#like i can't tell you how often i've seen people on this website go 'minimalism is elitist!!'

[aeide-thea]

the eternal, often-unsuccessful struggle to separate 'hm i personally am not enjoying Thing because it smacks of Unpleasantness to me' from 'i actually dislike Thing because it's Inherently Problematic, amazing how my personal taste is an unfailing radar that way' 😔

[yukidragon]

Hi Yuki! I just want to say that I adore the character Alice and all the writing you do for her! Her personality, her backstory and family, and especially her story with Jack are always such a joy to read, and I love learning her lore or how she'd act in different scenarios! 💞 If it's alright to ask, I am also attempting to write a character who experiences a similar chronic pain/illness as Alice, but I'm having trouble finding information. Do you have any recommendations or references? Thanks!

Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so glad that you like Alice, her family, and her story, as well as all the AU variants involving her. It really makes me happier than I can express that you and others like her so much.

Well... if it comes to chronic pain/illness, there's no one size fits all. You need to decide what sort of condition feels right for your character, and what you feel comfortable enough to explore with tact and empathy. After that, it's a good idea to look for places where people who have those conditions feel comfortable enough to talk about them publicly. Medical pages can give information about symptoms, but they don't paint the full picture about what it's like to live with that sort of condition. Chronic illness/pain takes a mental toll on the people who live with them as well as their loved ones, and personal accounts can tell a lot more than medical textbooks about the human side of things.

For instance, the reference I use for Alice's illness is from, well, my life. She has the same chronic illness that I suffer from. She's the first character that I've felt comfortable enough to express this very personal part of myself and explore it in various ways.

I'm afraid that I can't tell you what the condition is called... because the doctors don't have a name for it. That's why I intentionally chose not to name it in writing. Not naming it is its own form of self-indulgence for me, if I'm being honest.

Admittedly, I allowed Alice's reality to be kinder to her, and in her world doctors do know what it is and have a treatment for it, if not a cure. She can live a normal life with minimal pain as long as she takes medication, with only the occasional intense flare up, like I wrote about in this post.

Honestly, this is something that I really love about fandoms like SDJ and the OCs made for it. We're all encouraged to put larger pieces of ourselves into our OCs and really explore parts of ourselves that we might have been too worried to touch on. Alice is a very special character for me because through her and the fandom I've grown comfortable enough to finally explore a character with my same condition in fiction.

Alice isn't a self-insert of me, as there are still plenty of differences between us and our experiences, but I can't tell you how freeing it's been to explore these elements of my life through her. Every character has a piece of their author in them, and Alice is the first one I've given some of my harshest pieces. That's why I'm so, so appreciative when you and others tell me that you like her too. Thank you so much.

With that said, I'm afraid that I can't point you to a specific website for references on writing about characters with chronic illness/pain. I do think it's very admirable that you want to write a character who deals with that. Honestly, I would have loved to have seen more in fiction as I grew up with my illness. There's something truly special about being able to relate to a character on such a personal level, especially when they're going through something similar to what you struggle with. It makes me happy seeing characters who struggle with such harsh conditions still managing to have adventures, happy relationships, and memorable experiences.

Something I can suggest is to approach the subject with empathy. A chronic condition means that there is no magic cure for it, at least not completely. Often times there are ways to treat it, or at least manage it, even if it's something as simple as taking it easy and accepting that some things are more of a challenge for someone with that condition.

A chronic condition is something that someone must simply live with, but that doesn't mean they can't live full and fulfilling lives. If anything, it makes me happy to see someone with chronic pain/illness being the hero. I loved Eda from the Owl House all the more because she was living with a chronic condition, even if it was a magical curse. It makes me happy seeing stories that explore that sort of struggle.

A chronic condition is another challenge for a character to face and overcome. It's a constant struggle, but it can be rewarding to persevere and succeed in spite of the added difficulty. It's also something that can leave them feeling vulnerable, and how they deal with that can tell you a lot about that character. It can also serve as an opportunity to explore how the people around them will react when someone they know has to deal with a chronic condition that can't be cured, and how they continue to deal with it as an outside observer.

Good luck with your writing and crafting your character. I eagerly look forward to seeing what you create, and I hope you have a fun and fulfilling experience. 💗

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

[strawberryamanita]

Sorry, started ranting about live-action adaptations and corporate dilution of artistry, Can't Help Being A Capricorn or whatever

Discourse is allowed, just don't add something like "wow OP/prev you're a fucking reprobate I hope something happens to you that compromises your health" thanks ✌���😘

I'm also not tagging this, so if it breaches containment it's not my fault lmao

If I could be so bold.

I think the reason there's just so nauseatingly many live-action adaptations out right now, and over the past 12 years, is because there were quite a few fan-casts made over the years, whether by one person or a small group brainstorming together. Like if you search "[series] fan cast"***, there's a very good chance you'll find people still having fun with the idea of matching a celebrity up to their cartoon lookalikes, even today. Not corporations trying to drum engagement, not stark and barren listicle websites, but individual human beings who haven't been paid to say what they're saying or do what they're doing. Even after we've seen just how little Hollywood actually does with the concept 95% of the time, people are having fun with hypotheticals and being creative without restraints.

***The exception is live-action adaptations that have been officially made. If you look for things that have not been tainted adapted yet, it's like looking into a portal to a time before all This Shit started happening.

I think the main issue is, nobody who's making those fan-castings is imagining, like, a full-on movie to go with it. It's more like, who would look cute cosplaying as that character. The extent of the idea is a PhotoShop job, and that's it.

Not whatever vortex of billion-dollar soullessness we've been tossed around in for the past decade.

The Nihilist part of me wants to say: "This kind of open discussion online is gonna keep convincing Hollywood that these ideas are guaranteed to birth successful films, so we should just stop having these convos publically" -- but that's an incredibly stupid thought. I'm not gonna try and convince people that creating is something to be ashamed of and hidden away; in this Capitalist Hellworld, where artistry is minimized to keep profits high, commercial-free creativity often feels like our last stand.

I don't really have a solution at this time, myself. Nor do I think I'm responsible for providing one -- the majority of people I've tried to make a big artistic project with can tell you I'm not the most experienced nor the most confident director. But I do know that this is what the culture of media has been since the early 2010s, and all I aim to do with this rant is bring that fact to the forefront.

In the 80s and 90s (and some of the 00s), companies had no problem churning out fun visuals and engaging soundtracks and worldbuilding that took honest-to-God effort by the dozen. I mean we have nostalgia over commercials from those eras, and it wasn't just because we're susceptible to consumerism; if that were the case, we wouldn't roll our eyes and groan whenever we hear the Unholy Trio of a ukulele, glockenspiel and someone whistling over whatever fucking hunk of plastic they're trying to shove in our faces now.

The 00s had a more laid-back vibe to it, particularly with videogame commercials. This was the Era of Grimdark and goths and embracing darkness because it felt more real than anything else, or whatever the fuck I was writing about whilst crying over MCR songs. But even so, a good chunk of 00s media had effort put into it. Yes, more than half of it was horribly problematic and exploitative; I'm not telling you it was good, I'm telling you there was effort. Even the shit with deadpan narration and cheap mascot costumes and out-of-place toilet humor had some sort of creative writing team, had some sort of vision, had some sort of direction.

Then the Internet started ramping up in quality and bandwidth, and people actually could speak loud enough that companies would hear them. To anyone who's too young to remember a world before the Internet being pushed into every corner of everyday life: it wasn’t this way 15+ years ago. Media slowly became more collaborative over the era of AOL and MySpace, because consumer feedback became easier and easier to access. And then with the advent of YouTube in 2006 -- which, as shitty as it is now, was revolutionary at the time, being a place where you could publish videos without needing to audition for anyone -- access to free ideas had very suddenly become exponentially faster. More and more Internet stars were popping up on TV (think "Web Soup" and "Tosh.0"), and then Google bought YouTube and decided to monetize it and now everyone's a rockstar and Andy Warhol's laughing at us from beyond the grave.

Fuck off, Andy.

...Now, I know it feels like I took a million detours -- and I agree that it does, because driving around in my brain feels like zig-zagging between five lanes at once -- but this all came from my theory that the ideas for media are in the hands of unpaid creators. We went from production teams being creative as Hell in the 80s and 90s, to an intentional cynicism in the 00s, to a fizzling-out of ideas and corporations holding their hands out for scraps of ideas from the consumers in the 2010s.

Money isn't trickle-down, but culture sure as shit is trickle-up.

Again, I don't have any ideas on how to fix this. Capitalism breeds a culture that allows exploitation of every fundamental part of human existence, and it knows how to adapt. With every new slew of ideas I have on how to combat it, it worms its way through anyhow. It's like fighting a hydra, and it gives me agita if I think about it for too long.

I don't know.

I remember a time when adaptations were fun to think about, but they almost never came from the minds of people looking to profit off nostalgia. They came from impassioned, vision-driven fans who wanted to try retelling their favorite stories through a different lens... and I think that's a beautiful thing. All fanart is -- fanmade drawings, fanmade covers of songs, fanmade films, cosplay, and fan-casts.

I don't really know how to end this rant neatly. Just... next time you're on your way to watch the latest diluted, regurgitated corporate shlock that's trying to profit off your nostalgia, just remember that there's probably some unpaid, good-natured rando out there that took your favorite media to new heights without any executive meddling. Maybe save a buck or two from not buying a ticket.

Or just watch the original story again, since everyone seems to have forgotten what a re-release is.

I'm taking a nap. Thanks for sticking it out, if you made it this far into whatever the Hell this is.

[creek-cryptid-deluxe]

This needs to be addressed:

I'm on reddit regularly. Today I saw something as I was scrolling that deeply disturbed me & I feel needs to be addressed.

For those not familiar with reddit's format, let me explain. The website is basically a host to multiple forum style 'subreddits' that are based around various interests where you can post photos, videos, gifs, links to websites, links to articles, or just good old fashioned text.

Some subreddits are very broad (r/aww is pictures, videos, & gifs that are adorable & make you say "awww") & some are extremely niche (r/picturesofiansleeping was created by a dude where he just posted random pictures of his roommate, Ian, sleeping because the dude could fall asleep anywhere). Each subreddit is it's own community with its own culture & rules, while also being a part of the reddit community as a whole & abiding by its overall culture & rules.

Below is a screenshot (with the username redacted) from a post in the Ehlers-Danlos subreddit, which I scroll through from time to time just to see what's there, but not regularly because the overarching culture there is not one I want to be a part of (& what I'm about to show you here is a perfect example of why).

So a photo of Joaquin Phoenix filming a scene for the movie Joker is making the rounds with the caption above it, stating that he dislocated his knee filming that scene (not written is that he continued to film after the dislocation) & demanding he be given the golden globe. Given the quality of that performance, even prior to knowing about his knee, I agree that he should have a golden globe for it.

What I take issue with is the fact that that was posted to r/ehlersdanlos with the title "My knee dislocates 5-20 times a day. Where's my reward?"

So let's chat about why this is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable, despite the fact that I see similar sentiments throughout the chronic illness communities.

First of all, this person is 100% exaggerating. I'm not one to doubt anyone's claims regarding their health but as someone who has had knee dislocations since I was quite small, it's not feasible. Subluxed knee 5-20 times a day? Eh, still not really believable. 5-10 subluxations? Sure, maybe. But no way is this person having 5-20 full knee dislocations in a 24 hr period.

Exaggerating like this actually really hurts credibility & not just for them as an individual. I'd be will to bet that if they are stretching the truth that casually in an inconsequential post online, that they do it in real life to medical staff as well. If the medical professionals that we all rely on for care hear enough exaggerations from specific demographic groups (say... women under 25 with an EDS diagnosis), then eventually when they see a patient that fits that criteria, there will be an unconscious bias & assumption of exaggeration. Then it hurts the chronically ill community as a whole.

Second, this person is minimizing & invalidating Mr. Phoenix's (i spelled his first name once & was quote proud, but it is not happening again) injury simply because... why? Because he is able bodied? Because the poster is chronically ill? Those things don't cancel each other out. This is the bit I see FAR too often.

There is this weird line of thinking that is prevalent in the chronic illness community where some chronically ill people think that because other people aren't chronically ill, any illness, pain, or injury they go through isn't as valid as their's is. Lemme just hop up on my soapbox here to say...

📢 THAT LINE OF THINKING IS FUCKING BULLSHIT📢

I've seen it first hand via my aunt. She is diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She has all the hallmarks of EDS, but despite me getting diagnosed & telling her she needs testing, she is weirdly attached to her current diagnosis. Any time my cousin (who is 3 yrs younger than me) is sick or hurting, my aunt says something about how much worse she feels. Cousin says she has a headache? Aunt: "Now you know what I deal with 24/7." Cousin has a stomach virus & can't stop puking? Aunt: "That's literally my life 4 out of 7 days of the week."

When The Spawn was in middle school, right after I had started to trend downward health wise, I noticed her wincing & holding her head a lot. I asked what was up & she said she had a headache & it had been hanging around for 3 days now. I asked why she didn't tell me sooner so I could help & she told me that she knew it was minor compared to what I deal with, so she didn't feel right bringing it up.

I immediately sat her down & had a long talk explaining that just because I am dealing with the dumpster fire I was given does not at any time mean that whatever she is going through isn't every bit as important, painful, or difficult for her & that at no time do i want her to have to handle it alone. I made sure she knew that no matter what was going on with me, I am here for her because what she is going through is important & valid. I've only had to have that talk 2 more times with her.

I've had to have a version of this talk with a few friends & my dad, as well. I'll see my dad wince or hear him do what I call "The Dad Huff" & I'll ask what's up. Dad: "I know I shouldn't complain to you because it's nothing compared to what you deal with but..." BRO i am EXACTLY who you should complain to. I know tricks that could help with a myriad of physical ailments PLUS i have a whole ass Walgreens in my bathroom.

My point is that as a whole, chronically ill people need to stop invalidating healthy, able bodied people's illnesses or injuries. PERIOD. It's not a fucking suffering competition. What? You think if you keep invalidating healthy people & boasting about how much more sick or more injured you are that at some point a guy is going to leap out of the bushes & hand you a gold medal & a giant check for suffering the most?

No.

Also, you'd think if someone was suffering that much, in that much pain, was that ill, that they wouldn't want anyone else to feel even close to the way they do & would be happy to help or be genuinely distressed/concerned for the other person's wellbeing.

So fuck off because people who do this shit just sound like they lack empathy, compassion, and other generally human qualities which implies they have no fucking soul.

Just be supportive of one another, able bodied, disabled, chronically ill, chronically healthy, or whatever. Just be kind to people. Fuck.