Orin's Craft Blog Thingie

So Far Behind on Everything

2016-10-23T23:07:29Z

I made the mistake of wondering where autumn was a few days ago. Well it fucking attacked over the weekend, so that was. Fun. Friday night we got hit with quite a few storms complete with thunder and torrential rain, which wouldn’t have been a big deal… save it all started two minutes before the pup needed to go outside before bed. Ignoring details and common sense, I wound up waiting almost an hour for a break, threw the fucking umbrella out in the middle of the front lawn and carried the dog out, getting her under the umbrella and being remarkably grateful that the sky lit up only after it was obscured from her vision because that would not have been a good time for her at all. Meanwhile, I was. Soaked through. …Also I’d decided not to bother with a coat. Or shoes. Because fuck it, time, and I was changing into my pajamas anyway. I am an intelligent responsible adult. Do not do what I did kids. Still, success, so whatever.

Last night, the wind came. We didn’t wind up too bad off but there was a lot of it and all night and yeah the result of leaves covering everything has been pretty clear. Also the wind didn’t really go away and it still being a little obnoxious. But we didn’t get white crap, so… semi-win?

There was a cut here on Tumblr but screw it.

Oh it’s goddamn fall alright. I don’t think the… going out in cold rain helped matters, but it was only my right foot tense and aching Friday night. Went up my leg yesterday, but this morning… Yeah, it’s going to be agonizing murder getting out of bed for a little while (whole right leg, hips, chest, neck and shoulders along with Mysterious Stabbing Pains™ in my arms… though that was probably from pushing tiny shiny Cindy a little more than I should have, what else is new). Thanks, Nature. Can’t be sure if this is related to Porphyria or something entirely else, but it’s “normal” so. Great.

But, I mean. That aside, some things are evening out a bit. Energy to make food (if simple; onions and mushrooms fried in butter make a good base for any number of things). After more months than I could keep track of, finally actually felt like bleaching the roots and re-dying my hair. Yeah it’s a bitch and a stupid expense, but… it’s also a nice little indulgence.

Now I’ve got to decide what sort of dessert to work on next. I’ve got a solid block of peanut butter fudge to make use of, so. Well, something terrible and wonderful, I’m sure.

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Alive, Honest, Really.

2016-09-22T23:03:58Z

I decided to protest autumn by making another key lime pie cheesecake today. Like you do. ...Unfortunately I still need to make room in the freezer, but whatever. Was on the last piece of chocolate cheesecake, so crisis averted.

It’s not that I dislike fall. It’s that I dislike my body’s inability to make and retain warmth. This becomes a bit of a problem fairly quickly in New England, as you might imagine.

~~And now waiting for Gladio and Noct PAKs to escape from the clutches of New York. Run, guys. RUN.~~

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wickedorin @ 2016-08-21T19:40:00

2016-08-21T23:40:30Z

Me: *spends 30+ minutes kneeling on the damn floor, mixing tiny individual portions of iridescent paint*
Also me: *later* “Why do my knees hurt so much?”

All I… actually have to do to finish this project is wait, apply top coat, repeat until done, then reassemble the front bit.

This is a little unreal. In a good way. I can start… figuring out how the hell to take pictures of it tomorrow. How to ship it across the fucking continent comes later. And fuck your massive international price increases with a rusty nailbat, USPS.

I choose to completely ignore the fact that the other room is a minefield of cardboard, foam, fabric, paint… and for some reason all three pairs of scissors are in there. …Well okay. I kind of. Probably need to clean things up and rearrange. Which is why I’m ignoring this point entirely right now.

PAK Prompto is going to be both my reward and my punishment, apparently. (Well, when I’m actually finished I will make myself a tiny chocolate cake. Because tiny chocolate cake. And then I will stare at a wall for a while in victory. While eating cake. Maybe I’ll put a cape on. ~~…The fact that I technically have a cape says more about me than it should, doesn’t it.~~)

…I actually took a closer look at the bathroom sink and realized there’s paint on the soap dispenser, the hot water knob, and little bits of blue all over the basin. ………….My life.

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-30T19:32:00

2016-07-30T23:32:04Z

I know DeviantArt’s been shit in a lot of ways for a long time, but I didn’t really tend to notice that much (logging in once a week tends to help) until some of the more decent artisan communities fell apart recently. (Let’s be clear: I understand admins have lives and all that. But one by one they just seem to be abandoned.) I got a loooot of exposure for my stuff through those places and... boy, now what.

...Particularly when I cannot social medias. I cannot socials, either. Well. I will keep working, is what I will do. And... Step 3: profit. ~~Step 4: spend profit on merchandise.~~

So I had A Night. But before I get into that, know that the puppy is okay and recovering. I'm still completely wiped, mostly physically, but story of my life here so.

( Cut here and stuff. )

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-25T19:09:00

2016-07-25T23:09:11Z

That moment when you know you really shouldn’t use rotary tool accessories on your electric drill but the rotary battery is still charging and fucking yolo.

And you’re lining everything up just perfectly and about to hit the power when suddenly the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” jumps into your head.

And then you’re sitting there in the middle of a room all alone trying to stop laughing for reasons you really cannot comprehend or explain, but you just need to stop laughing because that makes it really hard to keep your hands still.

So you decide maybe you’ll just wait for the battery to charge after all.

It’s been a long stretch of days, kids.

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-23T19:52:00

2016-07-23T23:53:06Z

Ha ha, the beginning stages of building anything are terrifying. So yeah, having a good time. Haven’t hurt myself yet despite playing with my happy little rotary tool. That won’t really come into play much until the end, but. …I’d say that maybe I should invest in a little mini vacuum thing of some kind, but a face mask and being able to ignore the chunks of foam and dust until cleaning day because it’s in another room works too. Ssshh.

~~…Crap I need to finish painting things though. Uh… I’ll figure something out.~~

There’s also some delight in everyone assuming I know what I’m doing. I’ve been working with the concept of light weight but also sturdy for a few years now, though, so it should turn out alright. I think. I hope. Kinda spent months spinning these ideas around in my mind. Fingers crossed.

And still hot glue is my first stabilizing agent. I don’t know. I need more duct tape.

This should also probably be on my art blog, but I want everyone who follows me there to think I’m somehow competent.

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-22T19:50:00

2016-07-23T23:52:29Z

It is incredibly disconcerting when a conditioner you’ve been using for years suddenly smells like strawberry bubblegum. And just… why. Why would you do that. The cloying scent of artificial strawberry should be an optional thing. …I’m voicing my complaints okay.

Ah yes. Nothing like forced days off due to a “hyper-aware of pain day”. Good times, kids. *old man cough*

It’s really just obnoxious, but seeing as how I can’t tell if I fucked my back up or it’s just a twinge that’s being unfairly multiplied by nerve nonsense, along with both arms being sore, I’m guessing it’s just body-brain stupid. Unfortunately I do know that I pulled… something in my chest. And if you have ever pulled something in your chest, then you understand that it’s hard to localize because that little bastard is felt everywhere. Not bad, just. Oh hello every time I reach up for anything, nice of you to remind me I have muscles there, now fuck off.

I mean, I’ll probably give up and play video games at some point, but. For now I protest by doing very small bits of work. Ha, take that. Whatever. Universe.

So, amusing myself with a couple of extremely boring pictures of things.

For a laugh I took a picture of my “desk aesthetic”:

(Seriously, if anyone wants to pay me to finish the Prompto thing, let me know. Otherwise I will keep it until the PAK shows up, take a picture, finish it how I’d like and throw it up for sale.)

It’s clean sometimes, honest. And then I start working again. Sure as hell not taking a picture of the “actual work desk”. No one needs to know what that looks like right now. We’re headed toward Desert Bus crunch time, that’s all anyone needs to understand.

Also been picking a little at my “other little red Corvette” lately:

Mine. My sweet little 8 track digital recorder. Positively ancient now, but still works beautifully. …Don’t have the heart to listen to whatever unmixed thing is taking up half the memory card quite yet, but I’ll get there. It’s probably crap or I accidentally recorded over the guitar or something, but.

Little steps, man.

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-18T19:06:00

2016-07-18T23:06:27Z

So I decided to go all out as always because Desert Bus project and ordered a little bit of silk velvet for very specific reasons. For my own amusement, I looked to see if they had any leopard print. Almost everything but purple, alas.

...But they did have purple snakeskin silk velvet. The really. Really expensive shimmery soft stuff that is a pain in the ass to work with but so soft, so shimmery. In purple snakeskin. In small-ish pieces.

Did I mention there was a discount.

Did I ever mention I am really bad at temptation because.

I am really bad at temptation.

Unfortunately now I'm just... realizing that I will have to make my own wheels for this project. And wheel rig. In full. It might be nice if I did something that wasn't immediately way over my head, but where's the fun in that?

(I see the fun. The fun is right there. I'm pointing at the fun.)

Granted my housemate did point out that this will be a "collector's item" and "not a toy", so the wheels don't need to spin. ...I countered with, "But I want them to spin." ..........Can someone stop me or am I just... so far at the point of no return that it's a lost cause. Because that was so quick I missed it.

Actually, that's pretty much where I live, isn't it. Out here. Past hope. In the dirt citadel. With my purple snakeskin velvet.

Gonna have some fucking chocolate and then keep playing with this cardboard prototype until something makes sense. Good luck to me.

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wickedorin @ 2016-07-09T19:08:00

2016-07-09T23:08:47Z

I was “gifted” whole wheat pasta. Which I’m not saying I’m ungrateful for, I’m just saying... I bet I got it because no one else wanted it. So of course I did what anyone would: ruined healthy stuff by making macaroni and cheese. Though they’re... twists and cheese... and random veggies. I mean, I had frozen pearl onions and red/green/yellow bell pepper slices, so I oven roasted those for a bit, then added broccoli (and covered a few minutes for steaming; oven roasting is your friend kids), added cooked pasta, then a hell of a lot of shredded cheese. Fuck the roux and the white sauce bullshit, I wanted fucking cheese. So it’s still... technically healthy. Ish. FOOD.

And then FINISHED THE COMMISSION LAST NIGHT. ...Around 1:00 AM so... okay, this morning, but. Sadly I must wait until everything’s cured and properly reinforced, and then until the commissioner actually receives and approves of the final result before sharing pictures, but damn. I am happy with it. So that’s a thing. The new clasp was only slightly terrifying.

On a vastly different subject: that moment when you respond to your girlfriend's overly elaborate headcanon e-mail with, "I KNOW I'M NOT A GOOD PERSON AND I DON'T REALLY DO A LOT OF GOOD THINGS BUT DO I REALLY DESERVE THIS?"

...I forgot to add, "Don't answer that."

Finally finished FF6. ...As in no I did not play it myself, because time is a thing and despite my love of RPGs I am really pretty much incapable of enjoying playing turn-based things. (Playing FF7 and FF8 all the way through several times was more than enough for me, apparently. I’m done.) Decent Let’s Plays with people reading the dialog are hard but not impossible to find so I can watch while I work. And... work on geeky things while watching geeky things. Living the dream. Anyway, I finished it, though, okay, finally. I don’t know why I’ve decided to work my way backward through the series, but. FF5 is up next, after I catch up on some Game Grumps stuff.

Translation/localization has come a long fucking way. As a side note.

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wickedorin @ 2016-06-26T19:00:00

2016-06-26T23:00:19Z

I successfully survived the craft store, managing to get... most of what I needed. The rest, I will have to build myself. And I am terrified but trying not to think about it because this is such a familiar position to be in.

...Unfortunately I also came across dragon plushes. ...I have a long list of weaknesses. Don’t look at me. (I didn’t buy them there. ..........But my “no more frivolous purchases until Ignis ships” rule has not only been ignored, but set on fire. So. I’m. ........Don’t look at me. Tiny shiny plush dragons. With wings. Sssshh, I’m an adult.)

And then I was over at the beads and things anyway, so I took a look at their clearance section. ...Well.

Why yes that is a tiny frog charm with a tiny crown and rhinestone eyes. Surrounded by spikes and skulls.

~~Where did my life go.~~

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wickedorin @ 2016-06-12T19:06:00

2016-06-12T23:06:50Z

That feeling when you finally open up your audio editing software to remove all of the talking and smooth over a few parts of the live version of a song that your girlfriend casually dropped on you which was immediately added to a certain unmentionable playlist because feels for video game characters and you just needed the live version because his voice breaks on the bridge and it’s just excruciatingly perfect and why couldn’t you have just stabbed me instead, dear?

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wickedorin @ 2016-06-06T19:46:00

2016-06-06T23:46:54Z

Building things out of cardboard for demo reasons is both nostalgic and surprisingly frustrating. I WANT TO BUY THE MATERIALS AND GO ALL-IN BLIND. …But I’m building something for charity so maybe I shouldn’t do that. …I did say “maybe”, we’ll see.

In the meantime, gearing up for a commission that I am very happy about, so yay there. …I hate waiting for beads by mail but unfortunately it’s just so much easier.

Also I. Am going back and forth between that and another stupid personal project so. Will anything ever get done? Well it better.

In other news, we have a new fence. On one side. I am really fucking amused by it, too. After the elderly neighbor up the street died, her kids decided to sell the house. Kinda sad but fine, just what you do. We heard someone from the city bought it. They moved in, relatively quietly. We did not expect all of the bushes and trees to immediately be removed and not replaced, nor for everything that made the house unique to be removed. I still find it a little odd that there… are no curtains… or blinds… like… what the fuck is going on.

Then they started in on trying to convince us to cut down the trees on our property but hanging over part of their yard. And it went from there.

Apparently they’ve just been irritating neighbors to everyone in this quiet little neighborhood, which is saying a bit. I haven’t had to deal with any of the bullshit myself, being a happy little hermit down here while avoiding sunshine as often as possible, but the inherent aggravation in all tales of encounters with them eventually begins to be great comedy and I’m glad the housemate understands my sense of humor and tells me about it anyway. So, after months of many tiny little annoyances and overall lack of respect… we have a solid 6 foot fence on one side of the property and I find it hilarious.

I still say we paint a mural of what we wish was on the other side.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-31T19:14:00

2016-05-31T23:14:36Z

It’s only when taking 80+ pictures of beaded color samples to show off different types/finishes of white beads on different backgrounds and under different lighting when you realize the entire process is way too similar to listening to people insisting that two exact same colors with two different names are actually not exactly the same. …Maybe other people have better experiences with color samples than I do but no. Just. No. …Luckily all of these whites are actually distinctly different or I would have been incredibly unhappy.

Maybe if I happen to get this commission and after I get it finished I can set aside some time to see if I’m not a dried-up has been musician since these lyrics keep bugging me. Sounds like a plan, yeah? Guitar I’m not so worried about; some of that’s just muscle memory that never went away. Drums… I fucking hate sequencers, but I’ll deal. If I… still have any. …Hm. Vocals, though. Boy. That’s a thing. For another time.

So this weekend sucked ass.

( Read more... )

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Attempting to use Semagic to post for future reference

2016-05-28T23:41:43Z

It is A Day and stress is really not helping. So, a couple of sleepy puppy pictures under the cut.

( Read more... )

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-12T19:33:00

2016-05-23T23:35:26Z

I was told that I ought to be “pattern shamed”, so picture:

~~Ignis would yell.~~

Today was the bi-/weekly “cook all the things” day and another enormous vat of chili was achieved along with a not too terribly complex but still slightly deadly dessert. I’ll see about a picture tomorrow. Assuming I remember. It needs to chill for another few hours at least.

So do I, terrible dessert. So do I. Didn’t wreck my hands, but the stirring and chopping and various annoying tasks did certainly annoy them. Mild frustration in probably not getting tiny shiny Iggy #2 done tonight. There is tomorrow, etc.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-22T19:31:00

2016-05-23T23:31:41Z

…So now instead of porn blogs, I’m being followed by food and/or fitness blogs…

I’m really confused as to whether this is a step up or a step down.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-14T19:31:00

2016-05-23T23:31:19Z

Very very late because pizza night and The Force Awakens.

I was not prepared. I mean, I was prepared, but also, I was not prepared.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-11T19:30:00

2016-05-23T23:30:55Z

Me: *on the fence about making an unexpectedly early supply purchase*
Me: *sees that the total with coupon is $6.66*
Me: It is meant to be.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-06T19:30:00

2016-05-23T23:30:34Z

Oh day of realizations.

Realization 1: Tiny shiny Noctis is unfortunately gonna be notably more expensive than the rest because holy fuck, that was. Not a good time. Floating beads connected to floating beads and backtracking on every, single, row for the sword, and why did I do that. But I did it. I just need to finish some touch-ups for the backing, so I may have him posted tonight. Or ignore that completely and do it tomorrow. Who knows!

Realization 2: ………………………….I will pay more for the FFXV PAKs than for my PS4 and FFXV combined.

My stomach does not thank you right now, brain. I thought I was supposed to be very bad at math.

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wickedorin @ 2016-05-02T19:30:00

2016-05-23T23:30:11Z

~~Apropos of nothing, some nights you just gotta stay up late writing kinky poly sin-fic with your girlfriend while watching Purple Rain.~~

I thought I should maybe try and get the Noctis sprite started and out of the way since it’s obviously going to be the most difficult. …At this point, I regret. I regret so much.

But damn his hair is going to be super shiny.

(And again, just. Thank you so much to everyone who liked/reblogged tiny shiny Iggy.)

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wickedorin @ 2016-04-29T19:29:00

2016-05-23T23:29:41Z

When you and your girlfriend are making each other anniversary gifts related to FFXV… *lays head on desk*

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wickedorin @ 2016-04-28T19:28:00

2016-05-23T23:29:17Z

More of the beading process for you guys: I’m back to Day 1. Not for any bad reasons. After only managing a handful of rows, the colors just weren’t working quite right together. Solution, of course: change up the colors. Given what the example looks like, I’m dialing back the light colors and adding in more finishes for better depth of the darks.

Is this annoying? Yes. Am I determined to achieve my absolute best at every opportunity? Unfortunately. Am I going to be bitter about it? A little bit. But the results will speak for themselves.

Whenever. Results actually happen. Someday, I guess. ~~Gotta do mama bird right, after all.~~

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wickedorin @ 2016-04-26T19:28:00

2016-05-23T23:28:26Z

The housemate got back early this afternoon from dog sitting, then came to wake the pup and take her upstairs. In the middle of getting her woken up and “ready for transport”, he just asked me out of the blue, “So did you want a cupcake?” Then proceeded. To pull. Two cupcakes. From his jacket pocket.

The unexpected absurdity of the situation had me laughing myself to tears and completely unable to answer for way too damn long. Though I finally did say yes.

I mean. Cupcake.

This is how we can still live in the same house, I guess.

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wickedorin @ 2016-04-25T19:27:00

2016-05-23T23:27:59Z

…Alright, fine, I’ve officially surpassed 100 colors of delica beads alone (no I will not count all of the other glass beads ever for any reason) and have filled up the entirety of my bead storage and then some. It took me a long time, okay?! I guess. I’ll have to get more storage. Sometime. Well sure not today, so whatever.

Beading, The Process:

Day 1 - Color Test - gentle internal screaming while picking through dozens of tiny beads to find just the right color combination and gradients because no matter how carefully you choose, it will never look the same in a finished piece as it does as small piles of beads side by side
Day 2 - The Actual Work Begins - mostly triumphant, but some internal sobbing at thread
Day 3 - Ignoring the Building Scream Until the End - aaaAAAAHHHH
Day Whatever - Please Just Let it Be Fucking Done Today - hfd ytd tyd gf ghf 191919
Day of Completion - Look I Did a Thing - trying to feel triumphant while gross internal sobbing takes place

To be clear, today I’m on Day 1. And still selecting between browns. How the hell did I wind up with so many browns. Freaking eight grays makes sense, but. Color.

I suppose this should all go on my art blog, but surely that for art and you’re all here for my incessant chatter and insight. I am a goddamn delight.

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wickedorin @ 2016-04-23T19:26:00

2016-05-23T23:27:17Z

kjs;kjfdlkfjsdfjklfs I’m… trying not to thank everyone individually for tags and comments about the chocobo (ha ha stalking what) but also just. I don’t. Gratitude and thanks, how to express goodly, I cannot. Thank you for kind words and encouragement, really. That is four months of work during quite a trying time, so. Just. Yes. Okay then.

Every time I finish a long project I try very hard to BE GOOD TO MY HANDS for a couple of days afterward. (And I always fail. Had to shred cheese today. Don’t ask.) They still look like they’ve been through some kind of horrible incident with sharp objects (which they have), and it was only this morning when I really felt all of the tension going through my hands and arms, but dammit I could brush my teeth and I stretched and I took breaks, I’m improving okay. I’m just. Prone to slicing the crap out of myself all the damn time. These sacrifices demand blood, etc.

Actually took some time this morning to park myself in front of Lucifer (…the PS4) and meander around Unfinished Swan. I’d followed the development of the game since it was just a little demo piece, then grabbed the official PS3 demo the instant it became available, really quite loving it. Life happens, as they say, and I just kind of never got back to getting the actual game until I happened to see it on sale a bit ago. So of course it took me this long just to get back to it and zen out a little. I am a person who usually can’t freaking stand puzzle games, but the mechanics are… just right. I don’t know. It’s not really a “puzzle game” proper, even though it is. It was really nice to relax to, but I wonder when I’ll get back to it. …I still haven’t gotten back to Bayonetta or Metal Gear Rising, either, so you know. Time, what is it, how do I. Do. The thing. With the time. And the games.

I am just going to go nuts in October, aren’t I. I’m actually literally planning to take the whole fucking month off just so I have time to indulge in FFXV. What if I start twitching and suddenly have to pause just to go make something complicated. What if I start crocheting in my sleep. …That’d be great, actually. I am not the kind of person who does the whole vacation thing, so this will be incredibly weird.

Will start a beading project on Monday (yes yes, FFXV-related, but I’ll have to do a color test first), see how that goes. Then I’ll return to the rest of the chocobo stuff since I’d really like to get it done before August. And it is so easy to just jump from one project to the next without realizing what month it is. *cough*

Also, because it’s a dumb thing to celebrate but I gotta.

2,501 hits and not one whiny asshole complaining. Thank you, internet. I still can’t believe we seem to be the only ones writing joyful, loving, kinky, unapologetically smut-filled healthy polyfic so far. Feel free to get in the pool! It’s crowded, but everything in the water is damn fine. (I mean… I love the gen stuff equally, honestly. But. …Call it bonding time with the girlfriend okay. It is a long tradition.)

To all you new followers who may have been following just for the chocobo. Uh. …Well there’s a wide range of things. That I do.

~~Also just. Really hoping to find out more regarding Gentiana at some point in the near future. For reasons.~~

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