Protecc

   I spent way too much money on genshin impact, and some shit hit the fan last week hnng don't judge me pls i'm grieving and this is how i cope ok

Homdray yelled at me for not uploading on friday lololol.

Well. My grief is with school. Studies have been brought to a complete halt because of covid-19, and there won't be a spring semester for my field. I'm mostly annoyed at myself for being so uptight making sure all the paperwork was finished- only to be met with this giant wall of.... other peoples' complete disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic.

The good news is there's something I can focus on that'll still apply to my major. Smaller scale, but still applicable. A small solace if tHEY EVER RETURN MY EMAIL.

So, in my grief, I dropped a uh.... significant amount of currency... in genshin impact.. and uh. I felt better LOL. SO IT'S WORTH IT. New content out today omg. I didn't get who I wanted, but got other peeps who are cool so... it's fine. I guess.

She's so cute omg ONE DAY. I WILL HAVE YOU
T_T it makes me so sad seeing a ton of videos on le youtoom with her and I'm just here... without her

waaaah u_u

But... I got Diluc and Ningguang.
Diluc is dope, I'm wrecking everything with him. Was using Bennett before. I say this as if any of my friends are playing this as hard as me. Sigh.

Probably just me being salty but..

I have this crazy conspiracy theory that people who have recording software actively running on their machines somehow benefit from the RNG algorithm of Genshin's wish pulls. Like, Genshin is coded to be completely RNG, unless you have recording/streaming software running, which boosts the percentage of A or S tier items and characters to drop. Because if people are showing this, on a free game, it encourages other people to play it. Providing the developers more sales potentials. So if there was in fact some kind of coding that syncs up or reads streaming software, it would make sense to reward players by upping their chances to pull rare drops.

But that's just my conspiracy theory. Big reach on my end. I say this because to me, it feels like games now are being designed for streaming. Which... doesn't apply to me because I don't stream, nor do I watch streamers.

Salt = conspiracy theory

I just want Qiqi lmao

omg her voice is so cute. I'm currently playing the game with Chinese VO, but listened to her in Japanese and English. And... my detail oriented nature came out.. after hearing all the characters in various languages. So I have to talk about it.

English voice actors tend to talk in falsetto for certain female/youth characters as opposed to the natural higher pitched chest voice Asian language VOs provide. It's almost singy-songy, because I guess English VOs don't generally have higher pitched natural voices.
The falsetto drills my ear drums. I hear a huge difference that distracts me.
That's not the case with all characters, just some- but sometimes it's enough to sway me to go with one version over the other.
That sucks, specifically because 2 of my closest friends are English VOs. But for as long as I've known them, they don't come across to me as peeps who would take a part that's not suited to their voice/talent. Cuz they're dope.

But yeah. That falsetto thing isn't something I noticed recently... just something that always come back up when I hear a dub and could never really understand like... why... sometimes something sounds.. not natural... or it doesn't flow as good? Y'know? It's the falsetto shit. At least with female characters. No one talks in falsetto. Unless you're in a musical. Then I guess... yeah. ANYWAY YEAH. THAT.

One more weeb thing. My manga finally arrived!

Been reading this online over the last few months as the artist gradually releases volumes. It's ongoing currently, but only in Japan. But an English version was finally printed and released earlier this month. Aaaand best way to support the artist is to buy merch.
This is the CUTEST slice of life I've ever read. It's this girl, and she can see ghosts. But she can't let it be known that she sees them or they could attach themselves to her or hurt her. So she just goes about her life as normal as she can, but it's hard because the ghosts show up and sometimes they're extra yucky. IT'S SO CUTE. And like... other characters and stuff happen or whatever but omggggg I love iiiiiitttt so much hnnnnnnnnggggg.

Yeah.

WELLY WELL WELL. Last week, we hosted a dear visitor for a night. Who arrived with a lovely engagement gift for Chicken and myself uwu

(spoiler: we got engaged like, a week and half ago)

So sweet!
What better way to have champagne than to chill it in a huge kimchi container of ice

Our dear guest was none other than Brudda Lifa!
His work requires travel. And for a send off, we were more than happy to host him.

I know Lifa was happy. It's like he split in two when Bruddah Lifa visits. Funniest shit in the universe- they mirror each other and make the same exclamations and sounds. They're like two German Shepards you just wanna protecc forever

T'was a good eve. TOo good.

We showed him the ways of Villainous, and... taking a whisky shot every time you got Fated

(Fate is an action that allows you to play one card from an opponent's Fate deck to any unlocked location in their Realm. By taking a Fate action, you can disrupt an opponent's progress)

SO HAPPY LOVE.
WE MUST PROTECC THE HAPPY, GENTLE GERMAN SHEPARD

The following day;

Lifa and Chicken spent most of the day tending to the 587698237lb brisket they were smoking.
Bruddah Lifa slept, Homdray probably harassed them in between Hades games, and I skulked in my room, rotting, wasting away on Genshin Impact. Similar to how today will be.

I can't say what, but Homdray has to do a thing, and we're gonna be on the other side snickering and giggling and cackling like trolls the entire time looooooooooooooolololllloloooooooooooo

Since it was a nice day/evening, the German Shepards suggested we go out and play ball before it got dark. So play ball we did!

Aside from gym class, I've never thrown a football, or really had one thrown at me for leisure, outside of being forced into it. It was fun!

Except for the part where I cut my hand with my own nail, trying to catch the football. But I suspect this injury isn't a common one amongst this sport.

Womp womp

Cynth, how tf do you cut your hand with your own nail?
Like this:

Probably not the best idea to catch footballs with long nails. Past Cynth lacked foresight. Thankfully, I can pass this intel to future Cynth, who I trust, kind of, will not repeat the same mistake.

Didn't think the PS5 would have a blue screen of death- but here we are!
(It was blue before this one popped up)

DA GERMAN SHEPARDS, AWWWW

When we got home, it was time.

They let the brisket rest for a while... and then it was like... Thanksgiving and Christmas at the same time. Unwrapping that thing... man. The house smelled incredible

This was a 12 hour smoke. The first one he did was a 10ish. It was concluded that 10 hours is the sweet spot for a juicier, more tender result. But this brisket was also pretty damn godlike.

MMPF
*chef's kissu*

A hearty feast for friendos. This could've been our Thanksgiving meal honestly lol. We were stuffed and hadn't even finished half of what we had. I gained 2 lbs LOL. So gooooood. And so many leftovers. But we got stuff for thanksgiving.

Aside from the crappy news with school, life is good, man. Simple pleasures.

Also... Fool's Idol boss in Demon's Souls is really cute and I wanna cosplay her.

I love her.
It's me. Reading Meiruko-chan
hnnnngg.

Shadowlands launches today. That's important, because my friend has worked on that title, and he will continue to be working on it throughout Thanksgiving. I probably won't play it until he gets to. Idk. I haven't done any of the pre-patch stuff. Kinda salty about not getting the mounts/pets I wanted from previous content lol. But it looks cool.

I gotta finish my Genshin stuff first tho loolol

Signing off. With happy vibes.
The goodest, chillest vibes! With lots of yummy loves and friendly reminder to wear a mask you fucks
:)
Thanksgiving is huge, and while many (including myself) aren't able to share this time with their families, it's important to remember that while doing so, you're preventing your loved ones from the risk of being exposed to something that could really hurt them in the long run. I miss my family so much. But they're vulnerable, and putting myself on a plane and walking into their home after the fact is incredibly dangerous. So. with that said. I hope everyone stays safe and remembers all of the good people and things that crossed your paths up to this Thanksgiving, including the health of your loved ones. May it continue, and overcome the lamenting shitshow that is this pandemic.

K BYE

Cables

 

  It's worth mentioning that I had to peel myself away from Genshin Impact to write today. Is it that good of a game? Objectively... for the amount of content there is for a free game that's cross console/pc/mobile, yeah. Yeah, it really is. Have I been gacha'd? A little. That's where personal responsibility comes in. I haven't hit the triple A title price tag, which I think would be completely fair if I'm being frank, but the amount I did spend... I'm content with for now lol. I compare it to serotonin levels when going out to eat. It's temporary, but it makes you feel good. So fuck it.

SO. WOOO. Here we go.

First thing's first; LootAnime box was garbage. I got the October one because they were like LOOK. JUNJI ITO!

This was the only Junji Ito item in the whole box... a sticker. Tf. Their marketing team and me are on bad terms, probably forever. The rest of the stuff was garbage tier. Never again.

Moving along ^_^

Stuff went down this past week. Pleasant stuff. Chicken however, did not accept Kyubey's request to sign a contract with him, and become a Magical... girl..

Gluttony went unchecked throughout;

Lifa and his whisky...
He gets samples of whisky to try. While I am not a big whisky fan, I indulge. After developing a palate for picking up profiles and notes in black coffee, whisky tasting provides a similar experience my pansy ass can sufficiently appreciate.

There was one from India, Japan, and Australia.
The Japanese whisky was... it tasted exactly like something a business man would drink with colleagues. It was smooth, light, airy, didn't have a huge bite, and barely herbal.
The India one was obvious. Flavors. From fucking everywhere. Just. Smashed into your taste buds. Rich. Smokey. But floral. Was good.
The Australian one... I can't remember lol. I do remember not hating it, though. So that's good-ish.

I followed up with eggnog and cap'n morgs. Cuz. November.

Followed by some tasteful Flash content

I don't remember why we busted out the champagne. I think it was because it was like, Tuesday.

Lifa got Jean on his first roll. RNGeesus is a cruel mistress

So the gluttony thing..
I've never had chanko nabe.
This last week, idk what bit Lifa in the ass but he was on a foodie roll and went all out. But uh... yeah I could eat this stuff forever. It was really, really, really good. And I learned that sumo wrestlers eat like 10 bowls of this a day.

We need to restock on Sake

Yeah and then the next day he wanted to make fried rice. Apparently, his first attempt was a goof.
I served as ingredient and ratio advisor.

And, yknow, instead of using the stove, why not just do it at the table, next to tons of bottles of booze. It's fine
I'm not even mad lol, it was cute

Oh, so Chicken made appointments for us to go get flu shots. I didn't wanna. But after getting the flu earlier this year in March, I'm not taking any chances. Especially with mask-hating jabronies walking around everywhere. It also was a trip to go pick up his Shadowlands CE. 2 for 1 special!
Was super easy

But I have a gross phobia of syringes and shots

'But Cynth, how tf does that make sense?' you might wonder. Well...
with piercings... I see the needle exit my body as quickly as it punctured it. Takes less than a second. When it doesn't, I STILL see the bevel of the needle... not idling inside my flesh at the whim of blind depth perception. It freaks me out that syringe needles just.... stay inside my flesh for however long... this long, invasive, painful, sharp foreign body.
'Wow, what a hypocrite you are, Cynth! Isn't that exactly what a piercing is?' Good question!
No. That's not what a piercing is, in theory. A piercing is the puncturing of flesh in order to create a canal for jewelry placement. Jewelry is a foreign body, but it is mapped out, localized, controlled, and I know where that foreign body will rest and heal.
With shots, the needle punctures my flesh, and idk how deep the needle will go, idk if it's going through muscle, into veins, how long it's gonna stay in my flesh, what if I move? what if I SNEEZE? It's gonna move around, and it's gonna hurt, because my muscles tense up. When you get blood drawn.... UGH. OH GOD. GET IT OUT. GROSS. NO.
The piercing instrument, a laser cut beveled needle guided by a professional, punctures and exists the controlled area in less than a second. That's my argument, and I'm stickin to it!

So yeah, that was awful and I couldn't even look at her. Chicken went first. Notice he's looking at her DURING. Eugh. I started screeching, squeaking, dry heaving, all of the above. She was cute, she called me his wife looolol. "You're freaking out your wife" LOL she thought HE was freaking me out, PRECIOUS. HIM, NOT HER. HAAAHAHAHAHHA *dies*

Umm... so if you're never seen a Dr. Manhattan drink, it'd be this

I couldn't find the glowing ice cube that we have, but uh... when I do, you'll be exposed to it. Consider this a prototype.

Burgers. There's never a shortage of impromptu burgers.

Tis a good night.

Homdray always poupons his burgers.

We revisited the monkey bars place again from last time.
A part of me was hoping the random dude who was working out would be there this time. I'd scream.
He wasn't.

These bozos lol

I'm relieved to tell that no one got hurt this time! We were too paranoid

SO paranoid in fact, that they couldn't climb the rope all the way up again loool

Weeee PS5 stuff
Admittedly, I've never been a console person. The comfort of a desk, my hands and arms fulled engaged with the keyboard and mouse, my own private little corner/area... too comfy to steer away from. I like the closeness of a PC set up.
With a console... the monitor is so far awayyyy, my limbs feel confined. That's just me. If I were to get my own next gen console now, I'd have to make room for it at my desk and set it up there, as though it were another computer. Which is pointless.
But Chicken was happy to grab one

His and, too obviously, hers

The cool thing was that he was able to pre-order it and have it shipped. No yucky store visits, no sir!
When Ghostwire: Tokyo comes out though... I'll probably hog it a bit :3

Oh I just read that it's coming out for PC. JUST JOKES, THEY CAN HOG

SO
Almost all my seedlings died.
Behold

Sigh.

The only ones that didn't were in the bigger pots. What I'm theorizing is that the heat from the lights attached beneath the shelf may have contributed to drying them out. The cilantro on the same shelf, in a larger pot, is doing just fine. So... gonna start over from square one. But this time, once they sprout, I'll put them in larger pots.
It's a learning process but damn. Everything was going so well! Next batch tho. But the most important ones... cilantro and basil.. they're going strong and honestly I can live with that.
But those sunflowers are cute, so I wanna grow em lol


So... Homdray and Lifa been playing lots of Demon Souls

"Take a shot every time you die"

This is what I come downstairs to the next morning

Forgive my unfinished Frollo doodle

hullo

Friday the 13th was a day to remember. I hadn't even realized what day it was. And when I did, it was meh.
Fun story time: I've never watched any of the Friday the 13th movies. The end. Slasher flicks don't appeal to me. While I do sympathize with his grudge, 13 movies about it doesn't.. it just... doesn't really... y'know? I don't care.

Anywho, that day was cool. I was supposed to have this done, as I always post on Fridays, but something happened.
One of those things being... Lifa split and went to go swimming at like 8 at night

Chicken was worried about leaving him alone lol, so we went over and kept him company while he did water stuff. Cuz like. Hawai'i. msorry.

Turns out, this is a pool we have access to! And it's huge, heated, and deserted! So uh... we gonna cash in on that! It was cold last night, but that water... damn. I didn't go in, but wanted to. It was like a toasty bath water temp.

After his swim, Lifa treated us to a celebratory KBBQ dinner

To celebrate our engagement ^_^

It's not often that I burrito onto the bed and whine for attention, but this ... this was tactical. He was working, but I had a plan.
And I asked him. And he was down. So we're good.
A few weeks ago, I went to see his fam and formally talked with them about asking for his hand and some minor things. They're down. I think his mom almost cried. I did.
My family's BEEN down, they love him so much. Apparently my dad had already given his blessing just between him and Chicken.
So I was almost ready to get him a ring, when one day I was trynna be slick and gauge his ring size using the other ring I gave him that he wears on his pinky, and asking where one of my rings was- because I genuinely misplaced it. And we got to talking about rings- when he says that he'd like a silicone ring if he were to wear one. It'd prevent mishaps and accidents while working on the cars. This was a huge oversight on my end. So... silicone it is.

He said yes
heeeeee :D

Slipped the ring on his finger. I wonder if he was surprised at it lol. I had a nice one lined out for him, which I'm still considering getting him, but like... why lol. I guess he could wear both, and switch them out? Idk.
So... shortly after, I think I was playing Genshin Impact, he comes over and takes my hand. That's when he holds my ring finger and puts on this.... beautiful... cable management band on my finger. Also black. Also silicone. We matched! 

 

HULLO, I AM CABLES.

 

Best ring ever. He wants to get me a frufru ring, but this honestly is wonderful, and hilariously metaphoric, and cute. Fuckin NERD LOL

Our engagement rings have the best lore. Ever.
This is reminding me of the promise ring I got from my bf after high school graduation. It was so frufru and validating, and I wanted everyone to know he was MINE and I am HIS.

But now... the wisdom of age is undeniable. I AM CABLES

It's been cool though. The support from everyone has been so touching. I didn't think people would come out, but they have. And it's just nice. The coolest part tho is that... this feels chill, and right. Comfortable. Cozy. Warm. There's no... idk. Like, it doesn't feel like we have to make a huge public thing about it in order to make it feel real. It just is, and has been, and it's dope.
Believe it or not, I'm pretty private about personal affairs. So... I'm very thankful to everyone, all family, friendos, colleagues, everyone that showed us love ^_^ UWU

That said... we're having poke for dinner and I finally hit Adventure Rank 29, there's shit waiting for me. HAPPY WEEKEND.
Hope everyone is chillin

COVID-19 is getting worse, mask-up

MY NEW MANGA WAS FINALLY PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH AND IT'S ON ITS WAY HERE
I AM NOT ENGAGED, I AM CABLES
OK BYE