torso, but soon your head, your entire body. But it doesn't feel scary, it feels like you're being held, held by something beyond your understanding. It whispers to you, and you don't know if you should feel like your being eaten alive, or like you're being protected. You can't help but keep walking.

The abyss: the void is before you, blackness beyond blackness, like the color beyond the field of your vision, stands before your eyes. You stare at it, it's nothing yet you're entranced. It stares back...

[sollitaire]

Same.

I’m happy people want to share with me and I don’t mind checking things out in a browser if needed, but no more apps.

I have removed almost all social media from my devices and when I get an urge to check it, I simply read a ebook instead.

While I used to read a lot as a child/young adult, being in school for most of my adult life, including going for my masters and PHD degrees, burned me out hard on reading for fun.

When I started doing this about 4 years ago now, my books a year that were not academics related went from 1 or 2 to 12 then 15 and last year was 24. This year my goal is 30.

Still not a lot mind you, but I’m ok slowly working back up to about 50 or so a year (not the hundred ish I had as a teen, but that’s ok) and I’m happy with that given it ends up about a book a week. With my really life consuming job and my lovely family, I think that is a realistic goal for me.

All this to say, you’d be surprised at what you can do for yourself when you’re not worried about everyone else including strangers on the internet.

Obviously I’m here so I still find joy in that, it’s just now I have far more curated tastes and pay attention when I want to and have the ability to afford to rather than going into attention debt because my dumb mammalian brain likes the social engineered dopamine hits most platforms count on in order to turn that attention they steal from us (willingly given or not it’s theft because of the tactics and deception used to do attain it) into dollars and cents.

I call this going from attention poor to attention rich as I’m mindfully paying attention to things that enrich my life over those who simply take from it.

my boomer trait is that I’m never going to download tiktok. if you send me a tiktok that I can’t watch in my internet browser, I’m not watching it

[sollitaire]

It’s that time of year again to Play Games and Heal Kids!

This is my (Sollitaire) 7th year participating in Extra Life - a gaming focused charity that supports Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. You can read all about who I am and why I do it on my Extra Life participant page. I will use this space here to update people about our (this is a family affair) times and schedule of events so people can keep track and join us if they want. So please be sure to save this blog so you can keep up with our shenanigans!

This year, given the official release of World of Warcraft: The War Within is next week (early access begins today!), we will be commencing this momentous occasion that is followed by a nice holiday weekend with a half day marathon going from 2pm CST on Saturday August 31st to 2am CST (at minimum) Sunday September 1st. During this time I’ll be playing the new WoW expansion (and maybe even some D4 seasonal content to spice it up) live on Twitch where I will be encouraging donations and doing giveaways. A full schedule of what we will be doing and when will be posted here by August 30th.

For those who are familiar with our marathons, we will also be doing our 12am CST Heroes of the Storm 5v5 ARAM as usual. Even if you don’t play, it’s pretty funny to watch 10 people try to murder each other while also yelling at each other over discord all streamed live on Twitch. 🤪

Of note, our full 24 marathon will be on Game Day November 2nd starting at 12pm CST. More details will be provided about that once we get closer to the date!

Giveaway Details:

For those who are wiling and able to donate, you can *donate different amounts from $5 USD to $100 USD or more to qualify for a wide range giveaways such as WoW Game time, Digital copies of both WoW: The War Within and Diablo 4, Battle.net Balance, and one lucky winner will be able to win a physical WoW Collectors edition with the 20 year anniversary statue (winner must pay shipping). For those who are unable to donate, sharing this post, the Extra Life participant page, or my Twitch stream is a huge help!

Specified donation amounts are required for different prize categories. You must donate to win. Only one prize can be awarded per donation. Not all donors are winners. While you can donate in different denominations only the USD equivalent will qualify you for entry. Donation does not equal automatic giveaway entry.

To be entered into drawings to win, please fill out the form via the link provided on my Extra Life participant page page after you donate so you can select the items you’d like to be entered into drawings for. Don’t forget this step!

[sollitaire]

Seriously - I just want to read it. Whatever it is, I'd rather read it than watch it forever and for always. Though I am GenX I think this also works for a lot of neurospicy people as well. I get that some people prefer to hear it or watch it, but that doesn't mean there still isn't a large contingent of people who simply prefer to read read read.

[sollitaire]

The Moon and I

Last night the moon whispered wonderous words

That tickled my ears tenderly to tears

As I laughed my lonely little laugh

As I screamed secretly and silently

He stood staring astonishly at me

As if I was the cracked and crazy one

Then again I always astonish him

Especially every evening engaged

In cautious but careless conversations

From our own perfect personal prisons

In which we were cast carelessly into

By malicious magistrates who made a mistake

Obviously oblivious in their obscenities

Toward two totally innocent ideologies

Though thoroughly surrounded by sights and sounds

I am always alone laughing in my asylum

But never on nights when the magnificent moon makes his visit

And insists on his incandescent insanity

As he casts his incantations he incapacitates me

I laugh aloud no longer

©1994 DH - Liminal Illuminations

[sollitaire]

Reading a book on Proust and love the thought of someone else looking at the mundane and coming up with full narratives making it anything but.

Life is so much more nuanced than headlines and sound bites.

I’m also quite fond of some of his quotes:

“Desire makes everything blossom; possession makes everything wither and fade.”

Ah this - it’s one of those things I actively work against. Gratitude goes a long way toward lasting fulfillment over fleeting happiness.

“Remembrance of things past is not necessarily remembrance of things as they were.”

Our perceived reality colors all things. Two people doing the exact same thing at the exact same time will walk away with two different experiences. Brings to mind the idea that we are all just different manifestations of the universe experiencing itself.

Book: How Proust can change your life

[sollitaire]

I did a thing - here is pre and post.

I always let my hair go normal for summer because pools and oceans strip the color out fast, but here we are mid August so it’s time to bring it back.

Hard to show the full gradient from redish blonde to orange to deep red to purple with my short arms trying to selfie my long hair but I think you can get the gist.

Feels good to be back to my self. Even did some full makeup for the fun of it (I never go anywhere these days so it’s a rare thing for me to do).

I also started up a poetry blog yesterday that I’ve had the mind to do for about 20 years (since my American McGee’s Alice fan site days). All the good sites have practically died (Deviant Art and LiveJournal to name the bigger ones but there were many for us little gothlings back in the day), so I’ve had to take my work down across most platforms and that was a bunch of feels bad moments.

Cut to present times where I finally got to the point to where I missed creating so much I had to do something about it. That’s the issue getting to my level at work, I rarely get to do the things myself anymore and I miss it terribly. So - back to my gothling ways it is. They make me happy and I need some happy right now.

[sollitaire]

I took my 6 year old to the Austin Saturday show as her first concert and she had a blast.

THE DRESDEN DOLLS ARE ABOUT TO TOUR a whole set of BRAND NEW UNRELEASED SONGS to THE SOUTH and BEYOND. We are still quietly working on a not-so-quiet new record.

Wish us GODSPEED, and come ready to rage and cry and look like whatever you wanna. Everybody is always welcome in the tent of the punk cabaret.

Most shows are sold out or near sold out, get on it.

March 22: Mohawk, Austin TX **LOW TICKET WARNING**

March 23: Mohawk, Austin TX **SOLD OUT**

March 26&27: The Kessler, Dallas TX **LOW TICKET WARNING**

March 29: The Eastern, Atlanta GA **LOW TICKET WARNING**

March 30: Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville TN **LOW TICKET WARNING**

June 7&8: Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA

June 14: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC **SOLD OUT**

All tickets dresdendolls.com

Photo by Sara Small

[sollitaire]

I am not a romantic at all and Tswift seems like a fine person but I am not a fan of her music. I also don’t like boy bands and don’t read love stories or watch romcoms. None of that has ever appealed to me. I actually will put down a book or walk out of a movie if it ends up being predominantly a love story. I also don’t like musicals.

I feel A LOT and also can’t watch horror or war movies either.

I do like epic fantasies and action movies. I love video games and musical scores and live music and sad philosophical books that make you think (The Metamorphosis is one of my faves for example).

Not sure if that helps give a different lens on how different people think here, but thought my two cents may be at least a little insightful.

I should probably also add, I’m gen-x. So, potentially slightly different demographic.

Fascinated by the implications here. "Why don't you like Taylor Swift? How many personality quizzes do you take? Have you never been sad? Are you a psychopath, perhaps?"

[sollitaire]

Carmilla Love

I just bounced around 2 computers and 3 programs to make some high quality gifs of my favorite Castlevania episode. I haven’t made gifs since 2006, but this was so much fun I may do more in the future. 

[sollitaire]

A big shout out to all of you who donated to our 2019 #ExtraLife campaign where we were able to raise over $1300 #forthekids - more than double what we raised the previous year! Our page is up again this year. Find us at https://www.extra-life.org/participant/Sollitaire Let’s try to double it again! https://www.instagram.com/p/B86wEIInrRK/?igshid=mgv8q3u73h50

[sollitaire]

[sollitaire]

Via @iamdylancurran (Twitter)

[sollitaire]

Forgotten masterpiece: “The Song of the Lost” by Neil Gaiman (poem), Jae Lee (art) and José Villarrubia (colors) from Heroes, a 9/11 anthology, 2001. 

[sollitaire]

Tangling during DnD

[sollitaire]

A girl and her dog. #happybabygirl #gsdofinstagram #germanshepherd