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wormstar · 3 years ago

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i was going thru ur blog and u have good posts about ableist aus and i was wondering - what if in the aus the requirements for warriors were different? Like instead of having to fight jay only hunts? Would the muddling of roles still be ableist? In a Tree-like situation?If its not presented in a "work super hard to get what you want" and more in a "yeah they can decide what he wants to do". This is mostly for jay (and cinder) specifically because they had desires to be warriors yet were forced to be medicine cats because of ableism (ig this can apply to briar but i just truly cant remember oots that well and i havent read her death). I am asking because i am still trying to unlearn the ableist mindset that i grew up with. Feel free to ignore this ask and thnx!

hey yeah thank you for asking! took the opportunity to write up more general thoughts on rewrites as a whole and i went over why exactly theyre ableist hopefully that provides a better perspective

i think the major thing to keep in mind is that the structure of the clans is very abled centric and overly ignorant of inner community work (for example dens are only solidified or altered when either the area takes damage/the clans grows wrt population) theres a fixation on marking territory and starting fights and whatever with other clans which is whats expected of most warriors to partake in. to fix those implications in any fanwork youve really gotta knead into them and understand the nature of their ableism....its not just a problem with cats being barred from being warriors its the whole occupation and the standard its held to, so to speak (+ that fits into general clan society being flawed but eh thats another thing and also its easy to branch out into thought about)

going to stress other disabled people might have other solutions to how disabled cats are received this is just how i like to think of things

first i think its kind of interesting to examine discrepancies between disabled cats in canon as somewhat of an indicator of clan attitudes and leaders and whatnot. like i think you could get something interesting by regarding lets say deadfoot in windclan and cinderpelt in thunderclan who both have bad legs yet had different experiences with them in clan life. if you wanna go a step further comparing generations like lilywhisker and deadfoot or cinderpelt and jayfeather (+ the consideration of how congenital disabilities are regarded) can also make things interesting and just give you an idea of what to do. having the clan systems stray from a clear-cut common attitude both gives you more freedom for different approaches + adds to worldbuilding anyway. imo boiling down clan society to perfect utopia just gets boring but you can have imperfections in the system that depict the disabled experience just fine. just be careful with them and the way they come across yeah?

(real quick as an in between. god just dont refer to cats/their injuries as crippled. it still happens somehow)

im a little ambivalent on the idea of creating a ‘special role’ for disabled cats to be thrown into. cause then thats a repeat of canon medicine den really. its like ‘oh youre disabled youre instantly discarded into the x role pit’ i think just adding substantial in-universe changes to the warrior rank itself (vagueness is fun actually) or expanding on ‘warrior types’ rectifies the othering angle. ‘othering’ as a whole is just as bad as the ‘exception’ archetype people run for most warrior aus i want to state that clearly. effectively if youre gonna introduce roles that dont depend on fighting or hunting or both make sure theres abled cats who have them too. like say you want a camp-based role where a cats job is to fix dens or one where they help in the nursery, its far easier for a cat who cant run to manage those but also have some cats who are physically capable of doing other ‘tasks’ do the same thing for personal reasons

the tree comparison is interesting honestly cause i guess you could just give a cat a particular thing to do as a nonfixed position. and roles accordingly being made for a cat to fill until they cant and the positions done away with afterward. but youve gotta do it carefully so you dont fall into othering as ive said. id avoid something like that personally i just dont like the quality of ‘well theyre not a warrior (the most noble/useful concept in cat society) theyre actually some other thing’

in general giving disabled cats agency and choice is the best thing you can do. whether this means them deciding on tasks they can do themselves or picking a certain kind of warrior to be or asking for an assistant to help them out when they do stuff. the way you wanna pull it off again depends on my first question of “how does the relevant part of your warrior cat world treat disabled cats already”

very important point, the majority of the ableism also comes in the form of character narratives and not just the structure of the world itself. like think for a bit why the writers decided jayfeather shouldve been forced to be a medic or why briarlight got killed off early etc etc. characters ‘wanting’ to be like the abled ideal and still being bitter about not fulfilling that years down the line are just part of the ableist storylines. if youre abled id literally say just do away with those sadstuck ‘i wanted to be a warrior!’ moments. if you really want to id say pull a cinderpelt or a shadowsight where a cats time in the medicine den started their fascination with medicine and they switched to that path due to personal intrigue. id say a more interesting and realistic angle to it is having a disabled cat who found fulfilment in doing something else besides being a warrior becoming bitter about their entire clan ‘mourning’ how theyll never fight again or giving them the pretence of being a warrior being the best thing you can do.... it depends on the character really

this is just a very basic disability thing but stray from the whole ‘useless/dead weight’ way of regarding disabled characters. like dont place their worth on how well they service a clan or not theyre still deserving of shelter and whatnot. you dont need to justify a cats existence or usefulness by going ‘well they may be blind but their sense of smell is excellent so we keep them around’ or whatever its just no good

last thing i can think of is like. dont disregard how a cats disability affects them. like its fine that briarlight cant fight (or even hunt major types of prey) she doesnt need some convoluted method that lets her do that. there are like a dozen other warriors hunting and fighting and theres present value and enjoyment in the stuff she does around camp. she doesnt have to be brightheart 2 its ok

#hopefully this makes sense im tired of reading it over and over again #rambling

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iturbide · 4 years ago

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the fact that edelgard is the villain in 3/4 routes and yet intsys STILL glorifies her to no end enrages and annoys me. no other villain has been given that perspective of “well actually maybe they arent so bad” except for the hypocritical tyrant. even when she has *literally become an inhuman monster* intsys is still like “oh no dont worry she was right actually!” and it upsets me deeply

It upsets me, too, friend. IntSys seems to really like glorifying people who don’t deserve it, especially in recent games (Walhart in Awakening, Rudolf in Echoes -- I can’t say if his whole ‘orchestrating a plan to have his son murder him’ thing is carry-over from Gaiden or not, but it definitely exists in the recent remake so I’m including it), but Edelgard actually ends up as a bit of a weird case.

(I have a lot of thoughts about this, so I’m just going to cut preemptively.)

Now, I’m actually not opposed to Edelgard being the protagonist of the fourth route in Three Houses. Anyone who’s been here a while knows that I generally see Grima, a figure that IntSys generally tries to paint as a rote villain, as at least a sympathetic villain (and possibly even a secret hero in the events of Awakening itself); it’s entirely possible for someone that’s a villain in most of their appearances to have legitimate reasons for what they’re doing and why, and revealing that in their personal route could be incredibly powerful if done well.

And here’s the thing: Edelgard really is a compelling character, in large part because of her moral ambiguity. I actually agree with her when she says that the Church of Seiros is corrupt at its core and the system needs to change. She’s right about that! While Seiros might have had decent reasons for establishing things this way, over the past thousand years human societies have changed while the church itself remained stagnant -- something potentially exacerbated by her selfish ambition to restore her mother -- and this has led to a structure that once served an important purpose becoming a toxic and destructive mess for humanity at large. Edelgard has a completely valid point there, and it’s something that I could absolutely get on board with if she had gone about achieving change in some other way, because she does have other methods available to her that she writes off without real reason -- and even that can relate back in part to her deep trauma and difficulty trusting people after the betrayals she faced at the hands of her “uncle” and her own father’s powerlessness to stop the nightmare she and her siblings suffered through.

IntSys probably could have crafted a narrative that showed from her perspective why she believed war against the Church was the only valid option available to her. The issue is that she undercuts her own argument by targeting all of Fodlan, rather than specifically going after the Church: she doesn’t give the Kingdom and Alliance a “stay out of my way or else” warning, she literally turns her sights on the Kingdom as soon as the monastery falls and attempts to fully annex it once Cornelia sets up Dimitri’s fall, leaving the Alliance only because she has her hands full with Faerghus. She didn’t have to take Cornelia up on her offer of making the Kingdom into the Dukedom of Faerghus and sending troops to finish the job: she could have just left the woman to her own devices, forcing the Twisted to utilize their own people to maintain and secure full control of the region while she worked on addressing the systemic issues, which would have had multiple benefits:

The Imperial Army doesn’t get overwhelmed and exhausted fighting in conditions they’re not equipped to deal with, leaving them stronger overall while the Twisted forces are potentially weakened by the same

Hubert is able to better assess the threat they’re dealing with, including learning their capabilities and possibly even where they’re coming from before Merceus

Edelgard actually puts her money where her mouth is and ends up helping the people she claims to be doing this for, rather than just using them as fodder for the war to grind up

Unfortunately, the way she’s written ends up just making her an imperialist. She’s not just going after the corrupt core of the Church, she’s trying to forcibly unite the continent and return Fodlan to some long gone ideal where it was all united under the Imperial banner because she refuses to believe that Adrestia could have split by natural causes.

Crimson Flower ultimately ends up being a particularly egregious example of this glorification phenomenon in action because they give her a personal route that makes no effort to critically examine her actions and make her face consequences for them. This, I think, does her a massive disservice as a character, because that aforementioned moral ambiguity that makes her so interesting could have been utilized to great effect -- and the proof is actually there already, because they do it in Dimitri’s route.

Dimitri is himself another interesting character, and outwardly presents as Edelgard’s polar opposite: he recognizes that he doesn’t have all the answers, struggles to figure out the correct course of action when presented with difficult subjects that have no clear-cut answer -- like the fact that reliance on the Crest system is toxic for noble families, but it’s those very Crest-bearers and their Relics that help keep Faerghus safe from invasion by Sreng -- possesses incredible strength but specifically refrains using it in most cases to avoid harming others, and generally takes everyone’s problems onto himself to his own detriment. He’s also deeply traumatized and was never given a chance to deal with it in a healthy manner, which contributes to how he snaps -- and Azure Moon starts with Dimitri being so far out of reach that you can’t unlock any of his supports and can’t even engage with him in the weekly discussions. He’s lost himself to his survivor’s guilt and need for vengeance, considers himself to be nothing more than a monster, and has no qualms about killing if it helps advance his quest; as the story progresses, he faces a direct consequence for this murderous inclination in the form of Fleche who attempts to exact vengeance for her brother’s sake in the same way that he’s attempting to claim it for his family and friends -- only to lose Rodrigue, and have his dying words be a plea for Dimitri to live for himself rather than those who died before him, at which point Dimitri sets his sights on opposing Edelgard rather than killing her and seeing to atone for the crimes he committed. While I think the game made the change a little too abrupt, it’s handled well overall, and shows a real development arc complete with both actions and their associated consequences that directly relate to Dimitri’s growth as a person.

Contrast this to Edelgard in general and Crimson Flower as a route. Edelgard believes that she has all the answers despite not trying to engage with anyone outside her own House, decisively chooses what she believes to be the right and proper course of action regardless of how difficult the subject matter, possesses great strength (both physically and of sheer will) that she uses to dominate others, and forces others to join her in addressing what she sees as problems -- such as her line about making her own people into “worthy sacrifices” for her “higher cause.” Crimson Flower is the only route where her attack on the monastery fails to capture Rhea, but once Byleth returns she sets her sights on attacking and subjugating a territory that has remained entirely neutral through the past five years, turns on the Twisted while she’s still in a vulnerable position which ultimately causes the deaths of at least a third of the forces she left at Arianrhod once they fire their warning shot, lies to her friends and allies about what happened there, murders her step-brother, and allows a city full of trapped civilians to burn unchecked while she deals with what she considers to be the “real” threat on the opposite side of the Faerghus capital -- and all of this is capped off with her never dealing with the Twisted, and cute little endcards that talk about how everything worked out fine and there were no problems ever, The End. Edelgard doesn’t get a development arc in her route: she’s never challenged, she never faces real consequences (and the one she does face she literally lies about to her friends and then leaves as a problem to deal with later), and she pretty much ends the game exactly where she started it: completely assured that she made the right choices. The moral ambiguity inherent in her character is instead cast as “of course she’s in the right, she’s so great and there’s nothing at all wrong with what she’s doing or how she’s going about it, isn’t she wonderful?”

At least in the main game, Hegemon Husk Edelgard is treated with real gravity, shown as the pinnacle of her drive to see her ambition come to fruition and the tragic consequence of her inability to change course and find another path. The Forging Bonds event just takes the CF brush and paints her actions as the right ones, even though what made her so compelling is that her reasons were right while her methods were horrific. Edelgard really could have been wonderful. The potential is right there in her character. But IntSys completely botched the execution of it, so that her route feels rushed, incomplete, and at best unsatisfying (or, if you’re me, utterly disgusting for how it glorifies imperialistic conquest), and her Heroes appearances only make it worse.

#answered #anonymous #fire emblem: three houses #edelcourse #look i really do find edelgard to be interesting #i just find intsys' execution of her character to be utterly terrible #and fandom at large has kind of made it worse #i'm just going to keep the nuance and explore the real consequences #and write a ton of fanfiction to that effect

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cutegirlmayra · 4 years ago

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When your tired after a 16hr shift yesterday so you rant about Sonic and explain why aggressive writing vs. neutral writing helps with sharing ideas

Me and my online Sonic friend talking about Belle. (I’m skipping some dialogue throughout the chat, this was lazily put together lol)

WARNING: It’s long, and it’s a rant. So please note that I’m blatantly aware of how wrong my aggressive, sleep-deprived rant was and that I’m stating “DON’T PRESENT YOUR IDEAS LIKE THIS!” because this is not a healthy nor effective way of sharing ideas.

ALSO, ALL THE MENTIONS OF WHAT I BELIEVE MY FRIEND IS FEELING OR THINKING DURING MY RANT ARE ENTIRELY MY OPINON. If she tells me to delete something or change it I will without hesitation but I find it funny, as I look back, to insert what I think might be going on in her mind XD She might have been oblivious to me but I’ll get her thoughts and change anything if necessary.

It’s also how most trolls and antis and even some ‘not experienced writers’ write their ideas out, and it can be easily avoided by using Neutral Writing Methods. So this is a ‘don’t do this, but try this’ post. Enjoy my badly written, sleepy aggressive rant~<3 (Also, my friend gave me permission to share this lol)

Me: She could be for entertaining little kids. But we already have too many OCs, and they're not 'dying off' any time soon so...I smell a mini-series backup plan...and I don't like what that means for Sonic. And it is cute, sorry, my brain is off the hook right now, I'll keep things to myself cause you may not like what I'm predicting and I'm getting sad thinking about it ;-; so, want to be wrong.

(Friend mentioned “Tinker Bell” spin on name.)

That's precious, but can I get a link to the reference sheet plz? Reference sheets can tell a lot about a chara's functionality if you compare it to the 'needs' of the casts. it can help predict their role. I think she's meant to help but also entertain the kids, maybe planted with a secret. Her goal could be to come back to Mr. Tinker but Eggman abuses that and tricks her into a new robot. I got a weird theory about her but I'll just say that she's probably gonna go a bit dark. But be cute and make the audience go, "Aww, poor thing! She's a cinnamon roll" at first, wonder if they'll equip her with 'happy backstory, tragic ending' kinda thing to switch the usual 'tragic backstory happy ending' but I feel this is a tragic character meant to pull emotion out.

(Friend understands my concerns but mentions there hasn’t been a ‘Bad’ Oc for the comic)

No one sets out to create a 'bad character' especially professional writers like these guys. But what makes a character 'bad' is if you ruin or oversaturate their purposes. If she's a main character that over-shines others with too much story then the audience feels 'betrayed' because they want that screen time for the main casts to express themselves and shine through. That's just an example. When working with IPs like Sonic casts, you HAVE to remember the fanbase is expecting things Do you like my OCs? be honest lol Not from my prompts. There's a specific way to handle a OC that helps the main cast shine and reveals their characters more. AU Ocs help Canon Characters in many ways.

(Friend admits they have not seen my OCs in some of my fanfictions, they’ve only really read my prompts.)

Oh, well, some of my fanfictions have OCs, not Lavinya, she's just a mascot. My Sonic OC that retried XD Sorry, I'm misspelling a lot but I hope you don't mind, my spellcheck sucks and I've given up on it lol Oh, so you don't know Harmony, Ol'Wizzy, and Data?Or the Metal Series? Well, there are specific Ocs that my readers like and they express/compliment the canon characters to where even though they're a main character, they don't intervene with the Main Cast's goals. They actually help. Then everything I'm gonna say won't have much merit so I'll just focus on waiting to see if my predictions for Sonic IDW will come true, but I really hope they don't do what it looks like they strategically might be pulling... I hate SEGA marketing-

(The beginning of my aggressive rant, please note that I’m not thinking about my image and am writing tired and lazy. This is an example of how NOT to express your opinions in negative ways. It doesn’t influence good at all.)

Their ploys are outdated and frankly, do not work for their IPs market. They target the wrong age group, they have no idea how to organize themselves, and they don't have a leading 'elder' so to speak (just a professional among them) to make good calls. So you have young adults (not super professionals, this might be their first real company job) trying to target internet culture and failing their IPs. They're doing outdated Nintendo tactics that only worked for NINTENDO! Also some other companies that have DIED so why are you copying their marketing strats!? stop! lol

Friend: Did you study marketing because this entire convo kinda flew over my head in terms of understanding (This should have indicated to me that my words were coming off too factual and had too many ‘jargons’ going on. I was losing my ‘reader’ through my rant, but my tired brain would not cease!)

Sonic's trying to morph into something he's not and they're following outdated college course books and it's not gonna help... they're leading Sonic further down and the creators in japan have no power cause all the power is in the stock holders who are stupid money-hungry americans who have lost faith in American SEGA leading SEGA of Japan to move on to other things

Friend: mostly just got you don’t like the marketing (Huge red flag! This means my friend is starting to tune my info out, it’s because I’m presenting my ideas in a slightly aggressive writing style. There are trigger words here that lead an reader to start doubting you. This is why, in most of my answer posts, I make sure to write Neutral writing methods, but I’ll mention that more after my rant lol XP)

It's just bad. Lol I have a Frankenstein degree, (Now I’m justifying myself, which was caused by my aggressive approach. If I simply stated this in a more ‘neutral writing method’ then I wouldn’t have to worry about creditability claims because I’m not trying to sell my idea as the high authority on it.) which means I have knowledge on many different fields. I never took a fully -dedicated- 'marketing class' I took a lot of different communication classes that went to my overall major. One was directly about how you present, sell, and look at marketing tactics. So I have my fingers in many different fields, my major was "Creative Writing for Fiction and Film with an Emphasis in Video Production and a Cluster in Theatre Arts." So I can be on camera, off camera, post and pre production, creative table and actual filming. Does that make sense? (I’m not fully awake to realize what I’m writing, but it’s clear at this point I’m starting to wake up and realize I’m ranting and tossing my ideals of how to present ideas out the window, but let’s watch my follies and learn from them, shall we?) I have theories on what SEGA is going to do, and I have my worries because it's all outdated. It worked for older companies but those companies also targeted a varying audience, which SEGA refuses to see themselves as for a 'teenage audience' which is exactly why they boomed in the 90s. Their target audience is now 20s.

Friend: There are Kids who also like Sonic, even if they don’t play the games though. (Due to my aggressive tactics from not thinking clearly about, not just the what, but the HOW I’m writing, it has turned my friend into a ‘contrasting neutrality’ which is amazing by the way that she did this! She noticed my writing was turning aggressively ranting, and being my friend, didn’t want to be rude about what she was noticing. -I’m guessing lol- so instead, she took the commentary approach, which is to state the good as well. This is a terrible position to put your reader into, and you should make sure to always have good examples and good praise mixed in to contrast any opposing or aggressive statements you ever make. -though you should avoid aggressive writing at all times- Sadly, this does put the reader, in this case my friend, in a very vulnerable position. It leaves them open for attack... but thankfully, she’s a wonderful friend and had trust that I wouldn’t hurt her on her counter-follow-up.)

So instead of using their 40 to 50 year old charts, start with looking at early millennial trends and desires. They tried for 'angst' to 'adultify' Sonic but it busted because we are STICKLERS for animation. Because their story was so scrapped together and had no actual character depth, motivation, or even emotional growth to develop for future game lore, they went for the 'easy made game' (Easy baked oven quote lol that’s just mean XD) We loved the trailer, it was well made, but they threw their animators elsewhere and made the programmers (WHO BLANATLY ADMIT THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO DO STORY/GRAPHICS) and made them do things they aren't trained in. Those micro-head movements and mouths took them A LONG TIME to figure out.

(My friend is now agreeing with me several times through my rant. This is a tactic that is used as ‘avoidance’ but also for ‘appeasement’. She’s probably tuned out by now, but respects what I’m saying but is also incredulous at it as well. It’s fair, I’ve cornered her into my sleepy-time rant, and being the lovable woman that she is, she is simply waiting for me to realize my follies lolol I wish she would have told me but I think she knew I was beyond ‘logical reasoning’ at this point and was just letting me get it all out lolol What a good friend TDT)

Animation can't be learned that fast AND expect them to program a game AT THE SAME TIME. Sonic Forces was a 'split up SEGA' trying to get those who survived and said, "Yeah, I'll stay in this job." to do things that THEY AREN'T EVEN TRAINED IN. you put a game programmer on animation and some other stuff they didn't know what to do with and expect it be a top-notch seller.

Friend: (in more attempts to join in and be a ‘participant’ of the conversation I’m clearly dominating -MY ABSOLUTE BAD- she tried to engage normal conversation flow into the discussion again. At this point, she probably did notice I wasn’t my usual self, and just decided to play along and enjoy the ride lolol I’m just guessing this tho, but it’s a good chance to reflect on what ‘wrongs’ I was doing and what ‘rights’ she was doing during this situation ;)b) My big issue with SEGA is that they rush everything. A lot of things would’ve been better if they had the proper time.

That was resolved actually.

Friend: Oh? It was? (Although this looks like an encouragement, it’s actually just another avoidance tactic to help me ‘get the venting out’ but it’s clear she’s not fully onboard anymore. When you write to discuss, you have to leave room for other’s opinions to shine through as well. Healthy conversation doesn’t mean forcing the other person to comply to you. A lot of this is educated guess based on past research, she knows this, and it’s clear she’s got her own research. Please remember to never shoot someone down when they try to engage you in your conversations. But again, this is the ‘don’t do this’ and me upset at my tired self for not waking up fast enough to contemplate how I was coming across in my wordings. Let’s continue to investigate and dissect the train wreck, shall we?)

That was an issue a few years ago but SEGA is taking their time, it's just that they can't organize themselves and hire the right professionals. They have old tactics, they have rookies that aren't 'Fresh Blood with professionalism' like they need. They don't need an old fart who knows his stuff, they need a new guy who is dedicated and passionate about their company who will remain there, learn them in and out, and knows his stuff SPECIFICALLY for the things SEGA needs. You have to grow that. You have to hire a very talented and young spunky and fresh professional, have him work with you for 10-15 years, and start training others. But SEGA is already recognized as a 'established' company.

(Friend is still agreeing with me, but is aware of my way of presenting it isn’t “As nice as I usually present it” so she starts mentioning the symptoms of Japanese Work Culture. A wonderful, insightful point to mention! But let’s see how I butcher this as well...)

It's not Japan though! (Again, shutting her down. Tsk tsk, sleepy me. Wake up, you lazy bum.) They won't let Japan interfere! They're all really rude to japan actually. The guys in charge, anyway. We all respect the officials, but SEGA of America people just want results. They are just funders, they don't actually work the company.

Friend: So you blame them for everything? (She’s trying to help me see that my writing is coming off as ‘hate’ which is because of my aggressive writing follies I’m doing so bluntly. Let’s please all admire my friend’s patience as she lets me rant and kindly waits for me to realize how bad I’m handling my 16 hr shift from yesterday lolol)

Look, business is really unfair, and I get that, but if I have to rant (I’m starting to wake up more, oh goodie.) I'd say they really need to humble themselves and ask Japan to please take ownership again. They kicked out people due to a money crisis but they need a game that will be 'safe to secure money but get enough excited momentum to help us push on and continue.' which isn't Japan's strategy usually. Japan likes risks, they also like money too. They trust America too much (especially in the beginning) because America is a HUGE consumer. For the world in fact. But I think they sacrificed too much for the company (common in Japan) and trusted America too much in making decisions. The officials are too nice to say that America screwed them over because America wanted full control. Well guess what? They have too much control now and their product is sinking..

Friend: You’ve got a lot of fire about this topic. (After I completely disregarded reading her follows-ups and continued to rant, my unconditionally kind friend finally threw in the towel, realizing I was no where near my usually ‘present’ self and was probably just flopped back in her chair smiling at my idiocy of not understanding her kind and subtly hints.) Go ahead and rant it out. (BOOM! Obvious right!? I should have corrected myself but at this point, I was writing like wild fire with droopy, waking up eyes and didn’t even read it during my long paragraphs...)

Sonic won't ever fade away due to it's fans, but the company is struggling to figure itself out for YEARS now. I just worry what they plan to do next. But I have a theory that they are really putting the next game in Japan's hands, a lot of activity is happening in SEGA of Japan, and they're spending WAY MORE TIME on the next installment of Modern Sonic (or Classic, still unsure which one it is yet.) I really think they need a remake game to give them profit, then use that profit for their next big installment. But so far, I think they are working on a game BUT corona might have effected production so I'm sure they are working but I'm concerned if Corona helped manage 'time and quality' or is helping to ruin it...That I can't investigate yet :( I just wish for the best (I’M FINALLY WAKING UP FULLY AS I STOP AND REALIZE-) Sorry for my rant! My theory talk showed through and I don't usually like doing that so forgive me. I'm tired and that's why T-T

Friend: It’s cool we all need to rant sometimes. (My friend’s going to make it to Heaven TwT she’s so kind.)

(Then I profusely apologized a billion times cause I realize how badly this all went down. lol)

(But the terror hasn’t ended... she mentioned some youtube videos mentioning other opinions as well. -which I’m usually cautious of cause some of them can be fanon.-)

OHhhh did he mention the arcade crash??? the literal WORST event in SEGA history??? That's literally where they sank the titanic, SEGA has never recovered from selling off their stocks. (I’M BACK AT IT AGAIN. -facepalm-) Shareholders are everything now and it's the biggest loss ever. Also, the problem is that kids don't play the games, (Rereading my follies and wanting to answer but still only just waking up...) but SEGA can't figure out why they like the characters and can't seem to take the FREAKIN' TIME to learn their lore. (Overwhelming the conversation again.) My easy steps: Re-establish Sonic lore CANONLY AND CORRECTLY, Re-gather the Japanese Officials original plans and notes, guides and study art, Re-make some popular games with the most details on Animation, Fluidity of motion graphics, and with modern Technology incorporated into the game. Once that is accomplished, they will have enough money to then- Create a continuity. Only with a flowing story and relevant past lore can they start moving forward. Animation will target their audience, Story and character re-established arcs will bring nostalgia and new blood to the field of their games, and then Japan's influences will keep it authentic for the continuities so we don't have fandom mixing with canon NEARLY AS BADLY as before anymore. Ugh, it does matter their sales, but I literally bought a book on the history of SEGA, and read a really compelling history article about more then just the Console Wars... I know SEGA has survived literally the edge of extinction on multiple fronts, but someone needs to take charge of their Sonic branch, and it's... it's just too outdated. kk, sorry for the rant.

Friend: (After being multiple times ignored, even after my brief moment of clarity, is still an angel. Frustrated, maybe, but an angel.) And your steps sound really good. Also mostly just listen to his vids if you ever do. It’s ok we all need to rant. (THE WORLD DOESN’T DESERVE THIS GURL T-T)

I'm tired so my 'angry' is showing and it's not professional XD do you mind if I post my rant? lol Actually, no. (Realize how awfully I delivered my ideas, this is where I begin to see my errors and where the clarity comes into play. -we all have our off days lol- )

Friend: Go for it

I want to but it's too aggressive. I'm too lazy to rewrite it out so I'll just save that for another day XD You got a rare treat

Friend: (This is actually interesting and fascinating to her. But she realized then that I finally did see my error.) Concerned you’ll get aggressive responses back?

Honest opinion is sometimes too blunt and I need to be careful about that

Friend: I mean it’s always good to try and get most of the anger out so you seem more professional (Saint. Literally. A saint. She’s puts up with too much of my crap XD)

That, and also the war of 'But this is Cutegirlmayra? She's so sweet and constantly puts her answers in supportive, positive lights so that if SEGA were to see it, they would feel empowered to try it instead of threatened and throw it off as hate or something unprofessional.' I have an image too. I can't post something super aggressive or I'll lose trust. You're right.

Friend: I’m glad you put a lot of thought into everything you post

I apologize for it tho T-T I didn't mean to dominate with such opinions...lol I worry who I influence, you know?

Friend: Most people don’t and trust me they get into trouble cause of it. And yeah.

I don't want to create trolls or heated arguments. I want to teach people they can safely express an idea without using such awful communication. Exactly, it's professional fanism. lol Positive writing is what companies and their employees actually read. (I’m almost fully awake now lol, realizing my blunder and starting to explain why I was in the wrong. Good on me, pat on the back, admitting I was coming off as aggressive is the first step to changing and getting better lolol Also, I’m including her more, and I’m saying “You’re right.” and she’s going “And yeah.” which is a indicator that the conversation is slowly returning to an enjoyable and healthy one. ;w; happy endings lol) That's why I skip the aggressive stuff, even if it's passive, I write in a neutral setting so everyone feels safe to read, even someone who works at SEGA.

Friend: (Mentions some nintendo youtuber rant and also news as well, then says-) It was honestly very professional sounding and not rude. (MY HEART, YOU KNEW THAT WAS AN AGGRESSIVE RANT lololol So nice to me TDT)

Lol you had to have seen how slightly aggressive it was tho. (I’M CALLING YOUR BLUFF, BESTIE lol) You literally asked, "You blame America for it?" which is not always true but semi-true. They were way too prideful (Aggressive word) and haughty (Still aggressive terminology) about their success in other Japanese products that they wanted to completely change Sonic to their own wishes, pushing out Japan's creative "licenses" (I use this word loosely, and this gives a slightly aggressive feel but is also more dumbed down so it's more 'passionate' than just aggressive)

Friend: Yeah I saw it was slightly aggressive (Either is starting to realize it or at last admitting it now that I am fully aware of how I was coming across. I also used indicators to show what words were aggressive to help illustrate my point. This is showing I’m much more awake now :)b)

Gotta use those neutral tactics or no one will feel comfortable just reading your idea and instead, will constantly look for a place to intercept with aggression back, whether they agree or not, they're looking for ways to self-insert their aggression if you are also aggressive. I can't write something that doesn't somewhat support and uplift SEGA of America. Why? Because like I said, they literally have survived EVERYTHING and have stuck around. Without them, there wouldn't be an American branch and the money issue would have ended SEGA. Some might say, "But they've done so much harm than good! Why is the money thing such a thing to be praised for?" But it's huge, it's so big, it kinda does offset the wrongs. (Now I’m doing the healthy thing, doubling back and mentioning the good to try and recover. The damage may be done, but she did recommend some videos for me and was polite, so I’m just trying to smooth things over and leave on a ‘wrapped up’ conclusion. But... I should have just left it there in all honesty xD Some things you can’t double-back and correct lol) America is a great business-influenced mindset. None of us would be fans of Sonic without them.

(Friend continues to agree but realizes I may slip into ranting again. She just asks if I can watch the videos.)

America does have it's advantages in some fields and areas, but their biggest most redeeming quality is that they saved SEGA which gave us our biggest love and obsession: Sonic. Now, my usage in that writing was still off neutral, but combined with the slightly aggressive statements, made a GREAT contrast. It's still slightly praising

Friend: And they stopped Japan from giving him a human girlfriend right away.

Me: Exactly.

Friend: I will always thank them for that. (She’s still a sweetheart, working herself into the conversation so it stays healthy. lol Such amazing follow-ups too!)

So although I don't like what's happening, I'm also grateful... to a degree lol We need SEGA of America, which is why I think Japan just ignores them now lolol they know they owe them a lot.

(Friend mentions videos and as I go to save them to my ‘watch later’ sees that one of them is about Nintendo.)

Yeeeahhh I've noticed that Nintendo is starting to trail into 'cash grab' tactics and that's sickening (MORE AGGRESSIVE WORDING??? HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED YOUR LESSON CHILD?! It takes time to fully wake up lolol) cause before, I literally thought, "Nintendo can do no wrong" their marketing was ON POINT! but the stuff they said about Peach and now... I think new, unprofessional blood (like SEGA) has entered Nintendo and the older guys are either 'training' or 'retired to other ventures'. Nintendo is having it's own 'we used to not be prideful but now we're getting a little too pompous (Another aggressive wording... This can easily trigger people to comment with further aggression either against you or for you, but no aggression is the ideal. Which is continuing to show my lack of remaining conscious lol) about ourselves' and they're starting to act like Disney before their big crash. Disney also had 'limited time offers' with their VHS movies. Now, Nintendo is doing that. They'll make money, but at what cost? When you lose your costumer's trust...

Friend: And yeah the 35th Mario thing immediately reminded me of the Disney vault

Me: Yep. I'm worried for Nintendo. Don't get me wrong! Disney is really good with money grabs, but they... they also act high and mighty (More aggressive statements, wake up, darn it!!!) and their fanbase literally calls them 'an empire' so the fan-trust is gone. That makes you 'lame/outdated' and fans begin to look for 'what's cool?' instead.

(Friend is now re-realizing I’m ‘in and out’ so is trying to use a effective avoidance tactic by asking about different things to help my ranting fully stop.)

Sorry, I'm tired, I get on these rants and I don't mean too. (Trying to shake myself awake again.) I'm sorry.

So we returned to a healthy conversation, but I hope this interesting insight has revealed how to and what not to do about Aggressive Writing. Always stick to Neutral writing if you can, putting in a compelling counter-argument. In this aggressive writing demo, you saw that I tried to cover up my follies by saying counter-praise, but praise writing can be just as bad as aggressive writing. Passive writing can sometimes be annoying (aggressive word choice) too if you come off as disinterested or uncaring, which can still result in negative comments coming at you, or someone overly praising in their writings.

This has been all I’m showing you cause it’s kinda embarrassing ^^; but I hope it helps you in what ‘not to do’ while writing your ideas out :)b

Learn from my sleepy-time mistakes! lol

#cutegirlmayra #aggressive writing #what not to do #sonic #nintendo #marketing #sega #commentary #rant writing #an example to help teach #sonic the hedgehog #sonic idw #sonic comic #sonic rant

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benchgenderstudies · 4 years ago

Text

Opening Letter to Labor Secretary Martin Walsh//

Disclaimer: This letter was originally slated to go through the White House email form as it could not be left for understaff prone to market loyalties. The matter relates to the physical abuses of laborers in the fashion industry and the protection of women in the marketplace. One runway model summarized her experience in the runway fashion industry as ‘ what most people called sexual harassment, we called compliments”. ..

As was written for the White house email form.

Dear President Biden, Enclosed is a letter I have prepared for your new US Labor secretary. The reason I am sending it through this venue is because M Patricia Smith, Labor Solicitor/assist to secretary is likely to trash it. Smith is a loyalist to a misogynist fashion industry and cannot be trusted to assure the Biden administration is made aware of significant problems. Problems that I found the Pennsylvania House and Senate delegates were too incompetent to handle.

Dear Labor Secretary Martin Walsh

Congratulations on your appointment to the US Secretary of Labor. It is a post with many opportunities of advancement considering its previous inhabitants have done so little to advance it. OSHA's budget is only limited by the initial investment in staff so that dangerous workplaces can be fined . David Michaels, Edwin Foulke Jr, and trumps appointee were not prepared of the bankroll they were leaving on the table by keeping the agency understaffed.

Ever since 2008 I have called on OSHA to regulate the fashion industry , specifically the fashion modeling agencies; to stop the industry anorexia that exists in its coven. One of your very own employees : M Patricia Smith, solicitor actively enabled the sex trafficking industry within NYC fashion to flourish by circumventing regulation aimed at ending eating disorders. How would that be linked? Agencies such as Elite Models go along with haute couture's demands because they can prescribe upon a female an emaciated frame by which she is no threat to them. She is no threat to demand her due pay for her commercial estate as the person the luxury brand uses to parade their diseased prescription of 'the female”. She is not female, usually, not for them.. rather she's typically pictured the androgynous prepubescent frame suited to turn on pedophiles as they are.. even if she's technically 16-22yo. That alone is a public health danger no matter who calls it art. Luxury fashion exists to be callous by its exercise of Bourdieu's Habitus: the arrogant exercise of trashing others for not wearing their clothing well or talking under the luxury parameters/terms of the Veblen good.

Every time I contact DOL, somehow the entire explanation bores them into inactivity. So , I'll tell you ahead of time.. if you dont understand what I'm telling you .. ask. The Department of Labor ,especially OIG and OSHA are far underperforming in protecting American workers. It is not only OSHA's duty to adopt the body mass index to regulate industry but also to adopt ALL health standards accepted by NIOSH/CDC in the effort of assuring a safe workplace. That is OSHA's duty as an agency. Is it not the Department of Labor's duty to avoid protect workers despite how the market might recontext them as contractors as a financial convenience. It is the goal to protect the rights of workers as they are in each industry and not by that industry's cowardice or vanity to exploit them in all the ways they will and do.

In this debate you're going to hear all sorts of nonsense about “Feminism' and “ Homophobia” as a defense for what the luxury fashion industry does. All you have to do is ignore their lawyers and their excuses and instead protect the public from the models and from becoming “ their kind of fashion model”. You're going to probably ask “ how can I prove the fashion industry causes eating disorders?” It does. But be real clear that just like murder you can kill a man with a sword or a gun. I am not saying all eating disorders are caused by the fashion industry; an industry who models malnutrition as a class status repeated back in the time of the “Gibson Girl”. All girls colleges reported worry that their students looking like worn dark eyed zombies was not a healthy state for students to be in.

A gay male fashion designer is neither an expert on anatomy nor gender studies, or gender psychology simply because he has a front row seat to his experience. He is open to be criticized and prodded exactly what about the female body he is aware of in physiological terms. Whether he protests by barking back “ you're just homophobic” avoids recognize he has nothing to respond. Dolce and Gabbana's designers failed out of fashion school so would hardly be the candidate to have a graduate or even bachelors degree in basic biology. Bluntly, just because he prefers his sex as a penetration by penis in his orifices doesn't mean he can appropriate the Cis Female identity and preferences for his own; for his microphone to redesign her; to artify her as an object of his creation. She is not his creation. So lets start at the reality that if a fashion model emaciating herself from age 16 onward AWAY from her natural fillout.. by the same championed methods as anorexics.. (stimulant abuse, strict calorie restrictions, exercise abuse, drug escapism) that she too will become injured no differently than the diagnosed anorexic the Usgov/NIH currently confuses themselves to be 'a mental disorder”. Its not a singular set of incidences. Its a tragic mistake of LGBT fashion designers and agencies to abuse a girl into their standards of sizing when said sizing is injurious to her.

I am going to close on these points: No matter if a foolish girl moves from Wyoming to New York City to chase her Vogue dream of being a runway model... her sense of liberation to be that model stops being 'feminist” when she forgets herself as an object set infront of youth and the public. When she is made a model to others.. her liberty is zero. Her occupation is not an ideal circumstance no matter how she smiles or how many magazine covers shes on. She is not an ideal female nor feminist to allow herself be made a 'hero' and 'celebrity' infront of young girls while she secretly is only in the industry to settle a fraudulent debt against her. These agencies recruit girls on the image of prestige. They hire limos and other image related services at her expense without telling her... or so the scam goes. Even if I detest the model herself for being a foolish stooge ,.. she has a right to grow up physically as a case of health no matter what her occupation is. Her identity does not owe the industry a duty to stunt itself to 'be its girl' . “It” doesnt know what a real girl is nor how to correctly respect her. If we really were talking about 'gender bending”, then the bulldyke butch female is absent on the range of imagery. The guys might wear the dresses but the females just look angry and spent.

Due to couture labels like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Dior.. the luxury fashion market clusters around them as a cult of personality. It is not merely fashion. Dior built his name on trying to repopularize the waspwaist.. and so we must also realize the practices of body modification (ie tattooing, piercing, corsetry) are also not for people below 18; an age 16 & 17 year old girls should not be allowed or expected to oblige. Couture's waif is body modification in a most anti female way of things; so.. neither CFDA nor its couture industry are feminists at all. Balenciaga is actually more famous than Dior in that the original models were 14 year old girls in place of models. Now the fashion critics are all gaga for 'the androgynous' norm not calculating that a girl too young to have one gender isn't either old enough to split the difference between two. The artification of gender is not its study nor its protection as an asset of classism.

The fashion industry is arguing that the “ Body Mass Index' is an inaccurate measure of health. As a paper chart, it was never meant to be a clinical test measure; Strike one. When skin calibers or hydrostatic weighing become part of the actual measure of body adiposity then BMI is plenty fair. More the point, a female below 18.5 even by the paper chart shows a lack of care for herself in weight training and metabolism maintenance. By trying to be a model or imitating model prescribed crash diets.. the youth and females of the public injure their metabolism in three ways : 1) they are incapable managers of any crash diet. 1a) they dont know to reset their reward food choices. 2) they indulge multiple crash diets and for far longer than the plan itself advises 3) the crash diet look is not the same look offered from hard training and a mere weekend worth of fasting for a judged event. These females are acting like the ideal body is maintained daily and weekly. Its not. The fashion industry tries to cheat its way to looking like the hard work of elite athletes concealing all the cheap taste addictions/ 5 star lard cuisine its fine dining jet setters choke down their throat between events.

The fashion industry also doesnt realize that body composition is larger than the height/weight chart. Body composition is small piece of Anthropometrics and Goniometry of the Movement studies field; Not Psychology. I actually find the female led psychology field in the study of eating disorders has enabled young girls to remain getting injured by market forces. This is not a day camp for women to console each other as victims.. Its a mockery of gender and sex education that its archetypes are paraded as ambiguous fads on the runway There are finite limits to the health of the female body that the industry is not protecting ; worse.. they indulge these 'international standards” so that the females and males applying for these jobs are worn out and too tired to fight about due credit. The broken mirror on the industry is they worship youth only so the youth cluster for easy fame.. and much easier exploitation; knowing nothing about the industry's dangers. New models are especially vulnerable to prostitution, forced drug addiction, rape, and the long term effects of eating disorders due to the silence of the current models and organizations like “ The Model Alliance” that try to legitimize the profession. Fashion designers have no say what eating disorders. They hesitate incriminate their own “homoerotic imagination” as diseased. Neither Fashion designers nor talent agencies have a soapbox on which to defend their exploitation of the models (mostly female).. in that 'she can leave whenever she wants... except she cant” . Due to the debt scam held over her.. she is forced to crash diet continually (malnourishment) until she is either out of debt, dead or in a hospital. She'll remain in that hospital taking small checks to shut up.. and take blame for 'her self made diets”.. instead of connect that no matter how self managed her disaster.. the primary cause of her illness ; her PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION; is by the compulsion to 'fight hard for her fame” and the agencies income.. no matter how unlevel their commitment is to her safety or industry legitimacy.

TO BE QUOTED:”Eating disorders victims are bonded by physical exhaustion that cannot be mistaken as a mental symptom to be bandaided by antidepressants.” -Michael Bench. Eating disorders are a physical ailment resulting from the queer fetished 1)calorie restrictions AND 2) food combination/pairings that set her GI tract and immune system into a downward spiral. 3) When the female dieter decides the first crash diet didnt work, her move to another plan ( of weird diet combos like grapefruit and baconbits) adds to the confusion of the GI tract. The GI tract biome is set off balance by these diets... and so too is an injury to her metabolism.. An injury of the public occurs through these extreme and fast results diet motivations as much as the fraudulent diet instruction itself.

The problems of the Department of Labor effectively advocating for employee safety are also complicated by its unwillingness to address NIOSH- NORA as a bunch of deadbeats.. They're too worried if a Christmas tree bundler was risky instead of keeping young women away from molesters, sadists, human traffickers and embezzlers among the industry protected by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. CFDA's primary error is that it only wants to defend the designers broken visions instead of the whole industry's aspirations to forward interesting art-as fashion. The Androgyny fad is a lie; its an artification of the female body by MALE models and designers to wear.. without concern how its prescriptions are unhealthy to her. The Fashion industry and HHS are going to retort “ anorexia” is a mental health problem.. not an employment/labor problem. So it happens uniformly in all industries then? Its image is promoted in fashion but not taking fault for? A female prescribed to look as though her growth curve recessed on itself.. to a size she was at age 12 or 14 is not only unhealthy.. its negligence and injurious damages owed to her by the brand and the agencies defending it.

Again. If you have any questions or wish to hash out more of a detail about these matters, do not hesitate to contact me. However.. after these many years that Department of Labor has done nothing to protect women from the fashion industry's bad actors.. its about time the whole executive branch find a conscience. Where there is a gender wage gap there also exists here a lack of care whether any industry abuses women or the public of females. There is only the President and the Vice President to conference on this .. I can tell you first hand the Labor OIG have failed repeatedly to act in forcing OSHA to perform its duty in adopting and enforcing HHS/ CDC health guidelines whether developed by NIOSH or otherwise. When Howard Shapiro was acting OIG legal he exclaimed “ we have no mandate to regulate fashion modeling by Bmi because its not in the 1970s founding of OSHA”. Of course it wouldnt be if BMI was adopted in 1998. Here I have to emphasize Shapiros lame excuse wasn't just that he didnt want to address BMI as a health metric but that he was refusing all health research and standards that were available ever since OSHA and NIOSH were founded. Shapiro owes the government his salary back. I hope your service in US LABOR determines you deserved every dollar of your office salary.

the regulation of the fashion industry is a necessary act of responsibility for all workers and to protect women. If the equality of women is a central pillar of President Biden’s campaign , this is not a matter to ignore. Please recognize my effort carrying on ever since 2008 has always stated “a prescription upon women that makes an ideal of a male cut/toned physique will not be healthy for a female to sustain. In the cause of artified androgyny and not accurately presumed gender swapping,, the female model is being physically abused for a norm ambivalent to her health” And this is why the gay male fashion designer is not credible to be designing for women in the frame of presuming himself gifted to those ends. The cult of personality around Dior and Balenciaga are not merely poorly aware of the female body. Couture is actually stubbornly refusing a majority of women in its pathetic aversion to sewing around curves. They are selfish to actually recognize any curvy female frame as it takes attention away from the slim “androgynous” ideal .. most like their mirror. Cosmosexuals vanity is toxic.

Cordially , Michael Bench , MEP, WGSGC

Exercise Physiologist

Gender Anthropologist

Author of Native Supremacy

#fashion #anorexia #sexualabuse

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creativegodtiers · 5 years ago

Text

Prompt Response: Upstart/Exodus Scenario

(apologies for the troll quirks 😔) “yo,” Virave, the Knight, said, lying sideways across their chair. “there’-S a lil -Situation -Stirrin up” “Yes, I Gathered bY the fact You’d called us all into the Situation Room,” Evelit, known to the mortals as the Mage, said with a raise of her eyebrow. “be nIce!!” Lilith, the Sylph, admonished, before turning back to her moirail. “what’s the matter??” “okey doke, here’s the thing,” the Knight said. With a flick of their hands, a small figure appeared on the table, bearing a smug smile and a toga. Lilith leaned in to inspect the figure. “Caesar?” “no i think that is the chicken man,” Summer, aka the Rogue of Void, said solemnly. “Don’t be ridiculous,” the Mage admonished. “{summer has a p(o)int. he greatly resembles the chicken man,}” Wisria, the Heir of Space, said. “I don’t know who that is,” Evelit mumbled. “haha!! smartie Doesnt know something!!” Summer crowed. “Fuck off.” “can we get back on track?” the Knight demanded. There was silence. “thank-S. thi-S guy claim-S he’-S a ‘better’ god, the ‘true’ one.” They tapped a claw on the table, narrowly missing the little figure. “-So far a-S i can tell, he’-S a de-Scendant of one of u-S who got hopped up on power and ha-S a literal god complex. needle-S-S to -Say, i want thi-S twink obliterated. who want-S to go put the fear of the god-S in hi-S heart with me?” The Rogue, the Sylph, and the Witch (also known as Elmara) immediately raised their hands. “{i d(o)n’t like c(o)nfr(o)ntati(o)n, but if y(o)u need a s(o)lar eclipse, text me,}” the Counter of Stars said with a small smile. Evelit sighed. “This could Go a lot of waYs. If I See You start makinG bad choices, I’ll alert You throuGh the usual method.” “texting “DONT DO IT DUMBASSES” to the group chat,” Virave said with a nod. “got it.” The man—his name has been lost to mortal minds, but we’ll call him Chad, because he was so a Chad—stepped down from his platform. The people adored his message, his speeches were on point as always, and just as he’d thought, those so-called Creators were either not real or too detached to do anything about it. “yo.” Chad glanced over to see four unassuming troll youngsters. He had to stifle a chuckle—three of them had their arms crossed and one was leaning her elbow on another, the very picture of teenage skepticism. Regardless, he would convince them. He was very convincing. “What can I do for you?” he said, putting on his best smile. He’d never been fond of trolls, but more followers were always needed. “A little birdie t+ld me y+u’re playing at g+dh++d,” one said, moving forward. Her red skirt swirled around her feet. Chad idly wondered how she avoided tripping. “I’m not playing, my dear, I am a god. A better god, in tune with the people, not sequestered in my tower all the time like some ‘gods’.” “okay but like heres the thing” one girl said, stepping forward. Chad wondered what caste these trolls were-none of them had a sign, and the dark blue of this girl’s shirt didn’t point to one specific caste. “the gods r literally always out n about u just gotta LOOK DuDe” Chad scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. If the gods are so active, why haven’t we seen them in action recently?” “maybe you haven’t,” the jadeblood (you could tell by the scarf) girl muttered. Something clicked in Chad’s head. “Ah. You’re going to try to prove you are the gods.” “well, he caught on...decently fast,” the jadeblood said to her comrades. “so how we gonna play this?” the blue shirted one said. Chad felt a sting of mild irritation that they were ignoring him in favor of keeping up the “gods” facade. “okay, here’-S my idea. i -Shank him, and lilith heal-S the wound,” the one who hadn’t spoken before said. They pulled a knife from their yellow coat and twirled it easily in their hand. Lilith (presumably) gently whacked them on the arm. “don’t be sIlly! we‘re under some sort of oath not to harm mortals, aren’t we?” “no,” the other one grumbled, “but fine, i gue-S-S.” “I c+uld d+ the timey thing,” the one with the red dress suggested. There was a chime and she looked down. “Ah. N+pe. Evelit says bad idea. Damn.” Chad couldn’t deny a stirring of fear in his chest, but he pushed it down. “If you are the gods, then which ones are you?” “fuck yes!!” Lilith cheered. “transformatIon sequence tIme!!” “Yes,” Red Skirt Girl said. “HELL ye-S,” Knife Kid said. “hell fuckin yes” Blue Shirt said. “Can I g+ first?” Red Skirt Girl said. “I’ve been practicing.” Everyone nodded, so she took a breath in and began to twirl. The edges of her skirt flew up, revealing striped green stockings, which quickly became a blue as she spun faster and faster until- A glittery green shoe clicked hard against the pavement and the girl stopped, beaming with pride. Her skirt settled around her, shorter and fluffier now, her sleeves longer and— The Timecrest emblazoned proudly on the front. “The Wild One,” Chad whispered, unable to keep a hint of reverence from his tone. The Goddess of Tune did a very silly bow. “In the flesh.” “me neXt!!” Blue Shirt cried, clapping her hands. She closed her eyes and- Chad couldn’t quite describe it. She seemed to almost fold in on herself, imploding, but before she could implode all the way, she was back, suddenly, fully formed. She was still wearing the oversized blue shirt and black leggings, but now she had fingerless gloves, a domino mask, boots, and most importantly, the Voidcrest on her shirt. “The R-g-e of ——“ Chad said. Or, well, not really said so much as half-choked. The Rogue grinned. “Someone knows their history!” “So you’re-“ Chad turned to the other two. The jadeblood girl simply flicked her hands and the scarf transformed into flowing ribbons, the dress lengthened, and the Lifecrest bloomed into existence, along with several flowers springing up around her feet. “I thInk some people call me the Goddess of UprIsIng, whIch Is great, don’t you thInk?” The one remaining had apparently already changed, into the glowing golden cape and matching shirt and pants of.. “The Speaker of Truths,” Chad said. “Bingo bongo,” the Knight deadpanned. Chad took a deep breath in. No matter. He was still the better god, even alone. He had something they didn’t! “Well, regardless of your flashy transformation sequences, you are out of touch,” Chad declared. “The people have forgotten you, and a new god—a better, friendlier god—is here.” “woooow,” the Rogue drawled. “i cant even...ive seen stupiD, but this is something else.” “can i plea-Se ju-St -Shank him?” the Knight said, twirling their knife. The Sylph gently patted their cheek. “shoooosh.” “can we call in a solar eclipse now?” the Rogue said, but the Witch shook her head. “It w+n’t d+ any g++d. This is a matter +f rhetoric.” “OH!!” the Sylph said suddenly. “I’ve got an Idea!” She turned to Chad. “when’s your next sermon?” Chad checked the time. “A few minutes, actually.” “great! we’re comIng,” the Sylph said, and shoved past him, dragging the Knight along. Chad, confused, followed. When he arrived on stage, a crowd was already gathered, expectant. The gods stood off to one side, leaving the microphone available. Chad stepped up, tapped it a couple times, and told himself his mantra in his head. You are powerful. You are mighty. You are open. You are a god. “Helllooo, my people!” “our people,” a clear, commanding voice cut in. Everyone turned, and when they saw the gods, gasps and whispers broke out. “is it gonna b a rap off” the Rogue stage-whispered to the Knight. “nah,” the Knight said back. “i think i get what -Sylphie’-S plan i-S.” The Sylph started to walk towards the podium, and her friends followed, creating a strange little parade. “um. hello,” the Sylph said into the microphone, and the whispers increased. “thIs man claIms we have abandoned you, that we are out of touch. he lIes. we are among you, always, and not even fIguratIvely. who here has been to a protest recently that turned sour?” A few people raised their hands. The Sylph nodded, pointing at one of them. “you. protest for goldblood psIonIc headache medIcatIon to be legalIzed? there were a bunch of sonIc blasts, but somehow no one got burned. that was me helpIng. best of luck, btw.” “you, the one with the nice jacket,” the Knight said, and the people quieted, because the Speaker of Truths would not lie to them. “i told your mom -She had to get you vaccinated. did -She?” “Y-Yeah,” the kid said, looking shocked and maybe a little overwhelmed at having this attention put on them. “She did.” The Knight nodded, satisfied. “Y+u,” the Witch said, pointing at a young woman. “We fucked +nce. Last week, actually. Call me?” “okay, well, that Isn’t the best example-“ the Sylph said. “we went 2 a rave together!!” the Rogue said, pointing at yet another startled face. “wait, u 2? aw fuck man. i cant believe uve done this.” “-So, we gonna -Smite the-Se dork-S?” the Knight, and the crowd all backed up a bit. Chad, for his part, was eyeing the mic as if weighing the chances of being able to grab it back vs the chances of the Knight “shanking” him. “nah, they’re good,” the Sylph said. “just needed a lIttle remInder of theIr real gods, I thInk.” “sure we shoulDnt try 2 push that reminDer a bit?” the Rogue said hopefully. The Sylph smiled. “Already texting Wisria,” the Witch said. The Rogue stepped forward and raised their hands dramatically. “citizens! in the interest of fairness, we will allow this chaD here 2 give a lil Demo of his talents.” Chad stepped forward, looking like a man who had just seen his own death and was not at all pleased with the indignity of it. “Yes. Ahem...observe!” He pulled an apple from thin air, spun it around with a flourish, and then tapped it, It instantly aged and became a wrinkled and gray mush. “Cute,” the Witch said. The Rogue nodded. “one of urs. alright, y’all got the flashy anD non fatal powers. take it away!” The Sylph seemingly spontaneously grew a pair of jade wings and fluttered over the heads of the crowd. With a hum, she perched on a tree and gestured to the Witch, who sprouted matching wings of her own and joined her. Together, the two managed to age a small tree to the point where it’s shadow fell upon the whole gathering (considerably grown by now), and then to the point where it died. The Sylph then casually regrew all its limbs, and the two leapt down from their now considerably heightened perch. “Alright, our turn,” the Knight said, and right on cue, the sun went out. There were several gasps and a few shrieks, but everyone fell silent when the glowing Crests of the gods appeared in the sky, bright enough almost to replace the sun. Then they faded, the sun reappeared, and the gods took a bow in the style of stage plays. “learned your lesson, dearIe??” the Sylph said to Chad as the Rogue shoved him in front of the mic. Chad looked down at his feet, not meeting the eyes of what had once been his congregation. “I...I am not a god.” “damn right,” the Knight said. “alrighty, peace out y’all.” “stay safe!!” the Sylph cried. “keep an eye out 4 us,” the Rogue said with a wink. “Call me!” the Witch said, pointing again at the young woman in the crowd she had singled out before. And the four ascended away, pleased with a job well done.

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same-side · 6 years ago

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Are there any specific resources you used while you were learning how to draw? I see your art and I get super inspired, but then I remember how far behind I am when it comes to progress, and I get discouraged. I've been drawing for a year and I still can't do proper anatomy and lineart, yet you've been drawing since August and you're wonderful at it. I really want to improve. Help a fellow artist out?

Hey there!!I’m really glad I can inspire you!! Please don’t give up!! If it’s any consolation, I get discouraged, too. I see the incredible art of this fandom (or just in general!) and it makes me feel like why even bother. It happens to everyone, and not just with drawing, but with everything in life! But I work through those feelings! I have faith in you and I believe in you!

I’m sorry, I don’t really have any resources I can point you towards! I never really watch tutorials or things like that, I don’t have one of those pose-able models or anything. I don’t know of any like. reference databases or anything. I also dont use any external brush packs and I’ve got a baseline non-display tablet. I think the biggest advice I can give is to use references and to do studies! Studies can teach you so, so much. When I first started I absolutely hated doing fabric. I felt like I wasn’t good at it. So instead of just giving up or avoiding it I sat down and did fabric studies until I felt comfortable with it. Most of my paintings are honestly just me practicing on something I feel like I’m not good enough at yet, whether its dual lighting sources, anatomy, fabric folds, hair... Don’t avoid the things that make you afraid, practice them until you’re comfortable with it!

In regards to lineart, some things I’ve learned- foremost, canvas size is really important. find which one works for you. Most artists I know work on somewhere around 3500 x 3500px . personally, my canvasses for portraits are usually in the 500 x 500px range, and sketch dumps are 1650 x 1650 px. Too small of a canvas, and you won’t be able to fit the detail you want - sometimes I post something with a wonky face and its because the canvas was really small so i couldnt properly draw! If the canvas is too big, it may be difficult to fill the space. Another thing - some programmes (I think SAI for sure) have a line stabilizer and a curve editor. my photoshop doesnt have this, so i cant really say much aside from that, but it can really help you get smooth lines without the wonky bumps. One last thing I learned recently - vary your line sizes. I usually work between 3px and 8px, with 4px as my standard. It provides contrast and makes the focus points more clear.For anatomy - reference reference reference!! Do studies!! And remember that your own body is your best reference!! I have a folder that’s just got different pictures of my own hand under different lighting sources that I’ve used in paintings. Don’t try to do something from memory if you don’t actually know what it looks like! I know a lot of artists use that “block” method. There’s real logic behind it; i think a common mistake is thinking “oh i just draw circles or blocks as a placeholder for body parts!” But the blocks actually mimic muscles and joints. Look at an anatomical model, break it into pieces. Then use those pieces to compose a body. not just random circles at random distances!A final note - I’m not sure how old you are, anon, but for the teens out there. please don’t compare yourself to adults as the end-all-be-all. Its fine to compare to others to see what things you could improve on or how to draw something differently, but don’t let it consume you. you still have so much time to learn and to grow. Even if there isn’t practical experience, someone older will have more life experience and a different perception, and it really does make a difference. Someone older has seen and experienced more, unconsciously learned more about the way bodies move and lights play out on things, what colours they like and dont like paired. And they may even have other life experiences that affect things. For example, I’m an engineer. I literally have a degree that trained me to be detail oriented and be able to understand proportions, perspectives, and breaking things down into basic shapes. it definitely helps with drawing, to have that sense. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but I hope at least something in here is valuable to you! I believe in you, anon!!

#t talks #long post #Anonymous #asks for ts #art reference

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elibasila · 5 years ago

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1: a refusal to look directly

Mirrors - i.e. the physical reflection of my body - how I was able to see my b o d y throughout time

Background/History -

Simply looking or observing myself in the mirror has been a huge evolution in my lifetime. I can remember when I was younger (around the start of middle school until my freshman/sophomore year of college) that I initially didn’t care for them, that is until my 1st puberty started. When at that age I began to recognize/see what my body was turning into, and how other people were going to see me/already saw me. My brain started to process my world’s ‘objective’ rules of gender and sex, and really that is when it probably started to hit me that I had to start taking my looks seriously like every other girl my age. For me, when I was younger I always believed I was a girl because that’s all I ever really knew, that was my ultimate reality and there was no language for girls who weren’t actually ‘girls’, your only option for a definition of yourself was a ‘tomboy’ or anything related to the stereotypical lesbian, which is mostly tied with ‘butchness’ where I grew up. With these concepts newly realized and lingering in the back of my head, I began to actually look at my reflections and compare myself to other girls. I noticed two things:

something was off, when I look at my chest and at my figure there’s a yearning to change/get rid of my body to look like something else. that something, however, was a thing that I’ve never actually seen before, therefore it did not exist. Not until later.

a heavy depressive feeling in my torso, almost feels like a dark 10lb weight in the bottom of my ribcage, it’s disappointment. I wasn’t expecting this to happen to me, even though I knew that girls went through puberty and usually got boobs, and certain figures out of it.

With these realizations during early 1st puberty I tried to do my best to mitigate these unknown feelings and repress them. I did that by looking at myself in the mirror and would practice apathy towards myself (towards my body, my look) on a daily basis. At first I would remember feeling extremely depressed/disappointed when I looked at myself in the mirror to counter this I would remember saying “this is as good as it’s gonna get”. I would say that, or something along the lines of “acceptance” (I don’t know if I’d call it acceptance in a good way though) and try to replace feelings of what was probably dysphoria with complete lack of feeling towards my body: apathy.

This went on for years and I became very good at it, so much so that it was working to ignore my physical self, and for a long time I was able to avoid severe feelings of hatred towards my body through that method. However, with the complete lack of feeling towards my body came the consequence of extreme awkwardness towards my body/physical self, meaning I didn’t know how to feel about my body at all. Until the end of high school I was still coasting by with my apathetic body practice, as time went on I would try and hide it by making sure I was blending in with every other girl my age. Entering college I slowly started to lose my grip on my identity and what followed was the identity crisis which has lead me to question this practice of what I was ever doing before this. That was 1 year and some months ago, that was when I stopped looking at myself as a girl, I started to let it go finally and with that some of the apathy was shed as well. I was actually starting to have feelings/like real feelings about what I looked like/my body and one of the first ones was surprise. I was surprised at how much I was okay with myself, because to me I looked like a boy I looked somewhat androgynous to myself and I was actually happy about that. I was happy to look like not a girl and my feelings were quickly shifting from disappointment because I didn’t look like a ‘girl’ to happiness because I now knew I wasn’t a girl in the first place.

All of a sudden I was entering into the honeymoon phase of my transition/realization and I felt great just to know I wasn’t a girl and to see myself in the mirror out of 18 years of misuse. I was happy with whatever I got because I was fresh then, now a year and some months later even those feelings of euphoria have now shifted into my previous method of apathetic body practice. The initial realization was great, after a while though the dysphoria grew as my transition started to build speed, and I was dealing with the issue of my physical body/appearance again. It shifted from me being happy I didn’t look like a girl in my eyes to me not looking enough like a boy in others eyes, my public existence was taking hold again during 2nd puberty. Not only were other people’s views influencing how I viewed my body but I believe that I would naturally devolve into this progression during my transition, I was even told in therapy that things were going to get harder, and that my dysphoria was probably going to get worse because I was now out and self aware of who I was, which was the trade off. The trade was me finally being able to figure out who I was after years of repression but with the realization there would be different issues to deal with now.

Practice -

And so we arrive at this point in time of the mirror I look into now, both remembering how I used it before to how I use it now. With the prompt I decided I wanted to acknowledge my history of my own body/mirror practice I’ve used during 1st puberty.

The basis was the practice of looking at my body in the mirror, which I do daily (brushing my teeth, facial care, etc) but dedicate a specific time in the mirror to do nothing but observe, on a daily basis.

Observations Made/Notes -

Not surprisingly it was extremely difficult for me to feel anything profound, because of this I thought that my long-standing habit of apathy towards my body had come back, just with a slightly different purpose; so as not to increase my dysphoria. I felt like I didn’t care overall

I would imagine myself without boobs, which surprisingly is something I used to do during 1st puberty, even before I knew what the language was I do clearly remember myself always daydreaming about losing my breasts. It was top surgery that I thought about, then and now, only now I’m much closer to actually doing what I’ve dreamed of.

The type of chest I saw myself having wasn’t linked to what a post-op chest would look like realistically, I saw myself with a scarless chest like I was born with a cis-man’s chest

I was comparing myself to other men I would see, though not as severely as I once did during 1st puberty, I’m realistically aware of what I look like,

I find some points of my body and smiled, like my arms (even if they’re undefined and thin), my face, my lips,

also there were some points in which I could change/ or I didn’t like: my cheeks, my jawline, just my overall thin body frame that many people label as feminine, my chest (obviously), and more specifically my pelvis/hips area i think that might be my 2nd worst feeling part of my body

I definitely dont have bottom dysphoria which is kind of comforting to know

there are some moments in time, angles where I trick my brain into euphoria and those are the best times, cause I feel the most beautiful then

I think i want to look more beautfiul than I do handsome, I still have connections to my femininity and I dont want to feel ashamed cause I’m not

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oberlinexecutivefunctioning-blog · 6 years ago

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Advice for Long Study Sessions

As finals approach, I imagine that almost everyone is facing down the barrel of long nights reading, cramming, drafting, and editing. Here are some clever ways I've picked up to break up, optimize, and fully utilize that five hour study block on your calendar.

Use the Pomodoro Method. This method is the most famous way I know to break up a long study session, and I have to include it first. The basics are as follows: you work for 25 minutes, take a break for 5 minutes, work for 25, break for 5, etc. Every four cycles (2 hours), you take a 15 minute break to refresh. A lot of people swear by this method or some adjusted version of it. I know some people who promise that a 24 min work/6 min break ratio is ideal. Some insist that 50 min work/10 min break works best. No ratio is right for everyone, so feel free to try a few out to see what you like. There are TONS of pomodoro timer apps out there, including ones that block use of your phone during the work time, and you can always pick up a regular kitchen timer as well if you want to stay well and truly off your phone. I find that the Pomodoro method works well for anyone who a. Doesn't mind working by a timer and b. Wants something simple and customizable that takes little extra thought.

Use Music Cues. This one works really well for me, but it's a bit unorthodox. Basically, you format your study around a certain playlist or set of playlists. First, take some time to decide the "function" for certain songs; the rules can be broad, like "songs without lyrics are study songs and songs with lyrics are break songs," but I find it more effective when actual specific songs have their own functions. After all, I like listening to songs without lyrics when not studying, too! For me, there's a certain song ('oranges in winter' by Bassti) that signals to my brain that It Is Study Time. My study playlist starts with that song, works through around 30 minutes of Study Music, then hits a specific song (like Iron & Wine's awesome version of 'Time After Time') that means it's time for a break. I break for three songs, and then 'oranges in winter' plays again. Every time I listen to the playlist, the cues grow stronger. I recommend this method for anyone who a. Likes listening to music while studying, b. Doesn't like working by a traditional timer, and c. Doesn't mind taking some time to make a study playlist like this.

Plan Breaks in Advance. Personally, I hate the feeling of reaching a study break and suddenly having to decide what to do for 5-10 minutes. Decisions are stressful, and more often than not, I end up spending the whole break thinking up things I could be doing and trying to decide which one I should do OR scrolling something on my phone to avoid the decision, neither of which is a real break. I've listed some possible break activities on this blog before, so go check those out if you dont know what sort of breaks you want to be taking. If you do have some idea of how you like to take your study breaks, try listing them out for yourself on paper. Next time you stare down a long study session, pick a few out and place them in order that you want to do them. If you keep a study playlist, you could even pick certain break songs that indicate different break activities. A key is to choose more than one break activity and alternate them. Your brain thrives on variation!

Spend your First Study Block Planning. You may have noticed a theme in this list by now. Breaking up a large block of study into smaller blocks of time is essential. Unless you manage to tap into your hyper focus (man I wish I could do it on demand), you will need to pace yourself. Part of pacing yourself is making small, manageable goals that each fit into one study block. For example, I'm a slow reader, especially when I'm researching for a paper. My study blocks often say "Read and annotate 25 pages". Do I have 300 pages to read? Yes I do. But there's no way I'm getting that done in even ten 30 minute blocks of time if I want a quality annotation list to use for my paper. It's no use putting down "Read x book," because I'm not going to be able to do that. If you set down manageable goals for your study blocks ahead of time, you will be able to a. Meet your goals!, b. Feel accomplishment, and c. Know what you're supposed to be doing at every moment of the long study session so you're never left floundering in limbo-zone.

Be Open to Changing Locations. Sometimes, staring at the same damn wall for five hours just feels like torture. It's important that you have several study locations in mind for yourself so that you can refresh your mind, especially if you get stuck or frustrated. Even just changing which seat you're sitting in at the same table could provide you with a fresh perspective, both literally and mentally. Bonus points if you manage to sit in every level of Mudd during the same long study session. (They really do each have their own personality.) Extra bonus points if you get some fresh air while you change locations. But caution! Make sure you have a few locations in mind BEFORE YOU START. It's way too easy to end up wandering campus in search of the Perfect Study Spot for hours on end. It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be new.

Stock your Backpack. If you're going to be studying for even a few hours, you're gonna need a snack. You're gonna need water (and lots of it). You might want any any point: mouthwash, deodorant, a hairbrush, stim toys, stress balls, extra pens, highlighters, post-its, photos of loved ones, mints, tampons, earbuds, gum, and/or tissues. A long study session is a marathon, so be prepared! Think I'm being dire? These are ALL examples of real things I have really needed during a study sesh. Customize the list for your needs.

Make Yourself at Home. This is related to the previous point, but it's important to emphasize. Studying can be really enjoyable (really!) and it can also be really grueling. Most importantly, it is your own time, and it's important that you make it your own. Bring pillow and blanket to Mudd. Erect a shrine in the corner of a lounge. Do what you need to do to make YOU comfortable. It is incredible that we are allowed, encouraged, and (yes) essentially forced to spend hours on end learning and growing. I know those long finals hours can be super stressful and demoralizing. You might feel like beating yourself up. "Why didn't I just get this done earlier?!" or "Why am I just not getting this?!" Try not to get sucked into that stuff. What's passed is passed, and you will have time for reflection later. When it's study time, you have only the tasks in front of you and the environment around you. As long as you plan those well and make them as nice as possible, you are on your way.

I have spent my share of nights fretting over papers due the next day and long sessions before a test cramming as much information as I can into my head. I'm not here to shame you for being behind or stressed. These tips are meant to be taken as guides, not instructions. If you never make The Perfect Study Bag filled with everything you could need, well guess what me neither. Gosh, who has time for that? Serious props to you if you do it. (Send pics, seriously) But thinking about what you need during a study session is important, and that's why it's on this list. I promise that you are doing GREAT, and I wish you the best of luck these finals!

#ef post #evan post #study tips

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battlestar-royco · 6 years ago

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Hello, how should I go about writing a fantasy POC society? The culture I wrote is pretty alien, so it's not recognizable or based on any real life culture. Is it enough to describe them as dark skinned/haired/eyed? I dont really describe features all that much, I tend to focus on actions, clothes and other more character defining traits. Should I pick a real ethnicity to base it off of, if only to have a clear image of what Im going for? I'm pale as heck and want to do it justice. Thank you!

Well, I’m just one person with one opinion so I can’t speak for everyone but I can try my best to help you. There is a lot of nuance with what you’re trying to do, and the way you write this society will depend on what kind of POC you are depicting, what time period, their place in the world, etc. There are different histories, implications, stereotypes, etc that come with writing different fantasy ethnicities, so not every rule for writing a society of black people, for example, will apply to writing a society of Latinx people. So whatever ethnicity/ies you are basing your society on, you should do research on what you’re specifically working on so you don’t fall into harmful tropes that have been used to represent that community before. My personal method is to make my own cultures rather than basing them on real life. I’ve used real life events and cultural aspects to inspire me here and there but I try to make as much as possible come from me. That way there’s less of a chance that I’m taking something that belongs to someone else and is not mine to use. And I think if you sufficiently worldbuild history, climate, borders, natural resources etc for the area in which you are writing the society, you can also use those influences to greatly inform that society so that it’s more grounded within the fantasy world rather than pulling from our world.

Something I notice a lot of white people getting wrong when attempting to write fantasy cultures of POC is that they make the entire society a monolith with the same exact looks, clothing, values, slang, religions, schooling, etc when the reality is so far from that. Many societies are represented by a wide range of appearances, skin tones, traditions, holidays, dialects, family structure, and more but we only think of one kind of person when we think of a certain ethnicity or race. Like, think of the difference between the stereotypical New Yorker vs the stereotypical Texan vs the stereotypical Californian. They dress and speak and vote differently, live in different climates, eat different food, you know? (Sorry if you’re not American :(, but hopefully you get my drift.) So definitely keep that in mind: non-monolithic cultures. Diversity within one culture. Immigrants exist, multicultural families exist, cultural diffusion exists. Another painful and unfortunate thing that happens often with white fantasy is “ENGLAND ANALOGUE, FRANCE ANALOGUE, SPAIN ANALOGUE, OH AND THERE’S THE ENTIRETY OF AFRICA/ASIA SMUSHED INTO ONE COUNTRY AND WE SEE A CHARACTER FROM THERE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.” Avoid that. Another thing I would do is look at how fantasy writers, ESPECIALLY writers of color, write cultures. I feel like NK Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy provides several good examples of ethnically diffused societies and really unique cultures that arise based on the world’s history and geopolitical influences. Hopefully that helps :)

#anons write things

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popatochisssp · 6 years ago

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matchups!!

poppy you sneaky snake i was at work when you opened matchups??? you keep making my day what the SHIT

Likes: rocks, marine biology, biology/nature in general, cartoons/animation, stories/books (specifically biology books, fantasy stuff with a lot of variety, mysteries and murder mysteries are super good too!!) Dislikes: on the topic of murder!! uh, lots of gore n'blood n'stuff like that really skeeve me out and i get really lightheaded when more brutal stuff like that gets shown or brought up? because i always end up picturing myself in the place of the person getting their shit kicked in, like hyper-empathy or something ghjkh– but on a lighter note hot weather sucks balls and loud noises suck too. that and when i end up oversharing nshit, i tend to get on my own nerves really quick. What are you looking for in a match?

I need someone thats patient and willing to listen, because im still having trouble with being patient with myself and grasping the concept of being taken seriously? cuz Past Trauma nshit and ghjgkh– but i just. mostly need somebody that’ll take me seriously and reassure me that i dont need to be so hard on myself and be good at everything on the first try, and that if i mess up they arent gonna leave me? and that we’ll talk it out and work through the problem…cuz im. really not good at picking up on cues n'stuff so i need a blatant ‘hey can you maybe not do this thing that youre doing’ reminder every now n again along with a ‘i dont hate you for doing This Thing i swear’ kinda thing too, cuz i tend to space out on a lot of stuff ghjkgmh–. Any dealbreakers?

not really?? i just need to be able to speak my piece from time to time and be reminded that im loved and im pretty much set!

Anything else I should know?

im! very very self aware and can explain damn near anything i do if questioned about it. and/or overshare on accident. i also tend to take care of others cuz i have trouble taking care of myself and i Will verbally fight someone but in a soft way if they start putting themselves down. i just have a lot of love in me and big hearts get bruised easily btu im a giant fukcing goober and will absolutely fukcing dance around the kitchen if its tiled with some socks on and just jam the fuck out if im alone. i usually dont know what to say when comforting folks cuz im a more hands on kinda person and will absoluteyl hug the shit out of you if need be for comfort reasons, but i like to think i can provide a good distraction from whatevers buggin’ someone or do something silly to get them to smile/laugh a little bit!!

if im shown literally any affection i Will die. im veyr touch starved and super cuddly once i know im not pushing anyones boundaries/turn into a small, fleshy blanket upon contact.

and thank you so sososo much poppy, both for reading all this crap nd for the matchup!! and in general too you fuckign boober, take care of yourself!!

Maple, you beautiful tropical fish, I’m gonna pair you up with Papy (Horrortale Papyrus)!

He’s familiar with trauma and has learned a lot of good methods for dealing with the aftereffects, and the communication strategies he’s picked up are something he’ll bring to his relationship with you.

If he sees you anxious or struggling, he can scoop you right up and help you talk through whatever you’re feeling without much trouble, and he’d consider it his genuine pleasure to do so– he loves taking care of people, especially his dearest datemate!

By the same token, he’d really benefit from you softly, verbally kicking his ass if you happen to catch him in one of his low moods. It doesn’t matter if you’re not totally sure what the right thing to say is, any kind of push works to remind him that you’re around and you support him and he’s tougher than his anxieties. He’s deeply empowered by how much you care about him and finds it easier to fight those groundless bad thoughts when you’re around.

In spite of the unfortunate history of where he came from, you shouldn’t have to worry about your gore squick getting tripped because he shares it! …Sorta? Real blood and injuries don’t particularly faze him– which is great because he’s a nurse!!!– but that’s mostly because he can sense the presence of a living soul. When he can’t, like in a violent slasher film for example, that’s the sort of thing with a high likelihood of triggering him, so he takes care to avoid that kind of fiction. Why have a panic attack when he could…not do that? Especially when there’s plenty of other neat things he can enjoy with you!

Things like cuddling, so prepare to become that blanket you were talking about! Papy is going to want to hold and snuggle with and carry you around a lot after he finds out you don’t mind it, doubly so when he finds out you’re touch-starved and actually like it.

You both have a lot of love in you and a bright future together with tons of emotional support and validation! ❤️

#mapleshmaple #matchups #undertale #papyrus #papyrus/reader #horrortale #ht!papyrus #submission

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inspirelocked · 6 years ago

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A step by step guide to mental healing

I wanna talk to you about something

I know everyone is sad and healing from stuff, and everything sucks

But if you even kind of wanna heal, the way you're posting and thinking and talking is digging you deeper into the pit

So i wanted to talk about how i got over a lot of AWFUL feelings with a little work, its not even that much, when you think about it.

first of all, y'all are only ALWAYS complaining or talking about negative things. Talking about things you hate about yourself, what went wrong today, all the sad feelings you felt. My best advice against this is to simply slow down, and pick up whats going on around you right now. For instance, my old brain would have said "today was awful. I barely saw some of my best buddies, self harm thoughts came back, time moved so slow, in all my classes i was reminded of something im failing at, and the people i love are acting like they hate me." But, lets rewind a little bit, shall we? My new brain reflects, and processes things a little slower, because i taught myself how to see the good in things, which, yeah, cheesy, but GOD it's real, and the only reason im still breathing today. Today actually went a little something like this "i woke up in time today, and i changed shirts before i went to school, i remembered deodorant, and i had a lot of good talks with my good friend about our ongoing roleplay. I have a good doctor's appointment to look forward to tomorrow, and i have everything prepared to get ready for it. Yeah, the bad self harm feelings came back, but i coped with them in a healthy way all day by drawing and writing about them, venting them as much as i want without hurting myself. They've since gone away, but if the urge comes back i have several methods for dealing with them. I ate 3 normal meals today, back to my usual self again and my body hurts less. Im passing almost all my classes i need to graduate, and theres time to fix the problems that are still there." And thats just a feW things. And i dont even wait til the end of the day. Here's how i did it. Every day, the moment i think something negative, i wonder if there's a positive way to spin this. "Oh my god i just tripped and fell, i skinned my knee and it hurts, bad day!" Really difficult to spin, right? Think of it like this, try to see someone you dont usually get to see in the hallway on your way to the nurse, or think about that annoying activity you can skip because ouch oof leggy hurty. It can be little things, like oops dropped my pencil, got to get out of my seat and stretch for a second while i went and got it!

Not only is that a good option, just looking around and finding things you like will bring more happiness into your life. Oh, that bush has some nice shaped leaves, that poster has my favorite color on it, my favorite teacher is dressed very nice today and she's really pleasing to watch and listen to her talk. Small happy things add up to big happy time!

And now, avoid talking down on yourself. Mistakes are good and okay! You are not bad in any way for messing up now and then, in fact, it is to be expected, OF EVERYONE. It is a normal, human thing to do.

Let yourself feel bad. Yeah, ouch, but do it. Please. All good feelings turn into all bad feelings. You need to balance it out. Start trying to recognize when a bad feeling is and isnt necessary. But they dont always need a reason to be around! They can just be! Its whatever you feel, let yourself feel it, it's freeing!

Next up, avoid making suicide/self deprivation jokes or comments. Im SERIOUS. I weaned myself off of them and now it feels wrong to do it anymore. I never say mean things about myself. Sometimes i slip and say "oh my god im gonna fucking kill myself" but I make sure and check my feelings to be sure i don't mean it. And it's okay to not mean it! Im constantly seeing it normalized to be suicidal and self destructive, but you're alright if you dont feel like that. Even if you used to and dont anymore.

Anyway, idk if any of this was organized in any sort of way, or if it made any sense, but there you go. I hope literally anyone can get ANYTHING from this. If anyone wants, i can go over specific points and explain them in seperate posts, this was just getting long.

#inspire screaming #positivity #healing #self love #self loathing #self harm #self confidence #self help #self care #love #long post

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craftmanatee · 6 years ago

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Fantasy, is good, bad and ugly.

DISCLAIMER: Most of what I am writing here is for myself and not much consideration will take place. This is just a write up of all the things ive experienced and researched on put together as concisely as possible. A practice essay of sorts.

I do find myself to have finally separated what makes Fantasy what it is from Escapism or just Entertainment and how it works, especially for us today. Fantasy is used incredibly vaguely, going between its natural definition (Something akin to Imagining or daydreaming) to a specific genre in storytelling or visual or description of something. These are just methods of using the word that change based on how it is used, but it has been used often and vaguely to the point that it looses its original intent. A lot of what you use the Word on can already be better replaced with other words such as escapism, daydreaming or imagining, surrealistic etc.

Here is my addition to the definition of Fantasy: “Fantasy is an imagination derived from the Real World in order to better understand it.” Or “An explanation of the Real world”

This means that Fantasy can be negative, or positive. The imagination, or simplification or replacing of the things you dont know with things you do know. It is what we use to explain many things to children and people alike, especially if the specifics of the explanation will not suffice to the target person.

As soon as you put together this intent in which to understand the Real World through Fantasy, you can better identify what makes good fantasy, bad fantasy and Ugly fantasy.

To put Ugly Fantasy away real quick (As it is an entirely different subject). Ugly fantasy in the case of this writing is fantasies that abuse the uneducated, gullible or any person prone to fall for some kind of falsehood that flips their belief of the real world into something bad. So ideologies, fanaticism or any kind of prospect that changes how you perceive anything, into something that is not even remotely fundamentally real of that said thing.

Good Fantasy is fantasy that manages to convince, persuade or anything to you of the subject that they are trying to convey, but in a way that affects you. An example is simple folk tales told to Children such as “Hansel and Gretel”. Stories like these are meant to scare or teach kids of things to avoid, not do, etc. In a way, the same way how a Slasher Horror movie shows us what is stupid, or dangerous, such as splitting up.

Bad Fantasy is simply just fantasy that dont follow real world implications and as such could be misinterpreted. An example is Pornography. Therefor, for anything that is identified as “Bad fantasy”, its good to learn to not take in any implied effects, be it emotional or educational as true. But rather for entertainment purposes mainly. A better name for this would be “Simple” fantasy or “plain” fantasy to better describe it into the current definitions of Fantasy.

But for now, it should be Called Bad Fantasy as it is often used and is what people think Fantasy is in aspects of media today that I will point out.

Fantasy today is not Fantasy. It is escapism. You pick something up, it could be a book, movie or a game and you know how it is fiction and thus escape into it. Depending on your preferences, some things are suited to have you escape more into it than others simply because of either familiarity, or a deeper understanding of the subject. Movies as an example combine many aspects between visuals, story and music to have you have certain senses put your guard down and fall for whatever fantasy the movie has in place. There are many people who adore movies and have seen so many to the point where these cinematic tricks no longer work on them and they then happen to see how flawed the fantasy is. But that does not mean that it cannot be enjoyed.

This is where we separate Escapism and Fantasy from each other. I hate how (ex:)Toy Story 3 or a majority of animated films play out, but I do enjoy watching them. I know what comes next, but just maybe, I will still find something to like about it. This is me just liking a piece of Fiction for my own reasons, this does not apply to everyone.

But I can still identify how in Toy Story in general, has an amazing fantasy about better taking care of your belongings, or in this case, Toys. (I just think that the Fantasy can be enhanced if it did not fall slave into typical cinematic story beats)

But what we have majority of the time is fantasies that play an exaggeration to something. Such as power fantasies. Or fantasies that is exactly what you want. These are “Bad” fantasies that dont really add to any understanding, it is simply for entertainment purposes and feeds whatever “Sin”(Lust, greed whatever, lol) that you have in an innocent light. But I will claim that these fantasies are eroding Fantasy in general by the chance that these “Bad” fantasies can be misinterpreted and be wished upon. The reason why there is so much bad fantasies is because of misinterpretation of prior fantasies.

Here are some examples as to what is good Fantasy and what is Bad fantasy and what is Escapism, and how they surmount to themselves.

Lord of the rings is a story told and derived from the real world that puts conflicts into some kind of characterization. The fantasy tells of something very deep to the point of some kind of spirituality, religious or subjects of fate in general. But the Escapism is how the world is dressed up in these characterizations such as the different races and creatures. It is easier to buy in on a story of grand fate if it has appealing subjects. But, simply having elves should not be enough, there needs to be rules set in place and functions. Because of this, you then also buy into the characterizations. Basically, LotR didnt have what it had without reason. I do believe Tolkien did this in reverse however. He first had a Fantasy, but dressed it up later to better escape into. It is how Elves are Elves, and not just a different tribe of humans.

UnderTale is a good modern fantasy example and leads into a different subject such as modern intelligence! People today are a lot more educated than before, and thus when they want to escape into something, the fantasy needs to be really good in order for people to buy into it. Folk tales have been updated time and time again because of innovations such as writing, books etc that demanded more explanation in these stories. People asked more questions as stories get re-told which finally revealed cracks in these old stories. Undertale, however is a different kind of medium. Undertale tells of a pretty typical fantastical story of hope, but, it is the method that it tells it that gets people to buy into the story. As a Videogame, Undertale directly addresses the player for its actions. It also subverts videogame expectations in order to have you truly appreciate the message that undertale generally gives out. Even when the player disobeys this message, undertale still plays in on its fantasy that it is a Videogame. And as such, Undertale very well uses modern intelligence and expectations to the point of players realizing into listening and understanding what it has to offer.

The Marvel Cinematic universe is nothing but colourful escapism. It takes a simple fantasy of becoming truly special, and stretches it out far and wide. The best quote from a superhero film is probably “With great power comes great responsibility.” Just as a quote, this is the fantasy that Superhero fiction plays with even without the knowledge of this quote. Fundamentally and purely, this is what superheroes end up doing. Their power also becomes a responsibility. But, despite this. The movies, comics, etc mostly play with “ With great power..” portion of the quote. When a supehero character finally reaches a paragon status and finally realizes the full quote within its character, there wouldnt be any more stories to tell with that superhero. This is why we keep seeing reboots and rehashes. They keep starting over, witnessing the journey that it takes to fully realize that one quote again and again. And therefor, they are mostly being retold again for the fantasy of having super powers, or great power.

Fantasy is incredibly vague today, and I do feel like my added definition has you better deconstruct a fantasy from anything. Fantasy has started getting wishy washy near the 80s and onwards, and is why there is so many “Bad” fantasies today. With the advent of video games and new generations of people, it will become more clear and easier to seperate Good fantasy from Bad fantasy and Ugly Fantasy. Even movies, shows and games have a little Ugly fantasy that needs to be made aware of. Such as how Overwatch, a game that pandered to the LGBT community, making it all feel insincere, a complete opposite effect of fantasy.

After so long, I have read and researched on certain genres and going into deep analysis on them has made me discover a philosophy, or a new genre I will try to develop on. It is called Punk-Fantasy and that is a Write up I will make continuing this one. (And after that write up, actual proper content will be uploaded...)

#essay #real talk #fantasy #undertale #lord of the rings #folk lore #marvel #overwatch #movie #book #videogame #game #fiction

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unproduciblesmackdown · 6 years ago

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here’s me talking about the month since i was last online

firstly it was/is depressing not to be able to talk with ppl or hear from them. or just to be able to talk somewhere i know people CAN hear. i also mentioned being completely detached from the news. i like to be current about the news. anyways i was like “well not like this is anything new” as its technically unusual for me to NOT be cut off both irl and from the internet. but, shockingly, that doesnt make it not depressing. and having something for even a bit makes it more frustrating to lose it even if its “normal” for you not to have it. also by depressing i mean i was going like hmm i sure am even more tired than usual and i am less interested in my few lingering faint interests. whats up with that! and then i was like oh yeah thats called Even More Depression

it is funny because im someone who has never really had that many friends and when i do we often end up separated one way or another. Very Close friends &/or Very Longtime friends are a foreign concept. basically the heights of my “what i wish it was like” for life involve having a group of friends with whom you can have fun in an empty parking lot in the middle of the night just talking and hanging out and messing around. friends that you feel comfortable being yourself around and like they appreciate you as much as you do them. i do not think this is ever going to happen, but oh well because in reality i can be very picky about people because i am weird, to put it that way for now. my social landscape and language is not always considered normal or even tolerable. and i have a lot of standards for who i want to have around me in terms of traits and personality. theres a lot of things im not interested in. anyways. i also just, in the way things actually are, often prefer to be alone, so that i can be myself and do things i feel like. i dont have to worry about being strange or feeling like i need to please people. anyways. unfortunately i dont ONLY like being alone. i actually really like to be with people and talk with them but i rarely can, and i figure this is bad for me. isolation isnt good for anyone obviously. not being able to be around friends in person depresses me. not being able to talk online either depresses me further.

i think sometimes about how much i dont say. its a funny place to say it, in an overly long text post. but one of the reasons they can be so long is because irl i dont really talk much to people. so it builds up and can come out through writing. sometimes it comes out in talking. i think that in conversations, when i do talk, i talk too much because of this. so one of the reasons i dont talk much is to prevent this, which obviously is like “well that would just cancel out” but there are other reasons i dont talk. but i have loads of thoughts and things to say. i end up keeping so much of it to myself and wonder sometimes if i’ll ever get to say some of it. sometimes i’ll have something to say and bite it back. i’ve been “quiet” all these past twenty some years of talking and i know the reasons i dont talk. i was thinking about the feeling of biting something back in an individual occasion feeling like the cumulation of all the years worth of keeping my own voice running in my head alone. it kind of feels like what you want to say is in your chest and throat and the roof of your mouth.

speaking of the roof of your mouth, theres a weird sensation i can feel sometimes, seemingly at random but mostly in strange times like trying to fall asleep. it is so transient and unlike any actual externally caused sensations that its been difficult to try to get a grasp of how to describe it, but i think i have it thanks to ongoing effort and an unusually long period of it a few days ago during which i was especially alert about it. it’s like having a pressure radiating out from inside your mouth. like an orb pushing outwards against the teeth and roof of the mouth. which i’m fairly sure isn’t anything that would ever happen, so i am assuming its some little neurological hiccup that happens to align every now and then, but maybe a previous life cycle has put something weird in their mouth. or shot into it, because i would be like, well not much has changed.

anyways. words sitting like a pressure in your mouth. i was seeing a thread about how grief is ongoing and reoccurring which also mentioned that people who specialize in knowing how grieving and living with it works often consider it to be a form of grief when someone’s life is affected by something like trauma. they have to grieve themselves because of the possibilities taken away from them. i feel that, sometimes. thinking about how i wish i had a life where i felt free to speak and where my identity mattered and i got to feel like i could be myself and it was important and it was important what i thought and wanted and who i really was. and where i got to have friends and do things and realize what it was to actually feel happy, not try to understand an unhappy existence as what must be okay. its not just what couldve been in the past, but also how that couldve affected the present and future. im not sure who i’d be if my life didnt have to be about survival and escape. i say i never had dreams, which is true, but in retrospect i DO think that when i was fifteen and really bearing down in trying to figure out what i wanted to do, i was already seeing activism as the answer, which made sense why it wouldnt register as a dream or ambition and why it was also impossible to pursue. i still dont think of anything like personal fulfillment through a career/job or anything. but i also dont think of what i want to do as very relevant to anything at all anymore.

anyways. i’m “used” to things, but they still depress and hurt me. i actually have a lot of sadness and anger about some of these things, like never getting to have the friends i wanted or never being able to speak and it not mattering who i really was, and how long it took me to realize this really wasn’t okay and it wasn’t because of some personal deficiency which made me deserve it somehow. also the abuse. i remember i had this how-to book about weaving friendship bracelets which i got sometime in elementary school, and it even supplied some twine and stuff. i had always wanted to have occasion to use it, and i never did, which is just symbolic. the twine/potential friendship bracelets can also be things like positive social connections that feel real and open, or my ability to feel secure in expressing affection because it seems mutual. but anyways. i also just go along.

i was thinking about the Being Gone For A Month thing and the not-talking and holding all my words back even though i think so much about all sorts of junk and thus have too much to say, and about a week ago i just spent like six hours writing about myself. i was debating doing so in the first place because i figured i wouldnt post it. i did write it, but i won’t post it. its just good to talk to myself in the form of writing. getting thoughts into that form requires an extra level of analysis and coherent flow that can help put even things you already knew more in order. so here’s this stuff instead.

there’s not much to say about this past month. the worst of it was that discovering my weird tooth is all janky and broken has made me on edge about teeth. i mean, i’ve already all but stopped worrying about the broke tooth, because i kind of do that sometimes when i can. just worry hard and then stop, because what can you do? might as well try to avoid stressing even worse. and in this case i dont have money and doubt i will ever have a job w dental coverage, so i cant do anything about it. but im always worried about my teeth because, fittingly, my parents dental genes seem to combine into that of a tasmanian devil. i think im in some Dental Report b/c i had this weird situation that needed basically a root canal but it wasnt the normal kind of root canal situation and the dentist said he hadn’t seen it or heard of it even. special. i was horrified about needing the root canal, because of the clichés. but it ended up being fine and i really just sat there for an hour thinking about whatever. dental procedures are truly not what theyre hyped up to be. on account of local anesthetics. anyways. when i left my parents house i was specifically worried about leaving my access to a dentist, but obviously it wouldve been far from worth it. but that doesn’t mean i dont worry about my teeth. so i had these few days where i just had a spontaneously sensitive gum spot and another one which im guessing i caused by jamming corn shards down in there by eating corn on the cob. that happened sort of last year, i got really worried about an angry-looking spot on my gums and finally realized something was just up in there that needed to be flossed out. anyhow. the point is i got overly worried about everything that always worries me even though it used to worry me even before going to the dentist and they’d say the stuff was fine actually. but still. i got

very worried for a minute there and i realized very easily that if i start getting any really serious tooth problems i am out of here. i have no motivation at all to live through it. i don’t want to have to deal with that. it’s way too much. i dont even have motivation to be alive now. but when i was worrying i was thinking about not using my handful of cash to change locations, but instead to get some fancy Dying Equipment. there are still some methods by which im not sure i could try offing myself. but if things got a lot worse, like teeth problems, i could probably lower those standards. i COULD obtain some items for one method, or by necessity do it for free. im less worried about the tooth stuff now. it was just an unfortunate convergence of a couple tiny things. but ive still got a sensitive spot or two, and im always a bit worried. if something bad happens i cant do anything about it except get tf out of this life cycle, right.

there was something else unfortunate i was going to talk about. maybe just the depression.

there were nice, small things. i always knew how to enjoy those kinds of stuff. i like the sky, and i appreciate that its summer. theres a lot of fireflies sometimes and i saw kittens chasing them one day. one of those kittens mightve gotten killed by something since. i got to hear rain on the roof a few times. i like corn on the cob even if it betrayed me. i was wanting some last summer. i also got to make sweet tea and lemonade for the first time in forever. i’d been wanting that for a long time too.

the nicest surprise was that i had been writing extra hard since the start of june. i sort of really pushed at it and got to the dividing point between the section and the next, and i was sure it was shorter than previous sections. but actually it was just over 1000 words short of being 140k, and i’d written it all in about five weeks, and it was abt 22.5% longer than the next longest section i’d written. i’ve since gotten to a point i’ve been writing towards since this whole time, and im right on the verge of another long awaited one right now. it’s nice, but writing has been fun, and i hope i dont get depressed if i hopefully do finish it. i can just write some more, but doing so on my phone isnt the most efficient. it doesnt seem sustainable.

anyways thats it for now before i can think of anything else to say am i right

#talking abt being nervous abt it has made me a bit more nervous abt it...im trying to simmer down...dont have to die just yet...But You Know #also i could.

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