The last week dawns! Actually, this is the last five days in Wales or so. It's not quite hit me yet. Obviously it's sad, especially given that I've been here so long that I really do just feel like part of Caby's family now. I've gotten interrupted three times in making this post, once by Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, but once to chat Top Gear with her mom and another to chat about Quake and Valve games with her dad. Everyone save the guinea pigs has started up an hour plus long conversation with me at least once (and Sherlock sits so nice on my lap every time I hold her). If that's not fitting in, I don't know what is.

The final days slowly arriving is sad, of course, but I'm also really excited about the end of the year. I miss my mom and I wanna catch up with her, give her her gifts and show her what photos I've taken. I wanna go back to streaming. Caby and I patched a lot of things up while we've been here, and I'm looking forward to voice calls and playing games and keeping the fun going even when I'm back home. I've got so much to read and listen to—stuff's really piled up! My YouTube Watch Later list is two dozen strong again. I miss my Minecraft Alpha world.

I got plans! Creatively, I'm in a really comfortable place of desiring but not desperate, confident, wanting to do everything but happy regardless of what comes out any given day. It'll be back to finding a job, but that's okay. I'm content, for once in my life, and frankly, if this is all life is forever, being creative between low-level temporary jobs and visiting friends, that's a life I'm comfy with.

Let's get into some briefer updates as to how it's been going:

The NQ64 in Cardiff is very good

We finally visited the NQ64 in Cardiff! If you didn't catch "London, Through the Eyes of the PowerShot A20" on the group blog, I wasn't super enthused by the one in Soho, partially because I wasn't feeling great from traveling, but also because it was so loud and the machines weren't in the greatest shape.

This time, we had a blast. Trys came with, and they spent ages doodling on the tables (which they let you do happily), drinking (I had a Kirby and a Quick Revive, my first time buying drinks anywhere actually), passing around the PowerShot for photos, and trying Guitar Hero Arcade with me (man, I miss my guitar). Things were loud, but not overload loud; it's been well over a decade since I last heard "Smack That" by Akon, so thanks, NQ64! It's always fun to find people's handles on the tables, the walls, the bathrooms and see what they're shilling too—shoutouts to dampsheep on Bandcamp.

I think these guys had a better selection of machines, too. They also had a Galaga machine, and one with a working fire button this time! I actually killed my arm hammering the button and had to give up at 150k, which was funny. You forget when you're used to the light plastic of home consoles that arcade machines were built out of fucking metal.

Gotta work out the last week of trips with Caby's folks. We're aiming to see some caves and some fluffy creatures before it's time to go.

An update on the Tumblr

The art Tumblr I started about two weeks ago has done way better than I imagined it would. I'm not under any delusions that that's not partially because Caby has been very kindly reblogging all my posts, but my art is still the thing they're liking and reblogging, and liking and reblogging it they are! The Easter Bunny and afan I did got eighty notes and counting (notes are all likes, reblogs, and post replies put together), and it seems my floor is still thirty or so. In two weeks, I'm up to 35 followers. Pretty mind-blowing, and a very nice foundation to grow on.

It's a pretty stark reminder of how commodified and often just plain dead the other sites I post on have become. It's plenty possible to gain an audience on FurAffinity, but let's be real, it's an art sale site for fetishists a lot of the time. A hobbyist with slightly wonky art like mine isn't catching on there. (And Weasyl is just that without the sales. I really think I'm going to discontinue posting to it starting next year—frankly, the only reason I still use it is the thumbnail cropping tool.) I've been poking at Sheezy more, but it's barely more active than Weasyl. Not supporting PostyBirb, the mass art posting tool that basically all serious artists (including Caby) rely on for uploading, is an insane move that's kneecapped any chance of importing people and their large audiences to it. I am still the only Somnolian actively posting there.

In all three instances, I do a handful of favorites per drawing at best. Sometimes none at all, and often only the Somnolians see anything. I've grown past taking it personally, I like my art and I know people do as well, it's just visibility, but it's still posting into a void and that's just unmotivating. There's no likeminded community on these sites. People stay in their bubbles, and the only people actively searching for anything new are people trying to expand their wank bank, which I obviously don't cater to.

Tumblr is different. Tumblr people just appreciate art better. I don't just say that because I've gotten a little bit of attention, I say that because the site is set up for showing people the stuff you like, scavenging tags, and joining communities. Your stuff spreads by people engaging with it. It's not to say that there isn't commissions and fetish art and porn on Tumblr, but it's just part of the river of content, not specifically what people generally seek out. Sure, there's certainly stuff I could do to be more social even on there, leaving comments and reblogging more work, but just that bit of attention motivates me way more to do that.

What's been lovely also is seeing my mutuals be so supportive. Olaxis, Nasiloo, and bananabreadguy have all been liking and even reblogging stuff, complementing my colors and just overall digging it. That's a cool feeling! I don't talk to any of them regularly, we're acquaintances, but they know I'm here and they've been appreciating what I do, and that means a lot. I don't chase numbers, but I like friends.

I still have posts going up every Tuesday and Thursday, at the moment a mixture of new art and old favorites from throughout 2024 and 2025. If you want twice-weekly Cammy art at least into October, go give me a follow at coffeecoloredbadger. You'll like it.

We have the technology (to revive the eMachines Box)

I'm taking a gamble by buying gear that will be much more difficult, if not impossible, to return if it doesn't work (because Amazon UK and Amazon US are two different companies), but I have ordered the SSD and adapters necessary to get the eMachines Box going again. I don't see a reason it won't work, since I went with all brands I recognized and have had good experiences with (StarTech, Silicon Power for the SSD), but you know tech.

If it does all go well, though, I will be dual-booting Me and XP on it! I have very rarely used Me at all, let alone on real hardware, and it gives computer nerds stress shits when you bring it up, so I'm gonna give it a go. I've heard low-end XP machines make for very very good 9x machines. Hoping that's true!

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

If you missed it on the group blog, I finally completed my Pokémon Blue 'dex this trip, Mew and all! I suppose I should get onto Silver or one of the DS/3DS ones now, or indeed any other game I have installed on my 3DS, but actually, I've been playing Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. It seems really simple, but it's when you're trying to defeat the Johto Elite Four in Challenge on Hard and the game keeps raining shit down on you and you have to get smart/lucky with your cascades and four/five block matches that it becomes frustratingly habit-forming.

I'm free of it now, thankfully. I suppose I will expand out the game review section soon with GBC stuff to cover it. Fun little curiosity.

Also, I adopted a badger. There's a program the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales does for sponsoring badger tuberculosis vaccine research, and obviously as a badger, I would prefer people not kill them just because they can unwittingly pass TB onto cattle. Came with this little 5" badger plushie and he does such nice sits. (Bottle of limoncello for scale.)