#i've got a post up in sales with em all in it

[taylor-titmouse]

SO i've mentioned it here in passing a few times that my day job is graphic novels, but i haven't much promoted anything because i was waiting to get closer to release, and also it's YA and about teenagers and not, you know. what i usually post about here. but now that the first book releases at the end of the month (Feb 25th!) i figured i should point you guys toward it! this is my ~debut~ in traditional publishing, a completely original work (in that i wrote and illustrated it myself) and, imo, very very good and you should get it.

right now until midnight 2/7 there is a sale on barnes & noble where if you use the code PREORDER25 you can get 25% off on a pre-order of it! i Highly recommend getting the hardcover, i just got a shipment of my comp copies and they're fckin gorgeous. but paperback and ebooks are also available.

anyway you're probably curious what it's about, so here's the sales copy!

A specter is haunting the Atlantic! After growing up together on the luxurious SS Lark, Neeta Pandey and Emery Botwright are ready to start their lives. Emery wants to follow in his father’s footsteps and sail the Lark forever, while Neeta yearns to travel the world. But neither will have any future at all if the Lark’s new owner, Mr. Honeycutt, has his way.   Mr. Honeycutt . . . The first-class passengers adore him, while he makes the ship a nightmare for the crew. Twisted by unnatural appetites, the rich are actually transforming into something less than human, and their insatiable demands soon push the staff toward a—quite literal— burnout.   Something otherworldly is undeniably aboard the SS Lark, something horribly hungry. But it’s not Wick Farley: vampire, secret agent, and paranormal investigator. Alone and at sea, with only Neeta and Emery to help him, he must uncover the truth about Mr. Honeycutt. And fast—before a ravenous craving for power consumes them all. 

i've been working really hard on this thing (first started developing it in 2019!) and it's super exciting to be able to hold it in my hands, and i want YOU to also hold it.

if you don't want to get it from b&n or miss the sale, you can also get it from bookshop.org, booksamillion, or just your local bookstore/library if you ask 'em. definitely do ask your library, that's still a sale for me!

anyway thank you for checking out this slight diversion from the usual fare. i'll try to have something more in line with the regular programming for tonight, but pwease buy my book :^) my first Real book :^)

[myangelhaven]

These are my recommendations of BANGCHAN fics! It will be updated once in a while for new stories I have read. Hopefully the links work (lemme know if it doesn't)

Credits to the authors!! All information written is taken from the authors' post and has not been modified. Reminder that some fics are NOT for minors, so please read the key and avoid 18+ contents.

HAPPY READING!!

KEY

[❀]: fluff [𖦹]: humour [𖤓]: angst [☄]: sad [☾]:smut [⟡]:smau [✮]: my favs

˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖✮----------BANGCHAN-----------✮˖⁺‧₊˚ ˚₊‧⁺˖

DRABBLES & SHORT FICS

[2:13am] by @thevampywolf [❀]

7:57am by @lotus-dly [suggestive]

bf!chan by @backtocarousel NEW

boyfriend!chris by @byuntrash101 [☾] NEW

Taxi by @thevampywolf [❀][domestic][establishedrelationship][slight suggestive] NEW

Untitled by @agi-ppangx [❀]

Misunderstanding by @pnutbutter-n-j-elyy [☄] NEW

corruption kink by @moonjxsung [❀][☾] NEW

Restraining order by @hyungszn [❀][☾][establishedrelationship]

tmt (too much tank tops) by @skeezsbbygirl [❀]

A love song and a confession by @lotus-dly [❀][𖤓][f2l]

Title track: I'll always want you by @lotus-dly [𖤓][fwb]

Love me, even in my darkest moments by @lotus-dly [𖤓][hurt/comfort]

ten things bang chan says when he thinks you’re asleep by @soobnny [❀]

Surprise shower by @ch4nb4ng [☾][cheating?] w/ Changbin as bf

Teasing Chan was fun, especially with Changbin being your boyfriend, but you become surprised when you feel Chan creeping up on you in the shower instead

Myth by @astraystayyh [❀]

Skimming across the edge of being friends and something more with Chan is a dangerous game. Even more so when you're both sharing the same bed.

Confessions of a dirty mind by @minisugakoobies [❀][☾]

The absolute last thing you want is for your roommate to find out just how much you want him. Right?

Let me let you go by @ppiri-bahng [𖤓][unrequited][hopeful ending]

You find out your best friend has a girlfriend and you haven’t been the same since. Angst, unrequited, hopeful ending

Stack by @seospicybin [❀][☾][establishedrelationship]

All bets are off for a game night with Bangchan.

Help me by @bchan95 [❀]

Based on Chan's recent bubble messages.....

(him telling stay "forgot to take off my lenses hahaha, take em off for me hahaha")

Pillow by @bambikisss [❀][☾][f2l]

You're a creature of habit: you did the same thing every night. However, it seems that Chris has different plans.

Always by @hee0soo [❀][idolau]

Request: Yes please, if you can maybe make a behind the scenes after bangchan got angry at the staff during a vlive , there is a video of it, I've been wondering what it would be like after the vlive and who would calm him down ? by @sclassstay

Confiscated by @kaciidubs [❀][sexual innuendos][establishedrelationship] 791

He was going a little too crazy on the new Fans app, and you would swiftly reign that energy back in.

Not your boyfriend! by @daaawnnn [❀] 928

after attending a christmas party hosted by jisung, you were waiting for your boyfriend to come pick you up. but what if you got approached by a stranger instead? or so you thought.

You're how I pray by @inniejeonginnie [❀][suggestive] 1k

chan lies about his love life to get a reaction from you, but to him you're not only a crush, but his entire heart, faith and adoration

Not For Sale by @thevampywolf [❀] 1.1k

Always here by @sulfurcosmos [❀][𖤓][establishedrelationship][suggestive] 1.1k

Our last dance by @iridescentxstars [❀][𖤓][☄][werewolfau][immortalau][death] 1.3k

chris lived a full life, a life better than he thought he would but everything must come to an end for those who are not immortal

Can't control myself by @cosmic-railwayxo [𖤓][unrequited love] 1.3k

Stuckinmybrain by @j-onedrabbles [❀][𖤓][☄][establishedrelationship][overthinking] 1.5k

listened to STUCKINMYBRAIN AGAIN by Chase Atlantic and decided i needed to write angst + anon requests: "Hi hi! Could I request a Channie comfort drabble/fic were the gf!reader starts to distance themselves from Channie because of a really believable dating rumor they found online involving him?"

Miss you by @moonchild9350 [❀][☾][idolau][establishedrelationship] 1.59k NEW

Chan is finally home after his trip to Milan for Fendi Men's Fashion Week and has a surprise in store for you.

Ours by @thevampywolf [❀][✮][sliceoflife] 1.6k

Slow down by @joyfulhopelox [☾] 1.6k

When We See it by @changbeanie [𖤓][❀][✮] 1.6k

Six years. Six years have gone by since the day you left. Six years later, Chan opens your present and relives all the memories made with you.

no title by @suskz [☾][swimcaptain!chan][secretrelationship] 1.8k NEW

Little Red by @dwaekkicidal [☾][sizekink][stomachbulge][teratophilia] 1.8k NEW

Against the World by @astralis-ortus [❀][𖤓][𖦹][✮] 2k NEW

for as long as i love you.

horny bunny by @minniesmutt [☾][predator/prey] 2k NEW

Just Once - Say Yes by @bandgie [☾][monsterfucking] 2.5k NEW

little bit of advice, take the dare by @cattolino [☾][r2l][mature] 2.1k

Corruption by @jonespicy [❀][☾][bff2l][virgin] 2.2k

Because it's love by @imagine-a-life-like-this [fwb][suggestive] 2.7k

it was supposed to be a no strings attached arrangement, but unfortunately for her, she fell in love with him, knowing that he had someone in his heart. but what if that person was her all along?

Dimple by @forlix [❀][𖦹][hurt/comfort][smut implied] 2.8k

incurable playboy turned doting boyfriend was a character development arc nobody saw coming for christopher bang, including (especially) his frat brothers.

Wish you would by @cb97percent [𖤓][☾][☄][✮✮][boyfriend's bff][hard yearning] 2.8k

He shouldn't love you, but he doesn't know how to make it stop.

Into it by @lixiesfreckless [❀][𖤓][☾][✮][car/drunk sex][mutualpining][besties] 3k

the california sunset looks pretty damn good when you're on the hood of Chan's car.

Junkie by @cb97percent [❀][𖤓][☾][rockstarau][heavy thirsting] 3.2k

Of course he has hundreds of fans screaming his name — he's a rockstar. The problem is something happens to him every time he's performing, and you just can't stop staring.

Corruption with chan by @tasteleeknow [❀][𖤓][☾][mafiaau] 3.2k

I really fucking like you by @thevampywolf [❀][𖤓][idolau] 3.4k

Zip by @cb97percent [❀][☾][✮][fwb] 3.4k

You and Chris' understanding of what "friends with benefits" entails is different than what is commonly accepted

Stay the night by @sulfurcosmos [❀][f2l] 3.4k

being awfully nervous when they're having a sleepover because they just worry their thoughts will be wandering when they're sharing a bed

Take me back by @loveliestfelix [❀][𖤓][✮] 3.7k

Venus fly trap by @seo--changbin [❀][☾][establishedrelationship][cncroleplay] 3.9k

The hello kitty fantasy by @hee-pster [❀][𖤓][☾][✮][e2l] 4k

with a roommate like Chan, everything in life is a challenge — especially studying for your finals. he’s an annoyance, a cacophony, a statue of arrogance who likes to lounge at home, nonchalantly undressed — half dressed, in the best case scenario. but he’s not impossible to reconcile with — for this once, out of pity, he agrees to a truce with you, though he has but one wish in return: a kiss, on the lips.

Dream you by @charmercharm3r [❀][𖤓][☾] 4k

He cheated on you— in your dreams, then took kiss it better too literally.

Pretty boy; bloody nose by @biteyoubiteme [☾] 4k NEW

you're a doctor at a hospital where Chan comes after a fight. 

Sweet by @tasteleeknow [❀][☾][brother's bff2l] 4.1k

you’re his best friend’s little sister. he’s obsessed with you, and you him. he has very good self control—until he’s forced to share a tent with you. forced proximity with corruption kink.

Third wheel by @cb97percent [☾☾][3some] w/(fem)hyunjin 4.1k

It would be wrong if you were attracted to one of your best friends since they are in a relationship, but you don't know what the protocol is when you have the hots for both of them.

Koala by @tasteleeknow [❀][𖤓][✮][roomates to lovers] 4.3k

your roommate is a very physically affectionate person, you’re not. after brushing him off over and over it takes him going on a successful date for you to realise maybe the thought of him touching someone else like he did you was worse than anything. clashing love languages, jealousy and mutual pining.

Better or Worse by @jl-micasea-fics [❀][𖤓][☾][☄] 4.7k

Married life is tough, and you’re approaching your limit. Can you rekindle the flames you once had with your distant husband? Or is it already too late?

Verbatim by @cb97percent [❀][☾][✮✮][fwb] 4.8k

You both have a libido control problem around each other as it is, but when you show up at the university building with glasses for the first time, Chris becomes the human embodiment of the word unhinged.

Unexpected Alpha by @kaciidubs [𖤓][☾][werewolfau] 4.89k NEW

When an overworked Chris forgets about his rut, you're quick to help him through it

Hatefuck with Chan by @ballelino [☾][𖤓][✮] 4.9k

your love-hate relationship with chan turns more into the former than the latter

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄more to come!⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄

☆--------Chan's masterlist || skz masterlist---------☆

[sturmovik]

Elden Ring: my new player experience so far

I finally picked up Elden Ring on sale after all these years. I knew it would be difficult for me as a casual gamer who's never played a FromSoft game before but I've been itching to try it out for years now. Here's what's happened to me so far:

(some early game spoilers btw. for those who want to visualize, my Tarnished is a Vagabond Knight that kinda looks like Saoirse Ronan)

The First Hour:

I struggled hard with the PC controls. Eventually managed to limp my way into a cave where I killed an angry dog man after dying to it like 3 times (skill issue + i'm not comfy with the controls yet). Only after all that did I rest at a grace site outdoors. That's when Melina appeared and said "You suck. Here's a horse."

Wandering:

I spend some time going around aimlessly, killing whatever small fry I run into to get my level up as much as possible. I was feeling confident so I decided to challenge the Tree Sentinel. I was most comfortable using the halberd and I read he drops a good one. As expected, I died multiple times. Eventually, Renna appeared and said "You suck. Here, use summons" (i still couldnt beat the tree sentinel)

WTF:

For the next 2 or so hours I accomplish nothing except killing more small mobs. At one of the ruin sites I massacre some unarmed... people(?) and then deal with some giant rats. A player message said the chest was a trap but I love Frieren and I know she wouldn't let that silly message stop her.

It was a teleport trap to some godsforsaken mine in a hellish death zone. Surprisingly I only died 3 times before I successfully escaped. During those three attempts I followed a phantom I saw jumping up so I also jumped up and followed that path upward (i'm in a mine, and the exits to mines are upwards duh), managing to juke the big monsters and kill one of the smaller ones that got in my way. I made it to a gate which I assumed was the escape/entrance route. I did it. Now I can get away on Torrent with some runes to spare!

To my horror, the gate opened to an isolated chamber, and a health bar appeared on screen with the words "FALLINGSTAR BEAST." I could only watch helplessly while my character was locked in an animation pushing the gate open to meet certain death. Fuck it, we ball. (there's no happy ending here, I suck at this game lol)

Turns out all I had to do was run downstairs a bit to get away.

The Erdtree:

I think there was grace in the mine but I didn't use it because I wanted to see where I ended up. I surveyed the red hellscape before me, and thought, "yeah this sucks I'm going back Limgrave." I mounted Torrent and began taking the scenic route back to greener pastures.

That's when I noticed that the Erdtree was much closer than before. So I decided to go for it. Let's head to the big tree and become Elden Lord! We fell off a cliff and died.

At this point, I have accomplished nothing but the multiplication of my own pain and suffering. Waking at the nearest site of grace, Melina appeared once again and spoke thus: "You're an idiot. Welcome to the Roundtable."

-- In summary, I feel like one of those absolute loser main characters in a fantasy/isekai anime that's stuck killing rats in some ungodly corner of the world trying to build up skills and power to eventually kill God. Idk if I'll ever get there because so far I am horrible at learning attack patterns and can't seem to time movement/dodging to save my life but so far the journey has been hilarious and I want to keep going.

(decided to post here cuz r/EldenRing automatically deletes this there. I read the rules and dont seem to be breaking any of them, even tagged spoilers and all. so fuck 'em. wassup tumblr)

[ringleaderising]

And while I'm making an obnoxious amount of posts, I've got these 4 up on the AH still! if they don't sell by the time I settle in to level fodder again I'll probably exalt 'em, the Sandsurge and Dusties have been around for a HOT minute now.

I'll l!nk my sales page in a reblog, the Dusties and fathom are 250, the surge is 200, all in gems, but if you'd like to buy for treasure/mixed currency feel free to message me!

[fox-bright]

Watching the H5N1 stuff get worse and worse--I'm hoping we have until late next year before it goes reliably human-human, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was this winter--and not being able to do much makes me anxious, so I've been composing lists of stuff to do. I keep thinking, if this were August, 2019, and I knew covid was coming, what would I prepare? If this one goes off like the scientists think it might, it'll be much worse than covid.

Right now, I'm concentrating on food. My plan is to have enough hunker down supplies by mid-September that if things go bad in the normally-scheduled October-February flu season, we'll be okay simply not leaving the house at all. There are only two of us here now, and if things go bad there may be as many as four (as I have two separate friends I'd push hard to come stay here with us), so I need to make sure we have 4 meals x howevermany days I choose. I'm building up to six months, but I'm beginning the plan at three. While a lot of Serious Prepper lists have pretty generous caloric allowances, the MFH and I eat pretty light, and we're both smaller than the average adult human, which does give us even more squeak room here.

We started out with dry staples--bread flour, AP flour, semolina, rice, beans, pasta, lentils, powdered milk--though I have still to get powdered eggs (I'll dehydrate those myself), more dry beans (I'm going to use up a lot of what we have when I do my canning run for the winter, and so far I haven't been able to get my hands on kidney beans in any decent amounts), quinoa, and one more kind of pasta. Right now we have about 2/3 of what I'd want; we'll be holding things at this level, replacing staples as we use them, and if things look more serious we'll do another big shop and give ourselves additional stock of the AP flour, the bread flour, the rice (which we already buy in 40-50 lb bags anyway, we're Asian), the dry milk.

Then there's the perishable stuff; yesterday, the MFH and I took advantage of some very nice sales and got seventy pounds of meat for two hundred and twelve dollars. Beef brisket for stew, pork butt for sweet molasses chili, ground beef for hotter chili, pork loin for white bean soup. Still have to get chicken (which was pretty much sold out at our bulk place) for chicken soup (to be pressure canned), chicken and mushroom cream soup (to be vacuum-packed and frozen).

Very very soon it'll be time to harvest my leeks and my butternut squashes, for leek and potato soup (either finished with cream, blended to a smooth-ish consistency and frozen, or *not* blended down, and just socked away in pressure-canned Ball jars without the cream added; will it take me longer to thaw it, or to take my immersion blender to the hot individual meals later on?) and canned butternut for baking with or making soup or chili or making pasta sauce.

I might can a bunch of just potatoes, too, to keep 'em shelf stable (plus that front-loads a lot of the work of producing a meal later).

So I need to buy onions and carrots and potatoes and celery and garlic and mushrooms and corn, cream, red wine, tomato paste (because my vines got blight this year, sigh--I've managed to can one single run of tomato sauce and that's IT), ten dozen fresh eggs to dehydrate and powder and store in the fridge in case of egg shortages, several pounds of beans to be thrown into the chilis and...hm...fifteen pounds more, twenty pounds more, to have on hand? And then for non-canning purposes we'll need butter, oil, white vinegar (I've used a lot of it for pickles this year), various Asian food staples like black and rice vinegars, oyster sauce, black mushrooms and so on. As for pre-made, mass-produced foods, I'll probably make another post about them later.

While this is more than I'd generally stock in a single season, I do generally put about 100 quarts of home-canned food by a year, and I never keep less than 75-100lb of flour on hand anyway because of how frequently I make bread. So though it sounds like a lot up front, it's not hoarder level; everything I stock will be eaten, some of it pretty much immediately (the beef stew is so good). And putting it all by now means that we'll be less of a burden on our community safety net, if push comes to shove. When the covid pandemic hit I had dozens of jars of food on the shelf already, which gave me a little peace when things were looking scary. We were able to share some of our stores with people who hadn't had the great privilege of long afternoons spent seeing to the personal stores. That's a better option, to my mind, than needing to panic-shop right as things start getting a little wild.

Basically, if things go bad, we'll have food for a while. And if things don't go bad, we'll have food for a while. It's win-win. And it keeps the floor under my feet when I'm feeling unsteady, to be able to sneak down into the cool, still basement and look at row on row of gently gleaming jars of food security.

[zeninsama]

ik u said u were going to an estate sale, did u find anything good? :o

wahhh yes i actually hit a few today and i found lots of good stuff! no pictures because i am too tired to unload the car right now but i will talk more about it under the cut for those who are interested ( ˆ𐃷ˆ)

so these are the only pictures i have right now! the first one is from the very first estate sale i went to this morning, dropped my bags at 6am and waited two hours which is standard for me. people tell me i'm actually insane for that but the joke is on them because the line was so long, the estate sale company ended up limiting the amount of people in the house at a time so i would've missed out on everything had i come any later. i like to be the first through the door at every sale because they are incredibly competitive here!

anyways i came for some ceramic kitties, chalkware mushroom plaques, and this big box of vintage frames in the garage and i left with all of that + more! lots of neat vintage towels and butterfly wall decor, super cool faux rattan mirror, etc. the little brass mouse on top is a little candle snuffer and is actually a bucket list item for my mom and i had no idea it was there, so i was really pleased to find it!

second pic was from a different estate sale on the complete opposite end of the valley, we actually missed the first day of this one because i've been dealing with serious burnout :') so i didn't even see it. missed out on a super cool space age mirror that i would've loved for my room but ughhh can't win 'em all. left with the cool butterfly hamper, mcm bench type thing with legs that doubles as storage, and it's not in the pictures but i also got a little wastebasket from there and another small frame.

the whole reason i ended up on the opposite end of the valley was actually to hit the pt. 3 of this sale from last year. one acre property with multiple sheds full of vintage and antique shit, hella records too but i do not deal in those nor do i even own a record player... again i missed the first day of this one but in my defense they didn't even post the listing until the night before. at least the overall selection wasn't as good as when i went before so i didn't feel like i missed out on anything incredible. left this one with a record for my mom, a snoopy coin bank, a little plastic wind-up woodstock, some earring holders, and cactus salt and pepper shakers.

all of this + two thrift stores in between where i picked up more neat stuff. overall it was a great day for finds!

[the-pyromaniacs-teki]

Rules: In a new post, list 9 books you're planning to read this year!

tagged by @verpineshatterrifle thank you verpine <3

1: The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce. yes it's a cheesy little series that i've read time and time again. four books one masterpiece. it's a great fantasy (and also a romance. bc tamora pierce can't help herself and has to make the girl fall in love with the mentor character every time)

2: Otherlands by Thomas Halliday. all about the ecosystems that came before us baybee! not just the megafauna, it's got plants and bugs and everything it's great. i've read... the introduction.

3: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold. it's about the 'canonical five' women killed by jack the ripper: specifically their lives BEFORE jack got to them, a look at the ladies instead of the killer, once again i have not read much

4: A World Undone by G. J. Meyer. it's about the Great War, ie WW1, and it's SO good. i haven't gotten very deep into it, maybe... a quarter? and i'll probably have to start over it's been a while. but it's such a good look at the events leading up to and during the war itself and the political climates etc

5: Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett. rereads again. what can i say im a sucker for granny weatherwax and vampires

6: The Art of War by Sun Tzu and translated by Samuel B Griffith. look technoblade quoted it a lot and it was on sale i gotta know what's up

7: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Starship gets shoved into a human body, has to learn how to do... everything... while out for revenge. sold, immediately sold, i haven't read it yet but SO SOLD-

8: The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall. Another reread but very good, it's a children's book about these little guys who live along a river called Minnipins and their super strict monoculture that doesn't allow for Differences but the ragtag group of Different People save the day, classic childrens book but it's done SO WELL. SO SO SO WELL. also i would die for Mingy. the grumpiest grump to ever grump (who has a heart of gold. of COURSE.)

9: The Murderbot Series by Martha Wells. I've read the first one, or at least I THINK it was the first one, and i'd really like to read the rest! There's a lot of em now tho i think, so that might be a little more daunting... but i'm up for the challenge (she lies)

tagging @smokeyloki @mookybear12404 @eyes-alight @schrodingers-blursed-kitty @lightblueminecraftorchid @akiragatr @thunderstruck-amanita

[tma-entity-song-poll]

Battle of the Fear Bands!

B5R2: The Lonely

2 Bed 2 Bath (And A Ghost):

“I can imagine this statement. Loneliness and Death, both sides missing the other. It’s beautiful.”

A Complete List of Fears Ages 5-28 (Approx):

“I mean this is the ultimate song for Jon and Martin in that cabin, that fear of losing the other and being left alone inside of it.”

Lyrics below the line!

2 Bed 2 Bath (And A Ghost):

The old man next door says his house is haunted He says a ghost keeps him awake I think he's having a hard time, to be honest Since his darling passed away

But he fears that a phantom Has finally found him… some nemesis that never quit holding a grudge The old man next door says his house is haunted It's best to be upfront with some tough love

I said Robert I'm so sorry Your house ain't haunted You're just not used to bein' alone Robert all the creaks and shifts are just the sounds you missed When you shared your home He says: no, no, no, no no no…

I've had some close calls with falling items I'm duckin' picture frames and dinner plates and all All my daily meds: I can never find 'em They're put in places that I never would've done And the furniture shifts and it caused me to trip I wake up with my pillow on my face every night It sounds silly but this house is tryin' to kill me Will you come see? Just stay with me? Just stay with me one time?

I said Robert I'm so sorry Your house ain't haunted You're just not used to bein' alone Robert all the shifts and creaks are just the signs of grief Now you're living on your own… But okay, I'll go…

And I can't help but feel absurd because nothing That I've heard from the downstairs room Is of paranormal origin, it's 4 am, this poor old man is just confused But wait I hear footsteps… on the stairs… They're gettin' louder and louder… Above me… They're stomping I pray it's just Robert until I hear him scream my name NEIGHBOR GUY!

And I go running up the stairs, jumping three at a time And I'm fully unprepared for the terrors I will find I burst into the room and by the light of the moon It's a ghost as real as both me and you

And it wasn't the butler that he sacked without cause Or that surly groundskeeper or that mafia boss Or his old business partner that he stabbed in the back Or the ghost of Christmas Future, Present or Past And it wasn't the guy from the mishap at the zoo Or that other guy from the other mishap at the zoo No, of all the spooky specters Robert wronged in his life The ghost floating between us was his darling dead wife

And she said Robert, I'm so sorry Didn't mean to scare you I'm just not used to bein' alone Robert, ya see, death's a one way street And I can't find my way back home Robert, I figured I'd just come getcha I thought a haunting might do the trick Robert, I'm sorry, I thought it'd be easier I don't remember you bein' this quick…

The old house next door's got a sign out front now A for sale sign tied to a post So, attention shoppers, you can make an offer On a 2 bed, 2 bath and a Ghost

A Complete List of Fears Ages 5-28 (Approx):

Here's a compete list of everything I've ever been afraid of From the age of five to, oh, let's say just the other day Maybe things I misremember, maybe things I just forgot But as far as I can figure, this is pretty much the lot Make of it what you will, make of it what you will

'Cause it's birds and heights and movie credits Crowds and puppets, dying in a fire Being washed right out to sea Losing all of my front teeth Being buried half-alive Bugs that burrow deep inside Wild dogs, and things like that Domesticated mice and rats Not all of them, just their feet Or that my whole life could be sleep Ferris-wheels and certain blues Oh, but mainly losing you These days mainly losing you

And here's a picture of the house I'd like to build for us someday This may seem unrealistic, I'm not very good with my hands If he had to we could buy it, or keep renting like we do Borrow money from our parents, pool our money, me and you All we need's four walls to hold us, and a roof to keep us dry A bed big enough to sleep in as I roll around at night Keep us sheltered from the darkness, and the things that lurk outside And this growing sense of distance that keeps building in my mind

Keep us safe from birds and heights and movie credits Crowds and puppets, dying in a fire Being washed right out to sea Losing all of my front teeth Being buried half-alive Bugs that burrow deep inside Wild dogs, and things like that Domesticated mice and rats Not all of them, just their feet Or that my whole life could be sleep Ferris-wheels and certain blues Oh, but mainly losing you These days mainly losing you These days mainly losing you

But if night should fall, I know, I know we'll just keep reaching after all Keep on streching towards the light and keep on staying up all night And as we reach the end, we'll say, "There's gonna be another day" Keep on reaching towards the light and keep on staying up all night And as we reach the end, we'll say, "There's gonna be another day"

And it's birds and heights and movie credits Crowds and puppets, dying in a fire Being washed right out to sea Losing all of my front teeth Being buried half-alive Bugs that burrow deep inside Wild dogs, and things like that Domesticated mice and rats Not all of them, just their feet Or that my whole life could be sleep Ferris-wheels and certain blues Oh, but mainly losing you These days mainly losing you These days mainly losing you

And it's birds and heights and movie credits

[lorablackmane]

Homebound AU

Hi there, welcome to my silly lil Welcome Home AU! It's a pretty simple little au, but it's one I've had a lot of fun with.

Essentially the idea is: what if Home & Wally were actually the same character? After another neighbor moves out of Home it gets the brilliant idea to make a neighbor to be it's resident. Something as we know from Frankenstein is a pro gamer move with no consequences!

...I'm lying of course it had consequences and those were it accidentally trapped itself in the body it made from the rug. Eventually they figure out how to switch between the two but it takes a moment bc the bodies are fundamentally different. I made a lil edit below the read more of em (the pic was bigger than I realized)!

Home!Wally fun facts:

Home!Wally's pronouns are he/they/it

This Wally didn't originally have anything on it's shoes - he saw how Barnaby's paws would leave lil hearts as he walked and rlly liked that so one night he added the apples so he'd leave his favorite thing (besides the neighbors of course!) everywhere it went

This Wally loves apples not only bc they were some of the 1st things he ever got from the neighbors, but they also come in a lot of the colors it does. A lot of the books he's bought from Howdy are about orchards or different apple types

His ribbon is actually originally part of the rug it made this body out of, he added the strings of beads later with each color representing one of it's neighbors.

All the colors besides his skin tone comes color picked from Home, the skin tone was taken from the main Wally drawing on the website

Wally often talks to himself, a trait from when it'd spend months without anyone staying with it

While they stay in the Wally body often, if they aren't feeling up to interacting or just want a quiet day they'll stay in it's Home form

They love music because it makes them think of their neighbors! A lot of the records in their living room were ones left behind by the others, and they'll play them and sing along while making something for whatever neighbor left that record behind.

Home!Wally sometimes uses mobility aids like canes, especially near the start of having their Wally body since moving was hard for him. 

Despite their flower accessories Wally actually has pretty bad hay fever. It was a common joke that Barnaby's fake water gun flowers could even cause his hay fever to act up 

They have a pretty large catalog of potpourri recipes in their head. No it absolutely doesn't help their hay fever - especially when they add things like cinnamon. Yes they'll still make them in spite of this fact because they smell nice!

They like reading books in both forms! Sometimes they get worried about how little they know about things, but luckily the Bodega has a lot of books for sale. As home they push the pages with their drapes

They're not very good with art, but they try their best. He instead opens episodes with books connected to whoever's teaching the lesson they're learning (ex. a book about Shakespeare when he'll be going to Sally or a book about beetles or another insect when visiting Frank). Each friend has their own shelf of books!

That's all I have for now! I do have a fanfic written for it, but I need to finish editing it so it'll go up tonight. Thank ya for reading: have a boi.

Special thanks to @kindestegg for drawing this silly lil version of my boi!

Here's the edit because I didn't realize how big it was before making this post:

[clowncryptids]

Welcome to The Cryptid's Eye (pack)!

This is a new intro post to my Pack in Wolvden! Sorry it has taken so long to post this... i literally just forgot to make this.

For those who want to know who I am on Wolvden: My Pack's name is "The Cryptids Eye Pack" and my player name is ClownCryptids ! my user number is #119087

Some basic info on how I've been playing so far:

I've decided to go with a "Pagan" (mostly Gaelic) name theme for my wolves, bec I feel like those kind of names fit wolves really well! (I've just been using a Pagan baby name site to name them heh)

I really like cool eyes and I want to collect lots of them! Hence the "Eye" in my pack name!

I am going to try to go for a mostly "clean" (not inbred) pack, though I may still have some dirty wolves if i like em enough (cough Rune cough)

Now onto the Wolves!

This is my pack leader Eun! He's pretty boring bec he was my first wolf.. but im emotionally attached to him now. I would love to give him a new base tho!

This is my current Stud and Herbalist Orrin! He is sooo pretty lookin <3 I haven't really used him much for stud tho.. I like getting studs from outside of the pack! Plus Orrin isn't actually that special genetically :P

This is Darragh my Mentor! I bought her bec she was cheep and a high level with maxed out Finisher proficiency but ive decided she has a curse that makes it so she always looses prey... bec of this she has been made a Mentor LOL (She does have great luck in babies tho bec she gave me a pie pup, love her for that <3)

Next up we have Geir and Lachlan! I bought them at the same time as Darragh bec they too had high levels and maxed out hunting proficiencies! They aren't very fancy but they do their job well and I appreciate them for that.

My Teardrop base boy Erwynn! He's a Scout because he has an asshole personality so he would piss off the rest of the hunting party. He is so pretty tho I love the teardrop base sm <3

Imogen! Im pretty sure she's my highest stat girl! She too was bought alongside Darragh for the same reasons as the other hunters! She actually has a maxed out chaser prof i think, but I switched her to a finisher to replace Darragh and she is so good at it (probably bec of her high stats)! Also I think she is very pretty :3

Eirene, my second wolf I got in the game! She's the pack member I got to customize! Im probably gonna keep her around just for sentimentality <3 She is currently one of the hunting party's chasers!

Larimar! My second Scout! I got him as a gift!!! I wanted himb for his cool eyes, he looks so spooky <3

This here is my problem child Rune! I bought him with the plan for him or one of his pups to be the next stud... but I didn't check for inbreeding first... he has 7 instances LOL. Im keeping him bec he's so pretty, the colors just looks so nice ...

The twins! Seila and Sloane! I bought them in the same trade, I really only wanted Sloane but I decided to keep Seila around for a wile! they both have just had their first litters (of which I will be selling all pups from lol) and after Seila's pup is weaned she will be for sale!

Wraith! One of the first wolves I bought! I got her for the eyes <3 She just recently grew up! She's the first wolf Ive had from puppy to adult hood hehe. She is currently expecting puppies! exiting!

Daemon! I bought her shortly after I bought Wraith! She also just grew up and is pregnant as well! I may sell her if I get some better eclipse eyed pups from her... but Im keeping her for now!

Eskel, my beautiful Pupsitter! I bought him for the looks but I found out he's got maxed out Pupsitting so that was a big bonus!!! gosh he's so pretty... one of my faves for sure.

Guinevere! This is Darragh's Pie pup! she is so pretty omg... I REALLY wish I could get the Fox base applicator for her bec she would look sooo good with it!!

Like.. look at this... gosh I want it so badddd

This here is my trans boy Rikke! I have decided he's a boy... and soo he is now <3 He's a Mojave base wolf and MAN I love the tier 3 bases ough I want them all!

My other twins Eirlys and Aoife! If anybody want's Eirlys (the green one) I will sell her to u! I think Imma just keep Aoife!

Here's Sigred and Quillan! they are pretty simple but I really like their look! they are gonna be in my next hunting party!

aaand finally Saoirse! my 3rd pie! I bought her after realizing Rune was super dirty lol, Saoirse's clean!! She's so pretty I lov her

And that's it, excluding some of the puppies I have for sale!

[happymetalgirl]

Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden

Sleep Token seems to be the first thing that's really got the metal world talking this year; it's certainly noteworthy that it's the first thing that's got me talking here during this busy year. I didn't do a year-end list last year or even shout-out my favorite albums (which I still should), but after all the lead-up to this album and all the spicy discussion and hype surrounding the band and after finally hearing it in full, I felt motivated to dust off the blog and say in way more words what I'm sure someone else has already said somewhere.

There are a lot of opinions on this album and this band, and they are very much a love ‘em or hate ‘em kind of band, especially with this new album. There’s a very obvious comparison that's been drawn with regard to the hype (some of which I would agree with the haters does seem pretty artificial) around Sleep Token being the next big thing in metal and the more traditionally-minded metalheads being very resistant to them. And that comparison is Ghost. There are definitely parallels there: the anonymity, the lore, Loudwire creaming themselves over them. The comparison to Ghost makes sense on those grounds, and despite the loud minority of haters, after 5 albums and a decade of continuous meteoric rise in sales and increasing venue sizes, Ghost has undeniably won. They did become the next big thing. So, is Sleep Token destined to the same auspicious fate? Are they the next big thing?

The problem with the comparisons to Ghost is that Ghost kicks ass.

I won't bury the lead any longer, this album is way overhyped. I've said it plenty, but I'll say here again just to re-emphasize, I'm no puritan; I like metal adventurous, bold, experimental, unafraid to eat of supposed forbidden fruits like hip hop or pop music, which is clearly the ethos Sleep Token are going for. And on paper, a bold fusion of progressive metal, modern R&B, and swaggering pop music is definitely intriguing, and I'd love to hear what that sounds like someday, because that's not what we got from Sleep Token on this album.

What Sleep Token presents themselves as being what they actually do on record are two rather different things. Sleep Token's primary selling point as the next phenomenon apart from the pseudo-mystical lore and anonymity is the uniqueness of their sound. They do get credit for the uniqueness of the list of ingredients, but a unique sound they do not. And that's because they have several individual sounds that they bounce back-and-forth among, and none of them are at all unique. The handful of modern post/prog-metal sections don’t vary much from each other and aren’t really stylistically unique on their own or even that exhilarating. Most of the time we get either middling rock instrumentation, which is effectively background noise and nothing more than filler stopgap material, or tacky synth pop or trap beats. Neither are made any more evocative by the superficial addition of the synthetic orchestral elements that get peppered into the track list.

There are a lot of various gripes about the album from the haters, and some of it I don’t mind. I don’t mind the R&B-styled vocals, overdone as they can be in some places. I don’t mind (most of) the lyrics, obtuse as they can be. I don’t even mind the clean, polished production too much, but it is compressed to all hell and it doesn’t help with the nonsensical dynamics of a lot of these songs, which leads me to my biggest problem with this album. The compositional direction across the board, from the straightforward post-metal slow-builders to the tacky pop tunes, is aimless and clumsy.

It is so obvious even on the first cursory listen that Sleep Token did not really put much into constructing this album beyond the broad ideas, cutting corners on pesky tasks like song-writing thinking the supposed novelty of the sound would carry the project on its own. Yet for all its commitment to modern R&B, there’s hardly any of the actual cool or sensual appeal there that the band is kinda hinting at. For all the artificial bombast, this album washes over as mindlessly as your average atmospheric-djent/alt-metal project. And for its “bold” implementation of modern pop elements and stylings, of which there is quite a lot, there’s almost none of the basic compositional pop sensibility or even the reluctant memorability of pop music, which leads me to what my other big problem with Take Me Back to Eden, the way they approach pop music.

I’ve been critical in the recent past of the forays into modern pop by the likes of Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, and Bad Omens, not on principle, but just because they tried too hard to fit into the radio-friendly mould that so often led them to awkwardly imitating the likes of Imagine Dragons, Bon Iver, or god-forbid Maroon 5 to make sure their pop-crossover intentions flew over like a lead balloon. And it led to dull song-writing to accommodate the signaling of the intent for a broader appeal. But for all my criticisms of those bands, at least they still tried to bring over some of their performing vigor to their style. Sleep Token, however, overplay their hand on a superficial, overdone swagger that has nowhere near the stamina needed for the 64-minute album they present, and the result is over an hour of awkward toggling between imitative pop-R&B on autopilot and generic alt-flavored post-metal on autopilot.

It’s been said by others and it’s gonna make me sound like such an “elitist” when I say it too, but it’s true, this thing arguably hardly a metal album. Sometimes you’re waiting through several minutes of flubby R&B crooning and trap high-hats until halfway through for distorted guitars to kick in on songs like “Ascensionism” or “Granite”, which sounds like if Five Finger Death Punch were to try their hand awkwardly at an swaggering R&B ballad for the first 2/3rds. And sometimes when the guitars finally do show up after the generic synthetic pop beats, they’re a dull, faint drone under all the other instruments like on “Rain”, the drawn-out title track, and possibly the worst offender: “Are You Really Okay?”. The closing track, “Euclid”, probably integrates the band’s advertised styles the most fluidly, which is to say, not very; the band toss in some choppy bursts of distortion awkwardly into the rest of the otherwise sappy piano-pop ballad.

Sometimes it’s just straight up pop music. And I don’t mean the simple sugary fun kind of pop music. I mean the mind-numbing, practically AI-generated kind of pop music: the kind that inattentive listeners think is fine, the kind that makes people who actually listen to pop music want to pull their hair out (and consequently also repels most metalheads like skunk spray). I criticized BMTH for this on amo (“Medicine” and “Mother Tongue” gave me flashbacks to being trapped listening to top 40 radio at work). And Sleep Token aren’t any more convincing on their more holistic attempts at pop music. I’m amazed that so many metalheads have seemingly unquestionably eaten up what they otherwise would probably spit right out if fed to them not by a nominally metal band.

For example, “Aqua Regia”: it sounds like Imagine Dragons, and when I say Imagine Dragons, I don’t mean when they’re belting out ridiculously like on “Natural” or on “Believer”; I mean when they’re on their waiting in line in the grocery store kinda shit like on “Thunder”. And then there’s the directionless minimalist electro-pop of “DYWTYLM” that completely wastes 4 minutes on something I could only imagine Adam Levine forcing his audience to sit through. It’s the mindless pop melodrama on songs like this and the more spacey sections of other tracks that make the whole vessel-for-some-deity-named-“Sleep” lore thing seem really goofy. Like come on, this deity is communicating through you via vague pop love songs? I guess that tracks given the kinds of scriptures that the major Abrahamic religions running the world enjoy endlessly re-interpreting in their political favor.

I’ll take a break from the negativity and give the band some points where they earned them. For as overly theatrical as they can be, Vessel is a good vocalist and I hope that none of the critique regarding the vocals leads to any kind of shy retreat into a shell of comfort and decreased expressiveness just to play it safe in the future; I definitely prefer the more over-the-top deliveries on the album to the dry, monotonous mumbling sections. The rest of the band prove their instrumental chops too on the few chances they get to make it count within the heavily washed-out tracklist. Cliché as they are, I love a good down-tuned djent breakdowns, and this album’s breakdowns are okay, albeit pretty damn generic and often truncated. But often they’re just kinda tossed onto the tail end of a song they make little sense in the context of and not enough to get me more into those songs.

As far as highlights in the tracklist, there is a scant handful of moments more so than complete songs that show some clear (or wasted) potential. “Chokehold” opens the album pretty well with some tasty industrial grooves that unfortunately doesn’t get built upon as much as it should have, and “Vore” is a pretty decent post-metal-centric cut with some fast drumming and screams to defibrillate you from the past 2 tracks’ induced coma. And apart from the Ivan Moody-esque ballad-y vocal melody on the chorus, it’s a pretty soaring piece of modern alternative metal. In spite of its slightly excessive length, “Ascensionism” is also one of the more really dynamic and heartfelt alt-metal cuts on the album, and the bursts of metallic instrumentation are actually efficacious and feel intentional on this song.

Though it’s unfortunately the only one on the album, “The Summoning” is a genuinely well-rounded, fleshed-out, solid, and ethereal progressive metal song from beginning to end, including the bass-y groove rock outro. Granted, it does kinda just sound like a TesseracT song, but it’s the one song that both encapsulates prog-metal and seems like there was actual work put into the finer details rather than just a vague idea of the broader composition.

Even on this track though, there’s not really as much of an actual meshing of styles as there is the stacking of styles next to each other, which doesn’t make me optimistic for Sleep Token’s future since they’ve clearly decided their path forward is going to be leaning into being the pop-alt-R&B-prog-metal band phenomenon, when a more standard prog-metal route has produced (and seems like it still would produce) the better results for them. Hell, they’re plenty eccentric enough to carve out a pretty enviable niche in the prog metal landscape and stand a head or two taller than the rest of the crop too. Unfortunately carving out that niche might be a tedious process with no guarantee of success, and with all the attention they’re receiving for what they’re doing now, I doubt they’ll change course.

For all its novelty, Take Me Back to Eden did not hit for me, and that's because its eccentricities are superficial, its composition is heavily style-over-substance, and its "genre-blending" is clumsy and unappetizing. I do think the novelty will wear off before this time next year for all the people hailing this album as a masterpiece, and I hope I'm right about that not just because I like being right or because I want to stick it to over-enthusiastic fans in some snooty/critic kind of way. I just don't want the next big thing in metal to be something that sounds so lazily calculated to pander superficially to the lowest common denominator. I do still have some faith in the sort of meritocracy that is the ears of the people, and the penchant for discovery the metal community still has; the most influential and iconic advancements of the genre continue to emerge out of nowhere rather than being heralded in on a silver platter by a media parade. Think the djent revolution that Meshuggah spurred, or the blackgaze revolution that Deafheaven kicked into full gear, or the surprise revival of deathcore that launched Lorna Shore from C-listers to the top of the game.

When it comes to the publicity that any band gets, especially from the big publications that effectively serve as advertising wings of major labels (hence major publications pretty much never giving major releases less than a 7/10 even if those releases are objectively trash, like Nightmares of the Decomposed), that stuff is shallow and most listeners are privy to it. Like any hype train that’s given a big boost on novelty fuel, eventually Sleep Token will have to run on their own, and I think that once the high wears off, a lot of people will realize it was all just gas. But it does still frustrate me that these pop crossover attempts get boosted and talked up like they’re the acts that are keeping metal alive, like the groveling act of making metal on the terms of fleeting pop trends is what needs to be done to keep metal alive and relevant. That’s lazy and weak and it hasn’t ever been what put metal into people’s ears in the past either, not for thrash, not for grunge, not for nu metal, hell not even for glam. The broader pop music sphere caught wind of what was happening and reached out because they wanted what metal was doing, not the other way around. Metal is a genre built on an ethos partly of exhilarating power, and I don’t think that power should be ceded so much to the volatile trends of the day.

To be honest, I guess it makes me a little worried… Pop music has historically come to metal, seeing all sorts of weird, new, exciting, visceral stuff worth trying to emulate and boost. But now it seems like there’s this big push for metal to go the other way, like it’s out of ideas, like there isn’t any more the genre has left to offer, and like it’ll die out without reaching out to the reliable appeal of pop. It’s been a pretty slow year so far, this is the first thing I’ve talked about and the most discussed album of the year so far, by far. Is this the most exciting thing to happen in metal this year? Is this really the best thing we have to offer? Fuckin’ Sleep Token? I hope not.

3/10

[ufonaut]

do you have any reccomendations for places to buy comics in london ?

DO I!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'VE DEDICATED MY LIFE TO IT!!! here's a bunch of my faves in no particular order:

forbidden planet - the london megastore is said to be the biggest comic book shop in the uk (it's pretty damn big!) and my go-to place for weeklies. they don't have back issues unless you're looking for something that's a couple months old at the very best but they do have tons of merch/toys of all kinds, crazy sales, trades like you wouldn't believe and general books. practically my home away from home, i'm at forbidden planet pretty much every wednesday to pick up new releases. also: very frequent free signings with some of the biggest names you can think of!

gosh! comics - home of the indie comics & weeklies, gosh! is a couple streets away from fp in soho and probably one of my favourite places to waste an hour or two in. the good folks at gosh! still believe in zines and they've got plenty of them, as well as comic mags of the british & american variety, comic theory & history, pretty decent sales on trades, and a huge supply of back issues downstairs. their back issues are what i consider pricey (£3-10 range) but they're remarkably well organised and well stocked. this is the place to be if you wanna move away from the big two or towards the history/study side of things, and they've got very frequent signings too!

the notting hill comic exchange - just around the corner from the notting hill gate tube station, this is probably my favourite place in the world for back issues. you can find any indv issue youve ever dreamed of for 50p - £1 at the exchange and they've got boxes & boxes of 'em, especially now that the shop has extended into the notting hill book exchange next door and there's a couple beautiful beautiful cheap boxes in there too. they've also got comic collections (indv issues of an arc in one bag), comic-related books, adult comics, magazines and trades at less reasonable prices (for my standards, anyway) but it's heaven for back issues!

a place in space - a little ways away from the croydon shopping centre, a place in space has alphabetized boxes of individually priced back issues and weeklies as well as trades and action figures. while they don't have any designated cheap boxes, the prices tend to be fantastic (£1-5) and they've been remarkably well-stocked every time i've been there, especially if you're looking for modern age anything (nineties especially). i'm not a very frequent visitor solely because i can almost always be found around leicester square/central london but man, if i don't just love this shop!

krypton comics & books - a five min walk from the blackhorse road tube station on the victoria line, krypton comics started as a small stall in camden market back in the eighties and has since become a wonderful little shop with amazing prices. while they don't seem to employ any sort of method of organizing... anything, they've got about ten boxes filled to the brim with 50p comics and you better believe i've spent many an afternoon digging through those & walking away with some incredible stuff! they're only open three days per week so better check the website before visiting but trust me, it's as worth it as it gets!

mega city comics - over in camden and literally across the street from the tube, mega city has back issues & weeklies as well as tons of non-western comics. they're a little pricey for my taste and often tend towards silver age rarities but there's discount boxes as well and it's definitely worth a look if you're in the area!

a moment of silence for orbital comics and 30th century comics, which were once the loves of my life and have gone online post-lockdown, and a honorary mention to piranha comics in bromley. i would also recommend checking out the london comic mart, which is held once every two months at the royal national hotel in russell square and has quite literally 100+ booths with 25p/50p/75p back issues of all eras (the literal highlight of my entire life, obviously)! local charity shops such as most oxfam locations also carry comics for incredible prices, and i've definitely gotten a good chunk of my collection from the one down the street from my place.

so, that's pretty much it! i hope i've helped a lil, enjoy!!!!!!

[quetzlepretzel]

Videos Games #1, 7/30-8/5

I've always wanted a place to blab about whatever random game I'm playing. Livetweeting didn't work out, but maybe something like this will? If you don't want to see these posts, please block/filter the tag: #quetzlegaming

Games from this week: Pokemon Polished Crystal, Fool's Gold, Infinite Fusion. Palia MMO, and House Flipper (I fucking LOVE Johto)

Pokemon Polished Crystal

I've got two badges and I just hit Goldenrod! Been loving all the upgrades this hack added to the main game: most HGSS stuff like Lyra, Proton, etc, mild "alt colors" for pokemon based on their DVs (you can see it most clearly in my slightly green Furret there), expanded route maps and hidden grottos... Oh there's in game wonder trade too! That's how I got Skarmory and Clefairy. The last egg there is the Odd Egg, still wondering what 'mon I'm gonna get from it. Pokemon Fool's Gold

Wild looking, ain't it? Fool's Gold is a bit like... if every pokemon in Johto was a "regional form", including its OG cast. From left to right, that's Pidgeotto, Jolteon, Wartortle, Quilava, Corsola, and Houndoom. (Pidgeotto and Quilava are shiny, too.) (Yes I'm playing with the built in shiny code active). They're a pretty great team, have carried me through six badges. 🥰 Literally every pokemon is different, and I've loved playing through the game and seeing familiar faces with a fresh coat of pixels. Pokemon Infinite Fusion

I went with a bit of a theme, obviously. Can you guess it? Can you guess all my favorite pokemons just from looking at one image? Jokes aside, I kind of loved how this team turned out in the end. Two witches and their familiars uwu. I played on the most chaotic randomizer settings, and I lucked out with it being generous with the eeveelutions. I beat IF this week, clearing Mt. Silver on Thursday. I know there's still some postgame stuff to do and I may get back to it eventually, but I think I'm ready to shelve the game for now. Some of the route design got hecka frustrating by the end. Man, I love Johto. Palia MMO

I got in on the open beta this week! Just finished building my starter home last night. Really love the art style and environment design in this one, and goooosh the townsfolk are so cute. I already want to marry Jel. It's really scratching that farmer game itch, and I'm sure once they implement more minigames and areas to explore, I'm gonna get totally obsessed. Hopefully they'll have controller config set up for PC by full release, cuz my wrists are BEGGING me to play less KB+M games. Speaking of... House Flipper No pics for this one. I'm still in the early stages of the game where I only fix homes, not buy and flip 'em for sale, so I ain't got shit to show off. But GOSH it's like if they took AC's happy home paradise, mashed it with powerwash sim, and made a game *just* for me. It's so cathartic- at least when I'm not yelling at my customers for making TERRIBLE decisions that strip away any and all character in the home (yes, I'm complaining about the Michael B. job, you're a MONSTER sir/ma'am/they'm). Looking forward to making my first barbie dreamhouse at a later date.

[alex-rambles]

You were locked in your basement?? Btw, if you do move, perhaps hide your phone in like your clothes or pocket as you’re wearing them. Trust me, it��s easy and they won’t suspect to look through the clothes you’re wearing and if you have to change clothes or whatever, just hide your phone again in the current clothes you’re wearing or even inside of your shoe. If you have a binder, it’s perfect to hide your phone inside of there.

This is a very long post that I made to explain my situation + it's a vent

Nonono not locked. I just meant my parents made me be down there with them. Yeah no when I said "trapped in my basement" I just meant with my family cuz the tornado sirens were going off don't worry. It was just kinda annoying.

I appreciate the help, but my secret device is actually a tablet they got me a year ago, and FORGOT PARENTAL CONTROLS, because my stepdad was setting it up and he is not familiar with the type of tablet it is. They thought they threw it away (I had two of em. One was much more monitored because it was from when I was little. They are just these Amazon Fire Tablets, and they thought they threw both of em away, because when they were cleaning out the closet they couldn't find it, and just assumed they threw it away earlier. I got lucky).

Lucky for me, it was actually in my room. The one my stepdad set up. The unmonitored one where I can browse the internet as I please and check out whatever website I want. The only thing was that I couldn't download any apps I didn't already have, as my mom would get a notification because of how the Amazon App Store worked.

I can probably put it in a backpack, but the wifi would have to change and they'd probably notice the tablet on the plan or whatever, and the tablet doesn't use cellular data.

My actual PHONE is monitored. It's an android with this silly google family link thing on it, and my parents (technically my stepdad, he's the one in control) can easily go into the app on THEIR phones, and check my screen time, and every app I have on it (and I can't even download an app without my stepdads permission. If I try to get an apk from the internet and install it, the thing blocks it), as well as what websites I've gone too recently.

HOWEVER, on the subject of checking websites, they can only see what websites I browse on google chrome. My phone came with another Samsung Internet browser, and on THAT, I can open an incognito tab (dubbed Secret Mode). But I have to be sparing with that because my parents will notice I was using Samsung Internet a lot if I use it too much, and then whoops, that'll get monitored too.

So basically, if we move, I lose what is basically my only lifeline, the only reason I'm politically aware, and the only resources I have as a trans person (my parents have offered groups, but I'm too socially awkward. I absolutely prefer face-to-face communication, yes, but with people I know, thanks. If I don't know you, let's just chat through Tumblr or QuoteV, yeah?). That's a problem.

But it's fine, we live in an expensive area because we got lucky when we moved in two years ago. And they said they will only move if we can stay in the same school district. So, fingers crossed, everything is too expensive. Lots of houses going up for sale around here, but they're all too expensive or not the conditions my parents want or need.

TLDR I already have a monitored phone, my secret device is a tablet, my parents never allowed me on social media because 'it's not safe' and they think I can't take care of myself, and if we move I lose the social media because of needing to switch wifi, which is big bad because it has been supporting me and keeping me entertained

[ask-bluesman]

Marker doodles & new blog

It's been a while! (It's always "been a while"!)

I got to try alcohol-based markers for the first time. Doodled some stuff while listening to entire Pizza Tower soundtrack. Can you tell?

I've been curious about markers for a hot minute, but didn't necessarily want to invest in a new art supply and dragged my feet for the longest time. I finally bit the bullet during the Black Friday and Holiday sales. Sort of hoped I wouldn't like them, so they wouldn't take up my space or resources the same way watercolour stuff does. But for better or for worse, I quite love 'em!

First, the pros! I totally get why markers are very popular with so many artists. I definitely won't say they don't take a good while to master, but they are so easy and intuitive to use. Fun as heck too. Virtually all you need is a piece of paper & a good set of markers and you're ready to go. I really dig their clean, flat and graphic look. And they dry super quickly, my watercolour-programmed mind is constantly left pondering what kind of sorcery is that, haha. Same thing would take me a lot longer to paint!

Now, the cons. The amount of colours you need to be able to draw somewhat freely is astronomical. Even then, that particular colour you need may still be just "close enough" - whereas with watercolour, a good set of 12 or 24 colours will give you access to hundreds of hues. Markers don't mix the way paints do. They aren't super precise as they always bleed a little. They also aren't lightfast & fade rapidly when exposed to sun. And ouch, a big one for me: they can smudge the lineart pretty easily. You oughta be cautious!

The final verdict is that I still very much enjoy the rascals. I doubt anything will ever be able to dethrone watercolours for me, though! The champion remains unchallenged, yet markers have (thankfully) finally found their way into my little heart.

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Oy! I also made a second blog for lesser quality posts... ahem, personal posts. They will probably be mostly about games, animation and maybe occasionally some random scribbles that aren't related to my characters. Either that or the blog will be promptly abandoned like 99% of everything I do, lmao. Click here to visit it!

[peeporoons-notes]

back —— next [GLD] [PGL] [THM]

MSQ 1.0 [Ul'dah] — Close to Home

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⚫ Close to Home

📖 Description — Lv. 1 Momodi, the proprietress of the Quicksand, wants you to perform three tasks that will help you learn the fundamentals of adventuring.

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Momodi "Before you go chargin' off to find your fortune, I've a few basic tasks I'd like you to perform so as to help you get to know the place.

First of all, I want you to visit the aetheryte plaza. To get there, head west from here till you reach Emerald Avenue, then look to the north. You should see a giant, floatin' crystal called an aetheryte.

If it weren't for aetherytes, travelin' around Eorzea would be a damn sight more troublesome than it is. 'Course, you still need to attune with 'em before you can use 'em, so be sure to do that with the one in the plaza. You ever attuned with an aetheryte before, FN? If not, just lay your hand on the thing and you'll see what I mean.

* If playing Gladiator starting class: "When you've done that, I want you to pay a visit to the Gladiators' Guild, over at the Coliseum."

Assumin' that [sword/scepter/those hora] ain't just for show, you might consider trainin' there.

And finally, I want you to visit the Sapphire Avenue Exchange, over on the Steps of Thal.

Goods from all across Eorzea and beyond turn up there every day. You'll have no trouble findin' armor, weapons, or anythin' else a fledglin' adventurer like yourself might need.

You might say that everythin's for sale here in Ul'dah—as long as you've got the gil. Just make sure as you don't pay more than you ought, FN.

There's plenty as won't scruple to swindle unsuspectin' foreigners like yourself, 'specially if they think no one's lookin' out for their best interests.

Which is why I'm givin' you this letter. When you visit the exchange, find a gentleman named Seseroga and give it to him. He'll be happy to tell you about the markets once he's read it."

Momodi "In short, then: visit the aetheryte plaza, the Gladiators' Guild, and the Sapphire Avenue Exchange. Simple.

Oh, but before you go, a word of advice: while there're more than a few unsavory characters out there who'll try to take advantage of you, there are also some with honest-to-goodness problems who you should consider offerin' a helpin' hand to.

A lot of folk are lured to this city by the promise of wealth and power. What many of 'em fail to realize is that instead of chasin' after gil the moment they get here, they ought to be makin' friends.

Let it be known that you're willin' to give as much as you get, and opportunities will come your way.

Speakin' of which, you should speak with the Smith over yonder—those lads always have some good advice for up-and-comin' adventurers. Otherwise, that's about it from me. It's past time you got goin'. Oh, and let me know when you've finished, will you? That way, I won't spend my days worryin' that you're down to your smallclothes without a gil to your name."

Quest Accepted

* Note: At this point, other player characters become visible to you, and the instance no longer bars you from the rest of the city.

💬 What the Smith has to say (new player guidance) 💬 Flavor text inside the quicksand (post-tutorial) 💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald from East to West

🟠Sidequest: Due Diligence — Wymond

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◾* Attune yourself to the aetheryte found inside the city.

* Walking along the wide, curved street, though your attention may be drawn aside by shouting merchants, it is hard to miss the recessed entrance to the aetheryte. It glows vibrant and blue in the center of its dim underground plaza.

* Reaching out to it, a beam of blue light sings between you and the crystal. You can feel your aether synchronizing with it, until you're sure a sort of equilibrium has been reached. It's then that a voice calls out behind you.

Nenebaru "Hail, adventurer! Might you have come at the behest of Miss Momodi of the Quicksand?

* You nod.

Nenebaru "Excellent. Which brings us to the matter of the attunement fee—that will be one hundred thousand gil, if you please, [sir/madam].

* You step back with a start. He is dressed in the Brass Blades' uniform, after all...

Nenebaru "...AHAHAHAHAHA! Apologies, but I do so relish the opportunity to make that jest. The look on your face was absolutely priceless! Ah, but the fact that you were so easily deceived suggests to me that you are unfamiliar with the use of aetherytes. Allow me to explain.

These crystalline agglomerations tap into aetherial energies, and are primarily used as a means to travel swiftly from one place to another.

Perchance you have heard of Return and Teleport? Well, these transportation spells make direct use of the aetherytes and their connection to the flow of aether.

Given that there is an aetheryte in almost every corner of Eorzea, any adventurer with a mind to explore the realm will wish to seek out and attune himself to each and every one!

But even if you have no intention of wandering beyond the sultanate's borders, it would be prudent for you to attune yourself to any aetherytes you encounter from now on.

I pray you found that informative. Should you wish to learn more about aetherytes or transportation magic, I should be happy to answer your questions."

💬 Flavor text: More about Aetheryte 💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Nald - Emerald Avenue and Westward

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back —— next◾* Visit your class's guild. [Gladiator] [Pugilist] [Thaumaturge]

💬 Flavor text in Ul'dah - Steps of Thal