#and about the future things like we don't need to pressure ourselves so much about our future

[angryborzois]

man my old school was weird and all but i miss it 😭

[decolonize-the-everything]

Had a tik tok in my Facebook memories that said something about how with anti-maskers it ultimately comes down to them perceiving doing things for others as weakness since they grew up in a hyper-individulistic society. It's them exerting autonomy and refusing to stop under peer pressure, largely just for the sake of fighting something since that's a strength. A value. "I don't let others tell me what to do because I can't be controlled"

Made me think that everyone else bought into the same type of individualistic rhetoric through pop psychology: having "good" boundaries means never needing others and always putting yourself before everyone else regardless of circumstance and especially if they make you feel any feeling you don't want to feel. ...Like guilty for not caring enough to keep wearing a mask in 2023. That's a strength. A value. "I don't let others tell me what to do because I love myself"

The conclusion here being: being needed/needing others is a threat to your autonomy which is a Value to protect.

And when you really think about it applies to more than masking; supporting BIPOC, watching the news, showing up to protests, etc.

"I'm already depressed, I can't handle it. I'm watching out for my own mental health by not participating"

"it's all woke which makes me feel like a bad person cuz Im a bigot so I only watch what validates my bias"

And personally I get a little suspicious when two sides defined by their opposite social values come to the same social conclusion.

You should too. This rhetoric is holding us back. Individualism is holding us back. People need people. It's not toxic or abusive or manipulative to admit that, no matter how much society has tried to make you believe otherwise.

Oppressed people needing allies and your friends who need help moving aren't violating your boundaries or "bad for your mental health" just because You don't want to show up AND not feel bad about it.

Can the generation that grew up screaming "I don't know how to teach you that you should care about other people" at boomers please stand up and take a heaping tablespoon of your own medicine.

And then show gen z how to swallow it because growing up in the social climate we millennials curated online hasn't exactly inspired feelings of confidence in others or the future.

Both of which we still care about right? We still care about other people and the future? Not just ourselves?

Just want to confirm that we haven't gone Full Boomer as a collective yet cuz at this rate I wouldn't be surprised if someone responded saying that being expected to care about their friends is akin communist dictatorship

And could this be a Red Scare Psyop meant to discourage you from finding community, collectivism, and mutual aid in a time where your hyper-individulistic behavior and beliefs are being exploited for record breaking profits in the name of capitalism?

[marsprincess889]

Why I don't use nakshatras in D9 (navamsa)

And why you should not either.

We all know the basic traits of zodiac signs, their archetypes and how symmetrical and cool they look. Nakshatras are constellations(lunar mansions) WITHIN the zodiac signs, actual points/stars in the sky that have mythologies and associations attributed to them, affirmed by the observable patterns of their natives.

D9/navamsa is chart that shows in which division each planet falls in, and those divisions are each sign divided by nine, making each nakshatra consist of 4 those(known as padas).

Now, each pada has a zodiac sign attributed to it. So, planets in in the same nakshatra but in different padas have different(minor, but still different) effects. For example, my venus is in Gemini(punarvasu) in the Gemini pada, making it vargottama(same sign and pada), thus strengthening it.

So, the placements of the planets in signs of D9 aren't their placements in the actual conatellations in which they sit, and in no way hold the same weight. Nakshatras are already divions within signs, which are larger than padas. There are no nakshatras in D9 because you cannot pretend that 4 degrees(approx.) Are 30 and divide the divisions further 😭

Obviously, I have not said that padas/D9 have no effect, they do, but signs in D9 are not the same as signs in D1. Signs in D9 are more hypothetical and cannot be interpreted the same way that signs in D1 can.

Hope I explainted it clearly and in a way that helps you understand.

If you guys use nakshatras in D9 I genuinely need to know why and hear your reasons. So, please interact.

PS: I've noticed there's an unnecessarily big emphasis being placed on navamsa online. I assume it's because some sources say it's the chart of your "future spouse"(as in, you can know all about them from it). I think another reason is that people(young people esp.) look at astrology as an entertainment and a tool, while still taking it VERY seriously. Guys, it's not that serious. These are just patterns that yes, you should have fun with but don't you think we(not me, lol) put a lot of pressure on ourselves and others by overanalyzing? We don't need to complicate things or try to fit our lives to what our charts/astrologers say. Astrology should fit YOU, not the other way around.

And if you feel like what popular astrologers say about nakshatras/placements/aspects does not resonate with you, there's no need to look for divisional charts or additional information to justify this or that in a person's life. Look at what's obvious, simple and important, like a moon nakshatra, and know that you've discovered/observed something new about it. We all need originality 🙂

I have not seen anyone associate Bharani with Rapunzel, but it felt so real and true to me and I knew it in my heart that there was a connection. When I posted that article other Bharani natives(and ppl with important points in Bharani) told me how they too relate to that story and how much it means to them. Thaf made me so happy. That's what astrology and observations should be about 🤍

[silvcrsxng]

GOD SAVE THE PROM QUEEN

Larissa Weems x oc

Chapter II

A/N: Hello there! First of all, I have to say a big THANK U for liking and sharing the first part of the story. I am so happy about that, I can‘t even tell! Today, I‘ll upload chapter two of the story - I wasn‘t quite contented about it, but didn‘t really know why. After a few times of rereading, I finally decided to upload - so have fun while reading! ♡︎

♕

There is this one moment when everything freezes. You leave your body, look at it from the outside. You weaken, feel empty and stagger in nothingness. Only then does your story enter for you. Your emotions, your feelings, your thoughts. You regain control of your body. It remembers things that seem completely alien to you - just gives you, for this one moment, the possibility to see yourself from a different perspective.

So should you fall, should you also see yourself from above ... Do you then ask yourself if you could still hear yourself? If you could hear others? The possible scream? The last words muttered as you fell? The cries of others, their shouts?

Or do you merely wrap yourself in golden silence, accepting your fate and letting the inevitable happen? The impact that inevitably follows every fall. In our younger years, we learned from this. We were taught to get back up after each fall. To go on stronger than before, to try again - and then, with the progress of time, not to fall again. To survive situations in which we had previously failed.

What irony. If you look at your past life, your school days, your childhood, one thing is quite striking. Many of the things that await us in later life are things we encounter unprepared. Who teaches us how to deal with our feelings or thoughts? Who teaches us to think clearly in difficult situations? Who teaches us to deal with the first heartbreak?

No one.

Except ourselves.

"You've taught yourself everything you need. Goal orientation. As soon as pressure is on you, fight it. Don't perish because of it. Walk your path with your head held high, write your own story. Because if you don't, others will do it for you. Without asking yourself what part you want to play in it."

Second fiddle. That was what Elura had mostly played in her story so far. She had fallen - too many times to count. But she had always gotten back up, no matter how hard the impact had been. In the hope of being first choice for once in the future. Since those school days, she had never lost that hope. It had felt, the moment she had finally seen Larissa Weems again, as if all that hope over the past few years had finally been rewarded. Her warm, heartfelt smile - those sparkling blue eyes. She had no difficulty whatsoever in recalling that moment of first seeing her again - she had also made an effort to carefully memorise her beautiful face. To refresh the memory of her, which had been so long ago.

The disbelief that had spread through her stomach at first had quickly turned into joy. Joy, however, which she had not really been able to show. Not because she didn't want to, no. But much more for the reason that she was afraid of losing her again anyway. To see someone else with her, to be able to do nothing but stand in the shadows.

"You are not a teacher at this school. Neither are you one of their students, you are decidedly too old for that," a relatively monotone voice snapped her out of her thoughts, making her frown in confusion. Elura had sat down on a bench a little away from the schoolyard - her nose buried in a book, which she read only half-heartedly, however. Her thoughts had been far away, completely blocking out any external events. Until that interruption. She raised her head, looking at the black-haired girl standing in front of her with a raised eyebrow. "I too wish you a good day." she replied before gently closing the book. "But yes, it's true. I am neither."

The girl didn't make any expression - merely eyed her in a strange way before her gaze fell on the book in her hands. "Then why are you here?" she asked another question, which, however, merely made Elura shake her head gently. "It's none of your business. I don't see why I should be accountable to you, especially since I don't even know you." The girl's behaviour puzzled her. Not least for the reason that she had seemingly just appeared out of nowhere. "Wednesday. Wednesday Addams." No sooner had she spoken her name than Elura's body tensed.

Addams.

Addams, after Gomez Addams. And Gomez was automatically linked to Morticia. Morticia Frump - or Addams, whatever her name was now. "You have already made the acquaintance of my mother." Nothing. No response from Elura, who was busy processing what she had just heard. "With my father, too." "How do you know that?" it finally escaped her lips, which had become eerily dry.

Wednesday seemed heartily unsurprised by the question - unless, of course, she was extremely talented at hiding her actual reactions behind that disinterested, almost creepy façade. "The yearbook. And your reaction to my name." She left. Without having waited for a response.

Elura was left behind, ignorant of how she felt a moment ago. How she should classify her feelings.

And for that one moment, she saw herself - sitting there, on that bench. The same book in her hand as she had all those years ago.

She rose, slowly, and made her way back to the high walls of Nevermore Academy. "You were always fond of that book. I remember always wondering why." She didn't have to lift her head to recognise whose voice it was. Even among thousands, she would have recognised it. It was Larissa, who had approached her with a gentle smile on her lips. "You spent hours reading it ..." the blonde added. "And it was you who always reminded me not to let time completely out of my sight," Elura replied, finally coming to a halt in front of the headmistress and looking up at her.

"Without you, I would have been late to class many times." The tall woman lowered her head, smirking, before shaking her head a little. "If, then you would have merely been a little late." Elura bit her lip lightly, looking at her counterpart wordlessly for a few moments. "I never thanked you for that." Surprised, the blonde raised her head, returning the look with which the young woman regarded her. "It was also no-" with a determined shake of her head she silenced Principal Weems. "Don't say that Because no matter how many times you told me it wasn't necessary, I still wouldn't be able to accept it." Her words were gentle - merely yet firm.

"Without you ... All my time here would have been black and white." Thoughts. She did not speak them, aware that they would not change her situation. A light touch on her cheek made her turn her attention back to the blonde. She looked into her eyes, into that beautiful, deep and reassuring blue. The smile she wore on her red-painted lips was honest, almost tender. Larissa herself radiated perfect warmth and calm. The same charisma as back then. With the difference that her authority had increased. Not in a negative way. She had never been someone who acted selfishly. Rather, she had been the kind of person who always tried to help others - who stood up for others without asking for anything in return.

Silence. It felt like there was nothing and no one else in this world. It was just the two of them. It felt right. Almost like coming home after a long, far too long time .... coming home. She was her home. She had always been, but she had never dared to open up to it.

And ... that's how it was going to stay for now.

"It's about time, isn't it?" Once again, it was Elura who destroyed the moment. Who could not face her feelings in the way she would have liked to. Larissa's expression stiffened for a moment before she blinked and nodded curtly. "Quite."

And there they went again. Separately, both heading in other directions. Another separation, which again felt like a disappointment to the young woman. She wanted to be honest. More than anything else. And the Rave'N was the best way to do that.

[dancer-nguyen]

Why artist should write?

Why tho?

Because I hate my art most of the time, and I think you hate your art most of the time, too.

Stress, pressure, self-doubt, comparing to others, all these stuff fill my mind when I try to draw something. "I must make something good, I have to, as good as the 5000 pins I saved on Pinterest".

These thoughts overwhelm your mind, basically.

Arts are supposed to make us feel better, they are supposed to be our instrument of expressing our thoughts and clear the burden in our mind. So why are we, artists, always filled with negative thoughts?

Have you ever felt this way: constantly changing the sketch, fine-tuning the smallest pixel of the lineart while thinking that this piece will go nowhere and you are a terrible artist, and finally you block down some color+shadow and whoaaaaa it suddenly clicks: "I actually feel something from this piece"

The "click" is something I would like to call "the-stage-which-your-art-begin-to-express-your-ideas-and-feelings". Until we reach this stage, we cannot express our ideas, gestures need to be drawn, line art needs to be polished, colors need to be blocked, shadows need to be shaded, and I-don't-know-why-but-it-looks-good filters like grain and chromatic aberration needed to be added.

We have to go through everything so that our art becomes "something". Until that something appears, our mind just keeps filling with our own negative thoughts to the point that it is overwhelmed. I give up most of the time before my art actually becomes something. Thousands of sketches and line art are wasted just because I cannot push myself a little bit more.

But hey, who said the only way to dump our negative thoughts is by pushing ourselves to finish the piece?

The way I choose is writing

(ironically, another form of Arts).

Writing is a great way to express yourself! Unlike art, where the learning curve can be tough and a bit discouraging, writing is more forgiving. All you need is the ability to write, and you're good to go.

Don't be afraid of writing. It's a personal medium, so there's no need to polish your writing to the same extent as you do with your art. It's like sketching - just put your thoughts down on paper. However, not all artists can express themselves through sketching alone. So while telling them to "just sketch and don't worry about how it looks" may not create any more negative thoughts, it may not necessarily get rid of existing ones.

I have a notebook where I write every thought in my head down. And so far it has been filled with neat writing, bad writing, skeletons, nude figures, random shaded spheres, letters I want to send to my favorite YouTuber but I just don't have the courage to do so, and so so much more. And so far, it has been nice. Sometimes I'm just too tired to write (literally every day lol) so I just flip back and forth and see all the things I have made, unpolished, unaffected by my crippling perfectionism. And oh boy after that I just had more motivation and ended up writing anyway.

You can just journal random stuff that pops up in your mind, both negative and positive, no need to polish anything. And done, your mind is clear now and you can focus on the piece of art yayyyyyy.

Actually you're just gonna fall into an endless cycle of being stressed, finding something to relieve it, pushing yourself to finish the piece, being happy after completing it, and finally being stressed about the next piece.

But the thing is not about the endless cycle of pain, it's about how we deal with it. After all, living itself is painful, but by dealing with the pain and finding ways to enjoy our lives, our existence becomes meaningful. P/SS: Writing is actually really good for noting down inspirations and composing your future pieces. Sometimes I just write prompts for my character designs or environment designs because I don't wanna sketch them out. Later I will re-read the prompt and imagine all kinds of different stuff I can make. (I learned this from that chapter of Bakuman, when the illustrator tells the story writer to use only words to describe his ideas instead of using sketches, the illustrator can have more freedom in designing the pages)

[despair-to-future-arcs]

That makes sense!

Wait so you want us to change our identities?!

Th-That seems far too quickly, don't you think? Shouldn't we have more time to consider it!

Ye-Yeah, your dropping this whole bombshell on us and you expect to change just like that?!

'Yeah like the heck dude!'

Look I know that it seems very rash but if we want to get these briefcases then that means we need to change your appearance and your identities as well.

I know you say we have to but how do you think we can do that?

I have to agree, how exactly are you going to do all this?

Like are ya gonna do plastic surgery or something?

Simple, Future Foundation is going to assist with your appearances along with fingerprints, cover stories, IDs and it also helps with the Neo World Program as well.

I'm sure you all are aware that Dr. Gekkogahara - my boss, is going to advertise this program world wide and we inform the public that we had participants, meaning we can use these profiles and names to cover for you.

And trust me, I would of done this months ago but given circumstances; things have change so I would need to do this, sorry but I have to...

Alright that does make sense, okay...

So if we do go through with this, how much do we need to change ourselves?

Well looking at it, I would say you, Kei and Peko are probably the most safe compare to the others but everyone would need to completely alter their appearances entirely.

Seeing as your average-looking, you can pass off for an average guy, Kei has taken on different identities meaning that his normal appearance would do well and since Peko as an Ultimate Despair had her face cover and she's not well known in kendo, she can return to normal as well.

But only if she starts working towards cutting her ties with the Kuzuruyu Clan.

...

Fuyuhiko, I...are you sure that's the only way?

Yeah, it is... pretty much if you are to have a better life away from the clan then that means we can't be together anymore, I talk with Nagi about this and I agree with it, sorry.

I suppose so but... can we really change our appearance and identities just like that? It seems hard...

It might be for all of you but I think we can do it...

I know for many of you, it's hard to imagine changing your appearance and identity just like that but given the life I've live; it's... rather easy to do so and yes it's difficult to imagine such but I can assist you all on that. But if we wish to work on this, it means we need to give up this old identity and forge a new one.

Easy for you to say, you can do that easily but for us... it's hard to imagine being a different person, you think we can?

'Yeah ham hands, talk about pressure! I mean how else are we gonna do that?'

Hmph, you all seem to be giving up too easily, don't you think? How about we start off with something simple; pick new names for yourselves and work on those, will work on writing your name, repeat that name to yourself and use that name when not on Jabberwock island or repeat it in the mirror, that's what you have to do and it'll become second nature to you.

So just start picking names? That's gonna be complicated since I'm not good with names...

So you wish to mentor us to forge a new path; I suppose the master of disguises would be most suited to assist us in this matter!

Exactly, so I think I can help you all learn the way to change your identity with ease; I guess my talents as an imposter really is going to come in handy. Wouldn't you agree Nagi?

Oh right, I suppose we can leave you to help with that Kei with that one, alright I think we can let you handle with picking names.

[hees-mine]

dear hees mine,

i've been an avid reader if your fics since playtime and there was a time when i would long onto tumblr just to read another part. your writing stood out to me because it was different, your plots were different and your writing was mature. i've read all your fics and of course, playtime is my favorite. it hurts me to see you go but it hurts more to know there's nothing i can do about it. i would tell you to ignore the people in your inbox, but as a fellow writer, i know that's easier said than done. i've seen so many asks over your blog which simply ask 'part 2?' or 'is there gonna be part 2?' and each time i've seen them i always felt bad. those people, aren't even praising, they just think if you like a robot who simply exists to manufacture fics and cater to their needs. people don't realize how much difference some words can make. if someone had asked "hi i loved xxxx and i really liked when xxxx i was wondering if there was gonna be another part to it? no pressure though" then it would've made some change because then you know that the person genuinely enjoyed your writing and appreciates it. my blog is small and i don't receive many asks so i don't know how you feel. but i do know how gross and disgusting it might feel when you open your inbox and it's just a bunch of people demanding another part. there's nothing i can do to make you stay even if i want to. but if there's a chance you ever come back, i might go off anon and send an ask genuinely. ik there's nothing i can do to change your decision, but i hope that someday in the near future you click back into your account and even if you don't write, i'll still log in to hear from you. your blog means comfort to me. i hope you take care and lead a healthy life. i hope all your dreams come true and you surround yourself with beautiful and kind people.

with love, someone on the internet

My heart🥺🩵 you’re gonna make me cry

Thank you for thinking so highly of my writing it really means a lot to me and I’m so happy to hear you’ve been with me for this long

Exactly the whole ignoring of the inbox thing is like the most difficult thing to do

See you get it and I think it might only be a feeling a writer can understand is that after a while of constantly being asked for a part two it does really make you feel like a robot it feels that they don’t see you as a person who spends their time writing for others for free

It’s just like perform for me while I give you absolutely no incentive to perform

The fact that even my other anons and readers were also noticing that was being asked about part twos so often is really telling I think a reader of mine actually kinda made a joke about it cause that’s just how much it was happening

Exactly it was not so much the asking for part two it was the way it was happening and that’s what I think most people don’t realize which is why (not saying other people can’t understand it) I think it’s mainly writers who feel this way is because we know what really goes into it

You may think it’s just writing but it’s more than that it’s us putting ourselves out here and this is a bit off topic

But I’ve received death threats for sharing a fic to the internet while many enjoy it some don’t and these are some of the things that I’ll list writers go through maybe to give a little more insight

First you have to gain the courage to share a fantasy with people on tumblr you’re basically anonymous on here but it can be a little nerve wrecking to post something a little more taboo or maybe you’re just scared to post in general(which my blog leans towards the taboo side and if you wrote that you’re bound to be talked about) posting playtime took a lot of courage from my end but luckily It was received well for the most part

Second and this one isn’t really a big deal but I know some of us find it difficult to make headers and we tend to take a lot of time on that so even though it’s just a picture it does take time to arrange it the way that is pleasing to our eyes

Third naming a fic can also take time

Fourth touching back on the subject of what to post you’re going to receive backlash and if you’re sensitive for lack of a better word it will take a toll on you

Fifth not everyone is going to like you which is fine but just get ready for those ones that will come into your inbox just to hate and talk down to you for absolutely no reason

I’m gonna stop here but I think I have a few good examples that a lot of us can relate to ones that a reader may or may not understand

Furthermore all of the above mentioned couple with the demands it may not seem like a lot but it is especially for ones mental

I literally just saw a whole war going down over someone “plagiarizing” someone else’s work (not sure if they copied or not but that’s all I’m gonna say) but she received death threats when it was never that deep

So no it’s not just a “part two” it’s not just a “blog” it’s not just “fanfic” this shit can get dark fast

Now that I’ve mentioned these things I might make a post stating some other things that writers go through cause I really want to shine a light on this and make it a big deal

But to steer back in the direction of what the topic is what it comes down to is really just being mindful of what you do so hopefully my situation will just allow one person to think before they say certain things

Thank you for this long beautiful lovely ask ilysm🩵 but I also hate you because you’re making it nearly impossible to leave 🥹 all you guys really are the love i received from everyone is just unfathomable I didn’t know you guys even thought of my page as something comforting I didn’t know everyone thought of my writing so highly and it really warms my heart to know that cause that’s really all I ever wanted 🩵

[multiplicity-positivity]

i don't know if you guys are going to be able to help us but I don't know who to turn to,

Just for context, I am part of a newly discovered system, we have known that there are multiple people around it's been a couple of years but it was just recently that it was suggested that this might be caused by a disorder, but this is something that only a couple of other alters know about; our host knows about us and has interacted with us before but he is in deep denial over it.

Anyway, recently I have been trying to organize things and manage our inner world but we are having quite a few problems with communication and acceptance over this condition and it's starting to leak into the host's everyday life; (like for example we aways suffered from headaches due to switching but it's been getting more frequent and it makes our host (or anyone for that matter) to be completely unable to function properly, which leads to other health related problems); I know I should seek a therapist or a doctor to talk about this but medical care at the moment is pretty much impossible because of monetary and trauma related reasons so I am not sure how I should go about this; I just want to take care of my system and our host but it is just getting a little too much and I am lost I don't know what to do.

I am here looking for some advice from people that understand system related issues like this but it's completely okay if you guys can't help us, and my apologies in case you already answered any other ask like this.

Thank you.

Hi! So we know you said you couldn’t seek therapy or medical help, but we’d like to pass along something that often gets repeated for us in therapy.

We’ve been doing trauma work over the past 8 months or so. It is grueling, exhausting, and depressing work. We regularly get overwhelmed and reach a point where we’re not able to function. When it gets to this point, we don’t talk about trauma in therapy until we’re feeling better. It’s all about prioritizing our health and well-being, and that can’t happen if we’re always pushing ourselves in therapy and in our everyday lives without taking breaks to check in and relax.

Even if y’all aren’t doing trauma work, something very similar may be happening. You might be trying to take on too much at once, causing your system to suffer as a result. If learning about and trying to manage your system is making it difficult for you to function, you very well may need to pump the brakes for a while. Spend some time not focusing on your system. Learn a new hobby, watch a show or play a video game, and let your system’s inner workings sit unconsidered for some time. After your system has had a chance to calm down, and you’re not stressing out over your plurality as much, it may be safe to continue your efforts. But pushing yourself and your system too hard too fast can absolutely cause your system to get burnt out and have more difficulties recovering than normal.

So definitely our best advice for y’all would be to take things slow! Don’t push yourself too hard, and if it’s getting difficult to function, pause your efforts of in-system work until your system is feeling better. Do something you enjoy for a while and try to relax. Your system isn’t going anywhere - it’s okay to take your time figuring this out. And going slowly/taking your time with this will have huge benefits for your whole system. There’s no rush to get everything sorted and figured out ASAP. In fact, rushing like this can be detrimental (and it sounds like it’s had some negative effects on your system!).

For your host in denial, we have a post specifically for dealing with denial - maybe it could help put his mind at ease and take the pressure off the rest of you a little bit:

We’re wishing you the best of luck with this! We really aren’t a good stand in for therapy or medical treatment, though we understand you may be nervous to seek treatment if you’ve been traumatized in the past, or entirely unable to afford it. We hope that soon you can get the help you need for your system - there are gentle, trauma-informed therapists out there who could handle your system’s situation with kindness and grace! Until you’re able to access something like that, though, we’re wishing you peace, comfort, and plenty of rest! Good luck with everything, and remember to stay hydrated and take plenty of breaks!

🌸 Margo and 💫 Parker

[the-dance-of-italy]

hey- it's the same anon who sent that long ask about the chosen lol. the boycott the chosen account does not have their asks on so i'm like.. hoping they see this

i don't personally know about contacting the cast members. i personally think we would gain much more traction on instagram because a majority of the fanbase is active there & they post there very frequently and primarily. all the posts they posted supporting israel were on instagram. i thought once the cause gets enough traction it might pressure the actors involved that i named, i hadn't thought about contacting them directly and i don't really know if that'll work, thoughts on that??

i did mention shaan sharma particularly because he's on sag-aftra board of directors and i haven't seen anyone else talk about how sag-aftra is supporting israel too. since he's involved there we could get a lot more attention directing attention to how sag aftra's pro-israel. and like, mention shaan sharma on the list of people remaining silent, and how he's in the chosen too

the thing is, it's my personal opinion that it might actually be worth switching to insta entirely? i said before in the other ask that i was just going to make my own account but i don't have the time or energy to fully run it; i also don't really know how i'd do it. the tumblr fandom for the chosen is very minimal, and stuff that happens on tumblr tends to be really contained. i don't know how many people there are on twitter though. like i strongly recommend that we shift our focus to insta, make like actual posts with the chosen's tags because the insta algorithm is pretty good with showing tagged stuff like that. remember the pride flag controversy? almost all of that was within instagram and it was enough to get that video response out of multiple cast members

also, i could make some infographics if needed/requested. i do realize anyone could theoretically because it's not too hard to design but right now im offering to make infographics for instagram or possibly twitter (i don't know how it works there haha)

i just personally think right now that it's unlikely for that entire cast & crew, every single person, to support israel wholeheartedly alongside dallas jenkins. (especially luke dimyan; he's vocal about arab and yeah, he could support israel too, but still) if there's enough conversation & backlash on the internet, it could be enough to motivate/provoke some of them to speak up. it's also optimal timing tbh because season 4's released in theatres next month, this is the first time they're making money off their episodes, and if enough people cancel tickets it might do something. although im honestly pessimistic that we'll gain enough traction in time for that or that enough people would even care. but still its worth trying i think!!

man i realized this was long and i'm sorry haha, so basically tl;dr i could help with infographics if needed. and i think we should really prioritize spreading posts on instagram.

Seeing as things are going, i too agree that containing ourselves to just tumblr and twitter is limiting us. It may be too late to prevent Season 4, but there's still time for the future seasons, and the less support they have for the last seasons the better.

I can work on the IG account myself ,im always on my phone anyway. Its still the second week and they havent given me any heavy assignments yet haha. If its not too much trouble, i would accept if you (or anyone who see's and wants to do it) could make the infographics / or any other graphics for the account. I would, but my other laptop broke down and the one im usin doesn't have Adobe installed yet 😅.

[cripplingparanoia]

I don't think we truly heal by just deciding one day to change

I think that one day we are simply meant to change

And that all the struggle and suffering we endure must be gone through in order for the change to occur

You can't simply decide to be better

But eventually, after so long of things being so bad, the pressure suddenly lets up

And you thought you were being crushed and it would never end

But you were stronger for it

And you had no choice anyway

It's hard that you went through it

And you could have easily become strong another way without it

And it's hard if you're still there

And it's hard if you ever go back

But it can't be stopped

We feel like we need to have so much control over our world and the world in general

Especially in the age of technology we have now

And facing the truth that we don't always have so much control is challenging

We can remind ourselves over and over of it

We can remind ourselves of what we can control too.

We don't have much control

Sometimes we don't even feel control over our own selves

Those are dark times

Even when you learn control, not everyone will know or follow

Even then, you will have bad days again.

There is nothing you can do about this

But you can be happy when you are happy

You can be happy as often as you can be happy

You can do that

And you can be loving

Because you know you need love when you arent in control

You can love when you are in control and someone you love is not

And maybe you're ability to be in control and show them that love will be a teacher for them

Maybe people will be mean or rude to you

You can let it bother you

But don't let it turn you mean to someone who is showing love to you

Let yourself feel

Let your feelings pass

Let good feelings come

There is no past

Nor future

There is now

And there is tomorrow

And you must decide

What to control in yourself

Because you can't control much else in the flow of time

[bearlythere]

elemental was such a BEAUTIFUL story. while the trailer might have treated it as just a typical love story between 2 people of different cultures trying to come together against all odds, it's actually a really touching and beautiful story about immigrant parents trying to build a community and the hardships they went through to provide for their family, as well as the generational trauma that might unintentionally stem from that.

to the point where sometimes the pressure they put on the child to continue the "family legacy" - in ember's case it's the shop, but it's parallel in real life is to things like career and family goals - is so much that it's all the think about. "to not disappoint my parents" is all they think about. and it just hits so close to home because growing up with an immigrant mother and with her having a plan for my future since i was a little kid, all i could do was just follow silently along as "mother knows best". and even now, as an adult, when i make certain choices in life, i'd still fear the disapproval i might get from her, to the point where i stick with what i think is safe. i can't just tell her i don't agree with her viewpoint on life, can i?

and then there's wade. telling us all "it's your life. you should do what you want with it" " it's your choice, you only live once" being super supportive of ember no matter what choice she makes, being her emotional support, hearing what she actually has to say and doing all he can to make her dreams come true. the one willing to sacrifice himself to save ember's family heirloom. he's the inspiration we all need to take charge of our lives and believe in ourselves that we can do fantastic things with our lives. he's the character that shows that it's okay to love someone so much to the point where they mean everything to you, and that dreams can be a reality after all.

movie rating - 8.2/10. pixar has done it again! -1.8 because i felt certain portions of the movie was quite weirdly paced.

ps. wishing that anyone who reads this has already found their wade in their lives - if not, soon! (i'm still waiting for my wade 🥲)

[aeternallis]

thank you so much for the meta you wrote about kim's fight in yok's bar, i feel like i really needed to read that the news today about jeff satur leaving BOC ;_; if you don't mind, some words of comfort would be really appreciated

You're very much welcome bby, I'm happy to have provided you with something to cheer you up~ For what it's worth, I only recently got into KinnPorsche (3 months ago), so I have more metas (and fics!) I wanna write for KimChay!

As for Jeff leaving BOC, please don't let it get to you too much, my dear. He's leaving to do bigger and better things, yknow? Endings and partings are always hard, but it doesn't mean there's no hope for the future. Jeff and Barcode are still friends, they still have Wuju Bakery together, they have an event coming up this week XD, and even when they move on after Wuju Bakery, KimChay and the AlienBaker will still be here.

Personally for me, I still have hope for a season 2 of KinnPorsche. The story is far from over, and BOC/Pond knows that it's too big of a series to just let it end on one season. But if they ultimately leave it at that, then that's okay too (I'll accept that in due time). If we ever do get a season 2 however, I hope sincerely that Jeff will be willing to take on the role of Kim once more; same for Barcode and Porchay.

Having said this, KinnPorsche is definitely a series that can benefit from a time skip, lol Both within the narrative and in real time. This series has so much emotional baggage attached to it that tbh, I'm very much relieved the WT is finally over. This way, hopefully the emotional roller coaster of RL drama with the BOC actors can die down.

Like for reals, I've only been in this fandom 3 months, and I feel like it's already aged me 5 years, what with the Build/Poi drama, the drama from last year that I'm only finding out about now, Jeff's news today, etc. LOL

As fans, we can finally let KinnPorsche simmer in our heads and just engage with the story and the characters, yknow? We need this time to just let ourselves enjoy the story AWAY from the general spotlight and without the pressure of having to keep up with news or latest developments with the actors and all those other melons dfhkfefehfjks

So get some rest, dear nonnie, wherever you may be! Log off if you have to, go ahead and cry as much as you want to let it all out. It's not the end of the world, and tomorrow will be a new day.

[gurugirl]

not long after i posted my first fic, i got the same thing from an anon. i’ve never understood getting upset about the content of a fanfiction when it’s explicitly stated in the tw before you read the story. people just love to hate.

fwiw, you’re an amazing writer and i enjoy everything you post so much!!!

I get the occasional anon saying this or that. Typically I ignore but I don't like people questioning my morals based on a few fics I've written. This is my outlet.

And thank you so much! I had no idea you read anything of mine oh my god 🙈 I also can't wait to finish the one I started of yours. Already so good!!

I want to also leave this quote here about art + morality

I wish that future novelists would reject the pressure to write for the betterment of society. Art is not media. A novel is not an “afternoon special” or fodder for the Twittersphere or material for journalists to make neat generalizations about culture. A novel is not BuzzFeed or NPR or Instagram or even Hollywood. Let’s get clear about that. A novel is a literary work of art meant to expand consciousness. We need novels that live in an amoral universe, past the political agenda described on social media. We have imaginations for a reason. Novels like American Psycho and Lolita did not poison culture. Murderous corporations and exploitive industries did. We need characters in novels to be free to range into the dark and wrong. How else will we understand ourselves? — OTTESSA MOSHFEGH

[lawain-dimensional-heroes]

Rin's Diary, part 2

Day 8 - Maroon did a stupid quiz about the guide, AGAIN! What does he think I am supposed to do? Become an Encyclopedia? I'm an Idol, not Wikipedia! He said I was increasing in temperature today but I didn't feel much.

Day 9 - I'm in bed writing this, but it made me realize that I was too unconcerned about myself as Len, Miku and the others were concerned about my wellbeing. And once again Maroon was the most concerned about it. Guess that's to be expected. From this point forward I promise myself to take this more seriously. Welp, since I'm bedridden for the day, guess I'm going to have to look up the guide since I have nothing else to do other than to play games. On the bright side, I feel pretty normal again aside from the afterpain I'm feeling from that upgrade.

P.S: I cooked bacon with my own hands! How cool is that?

Day 10 - Did I just surprise him or something? Probably because I've actually studied. Or was he concerned I was changing too much? Len and Miku were very concerned about me-- even checking up on me regularly. I'm okay right now, am I? I'm no monster, am I?

P.S: It's the middle of the night and these thoughts are climbing in my mind now. I think I've made a mistake taking this chance.

Day 11 - I promised I'd be brave, but I cried right in front of him and probably worried him again. We didn't train today.

Update: He was worried, but he was worried if he made the right decision allowing me to give these powers in the first place. It was my decision in the first place to ask all for a performance I was dumb enough to think to go a bit extra. We chose to relax and have fun instead which made us feel a bit better.

Day 12 - Today was a good day-- big bro and I were enjoying ourselves some nice tasty bacon I cooked with my hands just right and he was proud of it! Who knew you can get a proud teacher all by cooking some good bacon?

Brother also decided to bring over a doctor to check my Aura System, the doctor was a nice lady and she said that I was progressing nicely in my life and she even said there might be a cool surprise waiting for me in the near future! Miku and Len were discussing a lot of things with her, but it did ease them a lot it seems.

Day 13 - I got another compliment from big bro today and I was able to successfully create a fireball, even made one with just one hand with a ton of focus! Miku and Len were present in our training too and they were surprised too! Maroon did tell us that my body slowly was warming up but not for the same thing. He is going to check tomorrow for some more news.

Day 14 - Rin asked me to write this in her diary, but she's feeling a ton of pressure building up today inside of her body. Her body was hot to the touch just like last time. Does this always happen..?

Update-1: Maroon checked in on her and he told us that she's close to engaging Overdrive as he puts it. He has explained a lot about this whole thing to me ever since she first gotten those powers. It's very technical, almost like talking about a machine, but I do know it's similar to the ki or chi thing in the movies.

Update-2: 100°C isn't healthy at all, yet he's so adamant about waiting. What if she catches herself on fire or worse? Why is Rin so comfortable regardless of reaching such a crazy temperature?

Update-3: Maroon explained that these channels and her aura are causing her body to gain a resistance to that heat. If he's right, once her overdrive goes off we don't have to worry about these kinds of things anymore.

Update-4: 160°C! How much higher can she go! At this point we need to call the fire department for help and quick!

[silentalltheseyearsnomore]

Ehhhh session went okay with S I think. Better than what I dreaded, which was her having her wall up still and not being able to reach her and it staying like that until we end in a matter of weeks. But she was still her. I didn't get to confront her about what happened and the things we know aren't okay. But we did connect a little, talked a little about how to use these sessions, she said she wants to still be around to help after we end, wants to help us get the right therapy etc, but she is just being very careful knowing our history with therapists and she wants it to be healthy and different and okay for us both. Which we appreciate obviously even if the unknown is terrifying. Talked about the referral for specialist therapy, she is still trying to make that happen for us. But we likely will have no therapy for a while. It is not what either of us planned for but I am glad she is navigating it the best way possible to make sure circumstances dont implode our relationship. We both agreed none of this is about me, her, or our relationship, but simply circumstances and we both want that not to ruin what we built. And to do that she needs to know her limits and hold them and we need less pressure on our relationship. I mean even just the fact we don't live in a safe environment yet again makes therapy almost impossible. It's not her fault or our fault. It just is. And I'm proud of our system for managing any of it tbh, considering the extent of triggers, I am proud of us for talking about any of it, for even trying, even being alive honestly.

The most helpful bit was her talking about trust. And reenactments. And being in the present. I don't remember it as it was a mush of child parts but I do remember the sense of 💡 moments they had, and a sense of the trust being directed back inwards and in to the present rather than more outwards and in to the future. They panic so much about the future, about who still stay, what will happen, things no one can know. And something clicked today where they realised that it is them that is always questioning, not her. She just trusts. And that their constant questioning can actually make others start questioning things they're sure about in the relationship or elsewhere, and end in self fulfilling circles. So our aim is to just hold on to the transitional thing of hers that represents this trust, and try and forget all the noise and questions. She said it represents her trust in us too, it shows she believes we are worthy of this trust, and that we never see it that way around. She said we often torture ourselves with things we feel she must feel when she doesn't at all. So. Trust. Trust that even though every part of our life is in limbo and scary that each day we face what we can and then the next and things will change. Trust that right in this moment she is there, still wants to get us the right help, still wants to be around. Trust that we can still get better and have a future. Trust that things will work out and that questioning actually has the opposite effect of what we want. Trust in how people feel and their actions rather than questioning. (We can tell when someone cares deep down, we just don't believe it.) Trust in ourselves that we are trusting for good reason. Trust just today and the next day and that we will face the end of therapy when it comes and then the next thing. Jeeeeeeze. Change is hard. Trusting in the present moment is hard. I feel relieved and scared and brave and shaky all at once.

[manonamora-if]

UX anon here - thank you for your response! I didn't realize the lack of resources in the community tbh. Would it be helpful if there was a master post of basic mobile UX principles to follow? Or would it be more helpful to gather a bunch of pre-existing twine templates and iterate them to be more in line with said principles? Or both?

Hi again Anon! :D

Yeah... it's kind of a common feeling. You [general you] don't know how much knowledge/resource/time/etc you need to invest until you actually make the thing you are enjoying. I've done the same when watching movies/series, believing I could write better dialogue... lol the audacity of my brain honestly...

I did make a Twine resource list some weeks back, with all I knew/could find, but I don't think there are any resource focused on mobile only. Though I do think most templates have some sort of mobile formatting/scaling in mind (even if not perfect). So this is definitely a niche to fill!

When it comes to the nitty-gritty of things, I can't really tell you which path to take (I am just one creator in the sea of many). You could send a poll to other authors, see their input.

I would advise against, though, reiterate pre-existing twine templates without the explicit consent of the creator (it might go without saying, but just in case). They might even prefer editing their templates with those advice instead of seeing their "updated" templates available out there (that's def the case for me).

But I do think the idea of a Master Post of Basic Principles with clear instructions (and images of what is good/not good!) would definitely be helpful. It leaves you open to go in more details about other principles in the future (if you want to do so, obviously you shouldn't feel pressured).

Last bit of advice, maybe check out Twine and how the different formats have built their visuals. It probably help you understand the limitations creators face when editing their UI. Theoretically, you could do anything on Twine, especially with SugarCube/Chapbook/Snowman (Harlowe is... wonky). But there are some class that have different rules depending on them being built through CSS or JavaScript.

EDIT: IF YOU POST SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON TUMBLR, TAG ME SO I CAN SHARE IT!!!

I'm also going on a bit more rambling, because I've realised I've had more feelings about the topic. PS: not directed at anyone in particular, just letting some steam out.

This is also my personal opinion, but I don't think (non-physical) IF was ever intended to be on mobile in the first place (ahem parsers/point-and-click...). When IF became a thing, there were no mobile (so that question was moot anyway). You just had a computer (maybe) that would run a program. I feels like it's been more of an evolution towards mobile use, as smaller/touch screens became the more prevalent device for entertainment (in general, not just IF). You have apps like CoG or HostedGames or those Story ones (they kind of look like VNs) that are very popular (and are incidentally fit for mobile...). And now we expect this of everyone that start with IF.***

While IF programs/format do allow for mobile support (to different degree), I do think we have to remind ourselves from time to time that IF creators still often create as a hobby, with often limited knowledge and resources. The fact that we sometimes/often uphold some IF to standard as high as actual game companies (who have headcounts and resources and knowledge to make things better) is just mind boggling to me (the number of asks/comments I get about my UI not looking professional because of a few mistakes...). Even trying to go through actual big company website is sometimes dreadful on mobile. Unileveeeeer *raise fist to the sky*...

Resources to make things more accessible (especially program/format specific) should be available to people, but we should leave some leeway to people who can't implement things or just don't want to. It might suck, but yeah... Think of it as computer exclusive projects (like you'd have with consoles :P ).

***Little side note, but we had a similar-ish discussion on the forum about Twine games during the IF Comp. It wasn't about mobile accessibility but the game being unstyled, and how many expected Twine entries to have some sort of styling and not just use the base UI, while the expectation was not as present (or not at all) for other programs. It is very interesting to go through.