#thanks to those of you who've been putting up with me privately

[tinsnip]

is there a good ace attorney message board? where i can post things and respond to posts?

tumblr isn't designed for it

twitter is too toxic

and i can't handle the real-time immediacy of discord

help me, i am shouting into a bucket to hear my own voice :D

[cyberphuck]

The Human Voices Project

So I have a very very dear friend who has been blind since birth. They're actually pretty good at being blind-- they have a Masters in Eyeball Science, live independently, and make amazing art (by pressing their face so hard against the drawing surface to see it that they used to get sores on their cheeks!). They have also gone through a lot of shit-- some of it, but not all, due to being a disabled trans person-- and though they have been trying their hardest to keep a smile on their face, they live in a place where they have few in-person friends, accessible social spaces are hard to get to (or don't exist, or cost too much), and sometimes they don't have the energy to go out at all. They use a screen reader to hang out on tumblr and on discord etc, but one time, after a DnD session over voice chat, they told me that it was always so quiet in their apartment after the session was over, and that it was nice to hear real people talking. That stuck with me. Last week I started asking friends and family to record themselves talking-- about anything. My older brother and his wife told funny stories about crazy things they'd done. My friend who loves the circus arts described a particular act that they loved. Dad told a story of his own, and Seb and I recorded ourselves trading banter while he played Mario Kart. People read stories, read poems, described what they saw while on a jog through their neighborhood. A whole bunch of people, just talking, so that my blind friend could listen to a real human voice whenever they wanted-- not a polished podcast, not a sponsored youtube video, but a regular person.

I uploaded this first batch of audio files to a google drive folder and sent it over to my buddy. They loved it! They downloaded all the files to their phone so they could listen whenever they wanted. And I thought, there must be more people who want to tell stories about their lives, or talk about their favorite subject, or read poems that mean something to them.

If you have a way to record a digital audio file (most smartphones and tablets have a native recording app) and would like to participate in the Human Voices Project, you can send an audio file to thehumanvoicesproject (at) gmail [dot] com.

Guidelines: mp3 is the *preferred* format because it'll play on most devices without having to have a special app. If you send me something other than an mp3 I can convert it, but I would appreciate it if you converted it on your own.

most subjects are okay; the only thing that's absolutely a no is talking about or describing guts, innards, or viscera. Try to *avoid* explicitly describing abuse (of anyone, including animals), and if you're reading a story or poem, let me know if it's in the public domain or not so I can make sure to put those in a different folder.

you can introduce yourself if you want but you don't have to.

the recordings I've gotten are usually between 3 and 5 minutes long, but I also recorded myself reading a short story at 20 mins, and a friend talked about not knowing how to swim for 90 seconds, so any length is fine.

Right now the google drive folder containing the audio files is private. I might make it a public thing someday, but as for right now it's still a thing for my friend, to fill up the silence and brighten their day. Thank you so much to the people who've already contributed, and thanks also to all those who'll contribute in the future!

[reimeichan]

i hope this is okay to ask, please feel free to ignore it if it isn’t! you usually tag part-dominant posts with purple/cyan/green - do you ever feel like parts outside those three are dominant, like crimson or yellow or ginger? or do they usually feel like parts of purple/cyan/green now?

What a super personalized question omg hold up I'm about to cry thank you for this. I'll be honest I actually didn't think anyone paid attention to who writes which post outside of maybe some close friends who've had personal interactions with us, at most I thought if anyone was paying attention they'd only ever remember our Main 3 but the fact that you, Anon, specifically also called out crimson and yellow and ginger makes me so happy and touched that you put in the effort to know even this much about my system.

Anyways! To actually answer your question, in our daily life the other parts of me do actually get a lot of time to shine and be front-and-center. There are absolutely times I'm more Crimson-coded, or Yellow-coded, or Ginger-coded, or Azure or Rouge or even unnamed-part coded. But it's not super clear cut where one of us begins and the "larger fusion" ends. It can be a little bit like "hm I'm more Green-coded right now... but specifically I'm feeling more like the Ginger part of Green", if that makes sense. Or "I'm feeling a lot more Purple right now but I know I'm displaying a lot of Yellow traits and behaviors so that probably means the Yellow part of me is most prominent right now". The reason most of our posts have been tagged as Purple/Green/Cyan/Gray (I know that's 4, not 3, Cyan/Gray are a weird entity) is simply because they're the ones who actually get online the most. The rest of us are more private and tend to mainly only hang out and talk to the people we're close to, like our friends or our partners. In fact, Gray in particular is rarely ever front-and-center in our daily life despite being a really active part on this blog.

Thank you so much for this ask, anon! I really enjoyed it 🧡💜

[vizthedatum]

Hey, I hope you don't mind me saying, but I really love how open and forthright you are about your mental health and your journey.

Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable, but that's because the idea of being that open is outside my comfort zone. I think it's something really worth aspiring to - to making that to be inside my comfort zone. So, thank you.

And you know what? (I write after already responding to this person privately) I still feel uncomfortable sometimes, too! It's totally normal. Awareness of our discomfort and understanding where it's coming from is an excellent way to grow. -- Being open doesn't mean it's always easy—there are still moments when I pause and think, "Whoa, am I really putting this out there?" For example, today... I felt awful mentally and physically today - and I've been writing some intense poetry all week. My mental and physical conditions do not make things easy. However, accepting the struggles more and more makes it easier to see all that is going well in my life. But those past moments of shame at putting myself out there remind me how far I've come; these moments are way less frequent now. Other people's criticisms still affect me, but I have also learned I can take up space with my processing. I can also find people who seek to understand me with curiosity instead of judging how I express myself. (In turn, I can work on my defensive behaviors and ask others for clarification.) I have also found freedom in the process—in processing what I'm going through and knowing that I don't always need to be a certain way. And I certainly don't have to be "right" either—I'm allowed to make mistakes, be atypical, and live my life as I feel. I have several hot takes on this blog that do not resonate with others, and I've done a lot of work to educate myself more so I can learn from those experiences. I continue to do work. I also remind myself I don't have to keep aggressively working to heal either - healing can be done in all sorts of ways. --

The cool thing is that when I share those vulnerable bits, they often resonate with others who've felt the same way but weren't sure how to express it. It's like we're all fumbling through this journey together, figuring out how to be more authentic versions of ourselves. So, if you're feeling a bit uncomfortable, you're in good company! We're all works in progress, learning to show up for ourselves and others more genuinely. <3 Thank you for this comment.

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

Thanks for that answer and yes I had asked in reference to one of your posts about social class in our current economy. I have a friend who keeps saying she's poor but she has a stable office job in lower management, goes on holiday overseas once a year for two weeks, has nice clothes and all apple products, doesn't have debt but says she considers herself "working class" because she can't afford a house even with a decent salary and lives an hour away from the city? It even made me confused. Is that just the reality that millenians and gen z will have to adapt to? What class are we? The lines are so blurred.

Firstly, I think there's a difference between "poor" and working class. You can be working class in the UK, and really quite well off, in my opinion. A lot of being working class is cultural, and based around community and family as well as just your individual socio-economic status.

I do think, traditionally, owning property is one of the cornerstones of being middle class, and certainly feeling like you're trapped in a situation where you can't afford to buy isn't something that's typical of being "middle class"- although equally for many middle earners who are a single income household it is the reality. And I think that goes double if your parents aren't homeowners, so there's no prospect of an inheritance, either.

I also think it's unfair to judge how well off someone feels, just because they own certain things (which are a one off purchase and may be presents as well) or go on holiday once a year- I don't think either of those things preclude being working class.

That said, I don't consider those in management working class, and if you apply marxist class analysis, they're definitely not. Arguably, once you hold the ability to hire and fire others, you cross a line into something else, and as an anarchist, I actively choose to avoid holding jobs where I would have that power.

But I do think the lines are very blurred here, and I don't think it's fair to criticise someone for saying they feel poor if they are renting. Private renting is very stressful and insecure, and if you see no way out of it, it really can get you down. Plus, your friend likely feels like she has to keep up to £1000 if not more available at any time, in case her landlord chooses to evict her and she has to put a deposit down on somewhere else, etc.

I think the idea of class based on socio-economic status is difficult for millennials and Gen Z, but for me a lot of it is around family and the culture you grew up in. If someone grew up working class and their family are still very working class, their experience of life will be different to someone ostensibly in the same circumstances, but who grew up middle class.

(and often it's the difference between having family who can bail you out, and you bailing out family, which is a whole separate post).

I'd also add that this winter, a lot of the middle class who've previously been "managing" or "comfortable" will end up feeling quite squeezed, and if someone is, for example, genuinely worried about losing their home, I don't think it's helpful to say "oh actually you're not poor". It's more helpful to try and offer solidarity and educate them about why we face the problems we are facing.

Undoubtedly, your friend would benefit from secure housing- so instead of judging what they say about their finances and class status, why not talk to them about housing solutions other than the current fucked up system?

[foxymoxynoona]

Foxy, thank you for Meadow update today ❤️ It was a nice start to my birthday, Dec 4th, which is a really difficult day for me. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing characters like Sasha and Bella. It means so much to me and LB was the first time I could really see myself in a fictional character. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for BTS and you, truly. Your stories were and still are my pillars during really hard times.

And thank you for sharing your struggles with mental health. They helped me to not feel so alone in dark times. Omg I'm sobbing 😭

Happy birthday! I think birthdays can be so hard --I don't know your particular circumstances, but even if there's nothing specific, I feel like there's so much pressure for it to reflect someone's worth and how loved they are by those around them and it doesn't! They aren't a good reflection of that. Someone can still be wonderful and awesome and not have a big surprise birthday party with 100 people and whatever else. It's like Christmas. Ugh, I'm just so tired lately of all the rules and expectations that just wind up hurting people.

I'm both happy and sad that you feel Sasha and Isabella. It's cathartic to me to write characters with mental health struggles that aren't cured in a month, and it's been healing to talk to so many people who've struggled as well, especially in a world full of people who struggle to understand an invisible illness. But none of us are alone! No matter how much it feels like it! There are so many people who get it. Even if our primary social engagement is chats with strangers on the internet, those are still important connections, and I know getting to talk to you and all the thought you've put into those soundtracks has been meaningful to me 💜💜

I'm always happy to talk about my own struggles and listen, so never hesitate to reach out, even if it's a private DM rather than public. Taboo and unwillingness to talk about these things makes it all worse.

So happy birthday, by which I mean the celebration of another year the world is better with you in it