#bucket is just a normal dude for the most part but hes so naughty and i personally think hes the worst cat in the house

[italicwatches]

GAMERS! Episode 04

UUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKK???????!!!!!!!!!!!

-Opening! Third time seeing it, third game in the lineup! And oh, this one is near and dear to my heart. It’s SMASH! Super Smash Brothers has been a prominent fighting game (Not having that argument) ever since its initial release back in 1999, letting you beat up your least favorite Nintendo characters with your most favorite! And also Sonic and Cloud Strife. The series, from a gameplay perspective, is most well-known for its unique control scheme, as well as its flip of the traditional fighting game health bar: instead of trying to reduce your opponent’s HP to zero, you want to raise a percentage as high as you can, with each point of percent making them get flung that much further from your next hit, until they either can’t make it back to the stage or just straight up go into the wall. It’s pretty great. Also, cross promotion time, I’ve been doing a series of analysis articles on the core roster from the original N64 game! Go check it out!

-We begin, with a clear blue sky. A day in Tendou Karen’s magnificent life! BEFORE. At 5:30 AM, she awakes clearly and smoothly, allowing herself only a single yawn before she is upright with a cheerful gaze into the morning sky. Then she’s dressed, and out for a morning jog to keep up her youthful demeanor and self-betterment. 

-By the time she returns to home and cleans up, she’s wide awake and energized for the entire day, able to handle her morning studies  with ease to keep her grades at their best…Then it’s a modest breakfast, getting her uniform just right, and after a quick check to make sure her basic appearance doesn’t have any major problems(but with no need to fuss too much over it), she’s off!

-At school it’s a bit of light socialization with her dear and precious friends from all parts of her life, both gamer and non. Then to her locker, where she clears out a fresh stack of love notes, grabs her indoor shoes,  and focuses on the problems she can solve then and there. Between classes, she even helps the teachers! But then, there is the most tragic part of the day…The part where she processes those love notes, and has to gently let down each and every soul who asked her. Not because she thinks herself too good for them, but because she simply has no desire or room for romance in her life, and would not be able to give any of these honest souls the proper time they deserve.

-Then after class is done, it’s down to her secret passion, the game club, where the intense atmosphere of the club invigorates her more, as they all push forward on their dreams! Until finally, that evening, it is back home for a review of her studies and a brief look over tomorrow’s lessons, a little more gaming at home, and then in bed fairly early. A perfect day, with no troubles or worries to befall her~

-And now…A day in Tendou Karen’s Magnificent Life, AFTER

-We begin well after the 5:30 alarm has started going off, with Karen clinging to her blanket like it’s a dakimakura. She stirs, only to realize she was having a naughty dream about Keita! Oh god focus!  Okay, back to sleep, normal sleep, without dirty dreams!

-7:02 rolls around and Karen snaps to life,realizing she hasn’t done ANYTHING yet. A frantic attempt comes to do her homework despite  missing plenty of the time she needs, her mind a mess. Then a desperate scarfing of breakfast at maximum speed, and a sprint to get dressed, and oh god has her hair always looked this bad? Was this how it looked yesterday? Does she need product? Makeup? WHY WON’T THIS BANG LAY PROPERLY OH GOD THE TIME GO GO…And her mom finds her trying to leave still in her pajama pants.

-8:26, Karen gets to school barely in time and desperately gets her mind in order…Only to open her locker and not account for the love notes today, causing them all to spill everywhere, as Keita walks by AAAAH KEITA SHE NEEDS TO HIDE! But stare!

-Between class, she tries to keep things normal by helping the teachers, but is a little…intense, and also is carrying things completely in the wrong direction because THIS direction lets her go by Keita’s class. She’ll loop around! Why is Keita not in class. Where is Keita?! And as she keeps looping…There’s Keita with Tasuku getting back from their break OH GOD KEITA PANIC FLEE

-Then comes the most depressing part of the day, when she has to turn down these honest souls…But when one asks if it’s because she’s got her eye on some other guy, Karen turns into again glowing tomato and loses all composure. And okay, he can tell you’re into some other guy…

-To the game club! Where Karen tries to focus and play Guilty Gear, but Niina has to get her to snap out of it and actually, you know, play. What’s on your mind? …Keita. Keita Keita Keita Keita Keita Keita Keita! You got it bad, girl. Even Gakuto notices how she’s losing her edge. And that’s a problem for the game club president. So she tries to focus…

-That night, she doesn’t lay down until midnight, when she tries to get herself to stop thinking about Keita…An hour later, she’s still trying. Another hour, she’s starting to rationalize it and turning into a mess. And thus ends another magnificent day in the life of Tendou Karen.

-The next day, Karen has not had sleep, and her mind is awash in thoughts. Cut to in the game club, when she works on Puyo Puyo with Eiichi, only for him to ask if she’s heard anything new about Keita and that Chiaki girl…And Karen just breaks again, losing the match. Which sends her on a long walkabout to clear her head. She sees how empty she looks inside in her own reflection…Why can’t she focus? It’s all because that damn Keita got into her brain…He’d better take responsibility for this! Wait that sounds pervy. And as she stomps off to try and focus…She runs into Keita out in the streets! Um…Er…One moment.

-Turn, deep breath, focus, turn back, good afternoon! What brings you by here? Apparently he went straight home, went to go play vidjagames, and his mom finally made him leave the house to get some air. …Harsh, my dude. …Want to join her for a walk? W-W-Wait what?! H-He’s not worthy of that! Oh god she’s going to get rejected again…But NO! Straight up, do you dislike her??? Of, of course not!

-Oh god that wasn’t what she expected, her brain has poofed. As he mentions a fear of causing rumors about her…Oh god, rumors of him with HER…Aaaaaaa. So Keita tries to take his leave, but she grabs him before he can go! YOU CAN’T GET AWAY! Just, JUST COME ON! No more rejection! No date, just a walk! As much as she wants it to be a date…

-And she marches him right off to the game shop, where his fears and nerves fade to oh man they’ve got some games he wanted on markdown, and he just got his allowance, he can build his collectionnnn! And Karen sees him getting Golden Memories finally, the blonde-girl dating sim…Oh god he really likes blondes, she, can she use this, okay deep breath, try to focus…And in the end, a nervous Keita ends up buying the game.

-And then the long walk continues as she starts to lead him towards the arcade. He didn’t think she ever went to the arcade. Oh, she only goes on days the club doesn’t meet. Ahh…He doesn’t go often, but recently got to go with a friend, and it was really fun with someone by his side. A FRIEND?! WAS IT THAT BLUENETTE?! They’re here. …Okay, calm down, Karen, calm down. He clearly meant Tasuku. He must have. It’s the only possibility her mind can accept okay FOCUS! She can play a round of something against Keita, kick his ass, prove her superiority, and get herself off of this slump!

-When he spots the crane games and wonders if she’s the type to get competitive in them. Oh, she’s not really into prize games…Wait did you play them with that bluenette and get all lovey dove?! AAAAAAAA DEATH TO CRANE GAMES

-And then he ends up pouring a bunch of money into a coin machine and now she’s feeling like she has to prove herself! A CHALLENGE!  It’s the only way to reclaim her honor! Thirty minutes to win, Keita! Whoever can get the most prizes, is the victor!

-And thus Karen goes to find the most efficient turn of tokens into prizes with the various coin games, which are a weird weird beast at the best of times. The classic pusher ones are all occupied…And of course, Keita is a complete useless newbie. Okay, focus, calm herself, move forward—

-30 minutes later, Keita’s money is all gone and Karen has a bucket of coins. And yet Keita still has a good mood on his face! HOW. HOW CAN YOU BE LIKE THIS…And why is it ruining her mood?! When a coin bounces away, and Keita picks it up, finding himself in front of a Onami classic, WILD HORSE RACE. Can he have a play. Oh, fine…

-So he casually drops it in, taking one last shot at the coin game challenge…Which Karen completely forgot about. But he wants to meet it honestly, because, you know, it matters to you. And a challenge is only fun if you win! Come on, little mechanical horses! And…His horse of choice lost. Daaaang. But Karen’s brain has broken because she’s spent the last several weeks thinking of Keita as the type who doesn’t like a competitive play-to-win mentality, but now, NOW…

-To a confrontation at the park. Why did you try so hard if you’re not into competition?! Well, he likes winning, of course. If he didn’t care about winning at all, he wouldn’t play, you know? As he gets a drink from a vending machine with a random chance game on it, and ends up with durian juice of all things…But he also gets a free drink and is today’s lucky winner! Okay, use that for…Her drink. He’ll stick with the crappy durian juice. Winning, losing, you take them honestly, that’s part of the fun.

-As for the game club…He just doesn’t have the fire to keep at it, is all. He gets discouraged, not motivated, after a long string of losses. And Karen…Karen, who gets really focused on winning and losing…Is she wrong? Never! He doesn’t have what it takes to stand by you guys, but he has tons of respect for what you do! It would never be silly or too serious…

-And Karen, Karen doesn’t know what to think about him anymore…But damn if she doesn’t find herself liking him even more. And now she’s got to get going…She’s got to get home and play some games right now!

-Credits!

-Aftercredits! Back at the club, Karen…Somehow has gotten even WORSE after that encounter! Her brain is completely wrapped up in that damn Keita!

-DAY 04: INTERMISSION: Tendou Karen and Slump Days

But when are they going to get to the fireworks factory?! (that was pretty great though)

#where I watch #recap #anime #gamers!

[hippopotatomus]

There are so many inherent problems with finding a replacement for Dobby the capybara, that for months after his death I was bewildered. I knew that it would be unfair for a new little capybara to have to live up to the grandeur of Prince Dobalob, so a new capybara was never an option. But what would be suitably entertaining without burdening my “sunset years” with complex husbandry tasks? Those of you who are snickering “Just get a dog, honey” do not know me. You can move along, now, find yourself a YouTube video of falling domino spirals or something. This was an existential dilemma that threatened to gum up my gears for months.

Dobby’s parents, Bonnie & Clyde appeared in this sideshow. Photo courtesy of Rick West of West Sideshows

After Dobby died, the steady stream of visitors- and donations- suddenly stopped. The Funny Farm needs a new “ambassador animal,” a kind of sideshow attraction. To be honest, when you already have four dozen animals in your charge, to consider actively searching for another is the definition of lunacy. Or hoarding. Hoarders generally have no idea how many animals they have because the animals are breeding unchecked and the situation spirals out of control. Until Princess the chicken moved into the living room, visitors to the Funny Farm found themselves looking around for the animals as if they had come to the wrong address. That’s as it should be, and the population here is (for the most part) static. But the sparkle was gone.

Prince Dobalob, the showoff

A couple practicalities reinforced my decision: climate and swimming pools. Dobby’s species hails from a tropical climate. As quickly as the ravages of climate change are grabbing our attention, I have no confidence that Seattle will become tropical in time to comfort a new capybara. Dobby was a good sport about the wicked weather, but he spent most of his last winter “hibernating” in my kitchen. And, as much as I would love to get some more use out of Dobby’s final deluxe swimming pool (by “deluxe,” I mean expensive) three-quarters of the year it is too cold here for swimming. The straw bale steps rotted every winter, and, of course, the water frequently froze in winter. I’m not talking about a thin sheet of ice on the top. Once a year it would develop a 6″ thick cap of ice. The scary part was when it eventually melted to a dangerous one inch thick, ready to crack apart. That’s when safety fencing goes up. No more outdoor tropical animals for the Funny Farm.

Little Dobby is sad about the arctic condition of his swimming pool.

I reluctantly concluded that most exotics are too demanding. As I flipped through my binders of domestic animals, they were either too large, too expensive, too stinky, too belligerent, or too destructive. I wanted something nice and ordinary, but “unexpected.” How about sheep? I have pasture and pens and I already keep loads of hay around. A friend verified that they are reasonable lawn ornaments. But what kind of sheep? Not those big white ones- my space is limited. Shetland sheep are petite, friendly, and with a bit of luck will shed their fleece, no need to shear.

Fat Bonnie relaxes indoors while Hamish guards the door. Charlie is hoofing it over to the food dishes in case fresh carrots are in there.

So, now that the sheep have been here three months, how did I do? How do sheep compare to capybaras? Okay, to be fair, my sample size is extremely limited. It would be a stretch to generalize, wouldn’t it? How about if I just compare Dobby to Charlie & Hamish? Here’s how that would look:

Subject Dobby Charlie & Hamish To start with One dude Two dudes Skull Schnoz was hard enough to break my nose giving me a kiss Let’s not butt heads, okay? Ears Leathery and flick like happy hippo ears Velvety soft Hearing Keen Keen Eyes Deep brown, big round like guinea pig eyes Light brown with goaty rectangular irises Peripheral vision 355 degrees 270 degrees, depending upon length of fleece Eyelashes Long, with eyeliner Short Whiskers Great big ones No Nose Big but soft Soft like a bunny Nostrils Big and round like a hippo Squinty slits Sense of smell Keen Keen Teeth Gigantic, constantly growing incisors, no canines: scissor action No upper teeth at all: bite and yank Tongue Fat little tongue, rarely seen Long tongue, flicks at side of mouth Day Sounds Bark, trill, tsk, loud clicking Baa (Charlie), Aaaaagh! (Hamish) Night Sounds Bashing a bucket around because he is playing all night long Bashing the feed bin because they are eating all night long Neck No Possibly in there somewhere Fur Sparse guard hairs, no undercoat No guard hairs, dense woolly undercoat Skin Leather, dark on top, pink where the sun don’t shine Thin and delicate, palest pink possible under all of that wool Legs Chubby with short fur Skinny with black velvet stockings Feet Downright weird, bird-like, webbed Dainty high-heels Sexual dimorphism Hard to see, except the morrillo Hard to see, except the awesome horns Tail No Short and stubby like a hamster tail Poop Caecotrophy rules Tail spins during pooping, like a hippo Potty training Decline to say Forget it So . . . Watch where you step Watch where you step Recline Sit like a normal animal Crumple to the ground all at once Weight 110-140 pounds (50-65kg) 90-125 pounds (41-57kg) Social Herding prey animal Flocking prey animal Speed Slow, slower, sudden sprints Quick, quicker, breakneck speed Diet Grass and shrubs, hay, less grain and birdseed than he really wants, bushels of corn and vegetables Grass and all of your prize shrubs, hay, less grain and birdseed than they really want, saltine crackers Water Semi-aquatic Gimme shelter! Hate rain CITES rating Species of Least Concern Unimproved (landrace) domestic breed, not rated Native habitat Tropical Subarctic Temperature range 55f to 104f (13c to 40c) 16f to 74f (-9c to 23c) Swimming Excellent Not on your life Jumping Maybe 3′ high, no leaping except maybe while diving Leap about 5′, height TBD Footstep sound High heels High heels Doofus Dance Yes Yes Tricks Yes Yes Affectionate Somewhat selective Yes, absolutely Naughty or Nice Naughty Naughty Vindictive Yes Time will tell, potential is there Utility Useless Highly prized wool, if you don’t mind twigs, seeds, and moss throughout your yarn Cachet Very high Low to medium: Sheep are common, Shetland sheep that do tricks are not Purchase Price $1200-1500 $100 (pet quality wether)

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They have crazy awkward horns, but they are big helpers.

Hamish is kind of bossy, but Charlie is clever and good at workarounds.

Hamish’s tail is that little black doodad. Doesn’t it remind you of a hamster tail?

What do you think? More alike or more different?

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How is a capybara like a sheep? There are so many inherent problems with finding a replacement for Dobby the capybara, that for months after his death I was bewildered.

#capybara #Charlie #Dobby #Hamish #non-profit #sanctuary #sheep #Shetland Sheep #Stacy&039;s Funny Farm