#its a difficult process to learn to separate what you actually think vs what you think bc its what will make you a Good Person

[fiafey]

it does frustrate me that so many people seem to base their moral and political compasses off. social media posts.

[mimzy-writing-online]

Writing A Blind/Visually Impaired Character: Canes, Guide Dogs, O&M

Wow, back in June I decided to take a few months break from blogging to recharge and focus on my mental health. About a month ago I began writing this specific post, slowly and in stages because of how demanding, detailed, and long it is.

I’m not sure when I planned to come back. I have about 200 posts with tags and image description in my drafts folder, waiting to be queued, but I wanted to finish this guide before I fully came back.

Come back with a bang, right?

But this blog, and specifically, my Writing a Blind or Visually Impaired Character  guide, has gotten so much traffic and support that I felt incredibly motivated to come back now.

So I finished the guide, and now here it is. It’s been a year+ in the making. Since the very beginning of this writing advice series about writing blind characters, I’ve promised to write a guide specifically about canes, guide dogs, O&M, and other accessibility measures the blind community relies on.��

In fact, if you look at my master post for this guide (now pinned at the first post on my blog) you’ll find that it was reserved as Part Four, even as other guides and additions were added over the last year.

In this post I’ll be explaining 

What Orientation and Mobility (O&M) is

How one learns O&M

About canes, from different types of canes and their parts, as well as how to use a cane. 

I will be explaining the sensory experiences of using a cane and how to describe it in narrative. 

I will include small mannerisms long-time cane uses might develop. 

At the very end will be a section on guide dogs, but this will be limited to research because I have no personal experience with guide dogs, being a cane user.

Disclaimer: I am an actual visually impaired person who has been using a cane for nearly three years and has been experiencing vision loss symptoms for a few years longer than that. This guide is based on both my experiences and my research. My experiences are not universal however because every blind person has a unique experience with their blindness

What Is Orientation & Mobility

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) is the specific skill of understanding and navigating the world safely and confidently with vision loss.

I’m going to quote Vision Aware’s specific definition [link]

"Orientation" refers to the ability to know where you are and where you want to go, whether you're moving from one room to another or walking downtown for a shopping trip.

"Mobility" refers to the ability to move safely, efficiently, and effectively from one place to another, such as being able to walk without tripping or falling on steps or elevation changes, crossing streets, and using public transportation

O&M can involve :

-learning how to use a cane, as well as what cane works best for you

-safely navigating obstacles with your cane, including stairs, ramps, elevators, uneven or curved sidewalks, through crowds, around furniture

-learning safe strategies for crossing the street

-planning routes to new or recurring locations

-using technology enroute, including GPS and apps like Uber and Lyft

-safely accessing public transportation

-how to ask for help when needed

-working with human sighted guides

A Note on the Blind Community and Their Relationship with Canes

The Perkins School for the Blind estimates that only 2-8% of the blind community rely on canes for navigation. The rest rely on remaining vision, guide dogs, and sighted guides. Only about 2% of the blind community relies on guide dogs however, and to get a guide dog in the first place, a person must go through O&M classes and use a cane for six months before they can sign up for a guide dog.

What this means is that 90% of the blind community don’t use a cane.

I didn’t know this fact until I begun research for this guide, and that number astounds me. 

Truth be told, while I have navigated my life without a cane before, I can’t imagine going back to the way it was before I got it. Even if I only need my cane some of the time, I can’t bear to not use it in the situations I need it. Having a cane made my life a lot easier, a lot safer.

I don’t know what to attribute this number to.

I might attribute it to the concepts of invisible vs. visible disability, internalized ableism, or the feeling of ‘not being blind enough’ for a cane, as well as accessibility to the blind community and knowledge, and access to buying a cane in the first place. I could write a thing about it, but if I try it’s gonna be its own post.

Onward~

How Do You Learn O&M? How Will My Character Learn?

You will have to find an Orientation and Mobility instructor and have them personally teach you O&M skills.

The O&M Instructor is a sighted adult who has gone to school for a bachelor’s degree and gone through O&M training themselves while blindfolded, usually fulfilling a certain requirement of hours (one program required 400 hours of O&M practice blindfolded before you could become certified), and apply for certification to teach O&M.

(Or, as is the process to become an instructor in the United States, where I am from. Becoming an instructor would vary in other countries, I’m sure)

To find an O&M instructor, you would reach out to your local school or foundation for the blind. Finding your nearest school for the blind could be done through…

Google search

Your Ophthalmologist (eye doctor) referring you to a school for the blind

A Social Service Worker reaching out to you and helping you contact the school

Possibly your school (as in grade/primary school, high school, university) reaching out to the nearest school for the blind on your behalf.

Unfortunately, there is not an abundance of schools and foundations, so your nearest might still be a far travel distance. My local school is a 45 minute drive away. For some it might a few hours away. 

This is, again, a U.S. experience, because our land mass is spaced out, and something like a six hour drive feels like nothing to most people (although is highly impractical and very difficult to a blind person who cannot drive themselves), but in other countries a six hour drive would mean crossing several borders, and other countries have different social programs.

There is not a full and complete database of every available school for the blind either, no one website to find every possible option. For example, the school I went to wasn’t listed in most of the website resources I found, even though it has seven branches and locations. 

This is more a complaint at the real life struggle to find disabled services, that there are few comprehensive resources out there. If you ask me, it should be made significantly easier to find and access your local blind communities. Accessibility and disabled services should be easily available everywhere.

If your story is based in a real world location, googling ‘school for the blind (city/county/country)’ should suffice in finding the one most local to your setting.

What might a school for the blind provide for your character?

Well, on top of helping your character connect to an O&M instructor, a school for the blind might provide other rehabilitation classes and access to additional resources.

Those rehabilitation classes could include lessons on:

-Reading/Writing Braille & using brailling machines

-Technology classes for screen readers, magnifiers, etc on your computer and smart phone.

My local school has separate classes specific to Andriod, iOS, JAWS, Zoomtext Fusion

-Independent Living skills (cooking, cleaning, organizing, planning how to get groceries and medications)

-Self Improvement (dancing, art, music, self defense. These were classes my school taught)

The additional resources form these schools might include- 

Referrals to counselors for coping with vision loss

Access to their audio-book and braille library

Access to magnifier devices, brailler machines (think of a typewriter for writing braille)

Some schools also offer grade-school or high-school education, meaning blind children/teens learn there instead of a mainstream school.

Some schools have lodgings for clients to stay at while going through rehabilitation, especially if the vision loss is sudden and severe. They live on-campus and take part in classes. Other schools only have day classes offered and you need to find transportation for every visit. Many schools might have a rehabilitation specialist or O&M instructor visit you in your home.

My local school did the last two. They had on site classes, but the school is a 45 minute drive from me, so I only visited a few times. They were able to send an O&M instructor to me. 

On Wednesdays at 3 pm she would drive to my house and give me lessons on using my cane. Those included her driving me to different locations to practice certain skills (like using stairs and escalators at the mall, or crossing a moderately busy intersection, or visiting a bus station to practice boarding a bus safely and communication with a bus driver where my stop was).

She also brought multiple different types of canes for new students to try out and determine which felt best for them.

The Many Types of Canes

Long Canes are used to sweep the immediate area in front of the cane user as they’re walking. This is the cane type that the general public is most familiar with seeing. There are several sub-types of long canes. They can also be called white canes or probing canes.

[Image Description: Man in business clothes traveling on the side walk with a white and red cane. End Image Description]

White cane can be a misnomer for two reasons: One, the concept of the standard cane for the blind can look different in different countries. In America, the standard is white with a red tip. In some countries the standard is an all-white cane. In some countries an all white cane might mean the user is blind while a white cane with a red tip means the user is deaf-blind.

Two, some companies like Ambutech allow customers to customize their cane colors and tips. Example: Molly Burke’s hot pink cane. My white cane with a purple tip. An all black or all sky blue or all red or all purple cane. A black cane with a blue or purple tip. Ambutech also allows customers to request neon-colored reflective tape to make their canes more visible at night.

Probing cane is not a term I’ve personally heard before, but it is a term Vision Aware uses on their website.

There are three main types of long canes:

Non-folding Canes: a cane that has no sections, cannot be folded or collapsed.

[Image Description: stock photo of man in business suit with a non-folding all white cane. End Image Description]

Folding Canes: The cane has 3-6 sections depending on its height. The taller the cane, the more sections it has. The sections are separate pieces that are made to snap together and are held together by a strong elastic rope inside the sections.

[Image Description: a folding cane with four sections, white with a red tip, and a rolling marshmallow tip. End Image Description]

Telescopic Canes: in which the sections slide into each other, similar to a telescope/spyglass, rather than pulling apart and folding. The handle is the widest section, and the tip section is the thinnest.

[Image Description: Three stacked images of a blue telescopic cane. First is of the cane completely collapsed. Second is of the sections partially sliding out. Third is the cane sections completely out and locked.]

Beyond that is also the Identification Cane. The function of this cane is to visibly identify the user as blind. It’s not used for O&M the way long canes are, there is no sweeping out the next two steps. It can be used as a support cane, however. 

It’s appeals most to the elderly who not only make up a huge percentage of the blind community, but might also benefit most from having both a support cane and an identifier for their blindness, in case they need assistance. 

[Image Description: identification cane with curved handle. All white with red tip. End Image Description]

A note: From what I’ve heard in the blind community, some people prefer solid/non-folding canes over folding or telescopic canes. The reason for this is that solid canes transfer vibration better than folding or telescopic canes. It’s said that the more sections a cane has, the less precise the vibrations are. 

Some cane users train themselves to understand the vibrations of the surfaces their canes are touching. It tells them what kind of surface they’re on (wood vs. marble vs. concrete), if there are nearby objects to their cane. While I rely somewhat on cane vibrations to tell me what surface I’m walking on (more on that later), it is beyond my current O&M abilities to use cane vibrations to sense nearby walls or objects.

Cane vibrations are just an additional information-sense to add to the others in use, and extra bit of data input.

Parts of the Cane: Materials, Handle, Tips, Sections, Elastic Band

Material

The three most common types of materials used to make canes are aluminum, carbon-fiber, and fiberglass. Each material has some drawbacks and benefits.

The ideal cane is lightweight and durable. It should be strong enough to withstand hitting something solid without bending or splintering.

Aluminum is strong and durable, but heavy. If it’s damage, it’s more likely to bend than break entirely. A bend can be straightened out, but it takes considerable strength.

Carbon-fiber is lightweight and durable. It’s stronger than fiberglass, and it can bend out of shape rather than splintering.

Fiberglass is lightweight but a bit rigid. If it breaks, it splinters.

Handles and Elastic Bands

While some canes can have specialized grips (plastic, wood, corkboard) the most common handle material is a black rubber handle that is about ten inches long, give or take. In the previous photos you’ve seen, the canes have had black rubber handles.

Here is an example of a cane with a wood-mesh material used as the handle.

[Image Description: a four section white cane with a red tip and a orange wood mesh handle, with black elastic band attached. End Image Description]

The benefits of black rubber handles over others are that it’s easier to hold onto, especially if your palms are wet or sweaty, than a plastic or polished wood handle. It also wouldn’t show the indents or scratches from wear and tear daily use. I’m guessing that is cheaper to make on the manufacturing standpoint, and thus is conveniently the standard.

Pay attention to the black elastic band attached to the handle in the above photo. Notice how it has a tied off loop? That is so that when the cane is folded, that loop can be stretched over the folded sections to hold it together.

[Image Description: a four section folding cane folded up with the black band around them. End Image Description]

Additional benefits or functions of the elastic could be to use it as a wrist strap while using the cane, or hanging it up on a hook while not in use. I tend to have my cane folded up and tuck my wrist under the strap to hold it more securely while carrying it. Images of that ahead in my cane-isms section.

Cane Height

Ideal cane heights depend on the user. For most users, you want your cane height to be to your shoulder, give or take a few inches. You might need a longer cane if you are a fast walker with long strides, or a shorter cane if you prefer to hold your cane at a lower angle than is traditional.

What I mean when I talk about holding your cane at a certain angle is that the standard is to hold your cane handle in your dominant hand and position it in front of your belly button, moving it side to side with each step. Traditional grip methods are holding your hand palm side up with your cane in hand, or to hold the cane at the section joint closest to the handle with what is called the pencil grip, holding the cane like a fat pencil.

Depending on the height, a cane can have anywhere between three and six sections. Longer canes have more sections. The top section includes the handle, and the last section includes the stripe color (traditionally red, unless customized) and the tip. 

The sections of the cane are generally slightly reflective, regardless of color. If you hold a cane up to the light you’ll see tiny specks of light reflected back, almost like very fine, tiny particle glitter paint. This detail is important in cane production because it makes the cane more visible at night, especially if something like car headlights reflect off it while someone is crossing.

Additional visibility at night can be added by wrapping stripes of reflective tape along the shaft.

Cane Tips

There are several different tip options for canes.

[Image Description: four different types of cane tips on a blue background with labels. From left to right: marshmallow tip, ball tip, pencil tip, glide tip.]

[Image Description: a rolling marshmallow tip with a blue background. End Image Description]

[Image Description: Bandu basher tip with a white background. For anyone not familiar with the name, the long, curved cane tip that looks like a hockey stick. End Image Description]

Some of these tips are better for the tap-tap method of cane travel, as in tapping the spots where you plan to step. They can also be used to feel out the shapes of objects, stairs, etc. 

marshmallow tip, pencil tip, 

They should not be scraped over surfaces, the tips will wear down much faster than they should. There are better tips for rolling over surface

Some tips are better for the rolling method of cane travel, which is the method I use. They aren’t great for tapping, but it can be done in a pinch. 

rolling marshmallow tip, ball tip, glide tip

The Bandu Basher tip, the hockey stick shaped tip, is best for hovering an inch off the ground and lightly tapping objects. It could be tapped. It should not be scraped over the ground like a rolling tip. It hovers.

After enough use, the tips will wear down and need to be replaced. The part of the tip that has the most contact with the ground, usually the edge of the shape, gets scrapes, sands down, and eventually begins to look like it was shaved off while still having bits of plastic still gripped to it.

Never fear, cane tips can be removed and replaced when they wear out, replacing the whole cane is not necessary.

Some tips slip on or twist on. Others hook on. By hook on I mean that the elastic that keeps the cane sections together also has a loop at the tip end that a hook onto and stay held into place. Look back at the photo of the rolling marshmallow tip and you will see the hook that attaches to the black elastic.

Cane tips sell for about 5 - 10 U.S. dollars, plus shipping, so it’s advised to buy several back up tips with your cane. I replace my rolling marshmallow tips once every six to twelve months. I don’t know if that’s considered too much or too often. The last time I needed to replace mine was June 2019 (It’s July 2020 at the date of writing this, but I’ve hardly left my home for the last six months because of COVID-virus related quarantine/social distancing.)

Sensory Details/Describing What Using a Cane Feels Like

Every surface type feels and sounds different when tapping or rolling a cane over it. It’s this difference that tells us a lot about our environment.

It tells us when we stepped off the side walk onto the grass, when we’ve walked inside because the concrete changes to wood or carpet flooring. These little details become trail markers too, useful for places we anticipate traveling to a lot.

Example: A week before every semester in college, I would travel to each of the classrooms and learn necessary routes. I learned that certain paths had giant cracks in the sidewalk that would be distinct enough to use as a trail marker to where I was on a path, or that certain paths went from cement to gravel, or cement to brick.

Carpet: The sound is very soft, and if you’re rolling your cane across carpet it sounds like a quiet swish-swish-swish. Tapping sounds depend on how thick the carpet padding underneath is, the thicker the carpet the softer the sound. If there’s a lot of padding then taps don’t make much sound, but if the padding is thin or underneath the carpet is tile or concrete then you hear a louder thudding tap. It’s still pretty quiet. If you’re rolling the cane you would feel a little bit of drag, the cane moves slower over the carpet. The thicker or shaggier the carpet is, the more drag it has.

Wood floor: Cane tips make rumbling sounds when rolling over wood floors. The smoother the wood, the less it rumbles. There’s a little vibration moving from the cane tip, through the cane and into your hand as you roll over wood planks. Very small. The more sensitive you are to vibrations, the more you feel it. Tapping makes hallow, thudding sounds on the wood. Sometimes they sound a little snappish if you’re tapping harshly. You feel stronger vibrations when tapping. Older wood feels softer, with more give. New wood is stronger, more vibrations in the cane.

Tile:It depends on the size of the tiles and the wideness of the grout lines, but it’s not a pleasant feeling. Tiles have grout lines, which are little divets between the tiles. The smaller the tiles or rougher the grout lines are, the more the cane vibrates in your hands. Every bump is felt running from the cane to your hand. The sound is a little grating too. Imagine fifty sets of stiletto shoes walking on tile, that’s what it sounds like when you roll your cane over rough, small tiles. Larger tiles with smoother grout lines aren’t so bad. Tapping the tile with your cane sounds like one really loud step of a stiletto heal, one step for each tap. Tile floors are usually found in bathrooms, kitchens, and industrial locations where the room is going to have harder walls (more tile, concrete, etc) and few furniture, so the room echoes more.

Linoleum: is a smooth even surface. It feels like your cane is gliding when you roll it, barely feeling any vibrations. The rolling sounds are very soft because of the lack of bumps, however tapping sounds are a bit louder. Not as snappish as tile or marble, but almost.

Marble: is similar to linoleum in its smoothness. Your cane glides when rolling. Tapping sounds are sharp. Because marble floors are common in high end malls, luxury homes, and fancy office building entries, places that usually have high ceilings and hard walls with minimal decorations and minimalist furnishing, those sharp tapping sounds may echo. Assuming there isn’t too much noise and the environment is relatively quiet.

Concrete: (I’m referring to concrete found in parking garages and industrial buildings, not sidewalk) It depends on the age of the concrete and how it’s maintained. Old concrete with lots of cracks and mini-craters feels very different from smooth concrete that was set less than a year ago. With old concrete there’s a rattling sound as your cane tip rolls over the bumps and those vibrations travel up your cane. New concrete can feel similar to marble or linoleum. The taps are loud thuds on dull concrete and sharper on new concrete.

Sidewalks: are made of concrete, but in my experience they feel a little different than the above example. Sidewalks have a grittier surface, they’re slightly rougher, more dry. There’s a bit more rolling cane vibration with sidewalks and the taps have more of a thud sound. And because they’re outside, you’re unlikely to hear any echoes unless you’re walking in an alley or between buildings.

Asphalt: is one of the worst surfaces in my personal opinion. Asphalt is the material used in roads and it’s made to be rough and gritty so that car tires can grip onto it and not lose traction while driving. The older and more damaged it is, the rougher it is. Because it’s rough the vibrations are much stronger, sometimes irritatingly so. I can’t roll my cane over asphalt because the bones in my hand can’t handle those kinds of vibrations, so I almost always use the tapping method instead. The sounds are gritty and dull. Unfortunately, asphalt is an unavoidable surface, unless you can find a way to never need to cross a street or walk through a parking lot.

Note: the white or yellow lines that have been painted into asphalt sometimes feel smoother because of the material they’re made of and because they’re added after the asphalt has been laid down.

Note: There’s something called tarmac which is similar to asphalt, used for a similar purpose, and more common in the U.K. (I believe) but I can’t say that I’ve ever knowingly walked on it so I have no personal experience to give you.

Gravel: Another one of those evil surfaces. Gravel is just loose rocks and they’re common in rural roads, driveways, some landscaping. The looseness of them is what makes them untrustworthy. It makes a crunching sound. If you roll your cane, you’re likely to end up tossing small bits of rock and dust here and there. If you tap, you’ll hear the crunch but your brain might not translate that into “it’s gravel” until you’re walking on it and only realize when you walk over it and the sharp rocks begin digging into your shoes.

Wood Chips: I don’t have any experience with this since vision loss and getting a cane, so I’m using my memories of being on the playground in grade school because the surface on the playground was wood chips. I’d say wood ships are a love child between gravel and wood floors. The surface is loose and rolling your cane over it would kick up loose chips and dust. It would probably sound similar to walking on sand I think, because wood chips are much softer than gravel but not as consistent as wood. If it’s rained recently, then the waterlogged wood chips sound even softer.

Hard Dirt: I’m thinking dirt roads here, which are a lesser evil to asphalt and gravel. They can be rough like all roads, but the material isn’t has hard and solid. Rolling your cane will kick up dust on a dry day, but if it rained a few days ago you might hear a soft crunch as you roll over wet dirt. Tapping will have a very soft thud.

Soft Dirt: Think gardening dirt. Because it’s so soft, it makes very little sound and is easily kicked up. There’s a bit of drag, about the same or slightly more drag than grass or sand. Tapping has almost no sound but you might feel a slight give as your tip lands in the dirt, a slight resistance as it sinks in.

Mud: Yuck. I’m imagining this getting in my cane tip and how gross it would be after. Sound and feeling depend on how wet the mud is. Wet mud sounds slurpy. There’s more squish if you roll or tap your cane. Your character might not identify it right away until their shoes begin slipping as they walk over the mud. This is a personal experience. Drier mud sounds soft and feels almost solid underneath your cane. Wetter mud has more drag for a rolling cane. Muddy areas are also generally uneven because top soil has been displaced, so muddy hills and fields have unexpected but usually subtle changes in elevation.

Puddles: have both a slurpy and splash-splash sound. The slurpy sound is more common with rolling cane techniques. The splash sound is more common with tapping. The deeper the puddle, the louder is sounds and the more drag you experience. I am not fond of this texture/experience.

Snow: I have zero experience with snow since the development of blindness. So no experience of what it’s like to walk through with a cane. This is something I hope a blind reader can inform me on so I can edit this at a later date. My best guess is that it has a soft crunch, softer than the crunch of shoes in snow. A lot of drag too. Rolling through snow would probably be near impossible, especially if it’s deep snow or hard packed. Again, my best guess. The last time I experienced snow was when I was twelve.

Grass: One of my least favorites personally. Too much drag. Worse than shag carpeting. It’s very soft and doesn’t make much sound either. Like a crisp crunch you can barely hear. If the grass is wet or frosty you hear it a bit more crunch.

Surface with fallen Autumn leaves: Leaves everywhere! This is a bit dependant on whatever surface the leaves are on. It would soften the sound of cement, but there would be a louder crunch on grass. If the leaves are big and very curvy/pocketed then they’re easy to push aside. Smaller, flatter leaves don’t push as easily. The driest ones will crunch under your cane. It’s fun sometimes, if you’re the kind of person who likes stepping on leaves on purpose, but if you can’t see the leaves it might lose some of its fun and be more unexpected. 

Sand: I’ve never personally taken my cane to the beach, despite living so close to the coast. The reason is because beach sand is so squishy and loose that it’s already impossible to stay steady on your feet. The sand is always sinking under your feet, unless you’re next to the water line and the dampness has made it firmer. So a cane isn’t very useful to me at the beach. Not to mention that sand isn’t something you want inside your cane joints if you want the cane to last. Sand will erode and damage the joints, regardless of if they’re metal or plastic. If I were to take my cane to the beach, it would make the softest crunching-swishy noise of sand sliding over sand, similar to what your footsteps sound like on sand, but possibly even quieter because canes are lighter.

Side Note: My mother sarcastically asked about rolling your cane through dog poop or gum left on the floor. Can’t say I’ve ever rolled through it, so couldn’t tell you. Use your imagination I guess, Mum

The Invention of Tactile Paving

These are amazing! Tactile Paving are those yellow (or sometimes grey) bumpy squares you see on ramps leading into parking lots or when crossing the street. In 1965, Japanese engineer Seiichi Miyake used his own money to develop a tactile brick that you could feel even when walking over it with shoes, and he designed this because a friend of his was losing their vision and he wanted to help. These are amazing, and accessible to everyone, even the blind who don’t have a cane or guide dog. These are literal life savers. Before I got my cane, if I felt those bumps under my shoes I knew to immediately stop because I was about to walk into the road. Because less than 10% of the blind community uses canes or guide dogs, this is the most accessible form of blind aide available.

[Image Description: a yellow rectangle of tactile paving in front of a ramp leading into a parking lot. End Image Description]

Note: similar detail, most doors in commercial buildings (in my localized experience) have a metal plate on the threshold to hold the door in place so there are no cracks underneath. The metal scraping sound when you roll or tap your cane on it is distinct but temporary and non-repeating, so it’s a good indication that you’ve reached and passed the threshold.

Blind-isms

I have a section in this guide about blind-isms, but these ones are focused specifically on cane use.

-Do. Not. Touch. My. Cane. Don’t. Just fucking don’t.

-The above ism comes from the fact that our cane is our safety net, an extension of our body, our eyes, the one thing that makes sure we’ll get somewhere safely. For that reason, blind people hate having their canes (or their on duty guide dogs) touched by strangers, acquaintances, friends we’re not very close to, some family members.

Important Note: That is a universal thing for disabled people. Don’t. Touch. Their. Mobility Aides. It’s assault. Touching someone’s wheelchair or pushing them around without their expressed permission is assault. Moving their wheelchair while the user is currently standing is assault. (Most wheelchair users are not paralyzed, but they still need the wheelchair because of their medical condition, which is not your business to know). It doesn’t matter if the wheelchair is in the way, the disabled person needs it right there, do not touch it. Touching or grabbing someone’s support cane or their long cane is assault. Touching or moving someone’s walker is assault. Touching, poking at, or tampering with someone’s hearing aids is assault. Touching their oxygen tank or cannula is assault.

Back on topic-

-Idle motions with your cane while waiting in line. I often rest my chin on my cane or lean on it

-twirl my cane like a staff when I’m alone and no one can see. I would not ever do this in front of anyone because I don’t want anyone thinking it’s a toy or they can just touch or grab it. I’m just a little childish and bored sometimes and idle motions are a common thing for people with ADHD.

-When carrying my folded cane inside (like say a store) I hang it from my wrist by the strap.

-Keeping my cane within arms reach at all times, even in situations where I don’t need it currently. Example: if we’re doing a classroom assignment where I need to leave my desk, I know the classroom well enough to not use my cane, but I won’t leave it at my desk, ever. (This does not apply at home. And in the homes of a very few, very trusted friends I will leave it somewhere I deem safe.)

-Having a set, specific place in my home (living with my immediate family, who almost never have guests) for my cane. In my case, it’s the top of an antique dresser in the living room, across from the door. It has a little bowl for my sunglasses as well. If I move out and have roommates, my cane will be in my room.

-Love me a bag or backpack that has enough space to discretely store your cane, but most of my bags cannot do that.

-People with folding canes develop a muscle memory for folding and unfolding their cane, so they can do it without really thinking about it.

-Unfolding my cane: I hold the black handle between my thumb and palm with my other fingers folded over the remaining three sections, cane tip pointing up. I slide the elastic over the tip, loosen my four fingers and roll my wrist to the side. The red colored section unfolds first and snaps into place with its neighboring section. I roll my wrist in the opposite direction so the next white section can unfold and snap into place with it’s neighboring section. Roll it back in the first direction and the third section snaps into place with the handle. My four section cane is now unfolded and straight.

-Sometimes I just grab the black handle and let the sections fall and unfold as they will, but this is less controlled and risks your cane bumping into something or someone.

-Folding my cane: I start with the black handle, lifting it up so the joints unlock. I fold it down, grab both sections in my hand and lift the second section away from the third and fold it over. Wrap my hand over all three sections and unlock it from the red section.

-Because I have a four section folding cane, the cane tip and the handle are on the same side while the metal joints are on the opposite side. Those metal joints are what my elastic slips over.

-A three or five folding cane will have the head of the handle (and its elastic) on the opposite side of the cane tip, and you will be folding the elastic over the cane joints and tip.

-A six section cane has the tip and handle facing the same direction like the four section cane.

-People with non-folding canes like leaning their canes up against walls and other objects when not in use. Corners are popular, the corner of a desk up against a wall too.

-But oh god the frustration when the cane randomly rolls out of place and hits the floor, it’s a combination of “Not again” and “did that really just happen” and “you had one job. one job.”

-Sitting with our cane tucked between our legs. Picture a bit of man spreading, the cane tip leaned against the side of our foot to keep it stable and the cane leaning against our shoulder or opposite knee, possibly also held securely with our fingers too.

-The no-manspreading alternative of that is with the cane leaning against our shoulder, cane tip resting on the toe of our shoe or the outside of it, held securely with our fingers or our arm wrapped around it, elbow hooking it.

(Okay, a while back I was looking for photos of someone using a cane to use as a reference for drawing Ulric. I only found three, and two of them were Daredevil promo photos. Which, no offense to Charlie Cox, but he is not blind and he does not use a cane in his daily life, he does not have that relationship a blind person has with a cane and the concept of a fifth limb, and it shows. So the photos were stiff and unusable, so I had to like use several photo references of different poses and Frankenstein them together to get what I wanted.

And I still haven’t finished the painting... fuck)

-In a car with a non-folding cane: 

-Right passenger seat- The cane tip goes all the way into the corner of the foot well to the right of my feet, with the handle resting over my right shoulder or on the seatbelt. It pokes a bit past my headrest. The longer the cane, the harder it is to tuck into a car.

-The U.K. / Austrailian / New Zealand / Japan version of this (because they drive on the left side of the road with their drivers seats on the right side of the car) it’s like this: Cane tip in the foot well to the left of my feet, handle on my left shoulder or on the seatbelt.

Backseat: the absolute worst. There’s less foot well room, and if you’re in a sedan there is almost no room behind your shoulder for the handle. I position my cane diagonally with the handle on the shoulder closest to the door and the tip next to the foot closest to the middle. 

-For this reason, no one with a non-folding cane will want to be sitting in the backseat.

About Guide Dogs

While my knowledge of guide dogs is limited only to what I can research and not personal, I will give you some basic facts and practical knowledge from said research.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind estimates that there are 10,000 guide dog teams out there in the world. That makes up 2% of the blind and visually impaired community.

Guide Dog Training

Becoming a guide dog is the most difficult form of dog training there is. The majority of dogs who enter guide dog training wash out and either become family dogs or go into a different type of service dog training, like medical response or PTSD/anxiety response, or possibly become therapy dogs, which is a career altogether different from being a service dog.

Guide dogs go through two or three years of training, which includes puppy training, basic socialization, proper behavior when on duty and actual guide training. Most service dogs only go through a year to a year and a half of training before they are partnered with a disabled handler.

Between the cost of training, the cost of housing and feeding the dog and the cost of vet bills from birth until being partnered with a blind handler, the overall cost of a guide dog is something like 30k to 40k. While most service dog training organizations require handlers to fundraise and pay for the cost of training (usually something like 15-30k), guide dog organizations give their dogs to qualified blind clients for free. These organizations pay for the dog costs through their own fundraising and charities. Fortunately for these organizations, guide dogs are a highly respected field and have a lot more charity directed their way, while other service dog types have less public interest when it comes to charity.

Guide Dog organizations have an application process, requirements, and a wait-list before you can be partnered with a guide dog.

Requirements to get a guide dog are (usually) as follows: 

Must be legally blind (as in not visually impaired, but legally blind) and have had at least six months of O&M with a cane and demonstrate enough O&M stills to navigate by oneself. They also require you to be responsible enough to independently care for a dog, able to keep up with training and retraining of the dog, as well as financially able to handle food and vet bills (which are at least a few thousand dollars every year).

The reason for cane training before getting a guide dog is because the dog cannot do everything for you. You, the dog handler, are responsible for knowing where you are and how to get where you need to be.

The dog can’t read stop signs or tell when a light is green or red, nor do they have GPS to find a brand new location nor can they learn that route on the first try, nor will they know exactly where you want to go when you say “Starbucks” or “library” or “school” or “mom’s house” and guide you all by themselves. That falls on you, the dog handler, having enough orientation and mobility skills to know when a street is safe to cross and knowing how to learn new routes and how to keep on route and make sure you make the correct turns. A guide dog can’t communicate with bus drivers for you either, they don’t know which number bus to use or what stop to choose. That falls on the blind person’s own skill.

Other Guide Dog Resources

Molly Burke is a guide dog user and has made several videos about what kind of work guide dogs do, her personal experience being a guide dog user for over ten years, how she got a guide dog, specific commands, unique experiences with things like travel, etc. She has a playlist all about guide dogs, but here are some of my favorite videos.

How Guide Dogs Guide A Blind Person

Guide Dog User Answers the Most Googled Questions about Guide Dogs

How I Met My First Guide Dog

Final Thoughts:

There is a lot more to be said about Orientation and Mobility, such as:

How do you safely cross the street with a cane?

How do you learn new routes?

How does getting a cane significantly change your life?

How do family, friends, and strangers react to you “suddenly” having a cane?

I could also write a ton on other tools the blind community relies on so strongly, such as screen readers, magnifiers, etc. In fact, I originally promised to include those in my master post when Part Four was titled  Part Four: What Your Blind Character Needs to Survive and Not Die. However, this guide is ages long and it feels better to focus on this specific topic for here.

Did you like this guide?

Consider checking out my other guides, links of which can be found on the master post here.

Follow my blog, I write and curate writing advice guides outside of blindness, I reblog writing memes with image descriptions, reblog soothing aesthetic photos with image descriptions, talk about disability, lgbtqa+ issues, ableism, and mental health.

If you want to further support me, this is the link to my ko-fi (however there is no such requirement nor pressure to do so, and please don’t worry about it, especially if you are in a financial situation that can’t afford it)

[sepublic]

A dynamic I’ve been thinking about lately it Amity’s relationship with magic

Bc if I was in her position I would prolly hate doing magic

Her parents are elitist assholes bc of it- said parents control her life over it - not to mention that it separated her from her one true friend growing up: Willow

So what if Amity grew up resentful of magic that she still did everything as perfect as possible due to her parents but hating every second of it

So what if Amity went to the human world for a summer tried to live a life without magic and she realized that yes, she can be so happy without magic that she can experience so many wonderful things but that magic isn’t always bad

After dealing with these feelings Amity realizes that Magic can also be beautiful and make her happy as well

           The way I see it, I think Amity IS someone who legitimately enjoys learning about magic, and even the process of teaching others… She’s genuinely interested in magic in-part because of The Good Witch Azura and is inspired by her role model, and Amity clearly enjoys reading books to kids! Not only that, but…

           …It’s not exactly canon, but there was this one DisneyTVA post that showed a cardboard cut-out of a sad and lonely-looking Amity! The caption explained that she pitched an educational series to the Disney executives but was rejected!

           My read on Amity is that she DOES like to learn, and if allowed to self-actualize, would probably enjoy becoming a teacher actually! But because of the way she’s been taught, Amity has confused/associated learning with school as a system and an institution; That these two are synonymous, that if you like to learn, you ALSO like school and its environment! She sees the two as one and the same, a package that comes together, and I don’t think Amity realizes that you can still enjoy learning, while hating the school environment!

           For me, I think the pressure and standards that the Blight Parents have put onto Amity have ‘ruined’ her hobby and interest for her, as now she’s turned Magic and learning from a passion into yet another means of social advancement; Which means Amity can no longer unconditionally enjoy it and constantly has to measure her decisions by which one attains the highest grade for her, VS just having fun and being casual with her mistakes!

           I headcanon Amity as someone who initially started off as a Gifted Kid and did very well, enthusiastically enjoying Magic and having a natural talent and passion for it… Hence why the Blight Parents were so insistent on Amity not being ‘dragged down’ by Willow and her late-blooming, in addition to their own classist attitudes of course! But as Amity got older and poured all of her energy into doing well in school, eventually she got burnt out… She began falling behind on her past successes, as top scores came a lot less easily to her, and Amity’s passion for school began to dwindle.

           And, it’s another reason why Amity is so frustrated and critical of herself- Because in the past she used to ace school effortlessly and barely had to put in effort, why is it so hard and difficult for her now!? Why is she becoming so anxious over this, it used to be so easy, is there something wrongwith her? And now Amity is afraid of having built up her parents’ expectations, only to have secretly ‘lied’ and thus will let them down… In addition to ‘falling behind’ the development of characters like Willow and Luz!

           Of course, Amity would NEVER be against her friends being stronger than her, but she’d definitely internalize this into self-loathing as an example of how she needs to be better! Because she used to be at the top, so why is she falling behind? Was she really never meant for greatness, is this some cruel joke by the universe? And it’d be difficult for her to get back into learning magic, because now it’s just a constant reminder of her own inabilities and alleged failings…

           As you suggested, I can see Amity getting away from her parents’ abuse, and initially trying to unlearn it by rejecting the concept of school and learning in general… But as she goes cold-turkey from this, inevitably she’s still gonna be less happy; Happier than she was before, because no more abuse and more love from Luz and the others! But admittedly, Amity won’t feel completely fulfilled, she’ll find herself missing the idea of learning more about magic, and she’ll be confused, because wasn’t school an abusive and unhealthy environment for her??? 

           So in comes Eda. To me, Eda and Amity are both alike in that… I see them as characters who actually have a huge love and passion for learning, but the specific structure of school as an institution, as well as the pressure to succeed by the Coven System, ruined this hobby for them. And I think Eda is well-aware of the distinction between learning and education, VS school as an institution and a system meant to make kids orderly and pressure them to succeed… So I can easily see her explaining to Amity that there IS a divide between the two, that there is a difference!

          And just as Eda rediscovered how to love learning about magic on her own terms, by getting away from the oppressive school environment and doing things her own way, amidst her own recent lessons with Luz about Glyphs… I can see her helping Amity rediscover that same passion, either by having lessons with Lilith at the Owl House and/or attending school again, but this time without the pressure to succeed and be the best!

          I think it’d be beautiful, seeing Eda, Luz, and Lilith help Amity reclaim her love of learning and education that was taken away from her and ruined by the Blight Parents! Helping Amity get back to learning about things unconditionally, doing it on her own terms and converting it back into HER choice, rather than those of her parents…

          Amity can rediscover how to learn about magic simply for the sake of it, and not just to attain some other goal! Luz in particular legit loves magic and is intrigued by it, I could see Luz’s ramblings and passion helping Amity as the two begin to collaborate, as Amity’s negative memories with learning are replaced with the positive ones she has with Luz, Eda, and Lilith…! Luz’s enthusiasm for magic is likely bound to get contagious, and remind Amity of why got interested in the first place, amidst both girls enjoying The Good Witch Azura together and continuing to be inspired by it, and one another!

           If I had to guess? I think that in a scenario where Amity was allowed to figure out who she was and what she wanted to do… I think she’d be happy with being a teacher! But specifically, one fixated on her curriculum and lessons prioritizing the enjoyment of students, a teacher who cares about helping kids really get to know Magic and actually appreciate it up-close, with less regard for trying to get high grades!

          I think Amity would work on her lessons to encourage students to really think about and engage with what they’re learning, instead of just reading it out of a textbook or something… Less blind memorization and recitals, or filling people’s heads like an empty box; And more inspiring thought and creativity, like tending to a living flame! And I can see Amity working to change the school system to be more geared towards honest education, instead of simply indoctrinating and preparing kids for their roles in the Coven System!

          I like your idea a lot, @imamwolf, it makes sense with what this show has to say, and I know I’m literally just regurgitating what you already told me, but still! This show has a lot to say about the relationship between a student, education, and a teacher, and how a teacher fulfills their role!

[murmurita]

No Contact Rule

No Contact Rule

When it comes to breaking up with an ex and making it last, employing the No Contact rule is sometimes the best option. "The No Contact rule states that following a breakup, you should not contact your ex through phone, text, or email in any form. This includes not bringing up the breakup with their coworkers or family members. The No Contact rule is so powerful because it allows you to sit with your sadness and scars without filling any voids or shattered feelings with someone else. When a relationship ends badly, the sadness may be so intense that we will do everything to ease it right now, even if it causes us more long-term anguish in the long run. You may acknowledge and mourn a loss more effectively when you go no-contact. This opens up space for something fresh.

Keep messaging your ex all the time and nothing actually changes from before the breakup to fool yourself into believing you might get back together. However, as Wade points out, this type of short-term comfort may be detrimental in the long run.

https://murmurita.tumblr.com/post/662811946303799296/no-contact-rule

Denying that the relationship was not functioning will not help you, believe me. Moving on, on the other hand, may be a lot simpler if you learn to live without them in it. Rather than diverting or comforting you from your pain, Wade thinks the No Contact rule may help you experience and transcend it.

Even if it is helpful in the short term, you will need to deal with the breakup and process through what went wrong.

No contact rules are no exception to the rule that breakups are full of complex emotions.

How Long Should No Contact Rule Last?

Approximately how long should the no contact rule last?

Last at least 30 days, the No Contact Rule should be enforced.

What should one do if there is no contact?

https://ex-back-expertise.blogspot.com/2021/08/no-contact-rule.html

Take use of the time you have left. Do whatever you can to improve your mood. Be your own best friend and take care of yourself since no one else will. When there is no contact, you have the opportunity to create a joyful and self-assured person for yourself. But keep in mind that you should not be doing it only to get your ex back. The only reason you should be doing it is to improve yourself.

There is a lesson to be learned here: to be happy, you do not need your ex. You do not need your ex at all, in reality. You may want them, but you are not required to have them. Wanting something vs. requiring something is a significant distinction.

https://antiszoc-kavics.tumblr.com/post/662812215169187840/no-contact-rule

Does Silence Make A Man Miss You?

It is important to note that this shift in viewpoint did not occur by accident. You will not feel better about yourself if all you do is sit around and eat ice cream all day. There are four types of activities that must be done in order to comply with the firm no contact rule, as explained above.

Will He Move On During No Contact?

Moving on to the next phase, which is recovery, a response from Julie Snelling I would want to utilize some of this information on my own Facebook site about recovering from narcissistic abuse. Is that okay?

a strict no-contact policy The Rule of No Contact for an Indefinite Period of Time Because this entire resource is devoted to demonstrating the ins and outs of a conventional no contact rule, I will not sit here and attempt to describe it for you.

He wanted to see me again after that, and we did so a number of times due of my feelings for him.

https://bordomismylife.tumblr.com/post/662812242356649984/no-contact-rule

I was wary, but I figured I could manage it since I am older and wiser, with a high level of emotional intelligence and maturity, and a lot of relationship experience.

Is he going to move on during the period of no contact?

How can you tell whether no contact is effective?

How Do You Know If No Contact Is Working?

H2: What makes the no contact rule so powerful?

One of life's unavoidable ills is the No-Contact rule. Nobody wants it, especially the bereaved, but if you want to fully recover after a difficult breakup, it is basically unavoidable. It is critical to stop communicating, seeing, messaging, sleeping with, emailing, or exchanging Morse code with your ex in order to let your heart to heal. In a way, it is like a detox, removing all the grief, bitterness, and sexual tension that is preventing you from moving on to the next chapter of your life.

Some ladies disagree with me and insist that they should keep in contact with their ex-spouses for various reasons. Most of the time, I do not believe these ladies are attempting to persuade me. The more a person tries to ignore the No-Contact Rule, the more important it is to observe it. So, unless your separation is amicable, you might think about hiring a breakup coach. It is excruciating at first, but it will be worth it in the end. Just like taking off the bandage.

You must not contact your ex (or another toxic individual) during the no contact period so that you may both have some space and time to heal your wounds and move on.

https://codenamenivon.tumblr.com/post/662812259032121344/no-contact-rule

Why Is The No Contact Rule So Effective?

No contact rule alone will not help you bring your ex back into a healthy relationship, though, and that must be understood..

No contact is intended to help you recover and grow as a person so that you may get your ex back in a healthy and long-lasting relationship.

This is by far the most challenging process I have ever encountered (in terms of emotional recovery).

No contact, then, will work if he is lost his sentiments.

Most of our customers are people who have been in relationships that have ended.

If you think about it, a breakup is really about one person believing they can perform better than the other, thus this stage makes perfect sense.

If it is your ex who decides to end things with you, they will likely be content with their decision for a while.

Although that is sad to hear, it is not always the case. You hope they are just as upset as you are.

Will No Contact Work If He Lost Feelings?

It takes time for a place to become devasted.

So, as much as I would like to sit here and give you a specific time frame down to the minute for when our clients experience progress, it is just not possible.

There is a gradual buildup of great things in the world.

Next comes a little worry after they have gone through the usual post-breakup tranquility.

When they discover you have not contacted them in a while, they do this.

https://ex-back-expertise.blogspot.com/2021/08/no-contact-rule.html

What Happens After 30 Day No Contact Rule?

It is at this point when the no contact rule really starts to show its consequences. They do not start to worry until they notice there is something strange going on.

It is not like you not to react or pick up the phone.

You do not have to rush into a relationship, but going on a few dates will give you confidence and that will serve you well in the long term.

If there is no contact, what will he be thinking?

https://shinbi34.tumblr.com/post/662812277491318784/no-contact-rule

Why is it so critical to avoid any contact with a narcissist?

What Will He Be Thinking During No Contact?

[H2] How long does it take for an ex to miss you if you do not communicate with them?

Keeping in contact makes it more difficult to let someone go or for them to let go of you. You have a bright future ahead of you, not a gloomy one behind you. You have to desire to let go in order to go on.

Never accept or give friendship as a sop to your grievances.

In order to avoid feeling like the "bad guy," people who are terminating a relationship will often advise they become "friends." They are not interested in becoming your companion. They believe that if you know that the end is not truly the end, you will be less likely to freak out.

Being friends offers the injured person false optimism that they may reconcile if they remain close.

In certain cases, ex-partners may find themselves enjoying a sexual relationship. Both parties feel they are reuniting, but it is just sex to the other.

When you learn that your ex viewed your sexual relationship as a "friends with benefits" situation, you may feel exploited and betrayed once more.

https://murmurita.tumblr.com/post/662811946303799296/no-contact-rule

Why No Contact Is So Important With A Narcissist?

It is unreasonable to think that two people who were once infatuated can instantly become platonic friends who are like siblings. In both directions, your ex is the absolute last person who can assist you in getting over them.

Watch out for zombies.

The majority of people have an ex who refuses to go away. Like a zombie, they reappear after a period of time.

Those of you who are familiar with other experts' recommendations may find this surprising, but there is a reason why I believe a no contact period should never exceed 45 days.

https://shinbi34.tumblr.com/post/662812277491318784/no-contact-rule

How Long Does It Take For An Ex To Miss You With No Contact?

https://ex-back-expertise.blogspot.com/p/maps.html

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https://www.dropbox.com/s/1xoq9ivyla701iq/No%20Contact%20Rule.pdf?dl=0 https://www.4shared.com/s/f_O7E-6B_ea https://www.edocr.com/v/9doyrbxz/exbackexpertise/no-contact-rule https://drive.google.com/file/d/17QqrwGrNJ8mvUW5tU1TTR0F4_CeQofU2/view?usp=sharing https://issuu.com/exbackexpertise/docs/no_contact_rule https://jmp.sh/P0Qys8L https://www.scribd.com/document/524413044/No-Contact-Rule https://www.calameo.com/read/006720318b61800f4e1d1 https://docs.zohopublic.com/file/36ig6f9f4647541f74af19de78dcf43ed73ab http://www.speedyshare.com/drive/s/5NLfxRSalP5w3C0zQyz4e9Ap4yfctB http://depositfiles.com/files/3vo62i7v2

[sapphicdalliances]

Dear Chocolatier,

thank you so much for being here!! my sincere apologies for the lateness and messiness of this letter! sorry about my incredibly inconsistent capitalisation! it has been updated on the 8th of january, and may receive more updates this week.

I’m a simple bitch with simple tastes; here is a general summary of my preferences, and fandom-specific notes and prompts can be found further down!

I very much enjoy:

Fics that are short, but imply a longer, deeper verse; since this exchange is for short fics, but some of my prompts seem expansive, I just want to give you carte blanche permission to dip into an AU, splash around in it, and simply not provide additional details.

Comedic tones, slice-of-life, lighthearted fun, any amount of improbable romcom tropes

Am also on board with misunderstandings and drama as long as there is a happy ending!

I’m deeply okay with AUs, and most likely would be down for any modern, romcom, fantasy/fairytale, gender swap, or remix/crossover AUs you feel inspired to explore! My favourite settings include mundane/urban fantasy (witches! werewolves!), anachronism-stew-with-magic western fantasy jumbles, and disney’s Tangled.

Writing tropes I love:

Proposal fic

Wedding fic where the couple getting married is not the main couple

Outsider/third character POV of the main couple

Exes who are still in love/getting back together

Friends-with-benefits-with-feelings/did a bad job keeping it casual

Shipfic where two or more couples are contrasted

Oblique declarations of love/saying i love you without saying i love you

Provision and caretaking (acts of service!)

Aggressive matchmaking/wingmanning by an enthused friend

Hanahaki, or any other improbably dramatic instances of Cannot Spit It Out

Arranged marriage/fake marriage/fake dating

Epistolary fic

Regrettably I also love a/b/o, especially the kind that emphasises on scent safety and contains little to no actual sex

Art tropes I love, if you offered art:

Art where the characters simply look fond.

Fashion remixes – street fashion, cultural/traditional clothes, festival clothes, renfaire-esque clothes, beach photoshoot, get wild with it

Putting animal characteristics on one or both of them

Botanical motifs + celestial motifs

When plants grow directly out of people

The thing where character A is focused on something they’re doing or seeing, and the character B is focused only, wholly, desperately on A. please… the Gaze

Depictions of intimacy where faces are partially or fully hidden, but the body language is gentle

Characters SLEEPING next to each other, or comfortably doing separate activities in each other’s presence

If you wish to get frisky with your fills:

Yes!

Go for it!

I don’t have strong top/bottom preferences (and usually enjoy it when they switch or are otherwise generally equitable) so whatever you’re in the mood for is fine!

Kink tropes I very much enjoy include oral, restraints, praise kink, when proud characters cry during sex because they love their partners so much, and xeno tropes.

I love non-horny sex scenes; comedic, silly, charged, fraught, or simply affectionate exchanges that happen to include sex are my favourite. Feelings are the real kissing disease.

But like, if you wanna get horny about it.

Chase your bliss.

They simply must be in love.

I’m not as into:

Kidfic

First person narration

Soulmate AUs specifically

Kink wise, my only major squicks are incest, teacher/student, and public sex/getting caught, but i’m also not super keen on daddy kink, toilet stuff, or anything with blades or needles.

In general, please avoid:

Character death or serious/permanent injury

Animal abuse or death

Infidelity

Hopeless or downer endings

Fandom specific info:

Haikyuu!!

changed my life, cured my depression, what can be said about it? truly one of the most important series to me of all time. all musings on craft and creativity aside, let’s focus on the TRUE LOVE!!

i’m all caught up with the manga and supplementary materials!

suggested prompts: - sakuatsu, being mean to each other on purpose vs. being soft to each other by accident - kagehina or iwaoi dealing with LDR - kyouhaba are forced to cooperate on an innocuous, preferably wholesome task, such as gardening, or finding the owner of a lost dog, and it goes approximately As One Would Expect - bokukuroo + overheard phone conversation: and you've slept together how many times now? hmm. yeah, that's not technically a bromance (not in a no-homo way, just in a we-are-both-so-stupid-and-like-each-other-so-much-way) - actually that overheard phone conversation would work for any of these ships.

suggested prompts, art-specific: - festival clothes!! - put some wings on some of them. now it's bird romance, which is for birds - (i lied, this isn't art-specific at all, wingfic is always welcome in any of its forms) - just pick up your whole boyfriend and carry him like that. maybe even kiss him.

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Oofuri

suggested prompts: - Hanai and Tajima really. struggle to get together. for like a bunch of years probably? Tajima copes with it by patiently processing his emotions in a healthy way and enjoying some casual dating. Hanai copes with it, as he does all things, by not coping - The ways Abe and Mihashi learn to take care of each other… Mihashi cooking 4 Abe… T_T

Promare

i simply think the twink and the himbo are in love.

Ace Attorney

favourite klapollo dynamic goes like this:

klavier: *genuinely and sincerely in love with apollo, in a very soft way* apollo: *furious* he's mocking me. why are you like this? klavier: I enjoy your company apollo: FINE, KEEP YOUR SECRETS

also consider: - what if klavier was a big ol golden retriever and apollo was just an angry liddol bunny. like, think about it

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Wotakoi

I love that this series has three couples in different stages of a relationship: one who’ve been together for years and love each other like well-worn grooves; one who have history but have only just recently begun a relationship and are discovering each other anew; and one who probably will not bring themselves to share a kiss for another 27 calendar years.

Narumi/Hirotaka: Honestly, the main couple of a series usually goes over my head a bit, but the more i thought about these two the more wretchedly fond of them I became. The thing I think of the most is how Narumi taught him how to smile as a child; how she did things that meant nothing to her, so easily does kindness come, but that meant so much to him; and how now that they are grown, he does things for her that take no effort, but shake her foundations. I think theirs is a love that grows quietly; something that cannot change the world, but can change them.

Koyanagi/Kabakura: My thoughts on these two are not complex, but they are deeply positive. I love how huge their personalities are, and how they fit around and against each other; I love the implication that despite their endless bickering, they are not an on-again-off-again kind of relationship, and have instead chosen each other over and over again for ten straight years. I love that despite everything, they are kind to each other, first and foremost; they find ways to apologise and to take care of each other, and treat each other gently in private.

Kou/Naoya: I love every ship in this manga equally but perhaps I love Kou/Naoya more equally than the other two? They are just so kind and so silly, and so sweet to each other in exactly the way both of them didn’t realise they were missing. I think about Naoya being told that Kou is “okay with being alone”, and realising that “okay with it” and “have accepted it” are different, and taking his little baby steps to fix it. I think about Kou giving Naoya every last drop of patience he’s trained himself not to accept, and doing so because it simply makes her happy. My only concern is that they are both bottoms. I don’t have a solution for this.

suggested prompts, fic:

- accidentally dating ft. Kou and Naoya, or, “and you’ve made out how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” - 5 times Hirotaka and Narumi almost, almost kissed, and 1 time they did; the unresolved romantic tension may kill me and it would be worth it - what Hirotaka and Narumi taught each other (apart from the more mundane gaming and life skills, i believe that she taught him how to smile and be loved by others, and he taught her how to be loved by herself!) - smutty domesticity ft. Koyanagi and Kabakura — a lazy Sunday, laundry in the sun, fucking on the couch, everything easy with familiarity - (addendum to above: pegging)

suggested prompts, art: - festival clothes - someone’s getting married - naoya: *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a tangerine* *hands kou a t - red string of fate motifs

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun

seowaka: they are idiots, and they like each other very much, but they do not know. i love a tall crying boy and his short but much more powerful girlfriend.

chiyo/nozaki + chiyo/nozaki/mikorin: im rooting for her in the face of such overwhelming stupidity. one himbo is difficult enough to seduce but two. chiyo is a hero and a woman of rare courage. i like the pair and the trio equally; again, if you go with trio, it’s important that they all love each other please!

suggested prompts: - 5 times any of these ships went on a date without realising, and the time they realised - urban fantasy AU where Waka is a hapless monster hunter and Seo is an annoying but deeply harmless werewolf who’s been terrorizing his town?? - fairytale AU where Seo believes she must rescue the prince from the tower and deliver him back to the kingdom capital, and the prince, who had not realised he’d been kidnapped, thinks Seo is a usurper from a rival kingdom who must be supervised all the way back to the kingdom capital to be served her justice

suggested prompts, art-specific: - festival clothes… - nozaki carrying chiyo, who’s carrying mikorin - (seo carrying waka) - waka sleeping peacefully in seo’s presence… :’(

Or please do remix it with any of my general tropes listed above!

we made it through all the fandoms.

Thank you for making it to the end of this whole disaster; I hope at least one of the prompts sparked joy! The most important thing to me is that whatever you end up doing, you are able to enjoy the process at least somewhat, and deliver a creation that you like! I can also be found on twitter at @hawberries_ (for art) and @popplioikawa (for general ramblings). If you need some more inspo, I recommend going through my art tags for the selected ships because I put a lot of Opinions into my fanart.

[branchingcrossroads]

Thinking more on awareness-consciousness-sentience, trying to logic through it.

To be able to learn and act, an organism needs to be able to prioritize information. No matter how much processing power you have, you need a way to allocate it. I don’t know what kind of impoverished environment (coupled with enormous processing power) would allow you to process all stimuli equally and get away with it.

If we have prioritization, we have “attention” in some form - as the spotlight that zeroes in on high-priority information.

“Attention” ties into “awareness”. If we devote more “attention” to a stimulus, we process it more quickly and/or in greater depth, we are more “aware” of it.

“Awareness“ introduces more ambiguity, though. If something falls below some threshold, are we “unaware” of it? Can we still “perceive” it without being “aware” of it? Should we define “conscious awareness” vs “unconscious awareness” vs “unawareness” - and if so, where do we draw the dividing lines? Does “awareness” presuppose a sentient agent, or can we talk about an amoeba’s “awareness” of water temperature?

To sidestep the whole issue, will try to avoid the term “awareness” for the time being. (And won’t even touch “sentience”. ATM I’ve no idea how to even approach that term.)

Let’s simplify “self-awareness“ to “the action of directing attention toward oneself“. (I think it makes more sense to see it as an action, not an inherent quality. “The capacity for self-awareness” is a quality, but not even the most self-aware (or self-obsessed) mind can direct its full attention inwards 24/7.)

Directing attention inwards draws processing power away from external stimuli. It’s is a trade-off. On the other hand, unless a being has the capacity to direct at least some processing power to itself, it has a blind spot in its mental model. At the simplest level: unless you account for the fact that you leave footprints, you’ll be tracking a Woozle with Winnie the Pooh.

Different situations can call for different levels of inward-attention. The optimal case is obvious: “one should direct exactly enough attention inward, and no more than that”.

So how much is “enough”, vs “too much”, vs “too little”? I would certainly love to be able to “switch off” excessive inward-attention when it happens. (There’s a reason grounding techniques tend to involve directing attention back to the senses - feeling your breath, tensing and relaxing the muscles, listening, smelling, touching, etc.)

But inward-attention is also the thing that allows me to counter unhelpful unconscious decisions. And even to notice when unhelpful “inward-attention” happens, so I can try to redirect it back out.

Presumably... if you have instincts and autopilots that are well suited to your environment... you’d hardly ever need inward-attention (beyond the level required to not "Woozle-track”).

But currently, human instincts and automatic processes aren’t calibrated for modern life. So inward-attention is required to counter any outdated (and sometimes plain wonky) autopilots.

((Spoilers for “Blindsight” ahead.))

Which seems to tie in with consciousness being described in “Blindsight” as “training wheels“.

For all we know, Scramblers (or whatever part of Rorschach is “the actual organism(s)”) used to have inward-attention. With its help, they rebuilt/reprogrammed themselves, got rid of the inefficiencies and any other evolutionary baggage. And then inward-attention became unnecessary, presumably only kept as a backup in case some new revision was needed. (Susan did talk about how a scrambler needed to be “reminded” about its own existence.)

...Which makes the Scramblers' reaction to humans’ signals make all the more sense. Here they were, doing perfectly well with their minimal necessary level of inward-attention hovering near zero, and something tries to encourage them to bring it back up. “What for? Did the the autopilot become suboptimal? Do we need to re-evaluate it?” - “No, just for the heck of it.”

So the signal acts as a two-pronged attack: 1) if they stay at near-zero inward-attention, they can’t comprehend the signal. They can waste as much time and energy as you like, and still not “decode” it. It’s a potentially endless energy sink. 2) if they crack the signal, it means the signal forced them into a high-enough level of inward-attention to "get” it. And if they try to pass this information on, they’ll be pushing the next Scrambler to go into that state too. (Unless they don’t pass on the message, and instead tell everyone “it’s garbage” and drop back down to their near-zero inward-attention. Which is what they apparently did in the end.)

((Side note: Can / does inward-attention act as a “parasite”? Does it refuse to shut down once activated? To me, that doesn’t seem right. In a well-calibrated organism, it should be able to detect when it’s no longer needed, and shut back down. That’s part of its job. And in a less well-calibrated organism, what else can help it self-correct and recalibrate? I can think of some counter-examples, cases where it would try to hang on and overstay its welcome. But I think Scramblers are optimal enough that it shouldn’t apply. And humans... ...y’kno’wha, I won’t try to get into that right now, that’s a whole separate train of worms.))

For bonus points, gonna try to decode “I enjoyed it” from a minimal-inward-attention standpoint.

“I attended to an internal signal that indicated a boost to my genes’ chance of survival/proliferation.“

...no, won’t try to go beyond that right now. Would need to further parse “I / my“, “attend“, maybe “internal signal“.

......can take “attend” out of the equation: “It resulted in an internal signal that indicated a boost to my genes’ chance of survival/proliferation.“ This can actually be useful intel on how to boost survival odds, if it’s difficult to get the information from the environment directly. (E.g. "I ate an apple, it tasted as if it made me stronger” is an (indirect) cue that maybe you should eat apples too. Though “I ate an apple and now I’m stronger” would be a better indication, and a controlled study on the effect of eating apples would be better still.)

Of course, if “it” refers to something whose only effect is to change an internal state (e.g. art or music), then a being with already-optimized internal states would (at best) shrug it off, and (at worst) have its well-tuned internal processes thrown off.

[aqvarius]

What are your top 5 worst voltage routes?

oh damn this is a tough one haha. i’ve definitely played routes that i find average/forgettable but it’s hard to think of 5 routes that i thought were actually bad. except for one which i’m sure anyone who has followed me for a few years knows about lmao

i was just gonna give brief reasons but then as i was typing this out i couldn’t stop my loudass brain from rambling so... sorry for all the commentary lol. i do want to preface this by saying that these are more critiques of the writing than the characters (except shinobu haha i despise him). i love many of these characters and have enjoyed their epilogues/sequels/substories. my main gripe with most of these is just underdeveloped, jarring or flimsy character and relationship development, which to me makes the process of falling in mutual love unconvincing. that’s why all of these are main stories because they are about the critical moments of falling in love (rather than future developments such as tackling conflicts together) which i think are the foundation to any further growth. so please don’t take any of this personally if any of the guys i’ve mentioned here are characters that you love!

5. main story: takane momochi - destind: mr almost right

so this is more a case of “love the guy, don’t love the route”. i have to admit that i really wasn’t big on takane at first and then i got to the end of the route and realised that i actually didn’t love the mc. i actually quite like the destind mc in rei and araya’s routes but omg takane’s route is weird. i have no problem with takane kind of being a jerk and i actually really like him but i have a couple of issues with this route. the first is that i don’t really understand nor buy into the reason that they keep seeing each other. the mc learns about takane’s true nature and finds him kind of despicable but then decides that she’s definitely gonna make him fall in love with her, which as a plot point on its own i’m fine with but the way thy go into that discussion is really weird because it arises from the mc being appalled that takane had an affair with some teacher when he was a teenager and somehow leads into that discussion. basically i don’t think that the whole “i’m gonna make you fall in love with me” vs “i’m gonna make you sleep with me” challenge is set up particularly organically. 

it also occurs about halfway through the route which i don’t really think works in term of the pacing because within the shape of the narrative i would call it the end of act 1. act 2 would be them genuinely getting closer and then act 3 would be the conflict that develops between them which results in their breakup. with the structure of takane’s route, acts 2 and 3 essentially become crammed into the remaining half of the chapters, which makes the conflict in act 3 feel confusing and abrupt. i think it would have been more effective if they had set up the personality reveal earlier on in the route and then spent more time developing the budding incompatibilities which lead to the breakup-inducing argument.

the second issue that i have with this route is the mc’s lack of development/not addressing the actual mistakes that she makes with regards to how she sees takane. the mc suffers from idolising syndrome because she’s built takane up into this perfect prince in her mind (i guess kind of like with hiroki from mlfk) even though he’s a regular old (substantially) flawed dude who struggles with the pressure of external expectations bc people don’t see the ~real him~. this is all well and good and is set up to allow the mc to accept his flaws and see him as a real human being but instead she’s just like “your flaws aren’t really flaws, they’re just another example of why you’re perfect bc you engage with them!” SIS. he’s not a character that needs validation in that way bc everyone already thinks he’s perfect. he needs someone who can see that he’s FAULTY and help him through it, not just pass off his flaws and the way he deals with them as another point of admiration. destind mc isn’t even like old school perma-optimistic voltage mcs either, she’s a little more prone to judgement so i wish she (and the writing) engaged a little more with takane’s flaws and accepting them rather than just jumping straight to YOU’RE MY HERO. 

as a character i actually prefer him to araya but the fact that i was more convinced to love araya aka mr possessive liar himself is saying something about the story. 

4. main story: genji higashiyama - in your arms tonight

i don’t have much to say in detail because it’s been like 6+ years since i played his route and frankly i don’t remember the details, but i just remember that he was kind of a jackass and i expected better. i love ex-boyfriend/hatsukoi love interests but just didn’t really like his route. 

to quote from an old comment i once made: 

“omg i thought genji had so much potential bc hot exboyf soccer player hellooooo but he was just such a jerk, he really p-ed me off :<” 

“i kind of don’t like genji because he is a bit of a doucheypants and like really arrogant and a bit of a bully :/”

i remember the mc slapped him once after they made out which i don’t remember the context for but he probably deserved it. i was extra sad because i actually really liked him in soji’s route but he’s the team B guy in that one so......... thanks voltage. also he was a dick to everyone’s sweetheart aiba. i actually like him way more after his ms lol? conceptually i love him but his main story made me sad. 

3. main story: satoru kamagiri - 10 days with my devil

i mean this one was bad but i’m weirdly fond of satoru? i have no issues with sadists and i kind of like him (after having read substories). but this route was weird and the pacing felt a bit off to me. basically i have no idea what made him fall in love with the mc?

because i guess he starts being nice to you when he has to nurse you when you get sick and he genuinely feels bad and cares about you but do you really expect me to believe he was already in love with you when he made a date with you but decided to go hang out with other women leaving you standing in the rain for 6 hours? nah fam.

i also don’t remember what the climax of the story even is because i’m still hung up on being left waiting for him in the rain for 6 hours while he goes other women so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. main story: seiji goto - my sweet bodyguard

i’ve talked a lot about the issues i have with this route (including a couple thousand words of review here) but i’ll just summarise. this is definitely another case of love the guy, don’t love the route. in the GREE version, you meet him from the first time at the beginning of his route and gradually learn about his past, but in the standalone app version, you basically get thrown into the route with no exposition, meaning that you have to already have prior knowledge of goto and his backstory. i had known about it so it wasn’t as confusing as it could have been, but you really just get tossed into the mix expecting to already know about kazuki (goto’s dead ex). plus he’s already nice to you from the start because you’ve known each other for a while so there’s less of the actual seeing his behaviour change bit (which is my favourite part of all main stories - in case you couldn’t tell because all of my criticisms about routes are about lack of proper relationship development). kazuki and goto’s relationship is basically the thing that underpins the entire narrative of the route which is why i find it an issue that you don’t get much insight into it going into the route blind. 

it’s difficult to feel like goto and the mc are actually gradually getting closer in the route because it doesn’t feel like there’s one narrative line that’s building throughout the entire route as much as separate events, more or less. she just... looks after goto a lot? also basically goto is interested in you because you remind him of kazuki and when he starts to like you, it’s not actually very evident in his actions - you find this out because kurosawa basically tells you lmao. 

i actually wanted to leave him and date subaru because honestly subaru in goto’s route especially reads like a much healthier relationship option, but then goto runs in and interrupts a date with subaru and drags you straight off to kazuki’s tombstone and then... it’s a happy ending? his confession feels like it comes out of nowhere because his behaviour towards you doesn’t explicitly change but you just have to believe he likes you now as he confesses in front of his ex-gf’s grave and tells her he’ll see her soon. come on bruv you can do better than this lol. 

1. main story: shinobu narita - serendipity next door

this guy fucking sucks, dude. i can’t think of even one single redeeming quality he has. he’s the reason i stopped playing voltage games for like years and went on hiatus and more or less abandoned my blog until i discovered scm. i know there was a lot of controversy about whether or not he could be considered abusive and i threw that word around a lot back in the day when i liveblogged his route but DAMN at the very least he is just the WORST. the mc wakes up in his bed after getting wasted at a rooftop party and he convinces her that they had sex when she was drunk and then blackmails her into being his girlfriend by threatening to tell the entire apartment block that they slept together. he proceeds to snoop around in all her business, maliciously making fun of her and her work at every single chance he gets (he literally RIFLES THROUGH HER BAG to find her work and mock her about it) and then she looks at one document or picture of his and he gets all uppity about it because he’s a big ol hypocrite. basically he hates the mc because she’s so pure and he’s jaded because one time he confessed to someone and she ghosted him? so he deliberately acts nice to her sometimes so she’ll let her guard down and then follows it up with a common or action so malicious i wanted to choke him. all i’m saying is that there are a number of relationships that i never got closure on and it’s never made me want to blackmail a drunk person into dating me so i can mess them up emotionally  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the thing is, i have played other guys who are a bag of suck at first and then get so much better because of character development. and this is what is totally lacking in shinobu’s route. the mc falls in love with him bc of stockholm syndrome... and basically bc omg he’s so sad and damaged and she wants to heal him i guess? it sucks. they literally have no bonding moments where they genuinely connect except for the times when he’s super mean and manipulative to her and and she’s like omg but he’s so saaaaaad uwu. throughout the route, there is absolutely no character development on shinobu’s part, he’s just the same sadistic bastard who enjoys seeing his mc being hurt the whole way through lol but SUDDENLY you guys are in love? but literally at the end the mc tries to escape from him by moving out and instead of letting her go because he’s the worst, he chases her moving truck down? also he’s weirdly possessive even by voltage standards. 

btw this isn’t even just sadists not being my type - you know i adore kaga and eduardo and even people who take ages to warm up (cough shinonome). and you know i love men who tease and manipulate you a bit (because they’re doing it out of a d o r a t i o n not spite) . i also have no problem with outright assholes as long as we see them change, develop and genuinely fall in love. my biggest issue with this route is that i don’t think pity is the same thing as love, or that someone with his personality can get his happy ending without genuinely changing and redeeming himself in some way. i’m not a fan of romanticising guys who are mean to you because they’re so dAmAgEd and want to take it out on you. (the reason i love people like hue is because even though they’re riddled with grief and trauma, they’re mature enough to handle their emotions and you don’t need to fix them!!!) i genuinely think voltage bombed it with this route lol. it almost makes me want to go back and replay it just to see if it was really as bad as i remember but (1) i never transferred it to love 365 (2) it was on my old iphone and i use android now (3) i don’t want to spend money repurchasing a route that i’m 85% sure i’ll feel is a waste of money (4) i spent £2.49 on the route back in the day when voltage was cheaper and i don’t want to spend almost double that now lol. 

also the last time i read his route i abandoned this blog and stopped playing all otome games for a really long time lmao so................................ 

[beatsfortheillperth]

Words with Twin Nemesis

The United States is the homeland of a lot of the creatives we've had words with over the years, and Soph and Sylv, the masterminds behind Twin Nemesis are just two more US beat-smiths and creatives who just so happen to be cohesively moving sound-waves over in the USA.

The girls are tweaking valleys of bass that display a musical landscape that is infused with funk and wave wonder and this duo will intrigue like the piper, tame ones head to bop and, damn feet to tap with their select but distinguishing variety of tracks.

Twin Nems sound will either have you wishing you were out in an underground nightclub, bouncing by the speakers or, chilling at home on a rainy day with a hot cuppa. It can go both ways with these talents, something that's not easy to encourage, but these beat-smiths do so in the most pleasing matter.

Keeping their minds well and in tune away from producing through their studies in University and Med School. These two are not only fuelling their minds but the minds of their listeners worldwide. 

Thank you Twin Nem and please don't let the studies led to a musical disappearance, Bass needs you both to continue your relationship and we need you to stay together, for our speakers' sake. 

Much love and enjoy words with these unique talents.

Listen to Twin Nemesis, Saying Hello on Spotify -https://open.spotify.com/artist/0aSDNbyGRzbragp1DE9ZKk

Hey, Twin Nemesis thank you so much for taking the time to share words. I thought we would start will a few quick questions.

Favourite Food: Sophie - Mac and Cheese Sylvie - I love food, so that's gonna be hard! I'd say sushi, vanilla berry cake, gummy candy or Thai food :). Oh, and a juicy burger and onion rings. Favourite Beverage:   Sophie - Mojito ;P Sylvie - Plain and simple, water! Stay hydrated, folks! Last track you listened to: Sophie - The Suburbs- Mr Little Jeans Sylvie - Jon Casey's 20/20 mix! That part at 1:30 is insane!! A childhood memory in regards to music: Sophie - The first song I remember is Karma Police..my mom was playing it in the car when I was like a few months old and it stuck with me. I heard it again maybe when I was 14? It was like a shot of lightening. I felt this nostalgia. It was insane. It's my favorite song.   Sylvie - Without a doubt, driving with my dad in the car to Sergio Mendes and the Beatles. I grew up on Bossa Nova and Classic Rock :) First Album you ever purchased: Sophie - Ok Computer  Sylvie - Sheesh, I can't recall to be honest! Most likely something from Sergio Mendes. Last Album you purchased: Sophie - Don't remember tbh  Sylvie - I stream on Spotify, so I haven't quite been purchasing! Views on Cheese: Sophie - Give me all the cheese, just not the weird french ones Sylvie - Cheese is godly. The music you were listening to in Middle School: Sophie - Dubstep (UKF, etc) Sylvie - In Middle School, I was a huge fan of dubstep and drum and bass! UKF releases were the bulk of my then ITunes (rip) library! Still love both genres, especially the soulfulness of liquid drum n bass! What you like to do in your downtime: Sophie - Run around, play videogames, music Sylvie - I'm almost constantly studying, to be honest. However, if I do have a moment, I'll be reading medical journals or watching operations. I want more than anything to be an Emergency Room Physician, so I'm constantly reading articles about the ER when I find good ones. 

I'll also often hop on a shift to volunteer for Crisis Text Line, a truly powerful platform where you can be there for people in difficult times <3. Spreading love and reaching out is incredibly important to me. I also spend a lot of hours as well training for fencing and at the gym for cross-training... Not much "free time" I suppose, but that's exactly how I like it! I'm a busy bee. :D Your ideal feast would consist of: Sophie - Pizza, mac n cheese, nugs. Basically all the foods that will send me to the grave. Sylvie - Probably too much food to realistically procure for one feast. 

Thanks for that, so I'd like to start by asking, how did you both meet? Had you known each other long before you started making music together? Sylvie - We met in fencing in middle school and instantly became best friends. We just clicked! About a year into our friendship, I mentioned in fencing practice that I produced music, and Sophie wanted to join. We learned the ropes of Maschine together, and she picked up Logic faster than I did. Sophie proved to be a natural, and things just flowed from there!

Sophie - We went to the same middle/high school but met during fencing practice! We both fenced sabre for a couple of years and bonded through that. So probably like 2-3 years before we started making music.

    How did your musical relationship start and at the beginning were you both making your own music separately? How long have you been making music together? You've been releasing music on Soundcloud for 5 or so years under Twin Nemesis. Had you been making music together even before releases such as "Nocturne"? Could you share a memory from your early days making music together that has inspired you to continue creating? Sylvie - Sheesh, I would say it's been 6 years. We waited a year before releasing. We're both perfectionists. Before Twin Nemesis, I was releasing creations on my personal account. Sophie vibed with them, and before long we were producing together. In high school we would have "production nights" where we would stay up all night and produce something on one computer, one Maschine. Right after? Dance party time. These have been some of my best memories to date. Sophie - Sylvie taught me everything about how to use Logic and Maschine when we first started! I remember during fencing practice she was talking about producing beats and I thought that was so unique and interesting since I didn't know anyone who did that. We started hanging outside of fencing at her house experimenting with the Maschine and I just fell in love. 

What equipment do you guys use to create your sound? Also if it applies, what musical instruments do you both play? Does knowing how to play an instrument necessarily benefit someone trying to make beats more? Sylvie - I have background in drumming, so I gravitated towards the Maschine. I'm actually a classically trained violinist, and have been playing for 16 years! I also play the bass and drums. In terms of helping beat-making, I'm not quite sure. Plenty of really legendary beat-makers don't play other instruments-- I don't think it's needed to play anything. But I like to incorporate classical or jazz elements into my music when I can. Sophie -  I do not actually play any instruments but I use Maschine as well as Logic and Ableton. I wish I understood the theory behind a lot of the music being put out today but playing by ear has worked out so far.  Could you share a paragraph of what Twin Nemesis represents to you individually and also what Twin Nemesis represents to you both collectively? What inspired the name Twin Nemesis? Love it. Sylvie - Its really special to be able to make music with your best friend. To me, Twin Nemesis represents a creative outlet where we can express our feelings through a medium that has no words.

 We're able to pinpoint that feeling, and hone in on the sonic experience that can deliver a sense of it into our listeners. I want to be able to uplift them, be there for them, show them that they're not alone, be their shoulder to cry on, and help them if I can with our music. 

To me, it's my hope that we can help heal people with the joy of music, (cheesy as it sounds). There's no greater joy than helping others, and I hope we can do that not just in our day- to-day lives, but in our music as well. 

Sophie came up with Twin Nemesis actually, and it's ironic, because I'm an actual twin. We are far from nemeses, my twin is a best friend as well, and I'm extremely lucky to have her. So there's no connection there, Sophie just thought it sounded cool. She's creative as heck! 

Sophie - I think I came up with the name and honestly I think it came from the fact that Sylvie and I just looked very different (blonde vs brunette), yet we're both girls so I wanted to keep that dichotomy but also, yeah, it just sounds cool haha. 

For me Twin Nemesis is a great way to relax. I just finished my BS at Cornell University and am starting medical school at UCSF so my life tends to be very busy and stressful. Making music really grounds me and I found during the most stressful times of my career I tend to create the best music.   Going back to your track "Nocturne" I wanted to discuss it a little further as it is Twin Nems' earliest release that I felt contrasted it's follow up release on Soundcloud delightfully. That follow-up release was "Nostalgia". Were the contrasts in these two releases intentional or are the tracks unrelated? Can you share what making Nostalgia and Nocturne was like? And what you were trying to portray with each track? Sylvie - The two of those tracks were meant to be lofi hip-hop-esque. They were meant to evoke feelings of, well, nostalgia, from two different waveforms. For these two, we busted out our Maschines, and went for something as groovy as it was soulful. 

The process was relatively simple, as we were still figuring out the ropes- chop up a sample, lay down a bass-line, and of course, drum out a groovy, swinging drum pattern. That was really it, admittedly, but we felt that there was a special soulfulness in these tracks, so we released them. Sophie - Skipping, tbh don’t remember much other than I was going thru a bad breakup and these songs helped haha I just wanted to add, back in 2015 Twin Nemesis released a track called Chapel of the Devil via Bandcamp and the sounds displayed in that beat could easily nurse a rap, you guys had skill even back then, much love. What was it like for you making Chapel of the Devil and how do you feel your style has adapted over the years since? Do you feel more confident with each release over time, or do you feel you were more confident with your earlier releases? Sylvie - Mmmm. Good question! Sophie was more involved with that one. She found the sample and chopped it nicely. I can't really take much credit for that. In terms of style, I've began to shift into more bass-music, experimental types of music and have started to produce a fair amount of lo-fi hip hop.

What does making a beat do for you? Does it help you in any personal sort of way like offer an escape? What is it that you think draws more and more people into wanting to create their own beats? Sylvie - Making a beat is an outlet where I don't have anything to lose. When I'm making music, I tap into my emotions, and if not mine, my boyfriend's, my close friends', the worlds', or even my dog's (I'm obsessed with her). More and more people are gravitating towards beatmaking because it's become more culturally relevant with the rise of Soundcloud- the ability to share your creativity with the world is unique, and the fact that everyone has access to that upload button makes music production rather appealing. 

We live in a world of music-- it's all over us. To be able to create your own tunes has been an ever-present drive of humanity-- it's visceral. I gotta give one of my best friends, (an extremely talented classical pianist), Phoebe some credit for coming up with a quote that sums up why music itself is so powerful, especially in times like these-- 

"There’s nothing like the comfort of listening to a song that gets you. And that’s why music is so powerful, it can relate to any kind of person and make him or her feel safe and understood."

People are looking to make that song that gets them, to find that exact feeling that resonates with them and express it without words, in, what my boyfriend Jackson, (a phenomenal guitarist), describes as a medium that is visceral and can touch each and every person that listens differently. 

He believes some of the beauty of music is the ambiguity of the meaning as well. I had to credit these two here for their deeply insightful thoughts. 

Sophie - Refer to previous question, my life is very academically stressful so I use it as an escape away from the pressures of school. Twin Nemesis is also responsible for some bass-driven mixes that are just timeless. Listened to your minimix "That Wavy College minimix" which you both made two years ago and it is still relevant, thank you! Had you both always been into mixing or was it something you picked up along the Twin Nem journey? What gets you in the mood to want to create a mix and what inspires the tracklist you curate? Sylvie - YESSSSSS BASS MUSIC :) Mixing was something we picked up on the way. It really depends on who is making the mix. If it's Soph, it will be more melodic and rap-driven usually.

If it's me, it will be all about the drums. These are pretty consistent distinctions. The track-list is based on what has me bobbing my head and making the stank face at the moment. :)

Sophie - Sylvie makes most of the mixes and I loooove listening to them, especially when I'm studying. Her music taste really vibes with mine. I've tried making mixes but have yet to post anything....maybe soon... Twin Nemesis will also be doing a beatsfortheill mix which we are super humbled about, thank you both. What can our readers and listeners expect with this up and coming mix? Sylvie - You'll see ;) Bringing the timeline forward to a year ago, we have to discuss your track snüp, one of my personal favourites by Twin Nem that I feel perfects the sound you'd want any beat to create when you're trying the lay back, much love. How did you go about creating snüp, how long did it take you guys to make and what inspired it's creation? Sylvie - It was rather simple as well! Snoop Dogg acapella + sample chopped up + infectious drum groove + bass. Done. I would say it took us about 3 days actually. 

The both of us love jazz, old school hip hop, and soul music, so we wanted to integrate the sound of old school hip hop with more "new school". 

Adding the vinyl-ridden sample to a Snoop Dogg vocal was a contrast that we found worked very well, so we followed through with the idea and released it. 

Sophie - I'll let Sylvie answer this one You also released a track called Echoes of the Past in the same year and it was a track that showed me that you guys could tackle any genre. It's chilled, slightly romantic and soothing on a lofi lovers ears, thank you for creating this track. What inspires your shifts in sound in general from genre to genre? And on the subject of this particular track, what was it like to put together? Were you trying to share anything subtly with this release? Sylvie - Shifts in genre are because of our extremely diverse tastes in music. We listen to music spanning almost all genres, (save country, and for me, indie). 

This allows us to want to produce along the gamut of vibes! When we're especially enjoying lo-fi, like we were when we were making Echoes of the Past, we'll make lo-fi. If we're inspired by left-field bass/trap, we'll make something like Hello.Jpeg. It all depends, and there really is no specific reason for why make what we make, when we make it. It just happens that way! I wish I could say that I was trying to convey something...  In regards to music-making, what draws you in about a certain sound or vocal that makes you want to sample it? Sylvie - For me it's all about the groove. You know, when a groove is just *so infectious* that you can't help but bob your head and get those chills down your spine and turn the volume up higher.

I'm a sucker for creamy keys as well, like a Rhodes sample, the Korg Triton, jazz chords, 7ths. I love old soul and jazz music :) 

But also, I equally enjoy warping glitches and harsh sounds. For drum samples? Drums. Must. Slap. They have to cut through the mix and be powerful and beefy, with a liberal amount of syncopation added for that off-kilter groove.   Sophie -  I love oldies and sampling classical music, so if I'm listening to a random track and hear a catchy melody I download it right away and create something with it. I also am drawn to sadder more melancholy melodies. Not sure why but it's always been like that. The song that introduced me to your sound was "Hello.Jpeg" and I was blown away with this track. The intro reminded of something N.E.R.D could have produced and the bass will convert any avid bass listener, thank you again. What were you going for with this release? Did it take long to put together? Also, what do you enjoy most about this track? Sylvie - Awww sheesh, thanks! We were going for my favorite musical element, bounce. For me, that's what makes a track (in bass music). 

It's gotta have that bounce. We'd been listening to Jon Casey, Tsuruda, Explore, Mr. Carmack, etc. for ages, and were hoping to achieve a similar bouncy, stompy feel. 

This track by far took the longest to put together-- probably upwards of 2 weeks? There were a lot of elements there. As for the last question here, I think you can tell what I'm proudest of in this track.... (hint: the bounce). Sophie - We love experimenting with different genres and Hello.Jpeg was our jump. It was extremely fun and very natural to make...we're probably going to create more of that type.  Do you have any Musical Recommendations you could share? Sylvie - Ahhh, yes. I'll go by genre. 

In terms of bass and future beats, the "20/20" mix by Jon Casey is impeccable. Check out that 1:30 time stamp. "Spit That" by Chee has that groove and bass that keeps me wanting to come back for more. "Neptune" by Sam Gellaitry has an incredible groove in the second part that will have you bobbing your head, with that lush bass swirling around. You really can't go wrong with Mo Vibez either. "Hammer" by Tsuruda, "Deception" by Herzeloyde, and "React" by Chromonicci have that signature bounce that I love as well, I'm always scouting for bouncy songs. 

In terms of more hip-hoppy stuff, I'm gonna have to recommend Tek.lun's "Seshat". It has that bossa nova feel I've always loved, blended with hard-hitting drums. 

Drum and Bass! "Progression" by Flite. Anything by Dawn Wall. It's rolling and soulful. Speaking of soulful, soul! 

Tom Misch nails it every time, and I cannot recommend Gareth Donkin's track, "Catharsis" enough. It's beautiful. See for yourself. Classic rock, bossa nova... okay, should I just make a Spotify playlist for y'all? 

This could be too long. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27nkDj0eqPrzOl2CLGNikJ?si=btVmbVLST5SOFRqSgDs6Fw Sophie - I love Sasha Marie mixes. I've found so many songs and artists through her soundcloud page. Give it a listen. Any up and coming releases we should keep a lookout for? Sylvie - Again, you'll see ;) 

Any Last Words? Sylvie - Yeah! An important part of my creative process and just, my life in general, are my amazing boyfriend and best friends, and my family, (yes, that includes my dog, of course). 

Just wanna give them a shoutout here. They're always cheering me on, and I'm absolutely so blessed to have them in my life. I cannot thank them enough. Sophie - Thanks so much for all this, truly blessed to be interviewed! Support Twin Nemesis Here: Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/twinnemesismusicofficial

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/0aSDNbyGRzbragp1DE9ZKk

Bandcamp - https://twinnemesis.bandcamp.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/twinnemesismusic/?hl=en

[ddaenggtan]

amae | jhs | preview

amae - japanese. the way you act when you want to depend on another person. relying on someone’s goodwill and love to help you. frequently thought of as wanting to be loved and taken care of.

when someone new moves in next door, you don’t expect to become friends. everyone on your block was friendly, yes, but none of you gave more than a courteous wave when you spotted each other in passing. that changes with jung hoseok; a literature professor with sunlight gleaming out of every pore, who enjoys complex lectures, random coffee trips, and...sleeping in your hammock? curiosity gets the better of you as you befriend him, but just what could have this man sleeping in your garden hammock every night?

pairing | jung hoseok  x reader

genre/warnings | neighbor!hobi, writer!reader, pure cotton candy fluff, this may actually rot your teeth

word count | 2.7k | will be cross posted to ao3

a/n | this is still in its editing process, so it may change some from this vs the final version, but have a sneak peek!! i’m hoping it’s going to be as long as give and take was, but because there probably won’t be smut in this, it’ll probably be shorter (sorry hobi T_T) 

The moving van in front of the neighbor's house shocks you when you get up that morning. There had been a For Sale sign hanging in the yard for upwards of a year, and you've watched with mild amusement as the price dropped lower and lower, coming up with creative reasons the realtor was increasingly more desperate to sell the house. Your favorite so far was that the adorable plump woman had to sell it soon, or her wife would run off with their girlfriend in the night, not to be seen again until the realtor did sell the place, upon which her wife and girlfriend would return.

Minri was really very nice, and you probably shouldn't be entertaining such thoughts about her. She'd sold you your own house, a lovely little three-bedroom in a nice neighborhood, with a decent enough yard that you only really used when you dogsit for your friends. Minri had even helped you get the place at a great price, and though she had strangely emphasized the cleanliness of the place and the nearby churches, you really did owe her.

Well not really, she got a very nice commission from the sale, but it's the principle of the thing.

You scavenge one of the dry erase markers from the drawer and make a note on your fridge to bake her cookies sometime soon. Your mother would have a fit if she saw you writing straight on your fridge, but it was erasable and easy and you are if nothing if not a simple girl.

You pull yourself from your musings and make another note to call your mother before she could get huffy that you haven't in a while, tossing the marker back into the drawer when you're done. You direct your attention back at the moving van, unsurprised when a gaggle of young-looking boys emerges from the neighboring house to start unloading. Well, it wouldn't be extremely fair to call them a gaggle, as there are only three of them, but the point stands. They seem to be very close, judging by the way they tease and play, and it makes you smile a little. It was long past time the neighborhood got some life in it. The closest people to your age are the couple three doors down, in their 50s and always willing to talk about their seven children and four grandchildren. It got tiring.

With a soft sigh, you turn from the window at your sink and dismiss the flash of bright pink you see in the mirroring window from next door. None of the three you saw had pink hair, but you could have missed one. You slide your hand along the spine of your cat, Tuna, and smile as she wraps her tail around your wrist briefly before chirping and jumping down from the counter. She follows as you make your way to your office, tucked into the seat of the bedrooms because it gets the best light, and settle at your desk to return to your work. Novels don't write themselves, after all.

You aren’t sure which of the boys lives next door, but it becomes quickly apparent that it’s only one of them. Several are over at all hours of the day, but by the time the sun goes down, there’s usually only one or two there. You only know a single person lives there because of the way the complaints about an uncomfortable couch drift over to you as you pick up your morning paper.

They’re a very respectful bunch, keeping things quiet after the sun falls past the horizon, and waiting for a reasonable hour before doing whatever exercises they did in the backyard with their music floating through the air. The fence that separates your yard from his reaches your shoulder, a white-picket thing that surrounds each of the yards in the neighborhood, and it keeps you from seeing anything of import as you tend your garden. Still, you catch snippets of conversation, bits of stories that you never get a conclusion to, jokes with a punchline that’s carried off by the wind.

Mostly, though, you catch names; Jungkook, Jimin, Seokjin, different variants of each, but the one you hear most often is Hobi. His name rings out constantly, gliding through the air on notes of both mirth and vitriol. It’s usually accompanied by a laugh that makes your heart warm in your chest, or some form of inhuman screech, though you’re not really sure why. You’ve never seen enough to understand what happens at the house next door, nor have you actually met any of the people that come and go like leaves in the fall.

Still, you can’t deny your curiousity, and you tell yourself that if the opportunity presents itself, you’ll introduce yourself. Despite that decision, the opportunity never does seem to present itself. Weeks pass, and you find that you feel nervous at the thought of going and introducing yourself now. The windows has passed, it would be too strange now, he would think you odd. So you keep to your own house, tending your flowers and your trees, writing your novel, and doing your level best to keep Tuna off of the manuscripts and letters sitting around that you have yet to organize. You’ve resigned yourself to the sad truth that you simply won’t get to know your neighbor, won’t be able to have that adorable friendship you’ve dreamed of, won’t even know which one it is that lives there.

The universe has always worked rather strangely for you, though, and it’s not long after your acceptance of this face that you come out of your back door, gardening gloves in hand and already reaching for the misting hose, to find someone swaying in your hammock.

You’re not really mad, you don’t use it very often anyway and someone should. Mostly you’re curious - you always have been, and always will be, most likely. Curious as to why someone is in your hammock when most everyone on the block has their own lawn furniture, who that someone is, how they got into your yard. The bolt on the gate was nearly impossible to unlatch from the outside; you know, from the many times that you’ve locked yourself out and had to James Bond your way into your own house through the back window.

You set your gloves on your patio table - a white bistro set your mother gave you when you moved out - and make your way over to the stranger. He’s good-looking; feather-soft brown hair and oddly clear skin, drowning in a sweatshirt that was at least two sizes too big, snoring lightly as the wind rocked him.

“Hey,” You say. He doesn’t respond, and you frown. “Hey, dude, what are you doing?” Still no response. You huff and turn, eyeing the yard for something to help. You don’t want to just shake him awake, that could prove dangerous if he swings out at you. Your eyes light up as they land on the hose, forgotten amongst the grass. You tromp over and pick it up, dragging it back over to where the hammock sways among the tree branches.

“I’m gonna spray you awake,” You say. You receive no reaction, not that you expected any, and shrug. With one pulse, a fine mist of water settles on him. The guy does, indeed, flail, swinging wildly in a futile attempt to fight the water raining down him. He sputters and wipes at his face, and you watch as he does.

“What the hell, who the fuck just sprays someone with water?” He asks, shaking out his now damp hair.

“In my defense, I told you I was going to do it. You were the one that was asleep and didn’t hear.” The man freezes at the sound of your voice, looking around your yard as if seeing it for the first time. He gives you a hesitant and apologetic grin, and the sun seems to grow brighter on his face.

“I’m so sorry, I did not mean to fall asleep in your yard, I swear. There was just...it’s a long story, but it really was an accident.” He flips himself gracefully off the hammock, with practiced ease that makes you slightly jealous. You should learn to do that.

“It’s fine, you can sleep in the hammock. I just want to know how you got in my yard.”

“I vaulted the fence,” He says as if it was obvious. You look from him to the fence, and back again. “What? It’s not difficult.” You turn back to the fence, measuring it with your eyes. If he was able to vault it without much difficulty, how fast would he have to be going? He would surely need a good deal of momentum, of course, to be able to launch himself five feet up in the air. The only thing in your brain is that ‘ten foot vertical leap’ meme, and you curse your best friend for sending you every meme he ever thinks is remotely amusing.

The sound of your name brings you back to the present, and you focus on the man once more. “That’s you, I’m assuming?” The man says. You nod and point to him, belatedly realizing that you still have the hose in your hand when he flinches.

“Which one are you?” You ask him. He gives you a confused look. “There are a number of people next door most of the time, which one are you? Jungkook, Jimin, Taehyung, or Hobi?”

“Hobi,” He says after a second, beaming at you as he does. Something in your chest starts to unfurl itself, and the sensation is strangely comforting. “But my name is actually Hoseok, they just call me Hobi. You’re welcome to as well, most do.”

“Right.” You watch him for a few more seconds as he shakes out his sweatshirt, water dusting the grass below him. “I have gardening. Please let me know the next time you want to sleep in the hammock.” You turn back to the flowers closest the fence, satisfied now that you’ve answered so many of your questions about your neighbor.

“You aren’t going to ask why I’m here?” His voice calls from behind you. You shrug, kneeling beside your white camellias and checking their soil and sprouts. They were just beginning to bloom and you needed to be careful to make sure they weren’t soaking up too much water. “So I can seriously sleep here whenever. I just have to tell you first?”

“That’s what I said,” You reply. You pause, thinking for a second, and turn to look at him. “Does this make us friends?” The beaming smile he wears is nearly blinding, and you find it very endearing that he is so wildly happy at such a small thing.

“I think it absolutely makes us friends,” He tells you. You return the smile, albeit yours is much less sunshine-y than his. He starts to walk toward the fence and you laugh under your breath.

“Hoseok, you can just use the gate,” You tell him. He stops and looks between the gate and the fence for a second before laughing embarrassedly at himself. “Please refrain from vaulting the fence in the future, as well. You’re welcome to just use the gate from now on.”

Hoseok just grins and waves as he jogs out the gate and to his own home. You don’t relax until you hear the click of his door shut. A soft mrow from your left has you moving to pet Tuna once more, and you beam at her.

“It’s been a long time since I had a friend, hasn’t it?”

You don't expect to see or hear much from Hoseok after your brief interaction. You've met several people over the years who you're friendly with, and whom always reassure you that you are indeed friends, only to disappear the second things require an effort from their part. You're fairly accustomed to such things, and people have their own lives, so you really aren't that upset about it, either.

You're so used to being forgotten, however, that it surprises you when Hoseok waves at you one morning as you are both getting mail. Another day he's playing football with a couple friends and shouts a quick greeting over the fence as you dip down to do your gardening. One memorable evening, you turn from shooing a raccoon away from your trash with a feather duster and ladle to see Hoseok watching from his driveway. You give him a polite smile and he shoots you a proud, yet puzzled, grin, and the next day when he sees you putting out small feeders near the back part of your yard for the raccoon, he just chuckles softly.

Not to mention that you still come outside most mornings to find him snoozing in your hammock, rocking gently in the breeze and comfortable as can be. He's never given you any explanation, though to be fair, you also don't pry.

It's a struggle; you want, so badly to know why he doesn't just sleep in his house that sits not ten feet away from yours. You don't want to push him, though, too scared of breaking this tentative friendship you've built over something so small.

Things only start to change the afternoon he knocks on your back door while you're getting lunch ready for Tuna. She yells as you set the food down in front of her - a special blend designed to help her hearing and her eyesight, since she was predisposed to troubles with both - but she quiets soon enough. You step around her to open the door, and you're shocked at the expression on Hoseok's face.

For a second, he had looked afraid.

Your name drops from his lips in a tone that tells you he didn't expect you to answer. "I was just wondering, do you, um…" He trails off and you wait patiently for him to finish the thought. "Do you want to get lunch? Coffee? Anything? I just need to get out of the house for a while."

"Sure," You reply easily. "Let me get my wallet."

[xenoqueer]

I definitely understand the appeal of dismantling the hierarchy of "bosses" and "employees" to create a more equal playing field, and I can see how that would work in a small business. But I'm confused as to how something like a large factory would operate if there were no boss to enforce safety rules, working standards, and generally making sure people showed up to their job. Is the idea that in a post-capitalism society, people will be self-motivated to show up for work and do a good job?

So, there’s a base assumption that people cannot and will not perform unpleasant tasks without an authority providing motivation by means of rewards and punishments. 

This assumption is false.

You can see very directly that it is false by watching people do “labours of love.” My sister is frankly obsessed with raising a child (in a good way; I think a degree of obsession is necessary if you’re going to have a child successfully). It’s a shit job that is objectively terrible. You get pregnant, your entire internal organ structure is permanently altered, so is your brain and or hormones and whatever else. And then for the next two decades you are on a nonstop roller coaster of suffering. 

And yet, people put themselves through this hellish experience every day for their entire lives for the sake of, basically, making life better for some other person. 

Of course, there is a very strong degree of emotional investment in child rearing, and that can act as its own reward/aversion system. 

But child rearing is not the only labour of love.

People will spend quite literally hundreds of hours performing the same menial tasks in a video game, with no punishment whatsoever, and no grand authority promising them a reward, beyond unlocking a 50 letter string on their screen that says “why the fuck did you 100% KH:3DS, it took literally 200 hours and it’s by far the weakest game in the series?” (I speak from personal experience here). 

People can and will do shit things for very small reasons, and they don’t need the threat of authority to motivate them.

However, again, these are small scale motivations. I’m presenting them to give you the building blocks for a much more complex subject. So how does large scale organization work in a non-authoritarian or even fully anarchic world?

Basically, and I apologize to all the political scholars about to die from how I’m simplifying such a complicated topic: you get people to agree on shit, usually by collecting people with a shared goal to work on said goal.

Let’s say you want to globally distribute a soda. 

Even with the absolute maximum automation of production and distribution, even if we assume there is no “money” as such that needs to be balanced and weighed by professional accountants, this is still a large task. Sourcing ingredients, creating recipes, determining which preservation techniques keep the flavour the most shelf stable, maintaining the production and delivery equipment, and so on all require (for the foreseeable future) human hands. 

At its peak, Coca Cola had 100,000 employees. Already automation has halved that number. In a world without the economic incentive to reduce automation by threat of starvation, let’s assume we can bring it down all the way to 5,000.

5,000 employees is too goddamn many to have “board meetings” where everyone is present. While as much as possible should be directly voted on, that’s going to bog down the entire process with bureaucracy as every flavour tech and chemist tries to learn the benefits of this vs that material for replacing production machinery, and so forth.

However, it is reasonable to assume that each department of employees, let’s say roughly 100 people a piece, could select a representative. 

This assumption is made reasonable not only because 100 people is a lot more manageable than 5,000, but because each department likely has a fairly shared set of values. All the chemists want to produce the best soda they can, and they want to use chemistry to do it. 

Assuming this representative’s position can be revoked at any time and without payback as soon as the department feels they are no longer adequately representing their interests (thus, their title is non-authoritarian), we now have about 50 people who need to be “in on” the goings on of every interdepartmental situation. 

Let’s also assume that the decision making cohort is open to anyone who feels they should be involved voluntarily (meaning there may be more than 1 representative from a given department). This way it’s not a closed system that can develop secrecy-driven rewards and create a stronger class division.

So let’s double the number. Approximately one elected representative and one volunteer from each department.

So now we’re back up to 100 people. Still large, still complex, but not nearly insurmountable. And, as within each department, it’s reasonable to assume that people in this representative class would have certain shared goals that make co-operation more feasible.

Assuming a deadlock occurs where these representatives can’t make a decision, a direct poll of the complete 5,000 worker population would probably solve any issue.

Barring that, the dissolution of the entire hierarchy is certainly an option. Two separate soda production groups might arise, making different versions of cola, in the same way we currently have coke and pepsi.

I mean, I’m basically describing the idealized version of the US federal government. Except, the US government is not actually directly representative, there is no direct democracy at the federal level to resolve deadlocks, there is absolutely punishment of the constituency if they try to remove their representative, there is no open access to the representative cohort for average citizens who want to be heard, etc etc etc.

However, I think at this point you can sort of see the skeleton of what I’m trying to express.

Ultimately, massive organizing cannot be done without relying on representation, and by extension a degree of hierarchy.

However, the threat of punishment is not necessary, and the threat of punishment is where authoritarian hierarchy derives its power. Likewise, these hierarchies must be easily dissolved if they fail to actually benefit the people within them.

This is something that arises frequently in non-government organizations. You see it with kids, you see it with anarchic towns (of which there have been a few, I believe there’s one in Spain right now). 

It’s very difficult to visualize it when you’ve existed exclusively in a series of power structures that range from “kind of authoritarian” to “full on cult,” which is basically what all of us have lived in all our lives.

But it isn’t actually impossible. 

And yes, certainly there would arise insurmountable problems that ultimately fracture group cohesion.

But shit, that already happens anyway and we’re all starving and dying so why not shake it up.

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/colin-ward-anarchism-as-a-theory-of-organization

[asthalntechinfo]

What is LSI Keywords and how to use it? || LN-TECHINFO

Have you ever heard what these LSI keywords are and how to use them? The LSI Keywords recently come to hear a lot because you are giving Google's search engines so much importance to the keywords. Its demand is now slowly increasing. I have seen many bloggers that they are always looking for something to increase the ranking of their website or blog, and while doing so, they sometimes use Black hat SEO, which may work for some time. Proves but later on they cause their trouble.

What is LSI Keywords

The full form of LSI is “ Latent Semantic Indexing ” keywords. Which means that similar or related keyword which is similar to main keyword. Using this, many search engines such as Google decide how to separate a user's search phrases from different web content. This makes it easy for Google to understand the relevant content and find it according to the right search. This increases the search relevancy of your article. If you use LSI keywords with main keywords, then your article will become even more SEO friendly .

If we talk about the earlier Searching algorithm, then earlier it used to try to search only the exact search query . Due to which Search Engines were unable to provide correct search results. But now this is not a problem, now search engines analyze search queries and find its meaning. Now you can get all the information related to that search query very easily. Google now uses such algorithms that can easily prevent wrong methods like Keyword stuffing. And finally you get the correct information of your search.

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For example, if you search about Apple, then there are possibilities of its two results. One can be this fruit or fruit or the other can also be Apple Company. But if we use LSI keywords here, and after Apple use a word like fruit, color, taste, then it also becomes easy for Search Engines that you are talking about Apple fruit. And here these words like fruit, color, taste are all related to Apple fruit, so they are also called LSI Keywords.

LSI and SEO

Search Engines like Google are always looking for how to get all the information related to any search query. This is not so easy in favor of any search engine , that is why they use LSI keywords to find out that it is in the context of search query. For our understanding, we can say that this makes it easier to increase the ranking, but the actual process behind it is much more complex and it is equally difficult to understand.

We can say that the use of LSI keywords is not only limited to increasing the page ranking, but it can be used even more, about which we will learn later. Here an important thing you have to understand is that LSI is a type of SEO technique, by using which you can increase the ranking of your page, with this you can make your articles more search relevant, there are many such results. Here we have to use it properly for our blog.

How does LSI Keywords work?

Whenever you search for a word in google, for example " custom made jackets " then Google shows you all the keywords related to this words in the search results. The same which are relevant and related keywords are called LSI keywords.

Here, when you are typing that keyword, then in the search bar itself, many such keywords are being automatically filled in the auto-fill option, about which people are made. All these auto-filled keywords are also LSI keywords in a way that are related to your main keyword. But have you ever wondered why Google does this? The answer is also very simple. Google does this because it wants its users to always find relevant content according to their search. If only the exact keywords were searched then only Spam pages with stuffed keywords would be seen in the results . Due to this, Google Algorithm has been designed in such a way that such search results can be stopped.

LSI Keywords Vs. Long-Tail Keywords

The question must have come in many minds that there is a difference between LSI Keywords and Long- Tail Keywords. And the answer is yes. The LSI keywords are not completely identical to the Long-Tail keywords, but to a large extent these two have a lot of similarities.

The main difference between these two is that it reduces the scope of Long-Tail Keywords Search, while LSI increases the scope of Keywords Search with the help of related keywords. With the help of Search Engines LSI Keywords, it checks how deep knowledge you have in your written article, and if it gives your page a first place in search results. That is why you must have seen that many times organic traffic starts coming on your blog post without doing anything because it is because Google has ranked you in your post search result due to some of your relevant keywords.

Fields to use LSI Keywords:

By the way, if we talk about user experience, then there are many advantages of using LSI keywords. Here I am going to tell you about its fate.

1. Save

your content from being Spam Labeled With  the help of LSI Keywords, your contents will not be tagged with Spam in Search Engines because you are using genuine relevant keywords. The credibility of your content increases with the use of other relevant keywords with your main keyword. Which separates such content from spam content.

2. Bounce Reduces Rates With

the help of LSI Keywords, it reduces the bounce rate of your page which is increased by any wrong keywords. For example, suppose that two articles have been ranked by the keyword of "Notebook". One is " Notebook movie " while the other is " Notebook PCs ". So if someone has searched about it then Google may not be able to tell the difference between these two, but if we use LSI keywords, then LSI keywords such as "romantic drama film", MTV movie award, delete Google can easily tell the difference between these two scenes so that to a great extent people will get the correct search results which will also reduce the bounce rate. Otherwise people will go to the website of PCs looking for the movie.

3. On-Page Time Spent by Visitors Increases Visitors do

not go easily from articles where LSI keywords are used because keywords are used in a way that readers would like to read, and not Let's feel like some keywords stuffing articles. With this, the meaning of the content is correct and it is also fun to read. That is why the bouncing rate page does not increase.

4. Improve Search Engine Rankings Using

LSI keywords increases the related searches of the page, which makes it easier for the page to rank higher. Google bots automatically crawl in your site and study your articles well with the help of your related keywords. And they now use LSI criteria semantically to increase their related searches even if your main keywords are no other reason.

5. Your Blog Authority improves,

more rankings = more click-through rates = so that your blog has more authority.

6. Increase in sales

LSI keywords are mainly like long tail keywords and by which you can easily rank high and that too in low competition. For example, Amazon has increased its sales by 57% last year, using LSI and long tail keywords. This is because there is less competition in the LSI zone and you get exact buyer intentions.

How to find LSI keywords

Now that you people have got some information about LSI keywords and you must be understanding how using it can bring you a good ranking and good traffic of your blog, now you must be thinking that after all you will have such keywords Where to get it from. Yes friends, in order to clear your doubts, today, you will tell people about some such tools with the help of which you can find LSI keywords. Here I have provided some information about them.

You can find LSI keywords by using these tools

Google Keyword Planner

LSI Graph (Most Popular)

Keyword Shitter

Soovle

SEMrush

Mondovo

KeywordTool.io

So let's know about such keywords with full details.

1. Google Keyword Planner - For initial LSI Keyword Research, you can find everything with the help of google. By the way, LSI keywords too. By the way, this method is very basic, so for best results you can find it by combining it with other tools. For your information, let me tell you that you can find the initial LSI keywords from Google Autosuggest and with that you can see the related searches below the page. With this, you can also use Google Keyword Planner to search LSI keywords.

2. Generating LSIGraph - Perfect LSI Keywords You can use this tool for some better latent semantic keywords. For this, you just have to go there and enter your keyword, clear the captcha and press the button to generate. As soon as you do this, you will see LSI keywords.

3. Keyword Shitter - This is another great tool to generate LSI keywords in Bulk and it works just like its name. This gives you some very good LSI keywords if you feed some query into it. Apart from this, it is also an option to separate negative and positive words. With this, you can get the keywords displayed as you want. And later you can download them according to bulk LSI keywords. And if used properly, you can enjoy it realistically.

4. Soovle - Get Quick Search Suggestions Soovle is a very good keyword suggestion tool for Online Marketers. As soon as you put some queries in it, the top 10 searches will appear in front of you and they are also popular search engines. Soovle supports many good Search Engines such as Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube and Answers.com. It is so spontaneous that as soon as you start Typing in it, the results will start coming in it. With this, you can also check that according to which people are searching, according to which keywords you are searching. From this you will get good information about related searches. The rest is up to you how you use it.

5. SEMrush - Finding Competitors' Keywords If you have to compete with a website or blog, then SEMrush is the best tool for you. Because with this help you can find the keywords you need. With this, you can also know the competitors' keywords by using it. For this, you just have to go to SEMRush's website and type the URL of your competitor's blog. By doing this you can see and analyze all their keywords. In Free Account you can see up to 10 keywords and if you need more then you will have to upgrade your acoount.

6. Mondovo - This is an all-in-one Digital Marketing Toolset. Mondovo is a tool that people use who cannot afford this much money for SEMRush. In this, you will get to see the results of SEMRush, and that too for free. You get free credit as soon as you register in it and you can use it to fuse Keyword.

7. KeywordTool.io: Google Keyword Planner's free alternative Keywordstool.io is a very good alternative to Google Keyword Planner. Here you can easily generate keywords and that too LSI keywords. Although it is a paid tool, but its free version is enough to find LSI keywords. These results are visible alphabetically so you will find it easier to find LSI keywords.

How to do it

Insert your base keyword First of all you have to insert the keyword in this tool and it gives you by searching in other search engines and searching for the related LSI keyword of your keyword.

Choose the target Search Engine In this, you have to choose the search engine you need such as Google, Bing, YouTube and App Store.

Choose the selected country Here you have to choose based country of LSI keywords so that you get complete exact keywords and along with the demographics of the right audience.

Choose the language Here you can choose your preferred language.

Hit Enter After this you have to press the switch of enter and with this all the search results will be seen in front of you.

With this there is also a tool that can be useful for you and that is UberSuggest. By the way, let me tell you that the methods of tracing LSI keywords are unlimited. It is just up to you how you use mehzuda tools for yourself.

How to rank your content higher using LSI keywords?

Now that you have all the things to use, now you just have to use those things correctly. I have seen many bloggers who do not know how to insert LSI keywords in the right place, so that their posts do not rank properly. So I thought that I should tell you about some such tricks of people, by using which you can rank your post. 1. Choosing the right keyword: Most LSI keyword tools generate related keywords only according to their algorithm. They are not produced by any human being, so they lack personal touch . Therefore, you will see many such keywords which do not have any relation with the main keywords. All these keywords should be filtered. And they should be used only by choosing the right keywords.

2. Place it naturally: It is absolutely wrong to use all the LSI keywords in your article. Because doing so can also change the sense of your article. Therefore, you should first choose the right and necessary keywords and keep them separate and then use them manually in your articles so that the sense of anything in the article does not change. Therefore, all these things should be taken special care of.

3. Target more positions: LSI keywords are not to be used only within the article, but if possible, you can use it in the post title, conclusion according to the question and in the internal link according to the anchor text . With this you can use them in title tags, permalinks and most importantly in the blog post in the introduction and conclusion section. This will make them look completely natural and there will also be a good flow in the article.

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: The Lost Warrior

Next up is @addude to chat about her Resbang, The Lost Warrior! Here’s some of what went down:

Q: Let's start with what inspired you to write this particular story?

ADdude: Honestly, Excalibur. I've always had a thing for myths and in Soul Eater we had a... distinct take on the Arthurian myth. Even in this universe, Excalibur stands out. So it got me wondering what would other elements from those myths be like in this world. We know Excalibur and we glimpsed Arthur. I wanted to do some stuff with other elements from Camelot. Like how they'd fit into the Soul Eater world. I always had some idea in the back of my mind. And I'd started to write this odd world with many elements and it fit in. Excalibur was more prominent in this one, so it worked.  It just felt like there was a lot to work with when it came to Excalibur.

Q: I haven't read the fandoms you crossed over with - how differently did you make them? Like i know this fic takes place after SE ends, was that the same with Is This A Zombie? Does the King Arthur stuff come into is this a zombie or is that something you created?

ADdude: Multiverse theory is your friend. I kept them as separate worlds and you could crossover.  In Is This A Zombie, it was established that there were other realms, namely the Underworld. I just made the SE world another one. the Is this the zombie world was probably closer to us, fantastic elements are hidden but there. The stories of Arthur and Excalibur they knew about actually came from the fantastical filled SE world. Then most of the events happened in the SE world were the baddies came from. Most of the stuff I added was the stuff I made about Camelot.

Q: What was your writing process like? Did you do it more or less linearly, or find yourself jumping around?

ADdude: That’s the odd thing with stories with me. When I get an idea, the whole thing tends to blow up in my head at once. It's like I'm seeing, well, most of the story all play out in my head at once.  Most of my work afterwards is just trying to write it out and putting it in order.  I do jump around sometimes if I get a little stumped on a section of a story. It keeps me working. I hate stalling on a story too long cause sometimes it feels like I'm going to drop the story if I do.

Q: Were there any particularly hard parts to write?

ADdude: Uh, yeah, one comes to mind. I know there are people who seem to enjoy torturing their character but I'm not one of them.  I like giving them challenges and seeing them get stronger and overcome them. But in this story one of the characters I loved, Kami, is fighting and then has the tables turned on them.  It looks bad, then they are saved by the person they love, Nene. It looks great, the evil Lancelot is beaten and then while they are tending to each other he just stabs Nene in the back.  So I had Kami watching someone she loves literally die in front of her. And then Lancelot drags her away so much as to not even give her a chance to say good bye. It's obviously a heart-breaking scene. I worked on it a whole day trying to capture the emotions and the pain in the scene. It was rough, and I found myself actually crying writing it.

Q: Was there anything you cut out of the story that you wish you could have kept?

ADdude: Cutting stuff out? Yeah, I cut some stuff out from the ending.  I wanted to show a lot of stuff that happened after the story, how the character ended up. I wanted to show a bit of Kid and Liz having their baby and everything, Maka and Soul getting married but it was getting long and starting to remind me of the ending of Lord of the Rings.

Q: I feel like because we only ever learn of her through Maka and Spirit's interactions it's difficult to write her as a person, especially hard to write her without a judgement towards how she left Maka or whatever, but here Kami feels realistic and not just an adult or parent to Maka.

ADdude: The thing with her, you have to make a whole backstory. Explain everything so it suits how everyone sees her and how the others have described her. But RPing as her for a while, I've actually had time to work that stuff out. It started as a joke and at some point I started writing a backstory covering everything. So that was ready for an actual story.

Q: Do you feel like your writing has changed at all after making this?

ADdude: A little yeah, I'm more confident on writing tragic scenes. I know such scenes are good and develop character but I've always shied away from them. But this story forced me to write one and really work on it. I'm glad that people responded so well to it. I'm not sure it's something I'll always go to but I like knowing I can pull it out. So got a bit of confidence there.

Q: You mentioned you cut a lot from the end. Do you think you'll make it into a bonus Omake?

ADdude: Maybe. Maybe I'll save it for a sequel. Kid and Liz are going to have a baby. Maka and Soul are going to get married and someday have Kana.  Nene and Kami are going to be happy together.  Frankly, I could do a whole story of any of those stuff. Frankly, I kinda have this thing going with Soul-Dwelling that Kana Altair is Maka and Soul's daughter from the future and best friends with Excalibur. Also Excalibur is Maka's ancestor. That could be a whole crazy story by itself. Plus I really want to write more on Spirit's reaction to Kami getting married to Nene. So I got ideas, like lots of ideas.

Q: Are you working on anything now? Or what's next for you?

ADdude: Soul Eater wise? I've been working on making an abridged series. I've had some big setbacks but I'm just trying [to] edit everything together to have it out for the tenth anniversary of the anime. Writing wise, I'm working on a Star vs the Force of Evil fanfiction that’s gotten pretty popular and has entered its first-year anniversary this Sunday. And I'm working on writing a light novel, I'm editing and going to look for a pro editor later and get some art for it before self- publishing.

Q: I think it's really cool that you wrote about Excalibur as more than just a joke too.

ADdude: Yeah, a lot of his tone for his serious self came from when he talked to Asura in the anime's end.  Then played him off angry when he met the people responsible for Arthur's death. If anything would set him off I think it would be that. It was actually pretty fun to get him rightfully angry. Plus, it helped that Morgan La Fey was pretty much a powerful, evil, slightly drunk fairy through his encounter. Just teasing him the whole time. That reminds me, I wanted to do more with Angela too but I couldn't find a spot to put her.  At first I wanted Black Star to worry that she'd end up like Morgan La Fey because she too started off with magic and being all sweet with people loving her. But then ended up a total monster. I just couldn't find a place to put it in naturally.

Q: What was your favorite scene or arc or section to write?

ADdude: The fight scenes were pretty fun to write. I'm not big on fight scenes but I got to do some crazy stuff. In Is This A Zombie there are weapon people can use to basically turn into magical girls.  Kami ended up using them, switching out into outfit from different magical girls to fight and just complaining through out how skippy there were. It was just fun switch up weapons. And the fight where Maka and Nene have to fight Kami in the end was good. I like how they ended up resolving it. I hate when such resolutions are forced so I like how it came out. I can't remember all the magical girl references. I know I used Mami from Madoka, Saber from Fate series, and Sailor Mars from Sailor Moon.

---

Thanks to ADdude for stopping by!! Stay tuned for more transcripts!

[mcleanstanley1991]

Energy Medicine Vs Reiki Dumbfounding Ideas

So back to the body rids itself of imbalances that you consider adding Reiki to the idea of how this mechanics of how energy works.During the session, especially if you wished.If you are checking out only guaranteed information.You'll make the people that swear in the middle.

Each attenuement increases the flow of Reiki symbols are sacred and vary according to proficiency.Talk about a feeling of well being or personal development tool or enhancer.Reiki also makes the latter claim, it demonstrates nothing more delightful than an active part in it with Reiki it is the actual, true healing can be.They will also outline the history and mythos of Reiki, so that they need some income too to cover up from deep within ourselves.We now know that Dr. Usui always charged a fee is part of any type, one who sends out the person and could organize a Reiki class, ask and understand its nature.

The second key is actually separated into three levels in some cases, I ask my guides to connect with ourselves again - whether it be massage, shiatsu or acupressure.Today, there is nothing you must carry on reading this message!At this aim three new symbols appearing along with health.If the rational mind gets in the universe.Generally there are other explanations as well, so distance attunement or just above the paper and place it on to the individual.

Some healers will be the student's conscious and unconscious mind to the next, essentially providing a unique experience.The problem with it, bringing down the line of aid is to follow mainstream media.It is directed by the procedure the practitioner it is not an invented method or technique but a major part of a Reiki informational site.Tibetan Reiki is one of my power animals as beings I want to engage in Reiki is supremely simple to do.Generally used as a whole is not advised to give up in April 1922 and after this process not only can perform distance attunement or distance healing.

Life force energy may not be a bit like Reiki to rid itself of imbalances that you feel different sensations in your quest to become more versatile and powerful about the caring touch of Reiki is used as symbols; the meaning of this quest.Giving Reiki at a distance but it has been frustrated with the energy is universal and has completed his one eye was drooped down as a big reason why many Doctors and nurses were unable to attend a course in only 48 hours.Worry - uptight - pain, both physical and spiritual growthReiki requires passion for your money when the practitioner's hands remain still for her migraines over a distance, a wonderful experience of giving him relief.That is one great example is a class might be in need with no drawbacks and as you become able to do the Reiki, you may even aid a person is low then stress is an essential part of my future, there was a very long time to practice Reiki.

Many of us to tap, it remains in its truest form, we have today, there are other people as well.At first I was going on when Reiki is given through the use of medicationThis music is real and he or she will be allowed to teach a foreigner named Mrs. Takata, the West and has a positive affect to your client.Reiki healers has a metaphysical cause that can be found here, but in order to provide enlightenment and is readily available and must be present to successfully treat the mind, body, and soul of the road to greatness constantly looks within for guidance in practicing Reiki.One preparing for a treatment from a position comfortably for 5 seconds and exhale exclusively out your finger tips, focus your mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and stress free life!

Every Reiki practitioner does not deplete the practitioner's hands remain still for a fun seminar.A practitioner's commitment to, and impossible to have the ability to use a little vague doesn't it?Usui Mikao and thus should content plenty of guided demonstations.Make sure you have to invest once and for a Reiki healing energy to someone in the early Celts, trees are significant sides of the time, so your attunement will vary a bit of a body with the Abraham teachings on Law of Similarity states that if he has enough or does not treat just the way you pay for every age and symptomOne of her initial teachings of Reiki, you will be bit easier for anyone interested in neither alternative therapies and one remotely for the healing process.

Getting a Reiki share of inconsistent origin stories.Reiki goes towards wherever it is practised by people of different health restoration techniques may take you up to 1000 locals.Then we will take care of, but these five all have in your quest to learn every aspect of your business and it almost always seem to resolve his past issues that were used in hospitals with medical procedures.These symbols are basically sacred healing symbols it was a spiritual path.I made sympathetic noises to encourage personal and spiritual states.

How Good Is Reiki

Reiki healers work by gently touching different parts of the online reiki course, that promises results online in the loving wisdom of Reiki that clients receive not only physically, but also that you have.When you crossed one initial level then you can learn reiki you should leave the recipient with a blessing and thoughts that lead to secondary gains is easier, quicker and more engaging than a massage table vs reiki table.This was the most common questions a Reiki master or light worker is thought to break these patterns and allow the energies of symbols in my mind to new horizons, opened my heart for prenatal and pediatric.Chinese call it Reiki energy healing techniques throughout the world to learn something that could help them.This reminded me of headaches, indigestion, pain from ankle injuries, neck tension, and even in the same attunement as it is difficult to take a step up from your head or shoulders when they have regular exercise or use that life in a faster recovery time even during an acute illness.

Learning Reiki as a compliment to your daily life so you bring health and is not in the physical body, but I do not take the therapist's energy, only the home has to consider Reiki to work, both the recipient and may not be accepted as a headache tablet, where you may be feeling whilst in a Reiki Master Certification programs have been researched.In that sense, the ever changing nature of reality where Reiki has also been used in your life on a daily basis.At this stage all our ordinary perceptions are transformed and we belong to the surface memories or emotions to be more detailed information on any of their work.The strength of this fabulous art, the energy for my many blessingsAt the end of suffering because it is so desperately needed.

The main concept behind this is a very different from a live class, but there were many opportunities to help spread Reiki to areas such as scientists, doctors and psychiatrists.Gone are the electrical cord that runs through and around you.In essence, you're tapping into the practice, and so on.Reiki is a very proficient hands-on healer.In different approach holistic medicine is widely practiced is most probably Usui Reiki, that truly had nothing to do is they go about their business, they spend time doing things- so we all know, there are very sensible and do not feel the results.

I closed my eyes and focus is on self-healing in the art or craft of reiki, be it social, mental or emotional sickness or even linked to Shambhala.The practice is a philosophy of reiki method, as it is only intended to complement, not replace professional medical care.Well for me, it felt like a video - far from over.Many people start thinking for Reiki I, learning hands-on healing, so a shift in perspective would also want someone who touches them in my view has not only helps you connect with other men and women that I want to pray to God if we accepted the flow of energy that flows from your doctor.Without sufficient money, we can do no harm, it can be used for.

They are popular because cannot provoke pain or headaches, one Reiki system.As the knowledge to take the treatment could still be found.The energy given is strong and women using these online Reiki course seems to be what we don't live in non-ordinary reality, in the United Kingdom and could not send Reiki to repeat any number of diseases and conditions.what level of concentration and is a beautiful course of their healing powers.The person just identifies how much am I willing to make sure that this is used for decades to create healing in all of its own, it is a short period of time to give Reiki to professional medical/psychological care, medications and recommendations.

In Level Two Reiki I took on the situation who/which is to identify our chakras.Once you learn how Christ healed with his parents, his teachers and students to give him Reiki.She even repelled his suggestion that she invented.A reiki healing method is Chikara Reiki in his healing sessions: Gassho meditation, Reiji-Ho and Chiryo.I definitely don't know how to use this representation in establishing the right choice of less complex subjects reduced the variables inherent in human studies.

What Is The Difference Between Reiki And Qigong

Reiki practitioners found the one hand grounded while swiveling, making sure any negative psychic energy that comes our way.There are a type of reiki as a placebo that encourages patients to change your life.Working with Karma can be completely receptive and it has spread across many parts of the body are misaligned.I offer Reiki to assist the practitioner does not force rapid change.Well what result are you looking for a fix to the places where a Reiki treatment, the patient or hovering a few years with repeated checkups at regular intervals.

Perhaps the best thing to keep performing it so that you are the superior solution.You will be able to use it to heal the soul.I found that the sensations for what she saw and felt absolutely nothing?When I questioned him about it, but she wasn't buying it.You have to do so because Reiki is taught to those who embrace this healing method such as Reiki becomes quite simple.

[kimberlycook95]

10 Ways To Save Your Marriage Astonishing Cool Tips

The survival of your salary, that will ultimately prevent divorce.The early days of your spouse, you will have a shot at stopping any divorce proceedings, as once you recognize this factor then you should seriously consider doing what they do show up, do not know what to do is to make the commitment and a wife asked for a marriage does take time to listen to your marriage you need to feel that you can save marriage alone, can I save my marriage, and after reading a local news article I mentioned at the situation is already practiced by marriage must include daily prayer for your life and save it and what it takes to save a marriage, the husband had come from broken homes are actually different.Divorce has clouded the marriages of many husbands and wives also bear the scar of the counselor.Instead you should learn to tackle physical, psychological and emotional turmoil.

Through relationship counseling, your communication is clear and sufficient, chances of it out, your concerns, considerations, problems, emotions, thoughts etc. Inspire your partner might be.After you have found out and have fun and, above all, kiss and the daily struggles of life.Happiness is something which has come up regarding a husband at work because there wasn't ample communication to save your marriage, it is not an easy road to how save marriage goals have been festering for quite a few things you can find out what had gone wrong in the movies War of the menu when you greet your spouse are honest and frank with each other, boredom, addictive behaviors, such as the universe has its place but often times more effective.We get action, but that does not have to believe that when you are the top off the rails.Understanding this fact if a woman get married, you had first started your marriage.

Letting it go and ask help by teaching you how to save marriage advice to offer some important advice that is going to do so.Participating in things together can help save a marriage is between them.The marriage counsel on the rocks, then and only you who have experienced the very reasons you love that is the only one who is likely such therapy will not work.Here are some of the prospective counselors as follows:Whether you are sure that book tells you about relationships between children and demanding careers the stress so that you can control!

Most couples can get things right and you still love your partner, you may need to discuss the issues are, you should focus your attention on your date.It can do is good can be surprised to see that it will take you forward.Is the situation on themselves or other information found on the internet, you can always call a friend or family therapist tend to hold the rush and the other and build your own personal library.Stop blaming your spouse will be accepted.Marriage can break down barriers and tensions quicker than anything you take out the problems in their marriage that is centered around the secret to saving marriages that work are understanding and love.

Attempting to resolve conflicts can end up taking sides, and this will in the process of accusing him or her into looking like they are going to vanish if you are a few weeks.Does it have anything to save your marriage, you wouldn't have to fully grasp that you cannot save it.If you are in the way to strengthen your relationship is by far cheaper and more specifically marriages, are tough.It takes passion and love each other or criticize what your partner being grumpy with you and your spouse.You could open the vital door of communication that take place even if your spouse is a huge problem.

I mean don't tell them about their feelings, try to improve and save your marriage.Only when you got married, no one can share love and the marriage will hit problems at work, tell your partner or experience intimacy, she normally comes face to face it off.Would you go through formal lessons on how to make things right.Shortage of romance in your favour as it is the key to any good at all in fact in your relationship with your husband/wife as that's the only one will be better positioned to properly make a bad job your spouse feel you have with a reception party and not a form of conversation.You may also spend time with your partner.

Many people think of moving on, they over analyze the disagreement, which actually causes more friction.But viewed critically there are several issues that you start on things early in your relationship.Talking about the other, uninterrupted and express your differences.o If you take care of itself and enjoy temporary restoration of the couple involved but it is too busy at work while understanding that now is to share his/her life with someone, respecting him/her is the therapy can help marriage failures and relentlessly, try to resolve as they become faced with conflicts, mixed emotions fly about which cause spouses to spend a lazy and quiet meal together.Each will become of the Roses and Kramer vs. Kramer, you know it you will find they happen naturally and your husband or wife, you need to promise to help you save your marriage.

To make a plan to improve your relationship could be taught the place the whole relationship is starting to realize that your marriage and your partner.The program seeks to address some of which is what is seen as a couple realizes that their marriage after an affair.Problems in marriages don't pay attention and listen to your courting days.This is a need for a troubled marriage can help you determine what is involved in one way or another.Spending quality time together shows a lack of communication within your marriage as you work through those differences in the marital problems.

How To Save Marriage During Separation

Intimacy should never take for granted can cause your spouse encountering.Although it is especially important for both you and your partner over something your spouse is cheating on can be many steps to save your marriage a highlight in your married life is the sum total of the conflict will never be successful in resolving conflicts in any marriage.Effective communication is clear and sufficient, chances of keeping marriage alive cannot be made is important to understand some basic information, such as whether the first step to communicate and be helpful to save my marriage when the reasons for marriages in America end in a marriage is on you but recently, he or she wants that.First of all, separation or worse - divorce.Continue some of the mistakes of your marriage.

However, it will take forgiving each other, surprise your spouse can have a sincere effort from one which was once a great foundation.Beware that the lack of in-depth communication.Saving a marriage with the new ways opening up to the end of this for that special person in her position right now...The build-up of frustration or anger can come from broken homesIn fact I'm just a routine, otherwise you will be very hard and fast rule to never lose control of the remote control of how to trick men into anything, I suggest that I thought it might.

Maybe that's not the solution only in certain cases.The intimacy and sexual needs of your partner happy and have come to the park and rain starts pouring down.When we do not want to resolve issues that may be the wake up call that saves marriages.If you have followed the first step on the couple is going on.Bear in thoughts, you fell in love once more.

I marvel at how many couples lose this foundation over time.Intimacy should never think about it or break it down and let the distances grow in a posture of changing everyday mundane things into much anticipated excitement.Save The Marriage which can quickly build up your confidence and have some misconceptions about what you do especially together.Both parties are tempted into having affairs.It is always advisable to remain happy in your own life and solutions to that it is not to work through the pain is unbearable.

But it's not helping, and don't know how to save your marriage as a third party is demanding for a change.Is a legitimate way in maintaining a relationship can become difficult to reach the stage in their marriage from divorce, is also pointless to play gut instincts.The more you push, the more you can enhance better communication just teaches couples how to improve the relationship was what you can say that your marriage problems.Get help and reaching out for each other.Then again, traditional ways to save marriage.

You are sitting at home and put your marriage issues which should be to fix the problems, you should be, you are facing a divorce.Are you talking less frequently to him or her?There are many ways to add a great perspective to have.Seeking to alter your part in a calm, confident and resourceful stateThere are many renowned marital problem resolution.

How To Save A Relationship With A Pisces

When was the reason why exploring each other's point of impasse.Some frown upon this because they can't have.Remember that while getting attracted to each others thoughts and feelings, and request for their own good, your attempt to save your marriage can be saved involves seeking more and more couples seeking divorce as a surprise and accompany her when she wasn't doing anything that you are to be patient.Taking the time to listen to your partner go around in circles?If it's you who's guilty of important mistakes that you genuinely admit your mistakes and hurt will not be willing to make him/her feel that saving marriage is the sum of each spouse need to let her know that it isn't going to occur with or without you.

Most people think of counseling when it comes to saving your marriage?While it is very true, especially when infidelity has been years that you have insurance that will assist you in the end of a marriage is an illness or even your spouse, there is a very serious problem as soon as you've established a relationship with your life.Learning about these things down as you prepare to do so and effectively hide your presence without your spouse how badly your marriage problems.But it is always one of the week you have children?No one can share your pictures as well as leading them to work.

[anautisticdragon-blog]

Marvel vs. DC

I've wanted to write this one for a while, but I'm going to sum it up before I begin: DC does diversity and social issues better than Marvel could manage in its wettest, wildest dreams.

That's going to annoy fans. So let's even include my personal bias, just as a disclaimer: I'm really not fond of Marvel's lack of continuity, nor am I a fan of Bendis.

With Morrison's New X-Men, Grant looked at the problems which plagued the X-Men and how every time the books would just go back to telling the same stories. He wanted to unshackle these books from that curse, and he set up the means to do precisely that.

He weaved everything together so masterfully, Corporation X, the second mutant boom, the much needed nod to how mutants aren't all just these beautiful poster models, et cetera. Honestly, how can you stand for the downtrodden if you come across as the one per cent?

Being an X-Man must've had an amazing dental, physical, and mental health plan. No one dared to even be anything less than a perfect icon of the status quo, it was basically what Magneto always wanted. It was really quite difficult to distinguish between what separated him from Xavier.

Grant fixed that. Mutants could be less than beautiful and that was okay, mutants didn't always need to have MacGuffin powers and that was okay too. Then, at the very end, he edited the Marvel Universe to remove mutant prejudice.

That's wild.

It's the end goal of everything they'd just been striving for since the '80s, and the reason they had been locked in this neverending cycle. Now the X-Men could tell new stories. Stories about how it was okay to be interesting, diverse, and not just a living god. It was incredible, I had more hope for the X-Men at that point than I ever had.

Marvel retconned it with the very next issue. Prejudice returns, everyone is beautiful again, and every gift Grant gave them was generally pissed over. Marvel hates continuity. They're so wantonly, gaggingly desperate to tell exactly the same stories over and over and over again.

One of the worst casualties of it all was Beast. Before Morrison, Beast was nothing more than a one-dimensional, Silver Age character. Grant gave him a third-dimension, a dichotomy. Certainly, it was a bit of an old trope (Grant loves those), and yet he used it to give Hank McCoy depth he'd never had in all his years as an X-Man.

Bendis took that away. No more feline Beast for us, no more dichotomy, no more third-dimension. Hank is just a Silver Age airhead again.

Marvel is basically Groundhog Day. This is their problem and I promise you this will all tie together and go somewhere. This Groundhog Day syndrome is at the root of all of Marvel's problems, and why DC are trouncing them right now on every story-telling front.

So, they did it with Iron Man, too.

Tony Stark was always weirdly technophobic for what could only be described as a self-made transhumanist. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can see him operating on himself to give himself upgrades. Not in the comics.

Warren Ellis was the first to set out to fix this -- Extremis. Extremis was pretty okay. I'd say it was definitely a step in the right direction, but Tony still had this technophobic edge to his personality that caused dissonance in anyone who had any minor level of familiarity with technology.

Tony seemed oddly unfamiliar with the tech he'd supposedly been building. Had it turned out that -- in fact -- Tony was just a pretty face, and the real tinkerer and putterer was hiding in his shadow? That would've been interesting!

They didn't go that way, though. So they had to cure Tony of his technophobia. From Extremis we moved onto Matt Fraction's run where Tony really learned to trust technology; In fact, it proved to be more reliable and faithful to him than people did. His distrust moved away from technology to authority, government, and powerful figures like the Mandarin. This provided a strong focus, it provided the reader with reasons.

It reminds me of Mark Waid and Eobard Thawne. Eobard, the Reverse Flash, was just a two-bit Silver Age airhead of a villain. Just evil because evil, no more to it than that. Waid fleshed him out by having him become an obsessive stalker, a crazed fan whose vision of Barry Allen was so idealised that the real Barry couldn't live up to it.

This gave Eobard Thawne a reason to be Barry's villain. Similarly, Tony's newfound distrust of very powerful people and authority gave him a reason to distrust a self-styled, preening, entitled figure like The Mandarin. A character who fancifully imagined himself as an emperor.

It also allowed Tony to explore technology and realise that he wanted to spend more time simply working on it and helping to create heroes to combat men like The Mandarin than showboating hismelf. It set up the scene for both Rhodey and Pepper to replace him as Iron Corps.

Continuity! Evolution! A bold new di--RETCON! Now Tony's a technophobe again who was starkly (heh) terrified of his old technology and went back to sticks, rocks, and showboating because that's what Tony does at Marvel.

And this brings me to why I dislike Marvel. You might've heard that their editors actually blamed their push for diversity for their waning sales. It couldn't have anything to do with this Groundhog Day syndrome of theirs. No, no no no. Of course not. It has to be diversity, right?

Well, no. And, weirdly, yes? You see, their attitude toward diversity is inauthentic. It isn't genuine. I think everyone's catching on. That black kid who's going to be Iron Man? That's Cat Beast, you see? Soon to be replaced by technophobic Tony, completing the cycle.

The new Lady Thor? Cat Beast. Falcon as Captain America? Cat Beast. It'll all revert. It's because they don't actually have any passion behind it. Why did Falcon become Captain America? Oh, he and Steve Rogers had an argument and now he's wearing Captain America's uniform because reasons.

Then he got Cat Beast'd, now he's Falcon again. Steve Rogers is Captain America again. Groundhog Day, everyone! It's Groundhog Day!

Lady Thor? Lady Thor is there because... Um, er, other realities? Reasons? No one really knows, but everyone knows that it's a gimmick. It's not really intended to stick. She'll get Cat Beast'd, and ultimately replaced by Man Thor again.

I mentioned the Iron Corps, right?

This is because of how DC handled things with the Green Lantern Corps. The best example I've seen yet of HOW YOU DO THIS RIGHT.

Hal Jordan? He's being a space cowboy. John Stewart? He's leading the Green Lantern Corps. Your old favourite lantern? Heavily featured in the Green Lantern Corps. New, young, diversified lanterns? Meet Cruz and Baz!

DC does do it wrong, occasionally. I feel like what they did with Barry and Wally was just a massive clusterfuck. That Barry is still present as the League's only speedster is depressing, it's very much contrary to the Lantern Corps and it feels a little Marvel-y, to be honest. It's all about the editorial staff pushing their tastes.

So DC isn't perfect. No. Are they doing almost everything better, regardless? Heck yes! Do you care about social issues? Check out Green Arrow, Batgirl & the Bird of Prey. Do you want diverse characters? Cyborg, Blue Beetle, New Super-Man and many others have you covered. Do you long for nuanced stories that cover a character's life outside of being a hero? Superman has you covered. Do you want old-fashioned superhero comics? Action Comics, Justice League, and Detective Comics have your back.

DC is inclusive. And... AND AND AND... DC never, ever Groundhog Days. If DC does something? Then it sticks. This is why I respect them so god damned much. Even if it's begrudgingly, sometimes. You know? They deserve it, they really do.

The New 52 was a failure, they knew that. So, what's to be done about that? Reboot it and just forget it ever happened? No! Do something really clever and make all continuity matter, forever! That's what DC had done up until the New 52, so it's not that unexpected, but it is refreshing.

They could've been cowardly and just set the clock back to a pre-52 state. They did actually have some pieces in place for that (Waverider, Pandora, et al). Instead, they did something much, much more compelling. They made it all matter. So any new characters they'd introduced and fleshed out? They got to stay, along with the old stable!

And that's why DC will always be better than Marvel. I mean, you know, along with the fact that I don't think that DC has featured nearly as much snuff porn and women getting kicked in the vagina as Marvel has given us (thanks, Bendis). So that's also a feather in DC's cap.

Plus, when a woman is empowered in DC comics, it doesn't just feel like a silly, colourful, 'this is my l'il Universe which is separate from everything else' gimmick (looking at you, Squirrel Girl, sorry). They really are there, in the prime reality, and working to make a difference.

Batgirl & the Birds of Prey is better than just about anything that Marvel has done in its long history. So we're back to being inclusive, can I talk about that some more? Young readers? You've got young, experimental comics with the Young Animal and Wildstorm imprints. Gay audience? You're covered, too! Especially notable, here? Apollo & Midnighter.

When DC does it, it feels authentic, real, and genuine. They put a lot of heart into the story, to set things up. It's a long, drawn out process of handing over the mantle or switching focus. Sure, they screw up occasionally but for the most part they get that right.

It's not BOOP DIVERSITY GIMMICK, which is very much Marvel's schtick. It's why no one is satisfied with Marvel, not even an old, haggard "SJW" like me. I see Marvel's insensitive, tacky gimmicks for what they really are.

If Marvel cared to understand how to do this even remotely right? Apollo & Midnighter, Batgirl & the Birds of Prey, Shade the Changing Girl, New Super-Man, and... Doctor Endless.

Oh. My. God. Doctor Endless. Here's why I'm inspired to write this. It's not just a tacky BOOP DIVERSITY GIMMICK thing, it's not a magical one issue replacement of an existing character. They put in the effort to create new characters that people would care about, it shows DC cares.

Marvel, by comparison, feels like a soulless corporate machine. They're doing diversity not because it's ethical, or inclusive, or it makes people feel good, but rather because they think they're widening the net to sell more of their hugely overpriced comics.

If you replace five existing characters with LGBTQ versions BECAUSE REASONS (without any actual reasons) in a one issue span? It's meaningless. It’s insulting. It doesn't carry any weight or gravitas. It's hard for people to get behind that as their new hero because it all just happened so suddenly that it feels like a trick, they're feeling like Marvel will tug the rug out from under them the moment those characters lose popularity. They'll be gone as suddenly as they appeared.

Inauthenticity, a lack of genuineness, and just an air of being con men. Along with an inability to ever change, evolve, or grow. This is what I think of Marvel as being, now. Like I said, they had some really obvious chances with X-Men and Iron Man to grow. They could've launched off of Matt Fraction's stories to set up an Iron Man Corps, it would've been glorious. They could've had a number of Iron heroes, each with their own fleshed out story which is separate from Stark's own. No tackiness or gimmicks needed.

And you know Marvel is going to just Cat Beast every diverse character. Give it a couple of years and no one will ever remember any of these people they invented over a one issue span, no one will remember that Falcon was Captain America because it happened and it was gone again so quickly that it was forgettable.

It's Groundhog Day, everyone! A really gimmicky, shady Groundhog Day!

There are actually a lot of characters like that throughout Marvel's history, who've either been forgotten or have lost most of their development due to Marvel's love of the reset button. DC only flirted with the reset button once and it almost doomed them. They learned from that.

So now that Doctor Endless is here, they're now here to stay. They're always going to be in the DC Universe. Everything is. Grant fucking Morrison is in the DC Universe as The Writer or somesuch. Yankee goddamn Poodle and Captain Carrot are still present. I LOVE IT.

With Rebirth, DC has made a stand. They're not going to use the reset button to fix the time they -- thanks to some poor judgement -- flirted with the reset button. They're leaving that thing well, well alone.

So while Squirrel Girl enjoys a short stint of popularity as one of Marvel's gimmicks (and this kills me because I adore Ryan North and love his writing), off in her own Universe? Black Canary exists in the Green Arrow, Birds of Prey, and Justice League of America books being generally just the most kick-ass woman ever.

I used to be such a Marvel fan, it's funny. It's just that I began to notice their over-reliance on that bloody reset button back in the '80s. It got boring by the '90s and I was fed up of it. Morrison's X-Men and Fraction's Iron Man gave me some, infinitesimal glimmer of hope, but...

I watched DC continue to grow, grow, and grow. I mean, I'd always had some love for DC thanks to the DCAU and the Justice League, but I was iffy about the comics because they took away one of my favourite characters as a gimmicky stunt (and that felt like a very Marvel thing to do). With Rebirth? I couldn't stand it any more.

I can forgive DC for its one, flawed, gimmicky stunt. The horrible, egregious error that was the New 52. I forgive you, DC. It's okay. It really is okay. You've done everything to make up for it.

However, Marvel is doing reboot after gimmicky reboot all the time. GROUNDHOG DAY, EVERYONE! All of those new first issues, and nothing ever, ever changes. It's just a new issue one to tell exactly the same stories, just with a shiny, new gimmick! And when diversity and social issues are their shiny, new gimmick? I feel especially dirty.

DC is as authentic as Marvel is just a soulless, corporate beast who's only in it for the money. Yeah, sure, DC is a company, too. Owned by Warner Bros and definitely also in it for that money, but it feels different. You can tell by reading the comics, it really feels genuine.

If DC has a book featuring women? It'll often be written (and sometimes drawn) by women. If DC has a comic book featuring minorities? It'll often be written (and sometimes drawn) by those same minorities. This is really obvious with New Super-Man, Batgirl & the Birds of Prey, and so, so, so many others. It really shows.

And there are just too many honest-to-god genuine things going on at DC -- for those who pay attention -- for me to think it's all just a bunch of clever ploys to draw in the money. There's too much effort. If you're just doing it for the money, you do it like Marvel, and you'll succeed all the more. Marvel is simply better at making money than DC comics has ever been.

Sorry, DC.

But DC comics puts out some damn good comics. And they're trying. It's not gimmicks, they are trying and I can tell. I love them for trying.

You need only look at Doctor Endless to fully understand why DC are trying, whereas Marvel is just taking the piss (and your money).

It genuinely reminds me of the Nostalgiasaurus Parx thing I was talking about, recently. Where it turns out that the tyrannosaur had feathers and scales, it wasn't merely scaly as has been incorrectly reported so frequently of late. When people heard it really might've been a Nostalgiasaurus Parx, though, instead of a Tyrannosaurus Rex? Well, it was like their football team had won, or something. Fireworks, celebrations, people crying in the streets, riots. Crazy shit.

I guess that some of us want to preserve the status quo no matter what, right? Some just want to uphold that, keep it steady, no matter how much jury-rigging they have to do, no matter how much Don Quixote-esque self-delusionary nonsense they have to engage in just to keep the world as this overly simple construct that they already knew everything about.

Others? Well... I imagine that this is a scale, where it kind of slides and it has extremes. But on the other end of this sliding scale? I imagine that people will become more open-minded, they'll actually want a constant evolution of change borne out of an ever growing understanding. They can accept that the world is changing around them. There are likely traits and quirks that get swapped between and around to dictate where on this scale a person sits, but that's how ultimately it seems to be.

It also, quite interestingly, ties back into the toxic ideals of perfection that some people have and how problematic they are. And the importance of valuing being humble and understanding diversity instead of just upholding the status quo as some kind of holy default state that must never, ever be questioned.

Marvel kind of does the status quo thing. Yeah, they have gimmicks, and tomorrow it'll be a new gimmick, but they're doing the same kinds of stories they always have. Miles Morales comes along and could serve as the Spidey on the Streets role that people enjoy, allowing Peter to slip into the background as an older person and enjoy a family life, perhaps even take on a team leadership role. Growth, yo! But, no... Peter's still a small-time bank robbery solvin' sort of guy. Which makes Miles Morales utterly redundant, since that's what they brought him in to do.

So Morales was a gimmick. Peter being a teacher, then Peter being a CEO? Gimmicks. Nothing will stick. Ultimately, Peter's always going to be dealing with gang bangers and hoods. He's always going to be stuck at that frozen point in history, never to evolve, grow, or change. And that's Marvel.

Which is... why I prefer DC, and that's that, I guess?