#sloth rant

Hello, Traveller Friends!

How are we all doing today? I figured I’d stop in to touch base with my 35 followers (I can’t believe I even have one, let alone 35, I’m not going to lie) and give an update as to where I’m at with all of this.

First off, thank you for the constant dopamine boosts. This has given me the same fulfillment that I haven’t felt since the early Halo Reach days. Initially, all I wanted here was an outlet to share all of my in game photography rather than clogging up my Xbox. Now, much to my surprise, I can say I’ve genuinely made some new friends in a community I didn’t know really existed before I came here. This has been a phenomenal experience, where every day I am inspired to try new builds and explore new worlds. I’m constantly looking to find new angles, and understand lighting and colour theory within photography so I can continue sharing new pictures with you.

Before this I’d felt my creativity had dropped off a cliff, but this has all rekindled the flame I have always possessed to create and find beauty in any and all mediums. This has even directly resulted in my drive to make music again, which used to be my biggest passion until my old band split up unexpectedly. So, from the bottom of my synthetic heart, I thank you guys for welcoming me here with open arms. It means the worlds to me.

And for the future of this Blog!

As of right now, I have 25 posts queued up, from aesthetic photography to strange creatures, and just about everything in between. Currently my post schedule is set to once a day. My question for you is that enough? Or should I go back to twice a day? Every time I load in I’m usually able to get two - three posts worth of images, so finding material to post about isn’t really an issue. My main concern is overpopulating your feeds, hence the drop down to one post a day.

Another thing I’d like to talk about is how shall I transition from this current run (which is actually my main save) into the Perma Sloth run. At my current rate, it’s looking like I’ll probably be there in a month or so, assuming I don’t get distracted along the way (like I have been for the last nearly two weeks with this one build). I’d like to try a few commemorative things, such as my top 10 or 20 favourite Light Photographs and my top 10 or 20 favourite Dark photographs of this save.

I’ve also been thinking of going to all of my bases that are still kicking around and do a little series of my base progressions. Most of them are fairly empty and uncompleted, but I kind of like the idea of sharing them as I left them. Is that a good idea?

I’ve got a few other ideas floating around in the old cranial box, but I am also very open to any other suggestions and ideas.

I feel this post is already far too long, so I’m going to wrap it up here.

But before I go, I’ll share this bit of information about this image.

Along my travels I stopped in this system, roughly 400,000LY from the Centre of Sudzerbal Galaxy. Upon scanning the system from my Freighter, I saw one planet was classified as a “Mechanical Planet”. As I think I’ve only ever seen one of these planets before, this caught my attention.

As of right now, I have spent the last two weeks building a base here, the longest I’ve spent on a build perhaps to date. I’ve finally completed it as of last night. I’ve never placed so many god damn lights down in this game, but this planet is rather bleak and the build is focused around the house having lots of light.

I’ve also found the strangest life form I have EVER encountered in this game on this planet. I can say that with 100% certainty. I can’t wait for all of my posts about this planet and build to come up in the queue. I hope you find it all as interesting and entertaining as I have.

If you’ve gotten this far, I offer a thousand thanks for sticking with me, and I hope your day is as beautiful as a chromatic chameleon planet.

Stay safe, Travellers. Thank you for following me on this journey.

Why does that bother you so much. Does not getting away with shitty behavior hurt your feelings? Are you so sad you have to respect people's boundaries?

Like, sure, there certainly are people that say stuff like "you are trauma dumping because you told me you are sad, so I am ghosting you now because you overstepped my boundray of not hearing negative emotions" or the (I personally believe this is kind of a strawman tbh) person that refuses to help their friends move "because they don't owe anyone anything".

But most people are not like that at all. If the above people bother you. Find other friends. If the above is *not* what you're talking about though, if it is rather about people having actual boundaries and act upon them if you chose to ignore those... Then you kind of had it coming. Hope that helps.

[I am aware that some people will weaponise therapy speak to manipulate people and get away with asshole behavior. But these people have always existed.

Hello, Traveller.

As of right now, I have logs queued up for the next two weeks of my latest escapades while I embark on my Great Voyage. There have been many strange and beautiful worlds, along with some highs and lows — of different varieties. I have seen shattered moons, toxic anomalies, and rainbow worlds. I have found ships, and lost ships. I’ve witnessed the grandiose, and stood idly as catastrophe enveloped systems.

I rest on this Worm Infested planet while giant chordates rupture the crust and howl blood curdling screams.

I am but a spectator watching as the Atlas rages in its last dying breath.

I am Sloth.

Who are you?

I interrupt my queue to show you this WILD Mechanical Planet I’ve stumbled upon.

It’s funny, I was just talking about how these types of exotic planets are one of my rarest finds, and then I go and find a system with TWO OF THEM.

Please feel free to visit this world and even set up a base if you so desire! I’ll definitely be coming back to it one day.

P.S.: I’m upping my daily posts again because I literally have a backlog 42 deep, and still loads of other pictures to go through (I’ve been blessed by the Void Mother with Star System luck the last little while). I hope you like this new outpost as much as I enjoyed building it.

Hello, friends.

This post is a little different than all my others, as I’d like to give a life update about myself.

If you’ve noticed over the last week and a bit, my time on here has been quite sporadic as of late. My mental health has been all over the place and I’ve finally taken the steps I need to move toward improving myself and my wellbeing.

For some background context, at 18 I was diagnosed with Type II Bipolar. At the time, I was prescribed medication should I have needed it, but I never took the leap as I had some incredibly positive outlets to help cope with the clusterfuck inside my head.

From 2015-2021 I was part of an alternative punk band, and towards the later years things were ramping up to become a serious possibility that the band could become a full-time gig. We had signed with a record label, had bi-weekly shows around our local area, an album in the works, and two tours planned.

Playing gigs was incredible for my mental health as it was a healthy way to express my depression and mania. I could scream and cry in front of people, and act like a total goofball and never feel embarrassed or self conscious while doing so.

When the Covid lockdowns went into place, it sent me on a minor spiral until we were able to finally get together in the studio in order to focus solely on recording our album. The lack of socialization was a huge hit to my mental health, but at least I could still have music as an outlet. Then one day, when we were about 80% of the way through the recording process, our cofounder decided to call it quits completely out of the blue. With that, the last true coping method I had was no more. The last few years following the break up have completely worn me down as I let myself slide further and further into the deep. I didn’t touch an instrument for well over a year, and still now I find it hard to commit to my art. Every now and then I can find the inspiration and energy to work on music of my own, but I’ve been incredibly hesitant to lose myself in it again, and to say it’s hard to find the completeness I once felt would be a massive understatement.

Then one day, after a few months of finding a new passion in No Man’s Sky photography, I started this blog as a creative outlet. The encouragement and appreciation I’ve received from this community cannot be overstated with how positive of an impact it’s had on my mental health. It’s been easier to pick up my bass or my guitar and feel confident in my art now that I have another form of media to be proud of and know that people genuinely like.

Still, with that, my mood swings have only barely improved. Some days I can sit here and talk with you guys while others I feel more like a burden, even when I know in my heart that’s not true. It’s progressed again to the point where I very nearly deleted everything here. Thankfully, I haven’t done so.

Today has been a massive turning point in the right direction. I sat down with my doctor and told them what’s been going on, and they received my words infinitely better than what I had expected. Immediately, they prescribed medication for me to start on. So, as of today, I’m officially on medication for my Bipolar. I’m both excited and scared to start the process of self-improvement. I’ve formed a dependency to the ol’ Nip over the last few years, which I’ve had to cut cold turkey. That terrifies me, to be perfectly candid. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while but never had the courage or strength to commit to. Now, with my medication, I HAVE to. I’ve already apologized to my fiancée preemptively for the inevitable bitchniness to come, but boy howdy am I ready for the mental clarity that will follow.

This has turned into quite the word-vomit, so to cut things short(er), I’ll finish of with this :

If you’ve been struggling mentally, or with addictions or dependencies, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. I’ve been homeless. I’ve touched rock bottom. I’ve lost confidence and all sense of purpose. I know what it’s like to be locked in a personal mental hell. I know what it’s like to feel like a burden to your family and friends even when they tell you time and time again that you’re anything but. I believe in you, just as I believe in myself. If you need help, I strongly encourage you to talk to a doctor or a therapist. I’m awful at responding and cannot promise quick replies, but if you want to vent or rant to me, please please please do. We are always stronger together. I will listen. We’ve got this.

The Sloth has officially moved to a new home. Just about everything that could go wrong went wrong, but we made it! Next step will be unpacking over the next few days. There’s even peacock fauna roaming around the neighbourhood. I’m excited for this new home base. For tonight, I will finally relax. Stay safe, Traveller.

I’ll be moving into a new home on the first that we just confirmed and signed the lease for on Wednesday. Hopefully I’ll be able to do some Space Whale searching before then, but with the short notice and loads of packing to be done the odds are looking bleak. I’m excited for the new place, but not stoked for the crunch induced stress.

I wish there was an option to view every single fauna discovery in one list rather than the tedious process of scrolling through your discovered systems and planets. Just give me a big scrollable list.