#I got level 10 fishing in the first summer

[crochet-and-creatures]

Been playing Stardew Valley for the first time and I'm pretty sure it is not intended progression to reach year 2 without hitting floor 80 of the mines. This also means I have no sprinklers or machines and thus don't grow crops or make things, so I'm constantly broke but it's a vibe y'know?

[sixty-silver-wishes]

ranking every hyperfixation I can remember having

Fish: Since I was two years old up until like, middle school, I was obsessed with fish and sea life in general. I wanted to be a marine biologist for years. I still cry when I go to aquariums because seeing all the kids watching the fish reminds me of myself at that age. 8/10. Basic hyperfixation, but fish are still pretty cool

The American Flag: For some reason, I remember having an American flag phase in preschool. Not even having to do with America or American history or some other reason; I just thought the flag itself went hard. I can't tell you why. 2/10 because my patriotism levels are at an all time low as of now

Spin the Globe: Spin the Globe was the animated host of National Geographic's "Really Wild Animals," a series of wildlife documentaries for children. For some reason, I latched onto this guy HARD when I was in kindergarten.

I watched the ocean one every day, to the point where I memorized it and spent the whole class day writing down the script from memory (I don't understand how I didn't get my ADHD diagnosis until I was an adult). I rewatched the ocean documentary last year for some nostalgia, and I found out that Spin was REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING. I don't know what 5 year old me was thinking. 1/10.

The Wonder Pets: This was my favorite show when I was in, like, first grade. Unfortunately, that's right about the age where kids think it's cool to joke about brutally murdering children's show characters to prove how mature they are, so really liking a children's show was social suicide. The animation in Wonder Pets did slap tho. 4/10

Power Lab VBS Bible Buddies: Like I said, my hyperfixations were weird as a kid. I was raised Baptist Christian, and every year, my church held a VBS (Vacation Bible School), which for those who don't know, is basically a five-day Christian summer camp. Each day, they would hand out these figurines called "Bible Buddies," which each were supposed to represent a different lesson about the Bible. One year (I think I was in second grade?) the theme was "Power Lab," which had a science laboratory theme. These were the "Buddies" for that year:

I used to play with the figurines of these guys all the time. I can't tell you why, but I thought they were so cool. I also think I was enamored with the lightning bolt lady for some reason? Anyway I'm giving these guys a 4/10. Low score for lameness, but points for originality.

Word Girl: I was raised with PBS as a kid because I didn't have cable until maybe second grade, and I LOVED Word Girl. And I majored in English, so I think that explains a lot. The humor of that show still holds up, and I was so happy to see it made a comeback with fans last year. 8/10; would watch Word Girl again

The Future is Wild: When we finally got cable, my sister and I watched a lot of Discovery Kids. Our favorite show was The Future is Wild, which was a sort of speculative evolution sci-fi for children. These characters would go on adventures in the future and learn things about the animals that lived in environments that had been altered due to global events, and I really liked all the creatures, especially the "Ocean Phantom." Also looking back I think I may have had a crush on CG? Her annoying-ass voice and drama trying to balance working for her father vs. being loyal to her friends had me in a chokehold

6/10. Batshit insane show (I mean. it is in the title), but we love women in STEM

A Series of Unfortunate Events: This is the mother of all my more recent hyperfixations. Something was set in motion here that could not be reversed. 10/10 hyperfixation. this book series made me who I am

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: Along with Unfortunate Events, I was also into the ridiculously violent middle-grade animal xenofiction series in elementary school. I loved these books, and I was so disappointed when the movie came out because of all the ways it diverged from the plot. 8/10 for antifascism and owls, but points docked off because I could never get far in the DS game

Pokemon: So, my mom was pretty sheltering when I was really little, so there was no Pokemon or Harry Potter in the house until I was in 4th grade and she loosened up some. I'd wanted to get into Pokemon for a long time because everyone brought the cards to recess, and one of my friends gave me a holographic Mew card that she said was "really special." My mom threw it away, along with the rest of the cards my friend gave me, because she didn't like the words "psychic" or "evolution" on there lol. But once I was allowed to play my first Pokemon game (Heartgold), I got really into it. If my old Deviantart can be found somewhere in the dark, dark corners of the internet, it was filled with awful Pokemon MS paint drawings. Sometimes I still think about them. 7/10, because I still like Pokemon a lot, but docking points off because my Pokemon hyperfixation introduced me to the more unsavory parts of the internet at a young age.

Harry Potter: This one goes hand-in-hand with the Pokemon thing. Because Harry Potter was forbidden fruit in my household until my mom eventually decided it wasn't that bad, I got really into it when I was a kid. It was less about Harry Potter itself, but more about the fact that I could finally experience something that everyone else had been enjoying for so long. Obviously now that JK Rowling is, well, JK Rowling, I've distanced myself from Harry Potter, and have begun to think about it more critically, but just like everyone else that used to be into it, it did give me some fond memories. 1/10, with the 1 point going solely to Neil Cicierega.

My Little Pony: Got into it in fifth grade and watched it up until freshman year of high school. Not a lot to say about it to be honest; I liked some of the fan works well enough, and I don't have any strong feelings on it now. 5/10

Doctor Who: Oh god; who didn't have a Doctor Who phase in middle school? This was me at my most obnoxious. I constantly wore my 10th Doctor "Allons-y" shirt everywhere I could, and even insisted on wearing 3D glasses at times (I still have them). I quoted the damn show in every conversation (I used to be able to recite the "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" monologue word for word). I'm just glad I didn't get the Hot Topic TARDIS dress that I wanted for so long. I keep finding Doctor Who merch in my room, long after I thought I'd cleared it all out. To be clear, I don't hate Doctor Who, but it just brings up a lot of memories of the annoying kid I used to be in the past. 6.5/10

Celtic Woman: Celtic Woman was the first band I actually got really into. I'd been introduced to their music through Endless Ocean 2, and I would spend hours listening to them and watching their concert videos. Unfortunately, being a middle schooler and listening primarily to Celtic folk music and inspirational songs is not a very good combination, but it is satisfying to see all the people who probably would have bullied me back then dancing to "Teir Abhaile Riu" on TikTok. "Dulaman" was my favorite song, and I was tragically determined to sing it for a good while, despite not knowing any Irish Gaelic. I miss the original band, but their new stuff is all right. 7/10

The Legend of Zelda: More specifically, Skull Kid. My first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, but Majora's Mask was really the peak of my hyperfixation. Skull Kid was easily my favorite character, and I once dressed up as him to school during Spirit Week. I also really liked Fierce Deity Link, and would roleplay both him and Skull Kid on DeviantArt. But the biggest impact my Zelda hyperfixation had on me was kickstarting my love of playing music. I took piano lessons for a short while and started out playing Zelda songs, and I was always listening to video game soundtracks. I switched over to violin later and also took up the ocarina (which I did get pretty serious about for a while. You won't see me playing video game songs anymore, but I still love to play.) 8/10 for the impact, with points taken off because I kept starting games but never finishing them

Lord of the Rings: Got really into Tolkien in high school. My best friend and I bonded over the books, and I also ended up reading the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. I didn't really get into the fandom because I was sort of "outgrowing" fandom culture at this time, but even though it's been a while, I still really like Tolkien. 9/10

The Aztec Empire: Did a report on the Aztec Empire in high school and was really interested it for a while, especially Aztec mythology and sacrificial rituals. 7/10 because I feel like the sacrifice stuff held my attention a lot more than it should have, and I feel like I absorbed a lot of misinformation about it

Medieval Europe: I have an on-and-off Medieval European history phase that comes and goes. Mainly, I'm interested in literature; I read Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales for fun in high school, and I was unfortunately very obnoxious about that. I did study Medieval history and Arthurian legends in college though, so that was neat. 7/10 because saying you're interested in Medieval history sometimes has to come with a disclaimer

Sweeney Todd: My favorite musical, and a big hyperfixation for a while. My best friend played Judge Turpin in high school, and we were both really into "Sweeney" to the point of permanently adopting lines from it into our regular conversations, even today. We even went to see it on Broadway together, which was awesome. 9/10, with one point off because I hate explaining to people why the Tim Burton version Sucks

Classical Music History: Specifically Shostakovich. I like a lot of other composers too, but this was a BIG phase. We're talking three years of research, writing long essays, Russian language and Soviet history classes, working for a Shostakovich journal, learning music, etc. I wasn't even doing this for a career; I just really, really liked Shostakovich a lot in college. I started getting into classical music in high school, but college was when I stopped being an idiot about it. 9/10, with a point taken off because I used to be an idiot about it

Sea Shanties: This falls into my wider love of folk music, but shanties and sea songs got me through college and working a minimum-wage job during the pandemic. 9/10; very fun to sing while in the car with friends

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: Currently hyperfixated on classic films, but this one in general. You've seen my blog. 8/10, because it's a great movie with a lot to hyperfixate on, but points off because it's so hard to want to discuss this with people in public.

Tom Waits: Another current one. I listen to at least two full albums every day, usually "The Black Rider" (which could have its own spot on this list). Meeting a fellow Tom Waits fan in public is the best feeling ever, but telling someone that you like Tom Waits to someone who doesn't know who Tom Waits is sometimes means weird results. Like, someone asked me once if he was a new indie musician. I just want to know what they thought his music was like. 10/10 hyperfixation. no notes

Honorable mentions for smaller hyperfixations I've had over the years, in no particular chronological order:

Gila Monsters (9/10)

Klaus Nomi (9/10)

Hamilton (3/10)

Victorian literature (7/10)

Current events (0/10)

Japan's Torii Gate (5/10. I just thought it looked really cool when I was a kid)

Deaths on Mt. Everest (8/10)

The Oceangate disaster (3/10)

Parakeets (7/10)

House of Leaves (10/10)

Encanto (7.5/10)

My best friend (9/10. Great friend but unfortunately I misidentified it as a crush for many years)

My first ex (0/10)

W.I.T.C.H. (4/10)

This thing:

(Its name is Mathra and it's from an educational kids' game called ClueFinders. I pretended it was my friend when I was little and I drew it all the time, then got embarrassed when people asked what I was drawing)

Lord of the Flies (7/10)

Finding Nemo (6/10)

The Russian language (7/10)

Edgar Allan Poe (8/10)

Ivan Ivanovich Sollertinsky (8.5/10)

Nikolai Gogol (8/10)

In conclusion. it's weird to me that I think my most niche and bizarre hyperfixations were from when I was a really little kid lol

[doodlesandbooks]

Things I have watched on Netflix whilst (really) ill and my rating of them: 

Dungeon Meshi: 100/10 - I started watching before I was ill, its worth buying a Netflix subscription for this, its great, SungWon Cho is in it, go watch it. 

Words Bubble up Like Soda Pop: 9/10 - A feel good, sweet film about young love in a very bright summer mood 

Drifting Home: 10/10 - Adorable kids go on a harrowing adventure Ghibli style, beautiful animation, sweet story telling. The children do act like emotionally immature children but you’d expect that. I watched it twice.

Children of the Whales: 7/10 - Fun, clearly misses bits of the manga. Some characters have a fun telekinetic glowy power called 'thymia'. One of the characters really feels like the writer’s OC, which is fine, but occasionally off-putting . World building was super fun, and I really liked the character Suou.

The Orbital Children: 1/10 - I'm giving it 1 just for the fun first episode. it seemed like it would start with good world building and had cute enough animation. Don’t watch it, I sunk 6 episodes of time into it with increasing frustration. It is a complete waste of your time post the third episode. It had ant man level writing where quantum was replaced with AI, and it just got worse. I was ill enough that the quality didn't matter that much.

The Garden of Words: 5/10 - just for the animation, which was beautiful - it was a story about a 15 year old boy developing a crush on a depressed English teacher, and they become friends, he doesn’t know she’s a teacher. It leaves you constantly wondering if the studio is about to condone something illegal until the last five minutes. Its ending is unsatisfactory but also inoffensive. 

Flavours of Youth: 4/10 - It's sweet, I didn't personally enjoy it that much. There was far too much narration and it felt a bit disjointed for my tastes.

Several hours Sir David Attenborough narrated animal documentaries, 10/10 - I like watching fish, and also many other animals - this was not on Netflix

I also watched a Scoobie Do Jeprody spin off thing called Scooby Do Guess Who? or something and that was strange - can't remember where this one was.

I have been so ill.

[middletone]

Introduction Post

Spring – Year 1: Week 1 - Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Summer – Year 1: Week 1- Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Current Goals:

Fast-track Blue Chickens

Fishing Level 10

Weekly Summary: Leander has taken the first steps towards becoming a part of the Pelican Town community! Having heard rumors of Shane’s chicken husbandry skills, our farmer is attempting to befriend possibly the only person in town to actively avoid having friends. Very rude; we just want to talk about chickens!

Leander has found solace in fishing. He prefers fishing at the dock in front of Willy’s shop, but will sometimes move to one of the small islands of the mountain lake. The Fiberglass Rod was a much needed purchase. The mines do instill a growing need for adventure, however…

Having met with the Wizard and “partaken” of his brew, Leander’s magics have begun to reawaken; enough that the Fae saw it within their good graces to bless our first crops. A fruitful first week back at Aurora Fields.

Daily summary & donation checklists under the cut; mod list in the Introduction post.

Day 01:

Beginner chickens are Honey (white) & Biscuit (brown)

Cleared some of the farm

Collected enough wood for 2 chests

Bought and planted: 1 Parsnip, 1 Cauliflower, 1 Kale, 1 Green Bean, 1 Blue Jazz, 1 Tulip, 3 Potatoes

Said “Hi” to everyone excluding Alex, Willy, & the Wizard - Not bad!

Found all possible Spring Foragables - Great start!

Dug up a Rusty Spoon and spoke with Gunther about the museum

Hit Foraging Level 1

Day 02:

Forgot to pet the chickens; continue to be mad I can’t pet them while they’re sleeping

Got word from Willy & went to the beach for our first fishing rod

Dropped a chest in front of Willy’s shop & fished until 5pm; treasure: iron ore, frozen geodes

Found Glass Shards on the beach - Serious safety hazard!

Said “Hi” to Willy & Alex

Gifted a daffodil to Linus for the ‘Making Friends’ quest

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Hit Fishing Levels 1 & 2

Day 03:

Caught all rain fish except the Shad

Fenced off a portion of the Coop area for the blue chewy grass to spread without being eaten

Chickens fully grown - Got our first eggs!

Gifted Shane an egg; Operation Fast-track Blue Chickens is a go!

Purchased a Fiberglass Rod & Bait from Willy’s Shop

Spent the day fishing; treasure: iron ore, geode, Aquamarine

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Hit Fishing Levels 3 & 4

Got Fisherman achievement

Day 04:

Spent the day fishing

Gave Pam a Joja Cola to rub on her sore nose - ?

Egg for Shane

Did some foraging before bed

Hit Fishing Level 5 - Chose Fisher perk

Day 05:

Adopted our first cat, Steve “Captain America” Rogers

Cleared some of the farm towards the southern exit

Completed the Rat Problem & Mine cut scenes

Dropped a chest in the mine by the elevator for future use

Dropped a chest in front of the Community Center & moved items in preparation for first round of donations - Reminds me of stacking bugs/fish outside Blather’s while the museum upgrades in ACNH lol

Spent the day fishing

Day 06:

Got high with the wizard and made first round of donations to the Community Center

Gave Sam a Flounder that he wanted for unspecified reasons

Spent the day fishing

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Received a visit from the Fairy!

Hit Fishing Level 6 & Foraging Level 2

Day 07:

Learned Stir Fry recipe

Bought a Red Mushroom from the Traveling Cart

Gave Lewis a Daffodil for his birthday

Bought & planted 8 Potatoes; purchased the first pack upgrade

Spent the day fishing; treasure: Skeletal Tail

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Found & read Mining Monthly; gained mining XP

Hit Farming Level 1 & Mining Level 1; got Mother Catch achievement

Donations:

Community Center - Crafts Room 1/6:

4/4 Spring Foraging: Wild Horseradish, Daffodil, Leek, Spring Onion

0/3 Summer Foraging: Grape, Spice Berry, Sweet Pea

0/4 Fall Foraging: Common Mushroom, Wild Plum, Hazelnut, Blackberry

0/4 Winter Foraging: Crystal Fruit, Snow Yam, Crocus, Holly

0/5 Exotic Foraging: Coconut, Cactus Fruit, Cave Carrot, Red Mushroom, Purple Mushroom, Maple Syrup, Oak Resin, Pine Tar, Morel

0/3 Forest: Moss (10), Fiber (200), Maple Seed (10)

Community Center - Pantry 1/6:

4/4 Spring Crops: Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower, Potato

0/4 Summer Crops: Hot Pepper, Blueberry, Melon, Summer Squash

0/4 Fall Crops: Corn, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Yam

0/1 Rare Crops: Ancient Fruit, Sweet Gem Berry

2/4 Garden: Tulip, Summer Spangle, Fairy Rose, Blue Jazz, Sunflower

0/4 Brewer’s: Mead, Wine, Juice, Pale Ale, Green Tea

Community Center - Fish Tank 0/6:

1/4 River Fish: Sunfish, Catfish, Shad, Tiger Trout

3/4 Lake Fish: Largemouth Bass, Carp, Bullhead, Sturgeon

1/4 Ocean Fish: Sardine, Tuna, Red Snapper, Tilapia

2/3 Night Fishing: Walleye, Bream, Eel

2/5 Crab Pot: Lobster, Crayfish, Crab, Cockle, Mussel, Shrimp, Snail, Periwinkle, Oyster, Clam

0/2 Master Fisher’s: Lava Eel, Scorpion Carp, Octopus, Blobfish

Community Center - Boiler Room 0/3:

0/4 Geologist’s: Quartz, Earth Crystal, Frozen Tear, Fire Quartz

0/5 Treasure Hunter’s: Amethyst, Topaz, Emerald, Diamond, Ruby, Aquamarine

0/3 Engineer’s: Iridium Ore, Battery Pack, Refined Quartz (5)

Museum - Artifacts 1/42:

Dwarf Scroll I, Dwarf Scroll II, Dwarf Scroll III, Dwarf Scroll IV, Chipped Amphora, Arrowhead, Ancient Doll, Elvish Jewelry, Chewing Stick, Ornamental Fan, Dinosaur Egg, Rare Disc, Ancient Sword, Rusty Spoon, Rusty Spur, Rusty Cog, Chicken Statue, Ancient Seed, Prehistoric Tool, Dried Starfish, Anchor, Glass Shards, Bone Flute, Prehistoric Handaxe, Dwarvish Helm, Dwarf Gadget, Ancient Drum, Golden Mask, Golden Relic, Strange Doll, Prehistoric Scapula, Prehistoric Tibia, Prehistoric Skull, Skeletal Hand, Prehistoric Rib, Prehistoric Vertebra, Skeletal Tail, Nautilus Fossil, Amphibian Fossil, Palm Fossil, Trilobite

Museum – Minerals 0/53:

Emerald, Aquamarine, Ruby, Amethyst, Topaz, Jade, Diamond, Prismatic Shard, Quartz, Fire Quartz, Frozen Tear, Earth Crystal, Alamite, Bixite, Baryte, Aerinite, Calcite, Dolomite, Esperite, Fluorapatite, Geminite, Helvite, Jamborite, Jagoite, Kyanite, Lunarite, Malachite, Neptunite, Lemon Stone, Nekoite, Orpiment, Petrified Slime, Thunder Egg, Pyrite, Ocean Stone, Ghost Crystal, Tigerseye, Jasper, Opal, Fire Opal, Celestine, Marble, Sandstone, Granite, Basalt, Limestone, Soapstone, Hematite, Mudstone, Obsidian, Slate, Fairy Stone, Star Shards

[ghooostbaby]

was tagged by @muigiel ^^

nine albums or songs I've been listening to lately x nine people I’d like to get to know better x tag game with no name

1. why did you choose your url? i heard "ghost baby" could be a translation of wei ying (from mdzs) and i really loved that vibe

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them. @revengegarden which i use to put art inspiration in.

3. how long have you been on tumblr? i think i first joined when it was in beta in like 2009! i didnt really know how to use it though. i used it intermittently over the years to post silly poetry and save stuff from the internet i enjoyed. i never really interacted with anyone or understand how that worked. i made a new account in 2020 when i got interested in fandom stuff during pandemic lockdown times..

4. do you have a queue tag? no

5. why did you start your blog in the first place? well i answered that above kind of ... i've always sort of gotten weird obsessed with whatever i'm watching or reading, no one else i knew really had the same level and that i remember during the first weeks of lockdown searching stuff on what i was watching instead of bothering uninterested people about it and ended up on tumblr looking at fan art of zuko and sokka :P and all these people losing it over fictional characters i was like ... i think i'm home? so i got a tumblr to participate in it more.

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp? my name is from wei wuxian so i wanted a pic of him! he was sort of my main blorbo at the time making this account, and he truly captured my heart when he was all red-eyed insane with rage playing his demon flute

7. why did you choose your header? i don't know what my header is haha

8. what’s your post with the most notes? i'm not sure exactly, but i think the last 'annual stats' thing tumblr shared was a feverish cumplane head canon i posted. i also get notes every day on a recent post about wu ming fanon vs canon. but actually my looooong ranting meta about wei wuxian and lan wangji is probably the most notes. but reading that meta makes me want to hide under a rock encountering my past self

9. how many mutuals do you have? a couple

10. how many followers do you have? o.o

11. how many people do you follow? a few hundred i think?

12. have you ever made a shitpost? *looks up definition of shitpost* no

13. how often do you use tumblr each day? probably an hour a day just scrolling on my phone when i'm too tired to do anything else... i've had a job this summer that has been brutally long hours and tiring so i'm not in the mood to sit at my computer much

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? sometimes haha. listen, sometimes people have takes that are so bad i have to say SOMEthing. then i get so terrified of being yelled at i delete everything or ignore tumblr for 2 weeks or ask @muigiel if people are being mean in my notes hahaha

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts ummmmm

16. do you like tag games? it's nice to be tagged! atm i usually don't have time when i receive them and then the notification passes and i forget, this one i put in my drafts though

17. do you like ask games? love to be a part of one one day T.T idk maybe more people would send me asks if i turned on anon but a year or so ago i started getting all these terfs harassing me in my asks (must be doing something right?) so i turned off anon. one actually was mad enough to send me a death threat (?!) from their account so i was able to report them

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? haha i don't have many, just all of us small fish swimming together.. but i think a lot of people in danmei fandoms really love what @baiwu-jinji posts :) although i think they're not super active rn or we're not on at the same times

19. do you have a crush on a mutual? no but if you're in love with me let me know! i wouldn't be opposed to a tumblr romance :P

20. what is the last song you listened to? hmmmm i think i was listening to a Grouper album last

21. what are you currently watching? i wanted to find something new to watch that had perfect gorgeous visuals of beautiful outside places and ended up watching Orlando last night

22. sweet/ savoury/ spicy? all!

23. what is your current relationship status? single

24. what is your current obsession? tgcf, he xuan, yin yu, maurice (film & reading the book)

25. what are nine albums/ songs you've been listening to lately?

maurice soundtrack !!

80s dancey music bc my taste definitely gears towards lyricless and traditonal/folk music but i've been working with kids who all want to listen to justin bieber all the time so trying to get some fun pop music i can also enjoy (i just hate the sounds of contemp pop music sorry, somehow it feels so... digital? data-driven? written by AI?) - and actually have found madonna is soooo good.

and then relistening to old favourites... yesterday i was enjoying my rock n roll romance playlist which has david bowie, bauhaus, wanda jackson (tunnel of love), suicide (cheree), roy orbison, dead or alive

if you want to take a look inside my brain https://www.nts.live/shows/cantus-orbis

tag 9 people.. uhh. how about just @unfotp @marloviandevil @baiwu-jinji but no obligation!

[writing-whump]

Hello dear Sol! I hope everything is well and smooth with your life lately! I saw your recent post about what's coming soon and I got really excited, I'm happy that you liked the little idea that I mentioned earlier 🤭🤭

As for me, I've been spending some time abroad these days and trying to get rid of the stress of past few months😅 And actually, I'm going to Vienna tomorrow and that's my first time visiting there, I am wondering about that city more as I'm reading your fics 😉

Sooo today's question is a bit different than usual since I'm also trying to make a list of what should I see at Vienna. So first of all, I wonder what's your favorite place to see/go in Vienna? And secondly, if they have a specific location ofc, what's your OC's favorite place in Vienna? What they like to do in the city?

Thank you!! Lot's of love🤍

-☕

Hey ☕️nonny! Glad to hear from you!

Holidays are treating me well so far! Just got home from a week in Vienna where I was looking out for a friend's apartment, so your questions come at the freshest time.😂😎

I'm happy to hear you are having a trip and getting away from stress of the last months. Wishing you lots of fun! ✨️

As for the places hmmmm. I love going to Karlsplatz because it got basically EVERYTHING. There is the state Oper house, the Albertina gallery that is the most famous in Vienna, the Butterflyhouse, the Burggarten for some greenery and nice sculptures and flowers...and when you continue to the right, you will run into the Parlament (beautiful building), Rathausplatz (I was there yesterday with friends and they have a whole summer-long party there, with apperols, food stands and music🎶very good atmosphere. 100% recommand checking it out.

As for other places my OCs can recommend hehehe:

Haus des Meeres (Aquarium) - def Seline's favourite, it has 10 levels and so much water, fishes, crocodiles, snakes, apes,...

Nationalbibliothek (the biggest national library) - also right next to Karlsplatz and Burggarten cough cough - Isaiah's fave. He loves to study there. Peace, quiet, historical and cultured feel.

Oberlaa Confectionary - best cakes, sweets and pastries. Arnie absolutely loves it there, he is there at least once a week for Mango cake.

Alte Donau - basically where the river Danube makes for a nice riverside with a sort of beach like access to water. Nice for a walk by the river, restaurants, lots of people there for swimming and chilling in the grass and wooden moles. Hector's favourite 😎

Schloss Belvedere - beautiful wide gardens with a giant castle and two. It's super close to the Hbf main station and people to there like to a park, but looks super fancy. Matt loves to go for a jog there.

Stephansplatz - one of the biggest and most famous churches the Stephansdom right in the middle of huge shopping and restaurant streets. Really cool views on all the historical buildings and sights. Rip likes to go there, running and parkouring over the roofs. The maze of the streets and all the imaginative building tops...

Wien Mitte/Landstraße - Dylan's favourite. Also a shopping street, restaurants, chargers, lots of banks and fountains to chill at.

Here you go, hope you have fun!!✨️✨️✨️

[rouzys]

THE UNOFFICIAL ST. LOUIS BLUES PRIMER PART THREE: GOALIES + MORE

JORDAN BINNINGTON (Binner)

Info: #50, STL 2011

Last season: 3.31 GAA + .894 SV%

History: Played his first ever NHL game in an emergency role in the 15-16 season, then developed in the minors until the fateful 18-19 season where he was the backup to Jake Allen. Through the season, he proved that he could by the #1 goalie for the team and started each of the Blues' 26 playoff games. He became the regular Blues starting goalie, though he would split starts with Ville Husso in the 21-22 season, and then start 61 of 82 games in the 22-23 season (sorry to Griess, he was not very good). The 23-24 season has been a bit of a redemption season for him after posting his worst ever numbers last year and also being notably rowdier than usual.

Profile: Look. He's a good goalie. He's a GREAT goalie when he has a reliable backup, which he definitely does this season. He's never been able to replicate the level he was on in the 18-19 season, but he's still proven time and again that he is a good goalie. On a more technical level, he has a tendency to over-commit to one shot or angle and leave the back door wide open, which isn't great on a team with an unreliable defense. My dad says he sometimes "flops around like a fish" so take that as you will.

Other: Grew up playing with current Thunderbirds goalie Malcolm Subban! Also he got married summer of 2023 and a lot of the younger guys from the 18-19 season, several of which haven't played on the Blues in a few years, were there :) it was sweet :)

JOEL HOFER (Hof) (?)

Info: #30, STL 2018

Last season: 2.50 GAA + .921 SV% (AHL)

History: ROOKIE GOALIE !!!! He played 6 games last year after Binnington's suspension, and proved himself so well that the Blues had three goalies on their roster for an extra week or so. In the AHL he's averaged about a .910 SV% and he actually scored a goal in the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs !! He has one more year on his two-year one-way contract, but if he keeps playing the way he is, he'll probably be sticking around for a while longer! He's definitely still adjusting to the NHL but he's only been improving

Other: Lives with Jake Neighbours! Their friendship is very cute, definitely watch for them in the headbutt line after wins :) My mom says he looks very polite

ROOKIES/SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS PLAYERS TO KNOW !

disclaimer: i don't watch the AHL games. im not made of money. also for the record they play in springfield, massachusetts

NIKITA ALEXANDROV

Info: #59, C, STL 2019

Smaller player weight-wise but still throws himself around. Up and down between STL and Springfield a bunch as he develops. Young and inexperienced but played well in the 22-23 season when he played 28 NHL games !

MACKENZIE MACHEACHERN

Info: #28, LW, STL 2012

Nearly 30 and has played 123 NHL games. Played for the Hurricanes organization last year but returned to the Thunderbirds for the 23-24 season. Reliable callup if someone is injured.

HUGH MCGING

Info: #56, LW, STL 2018

Literally the funniest name in the world, and he's on a team with Mackenzie Maceachern. Made his NHL debut last season and played a handful of games this season and has yet to score a point, but seems solid on the Thunderbirds!

JAKUB VRANA

Info: #15, LW, WSH 2014

Won the cup with the Capitals in 2018, came to the Blues at the 2023 trade deadline and had a fantastic 10 goals and 14 points in just 20 games. He came back for the 23-24 season, made the team, and then did not play up to potential. Was a regular healthy scratch for about half of the games in the first half of the season, and then got sent to Springfield. Has spent non-insignificant amounts of time in the AHL in the last several seasons

MATTHEW KESSEL

Info: #51, RD, STL 2020

Currently in the Blues lineup as players deal with injuries! Has played 8 NHL games between this season and last season and has yet to score a point, but has been very good on the Thunderbirds!! Solid young right-shot defenseman with offensive ability :)

ADAM GAUDETTE

Info: #88, C, VAN 2015

Technically a prospect despite having played 218 NHL games between the Canucks, Blackhawks, and Senators. Came to the Blues at the 2023 trade deadline in the O'Reilly and Acciari trade after spending the season playing for the Toronto Marlies. He already has 23 goals + 35 points in just 35 games with the Thunderbirds, was AHL player of the month in Oct 2023, and was just recently named to the AHL All Star Game! Currently leads the entire AHL in goals

kind of a stud. hope to see him play on the blues at some point <3

NAMES YOU MIGHT HEAR: Zachary Bolduc, Leo Loof, Jimmy Snuggerud, Otto Stenberg, Dalibor Dvorsky, Juraj Pekarcik. All recent high draft picks (2022-2023) and players to keep an eye on if you’re interested !

[kingbriar]

⟨Seth Rollins. cis male. he/they. 37.⟩ We just saw Ansel Briar entering L’Antique C’est Chic. I heard through the grapevine that their loyalties lie with the Jolly Rogers and that they also go by the King of Hearts. Be careful, they work for them as an assassin and can sometimes be bored by repetition, jealous, petty, or even bloodthirsty but I’ve also heard some people say that they were dedicated, confident and quite stylish.— Moss. they/them. 23. EST. violence against children (< 10)

AESTHETIC | MUSIC | LONDON FALLING RPG

STATS

Real name: Ansel Ford Briar

Code name: King of Hearts

Alliance: Jolly Rogers

Job: Contract Assassin. (Works part time coaching at Crossfit North London, esp in conditioning. Bit of a reputation for being intense, but that’s the point, right?)

Age: 37

Physical: 6'1", 225 lbs

Birthplace: Houlton, Maine, US

DOB: August 10, 1986

Star sign: Leo

Gender: Male-adjacent (he/they) 

Sexuality: Bisexual disaster

FC: Seth Rollins

Family: Dan Briar (Father), Evelyn Summers-Briar (Mother), Four Siblings (I'll name 'em someday), Rebecca Briar (formerly Ballagh, Ex-Wife)

BIOGRAPHY

Ansel’s from the sticks. His father was a hunter first and owner of the local general store second, born and raised in the woods of northern Maine, where his mother settled there later with a group of poets and artists who were inspired by the quiet snowy mountains and the way the sun shines through the leaves. Those same mountains meant she had to be driven nearly two hours in the family’s beater red pickup to the nearest hospital to bring him and his younger siblings into the world. All of them were hard on her, but that didn’t stop them from having five kids. 

His mother called him Ansel, after Ansel Adams. His dad said that was some pretentious bullshit and always called him Andy, or the leader of the pack, so Ansel did his best to step up and be the best role model he could. He started following his father out hunting when he was five, and maybe they should’ve started worrying when he took to it so quickly. Maybe Ansel had a couple too many questions about how to balance wearing camo to blend in with bright, flashy hunter oranges and yellows, but was happy enough to sit still and quiet, listening for a broken twig or rustling leaves, and he never cried when his dad showed how they’d have to slit a buck’s throat to kill it quickly if the first shot didn’t get it done. Ansel killed his first deer at 8 without his dad holding the rifle steady, skinned it a little too quickly and held onto the antlers as a trophy as long as he could.

Ansel went to a university in Boston, and both reveled in finally being a small fish in a much bigger pond, and itched for attention. He studied literature to keep his mother happy, spent hours hitting the gym to look more impressive than he was and make up for the lack of mountains to climb, and made the rounds through anyone looking for a messy one-night stand. 

But then met Rebecca Ballagh in some 300 level poetry class he suddenly had to pretend he cared about. She was something special, had enough of a dangerous edge that Ansel couldn’t get bored of her if he tried. He met her family at a shooting range outside the city after dating for about a year, and they offered to put him up and give him a job if he wanted to stay in Boston. It took him a little too long to realize her family were the last, quiet dregs of the Winter Hill Gang and US-based IRA that were slowly building themselves back up, but hey, the one thing he’d missed about home was hunting. 

A person ain’t too different from a deer, to a wolf. Everything bleeds the same.

But now that he ran with a pack again, it came with new rules. Clean up, cut your hair, kid. Pipe down. Dress like everyone else. Wear black. Shut the fuck up and become a ghost. Becca helped when she could, but she liked him better this way too. Colder, a soldier. They got married in 1998, and Ansel didn’t quite look like himself in the pictures.

He tried as hard as he could to just focus on blending in- you don’t wear camo without orange, you’ll get shot- but the longer he stayed, the whole gang made his skin crawl. Every hit was scripted down to the second, and if he deviated from it in the moment to keep himself alive and useful he got beat down and hung out to dry in front of the rest of the gang. He started spending more time at their local crossfit box than with his wife. At least something was intensive enough to make him feel something. But even that after a while started to feel monotonous. The same fights with the family. The same rotation of classes and workouts and late night jobs. The same accusations that he was having an affair with his trainer. Always the fucking same. Boredom sunk its claws into him, but breaking routine only shortened his leash. 

They slowly fell apart over seven years, until Becca served him their divorce papers in 2004. Maybe he bitterly sent an anonymous tip to the local PD about the plans for the family’s next few moves the day before they had to appear in court. Served them right, Ansel thought. At least until cops had barricaded the entrance to his new studio apartment he just finished moving into a week later, saying that they’d been given anonymous information that warranted arrest and trial.

He didn’t know who else to call except one of the gang’s lawyers, who came in all smug smiles and talked him through exactly what had been given to the cops like he’d written up the list. With the given evidence, he would have done life in prison and paid thousands of dollars in fines on top of legal fees. But by already coming back to them? The gang could put in some work, get it down to a lot of hearsay and a manslaughter charge on one of the hits that Ansel had really fucked up. The angle was clear, and the gang were convinced that by getting it down to ONLY 15 years in a State Prison, he’d have to come crawling back to them on his knees. He walked free in 2019, finally sick of sick of sewing orange and camo, but with enough scattered online classes for a quasi fashion degree and a developed enough collection that he could apply and get his visa to work a brutal, grunt seamstress job at Burberry, and get the fuck away from Boston before he could even be approached by his former pack.

Being American and an ex-convict did him very little favors and that job was falling through before he knew it, but he had found a couple crossfit boxes along the way, and did his best to fight off the bone-deep itch to draw blood other than pricking his own fingers, and take sharpened fabric scissors to someone’s flesh. The wolf was almost free of his chains, screaming to be fed so he could be truly free and then suddenly he’d killed his landlord after Burberry fired him and Ansel couldn’t quite scratch together rent. A vague shape of a heart carved into the side of his neck with a kitchen knife just so he could watch it bleed. Instinct took over, and he covered his ass, watched the press run wild, and was quickly approached by a different sort of pack. Not a family, like Winter hill, but a crew. The Jolly Rodgers.

[daddymikeyway]

You worked with birds?!

What sorts of things did you do with them? What kind of birds? I must know! 🥺🦜

I worked with house wrens in college!! I was a field tech for a grad student who was studying the effect of urbanization across a gradient.

:readmore:

There was actually a lot that went into it! So she had 3 sites; a park in the city, a location on the outskirts of the city where our uni had a farm, and a nature preserve. All of those locations had bird boxes.

The beginning of the season was pretty monotonous. Like are the sticks in the box enough to be considered a nest in progress? But once the nests are built, oh man. Half of the nests at each site got food supplementation, to see if chicks would get bigger than others. The mom’s would get the food as they started laying eggs so hopefully!!! they could spend more time incubating and being good moms than needing to go get food.

Once eggs were laid, they were all measured and weighed. The grad student took half of the eggs to measure the cortisol levels, the stress hormone.

When mom is incubating, she’s caught on the nest. Usually around incubation day 7-10, so she’s far enough along that she likely won’t abandon the nest. My first year, we had a fishing line trap over the entrance. Basically, two people sit with binoculars and stare at the box. Bird goes in, pull fishing line, run to box, bleed bird. It’s generally mom. They’re not sexually dimorphic, but if you blow on the belly feathers, the female won’t have feathers bc they’ve been sitting on eggs. Mom gets colored bands and such. Then when the chicks hatch, we try to catch dad. And honestly, house wren dads suck. They really only show up half the time. If they’re caught, they get banded too.

After eggs come baby birds!!! Everyone’s favorite part. It’s so cool to see them grow up. House wren chicks are feeble and pitiful looking when they first hatch. They got measured one day after hatch, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 14. At 14 they have blood drawn to measure their cortisol levels. This was the exciting part! So the grad student would sneak up on the nest, cover the entrance, and grab the chicks out of the box and throw them to the field techs. There were just 3 of us last year. If there were more chicks than us, they sat in a bird bag and whoever finished bleeding their chick first started on the extra chick. The literature says cortisol levels start to diminish after 3 minutes, so the goal is to bleed X amount of chicks in that time. It can be stressful lmao.

Around 16 days they start to fledge. If they’re getting food supplements, it stops at 14. They get checked everyday until the leave.

Last summer, it was wild. It was a wet winter, like it snowed in early May as we were putting up boxes. Lots of nests.

There was also a nest at the site in the city where a mom had laid eggs, and the chicks had hatched, yay! Dad finds another female, brings her to this box, female digs it. Uh, ok, chicks are still there. One of the other field techs notices that the chicks are buried under sticks. Are they doing it to themselves? All of a sudden, another egg pops up. The dad had cheated on the first bird and mated with another. The new female kicked the first female out. Not only that, the new female killed one of the other’s chicks.

A different grad student joined in late summer 2021, so he didn’t really get to do much. But last year, he put up little cameras in the nest boxes and watched the parents come in and out and feed the chicks. I bring this up BECAUSE he caught the new mom from the previous paragraph pecking the chick to death.

It also led to the discovery of one of the best sentences I’ve read in a scientific paper, not verbatim, “the male continued to sing in the tree while the two females fought.” It’s from an old ass paper, but you know, fantastic to read.

Bewick’s wrens and mountain chickadees also use nest boxes, so we got to interact with them too. Mountain chickadees are very fuzzy. The also make a hissing sound and beat their tail feathers against the box when they’re threatened. They imitate a snake. Even though I know this, it’s still terrifying to hear it.

Those are all house wrens

Mountain chickadee

[dansnaturepictures]

06/05/2023-Lymington and Pennington

Pictures taken today in this set are of: 1. Little Tern in flight at Lymington, the main aim to see today and I was thrilled to get exquisite views of these delicate mustard-billed beauties. We really did get exceptional views of a decent number of them seeing them on the islands of Normandy lagoon and flying over the sea to fish seeing the one in the photo especially dive a few times and get fish which was just fascinating and powerful to watch. A key spring moment. 2. Ragwort at Lymington. 3 and 10. Curlew Sandpiper (with a Dunlin in the third photo where the Curlew Sandpiper has it’s head down), I was over the moon to hear this bird was around at Pennington after the Lymington walk so we went to look for it and I was amazed to see this rustic bird coming into strong red plumage wading on the flood. An exceptional bird to see, the earliest I’d ever seen one in a year we tend to see them in the summer or early autumn. A fantastic moment to take my bird year list to 198, level with my 2018 total to be my joint third highest ever year list which feels amazing. 4. My first bird’s-foot trefoil of the year which was nice. 5, 6, 8 and 9. Views at Lymington. 7. An adorable Lapwing chick which was saw a few of from one family after the adult they were hunkering under started walking, a heart filling springtime sight we often see on the visit to look for Little Terns here each year that I was hoping to see today. A great moment in a strong time for me seeing young birds.

Other highlights today were excellent views of courting Great Crested Grebes performing a bit of weed dance on the sea what a year I’ve had for seeing this, Whitethroat one I’m seeing well lately, Little Egret including a ringed one, Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall, Turnstone, brilliant Ringed Plover views and Avocet. A group of Eiders flying over the sea was smashing to see, with Common Terns seen well too at Normandy lagoon, Great Black-backed Gull and House Sparrow seen well. It was great to hear another Cuckoo this year too. A hirundine hat trick of House Martin, Sand Martin and Swallow stood out too I got breathtaking views of the two blue beauties especially and enjoyed seeing Swallows fly onto a fence at Pennington. Fumitory, cow parsley, vetch, broad-leaved over, bluebells, buttercups, forget-me-not, daisies, plantain and cleavers were other plant highlights. Buzzard in a field and my first oxeye daisies of the year were good journey sightings today with Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch and Starling seen well at home.

[asp1990]

Day 2: Saturday 21st September, 2024 [Auckland]

Breakfast: Coffee & a biscuit Lunch: Fish tacos, chips & a glass of wine Dinner: Curry: lamb saag, butter chicken, beef vindaloo & all the trimmings

We woke up early this morning after a shocking sleep and got ready to explore Auckland. We’d booked a 10am tour of the Wētā Workshop Unleashed and were looking forward to seeing some cool Lord of the Rings style miniatures and weaponry. We stopped at a tiny coffee shop called Stolen Summer for a coffee and I was a bit underwhelmed with how average Auckland was - the city centre just looked like a shitty version of Sydney. There were lots of construction sites, a surprisingly large homeless community and lots of chain stores that we have in Melbourne. 

The Wētā Workshop was very cool but I was initially a bit disappointed that they did not showcase LOTR items but instead props and sets of 3 made-up films that they had designed just for the exhibition. The films were called Fauna (Horror), Age of the Ever Clan (Fantasy) & Origins (Sci-Fi) and all had very distinct models and characters. We had a lovely tour guide who had a very dry sense of humour but was British and didn’t have a Kiwi accent. My favourite exhibit was the ‘bigature’ fantasy castle that looked like Rivendell from Lord of Rings. The level of detail was mind blowing and the lighting was beautiful. 

After our tour it was time for lunch. We walked down to the Viaduct Harbour Waterfront and had lunch at the Reign & Pour for a wine and pub food in the sun. Amara and I shared some tacos and fries, Tim had a burger & Jane had a noodle salad. Everything was a delight. 

Amara then went to scope out the ferry situation and we bought a $16NZD return ticket to Devenport via a 15-minute ferry ride. The ride over was beautiful in the sun and I got some beautiful photos of the cityscape. Davenport was a beautiful beachside town bustling with people enjoying the sun. We walked to the Devenport Chocolate Company but didn’t buy anything because an American tourist was taking up all the focus of the one shop assistant. We then walked down the main strip to get ice cream and ate it in the park. The sun was glorious but we were all spent from the travel and decided to head back. 

We got the 3:15pm ferry back to Auckland city and then hired a scooter to get back to our apartment. I was a bit apprehensive, as I’d fallen off a scooter in Canberra earlier in the year and badly hurt my hands, but I got back on the horse and didn’t fall off! Woohoo! We stopped at Woolworths for snacks then had a nap when we got home. We snoozed for 45 minutes then had some chips and chats before heading out for dinner. 

We headed out for dinner at 7pm and headed to the Indian place a quick walk from the apartment called Spice Club. We all chose a curry (lamb saag, butter chicken & beef vindaloo) with some rice, garlic naan, onion bahji & samosas. A real white-person curry buffet. The food was delicious and we left stuffed! Amara was showing signs of wanting to go home, but Jane wanted to see the nightlife, so we went for a walk back towards the waterfront. 

The nightlife was dead and it was a bit disappointing. My first impression of Auckland is that it is very quiet and a bit industrial - not really what I was picturing. It was bananas to me that on a Saturday night, where the All Blacks were playing, the bars were quiet and we walked past multiple closed restaurants. Maybe there was a holiday or cultural observance that we missed?

While we were walking Jane randomly stopped a woman and asked if she was from New Zealand. She said yes and was super happy to recommend a cool bar called Caretaker that had an underground, Speakeasy vibe - exactly what we wanted! We walked down and had to wait 10 mins for a table, so we went to their neighbouring venue Rocketman for a drink - I had a freshly squeezed apple juice with rum, something I wouldn’t usually pair, and it was delicious! We got called 15 mins later and went down to the speakeasy where there was no menu, but the waiter asked what kind of drink we usually liked and then made something for us. Neil was a gun and made me a “risky business” with gin, orange & bitters. It was delicious, but very sweet. Amara was researching karaoke bars, but I hit a wall and suggested we go home instead. There was a curfew for scooters, so we walked home (4 mins) then shared pictures from our day and then hit the hay. 

I am SO excited to go to Hobbiton tomorrow!!!!

[hpeter1]

my fishedex in stardew valley until the middle of the first summer

trying to get all the fish (which i haven't even ever done) in the first year.

still need the octopus and to unlock the desert to get the sandfish and something else i think, haven't memorized the wiki

i got level 10 in fishing in the 27th of spring and luckily it rained on the 28th so i got the legend

only managing to focus on the fish cuz am playing with two other people that play focused on the rest of the farming and community center bundles (we're also trying to do it in the first year but it's rng kinda)

[garbagefarm]

Garbage Farm #56

2024-07-06, session #56 of Garbage Farm! Spanning Summer 4 through Summer 11 of Year 5!

cast:

me ( @mothmute )

E.B. ( @blueherin )

Kimi ( @2kimi2furious )

Highlights include, but are not limited to the following:

Summer 4:

I "took care of" the ducks, by which I mean that I ignored them

it's keg day!

It's summer. That means the lake is full of Sturgeon.

Kimi inquires about her lava eel; I remind her it's on loan until the fish pond is established.

Finally got the cave jelly! Time to smoke some fish!

(Kimi spent the day decorating, and took care of the animals that deserve it)

(E.B. went around reacquainting herself with the farm)

Summer 5:

Eels request fire quartz. Seems fine.

Every once in a while, Kimi sees the animal names and remembers that the internet is lucky to have us.

Smoked bullhead for the raccoon! ... the eligible bachelor raccoon. He gave us a handful of seeds for our trouble, but, helping him was its own reward.

Mr. Qi wants some prismatic shards, so I go digging around for some in the skulls and find a couple.

I meet the mummy eradication goal. Suck it, mummies!

Summer 6:

Mail pizza, classic.

More skulls today, but no shards :(

Kimi is still decorating, unhappy with "the red study"

RIP me, 2 AM at the foot of my bed. Make sure Elliott gets my garbage can lid to remember me by.

Summer 7:

Sturgeonquest Y5 complete!

Kimi gets done decorating just in time to miss tending the animals, oops.

George says, and I quote: "I need Grape for a calzone I'm making." What the fuck, George.

Elliott witnesses how the garbage sausage is made as I make the rounds through town.

trading some precious minerals in the desert, nothing to see here!

RIP me again, oops!!

Summer 8:

Mr. Qi wants fresh food. By which he definitely means: over sixteen-hundred baguettes.

Got the prismatic shards!

I've reached a new level of understanding......

Kimi is #blessed with both pets

(Apparently, Kimi went to the desert? and E.B. worked on her house?)

Summer 9:

Bloob day! ... I keep typing that as "blood day", I'm sure that's fine. anyway it's also jam day. Nothing untowards about these jars of viscous liquid, don't worry about it.

Special order for 100 melons. I guess someone's making shower gel.

Qi gets his stupid gems and his stupid bread.

Kimi meets a wretched little joja goblin offering to falsify perfection documents.

Foraging mastery is mine!! One more to go!

#blessed

Summer 10:

Elliott tells me he was going to get some ink from his cabin—does he write by hand?? typewriter???—before remembering that the luau is tomorrow, and that he'll get it while we're down there.

E.B., having volunteered to take care of the melons, reinstates the Chaos Field of old.

Having finally made the preserves jars to finish up the Jam Shack, I turn my attention to kegs ... only to realize that we're out of oak resin?? welp, guess I gotta figure out the new tapping setup first!

it's late, so I'm gonna skip keg day 'til after the Luau

... E.B. has disconnected???

Summer 11?:

It's the luau!

We were planning to stop after the luau, but E.B.'s disconnection put an early stop to that.

(It's my fault, I jinxed it by thinking earlier about how we hadn't had any technical difficulties getting started, silly me)

TO-DO:

It's the frickin' Luau!

Melons!

I'm still not 100% happy with the storage situation, but I don't know what to do with it yet

One mastery to go!!!

Need to figure out what I want for a tree-tapping setup, and I need radioactive bars for the heavy tappers

More kegs (needs oak resin), more crystalariums (need gold and iridium)

We've got a couple golden animal crackers, we should apply those somewhere.

Had a couple days there where I didn't know what to do with myself; re-consult The List of Long-Term Projects......

[pinkremedy2515]

Recap and present intro

I’m in junior year now, and i just went back and read all my previous posts, a measly 7 by the way. Apparently they’re from 2022 and onwards if i inferred correctly. Which mean it hasn’t even been that long, huh.

I decided to be just a little more organized about the posts now because i almost had an aneurysm trying to read the last one. That’s almost a year and a half old, huh…

So quick recap of what you, the grateful inquisitive audience, missed; 1. I did my o levels,

2. discovered i was moving from the city i grew up in for my whole life,

3. went on summer vacation,

4. dyed half of my hair hot pink in a show of teenage impulsivity (although it was a thorough meticulous decision),

5. got all A*s on my o levels, missed a rank by 5 marks (or was that 7 marks…)

6. Got stuck in my home city and delayed the move because my dad’s employer decided to be an ass about my dad moving,

7. finally moved in the September of 2023, and moved to the capital city of my country from my beachside home city ( I know it sounds all Hollywood having to move in the middle of high school especially into the ‘BIG CITY’ but i was far from ‘a fish out of water’ I just hate this place)

8. Moved into a small ass apartment, that is a fraction of the size of our previous house, and my room is as small as it is legally allowed to make a bedroom (i know because I searched it up) while my older sister gets to have a much larger room with a balcony too because i lost a coin toss that i suggested to conduct.

9. Broke off a friendship that was nearly a decade old, and really I don’t even know what to make of it

10. almost instantly made friends with the girls in my new class, and made almost all the teachers hate me within the first month if I’m to wrong. This little trope suggests that i am the cool rule breaking type, but let me assure you i am not. The teachers hate me for no good reason, but it doesn’t really matter cause they fucking suck too and i hate them just as much if not more. Although I am in the stem subjects (bio, chem, physics and math) and my science head hates me so I don’t really feel the best about her having direct control of my gpa, but what can a girl do

11. Almost forgot, i went to my cousins wedding halfway across the world, spent buckets of money on the tickets and the dresses cause it was during Christmas, only to look god damn hideous because only divine intervention can help me look anything above perfectly mediocre and average,

12. And ive lost all hope and motivation for my as level, because due to the above mentioned vacation I ended up missing a shit tonne of the syllabus being taught and the teachers didn’t like me enough to reteach me the bits i missed, so i had to haul my ass all the way through my mocks, which i barely passed, and all the way to where i am now.

13. Turned 17 about 2 and a half weeks ago and felt nothing but despair for having reached that age, not because its almost as cliche as 16 but rather because I don’t look forward to the future anymore

SO HERE WE ARE~

Present day me, who just finished bombing her math and mechanics as papers on the first week of may, and i now have exactly 3 days till the next slew of exams which involve three exams in 3 consecutive days, and i really am not as prepared as I should be but I can’t seem to find it in me to haul my ass through it because i freak out and get stressed and end up doing nothing.

I’m very different from last year in that regard, i used to be at the top of my class and aced my subjects and here i am now, barely even passing and standing at the very bottom of what used to be my academic career but is now a wide yawning chasm. I hope to not fuck up everything completely, and just get an A on my AS levels, a passing A would do as well. I really hope god up there is feeling sympathetic to a pathetic stupid teenage girl who is trying to try her best.

I’ve been raised and am at an economic level that has me comfortable but the only future for me is one i make myself; through my academics and hard work, so I am fully aware what’s at stake here but im giving up on myself. The me who fought died one day and I didn’t even have a warning. No heads up, no 2 week notice, and definitely no replacement hired. The worst bit was i spent the whole summer studying and planning to make this the best and most productive year, but all my effort lead to absolutely nothing, and it would be a lie to say my spirit I entirely crushed to smithereens and i feel that i am teetering on the brink of what might be a depressive slump.

It’s currently 2:24 am on the 11th of May as I type this, and I should either be asleep or doing the past paper thats been squished under my iPad-laptop. i might not post this just immediately so the timing probably wont add up. Although im not sure tumblr has a time format or info bit for the posts anyway, at least not from what ive seen.

I missed out on a bunch of other things that happened to me along the way, and a bunch of stuff that’s happening now. But i felt a little encouraged to post because one of my previous posts had a singular like, which may have been an accident and even if it wasn’t, that person probably wont find my blog (if you can call it that) again because they don’t follow me :// which sucks a bit but whatever. Maybe I should take the initiative and follow them… maybe i might…

Anyway ill probably conclude this essay of a post now, but one last thing, i feel the need to change the color scheme and vibe of the whole account again, so ill probably do that in the morning after i wake up and have two consecutive tutoring sessions that make me want to reap my own soul :D

Byyyyeeeee to the worlds quietest audience :)

[middletone]

Introduction Post

Spring – Year 1: Week 1 - Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Summer – Year 1: Week 1- Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4

Current Goals:

Fast-track Blue Chickens

Fishing Level 10

Weekly Summary: Provide for the land and the land provides; Leander has made great strides in building all but one of his skills! The Valley is so peaceful that we have had no need to take up the sword... for now. Now, Leander spends most of his days gathering the land's many bounties (why do so few in the Valley appreciate Salmonberries; I'm with you Linus); we even found a hat for dear Steve at the end of a rainbow.

Great progress has also been made in befriending the townspeople, even with the more prickly occupants of Pelican Town. Leander was able to mediate and help settle a sisterly dispute between Haley & Emily. Shane, too, has warmed up to our Farmer; sharing a drink with Leander by the forest pond.

The town's resident chicken-whisperer appears to be having a hard time, however. It was difficult for Leander to find Shane passed out in his bedroom and speak so candidly of giving up after waking; the pain it caused him when he realized he had scared poor Jas... and all on his birthday.

This man needs someone who will support him and Leander will make sure Shane knows that he has at least one friend in his corner, blue chickens be damned.

Daily summary & donation checklists under the cut; mod list in the Introduction post.

Day 15:

Bad luck today

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Day 16:

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Found and read Mining Monthly; gained Mining XP

Egg for Shane

Completed Shane’s 2 Heart Event

Forgot to buy & plant cauliflower on today, the final day to plant cauliflower harvestable BEFORE the end of Spring

Hit Foraging level 4 & Mining level 2

Day 17:

Found a rainbow with a Pot o’ Gold near Hat Mouse; promptly put the Leprechaun hat on Steve

Spent the day foraging, collecting lumber, and gathering Salmonberries

Pierre’s is CLOSED. ON. WEDNESDAYS.

Bought & planted Cauliflower from Joja Mart

Made donations to the Museum & Community Center

Day 18:

Bought & applied Speed-Gro to the cauliflower; they will now be harvestable Spring 27

Completed the Morris Joja Coupon cutscene

Bought the Large Pack backpack upgrade from Pierre's

Spent the day fishing; treasure: deluxe bait

Cleared some of the farm before heading to bed

Day 19:

Letter from Mom

Nothing good at the Traveling Cart

Gave George a delicious, locally grown potato for him to enjoy

Bought Grass Starter recipe from Pierre’s

Completed Haley’s 2 Heart Event

Spent the day fishing; treasure: geode, deluxe bait

Day 20:

First round of Strawberries; we’re rollin’ in it now, boys

Got Greenhorn achievement

Egg for Shane’s birthday

Completed Shane’s 4 Heart Event; he’s having a rough birthday (lol I didn't realize I had triggered it on his BIRTHDAY until just now)

Spent the morning fising; treause: amethyst, deluxe bait

Spent the afternoon clearing & refreshing level 1 of the Mine

Gathered stone for Robin

Cleared some of Cindersnap Forrest before heading to bed

Hit Farming level 3

Day 21:

Nothing good at the Traveling Cart

Egg for Shane

Spent the day fishing; treasure: magma geodes, rice shoots, Amphibian Fossil, fish roe, frozen geodes, iron ore, wood

Hit Farming level 4 & Fishing level 9

Donations:

Community Center - Crafts Room 1/6:

4/4 Spring Foraging: Wild Horseradish, Daffodil, Leek, Spring Onion

0/3 Summer Foraging: Grape, Spice Berry, Sweet Pea

0/4 Fall Foraging: Common Mushroom, Wild Plum, Hazelnut, Blackberry

0/4 Winter Foraging: Crystal Fruit, Snow Yam, Crocus, Holly

1/5 Exotic Foraging: Coconut, Cactus Fruit, Cave Carrot, Red Mushroom, Purple Mushroom, Maple Syrup, Oak Resin, Pine Tar, Morel

2/3 Forest: Moss (10), Fiber (200), Maple Seed (10)

Community Center - Pantry 1/6:

4/4 Spring Crops: Parsnip, Green Bean, Cauliflower, Potato

0/4 Summer Crops: Hot Pepper, Blueberry, Melon, Summer Squash

0/4 Fall Crops: Corn, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Yam

0/1 Rare Crops: Ancient Fruit, Sweet Gem Berry

2/4 Garden: Tulip, Summer Spangle, Fairy Rose, Blue Jazz, Sunflower

0/4 Brewer’s: Mead, Wine, Juice, Pale Ale, Green Tea

Community Center - Fish Tank 0/6:

2/4 River Fish: Sunfish, Catfish, Shad, Tiger Trout

3/4 Lake Fish: Largemouth Bass, Carp, Bullhead, Sturgeon

1/4 Ocean Fish: Sardine, Tuna, Red Snapper, Tilapia

2/3 Night Fishing: Walleye, Bream, Eel

2/5 Crab Pot: Lobster, Crayfish, Crab, Cockle, Mussel, Shrimp, Snail, Periwinkle, Oyster, Clam

0/2 Master Fisher’s: Lava Eel, Scorpion Carp, Octopus, Blobfish

Community Center - Boiler Room 0/3:

0/4 Geologist’s: Quartz, Earth Crystal, Frozen Tear, Fire Quartz

0/5 Treasure Hunter’s: Amethyst, Topaz, Emerald, Diamond, Ruby, Aquamarine

0/3 Engineer’s: Iridium Ore, Battery Pack, Refined Quartz (5)

Museum - Artifacts 7/42:

Dwarf Scroll I, Dwarf Scroll II, Dwarf Scroll III, Dwarf Scroll IV, Chipped Amphora, Arrowhead, Ancient Doll, Elvish Jewelry, Chewing Stick, Ornamental Fan, Dinosaur Egg, Rare Disc, Ancient Sword, Rusty Spoon, Rusty Spur, Rusty Cog, Chicken Statue, Ancient Seed, Prehistoric Tool, Dried Starfish, Anchor, Glass Shards, Bone Flute, Prehistoric Handaxe, Dwarvish Helm, Dwarf Gadget, Ancient Drum, Golden Mask, Golden Relic, Strange Doll, Prehistoric Scapula, Prehistoric Tibia, Prehistoric Skull, Skeletal Hand, Prehistoric Rib, Prehistoric Vertebra, Skeletal Tail, Nautilus Fossil, Amphibian Fossil, Palm Fossil, Trilobite

Museum – Minerals 5/53:

Emerald, Aquamarine, Ruby, Amethyst, Topaz, Jade, Diamond, Prismatic Shard, Quartz, Fire Quartz, Frozen Tear, Earth Crystal, Alamite, Bixite, Baryte, Aerinite, Calcite, Dolomite, Esperite, Fluorapatite, Geminite, Helvite, Jamborite, Jagoite, Kyanite, Lunarite, Malachite, Neptunite, Lemon Stone, Nekoite, Orpiment, Petrified Slime, Thunder Egg, Pyrite, Ocean Stone, Ghost Crystal, Tigerseye, Jasper, Opal, Fire Opal, Celestine, Marble, Sandstone, Granite, Basalt, Limestone, Soapstone, Hematite, Mudstone, Obsidian, Slate, Fairy Stone, Star Shards

[alolanroy]

2024 Watch Thread-Part 2

part 1: https://www.tumblr.com/alolanroy/739287467975458816/watch-thread-2024-pt-1

Resident Alien S1: Decent humor and it did a pretty good job of the small town with many interlocking sub-plots vibe. I wouldn't say that it is consistently laugh-out-loud, but you really never know when it'll floor you. I do kind of wish they toned down the attempts at serious drama, because this is a fish-out-of-water alien show, how serious can I take it? 5/10

Helldivers 2 at Launch: It scratches my multiplayer itch. Maybe the trick to making a successful live-service game was to...make it fun? The balancing is just teetering enough to be a blast. I didn't even mind the horrible queueing problems, nonfunctional matchmaking and level breaking bugs once I had half an hour of actual playtime. 8/10

Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger: I'll be honest, in the beginning I was worried we might drop it, but it won me over hard. And I mean maybe my second favorite sentai so far (Donbrothers will remain undefeated for all time). While simplistic, the writing manages to unfurl a web of history, personality and cultural identity. While the choice to film most of it on green screed made it look awful most of the time, the strong writing and acting pulled it through, especially in the later chapters where the reveals kept getting bigger and the characterization swings. Personal favorites are Kaguragi's backstory, which feels out of a proper prestige drama and the two-parter on earth. It saves up its budget and goes ham. 9/10

Forbidden Planet: While I find a lot of this movie repulsive for its 50's-ass gender politics, I choose to say 'wow, cool robot'. I see why Robbie is iconic and was disappointed by how little of him I got. Its tedious pacing makes me appreciate how Star Trek TOS distilled this formula into the blueprint for great TV. (Sidenote: I gotta figure out where this ancient alien megastructure vibe comes from. I feel like a lot of dwemmer related skyrim mods are repeating this without knowing it.) -4/10

Ice Station Zebra: Nice of them to start the plot in the second half after the intermission. For such a basic thriller, they seem to think this was a cinematic event with all of its intermission cards and posturing. Did they think the submarine set was worth half the runtime? I find its red-scare politics kind of pathetic and I've seen more complex thrillers air on Cartoon Network on weekdays. 3/10

Ultraman Geed the Movie: Connect! The Wishes!!: A team of scientists distilled tokusatsu summer movies into a thick paste and molded it into the shape of a tourism ad for Okinawa. The results made me cancel my plans to watch the ultraman movies and doubt if I actually like Geed. 1/10

Skyrim: Midwood Isle: Really impressive stuff here. A good variety of locations and a satisfying main quest. The reveal of a mirror map filled with locations and daedric realms really got me excited. The only downside is that some of the back and forth with the mainland got old and the LOTD patch didn't work. I'm a little surprised this doesn't get talked up more. 8/10

Dune Part II: Incredible watch. Gorgeous visuals and really strong performances all around. Great cinematography and violent sound design really made me FEEL the power (the lackluster theater speakers could barely handle it). I do feel a lot was lost in the cracks though and didn't hit as hard as the first, but boy am I glad I saw it. 8/10

The Mummy Demastered: This is a very good video game. An efficient love letter to metroidvanias (and boy I can see the metroid) with some neat ideas and that Wayforward polish. If you like these sorts of games, what are you doing here? Go play it! The paired-back scale means none of the ideas get old, and none of the backtracking is egregious. But my real favorite spin was the varied and interconnected environments that flowed so well together. 8/10

On a sidenote: this really feels like a mirror into another universe where the Dark Universe actually took off. In a way, it made me more excited for it than the actual movie. It made me wistfully muse about what might have been (committee driven slop movies)

Born to Fight (2004): This movie occupies the same part of my brain as RRR. I'll overlook almost any nationalism if resolves in an hour-long string of white-knuckle Olympic sport action. Genuinely some of the most insane stunts I've seen committed to film. My watch group was hooting and hollering! 8/10

Death Code Ninja: Sometimes Godfrey Ho's chop-shop ninja movies are an ironic good time. This is not one of those times. It couldn't hold any of our interests. -3/10

Blue Submarine No. 6: This owns. It was so continually visually interesting and the art so distinct I didn't even mind the early CG. Sure a few threads might have been underdeveloped, but I admire how much of a non-traditional ending it had. Conclusiveness doesn't have to come from nukes and resolution doesn't have to be on screen. Honestly, good on them for redirecting most of the strange sexual energy to the fish girl, though I don't know how to feel about her role in the end. 8/10

Ninja Knight: Thunder Fox: man this sucked. At least two white guys in ninja outfits killed each other with shotguns at the end. -2/10

Money Plane: Just because it could be a whole lot worse doesn't mean it couldn't have been a whole lot better. Try having your wrestlers have action sequences that let them fight good. -5/10

Chop Socky Chooks: Sometimes we put bad TV on the wheel to see what would happen. Apparently, these things are supposed to be chickens, but without any form of exposition or attempt to set the stage in the first episode, I can't really say. I don't know which is worse, the radiation of vague racism or how aggressively bad this is on 'TV you watched when you are home sick from school' standards. -2/10

Gridman Universe: It's hard to talk about gridman without going on a series of digressions about the purpose of fiction, growth and the Ultraman Fandom. Most of it I would describe as some cute fan service without much meat, and a plot that just kinda happens. But my cynicism melted away in the final act. Man, I love the passion in these designs. 7/10

Werewolf Santa: I felt nothing. 2/10

Undertale Yellow: Perhaps my standards for fangames have gotten a bit high, but I was a little disappointed. There are some good gags, don't get me wrong, but the overall energy kinda drags. I don't think it helps that the boss battles are more transparently endurance tests for the defense minigames. I never felt like I was talking them down, just that I was letting them monologue at me until they let me go. Maybe it pulls some zingers in the last half but I can't bring myself to care. 3/10

American Ultra: This might be Black Panther for stoners, but to me, it is just Max Landis's wish fulfillment. the half hour we stomached felt longer than some seasons of netflix. 3/10

Thankskilling 3: Possibly one of the biggest delights of the year. Extrapolating from Thankskilling 1, I was worried this would be the bad kind of self-aware. Instead, the watch party was floored by the tireless barrage of joyful camp. They cracked the code, just mixed up the bits enough so that another gets old and washed it over with cinematography good enough that it too becomes a joke. I'll give this the rare +/-8 for being legitimately great and entertainingly bad (intentionally)

Viking Seige: First of all I feel lied to. This poster is nonsense. There were no dragons or longboats. Instead, it is a single-set zombie 'thriller' that would have been alright under normal circumstances. Still, the overall momentum isn't really there and the quality of performances is uneven. 4/10

Los Campeones de Justicieros (1971): Luchadors, little people, mad scientists, and non-stop jazz. Especially non-stop jazz when it is least appropriate. -7/10

Spy Kids Armageddon: This isn't nostalgia for the originals speaking, this was just a legitimately inferior product. The design philosophy of making a movie with everything a kid could want but camp for the adults is absent. Netflix original tier. -4/10

Zone of the Enders Dolores, i: The first act had me nearly drop the show. The worldbuilding was sloppy and the character design and environments were totally incongruous with the sci-fi setting this was supposed to be selling. However, when it remembered it was supposed to be a space opera, the show became much more watchable. By the end I was surprised how attached I had become. 7/10. It would've been higher if the beginning wasn't so tough.

Zone of the Enders 2167 Idolo: The story that it has is good, but it sure is in a rush to have it over. What I find interesting is that in many ways this is one of the more complicated mecha designs that Sunrise animated towards the end of the cell era. It makes me a bit sad now knowing how much of a downgrade the early Digipaint sequel is from a visual standpoint. 7/10

Godzilla X Kong The New Empire: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN! I initially recoiled at the possible return of the podcasting gang, but all returning characters benefit from a more solid group dynamic that avoids the cringe the series hadn't quite shaken. The monster madness is as camp as it comes, but I the cinematography made me feel like I was having a panic attack with all the rotating. 7/10

MacGyver: I bounced right off this. Maybe it gets better in later seasons, but the pilot and the first batch after that were cheesy in a bad way. I don't like Anderson's accent and the vibes are too cartoon-drug-psa-episode. It could barely hold my attention 4/10

Battle Beyond the Stars: Forgot to add this one. I've seen enough 7 samurai 'in space' but the cast was varied enough be counteract the dull male lead with the fun factor. 6/10

Outer Wilds: Few games out there are real originals. And I'm glad to have played as much as I did. I've given the writing major props for making this silly setting feel real and consistent. A personal highlight was landing on the sun cannon station first try without knowing what it was because of my raw uncut skill. However, I don't really feel like definitively scoring on this one since I paused playing it for about a year right before getting to the finishing sequence. I honestly had no idea how to pick things up again. It felt like I ruined it for myself and resorted to watching a playthrough of the end. I'd probably say maybe a 7-8? A few of the environments cross the bridge between exciting to traverse to dull and maze-y wandering.

Lensman (1984): Gorgeous, and occasionally kind of charming, but not enough to overcome the general malaise of the non-starter plot. The vague Heroes-Journey shaped plot doesn't bother to explain what a lensman is or what the titular lens does until the final moments. There wasn't really enough there to not make sense. It almost says something about how resistance can take many shapes, even insignificant ones, but I almost feel like it does so on accident. 5/10