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Urban Renewal: How Simple Acts and Third Spaces can Reconnect Our Communities
Hi everyone! It's been a while, but I'm back with a new post to launch the Urban Renewal series. As we navigate this post-pandemic world, I've been pondering the idea of connection, particularly in our urban spaces. For the first installment of the series, I had the pleasure of chatting with fellow Vancouverite, Peg Fong, a journalist, author, and educator who launched a podcast and book during the pandemic titled, Alone Together, to explore the topic of loneliness in cities.
In our conversation, Peg shared her insights on how we can rebuild a sense of community.
The Simple Act of Walking
During the pandemic when we were mostly confined to our homes, the ability to stroll through the neighborhood and see other people was often our main source of face-to-face interaction.
"I live in Yaletown, a very walkable area of Vancouver, which was something I took for granted," Peg shared. “But during the pandemic it became so important to have these public spaces where we could walk and see other people around, even if we couldn't be together.”
Public spaces like parks and sidewalks became lifelines for connecting with others, reminding us that we weren't truly alone. However when the pandemic was over, many continued to stay home, preferring teleworking and shopping online to being out and about in their communities.
“I grew up in the Prairies and we always had community areas where people gathered, like after church or on the weekends, whether it was a local community center or hockey rink. I think we've lost some of that.”
With more people working from home and having food and goods delivered, we don’t have spontaneous interactions typically experienced when going to the office or the store. To make up for those lost connections, walking and spending time in public spaces becomes even more important to building community.
Activating Public Spaces
It’s not just about having more public spaces – it's about activating them. Imagine a public square with giant chess boards, live music, or pop-up markets. These kinds of events draw people in and create opportunities for spontaneous connection that might not happen otherwise.
You can build a great public space, but if there is no programming, people won’t come. North Vancouver’s Shipyards is a world-class example of how to design and activate a public space - with a massive waterpark (which transforms into a skating rink in the winter), a gorgeous view of the waterfront, shielded from the sun or rain by a vaulted ceiling; surrounded by Adirondak chairs; giant toys and games; an ice cream shop; restaurants; breweries; a stage playing live music; regularly programmed events including movies, night markets, and yoga classes; art galleries; a public market; hotels; shops; public transit; and a seawall - all within 100 metres.
In comparison, when I visited Vancouver’s central public space - Robson Square - during the pandemic, there was nothing going on except one tent trying to illegally sell marijuana baked goods. You can guess where most people would rather spend their time.
Third Spaces: More Than Just Coffee Shops
While discussing the benefits of walking and enjoying public spaces, Peg and I got on the topic of "third spaces." These are places that aren't homes or workplaces, but rather community hubs where we can gather, relax, and connect with others. Think of your local coffee shop, library, or even a dog park. These spaces are essential for fostering those spontaneous interactions with our neighbours that we may have lost during the pandemic.
Urban planning best practices suggest that every home should be within a 5-10 minute walk to a park, but we don’t talk about the importance of being able to easily walk to a coffee shop or corner store.
“I grew up in an apartment above a grocery store in Calgary. We had people buying groceries there, but also people sitting on the deck or stairs eating popsicles and enjoying drinks. It became a gathering spot in my neighborhood, but I never thought about how important it was to have those places until the pandemic shut so many things down.”
Many cities are recognizing how zoning bylaws limit the ability to build these third spaces in residential areas. This includes Vancouver, which has streamlined the permitting process, offering micro-business licenses and creating flexible zoning regulations to allow for more mixed-use developments that include housing and ground-level shops or cafés.
Safe Streets and Small Interventions
When people can safely use streets for active transportation like walking and biking around their neighborhood, they are more likely to get out of their homes and cars to interact with their neighbors, support local businesses, and socialize outdoors. Sometimes, the simplest interventions to make our streets safe, like crosswalks, four-way stops, bollards, and lighting, can have the biggest impact.
Peg shared a story about her relatives visiting from Bogota, Colombia, who were amazed to be able to walk safely under Vancouver’s overpasses. It's a reminder that even small details like well-lit walkways and wide sidewalks give people a sense of security while walking.
We also spoke about how small, low-cost interventions like adding more benches in our public spaces can build community. “One of my favorite episodes of the Alone Together podcast was about benches. They are special because they’re not just a place to sit, they’re spots available to anyone - that availability turns benches into opportunities for connections.”
“Benches are bridges between those eager to chat, and those wanting to just listen," said Peg. "When we sit on a bench, we’re indicating we’re part of a world that maybe we feel too lonely or afraid to fully participate in. Benches give us an opportunity to be engaged in our surroundings, whether it's observing from the side or opening up a chance for conversation.”
What Can We Do?
So, what can we do to rebuild our connections in a post-pandemic city? Here are a few ideas:
Support local businesses: Visit that new coffee shop, browse the farmers market, or check out a local art show. These activities help keep our communities vibrant and provide spaces for us to gather.
Get involved: Go to those local events in your community, or even volunteer to help organize one. Lobby your local government for safer streets and better public spaces. You might be surprised at how quickly you can connect with others who share your interests.
Start small: Organize a neighborhood gathering, strike up a conversation with someone on the bus, or simply offer a friendly smile to a passerby. "Even if that means, you know, checking in on our neighbors, asking if someone is doing ok." These small acts of kindness can go a long way in building a sense of community.
We all have a role to play in creating the kind of city we want to live in. According to Peg, "we have a responsibility to reach out to other people to make our communities a place where everyone feels connected."
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Wei Wuxian and Narrative Agency – Part Three
For Xiantober Day Five: Past and Present, in which the author gets very unhinged about what parts of the past are shown and how that’s affected by the present!
(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)
The Power of Agency: Shaping the Narrative
When I've discussed Wei Wuxian's agency previously, I’ve talked about how what’s shown and omitted tells us about a character, and we’ve talked about the character himself. Though this is a niche topic, it’s not necessarily something out of the ordinary to analyse, and we can assume everything up to here has been in some way intentional.
This? Linking structure to a character’s in-universe preferences?
This is where we get unhinged.
Before I start, let’s quickly establish something which will be important later: although Wei Wuxian is the central character, MDZS isn’t strictly from his POV. While omitting events a character doesn’t like to dwell on and concealing things the character wishes to hide is common in books with only one narrator, MDZS has multiple narrators which it switches between relatively quickly. This includes Wei Wuxian, but it also includes nearly every major character that appears in the story, and omniscient narrator as well. As a default, this format doesn’t lead to this deliberate shaping and omission because of one character’s preferences, since we have many other sources of information and events – which is what makes Wei Wuxian’s influence over the narrative and structure so interesting. We could have access to a lot more information, and access to it at different times, than we do (and that’s not an insult, quite the opposite!).
To begin: we’ve established that times such as Wei Wuxian’s time on the streets, his three months in the Burial Mounds and his loss in the Siege aren’t shown because Wei Wuxian has little agency there. But that’s not the only special thing about them. They’re also the three most traumatic times in his life, and so moments Wei Wuxian himself either can’t remember, or doesn’t like to dwell on.
This is why discussing Wei Wuxian’s treatment of tragedy in his life was important. Firstly, it shows he doesn’t focus on the tragedy in his life, so the idea that the narrative not focusing on this tragedy relates to his character has merit; secondly, it affirms that this is not a passive trait, but a choice. Therefore, when the narrative omits events due to this aspect of Wei Wuxian, it’s respecting not only a character detail – which would be cool by itself – but also an active decision. One that shapes the story it’s made in.
In other words, its very structure is respecting Wei Wuxian’s agency!
Now, of course there are flashbacks to other moments of his past he probably wouldn’t like to dwell on, too. But within the structure, they’re only shown when Wei Wuxian is thinking about them (or when he has reason to)!
Wei WuXian hadn’t woken up yet. His eyes were still tightly shut, yet his hand didn’t let go either. He seemed to be dreaming, muttering, “… Don’t… Don’t be angry…” Lan WangJi seemed somewhat surprised. His voice was gentle, “I am not angry.” Wei WuXian, “… Oh.” Hearing this, as though he finally felt assured, his fingers loosened. Lan WangJi sat beside Wei WuXian for a while. Seeing that he was motionless again, he was about to stand up when Wei WuXian grabbed him with his other hand, hugging his arm and refusing to let go. He shouted, “I’ll go with you, quick, take me back to your sect!” Chapter 63, EXR translation
Which, of course, is him dwelling on…
Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Go back to Gusu with me.” Hearing this, both Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng were surprised. Quickly afterward, Wei WuXian laughed, “Go back to Gusu with you? To the Cloud Recesses? Why go there?” He immediately seemed to realize, “Oh. I forgot. Your uncle Lan QiRen hates crooked people like me. You’re his proudest disciple, so of course you’re the same as him, haha. I refuse.” Chapter 62, EXR translation
…the painful flashback immediately preceding this. The third set of flashbacks (which are also painful) are a similar case. Look at the contex:
He lifted the bottom of his robe, revealing a prosthetic leg made of wood, “This leg of mine was destroyed by you, that night in the Nightless City (…)” (…) “Wei WuXian, I won’t ask you if you remember or not. Both of my parents died by your hands. You owe too many people. You definitely won’t remember them either. But, I, Fang MengChen, will never forget! And never forgive you!” (…) “In the fight at Qiongqi Path, my son was strangled to death by your dog Wen Ning!” “My shixiong died by poison, his entire body festering due to your cruel curse!” Chapter 68 (immediately preceding the flashbacks), EXR translation
And Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts and words:
Wei WuXian looked at the cultivators before the Demon-Slaughtering Cave. Their expressions were the absolute same as those of the cultivators from the night of the pledge conference, pouring their wine on the ground as they took the pledge to scatter the ashes of the Wen Sect’s remnants and him.�� (…) Wei WuXian, “Now it’s time to ask just whom it is that treasures it so much. It’s like Wen Ning. Back then, some certain sects or so were scared to death of the Ghost General. They said they’d kill him on the surface, but behind their backs they hid him for over ten years. How strange. Who was the one that said his ashes had been scattered back then?” Chapter 79 (immediately succeeding the flashbacks), EXR translation
Once again, Wei Wuxian’s own thoughts relate to the flashbacks we’ve just been shown. And, as I previously mentioned, though all the events which are shown are tragic, they’re also events which Wei Wuxian’s own choices and actions shaped – which he has this to say about:
“The things I did, not only do you remember them, I remember them too. You won’t forget them, and they’ll stay even longer in my mind!” Chapter 82, EXR
Admittedly, this applies more to the third set of flashbacks than the second (which is still fitting as the third set was the most recent), as in the second, although he still had agency within and influence over his circumstances, the majority of the pain was caused by others’ actions (excluding, of course, the Golden Core transfer… which is something we know stays for a long time in his mind, albeit with a caveat we’ll soon discuss). But it’s still important to note – especially considering that otherwise, focusing on this very painful time in his life wouldn’t seem like something very in-character for Wei Wuxian to do.
Of course, this can all just be explained by good writing. It is best to insert flashbacks when they’re relevant to the characters and events in the present day! But it is interesting to compare these to the start of the (not painful) Gusu flashbacks, which open this way:
At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months. Chapter 13, EXR
Again, considering the circumstances around which these flashbacks take place – returning to the Cloud Recesses for the first time since the lectures, and meeting Lan Wangji once more – it makes complete sense for Wei Wuxian to be thinking about these events*. So it does fit the pattern of Wei Wuxian dwelling on something, thus leading to the narrative dwelling on it, too (and being shaped by his thoughts)… but there’s another layer to this. Importantly, it is the only flashback where Wei Wuxian’s present thoughts don’t lead to this happening, with his thoughts at an unspecified future time leading to it, instead. I like to interpret this as the text saying that, since these events aren’t something Wei Wuxian wouldn’t focus on in normal circumstances, he can dwell on them at any time. Therefore, they’re free to come up in the narrative at any time as well, even if he’s not dwelling on them in the present moment!
So, to summarise: Wei Wuxian’s decision not to focus on the painful times in his life directly influences the narrative to not focus on these times. When painful times are brought up and shown to us, it’s in the context of him thinking about them in the present day, and even then, his most painful moments still aren’t shown to us. His agency in this regard is still respected by the narrative structure.
This is the main way his agency influences the structure of the narrative, but I’d like to talk about the revealing and concealing of information, too. For example, I said I’d talk about the Golden Core transfer – though Wei Wuxian does think about this many times, as evidenced by his internal narration in Chapter 103. But unlike everything we’re shown through the flashbacks, this is something Wei Wuxian is actively trying to hide from others. And the narrative respects this choice (Wei Wuxian’s agency, again), never reveals it even when it would be relevant in the flashbacks, and we find out not through narration, but through a character’s dialogue!
And to clarify – I know these aspects may not be in the book for this exact reason. Showing flashbacks in relevant moments is good writing, concealing an important plot point you want to do a reveal for is necessary writing, and MXTX has said she didn’t want to write about Wei Wuxian’s time in the Burial Mounds, due to not liking to write transformation sequences (and also because it would not be pleasant at all, which likely also applies to Wei Wuxian’s death). That doesn’t prevent it from also being intentional – MXTX’s intelligence is shown in many aspects of this book, and there’s nothing disproving it – but there’s no proof for either option, so I won’t pretend there is. I bring this up because I know this feels like I’m overanalysing, as I feel that way as well.
But, whether it’s intentional or not, it exists in the text, and I adore it – so, regardless, it’s something I’ll explore. Because taking this into account… We aren't just told about Wei Wuxian having agency, we aren’t just shown it in the text, we aren’t even just shown it through which parts of his past are shown and hidden in the structure of the text (as I talked about in Part One). The parts of the past that are shown and hidden also have an in-universe reason for being shown and hidden, this reason being the choices he makes! Agency is the ability of a character to influence the story they’re in, but Wei Wuxian’s agency, as a property of a character who only exists in-universe, shapes the out-of-universe structure as well! That’s how we’re shown its importance! How cool is that?
At The End Of The Road: Summary and Final Thoughts
In this essay, we’ve covered how important Wei Wuxian’s agency is not only to the events of the plot, but to the structure of the narrative as well. The narrative omits periods in which Wei Wuxian has little or no agency, in favour of showing us periods in which he does, even when important events happened in the former. This indicates that who Wei Wuxian is without agency isn’t important enough to be shown to the audience, and therefore that his agency is an integral aspect of his character in MDZS. We’ve discussed how both in-universe and out-of-universe, tragedy does not define him – out-of-universe, the tragic events in Wei Wuxian’s life are used not to build sympathy but rather to show his strength of character and who he still is despite going through them; and in-universe, he chooses not to focus on the negativity and resentment caused by his circumstances or others’ actions, instead staying true to his moral compass and enjoying his life in the present day. Finally, we’ve also explored how this choice is another reason for the omission of certain events from the narrative, resulting in his agency shaping the story in a very literal way – it affects the out-of-universe structure, as well.
It’s quite fitting, for a story whose essence is about defying a conventional narrative – that of righteous clans rising up and defeating a great evil – and about a character who defies many conventional narratives on his own – that of status defining how skilled you could be, that for a golden core being necessary for cultivation and other paths being unavailable, that of a tragic but complete story of someone killed for staying true to their moral code (instead, that character returns to life and has a happy ending) – to have its own narrative play a role in such an important and interesting way.
(Or, if an image would be preferable:)
Thank you for reading!
(Part One | Part Two | Full version on AO3)
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*This strong relation to the present day circumstances is another reason I love the flashback placement so much (and why I think it’s such a loss both screen adaptions altered it so strongly)!
#get ready for tag thoughts because there are a LOT of them#it’s for THIS reason that fanon wwx bothers me so much (didn’t want to get negative on the acual post)#bc so often all the changes are changes that woobify him!#self-sacrificial idiot wwx?? only doing things because… poor him he has so many internal issues and values himself so little-#-so of course he’d sacrifice everything before thinking of another option? woobifying#(whenever he sacrifices something it’s a deliberate choice to act on his morals because he values his morals so much – and he’s also very-#-capable and DOES often find ways for no people to get hurt!)#wasn’t aware that what happened to him at lotus pier was wrong and needs lwj to tell him that for him to have any idea if it?#woobifying (as we see in the lotus seed pod extra he KNOWS it’s unfair)#(he downplays it retroactively in his memory (links into not focusing on the bad things in his life))#(but that’s the actions themselves that are being downplayed not their fairness!)#he chooses to act! he is defined by acting! not tragedy – all the more impressive in the face of the amount of tragedy that’s happened#he could SO EASILY have been a woobie but instead he’s the opposite of one: defined BY his agency instead of the absence of it#that doesn’t mean he’s not impacted by tragedy or trauma – he is! but it’s not the most important aspect of his character (bc he doesn’t le#it’s also something that bothers me about the changes cql made#by making qq path and nightless city the fault of someone else it means he IS someone who’s more a victim of circumstance than anything els#he had no control over the tragedies of his first life at all#apart from ig his death being controlled by him? because he just leaps off the cliff during the nightless city siege?? but in THAT case it’#i watched that part recently (i’m getting through it very slowly) and yeah it reaffirmed my love for this aspect of the book even more#despite. having these exact thoughts for two years already#he also dwells on the past events a lot more than book wwx which adds to that version of him BEING defined more by tragedy rather than who#anyway over 7.3k words total (and 400 more in the tags apparently)... it'll be posted to ao3 in its completion this evening!#mdzs meta#my meta#wei wuxian#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#魔道祖师#grandmaster of demonic cultivation#gdc
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Clark telling B that Black Mercy used to show his deepest desires as a wife and kids but now it just shows Bruce. What was up with that. I think we as a collective seem to have not dwelt on that long enough.
#like#I was catching up on justice league 2018#and btw great black mercy story I think it's one of my favourite recent takes on it#but like? sunset? confession?#just the whole idea of Bruce needing just a life (not even a good life#just a life) and that requiring him to leave the league and take care of tbe villains in his city#but Clark's perfect life is them together as heroes#not for glory#just existing#idk if I already said it was issue 50 I believe#somewhere around there#dc comics#batman#superman#bruce wayne#clark kent#Superbat
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Are there water nymphs in the monster world? Would they be both genders or primarily female? Since I know Ollie who is an orc and Abby, who is like a cyclops with one eye, is from mythology and other monsters as well, so I was just wondering since I’ve been getting into mythology for art class more :) I’ve been interested in nymphs now, like how their are different nymphs such as water. I just feel like water nymphs would be more common among other elements nymphs since the sewers, fountains or where Oscar came from :)
i mean sure why not lmfao i could def see water nymphs possibly becoming 'pests' to the cities by living mostly in sewers like the alley fairies but that could be bc the city was probably built over their habitat and the sewers are they only places they have left in some areas 🤔 but maybe there's more different types of nymphs that thrive better in huge rainforests untouched by civilization ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
as for the gender i feel like maybe they're more acquainted with fish genes like the whole deal with seahorses or how some fish change gender throughout their life ect. ALL those possibilities so maybe they are primarily female presenting but have some intricate system of reproduction and that of the like IDK the possibilities are endless
#i know surface level mythology so ion know all the specific stuff but i have a v a g u e idea of nymphs#maybe not nymphs but sirens i could Definitely see having a city wide issue of sirens luring ppl into sewers to eat them hmmm#for Revenge
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Seeing mouse man for first time i thought for a sec that you un-rabbitfied William tbh xD
Everyone un-rabbit that man
yeah!!!!!! un-rabbit that man!!!!
oh but that is so cool actually. i've seen artists drawing their favs differently every time until they're completely apart from the original character. they are so sexy for that tho
#my bsf said Hunter (my oc) looked like a version of springtrap and uh.#in a WAY. oh wait#IN MANY WAYS- he ressembles William Afton#not in personality though. (i think)#Hunter is a smart motherfucker but he is also a huge dumbass.#he's 99% robot boy. the other 1% is his human brain. (canon)#oh and i guess u could say uhhh that he died BJKAHJSHDKKWEL#[[[[[[ALMOST DIED]]]]] he was poisoned and to save his own life he became robot boy................#oh but he did not kill kiddies. no no#he just kinda helped the government of his city on creating a series of high-tech androids to be sent to war.............#BUT THAT'S OKAY one of the androids he helped create is against the war and now she's part of his team.#(she has no idea what he's done but lets pretend i didnt say that) oh and said android is the only war survivor#(and yes Hunter is definitely feeling guilty about not telling her the truth okay. and yes he already has issues going on)#(one issue is that Hunter's machine parts are programmed to annihilate androids when his human self isn't consciousS AND I SHOULD STOP NOWW#SORRY FOR RAMBLING UIFGWEUIHJDKFGKERHJSDGH#starbstalks#inbox
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darkly funny to me that lloyd “father issues” garmadon is the one who introduced jay to starfarer
#text✨#ninjago#having fic ideas….#i am a comic collector (bad hobby to pick up but very fun and intoxicating). have a story idea of jay and lloyd working together to#collect all of the OG starfarer run and they never fully do (are Children) (older comics are expensive) (starfarer as fictional x-men and#the OG run starting with the equivalent of giant-size x-men no.1 that is STUPID expensive and one of the most valuable comics ever)#and then years later after they’ve both had to grow up more. years later during like. the year long gap or smthn they jokingly start doing#it again. half their original collection is lost or damaged from various times they had to move or the bounty was destroyed but they have#a good start. lloyd’s finding other comic shops in ninjago city while jay finds them occasionally out in the smaller cities#and they find The issue. the big one. when jay remembers that itty little tidbit about the other person in his life that cared about starfar#yeah that’s right obligatory reveal angst baby. i am nothing if not consistent >:]
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i really don't have any hated kotlc characters- i recognise they have flaws and issues and i like a majority of them. even the ones i don't like, I'm just neutral about it.
alden though? alden vacker? that guy can go fuck himself. i have my reasons but i also just hate the guy lol
#like fitz has his issues but i like him#biana too#and i think della ls alright- she's just a bit ignorant i think from her privilege as a vacker#i like forkle fintan oralie bronte keefe#i like/am neutral with literally every character#but i DESPISE mr 'i-thought-it-was-a-good-idea-to-send-my-6-year-old-son-to-a-place-that-i-believe-is-dangerous'#'no reason to worry'- what if you jumped off a cliff#kotlc#keeper of the lost cities#alden vacker#incoherent thoughts''
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It's always interesting to hear about people's weird/unexpected "alternate life paths". Like, something that you could have done with your life, a job you almost took, a school you almost went to, etc - that was still actually realistic enough that it could have happened, but NOW it seems to not suit your current personality.
Like for example, I currently hate advertising (how manipulative it is, brands trying to be 'relatable', social media amplifying it to an obnoxious extreme, etc.) so much that even seeing a little ad before a youtube video is grating to even witness, but there was a point in time where I was genuinely seriously considering going into marketing/making commercials as a career lol. Or like, I have a relative who was very inclined to be a pastor when they were younger, even though today they're a super strong atheist, etc. etc.
#BECAUSE I knew I really liked filming and editing things and doing set design and costume design (from having done little bits of that#here and there in media classes and my own stuff - i used to be a lot more into making videos than I am now). BUT I was always thinking#that a movie is WAAY to big and long. even a short film. So I was trying to think of ways I could still like#have the fun of scouting locations to film and dressing up actors and etc. etc. without it having to be a Huge Million Dollar Production#on tv show or movie level. SO then I was thinking about like... just doing commercials. Or music videos. Like shorter things where I still#get the fun of the filming and everything but it's less of an intensive long term project.#So there is an alternate version of me (I suppose if i somehow did not end up having physical and mental health issues#as badly somehow.. or like.. randomly came into wealth and was able to pay my way through a nice college despite missing#days constantly being out because I'm sick or something lol) that works in some corporate advertising office coming up with commercials#and directing or filming them or doing the sets for them or something in that general vicinity.#I also was considering being a corporate psychologist. or whatever its called.. oh from google:#''Industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologists study and assess individual group and organization dynamics in the workplace''#I don't think I even knew what the job entailed. I was at the time just thinking like.. the type of person that comes into a business offic#and gives everyone personality assessments or does MBTI or big-5 testing crap for whatever reason that some businesses get that#done for people. Really i just wanted to be in a Corporate Big Office setting yet still do psychology. Because I used to be really fixated#on living in a big city. Like the ideas of everything being walkable. picking up a coffee in the morning. walking to my job in a Big#Skyscraper Building. people watching in a huge hotel lobby for lunch. flying frequently (I love airplanes and airports aesthetically).#living in an apartment with a giant window overlooking the city. etc. etc. BUT that was before i had really BEEN to a city. Then I actually#hung around a city a few times and went places and I was like... AUGh... The Sensory Overwhelm.. cars people lights loudness noise scary#everything happening all at once. etc. etc. (though even when I wanted to live in a city i NEVER strove for the Night Life. when i say I#enjoy city imagery I mean like... in the day time. Many people who like cities talk about The Night Life and post pictures of cities all#lit up at night and clubs and dancing and restaurants. none of that EVER appealed to me. perhaps a sign I am not a real city person. Like#I am NOT standing in a crowded bar full of loud people in the middle of the night lol.. get AWAY from me!!) but I do adore the#architecture of like bright white clean sterile modern spaces like huge airport lobbies or malls or etc. I think thats what reminded me of#city and what I liked about the idea of that life. Like I always LOVED the layout of schools and hospitals and trainstations and public#transport in general. Though even then I knew enough that I would not be a good architect/city planner. so I guess my adoration for those#spaces was merely to be channeled into LIVING there. but then I realized I didn't even really want to do that that much. I mean I still#definitely aim to live NEAR a city. like the little areas outside of it. I would never live in a rural place 4 hours from anything. I liter#ally just COULDNT since I need close access to hospitals sometimes lol. But I used to want to live in the CENTER of citites like high rise#condo. and now I'm like.... eh....... perhaps a smaller quieter walkable space nearby lol.. ANYWAY.. alternate me in my Business Suit eheh
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consider the following: sokeefitz fic where they’re all single and keefe’s like. ‘heyyyyy can i flirt with you guys in front of my dad or make vaguely flirty comments about you guys in front of my dad purely to piss him off? not necessarily pretending to date each other or anything, just being ambiguous enough to make him mad. for the bit’. and then sophie and fitz agree to it after a bit of discussion about boundaries.
cue a decent period of time where keefe’s just a flirty menace. followed by a period of time where fitz and sophie start flirting back respectively and quickly figure out that keefe absolutely cannot handle a taste of his own medicine, so fitz and sophie start flirting with him back respectively out of spite and amusement.
and then all of them coming to their own realizations of ‘oh. oh shit. this isn’t a joke anymore-’ but being waaaaaay too stubborn to admit it to each other. so they’re all finding excuses to be throuple-y, but refuse to confess. even as the excuses become less and less logical. like, going from ‘hey, keefe, what if i call you ‘love’ in front of cassius to floor him?’ to ‘do you guys wanna come over and build a pillow fort and bake and figure out how to watch a movie on an ipod? i swear it’s just to make the flirting more natural in front of cassius-’
#the longer the slowburn the better#kotlc#keeper of the lost cities#kotlc fic idea#sokeefitz#sophie foster#fitz vacker#keefe sencen#kinda fake dating but just like. PURELY for the bit#at first#me? projecting a little? hahahahaha idk what you're talking about-#we have the fics where keefe's the only one who realizes what's going on and he just waits for his interest(s) to catch up#but what about the fics where keefe's like IT'S A JOKE I SWEAR IT'S JUST A JOKE THERE'S NOTHING GOING ON HERE THAT IS GOING TO FUEL MY#ABANDONMENT ISSUES IF IT GOES WRONG THERE IS NO PINING I AM SAFE I AM FINE THERE IS NOTHING ROMANTIC HERE AT ALL I PROMISE#while he's pining the hardest he will ever pine in his whole nearly immortal lifetime
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#hello to anyone who happens to b interested in the saga of my life... also maybe the irl person i gave my url to... hopefully my blog#didnt freak her out too much lol. anyway so its been a busy week? 2 weeks? month? year? life? its been a lot. my parents helped me move#across the country from the desert to somewhere that's beautiful and green. my dad is so jealous of me lol its so so so pretty and theres s#so much to do. will i do any of it? that remains to be seen but im gonna try to be better about that sort of thing. try to get some help#with the thoughts in my head that keep me from doing and enjoying most things. its weird like im decorating my new room which i love. the#location and living situation seem ideal and i really hope i can stay here all 5 years of my program but i was picking a lot of bright#colors and now it feel uncomfortable. like if i wear things that r too bright or my room is too bright without dark contrast it feel weird#like if im wearing it it kinda makes me feel sick. idk what thats abt. anyway. ill try to heal my brain and im just so happy to b out of the#southwest. i was so so so excited when we were leaving thr city and even more so when we left the state. i cant believe im here. in December#it felt like a million years away and i really truely could not fathom how i was gonna survive that long. my thoughts were so distorted. but#i did and here i am. and in like a month i should b starting my phd program and my parents were telling me how excited ppl r for me and#jealous of where im living and im glad. im glad they're excited. i think i am too but its under a layer of: if i get excited it wont happen#im not allowed to b excited or it wont happen. which is irrational but ya kno. anyway so that's yeah. im so happy to have a fresh start and#the town seems super cool. a liberal blip in a sea of... not that so theyre very visibly pride forward haha and i think itll b way easier#for me to get around without driving. and im gonna try to make friends. i need someone to tell me where to get tattoos haha. so yea im happy#but exhausted and i dont wanna go back to work and so so greatful to my parents for being wonderful ppl idk how bc both of them had fucked#up childhoods. like my mum will say the saddest shit and im like bro this is y i don't wanna talk to my grandma fuck her and my dads parents#r so fucked. like my nana is the reason im so fucking control freaked out but i kno i have issues and she has no insight and thinks shes#better than everyone. anyway hopefully i can get back to drawing a posting more now. ive been drawing it its been in a sketch book#like an actual sketch book for sketching big ideas thst r gonna take fucking forever to draw 😭#so that's all. just uprooted my whole life. thats all. but in a good way :-]#unrelated
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i'm so normal about all the things swimming around in my head right now, i'm chewing on the walls
#born to christen the new sketchbook with cool things#forced to write out backstory#I love DnD I love playing it I love my characters I love character building in a vacuum#BUT#as soon as I have a group and need to be ready in a week I die#inner critic at volume 100 every idea I ever had is bad actually and I keep getting lost in details#'divination wizard that studies divination to figure out how to evade a prophecy' sounds so fun on paper#especially with the added flavor of 'they're from a cult devoted to the god of divination and left them behind for this'#but like#to fill that out#aughhh#is the person that would be harmed in the prophecy a sibling or friend?#are they part of the cult or not?#who are the people in the cult?#what's the family situation actually?#so much to consider#I'm thinking maybe in the cult and really devoted so they don't want to leave and will resent my character for trying to save them#but still sibling or friend?#mh#honestly chances are this will have very minor involvement actually because the campaign is in one city and they hail from a different one#but still#I'm just rambling to the void cause it helps me think lmao#congrats to whoever actually reads my tags#I also haven't even decided if I play a gnome or dragonborn or maybe a tiefling afterall agh#tbf that has little bearing on the character but that's the ISSUE I have nothing to tie in
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Urban Renewal: a new series on restoring community in a post-pandemic world
Over the past four years, I've felt increasingly disconnected. This is despite being more digitally connected than ever- to global events, my friend's lives on social media, and my workplace. I don't think it's just me feeling this way.
Since the pandemic forced people indoors and in front of screens, we've left behind the real world and our communities for a virtual reality. The local media landscape is shrinking, so we know little of what is happening around us and the virtual workplace means we spend more time at home and less time connecting with people face to face.
This has an impact on our cities, our communities, and our wellbeing. According to a recent a Meta-Gallup survey taken across 142 countries, nearly 1 in 4 adults across the world report feeling very or fairly lonely. The survey also found that the rates of loneliness were highest in young adults.
How do we restore a sense of community and authentic connection in a increasingly digital world - one where we are instead connected to misinformation, global politics, and algorithms 24/7 infiltrating our social media feeds with influencers, who persuade us to desire lifestyles that won't make us happy and buy things we don't need?
I believe the urbanist community has a role to play in helping solve these societal issues, so I'm launching a series to explore this topic from the perspective of local planning - how we design our cities and parks, activate our public spaces, restore nature in cities, fund community and arts programs, develop policies on safer streets and affordable housing, and more.
I'm calling the series Urban Renewal, a negative term in urban studies that refers to a 1970s North American policy of demolishing low-income communities to build massive freeway projects surrounded by desolate highrise buildings.
Renewal represents the process of revitalizing or rejuvenating something to its original state or improving it. I want to talk about what urban renewal should be, not removing vibrant communities in favour of cars and concrete, but actually restoring a sense of community that we seem to be losing to the virtual world.
I'm hoping to talk to a diverse range of perspectives for ideas on how to address this issue. Reach out to me if you work in urban issues and have thoughts about how to rebuild community in a post-pandemic world!
Photo credit: Street Lab (Uni Project)
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Fuck there's like...an entire potential AU track where Stephanie makes different choices in that mall with Helena right after the earthquake, and decides to learn from her.
Helena deciding to become The Bat and Stephanie taking up the Huntress mantle. Fuuuuuuuck.
#Stephanie Brown#Helena Bertinelli#No Man's Land arc#Spoiler#Huntress#The Bat#DC#Batfam#is the turning point Stephanie deciding NOT to let her dad go?#is it her chasing him but then talking Helena into sparing his life?#we know Helena is susceptible to teen vigilantes asking her not to murder#see her first team up with Tim#Stephanie being IN Gotham City when the bridges blow instead of out in the suburbs...#is this an AU where the pregnancy isn't a thing?#does she make a different choice and decide an abortion is right for her?#does the stress and nutrition issues in NML lead to a miscarriage?#where is Crystal during all of this?#I think this Steph is also a lot closer to Leslie#fic ideas
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also its so dumb that one of the arguments ppl have against a sims 5 is that theyve already invested too much money into 4. like yes its fucking scummy that ea charges so much for dlc and its Ludicrous the amt sims 4 costs if you have all the dlc and its going to keep getting more and more expensive but . to be honest . why are you paying for sims packs. im sry
#ik not everyone can pirate i get it and its your money do what you want#but itis your choice to invest so much into like. a sinking ship DJRNFJFNG. idk....#i want 2 be optimistic and believe that somehow they WILL be able to fix every single issue with ts4#but i honestly believe thats require them to take an extended break from releasing new packs and shit#and i genuinely honestly dont think theyll do that. lol.#but like. i think itd be a good idea like. Cut down on new releases and focus on fixing the base game and then pack refreshes#bc itd be rly cool to have like. pack refreshes to make them more fleshed out#but also like. sigh. it rly does come down to the packs bc i judt genuinely find it kind of disgusting how little is in each pack#and how many of the packs could be consolidated#genuinely earnestly feel like growing together and parenthood shouldve been one pack. like. and honestly throw hsy in there...#hsy could do with a refresh Badd ik its fairly new but oh my god the school is so fucking buggy#and in general like. IDK. id rly love the packs to be refreshed and id love love love More fucking lots in the worlds oh my god. multiple#worlds have literally 4 lots. Thats fucking actually insane it makes me crazy#i get like. ooh bc you can travel between worlds the worlds can be smaller but i hate it 😭😭😭#i think its just bc i grew up playing 3 perhaps but like. i rly loved like. idk when i choose to play in a sims world i want to play in tha#world. i dont want to have to like. i live in moonwood mills (5 lots .) and thej i have to go to like. san myshunonif i want to go to a bar#or whatever. is there a bar in san myshuno idr#IDKIDK. i feel like Innnn my opinion there should be like. at least 1 of the basegame lot types for every world maybe with some exceptions#and there should be enough empty slots ppl can fill it out more if they want...#but also like. idk. i suppose it wouldnt affect me much bc i usually stay on my home lot as much as possible#bc of the loading screens#it wouldnt be so bad if like. idk. i understand why they didnt wanna do open world like ts3#well i dont its fucking actually stupid. but i get that ts4 wasnt supposed to be what it is and it wasnt built to be a longrunning game.#hence why ts5 should happen instead as a Strong Foundation BUT WHATEVER but like. yk. and ik im not the only person in the world and other#ppl want different but i feel like maybe you could have options .. idk. im not a programmer#but itd be cool to have some sort of way to toggle between like. open world semi open world and closed world#where itd be like. ts3 style where the exteriors of everything r there but the interiors r loaded in when u visit (if that is how ts3 works#i may be a bit off) nd closed would be ts4 style Loading screen to go . next door#am i misremembering or are there even loading screens between like. the new apartments with forrent.... there were for the city living ones#skull Fuckk i ran out of space
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hey guys just graduated
#finally glad to be done with exams and do fuck all#tbh i think the only thing ill miss is seeing my friends on a daily basis and always having someone to talk to... lets see if i can maintai#these friendships.... also i have No Idea what im gonna do in uni bro i just want the freedom tbfh like i just keep avoiding researching ab#courses and shit cuz it makes my head explode. basically the 2 major unis in my city r basically the same in my head like uni a) is more#prestigious thus conservative but is more accessible and i like their offering better but uni b) atmosphere is much more relaxed#and the campus is really well planned out < guy who loves urban planning#only issue its like 2hrs via pt like ill die. also this is btw if i get into these schools#bruhh uni is lowkey a scam only like 24 weeks of school and debt. anyway#i wanna get my p plate this summer (i have not driven once) also most of my friends r going overseas (i wish that were meeeeee)#i can finally catch up on new music loonaurrrr also its my bday soon. hope u guys enjoyed this life update
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on one hand I wanna write my fic ideas wherein my marvel oc gets sent to the alternate universe of Gotham and hijinks ensue whilst she tries to survive and get back and the batfam and such slowly learn more info abt her world and how it's being threatened atm and she needs to go back and help and whatnot.
But on the other hand, the readers wouldn't know the marvel related backstory of this OC and would have. No context for her going in
But ALSO then the readers would know abt as much abt this mysterious figure as the batcrew do, and get to learn via flash backs and her slowly revealing info to them as safety allows
Then there's also just a general. Idk if there's any sort of oc etiquette when it comes to writing oc centered fics? My brain goes so hogwild when I read anything that I usually avoid oc fics other people write just bc I usually read and enjoy fics at face value but I also go "now what would happen if this OC was here?" And that gets real complicated when other people's ocs are involved
#jasper rambles#this is a rambly one yall#fanfic discussion#fanfic etiquette?#i just. listen. i made a vampire oc for captain america specifically of the mcu.. and i was thinking and like. gotham is the Perfect City fo#r a vampire to live right. so like. then i was like what would she do if she ended up in gotham. how would that go. and then i could reveal#her marvel backstory thru tidbits she drops and flashbacks. bc i have her mcu timeline pretty well planned out#tho also her existence (along w a few pther ocs) drastically changes the course of the mcu so some things hapen VERY differently (mainly civ#il war and then the start of the following arcs) so like id aalso have to reveal where the canon divergence from the mcu is during the flash#backs. and then ALSO i have a p decent grasp of the batfam and whatnot but i havent had the oppurtunity to read many comics so i dont even.#what if i just FAIL at their characterization and im actually wronf magically#and then ALSO comes the question of should i include my batman dc oc? bc SHES a whole. package. theres a LOT to unpack w her. tho for this s#pecific fic idea i think itd be fun to just. have her be Another Batfam Member. like yeah shes got her own stuff going on. but this fic woul#dnt dive into it anymore than it dives into the other batfam members#the other issue is deciding where in the mcu timeline this oc gets thrown into an au and why and how or if that affects the mcu timeline fro#m there. cuz thatd need to be decided for the sake of flashbacks. and if im gonna ise flashbacks id love to try and plan it out so it aligns#with the plot happening in gotham. i dont necessarily want like. a running Plot in the flashbacks. but id want them to be scenes from her li#fe in mcu that reveaal stuff that helps understand the decisions she makes in the gotham plot#but ALSO in the gotham plot. id wanna have it either be that her presence has caused some sort of ripple that the gotham baddies are using t#o hirt people or else some other unrelated gotham baddies plot is happening and this oc being herself sees trouble and runs towards it to tr#y and help people. even tho she has her own stuff to deal w. and then makes herself a target of the gangs and also potentially screws someth#ings up bc she doesnt have as intimate of knowledge abt the baddies and gangs as the batfam do since most of em grew up in the streets of g#otham one way or another#so like. and like she can hold her own. she was a young woman in brooklyn in the 30/40s. but its still a different environment in gotham rat#her than in brooklyn new york. so itd be. yeah. tbh i feel like the fact that im putting this much thought into it means i will probably try#to write and post it on ao3. idk when tho. im trying not to post more fics on ao3 so i can focus on my xmen fic#sso. anyway if you read all this feel free to share your thoughts and or like. sorry not sorry for the rambly essay of tags <3#i told you jasper rambles
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