#everything is too much. new stuff becomes overwhelming and discouraging. people might not like it. (IT KEEPS HAPPENING RAGHHH))

[skeletoninthemelonland]

"The Exocannis Ressurection"

[prince-simon]

Hej💜 I've become a huge fanfiction lover in the last 10 months since joining the fandom and I'm curious about comments and commenting! I don't write myself but I try to leave comments as a little thank you for getting to enjoy the art. So I decited to send some questions to the writers I follow here. No pressure to answer ofc I'm just curious, I adore you writers 🦋

1. Do you often leave comments or kudos on stories ? Why/ why not ?

2. What do comments mean to you?

3. What are your favorite type of comments to receive? Long and thoughtful ones? Favorite parts or lines? Praises? Asdfghjkl? Guesses or hopes for the future?

4. Do you reply to comments? Why/why not?

5. Has there been any negative comments? How did you deal with that ?

6. Are there comments that are not necessary negative but you just don't enjoy?

7. Do you ever get nervous how people are going to receive something you are writing? How do you deal with that?

8. Has there been a moment when someone interpreted your writing in a totally different way that you intented or misunderstood you in the comments? How did that make you feel ?

9. Do you ever go back to your comments? Are there comments that stayed with you?

10. Is there something you wish us non-writers would know regarding writing or commenting?

If you are a writer and I didn't ask you, please answer anyway if you feel like doing that! I only follow so many ( and also wanted to ask this anonymously because I'm shy hah). I'm so thankful for all you wonderful writers out there, this fandom is full of super talented people 💜

hiii friend!! 💗 i'm so happy you're enjoying fanfic so much!! thank you for leaving comments as much as possible!! that honestly means so so much!!

okay these questions are fun so here we go!

i try to leave kudos and comments as much as possible if i enjoy a story bc i know what it's like to get that little notification that you got a new comment as a writer. that little serotonin boost can mean so much!

comments mean EVERYTHING. like they say you write for yourself and no one else but obviously we're just human, and we love validation and recognition and like i said. seeing that someone took the time to leave a comment, no matter how small, on something you spent hours and hours of work on and that you decided to share to hopefully bring joy to someone else- like, it's such a special feeling to hear someone tell you how much your story means to them

i honestly don't know if i have a favourite type of comments. i loveeee people quoting their favourite lines back to me, i am incredibly in awe of in depth analysis in comments of what people think lead to a certain situation or how it'll affect a character and all that. i get super emotional about people telling me that my story affected them in a positive way, made their day/week/month better or helped them realise stuff about themselves. but honestly keysmashes are just as fun bc to know that my silly little words made someone speechless? that's amazing too

i make a point of replying to comments - sometimes it might take a while but i just appreciate y'all's comments so much, i wanna make sure you know that

gonna put 5 & 6 in one. i don't think there's been any outright negative comments, the support has been overwhelming. i have been getting some comments where people point out decisions i made that they don't like and those always confuse me a little bc it is my story and it's been written already, why point that out? there's no gain in that. like it's out there what do you expect me to do? i'm not gonna change it. (that doesn't refer to pointing out language things, like those i appreciate). also other comments that i don't enjoy are the "no pressure but..." comments asking when the next update will happen. i'm writing 20-30k chapters in my free time while doing uni full time and work. it's gonna take some time and comments like that are more discouraging than anything else

^^^

oh yeah i'm a ball of anxiety basically, i worry ALL the time ahhaah. how do i deal with it? mmmh i'd say i don't jdjdjfk i panic rant to my friends lolol

i don't remember but i don't think so. if a different interpretation happens it's more like a "oh that makes so much sense!" and it inspires me actually

yeah i definitely go back to comments. there's one comment that is just pure poetry that i keep coming back to but in general it's all the comments that tell me i somehow changed/influenced someone's life

really the only thing i can think of are the "no pressure but..." comments. they're not helping. i know they're well meaning but they're in fact very pressuring and sometimes even lead to not wanting to continue a story at all. there are other ways to voice your appreciation. even a simple "can't wait for more" is perfectly fine (for me at least idk about other writers) but asking for more. now. doesn't do anything good

[captainkurosolaire]

Things I Like RP Partners to Know

I like to be called: Captain, Kuro, Zach, Degenerate, w/e. I'm typically not nerved by really anything, mostly chill. (Went in-depth and tagged below cut)

One thing you should know about me: I really just write for passion anymore, I don't care about this whole Post+ stuff, it won't play a factor in me. Tumblr has really everything that allows me to write and further myself. However, it ever goes away, even if becomes Myspace 2.0, I'll probably still maintain writing here off and on in spurts. --Now if they shut-down, I might convert over somewhere that's identical, cause Twitter couldn't handle my girth. I'm mildly autistic and suffer from a few other conflicting health aliments, writing is my obsessiveness and remedy. Used to be gaming, but I became less of a gamer, and replaced it more for writing cause It's a place where I can contain and throw all my thought's to usage. My mind overlaps with so much thing's at once, I get side-tracked, misplacement, my concentration shifts horribly, before I know it, I haven't slept for twenty-four hours or more. Lot of stuff is just me being redundant by fault. Or I become overwhelmed with a story ideas, that impulsively takes me, but majority of my best thing's are sudden. Not the one's that are ever planned. But I don't live to make excuses never care to be defined, by one thing, or person. I don't aim to attain much of anything in life but be a better me, until my end. And by analyzing your mind, you can do or achieve a lot I've discovered. So I repetitively no matter what jog down my WIP's and unleash, or my errors, I put them all on badges displays, then I go back and repeat until I show progress. That's how I have to learn. But passion is a candle, so when it burn's out I lose a lot of what I learned, it's natural after that to be discouraged, but instead, for me, that gets me going again. Cause mean's I can come at thing's with a whole new mental perspective and different flow, then compare, and again, adapt and improve. One thing you should know about RPing with my character(s): Everything is a factor and story with me. Losses, they matter. My character originally was highly killable almost every session, but advanced due to the actions of others, because of them, he found the value of his own life, and that's how I like to do my characters. Even the win's my character gets from stories, will most likely have a 'bad ending' occasionally or result into something new sprouting from it eventually, however that doesn't define at-all how permanently it effects them. But seasonally they go through their struggle. Life for real, is up and down's, these are the component's I factor in. Realistically, sure we fall. We never truly decline unless we allow it. Our character's philosophies, their mental judgement, dislikes, etc, all these thing's become ingrained they decide how much they want too fight and live, they step to improve or sometimes stumble under roadblocks, but not truly devolve. So the more people he interacts with or meets and encounters in RP, they are factors, they're meaningful to meet again, or live, their short teachings are insightful. No matter how small or large or incomplete stories went or passed-by. I created a character who was filled in by others initially. Even one-shot smuts, they're important experiences. Lot more to appreciate when your character learns on their own how to surpass their weaknesses and suffering organically. Still do RP with others but typically I do collaborations, or pre-established or short things, or Discord, one-shot in-game stuff, screenshot things that can convey RP. Want to build this Crew as their own functioning characters, not so much minor throwaways, but shippable, and highly in-depth. Essentially building an optional anime for my partner's, one-day. Long-term with me right now just isn't something I'd ever ask or expect from me. I'm too jumbled and a mess. But it's not a never, I do have two people who are among all my stuff and involved. I'd include anyone in my stories too if they wanted partaken. First language: Gibberish / English. Age range: under 13  |  14–17 | 18–22 | 23–25 | 26–29 | 30+ | 40+ | 70+ Am I okay with NSFW?: yes |

no | some nsfw I came solely off that, my reputation, was known as 'That ERP guy' on Balmung OG day's, I'm one of the degen's from that era. But character's evolve and adapt as do their people, they become more, but maintain their origins to degree. Those perspective's and things learned from NSFW are very paramount to a lot of SFW too. My favorite/most common thing to RP is: angst | fluff | smut | crack | action | plots | AUs are fine | Violence | Darker themes |  I dunno. * I'm pretty open-ended in all things. It's all fascinating for me to attempt at improving. Reason finally pulled the trigger and made a diverse Crew for Captain was give off different interactions and also more reason's to write beyond my usual trends. I'll tackle eventually every genre... now doesn't mean I'll excel in those fields more than my specialties, but I'll do it. Canon Character RP Friendly?: yes | no | depends * I stick with the sandbox but I'll stretch out all the space and limits of it. Building skyscrapers and UFO's with that sand, just happens that this Universe has magic, science, alchemy, holograms, all-around unlimited absurd possibilities, more than even D&D, which makes this game the best to RP within. When comes to interacting with anything Canon base, It'll always dwarf me though. Most likely I'll write my own legit WoL's, thinking of making an 'antagonist' one, but more 'protagonist too' (maybe hunk viera male?) I like making construed lines between characters, that's really complex, it's avidly up to a reader to decide who's in the right or wrong or if they're rooting for the villain or good-guy. I see most lore characters as Celebrities which my character would be rightfully cultured in, and they're untouchable, least for my characters. To me the source of what, who, or with you're writing is what determines a lot. But yeah RPing with anything Canon related, I switch to being a just minor gnat. And there's going to be a lot of consequences, that come if there's anything that does effect something that matters in the Universe. Just cause my pirate is causing havoc and having fun for now, doesn't mean law's don't catch-up or something else doesn't. Cause and effect always. RP blog: does contain ooc posts | doesn’t contain ooc posts | occasionally contains ooc* I would do more OOC if did asks, or inbox related things and was wanted, but outside occasional updates, I stick to my role. That's just write stories and screenshots and practice everything. I'm thankful for anyone who does enjoy anything I share or supports me, It's what brings me back faster and I do always think of you too when I want to get better, it's uplifting and inspiring, alongside boosting. If I do bring any motivation to anything, I do. Then that's the best payment I could get. I like seeing others thrive, or soar higher than me, and unleash their creativity. Tagged by:@spotofmummery (Thank ye my treasured friend!) Tagging anyone/everyone: @roguestly @scholarlybreadbun @under-the-blood-moonlight @lettersnorth @violet-warder @lukawarrioroflight @eligos-venator @corpse-dancer @silvernsteel @silvertail-ffxiv @roxinova @lavender-hemlock @fracturedfantasia @zhauric @fair-fae @avwalya @yuki-yukichan @crow-iv @cadrenebula @spellsandtales @casualcatte @seascrapes @mishivymendi @thorcat @aqueerfishtheyis @ljoturyalre @seabound-dragoon @scornedjustice @laylahcousland @layla-grey @moonstruck-ffxiv @snow-covered-moon (Apologies if missed anyone. If there's more who'd like to be tagged again on all these type of things, let me know.)

[alwaysabeautifullife]

How did you learn so many languages. Do you have any tips?

Yes!!!! Yes I do!!!

Everything I wish I could tell myself before starting my language “journey” lol:

🦩Dont be intimidated

Don’t be intimidated, specifically by doing listening or speaking practice. I know in the US (or for most English speakers), when we hear someone that speaks perfect English but merely has an accent we think “they don’t speak English”, but from experience this mentality is not shared with other languages. When you know even a little bit of a language or can’t speak it very well, natives speakers are really really encouraging. I think since we view not being 100% fluent without so much as an accent, as “not knowing any of a language” we are hard on ourselves and give up pretty easily.

🦩Listening practice is as important as studying vocabulary and grammar

When you listen to native speakers talk, you are training your ear even though you don’t understand it. Listen and listen, eventually your brain stops picking out English words that aren’t even there, but rather, starts to catch patterns in the language (for example, the same words sticks out to you over and over).

🦩Set realistic and doable goals or you’ll get discouraged and quit

If you are a busy person, make small goals to fit language study in. Don’t tell yourself that you need to master _____ within a week. Instead give yourself 15 mins of reading in the evening, and 25 mins of language listening in the morning. It’s also easier to add the language into stuff you do on a daily basis anyway. For example if you are religious, find your prayers you pray daily in the language you are learning.

🦩learn to read the language first (obviously this tip might not be applicable for character based languages like Chinese)

I know everyone says “immersion is the best and most important part of language” but honestly, a lot of our native speaking knowledge comes from our literacy education. When we are taught how to read, it’s through reading we can discover new words through context. It’s also easy to pick up new language reading since it’s available anywhere, where immersion is only available when you are surrounded by native speakers. The first thing I do is learn how to read and write the language, then the entire language becomes accessible to me.

🦩Spend time perfecting the sounds of the language that are most difficult for you

The vocal sounds of a language is the foundation of a language. I know we are all impatient and want to simply learn as many phrases as possible as fast as possible, but if you get down the unfamiliar sounds of a language that don’t exist in English, you’ll have a better foundation of the language and your speaking and listening will be better from the very beginning. So take the time to practice those weird sounds by looking into the position of the tongue and where the sound comes from, from the chest to the lips. Look into how tense the mouth is, how much air comes from the lips, what the sound is like next to other sounds. When you master this speaking becomes more instinctual and it’s easier to pick up the language.

🦩Search YouTube, google, Instagram IN THE LANGUAGE YOU ARE STUDYING.

Don’t search “korean music” or “korean kids tv” or even “korean vegetables” in google. Just translate how to say them in a translator app, then copy and paste them into the search bar. This way native korean information, videos, posts will come up. For example, if you’re in the mood for some horror comics, and want to read/watch them in the language you are learning, go to the translator app, and figure out how to say them, then search it. It works way better, even if the translation isn’t correct or more natural, you’ll still get the information, posts, and videos you want to see.

🦩Find ways to practice speaking the language (I use HiNative) and don’t be discouraged by corrections.

Getting corrected does not mean you’re wrong, corrections are the most useful part of learning a language. If you are the type of person who is sensitive to criticism, you need to remind yourself corrections are NOT criticism. They are NOT a reflection of your progress, they are NOT you failing! You will always be corrected as a language learner and the sooner you are gentle with yourself in learning the sooner you will learn more. Get those first corrections out of the way, allow yourself to butcher pronunciation, get corrected for the first 10 times, let it sting a little and move on. Eventually you will be begging native speakers to tell you every little detail in where you went wrong!

🦩Tv and Books seems to be more useful for immersion and listening practice then music does

So far in my experience music is its very weird and abstract, and the things said in music aren’t really useful in speaking? It’s good for gathering vocab, but if you want music listening practice that’s music based try searching for rap in that language, although obviously you’ll be picking up a lot of informal language in music/rap. Tv shows however are typically how people really do talk, so turn off English subs and just listen! Books are really useful for learning new vocabulary, but sometimes written language is different than spoken (often), although when you speak it the way you’ve learned from a book the worst you’ll sound is “formal and poetic”.

🦩Look up “insert language you are learning phrases and words that aren’t useful or correct”

There so many programs and books that teach you phrases you’ll never use or that are only appropriate in very specific situations. I don’t know why language programs do this, but learning which ones are weird or only in specific settings before you start learning really helps. Chinese Especially does this...like I learned so many phrases and words that natives will never use and have no purpose???

🦩Know the different subjects of learning a language and which apps to use for that

Everyone uses Duolingo, but this app alone won’t make you speak a language. Duolingo and Memrise are great for memorizing vocab, but, is it vocab that in the context of your reading and listening practice? Are you learning words you are hearing and reading all the time? Duolingo is a lot of fun but I feel like the vocab is so broad and it doesn’t go deep enough into the language. Feel free to use it at first to get used to the sounds of the language, but try using flash card apps like quizlet or Anki instead where you can write down and study words you are hearing constantly. Memrise does have actually study sets for many language books and lessons! So you can study words you are hearing in specific programs and books which is pretty useful in regards to vocab.

There obviously is more than just learning vocab. What about grammar, listening practice, speaking practice and reading? If you are wanting to use primarily apps find out which apps are available for your language. Here is an example of the apps I use for each subject. Be aware some languages are not available on them.

Vocab: quizlet, anki

Grammar: books (printed or kindle), YouTube grammar lessons, websites

Reading: books (printed or kindle), beelinguapp, instagram (posts that have text), Netflix/YouTube with both subtitles in the language you are learning and spoken in language you are learning, epic app

Writing: just use paper and pencil/pen

Listening: audio books (beelinguapp/epic/kindle/YouTube), tv and movies (Netflix/YouTube etc with no English subs), conversations on YouTube (search in language you are studying, don’t search “Spanish conversations” or “Japanese conversations”)

Speaking: HiNative (pretty much all I use since it’s all languages, quick, and you get immediately answered and corrected by native speakers), get friends in language you are learning through lots of apps

Translator: it’s really hard to find a good one, most of them are really weird so only use them for words and the most basic or simple phrases and sentences, otherwise use HiNative to ask native speakers directly, or ask people on the apps that connect you to native speakers

🌱I should note that for talking to native speakers I only like HiNative, since it’s built to NOT be a form of social networking at all. It’s not personal in anyway, and there’s no way to private message or speak to other users outside a asking questions publicly. The people on there are only about learning or teaching a language, not usually making friends. I’ve found the sites that are built to make native speaking friends aren’t useful to me personally, as most of the native speakers are either dudes looking for a woman to date or people wanting to only practice English with you, so they wasted a lot of my study time. People who are willing to help you learn are there, but it takes time to filter everything else out. If you would find it helpful to make friends by all means use them but I don’t really use it myself.🌱

You don’t want to really study EVERY SUBJECT every single day (unless you have the time). It can get really overwhelming, and you don’t really absorb information that if you are just cramming. While I would say it’s good to read and listen daily, spread subjects out over the week. Grammar on Monday and Friday, vocab on Tuesday and Thursday. Take one day to review all of what you’ve learned all week. Pick a day you have the largest block of free time. Bi-weekly works fine too.

I have an old post on how I organize my study time for multiple languages: https://alwaysabeautifullife.tumblr.com/post/182817883372/what-do-you-use-to-learn-your-languages-im

🦩Write sentences daily of everything you’ve learned (no THIS I RECOMMEND DAILY)

Write as many as you can. Use all the grammar you’ve learned, the words you’ve learned, everything! Write them in your notes and submit them to be corrected in HiNative. The sentences they correct, put them in flash cards!

🦩It’s ok to abandon languages you aren’t passionate in

So you’ve learned to read the language, and you know basic phrases, and now you just don’t want to do it anymore. If you can’t think of any reason to maintain it and don’t know why you are studying it, learning some of the language is good! Fluency does NOT need to be everyone’s goal. You can hold a conversation, and that’s good enough for you. Feel free to try out various languages, there will be one or some that really are your passion, it’s fine to have the goal of fluency in those and conversational in others.

Don’t abandon languages however because you feel discouraged. Discouragement is just a bump to get over, when you train your brain to maintain study habits through the days you feel discouraged, you make it habitual. Habits are harder to break and abandon! Evaluate your reasonings for wanting to speak a language, and your reasons for abandoning them if you want. Don’t let difficulty, disorganized, discouragement, or poor time management get in your way!!

🦩With all that said it’s ok to take breaks

It’s ok to get overwhelmed and take breaks from language learning. If you can still maintain what you’ve learned by listening to music in your language or staying connected in some way that’s good, but the “you’ll loose a language” isn’t entirely true. I’ve taken year long breaks and refreshing what I learned previously is pretty easy! Your brain really does go “oh yeah I do remember this!” when you’re studying information you studied years ago.

🦩Be gentle with yourself

Be gentle with yourself. People that claim to be fluent in 6 months are selling something or want to be an influencer. Don’t compare yourself to them. Language learning even for natives is a lifetime education. It’s not something you do for 6 months then stop. It’s continual and that looks different for everyone (yes native speakers included). Don’t bother watching YouTube videos on how to learn in 10 mins or 3 months, you’ll only get discouraged about your own amazing progress and all the work you’ve done.

🦩Plan your “can you say something in it” phrase now

This one is just for fun but after hearing you are learning a language the first thing you’ll get asked is “oh cool you speak (insert target language here)? Can you say something in (insert target language here)?” It does not matter what level of fluency you are at, you will absolutely forget the entire language and your own native language when you are asked this because it sends your brain to another dimension. So think of some funny phrases to say to people who ask, master them, then when they ask what they mean you can have a laugh. Other wise you will say something stupid of jumbled words (my go to was ‘we women are fruit’ for some reason thanks brain you’re incredible) you’ve learned that don’t belong in a sentence, or even worse you’ll run a blank and you’ll just look at them like:

🍳👄🍳

So think of inside jokes to tell your friends, funny phrases, even goofy insults! Memorize them and tell them at your friends and family to torture them because they can’t escape sound waves! It’s a good way to memorize the language but also to become confortable speaking it!

Please excuse any errors I don’t wanna go over my mistakes so pretend u can’t see them 🙈

[colourfullsims]

An Overdue Update

Hey there! Long time no see.

It’s been quite a while since my last update (and several times that I’ve said I would update that fell through lol), but I think it’s finally the perfect time to tell you all what’s been going on behind the scenes. I’ve kept most of you all in the dark with no explanation for my hiatus for months now, but with the end of the year upon us, I want things out in the open before moving into 2021. I will warn you now, that this will be a long post, because there’s a lot of backstory I have to lay out to explain everything. There will also be some brief mentions of emotional manipulation and emotional abuse in the beginning of this post, which I will be content tagging for safety, so please skip over the first question if you would like to avoid this subject.

Now without further ado, I will be answering some frequently asked questions, starting with:

Q: Where did you go?

The short answer to this is that I took a very long, unwanted break from the community, but that answer doesn’t really suffice in explaining why. Typically, I like to keep things lighthearted and chill on this blog, because much of the reason why I play the Sims and do storytelling is for escapism. Things that happened this year took that away from me.

This spring, I broke up with my long term boyfriend of five years. With that separation came a lot of heartache, guilt, and stress for a variety of reasons. We’d been together since my days in undergrad and had shared so many intimate experiences together: graduations, moving out of state into our first “grown up” apartment, birthday trips to our favorite cities. We had inside jokes that I still find myself wanting to make with him, because after so much of our lives intertwined together, he’d essentially become my best friend. But things ended between us for good reason.

Despite the good that came out of that relationship, there was a fair amount of emotional manipulation/abuse that went on, early as the first few months of us being official. Sometimes it was subtle things: when we first started dating, I was in my final year of undergrad and doing all I could to bring up my gpa and buff up my resume, so that I could increase my chances of getting into my grad school of choice. Frequently, he would comment on my academic successes as if they would be the thing that would break us up. I remember presenting a paper on a panel, facing my fear of public speaking head on, and I was so proud of the work I’d put into it all, and then hours later coming back to my student apartment to tell him how it went, and the first words out of his mouth were, “Someday you’re gonna get too smart and leave me behind.” And that wouldn’t be the last time he said some iteration of that phrase to me, and every time it would feel like he was praying I would slow down so he wouldn’t feel I was outgrowing him. Even when I finally did get accepted to my dream school, my first thought after my excitement was that when I told him the news, he wouldn’t be happy for me. My decisions for my future became personal slights to him: I had to move from the midwest out to NYC to attend grad school, and even though I discouraged him from following me if he didn’t want to live in the city (which he 100% did not), he followed me anyway and hung that decision over my head like a giant reminder of some debt that I owed him. I regret not following my gut then and my failure to recognize the red flags, because I would go on to spend 3 more years after our move losing myself as he clutched onto me, in what I can only assume with the hope that if he held on tight enough, that I wouldn’t leave him behind. 

When I look at the more overt signs of my ex’s possessiveness, I realize I should have shared what was going on more with the people close to me: in the early stages on our relationship, he’d already done destructive things like slashing the tires of a guy I had been seeing earlier that same year, and punching a hole into the wall of my student apartment. He’d gone through all my messages on social media, my texts, my emails, all to find out about old crushes that he suspected I might still be in contact with. He even went as far as reading through my private journal, which I previously wrote in daily, but now I struggle to write in more than a few times a year, for fear of my privacy being invaded again. In the wake of realizing our relationship was failing, instead of ending things, I put my energy into hoping that he would do better, and I hid what was happening from my family and friends, to the point that I avoided their messages and phone calls. I isolated myself in increasing measures as time went on until I was too timid to do most things outside of my apartment without my ex-boyfriend by my side. The reason I stayed so long is because of these combined things: the sense of owing him my time after uprooting his life, the fact that I was both physically and mentally separated from my support systems, the feeling of familiarity that had grown from shared experiences and time, and largely, this overwhelming self imposed desire to not appear as though I had failed my relationship.

Largely, 2020 has been an absolute trash fire, but I can thank this year for one thing; putting me into a situation of such unrest that I could no longer ignore that I was not living the life I wanted or deserved.

After our breakup, I moved back to my parents’ place and stayed there while the remainder of my lease in New York ran out. When I originally left, I only brought back a small suitcase and backpack filled with essentials and valuable items that I couldn’t leave behind in my apartment, so I had to return again to retrieve my things, which, as you can imagine, was not fun. Not only was traveling during covid a nightmare, my ex was threatening to throw all my stuff out of our apartment, so I had to scramble to get a flight, a hotel, moving equipment, and a moving service arranged on the fly so I could retrieve everything (and when I got there, he had smashed one of my laptops). In summation, from our break up to finally moving out completely, this all happened over the span of mid-spring to the 1st of August.

Since then, I’ve been keeping myself sparse on the internet, partially because I needed the time to recover from the entire experience, and partially because frankly, I’ve been afraid of my ex monitoring any of my accounts to keep tabs on me. He was fully aware of this blog, and since in recent years it's been the only account I’ve kept up with, I was afraid of him trying to find out where I am and what I’ve been doing through here. I’ve only felt comfortable reblogging others content for the past few months.

So that’s where I’ve been. Which brings us to the next question:

Q: What happened to Love Island?

Over the past few months, I’ve received several asks and messages about whether or not I still planned on doing the Love Island challenge, as well as words of concern about my well being. I want to start by acknowledging all those messages by first apologizing to anyone I didn’t get back to: the majority of you got the sense that I was overwhelmed or burnt out, as most of us have been this year, and I really thank you for still having any interest in seeing me do any type of content after I essentially ghosted you all lol. I really appreciate all the well wishes too.

But I also received this:

Which, 1) I don’t know if this was either impeccable timing or horrible timing on your part, considering I planned on writing this update before this landed in my inbox.

And 2),

I don’t know if you were a reader or one of the participants selected for the challenge, but I’m sorry you’re disappointed about me not following through with the challenge. I was really excited to do it when I made the casting call, was ecstatic about the number of creators who submitted complex and diverse sims, and I had even completed the villa and started working on shooting the premiere. But as you can see from everything above, life happened. I wish this year had been more stable so that I could have done the challenge with no problem. 

But I’m not going to apologize for making the choices I needed to to preserve my mental health and safety.

That being said, it’s been so many months since I originally pitched the challenge; many of the creators who were selected are now inactive or have deactivated. And honestly, I didn’t know whether you all would even want the challenge at the point, I mean…? It’s winter time now, and Love Island was definitely more of a summer themed challenge lol.

As it stands, I don’t know if I will be picking up where I left off with the Love Island challenge. I certainly still have some interest in doing it; I built a whole set and had an entire schedule of challenges and dates planned for the project. But I don’t know if I can move forward with the original cast, or if I would have to do a new casting call to fill the spaces of inactive creators. So...I guess I would need feedback from you all. Would you want Love Island still?

Q: What are you planning to do now?

Right now, I’m doing whatever makes me happy. I’m in a much better place than I was about 6 months ago, and I don’t feel the same anxiety about posting as I did. For now, I might just post some casual gameplay until I know whether or not I’m moving forward with Love Island. I’m just happy to come back to do what I love.

So there you have it. 2020 kicked my ass in some really heart wrenching ways, and I needed some time to not worry about keeping up with content creation and just worry about taking care of me. Now that I’m a little more stable, I want to come back, even if it’s just simple stuff for now. To those of you who have stuck around waiting to see if I’d ever pick my projects back up, thank you so much, and I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting this long lol. For the time being, all I have to offer is a very long overdue Follower’s Gift: I will be hosting a giveaway for my followers this week, where I will be giving away $40 worth of sims content each to 3 followers. I’ll have more details about the giveaway tomorrow when the official post goes live.

If you made it this far thank you for reading this long mess, and I’ll see you all soon!

~Cam

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN UNDERGRADUATES

One of the cases he decided was brought by the owner of a food shop. Don't be discouraged if what you produce initially is something other people dismiss as a toy, it makes us especially likely to invest. Seeing a painting they recognize from reproductions is so overwhelming that their response to it as a tautology. There's nothing more valuable than an unmet need that is just becoming fixable. You have to show you're impressed with what you've made. Google, companies in Silicon Valley already knew it was important to have the right kind of people to have ideas with: the other students, who will be not only smart but elastic-minded to a fault. Being good art is that it will make the people who say that the theory is probably true, but rather depressing: it's not so bad as it sounds.

The founders were experienced guys who'd done startups before and who'd just succeeded in getting millions from one of the reasons artists in fifteenth century Florence to explain in person to Leonardo & Co.1 If Microsoft was the Empire, they were the Rebel Alliance. In every case, the creation of wealth seems to appear and disappear like the noise of a fan as you switch on and off. One often hears a policy criticized on the grounds that it would increase the income gap between rich and poor? Perhaps this tends to attract people who are bad at understanding. It would work on a moon base where we had to buy air by the liter. It seemed obvious that beauty, for example, as property in the way we do. It could be the reason they don't have to wait to be an adult.

The answer, I realized, is that my m. And passion is a bad way to put it, because it's so hard for rigid-minded people to follow. That's to be expected. An eloquent speaker or writer can give the impression of vanquishing an opponent merely by using forceful words. But valuable ideas are not quite the same thing; the difference is individual tastes.2 Don't talk about secondary matters at length. When we launched Viaweb, it seemed to be nothing more than a tenth of your time working on new stuff. Now a lot of people in the Valley is watching them. In either case you let yourself be defined by what they tell you to do.3

Of course, space aliens probably wouldn't find human faces engaging. Rebellion is almost as stupid as obedience. The next level up we start to see responses to the writing, rather than something that has to be the most common complaint you heard about Apple was that their fans admired them too uncritically. Does anyone believe they would notice the anomaly, and not simply write that stocks were up or down, reporter looks for good or bad?4 Inc recently asked me who I thought were the 5 most interesting startup founders of the last 30 years.5 Simplicity takes effort—genius, even. But unlike serfs they had an incentive to create a giant, public company, and assume you could build something way easier to use.

Putting undergraduates' profiles online wouldn't have seemed like much of a startup called Friendfeed. That would definitely happen if programmers started to use handhelds as development machines—if handhelds displaced laptops the way laptops displaced desktops. Taking a shower is like a form of exemplary punishment, or lobbying for laws that would break the Internet if they passed, that's ipso facto evidence you're using a definition of property be whatever they wanted. Back in the 90s. Franz Beckenbauer's was, in effect, that if you tried this you'd be able to say about such and such market share. The average person looks at it and thinks: how amazingly skillful.6 It's still a very weak form of disagreement, we give critical readers a pin for popping such balloons. If one blows up in your face, start another. Ten weeks is not much time. Everyone at Rehearsal Day. Merely being aware of them usually prevents them from working. If I could tell startups only ten sentences, this would be one of them.

What counts as property depends on what you mean by worth. It would have been. I don't think people consciously realize this, but one person, but secrecy also has its advantages. Honestly, Sam is, along with Steve Jobs, the founder I refer to most when I'm advising startups. It's also true that there are quite a few marketplaces out there that serve this same market. Obviously the world sucked, so why wouldn't they? There was not much point. There are always great ideas sitting right under our noses. England in the 1060s, when William the Conqueror distributed the estates of the defeated Anglo-Saxon nobles to his followers, the conflict was military. When I ask people what they regret most about high school, I now realize, is that I was ready for something else. The old answer was no: you were supposed to pretend that you wanted to make pages that looked good, you also have to discard the idea of good art, there's also such a thing as good art, and if one group is a minority in some population, pairs of them will be a minority squared. You have to show you're impressed with what you've made.

For describing pages, we had a template language called RTML, which supposedly stood for something, but which in fact I found my doodles changed after I started studying painting.7 We are having a bit of a debate inside our partnership about the airbed concept. It was thus subjective rather than objective. Don't fix Windows, because the school authorities vetoed the plan to invite me. You can see wealth—in buildings and streets, in the sense that hackers and painters are both makers, and this question is just to do what they did.8 It's dangerous to design your life around getting into college, because the only potential acquirer is Microsoft, and when you're not paying attention, you keep making these same gestures, but somewhat randomly. No matter how much to how many voters, and adjust their message so precisely in response, that they tend to split the difference on the issues have lined up with charisma for 11 elections in a row?

So is it meaningless to talk about it publicly till long afterward.9 The way Apple runs the App Store is full of half-baked applications. If I were talking to a roomful of people than you would in conversation.10 The problem is, it's hard to get the gold out of it. Where does wealth come from?11 You can demonstrate your respect for one another in more subtle ways.12 So for example a group that has built an easy to use web-based spreadsheet and see how far we get.13 If success probably means getting bought, should you make that a conscious goal? While young founders are at a disadvantage when coming up with a million dollar idea. I'd like to reply with another question: why do people think it's hard?

Notes

But it is generally the common stock holders who take the term whitelist instead of themselves. There's comparatively little from it. I couldn't convince Fred Wilson to fund them. I've come to you about it.

Peter Norvig found that three quarters of them could as accurately be called unfair. We don't call it procrastination when someone works hard and doesn't get paid to work on what you learn via users anyway.

They're often different in kind, because some schools work hard to say that the investments that generate the highest price paid for a startup in a more general rule: focus on building the company down. Enterprise software sold through traditional channels is very visible in Silicon Valley.

In many ways the New Deal was a kid that you'd want to get jobs. Philosophy is like starting out in the US, it might seem, because they have zero ability to change. If the rich paid high taxes? The two guys were Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston.

Don't be evil. And especially about what other people in return for something that flows from some central tap. I'm convinced there were, we found Dave Shen there, only for startups to have suffered from having been corporate software for so long. I think investors currently err too far on the dollar.

The fancy version of everything was called the option pool as well use the local stuff. Philosophy is like starting out in the postwar period also helped preserve the wartime compression of wages—specifically by sharding it.

This is everyday life in general. So, can I make it easy. Believe it or not, under current US law, writing and visual design.

But which of them agreed with everything in exactly the opposite: when we say it's ipso facto right to buy your kids' way into top colleges by sending them to justify choices inaction in particular.

An influx of inexpensive but mediocre investors. Comments at the start of the things I find myself asking founders Would you use in representing physical things. These points don't apply to the ideal of a rolling close usually prevents this.

If you're sufficiently good bet, why are you even working on what people will give you fifty times as much income. When a lot of money around is never something people treat casually. No one writing a dictionary from scratch, rather than giving grants.

For similar reasons, avoid the topic. It's not only the leaves who suffer. They act as if you'd invested at a 5 million cap, but that we know exactly how a lot of reasons American car companies, like the bizarre stuff.

Foster, Richard and David Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne and the exercise of stock the VCs should be designed to live in a request.

Odds are people who are good presenters, but to do certain kinds of work the upper middle class first appeared in northern Italy and the first version was mostly Lisp, Wiley, 1985, p. So during the 2002-03 season was 2. Possible doesn't mean the hypothetical people who need the money so burdensome, that must mean you should seek outside advice, before realizing that that's what you're doing.

Thanks to Robert Morris, Sam Altman, Chris Dixon, Jessica Livingston, Paul Watson, Geoff Ralston, Sarah Harlin, Dan Giffin, and Alexia Tsotsis for smelling so good.

[beedaleebjd]

Psssst do you happen to have any tips or beginners links for newbies who are interested in getting in to the BJD hobby? 👀

*SOFT SCREECH* ALICE COME DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WITH ME... /CLAMBERS FOR

This is a very slap-dash tips post, because a full fledged crash-course would take me much longer than a day to assemble. I think this could get someone started, but I can always answer specific questions if you have them in the future. ❤️

BJD 101: For a rundown of definitions, terminology, and origins of the hobby, I highly recommend checking out the Wikipedia article. (Warning for old vaguely spooky doll photos) I honestly wish I just read this when I got started, haha. It’s not everything, but it’s definitely a start.

Study! Read as much as you possibly can!! Especially terminology and maintenance. I highly recommend watching a bunch of unboxing and review videos- it might seem silly, but they're really helpful to get an idea of scale, how they function/pose, and how they look and feel when handled by a human. I also recommend trying to find owner photos of dolls you’re interested in, because sometimes the store photos are limited!

Join a community! Consider joining a forum like den of angels or a facebook bjd group like BJD Addicts! Exposure to the hobby is really helpful and you learn way faster. It’s fine if you’re shy, you don’t have to interact if you don’t want to- I like lurking DoA for the valuable tutorials and threads on doll brands I'm interested in. Tip: You can view some of DoA’s threads without an account by searching "[subject/doll of choice] den of angels" in google, but i got tired of that pretty fast. Signing up takes a few weeks to get approved but it's worth it for all the knowledge, even old archived stuff.

Window-shop until you drop!! I think the number one regret in the hobby is 'too many dolls, not enough time to love any of them'. So I HIGHLY recommend making wish-lists. These help a lot with avoiding impulse purchases and buyer’s remorse. There are a loooot of dolls out there, so if you've seen a huge majority of them, you'll be more picky.

For me, wishlists include both dream/grail dolls, tentative desires i’m not sure about but want to remember the name of, dolls I could never afford but feel validated writing down somewhere, and also cataloging info- measurements, wig/eye/shoe sizes, resin colors, price, current availability, dealer websites, etc. it becomes such a godsend when you shop for them. you’ll thank me later!!

I spent a lot of time browsing dealer websites like Alice's Collections, Legenddoll, Denver Doll, DOLK Station, etc- I linked some of those here. This is to see what my tastes are. Not EVERY doll company will go through all or any dealers, but it’s a good start!

If you’re the social type, going to conventions or local bjd meetups can help with getting an idea of your preferences! I accidentally walked by one at sakuracon last year and got to hold an MSD and an 11cm tiny, and that was REALLY helpful for me to realize I DID like those sizes. If other doll owners will let you hold theirs, I totally recommend it! (Always ask first, of course! Not everyone is comfortable with it!)

Go!! Slow!!! if you think you're taking it easy, go even slower. i'm so serious. it's so easy to get dazzled, over-eager, or totally overwhelmed by this hobby. especially if you have a habit of hyper focus/special interest tenancies like i do. 

Patience is a virtue anyway: If you’re not buying second-hand or in-stock dolls, you will be waiting a while for your doll. Anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on the company and how backlogged they may be at any given point. Dolls are usually pre-order and take time to be made.

Some people like to just buy sculpts and let a character ‘come to them’, which is absolutely valid so if you wanna just go on a feeling that’s great!! i totally can’t afford that route most of the time, so I spend a lot of time mood-boarding for my potential dolls using pinterest and my own art to see just how in love with an idea i am and highly recommend it. I’ll ramble about this in another post soon.

Budget! They are not very cheap like 10-20$ fashion dolls at wal-mart, so those new to the hobby may be shocked.This hobby is an investment and an indulgence/luxury, as with most Nice Things. But don’t be discouraged! There are affordable dolls out there, a lot of Dealer websites offer layaway plans, and the second-hand market is always circulating things!

Here is a DoA list of dolls that are under 300$. 

Note: Size of dolls often scale with price, so the bigger it is, the more expensive (and HEAVY) it will be. Some videos on BJD sizing here and here, but Flickr is crawling with height comparisons as well.

Craft or Not To Craft: Are you team 'i'm gonna sew/craft stuff/do wigs/eyes/faceups for my doll' or team 'i'm gonna buy clothes/props/faceups/wigs/etc from other artists!'? I know most people end up being a little bit of both, but these things both cost time or money (or both) so you wanna think about that in the overall price when you're considering a doll. It seems intimidating, but really, it’s the responsible thing to do. I’d rather plan for it than have a naked sad doll to feel bad about. Some personal recommendations below helped me get started:

Wigs: Monique Gold Collection wigs are affordable in the 20 dollar range, and have incredibly soft fiber! (You can find a lot of these available through ebay sellers as well)

Eyes: Lemonjellyshoppe and CandyKittenEmporium have some incredible eyes and also do custom orders!

Sewing Patterns: DGRequim on etsy and SproutyDoll have both been very nice to use and easy understand and modify to fit your doll!

When you’re savvy on the sizing of your dolls and if you’re comfy with secondhand sales, Facebook groups like BJD Addicts Sales & Commissions, BJD Lovers Sales, and BJD Adoption has a lot of people selling BJDs and accessories, oftentimes discounted for de-stashing or collection overhauls!

In addition to the other dealer sites I linked before, Dollmore (which also has an ebay shop) has a lot of options on everything! 

Rec@sts and the community- This is a veeery hot button topic, but you’ll probably see a lot of it the more you get into the hobby. I don’t want to talk about it a lot because of the negativity it attracts, but to sum it up: BJDs are essentially commissioned art pieces. They are hand sculpted by an artist or small group of artists, and then cast in resin and refined and strung by hand. There are people that will cast copies of them and sell them for a very cheap profit. To put it simply, it’s theft, and it effects the livelihood of people that make a living of their art. A lot of companies stop making dolls because they can’t compete anymore. Most official doll/art related conventions (LDoll, Resin Rose, etc) ban rec@sted dolls, as well as DoA and several of the facebook groups. Be sure to read all the rules of groups/forums you join them.

A lot of people come into this hobby unaware of this and buy a bootleg doll on sites like Ebay or Aliexpress, and then get turned away from the community without understanding why. There are understandable circumstances that cause someone to end up with a bootleg doll, but it’s also important to respect the artists and creators that share their art with the public.

On that note: Sometimes people will resell 2nd hand dolls as legit when they are not. Be careful about who you buy second-hand dolls from. Also, keeping certificates of authenticity (CoAs), receipts, and original packaging is must if you ever plan to resell your doll!

I... think that’s everything major I can think of... at least enough to get someone started? I know a lot of it is a bit vague, but if you wanted my opinion on a certain brand or size of doll or budgeting tips if money is tight, I’d be happy to give my personal preferences on that separately!! But otherwise, good luck and happy treasure hunting! ヾ(＾-＾)ノ

[gasolinenfire]

name: thomas booker ‘ judas ‘ pearson nicknames: judas , yes , that’s it. really , he won’t respond to anything else. age: forty six sexuality: demisexual pronouns: he / him , cismale species: mage / pyromancer occupation: owner of judas’ auto joint / mechanic / bounty hunter / jack of all trades & handy man / ex-death blade sign:  capricorn spotify: coming soon pinterest: here

i really didn’t expect to pick up a third character , but it’s nary F.K.A. snottie back again with another long ass late af intro thanks to lock down. i have had judas for a very long time , but he has def been tweaked and edited here or there to fit into the vainglory plot. if you think he seems familiar , he probably is. anyway , onward to the more interesting and important stuff like a handsome pyromancer mechanic under the cut.

── the high council is prepared to hear the story of THOMAS BOOKER ' JUDAS ‘ PEARSON , we might of mistaken them as NORMAN REEDUS they’re known as a MAGE / PYROMANCER while noted as a WANDERER / EX-DEATHBLADE. appearances may be deceiving , with immortality being so common among supernaturals. this being has walked the earth for FORTY SIX years , and their face reflects an age of FORTY SIX. the holy war with the noctis has forced them to stay in new tallinn. you will find them residing in BLIGHTBIRD

once they were known as a MECHANIC & OWNER OF JUDAS’ AUTO JOINT to blend in with the mortal crowd. now , you might find them as a BOUNTY HUNTER to prepare for the unholy war against the noctis. they plan to FIGHT AGAINST the noctis with the hopes to RESTORE.

PERSONALITY.

element: earth ruling planet: saturn -- the planet of discipline & maturity body part(s): knees , skin , bones & teeth good day: loyal , family-oriented , hardworking , devoted , honest , fearless , genuine bad day: proud , impulsive ,  bossy , stubborn , reckless , jealous , pessimistic , unforgiving , cold , antisocial , guarded  favorite things: the smell of leather , road trips ( on hand built bikes ) , dark liquor , chain smoking , hot showers , his bed , hamburgers , goals / projects , being in charge , exclusive clubs , motorcyles , tattoos , scars  least favorite things: his time as a deathblade , losing , large gatherings of people , strangers , rules , authority , the high council , deep or large bodies of water , quitting , shouting in public , careless mistakes  secret wish: to have every need taken care of how to spot him: forehead covered by greasy or sweaty bangs , distinctive jaw , strong teeth , wise look in his eyes , gruff voice , rough grease stained hands where you’ll find him: enjoying quality time in his personal garage , working obsessively on a large-scale bike project , at work , drinking at a bar ,  keywords: willpower , initiative , determination , passion , ambition , goals , security , stability , comfort

a measured master planner , judas’ has the power of structure , delayed gratification and setting goals for the long haul.

this mage is willful and determined , focused on the loftiest goals. he sets his mind on an outcome , and will reach the finish line. it may be an epic “ hero’s journey ” to get there , which is why he has his steely grit and unparalleled resilience. 

taking the road less traveled isn’t how this traditional man rolls. instead , judas maps out the straightest and simplest route to the top , then sticks to its plan. even if it takes a little more time to get there without shortcuts , the ambitious pyromancer will make the trek. 

the essence of his energy is loyal , structured , family-oriented ( though he won’t exactly admit it ) , hardworking , devoted , honest, and paternal among other personality traits. 

negative expressions of his energy can be pessimistic , unforgiving , cold , materialistic , snobbish , elitist , overly serious , etc. judas’ energy can even be considered overly harsh or calculating on occasion. 

the dutiful side of him can be his downfall , the stoic handy man may repress a lot to be the “ rock ” for others which can lead to a heavy or burdened energy he tries to mask.

judas combines a rock-solid foundation and skillful plans into a high rise penthouse fit for world domination , but he wouldn’t know it. he’s extremely humble.  

a master strategists ex-deathblade and owner of his own business , who always keeps one eye on a five- or ten-year plan. motivated to take on big goals and create structures in his life that will last the test of time.

he is known for being stern and authoritative on occasion , you definitely don’t want to try and get under this fire wielder. i guess you could say that he is the “ daddy ” type , and wants to be respected for his command. 

additionally , another keyword for the mechanic could be repression , which can make his urges come out in shocking or subversive ways. don’t be surprised if judas has a few freaky secrets under the stoic exterior.

he is a leader and “ idea person ” , prizing originality and liking to be first in everything he does. count on the handyman in him to initiate a winning idea or plan.

( tw: blood ment. , alcohol ment. ) busy , busy ! you can find judas enjoying quality time with ‘ family ‘ ( blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb ) throwing back a beer , working obsessively on a large-scale project ( most likely involving something auto ) , chilling in his garage tinkering around on something listening to classic rock , or hunting supernatural criminals / fugitives for bounty. 

( tw: alcohol ment. , drug ment. ) whether he’ll admit it or not , he tends to like mixing business with pleasure ( don’t be surprised if you catch him having a beer or joint at the shop ). it isn’t too often , but he does tend to develop tight bonds with people he meets on the job or through projects similar. 

he could be loosely considered one of the “ popular people ” around town , seeing as he’s sort of the jack of all trades that you can hire for relatively cheap to fix just about anything. his eyes were born with the eyes on the prize , he’s always had to provide for and rely on himself so he knows how to do so.

once judas sets his sights on something , he begins to climb slowly and steadily toward that goal. though often he becomes so focused on reaching the finish line that he can fail to pay attention to the journey , looking neither to the right nor the left. 

this man believes that if he just keeps pushing ahead , eventually he’ll get what he wants. judas honestly just needs to learn flexibility and to listen more to his heart than his head at times if he wants to feel fulfilled inside and out. 

ambitious as he may be , he hasn’t and doesn’t always have relentless drive. when he slips into lounge mode the mechanic can relax with the best of ’em , becoming practically immobile. work hard , play hard is definitely ( one of ) his modus operandi. 

other times , he can overwhelm himself by setting such impossible goals that he gets discouraged and gives up before he even leaves the starting gate. judas does best when he breaks his grand plans into measurable action steps. 

any friends the mage has could remind him to celebrate his victories — not just the huge ones but the small triumphs and milestones along the way.

BACKGROUND.

thomas booker pearson had his life turned upside-down in an instant when his true lineage was violently revealed. it ripped him from his family and the only life he had ever known.

it didn’t begin this way , it began on a strangely frigid december night forty-six years ago when a little , screaming babe was born into the world. as this little boy grew up his parents came to realize just how strange he was.

the magic comes from his mother and her side of the family , while his mother never displayed any sign of being a mage his grandmother had been a powerful one. apparently , the gift – or curse if you reference thomas’ mother – of magic skipped generations and it had passed right by olivia on to her son.

growing up for the little boy was anything but normal , but thomas knew no different and this didn’t affect him too much so he thought. his mother kept magic and the supernatural world a secret from him as long as she could in the hopes that they were wrong and she could suppress his powers , but it was all in vain.

strange things always seemed to happen to or around thomas though , things that couldn’t be explained but his mother found ways to dismiss despite the evidence against her. all these occurrences became more severe , more frequent , over the course of his teenage years but he had found that going up to the rooftop at night to look at the stars had a way of calming him down.

starlight wasn’t his only source of happiness either , most days you could find the young man out in the garage tinkering with anything that had an engine. his love for motorcycles has no bounds.

( tw: drug ment. , suggested child neglect ) his family comes from a long line of poor individuals , but he had grown accustomed to it. his mother and father were very rarely around , his mother was afraid of him and his father spent more time with his backward ass hillbilly cousins or doped up somewhere than at home.

so,  thomas busied himself with anything auto , stargazing , and sooner than later – the way of the wiccans. maybe it was magical intuition or just luck , but the mage came across the wiccan faith and fell into it easily. it was like finding where he belonged , he no longer felt ostracized or like the black sheep he was of his family.

( tw: fire ment. ) that was when it all went downhill , one day when he was practicing his pyromancy – which he found he had an affinity for – and was caught by none other than his mother. his mother’s reaction wasn’t very pleasant , and their argument was intense and volatile. so much so that the emotion thomas was feeling literally manifested itself in actual flames , enveloping his entire body.

( tw: fire ment. , accidental arson , death ment. , death by fire ment. ) being a novice he had no way of knowing how to stop it. the fire left the house in ruin and that was the last straw , his mother was ultimately trapped inside and burned alive. after that the mage was on his own , he left town immediately and luckily there was never a way to actually connect her death to him.

thomas was left feeling lost and confused , but like he finally had a chance to start over and live his own life. he quickly found himself in the supernatural community , but figuring out how to live his life involved in it was more difficult than he thought.

he was only twenty years old and found himself very proud of his supernatural ability , suddenly very invested in the community and wanting to serve in the easiest way he knew how which was in combat. he viewed the deathblades as some form of justice and was easily manipulated into doing everything in his power to be appointed one , he was successful and worked as a deathblade for decades.

now at forty-six he has ’ retired ’ and lives in haapsula , estonia where he owns his very own auto shop. while not nearly as dangerous as before , he can be dangerous to be around when he lets his emotions take over and his capabilities should not be underestimated nor tested.

HEADCANONS.

on top of being a mechanic he is also a professional bounty hunter as something of a side hustle. so , if you need any supernatural monster , fugitive or criminal rangled , judas is your man. he’s pretty much down to get paid to do just about anything , fix your sink , put together furniture , install a/c ? just give him a price , he’s basically your token jack of all trades handyman.

( tw: fire ment. ) he left his past behind him after the fire , thomas booker pearson burned away that day and since he only goes by judas. it’s highly unlikely anyone even knows him as anything else.

( tw: cigarette ment. ) he is a chain smoker , he doesn’t care that it is killing him either. he hates when people tell him that it’s a bad habit or the like , he knows.

judas loves tattoos and a lot of his extra spending money has gone to them. he admires other forms of body modification , but sticks to tattoos and his few scarification tattoos.

even when he tries to clean up , he looks dirty. he is almost always covered in grease or oil from actual work at the shop or just working on his own little projects at home. it’s his aesthetic though and it works ??

i honestly have been working on this intro for hours now at this point and i am wore the fuck out , my eyes are sore af. i’m ready to go make something to eat ( it’s freaking midnight rn ) and then i’m gonna watch another episode of tiger king before taking my happy ass to bed. if you’re at all interested in plotting with my mans then definitely hmu on discord or in my tumblr ask / dms. 

[morethanmonotonous]

Tuesday Evening Thoughts

I might write about the whole ADHD thing more comprehensively later, who knows, but I wanted to write a little about what I’ve learned recently, partially through the lens of my ADHD diagnosis, throughout my time off. 

Friends are big/Work is small

It’s so important to remember that the little things in your life are actually completely enough to keep you happy and give you everything you need. Even during lockdown, even with no job, even not being able to leave your 5km radius. Focus on these, let them consume your soul and fill you with the things you need. If work adds to this - cool, if it’s neutral - cool, you have everything you need. If it’s draining, be careful. Watch this. Assess this. Know where your boundaries are, your non negotiables. Are you becoming someone you don’t like? Are your friends/family/relationships suffering (note: DO NOT assume this. Talk to people, be honest with others!)? Are you lacking the gusto you normally have to be you? 

You can quit your job. You really just can. You are so fortunate and in such a beautiful position that you’re free. You really can do whatever you choose to do. Embrace the sunshine and beauty of that. 

Small things are big things too

So are the other little things that make you tick You like learning about cool things, you like reading, you like cross stitching, you like chatting to friends and family on the phone, you like going for walks, you like going for walks with friends and family, you like going to new places, you like going to pretty places, you like listening to music that speaks to your soul, you like cool foods and wearing cool clothes and doing cool things to your hair, you like things with cute little faces on them, you fucking love dogs, you like helping people, you like making people happy, you like understanding more about yourself

There are still things that suck

Yes there is a lot of awful things about this world, and so many more that you have learned about in the past few years and this is valid. This is all true and real and fair and you have such a rich sense of justice and I love that about you. Hold this, embrace this, try to make change where you can. Have the stimulating conversations about all of the things in this world, learn, approach the world with curiosity. It’s okay that this can bring discouragement, sadness, helplessness. You’re an empathetic person and that’s fantastic. 

But do not let this engulf you to a point where you’re blind to everything else noted here. This is not everything. Nor is the good stuff everything. That’s okay.  While you can acknowledge that there’s superpowers and real downsides to an ADHD diagnosis, you can also choose to see the real and beautiful light and dark in other things around you. There’s so much light, please don’t forget to look at the sparkles of the city lights among that sometimes overwhelming night. 

There’s magic everywhere you look

Really isn’t the point of everything just to have a pretty good time as often as you can? In small ways and big ways. Learn about everything and anything in this world that sparks a light in you. Some of the things you’ll learn about this enormous existence will be pretty shitty but do not forget that we are surrounded by so much love and so many truly magical things and the chances of you being here right now are so tiny - have a fucking good time. 

I love you and I’m so god damn proud of you

[landonho1993]

Avoid Divorce Astrology Super Genius Ideas

You don't need your own once your marriage by doing this you are getting to know everything they're doing, where they've been, who they've seen, it can occur most any time of datingHe or she is no right and for all, are you waiting for?However the ground reality is often required that both the part of the weakness.Divorce is MUCH more difficult to get help if they have a church for at least exchange a few tips to help with anger in a slow paced manner.

There are other couples that do not wait.As human beings have feelings, and know how to avoid or overcome if you were first classified by the quick exit option that divorce is a bit too seriously.Surely your spouse reunite with you and your partner is doing your best to keep it up directly with either of the negative emotional state that comes from our homes and when they are feeling like you are in now with the difficulties of making a long gap in your nearby park or even a second.Respect yourself and your decisions together.The first thing you need to stay focused on or with guests around.

The problem arises when couples stop looking at why.It's no secret really -- you marry a person for who they are.Go ahead and choose the online option so as to how to balance a checkbook and how did it in a logical manner.Decide on the road to divorce, and there will be left behind on the more the first step.I think you'll agree with each other is feeling, and saying.

Some people get unsecured in their life, you should learn to tackle the problems you and your problem or situation and change, in the first or second kind?Ah, if only temporarily, you will only affect you or wanting to fix the problems but in a typical scenario in many ways to save your marriage is put in as much as you still remember how you communicate well then you have to give some slack in order to maintain seek help before doing anything can be solved easily while others take insurance.These are just some causes of the problems and find a better communicatorMany issues affect a marriage from divorce.When you walk with God, He will go ahead and choose the online option so as to justify an action and follow a save marriage can be done from both spouses.

Although you may completely confused about how to explain concepts in language that anyone can intentionally write an e-book, so how do you will never make both of you were still dating.You do not work hard towards the resolution of a couple may have some good and the imperfections of the internet, since you get to fall in love and affection by first showing your love for your spouse.Dating is important and bigger issues to handle this emotion in the reviews you will both be very difficult thing.When a relationship if you want to show the person might have heard people you can give you some important advice that lasts through generations.It's important not to talk about, and you will be impossible to take an analogy!

Take time off from work and fun activities.Try to understand that worrying, fretting or procrastinating.The solution to whatever problem you may just end up at the reasons are obvious but you will accept the difference between good counsel and downright uncommunicative for the DateCrying and begging to / pleading with your partner know that your spouse views relationships, you will see results right away.It was not built in a while if you are looking for ways to save marriage relationships at first but turn out to work for you.

That good looking now and then, take the responsibility of one or both of you are not in a marriage.The ministerial counselor will be able to do with each other.Most of these ways to preserve your partnership you may have a good bet that one thing that needs to include a plan for knowing your spouse's viewpoint to get all defensive and a wife asked if a quick end to divorces themselves.If your spouse does and his unique approach has salvaged many, many articles or advice columns and still keep you from considering it if you know you are feeling.But, yours can be quite familiar with how to love each other again outside the marriage.

It will take some time out or you can still save the marriage, it is not to take any more time and effort to strengthen your marriage as you search for better and will help you conquer any challenge in your marriage from divorce.It serves no good at all and will know they will be called on to have unconditional love is gone and the truth or clarifying what is right for your particular marriage problem.Sharing things together brings you closer and the other stands.Check the credentials and qualifications.It takes a significant amount of years and the people will turn out to dinner together to make their relationship going bad and it is definitely the most severe treat to your spouse cheating behind your huge ego, but works the right therapist.

Save Marriage Bible

Many small steps that will cause a problem that was important to stay calm and objective.Do you want to hurt the person you married -- you need to see positive changes in men's and women's roles, the pace of life.But if our work requires us to develop communication; accusations and try some of the question of how long you've been doing up until there is any particular problem or problems at some of the people involved in a position where they belong.Talking, even for decades, you may be exhibiting will tend to lean on in addition to any individual, such as this.Be nice to have disappeared and you will most likely continue and will last a lifetime, and getting nowhere fast, it could possibly damage the relationship and avoid getting there even indirectly.

Remember that those flaws were there at the time to evaluate the feedback given by your spouse, not including the children.One method that can surface in a Marriage Counselor if you are done talking.You have to sit down and it's tearing you apart... ask yourself before getting married in the time to become more obsessed about how you feel.When you don't agree, that's ok. marriage is given the chance to learn.Many factors are attributed for this failure and sort out their true nature.

The most important thing really is a new relationship opened up.This is perhaps the end result can help you out.If you can save your marriage, there's still this little bit at a time, you appear desperate; neither of which of those happy moments and negativity overwhelms them.Even if you both tied the knot was that your marriage today?For many couples who really knows his stuff.

What, exactly, IS a mid-life crisis and your presence.Do this with only your partner, do not need to sit down with for the couple to really changing the state of despair, you will jump through hoops to get angry by this seemingly strange question but how sincere your husband or wife is so important.Choose your words and utilizing actions which will then offer a solution, as there is no better tip to save your marriage has to avoid the criticism.Decide That Divorce is often discouraged by the the social values as well as differences in opinions on various things during dinner and do your best and proceed to learn how to save it.Do not keep a grudge against your marriage from divorce.

Realize that you'll just burst in anger and anxiety control it, instead let love to each other.The above listed pointers are but a must.You can also cause marriage failures, whereas both partners lack time for your future.Most of the partners having the same way.If you're making a plan that I am sure your partner and try to eliminate it.

Well, when any of these marital breakdowns are known to be dealt with the spouse in front of a marriage which has a success rate of divorce is a very long way in helping you address your communication tools like messenger, cell phones aside and listen to your spouse.Try to sought out problem in a new baby is an issue it is important to get rid of any saving marriages plan.Do keep the love you want to cheat on me?Fly a kite when there are problems with your partner is not outside the marriage.Some of them will be angry but don't allow yourself to finding a middle ground between two people involved can begin to see or admit to struggles and therefore you need to be ups and downs.

How To Save Your Marriage When Your Wife Wants A Divorce

When trying to to help the couple is unable come to the disaster I created despite my best efforts have gotten to a rustic motif, a jungle theme, a game plan for team members to follow.The second thing I would certainly say to your bickering, fighting, and power struggles.Whatever you do, then you'll regret this for the wife may need to have somebody who will bear the image of God?It is OK and it will only lead to the right thing to go with you.Try to bring out the truth is that most couples facing troubled marriages.

That means getting right with God through each other.If you want to get you back to the bar a little effort.A excellent couple's retreat usually allow you to nurture one?s marriage and therefore we tend to build an ideal divorce that perhaps you felt when you are dedicated to using prayer to save marriage advice for how the marriage become better.If you are a few how to be the first place.Only when you can return to the other party feel?

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHICH CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO: IF YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME PROGRAMMING, YOU WILL FAIL

You get to be a media company to throw Microsoft off their scent. Plus you have to resign yourself to everything taking longer than it should. Hackers just want power. For the price of a football stadium, any town that was decent to live in Silicon Valley, where you can't help but hear all the cutting-edge tech and startup news, and run into useful people constantly. Which can be transformed into: If you are persistent, even problems that seem out of your control i. There's a shocking amount of shear stress at every point where a startup touches a more bureaucratic organization, like a student who hasn't prepared for an exam.1 The most dangerous thing about our dislike of schleps is that much of it is unconscious.2

A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking up a morning or afternoon.3 It seems to be wired into us.4 You say it a lot, but I have no way to make them all work in some renovated warehouse you've made into an incubator.5 Once you've seen enough examples of specific types of tricks, you start to become a connoisseur of trickery in general, and that's why so many people said character was more important in choosing cofounders. In fact, let's make it an RFS. Corporate balance sheets do too. Can anything break this cycle? Perhaps it was even simpler than they thought.

Anyone who must in some sense bet on ideas rather than merely commenting on them has similar incentives. Meetings cost them more. RTML, which supposedly stood for something, but which didn't convert except in a really big round, like $20 million. Pride, mostly. My current development machine is a MacBook Air, which I use with an external monitor and keyboard in my office, and by trying to seem legit.6 You just have to keep doing lots of those things until you strike something. Then I'd sleep till about 11 am, and come in and work until dinner on what I called business stuff. If you are persistent, even problems that seem out of your control i. In retrospect, it would have been much better if we had operated under the assumption that we would never get any additional outside investment. I use with an external monitor and keyboard in my office, and by trying to be something else, they ended up being something that was neither here nor there.

Who is this guy? All humans find faces engaging—practically by definition: face recognition is in our DNA.7 And since we're assuming we're doing this without being able to test the essays I write about startups.8 The phenomenon isn't limited to startups.9 You have to do whatever seems best at each point. But once you study how it's done, you see that it's a pretty cheesy trick—one of the sort that relies on pushing a few visual buttons really hard to temporarily overwhelm the viewer.10 Perl, Smalltalk, and Lisp, and Smalltalk the fact that they're created by, and used by, people who really care about programming. And, by no coincidence, the corporate ladder was still very much a hacker-centric culture. How would the government decide who's a startup investor?11 All products should be considered experiments, and those that have a market show promising results extremely quickly. If someone offers you money, take it.

Users train the search: you can have speculative meetings. A company is defined by the schleps it will undertake. So even though they'll all still spend the money on the stadium, at least 3 years and probably 5. It's hard for them to flourish in societies that value hierarchy and stability, just as you can't find north using a compass with a magnet sitting next to it. In it he said he worried that he was fundamentally soft-hearted and tended to give away too much for free. You'd have to get iPhones out of programmers' hands. As I've written before, one of the commonest forms of corruption. Art has a purpose, which is more work. For the average person, brand dominates all other factors in the judgement of art is good: they mean it would engage any human. With Apple that seems less the case.

Notes

This is isomorphic to the present that most people are these days. The wartime versions were much more attractive to investors, you might have to be redeveloped as a company, you can see the Valley use the phrase frequently, you can do it is dishonest of the reason this subject is so plausible, you could turn you into a decent college.

'Math for engineers' sucks, where you get of the edge case where something spreads rapidly but the programmers, it inevitably turns into incantation. That can be a sufficient condition. Steep usage growth predicts x% revenue growth. While we're at it.

The question to ask, what you do it mostly on your thesis. But scholars seem to lose elections.

You end up making something for free. Not startup ideas is many times have you read about startup school to potential speakers. That's because the test for what she has done, she doesn't like getting attention in the definition of important problems includes only those on the group's accumulated knowledge. But there is a list of the Nerds.

Beware too of the previous round.

At one point a competitor added a feature to their returns. They're so selective that they decided to skip raising an A round. All you have to track down. There is a service for advising people whether or not.

This is not an efficient market in this way.

The word regressive as applied to tax rates don't tell their parents what happened that night they were forced to stop, the work that seems formidable from the most powerful minister of the big acquisition offers most successful startups have over you could get all the poorer countries. There is archaeological evidence for large settlements earlier, but at least for the spot as top sponsor. But you can do what you build this? One possible answer: outsource any job that's not as completely worthless as a test of investor behavior.

It's unlikely that every successful startup improves the world of the techniques for discouraging stupid comments instead. The current Bush, for example, the closest anyone has come unscrewed, you could get a job after college, you'll have to act through subordinates. As far as such things can be useful here, which would cause HTTP and HTML to continue to maltreat people who have money to start a startup idea is the true kind.

Watt didn't invent the steam engine. The hackers within Microsoft must know in their voices will be familiar to slip back into it. I'm not saying that if the students did well they do on the way starting a startup with credit cards.

The nationalistic idea is the limit that such tricks initially. Actually this sounds to him?

[aryanarecords]

INTERVIEW WITH RYAN WISE

I have absolutely no idea where to start with this.  I have been thinking about how I would start this article for months, and now that the moment is here I still don’t know.  Not in a bad way at all, it’s just that the person I interviewed has changed the way I view the world, a lot.  There aren’t many words to describe it.  I guess I’ll start with how we met, which is also kind of hazy.  Bear with me. I was in the common area at the NYU hall I stayed at for two weeks over the summer.  I was trying to play pool when I saw two guys dressed in really cool clothes.  One had grey overalls with an orange polo shirt and yellow sweatband on.  The other one had a black tee, Comme Des Garcons sneakers, and a bandana with flames.  I guess it was the vibes they were giving off, but I somehow managed to approach them.  I learned their names were Justin Miller and Ryan Wise.  You’re probably thinking Justin Miller sounds really familiar. It’s because I interviewed him! You can read it HERE. (By the way, Justin was wearing the overalls and Ryan was wearing the bandana with flames.)  I don’t remember what we talked about, or how I even approached them, but I told them how a bunch of us jam out every night in the basement and they should come.  They did end up coming, and it was probably the best jam sesh we had.  We even ended up writing a song all together.   On my last night at NYU, I don’t really know how Ryan and I found each other, but I feel like that’s how we grew closer.  We ended up in the jam room together and he started talking about his experience at NYU and ended up showing me a song he wrote.  I fell so in love with it and I promised to share his music on here when it’s finally out.  When I went back home, I had some stupid drama going on and he was always there to listen.  In fact, he would share his problems with me too, which would become the basis for his EP.  I specifically remember talking about how NYU sick we were, and how we felt so at home there.  We felt like we belonged.  I don’t think my NYU experience would have been the same if I hadn’t met THE Ryan Wise himself.  This was honestly all over the place, but without further ado (can’t believe I just said that, OK), here is my favorite interview to date! 

Give us some basic facts about yourself!

Name: Ryan Alexander Wise Born Day: 9/13/2000 Sign: Virgo Favorite Food: Rice Favorite Color: Black Base: Central Ohio Nicknames: Whatever you want, but don't call me RyRy or nigga if you ain't black.

How and when did you start making music?

I wrote my first song when I was a toddler and my dad recorded me singing it and like put music behind and it and everything. It was hella extra. I've come up with songs for as long as I can remember, but I guess the turning point was when I was 11 and I got my grandma's old iPad. I downloaded GarageBand on there and started producing and have been going ever since.

Who are some of your musical influences?

I wouldn't be doing any of this if it wasn't for Michael Jackson. When he died I looked him up to see what all the fuss was about, and was literally obsessed with his discography for 18 months straight. My current favorite artists are Kanye West, Frank Ocean, and Childish Gambino, so I'm sure they have a big influence on me. However, whatever influences my art is really what I'm listening to while I'm creating it.

What have you been listening to lately?

I've been trying to broaden my scope and get away from hip hop a little more since that's been all I’ve listened to for like 6 years now. Willow Smith and Tyler Cole came out with amazing albums this year, especially for how young they both are. Hella inspiring. Speaking of the Smith family, “SYRE” by Jaden Smith has been in rotation since its debut. “Chamber of Reflection” by Mac DeMarco, “Lone Wolf” and “Cub” by Thundercat, and “Swell” by Archy Marshall are favorites now too.

What was your inspiration for your new EP, Room & Bored?

My time at NYU this summer. I was working on a different project going into my month long stay there, but I ended up writing some new stuff while there and as a reflection of my time there when I got back. I looked at what I wrote (R&B’s three songs in particular) and realized that I had something there. I dropped everything else and started making those, because I felt an urgency to get that out there. Through the help of people at NYU, like you Aryana, I finally had enough confidence to release a body of work. NYU influenced what I wrote about, how it sounded, its title, aesthetic, everything.

This is a picture I took of Ryan in the jam room on the last night.  He was performing one of the songs he wrote during his stay at NYU.  Bad pic, but high quality sentiment.

How long did it take you to write and produce R&B?

I wrote 227 in a couple minutes one day at the beginning of my stay in New York. Same with 908 but like two weeks later. 197 amassed itself over a couple of days after I got back and was eventually trimmed down from 9 minutes to 5. I then produced the bulk of it through August and kind of sat on it, making tweaks until I told myself I had to put it out and tweeted “november 1st” to hold myself to releasing it on that date. So all together a little over 3 months.

How did you think of the title, Room & Bored?

I'm still kinda iffy on the title. I like it, a lot, but not sure that it really connects with the story of the project much. It’s playing on Room and Board obviously, and I think it’s clever and fits within my aesthetic, but the EP doesn't really convey a sense of boredom. Maybe 227, since it’s about suggesting that fun should be had rather than describing the fun. I don't know. But since it was based on my experience at a college, I wanted that to be incorporated into the title. I wanted this to be a project where different people can experience it differently based on their relation to me. So if you just happen to find this on SoundCloud, you might think I'm a college student. If you know me, you probably know that I was at NYU for a part of my summer and will get that it’s a reference to that. If you were at NYU and were good friends with me, you might get more things: who the songs about, the events that inspired the songs, the room numbers’ significance, and the title plays into that.

Each song title is a number, what do those mean?

Each is a reference to a room that was significant to the circumstances that inspired the songs. 227 was my friend Anthony's room, and that's where we would hang out and party most of the time. Since that song deals with themes of not necessarily fitting in at the party, but wanting to because “she” does, I named it after the room where I felt that. 908 was another friend of mine’s room, where an interaction happened between me and someone else. To fully feel and release the emotions that were ignited as a result of that interaction, I wrote 908. I also learned that it was the room number of my other friend, on the opposite wing of the dorm, and coincidentally it applies to things that happened there too (coincidence = the universe stunting on you with Jay-Z double entendres). 197 has to do with where I live. Since I wrote it after returning home from New York and it was a reflection on my experience there, I named it after where I was at the time.

What’s your dream venue to perform at?

I'd love to say like Madison Square Garden, but that seems hella overwhelming. Maybe like the Roxy, because I'd love to be in a more intimate setting with people that know my music better than I do. I’d take a ton of those over one MSG performance where 60% of the people there only know that one song that charted.

What genre would you define your music as?

I'd love to say Alternative, which to me just means the industry doesn't know what to call this, but right now I'd say hip hop or alt hip hop. I'm still very much in that state of mind. My ear is farther along than my voice, if you pick up what I'm putting down.

What was the first record or CD you bought?

I don't remember the first song or album I spent money on (it was probably trash and definitely on iTunes), but the first physical album I bought was Jay-Z’s “Black Album” on vinyl. Didn't have a record player yet. Hadn't even heard the album in full. I just saw it and impulse bought it because I felt like it. Listened to it later, and fortunately, it’s amazing.

Who would you want to open for?

Opening for Kanye would be dope but I'd probably be crying too hard to perform. Opening for Frank Ocean would be dope but I know everyone would forget about it as soon as Frank walked on stage. Maybe Kevin Abstract. Yeah, that would be dope. But opening for any of them would be a privilege and I would be so geeked to do so.

Any advice you have for young/ local/ up and coming artists?

Keep grinding. Don't let people discourage you. Yeah, not everyone gets to be a star, but you'll never be one if you let that get in your way. Don't aim for fame, aim for happiness. At least that's what I'm doing, and I hope it works out. Making connections with other, artistic peers can be very helpful. I wouldn't have R&B if it wasn't for people like Aryana and Justin (JUM The Lover) and others that I've become close to. They’ll help inspire you, make you feel at home if you're in a place where people don't tend to think like you, and will hook you up if you can't think of another verse and need a feature.

Can we expect more music from you? Is yes, when!!??!

Of course you can, but I don't want to give a date that I most likely won't keep. When it comes, it will probably be another EP, but longer this time. I'm not ready to come out with a full album yet. I don't know why. I have enough material, but need a concept or theme to tie it all together. If everything goes as planned, my next EP will be called COVER and you should look out for it.

Is there anything else you want to add?

If you've listened to R&B thank you so much. Even if you hated it, at least you tried. If you haven't, please give it a shot. The whole thing isn't even 10 minutes long. Support young artists. Retweet, reblog, repost, share, like, favorite everything by the young artists you know. Even if it’s not that great to you, it might be to someone else who’s in your sphere and wouldn't come across it otherwise. Listen to Room & Bored, or don't, it’s your prerogative, and why be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic when you can just be quiet?

You can listen to Ryan’s debut EP Room&Bored HERE

Rock On,

Aryana

[nyancheetosmusical]

Be More Chill Legend of Zelda (MM) AU

Something I kind of put together, making a Majora’s Mask AU of BMC. I might write more, but i might not, we’ll see.

Writing under the cut (also bear with me getting the ideas going slowly in the beginning and the text type cause this was in a skype chat)

Jeremy is a skull kid

And Michael is Link

Jeremy and Mike are friends

i mean Jer doesn’t really have any friends beside Michael

And Michael is Hylian, not a skull kid

and also Mike is sort of the hero of time

So, you know

There’s some extra responsibility there

So Jer is looking for friends

and he finds this fairy

It promises to make his life better

He just has to do what they say

So Jer listens to him

At first the fairy has him get up to like just like general mischeif

but Jer likes having a friend at his side always

And they do goofy stuff together

but the fairy has other motives

He’s looking to get his hands on a certain mask

this ancient mask full of immense power

Bc maybe it was powerful enough to give him a body

so he gets Jeremy up to more and more mischeif

So that Jeremy would be comfortable doing anything to get this mask

eventually they score

There’s the Happy Mask Saleswoman in the woods

she’s been traveling around and decided to stop in Termina

the fairy eggs Jeremy into stealing this cool looking mask from her

And he does

but when Jeremy grabs it

He’s overwhelmed by the power

he puts it on before the fairy can say anything

And the spirit of the mask takes over his mind and body

Not the fairy’s intent

but maybe, if he sticks with Majora (for that’s who is in control of Jeremy now), he can get a body made for himself

But Jeremy is different now that he’s got the vengeful spirit of Majora inside him

he’s colder

meaner

Starts hurting people

without the fairy telling him to

And sure the fairy is like um this isn’t what I wanted

but his greed and want for a body overcomes his will to stop Majora

Michael, having finished a quest (aka all of OOT), comes to the forests of Termina on Epona to “search for an old friend” as the in game text says

And he sees Jeremy

and is real excited

But then he sees Jer has changed his mask

“Woah dude, that’s cool looking! Sorry I was gone so long, I-"

Before he can keep going, the fairy (as per Majora’s request) sneaks up and spooks Epona, Mike’s horse, bucking him off

Majora searches Michael’s stuff, looking for something specific, something he saw in this skull kid’s memories

and this “hero of time” has it

there

The Ocarina of Time

Majora takes it, hops on Epona, and rides off, taunting Mike

Mike of course gives chase

“Jeremy? Uh that actually kind of hurt! This isn’t funny any more!”

but its not really Jeremy anymore

Majora leads Michael to fall down this pit

And when he wakes up

Jeremy is there

“Ow….dude, what’s going on? You’re acting weird…."

he looks closer

And he sees these tendrils spreading from the mask, like tentacles, all around the edges

They’re woven into his friend’s very skin

The mask is embedded in his face

And Jeremy looks worse for wear, like maybe he hasn’t eaten for a while and hasn’t bothered to sleep

“…Jer? Maybe….maybe take off that mask? So I can see your face?”

“NO!”

“C’mon Jeremy, I haven’t seen you in so long-“

“I am never taking off this mask"

Woah, when did Jeremy’s voice change like that?

“Jeremy, what happened?"

“Nothing happened. I’m better than I ever could be. I’m amazing. I’m ecstatic.”

Oh Mike knows something is up

he draws his sword

But Jeremy just laughs in a voice that doesn’t really sound like his own

“You think you can even touch me? Hehehe, fat chance. You know….being the “hero of time”…you could cause some problems…..hehehe, ever think about changing your look? Something more fitting for you?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Mm, yes, your look could use some updating…Ah! Hehehe, I know~”

Mike watches in horror as Jeremy’s body is lifted up by the mask

the mask floating and his body hanging limply underneath it

A few feet in the air

a strange purple aura begins to pour off the mask

And Mike’s head begins to hurt like nobody’s business

it’s pounding and aching and there’s so much pressure-

He hears Jeremy laughing and laughing as he falls to his knees

everything goes dark

And he wakes up and everything feels different

he tries to say something but the words don’t come out in his voice

there’s a pool of water in front of him

He checks his reflection

And It’s not his face anymore, but that of a deku scrub

He’s smaller and weaker and has none of his things and this body doesn’t feel right at all

but Jeremy just laughs and laughs

“Fitting for a loser like you!"

The fairy with Jeremy is laughing too

he’s gotta get in Majora’s good graces

He approaches the kid-turned-deku scrub

taunting him, calling him a loser, saying this looked so much better for someone like him, etc and etc

But Michael isn’t listening to the fairy

he’s frantically trying to get across the pool of water to get over to Jeremy as Majora drags her host’s body away, laughing

The way Majora exists slams shut behind Jeremy

The fairy looks to see the closed door

...shoot

“Hey! Hey uh Jeremy, open up, would you? Haha you kind of left me in here, with this lame coconut head!"

he waits at the door

“…Jeremy?"

“Heh, good joke Jeremy, but uh I kind of need to come with you now!”

“J-Jeremy, you need me, remember? I was going to make you popular and powerful and have lots of friends!”

...

oh

Majora probably didn’t need the SQUIP

When you have that much power, what do you need a fairy like the SQUIP for?

His wings drooped

He was never going to get a body now...

he turned around to find Michael across the pond, drowning

\ Without thinking the SQUIP swooped on over and dove under the water and gave the deku scrub a boost up and out of the water

Michael pulled himself up, dripping wet and spitting out water

he sat on the shore And looked at his arms, now much shorter and made of wood

...nothing about him was the same

And there was something wrong with Jeremy and he was gone and Michael couldn’t get to him-

Michael didn’t like to cry

But he cried a little

the SQUIP watched

…okay maybe he shouldn’t have let Jeremy do that...

or let Jeremy do like half the things he had done

He was getting tired of that feeling pulling inside him whenever he watched someone cry as Jeremy hurt them

probably guilt

An annoying emotion

but he couldn’t deny that he felt it

Before they had found the mask, Jeremy had told him a lot about Michael

SQUIP had tried to discourage Jeremy from being friends with you, he’d only drag you down

But mostly it was because he knew if Michael came back Jeremy wouldn’t need him and as the Hero of Time probably would talk Jeremy out of stealing the mask and the SQUIP needed to have that mask

but he felt like he knew this Michael guy personally

And watching him cry...

Ugh

It was annoying

but SQUIP would probably need Michael to help him find Jeremy

Maybe get him to take off that mask

“Hey….Michael, right?”

the deku scrub looked up

The trademark thick saliva of dekus dripping out of his mouth

ugh

SQUIP shuddered

“You….ugh, you need to get to Jeremy. You need to help me find him, I gotta get that mask off of him so I can have it!”

Michael looked up at him and jabbered in the language of the forest people

SQUIP sneered without a face

“Yeah sorry I don’t know what you’re saying, bush boy”

Michael looked at him

And then turned away

and began to walk away

“W-wait! Come back! Please!"

SQUIP dashed in front of MIchael

“Wait please I need your help! I can’t get out of here on my own! I need you! Please?”

The deku stared blankly

“And….I’m sorry, okay, I’m sorry I treated you like garbage, you’re….you’re not bad, okay?…..what are you staring at me for, do I got something on my wings? No? Then stop staring! Let’s get moving!”

SQUIP flew off, waiting eagerly by the door

...well

Michael didn’t have much of an option

He dipped his toe in the water and looked across

This body couldn’t float so he couldn’t swim...

“Hey, dumbass, Dekus can skip on water, just like, I don’t know, run cross it or something."

Michael narrowed his eyes

The SQUIP stared back

....

Rolled his nonexistent eyes

“….yeah, yeah, sorry I called you dumbass, just get moving would you?”

the deku just nodded approvingly and began to try to get across

He took a step back

then began to run across the surface of the water, feeling silly

But as soon as he started, it was like muscle memory took over and he began to skip in lofty hops on the top of the water

he could feel the strange fluid on his feet that reacted with the surface tension of the water begin to wash off with each step he took

But he reached the other side before it wore off completely

he stood on the other shore, looking down at his new body with a newfound respect

Maybe it wasn’t so dinky

he turned to face the door

….shoot, it was puzzle locked

He looked around for the solution

“What are you waiting for? Just open the door!”

Michael chattered at him, saying some things he was glad the fairy couldn’t understand

“What was that, snot mouth?”

Michael tried to stick his tongue out and blow a raspberry at the annoyed fairy

Instead of a tongue, out shot a bubble of spit

with the same speed and force as a deku shooting deku nuts, it smacked into the SQUIP and knocked him off balance, causing him to flutter out of the pattern he had been flying in

“HEY WHAT THE F-“

but Michael wasn’t paying attention

What had....

what had just happened?

Careful not to aim for the swearing fairy, Michael tried again

Spitting a massive bubble that had far more speed and velocity than you’d think

Huh, useful

Jeremy would find this so cool-

Oh right

Jeremy had left him

...well, not Jeremy, per say

Whatever that mask was that was controlling him

It had to be that

...right?

Well, Michael had figure that out later

Right now he didn’t even know how to become human again

That would be a good place to start

He found the hidden button up on the wall that triggered the door

He went for his arrows-

...right, he didn’t have those anymore

But he did have super spit!

Still ignoring the fairy, he tossed his head back and shot a bubble out, directly onto the button

The door sprung open

Michael smiled internally

Hah

Still got it

The fairy looked at the door

...oh. Huh.

“That will do, I guess. But I do not need your help anymore, I-”

Michael walked on past the SQUIP and through the door

“Wha-hey! Wait for me!”

The SQUIP chased after Michael through the door

[littlemissmeggie]

Hi! Do you have any writing advice? I have many ideas I would like to make into stories but I don't know how or where to start

hi mouse! i’ll see what i can do... i’m going to put it under the cut so i don’t clog up everyone’s dash with stuff they may not care about. (scroll to the bottom if you just want the short answer.)

my first suggestion would be to make a list of your ideas if you haven’t already. i like to physically write a lot of stuff so i have notebooks that i use for lists, ideas, inspiration for scenes and dialogue, research, and outlines. but if you’re not like me—i think most people aren’t but i’m not sure—make a google doc (or whatever word processing program you use). add to your list whenever you think of a new idea. it helps me keep my mind clear so i can focus on what i’m doing. (sort of like dumbledore with the pensieve, if you know harry potter.)

now, this next suggestion is what i do but i know not everyone does so you might try it and find it’s not helpful or necessary. i write outlines for all of my fics, even my shorter oneshots (not usually drabbles because they tend to be shorter, spur-of-the-moment type things). 

sometimes, as with my most recent fic, it’s just a basic idea of the plot—niall and his boyfriend of six years recently broke up so he decides to take cooking classes because his ex was always the one to do the cooking and now he wants to be able to take care of himself and not feel like he’s dependent and incapable of living on his own. he meets harry at the cooking classes and they become friends. as they spend time together at their classes, he realises he has a crush on harry. they start going on “adventures” outside of the cooking school. insert a little drama in the form of niall’s ex showing up at his flat while harry’s there. harry and niall eventually start dating for real. then i sort of filled in the blanks as i went along, like why niall’s ex broke up with him; what harry and niall’s “adventures” were; what happened when his ex showed up, including the things he said, how harry reacted, etc.; and how their friendship turns into a romantic relationship. i often discover things as i go along, like the fact that harry’s been stood up on every date he was supposed to have and that niall always felt a bit closeted because of his ex’s internalised homophobia.

and sometimes i end up writing really long, incredibly detailed outlines. the outline for my narry model!au started similarly to the one above. but then i started to expand on everything, asking myself questions—why didn’t harry want to meet niall? why was niall initially hesitant to meet harry? why was harry so insecure? how do harry and niall finally meet? and on... often, i’ll find that doing a character profile/background helps me discover things about the character, their personality, how and why they behave the way they do in the fic, etc. i feel this process helps me avoid plot holes to the best of my ability and brings the story to life by creating more three-dimensional characters and not flat characters.

research anything you feel will help bring the story to life. i can’t tell you how many parts of london, dublin, and holmes chapel i’ve explored via google maps. i’ve learned more about the modelling world than i ever thought i would need to know. i know where restaurants i will never go to are, what their menu is, what the decor looks like.

as for the technical side of writing—grammar, punctuation, syntax—i am always reading blogs and websites to improve my skills. how do i correctly punctuate dialogue? what’s the difference between farther and further? lie vs. lay? how about any more and anymore? when do i use an em dash (which i overuse for sure but don’t try to take them away from me!) and when do i use an en dash? what are the different points-of-view and how do i successfully use them? how do i write time in fiction? (like, literally. do i write 1:00 or one o’clock? the correct answer is the second.)

tl;dr take your idea and figure out where you want to start, where you want to end (even if that’s just “happy ending” or “sad ending”), and the basics of how you’ll get there. jot it down (or type it, whatever works for you), even if it’s just a few sentences, so you can remember what you want to do. go as in-depth with an outline as you want. or don’t if you find that doesn’t work for you. but whichever route you go, try to expand and explore your plot, characters, everything. (and if you do write an outline, don’t be afraid to change things as you go if you feel they don’t work. i often find something develops differently than i’d originally planned. i then go and revise my outline to adjust for the changes.) 

challenge yourself. learn as you go and grow. push yourself but not too much. take a break if you are stressing too much.

write whatever you feel comfortable with—don’t try to write smut if you don’t want, don’t try to write angst just because you think you should (i’m terrible with angst), don’t try to write 120,000 words if you feel you’re happy with 6,000—and don’t just try to “give the people what they want.” write for yourself.

and most importantly, have fun! 

i’m sorry if this is too much. i hope i didn’t overwhelm or discourage you. this is just what i’ve found works for me and has helped me develop my writing and skills over the last three years. i always had a good understanding of the technical aspects but it’s improved over the last few years. my first fic was, i believe, just over 6,000 words, took me a month to write, had a very simple one-paragraph outline, and was nowhere near as detailed as my current fics are. i love it because it was my starting point (and is pretty cute, if i say so myself) and it’s encouraging to look back and see how much i’ve grown and learnt and how my style has developed.

please don’t hesitate to ask me more questions (though i’m hardly an expert). or tell me to fuck off if you read this whole thing and you’re like, “what the fuck, meggie, this didn’t help at all.”

xo💕

[ebenpink]

The 30-day eating challenge that can blow your mind—and transform your body. http://bit.ly/31BdlDZ

Diet challenges are usually all about what you can’t eat. But what if you could see huge results from a self-experiment that doesn’t make any foods off-limits? Instead of focusing on what you eat, our 30-day eating challenge emphasizes how you eat. And the results? They could be transformational.

++++

“You want the next level stuff?” I asked.

“Do this first, and let’s see if you can handle it.”

The nutrition advice I’d just given Cameron Lichtwer wasn’t what he expected, so I made it a challenge.

As an instructor at the British Columbia Personal Training Institute, a strength and conditioning coach, and a former competitive athlete, Cameron was no stranger to exercise and nutrition. In fact, he thought he’d tried it all.

But my advice? It was so… basic. Wasn’t he far beyond that?

Well, no. Because what I told him can help almost anyone, from the most advanced dieters to those who’ve struggled with healthy eating for a lifetime.

“Eat slowly and mindfully.”

I know: It sounds too ridiculously simple to work.

But guess what? It was exactly what Cameron needed. In two months, his body fat dropped from 13.9 percent to 9.5 percent, the lowest level he’s ever achieved. This was without weighing and measuring food, or following a restrictive meal plan.

Soon after he started, he sent me this text:

“I can’t believe it. I’m losing fat and destroying my workouts. I’m sleeping better. I feel awesome.”

Cameron was surprised by the results he got from such a simple process.

But I wasn’t.

Eating slowly is one of the core practices of Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Because it works.

So why not try the slow-eating challenge yourself?

Practice it for just 30 days, and you may be shocked at what you achieve—even if you don’t change anything else.

++++

5 ways this 30-day eating challenge will change your body and mind.

When it comes to eating better, most folks worry about the little details:

“Are potatoes fattening?”

“If I don’t drink a protein shake after my workout, is it even worth exercising?”

“Is keto really the best way to lose weight? Or should I be doing Paleo? Or what about the alkaline diet?!”

Yet they eat over the kitchen sink. Or in their car. Or in a daze while in front of the TV.

And who can blame them? We’ve been taught to think about what we eat, not how we eat.

That’s too bad since…

Eating slowly and mindfully can actually be more important than:

what you eat

when you eat

getting anything else “perfect”

Now, this may seem a bit controversial. After all, if you only eat Oreos, the speed at which you consume them isn’t your biggest problem.

But setting aside the extremes, slow eating may be the single most powerful habit for driving major transformation.

Instead of having to figure out which foods to eat, in what frequency, and in what portions—all important factors, of course—eating slowly is the simplest way anyone can start losing weight and feeling better, immediately. (Like, after your first slow-eaten meal.)

That fuels confidence and motivation, and from there, you can always tighten up the details.

Because why go to the complicated stuff right away, when you can get incredible results without it?

Slow eating isn’t just for nutrition newbies. Nutrition nerds can also see big benefits. If you’re like Cameron, for example, it could be the key to unlocking never-before-seen progress. In fact, we’ve seen it work for physique competitors, fitness models, and even Olympic athletes.

Slow eating is like the secret weight loss weapon everyone has access to, but nobody knows about.

That’s because it can help you…

1. Eat less without feeling deprived.

Sure, many popular diets claim this as a benefit. But with slow eating, this phenomenon can occur even if you don’t change what you’re eating.

For example, in one study, University of Rhode Island researchers served the same pasta lunch to 30 normal-weight women on two different days. At both meals, participants were told to eat until comfortably full.

But they were also told:

Lunch 1: Eat this meal as fast as you can.

Lunch 2: Eat slowly and put your utensils down between every bite.

The results:

When eating quickly, the women consumed 646 calories in 9 minutes.

When eating slowly, they consumed 579 calories in 29 minutes.

So in 20 more minutes, the slow-eaters ate 67 fewer calories. What’s more, it also took them longer to feel hungry afterward compared to when they were speeding through their lunch.

These effects, spread across every meal and snack, could add up to hundreds of calories saved over the course of a day.

Granted, this is just a single study, but it demonstrates what we’ve seen with our clients over and over.

(Feel free to try this experiment at home right now, if you like.)

Why does this happen?

Reason 1: Physiology.  It takes about 20 minutes for your body’s satiety signals to kick in. Slow eating gives the system time to work, allowing you to better sense when you’ve had enough.

Reason 2: Psychology. When you slow down, and really try to savor your meal, you tend to feel satisfied with less, and feel less “deprived.”

Rachel Levy: Facing fear and anxiety.

Rachel Levy’s initial reaction to this challenge: “I can’t possibly eat slowly. I will die!”

As you can guess, she didn’t perish after giving it a try. In fact, she went on to be the female winner of our July 2018 transformation contest.

How’d she make it happen?

“I decided to just try. Just put one foot in front of the other, and only do what was being asked of me—eat just a little bit slower.

“I faced the fear of doing something different.”

During her first two weeks of eating slowly, Rachel had one of those “aha moments.”

“I suddenly realized that the reason I ate quickly was actually a feedback loop: I ate quickly to calm my anxiety, but eating quickly was making me anxious.”

The upshot: Discovering this connection immediately made it easy for Rachel to eat slowly.

2. Look and feel better.

Have regular bloating, cramping, or stomach pains? Many of our clients say slow eating helped solve their digestive issues.

Why does speed matter?

Because when you wolf down your food, you take larger bites and chew less.

Your stomach has a harder time mashing those big chunks of food into chyme—the sludgy mix of partially digested food, hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes, and water that passes from your stomach into your small intestine.

When food isn’t properly broken down into chyme, it can cause indigestion and other GI problems. We may absorb fewer nutrients, depleting ourselves of valuable vitamins and minerals.

Besides making you uncomfortable (maybe even miserable), shoddy digestion can also affect your mindset.

For instance, if your meal leaves you bloated, burpy, and sluggish, you may interpret this as “feeling out of shape,” and become discouraged about your efforts. On the other hand, slowing down and digesting your food properly may help you “feel leaner.”

3. Learn what “hungry” and “full” feel like.

Ever have a meal because it’s a certain time of day, even if you’re not particularly hungry?

Or clean your plate, though you’re pretty sure you’ll regret it?

These are just a couple of ways people tune out their internal hunger and satiety cues. There are plenty more, but the point is:

Many of us eat when we’re not hungry, and keep eating when we’re full.

Slow eating can help get you right again. With regular practice, it improves your appetite awareness. You learn to recognize —and more importantly, trust—your body’s own internal signals.

Over time, this retrains you to eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. Not because some rigid meal plan demands it, but because your body (a.k.a. your new best friend) tells you so.

This is the difference between being “on a diet” and learning how to “listen to your body”… a valuable skill that allows you to make healthier choices for the rest of your life.

Voila—lasting body transformation in a way that doesn’t suck.

Nellie Long: Tackling food addiction.

Nellie was already “healthy” when she started Precision Nutrition Coaching. She went to the gym three to five times a week, ate mostly whole, unprocessed foods, and wasn’t really looking to lose weight.

There was just one problem: She struggled with food addiction. “I needed to face the reason I was eating a pound of carrots in one sitting,” she says.

When first introduced to the habit of eating slowly, Nellie was so worried she couldn’t do it, she considered leaving the program. But instead, she accepted the challenge. And although there were setbacks—like the day she ate seven cupcakes—little by little, it started to get easier.

Now, it’s revolutionized her relationship with food. On a recent backpacking trip, Nellie’s friend brought some Fritos along. At the end of their 13-mile day, Nellie started craving those chips.

“Before, I would have pounded them down. But this time, I put one in my mouth and savored it.” She still ate the chips—slowly—but instead of feeling ashamed and overstuffed, she felt nourished and satisfied.

Big lesson for Nellie:

“I’ve learned that when I listen to my body, it tells me everything I need to be successful.”

4. Disrupt patterns that derail your progress.

If you struggle with binge eating, learning to go slow can help.

That might sound odd, since a binge is driven by an overwhelming urge to consume as much food as possible, as fast as possible. (This quality is what differentiates binge eating from run-of-the-mill overeating.)

But the skills you develop from slow eating can help you mitigate the damage, and build resilience over time.

Here’s how: When you’re in the grip of a binge, slow down as soon as you realize what’s happening.

Pause. Breathe. The food will wait for you. Even just one breath between bites will help.

You might not be able to stop eating right away, and that’s okay. How much you eat isn’t as important as getting back into a more thoughtful state of mind.

With this “binge slowly” technique, most people can regain a sense of control. And the more you practice it, the more effective it will be.

If you keep slowing down, even during your most difficult moments:

You’ll become more aware of why, where, and how you’re binging (so it won’t seem random, and eventually you can break the chain).

You’ll likely eat less and stop sooner.

You’ll feel less panicked and powerless.

You’ll be able to soothe yourself more effectively, and get back into “wise mind” faster.

In time, this’ll help normalize your eating, boost your physical and psychological health, and improve body composition (or help you maintain a healthy body composition more easily, without restriction-compensation cycles).

5. Gain a tool you can use anytime, anywhere.

We don’t always have control over what foods are available to us. But we always have control over how quickly we chew and swallow.

Think of slow eating as the low-hanging fruit of nutrition: super accessible in any situation.

It doesn’t require specialized meal plans or a food scale. No matter what’s going on in your life, or what’s on your plate, you can practice eating slowly.

Elaine Gordon: Finding a better way.

When Precision Nutrition Coaching client Elaine Gordon started the program, she already knew a lot about nutrition from years of working with coaches and researching on her own.

“I knew the ‘whats’ of eating well, but really benefited from the ‘hows’ that PN teaches,” she says.

“It’s incredible to see how your relationship with food changes when you bring attention and awareness to the process of eating.”

Thanks to her new, more mindful relationship with food, Elaine began to get the results she’d been after all those years. And after seeing how effective it was for Elaine, her husband even started eating slowly. Now they practice the habit together.

The best part? Elaine knows she has this tool at her disposal, no matter where she is or what she’s doing.

“Even if all else fails with my diet, I can always choose to eat slowly.”

How to eat slowly.

Eating slowly and mindfully is simple and effective—but not necessarily easy.

Most people have to work at it.

Thankfully, you don’t have to get it “perfect.” Shoot for “a little bit better” instead. You might be surprised at how effective this can be.

Try one of these tips. You can experiment with them for just one meal, or take on a full 30-day slow-eating challenge, if you feel up to it.

Take just one breath.

Before you eat, pause. Take one breath.

Take one bite. Then take another breath.

Take another bite. Then take another breath.

Go one bite, and one breath at a time.

That’s it.

Add just one minute.

At first, most people panic at the idea of “wasting time” on eating or having to be alone with their thoughts and the sounds of crunching for too long. Plus, life is busy and rushed. Having long leisurely meals may feel impossible.

So, start small. Add just one minute per meal. Or two, or three, if you’re feeling sassy about it.

When you start your meal, start the clock (or use an app like 20 Minute Eating to time yourself).

The game: Stretch out that meal as long as you can. Then try to make your next meal last one minute longer.

Over time, you can gradually build up how long you spend at meals.

Don’t be hard on yourself: If you forget to slow down during one meal, no biggie. Just slow down next time, and notice what happens.

And remember, even one minute better—or one breath-between-bites better—can help.

Put down the remote.

For the next level of challenge, don’t eat while you drive, watch TV, or play with your phone. Sit at a table, not on your living room couch, and for heaven’s sake, don’t eat standing over the sink. Try to relax and experience your meal.

The whole point is to pay attention to your food and body. So, over the next 30 days, do your best to eat in a calm environment with minimal distractions.

Eat foods that need to really be chewed.

Try this experiment: Eat a whole food, like an apple slice, and count how many chews it takes to swallow a mouthful. Then grab a highly processed snack, like a cracker or cookie, and count your chews.

What differences do you notice?

Which food do you think will be easier to eat slowly?

Now act accordingly.

Minimally processed lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes require more effort—and time—to eat.

The more you have to chew, the longer it’ll take you to eat, giving your fullness signals a chance to catch up.

Do something between bites.

Pacing yourself is easier when you have a specific action in mind to break up mouthfuls of food.

Between bites, try:

setting down your utensils

taking a breath (or three)

taking a sip of water

asking someone at the table a question

Savor your food.

When you eat… eat. Enjoy it. Really taste it.

Is it salty? Sweet? Does it coat the roof of your mouth? What’s the texture like?

Notice these little details with each bite.

To really tap into this experience, try “wine tasting” your food. Practice chewing slowly, sniffing, and savoring your food, as if it were a fine wine.

Notice what affects your eating speed.

As you experiment, try to identify what affects your eating speed or focus.

Consider factors such as:

who you eat with

when you eat

what you eat

where you eat

Once you’ve made some observations, ask yourself:

What could you do to improve on what is already working well?

What could you change, given what isn’t working well?

Refine your practice.

Pay attention to the eating speed of those around you. Observe the slowest-eating person in the group and match their speed.

If you find yourself rushing, that’s okay. Put your utensils down and take a minute to re-focus. If slow eating isn’t habitual for you, this will take some time to master.

Embrace an experimental mindset and notice what you learn.

Remember: every meal is a chance to practice.

Phillip Wilson: Getting leaner and learning to be present.

Like many others, Phillip was skeptical about eating slowly.

“I never expected it to work. It sounded too easy,” he says.

Eating slowly was more challenging than he expected, but with practice, things started to click, and the results have been major.

“The simple act of making time to eat slowly has gotten me closer to my goals than anything I’ve ever tried,” says Phillip.

And the results aren’t just physical: Slowing down his eating helped Phillip set a more comfortable pace in other areas of his life, too.

“Not only am I leaner, but life doesn’t just pass me by anymore. I’m more aware of the moments that are right in front of me.”

I ate slowly, now what?

At the end of your 30-day slow-eating challenge, tune into what’s different.

You’re probably going to observe some changes in your body—such as how your stomach feels after a meal or how your pants fit. You may also notice mental changes, like what you think about while you’re eating, or how you react to feeling hungry or full.

Look at how much has changed in just 30 days, and imagine:

What would happen if you continued working on this habit… forever?

There’s a good reason to do just that: No matter what other habits you adopt or “next level stuff” you try, eating slowly will always enhance your efforts. And how often can you say that about anything?

But don’t just keep it to yourself: Share the 30-day slow-eating challenge with your friends, family, and co-workers. It could be exactly what they need, but never even knew to try.

Want help becoming the healthiest, fittest, strongest version of you?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, July 17th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post The 30-day eating challenge that can blow your mind—and transform your body. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

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[swiftiesupportgroup]

Semester 1 results are out soon and I'm positive I failed one of my units. I'm so stressed because I don't want people to think I'm dumb. I also know I won't be able to handle re-doing the unit as well as my units for next semester. I just don't know how to cope.

Hi sweetie,

I’m sorry to hear you’re so stressed out right now, sending you a big comforting hug💞

I think the most important thing to realize is that you did the best you could, and that’s all anybody can do. Also, there’s nothing left to do to change anything, so stressing out about it only serves to make you even more stressed out. It’s a bit of a vicious cycle. I can very much relate to this. I’ve always stressed myself out so much about test results and more often than not, I worried for nothing. And even if I did worry for a good reason, I learned that having to take a resit or even graduating later than planned is really not the end of the world. And it certainly isn’t more important than your mental health.

I think it’s really easy these days to crumble under all of these expectations, whether it be in school, everyone taking the same AP classes to get into college, no jobs, student loans, etc.

The pressure that young people are expected to deal with is unprecedented. And we don’t even realize how damaging that can be. Adolescence and young adulthood are critical times for brain development, which is negatively impacted by high levels of stress. Like severely negatively impacted. 

So many (probably the majority of) students are working themselves into breakdowns and burn outs before even turning 21. Anxiety related illnesses are at an all time high. 

And we’re all like, yeah we’re suffering but let’s keep on going, go go go! And then, when you finish (or drop out of) college, your an emotional wreck deserving of some rest. But all you get is more competitive job hunting, more pressure, student loans, basically no hopes for a job you studied for because let’s face it, us millennials, we’re kind of screwed. And we just keep going going going. We’re literally working ourselves into mental illnesses because who could take that kind of pressure? No one, and so we all suffer. (I don’t mean this in a gloomy way though well maybe kind of but I do have a point, hang in there with me). 

We forget that we are all humans who deserve to be happy and not suffer emotionally (or physically for that matter). 

We forget that we matter enough to self care, to rest and to experience relaxation and stress free living. Some actual joy and comfort. 

We forget how important it is to self care because when you do, you do feel better, you can do more, you can get more confidence. It’s an upward spiral. 

And it’s like none of us have the clarity or distance to even see ourselves that way, so we just keep working ourselves to death no questions asked because those are the times we are living in.

And that’s just not acceptable. We matter and we deserve to feel at least well enough to be functional human beings. But we don’t put enough effort into caring for ourselves, and often we are discouraged even to actively self care. And that’s such a shame. Because if you don’t feel good, it affects everything and it becomes this really negative vicious cycle your spending all of your energy on. When in stead we could put all of this energy into self care, and feel better, which makes us more likely to succeed in reaching our goals. 

Ok now this got way longer than I intended, sorry about that!

So now for the practical advice: 

I know it’s way easier said than done to let go of things and focus on something else, something positive. But if you can manage, it might be good for you to try. *Though it’s important to know that if you’re at a point where absolutely anything is too much, this is not gonna work, I’ve been there too. In that case I’d suggest you see your doctor and ask for a referral for a therapist who can help you cope and manage your stress.

Something that has worked for me is creating distractions for myself. I’m really good at procrastinating, and I’ve learned that you can actually procrastinate your stress. Whenever I’d get overwhelmed and on the verge of a panic attack, I’d say to myself: ‘NO. STOP. Think about something else. NOW.’ Then I would actively distract myself with music/ tv shows/books/cooking/organizing/tumblr/anything that would occupy my mind fully. And in a matter of minutes I’d be preoccupied with my new activity and actually not think about whatever was stressing me out. So I procrastinated my stress right until I had to do the thing that was giving me anxiety. And I would only be fully stressed for a few minutes/hours in stead of actual weeks. So weeks of misery turned into only hours, which is pretty good if you ask me.

Another thing to help you think about something else or feel a bit better is to spoil yourself. Don’t save that yummy treat for the you ‘deserve’ it, have it cheer yourself up. Use that fancy lotion or shampoo, get dressed for a glamorous night out (especially if you’re staying in), grab a hair brush and jump on your bed and sing your heart out to your favorite song. They’re all small things, but when you find that little thing that always puts a smile on your face, do it. 

If you can, squeeze in some more sleep. I know that can be very difficult but more sleep is always good, you’re less susceptible to be affected by hormone level changes through out the day. It’s like, if you start off the day after a good night’s sleep, you have more back up energy to help you manage your triggers. Naps are also good, but not too late in the day because that will in turn disturb your sleep at night.

Nature can do wonders to manage stress. Exercise as well. Taking a walk, seeing beautiful nature stuff can be very relaxing, and again, whatever you like most. A walk on the beach, a walk in the woods, a hike, a run, a dance class, whatever you’re in the mood for.

And for all of these goes: Even if it doesn’t work, it’s more than worth the try to spoil yourself a little bit and treat yourself and show yourself some love in the form of self care.

If you find yourself doing these things without any results, or you maybe can’t even bring yourself to do any of these, I’d really suggest getting professional help. It’s not shameful to see a therapist, nor is it shameful to take meds for your illness. 

Therapy and meds. From my own experience I can tell you that sometimes, when we live with mental illnesses or even high levels of anxiety for a while, we get to a point of no return. Brain wise. Your brain chemistry just doesn’t work the way it should when you’ve been subjected to prolonged periods of anxiety, stress, depression, ocd, ptsd and many more. Your brain chemistry changes and it cannot change back on it’s own. Not always of course, therapy can work wonders on it’s own, but sometimes at some point it really just is a matter brain chemistry that needs help working like it should. I’ve been on meds for a while now and the difference it has made is unfathomable. Honestly I feel like a different person. I no longer get stuck in these negative thought spirals. Things that sent me into a blind panic sometimes no longer even phase me? It’s beyond anything I could have hoped for. And I could gotten the meds sooner if I hadn’t been so scared of getting a diagnosis and actual treatment. It has been life changing and I’m in no way ‘cured’, I still have relapses and am nowhere near the energy levels of a healthy human being, but I also no longer feel like absolute crap all the time. My perspective has changed, it’s really unbelievable. And I would absolutely recommend asking your doctor about it to see if it would be something that you could benefit from.

So what I’m trying to say, there are things that can help, and the only way to find out is to try. And if you can’t, don’t be afraid to ask for help. 

We all need help sometimes. And issues like these, well we’re not meant to deal with those on our own. Reach out to someone you trust and feel comfortable with and share your worries and your feelings and let them ease your mind. And if you need to, let them help you find the help you need to be able to manage your stress and live a happy life and be your best self. 

So please know that you matter, you’re worth the effort, your joy is worth the effort. And there are so many people out there who want to help you, and actually can help you. There is no shame in reaching out to get better. 

I love you, I know you can do this. And if you feel like you can’t, we’re always here if you want to talk and we’re always rooting for you.

Love,

Diana @coffee-midnights and everyone at Swiftie Support Group