Some Sort of Multitasking

Jul. 23rd, 2025 11:08 am
kalloway: A close-up of Rocbouquet from Romacing SaGa 2 (Default)
[personal profile] kalloway
The cool days have ended and tomorrow is supposed to be brutal. Work has been... Listen, at this point my main comment is "this month has been a very bad day".

I signed up to [community profile] iddyiddybangbang theoretically with art, and by 'art' I mean 'completely bonkers custom gunpla' so we'll see how I do. The deadline is within a couple days of the deadline for a contest in the little gunpla discord I'm in so double-dipping, maybe?

Speaking of, yeah, still happily working on models. While I haven't seen Witch from Mercury, the kit I just finished is the Gundvolva from it because I like the overall look of the machine. I've finally set up my computer desk so I can built little kits while also being social and it's better than doomscrolling between conversations. Vidar is next, but he's a pretty simple-looking critter. And since it's been awhile, here's a poll!

Poll #33406 Quick-ish Gunpla Poll 5 - Desk Buddy Edition
This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 4

Oh no, I bought too much gunpla! Which kit should I build next?

View Answers

30 Minute Missions EAV Wing Mobile Ver. (Support Unit)*
0 (0.0%)

30 Minute Minute Missions Espossito (Red)
0 (0.0%)

EG 1/144 Lah Gundam (Build)
0 (0.0%)

HG 1/144 Silver Bullet Supressor (Universal Century)
1 (25.0%)

HG 1/144 00 Diver Arc (Build)**
1 (25.0%)

HG 1/144 Quanta (Gundam 00)
1 (25.0%)

HG 1/144 Throne Zwei (Gundam 00)
2 (50.0%)

HG 1/144 Hi-Nu (Universal Century)
1 (25.0%)

HG 1/144 Perfect Strike Freedom Rouge (Build)
0 (0.0%)

HG 1/144 Red Exia (Gundam 00)***
1 (25.0%)



* this is a little plane-like thing, and someone could ride on it or hang-glide with it or something?
** this will need a spot of paint, and by spot I mean the orange needs to be pink but otherwise a straight build, lol
*** this is just taking a red Astraea kit and building as Exia because there should be all the runners to do this and at this point I basically live for weird Exia (and Astraea) stuff

Building models has really scratched an itch I don't even know if I had. Gonna start cycling other hobbies back in, once the weather calms down, but right now this is good for these hot days where my greater focus is pretty much crap.

(I've also been working through the JFF movie lineup before the end of the month; I should be able to get there!)

Sunshine Revival Challenge 6

Jul. 23rd, 2025 09:35 pm
starfleetbrat: photo of a cool geeky girl (Default)
[personal profile] starfleetbrat
[community profile] sunshine_revival Challenge #6

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?

These days I'm generally a solitary person, so the majority of games I play are solo games. Even in MMOs I tend to be a solo player unless I am forced into group stuff by a quest or event.

Currently I'm not playing a whole lot. Games are expensive! I'm also kinda feeling like games are not as good as they were a decade or two ago. Not sure what it is exactly. But it used to be that every time there was an E3 or other big game announcement event there would be LOTS of games announced that I would want to play. These days if I am lucky there is one, or two. Sometimes there are none. I'm sure this is because people only make games that fall into certain categories these days (I'm looking at YOU roguelikes) so there are fewer games being made of the kind I like.

[Side Note: I watched an interview with a game dev not long ago. He created a point and click game, and he said that point and click games are considered niche now and every piece of advice he received was to not make a point and click game if he wanted his game to sell. Which is disappointing, I guess.]

Anyway, mostly I have been playing some chill games, like Desk Garden, which is an idle game that plays on your desktop while you are doing other things. Coloring Pixels, which is a paint by numbers game, Plant Therapy which is a game where you buy plants and decorate an apartment.

Sometimes I will load up Minecraft (modded) or I'll sub to World of Warcraft for a month. No Man's Sky is another I'll play occasionally.

Sometimes before bed I will play Rogue Words on my ipad. For some reason it always sends me to sleep lol But its a good game, kinda like solo scrabble but with power ups.

When I am out and standing around waiting I sometimes play games on my phone: Tiler More which is a word game, Jaipur which is a card game and Battle of Polytopia which is a strategy game.

Nails

NSFW Jul. 23rd, 2025 02:59 pm

(no subject)

Jul. 22nd, 2025 08:30 pm
got_quiet: A cat in a happy hoodie not looking happy. Captioned "aaaaahh" (Default)
[personal profile] got_quiet

I am so tired.

We've been moving house on top of very busy work that has demanded that I be out of town for lengths of time and prepping for events on top of it. I'm tired and my well of patience for almost everything has dried up. The deadline for being fully out of the old house is coming up and everything is still a mess. On top of that we have had someone quit at work so I've been picking up all that slack.

So I haven't been doing much fannish stuff.

My friends have gotten into Blue Prince, but because I've been busy I've only checked in at times to work on one puzzle or another with them.

I took some time to watch KPop Demon Hunters and enjoyed that a lot. Mira is best girl. It's sort of Disney levels of sophistication, but that's fine. Not everything needs to be a deep commentary on everything. Sometimes you just want to celebrate loving yourself for who you are with a backing track of very catchy music.

I've been too busy to keep up with Honkai or Nu:Carni that much. I've gotten the stories done for both at least. The last Honkai update finally got me liking Phainon.

The Jayvik exchange ended right in the middle of a lot of personal chaos. I can't really say that this is why  I'm unsatisfied with the fic I wrote because I'm always unsatisfied with the fic I write for exchanges, so I will probably spend a long time swearing off them again until I forget my lesson and try again in a haze of enthusiasm. I did get a very fun gift that involves many Viktors and Jayces across AUs having relationship crises. The author tied in a lot of my likes so I'm happy with how the whole event turned out.

And that's my very brief proof of life update. I'm hoping for some breathing room sometime soon, but with my current schedule it looks like I'm not going to find time to Chill until November.

 

Sunshine Revival Challenge 5

Jul. 22nd, 2025 07:15 pm
starfleetbrat: photo of a cool geeky girl (Default)
[personal profile] starfleetbrat
[community profile] sunshine_revival challenge #5


Journaling prompt: Be a carnival barker for your favorite movie, book, or show (or any other of your choice - game, comic, anything else)! Write a post that showcases the best your chosen title has to offer and entices passersby to check it out.


I'm gonna be real and say I couldn't muster up the energy to do a big post about one thing so here's a small post about a few things I call favourites:

Duel (1971) [trailer]

Duel is a a thriller about a salesman named Dave (played by Dennis Weaver) who is travelling across through California to meet a client. Along the way he overtakes an old tanker truck several times earning the driver's ire. From that moment on Dave is relentlessly pursued by the Truck, and I say that because we never see the driver entirely, so the Truck becomes the "monster" in the story, almost taking on a life of its own. Everywhere Dave goes, the Truck shows up to antagonise him.

The movie is great because of how minimalist it is. There's really only two characters. Dave, and the Truck. And the setting is the rural roads throughout the California desert. There's barely any dialogue, instead the movie relies on sound. The sound of the Truck revving for example becomes a threat. It also really sells the isolation and loneliness of being on the road, and the futility of trying to best something that is unknown/not understood, the Truck seeming almost immortal and not human like its driver.

=

The Writer and the Witch by Robin Sloan

This is a short story thats available for free on the authors website. Its about young writer who meets a witch as he is travelling along the road. He's in a rush to be on his way so ignores the Witch. The Witch curses him and he has to either stand in the same spot or age a year for every step he takes. After discovering the curse is real (he ages 20 years just crossing a bridge), he stands in the same spot for a thousand years (he doesn't age while standing still). Eventually the Witch returns.

I won't spoil what happens because its only 23 pages and you can read it yourself, but its a lovely short story about slowing down and paying attention to the world around you and finding happiness in that.

=

Confessions (short film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STU9x7OxUy4

Confessions is a dark comedy that starts with two elderly nuns standing in a church looking at the body of a third nun who has died. One of the nuns confesses that she feels a little envious of the third nun. This sparks a conversation between the two remaining nuns about life, growing old, friendship and death as the nuns think about how they would like die and what they would do if they were young women today. The film is funny and the nuns are adorable as they spend the day "breaking the rules"

Catch-up game

Jul. 22nd, 2025 03:42 pm
alias_sqbr: And yet all I can think is this will make for a great dreamwidth entry. (dreamwidth)
[personal profile] alias_sqbr
As tagged by [personal profile] anghraine. Last time I tagged the last five people in my tumblr notifications, so this time let's see who's in my dreamwidth inbox: [personal profile] fred_mouse [personal profile] winterbird [personal profile] got_quiet [personal profile] lilacsigil and [personal profile] alephnul. Absolutely no pressure though! Just if it seems fun! And everyone else is free to do it too.
Read more... )

Sunshine Revival Challenge 4

Jul. 21st, 2025 06:46 pm
starfleetbrat: photo of a cool geeky girl (Default)
[personal profile] starfleetbrat
I'm so behind with [community profile] sunshine_revival

Here's Challenge #4

What is making you smile these days? Create a top 10 list of anything you want to talk about.

1. Cyberpunk 2077 got released for Mac! I am so hype!! Now I just need a steam sale...
2. The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst was finally released. I'm looking forward to reading it!
3. Sewing. Sewing makes me happy.
4. The Great British Sewing Bee! its back for S11 and I am so there for it
5. Tunnock's Caramel Wafers - I bought some from Amazon and omg they are so delicious.
6. /r/WeirdFriends over on reddit. people post pics of their frankenstein plushies - plushie friends that have been upcycled into new (sometimes creepy) weirder friends! Some of them are so cute.
7. the ThinkyGames youtube channel - they cover puzzle, problem solving and some mystery games.
8. the small web. honestly seeing so many people making cool little personal sites makes me very happy
9. the news that youtube is going to demonetize AI generated videos! yay!
10. it was 50% off pizzas at Dominoes today so we had pizza!

spit it out!

Jul. 20th, 2025 08:48 pm
thepasteldyke: A gif of Cinnamoroll holding balloons, floating up and down in front of a rainbow (cinnamo balloons)
[personal profile] thepasteldyke
Today me and Tofi picked some cherries. We picked about 3 liters, but there's still a lot left to pick.

I did a little bit of climbing to get to the higher blanches, but we need to get a different ladder next time so we (I - Tofi is afraid of heights) can reach more of them. Branches do tend to, well... branch out. So if you just lean a ladder against the trunk you'll only reach what's closer to it.

Cherry tree branches

We also made cherry soup, or, as we grew up calling it, spit soup. Cus you cook the berries with the pit (seed?) still in it, so you have a glass next to you while you eat the soup so you can spit it out. Not a very pretty name, but it's true to its name! The first time our friend Ren heard us call cherry soup that they thought we were crazy. It really doesn't sound appetizing when you call it that.

a bowl of cherry soup
althea_valara: Final Fantasy X's Yuna, dancing on the water during The Sending (Yuna)
[personal profile] althea_valara
Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-2.png

Challenge #6

Journaling prompt: What games do you play, if any? Are you a solo-gamer or do you view games as a social activity?
Creative prompt: Write a story/fic around the theme "game night".

Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


I don't watch TV (except for game shows during dinner, and that's more mom's doing than mine). I don't watch movies. It's rare I read books these days. What I DO do, though, is play video games, mostly (Japanese) Role Playing Games. Those games are filled with stories, which satisfies my need for escapism into other worlds. I also find that I very much prefer my media to be interactive these days; when I do try to watch a movie, I often get antsy and bored because it's so passive.

Streamed Games



I'm currently playing three games on my Twitch Stream:

* Final Fantasy V for the Four Job Fiesta, Mondays at 7:30pm CDT
* Final Fantasy XI, where we're currently in the Chains of Promathia expansion, Fridays at 7:30pm CDT
* Final Fantasy XIV, doing side content, Saturdays at 7:30pm CDT

...uh, yeah, I LOVE FINAL FANTASY. I have played non-Final Fantasy games on stream - most recently was the Nintendo Switch game Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles which was chill and delightful. And I really hope to play more non-Final Fantasy games in the future.

Final Fantasy V is a single-player game, in which there are a multitude of jobs your four characters can play as. The Four Job Fiesta is a challenge in which you are assigned four jobs to play, one for each character, and you can only play as those jobs. It's usually a fun, grand time, but I have not had luck with the RNG this year; I've gotten terrible jobs that I don't enjoy playing as (so far: Thief, Mystic Knight, and Beastmaster). Yuck! But I intend to continue the run.

Both FFXI and FFXIV are MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). FFXI has been around for over 20 years (!!!) and I used to play it heavily about 12 years ago. Back then, I played with other players, because it was the best way to progress. The game is much more solo-friendly now, and I'm playing through story on a new alt, so I've been soloing everything with Trusts (non-player characters).

FFXIV is most efficient when played with other players, and yet I do a lot of things solo in that game too. I'm pretty shy and have social anxiety, so it can be hard for me to find the courage to play with others. I'm getting better at doing that, though! I've been joining some Party Finders that sound fun and interesting, including a challenge run of an Alliance raid (we went all healers!) and a Blue Mage spell learning party.

I'm grateful there's so many different ways to advance in FFXIV, and I can do it in a way that's comfy for me. But yes, I do want to practice putting myself out there and being brave.

Casual Games



I play a number of casual games, too! These I can pick up and play for a few minutes here and there.

On my Fire tablet, I play Word Shaker (a Boggle clone) and Solitaire City where I am VERY partial to the Yukon solitaire game.

On my iPhone, I play WordScapes. My particular version sets of the board as a crossword.

On my computer, I'm playing Cats In Boxes which is a delightful puzzle game in which you direct cats to push boxes around so the boxes land on the shaded squares. I'm really enjoying it!

So yeah, I'm a BIG gamer. I enjoy casual games because they distract me from my thoughts and give me a few minutes to reset. I enjoy my (J)RPGs for the amazing stories and fantastic characters. I hope to be gaming the rest of my life!
elf: A purple rook with wings spread; the word "Glitch" above it and "Don't Panic" below. (Glitch - Don't Panic)
[personal profile] elf
1. Chaos. Last night, the building across the street caught on fire.

Again.

It's an abandoned/defunct factory; this is the... fifth? time it's caught on fire in the last couple of years. (The owner who acquired it after the previous owner died has been trying to sell it for far more than anyone wants to pay.)

2. Discord. This morning: Skipped my GURPS game (sigh) for round 3 of 4 of the Seattle Worldcon virtual business meeting. 3.75 hours of intense Roberts Rules neepery wrapped around 16 action items. 14 passed, 2 failed. I took notes on (1) everything that happened and (2) How To Bog Down A Worldcon Business Meeting, should I ever be so inclined.

There are a substantial number of people involved for whom Roberts Rules is apparently their main fandom. The Worldcon Business Meeting is their Pennsic. Some of them get annoyed at people who aren't interested in RRONR procedures as much as they want changes to Worldcon rules.

Also I have volunteered to be on two committees; we'll see if I get accepted to either.

3. Confusion. Family birthday party. Eldest daughter came over to cook tacos yay. Much bustling around a small kitchen with people no longer used to having three butts in a one-butt sized space.

Tacos were yummy. Cake and ice cream were yummy. French-press coffee was yummy; I wound up thinking "I should do that more often" and then remembered why I don't - because the cleanup is a hassle, and also, I prefer the coffee hotter than the press makes it. (5 minutes of sitting in a glass cylinder is cooler than I prefer.) But it's nice once in a while.

4. Bureaucracy. 2 hrs of OTW Board public meeting. (The meeting is 1 hr, but I'm involved as a volunteer, so had to be there in advance.) It ran short - instead of the normal "dozen questions emailed in advance + 10-20 questions asked in session," it was "5 questions sent in advance and only 4 more asked in session." All questions answered during the meeting; none left over to get posted on the website later.

5. Aftermath. Kid the Elder has gone home with doggo via Lyft; I am trying to catch up on the several chat channels with all sorts of stuff in them. Also now trying to figure out what writing deadlines I have pressing that have been shoved aside during prep for these two meetings.

Now what? )

banners yay!

Jul. 18th, 2025 07:09 pm
thepasteldyke: A gif of Cinnamoroll holding balloons, floating up and down in front of a rainbow (cinnamo balloons)
[personal profile] thepasteldyke
I participated in [community profile] fic_promptly's challenge week for the first time last week, and I earned three banners! Let's go!

I'm gonna take a minute to upload the fics to other places than the comm's comments though lol.

a banner reading fic promptly, challenge week, the challenger, 8 fills
a banner reading fic promptly, challenge week, the one-day writer
a banner reading fic promptly, challenge week, side quest beginner, 1 quest

Rack of Lamb

Jul. 18th, 2025 06:36 pm
starfleetbrat: photo of a cool geeky girl (Default)
[personal profile] starfleetbrat
Remember the Beef Wellington bag photo I posted a while back?

the same store has a new bag and I MUST HAVE IT.


click for bigger


Rack of Lamb. HAHAHA lol

the store wasn't open when I took the photo or it may have been an impulse buy. But this gives me time to find out how much it costs (and probably save up for it) I guess
althea_valara: Icon of Althea Valara, my main character from Final Fantasy XIV. (Althea Valara)
[personal profile] althea_valara
Sunshine-Revival-Carnival-2.png

Challenge #5

Journaling prompt: Be a carnival barker for your favorite movie, book, or show! Write a post that showcases the best your chosen title has to offer and entices passersby to check it out.
Creative prompt: Write a fic or original story about a character reluctantly doing something they are hesitant about.
Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


(I am not going to write a fic, but I read the prompt and went OH, IT'S ME!!! I am very hesitant about the things I need to do these days, and pretty reluctant to actually do them. But I'm trying. By gods, I'm trying.)

Re: the journaling prompt: it doesn't include "your favorite game", HOW RUDE. But I am going to natter at you about Final Fantasy XIV anyway, because (a) most of my media consumption is through games these days, (b) I get to meme at you.

*takes a deep breath*

HAVE YOUR HEARD OF THE
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MMORPG
FINAL FANTASY XIV
WITH AN EXPANDED FREE TRIAL
WHICH YOU CAN PLAY THROUGH THE ENTIREY OF
A REALM REBORN
AND THE AWARD-WINNING
HEAVENSWARD
EXPANSION
AND ALSO THE AWARD-WINNING
STORMBLOOD
EXPANSION
UP TO LEVEL 70
FOR FREE
WITH NO RESTRICTIONS
ON PLAYTIME?

https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com


a bunch of reasons wny I love Final Fantasy XIV )
althea_valara: The Ninth Doctor says, "Fantastic!" (fantastic!)
[personal profile] althea_valara
Okay, this is long so I'm gonna cut them to save your reading pages.

Challenge 3: Summer-associated Foods )

Challenge 4: What makes you smile? )

Community Thursday

Jul. 17th, 2025 08:18 am
vriddy: Hawks with Fukuoka skyline at night (fukuoka skyline)
[personal profile] vriddy

Community Thursday challenge: every Thursday, try to make an effort to engage with a community on Dreamwidth, whether that's posting, commenting, promoting, etc.


Over the last week...

Commented on [community profile] common_nature.

Posted and commented on [community profile] bnha_fans (final season later this year!)

Posting and commenting on [community profile] getyourwordsout.

Dr Stone chit-chat on [community profile] anime_manga.

Book chit-chat on [community profile] booknook.

Signal boost:

  • The [personal profile] sunflower_auction is returning. It's a online fanworks auction designed to raise money for nonprofit organisations that help the people of Ukraine fight back against Russia's invasion. Creator sign-ups will start next week. I expect I will participate again.
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