#i used to have a scorchio

[pandacommando]

For a bit of much needed nostalgia, I managed to track down and install the original Flying Scorchio screensaver from early 2000's Neopets

[adobe-outdesign]

since u reviewed the other three dragon neopets, maybe you could review the draik next? it's one of my favorite neopets!

Draiks are one of four (4) dragon Neopets, which is entirely too many. Despite coming last however, it does feel like they're one of the more memorable dragon designs on the site.

Part of the reason for this is that Draiks are restricted Neopets, which is a fancy way of saying that you can't make them through Create-A-Pet the way you can almost every other species. Instead, you have to either use a morphing potion or get a Draik egg item and bring it to the Draiks' Nest page. Thankfully TNT has made Draiks much easier to get over the years due to wide releases of morphing potions among other things, reducing them from an elite status symbol to just a somewhat less common pet with a neat gimmick.

The other reason is that Draiks have an usually slim and detailed design for Neopets. There's no hard rules for Neopets, but they generally skew towards thicker and almost chibi-ish in terms of proportions—think like the Scorchio. The Draik's slender body stands out amongst the more standard dragon designs, as does details like the subtle speckling. It also helps that they have a lot of really good colour options.

Base colour wise, the light grey accents work well as they blend with any given color and don't overpower the design. The color distribution is also very good, with the large swaths of grey used on both the underbelly and on the wings and ear fins. Meanwhile, the eyes pop due to a combo of red and yellow.

Visually, I also really like how the little whiskers by the mouth are matched by ones on the head (which are missing from some colours?) and the ear fins, and how the fins mimic the shape of the wings. It feels very well thought-out and cohesive.

Draiks were improved greatly by customization and I am prepared to die on this hill. The old art had such a weird expression, like it just accidentally dropped your iPhone into the pool and is trying to figure out how to gently break the news to you. The way everything is cluttered towards the center of the body also makes the silhouette very hard to read, and the red head hairs ruin the cohesion thing I mentioned earlier. The tail standing is sort of neat, but unlike Meercas I don't think think they've really ever done this outside of the original pet art.

Favorite Colours:

Maraquan: A particularly pretty design, the Maraquan Draik looks a bit like a lionfish crossed with an eel. The whit base with the orange and magenta accents looks really nice, and the subtle changes to the design—one back fin instead of two wings, fins around the tail, long whiskers—feel appropriately aquatic but keep the species recognizable.

The converted version is very similar to the UC/styled version, just flipped. However, it always felt subtly off to me, and after some investigation I've figured out that it's because, in addition to shorter whiskers and a slightly smaller head, the head isn't turned enough relative to the body so it doesn't quite connect right. It's a minor thing but it low-key drives me nuts.

Chocolate: The chocolate Draik, while not necessarily unusual for the color, looks really nice. I love the use of wafers for the wings and fins and the subtle cracks. The white chocolate parts add nice contrast and the chocolate topping and whipped cream add some nice finishing touches.

Mutant: The mutant Draik has much more realistic dragon-like proportions than usual, which makes it look particularly different compared to the usual delicate design. I do think it looks more zombie-like than mutant-like due to the exposed brain and ragged wings (plus the base anatomy remains unchanged), but it's still a good design regardless.

Both versions are fine, but the UC/styled one is just a superior take overall; better shading and beefier proportions in things like the tail and arms, plus the cool tongue. I honestly don't know why they changed it, seeing as mutants can't wear clothes and nothing significant changed; it's like they didn't have vector files so they redid the entire thing instead of properly redrawing over it.

BONUS: Speaking of Draik colors that got butchered in conversion, the Tyrannian Draik is a travesty. The UC/styled design has a triceratops-like head crest, which works because the head is incredibly flat. I get that there was no good way to convert it, but maybe just... don't, then? Regardless, the original design is great. I really details like the banding on the feet, hands, and nose horn, the subtle speckling, and the nice brown/greenish-grey contrast.

[evorathesylvurr]

i cant believe no one else in the limbus fandom is also into neopets.

"evora what does this mean" it means i know too much god damn neopets lore.

spoilers that go up to violet dawn walpurgis! you have been warned.

yi sang seems like the type who would have a kacheek or two

kacheeks are known for their friendly disposition. theyre also one of my favorites but thats unrelated. he'd also probably have a eyrie.

he'd be the type who has done all the plots. even the ones before he joined. (how? don't ask.)

faust is a crazy aisha lady. look. look. as an aisha enjoyer, i get to claim this one as one of us. aishas whole thing is being really smart.

faust strikes me as the type who would enjoy the battledome honestly. theres so much strategy that she probably cant have the faust hivemind tell her what to do.

don quixote spends neocash to have extra slots so she can dress up all her little guys. she chooses team altador every single time and also her favorite is a gelert.

don probably has event exclusive items but she probably got them off of her friends. also she has every limited time pet.

ryoshu would probably have a WONDERFUL time on neopets so long as she doesnt get her account frozen lmao. girl do not post your art. girl the neoboards arent ready for it. girl your spyders.

yeah all of her neopets are spooky themed or red/phantom/halloween depending on what they can be painted. you will never get her to admit it but her favorite neo is her jetsam.

meursault would play if only because he is autistic and so am i. maybe a shoryu (takes a second for info to load)

meursault knows the ins and outs of the neoconomy. like, jellyneo is in his head.

hong lu has a uni. i was going to give a uni to yi sang for the whole wings thing but unis fit hong lu so much better. this man spends so much money on neocash i do not care if hes actually been cut off from his rich family funds. he is using his salary for his silly little digital unicorns.

he shares don's enthusiasm for the game because i said so :) no i think this small little thing might be really healing for him if his family is shit. neopets makes me cry every now and then like for real because its so warm.

heathcliff picked neopets up because of ▢▢▢▢▢. his favorite is the lupe but he also quite likes acaras.

he takes SUCH good care of his neopets. he doesnt even put them in the lodge. he does his daily games to get his neopoints, goes to buy them food, feeds them, grooms them, plays with them, etc. they have perfect stats but theyve never seen a day in the battledome.

ishmael has a flotsam and thats it. no but she actually mostly has maraquan neos which means shes limited to customizing them :( her favorite is her maraquan vandagyre.

ishmael customizes her neos as best she can. they have the best enrichment tanks. ishmael is also insane at destruct-o-match. do not competitive 1v1 her in destruct-o-match you WILL lose.

rodya has a kyrii and a ruki. she has extensive lore for her neos and you should NOT ask her about it.

rodya is active as hell in the neoboards and she helps everyone with their fairie quests so much. rodya shop wizard extrodinaire. we love you.

sinclair is a pound adopter. his lore is his bruce came from the pound and now they go around adopting pound neopets. every single neo aside form his bruce was a pound adopt.

sinclair does those pound rescue touchups you see every now and then where they take a pet in the pound, give it a new paint job and/or lab zap, and return them to the pound so they have a better chance at getting a forever home.

outis plays neopets too because i said so. average scorchio and grarrl enjoyer though.

enjoys a good chia flouring. she uses her fucking paycheck to chia flour small kid's neopets (she doesnt do it to the other sinners she might be mean but she knows for a FACT she will not hear the end of it for MONTHS)

gregor's main neo is a blumaroo actually :3 i could have given him a buzz or a ruki but that is a cheap blow and i actually think it's cuter to give him the little bouncy guy :3

he enjoys playing the minigames and he leaves his pets in the lodge :( but its ok theyre having fun at the lodge.

[smalltowngnoll]

Scorchio Buffao Bites

Be sure to have some water handy before scarfing down these spicy bites.

While at first glance, I would make small

chicken nuggets, these are in the baked category. Ergo, I have a cracker recipe! I pulled a cracker recipe online and made some changes for the flavor.

Ingredients

1 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 tbs cold butter plus more for brushing

1/4 c buffalo sauce of your choice

optional dye - crackers lost their color baking

1 egg, beaten.

Recipe

Sift flour, sugar, powder, and salt in a bowl. Cube butter and work into dough using your fingers.

Make a well in the dry and add buffalo sauce. Incoroporate until dough forms. Chill for 1 hour.

Roll out dough to be thin. Cut into squares or use a cookie cutter. I used a bat and removed the head to make wings.

Line crackers on a sheet pan. It should not spread much. Poke holes into crackers. Brush with egg white.

Bake at 400*F for 10 minutes. Pull out crackers and brush with some melted butter (not much needed to melt.)

The Final Product

The dough was a vibrant orange. It lost its brightness in the baking process. Lightly spicy, but I used a mild buffalo sauce since my husband can’t handle spicy. Though I ate most of these fresh out of the oven. It’s a recipe you’re better off doubling.

[synthaphone]

its time for take 2 of attempting to clean this childhood Baby Scorchio toy- im not REALLY sure the minky can get less dingy, but i have to try at least one more time.

last time i used a little dish soap and a damp washcloth, while this time i’m trying a tiny speck of laundry detergent diluted in water and a toothbrush.

i think after this, even if i cant get it any brighter looking, i’m going to use it as a test subject to try out thread sculpting- it’s head has always been taller than it is deep, which makes it look really weird from a side profile (even as a kid i was always trying to crush its head into a less flat shape).

i also noticed a loose embroidery thread at the base of its chin that came loose when i pulled on it gently, so im wondering if part of why it looks strange is that some intended thread sculpting has already failed.

[randomkposts]

Female soichiro and male sachiko?

K:- Ok, so as a couple Soichiro and Sachiko are very traditional in their roles of Japanese society. Sochiro is the cop, with Ideals of Justice he passed onto Light, and Sachiko is their mother and homemaker.

How much of their personality is based on gender roles within Japanese society that they adhere to? Would Sachiko as a male have grown up more reckless, like Soichiro?

Would his sense of justice burn as brightly?

Maybe he became a cop for similar reasons to Matsuda in this AU. Would he have been the type of cop to join Ls investigation? 

E:-I can think about, surprised that Machiko took up law enforcement.

There's always that disdain for house husbands.

K:-Well, I assumed she got into law enforcement the same way as Matsuda. Nepotism/ family on the force. Lol

E:-Lol ahaha! Nepotism changing lives once again. 

K:-A Death Note story with no cop parents of Light, would change the vibe of the story a lot.

As far as I can remember, Sachiko's character traits seem to be supportive and caring. She's proud of Light for his academic success, supportive of Soichiro's convictions, and encouraging to Syau during her recovery. She has her trials, but we don't see her first hand reaction to them, only how she decides to handle them. If this holds true, she's cool headed and practical, and empathetic in a crisis, the blue oni to Soichiro's red. Sachiko is probably a different kind of cop then Soichiro.

This could bring a different vibe to denying L's accusations towards Light being Kira. 

Would likely also make changes to Light, with a different kind of justice to look up to.

E:- a very different vibe indeed. 

K:- Sochiro probably keeps his defensive attitude about his family and strong sense of justice across the gender swap. Sochiro is now mama bear, I guess. Which probably means if Syau still gets kidnapped, Mello might just focus on the wrong parent and get knocked out of the game earlier, lol. Anyway, Light could still grow up Learning from her mother's sense of Justice, and idealizing her Father, a police officer. 

E:- OH totally

K:-Sad that this breaks up Sochiro and Matsudas friendship, though. If we want there to be more extreme change,  we can have both of the parents be cops, which puts Light in an even more parental position to Sayu, since she is mostly raising her here. It might change her views on their jobs too, but she still might use the death note in resentment and maybe even hope that her parents being less bust might mean more time spent home. It's still a story about  Ideals. 

E:- That be an interesting read if they're both cops.

 Both parents working makes the Yagami family non traditional, since they get good money and don't need to both be working, but do. Not going to get into the Japanese economic crisis here, and how that might have impacted their jobs and public opinion on Scorchio being more publicly committed to justice then raising her daughters, but there would be quite a bit of tension there, in the job and society. 

E:-Sayu turning to Light as a maternal figure in her life. Girls get the burnt of raising their siblings regardless they are the oldest or middle child. 

K:- I was close enough in age to be rival sibling to mine, so I wasn't. 

Light raising Sayu as a guy would be an interesting story too. As with Light as her main Influence instead of someone she goes to for homework and help, what would that look like? Would her views be different?

E:-Your gained a rival 👏👏👏🤣

K:- I did

E:-Lol not me I was the mom essentially. Mom trusted me enough to even take care of luggage and a human being at the airport.

I say her views would be different. 

As in my own case, parents where law buuut when you're the one that is around more to watch them they turn an ear to listen to you.

 So essentially to Sayu , Light's words have a heavier weight than her parents would. 

K:- I think this Sayu might be more academically inclined. 

E:- Yes! True!!

K:-And honestly that could be really fascinating. Especially since it would change with Light's  gender .

Would Sayu possibly gain an inferiority complex or downplay herself in other areas compared to her sibling who is perfect (so why try for unattainable?)

Or would Lights God complex take some hits in the interest of raising Sayu right?

E:-Good question. But I am drawing blanks here. 

K:-Like I can see Light being protective. But with her looking up to Light so much, Sayu has a lot of potential to fly or be burned. I guess it would have to depend on author and where they are going with it. But Light doesn't  tend to let most people in, coming off as charming and charismatic. 

Still in this scenario, Sayu grows up under Light and is soo shaped by that. 

And relationships with Light are a dangerous thing. 

E:-Light is like a stone fruit. Pleasing and sweet on the outside a hard stone in the center. Take too big of a bite and you'll hurt yourself. 

K:-My favorite Sayu shaped  by Light take is probably Silver Pard's Redivivus. 

-"Light knew how to deal with nightmares. Light kept all the dark things away, and he could be scarier than any funny shadows anyway. He sighed quietly as he sat down again and pulled her gently into his lap. "Want a story?"

She nodded again, and silently offered to share the blanket. He looked tired and worn, and she didn't think he could deal with her talking right now – he always said she was too noisy and happy after he'd been shouting at his computer. He snorted slightly and let her arrange it around them both with a weary kind of patience.

It was times like these that Sayu forgot Light was only three years older than her. There was this funny thing about the shadows in Light's room, especially at night, which made him look weird. Old-eyed sort of weird, and kind of scary.

But he was her brother, so he was scary for her, so that was okay."-

Also this, when their parents come back from date night

"I think Sayu might have traumatized him by playing dolls with him," she offered quietly when Soichiro stopped next to her and gave her a puzzled glance. Probably at Light's behest, she added in her mind.-"

E:-ONG 

K:-A third option could have Sachiko stay home understanding of his wife's ambitions and sense of justice, but there's still a tension in that. Still non traditional. Light looks up to her mother, and wants to be like her, here. The Yagamis are probably quite not quite as well off here. Hmm, I know people with families are likelier to get promotions in Japan as they have families to feed, but is that equally applied across genders? Would the Job be subtly trying to get Sachiko to come back  through wages? I don't  know enough to say? Eclipse? Know more about this one?

E:-I think it would be but if we're with the options that both are working its possible Sachiko would be offered the promotions at foremost than Sochiro would be. Sochiro is likely to still promote but at a noticeable slow rate than that of Sachiko. 

The thing is what again is brought in by nepotism and that of the Japanese workforce of WHO your upper classmen is in these situations. Workforce Japan is another thing to navigate especially that of the Japanese workforce.

Or officers. I can see a major subtle or not so subtle barbs at fem Sochiro in these situations. 

K:-Yah that would track

E:-Even if Sachiko is driven by justice,  he in this situation would be seen more or less as a bad father for not being able to provide more their kids. However, in Sachiko part they would more freedom in cases and choosing their protégé so to speak. 

Sochiro on the other hand will get smack from fellow officers and detectives, while adding in public opinion from neighbors. 

Community can help but can also be merciless to those who don't fit the mold. 

[saving-word-crawls]

The Neopet Nostalgia Crawl (Chapters 1+2)

By: Tigger89

This challenge will be updated on wordpress for the time being, due to the forums closure. Please bear with me as I migrate the content, as I am also writing my novel and producing new chapters for my own use.

Millennials of NaNo, your internet nostalgia has arrived to ensure you make those word counts! This crawl is based on the history of Neopets, starting all the way back in 1999 when we only had Neopia Central(which wasn’t called that back then, I’m sure) and 22 species. While I doubt I’m going to make it through the whole history of the website(24 years!), I hope to continue posting chapters throughout November, basing them on various eras of the game.

A few technical notes before I get into the first chapters:

In addition to the typical word crawl supplies(a timer, your novel, the will to persevere), you will need a way to keep notes(I have a notepad file) and either a six-sided die or a way to roll one electronically. You might also find it helpful to bookmark random.org 5, to pick randomly from irregular lists.

No Neopets knowledge is required to play this, though you might be confused if you’re not familiar. If you’re just voraciously vacuuming up every writing game you can find, though, feel free to join in!

I’m basing this off a basic update timeline and my own recollection. However, I was something like eleven years old at the time, so my memory is a bit hazy on the details. Please forgive the inevitable anachronisms and inaccuracies.

I’m trying to keep the goals reasonable. I intend to keep most time writing goals under 15 minutes, and most wordcount goals under 500. Occasionally, for an impactful moment, I will go higher. I don’t intend to ever go above 30 minutes or 1k words on a single goal, however. This isn’t going to be one of those crawls like Harry Potter(no hate, it is what it is) where the goals get gigantic. I aim to keep it approachable, including giving alternate paths for slower writers to progress.

Chapter 1 - Arrival in Neopia

1.1) Welcome to Neopia! Write for 5 minutes as you get your bearings and make your way to the welcome center.

1.2) After recording your basic information, you go to choose your pet. Write 220 words, ten for each species, as you examine your options. You can choose from the following list: Aisha Bruce Eyrie (can fly) Flotsam (can breathe water, swim) Grarrl Jetsam (can swim) JubJub Kacheek Kau Kiko Korbat (can fly) Kyrii Lenny Mynci Nimmo Quiggle Scorchio (can fly) Skeith Tuskaninny Uni Usul Wocky

1.3) Each pet comes in one of four colors: blue, green, red, or yellow. Choose your pet’s color, and then write until you can describe something in the story that matches the color or 500 words, whichever comes first.

1.4) Please answer a few questions about your new pet before continuing. Choose two options from the list below for your pet’s two primary attributes. Primary attributes start at the level “high”, whereas the other two will start at “average”. Strength - Sprint for 5 minutes. If you write less than 300 words, write 300 more words to recover your dignity. Defense - Write 500 words. Movement - Sprint for 10 minutes. Intelligence - Roll a 6-sided die, multiply the result by 100, and write that many words.

1.5) Now it’s time to give your pet a name. Write 200 words as you think up the perfect one. Congratulations on your first pet! All first-time pet owners in Neopia start with 1,000 Neopoints(NP), so write that down. You can adopt new pets at any time, up to a maximum of 4, by repeating these four steps(1.2-1.5). But keep in mind that not only does it cost more to raise multiple pets but new species are being discovered all the time, so I recommend waiting to adopt!

1.6) You’ll need to get your new friend some food to eat, but the shop’s sold out. What do you do? Wait outside the shop and dash in as soon as it opens, hoping to nab something in the rush - participate in 5-minute word wars until you win one, and subtract 400 NP. Comb every inch of the store in the hopes that something fell behind a shelf - write 500 words, and subtract 400 NP. I’m not worried, I have a Grarrl or a Skeith - write 200 words as your pet happily consumes whatever garbage nobody else wanted, and the shopkeeper even lets you take it for free! Repeat this step for each pet you have.

1.7) Would you like to buy a toy for your pet? Yes - Subtract 400 NP, and write for 10 minutes as you pick out the perfect plushie. Don’t forget to record it in your inventory! No - You’ll probably get one as a prize soon, anyway. Sprint for 100 words as you play with your pet in the nearest puddle.

1.8) It’s time to open an account at the National Neopian. By keeping most of your Neopoints safe, only up to 10% of your total can be lost due to a random event. Take the number of NP you have, divide by 100, and sprint for that many minutes. As a special account-opening bonus, take the number of words you just wrote and earn that many NP!

1.9) It’s been an eventful day. Wind down by writing 250 words at your own pace. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Chapter 2 - Meeting Faeries Based on updates from Year 2, January

2.1) It’s a new day, and the Neopian Times has arrived in your mailbox. Write for 5 minutes as you read all about the discovery of the Buzz(can fly), Elephante, Gelert, and Lupe species.

2.2) As you step outside, a winged creature appears before you - a faerie! Roll a 6-sided die to determine which type of faerie you meet: 1: Air - Take your time and write for 10 minutes as this faerie asks you for a grooming item. 2: Dark - Participate in a 5 minute word war as this faerie asks you for a toy. If you lose, write an additional 200 words. 3: Earth - Write 300 words as this faerie asks you for a magical item. 4: Fire - Sprint for 2 minutes as this faerie delivers a rapid-fire request for a clothing item. 5: Light - Write for 5 minutes as this faerie asks you for a collectable card. 6: Water - Write 500 words as this faerie asks you for a book.

2.3) It’s very exciting to get a quest, and from something as important as a faerie no less! But in order to buy things you need to have NP, and something tells you that your bank balance is running low. You’ll need to play some games to earn more. Participate in a 5 minute word war, earning NP equal to the number of words you wrote and doubling the reward if you won. Remember, you can submit your score up to three times each chapter, so go ahead and play two more times right now if you’d like, and again during each chapter!

2.4) Write 200 words as you take a leisurely walk to the shops. If you have a pet that can fly, write 100 words instead.

2.5) Making sure you get a good place in line, you wait for the shop doors to open. Write for 5 minutes as anticipation builds.

2.6) The doors are open, and it’s go time! Sprint as fast as you can for 10 minutes! Once you have your item in hand, it’s time to haggle. The price you’ll pay is equal to 1,000 minus the number of words you wrote in this step. So if you wrote 450 words, the item would cost 550 NP. If you can’t afford it, you have two choices: go back to step 2.5 and try again, or choose to abandon the quest. If you purchase the item, don’t forget to subtract the NP from your total.

2.7) It’s time to report back to the faerie. If you successfully managed to purchase the item - write for 2 minutes as the faerie praises your shopping skills. If you’re choosing to abandon the quest - write for 10 minutes as you get a lecture on dependability from the faerie.

2.8) Whew! Somehow, that adventure took all day. Write 250 words as you return home, exhausted from all that shopping.

To continue, click here for chapters 3 and 4!

[ladala99]

Today on being entirely too indecisive regarding things that ultimately do not matter: I'm heavily considering a change in my Altador Cup team this year.

Back in the first Altador Cup, the "quiz" (actually I don't think it took your answers into account at all and just gave you a random option) told me to pick Darigan Citadel. So I did. And then I picked it again every subsequent year.

I like the aesthetic. Darigan is, in fact, on of my favorite Neopets Colours. But I am so bored of playing the same set of characters every year. I always hope for a swap or retirement or something, anything, but nope. Team Darigan Citadel has only had a roster change once and it was the year every team had a roster change.

If they won't change, maybe I should. But to where?

Dacardia would be a good option just because it's new and I could say I've been with them since their very beginning. I also like the Eyrie in the desktop background art. And I play that game. But uh, other than the Eyrie I think they're ugly.

The other team that has caught my eye so far with the press releases is Moltara. I like literally every player on the team - the Magma pets look great, the Yurble is purple, and I love Scorchios and Fire pets. I also think the little marriage plotline they have is cute and want to support one of those teams to victory. But Tyrannia isn't really my thing.

Haunted Woods caught my eye due to the Wraith Draik, but it's more that that one pet has the same vibe as Darigan Citadel than me liking the team.

Of the teams without press releases so far:

Faerieland has often been a temptation since Faerie is also one of my favorite Colours. I'm kinda tired of the Faerie focus lately, though, and the green/pink doesn't vibe with me as much as the pink/purple used to.

Lost Desert - I've always liked the Ancient Egyptian-inspired theme and the Lost Desert royalty are some of my absolute favorite characters on the site. They also have a Scorchio. And a Draik.

Shenkuu - East Asia-inspired is also one of the aesthetics I like. I also particularly like the designs of the Gnorbu and Lutari.

Yeah, that's a lot of options. I might have to leave it up to RNG between a few at the end. We'll see at the end of the press releases how I feel.

[calendarcrawl]

April 2019

The Clachan, London

There’s an Easter Rising and it’s in my pants because this Easter weekend, the Calendar is sending us down to the Big Smoke. The Big L. The capital city of Un-united States of Brexit!

On this absolute scorchio of a day, we ventured down to Oxford Circus to brave the eye candy and climate protestors, for this month’s calendar pub - The Clachan.

Before we go any further, it’s important to note that only three of the four of us made the trip today. That’s because Steveo, due to the conditions of his parole, can only be in London for one weekend a month. And this month he used it at Wembley for the Wolves FA Cup Semi Final (Yes, I’m sure he regrets it). He did however make sure he visited the pub and got his own pic which is included in this post. So well played, sir!

Anyway, let’s unleash the Clachan! The pub itself is a lovely old building next door to the Liberty department store. Supposedly an historic favourite for Special Police Constables, it’s quite easy to imagine Met officers lurking in the dark corners of the pub taking bribes, only yesterday.

As a pub though, it was just a Nicholson’s. You could get the same experience going to the Old Joint Stock in Brum. And the thing is with London, it’s all so impersonal (and £5.10 a pint). Nobody cares you’re there or why. Which in turn made it easy for us to go elsewhere.. and go elsewhere we did (to find a cheaper pint).

On our Google Maps, we set a Canadian Sports bar in Covent Garden as the target. Mainly because I wanted to try Poutine. It was a 19 minute walk away. And that sounds easy, doesn’t it?

Yeah, well, this 19 minute walk took 4 hours because we stopped off at 5 other pubs on the way. But don’t get me wrong, it was a great pub crawl along some of London’s finest backstreets. It was lovely and historical and we probably frequented a boozer that Oscar Wilde shagged a bloke in, though it wasn’t written on a blue plaque.

We did however find the Poutine. A delightful make up of chips, gravy and cheese curds. It sounds repulsive, but you really have to eat it to understand it. And that more or less rounds up our day trip to London.

Next month we’ll be back up to full force and in the Lake District. But in the meantime, have a great Easter everybody.

[almightyhamslice]

Personal Lost Media Experience

Disturbing Neopets/Spore Commercial (may be another property, these are the best guesses I can think of currently)

When I was a little kid, some time in elementary school in the late 2000′s, I saw a commercial that really disturbed me and has stuck with me ever since, and I’ve never been able to find it again. I’m making this post so that, if anyone reads this and recognizes it, they can help point me in the right direction. This post is quite long, so to prevent it from taking up too much space, I’m going to put all I know under the cut.

The commercial was 2D animated, and it featured 2 characters: a scientist and a test subject. I don’t remember much of the scientist’s appearance, but I know he was much taller than the test subject and was wearing a white or grey outfit, most likely a lab coat. The test subject was small, cute, and bright blue, but the scientist mutated it to become this large, unsettling, yellowish-tan creature. The background of the commercial was a laboratory, and it was primarily white with a large window visible from at least one angle of the room, and the view outside the window was just a dark, starry sky. I’m not certain of where I saw it, but it was most likely on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network (not ruling out the possibility of it being on Disney Channel, I just didn’t watch that as much so I think it’s less likely.)

The commercial starts with the subject on the left and the scientist on the right, and the subject is in clear distress and is visually & audibly frightened. The scientist either zaps the subject with a ray gun, or pulls a lever next to him which causes some part of the background to zap the subject. The beam mutates the subject, and the mutant seems to just look around and stands there, unable to really control itself. I remember the mutation having these very unsettling eyes, which just kind of stared. I cannot quite remember the ending of the commercial, I think it either cuts off after a few seconds of the mutation being there, or it ends with the mutation attacking and destroying the lab equipment (though it leaves the scientist alone for some reason).

The main problem is, I don’t actually know what this was a commercial for. I have a few ideas, though, and so I’ll list them now.

My first thought was that this was a commercial for Neopets. After all, they did have a mutation gimmick and a mutant version of every pet, and some of them could get pretty disturbing. Plus, there are a few blue pets that kind of look like the subject, I think.

There are also quite a few mutant neopets that are primarily buff/ochre, and some of them even have unsettling eyes, like I remembered. 

However, none of these mutant neopets look exactly like the creature I saw. Mutant Koi and Gnorbu aren’t really all that big, and though Tuskaninny is, it doesn’t have the detailed eyes that the other 2 do, and the eyes are the part of the mutant’s design that stuck with me most. Plus, I’m not even really sure when the mutant gimmick was introduced, or if it was even advertised on TV at all.

Though I had my doubts, I did try and do additional digging for neopets commercials, and I did find something that was kind of like what I saw: https://youtu.be/-qgunFNiJqQ

This video is NOT the lost commercial, but it is kind of close. It features a blue blumaroo test subject, and the scientist is a yellowish tan scorchio, but the background is way too dark, and the blumaroo is turned into a kadoatie, which isn’t really disturbing at all. I’m certain I didn’t just misremember the commercial, because it really scared me and I still think about it sometimes. I can’t imagine I’d be so chilled by a false memory.

My other thought would be that it was a commercial for Spore Creatures, the Spore spinoff for the Nintendo DS. That game didn’t heavily feature mutation, but it was something that occasionally happened, because the main villain had the ability to cross-fuse the other creatures together (he used it at least twice). A few of the game’s creatures do slightly resemble the mutation from the commercial, but not quite.

The Supupie’s eyes look a lot like the mutant’s eyes from the commercial, but if it was truly a commercial for the game, it’d be illogical to use the Supupie as the mutated result, because it is a naturally occurring species. In fact, there is a lone mutated Supupie in the game, and it’s dark blue. (how ironic...)

I think the Skuther is actually a more likely candidate for the mutant character, because Skuthers are all genetically engineered and were custom made by the game’s main villain. So even though we don’t see him directly change a creature into a Skuther in-game, it’s not impossible?

Also, the main villain himself, Gar’ Skuther, looks like this:

so, he’s not exactly like the scientist I remember from the commercial, in fact the only similarities are the grey “clothes” and his height, as he is quite tall. Though, he is an alien, so the lab background could be interpreted as taking place within his spaceship, and that’s why the window showed a starry sky? I don’t know, this may be a stretch.

So, since both of these leads have a lot of holes in them, it wouldn’t surprise me if the commercial was for something completely different and unrelated. If you find anything that you think is close to what I’ve just described, PLEASE send me a message via DM or asks.

[adobe-outdesign]

I'd love to see a full-on review of Burlap from you! As a matter of personal taste, I do like it as a Plushie 2.0, but I also sympathize with your dissatisfaction in the loss of that creepy vibe. Which pets do you like best in it?

Poor, poor Burlap. It was originally introduced as Burlap Doll alongside Steampunk, Toy, and Origami as part of a 2018 poll to pick a new colour, wherein it came in dead last, probably because it was by far the least cute option of the four. That said, us burlap lovers were annoying vocal enough that TNT eventually caved and released it anyway.

Unfortunately that was a small victory, as there's been a gradual shift in appearance and tone. Burlap's original intent, and the reason so many of us loved it, is that it was creepy. Burlap pets were supposed to be dolls haphazardly stitched together from sack cloth and whatever pieces of junk happened to be lying around, with dead button eyes and stitched-up mouths. It was a very distinct vibe, almost scarecrow-like, and that made it really stand out.

However, TNT has been softening the colour over the years. Bright colors were introduced; the junk and scrap materials concept was almost entirely dropped; straw-like elements were replaced with soft fuzzy tan fur; and so on and so forth. Compare the Burlap Usul, released in 2023, with the Burlap Ogrin, released in 2020:

And just to be clear, the more plushie-like burlap pets are by no means inherently bad; a lot of them are downright adorable or have very pleasing designs. It's just that, for a site that celebrates Halloween each year and has an entire land dedicated to it, there's a strange lack of creepy colours available. There's Halloween, Mutant, Wraith, Ghost, Zombie, Darigan, and... well, that's it. Burlap was not only a welcome addition to this category, but it filled a very specific niche, as there were no other creepy doll colours. We already have plushie as a colour, but we definitely didn't have anything like the original burlap.

Favorite Species:

Lenny: The original Burlap Doll design put up for voting, the Burlap Lenny is delightfully creepy. The fraying fabric on the wings is a great touch, and I love all the metal bits used here; some springs for the head feathers, random scrap parts for the legs. It's fun, distinct, and has a ton of personality. I also really like the eyes, which are not only black but have red string in the middle, something even the other creepy burlap pets didn't keep.

Bori: The Burlap Bori has less scrap parts and fewer black accents, but it's still well done overall. There's lots of good details here, like the fraying fabric around the claws, the stitch work and material of the back plates, and the way the tail haphazardly tied together with some loose rope.

Quiggle: This isn't quite as detailed as the other three burlap pets, but it still brings a lot to the table with its freaky twig fingers and casual rope around its neck. The texturing and warping of the burlap texture is truly well done here and the whole thing has a great sense of dimension. The only thing is that while I like the mismatched eyes in theory, the blue feels a little distracting; I feel like maybe a light brown or tan might've worked better.

BONUS: Like I said, the plushie-style burlap pets are still very nice looking, and it wouldn't be fair of me to talk about only the creepy pets while not mentioning the non-creepy ones. The Burlap Kau is definitely the best of the crop, with super soft plush fur that reminds me a bit of Highland cows. There's nice detailing in things like the corduroy snout and iridescent eyes, and while there's some colour, it's kept to light earth-tones as to not feel jarring against the browns. Good stuff.

Least Favorite Species:

Scorchio: Even by new-age burlap standards, the Burlap Scorchio is a trainwreck. The eye-searing teal underbelly is both over-saturated and too low-contrast relative to the brown, creating an eyesore that draws too much attention to a pointless part of the design. There's no real creativity in things like the spikes, and the eyes don't feel like they align to the face properly. The stitched-together wings are a little fun at least, but it's not enough to save this design.

[darigangelerts]

I haven’t drawn a thing in MONTHS, but hot damn, if I get another fountain quest (used last one to get the buzz avatar), I think Imma create a male halloween scorchio character to go with it hmmm... Don’t know what kind of characters tho, not like I have a shit ton living in neovia already lol

[neopianangst]

whats this new grey prince helseth concept, has the lad fallen from grace?

ooh, so, an update on my pets! phreke and cenun haven’t changed much, although i toyed with the idea of painting cenun skunk or shadow and going harder into the black and white/neovian thing she has going on, but i think ysenae will be my goth pet and cenun will stay pink and frilly for now. since they’re both birds and both dark sorceress-type characters, i figure ysenae and cenun must be rivals. i also still have bevrick and he’s the same as ever. i gave away astrophel, my old gnorbu, and filled his slot on my main with fryssa, who is currently a strawberry cybunny but might change to something a bit easier to customize. other members of the old roster who are still around: joliih, psoralis, burghley, riniona, alfonso, and maralie (gotta have a pet named after yourself). braidelle is probably going to be traded away at some point, but i’m getting more attached than i thought i would, so we’re hanging on to her for now. and helseth -- so his original concept was kind of a “mad prince” thing, which is why i’ve held onto the sort of creepy/spooky pets like bevrick, phreke and psoralis. i think the grey acara’s face is really expressive and i love that customization i posted, but i don’t know if i’ll actually do it because i love helseth and i feel like painting him grey would be mean, lol.

i also still have stiltes, the rb kau a follower adopted out to me ages ago, and i figured he must be lonely without a princess, so i created a female kau named myriette who i’m going to paint royal next month when i have transfers again and can put her on the same account as him. i adore her name and already have a whole customization in mind for her and she’s going to be super pretty.

i’ve mostly been hoarding names and figuring i’ll come up with character concepts later -- names i currently have that i have no use for yet are isolphi, serenede, goldbriar, lyrienn, melieu, avaarie, honorra, chryssanthe, and gnih. at least a few of them will probably get traded because i have character concepts for a baby aisha and halloween scorchio and neither of those names fit either. i am SO excited that they upped the pet limit because i need ROOM for all of these CREATURES

[synthaphone]

kikos have arrived... they are so cute and i love them

buddy collection

[beardycarrot]

Despite the 8-Bit Bruce and Uni being next on my to-do list, when the mood to redesign an 8-Bit pet hit me, it was the Ruki that I focused on. It looks fairly detailed and quite a bit more on-model than designs like the Koi or Scorchio at a glance, but if you stop and really look at it... well, let’s do just that.

You can tell that it’s a Ruki, just a big friendly... ant-centaur, but the charm of the original design can take it only so far. There’s a lot of weird but easy-to-overlook stuff going on here. First of all, the eyes are too far forward on the face, when they should essentially be on the sides of the head... and for whatever reason, they’ve decided to make the eyes solid yellow without any pupils. Weird.

The shading is, as is typical with bad 8-Bit pets, pretty damn random. I’m not great with shading myself, but why are there just random bits of highlighting here and there? The weirdest part of the shading is the background arm, which rather than just being darker shades, is actually using less saturated ones? Not only have I never seen that on another 8-Bit pet, it’s not even used anywhere else on the sprite; the pants, feet, and even the hand coming out of the de-saturated sleeve all use normal colors. Friggin’ weird, man.

There’s also a lot of questionable anatomy. The torso is really bulky in the shoulder area (despite the shoulders being a clearly-defined separate segment) with the neck on the front. Its hands have kind of a mini mantis claw thing going on, and while the front legs are okay, the feet and back legs look like a roughed-in first draft that got published my mistake.

The Ruki is significantly larger than other 8-Bit pets, presumably to fit in more detail... but they really don’t use the added space very effectively, resulting in a cluttered mess that looks passably like a Ruki, but doesn’t come close to the level of quality you would hope an official Neopet color would have. This is supposed to be the 8-Bit color, not the Artist’s Day Off color.

For my version, I made two designs: one the same size as the original, and one more in line with the sizes of other 8-Bit pets. See what I mean about the eyes being on the sides of the head? I’ve given them a sleeveless shirt to better show off their segmented insect arms, and posed them in a way that hopefully looks at least a little more natural than... whatever the original is doing. The arm covering that area also prevents the brown and red sections from being directly adjacent, which doesn’t look super great; separating them with blue makes it a lot more visually interesting.

As you can see, even at the scale of the smaller one, there’s room to give them individual fingers. You could argue that the original is a stylistic choice because 8-Bit is supposed to represent simplistic graphics... but then why the cuffs on the sleeves and the ugly, over-complicated shading? I decided to ditch the cuffs on the pants to make it look a little cleaner, since having four legs makes that area busy enough already.

I don’t have much to say about the small version... It’s just a bunch of minor adjustments to make the parts smaller and bring them closer together. I decided to make it green, because nearly half of all 8-Bit pets (and over sixty percent of the ones I’ve redesigned) are blue for some reason.

If you’d like to see the other 8-Bit Neopets I’ve redrawn, and a bunch of other pixel art-related stuff, you can find them in the spriting tag on my blog.

[warehousestevesworld]

3.7.18

koh Samui day 3

After the washout we experienced yesterday i was hoping the sun would make an appearance again today...oh and did it. By the time we left the room at 9.30am to go about our daily routine of searching for breakfast it was already over 30°c and scorchio! Once again we fancied somthing non Thai for breakfast, I could eat rice and noodles nearly all the time, but so far I aren't a big fan of it for breakfast! Give me some eggs, toast, and some fruit, throw in some tea or coffee and I'm sold. Only problem is, for some unknown reason the breakfast is so expensive here in Thailand ( By Thai standards anyway ) so if you want that escape from the Pad Thai or Fried then you have to pay for it.

After finishing off the breakfast, and just about managing to force down 😑 the smallest piece of bacon and sausage I had ever seen ( I just wouldn't have bothered putting any on! ) we left to collect our beach gear and top up the tan.

After enjoying a sizzling spot in the sun, and numerous dips in the big blue we decided to give in and escape the heat. I think we'd only been laid out for around an hour, only to discover when we got back to the room that I'd BBQ'd my back...and front...and patches of my legs..again. Sooo factor 30 just isn't doing the business, I'll have to reach for the PVA glue style factor 50🤣🙏🔥

After attempting to save my back from peeling off by applying enough Aloe Vera gel for a family of 4, we set off out for some sightseeing. We flagged down a songethaw ( Thai style open back taxi ) and told the driver our destination, agreed a price and were on our way.

The first stop was to visit the Big Buddha. The taxi dropped us outside the main gates and we walked down a long pathway alongside the sea until we saw a great golden statue rising high in the distance. We entered the grounds of the statue and witnessed the great man looming high over us. We took the time to observe the rules on how to dress, and removed our shoes when we needed to. We'd arrived around an hour before sunset so although still hot it was bearable, and the steps up to the Buddha were out of the sun and no longer red hot once we'd removed our shoes.

Once at the top of the stairs and standing beneath the statue, you really appreciate the sheer size of the creation. We both wandered around the area surrounding the Buddha, and took a moment of silence to just admire the work that had gone into creating such a thing, but also to respect the religious and spiritual significance of the statue.

We left the Big Buddha staring down at us, walked down the stairs and out of the exit towards the other of today's sights. Wat Plai Laem was about 15 mins walk away from the Big Buddha and immediately as we walked into the gates, the sight that greeted us was much more impressive than the last ( As impressive as it definitely was )

Wat Plai Laem is home to two large depictions of the Buddha, one of which is a 'Goddess' of no specified gender, and the other is a very fat laughing Buddha, whose size is believed to be down to 'Swallowing the sufferings of others.' This area was full of impressive buildings, craftsmanship, and definitely gave us the intended relaxed atmosphere it promised.

I even managed to get a glimpse of a group of monks leading a 'chanting' service/practice. The trip out had been hassle free and well worth it.

So on the way out we flagged down another taxi and got dropped off back in Chaweng centre where we stopped off at the Night Market for something to eat. After a wander around the place we both settled on some meat BBQ skewers that were delicious and dirt cheap!

We picked up some snacks on the way back ( Becoming an unhealthy routine 😆 ) and relaxed in the room for a while before the small matter of the football!!

I waited around until around 12.15am then left to pick up a bite to eat before going to a local Swedish bar for the England game. As it happened Sweden won the first of the nights knockout games and would be England's opponents in the quarter finals if we made it.

In typical England fashion we gave up a 1-0 advantage in the 93rd minute of a possible 95 minutes which forced the game into extra time....and then penalties. I just couldn't bare to watch as both teams missed chances and it came down to England needing to score to secure a win.. which they did!!! After my heart nearly pumping from my chest, I jumped around the bar giving high fives and shouting 'GET IN' at 4am..along with a fair few other words I won't mention😆 England won a penalty shootout for the first time EVER at a major tournament which is and was, just incredible to witness, well done boys!!👏👏👏👏👏