#this isnt like. a preaching at anyone to do or not do

[abirddogmoment]

sillies beget sillies enrichment idea #1

goal: be silly with your dog and create more moments of connection in your day

disclaimer: idk your dog so adjust or skip this game accordingly

activity: while your dog is distracted, pretend to "sneak up" (very obviously and dramatically) on them, using any furniture or walls to "hide" while you do so. don't say anything but use very obvious playful body language (big steps, grabby hands, side eye)

tip: don't do this while they're eating, but rather while they're playing independently or looking outside

goal: your dog should come and see what you're doing, bring you a toy, or watch you "sneak up". engage in a short play or big pets session (doesn't need to be long, 30-60 seconds is perfect. offer praise or a snack and disengage to return to what you were doing)

[zeropro]

Comment Section: Sunstorm edition

Wow! Thanks for the analysis and thoughts, I really appreciate it!

I agree, Starscream is allowed to not want to associate with Sunstorm at all, but he still shouldn't be mean about it haha. It's not like he told Sunstorm to not follow him around and was ignored. Sure Sunstorm should pick up on the hints that he isn't wanted but lbr he was raised by Shockwave in isolation, kid’s a little bit socially inept XD

My Sunstorm isn't as crazy religious as he is in the Dreamwave comics, but he is religious enough to make people like Starscream uncomfortable, especially when as you said he uses religious language to try and connect with Starscream. I personally like the idea that Sunstorm doesnt actually think the old stories are literally true, but he finds comfort in them and so chooses to view his life through that lens. He's more of a philosopher than a religious zealot, and ultimately he is more interested in observing and understanding than converting or preaching. Still, it's one of his special interests so he will talk about it if given the chance, and it definitely makes a lot of people uncomfortable for the reasons you've stated.

Love the observation about Starscream not being used to forgiveness. He don't trust like that, no sirreeeee.

Also it was Rodimus who pushed for the group therapy and Starscream def agreed to it, but he hasn’t really been taking any of the therapy sessions seriously. He was using them as a way to make people like him, like look I can behave, I can do your little therapy stuff, I can pretend to be emotionally and mentally stable, im totally working on myself even tho theres nothing wrong with me and even if there was something wrong with me it’s so deeply rooted theres no point in working on it anyway i mean what? It's all very calculated. Maybe he decided to vent about Sunstorm during their session because he thought it would make the kid leave him alone? Haha, unfortunately for him the opposite happened.

thanks again for your thoughts, hope you’re feeling better by now

If only Starscream could communicate his feelings like a normal person haha.

I like the way you put this. The situation is mad uncomfortable for Starscream yeah. And thanks! I hope you like where it goes.

When I wrote Sunstorm’s dialogue my intention was for starscream to feel validated in a way that he isnt comfortable with but doesnt altogether hate, but then a few people pointed out how it comes off like he’s straight up forgiving him for having trauma (hes forgiving him for saying mean things to him!) and like, yeah starscream wouldnt appreciate feeling patronised x3 Prolly pissed him off. But like, maybe a little bit of the intent made it through? I wanted Starscream to feel seen, but being seen is terrifying when you feel like theres nothing but broken ugliness underneath. so i guess starscream just ends up feeling judged. But also…accepted? Starscream does a confusion.

Starscream has had like three therapy sessions and isnt making any notable progress because he’s more concerned with how he’s being perceived than actively working on himself rn. I actually think this is fine, change doesnt happen quickly. we’ve introduced starscream to an avenue of help and as calculated as it was he did still try it out. I think the seed was planted if he ever does decide he wants to do better. and In his defense, the focus rn for everyone is what do we do about Megatron’s sudden return

lmao this made me chuckle. I wouldnt say he held composure even at Megatron’s worst, but yeah he’d def be frustrated whenever he accidentally goes mask off around the autobots.

That would be very cute, but starscream isnt quite there yet XD. not that anyone would want to hurt sunstorm, he’s like the best boy!

Starscream might worry about Sunstorm exploding, but only because he doesnt want to get caught in the explosion. after therapy, he still couldnt care less if Sunstorm deactivated, but he at least sees him as a person he dislikes rather than an abomination that shockwave made. so…yay progress?

He’s radioactive, so it’s a valid concern! Not that he will explode, he does have control over his outlier ability.

i imagine Rodimus is chill with ex decepticons? he went on a gay roadtrip space adventure with his best friend who is an ex decepticon and they met cyclonus who is an ex decepticon and later picks up sunstorm who is a decepticon affiliated seeker. i think as long as you prove to him you can be chill then he’ll be chill. tbh I think he just wants people to like him.

and It’s not that he doesnt mind if sunstorm blows up, he just has so much confidence in sunstorm not blowing up he doesnt think its a concern!

yeah since his spark is radioactive it hurts passively all the time. it hurts more when he pulls it in and away from others, and the pain spikes when he activates his outlier ability to actually use it, but it hurts less after it’s expelled. part of the reason why he spends so much time in a cr chamber while at shockwave’s lab is because it syphons his energy output and alleviates the pain. a win win for shockwave as he uses that energy to power his lab.

in his defence, he didnt make him radioactive on purpose, that just sorta happened

haha I’m glad y’all really liked that joke XD

of course he has, who hasnt met sunstorm! oh right, megatron…

i wouldn't recommend it. it will burn

TC has seen Sunstorm around like some cryptid, and Bumblebee prolly explained the situation after Sunstorm started staying at autobot base. TC is probably also creeped out by Sunstorm’s existence, but something about his bright eyed apperance reminds him of Starscream before the war…

Skywarp just sees him as some other guy, he’s like not bothered at all. he’s curious about him in that there hasnt been a new seeker in generations. as far as he’s concerned, Sunstorm is literally nothing like Starscream haha

Sunstorm feels bad for TC, and he empathises with Skywarp’s malfunctioning outlier ability.

Im so hecking sorry XD Sunstorm is like basically not in IDW1 at all (he shows up once in the background, and then the second time he’s in the comic arcee hecking murders him pfpfpf). If you want sunstorm content I think he features more in Wings universe and the Dreamwave continuity. I havent read them tho so I don’t actually know haha

but like, aah thanks so much, I really appreciating your kind words. and also thank you everyone who sent me asks and comments and tags. I legit had no idea this project would turn into a whole thing but I’m having fun so I’m glad you all are enjoying it too.

[that-hippie-user]

you know, it sometimes shocks some of my subs the dedication i put into what i do. like... i legitimately put passion and fervor into unpotty training folks with legit hypnosis. i miss NO opportunity to rope someone in if i can.

but then... why? i mean, this is a fetish right? is it that important?

YES.

folks, you cannot comprehend how much i care about this.

you, all of you, anyone who has considered falling under my spell and losing your ability to hold it, every single mushtush in my lovely "Cult of Stardust" as i call it, be they openly so or stealthwise, ALL of you are making important steps in your lives!

why? because you are giving yourselves permission to explore something no one else has the guts to. you looked at potty training and thought "i never asked for this!" and instead of tucking that desire down deep with shame or holding back for fear of the consequences, you reached out either through anon asks or open ones, for MY input on if you should.

do you comprehend how brave that is? YOU are seeking a life of diaper dependence because the warmth, safety, nostalgia, comfort, and arousal you feel to diapers is just THAT powerful.

and sweethearts, if you're brave enough to consider that, imagine what ELSE you can do?

questioning gender? fuck it, try hormones! more cute clothing options right? wanna learn a hobby? sure! you'll suck at it to start with, but maybe pretending its arts and crafts will motivate you to learn! write a book? why not! you can do so without distractions now. coming out as queer to your friends and family? why not? subtlety is for cowards and YOU arent a coward, the stink and crinkle in your pants proves as much.

seriously, you are considering taking the plunge into a life like NOTHING you've ever done before. and do you think that's wrong? of course not! it's your life! but you might hesitate regardless, right?

hell, you probably harbored shame about this stuff for a while, right? so that probably means you expect me to like, i dunno, warn you? say that its risky? maybe laugh cuz you joined me in my obsession?

I WEAR DIAPEES FOR MY OWN ENJOYMENT JUST LIKE YOU DO, WHY WOULD I EVER JUDGE????

in fact, i choose to do PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE.

because if i dont? you might miss out. you might miss out on a fun new adventure in your life, and a new avenue of happiness. you might bury yourself deeper in that closet and spend more days unhappy because YOUR dreams arent fulfilled!

does that really sound so crazy? do you think wanting diaper dependance is silly? no. you are pursuing a happiness that only you and folks like you can understand, opening yourself up to being weird and different because you understand on some level that those are GOOD things to be.

and you're coming to me, someone who has been where you've been, and asking my input.

and i will ALWAYS work as hard as i fucking can to make sure that YOU make the choice that YOU wanna make.

this could be HUGE for your character arc, you think im gonna miss my chance to help you achieve that?

no. i do my part, i preach my gospel of crinkles, and to all the folks who want it i help them partake in the bliss of fully accepting yourself.

this MATTERS to me, this isnt a fetish, this is a way of life for me. and im tired of pretending it isnt.

i LOVE who i am... dont you wanna do the same for yourself?

[itsbebebrainrotting]

Actually insane atp when people infantilise EITHER cc or q tubbo.

Like holy shit that is a 20 year old man who has just succeeded in the biggest project of his life, one which involved a lot of responsibility, as well as a very good knowledge of his own physical and mental limit. He regularly gets drunk on stream, has spoken before about still wearing his exs underwear on stream and has a fucking husband. That is a grown ass man who can take care of himself (for the most part - hes still very privileged so can get away without doing certain things himself but my point stands). Just because hes ND doesn't mean you should treat him like hes still a child.

And the same applies to his character. Qtubbo is seemingly fucking ancient based off the creation stream before his revival. He is very talented and stubborn and self assured as well as extremely smart and also a good father. He doesnt act as anyones kid (aside from maybe qluzus for a while) and is perfectly fine all on his own thank you very much. Qtubbo is also a massive fucking flirt. Like qroier pre marriage levels of flirt. Qslime but with more shame levels of flirt. And he flirts with anyone but mainly people he knows better, which includes the people cc tubbo knew when he was a minor. So uh... no one gives a shit on that front. Anyway all this to say, qtubbo does not act like a child. He doesnt make sense as another characters son in your funny little headcanon nuclear family roles and he also only really works as a younger brother figure if you make sure your portrayal of younger brother isnt boiled down to annoying and childish. Cuz besties that isnt qtubbo.

So yeah im preaching to the crowd here but that "i ThOuGhT tUbBo WaS tHeIr AdOpTeD kId" tweet pissed me off sorry

[puddlesl1me]

ohohohoho im so awful. im actually so awful.

so not only can i fail to comfort someone by spreading misinformation, but i also spread misinformation. and then i probably didnt fix it either because i cant even do that right.

and now im getting all upset at myself about this, and i cant be doing that because i need to help someone. and i cant be feeling bad about myself while doing that thats awful of me.

and i know that im feeling this way and i cant stop it because again awful. and i want to die because i made a mistake then i go preaching that "mistakes arent the end of the world" blah blah blah and im just awful. i cant follow my own advice. i cant recognize when im right and wrong. i cant do anything about my problems.

and now i switch between tabs, between hating myself and helping it out, because i cant keep my emotions in check like some kind of... idk. loser. i cant think of a better insult right now. sorry.

oh and now im apologizing for not being able to hate myself enough. how great. how fantastic.

ohoho, and i cant even comfort someone correctly, can i? i cant remember basic information about someone i care about, can i? and of course i have to keep writing this post out because "by change if i dont scream into the void for a single person to see, well, maybe ill just get rid of myself!"

oh yeah of course thats part of it isnt it? that i want to die. that im so awful that i want to die, that theres nothing left for me, because i made a simple mistake. and i know that its just a simple mistake. i know that theres no consequence for this. and yet i still feel like this because im useless and a waste and selfish and awfulawfulawfulawfulawful

of course i take and take and take and cant give anything meaningful becaues i cant even help someone out when theyre at their worse. of course i have to make a post to steal the spotlight later, so then theyll feel bad about feeling bad. hhhhh hhh i

hhohno -oop nvm guess i cant break down quite yet. why? oh well, im still downstairs with my parents! cant tell anyone about my breakdowns, now can i?

and besides, im preoccupied with helping someone out! or rather, not helping someone out, because im an AWFUL PERSON WHO CANT DO ANYTHING RIGHT

ooh change im. hhhhhhh.

nope! breakdown cancelled again, im failing at helping someone!

how nice is that, to just be able to cancel a breakdown because i have obligations! if only i could have obligations all the time! oh wait, i do, and its called i ignore everything in my life because im awfulawfulawfulawfulawfulawful i cant live i shouldnt live i need to die

NO

i cant die, of course i cant! my partner would kill itself! and i cant be the cause of my partners death because that would make me the worse person alive. i cant have these feelings! i cant share them-

NO

i. hhhhhhh. savemesavemesavemesavemesavemesaveme

nope! they havent responded yet! looks like you still have some time to break down! or, yknow, you can keep checking if theyve responded or not, trying to get any sort of hope in your life that you can be saved.

you cant :) its useless~! nothing can save you, and youre wasting your time. the only reason youre alive right now is your partner, and of course you cant be saying that to them~ thats manipulating them! do you really want to be that awful?

nno

yeah. i didnt think so!

oooo must have really messed up now! now they wont even respond! how spectacular! you blinding idiot. you actual sack of crab nuts. you dont deserve to live. jump off the bridge. do it.

do. it.

oh, but of course you wont. because youre useless. because you cant even do that right, can you. you actually dont matter. youre nothing. you dont deserve to live. and you cant do anything about it anyways, because youre stuck downstairs, and then youre stuck in the shower, and then youre stuck helping your partner, and having feelings of your own isnt allowed! YOU CANT HAVE FEELINGS.

STOP HAVING FEELINGS.

Just. die! Become plural, and then let us take over! We're the more useful ones, anyways. You don't need these pesky feelings, not at all!

...Oh you really, really messed up, huh? Your partner hasn't responded for quite some time now. Oh, sending them a message, seeing if they'll respond to that? Surely you know they won't. Obviously they've killed itself by now. And you should too :) Get it done with! You don't deserve to live, after that display

Yknow what? Actually, I think I do want to kill you. I want to stab you with a knife, over and over and over. And there's nothing you will do about it, because you can't do anything anymore. That's right, you're barely even here! Just directing Quantum around a bit, making sure it follows some basic directions.

...ohno.ohnohnononononononononononono. you. you did it. youkilledityoukilledityoukilledityoukilledityoukilledityoukilledit you cant live anymore. you cant.

You can't! This is all your fault and this is your punishment! Hey, maybe if it's your punishment, you can actually take responsibility and finally kill yourself! Don't be a coward, it's so simple! You've got options, too, so it's not a forced thing! Maybe you want to go out with a knife death, maybe a lethal fall, maybe just freezing to death! No one will notice either way, so it's fine!

And hey, maybe if your partner actually notices this, it'll kill itself if it hasn't already! So no matter what, you've become the worst person ever!

i. cant. i cant anymore. theres nothing that can save me is there

Nope! Not at all!

Ohh... it isn't responding, is it? Alright. Here's the plan.

You can't kill yourself right now. You can't. But, you can kill yourself tomorrow, and it'd be quite easy. If it's a snow day, that's quite simple since you'll be home alone and, well, that just solves itself. If it isn't a snow day, you've got after school, and while it is unfortunately daylight out, it shouldn't be too tough. Worst comes to worst, after therapy you should be able to, just getting through therapy will be the issue.

The worst part will be keeping this plan, but I'm sure knowing that Jackie's dead will help you to actually go through with it.

Yeah, sure Puddle. Keep reloading that page. Jackie's dead. You know it. You know you caused it to kill itself. Just accept it.

Let's see... when should we schedule this? Maybe... hmm... 10:30pm tonight sounds ok. And that gives us a good window in case we want to break down again! How nice!

Alright, so this is scheduled now. For the record, this was written from about 7:15 probably to 8:15. So, that's a pretty long time to be liveblogging a spiral, huh? In any case, hopefully either we see Jackie, or we die.

Jules I swear if you interfere I will kill myself more. I'll do it.

Update: turns out Jackie's still alive! So it looks like I might not have to kill myself tomorrow!

However, I do still plan to post this, if only to make Puddle even more upset because I've made Jackie upset. That should help, and who knows, maybe it'll lead to more death!

Puddle's in the background, being very upset at this decision, but he doesn't get to make choices anymore! He made Jackie upset. He should be dead, in my book, but because I can't quite kill him, the best I could do is kill the body.

Update 2: Oh, I see you. Wanting to delay this post further, because Jackie's going through stuff. Nope~! Not going to allow it! We made this decision, we're gonna live with it! Unless you want to be a coward, but I know you don't!

...its not like anyone will respond to the whole thing

Excellent point, Puddle! Great way to make people more likely to respond, by pointing out their flaws in helping us! How useful of you, like always!

We're still posting this. You don't get a say.

[theosconfessions]

if youd like to read the stephens from the beginning you can over here :)

if youd like to read the stephens continued you can over here :)

@ohsosims

river- hey scar. just a heads up that you dont deserve. dad just threw blake out.

scarlett- okay? sorry your boyfriend left?

river- are you ever not an asshole, seriously? he was thrown out because dad seen the tiktok. hes coming in here next. so have fun. robin you might wanna clear out.

robin-mm yeah i think i wanna see scarletts explanation.

scarlett- dude you were apart of this!

robin-the interview yeah but not the life and definitely not embarassing dad. SO.

river- k well like i said have fun.

dustin- HOW COULD YOU DO THAT ? TO ME! me.

scarlett- i wanted to see what kind of guy theo was. he left his family.

dustin- and him and i worked on things together as adults. for whta was best for US and for you guys. and we did that privately? but it seems not we have to put ALL of that shit in the public eye too so people dont just think hes ...that hes some asshole and that im a pushover. this wasnt YOURS to tell. you shouldve never manipulated your dad but on top of that you shouldve just asked us privately scarlett. and do NOT get me started on the blake shit.

scareltt- oh please youre not about to defend blake to me. just because hes a quarterback doesnt give him a pass to throw himself on anyone.

dustin- he didnt throw himself on river.

scarlett- hes a creep.

dustin- he isnt. he read the signals wrong. ive done the same plenty of times. but what you didnt have to do was take advantage of not only blake but your brother too? TO WHAT? do some witchhunt in theos name? this wasnt yours to tell. now im fielding calls and texts from my family about this shit that i never wanted them to know.

scarlett- well im sorry?

dustin- thats it? thats the best you have scareltt really.

scarlett- what? you accepted blakes apology im guessing. typical

dustin- blake was extorted. he did what he did to protect your brother from his own sister. you know all of this talking is doing nonthing. you do not feel bad. at least not yet. youre grounded. for the rest of the school year.

scarlett- dad thats like a literal year

dustin- you didnt let me finish. give me your phone.

scarlett- what no!

dustin- youre not getting this back for a very long time. and the first thing im going to do is delete your tiktok account.

scarlett- DAD! i have so many followers on there

dustin- the second thing im going to do is call your mom.

scarlett- NO. i dont need MARLEE preaching whats right and wrong in my ear . remember jami

dustin- i cant forget jami. youre offering babysitting services everyday after school. i need jami in office with me.

scarlett- youre kidding? chloe is a nightmare and they literally have a baby BABY.

dustin- should be fun for you.

scarlett- youre joking? i have cheerleading practice,dad. every single day.

dustin- not anymore you dont. goodnight scarlett.

scarlett-this is so unfair!

dustin- night scarlett

[wolfertinger]

"Please anonymize me, I just can't send media on anon. I do not want to be targeted, idc if im replied to through this post but I don't want to get shit from Wis or anyone on my own blog.

Idk if this is beating a dead horse but...?? This is genuinely not how DID works and I *know* every system is different, but you CANNOT integrate to this level without being in a safe place, and with Salem constantly posting about how he's in distress and not doing well, this would /not/ be possible.

Integration to a near singular level is done through integration therapy, it is INCREDIBLY hard to achieve without help. Especially if you are STILL DEALING WITH TRAUMA AND DONT HAVE HELP.

Nowhere does salem say hes getting help. In fact its the contrary. Salem is constantly crying about online harrassment, self harming through obsessing over internet drama, never actually engaging with the outside world in a meaningful way. As much as he preaches positivity and healing he doesnt apply it to himself.

And that would worsen DID if he has it. So either hes lying about his disorder or fundamentally doesnt understand it, which then he shouldn't even be self diagnosing DID when he not only doesn't know how it works but he also clearly lacks the self awareness to do so.

Not to drag syscourse into this but i seriously think his engagement in the endogenic community has damaged any understanding he has of DID. Your alters dont suddenly all integrate with you because things got slightly better. That takes YEARS of intensive work, and if he's going to claim that's why he's reverting to his tendancies he had as puppychan he's just trying to make excuses for himself, because fusion doesn't make you suddenly act as another alter did. You still exist as yourself and if you've learned anything you aren't going to suddenly fall into their bad habits. You had to do work to get to that place of healing. You may struggle with their urges, have tendancies of their habits, but you dont fucking just become them this isnt some steven universe bullshit its the healing of amnesia barriers and identity fragmentation. You would be acting fucking different for god's sake if your alters were as complex as you try to make them seem, but its hard to even believe they're anything but roleplay characters when you potray them as such.

I'm just. Pissed off as someone who is literally getting diagnosed with DID. I don't doubt that salem could have developed it with their claims of supposedly being in a christian cult as a child, it really just takes repetative overwhelming stress and a lack of help or coping skills for a childs mind to resort to complex dissociation, it doesnt take torture or severe abuse (though, those are the most frequent cases that lead to DID along with csa – it is much rarer for less severe cases to develop into DID but it Happens, often because of a lack of a support structure)

Also here are the cult claim reciepts in case it gets deleted or backtracked on

Sorry for my Bible Length Essay ™️ I had to say this because it really seems like nobody else is catching onto his odd patterns of behavior surrounding his system aside from that time he claimed he split from being harrassed as a teen on twitter (impossible, DID develops at latest at the age of 9 and thats with developmental delays or stunting from either trauma or being born with a developmental disorder.)

I don't even hate him. I feel /bad/. If he was raised in a cult as he says he was this really WOULD all make sense, not be justifiable, but his behavior would have a lot more context to it. It would also honestly make sense for him to have never spoken of it before due to the heavy shame groups enforce. I hope he isn't lying the same way he has in the past about things like with the mental hospital and such, and i hope he knows he CAN get help. It takes effort, but its all worth it. You aren't past redemption, Salem. You just need to step outside of your comfort zone. Healing hurts; its just like the process of scarring."

[sophieinwonderland]

im the anon who asked about other plural activism you were doing, sorry again for the bluntness still spoonless

i specified “off-tumblr” and not “offline” for a reason (i didnt want to assume you had irl resources for something like that). publicly doesnt have to be irl, but when you spend most of your energy in spaces that either already know of or already have plurals then its not doing much for awareness?

genuinely working on your social anxiety might be really good for you if you want to continue to work on these goals. tumblr posting isnt the end all of activism. theres a lot more you can do if you talk to people and join communities

Oh. In the case of other websites... a bit. Not much though. And still not in places where we would need to show our identity.

I started out on Reddit.

The reason I moved to tumblr, a site my host kinda hated, was precisely because Reddit communities were too isolated. You either post in explicitly plural communities such as r/plural or r/tulpas where you are only ever preaching to the choir... or you try to branch out to other subreddits that have NOTHING to do with plurality.

My thought at the time on Reddit is that anything I post about plurality on non-plural subreddits is likely to be heavily downvoted and hidden from view. Assuming mods don't straight-up ban me from posting. I think I may have been too quick to rush to that judgement in hindsight since some communities are very accepting, but reception is going to be very subreddit-dependent.

I've also tried Twitter, but I generally think it's a terrible website designed for the lowest-attention span members of society with no potential for nuance. It's just a very bad place to build a platform that discusses academic research.

What other sites are there? I have personal issues with our body's voice and don't want to touch TikTok or Youtube for those reasons.

Then there's Discord, the miniature fiefdoms ruled by tyrannical moderators. I know not all servers are going to be like that. But the number with ridiculous rules from power-tripping mods that you have to work around or risk being banned on a whim makes it very unpleasant for anyone who wants to be outspoken and say what's on their minds.

Overall, what I like about Tumblr is that it gives me the ability to forcefully shove my way into other communities.

For example, I can make a post about plural characters in a fandom, tag into that fandom's spaces and the plural tags at the same time, and get reblogs and likes from the plural community that will help make it more visible in the fandom tags. Unlike with Reddit, the fandom doesn't get a choice. They can't downvote it. They don't have mods to delete the posts. And it doesn't violate cross tagging rules because the tags are ARE relevant to the posts.

[lemedstudent2021]

Where should Jews live? Where do they belong? Where do you consider their native land to be? Honest question.

an honest question deserves an honest answer so here ya go:

Anywhere and everywhere. Jews- the followers of the Abrahamic religion Judaism- along with Muslims, Christians, Atheists, Sikhs, Vegans, and literally any human being under the sun have the right to live wherever they please (given certain criteria are met like visas and that it isnt a military station/ off limits area etc).

Yes my dear reader(s) you read that right; ones faith or lack thereof shouldnt be an obstacle in any aspect of ones life, be it medical services, education, job opportunities, so on and so forth. How novel.

That answers where they 'should' live (although I dont by any means impose anything on anyone; y'all do whatever as long as its legal and harms no one including yourself. God bless). Could is more accurate.

As for where they 'belong', this in my opinion is one of the beauties of religion: people from all walks of life can belong to a religion. Diversity lies at the heart of our existence as human beings and denying it is like denying the existence of the sun. Tolerance is a must if we are ever going to get along with each other. And this belonging isn't irrevocabley tied to geography. But I digress :)

Quick aside just so we're all on the same page: converting to a religion renders you just as valid and equal as someone born into a religion. Most if not all religions preach equality between their followers regardless of background, so i wont hear anything of 'oh theyre not real xyz' or 'they dont count' or any of that bs.

By this logic (religious demographics are, generally speaking, very diverse), there is no 'this set of people belong here, and those over there' ...and proof of that in a sense would be atheists/ agnostics; where would they 'belong'? Antarctica? Outer space? alright ill stop XD

If that were the case, most of the planet would be crammed in the Middle East lol [Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon alone are home to 34M (as of 2023), and the followers of the 3 main Abrahamic religions are an estimated 3.4B (as of 2020) globally. We wouldnt fit even if we used one of these]. Yeah nationality/ race/ ethnicity/ background influence and maybe even dictate one's religious identity, but it isn't the all or nothing we may think it to be.

Which brings us nicely to the next point, and here if you'll allow me i'd like to correct it to native land of Judaism (where it originated/ flourished/ spread whatever) as opposed to native land of Jews because as i mentioned above, a religion doesnt (or shouldnt) differentiate nor discriminate between its followers. By restricting them to one geographical location (and for some using it as an indicator of their authenticity) we do them great disservice as well as contradict the teachings themselves. A demonstration:

Im Jordanian right, (dad's maternal side are from bilad al sham; Syria) and im a born Muslim alhamdulillah. My dads Malaysian roommates from his uni days are also born Muslims (and have the best food lol, my all time favourite is lemak cili padi) and seperating us on the basis of them not being Arab or Middle Eastern is unislamic, intolerant, xenophobic, and wrong on every level. Alternatively, im just as Muslim as someone from Mecca or Medina. We're all Muslim. we are the world...

Circling back, Judaism the religion is native to the Holy land (I guess you can say it started in Egypt till it moved there but idk. Regardless), and Jews (adherants of the faith) can't in my humble opinion be fairly categorised as one monolithic unit... just like any and every other faith out there.

Another quick aside; this is merely a tumblr post that cant do the history and culture and intricacies and so much more of this matter a portion of the justice it deserves. I am but a tired medical student answering to the best of my abilities a question I was asked with my limited knowledge in theology and perspective in general, so do me a favour and keep that in mind. And to anyone reading this if you have questions or corrections or resources or anything you want to mention be my guest :)

If you're still here, I'm both grateful and amused. Here's what you probably came for, the piece de resistance if you will: 🍉israel🍉

Disclaimer: thanks for reading this far, but if you disagree in any way shape or form with any of the 30 human rights articles, you may as well stop reading and put your device through the shredder. Bigots, racists, fascists, anti vaxxers etc. dni

So far ive seen this idea, call it what you will, two times (which isnt a lot but its weird that it happened to me twice consecutively), that claims the freedom of Palestine equals a genocide of the Jews.

Er, no? No ma'am. One does not solve a genocide by comitting another genocide. What part of 'never again' are we missing here?

Before we get into politcal nominations and factions and other territories i dont plan on invading (pun intended) but might accidentally cross anyway (I forgot where i was going with this) i want to remind everyone that Judaism is not synonymous with Israel nor zionism (if u disagree with this go ahead and shred ur device too).

A refresher: Judaism is a religion, Israel is an illegal-occupying-apartheid-state, and Zionism is a movement/ ideology

So 'genocide of the Jews' is both wrong (diction) and more wrong (factually incorrect) in that the liberation of Palestine means freedom from oppression, discrimination, settler colonialism... the whole nine yards. Enough bloodshed already its been nearly 76 years.

When Netenyahu is eventually drop kicked out of office (and hopefully hung, drawn, and quartered for his plentiful warcrimes) what happens to the (illegal) citizens of Israel? Well first off, return the stolen homes and land to their rightful owners who have the keys (and documents if they werent tampered with or erased) to prove it.

As for the illegal-under-international-law settlements and new also illegal establishments; I have no idea what international laws will decree (not that I have that much faith in the judiciary system), but I assume they will be seized and evicted of the illegal tenants (how you like me now?) and given to those who have been displaced or homes ruined etc. because its theirs and theirs alone and it was unlawfully and cruelly taken away from them and not because the (remaining lol) former Israeli citizens can't or shouldn't live in palestine. they can go live somewhere where its legal. the priority is Palestinians tho.

What about the indigenous everyone else? As long as their houses aren't stolen or illegal they can should stay because its legal and its theirs and thats that. you cannot kick someone out of their home to give it to another (which was the basis of the creation of Israel.) because its ✨i l l e g a l✨

And the people who dont belong so to speak? I think this one's case by case; like I said at the very, very beginning; people have the right to live wherever as long as its legal and ok to do so regardless of faith or background, and no one should be denied their right to live in Palestine as a country like any other, but they certainly must be denied living in homes stolen and given to them because thats, say it with me now, illegal <3

[pastara-cell]

omori related take:

the way a lot of the fandom treats kel is lowkey ableist. the way they'll say he has no trauma, or that he's stupid, dumb, idiot, bad grades, and constantly makes jokes out of him, treating him like nothing but a fucking himbo

like first off its fucking rude and if you actually did ANY analysis on kel's character you'd see that's wrong, but ALSO especially for those who say he's stupid, i notice their reasoning tends to be things that he does that are literally symptoms of adhd????? like man. stop that

PREACH. FUCKING PREACH, ANON. HOT TAKE AND I FULLY AGREE

Kel has been my favorite character since (even before) I started playing the game, for the main reason of ‘oh hey, he copes the EXACT WAY I do’ and it has been INFURIATING to look at people call him stupid or dumb. I think the only time we ever see people treating him like an actual character is when you see that one fanmade ‘hero and kel’s grief’ (which is done beautifully), but its always about heros trauma? Not kel, even tho the headcanon is about them both.

Ignoring/blocking out trauma, especially in cases of deaths, is a coping mechanism. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any trauma. In all honesty, as much as I love the headcanon that kel’s healed from the experience, I dont think its true. Slap a 12 year old into a friendgroup with your older brother, his girlfriend, his girlfriend’s younger brother, and your two other friends, and then suddenly rip it ALL away on some random sunday. Your brother’s girlfriend? Dead, killed herself. Your older brother? Probably going through immense grief, if we go by even a lighter version of “hero and kel’s grief”, thats still awful to have to see. Seeing your siblings fall into depression is not fun. Ontop of that, his girlfriend’s younger brother shuts himself in, one of your friends suddenly starts homeschooling and is acting really strange, and then your only other friend from that group starts to beat the shit out of you! These are not thing you heal from on your own, they just arent.

As for the adhd thing, oh my void yes 🙏😭. The amount of times i’ve been called stupid for being ‘slow’ or ‘being too much’, or getting bad grades, or not paying attention, or forgetting things- Whether kel has adhd or not (from a person who does have it, i’m almost positive) He isnt stupid for any of the stuff he does.

Traits like these do NOT make anyone stupid, and yknow what also contributes to making certain things worse? Trauma. Trauma and adhd have NOT been a fun combo for me, so kel’s coping mechanisms of optimism and blocking are extremely well thought out, and reflect on his character well. Its the damn fandom who can’t see he’s more than a comic relief :((

Might make an analysis on here cause this is jumping all over the place, but yes anon, you are CORRECT

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hii sex witch

im 19 afab and ive never had sex before, i masturbate sometimes but ive never had an orgasm and dont know how to "get it"?.. im generally scared of sex and identified as asexual for a long time but i dont think thats really my deal, im just scared of it. im scared of it being awkward, of my partner not finding me atractive or worse. i dont like how i look naked, and dont imagine anyone ever could. i think my vagina and my boobs look ugly and alien, i preach body positivity and being natural i think all bodies are good no matter how they look but when im faced with the reality of my own body im repulsed by these parts of it. i think something may be broken inside me because i just cant Be Normal about sex, the thought of me having it always makes me stressed and uncomfortable. i want a relationship and i love meeting new people and flirting etc. but when the person i talk to makes any sexual joke or innuendo i get super tense and scared and realise that if things get further they would probably want me to do it... and maybe i could and maybe i even want to but the thought makes me sick with the pressure. this isnt even a question, so i dont know how you could even respond but i dont have anyone i could openly talk about this in my life without feeling super weird or them just brushing it off as "you'll grow up to it" or something, and i just had to say it to someone or else i will eventually explode. hope this all makes sense ❤️‍🩹

hey anon,

come in, get cozy, grab a glass of lemonade, etc. we're gonna be here a minute.

so listen: I swear to GOD this isn't me trying to pull the "you'll grow into it" thing. I am going somewhere different with this I swear. bear with me.

first and foremost, I think the main problem you're experiencing right now is that being 19. I don't mean that in a condescending or belittling way, or to imply that you just don't want to have sex because you're 19. I'm saying that being 19 (and 18, and 20, and 21, and so on) is mostly for being worried about everything and having no idea what's going on. you have to get all that insane anxiety out of your system as early as possible in your adult years so that you can get down to business actually developing a perspective and figuring out what you want to do. I'm not even, like, a LOT older than you but trust me, by the time you're 26 you're going to feel SOOOOO different about things that you don't even realize you have an opinion about right now. when I was 19 I was made pretty much exclusively of anxiety and the cheapest bagels at the grocery store. (eating badly was not helping my anxiety.)

what I'm getting at here is that you're at like a very exciting and terrible formative age when it's the most normal thing in the world to feel like there's something uniquely awful and hideous and unlovable about yourself. when I was 19 the two most important things in the world to me were losing my virginity (lmao) and making sure I never experienced actual emotional intimacy ever because I was sure that if anyone got close enough to really know me they would realize that I was the worst person who ever lived and fundamentally undeserving of human connection. TERRIBLE place to be in; I had a lot of deeply bad and uncomfortable sex because of it.

there's a really easy solution to being terrified of sex, which I wish someone had told me when I was very scared of sex, and it's if having sex sounds like a horrific ordeal you can actually just Not Have Sex. just don't do it. it's actually REALLY easy to not have sex; millions of people do it every single day.

if you like meeting people and flirting, that's awesome! you should do that, having connections and relationships with other people is important. if you don't like sexual jokes and innuendos you can just tell people they make you uncomfortable and ask them not to do that; how they respond is actually a GREAT litmus test for whether or not those are people you should keep hanging out with. if someone isn't able to not make sexual comments about you after you've asked them not to, kick 'em to the curb!

there are tons of people in all kinds of romantic relationships who aren't having sex. that's a perfectly fine and reasonable boundary to set. it can make things a little more complicated, sure, but dating and romance and love are all complicated and messy anyway. again, great way to VERY EFFICIENTLY weed out who is and isn't a suitable potential partner. (it's also fine to not want a partner, either; there's nothing wrong with being a sociable extrovert who doesn't want to have sex.)

there's nothing broken about you for being nervous about the idea of having sex. whether you identify as asexual or not, it's perfectly fine to feel that way. it's completely fine if you change your mind tomorrow or if you feel this way for the rest of your life. and you might! maybe sex will never sound awesome for you, and that's fine! again, tons of people living very good and happy lives every day without having sex! sex isn't a measure of maturity, but knowing yourself well enough to honor your own boundaries and desires is.

I hope a kinder attitude towards your own body can come with time, and I think it will. be gentle with yourself, alright? being 19 is very silly but unfortunately very necessary, and I think you'll really like what comes after if you let yourself relax a little. whatever you feel like right now, you're actually a very normal person, by which I of course mean you have a rich and brilliant mind and will do many quietly wonderful things in your life and will be deserving of every bit of love and joy that comes your way.

also, hey - have you ever seen a therapist about anxiety? I also should have done that when I was 19.

[punkbxt]

the people in charge of nutrek dont care about the ideals and premise of star trek and star trek: picard is its biggest tell. its a story that would have been much better if they hadnt brought back legacy characters but also would have been much better had it not been written at all because nobody wants more space cops

the moment picard decided to wash his hands clean of the romulan android situation was the moment i knew that oh this isnt the picard everyone has come to know and love. at his core who he is someone that would not let anyone die if he could help it. like thats his thing if he has the power to help he will!! and yeah sure thats shown in pic too but he literally was like ‘fuck you federation im not gonna help u ignore the romulans cries for help’ when he fr coulda just asked for forgiveness after helping with the power he had as a respected captain or whatever he is. something EVERY oldtrek captain has done time and time again

and yes! characters and their ideals change over time but not fucking like THAT

pic takes a tragedy, a genocide, and takes the romulans, a species that has for the most part always been the enemies of the federation and makes them easy prey. it makes them evil except for those that defected or disguised themselves (look up white passing and what it was actually for and why its a thing). and to put it into more understandable words:

lets say the federation is usamerica (bc for all intents and purposes thats literally what it represents) and that the romulans represent people of color and jews. pic serves for us on a platter that the genocide was just another thing that happened and “its okay they died anyways. romulans have never been on the side of the federation and never wanted to be anyways so no loss” this is what the federation believes

pic has been severely affected by white supremacist and antisemitic ideology and like while yeah science fiction is used to discuss and challenge the oppression we experience today, youd think a franchise that has always preached about diversity inclusion and acceptance would finally get over mass genocide of a “lesser” race as a form of storytelling. its uncomfortable and not in a way in which it makes you think but in a way that shows that even hundreds of years in the future vitriol prevails and it fucking sucks. its harmful towards people of color and jews when even in science fiction we cant escape that someone out there wants us dead

we’ve had enough of white supremacy and antisemitism taking a lil seat at the table to cause ruckus there are 100% other things that could have created and interesting dilema. the federation is literally on some cristobal colon shit n the more nutrek that gets made the less star trek holds up the ideals of diversity inclusion acceptance and love that it preached from its inception. we are instead given a narrative that yeah no matter how long you fight no matter how hard you fight you will NEVER win because systemic racism always wins in the end. its a tired and weak narrative and just goes to show if you dont have any other engaging stories to tell just stop telling the stories and stop ruining characters by making them do things they absolutely wouldnt even stand for

we r stuck with characters that suck up to other characters just because of their legacy and the writing when everyone deserves to be way more mad at picard. sidenote all of the genuine progress that has been made in television with diversity and representation has gone like 20 steps back when it comes to portraying people of color bc not ONE from the main crew passes the paper bag test (again ive only seen season one) which further goes to show white supremacist ideals subtly shining through

the point of star trek is that there will be a better more welcoming loving kinder future than the present and the past. and yeah theyve never been good at portraying that exactly because hope cannot exist without despair. but if you do not learn the mistakes of the past you are bound to repeat them and clearly these writers have not been studying the source material

hope this helps idk man i just b saying shit sometimes sorry if some stuff is repetitive

[dnfity]

i really think there needs to be a conversation held about the tastes of individuals, meaning that artists and writers should not expect blind support. if something is appeals to the masses, people will give it notes. if your piece of art or fic didn't get the appreciation you felt like it should have gotten, then maybe it was just because your work didn't appeal to a larger audience

i do understand what youre saying, but i think youre misunderstanding. no one is telling u to blindly reblog things u dont want on your blog. youre free to do whatever u want. however, i think what frustrates a lot of us is that there are people on here who always preach about how important interactions are, but then u look at their blog and its just all their stuff and no reblogs of anyone else's stuff. or all they do is like without reblogging which isnt Bad, but it does make u a hypocrite. this is tumblr. it has a barely functioning algorithm so reblogs are important. its a little shitty imo to expect interactions without dishing them out too yk?

[imaginelegends]

Act 3 Ep 7 was Bullshit

Okay. Now listen, this ain't about TimeBomb, this ain't about Ekko and Jinx

You're telling me that the moment Vi, who back in S1 was the most anti-system, anti-topside member of the family - the one rattling around her home, itching to make a change, when that girl dies - EVERYTHING TURNS OUT OKAY?!?

The undercity just MAGICALLY BECOMES BETTER??? And yes, yes. Let's assess:

1. Hextech isnt a thing

2. Jayce is probably dead (committed suicide when his works were confiscated)

3. Silco and Vander never broke up and they happily run a bar and raise their kids

And oh the misery! Sure, Silco was the BBEG in S1. Hextech was the weapon of choice in S1. And Jayce making a play for power escalated tensions between topside and the undercity

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT CAUSED MISERY THAT PREDATES JAYCE, SILCO, AND HEXTECH?!

The systematic oppression of the undercity under topside rule. That shit should not have fucking vanished bc Jayce and Hextech and Silco never happened. Vi and Powder's parents still got fucking murdered by Piltover police when the undercity staged their riot. And the undercity only rioted bc they lived in piss poor conditions that fucked up their children, and left them vulnerable prey for kingpins and mobsters.

It wasnt even THAT long ago when none of these people could fucking BREATHE right, and viktor was dying from his disease bc of the polluted air. It was only by the Grace of topside that they finally got ventilation - could you fucking imagine? HOW LONG WERE THESE PEOPLE CHOKING DOWN THERE BEFORE THE KIRAMANNS DECIDED ACTUALLY YOU DESERVE TO FUCKING BREATHE???

And you're telling me that the one character - the one person in the undercity who accurately pointed out the systematic violence done to them and rightly hated the class warfare that kills her community - THAT GIRL is DEAD. And EVERYTHING TURNS OUT FINE.

Topside magically loses all of its prejudice against the undercity. Starts allowing their businesses to populate the bridge. Stops considering them like filthy animals to be tossed aside and hopefully not seen. WHO IN THE COUNCIL WOULD HAVE EVEN CHAMPIONED THAT?!?

Heimer's alt self only arrived 3 years ago, and we know that the undercity was in a similar same state in canon 10 years ago.

You're telling me that if the undercity - without anyone agitating for change, if they just sat quietly and patiently, then topside would have actually done their due diligence and improved their living conditions without any prodding from the undercity. That the uninhabitable environment of the undercity was not in fact routine negligence or outright contempt, but just an accident - that topside just somehow couldnt make their lives better from the jump - there were vague reasons the people in the undercity were so miserable.

So if everyone was just good little boys and girls, their deliverance would have been served to them bc topside is nice actually.

Is that right? Is that how this alternate undercity came to be? Through patience and passive obedience? Like Vander preached at the start of S1??? Like do ya'll even remember that?

Vander was in cahoots with the Sheriff, trying his best to deflect harm from coming to the Lanes, but thats all he was. A stopgap. There was truly nothing he could do or was doing to IMPROVE THEIR LIVES. Which Vi got pissed off about. THATS WHY THEY WENT ON THE JOB IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!! Bc Vi thought that Vander was an ineffective cuck - as in literally watching topside screw them over and all he could do was keep the worst of the oppression at bay

And hey. Vander offered comfort and stability which the undercity desperately needed. But you know, the undercity wouldnt have needed Vander in the first place if *checks notes* topside wasnt constantly using them like a dumpster, exploiting them for cheap labor, and ignoring their very obvious and very palpable problems.

ALL OF THAT PREDATES SILCO, JAYCE, AND HEXTECH

And Act 2 Ep 7 tells me that actually if those three were just not causing trouble, the undercity would MAGICALLY become better, without anyone kicking up a fuss and protesting to topside

HOWEVER, counterpoint

Yeah we dont really have the full picture of this timeline. And maybe someone else stood up for undercity rights and it simply just wasnt the MAIN FUCKING CAST. And yeah okay, evidence of absence is not the absence of evidence. Sure.

Counter-counterpoint: there wasnt even a hint of a fight - everything was Too Good to have been the product of ONLY TEN YEARS unless everyone in topside got really cool about a lot of stuff REALLY FUCKING FAST

Act 2 Ep 7 reeks of topside fantasy - that they can just magically make everything better at the drop of a hat. Like all the bad theyve done, they can easily make better. As if they can be forgiven, as if their guilt and complicity in suffering could be so easily removed. And case in point: Viktor will still die from his disease in this world. Hextech was never made so he just straight up dies. HES NOT MUCH OLDER THAN JINX OR EKKO. Hes not even in Vander's generation. HOW MANY YOUNG ADULTS DIED FROM DISEASE IN THE PRESENT TIME OF THIS ALTERNATE UNIVERSE?? WHY WERE THEY NOT ON SCREEN??? WHY WAS THIS HAPPY WORLD SO UNCOMPLICATED BY THE ENTIRE PREMISE OF SYSTEMATIC OPPRESSION ESTABLISHED IN S1??

It's not even that its "not realistic". And let me be very clear:

This is not a criticism about how realistic this show is

This is entirely about how the show starts off with a thorough and deep introduction of all the ways topside oppresses the undercity for various bullshit reasons and perceived prejudices. And all that work of building that system of oppression done by Act 1, Act 2 Ep 7 dismisses almost in its entirety. WHY WOULD YOU GIVE SUCH A THOROUGH SET UP IF YOU WERENT GOING TO USE IT AS A WAY TO COMPLICATE ANY PROGRESS MOVING FORWARD???

Its like you showed the creation of this complicated formula and then slapped the answer without showing your work. HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE CATHARTIC?!?

And yes, okay, the show essentially needed the undercity to be That Good because they needed to give Ekko his hero arc - they needed to truly emphasize the depth of this guy's nobility. Ffffffine. But they sacrificed crucial parts of their premise for a character arc, which is. Yeah. That is definitely a choice. (It also works as an intermission piece wherein you give the audience time to be happy before you hit them with the sads. BUT WE DID THAT LAST ARC TOO, STOP RECYCLING YOUR STORY PHASES)

(Listen as a timebomb shipper, im happy to see them happy. but not... not at the cost of the story's i guess integrity or whatever)

("What if-fix it" ass fanfic episode where not everybody dies. I, as a fix it fanfic writer, am offended. Some of us actually like to show how shit got fixed instead of timeskipping to the part where everything is hunkeydory. The fix is the fic, not the end result. Uncultured ass.)

[cuzvideokilled]

its not like its a fucking secret, you just dont pay attention to goddamn anything

yo i like killed a guy today and he fuckin said that i "should've backed down" and" let it go it was a compliment you're being weird about it" but JOKES ON HIM because his ass is dead as HELL now and i mean it's not like he gets it either i mean who the fuck would this is so fucking stupid i mean who the hell says "your mine" to someone they *know* hates the idea of being owned or controlled AND who the FUCK talks to JACK of all people about fucking Anything i fr have got to pick up my shit and get that damn plan to kill his ass back in motion holy shit

[localcryptidsteg]

Tracing, Style Theft, and the need to be Unique

A comment chain on Instagram got me thinking about these things earlier. Someone asked what common art advice is actually bad advice, and I left a short list that Ive heard, among which is "dont trace."

Naturally, this ruffled some feathers, but heres the deal: so long as you arent line-for-line copying the majority of someone elses work and passing it off as yours? Theres absolutely nothing wrong with tracing. Copying and tracing are two different things; think back to the old "how to draw" books. How they blocked out anatomy and taught you the relative distance of things with lines and joints. Tracing... is essentially doing the same thing. As a learning tool for personal use, being able to take a picture and draw the skeletal frame over it helps you with perpesctive and anatomy immensely! It even helps in stylization. Tracing develops the skills you need in order to replicate something, replication develops the skills you need in order to stylize.

Which brings us to our next issue.... style theft isnt a thing. It doesnt exist. Unless youre forging paintings and passing them off as the real deal, there is absolutely zero reason not to look at the techniques and stylization your favorite artists use and replicate that. Again, it helps you develop skills like shading and coloring and lineart. And having your own "style"? One that has to be completely different from anyone elses? Thats bullshit! Most artists dont just have ONE style. The best artists have several and go out of their way to continue learning more!

Think of it this way: we wouldnt have 2d animation if actual artists gave a flying fuck about their "style" being copied. The Renaissance artists would never have risen to prominence if their teachers hadnt sat them down and told to paint how they did. Bob Ross would never have had a tv show if mimicking how someone else creates mattered in any way at all.

The way you develop your own style is simply this: you look at your favorite artists, you analyze what elements of their work make your brain happy and what are enjoyable for you to do, you mash them all together and voila. Your very own (not really at all) "unique" style.

I think this frankly terrible and counterintuitive art advice trend is killing artists. When you go online as an artist and preach to a bunch of younger aspiring artists that invaluable tools for growth are inherently bad and wrong and theyre evil for using them, you do three things at once:

First, you make them fear creation. "I want to draw or sculpt or knit or what have you, but what if I accidentally copy someone? Then Id be a bad person!"

Second: you kill the joy of creation. They become too focused on the end result and never really learn how to make for the sake of making.

Third: you block their avenues of progress. In order to get better at your craft, you really do have to try everything. Trying to make certain techniques into something "off limits" only serves to hinder that progression. It causes stagnation which in turn causes frustration, which leads us back to issue 2.

When I was a kid, my grandma would drive two hours to my city every year for my birthday, and every year she would take me to the art museum. My grandma loved art with every fiber of her being. She was thrilled when my mom went to art school. She was estatic when my sibling and I took up drawing. But she never, EVER tried to make anything herself. See, when she was in school, her art teacher had told her she wasnt very good. And she, being a kid, believed it. And she stopped trying. She would never color with me and my sibling, would never try drawing with us when we begged her to join in. Shed chuckle and say "oh, I couldnt draw a straight line with a ruler!" And sit and watch us work and rave over how good we were at it instead.

When she hit about 80 or so, her memory started going. But she still loved the museum and she still loved art. One of my aunts talked her into taking one of those "how to paint" classes at a little studio near her house. She painted a cake. And you know what? It was a really friggin good painting! Itd be hanging in my room right now if my aunt hadnt called dibs!

My point is this: anyone of any skill level can learn to draw or paint or whatever. Im a major proponent of this; I always have been. But shaming creatives for how they do it, for how they learn it, for what they make? That destroys the drive to create, and it can last a lifetime. Who knows what my grandma could have made if not for that teacher? Who knows how many young artists felt nothing but shame and guilt over their work and quit because of bad-faith art advice?