#wanted to experiment with a different style

[reasonsforhope]

"In a new study, University of British Columbia researchers set out to answer the following question: Would you rather have 10 cents in your pocket or a 1-in-10,000 shot at $1,000?

Their findings indicate that they may have figured out a way to get people to recycle more. 

The researchers, whose work was just published in the journal “Waste Management,” tested the idea of offering people who return used bottles a small chance to win a big cash prize, instead of the standard 5- or 10-cent deposit earnings.

The result? Participants recycled 47% more bottles for the chance at a $1,000 prize.

“This small change in how we reward recycling made a big difference. People were more excited, more engaged, and they brought in more bottles,” Dr. Jiaying Zhao, associate professor in the department of psychology and senior author of the study, said in a statement for the university.

“It turns out that the thrill of possibly winning a big prize is more motivating than a small guaranteed reward. It’s the same reason people buy lottery tickets; That tiny chance of a big win is exciting.”

The researchers ran three experiments in British Columbia and Alberta, where bottle deposit systems already exist. Despite the fact that these deposit stations give people a small refund when they return their recyclables, many bottles still end up in the trash.

In the first two experiments, people could choose between a guaranteed 10-cent refund or a chance to win a larger amount, ranging from $1 to $1,000. Even though the odds of winning were low, many people chose the lottery-style offer.

In the third experiment, participants were randomly assigned to either the guaranteed refund or the lottery-style refund. Those given the lottery-style option brought in almost three bottles for every two returned by the control group. 

The researchers found that people even felt happier when they had a shot at the big prize, even if they didn’t actually win — a feeling called “anticipatory happiness” — that made the act of recycling more enjoyable. 

All of this is modeled after an existing scheme in Norway.

“Norway is the only country in the world that has a similar recycling lottery, and their bottle return rate is close to 100%,” Dr. Zhao said. “The probabilistic refund could be their secret sauce. We hope Canada can adopt this innovative idea as well.”

In Norway, the bottle recycling lottery was implemented over a decade ago, and now, approximately 97% of all plastic beverage containers are returned across the country. 

Here, the model is choice-driven, giving people the option to choose between the guaranteed refund or the chance to win anywhere from 5 to 100,000 euros.

“The system also doesn’t encourage gambling,” Fast Company reported, “because there’s no way to enter with cash, and there are no ‘near misses’ like with other kinds of gambling.”

Norway has also implemented a program where some of the lottery’s proceeds go to the Norwegian Red Cross.

“Instead of 10 cents back to you, what if the proceeds go to a food bank or charity?” Dr. Zhao asked Fast Company. This is also part of her team’s research, with results soon to be published. 

It’s important to note that the lottery-style refund wouldn’t cost more than the traditional system, with both options sharing the same average payout. Cities could adopt this approach without spending an extra dime.

Additionally, Dr. Zhao mentioned that it’s important for cities to consider the choice-based model, giving people the option to get the regular 5- or 10-cent returns, alongside the new lottery initiative, to help canners and binners who rely on this kind of income.

“We don’t want to take the short gain option away,” she told Fast Company. “Instead, we want to give people the option to choose.” 

Aside from the valuable psychological insights of the study, Dr. Zhao and her colleagues are optimistic about a future in which more people are engaged in recycling. 

“Creating new bottles comes with a lot of carbon emissions, and not recycling bottles also comes with a lot of pollution,” Jade Radke, a lead author on the study, said. “So it can be a meaningful way to decrease all of those things.”

According to the UBC press release, if this approach is widely adopted, it could help recycle millions more bottles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking one million cars off the road each year."

-via GoodGoodGood, June 25, 2025

[shinyrock6498]

If everything else seems to be a normal conversation to you with them and then they suddenly get upset, Id say one thing that might be happening is that they start saying the same thing using different ways of phrasing it, they're probably getting frustrated and want the conversation to end.

In my general experience, someone who is in a position of authority doesn't want to be given info that contradicts what they've decided is real and they get upset when you give them info to the contrary.

Perhaps one of these two situations is occurring when you're using your usual conversation style right before they snap.

Question that I suspect is autism related

I have, on more than one occasion over multiple decades, been told that I “need to have the last word” and that I “have a response for everything”.

Additionally and in a similar vein, I’ve been told that “everything is an argument with you” and I “always have to say something”.

When I was a little kid I was bad at conversations. People said stuff I had no opinion on or didn’t need follow-up and so I wouldn’t answer and they’d get bored. And eventually through trial and error I figured out that if someone said something to me, all I had to do was say something related back, and the interaction could go on as long as it needed to.

But then as a teen- and now as an adult- a number of people (mostly people I’ve found to be very delicate and particular about things in a sort of need-to-be-in-control authoritarian way) have expressed the identical observation about how I naturally try to converse, and I’m not sure what to do about it.

And the thing is, I have a sibling that talks like this too. We bicker all the time. He changes his own opinions seemingly at a whim for the purpose of being contrary, and it’s impossible to make a statement or observation out loud without him contradicting it, and even when he is demonstrably, factually wrong about something, he will dig his heels into the dirt and defend his stance to the grave.

And like. I hear myself responding, or adding on to people’s comments, but I don’t hear the ‘arguing’ they describe, or the contrarian habits of my sibling. Even when I’m paying attention and being bery careful not to follow up too much or speak too often or disagree or correct something that isn’t important, I get called out for “picking a fight”. They say something, I answer, they reply, I continue, then seemingly out of nowhere they snap. I think everything’s fine until suddenly it isn’t.

And so I guess my question is, how can you tell if you’re a contrary sort of person? How can you tell when to respond or follow up on a person’s statement and how do you know when to leave it in silence? Does everybody see me this way, and is it only people who are already short-tempered who are willing to say it?

I honestly don’t really have that much to say, and half the time I don’t even really want to talk at all, but I’ve been told countless times that I “just seem to like the sound of your own voice” and have to just be “tuned out after a while”. So if it isn’t necessary and I don’t even want to, why am I doing it?

Is there a reason I’m like this? Why is my sibling like this? How do I stop talking when there’s nothing to say, and how can I tell the difference between a conversation and an argument before the other person visibly snaps?

I’m a full grown adult

[mothlillies]

❄️ || ND!Zayne x ND!Reader/MC

---

- Zayne, who understands better than anyone your struggle to fit in with others as he shares the same struggle, even in adulthood.

- Zayne, who ever since childhood, would do anything to protect you from those who would treat you badly because you were "different".

- Zayne, who understands when your social battery is much too low to do anything, he would rather stay in too and spend time with just the two of you anyways.

- Zayne, who never minds if you don't look in his eyes when you talk, he tends not to either.

- Zayne, who becomes a little embarrassed if he develops what he'd consider a "silly" hyperfixation until you reassure him it's okay! (and you inevitably get into it too)

- Zayne, who conversely, never judges any of your interests, treating them all with the utmost sincerety, finding your info dumping calming as he loves listening to your voice and learning new things, it's the best of both worlds for him.

- Zayne, who's systems and routines help you feel more secure, giving you a sense of safety and stability.

- Zayne, who sometimes communicates nonverbally, as do you, the two of you could have an entire conversation that consists of no words.

- Zayne, who does everything he can to comfort you and make you feel safe when the world feels like too much, holding you in his arms and providing a gentle pressure that helps you calm down.

- Zayne, who worries about not being enough for you as the world has him somewhat convinced he's a little less human than most, but you always reassure him he's more than enough, and he believes it when it's you.

- Zayne, who feels uncomfortable unmasking around most people, feels safe doing so around you, and he hopes you feel the same about him.

- Zayne, who's expressions, body language, and tone most have a hard time understanding, you've learned to read like your favorite book, you can tell when he's happy or upset without him even needing to say it.

- Zayne, who's quick to defend you from others, while ignoring comments made about him (which you however, can't ignore).

- Zayne, who above everything makes sure you're taking care of yourself, and takes care of you as much as he can.

- Zayne, who usually flinches away from touch, doesn't mind so long as it's you.

- Zayne, who's got a constant eye on your health, often noticing when you're sick before even you do. Always making sure medical staff listen to your needs and take you seriously.

- Zayne, who finds the taste of something sweet grounding. While he wants to make sure you both have a variety of foods in your diet, he never pushes and always tries to incorporate at least one of your safe foods.

- Zayne, who loves being in the same room as you even if you two never even speak, sitting and working on two entirely different things, just being around you is enough for him.

- Zayne, who when the heat becomes overwhelming for either of you, will use his evol to create something to cool you both down.

- Zayne, who loves you no matter what, every single day. <3

---

A/N: As promised my Zayne post :DD neurodivergent specifically autistic Zayne is so so canon to me, but I figured I should tag it au style just because it's not *technically* canon afaik. As with my last post, I tried to keep it somewhat vague so more people could find comfort in this, but these HCs are based on mine and the people I knows lived experience with neurodivergence so it might not resonate with everyone and I understand that ^^ let me know if you'd wanna see more LI x ND!MC and who specifically!! Sylus and Zayne are my mains so I'm not as confident writing for anyone else, but I'm willing to give it a shot!! Thank you for reading :D

[directdogman]

Hi I just wanted to say that you have inspired me a lot.

I have always wanted to write stories for a while now, I have big dreams and I hope to one day accomplish them.

Dsaf originally inspired my first oc, which to be fair I did just steal from dsaf (don't worry they are different now) it also inspired my Phone headed sona.

Your games, dsaf and dialtown are an inspiration for me, and I also was wondering if you have any advice for someone trying to write a massive project.

Sorry if I bothered you with this, have a nice day or night dogman

Ayyy, glad to hear my writing's inspired you!

To be frank, I mightn't be the best person to take writing advice from. I'm still a student in the grand scheme of things and any lesson I teach you would likely make you more like me as a writer, when you should always wanna aim past me! You should never settle for being as good as me when you can be so much better!

The only surefire creative advice I can give that might be useful to you now, which I know works because every successful artist I know has learned it, is to start small. However small you're thinking of right now, half it. Then half it again. Then half it AGAIN, and so on. Your first project should, if anything, just be a single scene. I know that might seem small, but trust me, that's always how it starts. When you're confident you've gotten the scene where you need it, then you work up from there, a few scenes, to a few more scenes, to a small game. It's better too if you don't just keep adding to the same game and start over each time for a reason I'll elaborate on now.

If you try to make a single project that's as large as the ones that inspired you, you will have a truly frustrating time. Aside from the fact that it's very difficult to organize a large project before you learn the skills that you'll pick up gradually as you make smaller projects, you also improve a lot as you start out. It's very common, especially at the very beginning of your journey, to constantly revise and remake your work as you go because every now and then, you'll improve so much that everything at the beginning is noticeably worse than what comes after.

This happens to all developers, to be clear, even ones with years of experience under their belts. It's the reason Fez took years to get out, by the developer's own admission. If your project takes a few days or even a week to make, you only have a small length of time to get better and want to scrap everything. Getting something, anything out there, getting feedback, being able to reflect on a finished product is an essential part of your creative journey and I know many developers who are more talented than me who've never gotten that far due to their tendency to set targets for themselves that they can't hit yet.

This lesson took me a much longer time for me to learn than I'd like to admit. I have about 4 long-term projects that never saw the light of day that I worked on for most of my teenage years (which I could make now), but couldn't then. If I'd made smaller projects during that time and honed specific skills, I'd likely be even better than I am now!

You'll get there if you stick with it. Learning any creative skill from scratch is an incredibly frustrating and at times, completely disheartening process. You'd be surprised how many times I almost quit doing this. But, nothing good's ever truly easy. Start tiny, work your way up! Through self reflection, feedback, added experience, you'll figure out your own style, your own workflow. And then... I am TOAST. Best of luck!

[feathermouth]

[EDITED WITH MORE INFO!]

do we still fw pressure OCs?

i have not decided on a name for them yet. im gonna try to pick something thats typically feminine, but i dont want it to be boring, so suggestions are absolutely encouraged!

this fellas name is lamis! its an arabic name that means "soft to the touch."

they are african-american (i still need to determine the specifics, this is a super rough concept so far)

lamis is egyptian ethnically, so, around north africa. lamis was born in america. US citizenship.

im probably gonna end up choosing a dif. set of pronouns for them once ive got the rest of their identity solidified

lamis is definitely a lady. but shes the type of person to not really gaf what people refer to her as.

i also feel like the design is a little cluttered, but i do not gaf. this is very self-indulgent at the moment. plus its pretty.

^ this still holds true. i dont wanna change the design, so im trying to think of ways to justify it. im considering the idea that she was engineered predominantly for aesthetics and was sorta just ... forgotten about.

their current design consists of a black dragonfish and a yellow stingray. i originally wanted to put a poison dart frog in there, but im not sure if an amphibian would fit too well in the rest of the pressure setting. their design is crazy, yes, but it will be LORE APPROPRIATE

^ still the same! if i go with my new idea, maybe they wouldve taken some liberties and used an amphibian. maybe.

they have eyes by the way. i just felt like drawing it closed. their eyes are a similar yellow. im considering changing the eyes to black instead.

her eyes are gonna be iridescent, similar to a black dragonfish. sometimes theyll look black, sometimes yellow, sometimes white—all depends on the angle and lighting.

they are bioluminescent (result of the black dragonfish dna) but their yellow patterns ONLY glow in low-light environments. they aint shining all the time. thatd be so annoying

^ still the same! except im gonna move around the areas that glow. i want them to look more "biological," like, less like a royal engraving, so i mostly need to clean up her chest and stomach. the markings will be less sharp next time i draw her.

their face looks kinda peeled back/smooth intentionally, its not just my art style. the animals they were mixed with are Very Smooth. aerodynamic or something. they had more defined features before they were mutated.

lamis' face is thinned out because of the taught skin of the animals shes mixed with. fish tend to have very smooth faces. before being experimented on, lamis had a meatier nose, deep-set eyes, and rounder cheeks.

im still unsure of what i want their role to be, if any. i dont want anything too special, i dont really like making 'main-character' characters as OCs. i dont have any ideas as to what i could do.

yeah i still dont wanna make a "special" character. i dont like when OCs disrupt canon. lamis is Very Much So an outside addition.

i know that theyre swift, quiet, and glow in the dark, so maybe some sort of rare encounter for the player? like a guide in a particularly dark set of rooms, or a mini-encounter similar to the bottomfeeder? (im aware that those ideas show two very different moral alignments, i havent fleshed out their personality yet.)

well, lamis was forgotten about after her experiments concluded, so i imagine she would be bitter. she'll probably try to force players into dim-lit areas so that she can get near them. i dont think lamis is the type of person to kill outright, but rather maim. definitely lurks in darker places and doesnt enjoy coming out into the light, so shed be a specific-situation encounter, if nothing else.

this is the only pressure oc im currently willing to make public, because my others are ENTIRELY self-serving, and you couldnt WATERBOARD my writing out of me.

anyway! suggestions are encouraged! i need feedback. please .....

[biancasaidstfu]

I don’t get that style of dancing but it’s not like she’s pulling it out of her a**. It’s a style that exists today for a lot of dancers.

I'll give my opinion here as someone who used to do ballroom, folk, and modern dance. I agree, the styles of some dances I see now are absolute shit. It exists but it's a disservice to dancers. I don't hate her but I don't think she's being taught properly.

A lot of what we see passing as "dancing" is really poor choreography and clothing illusion.

1. The clothing illusion. Unlike Ballet, ballroom, etc, a lot of the dancers wear joggers or baggy clothes like Antonia. The idea is to have loose clothing so movement is not restricted but the loose clothing hides flaws in technique. True dance teachers will not allow certain types of clothing because if they cannot see the techniques they can't help dancers fix it. Poor technique does not help the dancer improve and it can also cause injury. For example, sometimes when her steps look a bit off, to and untrained eye it might not be noticed but dancers can see if it's a missed beat or if she did not extend hand or leg with the correct posture and formation or if she's trying too hard to count the steps rather than just let the movement guide her.

2. Bad choreography. A lot of those dances she does is amplified by tiktok shit choreography. Ballroom dance, Ballet and other types have strict movements more so than interpretive/modern/contemporary dance but the one principle with all of them is you dance on the beat. What I see passing off as dancing is doing it on the words of the song and not the beat/melody/instrumental of the song. They should be able to dance the same song with words or without words and still keep the beat, pace and fluidity of movement. So it looks sometimes like they fight the beat instead of move with it. They also dance like they are trying to keep count of steps rather than dance listening to the beat/melody of the song and dancing on that, letting the songs or instruments guide the movement so it is more natural and fluid. They also force the emotions. Sometimes a dance does not need all the face expressions, focusing on one thing too much can sacrifice the technique and way the dance is supposed to be.

Bad choreography is also when they do the Britney Spears type of 1, 2 lock steps for everything, looking like a scarecrow running behind chickens, flailing body parts all over, rather than feel the song and then do choreography appropriately. They do a lot of repeated stiff steps with lack of fluidity and a lot of popping body parts to look edgy or like they have control of the dance but they actually look like they can't control the movement. Also they learn by watching someone else dance a move or two, sometimes that works but sometimes the explanation behind the dance is needed. You need to understand the dance, feel the dance, to emote the dance, to actually dance it naturally. Even freestyle dance looks stiff because they focus on using repeated motions and TikTok viral moves.

This among other things is why she looks like she forces to dance. They aren't being taught proper techniques and dance is also a lot of listening to your body and the song you are dancing to. It won't look natural the more the choreography looks forced. A side by side of professional dancers vs dance class in a studio dancers posing as professionals will show you the difference. The teacher has to want to make sure it's done correct and the dancers have to also try to get better rather than try to be the most edgy or exaggerated.

This was a very interesting read!!

I love to hear perspectives of people with experience in these types of careers/industries/hobbies. It’s very enlightening!

[dotssu3]

my dark, fucked up version of the classic vault dweller sprite

[adoniism]

Don't worry, Sixer! You are in good 𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼.

alt ver.

[bbq-potato-chip]

really been enjoying rewatching as of late

[qingwaaa]

Free my man he did all of it but I dont care

[itseghost]

some essek portrait doodles :] still figuring him out but i do love 2 draw him

[shroomerr]

portrait study but its kenny

[chisutofu]

[swampybogg]

[failyaoi]

Khaos is Reigning or whatever

[dohydrate]

Sacrifice.

Drawing’s story:

The more Eddie does un-heterosexual actions, the more the show stops using him for episodes. Eddie is now just a prop for rare occasions. Frank just wanted to put a smile on his goofy face! Not knowing the destruction it would cause by putting the peas too close together.

Eddie doesn’t have his puppeteers to help him express himself right now.

(Fan-made)