#i have so many goals socially but i have no idea how to achieve them

[moths-and-crows]

nobody knows me how i want to be known

[elicathebunny]

FINALLY CLOSING THE GAP BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR HIGHEST SELF IN 2024.

You are going to STOP scrolling endlessly for self-help and advice content and you are going to STOP and apply the knowledge you have endlessly gained. Obtaining help and advice knowledge is useless if it goes through one ear and comes straight out the other. STOP becoming addicted to the idea of scrolling and scrolling for your problems yet you already have the resources to fix them. A fool is a person who cannot decide to take action despite having access to the information needed to do so.

BREAKING FREE FROM THE SCROLLING CYCLE

Learning and Applying is one thing, but Learning and Staying Stationary is literally brain rot. You're addicted to the idea of change and the end result, but you never take the steps towards discipline with a personal structure to get that result. You keep looking for quick fixes and easy hacks, but life is not a quick fix and no hack can elevate your life from 0% to 100% without visiting the rest of the numbers first.

TAKE A BREAK FROM SCROLLING

Take time away from your usual scrolling and learn to be on your own. Learn your own ways of self-care, learn what works for you and understand what you need, because nobody is the same. Following a millionaire's morning routine will not make you a millionaire. This routine has worked for someone to feel and be productive in the morning and was probably curated over the years to suit their current lifestyle. So, seeing other people's successes and comparing their working ways to your life is unrealistic if you are not in a position to implement them. Going straight from 0% (Being unproductive and procrastinating) to 100% (Being incredibly Productive and in tune with self) will not be sustainable for someone who has not built the discipline and the inner foundations required for it. STOP seeing information online and taking it without ALTERING anything to your personal situation.

STOP ASKING HOW TO AND JUST DO

"How to lose weight, How to become more social, How to do this and that"

Most of these things you ALREADY know the answer to. Everybody knows that to lose weight, you need to burn more than you consume. There is literally no other way, no magic and no secret hack, just that simple fact. I guarantee you know that to become more social you just have to be social. Learn to be comfortable in social situations which will require inner work, but it's not a difficult concept. Most of us know what we need to do, yet we still try to find quick fixes or another way that same message is presented to us differently. We act as if we are improving and developing on our "improvement" journey yet we are just finding coping ways to feel like we are moving, yet we are still in the exact same place as before. I know you know what to do, I know you have researched what you should do and ways you can do it. So why are you not doing it? Why are you still not where you want to be? If you are not where you want to be, then what you're currently doing needs to change. You cannot do the exact same thing you've been doing for years and expect a different outcome. You need to curate a routine suited to your needs that is realistic and achievable to adopt.

LEARNING TO MOVE ON YOUR OWN, STOP DEPENDING ON OTHERS TO FUEL YOUR SUCCESS JOURNEY LISTEN TO: NOBODY IS COMING TO SAVE YOU BY JULIENHIMSELF Make yourself your safe space, your foundation. When you see yourself in the mirror you should be able to tell yourself "I love you", you should be so sure in what you do that nobody else can contradict what you believe in yourself, this is the end goal of self-improvement. Many of us have put aside our goals because we "are not ready", "people may judge us" or "I need to be/achieve ___ to.." Now don't get me wrong, I'm on this journey with you. I write on this blog to teach my brain how to think in the higher mindset that I'm creating for myself. I too have thoughts like this which is why in 2024 we are going to break out of our old selves to make room for our new selves together. We have to lose ourselves to find ourselves. If you're mood and self-worth are controlled by other people's opinions, then you will never advance further with yourself and will remain stationary. You have to stop allowing other people to determine whether you are allowed to pursue your desires or if you shouldn't because of fear of rejection. Don't take life too seriously, we are only here for so much time. So what if people make fun of you? In a few years will you look back and be proud and fulfilled of your past or feel regret and disappointment? LISTEN TO: WHY YOU CARE SO MUCH BY JULIANHIMSELF + LISTEN TO: HOW TO DETACH BY VICKITA TRIVEDI

The only way to get to 0%-100% is by doing.

Embody your potential

[blossom-sims]

Elemental Legacy Challenge for TS3

Hi all, this is my first Sims 3 legacy challenge I've made myself, it is a result of my boredom on a Saturday evening but it was a lot of fun, so I'll throw this at you ☺

This elemental legacy challenge is for The Sims 3 and spans 9 Generations. It is inspired by the Chinese Zodaic Elements and also inspiration from my favourite JRPG's which utlise a lot of elemental themed magic. It has guided ideas and generational requirements with story themes throughout. Feel free to tag me if you have a go at this ✨

Rules:

I have listed the intended requirements for each generation, move on to the next generation once the requirements are complete or the next heir becomes a young adult

I have listed some guidance on careers, lifetime wishes and traits. I recommend taking 2-3 of the traits listed but they aren't mandatory

You can use money cheats if you wish, I've tried to write the generational order to put you in the desired financial spot for storytelling, but please just have fun with it

Please do alter and play this how you wish & how your stories pan out, the guidance is just there for ideas and isn't meant to limit you

Generation 1 - Earth

Child of earth, you are grounded and resillient. Your goal is to provide your family with solid foundations for the generations to come. You are selfless, stubborn and driven. You know what you want and will work your upmost to achieve it. Your ambitious and frugal nature can get on other's nerves and prompts the question: with so much planning for the future, are you really taking time to enjoy your own life?

Traits: Ambitious, Frugal, Natural Cook, Snob, Workaholic

Job: Medical Career

LTW: World Renowned Surgeon

Requirments:

Begin in a starter house. You should not move lots or houses this Generation and instead add extensions onto your house when needed

Master the cooking and nectar making skills

Fall in love and marry one person in your lifetime

Do not have children until you reach level 8 of your career

Save 20,000 for the next generation

Generation 2 - Water

Child of water, thanks to your parents hardwork, you had a carefree childhood and now plenty of savings behind you. You are a calm free spirit that lets the oceans currents carry you to your next adventure. You are in no rush to settle in one place just yet, why rush when you are having such fun? Your time for settling down will come evetually. Whatever will be will be.

Traits: Adventurous, Loves to swim, Commitment Issues, Easily Impressed, Athletic

LTW: Seaside Saviour/Seasoned Traveler/Deep Sea Diver

Job: Lifeguard

Requirements:

Travel to 3 different destinations

Do not get married and settle down until adulthood

Have at least 3 children with 3 different people you meet in your travels

Master the diving skill

Own a boat or live in a houseboat

Generation 3 - Fire

Child of fire, you are passionate and hot-headed, throwing yourself headfirst into your work and relationships with a grandeur flair. You wear your heart on your sleeve, making many flock to you for friendship or more. Your self-awareness around your temper certainly helps your popularity as you channel your temper into your physical fitness. You certainly aren't burning out anytime soon!

Traits: Social Butterfly, Hot-Headed, Artistic, Loves the Heat, Flirty

LTW: Super Popular

Job: Self-employed Painter

Requirements:

Master the painting and martial arts skills

Have at least 20 friends and maintain friendships until you are an elder or the next generation takes over

Have 3 passionate lovers in your lifetime

Throw a party once per week

Woohoo once per week

Generation 4 - Grass

Child of grass, you just can't get enough of babies, especially your own! Your family and their wellbeing are your whole world. You live to nourish, protect and teach your loved ones. However, you have been told on one or more occasions that you can be overbearing...a helicopter parent perhaps? Don't they know you only want what is best for them?

Traits: Nurturing, Perfectionist, Loves the Outdoors, Family Orientated, Green Thumb,

LTW: Surrounded by Family/The Perfect Garden

Job: Daycare

Requirements:

Have a garden and live off the land, using your grown produce for meals

Max the gardening skill

Fall in love and marry your childhood sweetheart

Have 5 children and a bad relationship with at least one

Teach all of your children their toddler skills

Live within your means in a small-medium house - never have more than 10,000 in household funds

Generation 5 - Ice

Child of ice, your parents doting nature only added onto your pressure. You never felt like you fit in with your family, never felt understood. They were all so extroverted and loud whilst you much preferred your quiet isolation. Perhaps that's why you prefer animals over people. You have a lot of love to give, I can only hope you will find someone to share that with (who is not one of your many pets).

Traits: Shy, Animal Lover, Hates the Outdoors, Savvy Sculptor, Loves the cold

LTW: Descendant of Da Vinci

Jobs: Self employed Sculptor/Painter/Inventor

Requirements:

Have a poor relatioship with your parents and siblings, you will leave your childhood family home as soon as you age into a young adult

Have 3 pets at one time

Only leave your house when necessary

Meet your lover through online dating

Master the sculpting and inventing skills

Have a child through the time machine

Generation 6 - Electricity

Child of electricity, you sure are a shocker! You thrive in the spotlight and want all eyes on you, for better or worse. You would never miss an opportunity to make a good story for the headlines. Rumours have been circulating that your appearances are a rouse: you're broke, narcissistic and even miserable! They're just jealous of your fame and fortune...right?

Traits: Inappropriate, Star Quality, Charismatic, Daredevil, Irresistible

LTW: Superstar Actor/Rock Star/Vocal Legend

Job: Actor/Musician/Singer

Requirements:

Reach Celebrity Level 5

Reach Level 10 of your chosen career

Have 3 negative scandals in your lifetime

Act inappropriately once per week

Live beyond your means - live in a large mansion and keep your household funds below 5,000. Spend any additional income on items, spa treatments and activities

Have a fall from grace and leave your children with nothing

Generation 7 - Metal

Child of metal, you know what it's like to be at rock bottom. Due to your parents neglect and carelessness, you taught yourself all you know to get by and find your next meal, even if you aren't proud of it. You are stubborn, self-reliant and one hell of an evil genius. You won't hit rock bottom again. Ever.

Traits: Evil, Kleptomaniac, Genius, Night Owl, Rebellious

LTW: Become a Master Thief

Job: Criminal Career

Requirements:

As a teen: consistently maintain D's at school, skip school, pull pranks and steal from neighbours

Work for tips as a mixologist in your young adulthood

Master the mixologist skill and learn every drink recipe

Have a found family

Steal an item every week

Never fall below 2,000 simoleons when you are independant. If you do or are about to, start doing whatever is necessary. We will never hit rock bottom

Marry a rich sim, have a child with them and kill your partner off

Generation 8 - Air

Child of air, your life so far has been turbulent and chaotic. Your parents death has scarred you and you have floated through life lost. You try to travel on the right path for your late parent, but you can't help but feel there is more to life than what meets the eye. There are sounds at night that wake you, unexplained foresight into future events and a pull to the paranormal. Perhaps it is time to stop fighting this unknown path and instead let the winds carry you to where you are meant to be.

Traits: Good, Light Sleeper, Unlucky, Over-Emotional, Neurotic

LTW: Master of Mysticism/Paranormal Profiteer

Job: Fortune Teller/Ghost Hunter

Requirements:

Join a base game job in young adulthood. Quit once you reach level 3

Reach level 10 of your chosen career

Donate money to charity every week to honour your late parent

Marry a supernatural or one of your clients

Do one exceptionally good thing in your lifetime (examples include: cure a supernatural, adopt a child, revive a dead sim)

Have a close relationship with your children

Generation 9 - Space

Child of space, you certainly are special. With your parents holding a unique view on the world and the afterlife, you grew up with an open mind and childlike awe of life's wonders and mysteries. Your parents advocated for you to question the world, and question you did! You excelled in your studies and took a particular interest in space. Is it true you become a star if you die?

Traits: Genius, Childish, Athletic, Slob, Ambitious

LTW: Perfect Student

Job: Military

Requirements:

Keep straight A's throughout school

Go to university and achieve a perfect GPA

Master the logic skill

Reach space by becoming an astronaut (Reach level 10 of the military career)

Have an alien baby

[bemusedlybespectacled]

I volunteer with an organization of very high needs disabled people and I have to say, they delight in using AI to put stories together. It even inspires them to make their own edits and additions, though many struggle with typing or verbal skills. I don't want to tell anyone how to feel but it seems like weird ideological purity policing to exclude them from a social event where they might connect to people and find community.

So my first question is: why AI specifically? Why not literally any other method of writing? If they're capable of doing edits/additions, then why can't they first write the story out using speech-to-text, or an AAC device, or dictate it to someone else, and then edit/add to it later?

Coming up with ideas/a plot is creative and requires skill, but it's a different kind of creativity and skill than actually writing it down/connecting those dots. Like, James Patterson doesn't write most of his books; he writes out long outlines for a ghostwriter to work off of, then makes notes or changes to the draft before sending it back to the ghostwriter. It would be unfair to say that he doesn't have any skills at all, but it would also be unfair to say that he wrote all of his books himself when they were actually mostly written by someone else. A lot of the time, movies will have separate credits for the person who came up with the idea and the person who actually wrote the screenplay, because they are separate things requiring different skills.

NaNoWriMo, as a concept, is about practicing the latter skill. You're presumed to have already learned how to come up with ideas – otherwise, what would you work on for a month? The actual work of crafting enough sentences that your story becomes a full text and not an outline is really fucking hard, and that's why so many writers get stalled at the ideas stage and never actually write anything. If you don't have those skills to start, that's okay, because most people don't! The whole point is to practice them over the month! And even if you never hit 50k (I haven't!), you can at least say that you practiced that skill. Even if you only wrote ten words a day because that's literally the most you can do, writing ten words every day for thirty days is still a huge accomplishment!

To use the marathon metaphor from the originating post: both driving a car and running a marathon are skills, but they are not the same skill. If you can't run a marathon – if you are just trying to get to the point where you can walk briskly for five miles without tasting blood when you breathe – reaching that goal is still an accomplishment, even if you're not full on running a marathon. If you are just starting to learn how to drive without having a panic attack, being able to do that is also an accomplishment, even if it's not the same thing as winning the Indy500. Modest goals are still goals and achieving them is a thing to be celebrated.

But I don't think it's ideological purity to say that there's a difference between achieving a very modest goal because the "full thing" is just not feasible for whatever reason, and achieving a totally different goal entirely. "I finally drove to the store and back all by myself!" is genuinely great, but not something you'd necessarily work on in your running group.

[sunderingstars]

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✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ EIDOLON NAMES AS NARRATIVES ⌝

analysis masterlist

— fandom: honkai star rail

— type: analysis, general

— word count: 1.1k

— overview: (as of 2.3) a look into the potential narrative meaning of eidolons and their various titles. meant to be a companion piece to my eidolon art analysis & sampo eidolon analysis (as well as any other characters i do down the line!)

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As of now, I have four main ideas as to what eidolons mean:

— Linear Development: Tracking from a character's past (or backstory) through the present and sometimes into the future.

— Birth and Rebirth: Following linear development until a "rebirth" moment at E6.

— Cycles of Day/Night: Progressing through different time frames as the character goes about their day.

— Least Vulnerable to Most Vulnerable: Showing the character at their least vulnerable (E1) before bringing them through eidolons where they get progressively "weaker," eventually ending up at their E6 where they are the most vulnerable.

Side Note: While there are characters whose eidolons seem to center around specific fighting styles or moves (i.e. Seele, Yanqing, etc.), there can still be a narrative interpreted from them — i.e. following the linear moves of their weapon as they fight.

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First, I’ll start with the most straightforward — linear development.

When looking through different eidolon sets, I noticed that many of them contained references that lined up with the character’s backstory and development, usually tracking from the “beginning” of their story to the “future,” where they are now, or where they might be going.

As of the time of writing this (2.1), Aventurine is the latest character, so let’s use him as an example:

Here is my interpretation of E1-E6:

— “Prisoner’s Dilemma” (E1) signals his time in slavery as he tried to figure out how to escape.

— “Bounded Rationality” (E2) describes him operating in these confines to achieve a goal.

— “Droprate Maxing” (E3) refers to his deal with the IPC and him trying to max out his success in joining them.

— “Unexpected Hanging Paradox” (E4) has to do with the new paradox he finds himself in which is how the IPC is yet another cage.

— “Ambiguity Aversion” (E5) leads us into Penacony and his inner self-reflection on why he seems so confident in gambling everything he has.

— “Stag Hunt Game” (E6) describes Aventurine going forward with his mission deeper into Penacony’s depths (with Stag Hunt Game referencing a conflict between safety and social cooperation). For me, this tracks fairly neatly through the stages of his life, eventually ending up at where we know him today.

Similarly, eidolon sets like Welt’s and Clara’s speak to a narrative development as well. Himeko’s is the most obvious, I think, as it literally starts with “Childhood” and ends with “Trailblaze!”:

This is one of the main features I’ve seen within eidolon sets, with some tracking more neatly than others.

Additionally, I’ve seen a few that continue this development but seem to hit a “rebirth” moment at E6, like with Lynx (which also ties into the idea of a day/night cycle):

Here, we can see different times of day progressing normally, except instead of ending at “night” it ends at “dawn."

Similarly, Blade’s E6 literally has the word “reborn” in it after progressing linearly from E1-E5:

My conclusion from this is that this is specific to certain characters like Blade where “rebirth” is technically a part of his linear progression, or Lynx who spends lots of time in the wilderness.

As for the day/night cycle, Lynx and Guinaifen are the best examples I’ve found.

Guinaifen especially seems to have her eidolons as a microcosm of her typical day, tracking from eating breakfast to brushing her teeth to performing various acts for entertainment:

However, I also believe this to be dependent on Lynx and Guinaifen’s specific character traits, like Lynx operating off of a wilderness survival timeframe and Guinaifen having a regimented life because of social media.

Lastly, it is possible that eidolons are also meant to show a character’s progression from least to most vulnerable (with E6 literally being the most vulnerable physically as there are no clothes on the character).

I find Pela and Herta to be the most interesting in this regard, as they both have E6s that very much remind me of “vulnerability” for different reasons.

For Pela, her E1 starts with “Victory Report,” an act that often shows strength and confidence, yet her E6 ends with “Feeble Pursuit,” something much more vulnerable. Additionally, her eidolons track from “adamant” to “suppressive” to “analysis” to “jeopardy,” which seems to hint at a slow loss of control before reaching “feeble pursuit:"

On the other side, Herta’s eidolons start with her in a position of authority and security — being able to kick someone while they’re down — but end in the idea that “No One Can Betray Me."

Her eidolons seem to go from a genuine position of safety to a delusional self-confidence, the kind that often leaves people extremely vulnerable; when you assume no one can betray you, that ego can blind you and make you more susceptible to the thing you don’t believe will happen.

We can also see this confidence build from objective strength to hyperbolic self-confidence through the transition from action “Keep the Ball Rolling” and “Hit Where It Hurts” to cussing big (which can often be seen as a cover-up for inadequacies):

Again, I find these highly dependent on the characters’ personalities, but it is an interesting trend regardless.

Overall, most eidolon sets seem to follow some sort of narrative, whether that be one interspersed with day/night cycles, vulnerability cycles, birth and rebirth, or just plain backstory-to-present references.

I’m sure there can be more interpretations sourced from these (especially the sets in other languages like Ratio’s and Kafka’s) but these are the personal conclusions I’ve reached!

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જ⁀➴ if you’ve read to the end, thank you for listening to my nerdy rambling! i’ll be posting an in-depth analysis of sampo’s eidolons soon, so if anyone is interested please keep a look out for that!

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© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[saintadeline]

I can't figure out how to articulate what I want to say but like... Something about how the research hall is and has always been about disability and how kin of the cosmos also is as a whole. Something about how the "horror" of the research hall is entirely based on abled people's fears of disability, especially mental, it's about the sick and yet completely human bodies as opposed to the rest of the game being entirely based on actual body horror and barely human bodies, it's about the sudden screaming and incoherent vocalizations, it's about the repetitive movements, rocking, hitting head on the wall, grasping at yourself and nothing, seeing things that arent there. There was never anything "scary" about the rh to me it's always just been sad because these are people who were just left there, but I think about how some people see it as another horror aspect of bloodborne and i think about ableist "body horror" and depictions of disabled people in horror. I think about how disability is seen as something inherently horrific that terrifies abled people at the possibility of it happening to them. I think about how disability only exists and is only deemed relevant by abled people when it is equalled to suffering, i think most importantly about how religions like christianity and catholicism romanticize disability through their romanticization of pain, i think of so many saints that are just disabled people that were alive and in under so much pain that it was considered pious because pain was considered something to be achieved, did those saints ever seek out their chronic pain or were they just blessed with the ability to live through it? What about the people that didnt live through it? I think about this idea that suffering is always worth it religiously and is sought after by abled people, that suffering is something that will save the masses through one person taking it all upon themself. I think about the idolization some people have of disabled people especially disabled children, this idea that we are envoys from god or a higher plane and here to suffer in order to heal the world, i think about the fact this is coupled with infantilization and treating said disabled people as objects. I think about the objectification of disability when it doesnt concern you and i think about how disabled people are always treated as second, and whichever abled person is nearest is seen as the one to take decisions for them, i think about the way people treat the research hall as just a part of maria's story, just here as flavor to make her own suffering more dramatic. I think about how disability is always seen as something "other" and once again this idolization of disabled people as from "another plane", i think about dissociation through chronic pain and i think about constant derealization and wishing you were somewhere else, and i think about kin of the cosmos and the transcending of flesh through pain in order to reach another plane. I think about feeling things that arent there and i think about communing with the great ones, and i think about how the great ones only commune with those who have suffered enough. I think about the church and the research hall and i think about the impact social class has on disability, i think about those treated as "the good disabled people", i think about the way society puts them on a pedestal and projects them as a "goal", an "ideal" to follow for others, i think about inspiration porn, i think about saints being an example made to be followed because if they could turn their pain into prayer why can't you? If they can get through it why can't you? If they can communicate why can't you? If they can ascend and become kin why can't you? Why is one a failure and the other a saint?

[unrelentingforse]

arcane is a political statement (ACT 1 S2 SPOILERS)

whether you like it or not - reality DOES AFFECT THE ART. the art depicts the reality. i will not debate this.

coming back to arcane - it is political. the whole story is based on the oppression of the poor and the corruption of the rich. many times it showed that the whole system is flawed. that it exploits vulnerable people despite their social and political status.

we've seen this with jayce and mel, caitlyn and ambessa, zaunites and shimmer, jinx and silco. all of them were manipulated to achieve certain goals by those who hold the real power. and the results are atrocious.

jayce has expelled the founder of piltover from the council and created hextech weapons, caitlyn has started a war against zaunites, zaunites have become disabled and addicted because of the production of shimmer, jinx has blown up the council.

none of those actions have led to something positive or beneficial for either of the cities. it only benefitted the individual people who hold the power and needed someone else to do their dirty work. (silco doesn't really apply here because right before this went down he died)

i want to talk about caitlyn kiramman specifically here.

in my previous post i talked about how cait never really deconstructed the way she thinks about those who are in a different class than her. she was TAUGHT to hate zaunites. to see them as less than. but she was a rebellious child and became fascinated with the IDEA of zaun. so she tried her hardest to talk to them, to get into zaun, to see how the live. later in life all she felt was pity for them.

she didn't suddenly become a progressive leftist that people are trying to paint her as - she simply was attracted to vi. yes, she was making an exception for her. she liked vi and that made her a little more accepting towards vi's hatred for enforcers. but she still saw her as someone who has lost their way and needs help from a strong and powerful piltover citizen who happens to be the heir of the most influential house of the city. white savior complex - i'm talking about it.

caitlyn asked vi to join the enforcers thinking about her as if she's a piltover citizen. someone who has NO reasons to hate the oppressive force of enforcers. and then was faced with the reality - vi "would rather die alone" than associate herself with people who have been poisoning, murdering, torturing and holding an apartheid. to people like her - poor people from zaun.

of course she would not get this desicion - why would she? she never had to experience the oppression so she doesn't have ANY idea why vi didn't agree to her proposition. to caitlyn - she was kind enough to ask a wretched poor person from zaun to leave her past behind and start oppressing people who she grew up with. because in her mind anyone would like this opportunity to have such tremendous amount of power.

caitlyn fundamentally doesn't comprehend the struggles of people below her status. and this is the reason why she agreed to become a fascist dictator. she thinks they're all the same - violent animals who need to be exterminated. and she is happy to do it herself. she abused the ventilation system her mother built to give fresh air to people of the undercity and gassed them with "the gray". she straight up commited a WAR CRIME. she was willing to take the chance of shooting isha just to kill jinx. she was not trying to stop the ongoing crisis between piltover and zaun, she was getting HER revenge.

yes, she is grieving the loss of her mother. yes, she has A TON of responsibilities now that her mother is dead. yes, she has never experienced a major loss in her life. i am not denying her right to be miserable and sad during this time. and i am not saying that she has no reasons to be angry at jinx. what i am saying is that her background is making her grief destructive to everyone around her. not a single person from zaun has done anything of this scale to people of piltover. not a single one of them will be protected if they do the same. jinx tried to - now she's on the run.

all of this - is a MAJOR parallel to our life. the way we treat Palestinians, Native Americans, Lebanese and Sudanese people on their own land is the exact same way caitlyn treats people from the undercity. apartheid, poisoning the water and food, killing innocents, invasion - this is happening right now on our planet. but we're supposed to get mad at an animated show and not in real life.

hope i made you think about something. thanks for reading it all the way through.

[inchidentally]

Um, these 60 seconds of recent content between Lando and Oscar made me realize one thing, are these two really only knowing each other for a year or their whole lives?

the audience does not know !!!

like there's a very specific 'united front' thing I can see in a lot of partnerships and it's founded on different things but ultimately manifests in a feeling of cohesion between the drivers. (and I am so sorry bc I saw in passing someone else made a similar post to this but I cannot remember who so lmk bc I don't want to be ripping off their idea !! I have my own separate feelings about it so it's not a copy but still I wish I could have kept that on my dash long enough to rb)

like most teammates fall in the neutral category of professional politeness and friendliness but also the need to push for their own advantage wherever possible. totally fine and normal. also allows for a few fireworks occasionally which is just as good for fan engagement - sometimes more - than if the drivers were always cool w each other.

aberrations like Senna and Prost, brocedes, and sebmark are not to be included - way too unique. could even throw Esteban and Pierre in there.

you've got consummate professionals Lewis and George who are both careful about cultivating their own separate images and who hold a baseline of genuine respect for each other - but part of that respect being that they both know they'll look out for themselves first. so they're very much similar and equals even in operating very independently. ultimately they want the mess to get cleaned up and to shake hands and do business as usual. I could see them genuinely having to hash out something truly ugly and shake hands and move onto their own lives no problem. which like, they clearly have lol.

then there's a situation like Alex and Logan where the dynamic is so incredibly imbalanced BUT you have someone as humanly decent and warm as Alex (even if he maybe wishes he were less so for competitive reasons) and Logan has already become very skilled at dealing with being an outsider/almost unwanted :( and it's clear that they both see how hard-working they both are and what a massive thankless task they have in trying to just achieve points - undetermined if they're mostly friendly out of trauma bonding or will remain friends after being separated but there's absolute friendliness and respect.

then there's The Charisma Guys of Daniel and Carlos and now Lando (who mooched a lot of his F1 charisma off of Carlos and then Daniel). Daniel and Carlos replicate an almost identical dynamic with all of their teammates and it's predicated on what most drivers are already well versed in, which is: playing gay for fangirls, bromance hugging/camaraderie/ribbing for sports media and fans, and taking care of their own brand and career separately from their teammate. it's a powerful tool to have especially for leveraging the popularity of whatever bromance they're in towards their own image without having to lose power over their own image. individual sponsorships being a driver's second goal after winning races and WDCs also makes this an exceptionally good skill to have. it only starts to break down when the personal fortunes of one of the drivers start to hit hard times (current example being obvious).

the Carlos and Charles dynamic absolutely pulls a lot from the charisma/bromance stuff but the huge difference is that Ferrari would - like any F1 team - not give a shit if they didn't get along and just hitched on a bland smile for the cameras. Ferrari aren't remotely behind C2 being what it is, that's all Charles and Carlos. don't get me wrong Ferrari social media teams are MORE than happy to jump on! and sure, the challenges and content are a fun bonus thing to sponsors but three things here: one is that Ferrari IS the brand and they're a top 3 team like they're not grasping for sponsors asflgaslf. two is that as many partnerships have shown, you really don't need to do that much to satisfy the brief. and third, sponsors are like 99.999999% interested in the team's standings and the drivers' individual popularity with partnership popularity coming dead bottom - the bromances are only worth it if they're engagement darlings like carlando. and charlos doesn't do anywhere near those numbers or that widespread corporate social media appeal. you gotta do major impact with crazed fans for it to at all influence a brand's decision where to put their money. so all of the pop off the screen fun and genuine enjoyment we see Carlos and Charles have is fully legit. when they're being tongue-in-cheek levels of cutesy they literally say so. 2025 onward will see how much of a friendship there actually is, but as far as them being very happy with the partnership and collaborating exceptionally well within it, they're far more rock solid and natural at it than most. and the fact that they're if anything even tighter when there's zero incentive for it ?? and when their families and fanbases and their team principal and garages are constantly feuding ?? like it says everything about how much they respect each other and actually feel affection for each other to remain such a united front and so happy and affectionate. nobody else benefited from Carlos asking his team to tell Charles' team to come celebrate his win with him. nobody else in Ferrari or on the grid made bank off of about Charles rushing to congratulate Carlos while he was still in the car. (especially not when carlando did a quick hug and it got brands and official accounts posting tiktok ship edits to the predictable delight of thousands of fangirls. and for them all to cough cough conveniently ignore the embrace with his gf to push the image further.) there is no PR benefit behind C2 that would justify them hitching on such a dramatic facade - and if anything the people around them would prefer they kept separate so that they could celebrate one without the other. whatever their relationship is after this there will always be that massive respect IN SPITE of what the world around them wants.

but Lando and Oscar are such a major aberration not just in them both being so incredibly young and arriving into F1 so hot and already being so close in ability, but their specific 'history' and personalities. they were already such an easy fit together that it surpassed the professional need for a bromance buffer - and at the same time their bond being partly on how naturally private and shy they are made them poorly suited for a PR machine.

Oscar had already said - and a lot of fans already knew - that there were several friends in common and that the shifts in careers and being separated professionally by more years than their ages is the only thing that meant they'd never crossed paths before privately. as K said back when Oscar originally opened that TikTok acc it was so long ago that he followed Max F but that Lando didn't even have an one yet.

but also as many people close to Lando have said (good example that was posted recently) and that we can often still see in streamer Lando - Lando is very much like Oscar as a person at his core. pretty much all of the 'famous person' stuff we saw him become happened after 2019 and directly because of latching onto the social lives of guys like Carlos, Daniel and Martin. he's always referred to as extremely shy and he's said before he likes for others to lead. but his comfort place is still either hanging out in private with close friends only or to get on stream and laugh with his friends. Lando himself said that he considers Oscar to be very similar to him as a person outside of F1 and for all that in some ways that seems surprising, when you look at who Lando is when he's not in Professional Mode or Party Friends Mode he genuinely really fits in with someone quiet like Oscar who loves spending hours gaming w his friends and not being in public. I don't know enough about Martin Garrix as a person but I rly honestly see that with him as well. yes there's the Party Friend aspect but for them to travel solo for two entire winter breaks in a row ?? clearly Martin is a peaceful, quiet guy on Lando's level <3

and ofc I go onnnnn and fucking on about how while we all hate it bc it means we don't get as much content, the fact is that Lando and Oscar are the type of friendship/partnership where it's quiet and private and not something that translates to a bromance on camera. it's never going to be strategic.

so the fact that they have this "twinning" thing isn't that they are identical or that they even look all that similar, it's down to actually slotting in really well with each other as people! as always who knows how deep these friendships actually go but the whole mind-reading and synchronization and total lack of drama between them as drivers comes from genuinely being similar people and liking each other - that's what we're all picking up on when we watch them together.

the fact that they honestly find it awkward as hell when the media try to get them to "package" their friendship in bromancey soundbites or when they look at the camera a bit like an intruder that's making them dance their friendship around for media, like. that's so incredibly relatable for how any of us would feel with one of our actual friends having to do all that. having a camera aimed at us and some stranger being like "so you two get on really well huh?" and practically leaning in for an expected answer ???? it would be so stupid and weird and the whole way Lando and Oscar work together in unison to dispel how weird that is is so natural !!

idk it's like there's different things to take from different partnerships and literally all of us are suckers for a fun bromance and great professional chemistry. but I think this whole universal 'twins' thing that everyone sees in Lando and Oscar is genuinely two guys who are similar in all the fundamental ways and who actually slot together in ways where they naturally just agree on everything and therefore can predict a lot of what the other person is thinking if that makes sense ??? like yes Lando has Single Guy Party Times and professional motivations where Oscar does not but for a friendship and partnership to work, those are the two least relevant things to need to be similar about y'know ??

[onegianthotmess]

Jack Howl is a Hufflepuff-

Despite being a tsundere, he checks all of the boxes for getting into Hufflepuff.

Jack is an incredibly hard worker and doesn’t half ass work of any kind, always remaining dedicated to the task at hand in order to achieve his goal or the final product of what he’s doing and he is never afraid to learn a new skill or new way of doing things or how to make things easier for himself.

Jack also has a strong sense of justice and fairness, believing in pack mentality and the social chain of command and refusing to disrupt it, instead he pours himself into helping the second in command, Ruggie, in order to feel useful and because he sees no one helping him or his siblings much outside of the odd thing that they ask once in a while. He’s also a man of his word and doesn’t like being in debt, being very willing to repay Jade in a way for unknowingly ruining some mushrooms he was growing and being on time for his shifts at the Monstro Lounge during that week of paying back for what he did. And he has always said that fairness is one of the most important things or implied it many times throughout the game.

Jack is also quite patient, despite being rough around the edges. He will sit through Sebek’s nonsense, patiently tell Deuce about proper eating and exercising/workout routines, and is willing to hear people out whenever they say they’re concerned about something. And tying back into his hard working attitude, Jack has the patience to learn new skills without much fuss and will always take advice if it’s generally a good idea and his instincts don’t lurch him away from just the mention of it.

Though this is a given since he’s a wolf, Jack is incredibly loyal to an almost unbelievable standard. He is loyal to helping his friends, to those he deems family, to keeping his word, to helping the Bucchi Triplets as much as he can, and to his pack and his place in that pack. His loyalty has never once faltered and he will not give up on anyone or leave their side. Jack has always been helpful and not once has he given up on someone he cares about at NRC.

And last, but certainly not least, Jack is incredibly kind and reliable. As I’ve stated before, Jack is a man of his word, incredibly loyal, and will do anything within reason to pay someone back if he’s wronged them. He’s also very willing to help anyone in need and will do so swiftly and dutifully, always happy to help.

Jack is also a plant mom-

And it’s for these reasons that Jack Howl would be sorted into Hufflepuff by the Sorting Hat!

He’d definitely be on the Quidditch team, most likely as a Beater thanks to his build and upper arm strength. His best subjects would be Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts, maybe he’d be decent at Transfiguration, and he’d likely struggle in Charms purely due to pronunciation and History of Magic because he isn’t a history kind of guy.

Jack would probably end up being pretty well-known in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch as one of the best Beaters Hufflepuff and Hogwarts as a whole have ever seen.

Also, I had fun with this! I’ll probably do another one of these soon!

[wondergirl2007]

Top 10 Characters Who Are Autistic

Autism. What exactly is autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people communicate, learn, and behave.

Autistic people may act in a different way to other people.

Some examples are:

* Finding it hard to understand how other people think or feel.

* Being sensitive to bright lights or loud noises.

* Getting anxious about social events.

* They may take longer to understand information.

* They prefer to be on their own.

* And they may act blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to.

People who have autism might face challenges that people who don't have it won't, but they're still very capable of achieving goals and living a happy and healthy life just as much as someone who doesn’t have autism. In fact, there are many well-known people with ASD who have achieved significant things in their life, including Albert Einstein, Tim Burton, Elon Musk, to name a few.

Now, why am I mentioning all of this? Well because I’m autistic myself, and I didn’t even know I was on the spectrum until like, last year. And I have quite a few friends who are also on the spectrum like me, so I can relate to them a lot.

But thinking back to when I was a child, I definitely had quite a few symptoms of autism, including preferring to be on my own, enjoying hobbies such as art and music, having repetitive behaviour, being sensitive to loud noises and not understanding sarcasm or figures of speech.

For example, if someone told me to “Break a leg!”, I might think they literally mean for me to break my leg, when really it’s just a rhetorical phrase, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t want me to actually break my leg.

Another example is when I was in primary school, I didn’t like the loudness of everyone talking all at once during assemblies, so I was given these headphones that would reduce the noise, and it did help, but one of my teachers didn’t like the idea of me wearing them, but when I got older, I was less sensitive to the noise, so I stopped wearing them.

But I’m not here to just talk about my experiences with autism, because as you can tell from the title, we’re going to be looking at fictional characters from TV shows and films who are also on the spectrum, and how I can relate to the characters.

For this list, we’ll be looking at characters from TV shows and animated films who either are autistic, or have Asperger’s syndrome. Characters from live action films or videos games will not be on this list. So without further ado, here are the top 10 characters who are autistic.

Quick disclaimer: Not every single on this list may actually be confirmed to be autistic, but I’m still including them on the list as they have autistic traits that I can relate to. With that out of the way, let’s get onto the list.

10. Elsa (Frozen)

I’m sure we all know the film “Frozen.” It’s the sixth highest grossing film in history and is based on the classic tale “The Snow Queen”. It has a unique story, catchy music and well-written characters. Out of all of the characters though, Elsa really represents what being autistic is like.

When Elsa was young, she became less social and communicative after she accidentally injured her sister, Anna, due to being unable to control her ice powers. After her parents pass away, Elsa is unable to understand Anna’s thoughts and feelings and doesn’t realise how much her younger sister needs her.

After Elsa becomes the Queen at her coronation, she becomes much more anxious and may have even suffered from sensory overloads which cause her ice powers to get the best of her and starts a glacial winter in the kingdom of Arendelle.

Elsa flees from Arendelle to create a castle made of ice on the distant cliffs, and prefers to be by herself, as she believes she’s a threat to the kingdom due to her ice powers and doesn’t want to do any harm to anyone.

Elsa's powers being a metaphor for being autistic is a valid and powerful interpretation that people are allowed to have and share. Actually, Elsa's powers are seen as a metaphor by almost every minority who suffers for being different.

How sensitive Elsa seems to be, how she seems to look at the world different from people around, how she moves, some repetitive gestures, the way she learns some behaviors from her sister and attempts to follow them because she understands these things are important -- even though naturally she wouldn't act that way, because it is a learned behavior.

Also, the song “Let It Go” was written by taking inspiration from an autistic relative of the writer.

It's important to remember the there's an autistic spectrum and that each person is different. Autistic people are believed to learn to mimic neurotypical behaviors under the pressure of being accepted -- or better said, tolerated. Even though it hasn’t been fully confirmed, I am very much convinced that Elsa could absolutely be autistic.

9. Lola (Charlie And Lola)

I grew up watching Charlie And Lola, and I could relate to Lola a lot. After rewatching the show, it’s pretty clear that Lola has autism. She has many autistic traits including:

* Only has one close friend (Lotta) because other people perceive her as being eccentric and very odd.

* Has been labeled a “very fussy eater” by her brother Charlie, probably due to sensory problems with food, which is something I can relate to a lot as I’m a picky eater myself.

* Takes everything very literally and doesn’t understand idioms or expressions (e.g. “Don’t make faces because if the wind changes it’ll stick like that” “Don’t watch too much tv or you’ll get square eyes”)

* Reading the same book all about bugs over and over again, to name a few.

I know it’s not been confirmed that Lola is autistic, but I mean, come on. It’s pretty obvious that she is. Lola is basically me when I was a child. I don’t have much else to say on this one, so let’s just move on.

8. Goo (Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends)

Ah, Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. A classic Cartoon Network show featuring some memorable characters such as Mac, Frankie, Eduardo, Wilt, Bloo, and then there’s… Goo.

Goo was introduced in the third season of the show and is seen as an hyperactive, happy-go-lucky, overly imaginative and talkative African-American girl. Goo does seem to have some autistic traits, such as being spontaneous, going into detail about a subject (In a rather hyperactive way) and she’s incredibly hyper active in and outside of her mind.

Goo also struggles to make friends, which is why she creates her own friends, and even though most autistic people usually prefer being on their own, Goo would rather have lots of friends, but is unable to make friends because she thinks people find her annoying due to her hyperactive behaviour, especially after being yelled at by Mac about it.

I mean, I can’t really blame Mac for yelling at her, but I just felt so bad for Goo. I also struggled to make new friends when I first started high school, and preferred to do things on my own. I didn’t mind being on my own and times, but other times I did want to have at least someone to talk to.

Now I know just because someone can be creative or hyperactive doesn’t instantly mean they’re autistic, but Goo’s imagination is what helps her less insecure about herself and not just seen as this weird, annoying kid. Goo’s creativity makes her who she is, and she shouldn’t be ashamed of that.

7. Leni Loud (The Loud House)

Now, Leni Loud is seen as the stereotypical “dumb blonde girl” in The Loud House, and she reminds me a lot of Lindsay from Total Drama, but the reason why she’s on this list is because she’s the most relatable character in the show to me.

First of all, Leni has a special interest in fashion and she even makes various clothing in many episodes. Also, a lot like me, Leni has a lot of trouble when it comes to taking things people say literally.

One example can be found in the episode “House Music” in which the Loud family forms a family band. During the episode Luna tells Leni that she can sing backup and Leni ends up taking her words literally and singing the words “backup”.

And another example occurs in “Driving Miss Hazy”, when Lori tells Leni to make her bed Leni ends up taking her literally and builds her a bed frame from scratch.

As an autistic person myself I often have problems myself when it comes to taking things people say literally and I often have trouble recognizing sarcasm or when people are joking instead of being serious.

Next, like a lot of autistic people, there is evidence that she has routines that she follows such as in the episode “Space Invader” when she mentions that she brushes her hair exactly 50 times every day.

Finally there’s the fact that Leni’s stock pose is something known as raptor hands. Raptor hands is basically when you have your arms close to your body with your hands bent. Raptor hands can be common among autistic people and it’s pretty much Leni’s signature pose.

I think it might have been confirmed that Leni is autistic, and I saw a poll of the Loud House fandom about wherever you thought if Leni was autistic or not, and more people said yes than no, so Leni may actually be autistic.

6. Julia (Sesame Street)

Julia was probably one of the first characters who I’ve seen to be on the spectrum. She is a friendly girl who enjoys various activities including drawing and playing with her stuffed toy rabbit, Fluffster, but is sensitive to loud noises such as sirens and may not answer to someone immediately.

She also enjoys bonding with her neurotypical friends on Sesame Street, who often grow in their understanding of autism in the process.

Puppeteer Stacey Gordon, who played the role of Julia, uses her experiences as a mother of an autistic child to portray Julia in an authentic way.

Julia made her first appearance in an awareness initiative entitled Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children, which was made to provide resources “designed to serve autistic children and their families”.

Sesame Street is known for taking on serious topics including grief, racism and adoption. And autism was no exception. Being autistic myself, Julia is a very relatable character.

5. Fred Jones (Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated)

Fred Jones In Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated has a LOT of symptoms of autism, such as:

Obsessive interests (specifically, traps), Not understanding other people’s emotions, being more drawn to things than to people, talking things too literally, being unable to recognise people's hints toward him, a need for a consistent routine, finding it hard to express his own emotions and getting upset if somebody gets too close to him.

I realise a lot of this was apparently done for the sake of humour, but the writers of Mystery Incorporated really seem to have unintentionally written Fred to be autistic.

I don’t have a lot to say about this one either, because I didn’t really watch Scooby Doo all that much when I was younger, but I did know that Fred was a very popular autistic character, so here he is on the list.

4. SpongeBob (SpongeBob SquarePants)

Yes, it has been confirmed that SpongeBob is indeed autistic by the voice actor himself, Tom Kenny, but he “never meant" for it to go public with his recent revelation about the iconic character being autistic after his comments went viral.

But SpongeBob has pretty much every autistic trait an autistic person can have, such as not being able to read social cues. It's hard for the guy to know when he's bothering someone, and he's not very good at reading the emotions of others. A lot of the comedy from the show derives from the fact that he doesn't know that he's annoying.

He also has meltdowns over relatively minor things, and is unable to handle his own emotions well. We've seen Spongebob, countless times, freak out over fairly petty things. Most of the time it's played for comedy, but for certain people (autistic or not) it can be relatable at times.

SpongeBob also takes things literally such as in the episode, “Squid On Strike”, Squidward told him that they would "dismantle the oppressive establishment” Spongebob interpreted "dismantle the establishment" as "destroy the building." So he did.

And most autistic people have one certain area of extreme knowledge/expertise that they refer to as a "special interest." Something that they feel extreme, almost obsessive, passion for. It's not hard to see that Spongebob's is his love of fry-cooking. Fortunately for him, that's also his job, and he's probably the happiest workaholic ever shown on television.

SpongeBob was definitely a character I didn’t expect to be confirmed autistic when I was younger, but after rewatching SpongeBob recently, yeah, I can definitely see it.

3, 2 and 1. Grim, Billy and Mandy (The Grim Adventures Of Billy And Mandy)

So, I started watching Billy and Mandy when I was around 14 years old, and I had no idea that the three main characters were autistic. In fact, I didn’t even see any autistic traits in them at first, but after realising that the creator of the show, Maxwell Atoms, is autistic himself, and also finding out that I’m autistic myself, this is one of the reasons why Billy and Mandy is one of my favourite shows ever.

All three of the characters are so relatable, as they all have autistic traits that I can relate to, from Grim taking things literally and being easily upset when thrown off from routine, to Billy’s repetitive behaviour and not understanding other people’s emotions, to Mandy hating being touched or hugged or finding it difficult to express her emotions, and prefers being on her own.

I’m pretty sure we can all see it, especially after Maxwell confirming that Grim, Billy and Mandy were all autistic in 2021. Heck, there’s a whole video about Mandy talking about autism. (With the voice being AI, because, well, of course)

But overall, I think that being autistic isn’t something to be ashamed of, as a person with autism can absolutely live a normal life with the right support and resources. Early intervention, education, and community support are key factors in helping people with autism achieve their goals and lead fulfilling lives.

Let me know in the comments which autistic character is your favourite and why. And if there was any characters I may have missed, also let me know in the comments. And with that, I’ll see you guys later.

[secondhandsorrows]

Keys to Crafting Characters Readers Will Root For (w/ some examples)

As a writer and while making up this blog, I’m quite adamant that characters are just as important (if not more) as plot. In the grand scheme of things, an active, relatable, and engaging main character is crucial for a novel's success. But how exactly do we make a character all these things? There’s many ways, in fact. It is up to us as authors to keep track and manage the developmental arc of our protagonist: primarily, who they are on the inside, and how they grow or change / adapt to the situations or people around them. 

Here are some examples and tips to help you develop a compelling protagonist (or all kinds of characters). Keep in mind these tips are at their most basic, essential level (there’s just so much that can be explored in each one), so I hope to go further into each point sometime in the future. 

~`* They have clear goals and motivations.

First things first: you’d want to clearly define your character's goals and motivations — and the sooner, the better. Proper and well-set goals and motivations provide a sense of direction to the narrative. They should be specific, measurable, and achievable — or perhaps, not achievable, at least to its fullest extent. This would ultimately depend on the type of arc or ending you intend to write for your story, but there should at least be some main goal the character is vying for, and a motivation that dictates how much they want or need it. 

For example: An aspiring actress hoping to make it to the stage and audition for the lead role in her favorite play.  —> Why does she want to be an actress so badly? What does it mean to her to act in her favorite performance? What does she have to prove, to herself or others?

~`* They are flawed, yet relatable:

I’m sure you’ve all heard this before… but I’m still going to reiterate:

Your character should have relatable flaws that readers can sympathize with. It’s no secret that flaws make characters human and relatable. Flawed characters help us remember that nobody’s perfect, and that we’re not alone in our struggles and in our plights (stay back, Mary Sues!). These flaws can be anything, from fears, limitations, biases, misbeliefs, quirks, shortcomings, or behaviors. It’s useful two have at least two: a minor flaw and a major flaw, where the former affects only the only character and nothing else, and the latter hinders the character and affects the plot. 

For example: A highly-knowledgeable yet socially awkward and oblivious professor who can hold a bar of soap better than a conversation.  —> Does this flaw make him out to be charming or weird to others? How can his social-awkwardness affect the plot… does it hinder him from connecting to his students or colleagues? 

~`* They have unique talents or interests.

Sometimes I read a story, and personally I have a hard time connecting with a character if all they care about from beginning to end is what’s happening in the plot. It’s like they exist for the sole purpose of the plot, and are nothing but a shell to see through the events or its challenges. This is understandable, especially when it’s an action-packed story or thriller. 

Personally, I can’t help but wonder what its main character does for fun. What they’re like before the events of the novel. 

I think it can be useful your character skills or interests that set them apart. This not only makes them interesting, but can drive the plot in unexpected ways. *Bonus points if they have a particular skill or hobby that conflicts with the way they present themselves to others, or if they hide it well if they are embarrassed by it or afraid of getting judged. Essentially, this is all to clue-in on the reader to the character’s backstory, their personality. It helps them seem more individualistic, like humans with their own sets of interests or ideas that give them more complexity and uniqueness. This can also be useful in creating parallels or connections to your story’s themes or your character’s arc. 

For example: A brave warrior with an aptitude for gardening and flower arranging.  —> Seems random, right? But what if this warrior had workin in their relative’s flower shop, and has kept the skill alive in their days of battle to see pieces of beauty around them, hope from fear and danger? They might dig graves of their fallen friends and leave behind flowers in remembrance. Just an obscure  example, but see all the possibilities something like this can open up?

~`* They have deep, complex relationships.

Sometimes we can get a better idea of a character when we see them interact with the people around them. It’s like showing vs. telling, where we get a firsthand look at how the main character treats his family members, how he accepts or refuses help from those he’s close with, what he appreciates most about his significant other, how he feels about the annoying neighbor next door. Who’s the one person they most admire and never want to let down? Who’s the one person they despise with all their body and soul? Whether it's friends, family, enemies, or romantic entanglements, complex interactions and relationships add layers to your character and in how they showcase themselves to the world. 

For example: An excellent, compassionate therapist with a strained relationship with his own family member.  —> How does this character feel about this kind of relationship? Does it stem out of shared family troubles, or something deeper? Is there a glimmer of possibility the therapist might reconcile with this relative, or are they dashed because of mutual pride or distrust? 

~`* They often face moral dilemmas.

It’s time to get philosophical. Human nature is full of paradoxes and tough moral questions, and so characters with conflicting qualities can be intriguing and relatable. Introduce moral dilemmas and conflicting values that force your character to make tough choices and confront their conflicting values. Do they have a friend with conflicting beliefs that challenge their own? Are they forced to act a certain way because of external pressures? Are they forced to choose between saving one person while destroying another? 

No matter how serious this dilemma is, you can also add a moment of clarity or self-awareness for your character. This can be a turning point where they acknowledge and confront the conflict within themselves, thus becoming face-to-face with their internal crisis and how they decide to go from there. Do they weigh the pros and cons considerably, do they fumble because they’re hesitant, or do they embrace the new changes? 

Despite conflicting values, make sure your character's behavior is consistent with their established personality. Consistency helps maintain authenticity and keeps the character grounded. 

For example: A scientist torn between protecting humanity and the pressure of making a groundbreaking discovery.  —> How does making this discovery very important to this character? What do they stand to lose… what do they stand to gain? Are they at the risk of becoming something completely opposite of who they were at the beginning of the story, losing their sense of morality or forced to choose a side? 

~`* They show their quirks and habits.

Introduce quirks or habits that make your character memorable. These little details can make the character more relatable and interesting, because just like talents or hobbies, this can also give a clearer sense to the reader of what kind of personality the character has and what they’re like. Not to forget, it also helps them to stand out from other characters on the page, giving them a unique voice with their kind of dialogue, their behaviors, style, and mannerisms.  

For example: A scholar who can focus only if she’s chewing gum or wearing her lucky ring.  —> How might’ve this character started this habit or tradition? Does it actually work? Does it not work, but they still do it anyways because it’s comforting for them? Also, where did they get this quirk from?

~`* They have a backstory.

Most of what we’ve been discussing in this post already leaves some framework for the character’s backstory. It’s important to have a meaningful backstory in mind that influences the character's present actions and explains why they are they way that they are. This adds depth and helps readers understand their fears, desires, and motivations better; not shallow and two-dimensional as cardboard cut-outs. 

Sometimes we don’t get a backstory for our character right away. Backstories takes time to brainstorm and shape — let alone into a complex or compelling one — but its helpful to trust the process. What you can do if you’re still looking for the right one, is to ask yourself questions  on things that matter to you most. This pertains to your story’s themes and other main ideas you may like writing about, such as grief or family matters. It all boils down to who your character is (the present), and where it stemmed from (the past). If we take this a step further: does this backstory guide them or force them to make changes within themselves, thus leading to their changed self at the end of the novel/series (the future)?

For example: A woman with a fear of marriage because she’s seen firsthand its faults, including her own parents’. —> Is her parents’ divorce still something she’s struggling to come to terms with? Is her misbelief equating marriage to constant conflict? Does she have a secret desire to get married, yet it put off by its pressures? Does she make up for this fear by focusing on other matters? Will this fear later be disproven?

~`* They are often vulnerable. 

Every hero needs vulnerabilities. Imperfections. Weaknesses. We’ve talked about strengths and flaws before, but giving them that dent in their armor, any little opening someone or something might get through, leaves a reminder that no one, especially our hero, is invincible. Nobody’s perfect, after all (side-eyeing you, Mary Sues…). Make your characters messy: adding vulnerabilities helps makes them more authentic and genuine, opening up chances for them to learn and evolve as the story moves along. 

It can also add a layer of suspense to the story, especially in conflict and tension. How will the character handle someone breaking their walls down, or a bad experience threatening to make them crumble and fall back to old habits? How do they handle their insecurities? How well do they hide their fears, and will they ever admit them?

For example: An old woman with bad eyesight and lives alone can’t tell that the reluctant robber breaking into her home is not her grandson.  —> This is a fun little example that opens up many possibilities. Her bad eyesight is a physical vulnerability, and so is her soft spot for her supposed grandson. The robber notices this, and he too may have a soft spot for any old woman who treats him kindly. Does he use this to his advantage to rob the house, or does he humor her for a while?

I’d definitely like to expand on these tips sometime. If there’s anything you’d like to share or add, please do so! I’d love to hear y’alls thoughts. Hope this helped!

[starlostlix]

THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE LORD OF CRIME PERSONA IS AKIN TO FYODOR, NOT WILLIAM HIMSELF.

[Seeing more people talk about this comparison between Fyodor and William again, had some of this in the drafts for a bit already lmao].

So I often see many people say that BSD Fyodor and MTP William have a similar vibe, and people have recently also been posting about their dislike of the idea too.

However I think Fyodor is more similar to that of the Lord of Crime persona the public see and not William himself. The Lord of Crime operates in a way where he is perceived to murder ruthlessly and have dubious morals - at first he is seen as a hero to the working class, but as he does more that disadvantages them he is seen as a threat to the whole empire (which he uses to unite the social classes). In essence, like Fyodor, the Lord of Crime is portrayed without a shred of kindness or sincerity or guilt - but that is not William.

William in the canon by his friends and family is known for his kindness and his empathy, so much so that he feels immense guilt over his horrific actions as the Lord of Crime which eventually pushed him to taking his own life to escape it. He is not devoid of empathy - in fact he is incredibly empathetic, almost too empathetic for himself to handle. And this is what solidifies the differences between Fyodor and William to me.

Fyodor has shown very little empathy for others in his history, more likely to simply use others to get what he wants and seemingly doesn't care about the effect it may have on that other person. Nikolai for example, even after being given understanding by Fyodor, was supposed to die after the events of Bloody Sunday, Fyodor using him as a disposable pawn in order to frame the agency. Sigma was given a home, a casino to run, but Fyodor was ready to get rid of him after it was investigated. Fukuchi, given a way to try and achieve his lifelong goal of world peace, was used as a pawn in creating the series of events where Fyodor could take over Bram (another pawn in his game considering he literally took his body from him after he just got it back) and now Fukuchi's consciousness is replaced by a Divine Being that Fyodor has control over. Fyodor is only empathetic when it can benefit him, and the benefits his faux empathy gives to those around him is eventually swept out from under them and manipulated to his advantage. He only improves other's lives just to take it away again.

Whilst William and Fyodor both do what they think benefits the world, William is shown to have genuine empathy for the common man - he often finds ways to help people like the children in Baskerville or other disadvantaged people. Whilst the Lord of Crime's support for equality may have been swept out from under the common people after the murder of Whiteley, William's support for the common people never changed. William always wanted to create permanent changes to benefit the lives of the people disadvantaged by the class system.

It is the public perception of the Lord of Crime, as this ruthless figure who wants to destroy the livelihoods of everyone in London, that is similar to the Fyodor we see.

[At first this was going to be a 'Lord of Crime is like Fyodor, William is more like Dazai' post but I wasn't sure about the Dazai idea or how to explain it so I just decided to stick with the Fyodor portion, how it at least makes a little sense.]

[foxyaries]

My Manifestations

Hi Again! Foxy here :)

Now keep in mind these aren't manifestations I have gotten YET but they have been my main focus throughout all these years that I've been part this community. I know a lot of you would rather hear about things I have actually manifested but the reason I'm gonna talk about them a bit is because these are the ones that actually kept me motivated despite my lack of results or current circumstances.

As for how my journey began? It was subliminals :) Probably as for most people in this community at first I didn't really understand it. I didn't try to look into it or understand it. Because of course as most people I assumed that it was just music. It's funny to think about it, knowing what I know now. It was a first limiting belief that I realized that I noticed I had. Since we were kids we were always conditioned to believe that we had to work hard to achieve things we want and success. But that's not true. And that's what I realized when one day subliminals came across my feed once again and I realized why not look into it? The more I read about it the more I realized that maybe it is possible. I mean we only use very small part of our brain so why wouldn't it be a possibility? Like I like to say "If there's an idea, there is a possibility of it being true". And that's how I discovered it.

What did I want to manifest first?

Unfortunately back then I was very insecure. And I'd brutally pick on any flaws I thought I had, so my first subliminals were appearance related. However at that time I also was very unhappy not just with my looks but also my life. Mainly my family. As some of you may relate I had (and still have but maybe not as much because I am older) very strict parents and especially because I am a girl it felt like my only goal in life was to study but going out and having fun with friends out of question. And it got especially worse because we had just moved to a different country and I needed to learn a new language and find new friends (you can imagine how that felt for my introvert incredibly social awkward self😂). And because of that reason alone one day I thought "If there are so many subliminals appearance related? I wonder if there's different kind". First thing that came up was "Wake up in desired family" subliminal. And you guys don't even understand. Back then our community was pretty small so all it had was maybe 15k views but at that time it looked like a lot. There were even that many comments or success stories because everyone were considerably new to the idea. But on this specific subliminal there were maybe 5 success stories. All very similar. One day they went to sleep, felt like they went flying and then woke up in their desired family. Again at that time I didn't really understand the concept but those 5 success stories made me so full of hope?? Each of those people said it took them like 2-3 months so that's the time I set for myself in my head too and guess what :) I indeed achieved certain crazy results I'm gonna talk about in a separate post.

Unfortunately for me... as I mentioned before I was insecure. So those couple months I was focusing on leaving and waking up in my desired life (again I didn't know much about the whole shifting idea or exactly what it was but maybe that's what helped :) The less we know the better). Aaaaand of course I got insecure and decided to start listening to appearances subliminals at the same time and that set some kind of mental block that I'm only now starting to get out of. I dont think me listening to those subliminals is what stopped me from getting any results. It was my mindset. However once I realized that it was too late and I had no motivation to restart the journey :( Such a shame now because I was so so close but it's okay now.

Before anyone asks I did try looking for that subliminal channel and those subliminals. Unfortunately I believe the whole account got deleted.

Now onto the 2nd thing. Once I realized my mistake I stopped listening to appearance subliminals and decided to try something else. I came up to a "Manifest a fairy" subliminal :) Yes, say what you want. Like I said "if there's an idea, there's a possibility". For all I care, unicorns could be real and I am open to it :). And yes, my fairy would have been and will be a wish granting fairy. I saw her as a solution to all of my problems. Not only mine but my best friends. And thanks to my best friend and her spiritual companion I was told that it would actually happen! That I'd one day see my fairy :). However, how soon it'd happen depended on me. It could have taken days, weeks, months or even years but it all depended on my mindset. And here we are 6 years later because I went through another dark episode of my life. But it's gonna happen soon I feel it! More about my best friend and future life time fairy friend on a separate post! Because yes, I had certain results even with that👀

I do hope someone will be interested in some of this cause this does boost my motivation somehow haha

That's all for now tho! I'll try to make a post later tonight about my tape results the other night! Next attempt is tonight😌 And whether anyone is interested or not I shall make another about my first insane shifting results too! 👀👋🏻

[goldenhickeysandramen]

The (ephimeral) success of solo projects on Chapter 2

I wanted to write a post about chapter 2 and Jimin, the "sabotages"... but I don't know if I'm able to sort out the facts and my ideas or judgements about them properly. Nothing is clear to me yet.

There are days when a part of me believes that something is going on with Jimin and Hybe (or BH, I don't know which). But there's another part, the rational part, the part that works as an economist for 20 years, that knows that it doesn't make much sense for a for-profit company to boycott one of its most valuable assets.

In the Executive Boards, and in financial planning, decisions are made on the basis of economical evidence, which is always provided by current numbers (or estimates), not by the heart. Maybe even in the case of BTS there is some sense of fairness, I would say, at the outset. And not an asymmetric distribution according to profit projections.

In the trade-off I find myself in, I would like to share the following thoughts:

- I have recently realised that Chapter 2 is not the chapter of their solo career. It is the chapter of their solo work, which is slightly different.

- Most of them has a short time to promote their work. The average has been a "several weeks" window.

- Their success is therefore somewhat short-lived or ephimeral. It appears and within weeks it seems to fade away, eclipsed by the next in line. The nex king of "k-..."

- There is no intention of promoting a structured solo career, because 1) BTS have said (a million times) that they will be back in 2025, and 2) if we are to take them at their word, the boys will all be joining the military before the end of 2023.

- So, there is no long-term vision to support "some" and not "others".

- The support is focused on a specific work. The only exception to a more continuous commitment has been Suga and his tour.

- Everyone has their budget, their schedule, their activities for the year...

- And yes, there can be different intensities of promotional activities, depending on the defined strategy or budget or goal or whatever (we don't know the whole story because the company doesn't explain anything to us). There is a rumour that some have even put their money into some activities. But I don't know how true that is.

- And I think they all have a say in the design of their promotions, even if they don't design them themselves.

So then....I can't take the agency away from any of them.

They are the best advocates or defenders within the company. And if one of them had less influence, which I doubt, the others would not remain silent without solving the problem. Or how do we think a commitment from the 7 of them to the 7 of them is achieved to keep BTS as a unified group? There are no weak links in this group. And if there were, I wouldn't bet my money that Jimin is one of them.

Once again, there are things that I can't explain and I'd like to know what's going on (the lack of restocking, the split of Spotify streaming, the deletion of sales...). But if there really have been damaging mistakes or strategies for any of them, I hope that when the next contract comes up for renewal, they will sort it out very thoroughly. Cause this cant happen anymore.

To tell you the truth, I blame the company for many things, and one of them - as serious as their lack of planning - is their lack of communication with the fans. BeautifulPeach has talked about this in some of her posts.

At some point in its growth, Hybe became too big to fail, or whatever, and forgot about certain corporate social responsibility obligations. One of them is to talk to its most important stakeholders: the customers, i.e. the fans. And addressing some of their concerns.

Investors are important in listed companies, but customers are important too. Always.

And if they don't see it that way and continue to despise the fans (clients) in that way, then at the end “future is not gonna be ok”.

And yes, I know that K-pop is controversial. It's clear that they can't deal with every rumour, every silly trend that comes out every day on twitter, ships, solos demands, etc. But there are things that they can deal with. And some of the Jimin's events when Face happened are one of them.

A bit of transparency would be appreciated. I expect it, actually, at some point (maybe when this chapter ends).

Maybe there will be things that could be explained as commercial strategy (do they want us to buy Face instead of the single LC, for example? And that's why they're not stocking it again?). But they might also be telling us about certain difficulties. Or about certain forecasting mistakes. Or how they learned from some of them. I'm pretty sure they learned a lot from Jimin's Face era.

I don't think I will be able to judge everything that has happened until at least the end of this year, when all the solo works have been completed/released.

And I'll have to keep listening to Bongo to see if he still talks about how they are more interested in being a company that has groups rather than individual singers. Maybe that is why it seems there's a ceiling to individual success. There is nothing better than capping success with time limitation of activities ("Let's see if that makes the fans forget what solo members are capable of")

And even then, there will be differences between all of them. Quite a lot.

But we will also have to consider that they are different artists with different goals, sensibilities, objectives and situations (let's not forget that JK himself, who now seems quite greedy, has admitted that he needed and enjoyed his free time and Seven had to come along to give him a boost). So we should be careful with the comparison too.

Perhaps Jin will end up getting the most promotions when he comes out, considering how little time he has had. Poor Jin…😔 He had to wait until the end of the year to enlist, despite the bad weather, to give us the Busan concert. It was a commitment to BTS, but it was a short of individual sacrifice too… you know..they do these things for BTS.

I would also like to listen to them (yes, it's a bit ambitious on my part, but I would like to listen to Jimin and his feelings, at the end of this year... will he open up to us?)

In conclusion, I would say that if we are BTS fans and want to remain so, and if we believe in the boys' words .... I would advise us to enjoy every moment they give us for their limited time. Every campaign, every song, every vlive... and try to find an atmosphere of caution given the situation we are in.

And by that I mean that we should also be able to read that we are in the age of solos and akages. All the information about grievances or leaks that comes out usuarlly comes from the same places.

And I'm not saying it's FALSE! Nor do I mean to belittle it! Just that sometimes we should take into account the intentions behind. And before we react, let's consider the source and the context. Look at what happened to the RNX journalist we all spent almost a day reporting on for a bad translation. Or look at how, in less than two weeks, two CCTV vids of Jimin shopping with a friend (one of them clearly with Saeon) suddenly appeared just as it became known that he was going to NY with JK.

Anyway, I will be a bit cautious for now. There are still a few months until the end of the year. A lot can still happen.

Jimin could came back again to us with sth as amazing as Like Crazy. Or even better, an album.

I miss Jimin and want to see him shine again and talking to us.

And I miss jikook……arrrggg

[andypantsx3]

hi andie!! 🥺 i have a few lil questions for you, if you don’t mind 🥺 (you may choose to answer this publicly or privately, whichever is more comfortable for you!)

would you have any tips/advice for writing/posting on a schedule? 🥺 how do you manage to stay on top of releasing/writing parts of your series consistently? do you keep daily goals? internal deadlines? a system? 🥺

i’ve always adored how organised you are with your fics!! and how regularly you write and update too 🥺 i am currently ~~trying to write and post more regularly (esp the ones for ficsforgaza!) but am stuck on how/where to start 🥺

Hi Sellie my love!! Omg yeah of course I'm happy to answer!! Idk that my system will work for you because everyone is different but I'm happy to explain my process!

These days I do not have much time or large stores of the right kind of focused energy it takes to write, mostly due to work and other personal life things I have going on right now. So I'm all about keeping goals microscopic as hell, removing blockers that distract me, and removing any pressure to write, actually lmao. I find that I'm most enthusiastic and productive when I don't feel like it's another obligation to deliver on, in the midst of all the other thousands of things I am responsible for in my day-to-day, if that makes sense?

In terms of goals, I have a loose one of writing just 100 words a day, but I cannot emphasize enough how loose it is. I do not ever try to make up for days I missed because that just adds more pressure. I do not try to push myself into doing it if I'm not feeling it because the last thing I want is for writing to feel like anything but a fun hobby. If you intend to take the Andie approach, I would advise you to set a goal that you think is so small you could achieve it by sneezing on your keyboard. Meeting goals is like, proven to release dopamine & boost your mindset, so it's more important overall to meet any goal than it is to have an impressive one.

Relatedly, I only promise things on a schedule when I know 100% I have the enthusiasm to meet it. I don't set deadlines to motivate myself, rather I let the deadlines be motivated by me, if that also makes sense? And if I have competing fics, I will prioritize working on whichever one has an actual deadline (like I set aside all my other fics to work on the one for Lore's a/b/o collab) because I know the boost I'm going to get from delivering on that is going to help me write the other ones after anyway.

I also try to remove as many blockers as I can so that writing is easy as pie. I write when I know I can control most of the factors that would sabotage me—early in the morning. If I can help it, I usually try to write first thing before I log on to any of my socials in case there's some spicy discourse I'm going to be absorbed by. It's also essential for me to do before work because work sucks the absolute life out of me right now, and I am almost never in the right headspace when I get home. Also no one ever tries to call or text me first thing in the morning so there are fewer distractions at play and it's quick work to just sit down and bang a few lines out.

I also set up my fics so that it's easy for me personally to work through them. They are all planned in advance so I know where I have to go with my writing and I'm not stuck waiting for an idea. But they're also not planned down to the detail, so that I don't feel like there's nothing left for me to explore mentally when writing!! That helps keep things directed but still interesting to me, so I feel motivated to keep returning to them.

It's really all about finding what works for you! Reflecting on what you've written already, when did you feel most motivated to write? What time of day was it, most often? What fic was it and how had you planned that/what was the subject material? Was it when you'd had a deadline to work against, or when no one knew you were working on it? Recreating those conditions to the best of your ability is what I think will help you stay engaged.

And again I cannot emphasize how much more important it is to stay motivated than it is to deliver anything regularly or on an impressive timeline. The motivation is the key to helping you to keep delivering long term. If you write something regularly for 2-3 months but then burn out, that's not gonna help you!! And honestly, meeting small goals and feeling good is actually going to motivate you to write more and faster anyway, so it's a win-win lol.

[rebirthgarments]

Hi friends! We have a couple of updates to share. 

Firstly, Seraj needs more than $3,300 to pull off his final Ramadan project before Eid. He wants to distribute it on the last day of Ramadan, which is in 3 days, so we need to get to $20k ASAP! 

contribute at bit.ly/serajfund

The financial situation in Rah Fah continues to decline, with intermediaries taking a 15-17% cut when people get cash out. He is so hopeful that this project will work out! Helping others and bringing smiles to faces–especially those of children–is clearly one of Seraj’s passions. 

Here are the project details, all thought up by Seraj himself. He has amazing ideas! 125-130 cash envelopes containing either 50 or 100 shekels each. Seraj will distribute them based on how large each family is. Seraj will also make 40 envelopes for kids, each containing 20 shekels. 

Currently, Seraj’s plan is to distribute his envelopes on the last day of Ramadan, before Eid al-Fitr. Last time he tried to print something, the printer had no electricity. He has a plan this time for checking in early to make sure he has a chance to print. 

Working with Seraj on his mutual aid projects has been such a tangible reminder that we reject the notion of charity (which is very rooted in the white savior complex and pity of Black and Brown folx), and even allyship (not enough action)  instead are partners and collaborators with Seraj self directing, leading us, and constantly motivating us to to get to the next goal so he can achieve his vision! 

 Because Seraj and his family have managed to survive, he’s been able to give back. No NGOs or governments, just a 21-year-old young man helping as many of his neighbors as he can. In his words, “This is my duty, sisters, as long as I can help! Why don't I do that!”

Seraj is genuinely a superstar to everyone on our team. His generosity is humbling to us. We have so much to learn from Pale-eh -steinians. 

Secondly, we have a date for our upcoming virtual dance party! Mark your calendars for Monday, April 29th in the evening (Pacific time). Sky is hosting this event to hype up our virtual auction for Seraj. Follow Sky on Instagram for more details @rebirthgarments or @radicalvisibilitycollective

If you’d still like to contribute items to the auction, go to bit.ly/fundraiserforseraj ! Seraj’s Support Soirée would like to offer an item or service for every budget. And we encourage a wide variety of dough-nation types! While many of them will be creative objects, they do not have to be.

Some examples:

a book you love or wrote

a framed photograph

a massage (local area bidders only)

a meditation session

a piñata

a tarot reading

a t-shirt you love or designed

stickers

a virtual lesson on social media marketing

visual art

a virtual dance lesson

Your items will be listed this week on Give Butter! (stay tuned for details!) 

Our support soiree dance party will hype up the auction featuring selections from the archives of Rebirth Garments fashion performances while you can dance with Sky!

Thank you so much for being here for Seraj. He and his family are so deeply grateful for all of the ways folks have supported them and partnered with them to help others. And our team is so thankful for how you all have stepped up. Please share and contribute! 

-Written by my team member Bex with additions by me!

[image Description: a flyer featuring a photo by Seraj of a small little kid with a blue plastic bag full of fresh fruits and vegetables. The kiddo has a heart emoji over their face and is smiling really big. They are wearing a red shirt that says “sleep time” with a sleeping bear on it. They are standing on a sandy ground in front of a tent. Text to the right of the photo on a red background reads: Gaza Sky Seraj’s mutual aid project for Ramadan in Rah-fah For part 2 of Seraj’s Ramadan project, he gave out 32 food parcels for 32 families around him in the displacement camps. Send support to his family + others! bit.ly/serajfund “ Underneath is a QR code with the link. ]