#my little pacman beast I love him so much

[hana-bobo-finch]

i feel the need to mention that my cat has a perfect pacman eating a dot shape on his back and it’s the cutest thing ever

[vydri]

I got my @shiftythrifting junk boxes today ♡ I think I order the cards & paper type junk box I don't remember lol and the all toys type box. Please ignore the messy table and not in season tablecloth lol

I got a very sad pink pacman, who reminds me of homestar runner for some reason lol, an old Wendy's kids meal toy I'm pretty sure it's a telescope or w/e, a hot wheels sized car, a beast transformer it's a panther I think that's what pose it was in when it came out of the box lol I had quite a hard time turning it into the panther but I figured it out. Some animals, I think that's a crane of some kind idk, a very solid horse, and a dinosaur I don't remember what kind that is I don't have much dino knowledge. There's a little alien playing baseball, and a tiny plastic baby that made me cackle idk. A penguin... looks like a club penguin one but I've never played that so idk. A cute little pink rhino. And I believe that's a John Cena figure with a "rise above hate" shirt but like I only know like 5 wrestlers so I could be wrong

I'm not going to bother listing what the stickers and cards stuff is but they're awesome too. I love stickers so much ♡

This was definitely really fun. My kid loved it too, he loves the pacman and beast transformer. He also begged me to open the Wendy's toy so despite how blasphemous it felt, I did it anyway bc it made him happy lol there was a little card in it that said I could take the card to blockbuster to exchange it for a collectible trading card

Here are a few more pictures

[bufomancer]

Realistically I don’t think I’m going to get any new reptiles (at least not for the foreseeable future) unless one gets literally dumped on me. 6 enclosures is plenty, and once everyone is in their adult viv I’ll have one 5ft viv, 2 4ft vivs, 2 3ft vivs, and 1 2ft viv. Which is kind of a lot of real estate to dedicate to them! Obviously I want all my herps to have enough space, I am not planning to downsize enclosures or rehome anyone. Just not planning to get any more.

I’d like to be able to dedicate a 40 breeder in a separate space for fostering reptiles, but then I run the risk of ending up with another permanent resident lol.

While 6 herp enclosures isn’t a lot of work especially compared to the rodents, and the maintenance cost is low (just a high up front cost to set vivs up) they’re a bigger commitment because they live so much longer. I should have all of my reptiles for at least the next decade, and my amphibians for hopefully that long too. Meryt is almost 4, but pacman frogs can live upwards of 10 years and I hope he’ll live a long time. Freak…… who can really say. There are reports of salamanders like him living several years, and he’s a year and a half old.

Anyways, just rambling and thinking about the future. I love owning reptiles and amphibians, I’ve met so many amazing people through the hobby that take fantastic care of their critters. But there’s also so much bad in the hobby and it can be really hard to avoid. I like to stick to my little advancing husbandry corners of the reptile internet and I’d like to focus more on rehabilitating and fostering unwanted reptiles so they can find good permanent homes. And of course educating potential and current reptile owners + doing what I can to improve welfare for my own beasts

[meeratakkar]

I thought I saw (PRIYANKA CHOPRA) in New Orleans, but it was just (MEERA TAKKAR). (SHE) is a (THIRTY THREE) year old (WEREWOLF). I heard that they were (CHALLENGING) but also (DIFFICULT). I believe they are marrying (CHYLER LEIGH, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, KRISTEN BELL/ASK PLAYER). 

hello folks !! my name’s bee. 21 residing in the eastern timezone yeet yeet. this here’s my presh werewolf child, meera. it took me a lil bit to get her backstory straight but here y’all go ~

* grew up in india. her parents were the best damn parents in the world, in her opinion. even if they were a bit nomadic and secluded. they loved the hell out of her and her two younger siblings (brother and sister). so it hit her twice as hard when they passed away in a tragic accident when she was 15.  * unfortunately, the only other family she and the police believed she had was her father’s brother, issam. he was probably the cruelest person she had ever met. being her siblings’ protector, she took most of his abuse. not that she had to try. after finding out she had been spending too much time with a girl in school, he connected the dots and figured out meera was gay. his exact words were ‘i’m beating the evil out of you.’  * it was a month before her 18th birthday when she was out for once celebrating early. her friends had convinced her to go to a club. sneak in, have a drink or two, go home before any damage is done. during that night, she had gone out to the alley to call and check on her siblings. make sure they were okay. one of her drunk guy ‘friends’ came out to see what she was up to, proceeded to try and get lucky. she shoved him off but he was insistent. to the point, she knocked him out hard. and something in her just snapped. she had had enough of someone thinking they owned her. she kicked and kicked until she couldn’t recognize him anymore. and then she came to, checked his pulse - which was absent, and ran.  * all meera could feel was guilt. she knew she shouldn’t have gone out. she should have been home watching out for her brother and sister. and now there was the possibility of her getting caught and sent to prison for murder. weeks passed and nothing happened. they ruled it a bar fight gone wrong. said the suspect had to have been male. * the night before her 18th birthday, issam was on a roll. it was also the night of the first full moon she would experience as a triggered werewolf. not that she’d realize. the last straw had been when issam shoved her siblings into the basement, locking the metal door behind him. she fought him to open it but doubled over moments later. gone was the scared and vulnerable child she had been, and in her place was what meera refers to as ‘the beast.’  * the next thing she remembered was waking up in the morning and feeling cold, and wet. covered in red, and somehow outside. confused, she traveled back home carefully and opened the door to a gruesome sight. the body of her uncle, or what was left of him she should say. and everything in the home pretty much wrecked. freaked out, it took her a minute to realize he had last locked her siblings in the basement. when she found the keys and opened the door, they were cowered in the corner and afraid. not of him, but of her. she had to soothe them first before hearing the truth of the strange night. how they had peeked through the cracks, watched as she turned into a big bear-like wolf monster, had destroyed issam and scratched on the door to get to them too. but had given up, and ran off when there was a few howls in the distance.  * funnily enough, it was the one good thing issam had ever done for them. but now that they were free of him, what was in store? her life kept changing overnight. first, they told the police a wild wolf had come in and done the deed. it was believable due to the paw prints and the wounds. meera was about to raise hell to take guardianship of her brother and sister when the police informed her of another, much distant family member they had discovered. her mother’s sister, who happened to live in america.  * needless to say, meera could choose to do it all on her own. but she didn’t know what she was, and how to raise her siblings safely just yet. so meera said they’d all go to america, if only to wait until she figured things out better. when police told their aunt, someone referred to as anushka, she was all too willing to take them in. she hadn’t known about them in the first place, and would have saved them from issam if she had. the woman was much like her mother in the same strange way, but different of course. and it didn’t take long to find out why.  * aunt anushka was a werewolf. and she was apart of a pack. in fact, the pack was actually her family’s by right, and each alpha had been her own bloodline. its current alpha was another cousin named rahul. anushka had figured meera was the wolf in her uncle’s attack. she forgave the girl easily. told her it was a crime to let a man like that live. also gave her insight on why her parents had run off together. her father was never welcome by the pack. they left to start anew, no doubt choosing to raise their kids hopefully without the ‘curse’ and its disadvantages. and so, never telling anushka. nor the rest of their werewolf family.  * meera and her siblings stayed with aunt anushka for a year, and she even joined the pack to learn more. but they were primal in their ways. encouraged the beast, rather than tamed it. and for awhile, she was every bit the monster she had tried to steer away from. especially when war started to break out between supernaturals. scared she would become someone her brother and sister couldn’t recognize, she saved up quick to move out with them. and that’s what she did. the pack was not too happy, but they relinquished their grip on the takkar children at last. * from there on out, it was a series of moving around. at one point, they stayed long enough for meera to attend college. she went for social work, landing two degrees to work with children. to save them from a past like hers. her brother and sister did their own thing, but they all stuck together. when word got out that aunt anushka had died, they went back to new york to show their respects. the pack was broken and uncertain at the time. rahul had been killed in battle, and they were going to have a stage of fights to determine the new alpha. meera knew this was her calling and fought until she landed up top. she prides herself as alpha, even if the role was considered a male one. she’ll fight anyone who says so to her face.  * hearing the marriage idea put into play in new orleans, she’s expected to go and secure their future. she’s just arrived, but she’s not a fan of it - probably because that kind of love has always been the furthest thing from her mind. 

important deets:

* she is the alpha in her pack. they are thriving, and a large pack. the pack was a bloodline hierarchy, save for her coming into power. they respect her, but it is hard to transition completely. a lot of members still stick to their primal ways.  * she is gay af. women are her thang. men are chicken wangs. * degrees in social work. works in child protection services and as a child therapist/psychologist. she is super into helping children, and wants to protect each and every one of them. she’d literally adopt all the kids if she wasn’t so busy rn. she is also very against people who harm kids. she’s probably killed an abuser or two. killing isn’t necessarily a no for her, but she does it for good? mostly. * does not like talking about her past. probs a supernatural thing, cause no one seems to like to she’s found. but if you bring it up, she’ll inch around it. if you try again and she’s not having it, she’ll be pissed. * huge competitive video game junkie. she denies this ofc. but she loves old school shit like pacman and mario kart and spyro. literally. if you wanna see her turn into a puppy, play some games with her. * didn’t cry on the notebook, but if you put on fried green tomatoes, she’s going to have to excuse herself from the room. * is an actual whiz with technology. could have been a hacker if she didn’t love kids more. * actually likes cats. go figure. they just don’t like her much?

wanted connecs: 

* brother and sister: they are younger than her. preferably in the range of 22-28. they could have triggered their gene, or not.  * pack members: there’s like two that have come along with her. they’re her closest confidants. people she trusts entirely. * friends from her travels: she and her siblings have lived literally everywhere.  * coworkers: works in child services. she just transferred to the department for a temporary stay. * drinking buddies: they always end up at the bar together. talk about how shitty life is. * old flings: although she’s not fond of love, she’s had a few bed partners. they could have ended on good terms or not. women only.  * old flame: someone she might have? sorta? fallen for in the past. a little. and then she realized what she was doing and bounced. it would be hard for her to see them. especially if they’re both about to marry other people. angst. women only. * enemies: she’s gonna have some. she can piss people off. in the war, she was merciless. could be one of her uncle’s friends that came for her. could be the old alpha’s friends. could be old lovers. could be rival packs. you name it. * saving grace: in the war, either she ended up saving another supernatural or a supernatural saved her. why? we can plot it out. but they owe each other their life, and it’d be great to see after the war’s concluded that they’re alive. to finally say ‘hey, ya could’ve killed me. but you didn’t. thanks for not letting me die.’  * anY THING. all the connections. if you have an idea, shoot it via IM. i’m nice and friendly, i swear.

[vi0lentquiche]

RDC3

I don’t think I fully admitted to myself that this con was a different beast long after it was over. After swanning through BTRDC last October, chatting to tons of people and getting to all the photo and autog sessions and Q&As on time and having time to chill and people-watch, I did expect this one to be less relaxed, but I didn’t expect a 3-day endurance catharsis. 

Friday

Every guest who walked onto the stage at the opening ceremony appeared momentarily stunned, all wide eyes and “woahh” expressions. Except Bryan, of course, who clearly wanted to crowdsurf but had to settle for high-five running through the crowd instead. For the rest of them, I guess they genuinely hadn’t expected quite so many people or quite so much noise and enthusiasm. 

Met my hero @bansheegrahamtao during registration, cracked up at her bag: 

As for the M&G, well, as @existingcharactersdiehorribly remarked midway through our suffering, it’s a tough tough thing, having to sit around drinking whiskey and wine, waiting for Bryan Fuller to come talk to you. Especially tough when Ellen, Hugh, Aaron and Scott all stop by for a brief chat at some point as well. I remember realizing around midnight that we’d be there for three more hours at least and wondering if I should go to my room for a quick nap, but that’s just not how it’s done, so I napped right at the table instead. When Bryan did get there he was greeted by a sight unlike any other, leading him to grab one of the straws and wave it about and tell us an AG production story about the sex scene between Salim and the jinn. The size and shape of the VFX jinn penis had to be juuust right because they couldn’t have a goofy-looking penis in a sexy scene, but production was hellbent on 12 inches because they had made some odd assumptions. Mousa Kraish the jinn actor was also more than fine with 12′, which is when Bryan stepped in and firmly said no that’s ridiculous, we’ll go with 9′. He then showed us a picture of the flame-eyed ifrit with the vetoed penis on his phone. We wrapped up around 3:30 am on a sobering SOTL vs Will note that sent everyone into black despair, but All Seems Well Now after some panicking and course correction. He wants to write for them forever and ever, gotcha, we’re good, whew. 

Saturday

What even are alarms and wake up calls, we don’t hear them and sleep straight through breakfast and the first photo op like real men. Shrugged it off assuming they’d let me do Aaron and Scott on Sunday and queued for Bryan instead, got a nice hug and a concerned “did you get any rest?” from this miracle of a man, who apparently made a point of inquiring this of everyone he remembered from the night before, which if you’re Bryan is probably easily all 200 of us. 

Demore turned out to be the breakout guest of the weekend. I say this as someone who is so hypersensitive to the quality of public speaking/presenting/live performance/showmanship that I’ll walk out if something is so off it starts bothering me. Case in point: the crowd fluffer later that night; literally 45 seconds into his routine I noped out of the room and didn’t return until he was done. With Demore, it was immediately apparent it would be a smooth sailing throughout. I don’t know if he came prepared or if he is just that good, but there was a friendly and warm quality to his command of the audience that I’ve never experienced before. I wish someone *glares at self* had recorded the Q&A, because I’ve since forgotten most of the specifics. He made a very #relatable point about how both Hannibal and Tobias prize authentic expression above all else. Overall I am left with an impression of a nice balance between thoughtful and playful, funny and profound. Bonus: amazing moment that was more than the sum of its goofy parts. I got goosebumps. 

Another thing that stands out from the afternoon is Hugh freaking Dancy with his freaking word choice poetry. I don’t know if it only seemed this way to my ESL brain but he did that thing where he paused for a moment while appearing to pick a word and then the word he went for was on point, and not in a suffocatingly completist way but rather in a fresh and elegant way. So basically he’s a terrible man and I’ve been very distracted. I’ll even give Sabbath’s Theater a go, that’s how bamboozled I am by the whole thing. 

I won’t recap Bryan and Hugh’s Q&As since you can actually listen to them thanks to the brilliant @pka42. The highlight for me was Bryan talking about how he would have revisited Miriam Lass given the chance: as a law enforcement officer too traumatized to continue active duty, she would have been hidden away in some FBI basement doing clerical work so the sight of her wouldn’t make anyone uncomfortable, and the rhetorical question here would be whether Hannibal made a better family for her than the FBI *cue instant anguished Will and Abigail feels, oof* 

Another highlight was Bryan referring to Sean’s “time to wrap this up” gesture as a “sexy dancing fingers thing”, which evolved into “the nipple thing” by Sunday. Bless. 

Was seated too far back to actually watch the Fannibal musical so buried myself in the booklet instead, pausing every now and again to loudly exclaim “NO BUT ACTUAL HUGH DANCY IS WATCHING THIS”. Loved the firefly from the costume competition, shame it got no mention. 

Sunday 

Things I learned Sunday morning: a Bryan&Hugh sandwich grips you like a vice, whereas being in the middle of an Aaron&Scott sandwich is a much squishier experience. 

The rest of the day is kind of a blur. Started seriously flagging so skipped the first two Q&As in favor of sitting on a bench staring dazedly into middle distance, which is when @louiselux and @emungere materialized next to said bench in a fine example of just how surreal things can get at a Hannibal con, <3. 

At the Q&A, most of which I spent in the question line, Bryan went on being highly #relatable telling us about how he lives his life in constant fear of mediocrity, Hugh cracked jokes about Will possibly being into Austrian chamber music (or was this Saturday, who even remembers anymore). Bryan was honest about the things he would have done differently in S1-S2 but didn’t venture into S3 territory at all. Still too soon and too fresh, I suppose. 

Glad I had a quiet moment sitting down with @byronicwoman before that brutal autog session started, or was that Saturday? *cries* I have no idea. 

Two things I have to say before I bring this meandering report to a close: 

1. Since I listed all of the low points of this con in the Gothic post I feel like I have to point out that there are highs that balance all of them out xD Aside from the obvious thrill of meeting Bryan and co, there’s really nothing quite like The Second Wave of Fannibal Recognition where you’ve exchanged real names with someone to no effect and then you exchange Twitter/Tumblr handles and a lot of AAAAAAHHHHhshfsflskdfjhsdf ensues. It’s fascinating to see the people behind the writing and the art. It’s fun when previously two-dimensional things come alive in the real world. It’s a real trip to get drunk on something pink and sit in a cloud of Bigarade xD  

2. Those of you I got very little or no quality time with besides hurried hellos, hugs, snippets of conversation and trying to survive the con right alongside you, and I won’t tag you all - firstly wtf, secondly how frustrating, thirdly ilu anyway and will talk to you anyway so whateva, we’ll make it up next Feb, unless of course Mads is there in which case we’ll all just huddle together and cry, <3. 

Finally, a helpful tip: the only way to avoid PCD is to actively preempt it in any way you can. What I did was get together with @lactobacille, @meres-argias, @rav3nsta9 and @fourth-axis for some ~thematic entertainment: 

REPRESENT. We sure survived that killer good \m/

Went wandering around Sir John Soane’s, well, mind palace, complete with oubliettes, weird little recesses, moveable planes, holes in the floor and a slightly demented-looking collection of antiquities and paintings. 

Naturally could not walk past a museum of anatomy and surgery. Check out the light and air and color on these nervous and circulatory systems! 

All in all, some seriously good, funny times <3.  

P. S. The context for Hugh uttering the words “Pacman uncontrollably guzzling cum” is Cards Against Humanity.  

[shametheshadow]

Okay so I finally finished Ready Player One. Got a little eh in the middle with the romance and sometimes a little too openly expositiony with some things but I otherwise loved it. I can definitely see why it's been considered the nerd bible. Between the references, the action packed and imaginative scenes, the subtle pushes at the darker sides of nerd culture (enough to make you feel a little uncomfortable but not open enough to feel like you -a nerd- were being lectured), and the inclusiveness that didnt feel forced... It definitely made for a good read. It's an old book by now but spoiler if you want to read it still. I cant use the read more on my phone so here's just a warning. You had an abysmally poor fat kid as the protagonist (even when he gets fit he still becomes bald and eyebrowless), a curvy "rubenesque" gal with a large birth mark on her face who word vomits when anxious, an african american lesbian who also rocks her curves using a caucasian male avatar, and two japanese otakus who have never met irl but are considered brothers in the OASIS. Like... I know I'm one of the biggest skeptics when it comes to so-called diversity in media, but this book does it right. It slips it in there and doesnt make a huge deal about anything. It doesnt hold up this huge sign that shouts "HEY! Look at our african american character and our female love interest who needs no man!" it just lets the story happen and the characters do their thing so you can judge them on their own merit and personality. Besides Wade, you dont even know the identities of the other four of the High Five till near the end. It perfectly uses the anonymity of the internet to it's greatest advantage. And on a last note of diversity, the two god like beings of the book Ogden and Halliday are examples of how introversion and extroversion are required to make great things... And Halliday, creator of this entire virtual world, is even believed to be on the autism spectrum. And as I said before, at no point do you feel like you are being lectured to go outside and play or that someone is telling you that your interests are wrong. Instead it speaks as a voice of experience, showing you an outsider perspective on the lives of unhealthy nerd culture in ways like Wade eventually only ever wearing two haptic suits that he wears in rotation and shaving off all of his body hair... Or the "missing million" where the hikikomori epidemic in Japan is driven to the extreme. It gives the main character the wealth and power to do whatever they want just for the very uber nerd Wade idolized to give a gentle reminder in his last message that reality matters more than escapism in something that isnt real. Then there are the references. 80's and even some late 70's, there was so much crammed into every page that I, as a 90's child, could not hope to understand every one even with my love for older media. But that's okay. At no point did I feel lost. Instead I felt... A lot of Wade did I think. There is a reverence for the 80's. For Wade it was because the 80's came to represent his entire life, everything that his hopes, dreams, and fantasies were built on because Halliday was an 80's kid who built the OASIS and filled it with an easter egg hunt dripping in nostalgia. For me, it's similar. The 80's was the basis for everything I loved in the 90's. From the music to the fashion to gaming, and most of our greatest nerdy pop culture icons wouldnt have existed without the groundwork being laid in the late 70's and 80's. 90's kids are marked as some of the first with widespread access to computers and the internet at childhood, but what would that be without the creation of games like pacman or programming prodigies like Wozniak. It wasnt something I considered much before, but it definitely made me feel something to read a book all about the 80's. Not exactly nostalgia but kind of parallel to it. I feel like the 80's is often overshadowed by the 90's. So yeah... This book is awesome. I really enjoy the Steve Jobs/Wozniak duo of Ogden and Halliday. I think it showed off the positives of their very different characters very well. I loved to hate the Sixxers. I loved all of the High Five (I do wish we got more of the Daisho guys though. The part where Daito was actually murdered had me going "Oh shit" outloud) especially Aech whose name I really like. I did want a little bit of payback to Ir0k and I wanted to know more of what happened afterwards, but overall I'd say that by the end I was pretty happy. I did make the mistake of purchasing the movie and watching that though... It made me a mixture of sad, upset, and disappointed. You would think with Spielberg behind the wheel it would nail all of the right buttons but it... It just doesnt. Like... What was up with the bug eyed, elfish avatars? Except for Aech, most of the high five are just more idealized versions of themselves. Totally human with some of their less personally desired traits. But then like Aech... Wth... You took an average white dude with a cheshire smile and turned him into a hulking grey beast. Totally lessens the impact when discovering that he is a black woman by already having her avatar be to unrealistic. And why is Art3mis's avatar given a more athletic gymnast build? One of the body types that Wade states in the book is commonly used by most people, which is why her more curvy figure is unique and interesting. Her entire avatar is supposed to be more realistic to herself, something that captures his attention from the beginning. He can imagine it's what she looks like because she doesnt hide those features like most everyone does. The only thing she really changes is her birthmark. And do we really need to give her one of the best moments Wade has in the book just to make it seem like she has more power in the narrative? Art3mis is great because at no point does she really need Wade's help or rescue until the very end when the gate requires 3 people. She figures out the first key by herself first and is just unlucky enough to not be skilled at one particular game in a million. Even without Wade's suggestion at switching to play the other side, she would have won eventually. She was clever enough to realize that she could have two plays by waiting till midnight and was practicing in every spare moment. And even after she and Wade start seeing one another, it is Wade who is infatuated beyond reason and her who tries to keep her head in the game and feet grounded in reality. She finds and obtains the second key without any help at all. It was Art3mis who knows everything about Tempest, one of the final hurdles Wade needs to overcome, including the bug that gives you 40 extra lives when Wade starts with only one (and he eats through the extras fast). She doesnt need help to be an awesome female character. Wade has skills, I wont take that from him, but he gets by mostly on a lack of self preservation, paranoia, and luck ex machina. If it werent for him getting the second clue wrong and going to the entirely wrong planet, then wandering a different direction out and stumbling upon an arcade machine that nobody has ever found before (despite claiming that the world was picked over by every Gunter ever) and then utilizing his skills in pacman to win a mysterious quarter that just so happens to grant him an extra life after everyone else is vaporized in the final battle just outside the third gate... He never would have won. In that entire scenario his skill is utilized once. Arguably his skills only really come into play during the actual challenges for the keys and the gates. Every other moment actually focused on is mostly him stumbling around either as a paranoid mess or obsessive and depressed. Even with the first key, it's only by chance that during his Latin class he selectively hears the right words to set his brain into motion that takes him from Schoolhouse Rock to D&D to omg the key is hidden on the same planet that has every school! Granted he put in the time to compile all the experience and knowledge needed to connect those dots, but it was still luck that laid the dots out to be connected. I think I've ranted enough though. Originally this was going to most be, "Man, I loved this book!" and "Boy, I hated the movie..." but it got away from me as it usually does.