#Rocky talks too much

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Y’know I think sometimes “mindful eating” gets conflated with diet-lite, “chew 20 times before swallowing” “I do not sully the temple of my body with gross matter” bullshit. But let me just say. As a fat person (“small fat”) that is not what it’s working out to with me. I’ve actually experienced a lot of food restriction in my life, not part of formal dieting, just due to a variety of life circumstances. As a result, especially when I’m tired (as I have been this week) I tend to eat until no longer uncomfortably hungry but not until full. My dietitian commented that I probably don’t know what full feels like and she’s right, I really don’t. As a result, I’m on this bus to work, semi-delirious from lack of sleep, because my poor body got frustrated and slammed down all of the FOOD, motherfucker buttons at the same time. At about 4:30 am.

I’ll take care of this. Today I’ll work extra hard on noticing if I’m full and eating when I’m not. I’m going to try and get some work stuff done and then come home and sleep so I can have the energy going forward to make myself actual meals.

But it’s an interesting thing to experience, as someone who’s losing weight right now not due to calorie restriction but due to finally getting treatment for diabetes. I’ve had more than one medical professional’s eyes get big when I say I’ve found a really good dietitian who’s helping me eat more and feel a lot better. I have a soft throat and a big belly. I’m supposed to be punishing the soft animal of my body for loving what it loves. And yet I’m not. And I don’t need to. I shouldn’t, in fact.

Anyway I’m too tired to have a real point. This is just a strange time to be existing in my body. And I do think that it can be hard to think about healthy stuff outside of the framework of weight loss, because the two get so relentlessly presented as synonymous. So I just want to say that they’re not. Acknowledging your body doesn’t have to work like that. Accepting your body doesn’t have to work like that. It’s ok.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to buy a second breakfast because I’m fucking starving.

[not-available-for-comment]

Finally had a chance to read this article!

I just want to add two things. Maybe 3. Let’s find out.

In addition to everything laid out in the article, I don’t think people realize how strongly the exploitation of American workers plays into this. If you’re going somewhere other than Canada or Mexico, you probably have a 24-hour plane trip involving vicious jet lag, flying over oceans, and very steep ticket prices. We don’t get enough time off to recover from jet leg and still have time to have fun before we have to fly home. We don’t get paid enough to afford a round trip ticket.

Everything is far from everywhere else. Even visiting Canada can be a long car ride. I grew up in the Great Lakes region, which meant that while I was technically close to Canada (in American geographic terms anyway) there were massive bodies of water the size of small seas between me and the international border. I went on a youth group trip that stopped at Niagara Falls on the way home (a touristy border crossing). According to Google, that’s a 450mi/730km trip. That’s 6 hours in a car, part of it through mountains. There’s no train service. A plane ride would probably take the same amount of time. If, as I said above, you don’t get much time off, or you grow up with parents who don’t care to travel, you may not learn much *about your own country*. In fact, the American internet is full of sheltered white kids from the suburbs saying “that’s fake” or that classic internet chestnut “pics or it didn’t happen” TO OTHER AMERICANS, in part because our country is so big and they’ve seen so little of it.

Small addendum to the above points: When I was a young American evangelical I signed up for lots of mission trips, not because I “had a heart for missions”, as they would’ve said at the time, but because it was a way of getting subsidized and chaperoned trips to places I could never have gone to otherwise. (My dad hated to travel and we rarely had the money for family vacations.) I wouldn’t be surprised if several other kids were signing up for similar reasons. It’s an embarrassing thing to admit to now, but that was pretty much the option I had open to me at the time. Later, in undergrad, I took the more honorable option and applied to a study abroad program in Europe. I went there on scholarship and spent my entire life savings to that point on travel. I’ve never had the money to return, even though I want to.

I always find it sad when people who’ve watched a lot of exported American movies think that means they know what America is like. The US exports the processed cheese product of our culture. Very little of that media reflects what my day to day life or my life growing up was like. This is not unusual. A lot of media set in the US South is strongly refracted through classist stereotypes and racist mythologies, unless it goes out of its way to be authentic (and even then, authentic to whose experience?). Big swathes of the country—the Midwest, the southeast, the gulf coast—barely get represented at all. The southwest and the Pacific Northwest mostly exist as aesthetic shorthand with very little representation of culture or day-to-day life (the PNW gets a bit more rep since a bunch of white millennials moved there in the 00s, but it’s still pretty limited). The vast majority of our media is generated by or focused on people with a typically very white and middle class perspective on either New York City or LA/California. We don’t really even see ourselves in a lot of this media, so it’s sad and bleakly funny to me that it’s what we export to the rest of the world. Considering we mostly have this funhouse mirror of ourselves to interact with culturally, it’s maybe not surprising that young people in particular have no idea how to parse what’s real.

We also have absolutely been indoctrinated into the idea that we live in the greatest country in the world and that everyone wishes they could be us. This makes many of us insufferable and for that I sincerely apologize. I have no doubt that belief has a seriously limited shelf life, and I apologize in advance for whatever happens when it expires. Have you ever told a child St Nick isn’t real?

5 points. How about that. Apologies for typos, I’m very tired.

I’ve noticed lately that it’s often Americans who leave tags like “I don’t even care if it’s made up” on posts I make that are not particularly unbelievable, but are pretty specific to my way of life or corner of the world (like the one about the cheese vendor). It reminds me of that tweet that was circulating, that said Americans have a “medieval peasant scale of worldview”—I mean, if you don’t want to be perceived this way by the rest of the world maybe don’t go around social media saying that if a cultural concept or way of life sounds unfamiliar it must be made up?

It’s the imbalance that’s annoying, because like—when I mentioned having no mobile network around here I had people giving me info about Verizon to fix my problem. I post some rural pic and someone says it must be somewhere in the Midwest because the Southwest doesn’t look like this. My post about my postwoman has thousands of Americans assuming it’s about the USPS. On my post about my architect there’s someone saying “it’s because architecture is an impacted major” and other irrelevant stuff about how architecture is taught in the US. This kind of thing happens so so so often and I’m expected to be familiar with the concepts of Verizon and the Midwest and impacted majors and the USPS and meanwhile I make a post about my daily life and Americans in the notes are debating like “dunno if real. it sounds made up”

Going online for the rest of the world means having to keep in mind an insane amount of hyperspecific trivia about American culture while going online for Americans means having to keep in mind that the rest of the world really exists I guess

[wickmitz]

I decided to start talking about Wick and Rocky's relationship because I like their dynamics too, I like seeing Wick scared of Rocky and Rocky being aggressive with him, which is unusual because Rocky is rarely aggressive with anyone, but of course Wick is an exception to rule

Also my mini opinion about their possible relationship, I think that if Rocky didn't have to fight for his place, then he and Wick could become friends, or at least tolerate each other a little, I also see some superficial similarities, their gentlemanly and romantic natures, and their common love for explosions (remembering the quarrymen chapter), but this is my assumption, I think that I don't understand the characters' personalities well, so I can be wrong in this assumption, something like that. So, what do you think about their relationship?

for starters, i cannot thank you enough for this ask! as i’ve said previously, i have many thoughts on these two, so it’s nice to finally be able to share some of them. although given the extent to which i think about them, i apologize in advance if this is sloppy and sort of everywhere … while i’ll try to structure things the best i can, i cannot promise i’ll succeed! but hopefully this is an enjoyable reply nonetheless.

one of my favorite things about rocky and wick’s relationship is absolutely how aggressive rocky is towards the aristocrat ; he is prone to glares and cruel jokes and borderline hissing whenever the man is within his line of sight, or can be brought to a wailing-fit over the mere mention of his name from miss m’s mouth. there is a childishness to it, but a very prominent threat as well in spite of rocky’s usual incompetence. so he goes out of his way to posture around wick, readily lying and adorning himself with the gangster drapes he so badly wants to wear, in the hopes that it intimidates … will even badmouth wick’s family and make fun of his name and rock related obsession to mitzi, and so on so forth! yet all of this is very reminiscent of schoolyard bullying rather than anything too severe, though we as the audience understand rather quickly that rocky would bash wick’s head in with a tire iron if he could. ( translation : if it wouldn’t earn the tears or hate of a certain beloved mitzi may ) and it’s all very intense despite the absence of actual violence! and i understand why many fans see this as unusual for rocky and believe that it’s only wick who makes him act so aggressively, but i’d argue it isn’t really wick at all that prompts such scary reactions from him … and that rocky is a deeply angry character who’s a.) been boiling quietly for a long, long time and b.) has turned wick into a punching bag of sorts for this inner world of resentment and hurt. basically, when he’s judging the well-to-do or poking fun, his eyes don’t look at wick and actually acknowledge him as sedgewick sable ; instead this is a being, something vague and metaphorical, who threatens to upseat rocky’s permanence in the lackadaisy and steal away his savior, and he’s had a hand in the violinist’s misfortune for a long time.

obviously, rocky doesn’t think wick robbed him of his family twice over and made him homeless, but he is channeling the fear and anguish of those events into his loathing for wick, if that makes sense? it’s easier that way -- to finally have an outlet for everything bleeding inside of you, to be able to bite and claw at something without feeling conflicted or having to take personal accountability for your own mistakes … which is something that i think rocky does struggle with to a degree. he is sort of a finger pointer! his pain has to be worth something, it has to be for someone else ; spending years homeless and losing his last bit of family was for freckle, and the scrambling of his literal brain was for mitzi, and that means he can’t ever be angry with them! well, except that he is, somewhat, but he buries it deep down instead of feeling it. with freckle there is a sense of strain between them -- an air of ‘you owe me’ from rocky to freckle as he uses freckle to appease miss m, and he constantly pokes fun at his cousin too. it’s lighter than his jabs at wick, but there’s a constant pestering, a reminder of how good freckle has it : how he’s got the mom and the house and the job and the girl most notably. i don’t think rocky is intending to come across as mean, and to his credit he hardly does! but it’s rather clear to me that some part of him, some hidden and deeply hurt part, is rather indignant about taking the fall for freckle all those years ago. which he can’t understand, because how could he? he made that choice, he decided to take accountability for something he didn’t do because he loves freckle and knows it’d be so easy to believe this family tragedy was roark’s fault ; the devilish child he was, all troublesome and too broken to properly fit anywhere. so there is a disconnect born here, where rocky can’t comprehend that he’d be angry at freckle, so instead these not so great feelings are placed elsewhere and silently boil over time. and with mitzi … i don’t think he’s angry at her per se, but there is a frustrated and desperate chorus of : why him and why not me, when i’m the one out here dying for you? which is certainly unpleasant. of course, rather than allowing those feelings to be more aimed at miss m, whom he feels unloved by, he ( again! ) represses these emotions and allows them to fester into his greatest fears and fantastical complexes. i think there is a lot of other miscellaneous anger he could have towards others too … perhaps some part of him is sore upon seeing ivy’s normal lifestyle, watching her go to university and knowing that’s been taken from him. or an ache felt when hearing stories from zib and the band and how they used to travel successfully, living as nomads, and rocky is all too reminded of his similar lifestyle and how he couldn’t make it work as effortlessly. people with immense trauma are more prone to irrational anger and jealousy, to viewing everything around them as unfair and believing it’s even more unjust that so many people get to live comfortably while they’ve suffered. a situation that gets more messy when you’re someone like rocky, a man who’s willingly made choices that have harmed himself and wants to continue on with his smiling, bumbling fool of an act. he does not want to be angry, does not want to see it within himself, i think, which leads to an accidental increase of it.

all of this is to reiterate that wick is a scapegoat for rocky and nothing more. it’s why he’s rather hypocritical whenever it concerns the man. for example, it was stated by tracy that he looks down upon wick for his excessive presence at the bar, yet he appears to enjoy hanging out with zib -- who drinks just as often! he makes fun of how all wick ever talks about is rocks, when he himself is prone to poetry rambles that people find irritating or boring, and etc etc. this is also just a human nature thing, to critique someone you heavily dislike and even going as far as to belittle things you love or do in your own day to day because you just hate them that bad! but given rocky’s willingness to befriend anyone, it more so reeks of a dehumanization element. wick is every obstacle in his way, every divine force that threatens to send him packing again, so he is equal parts unnerved by wick’s presence and angry about it. it is mostly a fear response we are seeing, an emotion that’s morphed into long held resentment and anger. so his actions are extremely defensive, with him trying to push wick far away and keep him and mitzi separate, like some sort of animal attempting to ward off a threat that’s come too close to their home. despite the loaded animosity there, this hate has hardly reached its peak … but it shall only grow more intense as things continue onward i’m afraid, since as it stands ( in the comic at least ) rocky is at an all time low … and is ten times more desperate. i’d honestly say wick has become so warped in his mind’s eye that he can only strive towards ‘winning’ over the other man, because that’s all he can see anymore. i think mitzi implying that wick willingly helped her out, the intense head injury, and rocky’s fragile emotional state is exactly what pushes him towards premeditated murder in look-see. i don’t know how people perceive that arc, but to me it’s very clear that rocky actively sought to see the deaths of wes and fish that night. going as far as to lament that he’d be, “very disappointed if ( he ) dreamed them,” and purposefully luring the marigold duo away to have freckle pick them off. while you could argue that this was a smart move, in a gangster sort of sense, there’s still no denying that rocky is oddly chipper about the whole thing and is now seeking death out ; whereas before his methods of vengeance were just, well, ruining people’s livelihood but ultimately leaving them alive. this isn’t to discredit the fact that rocky is going through something! he is in a very muddled and dark place, mentally and physically, but even tracy has said that the head injury hasn’t changed rocky’s personality -- it’s only brought things to the surface.

source : q&a with tracy .

which, yeah! makes sense! head trauma can cause a person to become a wreck emotionally ( think mood swings, irritability, etc ) but it doesn’t completely morph someone either. personality changes may occur, but it’s not like you’re being rewritten entirely, you know? and given tracy’s old statement, it’s clear that ‘personality changes’ aren’t a side effect he’s suffering from. something that adds to my beginning statement, which is that rocky is a deeply angry and troubled person, more so than fans give him any credit for.

however, to touch upon your mini opinion about these two, i actually wholeheartedly agree that rocky and wick could become friends if circumstances were different. they do in fact have many superficial similarities, but one of the more prominent things they deeply share is never really belonging in the groups they frequent. this is more overt with rocky’s character, yet wick faces it too in subtle ways. the well-to-do crowd, seen through the investors, find the gentleman to be lacking in about every place imaginable ; to them he is an obsessive freak who cares too deeply for meager rocks, something they constantly mock him for, while he’s also being noticeably set apart from the rest of them … he seems younger than the investors, more excitable, passionate, and a little less experienced, and doesn’t seem to care for money or reputation as much as them either. there is a constant rubbing between him and them, where what he enjoys is seen as wrong, such as his love for the lackadaisy and his choice in paramor, a grieving widow with extremely dangerous ties. we also know that wick doesn’t have many friends at all, with the only two he has being lacy and church ( church is listed as such on his character profile, in a sort of tongue-in-cheek way ), both of whom work for or with him. they are obliged to hang around, and while they care in varying ways, they are prone to judging him just as much. honestly, it’s not shocking that wick seeks refuge at his chosen speakeasy! but even there he is rather distant from everyone else. he doesn’t speak to zib ever in the comics, nor seems all too close with viktor, ivy, or horatio … it is merely mitzi he is close to, even if he knows of the other people who work there. and, once again, wick very obviously doesn’t fit in. he is not gangster material, could never be an atlas may replacement, much less someone who could get his paws dirty in such an active way. so he has his feet in two different worlds and doesn’t know how to fit into either of them, or which one he actually wants to fit into more. i think in many ways rocky could relate -- these are two very lonely people who wish to belong somewhere and be accepted by some group or another but go about it in all the wrong ways. wick, who is too hesitant to fully commit to what he wants and is worse off for it, and then rocky, who obsessively throws himself against what he wants until he breaks every bone in his body. they also have explosives to bond over, lol, and other miscellaneous things like their taste in women i suppose … but this potential bond adds to the tragedy of lackadaisy, where we see two people who on every level should get along but we’re burdened with the knowledge that it’s an impossibility anyway, because there’s no removing the circumstance of which they’re in.

though i like to believe that despite wick’s fear of rocky, he maintains a kindness towards him regardless. i think his worries about rocky are rather surface level … he doesn’t know the boy at all, really, and thus can’t make heads or tails of him, hence him believing the lie in balderdash. so when i’m feeling particularly self indulgent, i like imagining a world where they’re forced together and sort of ‘stuck’ together ; to which rocky finally breaks and exposes his wounds to wick, in every sense of the word, and wick finally gets him. the aggression, the possessiveness of mitzi … it is all fear and desperation and a profound sadness, things he’d sympathize with. if rocky was able to explain that he loathes wick because if he saves the lackadaisy then mitzi won’t need him anymore and that it’s not fair that wick gets to so easily fix things when rocky would give his soul for his home, for her, and how wick could render every sacrifice he’s already made for naught by smoothing things over with some greenbacks and he can’t lose this, he just can’t --! … which, well, wick is too kind of a man to be able to do anything except feel awful, even though it’s not his fault at all. here we have two people who could coexist! and they should, since rocky logically can’t do every speakeasy job ( band member, rumrunner, mitzi’s shadow, also the guy who gets the money for the hooch ) by himself, just like how wick can’t save the lackadaisy with only his cash and limited booze stash. it’d be a joint cooperation, a collaboration between them, both equally important in the grand scheme of crime’s every turning wheel … but rocky’s rage and fear won’t let him see that, and likely never will. still, in scenarios where everything ends up alright for the lackadaisy and the people involved in it ( which is not how canon will go, by the way ), i fancy wick and rocky getting better within their relationship. rocky will always be prickly and quick to upset around the other man sadly, but perhaps he could see wick in a softer kind of light. or at least understand vaguely enough that he isn’t out to get rocky, so to speak. and then maybe wick learns that pancakes soothe rocky’s ire and poorly makes them anytime he wishes to talk to the man, and other fun things like that! but you should have more confidence in your character analysis skills, because you were spot on ( at least in my eyes ) about them potentially getting along if things were different. it’s certainly a fun aspect to play around with, and is important to note when discussing their relationship so you can fully understand just how warped rocky’s perspective on things are. and how unstable and traumatized he is too, of course </3 sidenote, but i also hope that throughout everything i’ve said here, or anything i’ve said before on my blog, that my love for rocky and my own sympathy for him comes across well enough. while he’s deeply flawed and i have no qualms discussing said flaws in depth, i also don’t think of him as some insane freak who’s evil at his core or anything like that. honestly, i adore analyzing him so much as a character because of how far down his issues go! he’s very well written, i’ll say, as is wick and many of the other characters, but i digress.

once more, thank you for the ask! i’ll end this here because i fear if i don’t i’ll start going in circles, since their relationship is so vast and very important for rocky in a character sense. hopefully i shed some more light on it though! i love these two to bits and pieces and i wouldn’t be half as invested in lackadaisy if their dynamic wasn’t so monumental -- at least to me.

[rudnitskaia]

White Chrysanths for the Swallow

Rocky was waiting for her at the table at the Little Daisy, but this time he was especially eager. Even Ivy had stopped teasing him about the way he lighted up and hummed to himself as he waited for Mau to show up at the door of the café, and just smiled, refilling his coffee whenever it ran out. He almost daydreamed of handing Maura two tickets to tomorrow's musical: of her eyes sparkling, of her taking his hand and telling him he was the best in the world.

But time passed, and Mau wasn't coming.

In those few hours, Rocky had replayed the fantasy in his head hundreds of times, changing the lines and the scenery. At first, imaginary Maura was beaming with happiness, calling him affectionate names, melting in his arms like all those heroines on the stage of a musical theater in the arms of their beloved ones, but every time the fantasy became darker and darker. More disturbing. Mau no longer rejoiced, no longer smiled. Her bright lively figure was becoming more and more dim, and she more often sighed, frowned, did not accept the gift. She asked him to return the tickets, scolded him for wasting his money carelessly, told him some news, one worse than the other, and finally said she didn’t want to see him again. Never again.

It was getting unbearable to sit still, and Rocky abruptly moved away from the table, threw on his coat, and headed for the exit. Maybe a walk would clear his head a little…

“Miss Pepper, I have a very urgent task to attend to. If she shows up on the doorstep, don't let her out of here on any pretext. Lock the doors, board up the windows, show her every fashion magazine you can find, but don't let her leave here until I get back. I'm counting on your wit and exceptional charm.”

The way he looked intently into Ivy's eyes before he left looked almost threatening. He wasn't even aware of the desperation hiding behind that look. But Ivy saw it.

“Don't worry, I'm an expert at this,” she winked at him encouragingly.

The cold air blew across Rocky's face, and he shivered, pulling his scarf over his nose, the same funny skewed scarf Mau had knitted for him last Christmas. Sometimes, like now, Rocky thought he could still smell on it the very same scent of coffee and pastries that wafted from the Venza family's eatery. It didn't help distract him, though. Quite the opposite. After walking a few blocks in an attempt to escape his doubts, he spotted a small flower shop — Rocky's imagination immediately conjured up a lovely picture of Maura cradling a fresh spring bouquet on this cold, cloudy evening and he didn't notice himself stepping over the store’s doorstep. The frail old woman behind the counter put aside the newspaper and immediately chirped, offering him different flowers, and finally convinced him to take a few white chrysanthemums. She tied the flowers with a delicate pink ribbon and also wrapped them tightly in the newspaper she had read before.

“They mustn't be overfrozen. Or they won't last long,” she explained sternly.

Rocky walked back much more briskly. He was warmed by the thought that now he would be able to give Mau not one surprise, but two. Hiding the bouquet from a gust of cold wind, Rocky lowered his gaze to it and pressed the flowers closer to himself… when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the headline of one of the newspaper articles.

“Shootout at the small Italian eatery Casa di Rondine shocked the residents… a bloody showdown in the neighborhood… occurred on the night… police identified the bodies of two…”

Rocky couldn't remember how he reached the familiar alleyway. How he threw the bouquet to the ground, swung over the barrier tape, and rushed to the entrance — a gaping hole instead of a small blue door. Shards of glass littered the floor, the formerly cozy, cramped hall was a real mess, the furniture was riddled with gunshots. Even the old tabletop radio was now on the floor, shattered to pieces.

“Stop right there!” a panting policeman grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. “What the hell are you doing breaking into a crime scene?”

“I… uh…” in his panic Rocky couldn't think straight, but nonetheless he blurted out: “I'm from a newspaper. Wanted to visit the crime scene myself.”

“A lousy reporter you are, then. Your buddies sniffed everything around here a long time ago.”

“I was just hired today and immediately assigned to this very intriguing case. So…”

“There's nothing intriguing about it. This Bianchi guy…”

“Who?”

“The renter, Augusto Bianchi, if that's his real name at all, apparently had a huge debt to pay someone. And for that, he got pinned down. There was a scuffle in the night, at least four assailants. The two guys we found here have a couple priors, but they're not in a condition to tell us who hired them. The amount of such cold cases we have…” the man hummed and passed his hand above his head. “We've already explained it all to your fellow scribblers this morning. And I highly doubt the landlord would want to tell the same story tenth times over to another newspaper weasel. The only thing he's interested in right now is getting money from the insurance company.”

“And the girl?”

“What girl?”

“The waitress. Who worked here. What about her?”

“Considering how much blood there is, they're probably both either in a ditch, scattered in pieces, or feeding fishes somewhere at the bottom of the Mississippi… both father and daughter, if you meant her,” boredly remarked the other officer, who had quietly approached them, lighting a cigarette. “There's nothing for you to do here, boy. Henry's right — there's absolutely nothing of interest in this case. People might have chattered about it in the morning, but the very next day they'll forget all about it. Go home, don't add to our workload. And quit the paper that sent you here. If your editor doesn't realize that news like this must be broken in the heat of the moment, believe me, their business will burn out faster than a short match.”

Rocky tried to get anything else out of them, at least a little bit, to look in the kitchen of the eatery, to slip upstairs to Mau’s and Augusto's apartment, but the policemen were adamant. On unsteady legs he made it to the nearest bench and collapsed on it, staring blankly into the dark November sky. He could have screamed, could have destroyed everything around him on a single painful impulse, but the emptiness that engulfed him was far more frightening.

His silence was more frightening.

Years would pass. Would flow, as before, from night to night. The world won’t notice his loss. The world won't notice any loss at all. In the place of his beloved swallow house, other birds will build a nest. Freckle and Ivy will eventually stop opening that wound with their questions. And one day, perhaps, he will stop gazing into the crowd, hoping to find among the unfamiliar faces the features dear to his heart, and stop flinching when he hears someone say amore mio. He knows how it happens — it was not the first time. All he has to do is smile and everything will work out. It'll wear off, getting back to the way it was. One day.

But the bouquet of chrysanths will still remain rotting on the cold ground.

[wannabemasterofwindintraining]

So like we all know that ninjago pulls inspiration from other Asian cultures not just Japanese culture right?

Well does this apply to only ninjago? (Like the realm not the show)

We don't really see much of the other realms but are they also solely based on asian cultures or are they free to pull from any culture

[not-available-for-comment]

Stuff I’ll add:

There are communities of crafters and artists on YouTube that provide free tutorials and introductory how-tos for their crafts. If you have the dexterity to operate a keyboard (which I realize not everyone does) you probably have enough to learn one of these crafts.

I’m a big proponent of learning to make a thing with your hands, even if it’s just making your own birthday cards with some card stock, rubber stamps, and nice ink pads. Being able to look at a tangible, touchable object and say “that didn’t exist and then I made it and it did” can imho be just as fulfilling as touching grass. Bonus points if you can engage with local and online communities that way too.

I got inspired to try tablet weaving Weave Along With Elewys tutorials online. I joined my local weaver’s guild and someone LENT ME an inkle loom that I’ve been using to work through the projects. A bunch of our winter meetings are hybrid so I don’t even have to figure out how to get across town to the meeting location every month.

And of course if computer-based creativity is how your brain works best, there’s free tutorials on lots of low-cost or free tools for that as well, particularly as Adobe has been steadily alienating its users.

“I’m not creative!” you say, “this is great for other people but it won’t work for me!”

What do you mean you’re not creative? I’m asking this genuinely because I’ve seen that phrase used as shorthand for a lot of things.

If you mean, “I don’t even understand where that kind of creativity comes from, people who can just do that with their brains are like aliens to me.” Fair enough! Is there something that does bring you satisfaction then? Math? Organizing things? Fishing? Think about how you could engage in those things in ways that you find satisfying and not frustrating. If you ever get curious though, I will point out that beginners tutorials pretty much always have you make preset projects where most of the creativity has been done for you, because they’re about teaching you techniques. So that could be an interesting way to try something out if you find yourself envious of others’ projects or abilities.

If you mean, “I’ve tried some crafty or artsy stuff before and I fucked it up and it was ruined/looked stupid. I’m just too dumb to be creative.” My dear one. I want to give you a hug. And possibly punch one of your parents/teachers. We all fuck up our art, particularly when we’re learning. I have a fucked up weaving project hanging out in my living room right this second. My weaving guild has a listserv where members can ask for help with mistakes and other issues. If the possibility of failure is too upsetting to let creativity be fun, I understand and I’m sorry it worked out that way. If there’s ever a time when you think you want to be brave and try it, just know that there are people out there who are kind and can help. In the meantime, maybe look at some of the suggestions under point 2 above and see if any of them sound like more fun?

If you mean, “I don’t ever deviate from patterns or come up with original projects, I just copy stuff from Pinterest/make prepackaged projects with no extra flourishes” I am going to PERSONALLY come to your house and make faces at you. So you only do cross stitch from pre-packaged kits! You only paint by numbers! DO YOU ENJOY IT? DOES IT MAKE YOU HAPPY? Then it FUCKING COUNTS! Turn off the outrage/fear machine, treat yourself to that unpainted miniature, and DO IT! I can make some PRETTY SCARY FACES so this is in your best interest!

If you mean, “I’m creative in ways that don’t tend to come up in these conversations, like writing, DM-ing, makeup/hair/cosmetology, or performing arts,” then get on with your bad self! You probably already know more about the networking outlets available to you than I do, but think about how you can leverage your time on the internet into a community rather than a loose affiliation of rivals. My DM put together a campaign from an open call on Reddit (I’m the only person they knew beforehand and I’m pinch-hitting for someone who had to drop last minute) and the group already has incredible chemistry and we’re all SO EXCITED for our first session. You don’t have to be restricted to people you know irl!

Creativity! The other “touch grass”! Try it today! (Or don’t, I’m not your mom.)

I feel the whole "touch grass" sentiment seldom really comes with any practical advice as to how to disengage with Internet discourse and to stop falling into the pit of doing Internet controversy so that social media companies can sell advertising at our petty gladiatorial battles. I cannot emphasize enough though how much logging off and interacting face-to-face with individuals in my community improves my mental well-being and is more useful praxis than having a virtual slap fight with some stranger whose life is far removed from mine. At the same time, I also recognize that not everyone has safe/receptive communities, grass to touch, and the ability to get out.

What I can say though is that there is still an abundance of virtual grass to touch, even if it isn't tailored to give you the same dopamine rush as fighting with WrongBad People online. We can still do things that are meaningful, that are locally-oriented, and/or that are generally good for us. If we can engage in the labor necessary to do shitty discourse (typing, composing, contemplating), we can probably work through our thoughts in a journal or a private blog. We can possibly YouTube/Zoom your way through City Council Meetings. We can learn to build old school websites. We can find volunteer opportunities (Transcribe museum texts! Donate Gutenberg books! Watch/catalog cute animals!). We can surf the archaic web and enjoy all manner of cool and enriching public domain media.

We can still use the Internet in ways that make us better.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

cherik hallmark movie au send tweet

reading this roused a visceral reaction within me im so sorry if you had something wholesome in mind

[cringefaecompilation]

mfw orym, guy with a missing dad who fucking despises him to the point he refuses to remember his first name and notably cares deeply or is overprotective for the vast swath of his surviving all-female family members starts talking about how "important the relationships between fathers and sons" are

[skitskatdacat63]

2009 Japanese Grand Prix - Sebastian Vettel

[smalltimidbean]

Ight now let's try...

Kangaroo dnas!

Something else got mixed in with this guy, bc tail got too long!!!

He still can go boing boing boing tho!!!

[pjlotrhhjeml]

They kiss, while yapping about the things they like.

[not-available-for-comment]

I don’t like the gender binary because every time someone tries to define the specifics of it, I get defined out of being a woman with a quickness. Even when that’s not what they’re going for. Even if the first thing or two they say is true.

I’m a woman not because I’ve managed to capture the essence of womanhood in some clear-cut way but because I say I am. Trans women are women because they say they are. No matter what gender you are, there’s a good chance SOMEONE out there is going to try to define it in a way that purposely or accidentally excludes you. Fuck them. (Don’t.)

Gonna be real happy when this she/theys vs. he/theys meme dies down. The gender binary doesn’t get cuter and less threatening just because you tacked some extra pronouns on it.

[Note that I am a cis woman and terfs can diaf.]

[sysig]

*chanting* Second pet, second pet, second pet! (Patreon)

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

Times of war bring people together, for better and for worse.

How does Mori get along with the others companions? Does she have any close friends among them, other than her romantic partner(s)? Or perhaps even some frenemies?

Bonus question: Does she have any notable relationships among the non-companion characters?

Gonna do this one before Traveling For the Holidays eats me alive, so: YES! YES BIG TIME!

The most notable one - and the one that happened the most rapidly - is Emmrich. When Mori found out that there was going to be another Watcher around, she was....a little worried? Not REALLY worried, but like...she'd been away from home for a WHILE at that point. She had adapted, and she thought that it was a good thing, but having someone ELSE see it - someone from home, who knew about her history and about how she was SUPPOSED to be behaving - felt like an intrusion? Like she was going to upset or disappoint someone? So the idea of mashing her two worlds together was a liiiiiitle concerning for her.

Then she actually met Emmrich, and not only was he an incredibly respected and storied professor who commanded much of her respect, he was just so nice. He, like her, derived so much joy from his position. He didn't just respect the dead - he LOVED them, with the same exuberant care that Mori had always felt. And he was so kind and so open and so meaningfully curious that she IMMEDIATELY felt a kinship with him. It wasn't even just a academic relationship either; he felt like a real friend, like someone who really Got It, and she found herself seeking him out more and more as homesickness really started to set in. They trade books sometimes. :>

AND THEN, ON THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM LMAO. Despite their vast differences, Davrin actually made Mori feel like a comrade-in-arms from the very beginning. I mean, don't get me wrong, it started with some very obvious posturing - the Mourn Watch aren't exactly known for raising WARRIORS - but once he realized that she could hold her own, and that she had the same amount of grit standing up to darkspawn as she did to demons and undead, he was quick to recant his original assessment of her. Nowadays they spend no small amount of time training together like career soldiers (since that's what they both are) and giving each other as much shit as humanly possible. Mori likes to think that she helped to blunt some of his edges when it came to Assan, and Davrin boasts that he helped to temper Mori's latent ferocity into something REALLY deadly.

Taash thinks they're both full of shit, but that doesn't stop them from crowding in during a "Watcher vs Warden" training sesh.

[stressed-wizard]

.

[lemongogo]

i need 2 get back into painting fish