#Blog Series

[jstor]

April is Second Chance Month, a month dedicated to celebrating fresh starts and the breaking of barriers for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals.

All month long, JSTOR Access in Prison has been sharing a compelling series of essays, reflections, and creative work from incarcerated writers, educators, and advocates. The series explores how access to knowledge nurtures growth and community—even in the most restrictive environments.

Read the full series on the JSTOR Blog.

Image: "The Truth Is Prisons Are..." 2016. Courtesy of the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery.

[ochobiiiiit]

(Recommendation to read the entries while listening to music from the artist Alysha Sheldon for a better experience, trust me :3)

Entry No. 01

If I had to describe John Gutter visually, it would be as places and things that are purposefully made to look like place holders which, hey, that's kinda cool. But let's get the obvious out the way...

If you look at the layout of the level, it's mostly a straight shot with just enough turns for it to not be boring. Even if it sounds like I'm saying this negatively, that ain't a bad thing since it's the first level (and kinda feels like an extension of the tutorial), so it's understandable why is so simple compared to every other level... It would be kind of a dick move to start the game up with a ball buster.

I think of John Gutter as your personal playground for getting familiar with the characters if the tutorial wasn't enough.

And... yeah, that's everything I've got to say about it, cus' this level is all substance, no style. I don't have strong opinions about John Gutter (I think almost nobody has), it's basically the blueprint for every other level, and there are just so many ways in which I can say "Yeah... It's the first level, do you expect anything else?".

It serves it's purpose, it does so pretty well, end of sentence.

Honestly there's no point in dividing this section by my experience with each character individually because, other than Peppino and Noise handling a lot different from one another, the level feels virtually the same with both. There are no special gimmicks to stem from or really anything to say other than John Gutter being a total 'gimme' when it comes to P-Ranks. Many people (including myself) use the John Gutter P-Rank as a warm-up... I think the facts speak for they-selves.

There are 2 spots in the level where you can save some seconds in Pizza Time (If for some reason you don't know which ones I'm talking about)

I call these "THIS IS PIZZA TOWER, COMMON SENSE BE DAMNED"

First, dive here instead of following the route back down...

(Yes this was the obvious one, thanks for asking)

And then in this part, ignore the stairs... you can drop to the lower platform no problem and save quite some time.

And that's pretty much it for the tips and tricks.

Overall, John Gutter is okay. A good first impression, and useful to get used to the basics of the game, but really simple and easy as piss when it comes to the P-Rank.

Peppino P-Rank:

(Minus)

Noise P-Rank:

(Minus)

The Level itself:

Final Score:

[lionesslegacy]

Dear Diary: What I Lost Was Heavy, But What I Gained Was Holy ✨

I didn’t pray for this story. 🙏I didn’t ask for this kind of pain. 😔But somehow, through the heartbreak, betrayal, abandonment, and loss—I found God in a way I never had before.And in that holy place?I found me. 💫 There was a time I felt trapped.People described me as strong, vibrant, full of spirit—but what they didn’t see was how much I was holding back.One neighbor once called me a caged…

[amethyst-draws09]

Just to let you know with the ask series

All asks do get answered btw

#1 there is a story. Minor one. But there is one

#2 (As always all asks are answered with art

It will be done digitally and hand drawn depending on many factors.

The rules are

#1 no nsfw (duh)

#2 no making fun of my art pls. I know it ain’t the best but I’m trying over here 😭

#3 don’t spam. If your question isn’t being answered it’s most likely because I’m working on it.

#4. Have fun! I can’t wait to do this again! I did one a while back but now it’ll be with colour and better quality art! Hope you enjoy 😇

[tryslora]

On Being a Neurodiverse Creative: Introduction

Welcome to a series of posts (randomly posted—don’t expect a schedule out of me) on the subject of being a Neurodiverse Creative. About how being ND and creative at the same time affects my life and how I do things. How being ND can be both a superpower and a curse all at once.

To that end, let’s start this series with a proper introduction.

Hi there. I’m Tris, and I have ADHD. 

I just received my formal diagnosis this year. I’m 55 years old, and I’ve spent my entire life relying on coping mechanisms and workarounds, but it was only after my son started dealing with his own ADHD that I started to recognize that maybe, just maybe, I had developed those workarounds because of ADHD.

But I couldn’t be ADHD, could I? I tested well (so did my son…). I mean. I struggled with reading comprehension, and memorizing history dates felt impossible, but I got great grades as long as I cared about the subject. I was good at making lists, and I could get things done. Although I am a pack rat, and a mess, and if it wasn’t interesting, it just kept slipping to the bottom of the list, and oh… Ohh.

When I got my official diagnosis, my evaluator and I talked for a while. We had two sessions. One was the informal questions, one was the formal questionnaire required for diagnosis. Afterward she said that she was surprised I had never been diagnosed before. I blame it on my age, and on the fact that I was raised as a girl in the 80s. I was well-spoken, and quiet. My inability to sit still only translated into sitting on my feet and changing position, not running around the room. I talked a lot (too much, and was punished at one point by being separated from every other student so I couldn’t possibly chat wth anyone), right up until I learned I could read in class instead. 

I flew under the radar, and I developed those aforementioned coping mechanisms, and everything was great, until suddenly… it wasn’t.

So here I am at the age of 55 and I’m really looking hard at all my past habits. My past productivity. Things that worked then and don’t now, and vice versa. Places where my brain just STOPS and nopes out of a task. I am analyzing everything I do, and how I do it, and trying to understand myself better.

And I thought, as one does, that maybe I should do some of this analysis in public. Where other people can see it, and possibly benefit from it. Or at least, perhaps, feel like they are not so alone.

Because that last is a big deal. There have been so many times along my creative journey where I felt like I was one person feeling a certain way, and meeting one other person who also had the same problem/thought/etc. allowed me to break past whatever block it had caused.

So that’s who I am. I’m Tris. I have ADHD. I am still trying to figure out how to make it work as I try meds, as I get older, as day job and life stress get to me. And as things change, y��all are welcome to come along for the ride.

[bookishbrigitta]

Chewbacca's Family: Mallatobuck "Malla"

Malla is Chewbacca's wife/life mate/spouse/whatever Wookiees call it. She is the closest Star Wars comes to passing the Bechdel Test prior to its actual "pass" with some episodes of the Clone Wars, more than 2 decades later. She and Leia initially exchange Life Day pleasantries before they start talking about the men's whereabouts. 2/3 isn't that bad when only 1/9 of the main Star Wars movies passes at all.

Out of everyone in this movie, I think Malla has her shit together the most. She's certainly putting in the most work. In fact, I struggled to find photos of her 1) by herself and 2) that weren't blurry because she's too busy solo parenting, prepping for the holiday, dodging Imps, and all the other things moms are magically able to do. She strikes me as someone who'd get along quite well with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

Regrettably, Malla's costume is very obviously a recycled Chewbacca costume, which gives the film a certain Hapsburg-ian vibe.

If they'd only changed the face part more or even dyed the whole thing with some Rit Dye from the craft store...

Alas, they chose to set her apart with a shabby apron. I'm 99% sure the apron was to signal to the audience that she's a woman, which grinds my gears, BUT it makes a lot of sense that Wookiees would wear aprons in the kitchen as it would suck to constantly be getting food in your fur.

At least the apron is an improvement on the Kenner figurine prototype for her, which depicted her as a blonde with sizable tits...

Side note: So many questions about these guys! Why is Lumpy's waist snatched? How did they put boobs on the clearly-recycled Chewbacca mold? Why are Itchy's legs so far apart?

[timelinesofchromaticinsanity]

IORI's Backstory

The Insanity Spell - IORI’s Backstory

Many, many years ago, before this stupid script was created and when the land first emerged from the sea, it happened to be that a spell was about, searching for something to have an effect on. As it came upon Rainbow Isle, it was able to take effect. Not much is known about this spell, but it is believed that it stated:

“After slightly over a decade after intelligent life comes into existence on this land, there shall be insanity like no other; zany events will be commonplace, and everything will be overrun with madness; That is, until the intelligent life steps up to the plate, to allow the land to continue to exist and thrive.” (hm)

Hundreds of years passed, and, soon enough, “intelligent life” did come into existence on Rainbow Isle; marbles (wow). They all lived in peace and harmony (cliché alert) for a long time (outside of the occasional Maroon encounter, of course, but not many marbles were specifically targeted, so this was not such a common issue).

But then, 12 December, 2021 came, the day Cosmic crash landed in the streets at the south edge of Normality.

And that’s how this nonsense all began. -Written By Luminite

[superanjventure]

The Kingdoms of Ash and Echoes

— A Parable for a Restless World Song to play while reading: “Saturn” by Sleeping at LastScripture: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” – Matthew 5:9 Once, in a world not unlike our own, there were three great kingdoms—not defined by rivers or flags, but by how they remembered pain. The Kingdom of Iron was proud and unyielding. Its people believed that…

[thefeistyaries]

Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions

“Never let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” 🌀 Initial Reaction: Raw & Real When I first read Law 3: Conceal Your Intentions, I had to pause. “Keep the enemy guessing…” But who is the enemy these days? In the words of Monica: “Who is they?”And that’s the truth—they could be anybody.Your closest relative. A childhood friend. The girl from middle school who resented your…

[mangus-khan-blog]

Garden of Ashes

FICTION – FOWC/RDP/3TC MM#81 Opening Chapter: After the Fever The maps were worthless now. Roads that had once connected cities like veins were either barricaded or collapsed, scarred by craters and rusting husks of abandoned vehicles. Satellite feeds, surveillance grids—all gone dark in the wake of the Fever. What had started as a whisper of sickness turned into a roar. The Fever devoured…

[survivorincognito]

Next Tuesday... We Go Fishing (and Probably Regret It)

The first official Survivor’s Dread series begins next week on Survivor Incognito. I’m diving blind into Dredge, armed with nothing but poor judgment and permadeath rules.— What Is Survivor’s Dread? A new weekly series where I explore different corners of survival games—where horror, tension, and terrible decisions collide. Which was originally going to be called Friday Fright, but I preferred…

[brainypixel]

Welcome to the first article of our next blog series "Encouraging Christian Creatives, Season 2: Gifts and Talents"!

Check out this week's article on our website and keep an eye out for regular Monday posts!

[ochobiiiiit]

Note for readers:

[I'm writing this series of entries expecting that everyone who reads it has already played Pizza Tower. At the very least you should know the levels.

Even though I'm making an analysis of every level, I'm not going to explain absolutely everything and/or go super in depth on it. If you're an outsider, you're also welcome in this blog, but understand that this isn't a comprehensive look for the people who are not familiar with the game]

Recommendation to read the entries while listening to music from the artist Alysha Sheldon for a better experience, trust me :3

Entry No. 03

(Let me tell ya... I have some thoughts on this one...)

Ladies, Gentlemen and people of non-conforming identities. I'm not gon' hold ya... I'm not a fan of Ancient Cheese.

I'll avoid my biases to the best of my ability to give you the full picture of the stuff I have to say about the level... But I call this section "Overview and THOUGHTS" for a reason. And I think this level is mid...

for Pizza Tower standards anyway.

See, a thing with Ancient Cheese is that, even when I don't hold this level in high regard... I have to admit, it would be a solid level in any other game of this kind. But when your surrounded with premium quality (PizzaScape and Bloodsauce Dungeon)... is hard to stand-out.

So... Theming:

I had to google what the theme of this level was when I first played this game back in 2023. I think that's enough to tell you how well executed the """""ANCIENT GREECE""""" theme of this level is. My best guess was "Ruins", but that's not the same (I'm not getting into that discussion).

Okay--yes, at first I didn't get the pun in the name because I'm an idiot. But even when I realised it, I thought: "Is it really?".

If I have to actively look for stuff that tell me that this level is based on something, clearly, it didn't put much effort on doing so.

I know there are things that reference ancient greek art. But those are scattered around the level, they're very few at that, and the ones that look like it the most are towards the end of the level.

IT'S. NOT. ENOUGH!!!

The colors don't help either...

This mix of different shades of purple and orange, while very well used and a color palette that I like... Yeah, not the right pick if you ask me.

I'll give it some credit, tho... It looks good. There are like 4 different tile sets and backgrounds. I like how this level looks... when I ignore the fact that there's supposed to be a specific theme.

But yet again... WHERE THE FUCK IS ANCIENT GREECE IN ALL THIS?!

I know, I sound like a broken record. But understand that it's really weird to me that this is the only level where the theme is, at best, implied. But I'm gonna stop.

Before we continue... Why is the Treasure a jar of peanut butter? Why not... you know... A block of cheese? It doesn't have to be a specific type of cheese, but why is it like this? Maybe I'm being nitpicky here, but I just don't get it.

Okay, let's talk about the level design now:

It's... fine. It sounds like I'm low-balling it, but I think is just above John Gutter but below PizzaScape.

The level starts with wider spaces, and slowly encloses itself. But I do feel like the areas in general are a little... empty.

The disappearing cheese platforms are cool, the level uses them well, like in the part where you pick Gerome.

You have to turn last second to drop down, that's neat.

Also this part is exhilarating, it's a short rush of adrenaline, and I like it.

Aight' let's get this out the way. The inconsistency in the pacing of Ancient Cheese is the main reason I'm not to fond of it. There's a difference between balancing things out so the level gives you some room to breath, and cutting things short with a gimmick that's not fun but annoying.

Yes, I'm talking about the stupid bombs.

These things fucking suck.

You better be sure not to miss ANY throws, cus' you move slow when you hold one of em' and if you miss, you'll waste time recovering and, BOOM, you lost your combo. Oh, and you can't be too close when you throw them because the explosion still hurts you.

As I said, the way they mess with the pacing of the level is really annoying. I think no one would dislike em' as much if they were used less frequently in the level and in areas where they didn't feel as shoe-horned in as they are.

After getting this out my chest, I feel a lot lighter now.

Peppino POV:

If you think most of my criticisms with Ancient Cheese come from the Peppino run: first, get out my walls; second, you'd be correct!

Peppino is set to have the worse time in this level cus' he has to throw the bombs in an arc that's easy to miscalculate. I've missed more bomb throws in my time with this game and P-Rank attempts to it than I'm proud to admit. Now I'm very consistent, but I still don't like it. I think the only part that I actually enjoy with the bombs is in the second secret. You run a little course while holding one, but that's because it doesn't feel forced. Apart from that... Yeah the level is nothing to ride home about.

Noise POV:

Noise actually gets the upper hand here. The way he uses the bombs doesn't suck as much. You're still slow, but Noise holds the bombs with his mouth, meaning that you don't have to throw them because they explode on contact. Also, his faster movement and airborne focus improves the pacing... Cus' you don't have to stay in this level as much.

I'm going to give you just one tip, and it's for the Peppino run.

If I didn't make this clear already, let me spell it out for ya...

DO NOT RAW DOG THE BOMB THROWS! YOU WILL MISS!

These are some examples of what you can do when it comes to the bomb throws in order to, you know, not fuck it up.

I know that one's mindset changes drastically when in a P-Rank run. But you can still take a second to position yourself and throw it at just the right distance so it hits the target, or in the case of the second example... delay yourself by jumping down and throwing mid-air. Mind you, the first example is what happens more often.

So you'll need some trial and error to realize how far the bomb goes when yanking it and get used to how close or far you have to be in relation to the rat.

But remember, don't just follow your instincts and throw it at the first "chance". Take your time to develop some muscle memory for the (stupid, pace-breaking, fun ruining) bombs.

Mid, end of sentence.

Peppino Run:

(Derogatory)

Noise Run:

(Derogatory)

The Level Itself:

Final Score:

[lionesslegacy]

Dear Diary: If I Had to Break to Bloom—So Be It

You ever look back on a season of your life and realize…You weren’t breaking down—you were breaking open? Because that’s what growth really feels like sometimes.Messy. Loud. Isolating. Painful.But underneath the chaos?Something new was taking root.Something you. I thought I was losing it.I cried.I shut down.I doubted myself.I questioned everything. But what I didn’t see in that moment was that…

[shayaranasafar]

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