#the general disconnect etc. many options to play with

[mspaintlover]

theres no reason my sona can't be in DR because "ghosts possessing dolls/dummies/robots" is already a thing in ut dr but shes definitely like a side npc with a couple joke dialogue lines

[pukicho]

Elden ring or God of war for game of the year?

Oh boy, it's a close close call. I’m gonna rant. 

In some ways, Ragnorok is an infallible game, it’s so perfect that poking holes in it seems so nit-picky that you just come off looking like a little jackass creature. I loved every second I played of it and I can't think of a better written, better performed, more charismatic experience. I've seen morons complain that the game has too many cutscenes, as if they didn't know what type of game they were buying into. I would whine about the cutscenes more if they sucked or if the game lacked actual gameplay but it most certainly does not. This game is CHOCK FULL of things to see and do, and all the flavor-text and optional dialogue is insane, on top of that, the game feels amazing to play and the move-set is sexy. When everything is going crazy, there are few games as exciting as this one. At the end of the day I can't think of a more satisfying experience, with one of the most thematically satisfying endings ever in a game.

Elden Ring on the other hand has its problems. It has a difficulty-scaling issue, it's buggy on every platform, it most certainly looks worse than Ragnorok, it has less endearing characters, and what little dialogue it has is pretty mediocre. That being said, Elden Ring is my GOTY. This game is kinda like my dream-game made real, an open world souls-like made by Hidetaka Miyazaki the legend himself - a game with the mystique of Breath of the wild without the shortcomings of content and variety. This game, in my eyes, is the single best example as to why a game should be open-world. So often in games I feel like an open world is a crutch. -- In ghost of Tsushima the open world disconnected me from the pacing and character-growth of our MC, the objectives felt so systematic and ubisoft-esque that it 'gamified' itself as you played, removing the atmosphere and experiential qualities of the experience over time - this effect can also be seen in Horizon Forbidden West, and Dying light 2. Elden Ring uses the open-world to surprise you, you learn so much, you need to be aware of your surroundings, understand the lay of the land, and find things without guidance. It does what Dark Souls did to adventure games and it removes the handrails from the experience, in this case, Elden Ring unlocks the open-world experience. As a result, there aren't many games that evoke such a CANDID experience in me. I've never had so much fun exploring a world, and I've never been so surprised by a game's sheer amount of content. I could go on and on but ultimately it removes the burdensome systems that typically plague games of this scale. I think the game has the best reward-feedback-loop ever, where every item is invaluable, versus the generic inundation of materials in other games, etc etc etc... At the end of the day, Elden Ring just another valuable lesson for the gaming industry; I feel like Fromsoft pops up and teaches the whole industry a new lesson every once in a while - like they know what people want at a fundamental level.

On paper, Ragnorok could be seen as the better overall package but as a result of it being linear, it lacks the candid experience that Elden Ring delivers in spades and I think, despite Ragnorok being one of the best-ever narratives put into a game of this caliber, Elden Ring captures what it means to be a video game better.

[i-heart-hxh]

Hiiii! You're probably absolutely sick of these asks by now regarding the leaked ending, but as a relatively new fan, I have a possibly dumb question: what is the point of them revealing this scrapped ending? Just to get fans up in arms? Like obviously it's not being used, hence it's no good, but then what's the point of revealing it to us when the real ending is seemingly so far away? I personally feel it would make more sense, after the series actually ends, to say "well, here's all the other endings we considered! Haha glad we didn't use these!" and then it would be more lighthearted. Idk, it makes me ill at ease, but I'm more confused than anything?

I'm still trying to process what to do with this information as well, and discussing it with people and explaining what I think about it helps, so I'm definitely not sick of talking about it for now! It'll probably take me a while to reach that point, though I may need to space it out with other topics after a bit, haha.

So, I'm sure the main reason Togashi revealed this rejected ending is to leave his fans with something in case he dies suddenly or is otherwise incapacitated. While (as far as we know) his health issues don't seem to be life-threatening, they do seem to be excruciatingly painful, and after the sudden death of Kentaro Miura (the author of Berserk, an extremely famous and well-regarded manga) a few years ago, many people started discussing Togashi's health and the very real possibility he'll never get to finish HxH.

I think the bind he was put in was that he doesn't want to reveal how he plans to end the series or even give us good hints/insight into what he has planned, so he's providing this rejected ending as last resort option--just anything people can look at and say, "Well, at least we have one idea of how it could have gone," (at one point, anyway) if it comes down to it. As I've said in other posts, I think this ending fits a bunch of criteria that are delicate to balance, and so if he wants to provide something, this is all he can give us. Because this is an epilogue that's disconnected from the main plot and reveals essentially nothing, and because he doesn't plan to use it (or anything like it, I'm guessing), it's "safe" to put out there. That's probably why it's clichéd and boring, he can't give us anything juicy without putting himself in a tough situation writing-wise.

There is in fact a lot of uncertainty about whether Togashi will be able to finish HxH--the current arc is tremendously complex, Togashi goes on long hiatuses for his health often, who knows how much more of the series he has planned. The current arc is ambitious, to say the least. Togashi himself has said he doesn't know if he or HxH will perish first, but he still has things he wants to explore in it.

While I don't like this rejected ending he released at all, I do think it comes from his concern for his fans and guilt at his slow progress in the manga, and fear that he won't actually be able to finish. So, he wanted to leave something, anything, while still keeping as many of his writing avenues open as he can and not tipping his hand to any elements that are still in play. For instance, I think he didn't include Killua at all because he knows there's a lot of suspense among the audience about whether he and Gon will reunite, so by leaving him out, that's still completely ambiguous. Same with no Kurapika--will Kurapika live or not? Well, if he doesn't appear and just vaguely describes "this character's relative," etc., there's no hints about the outcome of that, either.

While I would have preferred he reveal other potential endings after the end of the series, like you said, he sadly may not ever have that luxury.

I haven't seen anyone else say this, but I'm also sure the letter itself and this reveal are PR--the last round of Puzzle, the Togashi Exhibition, just opened in Fukuoka the other day, and releasing this shocking ending now is guaranteed to generate buzz and publicity. So, that's an additional factor to keep in mind! I'm sure the timing isn't a coincidence.

I hope that answers some of your questions! It's an odd turn of events, but I think I at least understand the reasoning behind the reveal, if not all the choices made in the rejected ending itself.

[insuferrablewhore]

i hate modern society

i hate growing up like this ik i sound like one of those ‘i was born in the wrong generation!!!’ kids but i’ve just realised how awful and fucked everything is since about 2016. due to the internet advancing and things like amazon and fast fashion becoming a thing modern people are so used to this sort of instant gratification. especially with the fast fashion bit because now fashion doesn’t matter anymore, the clothing industry is dying because you can get any sort of clothes basically the next day or even delivered to your house the same day. and also because of the internet fashion trends are all over the place because of how easily widespread everything is and new things are coming out all the time, meaning even more fast fashion is produced

mentioning social media, modern social media is completely fucked

and i don’t know how to explain this but because everyone has a phone and it’s so easy to just do whatever no one actually properly talks anymore if you know what i mean, so many people don’t have hobbies because of the amount of time they spend on their phone

now i know i sound like a boomer but truly nowadays there are very little people with actual hobbies especially at our age, like you could ask a kid our age early 2000s or 90s what they like doing and they’d probably say painting/reading, hanging out with friends, playing an instrument, listening to music, collecting things, playing a sport, etc etc but if you asked a few kids today they’ll most likely say something to do with video games or the internet and hanging out with friends, maybe a sport

and we all make fun of kids our age that are ‘sheltered’ and have weird hobbies but really it’s us that’s missing out because they truly get to live

before the internet almost anything you did had some sort of purpose/outcome, painting, reading etc etc, but almost anything to do with the internet/screens idk (like computers n phones) has no gain, and i know that people use the internet to learn and to see other people’s opinions and lives n whatnot

i mean name the last ten tiktoks you saw

and the saddest thing is that when people realise this, like us, they have no option but to continue in this life because unless we reconstructed our society, there is no way we can return from this

and yes the internet is a great place to connect with people and all, but i personally think the earlier days were the best days because google was up and running but proper social media wasn’t

and mobile phones were still less advanced so you wouldn’t have people playing games on them

and it’s impossible to get away from this, because even if you disconnect and decide to not use your phone and only use google and some other websites, you will still know you live in this world because everyone around is on their phones

i’d also like to speak about how romance is dead, because it’s so easy to talk to people, recently it’s been ‘do you send’ and whatnot, but i truly think everyone is so desensitised to this sort of behaviour bc if we go back like 20 years the only way to get someone’s personal nudes was if they physically gave you photos, and talking to people was so different and idk i’m just disgusted by society

idk all of this is so utterly depressing because i know that i am being forced to live in this sort of society and no matter how much i kick and scream i will never be able to get out

this was a rant to my friend and i decided to post it here because idk, i have like 12 followers so y’all better love this shit

[tadbitfooled]

GIF for the alphabet meme 😎

𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭 | ACCEPTING for all, specify or you get all the mains!

Placing under readmore

Durante Faust

are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc. - He can be rather humorous in the moment. He likes to have fun, he thinks being always serious during sex is just something for art and books. Granted, if it's super heated, maybe you can fuck the humor out of him. how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect - For romance, he's disconnected from it. He doesn't want to feel authentic romance for reasons he won't talk about, but he'll try to play the part. For a little while, at least. Favorite position - Shove him against the wall or shove his face into a pillow, grab his tail by the base and take his ass. Or if he's the one penetrating, twist him how you want him on his back and ride him.

Gwenifar van Hol

are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc. - when you gotta answers these for the virgin character. Uh, I think she could balance both aspects. She's read about the acts, has heard her fellows discuss it, but like. Yeah. I think she could balance the serious and humor with some light teasing for her partner or just laugh at some hiccup that happens. how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect - I feel like she'd be very romantic. Anyone she does end up partnering with, she'd want to be attentive to them, make them feel good, and also just...Learn. Yes, I think she'd be rather romantic. Favorite position - She's not entirely sure. She's not had the experience to form a strong opinion, yet. But she's open for experimentation with the correct partner to find out what she does and doesn't like.

Talilah Bluethorn

are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc. - she can switch from laughing and playful to heated and sultry in a second. She's very good at reading what's needed for a moment and responds in kind. But she's definitely not against some playful ribbing for her partner, and also being a little bit of a brat. how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect - Depends on who she's with. If she's with someone that's not just a fun fling, she can be quite romantic once she's stopped being a teasing brat. She's in tune with what her partner needs and would react for it. Favorite position - Firstly, she's incredibly flexible. So there's not many positions she'd be uncomfortable in, hell maybe even a bit of fun with using the aerial silks would be great in her opinion swing anyone? But stretch her legs, bend them up, spread them wide, those are also good options. I don't know what positions are called, how do people memorize that?

Tavinkas

are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc. - His type of humor, in general, is dark deadpan humor, so I would say he's not very humorous in bed. I would say he's incredibly intense, like a man dying of thirst but wanting to hold his composure. how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect - romance is...Foreign for him. Foreign but something he craves so badly. He wouldn't know how to be romantic, he would have to be shown how to be romantic but once he knew how, he'd tie that in with his natural intensity. Favorite position - when he fucked Gortash, he fucked him from behind a lot I mean what. He's pretty versatile, but dominant for the most part. So any position where he has some control would be his preference.

[csulbthenewwave]

Are younger generations steering the fashion industry in the wrong direction?

Are consumers actually willing to pay for more environmentally friendly clothing? Studies done at Cornell University actually say no. Constantly, in each survey and study, Gen Z claims, more than any other generation, that they want to purchase more sustainable fashion. However, it's being uncovered that younger consumers are not actually willing to monetarily support these morals and they are still the biggest segment of the population purchasing fast fashion. The two biggest barriers stopping them are believed to be cost and strong social media influences.

Cost is typically a big factor when thinking about a sustainable, more environmentally friendly lifestyle. There is generally a higher quality behind those products and, therefore, a higher price. Younger generations are already seeing a lower income, and, most likely hold more payments for optional things like rent, school, car, hobbies, etc. The sustainable alternatives are seen as too expensive for the lifestyle of these younger generations and if these young adults don't have the purchasing power they need, there's going to be a trade-off along the way between quality and price.

Social media influencers and advertisements are constantly showing users the trendiest clothes often for the lowest price. This completely simplifies the shopping experience for the consumer and adds an entirely new level of ease and convenience. In fact, many younger consumers even claimed to feel addicted to the experience of online shopping with fast fashion retailers. With apps, rewards, points, and even at times "free store cash" it's easy to look at the experiences as more of a game than a shopping experience.

While the purchasing habits might not reflect the most sustainable values, younger generations have adopted many habits that ultimately extend the life of garments. The recommerce industry has seen a jump in recent years as consumers have shown more care and respect toward their clothing in general. Many younger consumers have transitioned to thrift shopping and donating clothing which keeps things in that reusable cycle. Many consumers have even revived the creative arts of sewing, mending, crocheting, and knitting to repair or even create clothing from scratch.

Where do older generations fit into this debate about sustainability? Older generations, who have the purchasing power to support environmentally friendly values, also generally don't. There is less of a disconnect between their words and actions and they were less inclined to care about the environment in general compared to younger generations. Older consumers were also more likely to donate used items and play into the reusable fashion cycle but less likely to continue it and purchase used merchandise.

There's a mix of opinions about the buying habits of the younger generations and consumers seem very indecisive in the eyes of scientists. Millennials and Gen Z tend to gravitate towards sustainable habits in the fashion cycle, but maybe not as much in their purchasing habits. One thing is for certain, brands should be sure to keep up with the purchasing power and needs of these consumers or they will quickly fall behind.

- Caroline Osorio

[centrally-unplanned]

(Ash mentioned! <3) Endorsed, I think this nails his place on the spectrum of politics in multiple ways. I will toss in a few thoughts:

-- I am on the record somewhere as a "liberal Gunbuster" truther, so no surprise here from me, but yeah I think the Gunbuster case tends to be overblown and is imo the source for most of the "right wing" discourse. It's a bit tough for westerners to see the ways Japan sees WW2; apocalyptic in outcome but typical in stakes. Using iconography from Ghengis Khan or Napoleon is fine for us, because while awful human beings it was in that typical "war is always awful" way, it isn't a poisoned well. WW2 is not that for us, but the typical Japanese person is likely to see it through that kind of lens. As such all the Gunbuster homages to the Battle of Okinawa, Japan annexing Hawaii, etc, are all just the touches of the genre of Space Opera and military otaku things. Putting a space lesbian in a steampunk Napoleon uniform a la modern YA books doesn't imply the author endorses the Confederation of the Rhine or anything; and meanwhile Gunbuster's actual setting is UN-on-Steroids international liberalism, it is not apologia for the East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. The imagery just doesn't carry the same implications. (IMO this perception of WW2 is wrong, Japan was in fact atypically awful? And this is tied up with a whole bunch of cultural-political stuff in Japan. But Anno/Gainax as creators aren't water-carriers for all of that, just downstream of it)

-- Anno is definitely in that post-Anpo "apolitical otaku" generation, but I think if you move a bit past the left-right binary you can find a lot of politics in there. They are in a way "anti-left" in the sense of wanting to remove what they see as overbearing political content from media, but it isn't just so they can play with their toys in peace. Anno has lost faith in politics as a solution to societal problems:

--In Gundam, the main character, Amuro Ray, has a clear enemy and a clear political structure that encourages his growth, but "Eva" doesn't have that. Anno: From a generational point of view, I myself don't have that concept anymore. I don't trust politics or society. I can't create works that adopt what is not there.

(Interview: STUDIO VOICE October 1996)

“…For [my generation, after the political failures of the previous], there was nothing to speak of but what was within the ‘magic box’ (television). It’s pathetic, but we had no other options. I think admitting that is a start.”

(A Dream World That Hasn't Forfeited its Goal, ~August 1996)

And you see more of this whenever he discusses things like the Aum Shinrikyo cult/Tokyo Sarin Gas attacks (which occurred during the airing of Eva); he will see them as case of extreme involution, obsession with the self & disconnected from society; a problem that political orgs are now incapable of fixing or addressing. And otaku are a calmer-but-still-troubled side of that same coin, a response to capital-M Modernity. That is a deeply political stance, right? It just isn't one that lends itself to voting for this or that party.

This was a pretty big ~vibe in the 90's all over, honestly, and at the time I would say it was still pretty left coded? But it had its sources on the right as well (horseshoe theory continuing to bat a hundred), and fell out of favor in the West at least - idk maybe something happened in American in the 2000's to distract from the ennui, couldn't say. It lasted longer in Japan, and I think you can trace an arc from many anime creators being actively political in the 1970's/1980's, to a new gen being intentionally anti-political as its own politics in the 1980's-1990's, to anime being dominated by truly apolitical creators starting in the 2000's. Anno is part of that middle wave. But it is all by degrees of course.

-- Finally; Anno is in his mid-60's, his politics have changed! He definitely doesn't discuss them that much - but like you can't look at Shin Godzilla and say "yeah this guy has no thoughts on the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster", its a film clearly dealing with the bureaucratic limitations of any system being able to "contain" the mess of reality. He didn't have those opinions before because Fukushima hadn't happened. I know this one quote from these rountables Anno did with a bunch of high school students during the production of Kare Kano? Which, btw, were printed with this logo:

"Anno Hideaki X Highschool Boys & Girls" lovely, 10 out of 10, no notes. But anyway, he goes off at one point about the US & Japan and international relations.

Anno: Asia is where it’s at now. We’d best get in good with our neighbors. The previous generation is with America. Those currently in their 50’s typically think in terms of America. In reaction to losing the War to America, they all want to live the American lifestyle. Like all going to Europe, that sort of thing.

And idk I bet that the past 20+ years of declining relations with and rising bellicosity from China has soured him on this! I don't have a money quote, but i'd be shocked if he stands by this off-hand comment from the 90's. People do this a lot, you see an interview with someone, they say something, Miyazaki will tell you Humanity is Doomed or some shit, and that becomes their canon opinion. Which is understandable because it's printed, but maybe they were just shooting the shit, and maybe they believed for ~5 years or something. Maybe they never believed it, who knows right? They are artists, not politicians or academics, so they aren't normally in the business of making their political evolutions robustly explicit. And this generation of creators in Japan loved to run their mouths.

So I think, like many people, you can't say Anno over the course of ~50 years of having opinions on politics, is going to fit on one side or the other that neatly.

--- How many Left Points does Anno get for making fujoshi gayboy flagship Kaworu and leaning into that so goddamn hard in the mid 90's? Guy did a 30-page interview for JUNE, the oldest yaoi magazine around! That has to get you at least 10 Ikuhara-blazoned gold stars right?

Do you think Hideaki Anno is right-wing or is it too difficult to tell from his works?

Haha that's a question.

I'll focus on nationalism rather than trying to get into, say, gender politics here, since that's the accusation that most seems to follow Anno around.

Anno's politics are... hard to pin down from his work alone, I think. He's like... a prototypical case of that generation of 'apolitical' otaku that followed after the Anpo generation, with Eva pretty much the definitive statement of the 90s psychological turn. But that said... I can definitely see the argument that there are nationalist themes in some of his works like Gunbuster, though I definitely don't buy every reading in this series (lots of dubious kanji reading). He definitely has that otaku fascination with war machinery and war media (apparently he's a big fan of The Battle for Okinawa and watched it over 100 times), which can easily blend into imperialist ideology.

But there's complications here. For example, the Animekritik series cites the setting of Gunbuster in Okinawa as something formative to the nationalist ideology they are trying to illustrate - in part in relation to the ongoing controversy over American military bases in Okinawa. Anno has at least been on record as saying he's disinterested in Western culture, and I can see the reading of Jung-Freud as an external Other who is shown up by the Japanese girls, somehow simultaneously representing the USSR, Europe and the States. But anti-Americanism in Japan can come in both left and right wing flavours (c.f. Anpo). Communists want the Americans out too! Portraying Okinawa as a military training camp in a Japan-led military coalition certainly comes across as a more nationalist take on that whole matter, but I feel like it's got about the same level of serious nationalist commitment as Doctor Who putting random British people all over space.

When Gainax has played around with nationalist imagery it's usually been in a kind of ironic sendup way - see Ash's writeup about the Aikoku Sentai Dai Nippon controversy, in which Daicon Film staff were disdainful at the accusation that their goofy toku film reflected a genuine nationalist sentiment. While Imaishi takes it further, a lot of Anno's work is also about playfully reappropriating past works. In Anno's case a lot of that is classic tokusatsu, Ultraman in particular, and also Leiji Matsumoto's scifi, notably Space Battleship Yamato, which, well... you know the deal there lol. But it's not so simple to go from that to 'Anno is a nationalist'.

Eva doesn't tend to attract these accusations, but I recall the controversy came back around with Shin Godzilla, though to my mind it's hard to find a straightforwardly nationalist reading of that movie. (It's a film about the experience of the earthquake and Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown, and it's critical of Japan's bureaucracy, but equally one where the JSDF repeatedly get their shit handed to them and civilian infrastructure is what actually stops Godzilla - not to mention Godzilla is painted as quite a tragic figure here!) It all feels pretty tenuous.

I haven't seen as many of Anno's live action films as I'd like, so I can't comment as much on the more recent Shin films, Love & Pop, Shiki-Jitsu etc. And it's always possible for subtler allusions to slip by the anglophone viewer. Still, I don't personally think Anno's post-Gunbuster work is particularly nationalist in outlook. I certainly haven't seen any evidence of him favouring, say, war crime denial, anti-Korean sentiment, remilitarisation, etc etc. - he's definitely not as dubious a figure as someone like Hajime Isayama. But it's not like, anti-nationalist either! It's just kind of hard to read in those terms.

So I lean towards your second option, I'm not convinced he's a nationalist or particularly right wing. He happily associates with Hayao Miyazaki, who's definitely not a right wing guy. But Anno'll also let hilariously cooked stuff like whatever On A Gloomy Night was supposed to be into the Animator Expo. So I don't think he's particularly left wing either, he's no Ikuni! But Anno's fiction is very individual focused, full of psychoanalytic themes and internal conflict. He can vividly portray trauma and complex power dynamics. There's a lot to appreciate in works like Eva from a left-wing angle. I don't really know why this association of nationalism follows him around.

Idk, maybe there's a bunch of interviews I'm missing! Presumably you have a reason for asking this question...

[samwisethewitch]

Pathworking and Astral Travel

In spirit work, we often connect with the spirits that have crossed over and are present in the physical world. However, there are also ways to cross over into the spirit world and connect with spirits in their home environment.

Pathworking

As I mentioned in a previous post, a pathworking is a specific type of meditation where you go on a psychic journey, but are still anchored to your physical body. It’s sort of like dipping your toes into the spirit world.

There are two important elements to a pathworking: a clear entrance/exit point and a way to retrace your steps. Pathworking journeys are typically cyclical — there is both a journey out and a return where you go back the way you came. This makes it easier to fully return your consciousness to your body, and failing to do so can cause you to feel disoriented upon the return.

Your entry/exit point can be absolutely anything, but common examples include a door, a gateway, a tree (or sometimes The World Tree), a cave/tunnel, or a natural landmark like a beach or mountaintop. What’s important is that it’s recognizable and easy to find your way back to.

If you want to try pathworking, make a rough “road map” of your journey beforehand. This doesn’t have to be super specific, but it should contain the following: a goal for the pathworking (such as to connect with a certain spirit), an entry/exit point, and a general idea for the route you’re going to take. If you’re worried about getting lost, author Thea Sabin recommends using “the Theseus trick.” Like in the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, you can tie a golden thread or rope to your entry point and the other end to your astral body. If you get lost, you can follow the thread back.

Pathworking is fairly beginner friendly, and I highly, highly, highly recommend starting with pathworking and becoming comfortable with this method before trying astral travel. Even for more advanced witches, pathworking is often a better option than astral travel because it’s less involved and requires a little bit less effort. I personally prefer pathworking for most situations.

Performing a Pathworking

Before you begin, establish a clear goal for your pathworking and write out a rough “road map.” At the very least, you should know what your purpose is, where your entry point is, and how to find your way back.

Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense, diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and begin meditating. You may want to play meditation music, practice breathing techniques, or use some other method to help you reach a meditative state.

Once you reach a meditative state (you should know what this feels like if you have experience with meditation), see yourself standing at your entry point. This is your entrance to the astral realm.

Set out on your pathworking.

When you are ready to leave the astral realm, you will need to find your way back to your entry point. Once you reach your entry point, it should be fairly easy to return to your body.

Once you’re fully present in your physical body, use your favorite method to ground yourself.

Write down everything you experienced during your pathworking in a journal.

Astral Travel

If pathworking is dipping your toes into the spirit world, astral travel is diving in the deep end. Also called spirit flight and hedge riding, astral travel includes actually sending your soul/consciousness out of your body and into the spirit world. As you might guess, this is more complicated and requires more effort than pathworking. For this reason, astral travel is not beginner-friendly. If you are completely new to meditation, witchcraft, and spirit work, it’s best to learn to pathwork before you attempt astral travel.

A word of warning: you may want to avoid astral travel at times when you’re in a very vulnerable or volatile emotional state. Some days you just aren’t up for it, and that’s okay. On those days, a pathworking or another form of spirit work may be a better option.

Triggering Spirit Flight

In astral travel, a trigger of some kind is used to help disconnect the soul from the physical body. Common triggers include drumming, special music, shaking a rattle, chanting, and dancing.

You can find shamanic drumming tracks on YouTube that can help you achieve astral travel. If you find that repetitive motion helps you trance out, you may look into getting a small drum or rattle to play.

Animal Guides

In many cultures, those who travel into the spirit world do so with the guidance and protection of an animal spirit. From the Norse fylgja, to the shamanic power animal, to the witch’s familiar, history is full of examples of these types of guides.

Before you begin astral travel, do a pathworking to meet your animal guide. It’s important to note that you aren’t choosing an animal guide — only meeting one that has always been with you. Your guide may be an animal that you like or identify with, or it may not. When I first began experimenting with astral travel, my guide was a coyote — an animal I had never identified with before, but who I learned was deeply connected to my inner self.

It’s important to always have your animal guide with you when going on astral journeys, as they are an important source of protection and power. They may also literally guide you to the things you need to see and the spirits you need to meet.

Flying Ointments

Historical accounts describe witches using “flying ointment” to help them achieve spirit flight. These traditional flying ointments contained toxic and/or hallucinogenic plants like belladonna, datura, henbane, mandrake, and opium poppies. For obvious reasons, most modern witches do not use these herbs.

Please do not try to create your own flying ointment with poisonous plants. If you’re a true traditionalist and feel like you just have to try a historically accurate flying ointment, Bane Folk Apothecary sells several. Bane Folk is run by Sarah Anne Lawless, a kickass witch who knows her stuff and produces safe, medicinal products inspired by traditional flying ointment formulas. I am usually very pro-DIY, especially when it comes to witchcraft, but this is one case where it really is best to defer to a professional.

To create a modern, non-toxic flying ointment: heat eight ounces (or one cup) of poppy seed oil over low heat on the stove. Once the oil is warm, add 2 ounces (or 1/4 cup) of beeswax into the oil. (Use carnauba wax for a vegan alternative.) Take the mixture off the heat, and allow it to cool off a bit. Once it has cooled (but before it’s begun to solidify), add nine drops each of mugwort essential oil, star anise essential oil, and peppermint essential oil. Pour the mixture into a mason jar and seal tightly. To extend your ointment’s shelf life, add a few drops of Vitamin E oil and store in the refrigerator. If you don’t have access to essential oils or prefer a more traditional method, you can buy dry herbs and infuse them into your oil instead — to do this, crush up 2.5 ounces (or 1/3 cup) each of dried mugwort, star anise, and peppermint and add them to a mason jar; add enough oil to the jar to cover the herbs completely, with about an inch of oil above them; seal the jar and place it in a sunny window for 2-3 weeks to infuse; and finally, strain the herbs out of the oil with a mesh sieve or a cheesecloth. You can then add your Vitamin E oil and beeswax to create an ointment.

This modern recipe does not contain hallucinogens, but it does contain plants that are commonly used in magic to increase psychic abilities and aid in astral travel. You can say an incantation over this ointment while making it to add some extra magical potency. Applying the flying ointment can also become a sort of ritual that prepares you for spirit flight by helping you slip into a more spiritual head space.

Performing Astral Travel/Spirit Flight

Before you begin, know why you are journeying to the spirit world. You should always have a clear goal for your astral journeys.

Begin in a dark, quiet room. Cleanse the room by burning incense (mugwort incense aids in astral travel), diffusing or spraying essential oils, or using a ritual broom to sweep out old energy.

Use your favorite method to ground yourself.

If you are choosing to use a flying ointment, rub it on your skin now.

Hold a protective item in one of your hands. I like physical items for protection during spirit flight, because they can ground you and help you find your way back to your body. Examples of protective items include a sprig of rue, a piece of iron, or a protective crystal like black tourmaline. If you ever feel scared or uncomfortable during your journey, you can bring this object into the astral realm to protect you. It will also keep your body safe while your consciousness is occupied.

Start up your trigger, whether this is drumming, rattling, dancing, etc.

Allow yourself to drift into a trance state, and then to disconnect from your body.

Call your animal guide to you.

Set out on your journey in the spirit world.

When you are ready, feel yourself returning to your physical body. Allow yourself to come back slowly — don’t rush it.

Ground yourself. One good way to ground after astral travel is by eating a snack.

Write down your experiences in a journal.

Resources:

Wicca for Beginners by Thea Sabin

Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft in the American South by Aaron Oberon

Hedge Riding by Harmonia Saille

“How to Make Herb-Infused Oils for Culinary & Body Care Use” and “How to Make Herbal Salves” from the Mountain Rose Herbs blog

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Hot takes about Severus Snape are a wierdly decent glimpse into how a person with progressive values analyses things. Literally every time someone talks about Snape, it’s like this tiny window into how one-dimentionally people actually think.

Recently saw a twitter post that was a fantastic example. Here’s how it goes (paraphrasing):

Person A:“Snape is POC and Queer coded, that’s why you guy’s hate him uwu lol.”

Person B: “Actually I hate him because he was mean and abusive to children under his care uwu but go off I guess lol”

Both of these takes are designed to be dramatic and/or reactionary. They each use partial truths to paint very broad strokes. These are get-em-in-one-hit quips. This is virtue signalling, if you’ll excuse that loaded phrase. Nobody had a substantial conversation, but now everyone who sees their statement knows the high ground they took.

At least a hundred other people chimed in to add their own little quippy hot takes into play, none of which add anything significant, but clearly made everyone feel very highly of themselves.

So many layers of nuance and complex analysis is completely lost in this kind of discussion. On tumblr, you get more of this kind of bullshit, but you don’t have a word count limit, so you guys just spew endless mountains of weak overblown evidence backing up your bullshit arguments, none of which was really about engaging in a real conversation anyway.

Here’s the thing about Snape.

He is a childhood domestic abuse victim. His abuser is a muggle.

He becomes a student at a magical school that takes him away from his abuser and immediately instills in him the idea that being a part of this magical world is a badge of self-worth, empowerment, and provides safety and security - provided that he keeps in line.

There is a war is being waged in that world over his right to exist (he is a half blood).

He is a marginalized person within the context of the narrative, forced to constantly be in the same living space as the children of his own oppressors who are being groomed and recruited into a hate group militia (the pureblood slytherins). They are in turn trying to do the same to him.

He is marginalized person bullied by children who are also part of his oppressor group, but who have “more liberal” leanings and aren’t direct about why he’s being targeted (the mauraders are all purebloods, Sirius, who was the worst offender, was raised in a bigoted household, the same one that produced Bellatrix.).

He had a crush on a girl who is a muggleborn, and therefore she is considered even lesser than him and carries a stigma to those who associate with her. That girl was his only real friend. In his entire life.

For both Snape and Lily, allying themselves to a pureblood clique within their own houses would be a great way of shielding themselves from a measure of the bigotry they were probably facing. There would have been obvious pressure from those cliques to disconnect with one and other.

Every other person who associates with Snape in his adulthood carries some sort of sociopolitical or workplace (or hate cult) baggage with their association. Some of them will physically harm and/or kill him if he steps out of line. He hasn’t at any point had the right environment to heal and adjust from these childhood experiences. Even his relationship with Dumbledore is charged with constant baggage, including the purebloods who almost killed him during their bullying getting a slap on the wrist, the werewolf that almost killed him as a child being placed in an authority position over new children, etc. Dumbledore is canonically manipulative no matter his good qualities, and he has literally been manipulating Snape for years in order to cultivate a necessary asset in the war.

He is a person who is not in the stable mental state necessary to be teaching children, whom has been forced to teach children. While also playing the role of double agent against the hate group militia, the one that will literally torture you for mistakes or backtalk or just for fun. The one that will torture and kill him if he makes one wrong move.

Is the math clicking yet? From all of this, it’s not difficult to see how everything shitty about Snape was cultivated for him by his environment. Snape was not given great options. Snape made amazingly awful choices, and also some amazingly difficult, courageous ones. Snape was ultimately a human who had an extremely bad life, in which his options were incredibly grim and limited.

In fact, pretty much every point people make about how shitty Snape is as a person makes 100% logical sense as something that would emerge from how he was treated. Some if it he’s kind of right about, some of it is the inevitable reality of suffering, and some of it is part of the cycle of abuse and harm.

Even Snape’s emotional obsession with Lily makes logical sense when you have the perspective that he literally has no substantial positive experiences with other human beings that we know of, and he has an extreme, soul destroying guilt complex over her death. Calling him an Incel mysoginist nice guy projects a real-world political ideology and behavior that does not really apply to the context of what happened to him and her.

Even Snape’s specific little acts of cruelty to certain students is a reflection of his own life experiences. He identifies with Neville; more specifically, he identifies his own percieved emotional weaknesses in his childhood in Neville. There’s a very sad reason there why he feels the urge to be so harsh.

Snape very clearly hates himself, in a world where everyone else hates him, too. Imagine that, for a second. Imagine total internal and external hatred, an yearning for just a little bit of true connection. For years. Imagine then also trying to save that world, even if it’s motivated by guilt. Even if nobody ever knows you did it and you expect to die a miserable death alone.

There are more elements here to consider, including the way Rowling described his looks (there may be something in there re: ugliness and swarthy stereotyping). These are just the things that stand out the most prominently to me.

J.K. Rowling is clearly also not reliable as an imparter of moral or sociopolitical philosophies. I don’t feel that her grasp of minority experiences is a solid one, considering how she picks and chooses who is acceptable and who is a threat.

All of that said, this is a logically consistent character arc. Within the context of his narrative, Snape is a marginalized person with severe PTSD and emotional instability issues who has absolutely no room available to him for self-improvement or healing, and never really has. And yes, he’s also mean, and caustic, and verbally abusive to the students. He’s also a completey miserable, lonely person.

There are elements in his character arc that mirror real world experiences quite well. If nothing else, Rowling is enough of an emotional adult to recognise these kinds of things and portray something that feels authentic.

In my opinion, it’s not appropriate to whittle all this down by comparing him directly to the real world experiences of marginalized groups - at least if you are not a part of the group you are comparing him to. There have been many individuals who have compared his arc to their own personal experiences of marginalization, and that is valid. But generally speaking, comparing a white straight dude to people who are not that can often be pretty offensive. This is not a valuable way to discuss either subject.

Also, I believe that while it’s perfectly okay to not like Snape as a character, many of the people who act like Person B are carrying Harry’s childhood POV about Snape in their hearts well into their own adulthood. And if nothing else, Rowling was attempting to say something here about how our perspectives (should) grow and change as we emotionally mature.  She doesn’t have to be a good person herself to have expressed something true about the world in this instance, and since this story is a part of our popular culture, people have a right to feel whatever way they do about this story and it’s characters.

The complexity of this particular snapshot of fictionalized marginalization, and what it reveals about the human experience, cannot be reduced down to “he’s an abuser so he’s not worth anyone’s time/you are bad for liking him.”

And to be honest, I think that it reveals a lot about many of us in progressive spaces, particularly those of us who less marginalized but very loud about our values, that we refuse to engage with these complexities in leu of totally condemning him. Particularly because a lot of the elements I listed above are indeed reflected in real world examples of people who have experienced marginalization and thus had to deal with the resulting emotional damage, an mental illness, and behavior troubles, and bad decisions. Our inability to address the full scope of this may be a good reflection of how we are handling the complexity of real world examples.

Real people are not perfect angels in their victimhood. They are just humans who are victims, and we all have the capacity to be cruel and abusive in a world where we have been given cruelty and abuse. This is just a part of existing. If you cannot sympathise with that, or at least grasp it and aknowledge it and respect the people who are emotionally drawn to a character who refects that, then you may be telling on yourself to be honest.

To be honest, this is especially true if you hate Snape but just really, really love the Mauraduers. You have a right to those feelings, but if you are moralizing this and judging others for liking Snape, you’ve confessed to something about how you’ve mentally constructed your personal values in a way I don’t think you’ve fully grasped yet.

I have a hard time imagining a mindset where a story like Snape’s does not move one to empathy and vicarious grief, if I’m honest. I feel like some people really just cannot be bothered to imagine themselves in other people’s shoes, feeling what they feel and living like they live. I struggle to trust the social politics of people who show these kinds of colors, tbh.

But maybe that’s just me.

[robustcornhusk]

partner and i are both enthusiastic and lazy about home automation; we use home assistant.

'actually doing shit' can be annoyingly expensive, but very nice when i pull it off. 'reminding me about shit' is generally very cheap, and still helpful.

actually doing shit:

the shades in my bedroom open up a few inches when i'm supposed to get up in the morning

the overhead fan turns off, too, so that i stop burrowing under the covers

when i walk into the kitchen, overhead lights turn on; if i start doing things with the coffee or sink, the counter lights turn on. the overhead lights turn off when it's bright, and all the lights turn off shortly after i leave the room.

the front door locks once the screen door is shut

music and lights all turn off when i leave home. the music restarts when i get back; the lights only come back on if it's dim.

when i open the windows, the hvac gets disabled so that i don't try to heat/cool the entire neighborhood.

a white noise machine turns on whenever my partner takes a call from their home office.

all the lights other than the bedroom turn off when we go to bed at night

all lights gradually dim & change to a warmer color in the evening

back porch lights turn on when the back door is open & it's after sunset

reminding/notifying me about shit

when i opened the front door for my run, the lights flashed to let me know I'd forgotten to get out the bagels

when the kettle turned on this morning, i got a notification on my phone telling me 1) i needed to take iron today and 2) my partner needed to leave for their train at X:YZ.

if i'm playing games and making tea at night, i always forget about the kettle; now i get a reminder on both my phone & the projector

when it's after 5pm and my partner's phone disconnects from their office's wifi for five minutes, i'll get told that it's probably a good time to start cooking dinner.

i get notifications when either of the cat's litterbox has been used 3 times, and the counter resets when i clean the boxes.

i have an old tablet i use solely for watching anime while running on a treadmill, and i kept letting the battery run out; now its battery alerts get sent to my other devices.

not only do the washer and dryer send me notifications, but the clothes drying rack does too, when it's been set up for 6+ hours. (no heat for the running clothes; too much elastic)

i get notifications if someone presses the doorbell when i'm out

water leak sensors.

there's also a lot of data recording that's just happening constantly, like the co2 levels, temperature/humidity, how bright it is, etc.

i was going to say "i should get notified if the aqi is bad and the windows are open" but before i finished typing the sentence, i went ahead and implemented it.

more unorganized thoughts

almost everything is local; i think the fucking washer & dryer are the only ones that require The Cloud. many of the 'smart' devices aren't; for example, we have a totally normal doorbell that's been wired up in a particular way, and our kettle is just a normal electric kettle on a smart plug.

there's a lot of zigbee and a few zwave items; most of the wifi stuff is either 1) there's no other option or 2) esphome devices, which are cheap and flexible. even the wifi devices are local-only, except for the washer/dryer.

some automations are harder to set up, from a design perspective. i'm still stuck on trying to figure out how to detect if i'm out on a run, because i'd like my bedroom blinds to go down when i get back.

being able to remote-control the lights &c is nice. we have a lot of Fashionable Lamps that have super inconvenient switches, so homeass was instantly more convenient even before any automations came into play. the a/v system we have is complicated, but playing games (=turning on the game system, receiver, & projector, turning down the lights in multiple rooms, pausing the music) is just one button. basically it takes "complicated setup" and squishes it back to "convenient setup".

re local voice control, my understanding is that a lot of people are using willow and wyoming lately, but i haven't looked into them in any detail yet; i think there's quite a bit of setup involved.

is there any real use for smart home stuff (apart from disabled people, i can see there's obviously a load of accessibility options stuff like controlling your lights from your phone etc). if you're basically able-bodied, is there any actual useful stuff that smart home technology gets you. because it all seems a bit shit imo. but many of my beloved mutuals and followers are Nerds so someone's got to have an Opinion about this right

[captainkurosolaire]

~ Mass Update ~

Mainly going into future plans and intents alongside ideas below cut.

Ton's of things I've in store this will prove difficult to vent it all out. But here we go... First off rehashing and appropriately learning to tag and organize things better on my blog. Each category will have their own corresponding content, I seek to bring or share. [Tales of Goldbrand] -- I intend this to carry a Compendium of all my writes soon that'll have everything neatly in-order including a glossary, so it'll have highlights of stories that even matter or the best stuff. I've written here for a very, long time, there's been many shifts. I want to make it more accessible. While coloring what matters for people who want to learn Captain or his Crew with less chapters. While also giving choice to find it all easily. This is essentially a step-above master-lists. I'll be doing that after the Saga I have going on, right now is done. [Captain] -- Will provide you strictly with Captain screenshots, gifs, photo-sets. This is still his blog despite the Crew thing's will sort of make this a scuffed Multi-Muse blog. I've few more things to edit and tag fix to get all his stuff though. [The Wild Crew] -- Afterwards this story is done Immortal Age Saga, It's something that I mainly wrote as a passion project within three days to get my warm-up process fixed. It's to allow me to get a feel for all his Crewmates and casts, in combat, in-general, to feel their presences. While also giving a bit of their backstories. At any point, I can go back and polish or tweak things in. They're NPC's but... not entirely. All will have their own 'Dreams' and their own 'Disapproval's' they have their own missions even. These things will factor eventually, they might set seeds, to betray or disagree with something, but that's all angst and more stories to be created, but overall, they'll probably always be Crew, eventually. -- I plan on making character-profile sheets of them and putting them in this Tab, it'll have their screenshots, their likes/dislikes. Some RP partners or people can also be shipped with them, but they'll all be monogamous and originally start off probably Pan. This allows them to figure out what they like on their own stories. I've always been someone who likes organic-flow. Although this one story contain all 16 characters or more, the rest will probably be shortened to a Squad of 4 and dispersed when on adventuring missions. Until I do a War Arc, that's my main goal to build too. [Roster] -- Will contain this Crew in just screen-sets dedicated to them, I'll probably randomly produce those. I've PC players among this Crew too. I may not be done either adding more, but this Crew is mainly built around Quality. Most pirate crew's mainly, have hundreds, thousands. Even Fleets. This Crew has personalities, monsters, people who are living life's that exist with piracy. He's an particular leader that had PC players the same way, he's had split-personality serial killers aboard, tribal chieftains, succubus, all sorts of various people once on a Crew. It's often an outcast style, pirates default are chaotic in nature, so this really isn't any different, it's a Fantasy version of it. There's humanization characters aboard too though, so this cast is really decked, everything and person is vital, they matter because they remind or covet something that others can draw upon. If ever played (Three Houses or Mass Effect / Dragon Age Origins) A lot of things like that are relatable too this structure and format. Which, Is something I want to be able to give when RPing. I want a genuine feel of this new world someone else's muse will be the main-character too. Depending on what's interacting everything they'll be scale appropriately to follow the genre they're in and environment even. [Aesthetics] -- Already explainable what you'll find here. [Asks] -- Same thing. [Prompts] -- Trivial things I was tagged too, I plan on compiling later. [Writing] -- Another alternatively to randomly go-down and it works right now. [Logs] -- Will have more individualistic master-lists and posts there, my poems from Sheik Sphere the Bard, etc.

Things of that nature, I'll probably add still. It's where a lot of my creative writing is summed. [Gems of Hydaelyn] -- My main #tag for other characters and artists, creationist. Lot of amazing people easily to find their zones or follow them optionally if you like. Ton's I intend to support and bolster, be a lot less unspoken. I'm never the type who's been strictly inclusive. But I'll do that when I've time to even explore the dash, I'm always still planning ahead with things and projects. [CKS] My original character-sheet it's outdated on something's but not too terrible. I'll give him polishing someday, I swear? [21+F-List] -- Just purely degenerate stuff of Captain. I'm a pirate blog. I will represent that with openness and furthermore. I'm never projecting you some false-image. I started off a smut-writer by stripping that, I no-longer represent the same aura and identity. But those are strictly his stuff and kinks, I'm effective in executing them but they're not all relatable to me OOC. This blog will always be 18+ containing crude or dark material sometimes, romantic things, this Captain is blunt, will literally put his cock on the table in conversations. Swearing and being censored would be too uncommon and displace most of him, but there's more about him then all this. [Other] -- I pay homage to a lot of characters, I originally am a Concept Designer. Which mean's I make characters and ideas like my addiction. Bad characters / villains or other little things I like to share in designs, I'll put there. Some villains might get little photo-sets, even if they died. Just cause I like their design, or maybe I'll give them an AU, where they won. When I've wrapped up things. [Collabs + Ships] -- Is a new project idea. This isn't going to be something limited too romantic only ships. It'll contain, platonic, romantic, friendships, rivals, frenemies, family, PC Crew, all ships. I am desperately working on improving my gif, screenshot, posing game so I can supply 'Screen Stories' this is not only a way to RP that's accessible with even people who are upon time-crunches from work, It gives visual-representation. To impactful stories shared with others and establish bonds. That are all-valid and impactful matter. Lot of people take a lot of their characters attributes into them and are them dialed up, I work with that and bit more, differently. I'm disconnected from my characters and they'll get hurt and injured and killed by me, that's my duty as their Author to give them conflicts and struggles. I'm their major antagonist, but that doesn't mean at-all, it's always SET that way. The characters I like to make have their own life, they live in this setting and are abide by it, they're often nothing, nobodies, and by the interacting with others, they slowly gradually building, more... Through emotional impacts, they alter, these are REAL people by all their beliefs. Each person they come in-contact with are legitimate and treated like that too. They've always impacted or given them insights to grow, or represent more. Otherwise it'd be criminally disrespectful if I allowed any emotional I felt OOC be the grudge to something IC. Captain in-particular is set on defying me. I cannot have that. ...But I can't stop him. He's met and encountered so many people and lived so many scenarios based on the actions of others, he's giving a chance right now to actually do things a lot further than impossible. The more people he meets and encounters, experiences, the more I lose. These stories are emotionally interactive where everything is a factor and adds to the dice, where the other people are the one who get to roll the dice for him, not me. That's something I want to color in. People range in emotions, they have their down's, ups, their own wholesome-grounding people, spending time with your favorite people, there's nothing more cherishing than that, being in your own comfort-zone or 'safe-space' these are all treasures that we live under, today. Contrary if what people assume of me, I'm not another 'blogger' that's came

before, who's wanting to force a harem, then constantly is bewildered when that falls to pieces cause of selfishness or a lack of communication, or the skeletons they have in their closets and beliefs they hid behind and swindled fooled everyone. I'm not looking to be popular or anything really, I just create stories and want to share in those, and I want to also boost others included, upward with me, especially those who make me. There's no ego in anything I do, this is purely love. I've never cared about being replicated or duplicated, I've had stalkers, I've gone through more then anyone would imagine, I've been used OOC and abused, just for my writing and cold-harshly told, i'd never amount to anything other then that or vice-versa. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Passion. That's all I got and am anymore. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Passion is the hardest thing to keep. It's something that can be stolen, quite effortlessly. Few words of discouragement, a bad negative representation, a lack of confidence, or small amount of time, there's many thing's that can put that flame out. Once you lose it. The difficulty to reattain is hundred-times harder than climbing any mountain for real. I've watched the greatest creators crumble from under the pressure, from beaten down by others. I watched many of them do it to themselves because they put a grand vision of needing validation of another and once lost, felt uncompelling to press onward. But passion also can be given BACK and drawn. It can be shown and encourage others, with a soft-triggering, that pushes them. That motivates, that constantly sticks to it. There are many that fuel me. If I ever quit, I let them down, I spit in the faces of people who're better than me in every-way. Or people who've came and given me their precious Time. That have given their character's or dedication to the abundant stories and community-driven things I've done. There's ONLY things you can do, create, give and provide. It cannot ever come to life without YOU. This is a fact. ...I swear, If you let your creativity soar, you'll be amazed by the heights you get. Constantly polish and learn and hone the best you, challenge yourself day after painstaking day, to draw better improvement on something, no matter how trivial or unfamiliar you are. You'll find a confidence only you can give yourself. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Future Plans --------------------------------------------------------------------- For me, I've got so much more stories to give and also explore, I might be taking up soon some other artists and more skilled people from community and hire them for some of my future writes, to up my game or cause something thing's can't be done in-game cause no background carries it. I also got a lot of-set up things and more angst stuff I want to practice, plus I'm adamantly on that grind to produce screen-sets with the intent's to some sort of improving daily. Additionally more people I'll be reaching out too soon for these collab's ideas and things. I look forward to shaking your hands, giving some hugs, show you my respect and admiration, then creating some enchanting stories and giving plots light. Feel free to reach out to me, I get scattered-brain but I'm working on getting better about it. Eventually will get to you though, my goals, if uninterested just say so when I poke, no bites, unless you kinky. Anyways, cheers hearties.

[topplaystationgames]

TOP PS5 Racing Games

If it's been a while since you've played an excellent racing game, fasten your belts and prepare to take off in a completely new direction, because we're looking forward to taking a look at some of the most popular games on the field. Let's say that the year 2021 was just a taster of the bigger and better things to be expected in the future. The power of the graphics on Sony's latest console is not a secret for people who have experienced it. To say that the typical driving game is stunning on this system is surely an understatement. Indeed, the driving game has never been this thrilling or as thrilling as the ones we can play. Games indeed got more and more impressive as the latest consoles from Sony and other manufacturers raised the quality of graphics from average to exceptional. We're in perhaps the most exciting phase of games of the past 30 years. There is nothing that can compare to the graphics in games such as WRC or Ride 4 and many more. In the meantime, instead of discussing the finer aspects of what makes a good racing game great, let's look at the games we play.

Forza Horizon 5

It blends the most loved elements of Forza Horizon 3, and 4 into the ultimate racer." - Zachary Boddy. Get nearer to the movies, games, and TV you love. It's one of the top vehicle racing videogames the category has ever seen, and - as its predecessor did before it - it is easily one of the most enjoyable videogames of the generation currently." All Playground games need to do is remove bugs and restore some cars that were lost. A new feature can be found in Horizon Arcade, a mode comprised of a selection of small co-op video game titles and competitive multiplayer video game titles. The video game title's beginning showcases the exquisite graphics engine, however, we've seen motorbikes and planes before. You can find furthermore personalization of characters and cars and a myriad of crazy stunts.

Vehicle weight, speeds, as well as a variety of other elements drastically alter the way cars react, causing me to change my rotation and lock down a summary of options I'm confident with. Hundreds of thousands of custom-designed parts, rims, and gratification mods, and cars have more character than ever before. If gamers are to take pleasure from FH5 the expectations of simulation-level Physics will have to be lowered. It may not be groundbreaking but Forza Horizon 5 still ranks as one of the ultimate vehicle racing video games We have owned. Second place is four new video game titles each with scores of 89: Bustafellows (PQube), Swarm (Greensky), Psychonauts 2 (Xbox) and It grabs Two ( EA ).

The message was removed for "disconnected" - which was not logical, since every time that message came the online racing functioned well, and we could able to see each other in the race, etc. However, they now come aided by the added benefit of having a voiced protagonist who is as relatable as clothes model mannequins in a shop. It's very simple to ignore, yet you cannot help but experience that you've missed out on an exciting new car or in-video game title credits, just by trying to simplify your play. The video game title's activities are rewarded with Accolades - a form of custom-made, granular achievement system - and it's really by earning Accolade Credits you can unlock new Adventures, that will be Expeditions as well as signature stories, Showcases, or epic races.

The creative director Mike Brown informed me that he wants the race experience "more welcoming" and less frustrating than Forza Horizon 4's intense ranked gameplay, which will not appeal to everyone in the population, but certainly fits into the spirit of fun and inclusiveness that is Forza Horizon. "Forza Horizon 5" is a rich and nuanced car nirvana for revheads and auto lovers to collect as well as tinker and play. If you think all this seems like a lot If so, you are around the right place. There's an absurd wealth of content on offer that I'll ever be able to cover succinctly, but much of it is akin to previous installments in the same manner.

RIDE 4

It blends the most loved elements of Forza Horizon 3, and 4 into the ultimate racer." - Zachary Boddy. Get nearer to the movies, games, and TV you love. It's one of the top vehicle racing videogames the category has ever seen, and - as its predecessor did before it - it is easily one of the most enjoyable videogames of the generation currently." It is the PC type of Forza Horizon 5 and is the top-reviewed game of the season on Metacritic with an aggregate score of 91. Foliage flattens under your vehicle, seasons change, and splashes of water look at the top level they've ever appeared in any race.

All Playground games need to do is remove bugs and restore some cars that were lost. A new feature can be found in Horizon Arcade, a mode comprised of a selection of small co-op video game titles and competitive multiplayer video game titles. The video game title's beginning showcases the exquisite graphics engine, however, we've seen motorbikes and planes before. You can find furthermore personalization of characters and cars and a myriad of crazy stunts.

Vehicle weight, speeds, as well as a variety of other elements drastically alter the way cars react, causing me to change my rotation and lock down a summary of options I'm confident with. Hundreds of thousands of custom-designed parts, rims, and gratification mods, and cars have more character than ever before. If gamers are to take pleasure from FH5 the expectations of simulation-level Physics will have to be lowered. It may not be groundbreaking but Forza Horizon 5 still ranks as one of the ultimate vehicle racing video games We have owned. Second place is four new video game titles each with scores of 89: Bustafellows (PQube), Swarm (Greensky), Psychonauts 2 (Xbox) and It grabs Two ( EA ).

The message was removed for "disconnected" - which was not logical, since every time that message came the online racing functioned well, and we could able to see each other in the race, etc. However, they now come aided by the added benefit of having a voiced protagonist who is as relatable as clothes model mannequins in a shop. It's very simple to ignore, yet you cannot help but experience that you've missed out on an exciting new car or in-video game title credits, just by trying to simplify your play. The video game title's activities are rewarded with Accolades - a form of custom-made, granular achievement system - and it's really by earning Accolade Credits you can unlock new Adventures, that will be Expeditions as well as signature stories, Showcases, or epic races.

The creative director Mike Brown informed me that he wants the race experience "more welcoming" and less frustrating than Forza Horizon 4's intense ranked gameplay, which will not appeal to everyone in the population, but certainly fits into the spirit of fun and inclusiveness that is Forza Horizon. "Forza Horizon 5" is a rich and nuanced car nirvana for revheads and auto lovers to collect as well as tinker and play. If you think all this seems like a lot If so, you are around the right place. There's an absurd wealth of content on offer that I'll ever be able to cover succinctly, but much of it is akin to previous installments in the same manner.

WRC 10

It is possible to start with a less junior league if you'd like, but you could moreover take a test to join the all-inclusive WRC league if you qualify by driving through a stage within a specific period and three tries. There are several high-quality racing video games available on Switch which I don't have much patience for video games with crap graphics such as this. It's possible to adjust the difficulty in Career mode might be adjusted and there are a lot of accessibility and assistance options, which can be always pleasing to have.

14 Push Square rated this PlayStation 5 version title 8 stars out of 10 and applauded the improved control and Physics, DualSense feedback, historic events and automobiles, in-depth career mode, and a wealth of content. The final verdict of any racing game should be judged on the driving experience. It's a great sight when the sun is low and pierces through the thick tree lines, and the night stages are stunning. The way the cars handle, how they sense, cornering, and straight-line speed, most of these may make or break a race. In Dirt Rally 2. We re-downloaded WRC 9 and captured some screens from it, then matched the car, track weather, and turn of WRC 10, as well as in a couple of situations we tried, WRC 10 looks noticeably worse than its ugly forerunner.

Clubs, for instance, are for creating a club to equate to peers, online multiplayer allows online racing against other gamers with Leaderboards for ranking and Co-Driver mode to allow two video game players co-op as well as Split-Screen for traditional racing. In addition, taking a period penalty while repairing punctures during the stage might be advantageous versus trying to finish a stage with greatly decreased performance. These are typically fond of cutting content into pieces and selling it as DLC. If you may be a WRC enthusiast or simply love classic vehicles, you are going to no doubt be impressed by this mode.

As a real-world rally simulation, WRC 10 is certainly not the kind of video game that you may jump in to play for the very first time, and immediately start swinging your car or truck around like Sega Rally itself had risen from the dead. This current year's video game title is celebrating 50 years of WRC which means that you may go on left into the past by playing through classic rally events that have been played throughout the history of WRC. Next in my WRC 10 vs Dirt Rally 2. I have got been experimenting with feathering throttles using quick pressing associated with the button since f-zero on the SNES I have got yet to come across any vehicle racing game it doesn't work just fine. Colin McRae Rally 2.

To commemorate fifty years of this race, WRC 10 is providing a brand-new Anniversary edition, loaded with fresh content and sensations. WRC 10, as well as its bizarre menu system, has the career mode, which includes firing and hiring staff in research and development, as well as diverse race types. The extensive and intricate career mode is back, letting you recruit staff and expand your team as you rise throughout the ranks, yet it is still necessary to begin at the bottom, making it something of a slog if you've played certainly one of KT Racing's efforts before. The publisher's controversial policy left aside WRC 10 is an extremely good rally simulation.

[junowyear3]

23.08.22

Thank you to Delaney and Ezra for making me aware of this, I was thinking of Moshi Monsters before but when someone else brings it up it makes more of an impact. I used to be obsessed with Moshi Monsters as a kid, as well as many other virtual games like Animal Jam, MSP etc.. Now I realize that my adoration for these games as a kid has definitely had a lot of impact on how I think of the internet, and internet communities, also on how I view art in general, internet communities introduced me to webcomics and illustration, and although I don’t really watch anime it has always been a constant influence. 

I am more interested in my work appealing to communities on the internet, rather than being placed in local exhibitions. The constant options of customizing your own avatar through out all these platforms also has given me a different perception of identity, which is why I’m interested in creating a practice that is disconnected from myself, a practice that is operated by an alter ego rather than me, I like the idea of the artist being anonymous.

Art and entertainment

The game, a board game? A series of toys? A card game? Monster trading cards- tabletop campaign places? Geek culture events- Vagabond- Conventions like Armageddon or Overload? These places aren’t sophisticated but why should it have to be, creating a community, creating entertainment- the core of gallery traditions.

The game, a virtual game? Creating avatars, video games, virtual currencies and spaces, programming a game

Below. Toys I used to be very fond of as a kid, unfortunately I think I’ve lost them but I remember the enjoyment I experienced having them. I like the idea of the trading card, which the character and their qualities. Connection to Tarot cards with the character archetypes.

Moshi Monsters was a British web browser massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) game aimed at children aged 6–12,with over 80 million registered users in 150 territories worldwide. Users could choose from one of six virtual pet monsters (Katsuma, Poppet, Furi, Zommer, Luvli, and Diavlo) they could create, name and nurture. Once their pet had been customized, players could navigate their way around Monstro City, take daily puzzle challenges to earn 'Rox' (a virtual currency), play games, personalize their room and communicate with other users in a safe environment, although this has been disputed.

[felassan]

The rest of this post (quotes from the article) is under a cut due to length. [source]

(There are discussions of colonialism under the cut / in the article.)

After speaking to various devs who worked on MEA I’ve learned quite a bit about what happened here. First of all, there were several more species designed for this galaxy. One writer lists having proposed “five or six” new alien types, while another states that the ones BioWare opted for in the end were specifically chosen for being in “cosplay-safe” territory. Another dev mentions that an entire system was constructed just to facilitate communication between species who were indigenous to Andromeda and those who had arrived from the Milky Way. The “species who were indigenous to Andromeda” part is important, given that there were also different ideas for how to handle first contact - making the Pathfinder a violent colonist who shoots first and asks questions later wasn’t something that was set in stone from the get-go.

“I think it was a project that couldn't have possibly lived up to expectations,” Neil Pollner tells me. Pollner was a senior writer on Mass Effect 3 before going on to write parts of Andromeda. “Not just the high bar of the original trilogy, but the logical expectations anyone would have of Mass Effect going to a whole new galaxy. Because the scope of [the first] Mass Effect was so incredibly massive, there was an inherent promise that you'd be getting a massive new experience with a ton of new things in [what was supposed to be the first] Mass Effect Andromeda - new species, new lore, an entire new galaxy at your fingertips, etc.

“But we were only given the budget for two new species, plus the Remnant. Not to mention that we couldn't even include all the Milky Way species. And we weren't going to be able to let you travel throughout the galaxy. This meant that we had to develop the story around some pretty glaring inorganic limitations. So, not only did you get something that felt (and was) much smaller than what you got before, almost everyone playing the game probably had something that they really liked about Mass Effect that just wasn't there.”

Pollner goes on to explain something I mentioned above - that there’s an inherent disconnect between making your character an explorer in a game where the vast majority of gameplay involves killing. “Ryder the explorer should have a challenging and dynamic first contact experience,” he explains. “Instead, you're almost immediately killing kett. So, some very basic pillars just weren't lining up.”

When I ask about the fact that several species had apparently been cut from the game - something I had already learned in previous interviews - Pollner assures me that I had “no idea” of what was dropped in the early days of Andromeda. He also lamented the iconic narrative and branching complexity of earlier BioWare games, stating that he wishes the team had been able to maintain the same level of variation, options, and consequences as the revered RPGs the studio was known for.

“The other BioWare Montreal writers and I were dreaming up and developing things for Andromeda months ahead of Edmonton officially starting the project - i.e. before the budget and scope had been decided/communicated,” Pollner says. “We just knew that we were going to Andromeda, with almost nothing else established, including even when in the timeline it would happen. And we set out to brainstorm and grow ideas that could organically serve that general premise. “That first contact expectation I mentioned? We'd developed ideas for how the player would navigate that. We were working on a process for the Milky Way species to learn how to even communicate with the new alien species. We were developing several additional species for the new galaxy, as well as several different storylines for why the expedition had been undertaken. Most of that pre-development work ended up not being used.”

“I proposed five or six new alien species when Andromeda was in its infancy, and I still think they had a ton of potential,” Hepler says. “[Ex-BioWare writer] Jo Berry came up with a few, too, they were awesome.

“However, I'm pretty sure those ideas are still property of BioWare, so even though I'm 100% certain they won't be used, I can't talk about them without getting some kind of permission.”

Given that Pollner had his own ideas for new species, and that Hepler had “five or six” on top of a “few” more from Berry, it’s reasonable to conclude that concepting was done for up to ten additional species that never made it into Andromeda.

“I remember some early concepts that were pretty out there,” Dorian Kieken tells me. Kieken was a design director at BioWare Montreal for Mass Effect 2 and 3 before being promoted to franchise design director at the beginning of Andromeda’s development. “One of the strengths of the original Mass Effect trilogy is that you can actually cosplay most of the alien characters - except the Hanar, although I wouldn't underestimate the creativity of some cosplayers. The intention in Mass Effect Andromeda was to introduce new races that would still be in the realm of cosplay, which is probably why more crazy concepts were abandoned.”

I was surprised that this was even a consideration, so I followed up. Kieken assures me that after Andromeda’s two new races had been decided on, their evolution of their design gradually went into more “cosplay-safe territory,” with the team consciously steering away from “jellyfish” types of aliens. “In the early development of the game, we explored a lot of new species. I'm not sure why we settled on the specific number that were in the final game, but my guess would be a mix of production reasons and having a reasonable amount of races to deal with knowing we were already bringing quite a few from the Milky Way as well.”

As Pollner mentioned earlier, the team only had the budget for two new species plus the Remnant. On top of that, they weren’t able to bring all of the Milky Way species, which corroborates Kieken’s recollection of why so many species were cut.

Given the context of these conversations - species being cut from Andromeda, first contact being muddled with militance, and even cosplay potential governing alien design - I also ask why, in the devs’ eyes, Andromeda was poorly received in relation to the original trilogy.

“I think it’s more story-related than setting-related,” Kieken says. “Andromeda has strong core gameplay that improved a lot over the trilogy, but the story didn't feel as strong. I didn't connect with the new character cast as much as I did with the original trilogy.

“It's also not a fair comparison as the trilogy is three games, so you have a lot more exposition and time to bond with the characters. That being said, I seem to recall a stronger rollercoaster of emotions in the original trilogy, which I think led to more memorable moments. From the tension of almost blowing up Wrex with your shotgun or gathering everyone on a suicide run, to the lightness of listening to Mordin sing ‘I'm the very model of a scientist Salarian’ or shooting cans with Garrus in the Presidium.”

Pollner also explains why Andromeda was perceived so differently from the original trilogy, citing differences in the amount of time the team were given to make the game, but also noting that the core issue was more systemic in nature.

“I think the thesis statement for why is that the Mass Effect trilogy was an incredibly demanding endeavor,” Pollner says. “The checks that were written for it, the complexity of the experience was insanely massive. The team worked their asses off non-stop for so many years, on back-to-back-to-back games. The prospect of doing the same thing again was not only exhausting to imagine, but totally impractical. Some of the ‘lessons’ learned from the original trilogy are ones that are important for game development but result in the player experience being less. When you're talking about triple-A development, the original trilogy is actually the anomaly, not Andromeda.

“Because I moved on from BioWare after my work on Andromeda was complete, I have no idea what, if any, future plans there might be. At the time of my departure, there were none.”

It’s worth noting that Pollner is clear about Andromeda being better than a lot of people give it credit for. While some of the concerns people had have now been verified by people who worked on the project - that there could have been more species and that the core premise of Ryder the explorer becoming Ryder the killer is inherently flawed - the team still worked hard on delivering an ambitious game within the constraints of what they were given.

“I find the game to actually be pretty darn fun, and once the technical flaws were ironed out, and the initial reactive disappointment faded, the game does stand on its own,” Pollner says. “There's some really good stuff in there.”

[source]

[mallowstep]

how do you find the energy and motivation to write like... everyday?? i literally cannot write unless i am possessed by a thought in my brain and forced to spew out everything onto paper. and then i cant look at it again ot edit it. like, i really love writing and if im forced to do it for school i will, but i cant write for myslef.

practice.

first, i want to say that i am going to describe how i write, but it is not necessarily going to work for most people, because it has to do with my own psychology and mental health.

second, i want to say that i view writing as writing for pleasure or writing for work. poetry, for example, i write for pleasure, and i would not apply what i am going to discuss to poetry. that happens when i have something to say. it is OK to not want to write for work. that's acceptable and encouraged.

third, i want to dispel a myth. writing consistently is not about motivation. it is about discipline. and you should take heart in that, because motivation is hard to control. you can't force yourself to want to do something, no matter how hard you try. but if you build up discipline, you can learn to do it anyway.

i'm not going to go into that now, because i'm coming at this from the specific perspective of someone with adhd who uses pressure to force myself to function, which is...a hard balance to strike, and not something i can strictly recommend. it does work for some people. i think of it as an arch.

but i digress, i said i wasn't discussing the specifics of how i function in day-to-day life, lest i encourage others to do as i do.

okay. so. where am i going with all of this?

part one: a long, fairly incoherent ramble about me and mental health and writing

well. i don't think the idea of writing for yourself is very helpful to a lot of people. i do write for myself. but that doesn't get my ass in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard. the thing that does that is not social obligation to others, either, it is the firm knowledge that putting words on paper is going to keep me from falling apart.

i don't do that for myself. i don't do that for anyone but the human need to hold yourself together. i am very happy i feel that need at the moment, and every time i have stopped writing* in the past ten years, i have lost that need.

* writing here should really be replaced with a broader term. creating things. making things. working with my hands and something real. but writing is the best thing i know to fill this in myself.

writing does not feel optional. i started writing seriously when i was not-quite-a-teenager and had untreated depression. it was desperate, then. the need to know i was capable of feeling emotions. since then, writing has been different things at different times. it has been a social need. it has been a creative need. it has been a demanding drive. it has been something i drag myself to do because i know it is good for me.

i don't have to write. i could paint, or draw, or knit, or code, or any number of things. i have used all of those things, and more, in the past, but writing is something i also enjoy.

sometimes writing is dragging myself to the keyboard. it is not always a flurry of words as an idea seizes me. it is, "i am publishing the next chapter of ashes because it is monday and that is what i do on mondays." but.

it is monday, and that is what i do on mondays.

i hate not posting every day. i hate it. i am Untethered. i spent ca. three weeks over the summer completely disconnected from time, but. i post ashes today, it is monday, i move on, i go through the days and they are not the same.

i hate not posting every day. i know that i would be doing better if i could just break through and start again, but figuring out how is hard. some things i know (ibtwicm is stressful because another person is involved, and that means that i cannot work with betas, even though the one i have is absolutely wonderful and i adore her), but other things are just that nebulous idea of not enough time to start.

i don't always have the energy to write. some days are bad. some days my head hurts. i don't have the expectation that i will never miss a day of posting. i've taken plenty of time off. but i like the rhythm.

anyway. let me try to turn that incoherent ramble about me into something...actionable?

part two: what i tangibly do

i have a schedule. that is not requisite, but it saves me from making decisions. i have a schedule and i have fics and one-shots and they all slot into that schedule by arc. i could have done it by anything, but arc was convenient.

anyway.

i figure out what i'm posting when i wake up in the morning, and i try to skim over what i've already got before starting my day. i flick back and forth between writing and whatever i am doing throughout the day.

(which is why, as i transition back into my normal pace, the thing i have been doing to fill the gap will diminish. less au chatter snippets etc, because that is what i have been doing instead of writing.)

by the evening, i'm usually close to done with the draft. i spend a solid chunk of time patching it up, then i do a round of edits, finish my other work, do line edits, and post.

if i have time after that, i start looking at tomorrow's post.

that's it. sometimes i don't want to work on something. too bad. it's on the schedule. or even, "too bad, we're posting something today." unless i am having a bad (read: low spoon) day, i do not waver in that expectation for myself.

in fact, i think the only way ibtwicm will get done is if the final chapter two chapters go up un-beta'd, because the deviation from routine makes me impossibly frustrated with them. we shall see.

anyway. i have spent years building the discipline to be able to do that. if you rely on motivation, do not think you can just flip over and magically learn how to turn an empty page into words because you told yourself that is what you are doing right now. so.

part three: how to build discipline

i said i won't be covering this, and i'm not Really. i'm going to tell you how to get started, and i am going to be the Bad Guy. i am not capable of doing this kindly. there are other, better, resources i encourage you to seek out.

so. you can't start by just. throwing yourself into it. it won't work, it'll be frustrating, etc.

you want to figure out what a reasonable word count/day is for you. i shoot for 3k words/day, but i figure as long as i'm above 1k, i'm happy.

[aside: if you are going to be writing a lot in a day, please take care of your body. have good posture. know how to hold yourself. etc. i credit years of playing piano as giving me strong wrists and nice, curved fingers, and exercises to build and strengthen the same muscles as you use for typing, but just keep this in mind.]

anyway, there's no right number. 100 words is enough. it should be -- what works for me is a number that's just slightly higher than what i can do comfortably, because it means i have to be focused, which keeps me on track. i think this is important. it is not the only way.

and then you just meet that goal. if you're new to this, writing 100 words every day might be hard. you don't have to limit yourself to 100, just hit 100 every. single. day.

eventually that will feel easy.

"i don't feel like writing," you will think, "but i've figured out how to get around that."

then you either feel happy with what you're doing or push your word count up.

me? i don't measure how many words i write, because i've already done all of that. for all i bemoan research and being stuck, i'm generally exceptionally effective. i don't think that's bragging; i think the number of asks i have answered with scenes i whipped out of nowhere demonstrate that.

i have spent years getting to the point where i can open up a blank page, on a day when i feel like crap (emotionally), when i have no ideas and no motivation and every word i put on paper feels robotic and stiff and terrible, and still finish what i started. it's hard work. it might not be worth the effort. but. that's what i do.

[tester2080]

The Leaving Cert is an awful system.

09/09/21

In case you are not from Ireland, the Leaving Cert(ificate) is the exam system that determines which uni we can get into. Rather than having a GPA via continual assessments or any sort of entrance exam or letter of application we simply have one set of exams. There are obviously other exams (such as the christmas and summer exams in other years), however, the Leaving Cert exam is the only one that matters.

When you take a subject you can either do ordinary or higher level. Ordinary level is easier but rewards less points, and higher level is more difficult, but rewards more points. A H1 is worth 100 points (except for HL maths which is 125) and is given if you get between 90 and 100%. A H2 is 88 points and 80-90% and so on. An O1 is 90-100% in an ordinary level subject but only 56 points. There are some weird changes to the system when it comes to medicine but I won't get into that right now. Universities award places based solely on the points you receive. This leads into the first problem.

Whilst the education experience is a multi year process (6 years in secondary school in our case), what determines your uni course is a single event, often just a single week out of many years of learning. This is insanity and leads to so many obvious problems. A person could be getting H1s throughout the year and forgot to study just one topic and end up with a H3 in the leaving cert at the end, and a H3 student could get lucky and study a topic that happens to come up and get a H1. Even a single grade can be the difference between getting into the uni you want and losing out. The leaving cert does not measure you abilities as a student, your effort, or even sometimes your ability. The leaving cert measures your memory and how well you can perform on the day. You getting 100% in every single subject for the past 6 years and a family member dies a few days before the exams and it absolutely ruins your mental state? Too bad. In the eyes of the university you are not a good enough student. You are a perfect student but got a bit nervous and stayed up a bit late the night before to get some extra study in and are tired the next day? Too bad. You've been getting 625 in every set of mock tests but on the day your mind goes blank with the incredible stress, the knowledge that one test will determine the rest of your life? Too. Bad. There are no exceptions to the hand of the points system and claw of bad luck. You cannot explain to the uni. They. Will. Not. Care. Nothing else is taken into account. Students will have bad days. That's just life, we're all human. However that must be accounted for. Nobody should miss out on their life's dream because of a single day. That is absolutely absurd.

When you ask someone what education is about t. There is a filter type system for different categories of posts and all that, so if you're interested in what I have to say, I'd recommend going there for the better experience. I also have no fucking clue how to use tumblr sof you ask them what the leaving cert is about they will say it's about getting into uni. Clearly there is a disconnect here. Where has education become so distorted that now it is nothing more than a way for universities to quickly and easily judge us? Education must be about teaching children, not for some uni test, but simply so they can become more knowledgeable, so they can get a thirst for information, so they can locate their strengths and weaknesses, so future generations can live better lives than we will. University selections must be nothing more than an afterthought. It is even worse when the leaving cert is a horrendously stressful system. We put ourselves through sometimes 6 years of stress and bad quality of mental health to make it easier for universities??? What a ridiculous idea.

The leaving cert isn't even a fair way to judge students. Here, I'll be able to determine how good you're likely to do in the leaving cert with two simple questions. Do you have a good memory? Are you good at maths? If you answered yes to both, the chances of you doing well are very high and if you answered no to both - well - the chances aren't quite as good. A huge amount of the leaving cert is simply a memory test. I know the state will talk constantly about how rote learning is discouraged and all that, but realistically that's not the case. Take for example the English paper. You get to know which poets might come and which poems you can use before the exam. This mean your teacher can simply write you a good sample answer and if you can remember it, that's at least a H2 for that part of the exam. And as for being good at maths - if you're good at maths you already have 3 subjects which you can say with reasonable certainty you will be good at - maths, physics, and applied maths. Students who aren't good at maths have nothing like this unless they are fluent in several languages. A big problem when you arises most of the non maths subjects are based on memory, and the ones not based on memory are based on maths. History? Memorising essays. Irish? Memorising poems. Biology? A lot of memorising. Physics? A lot of maths. Accounting? A lot of memorising. This continues throughout basically all the exam subjects, with only maybe one or two exceptions. I know someone who hasn't even started 5th year, and yet they already know they're screwed and have basically given up on their first choice course because they have dyscalculia and a terrible memory. They can try as hard as they want, study as hard as they can, but realistically, they aren't going to come close to someone with a good memory and are good at maths who put in the bare minimum effort. It's bizarre too, given the amount of jobs that don't require either maths or a good memory.

The subjects you can study in the leaving cert is also extremely limited. You have to study Irish, English, Maths, and a third language. In public schools you then basically have the option of History, Geography, Accounting, Business, Economics, Art, Music, Religion, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and DCG. There are no electives to try out things similar to careers you might be interested or anything like that. Now those that plan to go into business will be happy I'm sure, however, for most other people, the subjects have very little in common with the career you want to do. You're doing law? I suppose a business subject might somewhat help??? You're doing computer science? Maths is kinda related. Medicine? Biology sure, perhaps a little bit of chemistry? But at most 2 out of your 6 subjects will actually be any way relevant to your career. To make it even worse, public schools have subjects in blocks. This means there will 3 blocks of subjects and you pick one from each block. You're super good at both physics, chemistry, and business? Well too bad, there's a very high chance you won't get to study all 3, and you'll have to pick up geography or some other subject you have no interest in. In some cases all 3 of the subjects you like may be in the same block, meaning you'll have to pick up 2 subjects you have no interest in and will likely be worse at. Once again, simple luck plays a huge part in the leaving cert. Going into 5th year, the subjects you're allowed pick will likely change your eventual points by around 30 or possibly more. Furthermore, private schools provide a massive advantage, often with your chance of getting good grades being around 4 times higher. You were born with well off parents? Congrats, here's an extra 100 points have fun. Absolute insanity. The leaving cert is really just determined by luck every way you look at it. Now obviously luck plays a part in everyday life too, but the leaving cert basically caters to the lucky, and a whole lot could be done to reduce the benefit they have based on luck alone, rather than quality of character, or time studied, or effort put in, etc.

I suppose I've reached the stage where I should stop complaining and start giving actual suggestions for improvements then. Fine. Firstly, remove the idiotic one exam process. Instead have some sort of GPA system with continual testing, so it shows how good a student is on average, not just on their worst/best day. Increase the amount of uni places available so that getting into the uni and career you want becomes more of an afterthought, rather than a constant stress looming over you. Add more subjects and electives that will be relevant to the career the student is planning to go into. Make learning and discovering your strengths and weaknesses and just enjoying life in general a main focus. Give students time to relax and do sports outside of school, even in 6th year (which is something basically impossible to do under the current system). Allow the tests that determine the GPA to be open book. Make understand more important than simply memorising. Remove the subject block system so students can do all the subjects they actually enjoy and are good at. I believe that the single test system is one of the reasons that private schools perform so well, by removing that, I believe the scores wouldn't be so far apart. However additions restrictions, or even total banning, of private schools could be implemented. After all, surely everyone deserves the same quality of education. These are children and teenagers for gods sake. There shouldn't be a heirachy of education based on their parents wealth. All students should be given the same opportunities. Private schools largely do better due to having better teachers. There currently isn't a large enough supply of very good teachers to go around, and the private schools can simply buy up the majority of good ones. We should pay teachers more, a lot of people thinking about careers may be dissuaded from teaching, despite having a passion, due to the low pay. Many good teachers also go to places like Dubai thanks to the better pay. Overall in society, teachers are sort of dismissed as a profession, and if we wish to improve the lives of the next generations, this must change.