Happy Halloween!!!

Hey Jammers, happy Halloween! I just went trick-or-treating with my little brother. I don't even like candy that much, but I love seeing all of the funny decorations and jack-o-lanterns. Usually my mom just eats all the candy. XD

I need to go to sleep soon, but I quickly decorated my den for Night of the Phantoms:

...And was revisited by an old glitch:

I wonder what triggers this to happen.

In other news, I think I've figured out the pattern in message bottles. There's a new one washed ashore every other day.

Today's letter gives a little bit more information:

These little captive creatures are most likely trapped in a boat with no windows, or maybe cargo containers. But then how would these messages arrive? Are they old? DID THE WHOLE SHIP SINK AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE WASHING UP IN DROVES??? Hmmm...

I really like this haunted portrait the best. I love the bright colors of the blue sky and the orange/yellow fire. :)

That's all for now. I'll keep y'all updated on the messages. Until then, happy Halloween! ^-^

A Dark and Mysterious Place

Hey Jammers, happy 29th day of Halloween! XD

There was no further word from the message bottles yesterday, but today we hear from these mysterious pen-pals again!

That portrait is pretty cool looking. I never thought of Zios as a headless horseman! I mean, well, he doesn't have much of a body aside from his head.

I wonder what this dark and mysterious place may be... a phantom vortex, perhaps? What do you guys think?

See you in Jamaa!

Mysterious Messages

Hey Jammers! I'm here, as promised! Wow, I'm really proud of myself. Just for showing up.

You know, for the longest time whenever there'd be a new update I'd get really worried that something catastrophic would happen. A nightmare I used to have was that AJHQ would announce humans as the next new animal. A thought terrifying and just wrong in itself. Hopefully that will never happen. 

However, did you know there were a few times when AJHQ announced bad changes to be made in the Jamaa Journal... and later backed out because so many people were upset? That's actually a rarity among games. It takes a lot of work to say, design an entirely new map, so no way would you want to just scrap all that hard work because some consumers complained! Still, there were a few times when AJHQ did remove new features because of complaints. And, you guessed it, one of those was a map.

Don't it look weird? All chunky and minimalist? Totally not AJ's style. Despite the work the artist/s most definitely put into it, people hated it and the map switched back.

Another big time AJHQ pulled out on their plans was when Club Geoz was planned to be remodeled. They put it in the Jamaa Journal, put construction tape around the building, everything. It seemed official. Until... it didn't happen. The construction tape was taken down, and it was never mentioned again. People had complained, and reasonably so; Club Geoz looks wonderful the way it does! If it was changed, AJHQ would have to deal with a bunch of nostalgic people leaving.

Anyway, let's get to today's update. I think today I'll talk about each new thing with screenshots instead of just posting the Jamaa Journal. Just to try it.

The centerpiece of this update are the mysterious messages washing ashore, enough for each Jammer to receive one every day!

According to the style of those eyes in the message, the sender of this note might be a bunny. The Peck Portrait checks out. And because this portrait is haunted, something spooky might be afoot. 

Something that might end in an... adventure? Maybe, maybe.

Over in Jamaa Township by the statue is the last pet phantom stand of the season: 

They may come back next year, ya never know. 

You know how phantoms were born out of Mira's tears? What if when Mira is really upset she literally turns from a blue heron into a giant queen phantom? Is that why her statue is a phantom for the Night of the Phantoms? I dunno, but that would make a funny story.

Next up, the Masterpiece Party has turned into a constant, permanent party. Oh joy.

You know, I don't really like art museums. I don't really know why. They seem a little too sterile for me, the modern art particularly. I guess I'm just used to spending months on drawings and hiding them all in the depths of locked boxes to never see the light of day again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In less dwelled-upon news, the map changed a little.

I'm not too upset by it, although of course that white border is a little unsightly. That's it, though. Could be worse! 

And... last but not least, a new animal is coming! It's suspected to be either a toucan or a jaguar. Ostriches were promised a while back, but things aren't random. They'll come soon, probably, every update brings a new animal. Eh... I'm fine with the ones we have, but a new one is okay.

I'm getting a little sleepy, so goodnight! Or good day, depending on where you are.

See you in Jamaa! I'll keep you all updated on what these messages in bottles may mean!

~ DoomyPanda

Posting Difficulties AKA Me Being Lazy Again

Hey Jammers, DoomyPanda here again. It seems like whenever I promise to post more often, I come back posting even less. Actually, I think I read awhile ago that announcing you are going to accomplish something makes you less likely to do that thing. The reasoning behind this is that thinking about doing something subconsciously makes it seem like you already completed it. Confusing, but I think it applies here. -.-

I'm just... so... tired... all I wanna do is sleep...

School has just drained me so much that all I feel like doing when I get home is waste my time with nonsense instead of doing anything productive. I really need to stop doing that.

What's also kinda motivating my lack in posting is the lack of news aside from items. I'm pretty sure that'll change this Thursday update, but maybe not BECAUSE I'M SO LAZY

I love this blog so much, don't get me wrong. I say that a lot, but I've meant it every single time. For y'all who don't know, I've worked on this blog since June 17 2012. Animal Jam has just made me so happy and calm that I wanted to share that joy with you.

So, yeah... this is just a check-in post to tell you that no, I'm not dead, just unfathomably lazy as always. /).(\

My laziness is a big problem. Not just because of AJ Stream going neglected, but because I haven't talked to my friends or seen them in an eternity. You see, I go to a big school, so I never see anyone I know in class unless I make plans to see them after school. It might not sound like a big deal, and it isn't, but the effort of trying to do well in a school I hate is just too much for me and I need to go straight home every day and rest. Weekends are really the only time where my mind is remotely clear enough to, I dunno, read a book or something, but for the rest I can only WAKE UP, SCHOOL, HOMEWORK, SLEEP, and repeat. I'm so pathetic.

I dunno why I'm telling you this. I guess I just wanna be honest about why I'm not posting. I'm going to try to make this schedule regular, and I'll keep posting every so often to tell you I'm not dead. 

That kind of reminds me when I used to make friends on chatrooms. I had a bunch of friends on one who only knew eachother there, so whenever one didn't go online for a while we'd assume they were dead and have a sad emoji funeral for them. It was both awkward and relieving when they came back.

Whatever, I'm tired and rambling. 

Get enough sleep, Jammers! Don't stare at screens too much or you'll end up like ME!!! Muahahahaha

~ DoomyPanda

P.S. Hoping to post on the Thursday update.

P.P.S. Kimberley 082 or Skywatcher, where are you?

Drawing Within Progress

Hey Jammers! Whoa, sorry for not posting for so long. Even after the update! This week I've been improving some things, like homework, but my posting schedule remains spotty. ;^^

Because you've probably heard all about the update already and there isn't much going on, this is yet another check-in to tell you that no, I'm not dead. 

Even though I love being nonmember, I recently got a one-month membership. Gasp! Why? Because I wanted to finally make my very own masterpiece!

Here it is so far:

It's pretty weird and patchy so far because I'm experimenting with different colors, but it's just the background. I'm planning on drawing a panda resting against the tree in the front! ^-^

Here's a tip: the airbrush tool is easier to use than the regular pixel paintbrush because it's easier to blend. In addition, it's just more natural looking.

This is unrelated, but you've all seen the new "fall" homepage, right?

I'm not too thrilled about it, to be honest. It's just too bright and mismatched for me to associate it with Autumn. 

Also, I don't know if it happens to you, but it causes a ton of lag! It's so hard to type my login info with all the moving graphics. Eh... I'm not a fan of this.

Wanna know some homepage designs that I AM a fan of?

The second one is my absolute favorite. It's very suitable and natural yet really interesting! It makes me so happy just to look at it.

Animal Jam has always had lovely design, in-game and on the homepage, but this new "fall" homepage is kinda subpar. It's fine if it's only temporary and if it'll go back to normal at some point, but I'm not too wild about it changing every single season. There's so many other changes that happen to AJ each day that any kind of stability creates comfort, like a homepage that stays. 

I hope that it eventually changes back, but it isn't so bad. Besides, someone probably worked too hard on that homepage just for some dork to write an essay complaining about it on her dumb blog.

I love AJ, but I need to go to sleep. I've stared at so many screens today that my eyes are fried. 

Goodnight, friends! Or good day, but where I am it's nighttime. Sleep tight!

More posts coming soon ~

Glitchy Music

Hey Jammers! I'm kinda too tired to make a long post, so this is just a quick one to check in.

Today when decorating my den I discovered an odd glitch. Or more accurately, re-discovered.

I was just clicking around through different den music when I clicked "AJ Melody" again and this thing popped up. 

This is almost exactly what I witnessed back in 2012, only the 2012 instance was in someone else's den. I swear I have a screenshot of it somewhere, but I can't seem to find it! I remember my tiger was in the screenshot and I think she was wearing a freedom top hat, but my memory is hazy.

To clarify, my phantom wall decal was already there. The music logo just ended up underneath it. The glitch was weird at first, but it was cleared when I exited my den and came back.

This is unrelated to Animal Jam and is kinda personal, but I have a huge problem. I spend so much time lying in bed watching dumb YouTube videos that I don't even like!!! I start at one about creepy stories or whatever and then I keep watching more and more until hours have passed and I don't get anything fun or productive done... YouTube is addictive in the most boring and monotonous way possible. Blah... Here's a question for you: how do you motivate yourself to get away from the computer? :P

Before I go, I'll leave you with this picture posted on the Smithsonian National Zoo's Instagram page of two members of the panda family eating fruitsicles:

I believe that may be the youngest Bei Bei (to the left) and his mama Mei Xiang (to the right). I'm not completely sure, though.

That's all for now, Jammers. See you in Jamaa!

Peck, the Traitor

Hey Jammers! DoomyPanda here with some interesting news that I've been holding onto for the majority of the week. This has simply been due to exhaustion from school, so don't be worried, if you are. 

But before I start, happy October 1st! There's an old superstition that if the first words you say on the first day of a month are "Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit", you'll get good luck. I don't really believe it, but there's no harm in trying. :P

As you may have already learned, AJHQ has added some new animal name options with the latest update. There are around 2.5 million new combinations, so that's a lot to get through. Some additions are cool, like "Forest" and "Ember", but some are strangely random, like "Kawaii" and "Legit". Hopefully, some original naming options weren't taken out of the mix. There are too many to count!

In other news, has Peck been scheming with the phantoms?

Of course... 

Ever since AJHQ turned Peck's design into that of a creepily happy and giddy cartoon character, something has just been... off. No one can be that happy and not have some terrible secret. Back in ye olden days when Peck was more of a punk, as the old Jamaa legends say, at least she had an outlet to express pent-up negative feelings, but now that she has to be happy ALL the time.... 

PECK FINALLY CRACKED AND JOINED THE PHANTOMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least, that would be the more entertaining version of this story. I bet the way it'll go is this: Peck is now depicted as a jokester, right? Someone irresponsible? Maybe she decided to waltz right down into phantom territory on a dare OR to prove that she isn't irresponsible after all and fight. Then, she got caught, and the next adventure will be rescuing Peck from the phantoms and learning a lesson in the end. Doesn't that tie it together nicely? Nicely, but kinda boring.

If you're wondering, I got those screenshots from a YouTube video made by some random person named "Aparri". It's pretty recent.

Before I go, remember when I used to post nonmember clothing ideas on my blog? No? Well, I used to. Here are three, one for each month between September and November:

September:

October

November

See you in Jamaa!

P.S. I'm planning on fixing up AJ Stream's layout for Autumn!