#state of the bog

[abruptlymystic]

channeling my fumbles with trying to be ✨commercially viable ✨ into a potentially useful information

I made a post? Article? on substack about my first month on kindle vella, the highlights are;

Gee it sure would be nice if this worked out for serial fiction

I have seen people launch their indie author careers with kindle vella bonus money and that would be pretty great if I can get it to work out

I'd like to be more disciplined anyway, experiments fun

I made $9 between bonus money and royalties in my first full month of 'trying'

I wasn't able to hustle the way some people who see greater success are able, I am still unable to work out a consistent posting schedule due to Life™.

In May I made absolutely nothing, as I was unable to get a new chapter up pretty much at all or participate in facebook promo games (maybe my seething hatred for them gets its own post later...)

June I was able to post a couple chapters and participated in a few more promo games... I made $5

July is not going to plan once again but I have gotten a chapter up, made a chapter trailer about it, and here's hoping everything settles enough that I'll be posting more chapters this last week of July.

Currently, I feel extremely doubtful even if I do get myself on a schedule it would fix anything. I haven't tried hard enough with chapter trailers to make a definitive judgement; They work for my RoyalRoad series, but that's 100% free. The name of the big bonus game seems to be promo games on facebook and I hate that so much. Maybe people find actual, loyal readers that way, but I have yet to. I also am uninterested in spending so much on coins or reading things I don't actually care about just to hit quota. IF anyone even reads, I have a suspicion most just unlock and move on.

Also beginning to doubt this series' ability to earn enough to put back into things like buying ISBNs, hiring a cover artist who isn't me, editors, formatting, paying for things like bookfunnel... At least, it doesn't seem like it'll be happening through kindle vella.

I'm not allowing myself to quit until I have finished this book (In The Hollows of the Wilderbog if anyone is so inclined) or felt like I've given vella a fair shake (consistent posting, better marketing, etc) but it's a little disheartening how hard you have to work to find readers on the platform.

that's it, that's my report, hopefully maybe it helps somebody else gauge if they'd like to try with the platform or nah, idk.

[ieatmoonrocks]

Reached the Void State?

Last night I had a new but comforting experience.

I've become rote this summer, mechanically trying to shift while letting key principles fall by the wayside. I've gotten lazy and impatient, and it finally hit me last night how bad I've gotten. So I decided to fully jump back into it, reinstating the structure that had crumbled the past few weeks. I couldn't be more happy that I did that because I had a new experience that I feel I should share.

I initially didn't try to shift last night, but when I woke up around three in the morning, it felt like the right time to shift. I decided to listen to a new video instead of my normal shifting playlist. I relaxed into the music, letting any thoughts that popped up flow down the river. I couldn't tell you how long it took, but it didn't feel long before I was feeling strange sensations in my body. I'm not talking about normal 'falling asleep' symptoms, but it felt like I was floating a few feet above my physical body, leaving it behind. I affirmed that I was in the void, and the next thing I knew, the tingling floaty sensation was gone, and a field of pure white formed in my vision. It formed quickly, like a spiral of white particles piecing themselves together to form this glowing white void.

I was confused, because wasn't the void supposed to be pure darkness? That's what I had believed up until this point. But despite my confusion, there was no doubt in my mind that I was in some pure state ~ the void. I felt like a being, not necessarily human, but a more pure shapeless being, a soul, a consciousness, whatever you will. The white glow of the room felt like warm sunlight shining on me from all sides. It felt like a realm of pure love and acceptance.

It was so comforting that I forgot my goal to shift, I just wanted to stay there as long as I could. I don't know how long I was in there, time doesn't exist there, after all. At some point, I fell out of it, and came back to this physical world feeling refreshed and loved. I feel this was the push I needed to reinvigorate my shifting journey, and I hope this inspires at least one person to try to enter the void.

Happy Shifting!

[literallysatanofficial]

Alright, I'm going to attempt to hopefully clear up a few misconceptions and assuage some worries about this Disco Elysium sequel and the general situation at za/um right now.

I see the shitshow that is unfolding on social media, and as someone who has known about this whole disaster for over half a year now I'd like to weigh in on it and provide some context for everyone who may not know the full story.

First off, Robert Kurvitz was fired at the end of last year. December 2021. As is strongly implied on Martin Luiga's twitter, the reason for this is greed (calling them "money men" and "crooks" and other similar statements for like, months now), and the executive producers, Tõnis Haavel (who has previously been tried for fraud) and Kaur Kender (who has previously been tried for... other things.) screwed everyone over. Kender provided funding for the game, as the majority of the original za/um cultural association did not have the financial means to.

The original za/um cultural association consisted of Robert Kurvitz, Jüri Saks, Martin Luiga, and Aleksander Rostov, originally founded in in 2009. The group, along with Argo Tuulik, played many different ttrpg campaigns over the years, several of them set in Revachol (centred around Precinct 41), and slowly built the world up from there. Kurvitz released the book The Sacred and Terrible Air, set 20 years after Disco Elysium, back in 2013* but the novel flopped, and it was decided that they would make a video game. Rostov has always been more than just an artist for Disco Elysium, as you can see from the dev threads he frequently updated promoting the game, as well as on his personal instagram, tumblr sketch blog, and several other accounts he used while the game was first gaining traction.

*The most notable credits for TSaTA are as follows:

Author: Robert Kurvitz, Editor: Martin Luiga, Cover Design: Aleksander Rostov, Worldbuilding: Robert Kurvitz, Martin Luiga, Kaspar Kalvet, Argo Tuulik. Helen Hindpere and Kaur Kender also appear in the credits.

I say this because some of the staff at za/um are now accusing fans of being unable to overcome the "auteur theory" of it all (ie. seeing Kurvitz as the singular creative mind behind it all) but the fact is that they have now lost not only the original ttrpg campaign's game master, The Sacred and Terrible Air's author, and Disco Elysium's lead writer/director (Kurvitz) but also their lead writer for the Final Cut's political vision quests (Hindpere) as well as their "co-founder" and art director/designer (Rostov). They are all CREATIVE LEADS, and not just well known only for their reputations/titles.

Luiga himself (who originally broke the news) was an Elysium world builder and provided much of the pale and innocence-related lore. He was also a part of the original tabletop campaigns (Chester McLaine is his player character!), but left midway through Disco Elysium's development due to creative differences (or as he says, "bad vibes" at the company). He is credited as an editor, but claims to have written a good chunk of the text in the game, including much of Joyce's dialogue about the pale. I have seen people discredit him due to his early departure, but Rostov also tweeted out confirming that he, along with Hindpere and Kurvitz were no longer at the company, with no additional comments. Rostov also posted a drawing on his twitter several months back depicting a man jerking off over an NDA, so take that as you will.

So what does this mean for the future?

Luiga has said that he has hope for the sequel, which could either mean that the script was finished or nearing completion before Kurvitz was fired (likely, and fits a pattern in the industry) and it's just a matter of finishing the actual game development aspect, or it may be that he has hope for the original za/um creatives to be able to re-acquire the IP.

I think it's worth pointing out that the original pitch for "Disco Elysium" was actually "The Return", and Disco Elysium was meant to be the smaller-scale prequel to introduce players to the world. Considering that the team was planning on this sequel all along, I think it's possible that a large amount of the "original" game was written years ago, so it's not all that far fetched to believe that the basic outline may be finished, or even that a large portion of the script already exists. Keep in mind that there are a large number of writers for both Disco Elysium and The Final Cut, and it may still be possible to work with a base that the others provided. We have no idea how far into development the sequel may be. Of course, proceeding without three key members of the original team is kind of a kick in the balls, and imo really quite disgusting, especially with how long the company has been keeping their departures secret (dishonesty is not a good look lmao), but it may still be canon, true to the authors' vision, and genuinely a good game in the end.

Argo Tuulik, original Elysium world builder and part of the old ttrpg campaigns, as well as a main writer on Disco Elysium, is still working at za/um. Justin Keenan, former writer on The Final Cut who wrote the political vision quests alongside Helen Hindpere, still works at za/um (and has been promoted to lead writer, according to his LinkedIn), as does Kaspar Tamsalu, who painted several character portraits, (René and Gaston) and worked as a concept artist on the original game. Plenty of the original creatives still remain. The sequel could very well still be in good hands at the development level, even if the higher ups are "crooked".

So, in conclusion... If this game comes out and they still haven't worked things out with Kurvitz, Rostov and Hindpere? Honestly... fuckin' pirate it. But it is very likely it could still be a great game that plays out as it was meant to! All that being said, FUCK za/um as a company, don't support them through Atelier or their merch store. I wish everyone luck if they do attempt to get the IP back, and I sincerely hope this fan pressure will help get things moving for them.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Tbh Wally is a aroace icon

SO 👏 FUCKING👏 TRUE 👏

[shadesofmauve]

Becoming one with the bog

It was technically a 'poor fen', not a bog in the strictest sense, because it's ground-and-surface water fed, not reliant entirely on rain. It's still on the acid side of neutral and dominated by sphagnum moss. The acid and lack of oxygen in the water mean the plant matter doesn't fully decay, which forms the 'peat' of the peat bog, and the sphagnums help make sure it all stays that way.

The peat fen is a sensitive ecosystem, and it's totally possible to sink one of the 'dry' feeling hummocks (they're NOT dry, they're lying; sphagnum can hold a huge amount of water), so you don't walk from hummock to hummock; you avoid them and wade through the water and mud.

It makes very satisfying SSHCHLORP and GLOOOP sounds, stealthily tries to eat your feet if you stand still too long, and it bounces. The ground was actually something like 20 feet below us; we were walking on the peat. I think they said that 90% of the water was in that peat, with 5% below and 5% above. Not sure I've got the numbers right, but picture a giant neutrally buoyant sponge. With a landscape on top of it. It is sproingy.

Bounce, and the shrubs and stunted trees bounce with you, or whatever that saying is.

We saw three species of carnivorous plants. I didn't get a picture of the bladderwort, but the left is a Washington native sundew, and the right is sticky false asphodel, which was only discovered to be carnivorous in 2021.

I also took lots of pictures of pond lilies, which aren't specific to this environment but are really cool looking:

They also make it warmer inside their flowers. That's part of why all the lil' bugs are there! Pond lilies be making it cozy. Swamp lantern (skunk cabbage) also generate heat — and they create their own little 'wells'; clear space in the sphagnum hummocks. None of my pictures captured it well, but it's quite weird. Like little variations on the massive "plant shaping it's environment" theme that the sphagnum moss started.

And that, it turns out, is the true lure and danger of the fen. Not just that it could schloop you under (I only fell on my ass once, and it was sproingy). Not will-o-the-wisps. No, the true mystery is the sphagnum hillocks themselves.

Mounds of moss rising a foot or more above the water, red, brown, chartreuse, and yellow. They look like little hills, but it's moss, moss, moss, all the way down. You can wiggle your hand right down inside it. It's incredibly soft, and it's warm.

I can just imagine someone, weary from their bog slog, starting to miss their footing in the gloop, falling prey to the siren song of the Forbidden Coziness. They lay down (crushing numerous delicate plants as they do). They wriggle in. They fall asleep.

Several thousand years later, a lucky archeologist finds another bog body.

[ashroomancer]

I recently went to Temperance River State Park in Minnesota for a camping trip and figured I'd share some photos and cool facts with Tumblr about it.

The river itself! The surrounding cliff sides are a fantastic example of the eroding power of flowing water over rock when given a long enough time to work. The water would pool into "bowls" in the rock that developed as water formed pools that would develop a whirl whose force and movement would erode the bowl making it larger. Once they eroded enough the river would continue down the cliff. You could see these bowls all through the river and in the above pictures!

The water was fairly murky and had a mild sheen as well as formed bubbles throughout. This is because this far north the water flowing south into Lake Superior (which Temperance does) will have water flowing into it from bogs. About 20 miles (32.2 km) is the Cascade River and its state park named after itself which also flows with the same coloration and foam and drawing from some of the same bog lands. Minnesota's north eastern third is a coniferous forest biome and the decay of pine needles and other plants that grow in the region lower the pH in the wetlands of the region around them, which is how the bogs develop. Scotland's peet bogs are developed in the same way.

These conifers have adapted to grow into the rock faces of the area as well. The rocky region is partially due to a volcanic history in the region meeting ice age glaciers. Glaciers that largely made Minnesota as ecologically and geologically fascinating as it is. The melting of the glaciers here started the process by which this, and many over rivers and lakes here formed. As they melted the flowing water formed the divots in the ground that the future rivers would later carve their paths deeper into. You can still see those layers in the rocks in the above image.

I saved my most gorgeous image for last. A lot of this information came from local signage but also from my long history of learning about the ecological minutiae of my home through interest and study. I know not everyone can make it to places like these so I hope this slice of my adventure could bring you even a sliver of the joy it brought me a marvel at it in the context of my love for nature.

[dix-a-la-proprietaire]

Whitesbog - Pine Barrens NJ

[bogunicorn]

my job makes me understand how europeans feel when they say that americans "smile too much" and it makes them uneasy

[keeps-ache]

[walking around, peering into people's faces like i'm in an art exhibit] hm. nice

[shittywriterbrain]

me: yeah, i like this character a lot, especially their monologues

also me whenever that character opens their mouth: shut up. shut the fuck up. who asked

[ieatmoonrocks]

Almost reached the void state!

It was pretty basic, I just put on binaural delta waves on YouTube, counted until my body felt sufficiently asleep , one number every 2 or so seconds up until I reached 400 which equates to about 14 minutes. My limbs felt all tingly and everything so I started affirming -

"I am not bound to any reality"

"I am not my body"

"I am not my thoughts"

"I am pure awareness"

Etcetera.

After another 10 or so minutes my body felt like it was starting to float away, another 10 minutes and I felt like I was rolling to the side? Almost like rolling down a hill but without the ground beneath me. I couldn't feel my body anymore and I was almost there and ---- my YouTube crashed and jolted me back to awareness here. I tried to keep affirming and everything but it was too late, all the void sensations were gone, I could feel my body again, I could hear the ambience in the room.

The thing is this isn't the first time this has happened. EVERY TIME I get close to the void/ shifting my YouTube crashes. And it Never crashes any other time when I use it. It's just so frustrating because it always jolts me back to reality and no matter how much I try to recover from it it's always too late. I can't think of any explanation as to why this happens every time I'm close to the void, and it confuses the hell out of me.

[dumnslut]

.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Hi, I hope you don't mind this message, and idk if anyone else has told you, but there's this troll going around on Tumblr named @/freethepuppet. They claim to be “fighting for justice in the puppet industry”, but really they're just sending hateful and threatening messages to Welcome Home and My Friendly Neighborhood artists/fans.

I myself have receive multiple death threats from this person, and they have sent threats to many of my friends over the matter, some of which are minors.

Because of this issue, I have decided to keep myself and my friends anonymous, especially considering the fact that @/freethepuppet intends to send threats to PartyCoffin himself, along with the creator behind My Friendly Neighborhood.

I just wanted to warn you about this person, so that you can block and report them, as well has tell others in the community about the troll. If you decide to ignore this, then that's fair and I respect your decision.

In any case, I hope you and your friends stay safe. Best of luck!!

blocked! thanks for letting me know! to add on to this, a little advice for everyone:

Don't Engage With This Person At All!

Don't Look At Their Stuff, Don't Respond To Messages, Don't @ Them Or Give Them The Time Of Day. Just Go Block Them And Let Them Exhaust Their Own Hate

[shadesofmauve]

I have emerged from the fen!

[saltedteas]

daily affirmations like I WILL LEARN HOW TO DRAW GORE. I WILL NOT BE A LITTLE FREAK ONLINE (UNRELATED TO THE GORE THING). I WILL DRAW MORE OC YURI (RELATED TO THE GORE THING)

[touchlikethesun]

despite the current state of things, good things have in fact happened. if they’ve happened in the past, they can and they will happen again.