#AND theres a lot of empty space for me to play with

[gay-caesar-truther]

Would it be weird to ship Gabriel with a random ass NPC Instead of a compainion or significant character? I'm looking at Alex Richards (the gay doctor at Camp forlorn hope) like... yes... you can fix my boy and he can bring you some peace and joy in return.

[spearxwind]

i think every game that makes flying the focus (and theres veeery few of those) should have a map with a lot of verticality to it. Yes we all wanna fly a dragon over a vast landscape but when youre high up everything is indistinguishable, the sky is empty, and that gets boring real quick. A flying game should have verticality in a way that lets you explore heights that are really high and places on the map that are overlaid with each other would feel more alive and give you so much more space to work with. In a way, itd be like the inverse of the subnautica map. The original map was amazing because it made the ocean feel so huge. "What do you mean theres five biomes underneath the earth?? what do you mean theres just vast caves under here?" and everything felt super interconnected too. There should be more things in the sky than just you too. Enemies, prey, companions.... etc.

my fave flying game is called 'aer memories of old' and it doesnt really have that verticality but its a good flying game imo because its got a map thats so rewarding to explore, there is a PURPOSE to flying around just beyond what the game wants you to do. The lore of the world is out there for you to find and piece together, and the map is filled with life and details. And recently theres been an uptick in developers trying to make flying dragon games but none feel like flying has any purpose at all other than be really showy and yeah it looks awesome but without a purpose for flying its gonna get boring for the player!!

"This is the dragon game you've always wanted" and its another purposeless multiplayer mmorpg with an insanely huge completely empty map and they focus so much on the five fucking billion dragon cosmetics (and god forbid theyre all free btw) instead of making a game that is fun to play and just put the responsibility of having fun on the shoulders of the player. "omg u can make any dragon in this game the models look so cool!!" ok but what about the game. can you tell me if you game is fun? is there anything to do? oh, just material gathering shit and crafting? and an mmo where you have to play with others for there to be any semblance of life in the world? ok

idk im just sick of seeing games advertised as a dragon survival game where the only survival aspect is like. 'find food' 'find water' 'find a mate to have an egg' repeat. repeat. repeat. surely theres other things?? what about migration? territorial disputes? becoming the apex predator? being a local tyrant or a benevolent protector? there is so much that could be done with dragons but all every dev wants to dip their ass in is multiplayer nonsesne with the most basic hunger and thirst and a basic as fuck combat mechanic and call it survival so that people can choose to kill each other. its so lazy

[gargyshmub]

DELTARUNE; Gargy's Fairytale Theory

So, lately I've kind of had an itch in the back of my mind about DELTARUNE, more specifically the secret or hidden bosses in the game and a little correlation they all share. I'll try to keep this under 100 pages but i promise nothing (tee hee hee)

If you've played the game to the extent you're looking at a tumblr blog dedicated to it, you're probably familiar with the character's jevil and spamton. These are the two characters coined by the community as "secret bosses", since you have to stray away from the games intended path to find them (in most cases.)

When you defeat spamton in his 'NEO form', a neat little song will play with his dialogue "a real boy!", this is a nod to the fable/fairytale "pinochio" I'm sure everyone's familiar with. It's a story about a doll that comes to life in search of becoming 'a real boy'. This corrilation made me realize there are A LOT of similarity's between pinochio and spamton. The strings, his regular form being a mockup of a doll, even his goal to become "big", its almost like becoming a 'real boy'. He knows he's not 'real', and just like at the end of pinochio, he too becomes renewed (reneo'd).

This made me wonder if the other secret boss, Jevil, represented something other than the Joker card. Then I realized whenever he was hit in his fat empty head it actually sprung out like a jack-in-the-box. I initially discarded this since it wasn't really a fable or fairy-tale, but if you do some digging you'll find it actually is!!!@! back in the 1400's somewhat, the jack in the box was originally named 'The Devil in the Box', essentially it's a story about a man who trapped a devil in a boot in order to save a village in france at the time, kinda like that one story about the court jester who got locked away by his magician friend in order to save their kingdom (haha. hahahahha. thats from deltarune. hahaha.) just to run home my point, jack-in-the-box; Devil in the box. Jack; Devil. What way could you fuse them together? Dack? Jackil? maybe some other 3rd way that has some importance to Yea thats right you know you've always known its Jevil.

Obviously, in deltarune fashion, its easy to overthink most elements in the story. Granted, toby will make an entire 2nd game about a hypothetical character you've never met but no you've only ever POSSIBLY met through a 1/100 chance door where he'll show you his asshole and then disappear into a million pieces, but yea, it's easy to make certain correlations that aren't even really there. In this case however I'd say that there's one more correlation that seals the deal that makes this theory WORTH theorizing.

Yea gaster. even though he's not even technically a character yet, every piece of information regarding him seems to lead people to believe he's not only the narrator at the beginning of the game, but he's also the 'man' behind the tree (since the way you find 'his sprite' in undertale is almost exactly similar ['theres a room in-between, theres a room, in-between']). I'm assuming you know what there is to know about gaster so im not gonna go into it, so onto the correlation.

I've read before someone talking about how gaster represents easter eggs in video games, not only physically (egghead) but metaphorically (the way you find him, his implied involvment with the secret bosses, the fact he gives you an '''''EGG''''' when you DO find him). Well if he is technically involved with the secret bosses, wouldn't that make him a fable too? I'm here to tell you he is. he is HUMPTY DUMPTY from SECOND GRADE FAIRY TALE PLAY.

I've already gone over his physical and metaphorical symbolism relating to eggs, but the story of humpty dumpty is also very, haha, hahahaha, hahahhahahaha

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall (The Core)

Humpty dumpty took a big fall ("Fell into his own creation")

All the kings horses and all the kings men (Who did gaster work for again?)

Couldn't put Humpty together again ("He was shattered across time and space")

What could this mean? for the future it means that if this theory is right, EVERY secret boss we meet is gonna represent not only a lightworld object, but an actual FAIRTY TALE, a FABLE. I mean, how many fables are out there. I know theres one in particular, one that the game is named after, one that has to do with an ANGEL. an ''''ANGEL'''' with ''''TATTERED WINGS''''''.

but then again idk

EDIT: ALSO LITTLE MISS MUFFET THINK ABOUT THAT UNDER-HEADS LITTLE MISS MUFFET SAT ON HER TUFFET

Last edit: also this has no grounds as an actual theory but uhhh that mf that made the Undertale RED boss fight got hired on the team. Huh. I wonder what Red was a reference to. Huh.

[cinnbar-bun]

How I Make Scrapbook Pages! (ft Kishibe Rohan)

This was requested by @rateater69 (so sorry for taking forever to make this), and here it is!

Just a notice, uh, I’m not a professional (lol) nor am I saying you have to do it like this. I will just say that I tend to do things on the fly and that scrapbooking should be messy and fun for you, not some anxiety inducing activity that makes you worry about being “perfect”. Before I began doing it myself, I saw a couple videos online on instagram, you can always check them out to get some inspiration.

With that being said, let’s begin! My “instructions” will be below the cut in a messy and scatterbrained manner as I make a scrapbook for Kishibe Rohan.

First off, you need your supplies! You can always, always, alwaaaaays use whatever random stuff is in your house, but I use a few things consistently.

A notebook (or paper, or whatever material you decide to do this on)

Craft tweezers, usually on the thinner with a curved edge.

That spatula thingy to smooth the edges and make sure there are no bumps

Double sided tape roller (truly one of the best things out there)

Scissors, obviously!

This is what I use but hey man, glue, regular tape, your own hand, and washi tape will get the job done just fine.

Now, I’m a recovering stationary hoarder (hence why I decided to make these pages so I can actually USE my things) so I have plenty of this stuff laying around. You can find this stuff easy on places like Amazon, Aliexpress, Five Below, your local craft stores, etc.- up to you where you get them you can find random stickers anywhere.

So the character I chose to make this page on is none other than my beloved Rohannie 💖 the brainworms got me so why not let it out with this.

I don’t have any stickers of him available so the next thing I do is print out photos I like and want to use. I limit it usually to 2-3 pics of varying size because my notebook is smaller.

(Yes the shirtless and wet Rohan pic was so necessary)

I begin by cutting them out and then playing around with where I think I’d want them. It’s not really an exact science or anything I just look and see how I feel.

I really wanted to incorporate the “book” part of Rohan’s abilities into this page and was considering using this old vintage letter sticker, BUT THEN I HAD A BRAIN BLAST.

I had this old freaking book lying around my room with nothing to do, so what better way than to put it in?

I was feeling ~romantical~ and decided to choose Shakespeare Sonnet 130 to go in it.

Skipping a few boring steps along, boom, I cut the page, lay out the photos of him, and some other stickers that catch my fancy. I’m vibing with the layout so I continue!

I first added another sticker underneath the painting and decided that I was pretty cool with how it looked.

Then I put a bit of washi tape there and then used the double sided tape to tape the book page to my notebook.

Okay accidentally missed a few steps but I chose some washi tape that intrigued me and smacked them on the page. Theres literally no rhyme or reason I just chose them in that way because it’s fun. I liked the circular ones for a bit more color and to match with the funky background of that smaller Rohan pic.

I then laid the Rohan photo overtop with the double sided tape, then added a small stamp sticker!

Okay I missed a couple steps again but I laid the second picture, placing it down with the washi tape I chose. I then added a fun line of words that I felt matched him.

I put the frame around the shirtless Rohan pic (memorialized now in my notebook <3) and that made me "done" with the main pieces I had. I felt there was a lot of empty space so I chose to add a (what a coincidence-) a Shakespeare quote sticker and another stamp to finish it off.

This is the final product and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out! Again, scrapbooking is not something I go into fully with a plan, it's just something I 'feel' then 'do'. You may find different materials or ways to do this, and hey, whatever makes you happy and makes it easier for you is best practice. And since most of these are stickers and washi tape, you can easily peel them off if you make a mistake (which I did even in this page).

That's really all my 'instructions' on how I do this, but if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask!

[entities-of-posts]

yknow i wish i could exaggerate this and say this isnt real but i keep ending up in liminal spaces. i feel like this is the best blog to discuss such things. i dont know why, just feel the need to share my strange experiences! i just found this blog, but it calls to me or something dramatic like that. i dont know, im pretty sure these liminal spaces keep finding me instead of me finding them.

heres a few pictures of the places i go! i kinda wonder how i get here. those first two was when i went to see a movie, and it was kinda full when we got there, but when we left there was no one! no cashiers, and the theater we were in was empty too. the whole town seemed kinda dead at that time, which was strange, cause it was only 8pm.

second one… not sure how i got that, to be honest. i just found a slide. i dont know how far it goes up, or where it leads. you cant see it, but it turns and spirals to some far off second floor.

the warehouse one was when i was trying to find something for someone! was sent to grab something from a warehouse. the warehouse was on the 6th story, strangely. never found what i was looking for.

ooh, that street. that was a strange seat. was trying to find the car after a long night. there was a lot of alleys. that was one of the alleys! no idea where the alleys went to. they simply existed. they are simply alleys.

the last one. i just.. found it like that. it was in an empty room in a church. i didnt really dwell on why it was like that.

theres a lot i didn’t get pictures of, either! that church i mentioned is really strange. me and my sister broke into a room below the chapel once, and the floor was covered in dead bugs. we didn’t get far past it. there were so, so many bugs. that church underground lead to a few other tunnels within it. I’ve gone through those tunnels many times, and I’ve gotten lost in them so many times too. Possibly more than I’ve entered have I gotten lost!

Oh, what else. Ah! I was in the backstage of a theater once. I don’t know what play they were performing. They werent playing it yet, It was a few months before the show. In fact, the show should happen soon! Regardless, I found strange things in the backstages. A lot of black, cardboard cutouts of human shapes. There was a large room, so large. There was some kind of mountain of props, with a stairwell leading up it.

i only have a blurry images of that theater. i don’t actually know why they’re blurry! they just turned out like that. better not to question, huh.

i hope you enjoyed reading this! all of this is real, to be as honest as possible. you can throw away this ask, i don’t mind! or publicize it. i don’t mind either! I just felt that, seeing as you are an archive, it was fitting to settle down my own ‘statement’ or whatever. have fun, and remember! there are liminal spaces around every corner. for some weird reason.

Oh I love those uncanny little corners of the world! I would have climbed up the inside of the slide 👁👁

Liminal spaces are generally in the Stranger/Spiral overlap. It may be an overused word, but nevertheless the feeling remains as strong.

[szilverer]

hewwo

made this blog primarily to dump oc content & maybe liveblog a bit (its my first time engaging in a fandom space like this so im pretty lost, do lemme know if i mess up with tagging or etiquette or smth. more about me here.)

my main FL acc (Hreisz) is from 2016 but i only really started playing last august! ive finished my ambition in october but theres still a lot i dont know about the lore n stuff. recently made two alts & am slowly getting around to write/draw nice profile pages for everyone.

"H. Reisz", aka The Twilight Phantom // The Clawed Captain | LF (Looked Upon Fondly) | Oneirotect Silverer | ???

Hyacinthe R., aka The Sombre Pursuer | Nem | future Correspondent & Seeker | English-Romanian

"Zé Brito" or "Sev", aka The Zealous Backlander | BaL | future Monster-Hunter | Mixed Brazilian-British

feel free to send a CC or even just random in-character letters & menace help reqs :3c im a lil rusty but i'd love to write more

always open to asks/interactions here as well, just keep in mind i might take A While to respond as i am but an hermit with the barest of executive functions

trying to use this hyperfixation to practice digital art so there'll be random experimental doodles here as i try to find out wtf i am doing. everytime i open a canvas its a surprise. youve been warned

tags:

#chaindoodles -> art tag, #chainrambles -> text tag #fl liveblogging, #flore (fl lore)

#the twilight phantom -> the (main) blorbo

#nightmarriage -> my blorbo hoards trash. block this to be spared from witnessing their arguably most questionable decision (i.e chaining their stalker to themself so they won't be alone)

content warnings:

#light fingers spoilers (also general tag for LF) #nemesis spoilers, #evolution spoilers

just to be safe, i tag eyestrain/bright colours for some art.

#suggestive in case i draw (or write?) smth that can be perceived as saucy, spicy, horn knee, overtly kinky or implied nsfw. there wont be anything Actually explicit here though

i like #blood and injuring my characters both mentally and physically. so uh. that. possibly violence.? jokes aside, i like exploring heavy themes: mental health & psychological issues; abuse; general horror; death & grief; alienation; one's relationship with pain & self-destruction, intentional or not - these are all concepts that are gonna be present in the things i make one way or another. some mild religious iconography as well bc although im not religious i was raised catholic & i like playing w/ the aesthetic.

#body horror (mostly the shapeling arts kind)

??

#poor edward

So who's this "Twilight Phantom"?

I play a strict game with myself when it comes to my main blorbo: 99% of what the FLPC does, in the exact order i do it, is canon.

This also applies to small things like their possessions/wardrobe, for example - they pretty much only have the in-game items I own in the account to wear. Finding out reasons to explain why they keep the things they own is part of the fun. (this game made them out to be a weirdo, naturally.)

It's been lots of fun to see this clean slate (and i do mean clean - i knew nothing about the setting/lore, or who they were as a person, so. well. this guy didn't either) get shaped by RNG, the narrative, And my mechanical wiki-fueled optimization decisions.

another extra rule i made for myself as a treat was making them a sponge to compensate for their inherent emptiness. this means they incorporate something from each important NPC they get involved with. they are a singer because of Clara and her twin. they only own a lab & got interested in studying & research bc of Dr. Vaughan. they got a taste for exercise bc they accompanied Hephaesta's workouts for so long. and so on and so forth.

ill make a better, dedicated profile post eventually but for now have a playlist + an old vague intro + some early refs below:

[last updated: never. this is my self-callout to write abt recent developments bc ohh boy evolution was an entire year's worth of timeline progression.]

The first thing you notice about them is the cowl lazily draped around their head and shoulders, swaying behind their back like a cape in the colours of sunrise-- or, perhaps most familiarly, the velvety twilight that the newest star every so often provides to London.  The second thing is the deep scars covering one side of their face, and the third thing would probably be the heavy eyebags under their sharp, dark eyes.

A relatively freshly-minted Silverer, H. Reisz spends more time in Parabola than London nowadays. Not that they had been in London for too long anyway, and it's not like anyone knows where they were before that either. The surface, yes, but it's a big world out there, right? They don't actually remember seeing the sun, or the sky, but H cannot deny the soft colours of twilight and sunrise have a special place in their heart. They recognise it without the memory of experiencing it, just like they recognised love in the depths of a certain Labyrinth. Hmm, two Labyrinths, actually. There was that one heiress too... and the Orphanage was inside one hell of a maze too... if they had a coin every time they found themself inside labyrinths, they'd... Uh, where were we? Well, anyway, being a new face, they had nothing to be known for so they simply gave out their surname instead. Or well, what they assumed to be their surname. "H. REISZ" were the letters sewn-in on a diminute corner of the tattered black veil that wrapped their head back when they woke up for the "first" time. They were surrounded by near-empty bottles of dried mouldy honey, absinthe, and who knows what else. Ah, the decadence... they couldn't even remember what honey could do at the time but they could recognise the stench of self-destruction right away, haha.  Alas, if things were so bad they got to that point-- maybe this explains why moving on was so easy. Maybe they had somehow lobotomized themself on purpose. Who knows? They sure don't. It was only now, a year or so after waking up, that an epithet has started to stick around-- specifically by their actions as a Silverer and the services they provided. From nightmare-slaying to fishing out vestigial memories (the irony of an amnesiac doing this is not lost on them) to guiding and safeguarding lost dreamers, their glimmering signature cowl and the way it flowed rather phantasmagorically in Parabola started to leave an impression. To many dreamers, seeing a hint of pastel twilight colors signaled safety. It signaled someone you could trust to get inside your head. :)

[estrophore]

Signalis Post (barely coherent thought vomit)

So I finished signalis on Monday and i think ive just about recovered enough for me to make a gush post about it on tumblr dot com, which i think i have to do cause i dont think any other game has really hit me as hard as this one. Spoilers obvs.

Being pre-transion, with that associated depression and closing off from oneself, ive always found it difficult to get out my feelings, even in private with just myself, and yet signalis has filled me throughout with its beautiful romantic melancholy and left me genuinely sobbing for the gay robot and her space girlfriend (almost worried that if id played this game on estrogen it might actually have just killed me on the spot). the only other times i can think of where i really cried were playing We Know The Devil near the beginning of the year, which really fkin hit the part of me that struggles to accept myself, and that time i rewatched the last episode of she-ra after reading the ‘Word War Etheria’ fanfic, which brings the characters so much more to life i fell for them all over again.

Signalis is a game that calls back to a lot of classic horror like resident evil and silent hill, which i havent got round to playing any of yet, but i think nostalgia works both ways sometimes and i’ll be playing them sooner now. sometimes horror gets stereotyped as all death and violence, some games fill themselves with skulls and corpses, and big ugly monsters and basically shout ‘DEATH!’ in your face repeatedly and it all just comes off as a bit garish and ridiculous and not actually very scary really. Signalis sits at the other end of that scale (with some of my other fav horror games like soma, cry of fear) where its environs are most usually just… quiet. Still. Muffled. Sad. just as often as theres tension or creeping fear because of this i find theres a strange kind of comfort too. Maybe its just that in most other genres of games theres so much of music, UI elements, pickups and interactibles with vibrant design. Here, theres room for your mind to just occupy the space. A soft fog. A dimly lit room. An empty train. Snow out a window. Liminal spaces that dont expect anything from you.

Signalis is a game thats just simply, unapologetically gay, and i dont think i would have been quite so invested in Elster and Ariane’s relationship if they were a straight couple. Its why representation is important, if art’s way for us to explore our emotions then its important to have media that we can relate to. Even Adler’s role isnt typically masculine. Our replika characters are manufactured, designed for certain roles in the base. Notes from the tough Stars and Storchs in the shooting range, the dollish Eules with the fairy lights and music player in the dorm. I couldnt help but think of groups of Eules sat around chatting, together, and im yearning for that feeling of togetherness, of understanding a friend that closely. I somehow missed the couple in the mineshaft (next playthough, ill find you v_v ). Despite the harshness of life in the Eusan nation (especially for the gestalts) the characters in it are defined by their feelings of belonging and hope. With the obvious parallels to east germany, i think of posters of cosmonauts and space travel from the time. Propaganda, sure but also made with the genuine belief in something greater. When the events of the game take this away, well, we find the last Kolibri, whod rather lose herself than lose her [ah. Im not sure theres a word here to properly describe the relationship they embody]. Its a game defined by loneliness.

We dont lie up at night scared by some corrupted android. We arent stuck with horror at the flesh everywhere, not on its own. We lie awake thinking about Elster and Ariane’s love for each other, the horror of their decline, the futility of trying to hold on forever. Its existential horror done perfectly. It shows an ending postponed and stretched far beyond its limits, and so squarely reminds you that you do, in fact, have to die one day. You’ll break down. One day you’ll say your last words to the people you love and you wont even know you have. Ariane’s final few diaries arrive with the full force of the narrative behind it, like a spear through my heart. For the record, I got the promise ending. Im still sad. It's a game about raging desperately against an unfair ending. I might think about this game for the rest of my life. I would sincerely say its an artistic masterpiece, by the sure definition of video games as art.

I like that the story leaves a lot open and abstract. I think it makes the emotional themes takes centre stage more. And i havent had nearly enough time to sift through it and come up with my own takes, we’ll need a few more playthroughs for that. And theres so much more to say that cant go in just these few paragraphs! Signalis is a game about two girls who had to run away from everything to find someone they belonged with. The universe may be cold and bleak, but you have to try, you might just find something beautiful, even if it doesnt last forever. I think if anything, we should all have the chance to find love and happiness like that, and we shouldnt have abandon a world that doesnt work for us to do it.

[starry-hughes]

when people come over during the summer sometimes its too much for charlie so she tries to head up the stairs but theres so many people she kinda panics and jack sees this and helps her out.

that when she started being more out there with him

there’s lot of people. people quinn knows, people jack knows, people luke knows, people that ellen and jim know. trevor is playing pong with alex, against luke and ethan edwards.

charlie didn’t want to disturb trevor so she tried to make her way upstairs but quinn and josh norris stood on the steps, talking about something while brady tkachuk joined them.

an arm wrapped around charlie’s shoulders and began to walk her to the garage. “need some air?” jack questioned and she nodded. the sound of the summer party drowned out as he shut the garage door. “you okay?” he asked as he got her a water from the fridge inside the garage. “want me to get trevor?”

she nods and she disappears. “dude, go to the garage,” jack mumbles to trevor as he adopts trevor’s space at the pong table. the look jack gives trevor means it’s important.

when he entered the garage and saw charlie he knew what jack was referring to. “hi baby, you doing okay?” trevor asks. “i didn’t mean to get anxious,” she said. “no baby, it’s okay, there’s lots of people here.”

she takes some deep breaths and nods. “anxiety dying down?” he asks. “yeah, a little.”

“do you want to stay here or go back out there? i think we can find you somewhere a little quieter with people you can be around.”

outside, by the fire, sits more of the adults, but cole and spencer sit out there, talking about a new movie. “gentlemen, you know my lovely lady charlie,” trevor sits in the empty chair and pulls charlie onto his lap. “hi charlie,” cole smiles, she had met him a while back. “i’m spencer,” he smiles extending a hand. it was much quieter with those two.

[ceratosaurtalks]

Is there such thing as a "Beginner Snake"?

This is a topic Ive talked to a lot of people about. A lot of different breeders, and a lot of long-term keepers. When you think 'Beginner snake' A lot of the species that come to mind are things like Corn snakes, Ball pythons, Kingsnakes, ect. And a lot of people feel limited based on their experience and the false connotation that these species are really the only species that they can get based on care requirements.

However, it is widely agreed up that this really isn't true? Yes some species are easier to keep than others. Yes, some species should only be kept by advanced keepers who know how to handle animals that don't have room for mistakes. But there are other species beyond the most common sp. Available on the market that might be better suited for someone.

The issue with 'Beginner snakes' Isn't that they're particularly hard to keep. All snakes have their 'problems' and Quirks, I.E Balls are known for going on long hunger strikes if their husbandry isn't up to standards and in extreme cases, that means assist feeding which a lot of people are uncomfortable with. The problem often comes from the keeper getting an animal that they will rapidly loose interest in and rehome or neglect within a few years. Ive been open about this but I've taken in a lot of rehomes of various quality and health in my time, and if you follow me from Discord you've probably seen some pictures of some of my more... Unique, rehomes Ive picked up in the past.

When it comes to choosing your first pet snake you should figure out what you want and what you're expecting out of your animal. I think in my year of keeping, the best things you should ask yourself are these:

Do I want an animal I can take out and chill with? That won't be moving around a whole bunch? Or do I want an animal to that is more active, that will be interesting to Handle but won't typically sit still?

Do I want an animal that I can handle in the first place? Does handling play a factor for me? What is my budget? What is the reasonable sized space I can set aside for an animal that I want? What kind of temperament do I expect out of my animal? Do I want a display animal? Do I want an animal I can watch move about its enclosure and be active or do I want an animal I don't mind seeing a whole lot of?

Ultimately, different sp. Of snakes are vastly different from each other. And these behaviors *can and will* change based off the husbandry you're providing them. If you have a big empty enclosure with a hide or two and maybe a singular piece of decor, yeah, your BP is probably going to be a pet rock. They're semi-arboreal and Nocturnal, give them lots of climbing opportunities and cover and they'll be more inclined to explore.

King snakes and Milksnakes are a joy to handle and a even bigger joy to feed. I've kept Honduran Milks and Ive shared pictures of my Honduran Milks, theyre super active, always on the move, and when it comes to feeding sometimes I make them work for their food because they will peruse prey. A lot of Kingsnakes are the same way.

And beyond that, there are other sp. of animals that are not unreasonable for someone starting out to keep. Childrens Pythons are a *fantastic* sp. Of snake to get into and can be full of spunky personality. And if you want something that's an absolute treat to interact with, the Rosie Boa might be the best thing for you!

Theres tons. And I do mean tons. Of available sp. of Reptiles out there for you to enjoy. Find one thats going to fit your needs that isn't completely unreasonable, and research into it before you make any decisions for yourself. I cant stress this enough: Always do your research!

There is tons and tons of misinformation and outdated information about Herp keeping. There are people who will lie to you about an animals care to make a sale. The best thing you can do for yourself and for your animal is to *not* get all your information from one source. Use multiple credited sources. Join actual communities of keepers and private breeders and talk to them about their experiences and how they do things. Find forums, join discords or (vetted, trustworthy) Facebook communities. Watch some Youtube videos from (respected) content creators. Take a look on Morph Market, browse through whats commonly available.

This isn't to encourage you to do something stupid. No ones first snake should be a Hot(Medically-significant Venomous animal), or a unreasonable giant like a Reticulated Python. Just be reasonable, and don't be afraid to reach out to people and ask questions.

Tl;dr: Yes and no, there are animals that are easier to keep than other and some animals that are unreasonable to start with. But, whats more important is making sure whatever animal you pick is a good match for you as an individual and not because its the 'easiest'.

[finedinereception]

Why is Sirius on your brain SO much?

Explain in Mario terms

make my brain go -flag pole noise-

haha okay but actually here we go. this is disorganized and more me vomiting my thoughts out and making you look at him but yknow.

the black hole server: the most soul sucking and messed up place to live since america

thanks for the insightful commentary, buddy

so sirius lives the life of the average True Gamer, in a dark hole full of anime figurines and merchandise or whatever. he likes adding to that collection and then fucking around with it because bloodsport really never died to him. who cares what ign had to say.

unfortunately, like all gamers, his home is not hospitable to most life.

weaker em beings apparently “enervate and die” within the server. thats delightfully fucked up, and honestly, a vast empty, dark, cold space that sucks the life out of pretty much everything around it and is only truly habitable to one lifeform is an insanely cool idea that i always love.

uh…. roche limit????

obviously, with such an unfriendly gamer den, sirius himself does not get a lot of company.

we’ll come back to this next section.

but basically the black hole server is a really cool idea and location that really serves to emphasize what an outside-context issue sirius is. he feels very “other” in this world, in part thanks to where hes made his home.

with friends like these, who needs mega man?

sirius has some… interesting ideas about what is good and reasonable for people. or what constitutes a healthy platonic relationship. actually just relationships in general.

i think its interesting he jumped straight to this with mega man, when he also harbored apollo flame, who was pretty damn open about his intentions to eventually usurp and subjugate sirius

WHICH SIRIUS WAS AWARE OF BTW

apollo flame! oh, you, always on about taking over the universe!

this is weird to say, with what we know about sirius in general and his personality (which we’ll be getting to soon) but… theres this pervasive sense that he views the Rs as a mix between pawns and, like, his perverse version of “friends”

the use of “our” here is interesting, along with the implication that sirius shares more information with them than he actually needs to

and the fact that sirius has the tendency to start talking to himself in the middle of a conversation…

and the fact that he enforces a friendly relationship between those who dont get along…

theres just a weird sense of sirius “playing” with dynamics, and while its certainly useful to him, its easy to imagine a hint of curiousity in there. the exploration of one of the only things that cant be taken by force.

of course you have blue skin and pronouns

look at him. look at him. hes based on a squid. hes got that squid drip. i think sirius would be into deep sea life. im choosing to view this as an in-character choice. he likes squid now, okay?

also. he canonically sparkles. LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT THIS SPARKLING SQUID TWINK. GOD. HE MAKES ME INSANE.

i also dont know where else to mention this, but hey what was up with mu metal. is he tied to mu. what was that about lmao. bro got pica.

he has 97 mental illnesses and is banned from most public spaces

he is so fucking stupid😭

the main, and final, thing i want to bring up is his extreme case of blue and orange morality. because being rude is worse than destroying a planet to him.

from here on out ill be using direct quotes since i actually have access to these and writing and ive hit image limit. what can i say theres so much i want you to look at.

Sirius: ... I don't need that rude EM being for my collection. 

and

Sirius: I was hoping to enjoy watching everyone on the planet panic for a bit... But I suppose destroying it outright would be fun too. 

back to back is an interesting display of standards. but id go further and argue that… sirius doesnt really act with malice.

MegaMan: Peoples lives... Planets... They aren't toys for you to play with. Have you even considered the pain you are putting all those people down there though? Sirius: Everything here will cease to exist. A black hole has no need for such things as emotions. You should... be happy. You will live forever within the darkness. You will be mine. MegaMan: I wouldn't call that living! I'd rather not exist! Sirius: ...I see. Do you think that you might change your mind? Stopping you without causing you any injury would be a bit of a nuisance to me. It will be hard for us to play together with you injured.

and you could argue that this is an attempt at persuasion… except that sirius doesnt really need that. hes pretty confident in his ability to win a fight, so id argue this is genuinely just how he thinks. his fascination with destroying things is processed not with malicious intent but the same perverse curiosity that drives a child to pour water on an ant hill.

mean spirited? yeah, but its all in good fun to him.

hes the living version of all those jokes about a person who never talks to other people or goes outside or anything. hes had his own little bubble to develop the most deranged moral compass and interal narrative of all time.

tl;dr - ITS HARD TO NOT THINK ABOUT HIM A LOT

[kojidesu]

okay so i just got ps plus which has opened my world to a lot of new games. now some of you may know im a big shill for square enix. i love their games and have since i was like 6. so naturally i was super excited when i saw stranger of paradise in the games catalog, especially given its high rating on playstation.

im now 7 hours in and i gotta say, im quite happy i didnt spring the £70 that the game usually sells for. im actually kinda disappointed. a lot of the levels ive played have felt grand and ostentatious but so empty. theres these huge halls with nothing in them. it feels like a waste of the space.

i know that open worlds can be expensive and resource intensive so im not upset about that. however, i thought that given its not open world, it would give the artists and level designers more freedom to make the individual levels more solid and interesting. and some genuinely are! theyve nailed the forest location and bikkes cave. but every other level seems to be one of these towers with huge empty rooms with a little chest off to the side.

as well as this, jacks character just seems so... boring. there is no substance to him. i am supposed to align myself with this man who has one goal in mind that he doesnt shut up about. and 7 hours in, thats still all i know about him. or any of the group for that matter. in 15, whilst i know that reception to it was a bit mixed, part of what made that game for me was the banter between the team mates. you dont really get that here.

i also dont really care about 'killing chaos'. there is no real explanation as to what or who chaos is and we keep going back and forth on whether chaos is even real. i dont know and i actually dont care. i feel like the developers were trying to go for some big, crazy twists with this but its not really all that engaging or fun to keep arguing about this chaos thingy.

this doesnt really feel like an appropriate entry into the final fantasy franchise. maybe because it feels underdone and flat. final fantasy, to me, is about those big, bubbly, clashing characters and team dynamics and genuinely interesting worlds to explore. i feel a lot of this is missing in stranger of paradise.

i think the gameplay is really the only thing that holds this game up for me. the combat is fun and rewarding and i genuinely feel great after defeating a boss. if the gameplay wasnt as solid as it is, i think i would have stopped already. im having fun with the combat mechanics.

i would have been really upset if i paid £70 for this.

[ikoarts]

November 2022 Art

huh. a lot of silly doodles this month, some random stuff from my phone too, was on some silly energy i think x

vvv dates + info under the cut vvv

1 - 08/11/2022 : horse Ru but like, an actual horse. shes real. get horsed idiot. shes a bay tobiano marwari (also one i did on my phone)

2, 3 - 09/11/2022 : much silliness. was thinking of koopas again, theres barley, who is weird, and also lemmy, giving good advice x

4 - 10/11/2022 : horsie! again! thats about it

5, 6 - 12/11/2022 : more koopaz, they smoke veed together i guess, i liked drawing these i was on sily energy

7 - 13/11/2022 : jammy lammy. drawn on my phone x ,, i think i doodled this then i started on my full digital piece of her?

8, 9, 10 - 14/11/2022 : roosh in the rush shirt, ive been asked if she likes rush bc shes rush-ada which i find funny (no sadly i wish i was that funny), she never dresses like this but i like to draw her in things she'd probably Want to wear but wouldn't bc shes a self conscious old lady..... ANYWAY omg first drawing where i drew Ru with her iconic half moon eyes instead of having the empty space, now her eyes are a full shape,, its been this way ever since and it feels so much better, maximum droopiness, shes pathetic really but i love her, toni might invoke this rage on me if she catches me saying that tho

also penguin dance. watch that autistic girl groove

11 - 15/11/2022 : moar drawing Ru in outfits she would want to wear but wouldn't normally, like this is how i dress so this is projection probably.. i was on my peak boingo fix at this point (has not stopped) so Toni is having a sing x (has been misinterpreted as her ripping a bong at least three times) and a little Luisa hehe

12, 13 - 16/11/2022 : Toni would have a YT channel in canon, like thats how she breaks into the music scene, but i like thinking of her doing cliche youtuber things.. also the first (not first but the First first is like an incomplete concept doodle) drawing of Trixie! i knew i wanted a new robo oc, and she had to be a gnasty diesel powered idiot, she hasn't changed too much

14 - 18/11/2022 : silly time again, ru n toni on their catgirl and horsegirl business, i am 5 and poop is funny

15-18 - 25/11/2022 : holy ponies batman! horseshada (yes thats what i call her) as a G3 styled MLP, both in her natural colours, and unnatural colours (her pony name is Blue Moon), also TONI PONY! (her pony name is Heart-To-Heart). gay ass little ponies

19-23 - 28/11/2022 : so like. at this point i was in the middle of watching waterloo road (classic series the new one sucks big balls), and this is like the only thing i could conjure up...... also another mettatetta, was still unsure about his design, but its comin!! later!! have patience!! the rest are some various Rushadas, in an outfit from animal crossing pocket camp since i was playing that again at this point, i should draw her in it again bc she SERVES.. also her in her jammies, i wanted a go at drawing plaits, pretty proud of that one, her hair is so thick and lovely <3

24 - 29/11/2022 : so like i really dont have enough aus i guess, catgirl toni n horsegirl rushada, but like, they're more anthro this time, that was basically the concept, and to recap, ive got like centaur au, like full animal au, and one where its just them but they have the ears and tails, its complicated!

[boy-with-a-gun]

3 days after being taken in ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

im styx and I am 16 years old. My mothers not here right now and my dad has been missing for three months. i was taken in by a strange man named cyrus. hes kinda weird and just queit most of the time, but at least he has some idea of how to treat other people decently. his basement is cool but its dark down here. theres posters of movies and bands on the walls, i guess he owned these before? i think its weird that he would even keep them, he seems so straight forward and boring. he has an awesome bike though so i guess hes cool.

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ cyrus is asleep right now but i found his diary. its basically empty, im sure he wont mind me writing in here too. or he might. youre going to hide somewhere safe, i just have to rip you out very carefully. i saw a watch on his wrist so i think thats probably how hes dating all his entries, but im gonna do my own thing anyway. i should have a diary anyway, it couldve helped a lot with keeping myself grounded, but who writes anymore? i dont know how i even found a pen in some dudes basement anyway. at least i can write still lol it hasnt been that long

ᓚᘏᗢ

he didnt write anything yesterday or today, i guess because nothing really happened except that he played guitar. he isnt bad but its not really anything worth talking about. it was nice to have in the background though, the silence was so annoying and he isnt a good covnersationailst.

he also said he would take me hunting, but he jsut sounded annoyed probably because i was eating his food. honestly its not even that good, most of it was canned. even the candy he gave me was like 10 years old. not that i didnt appreciate it but it wasnt that good at all. he really should shoot up all the animals here and just eat normally, idk why he isnt doing that

i saw an mp3 player like a while ago but when i asked to use it cause its cool and retro he said to keep my 'paws off his porperty', which sucks because i was looking forward to listening to some actual music insteaf of just guitar sounds.

okay he isnt all that bad, i guess hes just autistic or something, and i should be nicer to the guy whos letting me take up space and resources during the end of the world or whatever. he even set up a bed, even if its just a really shitty air mattress and a spare blanket. i can hid this paper under there lol, he probably wont look since hes so weird about touching me or even being near me. he must be like fully autistic. that sounds mean but i honestly think its true and i can respect his really big personal bubble

shit hes wakin up by

[smoqueen]

Played wow pretty religiously for like a decade, finally quit a few years back. Mechanically, I enjoy combat rotations. Managing random procs/cooldowns/fight mechanics/etc. I do think that side of the game is a lot less interesting to me as I've picked up pvp games like dota or street fighter, altho if there was a single player game that really did combat rotations well I'd try it.

The real thing that keeps you there is community. Just becomes like a thing you do, and I did it because if I didn't play wow there was huge swaths of time I would have completely avoided any human contact. Different feeling from chatting with someone online. Running across a guildie in a main city and spamming emotes at them has a particular feel to it

im going to play devils advocate and be combative with you here. random procs, cooldowns, etc is just a matter of 'rotation,' and if you are doing your 'rotation' properly/perfectly in dps, it is extremely rote and boring - there is a 'skill' to creating a priority list of things to do to maximize dps, but in practice, doing things in order doesn't exactly test my skill and it isn't fun to me.

managing that while doing fight mechanics is fun, i admit -- but only in the highest level of M+ and mythic raiding where you are a) severely punished for making mistakes and theres b) more mechanics that force you to make more mistakes. my original post did actually recognize the fact that the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of players do not engage with this content whatsoever.

the second part being community - the thing that 'hits different' about spamming emotes with your guildie is that you met randomly, dans le World of Warcraft, but just like any 'fun with friends' game, that could have been any game - wow doesn't exactly do this well, and there's very few ways to interact with another player besides, well, spamming emotes, or toys, or summoning random mounts.

so wow is there to fill a void of social interaction for people, as you admit - with no wow, its just an empty space, its a void filler. but i can get that anywhere, i can get that from a twitch chat

[xenosaurus]

NO OKAY BUT THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THIS CHANCE BECAUSE I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS ALWAYS (and this ask will immediately identify me to anyone who knows me bc im literally the only person in the world who cares) but please never read N.K. Jemisin's "The City We Became." She's won three hugos in a row and thats very impressive, nothing but love and respect to my sister who has Made It and Paved the Way for more of us to go forward. I haven't actually read her hugo winners and i'd like to, but unfortunately i started with The City We Became and now i hold a Grudge.

Why:

on the surface this book is a Cool Woke Twist on lovecraftian horror set in new york city. the basic premise is fun: the avatars of the boroughs of new york forming together to help their city become a fully fledged cosmic entity of a sort. the villain here is the literal spirit of gentrification, and while theres a lot of good things that could come from that set up, the actual execution makes it an absolute agony to get through. everything is so hamfisted and somehow smug about recognizing the most basic ideas. its too smug and condescending to appeal to anyone in the center, its ideas too juvenile to appeal to anyone in the left, and its weird flat characterization of the villains as The Most Cartoonishly Evil Cops/N*zis You Can Think Of kind of makes the conflict feel... empty. It's hard to explain without experiencing it, but i cannot recommend anyone actually read it. or maybe u should just so i can finally talk to other people about this, maybe im insane for feeling this way.

some favorite moments of mine, in no particular order:

-the multiple instances of a side character being introduced, having their race and tragic backstory exposited in one sentence, and then they vanish, never to appear in the narrative again

-white supremacists attack the indie art museum on twitter. thankfully they start a counter hashtag and the entire situation wraps up in under 24 hours. they go from "we have to fire all of you bc of pressure from these assholes" to "actually its fine" bc of twitter. i dont even think its supposed to be part of the magic of the city or whatever. its an incredible sequence.

-"he shot out of the pool like a child fired from a hot buttered child cannon"

-theres a bit where the author sets up a neat fight between a character who does a cool transformation and a REALLY neat monster. u will not see that fight play out. that scene isnt in the book. just the leadup and the aftermath. why even bother.

-one of the main characters has a tumblr but its obvious the author hasnt like... used tumblr. this isnt a major sin but it is funny

-really have to state again that theres a line in this book that reads "hot buttered child cannon." this also isnt a sin, this is maybe poetry.

-its labeled as adult fiction, it feels like its trying to go for grit and gore and sex in places, but its also weirdly shy about engaging directly with a lot of that stuff. this one might (MIGHT) actually be a style thing, admittedly most of my nitpicks surround one specific character who has a reason to be Like That, but i also have issues with her as a whole that i do not have space 2 get into here. regardless, a lot of this book feels like ya somehow, but the concepts its playing with and some of the scenes DO also make it feel too adult to really suit that either. its... weird.

its kind of a mess in a lot of places, and honest to god it sort of drags in the middle. if you DO pick it up, i recommend the audiobook. the narrator does a fantastic job, and they do some fun sound design in a few places. unfortunately the story itself is kind of hollow. it has a lot of diversity, but the way so many of those diverse characters are tossed out for brownie points and discarded, the way so many characters go into these preachy little rants about VERY basic ideas like "white supremacy bad" its just...

im sure that the author meant well. this book wouldve raised the bar for its representation in like... 2014. maybe thats when she started writing it, idk. unfortunately it came out in 2020 and i think it just feels Dated in a very strange way.

u dont have 2 publish any of this also ofc, im just always here to Unrecommend this book. unfortunately theres a sequel and some part of me is holding out hope that the author fixed some of the things i took issue with in the intervening years, so im bound to this series via curse. even if i hate this one, i know theres gonna be at least one more, and maybe *that* one will fix it-

do not be like me.

This ask was a ride from start to finish. I feel like I was shot out of a hot buttered child cannon.

[raichana]

15 Questions Meme

another super fun tag from @card-queen here

Rules: Answer the 15 questions as your OC or yourself. Tag up to 15 people.

Tagging: @teresashiho and @prilaja-artblog, anyone else who wants to try!

Teach me more about your characters! Please!

Are you named after anyone?

Raichana: My father named me after someone named in a prophecy. He wanted to prove it wouldn't come true... Darious: no comment Arianna: Apparently it's a family name but I can't find anyone in our history with that name. Ciella: no comment...

When was the last time you cried?

Raichana: What time is it? uh...a few hours ago? Darious: If I cry it would make Rai cry so I avoid doing it in front of her. Arianna: You think I have time to cry, i'd much rather spend that time making some coin. Ciella: Crying isn't the easiest for me, Still i guess in the last hundred years or so?

Do you have kids?

Rai and Darious: *looks at each other and blush*Maybe one day Arianna: No but I did accidently start and orphanage so i guess that counts? Ciella: Define child, I have created a lot of 'Children' but I am unable to have any myself.

Do you use sarcasm?

Raichana: *stares out into space head empty* whats that? Darious: No Arianna: Oh yes, all the time. Ciella: I'm unable to lie and sarcasm can tread too close to untruths so unfortunately no.

What’s the first thing you notice about others?

Raichana: How easy it is to read their mind, Once I thought someone had completely blocked my telepathy but no they just had no thoughts at all ever! Darious: Weaknesses in their defenses. you can never be too careful Arianna: rings, jewlery, shoes... anything to let me know if they are the type my guide may be interested in. Ciella: Any sign of illness or discomfort, I want to help as many people as possible.

What’s your eye colour?

Raichana: Technically brown but I store light in them so they look gold! Darious: they were apprently blue when I was younger but they are red now Arianna: the one that's still there is Green Ciella: *clutches locket* what a silly question, you can see they are amber, theres no other colour they could be... ha ha

Scary stories or happy endings?

Raichana: Happy endings! Scary things are no fun Darious: I actually think Scary stories are better, not everything can have a happy ending it makes no sense. Arianna: Scary stories, mostly so I can use them to scare Raichana Ciella: Happy endings, i've seen too many horrors over the years i'd rather things be full of joy.

Any special talents?

Raichana: *bounces* I can bend light which allows me to create illusion or even attack with concentrated light! I'm also psychic but I can't control it at all so it's not really a talent. Darious: I can bend darkness but it's only really good for hiding things when it's already dark or creating a blade. Arianna: I can travel through shadows, it's handy but if it's too dark I can't actually use it so it's pretty limiting without a lightsource.

Where were you born?

Raichana: According to Mom I was born in a town really far away but we had to move to the forest for our safety. Darious and Arianna: A hidden village called Haven, Only Demon elves can travel there. Ciella: *sweating* well... uh... when you have lived as long as I have.... you dont always know these things.... ha ha

What are your hobbies?

Raichana: This journey doesn't allow for much time for hobbies but I really like dancing! Darious: I enjoy to cook... it's partially a hobby and partially because if I let anyone else cook i'll probably die. Arianna: I collect rare plants... sure it tends to double as a good source of poison for work but it's still a hobby. Ciella: I spend most of my time working in the apothecary but in my free time I enjoy learning how to grow and brew tea blends.

Do you have any pets?

Raichana, Darious and Arianna: nope Ciella: I have tried but they all turn into feycreatures eventually so I have stopped trying.

What sports do you play/have played?

Raichana: I tried to participate in Haven's hunt once but I couldn't catch anything. Darious and Arianna: the hunt have put on every winter.... Ciella: I have tried many sports over the years but buy the time i go to play it again all the rules have been interpreted differently so I avoid sports.

How tall are you?

Raichana: 5'2"! but i'm still a growing girl! (spoilers no she isn't) Darious: 6'2" But I am part elf so I may still have a few more inches to grow (spoilers he does) Arianna: 5'6" Ciella: ha ha I'm also 5'6".... what a completely random coincidence... ha ha

Favourite subject in school?

Raichana: Lucian's school suuucked... there were only four of us there and he wouldn't teach me any of the training lessons, Darious had to train me after the sun went down! Darious: *blushing* Training rai after class was probably my favourite school subject. Arianna: School? the closest thing I had to that was training and well... I think if you like learning all about butchering and poisons it's kind of fun? Ciella: Dad taught me everything I could ever even imagine trying to learn, I can't pick a favourite it's all so important to me.

Dream job?

Raichana: Dancer! unfortunately I have another job lined but I'm going to try and make sure my sister stays in that role, she's currently doing it and is better then I could ever be! Darious: The idea of thinking about the future is hard for me, I don't think I have as dream job... Arianna: Imagine taking a job other then working for the guild.... I'm in this for life one way or another... Ciella: I'm already working my dream job at the Apothecary... I get to help people every day... It's much better then what I did in the past...