kabannoneko

[kabannoneko]

STOP

Every time you see this post on your dash, open up your WIP and write one sentence. It doesn’t matter if the sentence is good, makes sense or works perfectly with your story. You can go back to edit it later. 

Congrats, you made some progress on your WIP!

Make sure to reblog to help fellow writers make progress on their wip!

[kabannoneko]

Big Things

Alright! One big thing done today, at least one more starting tomorrow.

Also, it seems we're gonna be starting our job hunt soon. Take note that it's not gonna be in the sense that we're gonna "give up on our dreams" or something, it's more in the sense of we're getting it to fund those pursuits. Although, we don't really know how much free time it will leave us, but hey, at least we will likely have Saturdays off!

Not gonna lie, there are a lot of big things happening lately, to the point that they could be called life-changing, mostly on the employment and schedule side. We hope that we'll be able to get through them.

[kabannoneko]

Can you tell me why Frodo is so important in lotr? Why can't someone else, anyone else, carry the ring to mordor?

but someone else could.

that’s the whole point of frodo—there is nothing special about him, he’s a hobbit, he’s short and likes stories, smokes pipeweed and makes mischief, he’s a young man like other young men, except for the singularly important fact that he is the one who volunteers. there is this terrible thing that must be done, the magnitude of which no one fully understands and can never understand before it is done, but frodo says me and frodo says I will.

(when boromir is thinking of how he can use the ring to defend gondor, when aragorn is thinking of how it brought down proud isildur, when elrond is holding council and gandalf is thinking of how twisted he would become, if he ever dared—)

but then there’s frodo, who desires nothing except what he has already left behind him, and says, I will take the Ring.

it is an offer made out of absolute innocence, utter sincerity. It is made without knowing what it will make of him—and frodo loses everything to the ring, he loses peace and himself and the shire, he loses the ability to be in the world. It’s cruel, the ring is cruel, it searches out every weakness you have and feeds on it, drinks you dry and fills you with its poison instead, the ring is so cruel.

and frodo picks it up willingly. for no other reason except that it has to be done.

(the ring warps boromir into a hopeless grasping dead thing, the power of the palantir turns denethor into an old man, jealous and suspicious, it bends even saruman, once the proudest of the istari, into a mechanised warlord, sitting in his fortress and bent over his perverse creations—all the best of intentions, laid waste)

but there’s a reason gollum exists in the narrative, which is to show—well, to show what frodo might have been. because even as frodo grows mistrustful and wearied, as the burden of this ring grows heavier and heavier, he is never gollum. he is gentle to gollum. he is afraid—god frodo is so afraid for 2/3 of these books he is so tired and afraid, but he keeps moving, he walks though it would pull him into the ground, because he asked for this, he said he would.

someone else could have carried the ring to mordor, I suppose. the idea of a martyr is not dependent on the particular flesh and blood person dying for some greater purpose. but such a thing has to be chosen, lifted onto your shoulders for the right reason, the truest reasons, and followed into the dark, though it would see you burnt through and bled out.

I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way.

[kabannoneko]

Back From a Celebration

Had quite a bit of anxiety this past week, but the events causing us anxiety have passed, so that's okay. Well, fine, one of them has been rescheduled, but we're in a better mindset right now for it.

So yeah, we went to this pool party thing for one of our relatives, and even though we didn't really do much in terms of the usual party things, there was this hot spring jacuzzi, and it was nice. (As to how it works, the place basically gets hot spring water, probably filters it, then lets it flow into a pool system consisting of a jacuzzi, a shallow pool, and a deeper pool. So the water ranges from really warm to not so cold.)

While it didn't completely help our body aches, it really did feel nice for a while.

But yeah, we're back home and gonna be doing mostly the usual stuff again?

[kabannoneko]

Well, there has been an interesting development regarding this, and I know this is not really going to go out anywhere, and this is pretty much into the void, as they say, but...

The important thing, the appointment that we have today has been cancelled. Due to the fact that the office that we need to go to has very likely suspended their operations today.

For now, we are relieved, and can focus on the next important thing to do, which is to prepare for tomorrow, since we are going out. Hopefully, it doesn't become stressful. After all, we are not the organizers of that particular trip.

Sleepy now... but just wanna let people know that we're gonna be doing something important tomorrow, and hoping we don't mess up...

Been realizing that we care a bit too much about what other people think and this important thing is not really helping meow meow emotions.

But things will pass. And we can still do something.

Meow meow have to beat the bad brain thoughts.

[kabannoneko]

Sleepy now... but just wanna let people know that we're gonna be doing something important tomorrow, and hoping we don't mess up...

Been realizing that we care a bit too much about what other people think and this important thing is not really helping meow meow emotions.

But things will pass. And we can still do something.

Meow meow have to beat the bad brain thoughts.

[kabannoneko]

With all this hype we have about this website we're doing and the writing that we wanna do, it just came to mind that there's this thing called Twine.

It's a program that lets you make interactive stories (you know, choose your own adventure and stuff like that). The appealing thing about it is that it can be turned into an HTML thing and now that we think about it, it can be put into our website.

Some of the stories we're planning were originally intended to be something like this, so why not, right?

[kabannoneko]

Week End Update 08252023

I cannot believe it's been around a week since the previous update. But here you go, updates.

Personal Update

Well... We're going to be doing quite a few important things this coming week, so we might not post that much on Twitter... Not that we're posting that much there lately, since we're preoccupied with the website.

And yeah, ever since that whole X thing, we can't help but feel it's a bit more toxic?

Website Update

And speaking of the thing, we're finally getting things rolling with the writing page! A few reviews are on there now, and so is one of the stories we haven't posted here at all.

This coming week, though... Not sure if we can do much, but we're more likely to do something for it than the videos.

Right... You can take a look at the site here.

Videos Update

And speaking of videos, we're not going to post this coming week, but the week after that will be the last of our VODs. After that, we'll be doing the whole "recording for video" thing instead of streaming.

Really wanna do something that could also tie in with writing projects and our book reading.

[kabannoneko]

Week End Update 08192023

Actually, we're going to go out later, but figured we should write this while we have the time.

Personal Website Update

Pretty happy that we got most of the buttons in the website working, but now we gotta get to the main stuff of things... the writing. I, in particular, am excited, but yeah we gotta make time for it. Expect the writing stuff here on this blog to appear on the site.

After that, we'll likely solely post there, so they could be found easily.

Videos Update

So yeah, we haven't been streaming, but we've been working on getting them VODs up. So far, the decision is just to release the VODs as is, then edit more when it comes to later videos. Just so we don't pressure ourselves.

It turns out it's not going to be too long before we get the chance to make new vids! Also excited for that.

Job Hunt Update

Well... Not really hunting yet, but we've been getting our requirements in order. Just got our college transcript and maaaaan... we haven't been in the best academic shape.

Anyway, we're moving on. Just need to gather a few other things then we can do the hunting for realsies. - Kochi

[kabannoneko]

Finally got over the heat enough to work on some website stuff. Pretty excited, cause what we need to do now is compile our writing and other stuff.

And yeah, it means we will really move our stories there (leaving this Tumblr as more of an outright blog) and maybe the reviews too, so people might find them there as well as here. - Kochi

[kabannoneko]

Week End Update 08122023

What's Up With Minimal Twitter Usage?

We did say some time back that we won't use Twitter so much (and at the very most, eventually not using it at all). Well, we haven't been posting stuff except for a few retweets, as well as some replies to random tweets (non-argumentative ones, anyway, we're not really big on arguing over "issues" that would eventually become pointless)

Gotta admit that we do miss tweeting random stuff and updates, and even now we're kind of still trying to find a good alternative for update posting. And we haven't quite gotten over scrolling there every now and then.

However, I've been trying to at least stop from scrolling whenever something ehh pops up. Like, we don't need to linger. It most likely does not concern us, or if it does, it won't matter eventually.

Would still have to work on actually minimizing more... Either that, or it's really just gonna be some time limit or post limit thing.

Website Update

I know it's been slow progress for a week, but then again, we don't really work on it all the time. So far, we got a basic homepage down, and we also got an about page going. Currently working on the menu... and to be honest, as much as I love seeing our hand-drawn text, it's a pain in our mind to actually start drawing it. The inertia is real.

BUT, we have sketched them out (pretty quickly, mind you) and now it's just a matter of inking and coloring them digitally.

After that, we're gonna work on the meat of the whole thing, the text/stories.

A New Fixation?

Recently, like, very recently, we got to try out Palia, this upcoming new cozy MMO. So far, it's been okay... Just hate the hunting parts cause you can't melee animals. Oh well.

And our laptop is kind of too weak for it lol, mostly because of lack of memory (we only got like, 8GB RAM total but thankfully we can still upgrade that) and we had to, like, get it down to DirectX 11 and the lowest graphic settings just to have it work properly.

But hey, it's still nice.

Hopefully, we won't get too into it... right???

[kabannoneko]

If anyone is wondering what we are doing right now... We are looking back on the stories we have already written quite a while back.

It makes us smile remembering how writing and reading those made us feel fulfilled, among other things. We had to shift our priorities at some point... but we would like to pivot it back somehow.

Of course, some influences of what we've written more recently will be there, but at least those will be the welcome kind. Now that we think about it, it feels like doing one of those old art redraws.

As to why we are doing it... Well, we didn't quite think that free website hosting still existed and we thought maybe we should try our hand at making a website again. It would be better for organization... at least, that's what we think. - B

[kabannoneko]

Ok but like. What the fuck is there to do on the internet anymore?

Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.

Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.

Am I just like completely inept at finding new things or has the internet just fallen apart that much with the problems of SEO and web 3.0 turning everything into a same-site prison?

[kabannoneko]

Life Update 08022023

As I typed the title to this post, I was reminded of a certain acquaintance's birthday (we'd remember, cause it's the opposite of ours.) But anyway, that's not what this is about.

These past few days were a doozy. Got really sick this past Saturday, and it's only recently that we've been well enough to sit down long enough to type. (Got exposed to the rain on Friday, and well you know what happened.)

Really glad that we can more or less eat properly now, though I'm still avoiding a few foods because they might cause us to puke. (mostly a sensory thing, and I hate that it's a thing) We're also avoiding going straight back to our usual portions cause we've been eating so little these past few days. But yeah, we're getting back there.

Yeah, that's why we're not really posting much online lately.

Speaking of, though... We might avoid posting on Twitter (no, we don't wanna call it that letter) altogether, considering all that's happening to it right now.

[kabannoneko]

look away

[kabannoneko]

if you write a strong character, let them fail.

if you write a selfless hero, let them get mad at people.

if you write a cold-hearted villain, make them cry.

if you write a brokenhearted victim, let them smile again.

if you write a bold leader, make them seek guidance.

if you write a confident genius, make them be wrong, or get stumped once in a while.

if you write a fighter or a warrior, let them lose a battle, but let them win the war.

if you write a character who loses everything, let them find something.

if you write a reluctant hero, give them a reason to fight.

credit:@aj-eddy

[kabannoneko]

Game Thoughts - Little Inferno by Tomorrow Corporation

To be honest, I only wanted to play this game cause it looked silly. But as I soon found out, it was silly, yes, but it wasn't completely so! (Or rather, that's not all it is.) And I like it! - Gure

What's It About?

So, you play as a guy who's gotten himself a brand new "Little Inferno Entertainment Fireplace", which is basically a fireplace that can burn a lot of different things, even a bomb… and even a mini sun. Woooooow…

But why, you ask?

Well… For self-entertainment! And also cause it's very cold outside, for some reason, as you're supposed to find out in the story. To be fair, you'll find out pretty early anyway, so it's not too much of a spoiler.

Writing

I didn't think it would have that much of a story, not gonna lie, but yeah, there's a story, apparently! And they did a good job telling that story through dialogue from the characters other than yourself.

lol and there's also the item descriptions! That dark humor really is something… I'm gonna have to tell you all that they're not shy about showing and describing certain objects that might trigger/disturb people.

I do like how they tell you bits and pieces of the story through letters from the other characters, and I really find it amazing that it all comes together in the end. Like, questions that you may have as a player get answered, but it's not like they tell it to you in one go… you go out and talk to the characters involved.

Probably won't say any more, but remember that even though you're "by yourself" in the game, you're certainly not alone.

Art

First thing that comes to mind is that everything looks pretty whimsical, even though some of those things aren't really what you would wanna see, like syringes… bombs… meds… It kind of reminds me of something like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. I like it.

Music

The music fits the game pretty well, and there are a lot of little noises that the items make that I really like. Really keeps the game from being too tedious when it comes to waiting for items to get delivered.

The volume starts pretty loud, however, and there's no way to reduce it in-game. And that pretty much means that you have to use your computer system's volume mixer so you can set it right. Also, for some reason, it gets a copyright notice when we upload it. Thankfully, it's not a strike or anything like that.

Gameplay

The game pretty much has two parts to it, basically. The first part has you buying stuff through catalogs provided to you, waiting to get them, and then burning them in the fireplace to get money as well as get combos. Some item combinations are obvious, but some really take some thinking and some knowledge of things (to be honest, I had to look at a guide for a few of them.) This was the part that got me to play it, but apparently, it's more than that.

The second part has you walk around and talk to people and stuff. Not gonna lie, just saying that doesn't really do it justice lol. Basically, what happens is that some of the loose ends get tied… I can't really talk about it so much, cause I think it's better just to experience the whole thing.

Either way… There's not much I can consider bad, except maybe for the parts where I have to wait a lot during the first part (especially since I didn't know the items Sugar Plumps sends you aren't too important at all lol). Like, if you were playing by myself, maybe you wouldn't mind it as much, but if there's people watching you play, I would suggest that you have something to talk about.

Overall

This is a pretty nice, surprisingly deep(?) game that provides you the fun of burning things down (which you shouldn't really do that freely IRL lol) and gently and lovingly reminds you that there's a whole wide world out there. It can be a little on the short side, considering you can actually finish it in a single sitting, but I think the story's worth it.

You can get it on Steam. (There's a Christmas-themed (or is it Santa-themed) DLC too, by the way.)