#this definitely wasn't a oh you're an adult who is a little forgetful tips for self help ! situation

[sunspira]

also finding out the discrepancy between my other cognitive skill scores and my working memory was abnormally extreme even for adhd people was very validating it definitely points to a more severe case and i had definitely been feeling like how come some adhd people are barely affected by it and some are like me like almost unable to perceive time (tho i'm getting better at this with intensive practice and special neurodivergent friendly tactics but it was never going to be something that i learned naturally)

"Catherine's is 55 points lower" instead of the average adhd persons 8.3 made my jaw drop tbh.

i definitely figured i was imagining it but no it's really um a bit debilitating and serious as a disability and stuff. I know i can come to adapt to it and live my best life but specialized therapy to adapt to the deficit and target the underdeveloped cognitive skills with special training and practice was very much needed and i'm glad i'm doing it now

IQ tests are dumb but i gotta admit being adhd i thought i was a little bit stupid my whole life but just good at school stuff until i was 21 and they had to test my IQ for the adhd diagnosis and the fact that it was a bit high was huge for my self esteem. i genuinely did not believe in myself like that at all i was expecting something very average. and it was healing to know that too since my ability to do school work fell off abruptly in college and thinking that was the one thing i was good at had left me was kinda more than a little scary so knowing i might have some intrinsic good parts of my brain still left was helpful to hear and healing i can't lie

[theonlybatopus]

@literalgarbageaus

So, once I started I couldn't stop? Living that no chill, no sleep life. I even made a mood board and like...it was stupid cringe fun? I say this because it's been ages since I had fun making a sona/self-insert so shamelessly.

Now without me blathering forever. Meet the useless background fodder sona (me?) I made for Cowtale!

Name: Nettie

Age: Don't ask, don't tell. She also legitimately forgets, who counts after 18 anyway?

Looks: Short, long haired, and always in a dress

History: Born in the East on a prairie, doesn't remember much because the family never stayed long. A family of wealth seekers, they went wherever the money could be and eventually settled in the Mid-West but she couldn't stay still. Raised on the move she needed to move. To see more and find whatever it was that made her feet itch. But you need money to move, which she learned the hard way. Nettie did a lot of dumb things, a lot of smart things, and a handful of down right dangerous things before she reached the town outside Ebott. With not a damn penny to her name to boot. For a long minute she worked in Saloons (plural because you can only pour drinks on two idiots, and accidentally drop fifty dollars worth of cups when you trip over your own dress before you get fired) as a waitress of sorts, till she managed filch a drunkards camera as a tip for sassing her one too many times. Initially she planned to pawn it but found she liked it enough to keep, and she wasn't half bad at it. Still, it didn't do a thing for her until the monsters came. When they came and every newspaper from there to the East wanted pictures but no one wanted to go to the town, she volunteered. For the heftiest fee she could squeeze out of them.

And thus Nettie launched her career.

Her photos were no longer just monsters but humans and the advancing technology. It was sights that made her heart skip a beat, including one particular monster.

And so, she hadn't planned to stay but she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet.

Personality: She can take of herself (and everyone else too cause she's used to it) but she would also like some cuddles and maybe someone to get her a drink please. Generally amiable but don't piss her off (not that she can do much about it, all bark with no bite). A little jaded and a tad lonely, she can be superficially friendly at first. She tries but she's been alone for a long time, how do you even make friends? But once you are her friend, she's ride or die. If a topic interests her she is excitable and soaks up any new knowledge, if it isn't she'll listen patiently but don't expect her to remember any of it.

Fears: The dark, being alone, vultures

Dislikes: Being touched without permission, salty foods, the cold

Likes: Spicy food, storms, anything new, photography

Favorite(s): Yellow, tulips, chili, rum, snakes

Dreams: To find roots, get over her past, enjoy life, take a picture that will go down in history, date a skeleton, maybe open a bakery, or a tailor shop. She has lots of ideas okay?

Other notes: Makes most of her own clothes because its hard to find stores when you're travelling (sews for relaxation and when angry because she can stab fabric with a needle and it's therapeutic). Good with baking and cooking after her years making her own food (bakes when stressed or anxious, she had to focus on it tasting good, no room for worries). Talks with her hands and boy do they flail. Does stupid things to make people laugh because what even is shame? Has a big soft spot for kids, likes them better than most adults honestly. Is actually a pretty decent shot but hates having to use a gun unless she has to.

Crush: Chisel

Friends: Literally anyone who tolerates her. She isn't picky, she just wants some company.

First Meeting Went a Little Like: Nettie was taking pictures of any monsters who volunteered, accidentally knocked her camera over and broke it. Informed Chisel might help. Cue some generic flirting from Chisel when she goes to ask. All of which she entirely misses because she's used to it (everyone in Saloons flirt, its background noise to her), and the fact that her camera is broken.

Second Meeting Goes a Bit Like: Camera is fixed and wow how did she not notice the skeleton before. Was that flirting? What did she do with flirting? Awkwardly flirt back. It's a joke? Yup. Hers was too. Ha-ha.

Third Meeting Is Not Better: That's definitely a crush. Maybe she should make eight million loaves of bread about it? Yup. Endless food. He thinks it's not bad? More food. And oh look at that, she may have accidentally made him a vest. Can she have a picture of him in it?