#tent gear

[high-voltage-rat]

man okay so I used to play mechquest and dragonfable back in like, 2008 when I was a kid with very little patience to follow a storyline. coming back as an adult and finishing mechquest has absolutely slapped me silly with how deep and serious the story is in between all the absurdist humour. I have. so many emotions over the whole storyline, and especially so many thoughts about the unique form of tragedy that is The Reset.

You save the world but it's not the world anymore. You and your friends survive but you don't know each other anymore- have nothing left of the lives you fought to keep. You 'save' everything but it's still all gone. Everything you knew and loved, gone, and you don't even know what you've lost. You can't even keep the memory of what you had- and that's almost kinder compared to being one of the 3ish people who DO remember... and have to live around everyone else who doesn't, knowing their closest friends look at them and see a stranger, and that they may as well be because they aren't that person they remember being.

And to top it all off, that terrible sacrifice doesn't even end it. you're still left fighting impossible and devastating wars over and over. It's the tragedy of doomed time loops with extra layers of devastating all over the place. The GEARS University students being forced to become soldiers because they're all that's left to protect their homeworld. The horrors of the Shadowscythe virus taking over friends and loved ones you may be forced to put down to save yourself. The town of Falconreach burning over and over because no matter how hard they fight, it's never enough. The people like Sha'rae who sacrifice themselves to try and prevent tyrrany from seizing power, only for it to be utterly useless.

Anyway the brainrot is severe and especially dangerous since I'm coming into exam season and all my hyperfixated brain wants to do is chew on glass about these games.

[pancakeke]

I want one of these tents so bad I feel like I'm gonna throw up.

red / purple / mini

[not-that-dillinger]

Nevada Road Trip

(* closed starter for @systemadministratorclu *)

How Ed managed to not spoil the surprise, he didn't know. two months of planning a trip for the two of them, for his son's first time on the other side, and Clu was still... well, clueless.

(Son... they've known each other for two months now, and Ed still can't help the dopey grin every time he thinks about it.)

Well, perhaps not quite clueless. Clu had to know something was up when Ed suggested a very specific time and date, ("I found something I think you'll like, but it has to be exactly on this day"), Or certainly by now, when they were both about to leave the Grid, and Ed was practically vibrating with excitement.

The planning, of course, started when Quorra mentioned Clu wanted to see the stars. Which. Was a dilema, because the light pollution in Los Angeles made the night sky quite disappointing. The next best thing that Ed could think of was a visit to the planetarium. He tossed that idea out after a few seconds of contemplation. Ed personally didn't like crowds, and he didn't want to subject Clu to so many humans on his first time off the Grid. Too many random variables to mess things up. And Clu deserved better.

Ed was going to show Clu the stars.

And so Ed researched the best places to go star gazing.... Which lead to him stumbling into a Los Angeles amateur astronomer club forum.... which lead to three things.

First, it lead to the awareness of the Perseid meteor shower, which was going to peak in mid august.

It also led to Ed buying a (admittedly entry-level, but still really nice with several lenses) telescope. If it was partially because he had wanted one as a kid, that part was secondary. He couldn't wait to show it to Clu.

And most importantly, it led to him discovering dark sky sanctuaries.

And particularly the nearest one, which was about a twelve hour drive north of where they lived.

...In the nearly ten years Ed had worked for Encom, he had never used his time off, and so he had ten years' worth of it. He had never had a reason for a vacation, nobody to spend it with, until now. And so Ed all but gleefully informed Mackey that he was going to be taking a week off in August.

During the day, Ed planned the trip, and gathered supplies. A tent, sleeping bags and mats, a camping stove and small cooking set were added to his supplies. He planned stops along the way, and calculated the time they would need to get there just before sunset, leaving enough time for bathroom breaks and lunch.

During the evening, he did his best to prepare Clu to for what things would be like on the other side, showing him memories from his disc, answering questions, and or bringing him books to read and food to try (if Clu is going to spend over a day outside the Grid, Ed was going to make sure he had something to eat that he would actually like).

And he promised he'd stay the night the night before their grand adventure, so Clu wouldn't have to go through the portal alone for the first time.

And so the evening before the trip, Ed packed the telescope under an excessive amount of blankets and pillows, the camping gear, and several days worth of snacks that didn't require refrigeration into the car, then went to go visit Clu.

The morning of, Ed stood with Clu, doing his very best not to act like a little kid bouncing with his excitement, and activated the portal. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly as the column of light ignited a not far from where they stood. "Think you're ready?" As excited as he was to share his world with Clu, he knew Clu was at the very least, nervous, despite his best to reassure him everything would be alright.

Ed offered Clu a hand, a silent reassurance and promise that Ed would be right be right next to his son to help him, no matter what happened.

[z0mbiefrank]

incase ur wondering where i am - my adhd has launched off from birdwatching to hiking/camping so im fucking off to the woods

[binch-i-might-be]

I should go on a week-long hike in scotland

[guiltygearconfessions]

i love when people depict asuka as a femboy because not only does he look good but his personality is entirely what people dont associate with fictional femboys. im tired of the usual anime femboy having extra cutesy personalities and only existing to make the "haha you thought i was a woman" joke. i want to see more femboys that do feminine things out of general desire and not just transphobic jokes. and honestly asuka being a femboy works because most real life femboys that arent terminally online transphobic assholes are stem/programming majors and a little autistic. theres a reason "programming socks" are a thing

-

[writhe]

i think i did ok for packing

[onehitjimmy]

hiiii if i opened like 25$ emergency commissions for the next 24 hours so i can buy groceries tomorrow would yall 🥺 commish me 👉👈

id be spending like 1-2hrs per commission, depending on how much i vibe w what your idea is+wherever the flow takes me

[morelikebaldursgay]

Wyll looks FANTASTIC in padded leather armor +2

[dndtreasury]

Portable Palace by Timmi's Treasure Vault

[worldoutdoorgear]

Outdoor "Adventure awaits where the campfire glows and stars twinkle above." #outdoors #campfire #camping

Limited time offer! Get 3% off with code "WUDG24". Hurry, before it's gone!

www.worldoutdoorgear.com

[pessimisticprincess]

I think you’re very likable! What are your thoughts on the Fallout games?

oh i wish dude but thank you i appreciate it 😭🖤

new vegas is actually my absolute favorite game of all time truly a beloved game to me ive put so much time into it throughout the years and i always go back to it like i could not even tell you how many play throughs ive done lol

ive played 3 its been a really long time but i do think i liked the story a lot because i actually remember it still!! and 4 i played a lotttt during quarantine so it kinda just reminds me of that time unfortunately 😐 and i also kinda hate the settlement building in it honestly

to be real with you the vibes in both just do not compare to new vegas in my humble opinion 🙇🏻‍♀️ i just love it so much 😭

[campingskiingsnowboarding]

[nobrainjustmocha]

One of those "what i would take into the walking dead" things but only using stuff i actually have

[rhysintherain]

Wait, there's actually people weighing their gear for backpacking? I always thought it was a joke or something. I used to do a lot more backpacking myself, and the average weight for everyone in my troop was 55 pounds. It's really no issue

I mean... I'm mostly doing it because I have cabin fever and am trying to avoid seasonally appropriate work lol.

But maybe I should clarify why my gear weighs so freaking much.

I don't leave the house without a -10 sleeping bag. I live in the north, there's no guarantee you won't hit freezing in July, and I hate being cold.

Lightweight silnylon just doesn't work around here. Even the day hike trails will snag your gear on black spruce or devil's club and rip holes in it. The few truly lightweight items I have are as much gear tape as original material.

I'm also not going out overnight without my Whisperlight stove, fuel, and Spot beacon. Just no.

Ditto a proper tent. The bugs out here will suck you dry without screens, and the summer storms will find their way under, around, or through any kind of tarp and don't announce themselves more than 10 minutes in advance.

I have a pathological aversion to synthetic hiking clothes. I'll bring some in case I get rained out and need them, but my everyday clothes will mostly be natural fibers tough enough to stand up to the brush that don't feel like crap (do not tell me I'm wrong, I already know every expert says not to do this. Too bad. If I can't hike comfortable, why hike at all?)

My solar panel, backup battery, and book may be labelled luxuries on published packing lists, but they're non-negotiable. Again, what's the point backpacking if I'm bored?

Water bottles. A hydration insert has too much potential to get punctured, and is too limited in what you can use the water for without great difficulty. At least 2 full Contigo bottles go everywhere I go. Plus a filter as backup.

This bag has everything I need except a toothbrush, clothes, and food. It weighs 31 pounds.

Most recommendations for someone my size say don't go over 35 pounds, but this doesn't actually feel too bad. Depending on terrain, weather, and trip length, I could easily add another 10 pounds without worrying. There's still lots of room in the bag if I needed it.

And I don't usually head out for multiple days on my own. If I was hiking with T one of us would take the tent and the other would take the kitchen stuff to break up weight a bit.

So the numbers are a lot better than I'd hoped when I started this morning. Not that it's going to matter for the next 6 months.

[aeide-thea]

[numbers under the cut just for my own reference]

lol i went for the world's shortest run at the world's slowest pace* but like. considering it's been literal years i feel good? or, you know, maybe not 'good,' but like. satisfied or whatever. pleased my bribing myself worked. now i just have to do it again infinity more times! how exciting…

⸻ *like a mile and a half-ish and it took me like. 15 minutes lmao. baby div i rower!K is extremely Not Impressed but like. fuck her, sometimes you gotta lower yr standards and just. keep trudging.