Talking About the Mundane, Headcanons, and Meta

I have gotten into chapter two of my hanahaki disease fic, but I'm leaving it be for an essay centered around a Facebook post/poll on a fan group. It got me thinking how and which animals would work for Darkstorm. Cravex's animal totem is fine, and at most would need an update on appearance. It's almost akin to an analysis fan work I wrote for Skywarp ages ago, but it was more he reminded me of one for symbolism sake.

Here, this one is more about how this animal could work for him thematically-speaking between two rulers who are in a constant stalemate, and how it better reflects certain attributes about him (personality and skill wise). Sure, the Swamp Mollusc can be menacing but if most of the time he's getting slapped in the face, then it loses most its presence because of it.

Also, if I must pick an Earthly animal for Cravex it would be a crow. That animal acts way more opportunistic than a vulture, it has affinity for collecting knick-knacks and shiny things, and I thought it would be funny if this happened in the show.



(Cravex tests Arzon's patience while in the air.)

When will it be out? I have no date set, and I never set dates for any of my fan woks. I only have a general idea when it will come out. :P

Christmas is fast approaching where I'm at, and so the grocery stores bring out the GOD DAMN poinsettias. Y'know, these things.



Ever since studying horticulture, I went from feeling neutral to hatred towards these plants. Seriously, anything time I see them a spark of rage burns inside me. I hate them so much! Let me tell you they are the worse to care for!

Poinsettias are the most fragile plants I've ever cared for! Trying to water them is a pain because for you are slightly too rough with them, the stems will break and latex (that milky, white sap) will get everywhere! Water temperatures isn't the worse hassle to deal with, I water my plants with lukewarm (sometimes a tad warmer) water anyway. The occasional cool water won't hurt most of them, but for the poinsettia it will. It has to been "just right" or else you'll kill it. For the love of god, why?!

Ugh... Okay, how about a few fun facts about them to calm my nerves. Did you know? They originate from Central America (Mexico is one place you can find them). Poinsettias are actually a shrub/small tree, and so they grow up to 2 to 13 ft (0.6 to 4 meters) tall. Here's a photo of what they typically look like down south.



The "petals" are actually modified leaves called bracts that draw the attention of insects for pollination. The flowers themselves are much smaller and aren't that showy. They look more like this.

My parents' home printer is broken because of a software update. It's been like that for some time now, so for yesterday and today I went to the library to print out a few things. Some pieces of music and copies of my resume to be specific. While I was there yesterday, I got myself a library card and flyers for a couple of clubs to try attending to in the future. At least I'll get myself out of the house more if I try some clubs; I wonder if I can make my own?

But, now with a library card I got to borrow a DVD today, I decided to give Better Call Saul a watch since I've heard good things about it. I was surprised someone donated four seasons worth on DVD to the library. I only got the first season since there were 10 episodes (each an hour long) on it. The first episode left me wanting to see what happens next with Saul, and I love the setup so far. I feel like this is the closest to watching something new I'll ever get (other than Deadpool and Wolverine, of course).

Oh! And, I thought it would be easier to have a card if I needed to use a computer to print stuff again, instead of asking to get a guest slip printed all the time.

If you've watched any of ColeyDoesThings videos, then you may have watched this one video about the topic of fanfiction and why some people love reading/writing it. You can watch it here if you're interested, but watching it reminded me why love writing about some of the Darkling Lords. The Spectral Knights aren't my favorite, and I find them a bit dull, personally.

I've only written one fanfic about one of them, and that was it.

Mainly, and personally, the Darkling Lords are more fun to write about because they are a messy bunch and you can go ham with them. But also, I like to dive deeper into some of the Darkling Lords and figure out what makes them tick. Cravex, Mortdred, Lexor (the comic version, not the cartoon), and even Cindarr are the most interesting out of the bunch because they have enough details to work with, but there's still enough blank spaces to fill in myself.

Cravex is a personal favorite character of mine because of how hammy the acting can get, but also you can tell he's been through alot. It's just the question of what his and the other characters' lives were like before the Cataclysm happened. Many of them didn't get the luxury that is overt character development; only Cindarr, Virulina, Reekon, and Ectar did, but even then most of it didn't get explore much because of how short-lived it was. And y'know what? I'm okay with it because headcanons are a thing, baby!

I remember lurking around on a facebook fan group page, and finding a post discussing with fans' about their personal headcanons about what they think some of the other characters like Darkstorm and Arzon, as an example, were doing before the three suns realigned that ended the Age of Science. I have to say there some really good headcanons (I wish I can link it but facebook stops you at a certain point, asking you to login or make an account to continue. Because it was buried deep within the group.) The most common assessment I've found was for Cravex, and it was actually pretty insightful. Yes, I ignored the "psychopathy" claims, I already wrote a whole ass essay talking about why I hate that shallow interpretation, and it got my brain rolling with it and adding more to it.

A few fans interpreted Cravex having some type of anxiety disorder, PTSD was a common answer, and being in the military (the air force to be more precise) at one point. Even one person explained why they thought this was because they've personal seen some military men almost act this way.

It's funny because while I was coming back to Visionaries, the thought did cross my mind at one point while brain storming: Cravex being a military man than a sheriff than I previously thought. I had a double drabble I posted but deleted because I wasn't happy with it. And so, seeing people with the same idea with a few differences really took off for me. But, do you see what I mean?

Just that one thought caused an avalanche of potential character development and exploration for just one character!

Personally, I want to write it in a more understanding, and possibly a more sympathetic, light for Cravex because I still believe he isn't the most evil out of all the Darkling Lords.

Holy shit, this heatwave sucks! Well, at least it was raining on-and-off for the most part and Wednesday is probably going to be 77*F (that would be nice, especially if it was lower). Can you tell that I hate summer and I love the colder weather like autumn?

In other news, I haven't had the drive to draw or even write anything; the block is too large and the best I can do is doodle stuff. I wish I could manifest Sly/Cliff fanart or something, but nope. I need to get back into and I haven't drawn those guys in ages. Oh! Y'know?

I found this Patreon page for a M.A.S.K. revival that this guy was writing. I actually like some of the snippets of the characters so far. Seriously, they manage to make me weep for Dusty of all characters! Miles Mayhem oddly fascinates me; he's a strange fellow that I'm studying under a microscope. And will Floyd's potential finally be unleashed?! Will this is be the piece of media where he isn't swing on the either side of the pendulum; either he's a whiny bitch or he's high off of cocaine? You guys can find it here, and I'm really enjoying the progress (what little updates pop up) and I hope the book is a success! I'll give it a read when it comes out.

I have a ficlet collection about the Darkling Lords on AO3, but the problem is that each chapter is a stand alone story. I didn't think of making into an actual collection or even a series at the time. The collection is called Beyond the Haze and each chapter has its own title. I had a lot of fun writing the Darkling Lords and trying to write them as three dimensional characters to some degree. My favorite chapters are three (The Anxiety of Flight), five (The Jealous Heart) and eight (The Reptile in the Freezing Woods). So be ready for all eleven chapters coming your way, and hopefully I don't clog anyone's reading page in the process. So just a heads up.

For the few days I've been feeling nostalgic of the old Internet and 2000's tech. Where you can customize your computer's DE and exploring the web did feel like an adventure; with people's personalized webpages and crazy looking DE. Yeah, I miss the bubbly, shiny aesthetics of the 2000's. Cellphones were just phones with extra features that didn't eat up our attention like no one's business. It felt like the world was our oyster growing up. The Internet was the escape from daily life; where people created things because they wanted to share it with people online. But now, with the corporatization of the Internet for last 20 years or so, it's all so dull and samey. Making money is the main or only reason for making stuff, and nothing else. And, people are finding ways to leave the Internet and go back to daily life just to get away from the virtual nightmare we're all in. The technology is sleek and nice, but there's very little personality to them where it feels like it's yours. Just take a look at smartphones where they're over six inches in length, and they're just slabs of plastic and glass. Overall, it's depressing... So, what am I changing?

I've been filling that time with changing up my DE to be a little more exciting. I'm also browsing around Neocities and Newgrounds a little more; just something to make exploring the Internet a little more fun again. I've added more items with my flip phone to carry with like an old digital camera, notepad, and an iPod mini. It's tough when your brain is addicted with the Internet because that's where the music and videos I enjoy are at! Seriously, I got to stop picking up that tablet in the morning downstairs -I got better things to do with my time-. I'm using websites that are slower and way more chill than the mainstream ones like Pillowfort and Dreamwidth. I would try SpaceHey, since I never used MySpace before, but from what I read from one user (here) that it seems the user base is mostly 14 to 19 year olds. And y'know what? They deserve a space on the Internet to be themselves and it's properly moderated for that age demographic. That's a different topic to talk about some other time, but back on topic. Hell, I would like to learn some HTML or CSS coding to create a Neocities website just for the fun of it. I know a little bit of HTML for bold, italics, and creating paragraphs; and that's it. It gets a little overwhelming after awhile to remember this stuff.

Was the era perfect? No, every era has its flaws -big or small-. I'm impressed with how far tech has come to be more convenient and helpful. But with that convenience, laziness can happen but the real biggest issue is over-reliance that can develop. Where you feel like you can't do anything without it. I'm used to not having a smartphone growing up (and it was probably for the best) since my family couldn't afford them. I got my first smartphone back in community college (about 2018 or something), and buying a new smartphone a couple of years back was eye opening! Just seeing how big it was was something. My hands are small, and my fingers can only stretch so much to tap something. If feature phones were just as common as they were in the 2000's I would use a QWERTY phone just like my old LG phone from Tracfone.


I know Unihertz has the Titans series of phones, but that would be more like a work phone at that point than a daily drive phone since it has Android on it.

I have been trying out a pair of barefoot shoes from Xero Shoes for a couple of months now, and they're good for when you're making trips to the grocery store. My feet have been adapting for the most part -as long as I'm not pushing myself too hard- but my heels get achy when I'm walking and/or standing on concrete for too long. Oh! And the tendons around my knees get sore as well. I'm just overloading them at this point! The longest I have worn them is about three days, and even then that was still pushing it. So today, I went on a trip to try a pair of zero-drop boots (it was mainly because I wanted to try out some Lems). They have a thicker sole so hopefully that helps with the sore heels and reduce the stress on the tendons of my knees.

The reason I wanted to give barefoot shoes, and zero drop shoes a chance is because I develop a stiff and sore lower back when I wear shoes with elevated heels. I can't sit for too long, not even laid down flat on my back; I'll squirm to get back up or face any potential cramps that pop-up. It's not fun! But ever since wearing my Xero Shoes, I haven't had any lower back problems or even serious stiffness in awhile. Although on the other hand, I don't want to stress out the tendons in my heels and knees because of how out of shape they are. So, I bought a pair of Lems -the Boulder Summit waterproof boots to specific- and see if my feet do better in them since there's more sole between me and the ground. Although, I'm surprised they're an US size 8.5 women's pair of boots, but I'm planning on wearing thick socks during the cold months so there's that. Also, I have bulky ankles/shins so it's hard to put on boots that go up to the ankle or higher. I just right out avoid them but not today!

Anyway, let's see how it pans out!

 I can't be the only one that has the headcanon about Torch having an animal soul; am I? Wonder if anyone feels the same way here? Well, I have a couple more for him.

Torch is a curious little fellow. When you sort of remember your last life being a farm animal, there was something about limited spaces that make him feel antsy to get out of there and explore more. But ever since encountering that kid in the woods, he tends to be cautious nowadays when his curiosity peaks.

Torch has trust issues with humans. Ever since undead André and the kid, it takes him some time for him to trust a new master. He finds himself trusting the puppets more since that's the only family/friend group he's ever known. Don't worry! They love him no matter how he was brought to life.

Sometimes, he gets a little self-conscious about not having a human soul, or a human past life, or even the idea he was suppose to be Erich in the first place. Sometimes, he wonders if Leech Woman and Decapitron would've been happy to have him back. André -now known as Decapitron- regrets ever having that intention in his zombie state, but he is grateful that it didn't work out. He tells Torch he's happy to have him be part of the family/friend group as himself. Decapitron hopes that if his son was ever reincarnated, he had a good life, or possibly a better one than back in the 40's and how he treated him during that time.

So, it's the last month of the year and I don't have any ideas for the holidays. Just the usual: go to school, work on homework, and practice viola when I have time. Yeah, not much to say about it.

I've been going on walks on a trail with my mom and it's been nice when the weather permits. I've been tending to my plants, hopefully the cuttings will be a success as well as my grafted cacti surviving. I'm caring an Amaryllis plant and it's growing nicely; eventually it'll bloom later in December. But, the thing is that the plant is poisonous to pets and I don't my cat chopping at it while I'm gone. I don't know if I want to keep bring it with me to school on weekdays -especially when the temperatures are becoming freezing-. So, I have no clue what to with it other than putting it in my room and locking my door so he won't get at it. Does that sound like an okay plan?