#I still feel bad about the ds lite because it was my brothers but I broke the screen as in like there's this splotch of black on the bottom

[smellpelt]

rate my charging setup

[arlathen]

im still thinking about animal crossing so im just going to ramble for a while

i bought my brother’s ds lite from him with the last of my birthday money from my 9th birthday. i realized pretty quickly that in order to do anything with a ds, however, you needed Games. so we went to Ye Olde Blockbuster Video (this was 2007 ok) and i walked down the rental aisle slightly overwhelmed at all the titles there, having exactly zero clue what any of them were. i saw animal crossing wild world. i saw some cute colorful animals. i went “whoa, i LOVE animals.” so we rented it. (and we just kept renting it over and over for months until my mom just gave up and bought it for me)

and i played like a whole lot of wild world. like i’d get up in the morning and play before breakfast and then i’d play for a few hours in the afternoon. and i couldn’t even now explain what i did for all those hours. just. existed. did a LOT of fishing. i loved fishing. 

anyway i watched a video earlier talking about the appeal of animal crossing, and it talked about how authentic the community feels -- how, when you get there, it genuinely feels like you’re a stranger in a new town, trying to find your way. and then eventually you have your town’s layout memorized. and all the animals you’re making friends with regard you as a closer and closer friend, over the course of weeks or even months. 

i bought a 3ds and new leaf with my first paycheck i ever got (also a tub of cookie dough, for eating). it was the summer after it came out, so i was fifteen. i don’t think i played as much new leaf as i did wild world, at least not initially. 

i don’t know if anyone who follows me remembers or if i’ve ever talked about it, but my freshman year of college was really really rough. i spent basically the whole school year... just so depressed and isolated. i’d gone from being a top-of-my-class, graduated-with-a-4.0 ambitious overachiever to....like, not that. like i was unmoored and failing at everything i tried. and i also didn’t have friends. like. i just didn’t have anyone who told me, “hey, it’ll be okay, you’ll figure this out.” with anxiety, being stuck in your head with no one to talk to is uhhhhh bad. there’s no one to open the window and let air in, and the rot just keeps festering. 

anyway, i spent that whole summer afterward trying to recover. i adopted some cats. and i found my 3ds, in its packaging where i’d left it, sitting on my bookshelf in my room at home. i had exactly one game for the 3ds. so i got back into it. 

my town was still there. covered in weeds. a couple villagers had moved away. i heard from everyone who remained that i’d been gone for two years! they’d missed me.

i moved around all the old furniture in my house to find all the bugs and then made a day of getting all the weeds pulled. i bought all the flowers i could and planted them. the villagers who remained went right back to being my friends, and i started making friends with the new ones. 

i’m not gonna say i recovered 100% because of animal crossing. it was a lot of things. but it did mean a lot, when looking at something as scary as My Whole Ass Future, when wondering how my freshman year fuck up would affect it, to be able to come back to the town i’d let go to ruin for a few years and fix it up with enough work. not everyone stuck around through it, but those who did forgave me for it. there are no amount of mistakes you can’t come back from. 

[specialagentfluffstein]

good morning cute and sort of mysterious lady. ALL THE QUESTIONS PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Good afternoon enthused and sort of mysterious new friend! Here all the questions. 

1. Do youbite or lick ice cream? Neither. I use a spoon because ice cream is so damn messy. 

2. What ishome to you? Wherever my record player is. 

3. What wasthe last lie you told? That I definitely had a great time at someone’s birthday party. 

4. Doeseveryone deserve the truth? In the end, yes. 

5. What isthe creepiest toy ever made? Kewpie dolls. 

6. Describea moment in which you did something unacceptable in a bad situation.  Encouraged an officer to let me stay late and help with a holdover shift, even though explorers are supposed to get dumped off after twelve hours. 

7. List twothings that are more easily done than said. (No, I didn’t mix them up.) Opening the door to the backlot outbuilding garage and unlocking the Bearcat G3; Running an ID card over tac two on a felony stop with multiple subjects. 

8. When wasthe last time you worked really hard to achieve something? Getting to the place where I could graduate a semester early. 

9. How manyall nighters have you pulled? I’ve seen my share of Graves. 

10. Ifhumans didn’t evolve to laugh or smile, how would we express our happinessinstead?  Probably through other verbal indications and physical expressions. 

11. How manyromantic “things” or “flings” have you had? Enough to know what I’m not looking for.

12. What isyour paradise? unlimited access to media - e.g. music, movies, tv, books, etc. and a comfy place to listen/watch/read

13. What isyour favorite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.) Fancy restaurants or reruns of television shows.

14. How manyhearts do you think you have broken? Probably quite a few. At least four in the past two years. 

15. What isthe most important thing about electronics? What does this say about you?  That they can handle multiple things at once. It says that I am a multitasker.

16. Why dopeople care about celebrities? Do you care about celebrities? Because sometimes it’s nice to escape to a world where the only real problems are botched nose jobs and whether or not someone should have worn something. I care in that I’ve got my favorite celeb crushes (Hi, Alexander Skarsgard!)

17. What isthe most annoying thing someone can do to you? Act like they know what they’re doing when they obviously don’t. Also act like I can’t do something because I’m a girl. 

18. Do youoverexaggerate? What are the pros and cons of this? not really. I tend to encounter so much weirdness that I don’t have to. Pros: I’m a good story teller. Cons: people sometimes think I am exaggerating. 

19. Have youplayed any instruments before? Which instruments? I can play three elvis songs on the piano.

20. Do youlike taking selfies? Why or why not? Yup! Because I’m self centered as hell. 

21. List 3things you like about yourself? 1. Great hair; 2. Smart; 3. Loud.

22. What isthe best advice someone has ever given you? “If the worst thing that happens today is that you mess up on the radio, it’s been a good day.”

23. Do youhave what it takes to raise a child? Why or why not? Yeah not  a big fan of small children. 

24. How doyou cheer yourself up after a bad day? Television. 

25. When wasthe last time you felt awkward? Truly awkward? I somehow ended up sitting in on a male officers yearly physical exam results last year, because no one thought to leave the female explorer in the waiting room or make her wait in the hall. Homeboy was in prime health though.  

26. Are youintroverted or extroverted? Or a mixture of both? definitely an extrovert.

27. Whatconstitutes a good friend? Being invested, but not clingy.

28. Wouldyou rather have a lot of friends to hang out with or just one best friend? Depends. I have a super ultra best friend, but I also will talk to anything that moves, so I generally need to be around people.

29. In aregular day, what do you not want to hear? “How will the detectives/officers/males in general be able to get any work done with you looking so cute?” 

30. What isyour dream job? FBI SWAT Medic or Television critic

31. Is itbetter to be lazy but smart or hardworking but unintelligent? The former.

32. What isa truth about yourself that others find hard to believe? I graduated high school at sixteen and I’ll have my bachelor’s at twenty.

33. Whathave you always wondered about the other gender? Does the penis bounce around when you run/go up stairs/move in general like breasts do? 

34. Whichfantasy world would you like to visit the most? Does Bludhaven count? Because I’m totally down to be a cop with Dick Grayson. 

35. Describethe worst friend you have ever befriended. I tend to inadvertently pick up cling-ons, so I spend a lot of time trying to look like I really have to be somewhere on campus whenever I see someone who thinks we’re besties. 

36. Imaginethat you have switched bodies with someone you don’t know. You can’t switchback. What do you do? Are you sure I can’t switch back? Because I think I might be hunting down shadowman and making him change me back. 

37. If youfound the recipe for immortality, would you sell it or would you burn it? Is keep it for my own personal gain an option? Can I develop it into a serum of sorts to deal with life-threatening illnesses and injuries?

38. What isthe most important, applicable class you have ever taken? Statistics in high school and First Responder. I am so good at calling 911. 

39. Name thelast book you read. One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick. 

40. Imaginethat you are unable to express emotion. How would this affect your world? Ha! Jokes on you I’m already an ice queen with no feelings!

41. When wasthe last time you made the first move? Last spring, on the hot Marine in my advanced nonfiction class. Got his number and everything. 

42. What isyour opinion on electronic music such as dubstep or trap? I like Deee-Lite, does that count? 

43. What wasthe last movie you watched? Blue Ridge Fall. Chris Isaak is great. 

44. Do youlike and appreciate your life? I do.

45. Do youlike and appreciate yourself? I do. 

46. When wasthe last time you cried? ???? Good question. 

47. What areyou scared of? Not a huge fan of fire.

48. What isthe most embarrassing, cringe-worthy thing you have ever done? same story as last time. 

49. What aresome of your hobbies? I knit! I’m working on a shawl right now.

50. What isa superficial yet annoying mistake you constantly make? Confusing the boxes on J4 (paperwork) because I’m not paying attention. 

51. Are youa good friend? What makes you a good friend? If not, what makes you a badfriend? I think I’m a good friend. I’m pretty loyal once I think you’ve earned it. 

52. Do youhonestly learn from your mistakes? Yes. At least I try. 

53. Whathave you learned the hard way? The running boards/ any protruding edge on SWAT trucks are not fun to collide with. 

54. What isthe most important thing to have in order to attain happiness? A Happy outlook.

55. Whichmedium do you use for expressing your artistic emotions? (Singing, writing,etc.) I write, and I like to sing in my car, and I knit. 

56. Are youa creative or a logical thinker? I’m logically creative.

57. What isthe smartest thing you have ever done? Bought a unique antenna ball. I always know which white four door sedan is mine. 

58. What isyour ideal meal? Sushi. or any meal shared with people who make me laugh.

59. What isthe worst thing someone could do on a date? Say “I hate cops” and/or hold me vaguely hostage for ten hours. 

60. Do youlike animals? Which kind is your favorite? Can I say Porgs? Does that count? I also like doggos.

61. If youcould turn one legal thing illegal, what would it be? Riding your bike on the sidewalks around campus.

62. Do youhave any guilty pleasures? Bad television. 

63. What isthe best thing that the internet has ever created? Dog videos. And the ability to look things up in seconds. 

64. Do youlike playing video games? Which video games? Uhhhh I still play the nintendo ds lego games. I like the batman one. 

65. What isyour opinion on beauty in today’s society? It’s so unique! Like there are so many ways to be beautiful even on just a superficial level. 

66. Are youa morning person? When do you usually wake up? Yes! I try to be up and moving by 8am. 

67. Do youhave a favorite Disney movie? Character? either Sleeping Beauty or The Princess and the Frog. I love love love Judy Hopps from Zootopia and I’m quite partial to Prince Phillip. 

68. Wouldyou rather live in the city or in the countryside? 110% City Girl.

69. Wouldyou rather live near the ocean or in the mountains? Ocean.

70. What arethe best things about winter? Sweaters and cocoa and fluffy things. 

71. Whatscares you most about the future? That I don’t know who will be there with me. 

72. Whatmakes you feel old? Being around fourteen-year-old explorers. 

73. How manyhours do you spend on the computer or phone on average? five? more if I have a lot of homework?

74. What aresome of your New Year’s resolutions? I don’t resolutions so much as goals. I’ve met most of them.

75. What isyour life story in 6 words? Why is this happening to me?

76. Describeyourself in one word. Loud

77. What badhabits do you do? Obsessive gum chewer.

78. Whatgenre of music do you listen to? A wide range of stuff. I’m really into Opera and Choral right now, but I’ve also listened to “Southern Nights” and “American Girl” on repeat today. 

79. Mostprominent childhood memory? Sunday Dinners with my family.

80. Imagineif you had an older brother. If you already have one, what is it like? If youdon’t, how would this change your life? I wouldn’t be the oldest, which means I couldn’t pull the oldest child card. 

81. Spiritanimal? Grizzly Bear

82. Do youbelieve in horoscopes? Sometimes. 

83. What isthe worst advice you’ve ever been given? any variation on “let things come to you”

84. List the3 most important people in your life right now. Sister, Mom, BFFL.

85. Favoritememory of your family. The last time my uncle came and visited.

86. What doyou look for in a relationship? Being treated with respect. Also a uniform (especially a USMC one) doesn’t hurt, but it’s not a deal breaker. 

87. Do youhave a role model? Why or why not? Yeah! But it’s more like I like the way people act or do things and I adopt those traits and things. 

88. What isyour opinion on social media? A good way to fuel the mild narcissism I try to keep quiet. Also good for amateur detective work. 

89. Are youa pessimist or an optimist? Aggressively optimistic.  

90. Listsome things that you think are overpriced? FEMALE TACTICAL ANYTHING.

91. What isyour worst memory or creepiest experience? Sixteenth Birthday.

92. Whatsuperpower would ruin the world? Invisibility. 

93. What issomething you swore you would never do when you grew up, but you did anyway? Go to college in my hometown. 

94. Whatlessons have you learned from movies and which movies were they? You can be both a princess and a total badass (Star Wars); It doesn’t matter where you came from, you can be a hero/achieve your dreams/make things better (Pretty much all of the Disney movies). Ohana isn’t necessarily the people you’re related to (Lilo and Stitch). 

95. If youcould travel anywhere, where would you go? Right now? Disneyland Paris.

96. How doyou approach people? Confidently. 

97. What isyour opinion on first impressions? Usually pretty accurate, barring some wild exigent circumstances. 

98. What aresome things you did as a child that you no longer do? Wear frosted lip gloss. 

99. Whatlanguages can you speak? English, Spanish, Regional Law Enforcement, and I’ve got a basic understanding of Old English.

100. What doyou think society will be like in 30 years? Better. 

101. What doyou do on your lazy days? Watch TV. 

102. Whatended your last relationship? A move to Colorado. 

103.Favorite food? Sushi. and Pizza.

104. What isthe most terrifying dream you’ve ever had? I dreamed I was living on a house boat and I was pregnant. I woke up terrified and thinking ‘How am I going to be a cop if I’m pregnant?!’

105. Whenwas the last time you got seriously angry? Anytime my co-lieutenant does anything. 

106. Whatwas the last friendship you broke? I’m not really sure. I try not to burn bridges. 

107. Do youhave any pet peeves? Wrinkled clothes and mismatched socks. 

108. Who wasthe last person you gave a hug to? My sister? 

109. Whenwas the last time you got seriously stressed? Trying to finish a profile for my nonfiction class last month.

110. Whatpart of your personality do you want to change? I can be a little cold. 

111. Who isthe most positively influential person in your life right now? One of the detectives I work with.

112. What isyour biggest motivation? Fear of failure.

113. Whatdid you want to be when you were little? A Triple Threat.

114. Whatare some things that you are good at? Knitting, being the cutest explorer, making breakfast foods, basic makeup. 

115. What isone thing you want to be good at? winged eyeliner. 

116. Whatdistracts you the most, especially when you’re trying to work? My sister. In the best way, though, She’s always sending me silly memes or dog pics. 

117. Howimportant is privacy to you? Really important. 

118. If youcould create one social norm, what would it be? Disney music being acceptable on the radio. 

119. What’sthe craziest lie you’ve ever told? I once convinced a boy scout troop that I was British. 

120. Whatstory do you like to tell about yourself at parties? I like telling the story about the time a guy shoved meth up his butt in the back of the squad car I was riding in on a ride along. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure. 

121. What isthe lamest thing that you have seen someone do? Tell a class that he enjoyed going to the gym as his icebreaker fun fact. 

122. What isthe stupidest thing you’ve done to impress someone? Gave him a bunch of Junior Officer stickers. (it worked, though)

123. What isyour morning routine? Tumble out of bed, stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition. 

124. What’sthe last thing you did that is worth remembering? I bought some professional clothes beyond just a white button up and black pencil skirt. 

125. Ifkarma was coming back to you, would it help or hurt you? I think it would help.

126. What isyour opinion on playing “hard to get?” You should probably just be straight with people.

127. Whatare the pros and cons of straightforward? Pros: no bullshit! Cons: People think you are “scary” or “brash.”

128. What doyou consider “leading” someone on? Lying about your intentions.

129. Are youthe friendzoner or the friendzoned? I’ve been both. 

130. What doyou admire most about your friends? They are so kind. 

131. What doyou admire most about your family? We are a resourceful and resilient bunch.

132. What isyour opinion on “going with the flow?” Something I have to work on.

133. Do youenjoy talking or listening? Both.

134. When isit time to end a friendship? When it’s unhealthy for either party. 

135. What isthe worst excuse you’ve ever come up with? “My mom won’t let me give my phone number out” I was fifteen.

136. If GPAdidn’t matter, what courses would you have taken? More science and physics classes. And theatre. And art. And writing classes. 

137. Whatare your favorite baby names? my current favorite baby is named Finley…

138. Whenwas the last time you had a deep conversation with someone? I talked with a detective about some of my ambitions.

139. Whatinstantly ruins a conversation? Felony Tones (ha) and ignorance. 

140. Biggestturn ons and turn on offs. On - Nice smiles; Off - “You’re too pretty to be a cop”

141. Biggestdisappointment - Not making Captain. 

142. Do youhave any self-restraint? Yes, unless it is with puppies and then no. 

143. Whendid you last do something outside of your comfort zone? I did something with the permission of one advisor and his supervisor that was in direct opposition to what my main advisor wanted. It worked out in my favor though. 

144. Prizedpossession(s)? Four gold medals from competing in SkillsUSA in high school, some photo boxes, my record collection, my playing card collection. 

145. What isyour opinion on second chances? Okay when they are truly deserved.

146. Text orcall? Text. Or call. Whatever. I’ll likely ignore you either way.

147. What doyou like about the 21st century? I am not socially obligated to wear a skirt if I don’t want to. 

148. Whatadvice would you give to yourself 5 years ago? It’s okay to change your mind. Do what’s going to make you happy. Kiss that boy. 

149. Howorganized are you? Pretty organized, when I have time to sit and organize. 

150.Favorite mode of transportation. Bearcat G3. 

 Thanks for being nosy!