gwently

[gwently]

first day as a second century warlord i have my men tie branches to their horses’ tails to stir up dust and make it look like there’s a lot of us but i forget it just rained so there isn’t any dust and the enemy can clearly see there’s like twenty of us all spread out in a line

[gwently]

23-6-23

[gwently]

I always wanted to use my tumblr more, twitter dying—this time for real, I'm sure—is good motivation as always. Since the year is at it's halfway point I could reflect a little in the upcoming days

[gwently]

“The Nymph caught the Dryad in her arms.” The New World Fairy Book Howard Angus Kennedy Illus. by H.R. Millar London: J.M. Dent & Co., 1904.

[gwently]

SHIVERS [Legendary: Success] — Before you stands an inflatable pool filled with plastic balls. Despite being referred to as a "pit", it's quite shallow. Currently inhabited by a handful of young denizens, members of a social network, faces painted to look like characters from a story about teenagers who bring about the end of the old world and start anew.

YOU — What else do I see?

SHIVERS — It's flanked by an inflatable castle. The fans used to keep these structures erect fill the conference hall with an ominous drone, washing out the conversations around you. You can make out an utterance about shipping, but it's evident none of these people are involved in freight. Occasionally, a shoe squeaking on the concrete floor pierces the drone. You feel insignificant, and out of place here.

YOU — Embrace the cold.

SHIVERS — Further outward, you can sense rooms partitioned for speaker panels and lectures. Rows of empty chairs facing a podium, soon to be the stage for a one act tragedy. The anticipation of throngs of guests has uncoiled into an underwhelming sadness. The heroes and storytellers the people have been promised will not be making an appearance.

SHIVERS — At the hotel desk, a small calamity is brewing into a storm. A debt must be paid, and quickly, before the people taking part in this little experiment are expelled into the rain.

YOU — Where am I?

SHIVERS — Even further out, you see the building you are within. A cement and steel structure surrounded by acres of wet asphalt, just off the I 90. You are in Schaumberg. You are at Dashcon. You have one more hour in the pit.

[gwently]

2023 part 2?

So fountain pens. While I really got into them in 2022, it was not my first foray into them. My first pen was a gift from an online friend way back in...2017? For my birthday. It was a Pilot Metropolitan and I immediately fucked it up, spilled ink everywhere. I was too dumb to look up how to properly fill it, though i am sure I messed up the nib as well. Since it was a gift it stayed in my room for several years until I threw it out one day, for a reason that cannot be remembered. We laughed at my incompetence and she wasn't angry, so that birthday managed to be memorable.

I don't even know what sparked my current interest in fountain pens. Think I was looking at ink drawings? and remembered these things existed and well I am firmly down the hole. I brought a lot of pens last year, trying out different filling methods or nib sizes, going for cool colours, you name it. Having disposable income for the first time and not knowing what to do with it may be a factor. Sure, I definitely do not need that many pens, but don't judge me. I sure as hell don't judge that one person who tosses in random kanji in their name or bio that is probably google translated, because to them Japanese is a fun aesthetic, not a language used and enjoyed by real people.

I mostly got the reckless spending out of my system, while there are many different inks and pens I still want to try out there's only so many I can use short term, so now the focus is on getting use of what I have and maybe selling/giving away a few. Improving my handwriting and learning cursive properly are also goals of mine, as it is very awkward trying to write a signature and only being able to make the l and t in my last name look pretty, a thing I only know from diving into the bottom of my memory containing a mental image of my mother's handwriting that can no longer be replicated.

Journaling! Right that's the main reason why I use my pens now. I've always written things down on random scrap sheets of paper as little reminders or to do lists — a habit that happens more often due to my grandmother's influence in recent years — so getting a proper journal only made sense. With fountain pens certain inks or nibs respond better on good paper, so that means I also invested in some notebooks. You can quickly see how this hobby can become a money sink if you really wanted to. Thankfully after trying out Rhodia and feeling dissatisfied, Maruman (a japanese brand) stopped my search for paper that suited what I like. I prefer spiral/ring notebooks the most so it was a double win, similar to [insert fighting game reference 0 people reading this would understand]

I lost my train of thought but it's okay, no one will read this. Here's a pen I brought in...(checks amazon purchases) October.

(yes that is my hand, those aren't scratches it's lint)

The very famous and popular Pilot Custom 823, with a broad nib. It is a vacuum filler — one of my fav methods of filling — and managed to grab it while yen was very, very low so it was around $192 with tax, when normally it would cost me around $220-280. My most expensive pen and probably will be for a very long time. It's funny cause when I first brought it I was like damn. This is kinda mid. Like when you watch that super popular anime that's airing, only to be bewildered at what all the hype is about. Now it's one of my favourite writers, the gold nib has a softness that is fairly unique, making writing with it a breeze as it floats over paper. Sometimes you just need to sleep on things. If it wasn't for the cost I would consider getting a second one, the amber colourway in particular is gorgeous.

Right now though I am interested in vintage pens, there is definitely something nice about holding something older than my grandparents and looking up it's history, and the time period around it.

(Not my image, credit goes to redeempens/will vintage on reddit) Today I got myself a WASP Clipper in this marvelous brown/gold pattern that is commonly called "circuit board" by collectors. It's a "lever filler", a filling method mostly absent from modern pens.

WASP is a sub-brand by famous pen manufacturer Sheaffer. WASP stands for "W.A. Sheaffer Pen", because why bother with subtlety. This pen was made sometime during the 1930s, cool stuff. Usually pens this old have the risk of having it's ink sac disintegrated, so you would have to repair it yourself or get someone to do it for you. Thankfully the pen I grabbed was already restored, so now I'm waiting on my package of ink to come in the mail to test this bad boy out.

Uhh okay this post was long so bye! This is barely 2023 related but that's what happens when you don't plan things out in advance. Here's a song from an album I've been listening to lately, Spirit World Field Guide by Aesop Rock

#2023

[gwently]

2023??? part 1

I spent the New Year drinking Nyquil and passing out while watching my oshi. Obviously cursed from this point onwards, when is 2024?

To be very honest I was never one for resolutions, always with a vague goal in mind that may or may not be achievable but completely disregarding the idea of a "new year" after a week or so. For the past year or two it was "get a job" which I finally done. Surprisingly a huge accomplishment given the state of the world, my lack of experience and commitment issues. Now that I am not freaking out at the idea of "what happens if {...}" and now have means to provide for myself, the obvious direction is to figure out what I want to do. Once you get a slight taste of getting better you become hungry for more. It's like greed, but positive.

The start of the New Year is where all the self mind control tricks come out, you write out your tweets and your blogs and your lists on how this year will be different, for sure, only to crash into the inevitable whirlwind that is "real life". As someone who was once (well still is tbh) indifferent to said tricks, this year I said "why not? I love self mind control." Not going to pull out the New Year, new me shenanigans but the start of the new year is indeed a good starting point, thank you Pope Gregory XIII.

Remember when I said I had no concrete goals? Well this year is no different I suppose. Can't become a new person overnight. I mean I do want to learn how to drive, but that is more so a "necessity" rather than something I want to do. Why is American public transportation so shit?

The remnants of past years improvement wish lists are back again for 2023, which are getting better at Japanese and learning how to draw (2023 Dante Must Die Edition). Japanese is something I picked up years ago to help with my anxiety issues (long story) and have been up and down with. I want to read more and improve my listening skills.

While I wanted to draw before, it wasn't for a particular reason other than "it would be cool" so I was forever stuck at the phase of practicing lines and drawing boxes a few times every few months and calling that "learning." Nowadays I want to be able to make fanart for all the vtubers that inspired me, Aia in particular. She's not the most popular so art for her could be sparse at times, I want to be able to fill that gap a bit. Though I really love her that's the reason LOL She takes over my brains at times and I need to get this out of my head and on paper or something. Really interested in Pixel Art, a medium that's kinda nostalgic but very fun to look at, and ink/pen art. B/W art is fascinating and I wanted to start of with traditional art anyways, so why not pursue it? I also can get to incorporate my newest hobby, fountain pens that will be in part 2, scheduled whenever the fuck I feel like it (tomorrow probably, it's my day off.)

#2023

[gwently]

hi i'm chel and i make fantastical pixelart ✨☁️

print | kofi | twitter | instagram

[gwently]

watering crops with magic ✨

ko-fi | prints

[gwently]

waiting for a springtime that never came

[gwently]

my girls

view on my twitter→

[gwently]

hopefully I never have to use this site, maybe i'll try to make my page look decent

[gwently]

Massive stationery porn photo dump of my current journals, new favorite pen with custom grind, and currently inked fountain pens.

I’m holding and using the Pilot Custom 823 in Broad which I purchased at the SF Pen Show just to have custom ground by @pactagon AKA Matthew Chen into a Cursive Italic, my newfound favorite nib grind! It just makes my writing look effortlessly stylish with a thick downstroke and thin cross-stroke, like a mini stub or italic that’s nice and smooth. I’m already planning out other pens in my collection I want to send to him just to get the same exact grind on every single one! 🥹

I purchased my Pilot Custom 823 in Amber from Flax Pen To Paper at the same show after Ryan (working at the both) showed me his in a medium. I had to have it! It’s a Vac filler and I was just so enamored that he kept his unprotected right in his front jeans pocket. It makes me want to take mine everywhere too.

The ink and paper I’m using are also both new and were purchased from Maido Stationery in San Francisco. They were handing out 20% off coupons at the show, so I paid the store a visit and spent way too much money 😂. It’s a pink (of course) Leuchtturm 1917 with ruled lining, and the ink is Diamine Warm Brown. I’m 100% going to pick up the 80ml bottle after I’m out of my smaller size! It has such amazing shading and is my new favorite brown! Perfect for fall!

Hope everyone is doing well. ♥️

[gwently]

wwiwwwa