Home
Artists
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register
Partychan Telegram ThePornDude
Home Artists Posts Import Register

Chit Chat and Recommendation Post: September 2023! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-10-01 03:28:20
Imported:
2023-10

Content

Hi, everyone! Welcome to this month's chit chat and rec post, a cozy space to update each other on what we've been doing lately and all the things we’ve enjoyed during the month!

September was blissfully easy-going for me--at least compared to the completely bananas summer I had! There were a lot of mundane things I had to neglect over the summer that I've been playing catch-up with this month, but it was really nice to be able to set aside some time to take care of them instead of having to cram them in wherever I could fit them. My day job hours make sense again, people aren't dropping emergency shifts in my lap without warning, it's great. 

Everyone I know locally is also relieved to see the end of travel/tourist season around here. Summers have always been busy where I live, but the past couple years post-pandemic have been totally gonzo. Hopefully it's a temporary trend rather than the new status quo!

Anyway, I've also been enjoying sleeping like a real live human again! The first night this month that I got to turn in at like, ten PM, I was excited to an embarrassing degree. Next month should be even slower! Things will get a little wonky again around the holidays, but nothing like summer, thank god. I've got so much to do for channel events over the next few months, but it's a nice, motivating crunch, comparatively speaking. ^^

Now, let's get down to all the fun stuff I did in September!

Articles

The Squelchy, Messy Art of Video Game Sound Effects - This one is sort of work-related! But it's a good look at some of the things that go into making sound effects. I've been considering getting into doing more of my own foley work for audios, so I love these kinds of behind the scenes pieces. Every couple of months I have the same argument with myself about it:

And the only reason I haven't gone through with it is because I have fifty other ideas going at the same time and I just...forget as soon as I pick up something else. Thanks, severe ADHD! You're keeping my clothes from becoming homeless!

Clown Alley: Okay. I know. It's a random clown blog. It's weird that I stumbled on this and want to share it. But bear with me here.

One of my favorite things about people on the internet is for every interest, no matter how potentially off-putting, there is some ridiculously well-read nerd or collective of nerds who keep an in-depth blog about it. I unironically LOVE that everything under the sun has at least one Keeper of the Ancient Esoteric Knowledge who is so into the thing they care about that they make a space to chronicle it and dissect it.

So...did I spend an hour reading about clown history when I have no real interest in clowns? Yep! Did I learn more than anyone born after 1910 should know about Fatty Arbuckle? Sure did! Did I sacrifice some part of my brain that should be used for something more important to hold all this information? I mean, probably! But what is a life without making a few bad decisions?

America Loves Gas Station Snacks. Here Are Some of the Finest by Region - Ah! Road food! I haven't traveled much for a couple years, but when I did get into wacky road trip shenanigans there was nothing like stumbling on an exotic foodstuff a couple states over. (The best weird things I've ever had from a gas station on a road trip: ketchup chips and cucumber soda. I still dream of Canadian ketchup chips ;_;)

In Defense of the Rat - A few months back I posted an article in defense of pigeons and y'know what? Yeah. I still love underdogs. Justice for our furry and feathered trash can friends!

TV!

I made time for a few things this month, mostly while multitasking, but the most notable was revisiting an old anthology series from the 2000s called Night Visions, all of which is on youtube if you'd like to see it! 

Someone brought up the episode Dead Air in a comment on my channel last year, and it made me track down the series and shotgun the whole thing in like two days. I love speculative fiction anthologies and this is a decent one! It's a bit of a mixed bag, but it's much less rickety than some others I could name.

My picks for best segments: The Passenger List, Dead Air, My So-Called Life and Death and The Doghouse. 

I guess that's about it for me this month! I wish it'd been more! How about you? What did you get up to this month? Read/watch/play anything good?

Comments

PsionicsKnight

*I walk backward into this cozy space, a bit of underwear draped over my head, before doing a 180 to face everyone.* Ms. Velvet, hello! Do you how do? Okay, now that I have done the obligatory SpongeBob reference, I can begin my part of the discussion. First, I'm very happy to hear that September went better for you, Velvet! As someone who worked at Amazon for so long, I know what it was like to have hectic work hours and environments. It's nice to hear that things are calming down for you and allowing you to get a better work-life balance. I hope you'll be able to continue to enjoy this peace for at least a while longer! And I agree with you about Clown Alley and other related stuff--honestly, it's fascinating to read up on not only niche subjects, but it's cool to see that pretty much every subject (no matter what it is) seems to get more complex when you look into it. Just look at speculative fiction: while so many people think all spec fiction just has the same basic ideas and premises, there's so many variations and combinations of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, and more that it can be fascinating to read about! The same goes for so many interests, and I actually think that's one great thing about the Internet--we get to find people who are passionate about this stuff and expand our understanding of things, no matter what they might be. It reminds me of something my stepdad has said multiple times: "It's good to know a little bit about everything," or something to that effect. And I appreciate the mention of Night Visions! I'll give it a chance sometime soon, especially since Spooky Month is upon us! I may not be the biggest fan of anthology series, but this might interest me a lot! As for my September... it was kind of chaotic. I started a new school term and, with one of the classes at least, I've been struggling a lot--to the point where, earlier this week, I actually considered withdrawing from it (if not from the current course as a whole) because I was terrified about the idea of failing the class and felt maybe I should just stop and try again later. I've decided not to do that at this time, but still... it hasn't been the easiest. Especially since my professor wasn't quite clear about how to submit classwork, so... I did get some bad grades initially that may or may not have changed by now. All I can say is that I just hope to get a passing grade so I can move on with my life and get my new degree, since after these two classes I'll only have one more class and I'll have earned my Bachelor's Degree In Graphic Design. Also, just in case anyone was worried about me dropping out of college: I have already earned one other Bachelor's in 2018, and I'm thinking about going back again to perhaps get a Bachelor's in a different topic I also have a passion for, as well as getting a Master's in what my first Bachelor's was about (that's a bridge we'll have to cross later, though, since I don't think I have the money for any more college education at the moment). It's more that I was worried that taking on a Bachelor's in a degree I've come to realize I don't like that much might not have been the best idea, but I also think that giving up when I'm so close to the finish line would be awful. Plus... I think I'm just letting my paranoia/emotional instability make me think unreasonably. There was also issues about one Discord friend of mine (let's call him "Alex"), who I've wanted to help--and even gave him some money (after *I* insisted on it) since I feel like he deserved some after something bad--but... it's also been very hard. Long story short: he's suffering from a lot of mental health and poor work and life experiences, and even told me recently that he got into an argument with IRL friend who wouldn't back down even after Alex said he was having *suicidal thoughts.* I might just be letting myself be manipulated here, or perhaps I have a hero complex, but... I want to be there for Alex, but I also feel like he's treating me like a personal therapist even after I encourage him to talk about his problems with others. Things aren't as bad as before, but they still have been difficult, and I hope Alex gets some professional help soon. My other issue is that I've just been... very stressed lately. I finally came out to my family over the last couple of weeks that I no longer worked at Amazon. While I wasn't completely honest with them (at least for now), it was still hard to admit this since I was worried about them being upset or retaliating. And while my dad did say some stuff that, again, has confirmed my suspicions that the things he sees daily aren't just making him more extreme in his sociopolitical views but are actively damaging his mental health, things also went... much better than expected. I also began applying for jobs--I even got an interview this Monday for an office job at Providence Healthcare. It's probably not something I'm going to want *forever*, but assuming I choose to/have to get it, I also think I can finish my education, catch up on some SkillShare and Udemy courses, and work there (or elsewhere) for about 6-to-12 months to get some money and maybe look/build a different job. Perhaps once I get a new job, I can finally start doing some creator-related stuff on Patreon here! I was initially interested in joining for that reason, and while the family wasn't too receptive at the time, which discouraged me, maybe I can use Patreon for things like worldbuilding projects and such! I also went to my city's ComicCon, making this my first convention, but... I was kind of underwhelmed and disappointed. There just wasn't a lot to do there, but perhaps another convention will be more fun for me. Similarly, there was some drama with an analog horror series I watched: "The Painter" by UrbanSpook. Basically, it's about a serial killer who paints grotesque paintings of the people he kills, and recently... it's gotta infamous for just largely being edgy, and sometimes disgusting, shock value without much of a story. Which would be fine for me... if UrbanSpook didn't react to a YouTuber (Pastra) who criticized his work by saying said YouTuber was just an "autistic, furry snowflake" and just making himself to be an a-hole. Suffice to say, while I did decide to see the latest episode, after I heard about what UrbanSpook did and saw some videos critiquing his series, I've decided to unsubscribe from the guy. I doubt it'll mean much, but I'm not that big of a fan of his work and I don't think I should support him. In other news, I finally caved... and started watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Long story short: I had heard about how good this series was, but I was skeptical as it didn't seem like an anime I would enjoy (I tend to prefer the more "downplayed" animes). Especially since I'd hate to say it, but JoJo's has a... very distinct art style for the characters that I find can make them odd to first-time viewers (yes, even with best JoJo's waifu Jolyne). I've only had time to get through the first part, but I have to say: I'm enjoying it so far! I still feel like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood will be my all-time favorite anime, but JoJo's might be a good second or even equal! We'll have to wait and see. I've also caught up on Amazon's Wheel of Time series. I will be honest: I'm enjoying it, but... considering I heard that fans of the book series and even the writers of the show note a lot of deviations, it makes me wonder if some of the more... questionable writing decisions (more about how the special effects are done, how the plot goes about, and how the characters are portrayed) are part of the books and which are just decisions by the writing staff. At the very least, the new season is *much* better received, and I can see why. It's a great improvement from the first season, and I'm excited to see the finale! Though, if I might be so bold: one character arc was *so* infuriating for me. Long story short: in the WoT universe, there are a group called the Seanchan--a brutal expansionistic empire* who want to take over the world out of a belief it will unite people. And while they tend to be hands-off regarding their vassal-states, they also practice slavery and are *very* cruel towards female channelers (the term for wizards in this universe) which they call "*damane*" in their language. Basically, the Seanchan will take channelers and force them to be broken physically, mentally, and spiritually so that they basically become slave-sorceress of the Empire--and, in the books at least, come to believe they *should* be shackled. In the season, one of the MCs gets captured by the Seanchan and is in the process of being trained/broken... but she makes the *stupid* decision of doing the same escape tactic over and over, and never trying something new! Like, I'm not here to say said character shouldn't try to escape, but... seriously, if the first tactic doesn't work, it's probably best to think of something else. It's also kind of annoying because the person training/handling her actually is, at worst, "Affably Evil" in that she wants to genuinely be a friend to the MC, but is still willing to get brutal if the MC shows she's not going to obey her and/or will try to attack her. Which, again, makes me wonder: after the MC calms down, why doesn't she try to *pretend* to go along with her handler?! At the very least, it could mean she'll be more physically and mentally ready to figure out an escape plan, and could even use the guise of "friendship" to get her handler to trust her until she's in a good position to betray her; at the very most, she could convince her handler to let her go (or at least vouch for her to be better). Perhaps this same thing just happened in the book series, but... I honestly feel like the MC is just being stupid to show her in a helpless state rather than because it would make sense. It also might be because I am a big fan of guile heroes, and I've never understood why some modern heroes don't just try to lie/manipulate their enemies/captors who are threatening them, their homes, or the people they love. Hopefully, the book series portrays this better. I also watched the Creator yesterday, and... well, it was good, but perhaps not the best. Long story short: it's about a war between humans and AI (or, more specifically, America and AI-friendly nations), and one of the MCs is Joshua, a human soldier who is convinced to help find a weapon the robots made... only to discover it's a child AI. After he gets the child, whom he names "Alfie" and learns his wife might be alive, he goes in search of the latter and begins to see AI isn't as bad as he thought. Suffice to say, I do like that the film portrays robots and AI in a more sympathetic light, but... I also felt like the conflict was a little heavy-handed. Like, in the film, America is the only country that is fighting AI and is shown to basically commit war crimes, while the robots and their human allies as a whole just want to be left alone, making the whole conflict feel very “black and white” to me. Personally, the film would have been better with a more "gray-and-gray" conflict. Like... maybe the story was about a "human alliance" fighting against a nation comprised entirely of robots, and there being an indication that both sides believed that victory for the other meant complete eradication for them. And in response, Joshua and Alfie's efforts either brought the war to an end or let more pacifistic and forgiving robots and humans form a new society where they could live in peace (perhaps even leaving behind the human and robot nation-states to kill one another). At the end of the day, The Creator wasn't a bad film, but I can only give it a half-hearted recommendation. I also finished Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson, the third of his 2020 Secret Projects. It was definitely my favorite thus far, and while I can't recommend it as a good "introductory" book to him or his writing, I do recommend fellow fans check it out! Though I found the ending of the story to be a bit... too happy, like the happy ending was through what I found to basically be a deus ex machina, but that's just me and it was still a wonderful story! Finally, I finished the newest Batman movie. To keep it brief: it was basically the Batman version of Arcane, and I really enjoyed it! Can't wait to see what else they have in this rendition of the character! I also want to mention three last things before I sign off: 1. I sent my Yandere Gorgon Cyborg script to a few other ASMRists, so we might see them do a version of this soon. 2. I started to use a special app called "Imprint" that I like a lot. Basically, it's an app that lets you read non-fiction books in a fun and easy way by explaining the main points and using animations to visualize everything. I really enjoy it and recommend it to people who want stuff like self-help or educational books but find it hard to commit to reading them! You do have to pay, but I think it's worth the cost. 3. An ASMRist by the name of Xena Alexander/Messed Up Stories, as well as her friends, have made a special Discord server for fans and colleagues called the "ASMR Lounge" and they seem like a pretty fun, close-knit group! You can find links for them on Xena's page or on the pages of people like Starlit Audios, Lavendheir, Dream Girl Nightmares, Dream Audio, and more! Now, if you all excuse me, I have to go into hiding for the time being. Since I have done a blasphemous thing and besmirched the name of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by not saying it's the best anime ever... I'm pretty sure DIO Brando is now making his move to get revenge by forming a temporary alliance with the Joestar family and coming after me. Wish me luck, everyone! *Zips off like a cartoon character*

Respawn753

September was an interesting month for me. On September 9th, me and my coworker crush went to Disneyland, we were initially supposed to go the week before since her Birthday is at the end of August, but since her family wanted to spend time with her we moved it, we went on plenty of the good rides since we got the fast passes for many of them and we even had time to hang out and chill after the park, spending time with her is always the blast and I constantly want more time with her, she's awesome. We intend to go back since we have the Disney passes. I was so excited when Sept.19th came around since it was the release of the new Mortal Kombat game, Mortal Kombat 1. For those who know , there'a bunch of titles for this game franchise, but the reason why its back to 1 is because of what happened in the last game. I recently finished the story mode which was very cool, cinematic and enthralling. You get to try out many of the characters to get a sampling of their play style and how the story unfolds as the game progresses. It's gory, bloody, action packed, but also has some decent comedic moments, character growth, and more. Many of the characters and old favorites are reimagined and the gameplay is very fun. Currently the characters I'm learning/playing the most is scorpion, I hope to get a handle on at least 2-3 characters in the roster. Everyone is already excited for the DLC characters to arrive. This past Thursday my job had us work a Gala event downtown to celebrate the retirement of my agency's executive director, who's been at the center since she was a child. It was very heartwarming to see her colleagues and friends wish her well and a lovely retirement. I was working at the registration table with my crush and we helped guests as they came in to give them check-ins, table seatings and parking validation if needed. We had to dress in certain colors, purple and black, although most staff dressed in black since it looked better and was more practical compared to wearing a purple. We came into work at 1PM and we finished everything by about 12:00PM, near the end everyone was exhausted and tired. Finally to end September I checked out a movie yesterday, The Creator, directed by Gareth Edwards, he directed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Chappie, and a couple other sci-fi movies. This one intrigued me when the trailers came out and it made it seem like a summer blockbuster with awesome sets and actions pieces, it does have those things, but it's more of an emotional story. The basic premise is that we humans made AI so advanced it set off a nuclear missile in LA, now AI is feared and outlawed and our main protagonist is brought in to stop a new AI threat/weapon, but the weapon is a child. I'm sure you can imagine how things can get crazy and for the most part I enjoyed the film, at times it felt like a foreign film, and the the pacing of the movie made it feel like certain things were done quickly, certain scenes could've been longer, and more intense instead of feeling like we're rushing to the next part or the end. Acting for most of the characters was pretty good, but I felt as if this movie could've done more and would've appealed to more people if they did better with the marketing, there was hardly anyone in the theater I was in which was kinda sad, hopefully the movie doesn't flop and if people want to see something unique and different this is a film to check out. That was most of the important stuff September gave me, much love as always Vel, take care. ❤️

Jake C (that1otherJake)

I'm glad your life is getting back to normal, Ms. Velvet. And I hardly think cramming information on a topic you find interesting is a waste of mental space. Lol. Learn what makes you happy. Last month I started my foray into the world of online dating and I've met a few interesting people along the way. I'm currently chatting with an amazing girl from lands abroad and we're planning to meet up in a couple weeks when our work schedules cool off. I've also started getting back into the stock market again, so that's been pretty neat too, though definitely not for everyone. My day job remains busy as ever (seriously 6 day work weeks are just bleh)...but that also means the money is good and I can't say I don't appreciate that. My pups remain as crazy as ever, and while I would never say this is as stressful as raising human children, it definitely is somewhat comparable. But they're good dogs a lot of the time and I love them both to pieces. As far as reading, I really haven't been taking enough time for it. For games, still plodding slowly through Baldur's Gate 3 and thinking I really need to stop trying to explore EVERYTHING, this game is just too big. At this rate I won't finish it for several months. TV shows are kind of bleh right now. I'm trying to get back into American Horror Story for the new season, but...idk, I think I might have lost my taste for their particular brand...But on the upside, I am enjoying Ahsoka...at glacial pace that the episodes are being released. So some good there. Anyway, that's it for this month. I hope the rest of you are well or on your way to becoming better at least. Try to hang in there and start bundling up for the cold. Happy October, all!

Luke Childers

Late to the party, but my update is pretty short as I've not done much noteworthy the past (two) month(s). I've spent most of my time helping my parents with repairs on their house (hurricane rains washed away a large chunk of the foundation), and helping take care of my elderly grandmother (she's not sick and dying or anything but people have to sit with her 24/7 to help her out since she's weak enough that she can't walk on her own anymore without risking serious falls). So yeah, perpetually busy but life is overall good. Hopefully everyone has a good spooky month! (And hopefully you feel better soon, Vel, after seeing your last update!) See you all in November!