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☆ Someone wrote me a lovely YiH fic for Yuletide! Lost and Found, about Veeti's relationship with Sakari. :) Thank you, nonny!

☆ It has been hovering around -35 to -40C for the last few days. The frost on my bedroom window, let me tell you.... I might wander out tomorrow just because I'm going absolutely stir-crazy, but it certainly isn't fit for anybody out there.

☆ I've been playing the Cupcake version of 2048 practically nonstop for the past couple of days. This game is so brain-sucking... I love it.

☆ My brother received a SNES Classic for Christmas and holy shit, it reminds me how much I miss classic console gaming. I should dig my Genesis out of storage one of these days. ...Then again, do I really need another time-waster? No. ;p

☆ Chocolate Box exchange is starting up again; deets over at chocolateboxcomm. The tag set looks great this year. I've decided to sit this exchange out, but I might treat, who knows. I sure did have fun with it last year, but since I'll be doing FTH, it's best if I concentrate fully on my assignment for that.

☆ There was going to be something else, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was... anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Driving practice was super crappy today. Upside: I got through it, did not kill anyone, and did not damage the vehicle. ...That's about the only upside, though.

Decided to go ahead and download that dad dating sim. MIGHT AS WELL. I'm going to be playing it in bits and pieces, using game time as a reward for doing stuff that aggravates my anxiety; I'm trying to reward-train my brain into submission. Can't say whether it's working, but stuff has been getting done, so that's something. ...This means I'll have to take my time with it, but that's all right.

I wasn't sure whether it would run on my tiny netbook, but if I turn the graphics quality down, it's okay (so far). Which is a relief.

( Brief initial thoughts - I didn't get very far tonight )

( Anxiety grumping )

As counter to the whole bunch of kvetching above, here are some nicer things:

☆ I have two potential matches for nightonficmountain, as well as somebody that I could treat if I decide to do that, which means I can stop worrying about whether I'll have someone to write for. (There's still plenty of time to sign up, if anybody is interested...! Tag Set and Ao3 profile/FAQ for reference. /nudge)

☆ It's just slightly over a month until Eurovision! Even though it seems like it'll be very Balladvision (according to what I've heard, anyway - I've only listened to maybe two songs), I'm still excited about it. I think this time around I might be able to listen to the semifinals, even if I'm not able to actually watch them. That would be nice. I hate having to skip them and then see everyone throwing their commentary on twitter; it makes me feel like I'm missing out on so much.

☆ My mate Tik is hinting that I should learn Polish. I'm trying to resist, but I think she might be winning. It's ridiculous, considering I haven't been spending time on Norwegian, so I shouldn't pick up another - but it couldn't hurt to learn some basics, so that I can at least understand how to pronounce everything properly... But this is how it starts. (And she's hinting that picking up Ukrainian would be easier if I know basics of at least one Slavic language. I'm still unsure if I want to even try to learn Ukrainian, but still, maybe -- she's so devious. And she knows me too well.)

☆ straightforwardly reminded me about the existence of the game Never Alone*, which I've been meaning to play for ages, but forgot about for a while there. It's set in the arctic, and it's inspired by traditional Iñupiat lore, and the screenshots look so pretty... basically it's everything I love in one nice package. It might be a while before I get to this one, but I really am going to have to play it one of these days.

Because most of today was craptastic, so I should jot down some things that weren't -

☆ I listened to last year's Eurovision music all through today, and I'm starting to get kind of pumped for the next one, even though it's still quite a few months away. <3 It's something to look forward to, at least. A lot of the 2016 songs have grown on me a TON... there are still some that I'm not crazy about, but a lot of them, I really love them now. <3 And some remind me of my OCs... which means inspiration for self-indulgent stories, yes. 8) Ahhh I hope some day I'll be able to go to a Eurovision again... going to it with friends last year was really fun, even considering all the troubles going on back home with the wildfire.

☆ After finally figuring out the trading system in Pokemon Sun, I've managed to get a few Moon-exclusives that I didn't have access to, as well as some others that were giving me trouble (female Salandit, and Spinarak for some reason). Even though it's such a small thing, I'm so amazed that it's possible to trade with nothing but a wireless connection. The only Pokemon game I'd ever played, until I finally caved and got a 3DS when X came out, was our old Pokemon Yellow, which my brother and I had to share as kids. Naturally I didn't have any friends who played it, so of course anything that you had to trade for was completely out of reach. I love living in the future, oh my god.

☆ The SSSS page for today is fucking hilarious. Reynir petting the owl as if it's a dog? Of course he would. And then the twist. 8) Kiraly said it's like something out of a fanfic, and she's 100% right. Oh my gods. This page is a gift. That panel with poor Onni-owl's !!! face is also a gift.

☆ Chocolate Box fics were revealed today, so I can mention the YOI Leo/Guang Hong story that I wrote, City of Love. Recip liked it, and it was received very well generally, so I'm happy. <3 And my other recip liked the SSSS stories I wrote for her - some Sigrun/Tuuri fluff and a Reynir/Lalli poem, so I think that overall it was a good experience for me, even though I wrote a lot less for it this year than I did last year.

☆ I went driving at night for the first time ever. I did not crash into anything. And visibility was better than I expected. I'm still not ready to drive on any major roads in the dark, but it's a start. We've found a good place to practice left turns, which is good because that's one of the major things that I need to focus on.

☆ Fresh pineapple for dessert is delicious, and it's even better when you don't have to cut it up yourself.

☆ Blah blah blah it's cold. This is really cramping my style. Throwing off my groove, if you know what I mean. Fit for neither human nor beast. If it hasn't warmed up to at least -25 by the weekend, I'm going to scream, because staying inside like this makes me absolutely stir-crazy! (Which is why I keep bringing it up and complaining about it - sorry, sorry.)

☆ Needless to say, this has thrown a wrench into my Pokemon Go playing. Nooo, my streak! It's all gone! But I'll just have to build it up again later, I guess. I've only succeeded in hatching one (1) of the new babies, which is disappointing. Hard to hatch those eggs without the walking, eh. :V SIGH. Not to mention, I run into performance issues when it's this cold - battery life is noticeably shortened at -20, so when you double that, well... it's proooobably not good for the device. Just, y'know, hazarding a guess here.

☆ Speaking of Go, man, that game really helped me realize that I'm at my best when I get at least 5k of walking outside per day. Preferably more, closer to 10. I mean, I already knew that I feel better when I get some fresh air, but I didn't have any kind of distance/time as reference. Anyway, it's a real pain in the ass, because [/gestures outside at this FROZEN NORTHERN WASTELAND] ...and trying to do my walking on the treadmill just isn't the saaaame, ugh. IT'S SO BORING. Even with music/books/podcasts/whatever. Give me fresh oxygen please.

☆ Pokemon Sun continues to be enjoyable. I'm continuing to be slow as molasses as it. But I just ran into Gladion for the first time, so that's neat. I... think I would have been all over him if this game had existed when I was younger, pf. Angsty emokid with a tragic past and a bad haircut! Yep. He'll probably be more sympathetic later, but right now I'm just like, ahaha oh how my tastes have changed. Cheerful sweetiepies are more my type, now - Hau, in other words. <3 <3 ...I kind of have some vague ideas kicking around for Hau/Sun futurefic, but I think I'll let that percolate for a while - because of time partitioning issues, and just in case the game throws me some kind of curveball.

☆ Plans for the remainder of the week: work on Chocobox Exchange fic, read some more stuff, try not to freeze to death.

Can I just, like, fast-forward to January 2nd? Is that possible? I hate this time of year, it's never a good time for me. IF IT WAS UP TO ME I would opt out of this but it is Not up to me because I live in this house so I just have to... put up with the bullshit and fuss and stress and overstimulation and supper with unpleasant guests and my parents whining about "communists" (AKA Canada's halfassed attempt at socialism). Also, angst. So much angst. (tl;dr I miss my grandmother)

There is not enough wine in the world for me to put up with all this, you guys.

But at least I have the new Pokemon to distract me. Tipsy Pokemon-playing = A++.

I suddenly remember that the reason I never finished Pokemon X is because I kept fiddling around with Pokemon Amie instead of actually playing the game. Luckily for me, the version in Sun/Moon is not quite so involved.

And also I have This Tendency to grind like hell in the beginning in a vague attempt to level my entire team Evenly. Which is ridiculous because you knoooow that I'm going to swap that damn Yungoos out as soon as I have an opportunity to do so. But yknow.

And this is why I haven't made it off Tutorial Island even though I've been playing... much of the evening.... uh.

Did you know that it's hard to make good decisions about pokemon moves when you're drunk



because it's really kind of hard

Also I wanted to have an entire bottle to myself but that would have been a Bad Idea so it's probably good that I didn't.

I'm playing as Niko because some of the darker-haired versions of the player character look sort of like him. And it's kind of fun to imagine him in some kind of pokemon AU, heh. (He would have ALL the cutest pokemon) (even the ones that aren't so great for much) (because he's a cute flake) (the cutest) Also I would never choose a grass starter but Niko might AND SO this is clearly the solution to my internal conflict about the possibilities re: grass vs water starters. Because Rowlet is fucking adorable AND I WANTED ONE but I was Unsure because what even are grass pokemon anyway, we just don't know.

This is solved by not playing as me.

Somehow.

Yes.

Also, I love Hau, A++ cutest rival ever, I want to squish his adorable little face.

I should go to bed. Maybe. Probably. Ugh. UGHHHHH. At least tomorrow is... not christmas and is also Off so maybe I can like. Write. Because I promised some random person that I would Work On A Thing so I should. Work. On the thing. Yes.

orz

☆ Having ONE OF THOSE DAYS caught between too many thoughts and exhaustion. Lovely. :V

☆ I have not been able to play PokeGo in over a week because SOMEBODY is using the extra phone... grumble, grumble. I shouldn't be complaining, after all, it's borrowed, but arrrgh. /shakesfist Trying to motivate myself for nightly walks without that initiative just... isn't the same.

☆ Speaking of Pokemon, though, the more I hear about Sun & Moon, the more pumped I'm getting for it. It just sounds so cool, and I can hardly wait to play it. Haven't preordered it yet, though, because I can't decide which version I want, and I kind of... want both of them. Which probably isn't a bright idea, but, y'know. Ah well, I'll set the money aside and then we'll see. Really should finish playing X first too. I never did complete it. In fact, I haven't picked up my 3DS in months. Terrible.

☆ Can't think of anything else to say, so here's a WIP list. I should probably try to get some words slapped down on some of these tomorrow, or maybe the next day. Haven't been writing as much as I should. And then there are also a ton of tiny little docs where I have maybe three sentences down, and not much else; in some cases, it's easy to tell where I was going with it, but in others I just... have no idea what I was doing there. But I really should form those sketches into actual fic eventually.

( WIP list )

☆ On the work bus home from work, I managed to get the wifi long enough to fiddle around with Pokemon Go. Verdict: There isn't anything in my immediate neighbourhood, but there's some stuff in the next neighbourhood, within walking distance (for a certain definition of walking distance; ~40 min in 1 direction, which isn't too bad). Several Pokestops, and at least 1 Gym. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, none of the Pokestops are near buildings with wifi (unless there's some crazy person out there who doesn't have their house wireless protected), and only one of them is reachable while on the bus - and unfortunately this wasn't my typical route. I have no idea where the Gym actually is; I've heard there is a community centre somewhere around that area, though I have no bloody clue where. Perhaps I should do some exploring. Yes, yes, I know I can just check it out on the Ingress map, but - mucking around is part of the fun, I think. Actually, Ingress sounds like it'd be great to play as well, but - once again, the wireless internet issue. Oh well! The most important thing is that I caught a Horsea, and I'm delighted with it. ;) Now if only I could catch that Jynx that's been lurking somewhere in the backyard....

☆ I finished reading Janet Kellough's The Burying Ground. Not going into too much detail right now, but suffice to say - it isn't the most amazing novel in the world, but some of the unexpected things that I found in it were just what I needed right now. Especially since I've been having so many crappy closet-related feelings of late. But I'll go into that more when I do my Wednesday reading writeup.

☆ Been plotting a little with regards to some of the SSSS stories that I want to write involving OCs and... ahaha, it's running away from me, a little. It's all pretty centred around Niko, of course, but there are other characters associated with him, and of course all of them have their own stories to tell, and I want to write those stories too (especially Vesa, who I've become very attached to even if his story is a departure from what I'd usually write). I've had to put together a chart just so that I'd force myself to give everybody first names, descriptions, and occupations, at the very least. Pff, it's a little bit funny how something that was originally just supposed to be a short story about Lalli entering a relationship with some weird guy from another village has run away from me like this. But, we'll see if anything comes with it. I probably won't be crossposting those stories anywhere, except for maybe linking them on twitter I guess, because they're such a silly self-indulgent thing.

☆ Handed in my time-off request. Now, to start counting down the days until Victoria. 8)

☆ Note to self: Book flight and hotel either Friday or Saturday. And... might as well see about getting those passport photos on Saturday, possibly. Since I need to send it in for renewal pretty soon. Not that I'll need it for Victoria, but eh. It needs to get done. (SIGH) Anyway, work has said that it's fine for me to take that trip, so - it looks like Victoria will actually be happening. Nice! I'll have to ask Aki what she wants to do when we meet up, so that I can look things up and plan things out. But that can wait for a while.

☆ I keep staring at this pair of earrings on Etsy and ugh, I want them so bad. But I'm going to be spending so much money this weekend (see above, as well as getting myself a new Ereader) that - yeahhh, hard to justify it. Well. Maybe if I manage to clear off my to-do list, I'll reward myself with that. :D It isn't as if I've been doing much frivolous spending lately, anyway.

☆ I've said it before, but I'm so butthurt that I can't play Pokemon Go. SO BUTTHURT. Ahaha, I'll get over it in a week or two, probably. But I'm just so grumpy that all of my friends are having fun with something, and I can't join in. xD Maybe I should haul out my 3DS and play some actual Pokemon, though, considering I didn't finish Pokemon X. Not because I didn't like it, but well, it's a time-sink. A time-sink that makes my hands cramp up if I play it for too long. So.

☆ After throwing myself into writing last week and part of this week, I find that I'm completely out of juice, at least for the moment. x_x Wow, that was way too much. I'm never pushing myself quite that hard again. Still, I need to do my Rarepair Exchange stuff, but since there's quite a bit of time for that, I'll take a little break. It was just way too much all at once!

☆ ...There are some personal things that I want to write, but maybe on the weekend. It's all stuff with SSSS OCs, the ones that I was developing for those stories set in Kajaani. And there is one... there's a new character; his name is Vesa. And he's going to be a bit challenging to write - mind you, Niko is challenging too, and I guess they're both difficult in similar-but-different ways. (To be honest, I don't want to say too much about Vesa, at the risk of being spoilery, haha. The most important things to know are that he's a troll hunter, and he and Niko know each other very well.) Anyway, there are two stories that I want to write with him, so I'll probably be starting the shorter of the two this weekend. We'll see where it goes. I'm still trying to get used to writing original characters in fanfiction; it feels weird to give myself "permission" for it.

☆ I finished my Kittens Game fanfic. (Here). Well, that was fun! I don't think I'll write anything else like that for a while, but it was nice to just slap down words without worrying too much about it. Surprising how it developed a plot along the way... That isn't what I originally expected, but then I had fun working out why the Zebras hate you.

☆ Speaking of Kittens Game, my kittens are almost ready to invent biology. Yay! ... I'm still trying to figure out the optimum way to juggle resources/tools in order to produce titanium and coal, but errr, I'll figure that out soon. I think I'm going to need more kittens; I've been keeping my numbers low but after a while, it gets hard to do anything without more cats.

☆ It's been super cold the last couple of days. Damn it, it's April; I shouldn't have to put up with -11C and such. I've packed my winter clothes away for good. ... Except for my earmuffs. I will, apparently, be needing to keep my earmuffs out for a while longer.

☆ Watched Sinister (2012) last night with the Horror Group. This is a film that started off strong, but started to unravel toward the end. I'll put my thoughts behind the cut so as not to spoil anything.

( So, about Sinister )