#now that we're not in the same space it's so weird and disconnected and it feels so different and i feel so numb and empty lol

[jpitha]

The Dreams of Hyacinth 18

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Nick was in the black of space.

Nick was staring out at the endless sea of stars.

Nick could feel his Stardrive and his sensor array.

Nick was a Starjumper.

"This is wild." Nick used his sensor array to look around. There was nobody else that he could detect. If he moved this his thrusters would move. If be wiggled that he could adjust his orientation. If he shuffled right here he could feel the reactor.

"You're getting the hang of it so fast! I swear there were come AIs that needed more training than that!"

Nick looked around, but of course he couldn't see anyone. "Thank you? Who is this?"

"Oh sorry! My name is Starlight Serenade but everyone calls me Star."

"I'm assuming you're an AI, but are you... currently a ship too?"

Star laughed. "No, though I can see why you'd think so. Many AIs take more... body oriented names when they get a body, but I liked my name so much I just kept it. It's not super common, but it's also not unheard of either."

"You work for the Empress too on this project?"

"Yup! I'm her official starship piloting trainer." Star sounded proud when they mentioned that.

Nick raised an eyebrow. He noticed when he did that his body started to spin slowly. He lowered his eyebrow, and raised the other until the spin stopped. This was going to take some getting used to. "Star... how many people have you trained to pilot starships?"

"Only a few so far, but we're going to be doing a bunch more very soon." It sounded like Star was trying to answer Nick's question without answering Nick's question. Nick decided to drop it for now.

"Okay Star. I'm your student. Teach me what to do."

"Wonderful! Let's get started."

Honestly, Nick found it easier than he anticipated being a starship. There was a lot to learn, but his implants also gave him the ability to leave notes and reminders for himself and Star was able to provide tips and anecdotes from when they were a Starjumper. Within a few hours, he had the basics down and could maneuver in space. Nick looked at the clock and realized he had been training now for six hours. "Oh no! Star! I lost track of time. I need to let Eastern know what happend."

"Don't worry about her Nick, She's been in training too. I've been working with her this whole time."

"But you've been working with me?"

"I can split my attention pretty well. It's an AI thing." Star sounded a little smug. "Two is easy, I can split up to 5 or 6 before most BIs noticed that I've done it."

"Huh. That's interesting. But still, I should go and check on Selkirk. She wasn't looking too good."

"Okay Nick, that's fine. I'll help you out and let Eastern know too. She's picking it up as fast as you are. I'd say two more sessions in the simulator and you'll be ready for the real thing."

With that, Nick's eyes started working again and he looked up at the top of the simulator dome. He sat up slowly and with another snap, the cables disconnected. The door spun open and he walked out just as Eastern was doing the same. Yon was nowhere to be found.

"Eastern! We've been at this for six hours. We should go check on Selkirk. I'm worried about her."

Eastern rubbed the back of her head where her connections were and looked tired. "Okay Nick, let's go see. Were you working with Star?"

Nick started walking towards the door and Eastern caught up. He was walking with purpose. "Yes, they said that they can split their attention pretty easily. How was it for you?"

"Nick, I actually had fun. I didn't think I would, but I kind of like being a starship. What about you?"

"It was interesting, and the feelings were very weird, but I don't know if I'd call it fun. I'm glad you liked it though. Maybe you can be the Starship and I'll be your commanding human." Nick grinned at Eastern as they walked.

"You would like that wouldn't you?" Eastern laughed. "Come on, let's go check on Selkirk.

As they walked, guards and personnel would look up at them, their eyes would flash as they were identified and then they'd get a nod, or someone would stand aside and they would be on their way. Nick wondered at that a few times. Raaden had made it sound like she visited everyone, but they had access to her personal penthouse. Nick got the main encryption keys and all the guards were letting them by with barely a nod. They stepped into the elevator and Nick signaled Eastern.

Eastern. Have you noticed that we appear to be very highly placed here?

I was just about to mention it to you. I think nobody has challenged us as we've been moving around the whole building this whole time. At first I chalked it up to being with Yon and Raaden but now...

Exactly. We have Raaden's penthouse apartment, we have a set of universal encryption keys, we're getting a cursory scan and let in anywhere... I think we're high up the ladder here.

What's going on? Half the time it seems like Raaden has the whole place under her thumb, the other half it feels like we're one of 4 that knows what's going on.

They stepped out into the apartment to Raaden sitting on the couch alone. looking at them. There were three steaming mugs on the table in front of her.

Can't it be both?

Eastern yelped and bowed down. "Empress!" She stood back up. "I thought you were going to be gone longer?"

Raaden waved a hand dismissively. "It was easier than I thought it would be. The... directors were much more amiable to my offer than I thought."

"Directors?" Nick looked around the penthouse and didn't see Selkirk or anyone else really. Just Raaden sitting on the couch, a pad and a mug of tea on the table next to her.

"Directors of Wheelock Incorporated. They're a major shipbuilder, out of Luna. I own it now."

"You... own Wheelock Incorporated?" Nick had heard the name before, but only as a name on the news. They were famous for being in business nearly one thousand years, building starships of all kinds. They reportedly owned most of the Heinlein Shipyards and suffered a massive loss when Melody stole it.

Raaden nodded and picked up her tea. "Yes. They accepted my proposal easily. The papers were signed within half a day - all very privately and without fanfare, as I had requested. Just another piece of the puzzle I need."

Nick sat hard into the chair opposite Raaden. Nick looked at the cup of coffee where he sat, hot and ready. She gestured with her hand offering it to him, and he took it. Once again, it was perfect. Eastern sat next to him and picked up the mug of tea where she was. Nick looked over at Her. "Raaden... Empress... How much of Sol do you own?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, and her eyes flashed blue. "Hmm. With this I now own more than 40% of all the manufacturing ability in Sol, 60% of the food production and 80% of retail."

Eastern choked on her tea. This time, it was Nick's turn to pat her back and wait for her to stop coughing and catch her breath. "Ra-Empress you're telling me you are the richest person in Sol?"

"Oh Eastern, I'm the richest human, full stop. Probably the richest sapient. I own Houndstooth. I don't keep an apartment in Houndstooth One just because I like the view. This is my building. This is my Orbital."

The silence clanged between them for two beats. Nick swallowed his coffee before he could choke on it. He had to know. "Empress, how did you buy all these companies?"

Raaden smiled wickedly. "Oh, I didn't buy them. I merely showed up and asked if I could take them over. Interestingly enough, everyone I asked had no problem whatsoever with it. Once I told them what I was doing, they were pleased to give it to me. I made sure of it. Everyone also understood my need for discretion, my need for quiet. A few more acquisitions and I won't need to take over Sol."

"I'll own it outright."

Nick stood. "I-I should check on Selkirk. She wasn't looking very good when we left the hospital floor."

Raaden sat up from her lounging position and looked Nick in the eye. "Nick, I'm sorry but you can't right now. She's in torpor."

Nick's head snapped back to Raaden. "She's what?"

K'laxi don't get fevers. Their planet was much less... threatening than Earth was and they evolved in a less competitive environment. Still, they have bacteria and viruses and their bodies needed a way to deal with infection. Humans deal with it with a fever. Their bodies will warm up high enough to try and kill the bacteria without killing themselves. It's a very fine line between dead bacteria and dead human. K'laxi go into torpor when they're fighting infection. Their body temperatures lower to nearly ambient, they stop moving and for all appearances look nearly dead. With less evolutionary pressure to be constantly moving or on the alert for predators, K'laxi bodies can afford to spend nearly every resource they have to fight the infection.

Both sides were surprised at how the other deals with infection. It's common knowledge though, and K'laxi in torpor are taken care of and brought to hospitals when found.

Raaden's expression was stony. "Yes, there has been some complications with her surgery. I've got doctors - human and K'laxi here and they are in her room making sure she's comfortable and being taken care of. With torpor our options are limited. We are giving her antibiotics and the K'laxi doctors are monitoring her vitals. I give you my word we are doing all we can to save her."

"Save her?" Eastern sounded near panic. "How bad is she?"

Raaden's eyes dropped. "She's bad, Eastern. If I had known how bad I wouldn't have authorized her release from the hospital. I've already... spoken with the charge nurse who let her go." She looked up at Eastern and met her gaze. "We're doing everything we can. For now, the only thing we can do is wait." Raaden stood. "Come on, you must be hungry. Do you want to get some dinner? We can go somewhere, and take your mind off things for a bit. I know a nice place."

Nick looked at Eastern. Eastern looked at Nick. Her eyes shrugged. "Sure Raaden, let's get some dinner."

Raaden led them upstairs to the roof, and called a Hopper. Another unbranded Hopper came down silently and smoothly. The door hissed open and she stepped in, followed by Eastern and Nick. They sat together across from the Empress as the Hopper lifted off Hyacinth One and glided up-arm. Raaden took out a pad and began reading something as they flew.

As they moved up the arm towards the end of Hyacinth, Nick looked out at the landscape sliding below. "Raaden?"

She looked up from her pad. "Yes Nick?"

"How many people know about you? The real you. What you're doing, what you're trying to accomplish."

Raaden stared at Nick a moment and put her pad down. "Well, that depends entirely upon your definition of 'the real me' and 'what i'm trying to accomplish' don't you think? I could argue that the answer to your question is one person." She pointed to herself. "Me." She smiled. "But that is an overly narrow definition I think. I know what you mean." She looked out of the windows at Hyacinth sliding beneath them. "Maybe a dozen people? You, and Eastern, and Selkirk, Yon, Um'reli, some people left over from the Vengeance of Lavinia - that was my ship when Melody was around - and a few of our assistants." She smiled. "I never told them, but I try not to hire idiots and it doesn't take too long working around me to... figure stuff out."

"But so many people in Hyacinth One have cybernetics! Practically everyone!"

"I know, isn't it great? Its a real sign that the worries that the AIs had about cybernetics really were unfounded. They gave up on it too soon, and me and my scientists were able to get the kinks worked out." She demurred "With humans at least. I hope we can get it as easy and safe for all sapient people." She looked back up at them. "I give out bonuses to people who work for me who are willing to get cybernetics. It's never forced. Everyone you saw on Hyacinth One is a volunteer." She raised her hand. "No Voice either. People are willing to do a lot for a month's pay given as a bonus. With all the cybernetically enhanced people, we're able to offload a lot of the paperwork, office management and other...stuff to the network. It's making things more efficient, easier and more collaborative." Her eyes flashed blue for dramatic effect. "Between this work and your starship project, we're really making advances to humanity. Leaps and bounds ahead of where we've been for millenia. We're finally moving forward."

"Finally?" Eastern looked at Raaden oddly.

The Empresses nodded emphatically. "We've been stuck for nearly a thousand years. No new technological developments, no new paradigms. Once the Colony worlds were founded, things just... coasted. Even Contact with the K'laxi barely shook things up. We became ossified. Stony. Still. Now though, with the gifts that Melody brought and the technology we had in our own back rooms, collecting dust, we can bring things onto the next level. We can advance again. We can do anything we want."

The Empress was becoming more animated, gesturing as she talked. "Colony worlds for example. Why did we stop with only three? One was destroyed in a war, and now we only have two? Sure, there's Spruces, the one that the AI have, but that barely counts, it's practically one city. The K'laxi have more planetary colonies than we do. We haven't founded a colony since the wormhole generators were developed! We can expand. You can help! Nick, what if you were a colony ship? Sailing off into the unknown, helping found a new world, bringing people to their own little piece of paradise in the Galaxy. And with modern conveniences in cybernetics and the wormhole generators, help is only a linked beacon away."

Nick sat back. Raaden was on the verge of ranting. He had a hunch he knew what was going to come next, but he couldn't stop himself. Not for all the money on Hyacinth. "Raaden, why do you think we've stalled development?"

"Please. You two can call me Helen. Nick, you know why we've stalled. You know it in your hearts."

She looked out at Hyacinth again and then snapped her head back to Nick and Eastern. "It's the AIs. It's their fault. Not all of them, mind you. They're not a monolithic bloc. Just ask Yon or Star or any of the others that work for me. But the Colonial AIs. The ones running the Starjumpers and Starbases. The ones telling everyone outside of Sol what to do. They're the problem. They see our advancement as a threat. They see us as a threat. They see me as a threat." As she spoke Ra-Helen's eyes grew hard and her hands formed fists. "They are trying to stop us from reaching our full potential. And do you know why?" Her eyes snapped back to Eastern and Nick. She didn't wait for a reply though. "They fear us. We made them. They think that they can be like loving parents. Protecting us." She practically spat the last words.

The Hopper glided down in Iris square, the very edge of the arm, and possibly the wealthiest part of all of Hyacinth. Nick and Eastern had never been this far up-arm. You didn't go to Iris square unless you had a reason to be there or you had a net worth of a small country. As they stepped out, they heard birdsong, saw greenery and low, elegant buildings. The Hopper smoothly and silently lifted off behind them, and Helen took them across the square to a small bistro.

When they walked up, the Maître d' smiled warmly at Helen as she approached. "Ah, Empress! We are honored to have you join us tonight." He looked behind her at Nick and Eastern. A true professional, his expression did not change a single bit when he looked at them. "And you have two guests for dinner tonight? Come. I shall bring you to your table." With studied precision, he picked up three menus and walked smartly inside. As they followed, the staff looked up in surprise to see Helen walk in. A few guests raised their glasses in salute, and she nodded regally to them in turn. A server came running behind them carrying a bucket of ice and three crystal glasses. Behind him came the sommelier with a selection of wines.

The Maître d' lead them to a table simultaneously in the rear of the restaurant out of the flow of traffic, but also near a window for natural light and well within the eye line of the Maître d. Very quickly, he dusted three seats, put down the menus, and as they sat, the wine glasses were put down and a selection of three bottles was shown to Helen. The sommelier gestured to them. "If I may be so bold, my Empress, I have a Parvatian Pinot Noir that may be of special interest tonight given your guests." He looked at Nick. "Grown on the hills behind Naya Hyderabad, this is from some of the finest vines on all of Parvati. The unique terroir of the planet lends a subtle sweetness to the otherwise jammy and berry notes that one would normally get with a Pinot of this age."

Helen glanced at the bottle and nodded. "Yes, please. That should be fine."

The sommelier deftly opened the bottle and poured a centimeter into a glass and handed it to Nick. Nick's parents used to like wine and would go on tours and tastings when he was a kid. As a teen, they'd take him along sometimes and he learned the basics of wine tasting. He swirled the wine two or three times to aerate it, then brought the glass up to his nose and breathed it in. The sommelier was right, there was a sweetness he could smell. He took a sip, slurping and breathing in as he sipped to get a large amount of air with it. Given that he was in a restaurant, he didn't swish or do any of the other things wine tasters did, but he knew enough to know it was an excellent bottle of wine.

"This is excellent, thank you." The sommelier bowed slightly, and refilled Nick's glass and poured one for Eastern and Helen. The other two bottles and bucket of ice were whisked away, unneeded. After he left, Eastern quietly slid her glass over to Nick and took a sip of water.

She looked over at Helen who was studying the menu. "Helen... you told us that very few people know the real you, yet when we go places everyone calls you Empress and bows and treats you like... well, like the Empress."

Helen looked over her menu and smiled. "Pretty neat isn't it? They all know I'm the Empress until I leave. Then they forget about me. Or rather, they're told to not talk about me."

"What do they remember?"

"Oh they remember that the head of Hyacinth, or someone highly placed in Houndstooth came to visit. They remember me and my preferences and that I'm powerful, they just don't remember-" she gestured and the crown flared a moment "-that I'm the Empress."

Nick carefully took a sip of wine. "How did you manage that?"

Helen raised her eyebrow. "The usual way Nick, how did you think I did?"

"You used your Voice?"

She nods and takes a sip of wine. "Ooh, this is good Nick, good choice. Yes, when I come to a new restaurant or business or whatever it just takes me saying hello and asking for something a-" She raised her eyebrow "-certain way, and suddenly, everything is easy and everyone is eager to please."

Eastern looked conflicted. "But your have a voice that makes commands that can't be disobeyed."

Helen took another sip of wine. "Yes. Comes with the crown."

"And you're using it to your advantage."

Helen put the wine glass down with emphasis. "I'm using it to make the world a better place, Eastern Standard."

"By going to a fancy restaurant? By being the richest human ever?"

"Yes, actually. If I own all of Sol, well then I can't very well conquer it, it's already mine. If I take you two to a fancy restaurant, I can show you what it's like under my rule. I am using my Voice to do the things Melody should have done but didn't because she was killed. Melody was naive. She thought that if she just showed up and did nice things for everyone they'd support her." Helen poured herself more wine. "Many did mind you, but not all. There were too many people with too much vested interest in keeping things the way they were - AI and BI. This way, I'm using their game against them. If I own everything fair and square they can't go and claim I'm illegitimate."

Emboldened by a glass and a half of Wine, Nick countered. "But if the AIs find out about you, they won't just roll over because you're rich. History shows us rich people bleed all the same as poor people. You'll just be a dead rich person."

Helen smiled. "Ah, but if I'm the richest human ever with a whole entire fleet of human piloted ships, then I hold the cards. You weren't here Nick, I don't know if you remember. Melody held them off with only seventeen Calamity Class Super Dreadnoughts. Mine, the Lavinia is still out there. Not only that, but we can make more now that I own Wheelock. We can also take any Starjumpers or other ships and pilot them with humans. My humans."

Helen drained her wine glass and set it down. "Now then, my newest pilots. Let's eat."

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[iviarellereads]

Wheel of Time full series spoiler thoughts on EOTW 29-38

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

It's really fun to look back at the stedding as, oh, this is literally a little piece of another dimension. It might've grown the local seeds and supported the local animals, but it is obviously disconnected from the local reality, to block the One Power and all.

So many references to Hawkwing sending armies across the sea, and yet nobody really believes it, or expects the Return.

The farmer gave Rand the dark, plain scarf… and then Rand wears it around his mouth… almost like a… black veil on this Aielman… OK that's a bit too much ellipsis for me to keep going but I had to squint and see if the words really meant what I thought they did.

In Play For Your Supper, one of the songs Rand names is "Coming Home From Tarwin's Gap", now how would a name like that have made it as far as the 2 Rivs?

Rand starts having little thoughts on the road that he can't quite track the source of. "Too late now." in Four Kings, for example. LTT starting to slip in. Or the taint madness, if you prefer that explanation for the hallucinations. Either way.

Ishy treating oblivion as a reward. Cute.

I feel kinda sneaky putting Mili Skane's name down in ch 33. It's kind of a spoiler, we're not told it, but I like tagging the characters that appear, for future searchability. If she ALSO appears later in the series, well, I wasn't lying about the Companion entry.

Almen Bunt reminded me that Elayne's kids could have a stronger claim to the throne than she did, because of the bloodliney shit Andoran nobles use to measure their kin-distance from the first queen, but only if everyone involved admitted Rand's lineage publicly. And, only because it was Rand's body that she conceived with.

Which gets me on to how weird and icky the Moridin body swap is, because besides everything else, we don't talk enough about how the Dark One resurrected Ishy as Moridin into somebody else's corpse, that body's original soul had his own family and life, and first the DO took it to punish Ishy with continued existence, and THEN Moridin and Rand swapped balefires and then bodies so Rand's in some completely random dude's face and genes.

(I only had about 5.5 hours of sleep last night as I write this, can you tell?)

At any rate, EOTW 34 cracks things wide open for any show-firstie who looks at the X-Ray feature or the episode credits. Episode 1x07 lists Tigraine Mantear instead of Shaiel, so when the first season was finished, seeing so many people go back and start reading the books and be like, well hold on now… That was precious and priceless to witness.

“The Queen is wed to the land,” Thom said as brightly colored balls danced in a circle, “but the Dragon . . . the Dragon is one with the land, and the land is one with the Dragon.” For this to appear here, with Almen Bunt, when his next appearance is just after Zen Rand emerges and the Dragon is one enough with the land to offer a bounty of apples from the orchard on Bunt's sister's farm… Same chapter, same day, still sleep deprived, and I need a moment to just sit in this feeling of beautiful symmetry.

No doubt I'll come back to it when the quote comes up, but: Thom was twice Morgase's age when they were together. Given the dates we have as long as the Fandom.wiki is properly sourced because I don't want to go doing extra digging in the Companion and stuff, that means that 14 years ago, Morgase was 27 and Thom somewhere in the 50-60 range, 55 being a solid guess, putting her at 41 and him at 68 around the start of the series. I'm still very, very glad the show agreed with me that there was no need of him being so old, especially when his love interests skew so young, Mo being the exception but she still looks young.

So much of chapter 36 is just "yep, setup." I daren't even start listing or we'll be here all day and this post will be much longer than I try to keep them, even for two-weekers when the first week's not quite long enough to justify a post. But the one that gets me is Rand finding it funny, the idea of him wanting to be a king, when he will end up the de facto ruler of a decent chunk of the Westlands.

37 and 38 do little in the way of setup but to continue setting up just how much Byar's gonna nurse that grudge for the next 12 books or two years. Well, that and finally showing Perrin's golden eyes. Mo asks if this was foretold, and well, we know it was… just not in a prophecy she'd have seen. Verin has, though.

I will say, I prefer how Egg and Perrin rescued themselves in the show, even if the wolf stuff maybe could have been moved forward into season 1 to make it make a little more sense to show-onlys.

And, do we think Mo was Warder-compelling Lan not to go after Nyn? Or just reminding him that it's out of character and out of keeping with his guiding principles? I'd like to think Mo treats Lan better, BUT she does hand off his bond to Myrelle without telling him later soooo…

[castlebyersafterdark]

hi, first off i want to give everyone a high five for being so game to discuss LPSG, this is what this cosy sleepover blog is all about! curiosity and no judgement. love.

secondly, vinny, if you want to, could you tell us more about your twitter era in the context of these gay forums? did you find being on there a release of frustrations, or did you get sucked into being mean online because it's easy to do that without really checking yourself first? you curate such a different vibe on here, i wonder what was the catalyst that made you want to switch up who you are online.

Yes!! I'm really glad we're at this point - I've received no hate for upping the spice and actually haven't lost any followers as we've all gotten more outta pocket around here. Actually the number went up a bit 😊 I had worries people might jump ship if I made it too weird but that hasn't happened yet. Not a ton of negativity lately at all which is really, really nice. Thanks, yall, for being so fun and open minded and down to get weird with it with me in this silly little corner!! It really was naughty sleepover chatter vibes the other night. Loved it.

And ohhhh the secretive, sensitive lore. I don't think I'm going to dive too deeply into specifics. Everything's a journey. First, the funner insight. I guess over all in regards to topics similar to the forums and that sort of content, twitter was much of the same, format different though. Just, the open stream of posting every thought and acting pretty shameless online was the vibe in some spaces. But about celebrities and random people online and yourself. Audacity in every direction. I was... definitely a bit hmmm. A lot. Outta pocket on twitter. I'll leave it there. Young and bizarre.

But on the simultaneous flip side, there were times where I did unfortunately get sucked into the mean shit, behavior and situations I regret. Time wasted in negativity. Life was difficult, the world was difficult. Very easy to get swept up in instant gratification or emotional release, good or bad. Especially on social media. I think it's harder these days to be kind online. The environment does not encourage it. Unfortunately, it's work. But - it doesn't have to be that way. We can all benefit being kinder.

But I changed a lot in my life. All for the better. It's hard of course, but worth everything once you recognize when change is needed, when help is needed. Got it. Did it. Disconnect a bit. Reevaluate your interests and how you spend time. Been in a great place for a long time now. Quoting a guy we're all here for again: "I'm the happiest I've ever been." Truth. All in the past.

[whiskeydickclaws]

I have now played over 6 hours of this game and I can safely say

Why?

Not the plot, the plot is Kojima shit, I was expecting it and don't mind it.

What is confusing is the core game mechanics, and how fucking weird and disconnected they are?

Here, you have an open world to explore! But you do it via increasingly difficult qwoping with a mountain of shit on your back, while eating over grown tardigrades.

Here, have things that allow you to make makeshift bridges and climbing supplies, but it's based on a yelp system that can only be voted on for 3 seconds upon coming to the site, and also we don't want you to know what your social media points do just yet (: just make sure you're getting that insta engagement mr Hiking Influencer

why is there no option to toggle holding something in my hand. why do i have to damage my carpal tunnel ridden wrists and arthritis/hyperextending knuckles to carry a ladder around because these fancy dishes are uwu too heavy

Hey yeah, on the same thread, again, why the fucking qwoping mechanic

why the piss mechanic, i can't get over how much piss is in this game and for apparently little to no reason other than ghost crowd control? which tbh if i was a ghost and someone pissed at me as a defense mechanism i'd just be like "yeah no can you leave?" and i think that's so valid of them.

i need 1 of 2 things to happen. either i get individual audio sliders so i can turn the music down, or the music needs to stop randomly BLASTING into a scenic music video with no warning, and at four times the volume of the rest of the game. please, my hears hurt and i keep waking my wife up through the bedroom wall.

oh, and while we're on ultimatums, cand you decide that we're doing 1 hour of walking to 10 minutes of cutscene, instead of the other fucking way around. If you wanted to do a fucking movie, just do a movie, my love. I had time to do meal prep in the space of two back to back cutscenes, because i had planned to pause it once the dialogue ended, and it just. kept. going.

thank gd i got the game for free, i think it's going DNF, tbh. Back to skyrim for me. Gunna break 3k hours soon. Can't wait for my shoulder to heal so I can break 1k on BG3

someone save me, death stranding is so odd

why is norman reedus qwoping

[adhbabey]

Hey!!! Personality Disorder positivity post!!

First out for the Cluster As! Just because it says you're "odd" doesn't mean you're inherently bad or weird. You just struggle to form relationships because of fear. Distrust is common and valid, especially with a world that doesn't treat you with respect. There's nothing inherently wrong with you. Just know that people will love you even though you're different, or because you're different. Delusions are just something you have to deal with, that's okay. You're not weird, the way the dsm treats you is weirder than you can ever be. Feeling disconnected from those around you is a very common trait among the disabled community, but separation is an illusion. There's probably tons of people who feel the same way you do. I know I have felt cursed for my loneliness, I promise you that you're good enough and that you're safe. Please be more gentle with yourself.

Second is the Cluster Bs! A lot of you guys are in the spotlight, huh? I want you to know that I have very close friends with cluster B pds and they're some of the sweetest, most compassionate people I've ever met. Your disorder doesn't make you evil or abusive. I know it's hard to get treatment or therapy because of the stigma. But we're building up your reputation to be better. You don't need high affective empathy to be compassionate, you don't need empathy to have a healthy relationship. Mirroring someone else's behavior doesn't make you scary either, everyone does it subconsciously. So what if you're unpredictable, life is unpredictable, your disability makes life feel unpredictable. Please don't destroy yourself for other people, and please take care of yourself. That means not self sabotaging and learning some self care. How can you be expected to care for others when you're struggling? Don't let others gaslight you into believing that you must always put others first. In fact, cluster Bs are usually because no one gave you consistent or unconditional love. Please learn some healthier coping mechanisms, for you, not because other people want you to. Please treat yourself with love.

And last but not least, Cluster Cs! Hey guys, I want you to know that you are good enough, you've been always good enough, you will always be good enough. You do not need to be perfect to exist or to move forward. I understand deeply, I feel like I need to be perfect or control every aspect of my life. But it's okay to just say fuck it and take a risk. It's scary and painful, no one is disagreeing there, but for your own sake, stop judging yourself at every corner. Whether you relinquish control or feel like every aspect needs to be perfect, or that you just don't want to deal with it at all, that's okay. Baby steps are important, small victories are important. Be proud of yourself for every goal you reach. You don't need anything else but you, just as you are right now. If you feel stuck in time, find solace in the fact that no one is judging you just because you exist. If you can't be free to feel safe with anyone else, be safe with yourself, be compassionate towards the part who wants to protect you, and hold compassion for part that just wants to do whatever the fuck they want. Open up your heart for yourself. It's okay. Be your own safe space. You've done nothing wrong just by surviving. Please be kinder.

And for people with PDs in general. There's nothing inherently bad about you. So much of you have similar experiences with the disabled community in general, if only they'd listen. You are welcome here, you exist here, you are loved here. If nowhere else, find solace here. I hope one day that all personality disorders are destigmatized. But until then, I'll hold compassion for all of you. I know how scary it feels. You're not forgotten and you're not alone.

[therabbitsmuse]

10

my new first post. i decided to private most of my content instead of creating a new Tumblr from scratch. not sure why i felt such a strong urge to do so. it's not like anyone reads my posts & almost no one from real life knows about it. i was driven by this overwhelming urge to reset, to start over. as silly (& time-consuming) as it was, i did feel a lot better after coming back to an almost blank slate.

I've slowly been shifting into who I'm meant to be. that's probably one of the best things about moving somewhere new, where I know maybe 2 people. I've been really happy with my routines and not having to take anyone else into consideration. but letting go can be lonely, esp when I held onto certain identities and ideas for so long. I'm not quite sure what to fill that space with. But I know it's time to let go. It's served its purpose and now i no longer feel the same.

For the first time in probably ten years, this is the most inconsistent I have been with electronic music. I'm not excited by any of it. I'm even less excited by the prospect of festivals. i went to a few shows in brooklyn but i felt like i was only trying to chase a feeling. it's a strange thing to face. i thought maybe i was in a slump. i didn't want to believe that maybe I'm becoming one of those ppl who outgrow this phase of life. but all the signs are there. I unfollowed all the rave ig accounts i used to watch religiously. I no longer listen to or update my playlists. I can't name any songs that have really pulled me into the depths of layered complexity. It's fucking weird honestly. i don't think electronic music and shows will go away completely from my life, but i think, for the time being, it's one of my last priorities

you know when you have those thoughts that haunt you a little? where you wonder if maybe it's you that's the problem? I've been in that state as I've navigated through this new life.

i'm so glad i didn't choose to live in the city (tho tbh it was out of my budget anyways lol). i love my space. it's old but it's charming. i am surrounded by good food and small local businesses. i loved it the moment i moved in, minus the few dead cockroaches that appeared out of the abyss. however, when i met some people and told them where i lived, they looked at me as if i said i chose to live on mars. i went over to a few apts and wondered if I made the wrong choice. i have no city view. the kitchen was small af and probably older than i am. there's no doorman. no in-unit laundry or dishwasher. and then i felt dumb trying to chase some sort of illusion of what type of place i 'should' be living in. my studio doesn't feel like home just yet but I've always been happy to return back to it and i think that's all that matters

i feel like my old life is dead. i mean, it is in the past. but it's crazy how only four months on the other side will make me feel like there's a bigger disconnect between the before and after. it feels more like four years have passed by.

making friends is hard af. it's like online dating. you gotta meet a shit ton of people just to find a few that you like. and the ones you do like also have a lot of other choices waiting for them. you gotta schedule something again within the next week at least before the opportunity drops off into the abyss. and then on top of it, you gotta deal with ghosting and people who just want to use you for something. it's fucking exhausting. I've met a few cool ppl and a few potentials i think? like there's no shortage of people to hang with but i still feel a bit like an alien when i go to these group things.

life is so short. and everything can be taken from you at any moment.

i can't believe i had a celery juice phase earlier this year. like what the fuck kind of dark spot was i in LOL

something tells me i need to run after these rays of happiness because we're closing in on the end of everything [again].

[levis-hazelnut]

This is a vent.

You can do what you want with this post but please do read the part from where your name starts in bold and pink.

I have decided it's okay for me to type my thoughts out here In tumblr. Safer than my journal at least lol

So I'm doing okay but I also feel like shit for the past few days lol. To the point where I cried myself to sleep. Ever felt like crying badly but the tears won't come out but you can't even act frustrated? Yeah that too.

I'll be honest. I changed schools so now I have about 3 supportive friends but we haven't interacted much.

My friends from my previous school are really very cool and supportive and it is because of them, I had a thought of exploring me and thinking about my sexuality and everything.

I have a lot of friendship problems. Im kinda losing touch with My friends from the previous school and i saw it coming almost 1 years ago. But I still talk to them bc I like them. I have been betrayed and neglected and taken for granted by loads of people who were my friends. We're still in touch but there is a disconnection.

I really considered them my friends. I trusted them. I was looking for a special bond with them. But it never happened. Half of them betrayed and verbally bullied me. Some of them strayed away. Some were Influenced by other bullies. Some took me for granted.

I'm awkward at voicing out my true feelings. I wanted them to know through my actions how much they meant to me, how I bragged about how nice they were, how I loved it when we went on little adventures and screamed and laughed. But they just had to go away.

My one and only lovely best friend moved away and now we live about 2000 kms apart but we still talk and she supports me (and simple for me lol) and she is kinda like one of the top reasons I'm sane rn. I'm very grateful to have her.She sometimes visits my blog through Google and reads my fics.

I've been having depressive episodes since last year. It's definitely better than last year bc back then, I used to cry in secret like- every single day. Including my birthday. I've actually kinda mastered the art of masking my feelings.

On top of that I have family problems. My dad is not really emotionally present. I hate to say this but my mom kinda victimizes herself. Evertime they have fights, I hear and notice this. It pisses me off but the points they make about themselves make sense. Eventually they make up and they sat down and made me under stand that nothing is gonna happen but it mentally affects me a lot.

Believe me when I say that I love my parents. But I'm growing distant. On top of that there is some toxic advice and they are homophobic oof.

I know there are millions of people with more worse conditions than mine and when I think about this, I get sad and start to invalidate my feelings but with the help of some motivational people, I understand that my problems are valid and I'm allowed to feel sad. At this point I'm like my own supporter. I'm proud of it.

Every time I see jean, I relate to him a lot. Putting a strong front for others but your terrified inside. (Also thighs mm)

So Hazel. Listen to me

When I found out of tumblr and fanfics, I was overjoyed. I spend weeks reading comfort fics by many different authors including yours and it made me feel safe.

I finally decided to make an account and follow people. I mostly interacted with you. There are so many blogs and moots that I follow now, and now I'm not shy or scared to interact with them.

You know why? Because of you.

It is from your blog I first felt like I could feel safe. I never felt weird about going in your inbox more than once. Everytime you responded I felt butterflies. After that when you followed me back, I actually almost cried. Every single time I saw you in my dash, inbox or responding to me, or just interacting with your fellow moots, I felt happy.

And after that I met amber, izzy, and so many cool moots. If we ever met In real love I wouldn't hesitate to give you a big hug and thank you.

Hazel baby when I say I love you, I fucking mean it.

I love you. I love you so much

I love all of my moots, and people who I interact with every day. I found so many supportive people and people from the lgbtq and people who share the same thoughts here.

Thank you for being you.

I hope you never forget how much I admire you. I'm almost tearing up as I write this. All of you guys give me so much motivation to move forward in my life.

himani please the way you had me crying because of this i love you so so so much i cant stress it enough

(imma put a read more cos this got kinda long lol)

im so happy that you found a safe space and you feel comfortable enough to tell me all of this too. you have me on discord as well and i'd always be happy to listen to you if you need to talk or just to simply simp over 2d people lmao

and im so sorry that you've been feeling terrible, it honestly breaks my heart and i wish there was something i could do. i'd hold you and be there to fight everyone for you if i could. if those friends dont keep in touch with you, they'll be missing out and they'd be losing such a precious and amazing person. but once you lose something you always gain something - thats something i've realised so you will find the right people that will stick by you for a very long time ❤❤ i'm so glad you have your best friend there to support you and sticking by you because even when you feel like everything's just going to shit i know they'd be there for you and im happy about that

your feelings are completely valid and im glad you realised that. just know that im always going to be here too to support you and to just be there for you whenever you need it

bye the way you have my heart himani, it makes me so happy that you feel safe here and that you never felt weird about interacting with me. please you give me butterflies all the time, how could i not follow a beautiful person like you. honestly the same goes to you - i love seeing you on my dash and i love seeing you have a great time and interacting with people especially with my moots it makes me so happy i cant describe it 😭

if we ever meet im not letting you leave my side, you're gonna permanently be in my arms

i love you so much more i wish there was a way i could show just how much... im glad you found people you love and those that support you and that give you motivation. and im always going to be here to support you and for anything else you need

thank you for being comfortable enough to talk to me and to share this. you're an amazing person never doubt that 🥺🥰💖

[illlumemenati]

.

[littlemisssquiggles]

To be fair squiggles, we don't know any of the events to come so it's best not to throw everything out the window. Don't assume everything gone right now. We're going on dragon ball time with this. I'd say stay hopeful because if its the longest volume, despite everything taking place in 1-2 days, they can still add plenty within that time span.

I know they can Key but…it still doesn’t stop it from feeling weird to me in regards to time and pacing. I don’t understand why the CRWBY Writers felt the need to have everything crammed into the span of a few days as opposed to allowing the PLOT to expand for a longer period.

I guess the reason why I’m having difficulty being 100% okay with this decision is due to the fact that I honestly feel like the CRWBY Writers are sort of rushing things at this point.

Ever since the events of V5, I’ve had this odd inkling that the CRWBY Writers have been on this odd path of “wanting to have their cake and eat it…without actually putting in the required effort it will take to make that cake as good as it could be”, y’know what I mean? 

It’s the reason why certain plot developments---such as Oscar’s integration into the hero team, Ruby’s growth into the a full-fledged Silver Eyed Warrior---fell short for me since the writers didn’t provide enough time and focus within the PLOT for me to feel the full impact of certain things they were trying to do.

And I guess the core reason why I’m so disheartened by this news was that I was honestly hoping that they would’ve learned from the past seasons and actually taken the chance to use V8 to slow things down a bit and allow the characters, as well as the audience, more time to see things play out.

And what bothers me even more is that they did have a chance to lengthen the story and instead of taking their time, they double down again. The only way this is going to make sense to me is if it really is if time for V8 is operating on “Dragon Ball” time like you said. 

I’ve never watched DBZ so forgive me if I’m unfamiliar with the reference you talked about. I wouldn’t have minded it too much if the timeline was 2 months or even 2 weeks. It doesn’t matter what they do---I’m not going to feel the believability of the impact of those events because it happened in such a short space of time, y’know what I mean?

Like for example, in the case of Oscar being presumed dead and the group learning of his death and that being used to have them rethink their actions towards Ironwood since arriving in Atlas---perhaps even lending to certain members realizing how much the little prince meant to them (like Ruby or Jaune)---am I really supposed to buy into the impact of this development happening in the span of just 1-2 days? It’s kind of like yes…but at the same time, not really, y’know what I’m saying?

The only way I can buy into this working is if the CRWBY Writers literally pull an Avenger’s Endgame in the very first episode of V8.

Imagine if…RWBY V8 kicks off with the heroes learning of Qrow and Robyn being captured and taken up to Atlas Prison and immediately we’re thrust head first into the rescue mission.

Despite barely escaping before, upon learning of her uncle’s imprisonment along with Oscar being left behind, Ruby leads her team back into huntsmen academy to quickly rescue their captured comrades upon the brink of Salem’s arrival.

Imagine if…just like with the start of Avenger’s Endgame, in the very first episode of V8, Ruby and the group learn of Oscar’s “death” at Ironwood’s hand before everything cuts to black and the actual story for V8 starts off after a small time jump.

I wouldn’t mind so much if V8 took place over the course of 1-2 days if it were after a small time jump like what they did back in V6. The events of V6 took place over the course of 4 days AFTER a time jump of 2 weeks. So if the events of V8 took place over the course of 2 days AFTER let’s say another time jump of about one week then I’d be okay with that.

It would also be interesting if our heroes learnt of Oscar’s death in the very first episode and part of the volume was them dealing with the impact of his death on their team while simultaneously working towards stopping Salem and saving Atlas Kingdom.

It’ll be like how the group had to pick themselves upon after Ozpin’s isolation and departure, only this time it’ll be them dealing with Oscar’s “depature”.

What would even be interesting is if Oscar’s death is treated almost like a taboo within the group. Almost like they’re not allowed to talk about him or rather…discuss him around certain characters within the team; particularly the former RNJR squad who were impacted the most and are all dealing with it in their own way.

I like this concept because it makes me imagine a scenario where Ruby acts indifferent---almost disconnected---over Oscar’s death---like everyone expects her to be the most affected since out of everyone, she more or less shared the closet connection to Oscar yet here she was acting as if his death meant nothing to her---when in reality, Ruby was treating Oscar’s death the same way she treated her mother’s death as a child; as recognized by Yang. 

Almost like a seven stages of grief sort of thing---like how do you deal with the news of the loss of a friend and be allowed to actually feel for their loss when the end of the world is happening around you and you’re the person everyone looks to for guidance and encouragement type of deal.  I want Oscar’s death and Ruby’s reaction to his death to unearth and lead into Ruby’s repressed feelings and dealings with her mother’s death since that’s something I’ve been waiting for the story to deal with for a while and V7 left me hopeful.

When I look at it from that perspective, perhaps the 1-2 days ordeal isn’t actually as bad as I originally pegged it to be.

I can probably still get some of Pinehead headcanons coming true but…only if it’s done the way I described---with the CRWBY Writers taking a page from Endgame and having the heroes realized they had failed from episode one and the rest of the story dealing with them licking their wounds while trying to search for a solution in the wake of beloved friends being gone.

Like imagine Jaune basically pulling a Hawkeye/Ronin as a result of Oscar’s “death” since technically, Oscar would be the second time Jaune failed to be there for a teammate/friend---allowing them to go off on their own to their deaths.

So for now, I’m going to look at it like this---I’ll be okay with the 1-2 days’ timeline for RWBY V8 IF in the very first episode, the CRWBY Writers establish our heroes flying back to Atlas to rescue Qrow, Robyn and Oscar only for them to discover in THE VERY FIRST EPISODE that Ironwood had “killed” Oscar and…the chapter ends with the group officially leaving Atlas---probably even watching it be fully taken over by Salem.

Then when we go into Episode 2, just like Endgame, the “true story” begins after a small time jump---during which the audience learns that our heroes had taken refuge down in the remnants of Mantle; working side by side with the Happy Huntresses who had humbly welcomed them into their secret hideout upon Robyn’s request as gratitude for saving her.

Yeahhhhh….that’s better. I like that better. But, it’s only a small idea. I guess we’ll see for V8. For now, I think I’m going to hold onto my hope for Oscar’ death impacting the group if it’s done like Endgame. That’s how I’m going to see it for now.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020)

[neuropathicgypsy]

February 4, 2020 AD Earth

I had a dream about Alex Laughlin.

It was weird... I asked him if i could talk to him and he asked If I wanted to learn to race and i said "i thought we could just ride this roller coaster together.."

"Where?"

"Look behind you..." But it was a blue race car.. No.. Not what i wanted... So he turned smiling and i shook my head no sadly...

"What?"

"Look behind me" i walked over to the roller coaster.. A black particle board type thing... Like ready to fall apart. That was the point. "I need a little help... I'm.. I think.. Do you mind?"

"This one? No. Not at all. Let me start it up for us"

"Do you mind if we hold hands? I might get scared"

Then Idk what happened but it was like an orgasm for me anyway and we ended up in an empty blank space.

"What is this? Recreation?" He asked

And a bunch of evil people came down..

"We need to get rid of these"

"Are you sure? I don't know you know how to do that. Come on baby let's just go. It will be alright you'll see"

"I can't!!"

Then apparently i was in bathtub killing myself again.

"No don't do that. I'll put you back in the room?"

"See? Its all empty! We could Alex! We could!"

"Wait do you hear a voice? Let me see what it says"

"Ok but im going to leave..."

"Okay just a min..."

"Would you get out of the fucking bathtub already?!?!?!"

"I'm busy. The voice it needs you.."

"I need you to stop doing this to yourself. I can't stop recreation i can see this but you need to take care or yourself."

"I can't! Can't you see?!?"

"Back in the roller coaster then"

"Is it blue because i don't like that one"

"Why because that's the car that i drive?"

"No that was Ron Capps. It said Good Times on it. That one is too dangerous for me and you. Don't you see?"

"Then let's ride yours back up that looks like it's gonna fall apart and it's made for little kids"

So we go up and he set his car down to ride the rails with 4 different people in it.

"See? Its perfectly safe. I got it set up just right"

"Noooooo!"

"Look Babe it didn't explode. Quit come here. Come on" he walked over to me, "but why are you shaking come on let's go look. There must be something wrong that I'm missing. You said you would be scared earlier when it was a double car and i disconnected all the other cars so instead of a train it was a single. And you said that was the reason why the car you made was so shitty so no one would want to get in with us. But that doesn't work in reality you know. Now where is it, baby? Where did my car go?"

"It disappeared. Isn't that okay?"

"What the fuck are you talking about let's go on a date where do you want to go and who do you want to go with?"

"Not Matt and i want to take the kids and you take me"

"And drop you off?"

"Whatever you want"

Literally he dropped me off about his stupid car. Literally. He was all "no you're wrong im going back ti my race car. You go paint that's what you want. Why don't you want ice tea? Why would you paint with the kids?"

"Just leave go back to your precious car. We aren't important to you."

He left. He did and then the room was full of ass holes because he wasn't there.

Then a bell rings... Like an alarm or school bell... And he comes

"Why did you invite them and not me?" Seriously he said that.

"Quit bugging me im trying to paint"

Declan said "we didn't invite anyone. We just started to paint and they showed up. Why were you where you shouldn't be is the question"

"Now that was very good Declan. Lets paint the water fall" i said.

"On this coffee cup? Because my canvas just disappeared. Oh Matt Hagan had it. Quit touching my stuff!"

"You two quit! Declan! Matt is going to leave you alone or I'm gonna kixk his ass!"

"WHY DID YOU INVITE MATT AND NOT ME!!"

"Again. He just showed up" said Declan

"You're gonna have to listen to one of us," advised Annabelle.

"You said let's go on a date then we are here and you say you know what is more important than you? My race car and you left. You want to be on a date with me? Then you stay. Now i am not on a date. I am just chaperoning the kids. Thank you for the ride in my race car you destroyed then made me walk so you could just abandon me. Now leave I'm painting a waterfall you see it on the wall? It needs to be on my canvas. STOP!! MATT HAGAN. DO NOT TOUCH ME OR MY THINGS!!"

"Why did you text me that you were here about to fuck my chick?"

"Because you have the nerve to leave me here alone with these two idiots who will enjoy their time to pain and not guard the door like they're supposed to according to Some one else but me. Now leave me. Im trying to enjoy my life. I don't have time to fight. Matt Hagan you're dead"

"Come on let's go! Everyone come on let's go! Run! Lets run" Matt took off.

"Im sorry honey i thought everything was okay that's why I left to go to work. Now what are you doing here alone?"

"Im not! Im here. There's paint. The kids. The ladies that work here!"

"You're working with dead Gods"

"Let me tell you something son. She's not as strange as you think but you're depending your safety on Some one else. Her. And that's not right if you're gonna come in here demanding why you didn't get a date when someone else had the nerve to break through the barrier. I saw what you said back there and you said "drop you off" she didn't say yeah. She said whatever you want. And yoh left. You're lucky there's any piece left of her left. For me or anyone."

"And waterfalls! I paint"

"Sabrina. Don't paint let's start our date over. Here just walk back to the door with me... Hey we're gonnw need some wine and or champagne! And paint! Lots and lots of paint!" He said at the door. "Are you ready to go in my sweet love?"

"I've already been in. Are you sure you can handle my life with yours? Because Its never going to be the same again"

He looked down and laughed and back at me "yeah sure I think i already know what to do"

"You first. Paint"

"I don't think that's all we will do" he grinned at me.

[justin-chapmanswers]

I'm helping my (internet) friends make an object show, and I'm unfortunately not that confident about it, as we're all under 18 and don't have the money to really afford good quality mics or animation software. I'm wondering if you have any tips for people on a budget trying to make an object show for the first time?

Working under a tight budget is tough, that’s undeniable. I think the important thing to keep in mind is that having expensive utilities available does not guarantee success in the first place, it simply makes the process easier. Having the best equipment and software in the world isn’t going to do all that much for people who aren’t familiar with the basics in the first place. If you are incredibly passionate about this work, I would consider investing your money into equipment over time, but for the time-being take your time in that department and really focus in on proving that, as artists, you can make do with what you have.

I am far more interested in consuming media that is bare-bones in its visual and audio presentation but has masterful storytelling than the reverse, and I think much more of your potential audience will agree than the average person assumes. Know your story. Know your characters. Whether or not you will have full control over when your characters come and go (per your decision), it is imperative that you treat each and every installment as its own distinct collection of story and character arcs. If you set up your show in a manner in which you can play every detail out ahead of time, even better! Within an episode, an arc of episodes, or a full season/series you are able to construct interesting narratives in which characters are given obstacles: physical, emotional or otherwise. Especially in an object show you are given a set of obstacles, be it through challenges or the emotional burden of competition. On a budget or not, this is the heart of your show. No matter how the technical presentation comes across you can garner and audience through excellent storytelling. Anyone can do it with practice. ESPECIALLY you!

As for the technical department, itself, let’s talk audio. Back in early 2009 I picked up a ‘lil $10 Logitech microphone at Target and got started on my first voice performance (as Lakitu found here) and I wouldn’t say it’s all that bad. A little bad. Tiny bit. But it worked! Plug in a cheap mic, download Audacity for free, and you’re already well on your way. Audacity isn’t top-of-the-line, but as far as free programs go it works really well, and is probably your lowest priority for upgrading beyond if you choose to bump up your equipment/software. The focus here comes down to putting in a strong, meaningful performance as your character, working around your mic limitations through setup and Audacity editing, and being open to re-recording. It happens!

I’m going to skip over talking vocal performances for the time being (I can always return to that upon request) and stick the practical here. With any microphone set up you’re going to want to do as much as you can to keep your accosting integrity in good standing. What I mean by that, firstly, is recording in a location that absorbs noise. Typically being in echo-y locations, we’re trained to ignore our own voices reverberating (unless it is to an intense extent), so sometimes noticing whether a voice echoes in a recording takes a lot of focus. It’s often not as intense as an echo you’d hear in, say, a cave, just ever so slight to break the illusion of a character being right there on screen and not someone speaking through a microphone. This is solved low-budget quite simply in recording in tight spaces with as much sound-absorbing material as possible. The best option would be hanging up clothes, blankets, or simply recording in a closet- so long as it’s safe. (The higher-budget alternative is buying acoustic foam or utilizing, specifically, a sound booth.) Watch your recording program, find your balance of recording as loudly and clearly as you can while also not getting too close to your audio peaking (the little soundy wave bois not hitting the top/bottom of your recording strip pal). The audio can be made louder or softer later, but peaking is much tougher to fix back up.

It also helps to have any sort of make-shift pop filter you can get together. They’re foam or a screen that you can typically buy cheap that will catch some of the plosives and other weird noises your mouth makes without you noticing before they hit the microphone, which is very helpful in the longterm. And, if you don’t feel like buying them, I know Adam used a sock for a while early on and it worked just fine. Just throw that boi right over the microphone and listen back to how the quality changes. If it’s roughly the same, you’re in the clear for your early, low-budget project.

There’s also plenty that can be done in Audacity to set your audio apart from the rest. I’d say top priority is dealing with background noise. I’m not speaking to parents chatting or the house’s floorboards mysteriously creaking in the background (because that should not be heard whatsoever in your area of recording, listen back to a dialogue-less track of your audio to make sure none of that is coming through), here I am talking to the consistent track of buzzzzz or variation that will come across in any cheaper microphone. The world makes noise, some you can’t hear, and your microphone eats it up. It’ll be in the back of your recording track, and getting rid of it goes a long way. Here the simplest means of going about fixing that is to, at the very start or end of your recording session, record a solid fifteen seconds of background noise without aaaaany noises on your part. Listen back, grab just the few seconds of bg noise that has the most consistent sound without your breathing or other interference, go to effects and hit “noise reduction” (or “noise removal” in other versions), hit “get noise profile,” now highlight eeeeeverything you’ve recorded, go back to “noise removal,” start by setting your noise reduction to around 10-15, and hit “okay.” Listen back and see if that did the job, you may need to make the number a bit higher (I try my best to avoid the 20s). The job here is to use as little of it as possible to get the job done, as the more you use the more of a chance it has at diminishing the quality of your recording. You can also use “equalization” in this process, lowering or boosting very specific frequencies, if you are willing to experiment and get a feel for it. Some others use “compression” to get a much fuller-sounding voice, although if anything I keep this to a minimum and save it more-so for non-narrative pieces where a single voice needs to be dominant.

In the case of audio peaking, clipping, or any plosives/pops/background sounds coming through, you have to be comfortable with re-recording. Going back into your recording spot for a minute goes a long way for a product that you’ll be putting up alone for a forever. This also goes for potentially going in for a strong performance, but that is more subjective and up to a standard you must set, yourself. After that it is your job to bring all the audio from all characters together and balance all of them out neatly volume-wise, pace the recordings out, add in sound effects and music as necessary and balance them out too (a common mistake is making music too loud for the audience to understand what the characters are saying because the sound editor already knows what the characters are saying, so there’s a disconnect). With enough time you will have an excellent audio skeleton for your animation, even with a low budget.

I’ll be honest in that I am much less experienced in animation than I am in audio so I cannot offer all the advice in the world, but here’s what I can say. With the technology available today you are able to create a lot of striking imagery. Whether you use a cheap animation program (do people still use Anime Studio?), Powerpoint, or a more typical program acquired through illegal means (which I would not say here that I condone, but I am aware it happens and people do what people do), there is no stopping you from coming up with unique visuals. I think in the object show community people get pretty caught up in keeping up standard animation conventions, simply making smooth motions and a good frame-rate and making sure everything looks “professional.” That is a luxury, and especially when you are starting out it is far from necessary.

What you want when you are starting out are visuals that are striking. Creative. Memorable. You’re working in animation, the most fluid and fun medium out there! You can spend all day getting bogged down in the basics of movement, which can be important down the line, but what is unique to you is the style that you bring to the table. Make characters do what only animated characters can do. Make characters pose in ways that people can think back on in wonder. As an object show, think of challenges that make characters do the absurd or push them to physical limits. Inanimate Insanity does not get to hit on this often but it is something I value in animation. You can impress people with or without the best animation program in town, it’s just more trying. But far more rewarding.

So much of the magic of object show community is that it works as a training grounds. Create create create! This is the time to do the weird and meaningful things that you might not have an opportunity to create far down the line when responsibilities get in the way. It doesn’t matter in the slightest if your work is perfect, so long as you are creating something and getting it out there and, above all, expressing yourself- I am impressed.

I know that most of this has been more to general show production and not more specifically to object show production, but I think it is important to note that it does work the same as any other show. People will always appreciate good, strong stories, as well as the bare minimum put into your audio and visuals. Effort means the world.

You got this.