#it’s been one heck of a year. this is just a list of the highlights

[takecareluv]

Happy New Year, Love!!! ✨✨✨

It’s almost 2023, so let’s celebrate the good things that happened to us in 2022! List ten amazing things that happened to you this year and then send this to ten people who brighten your day!

happy new year, darling !! 🤍✨

made this blog and met so many amazing people thru it ( i love u all )

visited paris and london & it was truly a DREAM come true !!!

met my work bestie who i am so grateful for and honestly would not survive my job without

went to see one of my favorite artists in concert

rekindled a friendship with an old childhood friend i hadn’t really seen or talked to in almost seven years

found a passion for writing that i never knew i had and it has now become one of my biggest outlets

spent so much time with my best friend , aka my momma <333

got my first tattoos hehe

fell down the rabbit hole that is the jack harlow fandom ( absolutely no regrets )

did soo many things i never thought my anxiety would let me do :’)

[katyspersonal]

The best Bloodborne Wiki is a passion project of a single person, is about to get even better + how it can be sustained for years to come!

Hello guys! So like many of you've learned from the post with super good model view of Winter Lantern, recently, on Twitter, Meph announced ( x ) the plan to fill the wiki with very useful, very comprehensive screenshots of the models for bosses, enemies, NPCs and even cut content! The wiki has already been a huge help for lorediggers and artists, but THIS is what we will get:

This page is for Lady Maria and you can check it yourself here: ( x )! It is broken down in the categories of general close-ups of her model, then very high-quality screenshots of every attack during her boss battle and walking, and then raw model!

(I never was able to capture a good look at her using Arcane too like here, for example!)

Winter Lantern page ( x ) is using similar principle!

This is not a secret that very often in Fromsoft games, additional information can be obtained not through descriptions but through visual hints! For example, some people only learned that Winter Lantern's head is made of melted Messengers only now, after a proper look at her model! So, of course getting a proper look at every single character and creature from the game could always be helpful!

This, however, is just a recent highlight for this Bloodborne Wiki! Even prior that, it has been providing invaluable help for the fans! Examples off the top of my head: comprehensive data on what character has what items used or not, great and comprehensive hints and tutorials on upgrades and farming and builds for the players, making every bit of information on Chalice Dungeons and glyphs easily accessible, making datamined NPC sliders of all characters way more accessible and easy to grab and repeat, access to much more obscure models (like Gratia's model), full list of internal filenames and patches progress, making information from physical Bloodborne tutorial book accessible...

There are probably more things to cover that me and others found a great help in, and sometimes we might not even notice! I am sure many people could name at least one way where this wiki has been very helpful, offering raw facts and 100% valid information (and properly sourced whenever someone else helped!) without any speculating, in the most elaborate manner! We should not take it for granted because all this information, found or reshared, was compiled by just one guy out of raw passion for the game! And although this project is not profit-based and Meph is willing to commit to it and pay as much as needed to keep it living, I really still wanted to share the Ko-fi link that exists for anyone who is willing to help sponsoring it!

This is not necessary, and Meph has stated the same, but this project is not only helpful but also really hefty to sustain. The monthly support is only $3 per month, but every little bit not only helps the sustenance, but also knowing how much fans care and simply feeling their support is very significant and sometimes you don't even know how much. Heck, when Meph learned how excited people on Tumblr were about Wiki improving with full compilation of models from every angle.. the reaction was "I am so glad that people still care"! I think everyone who does their best to be useful for the fellow fans needs confirmation that they ARE, for sure, helping!

I just really wanted to get the word out anyways because honestly, none of my super elaborate theories and detailed fanart would've been possible without Meph's Wiki. and also because I am trapped in a clown country where I can't send any international money transfer so the feeling of 'do what I can't' got to me too fsdhfdhs There is no pressure or necessity, but here is the link to anyone who can help and feels the wish to! You've noticed I didn't tag Meph.... since there is no Tumblr account to tag, but again, the Twitter link is also here: ( x )!

[world-of-wales]

I was looking into where COP is going it be hosted because it can tie in to earthshot, and of course Brazil is next year. COP31 (2026) is likely to be in Australia which is also a strong contender for earthshot, India is bidding for COP33 in 2028….

My reasoning on a potential Indian Earthshot is below this.

India better stay away from cop33 & Earthshot, especially after their latest 'achievements' in the conservation sector. The govt is fantastic in making bold claims but in reality, can't do shit. And I for one don't want william anywhere near that dumpster fire of hypocrites.

There's so many examples of their sheer incompetence, there's a polluted river in india - yamuna. Between 2017 - 2021 (or 22) I believe more than ₹6,800 crores of taxpayer money was spent on cleaning that death trap and it still is as dirty as it was when all this first began. There's actual toxic foam of ammonia and phosphates that floats around it 24/7.

Then just this week news came out that 25 Tigers, (which are an endangered species btw and also part of a very ambitious conservation project 'Project Tiger' started in 1973) have been untraceable from a state run national park for the past year. The only reason this came out was because another tiger was found dead from that forest.

And just yesterday, it came out that 10 elephants died in another state run park last month because they were fed...fungal infected millets.

Heck, Delhi? The capital? It's consistently been one of the most polluted cities of the world for years. It's a literal gas chamber, which gets the worst around the current time coz of various issues. Now diwali falls around this time and because of the air quality, the Indian supreme court banned any sort of crackers/fireworks to be burnt in the area? Sounds amazing right? But guess what since crackers have come to be associated with Diwali which is a hindu festival. So the members of the ruling party within their agenda have turned this ban into an attack on religion and consistently provoke their supporters on this ground urging them to burn crackers and make delhi insufferable for all.

This is just 4 examples, there's so many that if I start listing them, we'll be here for a long time.

Moreover, the current ruling party will only twist the visit to fill into their own agenda of hate mongering & political capital as they have been known to do with every such visit.

Also the govt quite literally cordoned off low income neighborhoods that fell on route of the attendees in Delhi with plastic barriers and police personnel during the G20 in 2023, to make sure no world leader saw anything other than the rosy picture they were putting out.

Now imagine what would happen in case of something like COP33. Ofc they would do similar repulsive things then also and imagine how harmful being attached to something like this with a potential Earthshot will be for William and his public image!

I would love for him to come here, Earthshot is such a fabulous initiative, and there's such a booming environmental startup sector in India like Phool (I personally am aware of their situation. My mum's cousin runs a marketing firm and she's the one who handles everything for them, and she's told me so much about how Earthshot has helped them since 2022 with linking them to investors, other similar businesses, exposure etc) or Kheyti etc etc which deserve to be highlighted.

But in the past 10 years buisness and government have become so intrinsically linked in india that no matter what the ruling party will hijack the contributions of these organizations like they do.

So yeah maybe I'm being a narrow minded idiot but Earthshot in India rn? Will only lead to credibility issues.

Now let's hope I don't go to jail for putting all this here by exercising my fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a).

[cyberr-v0id]

I should probably make a proper introduction post so here goes

Hi hey hello wassup sup howdy hola hooray

My name is Leo but I also go by *lists a ton of names because I am genderfluid as hell, can’t choose just one, have a complicated relationship with my irl name, and eventually toss aside every name I go by* here’s the link to my full name post: https://www.tumblr.com/cyberr-v0id/731097944976228352/ok-so-as-i-apparently-use-a-lot-of-names-here-are

My main blog is @cyberr-v0id but I have a ton of side blogs, because who’s gonna stop me, the side blog police? I run a ton of gimmick blogs. You might know them. You might not.

I use he/she/they/fae and occasionally it sets of pronouns, and I am a genderfluid, afab, asexual, lesbian oriented demiromantic. Deal with it or leave :)

I currently have a crush on one of my awesome friends because I only develop crushes on people I have a strong bond with and/or have know for a while . Aka: my friends. It can be low-key awkward but we roll

I am Romani but don’t travel because reasons and I am kinda detached from my culture, but heck if I won’t defend it till my last breath

Now onto what I am interested in ehhehehehe

I AM SO GOSHDARN TOTALLY BRAIN IN THE SAND EYES GOUGED OUT INSANELY OBSESSED WITH ODYSSEUS RN. ITS A PROBLEM. IT KEEPS COMING BACK. IS THIS A HYPER FIXATION??? IS THIS A SPECIAL INTEREST? I HAVENT BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH (oh wait I should probably put that down as information then come back to my interests)

Ok so, I have never been diagnosed with anything ✨brain wise✨ however pretty much every autistic person I have ever met has said that they think I might be as well, without me even bringing it up, including my AuDHD brother. My mother has said repeatedly throughout my lifetime comments such as ‘are you sure you’re not autistic’ and ‘that is very autistic or you maybe we should get you diagnosed’ but then she denies it if i bring it up

My dad thinks I am adhd, my mum thinks I would be add rather than adhd because I am, to quote, ‘not hyperactive like [brothers name] is’. He is a twelve year old boy. I am a fifteen year old girl. I also take apart all my pens in lessons if I don’t have something less destructible to fidget with. Take that how you will

I personally have done a lot of of research into the both, and feel that I could be either, but slightly more likely adhd

I have a weird issue with my feet where the bones are too close together in places, which means I have really clicky ankle joints, am much more likely to have my ankles roll, twist, or give way, and often my legs hurt pretty bad, and my feet as well, while walking or standing for a long time. But hey! They’re getting better finally :D

OK SO NOW MY INTERESTS

I AM LITERALLY SO OBSESSED WITH ODYSSEUS HE IS ALL I HACE BEEN ABLE TO THINK ABOUT FOR LIKE THREE WEEKS NOW, I HAVE BEEN HIGHLIGHTING HIS NAME EVERY TIME I SEE IT IN THE ILIAD, I HAVE LISTENED TO THE EPIC MUSICAL EVERY NIGHT FOR OVER A WEEK, AND THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR THAT MY OBSESSION HAS APPEARED. AND IT GETS WORSE BY THE DAY.

I HAVE LITERALLY SAT AND RESEARCHED HIM AT BREAKFAST, I HAVE RANTED ABOUT HIM YO EVERY MEMBER OF MY FRIEND GROUP AND MY CRUSH SO MANY TIMES, MY ENGLISH TEACHER HAS BEEN SUBJECTED TO TWO ODYSSEUS RANTS THIS WEEK AND I HAD TO RESTRAIN MYSELF FROM INFODUMPING ON ONE OF MY MUSICAL THEATRE TEACHERS.

THE ONLY THING STOPPING ME FROM CREATING ODYSSEUS FAN ART IS MY ART SKILLS

Ahem

Onto other interests:

• mythology in general but the one I know the most about and am obsessed with the most is Greek mythology

• the owl house

• Percy Jackson, obviously

• amphibia

• the inheritance cycle

• the dragon prince

• miss peregrines home for peculiar children

•avatar the last air bender

•dragon age absolution

• how to train your dragon (books, films, series)

•the wizards of once

•dragons themself as a thing

•folklore and faeries

• nimona

•Dracula

•redwall

•and a heck ton more that I cannot think of. I’ll rant about it eventually if I love it that much

The main sports I do rn are archery, paddle boarding, and skateboarding, as well as dance through my musical theatre group. Also lightsaber fighting in my street

I do art and writing and reading and acting and lots more I do a lot and then I abandon my hobbies for a while, and jewelry making and sewing and

I’ll link some more posts here that may be useful to y’all:

And remember, this blog is ran by an Odysseus obsessed teen above all else

[p-receh]

For an April fool's game, they have no right to make this good...but they still did it.

IT'S SOOOO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD LIKE HOLY HECK?!

Where do I start? Okay, history-ish lesson time.

This is not the first time that Sonic's PR team make a game specifically for an april fool's joke. During Aaron's era, there was an infamous website game titled 'Big's Big Adventure 3'. And as the name suggests, it tells a story of how Big showed up in random places like you might/might not see him as a cameo during the SA2 event.

Same format as TMoSTH, a visual novel style game with uh....flappy bird-inspired game, and of course the fishing segment as sub content.

And that's it. I like the story not gonna lie. I enjoy playing it. Full of meme content. But the existence of the game itself was huge in 2016. It may not be the best thing to re-live it in this era in my opinion.

I bet the website is down now but you can still watch some playthroughs from youtube though.

And after seven years, the new Sonic PR team create a game for another april fool's joke. But this time....I don't think this is not full of memes to be laughing by the community. It's...unexpectedly something else.

Sure the highlight of the trailer first and foremost: "Sonic is dead" was a real deal. It was all over the internet even though you were not active on sonic at that time.

I personally didn't watch the trailer yet I knew that highlight. So I play it blindly without any knowledge of what the hell happened before this existed.

But as I open the game, I was shocked. It starts with deep and slow music like typical mystery games you played, great art designs, and a nice choice of colors that encapsulated the title itself. Simple, yet the qualities that represent are almost like it was not made for such a free game, even as a joke for that day.

I have yet to start the game but it left me with such an impression.

I love everything about this game. They nailed every. single. one! Even with each traits that were being misrepresented by fandom, somehow corrected to their very core! What is this? What in the world am living right now??

And this is one of the stories that I want to read in fan fiction. Just a group comes together creating unexpected events or just doing their normal life. Whether Eggman got in the way or not is up to you. It has silly and quirky moments freely.

The jokes landed perfectly without making them OOC. In fact, I got a bunch of new headcanon from that game. It has so many memorable scenes that you might already see most of them on the internet.

For the protagonist, yes I can confidently say I related to Barry that much. Even at some point, I felt I was inside the train surrounded by these extravagant abnormal people. I truly thought every response that Barry had was exactly like mine if I was in that scenario. (looking at you Tails)

For a mystery game, I kinda think how they summarize the whole case cooouuld have been better. The sub-ones did a great job to wrapped up the messes. I don't hate the whole problem tho. I actually adore it. Hmm, I might need to replay it again soon and see if it could change my mind about it.

Mini-games! It might be my personal bias so apologize for my taste. If I want to, they should add an additional setting to adjust Sonic's position. I struggled A LOT during mini-games. God why Tails had to toss every thinking section to me, please stop T_T.

For Music... wow I didn't prepare how well thought out this music has. The ost of this game is uniquely true to its theme and It still stuck in my head for days. The theme song and the interrogation section are my favorites. Some mini-game section is also catchy and upbeat!

Artstyle! Oh I loooove the design throughout the game. Each character got well design clothes that are creative and also stay true to their character with a bonus to the lore of the story! Deegeemin has my list as one of fav sonic artists.

Conclusion?

please play the game

[rockinlibrarian]

9 people tag game

Tagged by @e-louise-bates, who tagged only me (and no, I don't believe I've done this one, recently at least), so I'm assuming the "9 People" in the title isn't NECESSARILY how many people I have to tag.

last song: All I've been hearing for the past two hours is the background music to Splatoon, which my son is playing on the big tv in this room. Last song I actually listened to? I think it was Led Zeppelin. Yeah, when I turned my car off I left auxiliary on for a bit, as one does, and it was some Zeppelin-- "Whole Lotta Love," that was it.

last movie: Honestly, I am not sure when I last watched a movie? Possibly not since Arsenic and Old Lace at New Years. I just don't get around to it! Also, Splatoon is always running on the big tv.

currently watching: Okay, I almost thought of this as a movie, but I have been watching a TV show the past week or so! Muppets Mayhem, which is only 10 half-hour episodes long but I've still only watched 7, that's how much I'm not watching ANYTHING lately. Okay, I am unable to tell if it is objectively good to the average person-- I think it's mixed, some very good stuff, some eh-- because it is basically a made-for-me show (it got shuttled to the top of my watch list when a friend-- an online friend I've never met in real life even-- specifically tagged me on Facebook after she watched it because she thought of me the whole time). I have said, for the record, that The Electric Mayhem is my favorite fictional band. They genuinely do rock. And the music (and the music nerd references) is the highlight of the show. And the Get Back-themed episode was indeed an absolute delight.

currently reading: Kids and I are towards the middle of the end of The Sun and the Star, Mark Oshiro's Riordanverse book about Nico and Will in the Underworld, which isn't quite as delightful as Riordan's originals in voice, but still has some good stuff in it. I've also brought home Nowhere Boy by Katherine Marsh, which I am considering sampling for the older group at Summer Quest this week. Hence bringing it home to actually read those chapters before reading it to them. I also left off in the middle of a multichapter fanfic last night, something Umbrella Academy of course because I'm still only in the S's in my alphabetical by author browse-through. It's "the desperation murmur of a heartbeat" by slytherincosette-- good enough for me to keep reading beyond the first chapter (or even the first paragraph) at least. Haven't finished it yet.

last thing researched for writing purposes: Huh. Well, that depends on your definition of all those words, I suppose. I think, using the broadest definitions, the last thing I researched for my writing was synonyms for "flawless"-- I was looking for the word "foolproof" but couldn't think of it, so I put "flawless" in Thesaurus.com and browsed until I spotted it. Yay, thesaurus! And for this particular fic I also have looked up the transcripts to The Wizard of Oz (which is the AU) and various episodes of Legion (which it is a fanfic of), if THAT counts as research. I am looking at my google search history now but I don't think any of this was used for writing. A few minutes ago I looked up how many inches are 143 centimeters which I THINK was for some ART that @sunnymarbles was drawing, but that's drawing, not writing, and also not mine. I have researched various snack recipes from around the world so as to write up some handouts for Summer Quest, which was technically writing, and mine. Honestly the only research session for fictional-not-educational writing purposes that really stands out in my memory was the day (2 1/2 years ago) I spent researching electric guitars just so I could say what Marty McFly's dream guitar would have been in 1980, for one sentence in a less-than-900-word fanfic. But I learned a lot of interesting things about electric guitars, so there.

Who the heck should I tag. I usually tag Louise, but she got me first. @stephsageek, @alihahdnaid, @sharkneto, @rebel-by-default, @littlerit, @steeple-sinderby --those are the first I-know-are-writers in my notifications (not counting Louise) before the scrolldown makes me click "see more." There's also @dannypageoflight who draws more than he writes but who knows, maybe he's done some research for writing purposes lately. That's seven. And two more people! Have fun, two more people! @sunnymarbles! You were already technically tagged in this, and I already told everyone what you're reading and also probably what you're listening to right now because you are also in the room with Splatoon (can't tell if you have earbuds in) and also that I looked up the last thing you wanted to research half an hour ago or whenever it was! And you don't write! But you can also do this if you really wanted to!

[yestolerancepro]

Tolerance Project extra Blog 25 movies that are perfect from start to finish and the Tolerance project featured 3 of them well almost*

Introduction

Hello after last weeks blog called 25 Best movie posters of all time based on an article by the collider film website this blog continues on a simalar theme except this one is called 25 movies that are perfect from start to finish as before we are not going to concentrate on all 25 films in the collider website but just 3 that have Tolerance film links to read the original article click here  25 Movies That Are Perfect Throughout, Ranked (collider.com)

14 Rocky (1976)

Yep Rocky is here again and yes I know as I said last week it shouldn’t have been included in the article about the 25 greatest movie posters because of its status as a deleted scene in the Tolerance film I decided to include it anyway and I still stand by that lol enough of my rabbiting on like this here is what Callider said about the Italian station

 Underdog stories can be hard to resist, especially within the sports genre and particularly when they're as well-told as the one in Rocky. This wasn't Sylvester Stallone's first movie by any means, but it was the one that made him a star, and is perhaps the overall greatest film of his. On top of starring as the title character, he also wrote the screenplay, with the movie's story following a down-on-his-luck man in Philadelphia who strives for greatness when he's given the chance to fight the world's heavyweight boxing champion.

If anything about Rocky seems cheesy or clichéd, it's probably because the film was so influential that the vast majority of sports movies made in its wake likely took some inspiration from it, in one way or another. It's an underdog movie written by and starring an underdog, and the film's box office and awards success (it won three Oscars, including Best Picture) make it a stirring and inspiring film in more ways than one.

9 The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

A spoof the actually appeared in the Tolerance film we used it to highlight Blue Badge abuse and one of the best scenes in the Tolerance anyway here is what Collider said about The Good The Bad and the Ugly the third Chapter in the Dollars trilogy.

 An iconic Western that stands as one of the best movies of the 1960s (Western or otherwise), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is riveting, exciting, and ridiculously entertaining for its lengthy runtime of nearly three hours. The three characters referred to in the title are all relatively selfish, albeit differ when it comes to the brutality of their actions, though all three have the same goal: finding a buried stash of gold somewhere in the desert while the American Civil War wages around them.

It's the most popular film directed by Sergio Leone, and might also be his best, functioning as a Western, a war film, a buddy comedy (at times), and an epic adventure movie all at once. With its memorable characters, quotable dialogue, unforgettable music (Ennio Morricone strikes again), and bursts of intense action, it's a rousing success from beginning to end. Even if you don't ordinarily like Westerns, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the absolute definition of a must-watch.

1 Jaws (1975)

The first and the best Jaws film I am not surprised it top of colliders list of perfect films lets face it has some classic music by John Williams heck we not only used the title music once but twice in the Tolerance film ourselves.

It also has the iconic poster designed by Roger Kastel see my last blog it also has soon to be Master Director Steven Speilberg to direct it anyway don’t just take my word for it here is what Callider had to say.

Predating Star Wars by two years, Jaws is often considered the original Hollywood blockbuster. It was a movie that established an already accomplished Steven Spielberg as an undisputed master filmmaker, and it remains his most exciting thriller. As far as the plot goes, it almost couldn't be simpler, as Jaws follows three men who set out to kill a monstrous shark that's been terrorizing a seaside town during the summer holiday season.

No dinosaur movie has ever been as good as Spielberg's Jurassic Park, and similarly, no other shark movie has ever come close to touching Jaws. It's a movie that works wonders with a direct premise that in lesser hands would feel generic, underwhelming, or predictable, and every minute here proves engrossing. It's a movie that's perfectly cast, perfectly paced, and perfectly directed by a remarkably young Spielberg (he wasn't even 30 at the time of its release). In essence, Jaws is - without a doubt - simply perfect.

Pictures

Rocky

The 3 men who are the good the bad and ugly of the classic 1967 western

Jaws attacks its director Steven Spielberg

If you have enjoyed this blog please consider giving a donation to the Tolerance project by clicking here

[just-like-playing-tag]

Aaaaaaand I messed up.

Long story short I assumed the 031145 at the start of episode 9 refered to the day the infermery scene took place, that filled most of the episode.

Checking the manga this morning though, turns out the day of Norman's fake escape and the consequential shipment is actually the 3rd of November, and the title was referring to the very end of the episode. Sorry for screwing up (╥﹏╥)

Well, happy Emma and Ray's depression and unavoidable desperation day I guess!

[xserpx]

#joe abercrombie#for a nominally cishet author...#honestly abercrombie's take on queerness is refreshing in a few aspects#having its flaws? of course nothing's perfect#but multiple queer characters with different relationships to their queerness?#showing off how toxic adhering to heteronormative culture is?#showing off the romantic element of queerness?#but also being very upfront and explicit that some of them are banging and enjoy it?#leo dan brock is easily one of two best fantasy queer protagonists in the last decade#and it's barely a contest past the other one leo is leaving so many in the dirt#i mean the age of madness is still great outside of leo's queerness but it's so much better for it

For sure. I'm still floored by the fact I wasn't expecting it at all. No one reads these books for the gay rep. It's pretty tried and true grimdark fantasy, catering to "guys in furs" as Abercrombie calls them. You like squelch? You like swear words? Have a fucking bucket load. Like, the fact that Abercrombie tries when it comes to women is encouraging, his books definitely have a left-leaning self-awareness and some interesting genderqueer overtones, but after his (pretty meh) attempt at writing lesbians in Sharp Ends, Joe Abercrombie wasn't at all on my radar as an author I'd care about for canon queer rep. I've been a fan of his for 10 years, I love everything he's written, I don't need to know anything about a book that's got his name on. And I don't even think AoM is the best thing he's ever done (though I think Leo probably is???). I also still hesitate to recommend the Age of Madness on the basis of its representation, because it's really only one tiny facet of a story that is mostly fantasy French Revolution by way of the Hollow Crown, with 7 main POVs. For some reason, I just feel like there is a certain level of queerness a thing needs to have in order to be recommended as queer media. Idk. You could take the queerness out, and Leo would still be an incredibly strong character. You still have Orso, Savine, Vick, Rikke, Clover and Broad. I can't even list all my old favourites who are still present in the new trilogy, or the new non-POV characters I love (including Jappo!). AoM would still be fantastic without Leo. Heck, it would still have gay rep without Leo.

But Leo is a whole other kettle of fish IMO. Because Abercrombie is a master of character writing, and Leo is the best character he's ever written. You could easily argue Leo is 'bad' representation by some standards - he's a terrible person, he's homophobic, he never says he's gay, there isn't enough gay sex, there's no kiss. I definitely have my genuine gripes too; it's not perfect, as you say. In most of the interviews I've seen Abercrombie seems to suggest making him queer was more or less an afterthought rather than something he intended from the start (I find that so hard to believe, but OK). I want to say being gay is like the fifth most important thing about Leo. It's just one facet of him, and Leo is just one facet of the trilogy, but having said that, every facet is important. Every little piece informs the whole.

I think that multi-faceted approach to character is what makes Abercrombie's later characters so good, and also kind of explains why many people in the wider culture are getting sick of representation-focused stories. Characters shouldn't be "just" one thing. Think about The First Law trilogy: Glokta's disability was the quintessential defining feature of his character - and what a fantastic character, still! - but now what gave Glokta his edge is just one aspect of Leo. While he definitely draws on Glokta's history to give him that delicious broth-like depth of flavour, IMO it also highlights the limits of representation for its own sake: you can't have a character like Leo if all you're aiming for is Glokta. It would be so easy for Abercrombie to do that. Glokta is way more popular than Leo. Logen was beloved even before Red Country made him a much more challenging figure. Instead, Abercrombie delivered a character so dynamic, complex, and thematically resonant, that it's genuinely hard to even think of an equal. So while I hesitate to recommend AoM as LGBT rep on the basis that it's 'just' one tiny part, I also think that maybe having it be a tiny part is what makes it so damn impressive.

basically my standards for gay/trans media these days are that it has to be something i'd still enjoy even if none of the characters were gay or trans. bc otherwise the whole thing is a waste of my fucking time. in 2012 i was so starved for gay representation that i'd consume anything that so much as mentioned queerness just to feel less alone but that's not the world we live in anymore and i don't want to go back to that world and i would be miserable continuing to pretend that gayness is the pinnacle of good writing in 2023 it feels so.... gross. i like being spoiled with a rapturous amount of gay content to choose from and plenty of the gay content i DON'T like is beloved by other queer people and i don't have to love every gay narrative or pretend to. so i'm no longer touching any shit that doesn't do the kind of cool storytelling that compels me. i did my years in the trenches.

[marshmallowgoop]

heishin for the ship bingo!

Them!! 😭

They are EVERYTHING to me: Okay, so, I've been familiar with Detective Conan for about a decade, yeah? Ten years ago is around the time that I first started watching the anime, and let me tell you: I don't remember caring for Heishin—or even Heiji!—like, at all back then. (The Reveal (Episodes 57-58) was fun, but I wouldn't say my feelings really went much deeper than that.)

But I've been rewatching, and getting way further than I ever got the first time around, and my fictional taste buds must have changed because these two have now absolutely destroyed me. I wrote my very first DCMK meta about them, and, well, I put this together for another post also about them that I've been working on, the intention being to highlight all the Heiji-Shinichi relationship analyses on my Ramblings page in order emphasize my utter infatuation with this duo, and... yeah.

Of all the Detective Conan essays listed here, 17/43 of them concern Heiji and Shinichi to some extent... and since I only update this page periodically, this list doesn't even include my last Heishin post, which would make the count 18/44.

So, nearly 41% of my writing about this series involves discussion on them... and one of these characters is only included in maybe 10% of the story.

They really, truly are so much to me.

They drive me crazy/insane /pos: Clearly! "Miss Mystery," Opening 33, has me screaming, crying, and throwing up with its depiction of their relationship...

And I flipped through the manga version of Episode 174 for the first time recently (Files 225-230), and the way that Conan imagines Heiji's smiling face when he fears that the worst happened to his friend utterly destroyed me (File 228)...

And one of my GIFs (from Episode 277) got passed around some more a bit ago, and I was once again reminded of how gently Heiji places Conan on the ground, how careful he is regardless of the minimal distance, and I once again felt like the pleading face emoji...

And have I mentioned "Conan's Dream Vacation" enough yet?

I could go on and on and on. (And considering that I've, uh, written a whole Heishin masterpost, I guess I kind of already have.)

Relationship goals <3: They've got problems, absolutely, but the way they just... sync? The way they Vibe? #Goals for sure.

They get each other. Immensely. They finish each other's sentences, come to the same conclusions at once—they both serve as a reminder to the other that they're not alone.

It's easy to meme on this panel of Shinichi in the manga (File 520), but it is beyond sweet to me that he's so eager and excited at the notion of someone just like him.

Heiji and Shinichi are genuinely a place of comfort for each other, and that is the definition of "relationship goals."

I need a 30k hurt/comfort fic on my desk by Monday: Detective Conan seems all but entirely disinterested in depicting its heroic men as vulnerable. Heck, if the "Murderer Shinichi Kudo" case (Episodes 521-523) is any indication, there's the message that a person like Shinichi would never do something like cry. He's too "strong" to.

Needless to say, the sentiment leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Relying on others and crying aren't "weak" things but human things, and one of the biggest draws of Heishin—for me, anyway!—is that Heiji and Shinichi do allow themselves to be vulnerable with each other. Shinichi admits to some of the trauma he's suffered in as soon as his third encounter with Heiji (Episodes 77-78); later, he completely opens up about the pain of hiding his identity from Ran, and he even asks Heiji for advice (Episode 189). Heiji, similarly, isn't too afraid to reveal that he cares deeply for Shinichi to Shinichi's face. He easily conveys how haunted he was by a nightmare in which Shinichi dies, with minimal prompting, in Episode 118. In Episode 479, he also lays his insecurity bare in Shinichi's presence and asks if all the criticism and mockery he's received is warranted.

Canon gives us these crumbs. Fanon can take it so much further. Shinichi spilling out details of how scared he is to Heiji, trying desperately not to freak out or cry, all while Heiji tells him that he can cry when he feels like it, just as Shinichi told Ran when they were in preschool (Episode 854). Heiji actually working through his unhealthy tendency to make everything a competition with Shinichi's help and support.

I think the focus of my last Heishin post, about how the nasty attitude Conan gives Heiji on occasion stems from his resentment that he can't be Shinichi when they're together, also lends itself well to hurt/comfort fic. What if Heiji calls out Conan's cold behavior, and he doesn't act like it's a joke or a minor nuisance for once but really communicates that it hurts to be treated like that, and Shinichi reveals the truth? Or what if Shinichi has a moment of self-reflection and regrets his cruelty when Heiji winds up seriously injured or dead on his behalf?

If you throw in potential romantic feelings, other possibilities open up. It kills Shinichi that he can't hold Ran in his arms (FUNimation's English dub for Episode 42), that he can't tell her he loves her with his own voice (Episode 3), but he doesn't think Ran's aware of his predicament. With Ran, Conan can put on an act and lie and pretend like none of his romantic feelings for her exist, and maybe that provides relief.

But Heiji is well aware of Shinichi's predicament. There's no playing a completely separate, unrelated child with Heiji; Heiji's already broken the illusion, and there's no going back to it. When Shinichi's by Heiji's side, he's by someone whom he can be himself around, whom he can't be anything but himself around, and that's got to make the impossibility of a romantic relationship a pain that festers like an open sore. There's no putting a Band-Aid on this one. No separating himself from the situation. No covering up the sting with an invented personality.

Okay, maybe that's more hurt no comfort, but there is so much potential here, I swear! Heiji isn't just the goofy, silly comic relief guy with the Osaka accent, and his relationship with Shinichi deserves more serious exploration and treatment. I think there's especially a lot that could be done with Heiji's jealousy, and—in my eyes, anyway—it stinks that canon plays Heiji's obsession with one-upping Shinichi's confession to Ran as a joke rather than the sad, insecure thing that it comes off to me as.

They're going to be the death of me: I bought a movie guidebook for The Crimson Love Letter, the 21st Conan film, which I haven't even seen yet, purely because I liked the cover art (and included poster) showing Conan and Heiji being unabashedly happy together...

And I am so tempted to get this Heishin mug set...

And I'm looking to add some Treasured Selection Blu-rays to my largely DVD-comprised DetCo collection, and while I don't believe the Treasured Selection Blu-rays for traditionally animated episodes really increase the quality that much, I'm still thinking I'll get #5 because it has The Boys on the cover (and also includes one of my favorite cases, Episodes 277-278)...

And there's also that merch from Carddass...

If nothing else, these two might be the death of my wallet!

(It's maybe also worth noting that I mostly store my DVDs for this series in 6-DVD cases, so only a select few covers are actually displayed. I purposely ordered things in a way to display the majority of the Heiji-and-Conan covers—5 out of the 7 that I own. I'm love them.)

They,,, kimss,, holde handss,,,,: I used to be like, "I don't really ship them; I just like their relationship!" And got, "Sure, Jan" in response.

But heck with it—while it's never, ever my intention to undervalue platonic bonds, I do like romance, and I'm tired of being ashamed of it! Shinichi and Heiji should open up their own detective agency and also kiss and hold hands, yes.

Which can absolutely be platonic, too! I love them either way.

[lily-blue]

Happy ending

☆ characters: part-timer!soonyoung & chaebol!you ☆ genre: star-crossed lovers au, fluff ☆ request: F33. from this prompt list ☆ summary: Soonyoung wants nothing more than to convince your parents that he is good enough for you ☆ words: 1,4k ☆ dedicated to: @dat-town​ ♥

You were sitting on the fluffy carpet in BooSeokSoon’s living room, your pastel highlighters scattered around your boyfriend’s indecipherable notes, as you were staring at said boyfriend with a can of cheap beer in your hand and an endeared smile in the corner of your mouth. Soonyoung had that unusual, serious look on his face that you could only ever see when he was working on some choreography for those young teenagers whom he taught hip-hop in his free time beside his studies, and your heart was acting up again as though you hadn’t started dating a bit more than two years ago. Maybe, because you needed to do it in secret, but you were still in the honeymoon phase, neither of you quite ready to let go of the butterflies.

‘How can you set those fancy transitions again? Suddenly, I can’t find them,’ he furrowed his brows in confusion, slowly shifting his gaze from his laptop’s screen to his notes then back to the colourful slides. You bit back a chuckle at how adorable he looked before you carefully placed your drink in the base of the coffee table and crawled closer to the boy.

Needless to say, you had no idea why the two of you were wasting your precious alone time making a powerpoint presentation on such a fine Saturday night instead of munching on junk food and watching silly movies like you had agreed on in advance as soon as you had gotten to know that Soonyoung’s flatmates would go home for the weekend, but you had long given up on questioning your dates with the boy. What mattered was that you two were together and that he was doing what he was doing because he loved you dearly. He saw his future with you and you alone - he had confessed this to you way too many times for you to not be aware of it -, and while you tended to be less optimistic, the butterflies in your stomach didn’t let you tell him that you knew your parents wouldn’t make up their mind about your relationship because of a few slides, no matter how excellent of a presenter he was.

An overly pessimistic part of you believed that the only way your relationship could have ever gotten the green light would have been if your roles had been reversed. If out of the two of you, it had been him who had come from a filthy rich family. Because being the only child of a conservative, wealthy man in your country meant that you had to marry well for your family to acknowledge your existence. And a broken uni student with a part-time job was far from ideal, no matter how happy Soonyoung made you feel or how much you loved him.

‘Look, here! Click on that tab, honey,’ you pointed at the left corner of the screen, giggling when Soonyoung got so excited that his shoulder bumped into your chin. You should have known better than to make yourself comfortable behind him.

Shaking your head in amusement, you didn’t miss how your boyfriend’s smile grew as big as if you had just stolen the stars from the sky for him and the sight melted you from the inside. You wished his plan would have worked out as well as those that you two made whenever you had to ruin a blind date without turning it into a disaster that could have potentially angered your date or your parents. Heck! Soonyoung and the guys were frighteningly good at saving your ass from possible arranged marriages so far. You would be forever grateful for their effort, especially for Jeonghan and Joshua. Those two were on another level when one had to play dirty.

‘What do you think? Should we go with something extra or let’s be classic and chic?’ Your boyfriend asked and you put your chin atop of his shoulder while he tried out a few options like the vortex and the origami one. Goodness, they looked so ridiculous, you cringed at the possibility of your future depending on either of them.

‘I think the list of your strong points looks better with that one,’ you pointed at the icon with the name “fade” and smiled when you caught a glimpse of the tiger stripes on the first slide. Of course, he couldn’t have missed out on the opportunity to go with this certain design when he had found it an hour ago.

‘Maybe. Or maybe not…’ Soonyoung contemplated before he let out a loud groan and shook his head. ‘Agrr, I can’t think around you,’ he whined, dramatic as always, but you couldn’t have said that you minded. Still, you rolled your eyes in a playful manner and kissed his neck to soothe his nerves. You understood his feelings. You were just as nervous as he was, if not more, constantly on the edge ever since your father had given you that ultimate. You had two months left to find a worthy candidate or he would choose you a husband and based on those blind dates he had sent you on so far, you had a good reason to loathe that possibility.

‘Oh, yeah? And what’s your excuse for the laundry disaster on Wednesday? If I remember correctly, you were with Seokmin,’ you asked innocently, smiling against his skin because of the memories. You had never seen so many soap bubbles in your entire life, let alone pouring out of a perfectly fine washing machine.

Soonyoung turned towards you with his entire body, a betrayed expression on his face.

‘You promised we wouldn’t talk about it again like… EVER,’ he pointed at your chest with his index finger, sulking, but you leaned closer to him nevertheless so that you could kiss the pout off his lips. You were aware that he could never resist your fingers in his hair, especially with half a bottle of soju and a can of beer in his system, so you made sure to play with his messy locks while you were making up for the teasing.

‘Am I forgiven?’ You asked quietly when you pulled away, only a little, so that you could see his chocolate brown eyes. They shone with fondness and a pinch of mischief as he stole one more peck before he tilted his head to the right. 

‘Depends,’ he claimed and you raised a brow in question, wondering what he was thinking of that made him look so giddy. Was he bouncing from excitement in your arms or you were tipsier than you had thought? ‘Should I put a video on the slide where I talk about dancing or perform live?’ He inquired and that was it. You couldn’t play along with him anymore.

You nuzzled closer to him on the floor and buried your face in the croak of his neck so that he couldn’t see you.

‘Honestly, I really don’t think that this powerpoint presentation is the answer we’re looking for,’ your voice was barely above a whisper when the confession fell from your lips, but you knew that Soonyoung could have heard it because his shoulders had gotten tense. Hence, you quickly wrapped your arms around him tighter just for him to realize what you were playing at, and push you away gently.

‘Yah! But you said it’s a brilliant idea,’ he accused you, and you bit into your cheeks from the inside, unable to hide your amusement. He looked too adorable when he put his hands on his hips in pseudo-anger.

‘I’m taking it back. It’s actually a horrible idea,’ you retorted with a nonchalant shrug, which you really shouldn’t have done since it was the green light for Soonyoung to attack you with his tickles.

Unable to run away, you fell on the carpet sooner than you would have liked to and no matter how loudly you begged him to stop, he didn’t show you any mercy until you took back your words. Which meant that by the time he collapsed beside you, you were crying from laughing so hard and panting because of the war your words had brought upon you. But you couldn’t mind any of it, because it was Soonyoung. And when he pulled you closer to his chest and you heard him mumble affectionate little nothings against your hair, you knew that while being in his arms, you would always find at least one ounce of energy in your body to keep fighting. Against him, for him. Even if deep down you knew it was pointless.

➼ sequel - dinner with the reader’s parents

[clubatsumu]

dude ailments of the soul is so freaking good what the heck?? like that stuff is better than majority of published romance work. i'm so obsessed with your writing style! you're amazingly talented!! you're stunningly breathtakingly skilled at writing!!! please. can i ask for any recommendations from you that's similar to your writing, whether it be published work or fanfiction? i'm thoroughly obsessed. thanks for working hard to bless us with your writing, take care!

hiii thank u for all the compliments i feel thoroughly overwhelmed (blushing and kicking my feet under the blanket as we speak). hope u take care as well!

ok for fics — i cant recommend anyone who writes the exact same way, but i promise you theyre all 100% better. my favorites off the top of my head:

a cartography of love by themorninglark is a character study on oikawa that deals with his struggle of coming to terms with his identity, how much he can love one place and still be part of another, leaving and starting something new right after high school… if i could snort this, i would, no hesitation. a masterclass on prose. a masterclass on loving a character to the point of understanding him completely. it highlights argentina and japan and loneliness and being a part of something bigger than yourself. it gave oikawa so much justice and so much gravity, his decisions much more weight, and i honestly believe themorninglark should be knighted for the kindness they’ve shown oikawa. i was screaming to my friends for hours after i read it. i felt like a cow being air shuttled to new zealand.

He’s further south of Tokyo now than he’s ever been before. He has never felt smaller. The world has never felt more incredible. <;- one of the best lines i’ve read anywhere, but it’s not even making the best line list i’ve made for this fic. (i won’t tell you my favorite because i keep that shit to myself to cry about at night :)

meg (whose account name is @star-puff, where she’s archived all her works) is a writer you can trust (let me explain later). my favorite work of hers is a tendou fic, after the world has fallen (where do we lie), with an oikawa counterpart set in the same universe, before the world fell (you were there) that follows a this post apocalyptic world that’s reduced to gang alliances. it’s completely out of the box and you’ll pull your hair out the whole time. there is no instant gratification with this girl. she’ll drag you through mud, pain, anguish etc but you know what? she’s so incredibly talented that it’s worth it. (explaining it now) her fics are what quintessentially a fic should be like for me, if that makes sense… there’s so much color in them, the descriptors are so vivid and it’s so evident that she creates every single piece of hers with so much care. i can’t explain it in any way other than that. after the world has fallen literally starts with, You meet on a day where the sky burns yellow.

i feel like i win when i lose by flooruh partly because its title is an abba lyric but mainly because i feel like everybody should read this. to write the first interaction between oikawa and atsumu and for it to be this funny and witty and accurate????? my canon. it didn’t happen any other way. a ball of sunshine of a fic. everyone should read this. the type of fic you have to read alone because your face will be making so many expressions. (i was squealing like a dipshit)

book recs meanwhile… i have to make a disclaimer: my writing is probably similar to theirs instead of the other way around… because i cannot even begin to copy a quarter of how wonderful these books are.

i’m keeping it short and not gushing but please know i could talk for hours on end about all the books here.

a tale for the time being by ruth ozeki — a super sad, super hopeful story wrapped in this whimsical kind of storytelling as the author (ruth) reads 15 year-old nao’s diary that washed up on shore

strange weather in tokyo by hiromi kawakami — just. a string of conversations. i love it so much. half inspired the whole ailments chapter. i just. like reading about people talking to each other.

venetia by georgette heyer is romance romance. kind of jane austen, but romancier, less on the satire side of things and more on the men on top their horses and hosting their orgys in their estate etc side of things. i like reading the way they talk and exclaim for some reason. books that use exclamation >>>>

snow country by yasunari kawabata. i was reading this during writing ailments of the soul actually! it’s about a love affair between a businessman and a geisha that’s set in the snow country, and we see it start and slowly fall apart. it’s just amazing to me how someone can tell something and nothing all at once, and how kawabata trusted his readers so much he let himself write that way.

[thegingeralien]

Thought I might share my “doing homework with adhd” tips in case the might help even just one person (because that would make me feel happy).

Who am I to be giving you advice? Good point! I am still terrible at studying and I’m 26 and at University for the millionth time. But I have studied A LOT in my 22 years of schooling with varying degrees of success.

I see a lot of people, especially teenagers or first year university/college students, with ADHD asking for tips on how to study. But if you do a google search most of the websites and advice that comes up can be extremely ableist. So I hope I can help someone!

TIPS TO HELP YOU STUDY WHEN YOU HAVE AN ADHD GREMLIN BRAIN!:

1. Chewing gum!

- This might come across as a weird one, but it has actually really helped me. I use it as a form of stimming to help keep me focused and concentrating. Other forms of stimming can potentially end up being more of a distraction when you actually need to be reading or writing - but they can help if you just need to be listening. Try not to get a bubble gum or fun flavoured one though - as they can end up making your mouth feel dry, lose flavour quickly, and just give your brain way too many sensory things to become distracted with.

2. Buying colour coded stationary!

- New stationary can make me really excited to start studying, but that excitement never lasts long and the act of buying stationary can sometimes become it’s own hobby. That’s not what we are going for here. I really recommend, especially if you are a visual learner like me, to buy colour coded stationary. This means removable page markers, different coloured post it notes, highlighters, sometimes even pens. This way if your mind jumps from one topic to the other, it doesn’t matter. Go with the flow. Forcing your ADHD gremlin brain to focus can be extremely counter intuitive. So pick a colour for each topic, and stick to that system to find organisation among your own chaos!

3. Buy a really cheap, boring year diary with hardly any writing inside.

- Not sure if your school/university has their own diary but they can be perfect for what I am on about. Generally you can find them for really cheap, soft cover, no writing or designs within the dates. Just dates, days, weeks and lines where you can write your homework. This helped me a lot in High School. I wish I had kept doing it in University, but I am good with giving advice, and not so much with taking it. I used to decorate the outside of it however I wanted. Some years I would redecorate the same diary every semester. In the public holidays or holiday days I would colour those lines in with different highlighters to make it look like a rainbow. But every assignment due date, homework, draft, rewrite, form I had to bring back, library book due date, school activity days, ANYTHING to do with school I would write in there with reminds and check lists. Important due dates would be highlighted, general homework and daily to do lists t(o help me not leave my assignments to the last minute) would have a tick box beside them (because ticking tick boxes is free dopamine). Try to not put birthdays or fun things in it. This is a small way to stay on track so it helps you actually stay on track with the big things when you’re home.

4. Big whiteboards stuck on the wall where you can’t avoid it.

- This is not something I had in school, but I so wish I did. I have been using this recently to keep on top of house work (as maintaining your own house is tiring) and my small business or other things I really can’t avoid. If I physically write it down (not just in my phone) it psychologically does help you commit it to memory. Again, physically putting a line through a task you just completed is a hecking great rush of dopamine. But the biggest reason I love my white board, I can’t ignore it. It is stuck to the wall and is never out of sight, out of mind. I can’t put my phone or diary down and then refuse to look at it until I’m past the due date. Again, I’m not a perfect person, there are days where I don’t do anything I have written on the white board. But the great thing is, I don’t have to continuously feel like I failure, as I can wipe it all off the next morning or week and start fresh. I also put important things I have to remember that I’m doing during the week so I don’t forget them.

5. Icky Medication.

- I know not everyone wants to be on medication, and I understand. I am not forcing you to. No matter what your opinions are, you lovely gremlin who is still reading this post, regarding medication, you are valid and I respect you. My personal experience with medication has not been the best. I have been misdiagnosed for a severe chunk of my academic life which has seen me trying to focus and maintain school work under some even worse states then I am unmedicated! However, since receiving my diagnosis and finding the right ADHD medication for me, I have the ability to get so much work done without having to unnecessarily struggle. It’s unfortunately not magic, it will not turn me into a robot that makes me do work and turn out incredible, noble peace prize winning assignments (as much as I wish that were possible). I still have the ability to be a lump, doom scrolling through tumblr, forgetting to eat, and ignoring responsibilities. But it really helps me when I sit down and start that thing that isn’t fun. Yesterday it helped me hyperfocus on cleaning my office which was a terrifying room to be in. So it’s pretty close to magic in my opinion!

6. Accessing Disability Support at your place of learning.

- Not all of you taking the time to read this will have either a) an offical diagnosis or b) a good disability support available to you wherever you are completing your studies. And that is okay. This dot point just won’t be for you right now. But keep it in mind for a time when it might apply to you, as it’s something I never thought I would need, but will never take for granted ever again.

- If you have an offical diagnosis and Disability Support, make an appointment with the disability support adviser. DO IT NOW! Get your psychiatrist to write a diagnosis letter outlining that you have <enter superpower that makes you hilarious here> and that you are receiving <enter x,y,z treatment here> and that you would benefit from receiving <enter what you have always wished you had on the days you can’t make your ADHD gremlin brain do the thing here>. Now these benefits can be, but not limit to: automatic extensions on ALL assignments, extra time on exams, extra breaks to walk around while taking exams, special consideration when marking assignments, my university allows me to take exams in a separate room with only the other students in my subject who also have disability support (occasionally I have taken an exam alone with only a tutor present) so I don’t get distracted, permission to take fidget items into class or exam (I have the option to wear headphones, as long as I can display that they are not connected to anything). Maybe you can come up with some great ones for you with your disability advisor or your psychiatrist.

- The disability advisor will often go through your course outline with you at the start of each semester or year. This is annoying and a great time for disassociating, but can be useful in hindsight because you are made aware of everything that will come up during your class so you are not surprised. Because lets be honest, it is unlikely you are going to look at the course calendar too often.

- Side Note: I make an appointment every semester with my disability support officer for my area of study to make sure I have my special considerations for the year. Now I may go through the whole year without ever using my considerations. However, the fact that I know they are there takes an insane amount of pressure off of myself. If I’m having an insanely screwy loony tune mental health moment, I can email my coordinator my disability plan and say I need an extension due to personal reasons, and WHOOP, there it izzzzz.

7. Dedicated one thing or a few things that have nothing to do with food/alcohol/other substances to reward yourself with for doing the thing!

- This may not work for everyone. It doesn’t always work for me. I used to reward myself with food, but that only reinforced my stimming with overeating and my already bad relationship with food. And I feel as though that would be the same with any other substance that can be linked with addiction. (Addiction is a tough word, cause what aren’t I addicted to, I have ADHD, but hopefully you get what I mean!).

-Now, boring try and not choose this aside, lets think of somethings that work really well as rewards!

- My partner likes to come give me a kiss and a hug when ever they have written and reread a paragraph, you might buy a book when you get a really good mark, you might want to go make a cup of tea and watch an episode of your hyperfixation after studying for <enter a good period of time here>, you might allow yourself to partake in an activity you usually do while procrastinating (but at least this time you know you aren’t putting something off), talk to someone who you know will tell you they are proud of you as they understand the mental struggle you go through to concentrate (if you can’t think of anyone, it is 110% okay if that person are the amazing people on tumblr or the adhd tumblr chats. We will freaking pop a bottle of champagne for you cause we get it!).

- Try and make what ever you choose be something in a different room or away from your working space. Getting out can really calm you down.

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance.

- This is true for anything, but I don’t mean just asking your teacher to give you extra help understanding the task and marking rubric. Many people online, tutors, librarians at your school, past or present students offer assistance rereading and making small edits (they won’t make it magical unfortunately) to your assignments. If you are like me and once you have written or completed the dreaded thing, you can not imagine or force your gremlin brain reread or edit the thing. So it can help to just delegate this to someone else, who hasn’t read it before, so they won’t disassociate or skim read it. They will often notice things you never would have even if you were neurotypical as that is just what happens when you have been working on something for so long.

9. Repetitive music.

- It generally helps if this has no lyrics. Lo-fi is amazing. Classical is alright too if it works for you, but both my partner and I agree that it can really assist you to keep up pace and focus when the beat is a high and repetitive (almost meditative) tempo.

10. Limit your screen space.

- This is a tip completely from my partner @dr-adhd who also has ADHD, is an avid PC gamer and is consistently in a battle with their gremlin brain to focus on completing their PhD. They have discovered that it really helps them to limit their screen space - simply put, work on one screen only. They have done more work more easily when they have their one screen on their laptop to focus on. Whereas their office has multiple screens so they could be playing runescape, watching YouTube, listening to lo-fi and doing work - which never worked (shocking right hahaha).

11. At the risk of sounding like a Mum... Put your phone and other electronics other than the assignment necessary one, away.

- I am a Mum, but to a fluffy puppy dog, so I hate to sound like my Mum when I was in high school, but she was right. Mobiles are the single easiest and biggest distraction in ADHD history. I often, even at coffee shops, have to turn my phone over so that I am not consistently looking at it every time the screen lights up to say the pizza place has sent me a coupon, or a carpet place that has been having a sale since I was born is... still having a sale, or a friend from school wants you to watch this TikTok. Even though you might not want to ignore your friends, because people pleasing, difficulting making/keeping friends and RSD are hecking real things, but they can all wait. Trust me, none of them are urgent. That TikTok will still be funny in an hour or two. And I’m probably completely right when I say that whomever just messaged you, never replies as quickly as you want them too. So I doubt they are going to think twice if you are MIA to finish your thing.

My partner or I might add to this later, but at the moment I already know that I probably wouldn’t read this wall of words if I was the one reading it, so if you are still with me, THANK YOU and I really hope I might have helped you. Sorry for the mound of words, but maybe you can reblog, screen shot, or save this and read a dot point at a time or refer to it when you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, I promise what ever it is, I’ve asked the same thing once in my life or something MUCH stupider.

[citylighten]

With the recent negativity in the community, I figured we could use some uplifting. So I’m asking simblr to pick a blog or two, (or more if you want) and say why they inspire you, or what you admire about them. Or simply.. Why you think they’re cool. Whatever your heart desires. Let’s just spread some good. :)

With the recent negativity in the community, I figured we could use some uplifting. So I’m asking simblr to pick a blog or two, (or more if you want) and say why they inspire you, or what you admire about them. Or simply.. Why you think they’re cool. Whatever your heart desires. Let’s just spread some good. :) 

So, while I find it sweet that a few simblrs I follow have made overall compiled lists, I do want to highlight 2 blogs and get into the nitty-gritty of why they inspire me. Plus, this is basically an essay so, sit tight everybody!!

@beansbuilds is a big reason why I’m a builder, as well as a storyteller. I was still new to simblr and I was looking for lots for gameplay purposes, and when I stumbled across theirs I went on a downloading spree. I felt inspired, specifically by a 64x64 town they made for a commission. When I installed that build I thought two things - 1. The shops would be an amazing set for slice-of-life storytelling. 2. There was so much detail Bean placed inside the homes and I realized that when you create a build, you have to give homes a personality. Clutter and decoration tell a story about the sort of individual who lives there whether it be by the sort of fridge they use or welcome mats they have at their door. It’s something I’ve tried to apply to my own builds ever since moving forward.

I also admire how @beansbuilds has always tried to create lots that are functional. Throughout simblr there are so many lots that are gorgeous and stylish, but they aren’t meant for playing and moreso for editing purposes. Builds such as this have always kind of given me whiplash. Like, do I want to play this game or do I want this game to exclusively be a ‘digital comic creator’? Again, Bean has even inspired my builds in that way in the sense I want to always create something that’s real, that’s good looking AND has a degree of functionality if I just want to casually play the game. 

All and all, I just adore them and it’s hard to say what my content would even be looking like if I never downloaded their lots.

@cinamun is a simblr I’m capable of saying so much about. Over the course of…I want to say maybe two months, I read Indya/Things Fall Apart from the very beginning and there are two things I have to give her major props for; her characterization of the principal characters in her story and her progress in making edits. Indya, Darren, Juan, Elise and Jerri are not characters who are one note. Over many…many…many posts she allowed these characters to do good things, bad things - incredibly problematic things, and better yet she allows them to grow from it! Granted, no one's growth was instant. It was gradual and things were not instantly resolved once they made certain decisions. Heck, things still AREN’T resolved, but that just makes her characters feel more real.

In regards to cinnamon’s overall posted content, it is inspiring to see how she has progressed. Like, this woman has been a part of simblr since 2015. She does not hide her old content which, frankly, looks absolutely nothing like her present content. This shows that in order to make good, high-quality content you start from the very bottom. And if I’m going to be honest, I feel like a lot of people on social media hide that in the sense that they provide the illusion they were always on top, that they gained traction from the moment they started off. But this isn’t true. You ‘find’ your style after so many weeks, months, and years. and through reading Indya’s Beginnings, I literally watched how Cin’s style made all these gradual changes. It’s really inspiring to know that one day, eventually, if I keep moving forward I can be on her level of quality. Not to say I don’t think my stuff isn’t quality already, I just want to keep moving forward!

[soclonely]

hmmmm ,, summer kiss, from the prompt list? maybe a modern au or something, i dunno — but i think it’d be very sweet for cut to tell his big brother about the first time he kissed his wife. bonus points if 99 teases him a little, hehe :3c and congrats on 1k !!

Thank you anon! I love Cut Up so much <3 OF COURSE big brother will be teasing him! Its a part of wearing that crown;)

Prompt: Summer Kiss Pairing/Group: Cut-Up and 99, OC name for Cut Ups Wife (Babs)

"Wait, you mean you didn't wait to kiss Babbs and go on dates alone with her until after your wedding day? You scoundrel!" 99 smiles, handing the dishes from the sink to Cut-Up. He sighs dramatically, shaking his head. "I thought I raised you boys better than that."

Cut-Up rolls his eyes, chuckling. "Oh how dare I kiss the woman I love before i tie myself to her forever." he clatters the plates into the cupboard clumsily."If I remember correctly, you used to sneak off to spend some time with the old school Librarian?" He smirks, leaning against the counter. "Ms.Nu and you seemed really close. Were those supervised dates?"

99 blushes."Those weren't dates! She and I just had a few minutes in the park to meet and catch up while you boys were at your endless practices and activities growing up. That's all." He lightly tosses his hand towel into the kitchen sink and smiles. "I had to get out and spend time with someone other than you boys. She was always willing to grab a nice cup of coffee and play a nice game of chess with me."

"And a kiss for the winner?"

"Maybe a small peck on the cheek." 99 chuckles, stretching. He wanders over to the dining room table and sits, Cut-Up following suit. He sighs, smiling at his little brother."So you never did tell me about this first kiss. Was it as romantic as you used to tell us all it would be?" he beams, resting his chin on his hands. "You were always my little ladies man."

"Well I-" Cut-Up chuckles, running his hand through his hair. "I actually missed."

"You missed?"

"Missed." Cut-Up repeats, sighing."I thought I had the moment right. It was planned from the start you see." Cut-Up grins sheepishly. "It was our third date. Hevy had convinced me to take her to that seafood joint on the pier. And afterward we went for a walk on the beach." He laughs, looking down at the ring on his finger. "Actually, right where we had that family picnic and I proposed to Babbs last year, remember?"

99 smiles, nodding. "It was such a beautiful day." He sighs happily, remembering how happy they all had been for Cut-Up. "Minus poor Echo getting that mean little crab stuck in his swimming pants!"

"Highlight of my day, besides Babbs saying yes of course." Cut grins, shaking his head. "He just wanted to make sure it was extra special that day."

"So how did you miss?"

"When I felt like it was the right moment, I leaned in towards her right when Babbs was leaning up toward me. And instead of kissing those beautiful lips of hers, I kissed her poor unsuspecting eye." Cut-Up groans, hiding his face."You should have heard the beautiful vocabulary of curses she flung when we jumped back from one another." he laughs, chair tilting back slightly. "Oh I fell in love."

99 laughs along with Cut-Up."How the heck did you miss a kiss, Cut?" He chuckles, patting the younger man on his arm. "And please tell me you didn't try to go right in with the whole tongue wrestling thing you kids do these days!" he adds, showing slightly more concern.

"No, No!" Cut grins, putting his hands up in defense. "No I swear. I guess, in my eagerness of the moment, closed my eyes and came in too fast for the kill.Meanwhile, Babbs had her eyes open to 'remember the moment' as she put it." He laughs, rolling his eyes. "Boy she sure remembered that alright. Wouldn't let me kiss her for at least 3 more dates! I was like a madman, waiting for her to make the next move!"

"Well it turned out alright, didn't it?" 99 smiles."You must have gotten it right the second try."

Cut-Up shakes his head."Oh no. I wasn't allowed to even move the second time. She-"

"I made him stand perfectly still while I kissed him!" Babbs interrupted, popping into the kitchen from the hallway. "Hi there 99." She adds, setting her bag down on the counter. She plants a small kiss on top 99's head and smiles. "I didn't expect you to be over here so late. Do you boys want to order a pizza or something?" She asks, wrapping her arms around Cut-Up."I am starved."

"Oh I don't want to impose!" 99 quickly stands up, blushing from the kiss.He smiles and rubs the back of his neck shyly."I am sure you young lovebirds want to get settled in and all, seeing as you just got back from your honeymoon. I just wanted to stop in and see how everything was, thats all."

Babb's laughs and reaches and arm out to touch 99."You are never not welcome here, you know that!" She pulls him back down to the table and smiles. "Have a seat. I'll call and order us some pizza. And then you can tell me more embarrassing stories about my husband." She looks over at Cut-Up, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "He refuses to tell me the good stuff."

Cut-Up scoffs."If you think 99 would betray a brother's secrets, you are-"

"Make it a pepperoni!" 99 interrupts, smiling. "If you add on a cookie cake, then I will tell you about the one where Cut-Up lost his pants in the swimming pool at summer camp!"

[galaxyedging]

This gif is beautiful and fits with the story.

Mistletoe

Din/nondescript female reader.

Christmas fluff. Post Season 2 so a little grief. 1.5k

This ship may be new to you and Din but it was by no means new in the traditional sense.

Din watched from the alcove as you returned the ball and headed to the fresher. He cursed himself, he had been so caught up in his own grief he hadn't been there to support you in yours. All this time he though he was doing his best not to bring you down. Taking a bit longer to bring his quarry back. Insisting he could handle jobs alone while you fixed the ship up. All so you wouldn't see how his heart ached. So you wouldn't think that having you in his life wasn't enough. It was. If the only purpose of having Grogu, only to lose him, was to bring you into his life he could handle that pain. Grogu was safe, he was with people who could help him far more that Din. He'd made peace with that. It didn't stop him missing him though or you missing him either.

There was yet another job for you to do. One of the small storage compartment doors kept popping open. It was annoying the heck out of you. Maybe it was your inner perfectionist showing through or may it was just the lingering sadness that made the little issue so big in your mind. Either way, snatching up your tools as you went, you headed over to fix it. Just to top things things off, you didn't have the part to fix it.

"Damn it!" cursing the small metal hinge that wouldn't comply, you slammed the door shut with more force than was necessary. The unit it sat in shock, causing a small draw at the bottom to pop out. Just as you were pondering the use of such a small draw, something shiny caught your eye. Carefully pulling the shiny object out, you clasped it in your fingers before dropping to the floor crying. All the emotions that you had bottled up to protect Din's feelings came flooding out. The little hole inside that you had been ignoring opened up and threatened to swallow you. Only the thought of Din coming back and finding you afforded you the strength to close it up. Standing, you wiped your tears before returning the small metal ball toitss hiding place.

After you let yourself feel what you had been avoiding, you found it harder to pull yourself together. The ship felt cold and empty, not the homely place the Crest had been. Filled with the joy of your found family. Of course you still had Din but without the excuse of the kid to have meals together, share a cot or bed if you were lucky, for a nap, to laugh freely together, things were just off. You were trapped in a limbo of sorts, neither wanted to leave the other, neither knowing how to move forward.

The small village you landed near was just as beautiful at this time of year as you remember. The streetlights were connected with strings of small lights glowing gently. Wreaths of various sizes adorned doors. Deep green highlighting the deep red berries and bows. Trees lit in the same gently glowing lights, draped with glimmering tinsel and finished with glittering baubles lined the pavements and peered out of people's windows. All the lights glistened off of the blanket of soft, white snow covering everywhere it could touch. As you had made your way the planet you had explained all the customs to Din. He seems a little sceptical, which you found slightly annoying since his traditions obviously meant so much to him. His helmet firmly back on his head even after breaking his Creed was a testament to that. The lights reflecting off it gave it an ethereal glow as he moved across the square to the cottage you had rented. Luckily they had a cancellation and your family name still carried weight for you to jump to the top of the waiting list to claim it. People came from all over to celebrate the festival. This town was a picture perfect place for it.

As you passed a planet you used to visit as a child you thought a change of scenery might do you good. Din came into your bunk in time to see you checking if you had the right clothes before packing some of them.

"Are you leaving?" he asked trying to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"Yes." you answered absentmindedly. His posture shifted, and you realised how you sounded. "I'd like you to come too, but I don't know if you want to be around me anymore." you added without looking in his direction.

Even if he didn't answer you verbally, you could read him easily. You felt some of the tension leave you as he finally responded. "Where are we going?"

The cottage had been decorated, the cupboards had been stocked, the fire was burning, keeping the cold at bay as you entered. The smell of the sweet treats in the kitchen instantly took you back to you childhood, you heart lifting so much that it almost didn't hurt when Din announced that he had to go out just as you'd arrived. Almost. When he got back you ate together before heading off to your rooms.

The next morning you were awoken by the sound of children playing in the square. Some threw snowballs, some played happily with their new toys. One little girl squealed with happiness as a small puppy chased her through the light snow, leaving little paw prints as it went. Sighing you tried not to think of the time the kid got into your baking supplies and left little flour footprints all over the hull. Quietly, you made your way to the kitchen hoping Din hadn't finished the pastries. As you passed through the living room something under the tree caught your eye. A box. Purple paper covered the sides. It was perfectly wrap. The edges were neat. Every crease was sharp. The paper hadn't been crumpled. Whoever had wrapped it had done so with great skill or great care. It was finished with a golden bow.

Attached to it was a label addressed to you which continued "...Open as soon as you get up. Din xx."

Before you could obsess too much about his lovely, neat handwriting or the kisses after his name, you picked up the gift. It was oddly weighty. The contents shifted in the slightly too big box with a thunk as it hit the side. Settling it on the table, you gently pulled at the bow, which fell away easily. Removing the lid, a familiar sight caught your eye. Baskar. It was a helmet. Reaching it to pull it out, you wondered why Din had given you a helmet, a Mandalorian helmet at that. A helmet that looked identical to his own. As if you had asked the question out loud, a voice answered, "It's not the best present more of a symbolic gesture, really."

You clutched your hand to your chest. Almost as if to hold in your heart that threatened to beat out of your chest. That was the most open Din had ever been with you about his feelings. No smart comment or deflecting. It was so overwhelming. Throwing your arms around his shoulders, you sobbed tears of joy into his neck. Composing yourself, you smiled up at him. "Well, I guess I better teach you about another tradition...mistletoe."

He stood it the doorway leaning on the frame. You may not have been able to tell it was him from his face but you'd know that stance anywhere.

"Din?" You blinked at his helmetless face, lips slightly parted. A small smile tugged as his lips. His lips, full and inviting. The colour of rose petals. Framed with a dusting of facial hair that highlighted his strong jawline. The hair thickened into a moustache below his beautifully sharp nose. He looked like one of the accient statues of the gods of your planet. Except none of them had eyes like that. Never had the expression 'eyes you could get lost in' meant anything to you until now. As you have been taken in by his handsome face, he'd moved closer.

"Since you were sharing some of your traditions. I thought I'd share some of mine." All you could do was blink at him and wait for him to explain further. "Traditionally, I would only be allowed to take my helmet off in front of the person I wanted to spend my life with. Obviously, it's different now that I...." he trailed off rather than voice that he broke his Creed "....but I still wanted to keep part of the tradition alive. I know things have been different without the kid, but I wanted you to know that even without him, you're still my family, my home, my heart."