And that's the way it is.
So. Coronavirus. Definitely not happy about it, and disturbed that it's become so difficult to find antibacterial hand wipes. But we have found some baby wipes, so have to be grateful for those.
Of course, the Rockapella concert has been cancelled again, and this time everyone's getting refunded because they don't know when they can reschedule. I wish they'd do it at the holidays so it could be the Christmas concert I wanted and paid for in the first place.
Sad about the "non-essential" stores closing, since I feel like people need to still have something fun around for cheering up, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I just hope they won't end up staying closed longer than estimated, but I'm afraid they will be. (Plus, some stores' ideas of "non-essential" are making me WTH. Seriously, JC Penney thinks it has to close? What is non-essential about clothes? What if someone needs clothes and can't find any that fit at Walmart? I've been needing pants desperately and couldn't find the right size at Walmart for weeks. I finally did this week, though. Whew.)
At least fun things are available in stores that are still open. I even found a Scooby-Doo shirt that has Scrappy on it! Who would have thought they'd ever make an official shirt with Scrappy that's a nice shirt and not bashing him? I just wish it wasn't almost as thin as mesh. Seriously, why do people think women want to wear things like that? I haven't bought it because of that, but unless they restock it, I suppose I won't have the chance to get it another time. I'm happy it's popular. Hopefully that will show Warner that Scrappy is not universally hated like Cartoon Network tries to make everyone think.
Of course, the isolation part of things isn't that hard for me to deal with aside from lack of stores to visit, since I'm an introvert and usually stay home anyway. I've been going about my business: writing, talking to people online, watching things....
I've watched almost all of season 1 of Yu Yu Hakusho. I love the characters, and indeed, I've developed an appreciation for Hiei at last. But the show is really too violent for me sometimes, and I really dislike that this Dark Tournament thing runs a season and a half. I don't particularly want to watch that many episodes of Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the others getting the stuffing beat out of them. And I definitely don't want to see some of the things that happen to other characters, like apparently there's a whole episode revolving around a creep who defeats his opponents via my most hated death trope. Seriously?! I would, however, like to see a few of the intense episodes, like where Genkai is killed and where they think Kuwabara is dead. But I can't see myself watching all episodes of the Dark Tournament. It is frustrating, though, because I love the characters and want to see their adventures.
I also, after 11 years, managed to feel ready to watch The Princess and the Frog. That's how long it can take me to be able to deal with something that revolves around a lesser-hated trope, even though I was excited about it when it was first coming out because I loved the New Orleans setting and music and enjoyed the return to traditional animation. Having watched it, I loved the characters more than the film itself, I think. Heh. Charlotte's obsession with marrying a prince was kind of annoying, but I forgave it all because she was such an adorable friend! She could have blown a fuse when she realized that the prince she'd hoped to have had fallen in love with her friend, but instead, she fully supported them and thought it was wonderful. I had to snort at Naveen changing within the two or three days the plot took place, but that's standard Hollywood fare. Suspending disbelief, it was very sweet and moving. I loved how Naveen and Tiana each helped the other grow and develop into better people. That was lovely. And the reason I finally watched the film in the first place, hoping for inspiration for my current New Orleans fic, well, I'm basing my current villain on Dr. Facilier (although of course he can't transform people into creatures).
Downside, I haven't ever seen an animated Disney film so crude. Usually I only see one or two backside jokes, but in this film, every few minutes they had to make another one! It was like they were obsessed and couldn't think of anything else to make jokes about. And of course, I didn't like seeing the trope I hate of people turned into animals. And I hated that they killed off Ray. It was sweet that he could be with Evangeline, and that it could give everyone comfort, but the film had been light-hearted all the way along in spite of the weird stuff happening. Suddenly killing a beloved character at the climax drastically changed the mood and left a bad taste in my mouth. Somehow that seems worse than killing a character in the middle of the film, where there's still a lot of time left to recapture a lighter mood later. (But on the other hand, I haven't seen The Lion King or Bambi in years and I don't know how I'd handle those deaths these days either. I didn't handle Mufasa's too well even in a YouTube clip.)
I've kind of wanted to see the film again because I loved Charlotte and Tiana's friendship so much, and I definitely want the dolls Disney has of them, but I don't know if I feel up to seeing the things I didn't like again. Heh. So we'll see which feeling wins out.
Meanwhile, my New Orleans fic decided it needed to get darker than I really intended on it getting. Lector's been wearing down emotionally because of a succession of terrible things happening over this one day (not to mention other things that have been wearing him down over the last year and a half!), and a cruel spirit made him think Nesbitt had been murdered in a gruesome way, pinned to the floor by a sword. It was just too much after everything else and he collapsed. Nesbitt, meanwhile, is lost because the ghosts trapped him in a changing floor plan. But he senses when Lector collapses and is able to find his way back out and get Lector to rally. I adore the squee, but I really think overall I've been way too mean to poor Lector in this fic. Plus, I'm worn-out now from how dark it got and now I'm not sure I want to do a scene in the Zorc fic where Lector is put under the control of the Neo-Orichalcos and Nesbitt has to save him. It would be so developing for Nesbitt, but I don't really feel like doing that dark a scene now and having Lector say so many cruel things to Nesbitt while under the control. That just seems too heartbreaking after how far they've come and what they've been through in this fic. Maybe I'll want to do it after I recover from the darkness of this fic, but we'll see.
I'm also actually playing a 5Ds related event in Duel Links. It's to unlock the Carly Carmine character. I like her from what I've seen in the game, and her story arc parallels Duke's from my old Life After the Tears fic: killed and then brought back working for the bad guys unwillingly while brainwashed. I'm toying with whether that arc could give me inspiration for the Zorc fic when the Neo-Orichalcos comes back. Maybe I should do that with a character. Not sure if I'd feel up to it, though. I don't normally care about 5Ds at all because of it taking place in a post-apocalyptic Domino City and not knowing if the original characters are okay, but I like Carly enough that I would probably occasionally play as her in 5Ds world if I unlock her, same as I occasionally play in GX world with Jesse or Tyranno.
I requested a picture from ElfBean that will be in the climax of the current fic, Nesbitt rescuing Johnson from an exploded ship and the others gathered around to help get him out of the water. It looks incredible! Squeee.
I've continued to draw some of my own, too. Still trying to improve my craft. http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com ElfBean's pictures can all be seen from my Favorites.
I always have a need and longing to RP, and Lisa was very sweet and did a specific storyline with me that I've longed to do. And now I think I've found a longtime RP partner in Kohakuhime. I was going to put out feelers to find a complete stranger to RP with, but then I thought of her and felt she would be a lot of fun to RP with, since I already know her and know she likes many of the same story elements that I do. We've been RPing on Skype and it's a blast. I'd forgotten how fun instant message RPing is. IM programs are so different than they used to be too; you can just leave the conversations up all the time and they can be added to whether someone's online at the time or not. I love it!
Of course, the Rockapella concert has been cancelled again, and this time everyone's getting refunded because they don't know when they can reschedule. I wish they'd do it at the holidays so it could be the Christmas concert I wanted and paid for in the first place.
Sad about the "non-essential" stores closing, since I feel like people need to still have something fun around for cheering up, but I understand the reasoning behind it. I just hope they won't end up staying closed longer than estimated, but I'm afraid they will be. (Plus, some stores' ideas of "non-essential" are making me WTH. Seriously, JC Penney thinks it has to close? What is non-essential about clothes? What if someone needs clothes and can't find any that fit at Walmart? I've been needing pants desperately and couldn't find the right size at Walmart for weeks. I finally did this week, though. Whew.)
At least fun things are available in stores that are still open. I even found a Scooby-Doo shirt that has Scrappy on it! Who would have thought they'd ever make an official shirt with Scrappy that's a nice shirt and not bashing him? I just wish it wasn't almost as thin as mesh. Seriously, why do people think women want to wear things like that? I haven't bought it because of that, but unless they restock it, I suppose I won't have the chance to get it another time. I'm happy it's popular. Hopefully that will show Warner that Scrappy is not universally hated like Cartoon Network tries to make everyone think.
Of course, the isolation part of things isn't that hard for me to deal with aside from lack of stores to visit, since I'm an introvert and usually stay home anyway. I've been going about my business: writing, talking to people online, watching things....
I've watched almost all of season 1 of Yu Yu Hakusho. I love the characters, and indeed, I've developed an appreciation for Hiei at last. But the show is really too violent for me sometimes, and I really dislike that this Dark Tournament thing runs a season and a half. I don't particularly want to watch that many episodes of Yusuke, Kuwabara, and the others getting the stuffing beat out of them. And I definitely don't want to see some of the things that happen to other characters, like apparently there's a whole episode revolving around a creep who defeats his opponents via my most hated death trope. Seriously?! I would, however, like to see a few of the intense episodes, like where Genkai is killed and where they think Kuwabara is dead. But I can't see myself watching all episodes of the Dark Tournament. It is frustrating, though, because I love the characters and want to see their adventures.
I also, after 11 years, managed to feel ready to watch The Princess and the Frog. That's how long it can take me to be able to deal with something that revolves around a lesser-hated trope, even though I was excited about it when it was first coming out because I loved the New Orleans setting and music and enjoyed the return to traditional animation. Having watched it, I loved the characters more than the film itself, I think. Heh. Charlotte's obsession with marrying a prince was kind of annoying, but I forgave it all because she was such an adorable friend! She could have blown a fuse when she realized that the prince she'd hoped to have had fallen in love with her friend, but instead, she fully supported them and thought it was wonderful. I had to snort at Naveen changing within the two or three days the plot took place, but that's standard Hollywood fare. Suspending disbelief, it was very sweet and moving. I loved how Naveen and Tiana each helped the other grow and develop into better people. That was lovely. And the reason I finally watched the film in the first place, hoping for inspiration for my current New Orleans fic, well, I'm basing my current villain on Dr. Facilier (although of course he can't transform people into creatures).
Downside, I haven't ever seen an animated Disney film so crude. Usually I only see one or two backside jokes, but in this film, every few minutes they had to make another one! It was like they were obsessed and couldn't think of anything else to make jokes about. And of course, I didn't like seeing the trope I hate of people turned into animals. And I hated that they killed off Ray. It was sweet that he could be with Evangeline, and that it could give everyone comfort, but the film had been light-hearted all the way along in spite of the weird stuff happening. Suddenly killing a beloved character at the climax drastically changed the mood and left a bad taste in my mouth. Somehow that seems worse than killing a character in the middle of the film, where there's still a lot of time left to recapture a lighter mood later. (But on the other hand, I haven't seen The Lion King or Bambi in years and I don't know how I'd handle those deaths these days either. I didn't handle Mufasa's too well even in a YouTube clip.)
I've kind of wanted to see the film again because I loved Charlotte and Tiana's friendship so much, and I definitely want the dolls Disney has of them, but I don't know if I feel up to seeing the things I didn't like again. Heh. So we'll see which feeling wins out.
Meanwhile, my New Orleans fic decided it needed to get darker than I really intended on it getting. Lector's been wearing down emotionally because of a succession of terrible things happening over this one day (not to mention other things that have been wearing him down over the last year and a half!), and a cruel spirit made him think Nesbitt had been murdered in a gruesome way, pinned to the floor by a sword. It was just too much after everything else and he collapsed. Nesbitt, meanwhile, is lost because the ghosts trapped him in a changing floor plan. But he senses when Lector collapses and is able to find his way back out and get Lector to rally. I adore the squee, but I really think overall I've been way too mean to poor Lector in this fic. Plus, I'm worn-out now from how dark it got and now I'm not sure I want to do a scene in the Zorc fic where Lector is put under the control of the Neo-Orichalcos and Nesbitt has to save him. It would be so developing for Nesbitt, but I don't really feel like doing that dark a scene now and having Lector say so many cruel things to Nesbitt while under the control. That just seems too heartbreaking after how far they've come and what they've been through in this fic. Maybe I'll want to do it after I recover from the darkness of this fic, but we'll see.
I'm also actually playing a 5Ds related event in Duel Links. It's to unlock the Carly Carmine character. I like her from what I've seen in the game, and her story arc parallels Duke's from my old Life After the Tears fic: killed and then brought back working for the bad guys unwillingly while brainwashed. I'm toying with whether that arc could give me inspiration for the Zorc fic when the Neo-Orichalcos comes back. Maybe I should do that with a character. Not sure if I'd feel up to it, though. I don't normally care about 5Ds at all because of it taking place in a post-apocalyptic Domino City and not knowing if the original characters are okay, but I like Carly enough that I would probably occasionally play as her in 5Ds world if I unlock her, same as I occasionally play in GX world with Jesse or Tyranno.
I requested a picture from ElfBean that will be in the climax of the current fic, Nesbitt rescuing Johnson from an exploded ship and the others gathered around to help get him out of the water. It looks incredible! Squeee.
I've continued to draw some of my own, too. Still trying to improve my craft. http://meromeroyui.deviantart.com ElfBean's pictures can all be seen from my Favorites.
I always have a need and longing to RP, and Lisa was very sweet and did a specific storyline with me that I've longed to do. And now I think I've found a longtime RP partner in Kohakuhime. I was going to put out feelers to find a complete stranger to RP with, but then I thought of her and felt she would be a lot of fun to RP with, since I already know her and know she likes many of the same story elements that I do. We've been RPing on Skype and it's a blast. I'd forgotten how fun instant message RPing is. IM programs are so different than they used to be too; you can just leave the conversations up all the time and they can be added to whether someone's online at the time or not. I love it!