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mindlcssartist · 4 years

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is that [LAURA HARRIER]? no, that’s just [ADELAIDE 'ADDIE' ATKINS]. [SHE] is [TWENTY-SEVEN] years old and is a [B&B OWNER]. rumor has it they’ve been in town for [FOUR YEARS]. on a good day, they’re [RESILENT & ALOCENTRIC]. but watch out! they can also be [DECEITFUL & TACITURN]. [GROWING PAINS BY ALESSIA CARA] plays in my head whenever i think of them. can’t wait to see them around springhill!

tw: child neglect, arson, cheating.

hello hello hello! you all can call me g and i invited myself to this party to introduce to you my baby addie SO, without further ado, let’s do it shall we?

H I S T O R Y

Adelaide Atkins Savoy is the daughter of Edward Atkins, an English salesman/conman and Ann Savoy, a French teacher that came from a (somewhat) noble family.

The Atkins family moved to Peachtree, Georgia from England when Addie was five years old after a business initiated by Edward, her father, went awry with the Savoys. Addie’s grandpa, who probably lost the most out of the business con but loved Addie to no end and wanted her grandkid to have a decent life, decided to fly the Atkin-Savoy family and bought them a wonderful, luxurious home on Addie’s name.

Her childhood was… an odd one, to say the least. Her parents still acted like they were part of the Savoy family while in Georgia (and with the housing/jobs Addie’s grandpa got them, there was no reason to doubt them) so they fit perfectly with Georgia’s finest, they were living a double life of sorts, socialités in debt who schemed their wealthiest friends without them knowing. Her parents promptly got Addie to work alongside them, either as a distraction or as an active asset in their plans and she couldn’t quite deny her skills to them alas, Addie did stuff she wasn’t proud of, illegal stuff she could get away with because no one suspected the little girl with the ponytails.

Edward Michael Atkins Savoy, Addie’s younger brother was born when Adelaide was around eleven. Ann lost interest on Eddie pretty quickly so Addie pretty much raised the kid as well as she could after she turned thirteen. The two formed an unbreakable bond very quickly.

She learned many skills during her time with her parents: pick locking, html, pickpocketing, boxing, sewing (which served the young woman well when her parents decided to stop buying their kids clothes and she started making them for the two of them instead), whatever her parents required of her and whatever she could learn to make sure her brother was well taken care of, she’d learn.

CHILD NEGLECT TW The worst instance of their parents neglecting both Addie and Eddie happened right after Eddie turned five. Their friends found out about how the couple had played them and the Atkins family lost all respect within the community, so they quickly started to go in debt with banks and strangers to try to live the life Ann and Edward were so used to. By this time, the matrimony had mostly forgotten their kids to the point where they stopped providing for them unless they needed Adelaide for some job, so it was all Addie’s responsibility to not only care for her brother but her parents somehow. She started working (an honest job) when she was fourteen and never truly stopped.

ARSON TW when Addie was seventeen, one year from graduating high school Edward and Ann made a decision: they needed money to pay off credit debts and alas, they needed to burn down the house the Savoys had bought for the family because they needed the insurance money. Addie started to storage as many stuff as she could when she was informed of what was going to happen (was guilt-tripped into staying silent) and the night her parents actually burnt the house down, Addie grabbed Eddie, everything she had gathered, a car a friend had lend to her and flee Peachtree, the two siblings didn’t look back. Adelaide didn’t finish High School.

After the two siblings escaped Peachtree, they situated in Arkansas for about a year, where Addie worked around two, three jobs in order to take care of herself and Eddie. No longer after a friend encouraged her to give her testimony (and all the proof she had gathered that backed up the claim that the fire had been premeditated) and she put her parents in jail for arson and child neglect, gaining her brother’s full custody and whatever money was left from the insurance payment.

The Atkins have lived in: Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New York and now New Jersey, always trying to make a home out of these places to no avail.

In one of these cities, Adelaide met a dark, mysterious man who she quickly fell in love with when she was no more than twenty-three years old and for the first time in her life, she opened her heart and mind, fully, to someone else other than her brother and close friends. However, not everything was a fairytale: it didn’t take long until Addie discovered the man she had fallen in love with was engaged to be married to another woman, and their relationship ended as abruptly as it started, leaving her completely shattered and heartbroken and thus, the Atkins siblings arrived to their final destination: Springhill because it was their next point in the map. they’ve lived in the city for a little over four years now.

After working as a waitress/bartender/cook/whatever she could get to make a living for her and Eddie, Addie got a letter from the Savoy family one day with the news that her grandfather had died and had left behind a trust fund for her, enough money for the two siblings to live off comfortably for the rest of their lives. However, the oldest decided to only use enough to buy a nice house for the two of them and to open a modest, lovely b&b, their major source of income. They have a nice life.

She and Eddy don’t really talk about their past a lot, unless any of the parts truly trust the person they tell their story to.

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Most days, Addie is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, the kind of girl who smiles at everyone she meets and greets strangers with a smile on the daily. She likes making people around her happy. She thrives when people around her shine.

However, she can be very closed off and go as far as to be very deceitful? I mean, she is sharp, even though people don’t think she is because they write her off as a “southern belle” type, but what most people don’t know is she can be cunning whenever she sets her mind on it, she learned from a very young age how to take advantage of everything she had to get what she had her mind settled on.

The one thing she cares the most about in the world is her brother, Eddie. The boy is pretty much her own and has been since the day he was born, she would stop at nothing to make sure he is fine and he is happy.

Her hobbies include painting and sculpting (which she makes some money off of), gardening (the Atkins sibling’s home is a glorified zen garden by now) and designing (she sometimes uses this skill to make clothes for selling to friends and acquaintances).

She has fleeting relationships that never take to anything serious (committing issues plus a ton of other issues let’s be honest), but it doesn’t mean she isn’t opposed to the idea. She simply believes it’s not in her destiny to find the one.

Loyal to no end, good god. It takes a lot for her to feel comfortable with someone to call them her friend but once she does, she is the most loyal friend. Also the mom friend, no matter how close you are. If it’s even a little bit chilly outside and she sees a stranger shivering she WILL give them her sweater, has medicine and candy on her at all times.

She can be quite impetuous and extremely curious to the verge of being noisy, but never in a malicious way, unless you mess with someone she cares about.

Whatever you throw her way, she’ll land on her feet.

P L O T S (*will be a wc on main)

Ex-boyfriend*: There could be many ways to go with this, many reasons why he never told her he was engaged in the first place or why he lead her to believe he was equally in love with her, but boy do we love the angst in this household and I would love to see what this connection could bring.

Best friend: Either the best friend who help the Atkins while the lived in Georgia (preferably) or a new friendship they’ve built in the years they’ve been in Springhill Addie would be nothing without this person. She trusts them more than her own shadow and would kill for them in a heartbeat.

Foreign cousins: Maybe someone seeking vengeance because of what Addie’s father did to the family? Maybe they don’t even know they are related, everyone loves having someone you can tell “well, now i know where the craziness comes from”.

Muse: Whenever she’s stressed or just… inspiration strikes, Addie calls this person to either use them as a model or a canvass. She has every line of their body engraved on her memory and she still finds them fascinating and could spend hours painting them. We can discuss what shape this plot could potentially take.

People she works for: Either her art or the clothes she makes, I’d love to write about any of those.

Hook-ups: past, present, ended in good terms, ended in bad terms, one-sided infatuations that couldn’t go over due to Addie’s commitment issues… I want it all!

Possible love interest who will make her want to commit for once and open her heart again??????

Friends, enemies, neighbors… just love my baby, she and Eddie will love you back!

Okay, wow, if you made it through… honestly bless you and you deserve a freaking award. if you read this mess (i literally haven’t slept AT ALL because i wanted to binge the politician and idk if it makes any sense) and you still wanna plot, hmu of like this post and i’ll come to you!

#springhillintro

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gerbiloftriumph · 4 years

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So you wanna be a king

Or perhaps just cosplay one.

By request, here’s how I, at least, put together my King Graham outfit.

Part 1: Cloak and Cowl

Disclaimer: I’m totally novice at cosplay and only do it for like one event per year if that, so take what you will or throw it all away.

Also I made this like three years ago, so the details get sorta hazy.

Step one: Research. The best part. Take lots of screencaps of Graham from every angle. Hoard the pictures in your phone like a dragon. Stare at them. They’re lovely. He’s lovely.

Ready to commit to this? It’s mildly expensive and Mostly Time Consuming. But that outfit looks so neat...and I love him...okay. Still good?

Let’s do this.

Let’s start with the cloak and the cowl. The bit that everyone notices first, the dramatic part that snaps behind you when you walk and makes 2015 Graham stand apart from his 1980s days (...other than also not wearing pink anymore).

The best part other than the hat, really.

By the game’s own proof, the cowl and cloak are separate pieces. Which makes your life easier.

I chose a springy red fabric from Joann’s called bengaline. It stretches one way, not both, and it’s delightfully weighted so it snaps and catches the wind in pleasing ways--the effect when walking is almost as bouncy as the video game version. Should you choose the same, know that bengaline is primarily plastic and cannot be ironed (seriously, don’t)--steam it or get it wet and let it air dry to remove wrinkles. Check it out here: https://www.joann.com/sew-classics-bengaline-suiting/xprd757777.html

Bengaline does not feel heavy when you pick it up in the store. It becomes heavy as you wear it. Your shoulders might revolt. Feel free to pick something lighter, cheaper, or whatever is available in the shade of red you love most, but remember that the lighter the fabric weight, the happier you’ll be. Please do not pick velvet. A day at con reveals all truths. Be aware of what you’re putting your shoulders through.

For your reference, according to the receipt I found I apparently bought 6 yards of it (with a half off coupon). This is overkill. You probably don’t need 6 yards. I think I have a ton of it left over and smooshed into deep storage. But then again, it’s red and red is always useful in cosplay, so it doesn’t hurt to have leftovers.

Why reinvent the wheel? I used this tutorial here for the base cloak: https://dangerous-ladies.tumblr.com/post/41564161303/so-you-wanna-wear-a-cape-god-this-new

yes you want a circle cape, not a square cape. circle capes catch the wind better. you’ll be able to tell the difference, i promise.

Side note: you might think you want your cloak to touch your ankles. It looks like Graham’s does. You do not want this. When it scrapes the ground at comic con or renfest, it will get filthy, it will shred, and people (especially you) will step on the back of it. It might even get eaten by an escalator at con. Go up an inch or two--a little goes a long way. It’ll still look great, and you won’t choke.

plus depending on how you stand no one can tell anyway.

Now, for my numbers:

I am 5′6″. I chose 56.5″ (that includes my hem allowance) so that the cloak itself actually ‘swings’ at 55.5″. I copied the tutorial’s neck hole exactly (6″ ‘swing’).

Follow the tutorial’s instructions for the rolled hem. Pin everything. You will hate pins. You may bleed. Doesn’t matter. The cosplay gods are cruel. Keep pinning. If you picked bengaline like I did do not iron it just suffer in silence. Go slowly and carefully, and fight the curve to be as flat as you can.

Time to sew! Put on Game Grump’s King’s Quest 5 LP because it’s the best, and go slowly around your circle at the default sewing machine stitch.

I don’t recommend hand stitching. There is too much fabric and you want to have some sort of life at the end of this. Check with your local public library or that weird relative you forgot about if you don’t have a machine yourself.

Cool, that’s a cloak! Admire it, it’s lovely. I mean, you don’t have a way to wear it yet, but you’re maybe 68% done here so, that’s great!

Cowl time!

I don’t have reference images for what I did three years ago, and there are probably better ways to do this. Feel free to experiment, but here’s how I (probably?) did it:

Measure around your arms and upper chest approximately where the cowl will lay, and make sure you give yourself extra inches so you can still move comfortably. For me, that’s around 48-50″ around. I don’t remember what motivated my number selection for the neck part--it must be wide enough to go around your head, plus room to play with it to make it lie in fun ways like Graham’s. Apparently I picked 28″.

Play with scrap fabric, or if you have lots of extra red feel free to make extra sizes. My cowl looks like this:

That’s 14″ along the neck, 24″ along the body, and a length of 18″--but with a secret 6.5″ tucked inside the cowl itself, so the fabric really is 24.5″ long.

Why would I do that?

To tuck the cowl into the jerkin/undershirt collar and make it look seamless, like a video game character.

Ain’t no sight of tunic around that neck.

Also, the extra fabric gives it more stability and strength, allowing you to play with the collar and get that high edge he has rather than flat fabric. I’d even considered stringing a wire through it in early days, but if you use bengaline the fabric is sturdy enough on its own. Your fabric selection may act differently.

So, I’ve “hidden” 6.5″ worth of fabric in the collar. What would that look like as a pattern? I don’t remember for certain since I didn’t write it down but it probably looked like this:

okay maybe like half an inch seam allowance. an inch is probably overkill. don’t be me.

Since I didn’t want the thickness of a real hem, I did, like, a herringbone stitch (looks like zigzaging triangles) along the part that gets tucked in to the shirt to prevent any fraying, and then I folded it at the dotted line and sewed it in place to get a permanent line.

Unfolded, it looks like this:

In practice, it looks like this:

From the back, it ends up looking a little something like-a this:

Cool, cloak and cowl! You still don’t have a way to wear it, but the pieces are nice. Maybe unfinished and kinda boring, though, since Graham’s King Cloak is Such Luxury.

I mean, it’s fine that way. But it feels unfinished if you’re doing Prologue or Ch2 Graham.

Trimming time~.

I bought one 1″ wide red satin trim roll, and two 2 ¼” red satin trim rolls. Pin the wider trim all along the INNER bottom hem of your cloak (the side with the rolled hem on it), sew slowly. Get your second fresh roll so you don’t run out midway, and do the same on the EXTERIOR. This way, any wonky uneven lines are hidden on the inside and less noticeable.

Nice rule of thumb for cosplay I’ve learned: if you can’t see a mistake from 5 feet away, no one can. Don’t panic.

Do not sew both sides at the same time. It’s tempting, but hard enough to sew around a curve already without trying to keep both sides remotely even. To finish, I folded the long ends over, matched the hem with the cloak, and went for it.

And do the same to the bottom of the cowl with your thinner trim--you only have to do the exterior since no one can see the interior of that piece, so it’s much easier.

Cool! You’re done! You’ve got a cloak and cowl, trimmed and gorgeous.

“But Gerbil,” I hear you complain, “I still can’t wear it! It doesn’t have any attachment to me, even though I have lots of attachment to it since I just dumped like a hundred hours and at least $50 into it.”

Fair enough.

If you used bengaline like me, you’ll discover very quickly that it’s heavy heavy heavy. It’s gorgeous and thick and looks great, but the weight. Sure, it didn’t feel heavy when you bought it, when you sewed with it, when you first put it on. But it’s hour six of wearing it, and your shoulders hate you. If it hangs off your neck like you would assume a cloak should, you will choke. It hurts. The weight must sit on your shoulders.

Luckily, this costume has two separate pieces, and the cowl is going to hide where it hooks to you.

You’re going to buy two snap clips. The big ones. Like, at least an inch. You’re going to pick out an anchor t-shirt from Goodwill. It literally doesn’t matter what it looks like, but it’s going to be one size too small and will go up to your neck. You need it to be totally comfortable to wear (the more breathable the better--this is a hot cosplay), but tight enough that it will not shift under the weight of your cloak movement, thus the smaller size. Sew the snaps to the inside of the cloak and just above your collar bone on the shirt.

(apparently Superman wears it like this too, go figure)

(you might want to wait to sew the snaps on until your jerkin/tunic is finished before you sew the snaps to your anchor shirt, so you can be sure the collars match up--you need to have room for the snaps to sit on the anchor shirt, but still sit under your tunic)

(if you think of a better solution, have at, but please, do not tie it around your neck regardless of the type of material you bought. If anyone steps on the back, yourself included, and it’s attached by your neck, you’re out for the day. Do not.)

(also, one more pitch for the snaps--say your cloak does get caught on something. a wandering dragon, a passing knight’s sword, or ye olde con escalator. if it’s attached by snaps, not ties, it’ll pop right off with enough force, leaving you unharmed, but the snaps are heavy duty enough to stay put all weekend or multiple years without trouble)

And you’re done. That’s a cloak and cowl fine enough for a king, friend. Or at least fine enough for comic con.

A note on the out and about: you’re probably going to feel worn out after a few hours at con. Take frequent sitting breaks. After a few times wearing it you’ll get used to it and can fly around in it all weekend without trouble, but the first few times add unexpected strain to your neck and shoulders so take it a little easier.

Also, high key recommend handwashing the cloak (yes, the whole thing, it smooshes down well in water, I promise, it’s doable, just difficult) in your (clean!) bathroom sink with handwashing detergent, and laying it out to dry on towels. I wouldn’t trust the satin trim to hold up to a machine, but it withstands sink washing just fine.

(Was that useful? Was that atrocious? Do you want more pieces how-to’d? Do you want a full How-To-Graham Tutorial? Let me know, happy to ramble more!)

#King's Quest #kings quest #King Graham #cosplay #maxwelljacks #i really don't actually know if this is helpful or a disaster but since you've asked #i can't say no to helping #feel free to ask me for details #tutorial

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ravenwolf1132 · 5 years

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Family Matters

Ok everyone! Here we fucking go, my HP/SD crossover! For those of you who are not aware, I posted this on my fanfiction account a while ago then decided to rewrite it. This is the rewritten version. If you want to read the original, it's still up on fanfiction.net but I'm not posting that one here.

Now the story follows Harry when after his third year at Hogwarts ends, his relatives are out of commission thanks to a car crash. Which lands him at the Mystery Inc household cause, low and behold, one of them (a certain Norville Rogers) is his distant cousin. For there shenanigans ensue. The Mystery Inc are in their mid to late 20s and we have a nice heaping helping of Poly Gang since all four of them are married. Also, Shaggy is a werewolf and the entire Gang knows about magic, unbeknownst to Harry who is actively trying to hide his magic from them and does not realize they already know. So that's going be a trip and a half for Harry when it's finally revealed.

On with the show!

(Ok, I tried to put this in a read more but I can't find the HTML option. So uh, enjoy the long post I guess??)

Chapter One - Welcome to America

It was odd when Harry was waiting outside King’s Cross Station and the Dursleys had yet to arrive. Maybe they had finally given up and stopped caring? Fat chance, though, there were two parts of him that both felt relieved and almost betrayed. For the longest time, all Harry had wanted was a family that cared about him and when he was younger, he did everything in his power to try and earn a real place in the family. Of course, early on he realized that was never going to happen, so he just stayed quiet and did as he was told. In hindsight, perhaps he should have fought back against the Dursleys, do everything he possibly could to defy them, show them that he wasn't a failure or a waste of space, and if they wanted a monster, a demon, a devil, they should have gotten one. Though that might have landed him in Slytherin by the time he got to Hogwarts, maybe it was worth it, just to get some payback. Ron would’ve never believed him had he heard Harry's thoughts, though he was sure, at least, that Hermione would be on his side.

Though, Harry would never get the chance to get any form of payback since, on the way to pick up Harry from King’s Cross, they had gotten into a car crash. Vernon perished on impact and Petunia was fatally injured. Dudley managed to get out alive with only a few injuries, but would never manage to remember anything about the crash and quite possibly, a lot about his life. Harry wrapped the leather jacket that Sirius had given him around his body as he waited for the Dursleys who would never arrive. It was nearly lunch when Harry finally gave up and started to walk. He slung the bigger-on-the-inside satchel that Hermione had charmed for him that held literally everything he owned in and continued on his way.

He never took the time to admire London, despite how many times he had been here and the fact that he lived just outside the city in Surrey. Hedwig was perched on his shoulder with her head tucked under her wing leaning against the messy curls on Harry’s own head. As they walked, Harry glanced at the tall buildings and marveled. Sure, magic was impressive, but sometimes, what the Muggles do, what they can make and build, and what they take for granted and seems mundane to them, is even more impressive. They built all of this without the aid of magic, and perhaps that was a good thing. While Harry was eager to leave his past in the Muggle world behind, it still fascinated him to no end. Same for Hermione and even Ron.

Hermione, of course, grew up in the Muggle world, but still wasn't content on leaving that world altogether. She went to summer school to catch up on the courses they don't have at Hogwarts and even started up a little tutoring club in third year for muggle-born and half-blood students, occasionally the odd pure blood, for Muggle classes. She did extensive research on how to be a teacher for certain classes and eventually had to ask the upperclassmen for help. The older Ravenclaws, especially the muggle-borns, took to the idea immediately. Contrary to popular belief, most of the ravens don't actually care about grades, what they value is the knowledge. Through hanging out with them, Hermione started to pick up their philosophy as well. She began to prefer her own study and learning methods over the teachers, only after she did some research on them to make sure it does work. She gained a particular hatred towards Snape, because while he may be a great potions master, he was no teacher.

When he and Ron joined her little group, which had attracted attention from across the entire school, Ron was of course a little apprehensive. Ron grew up with an all Gryffindor family and a very biased one at that, especially towards anything that wasn't strictly light side. Sure the twins were an exception and perhaps Charlie and Bill, but still, whatever way you look at it, no matter how good they are, the Weasley’s are a biased family. However, slowly but surely, after being exposed to so many different people, from different alignments and houses and mindsets and even religions, Ron slowly began to let go of the biases he grew up with. It even got to a point where he could tolerate Slytherins and understand not all of them are bad, begrudgingly, but still. He found that there were many like-minded people he found in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses that were fascinated by Muggle tech and wanted to find some way to get it to work around magic. When Hermione saw the work he was putting into it and he found the motivation to actually do his homework from it, she left him to it, even encouraging him.

Last year, Ron would babble on and on about the things that he and his little tech group found out about, he even told his dad about his findings which helped him to finally get noticed amongst his family! Watching Ron be so happy and relishing in the feeling of finally being noticed for once, made Harry and Hermione happy for him too. They encouraged his behavior and it helped mellow him out too, no longer did he feel the same amount of jealousy or envy from being Harry's friend because he was being dotted and fawned upon now, and Harry happily took a backseat to this since he never really cared much about his fame. When he did feel stressed or had a bout of jealousy coming on, he'd smile and wait it out, trying to think about other things and often retreating to his work. Harry and Hermione could easily pinpoint what causes him to retreat, sometimes he's had a rough day, others he needs to cool off before he blows, and sometimes he just has this random bout of inspiration and has to get working on it before he loses the idea. He's grown accustomed to carrying around a sketchbook and notepad in classes so he can write down and sketch out his ideas.

A new dynamic had taken root among them. Ron had turned into the inventor, the strategist, he was the one to come up with plans and give advice should they need it. Hermione became the researcher, the one who keeps the others informed, not much changed here. However, while Ron may be good with long term and more permanent plans, and Hermione was their walking library, both of them had weak points. Ron's plans were great and all, but you can't change them on the fly easily, and Hermione, while amazing when it comes to knowledge, didn't know how to handle a stressful situation well. That is where Harry comes in. Harry is a quick thinker and very observant, he can work well under pressure and is at his best helping others. Each member of the golden trio balances the others out. Without Ron, Harry and Hermione won’t know what to do with themselves. Without Hermione, Harry and Ron wouldn’t have a clue what they're doing. And without Harry, Ron and Hermione would end up in situations where they can't get themselves out of.

As he dwelled on this, reminiscing about how far he and his friends had come, he realized he had gotten lost, and hungry. Pulling himself back to reality and the present, he looked around for somewhere to eat and get directions from. Noticing a small corner cafe, he walked in and up to barista.

“‘Ello there, lad,” the barista welcomed, “welcome to Cali's Corner Cafe, my name's Sally, what can I get for ya?”

Harry turned his head up to the menu, feeling Hedwig's soft feathers brush against him. “May I have a BLT club with Turkey, ham, provolone, and extra bacon? Oh, and a couple of cucumbers? No dressings, please.” he asked shyly.

“of course, lad,” Sally said, “Any drink? Soft sodas or juice?”

“Just water is fine.”

“Coming right up!” She chirped. “Why don't you go find a seat? We'll call you up when it's ready for you.”

Not wanting to move very far, he sat down at the bar table. Thankfully, this cafe didn't sell alcohol, so he was allowed to sit up there. While he waited, he reached into his bag and pulled out a notepad for him to pass the time with. The spell Hermione had bewitched the bag with didn't require any sort of wand-waving to summon things from it, all you had to do while having a clear picture of the object in mind, was stuff your hand in and pull out once you grasped it. Though sometimes it doesn't always work, so you grab something that's the wrong thing. Thankfully, he pulled out the notepad and not something like one of his school books, summoned a couple pencils, erasers, and sharpeners, and started to work on the first thing that came to mind. Since he was hungry, he worked on a new recipe that he had been dying to try out. Sally came back over with his food and Harry pulled out his wallet with a Gringotts bank card and paid quickly. While Sally was handing him his recite, she looked over at the Tele.

“Oh dear, how awful.” Sally bemoaned, Harry looked up from his half-eaten a sandwich and feeding Hedwig some of the extra bacon strips. “That intersection is quite dangerous, I hope everyone made it out ok…”

Harry glanced over at the Tele and saw it depicting a crash just a few blocks from Kings Cross. Maybe that's why it was taking the Dursleys so long? The more he watched, the more he began to recognize the victims of the crash. There was a walrus of a man hanging out the windshield of the car, obviously dead and very familiar to Harry. The two just barely surviving members of the crash looked strikingly similar to his aunt and cousin. But the thing that made him realize that they didn't just look like his relatives, was the license plate number, it was his uncle Vernon's car! He jumped out of his seat, startling Hedwig from her perch.

“What's wrong, sonny?” Sally asked worriedly. “Do you know them?”

“‘Know them’?” Harry echoed, “They're my aunt and uncle! I live with them! Oh god, if they're gone, where am I gonna go now?!”

He started shoving his things into his bag and Hedwig tried to comfort him by perching back on his shoulder and nuzzling him.

“Alright, alright, sonny,” Sally said, trying to calm him down. “We'll call a constable to see what to do, ok?”

“Yes, please do!” Harry begged, “And hurry!”

Harry didn't know how this had happened. The constable was a nice man named Constable Wright and was able to confirm that Harry was their nephew. Unfortunately, with no living relatives, they had to search elsewhere in order to find him someplace to live. However, they did find out Harry had a distant cousin in Ohio, America. They quickly arranged a short-notice flight to America after contacting his relative, a man named Norville Rogers, and having him agree to take Harry in. So, Harry went from a 10 hour train ride from school to Kings Cross, be in London for only a couple hours after finding out his aunt, uncle, and cousin are dead or badly injured and in no fit shape to take care of him, to an 8 hour flight from the UK to Ohio in less than twenty-four hours. What a great way to kick off the summer.

Harry was determined to let sleeping dogs lie when he got to America, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. What if his new caretaker was like the Dursleys? When the plane finally touched down, Harry grabbed his satchel, which managed to convince the constable that it was all he needed, and headed down to the baggage claim. Standing there, holding a sign with his name on it, was a very tall man, well over six feet, waiting for him. He had long light chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck and his eyes were a honey golden color, he wondered for a moment if he were a werewolf. He looked ragged, like a more clean-cut version of Professor Lupin just without all the scars. He had a small beard on his chin and a bit of a five o'clock shadow. He wore a white tank top underneath a green flannel and had beige cargo pants and a set of black leather dress shoes. Sat patiently at his side was a large brown service dog sporting the signature vest and collar leashed to the man. That had to be Norville. Funny, he was expecting a lasso swinging cowboy or lumberjack redneck, not a scruffy bohemian hippie man.

With Hedwig perched on his shoulder, Harry cautiously began to walk up to the man, silently praying that the dog wouldn't attack him on approach and that this man, his other cousin, was nothing like the Dursleys. The dog stood and with the sudden movement beside him, Norville also looked to the side. He gave Harry a friendly smile, but Harry's body had already frozen still and tense. The dog began to move forwards slowly and Harry could feel his heart racing, was it going to attack? His body hunched over, his shoulders coming up and he lifted onto his toes, keeping his arms tucked into his body and his knees loose should he need to run or fight the dog off. Hedwig noticed this and spread her wings enough so she could easily take flight and kept a glaring golden eye on the dog. The dog, whom Harry could see was practically his height on all fours, faltered a little when it saw Hedwig prepare to strike, but continued to come closer. Eventually, the dog sat in front of Harry and bowed its head looking up at him. So, the dog wasn't going to attack him? But all the other dogs attack him, why didn’t this one? Is it because it's a service dog? But aren't they known for protecting their master’s too? Looking down at the pooch, it was waiting for Harry to do something. Holding his hand out slightly, Harry reached for the dog’s head and went to pat it, he hesitated for a moment before his hand came into contact with soft, fine, fur. He visibly relaxed at the touch and scratched the pooch's head, its tongue poked out of its mouth and its tail swung lazily side to side with content.

“Sorry, Pooch,” Harry said, “I'm just not comfortable around big dogs, I thought you were going to attack me. Looks like your a better dog than all the ones I've met.” Of course, that didn't count Sirius or Lupin since they were actually people.

“Well, like, looks like you made a new friend, Scoob ol’ boy.” The man, Norville, Harry guessed, his cousin. He smiled at Harry, giving him a wide goofy grin. He held his hand out to shake, “Nice to meet ya’, kiddo. Name's Norville Rogers, but just call me Shaggy.”

“‘Shaggy’?” Harry echoed, tasting the word, it left a sour taste in his mouth, “Sorry mate, but no matter how good you are with the ladies, I am not calling you that.” Harry didn't care whether he was being rude to the man or not, he wasn't going to call someone the equivalent of having sex.

“Eh? What do ladies have to do with anything?” Norville inquired innocently.

“What? Do you prefer blokes, then?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. Scooby snickered as Norville’s face reddened. Though through the look on his face, it was surprise and embarrassment, not anger, that caused it. Norville chuckled.

“Well, it seems there's, like, a cultural difference here, cause in America, the word “shaggy” means scruffy or messy.” He explained.

“Oh,” Well that made more sense, but it also made this next bit more complicated to explain. “well, in England it kind of implies you like to…” he looked around as if he were about to tell a secret. “That you like to have sex.”

“ah,” Norville stated simply, his eyes widening a bit. “Well then, I guess we need to find something else for you to call me then.”

At that moment, both their stomachs rumbled, Norville's louder than Harry's. Harry rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, and put a hand over his stomach. Both of them laughed softly.

“After we get something to eat,” Norville said. “I'm starving and I'm sure you're hungry too from your flight. C'mon, I know a place downtown.”

Norville turned and started walking towards the door and Scooby looked back at him, gesturing for him to follow. These guys didn't seem too bad, maybe things will turn out alright.

#scooby doo #harry potter #fic: family matters #crossover #tw: long post

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comicteaparty · 4 years

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January 25th-January 31st, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from January 25th, 2020 to January 31st, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

When dealing with criticism, how do you personally decide what is and isn’t legitimate criticism for your story?

Deo101 [Millennium]

For me, the only criticism i take from any critique (even professors) are the ones that I feel push me closer to my goals as an artist. I also only consider critique that comes with my consent and from a place of trying to help me grow. This second bit (trying to help) is something I can't really explain how to tell, you just kind of start to learn over time.

malverav

My philosophy regarding criticism is twofold: I don't take crit from people that I wouldn't take advice from, and I don't take unsolicited crit. I tend to seek out crit from people I know, respect, and trust who also get what I'm doing with my work and get what I'm aiming for. That, and after a certain level, crit is a matter of taste. Saying "this anatomy is squirrelly" or "push your contrast in values" is very useful and somewhat objective, but something like "you should shade like this, not like that" or "use a different colour" is simply a matter of taste in my opinion. It's why I don't take crit from everyone as everyone's tastes are different. I don't take crit from, say, @xX_roxas_fan_69_Xx saying 'your story sucks' with a three paragraph rundown of why. Random commenters? I don't listen to them if they're not paying my bills. Besides, a lot of those randos seem to enjoy tearing someone down and looking like the smartest person in the room, rather than doing something useful. It really speak to entitlement that someone thinks they can swan in and offer an artist their great and wise critique - who made you the boss of art, @xX_roxas_fan_69_Xx? There's a certain danger in listening to too much crit and advice, and after a certain point you just have to pay attention to your own instincts.

Tuyetnhi

Rip I usually don't take crit from folks on the internet or irl if I don't ask for it. Most of the time I often check with my peers to give advice because I know they'll help me push forward in my work. Though I'm thankful that I had advice from some industry folks but dang, that kind of stuff is uncommon.

I do have comments that really doesn't address the story at all and some superficial comparisons. Those I don't respond.(edited)

keii4ii

Everyone's brought up excellent points, many of which I personally employ as well. Here's one I haven't seen yet: If a criticism is extremely negative, to a point where "if this is correct, then my entire comic is garbage and I should start over" is the only logical conclusion, then I'm not going to consider it. Because yeah, I'm not going to start over. Doesn't matter how genuine their intentions at that point. Either they're right and I have an irredeemable pile of garbage -- which I'm not willing to throw out, so rip. Or they're "wrong" (as in, they got that negative because they are 10000% not my target audience) in which case, it'd be pointless trying to please them.

To clarify, "extremely negative" doesn't have to be a literal "your comic sucks at everything." Maybe they'll have some positive things to say, but with regards to my most important goals with the story, they'll have nothing but total negatives to say. e.g. "None of your jokes are even remotely funny, but hey, nice art" for a comedy comic.

DaemonDan (The Demon Archives)

I like to think I'm fairly opened minded with regards to most crit, as long as it feels well intentioned, and as long as I can see where they're coming from.

That doesn't mean I'm necessarily going to change anything on that given page (too expensive for me since I have to pay my artist for everything), but it's something to consider going forward

Especially if it is a concern/question about plot or something that I haven't explained well yet and didn't have planned to explain/show.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I can’t put into words exactly how I ‘tell’ if it’s legit or not. If it’s just ripping my work apart and delivered in an aggressive tone, I know that it’s ill-intended and not to pay it any mind. If it’s also from a serial nitpicker, I usually disregard it as well. If it’s polite and well thought out, I’m more likely to pay attention. Even then, I’m usually able to tell if it’s good, applicable advice or well-meaning, but subjective opinions that simply don’t apply. I’m usually pretty aware of the flaws in my work and can hold it at arms length to see if a crit really does have a good point. If I think it will genuinely help me improve, I’ll start incorporating the advice into my work. Because if a critique helps me get better at what I’m already trying to do, then I’m all ears. I’m always open to con crit, and I think carefully about what was pointed out, but I also take it with a grain of salt. Probably the biggest thing I learnt as an art student wasn’t about making art, but how to parse critique I received.(edited)

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

There's really only two types of criticism I completely disregard - 1) Something that shows the critiquer's vision of the comic is completely different from my own (e.g. "I liked the bad drawings better, you should have stuck with that"). 2) Some variation of "stop making the comic" (e.g. "you should stop posting art until you improve more") (both of which are real criticisms I've gotten. the latter one surprisingly recently.) Also, sometimes a criticism is... difficult to understand? Like I'll try to take "the dialogue doesn't pull me into the next page" into consideration, but... it's hard to nail down exactly what that means, y'know? Fortunately I haven't really gotten any bad faith criticism or un-asked for criticism, so, that's nice.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Luckily I haven't received too much critique/criticism on my comic work, and (so far!) certainly nothing harsh or insulting. In all honesty, I could use a bit more critique, and should probably actively seek it out, so I could keep learning and improving! As such, I've taken all the criticisms into account to varying degrees. If I can't easily go back and fix something, I can always keep that note in mind for future pages. I'm usually most concerned about clarity of plot/progression - aesthetic choices are a matter of preference, but if a reader just plain can't tell what's happening, that's my biggest concern. A comic can be many things, but it should at least be legible, both in words and in images. I take notes on legibility/clarity very seriously.(edited)

varethane

I liked deo's comment at the top about considering crit if it gets you closer to your goals... for me, that's often the most important aspect. Feedback from someone who understands what I'm trying to do is really valuable, because it can help me pin down things that I was already kind of aware weren't working but couldnt put into words. When it comes to unsolicited crit, honestly the most useful ones I've gotten were from readers who didnt even realize they were making a crit. When I start to see comments that appear to be misunderstanding what i intended to put into a page, then I know I need to make some changes.

AntiBunny

In a world of very quiet readers I've had to seek out criticism. Much of what I've gotten is pretty legitimate as a result. I find that legitimate criticism usually can back up its argument. You'll have examples of what's wrong, point out counterexamples, of have suggestions to how to make it better.

Illegitimate criticism is usually cases of personal insults or just saying "it's bad." However there are also cases of people attempting to give legitimate criticism, but missing the point. Usually those who didn't do their homework.

For instance in AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ one of the biggest failings I've seen at giving legitimate criticism was "I didn't finish it, but it seems incomplete." That's a good example of someone not doing the reading necessary to back up their comment.

And lastly those who just don't realize that the subject matter isn't for them, and confuse that with a judgment of quality such as "I don't like black and white comics," and "I don't like anthropomorphic animal comics."

More legitimate arguments I've gotten, that actually did help me improve were comments on the old site design, which was really stuck in my rather late 90's HTML coding skills, so I took the time to learn a bit of CSS, and improved upon it. Others were about the early art style, which I've grown and evolved from since then. And of course about the text being hard to read, so I moved away from hand written text, and tried several fonts before settling on a free and open font. Jr Hand if anyone is interested.

In short, legitimate criticism helps you improve, illegitimate is either an attack, or just misses the point.

kayotics

I tend to seek out crit from people who I trust, first and foremost. Usually before I even start the work. Unsolicited critique, I think about it for a few days and then decide whether it’s appropriate or not. I do this because I’ve gotten critique before that HAS hurt me enough for me to stop a project. Other people’s opinions of me affects me a lot, and I have to mull on their words to decide whether or not they’re being honest or if they’re saying something to me in bad faith. Sometimes it’s hard to separate what’s legitimate criticism and what’s just entirely incorrect, so that’s why I take a few days to mull on it before acting on it.

keii4ii

Yeah, sometimes even a good faith critique can just... miss the point entirely, and it can demoralize me in a unique way. 'They're genuinely trying to be helpful, so they have to be right..........' kinda thing -- which is not always the case, I've had to remind myself.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Another thing about critique, is if it is truly in good faith and trying to help you grow... They won't mind if you don't take it.

kzuich

I've always said thanks no matter the feedback...but I've definitely gotten crappy critique that wasn't helpful before. One of the worst I've ever received when I was soliciting feedback was from someone who couldn't pinpoint what they didn't like about my comic, but said it was "wasted potential" and needed to be more serious. (Wut.) They then tried to tell me that they'd be willing to help me if I'd invite them on as a writer/editor, and now I'm thinking that person didn't even read my comic and was just trying to neg me into giving them a spot on my site so they'd have a project with their name attached to it or something xD(edited)

(For the record...my comic is a very lighthearted comedy. Like...way to miss the point! xD)

Cherryzombs

Oof. -_- Reminds me of an art teacher once putting "Not Creative Enough" on one of my works. I dunno what to do with that...

kzuich

Lol art teachers like that always got under my skin.

keii4ii

Yeah, critics missing the point is a big part of why I've become extremely selective about who to ask crits from!

kzuich

I don't really solicit feedback much anymore.

Not because I don't want critique

It's just...There are not a lot of people who actually know -how- to critique

keii4ii

Sometimes you can glean some good things from a critique that just missed the point -- like, sometimes it can help you see why they missed it and how you can maybe prevent that. But.... I don't have the spoons for that kinda gleaning anymore.

kzuich

I don't mind people reviewing my comic, because, well, hey exposure! But if I ask for feedback, I'm asking people who make comics. Because the best critique I've ever gotten was over on the SF discord. A user actually gave critique that was extremely helpful and on-point.

keii4ii

Even fellow comickers can be unhelpful, too. Every person whom I've asked for critique was making a comic, but the helpfulness has varied a lot.

kzuich

Yeah that's true

keii4ii

"I hate, hate, HATE your MC, so you should kill him off or otherwise get rid of him forever" was told to me by a fellow comic creator.... and I was already doing like, chapter 7, so yeah, removing the MC wasn't really an option X'D

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

YIKES WHAT

kzuich

You could always do a 180 and really trip out your readers

very ~experimental~

The critic who hated my comic would've loved that

I gotta dig up that critique because it was really funny. My husband and I will make jokes about it from time to time lol

keii4ii

XDD

kzuich

Like have I totally turned this on its head? I'm critiquing the critic

Cherryzombs

When someone asks me for feedback I tend to ask what specifically they want notes on.

Otherwise I don't really offer it. >.>

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I usually ask if they want critique first and then do the compliment sandwich if they say yes.

And try to really emphasise the things I like and feel are working.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

@Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) "compliment sandwich" I love that.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I didn’t come up with it, but thank you! XD

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

In regards to how I myself determine what critiques are worth my consideration... I like what @Deo101 [Millennium] and @varethane spoke about with the idea of our personal vision for our work. Whether or not someone gets what I'm trying to accomplish from my work or not plays a huge role in whether I'll take their critique seriously. An example of this is in my comic Whispers of the Past, there was a scene where a character had a flashback, and to show that it was a flashback, I made the background behind the panels black instead of white. A commenter told me I should make the background behind all the panels black because it adds more contrast. By itself, the critique wasn't that harmful or incorrect, but in the context of "this story is gonna have a bunch of flashbacks and I need a way to differentiate them from present time," it definitely was a critique that wasn't really helpful to me. The commenter clearly didn't understand that it was a flashback. Another type of critique I don't pay attention to are critiques where the critic is pointing out something that I can't really change. Or are being unintentionally rude, "It's too short." "I can't remember what happened in the past updates because of the infrequent postings." "I would rather you wait until you have X pages before posting." Um... I can't just simply draw FASTER. I'm not a GOD. And finally, critiques that have to do with taste and not quality. I had an art professor whose common critiques of my work included, "This is too illustrational," and "The colors are too saturated." To which my responses were: https://media.tenor.com/images/7dfa6d3d76a277b8c204945ae8fd3161/tenor.gif(edited)

renieplayerone

for me, I tend to ignore a lot of random critique, or at the very least put it aside and ask a friend later. What I do trust for critique is when the critique comes from other comic writers and artists who I know, and I seek out the critique on my own. I also tend to take more to critique when it's constructive or from a good-faith helpful place, like "hey this page could use some more clarity to get your point across" rather than "whut? Idk what this is". I also am in some writer groups where we do crit nights, which are very structured and from a "I want to see you succeed, lets help make that happen" standpoint, so Im much more likely to listen to them than a rando on the internet saying "draw it, but gud"

carcarchu

@keii4ii i once read a webcomic where the author killed the main love interest after 100 chapters and replaced him with a clone xD i really respect the author's boldness there

kzuich

lol what a legend

DanitheCarutor

Usually I try to put any criticism for anyone into consideration, sometimes a stranger might have more knowledge of what I'm trying to do than I do, and I have gotten really good advice for randos popping in with critique and suggestions. Although, due to my story being super tight, I usually end up weeding out whatever doesn't apply to what I'm currently trying to accomplish with it. This sucks because that's a lot of story critique, and it makes me look like some child who can't handle negative feedback. There has been comments that I should make more happy scenes or get rid of some heavy stuff, make the comic more like Breaking Bad (Never seen this show. ) because it's too boring, having romantic scenes to fit the title, make my MC Julian less "weird" and more likable. I can change small things, but big stuff that has an affect on the main plot would make me have to rework the entire story... which then it wouldn't really be TGtaHR. I can do some tweaking to the main stuff, but the person giving the critique would have to know the whole story, and what I'm trying to accomplish. At least in my extremely anal opinion.

Art wise I'm more open, there have been really good suggestions about me using more contrast and values to draw the audience's eyes to what I want them to see, I've been told to simplify my backgrounds or use less bold colors which is a problem for me since I'm REALLY into drawing detail, or that I need to make my speechbubbles more readable. These are valid critiques because these things do hinder the comic, and I have been trying to work on improving, although admittedly I do have a lot of trouble changing up my coloring and details. There have been a few interesting ones that I've kinda ignored since they don't really help? A couple people have said I should switch to drawing digitally because it looks more professional/polished, I've been told to stop drawing backgrounds entirely, someone said I should draw in a more aesthetically appealing style, and another one was that I drew too many dynamic angles. There is a critique I've gotten a few times in particular that I've kinda ignored, but I'm not sure if I should apply, which is that my shading is weird. As in my style of complementary shading looks bad, and while I really like that type of shading I'm not sure if I'm applying it correctly. The people who usually say this don't ever elaborate on what they mean, or how I can do better... except one person who said I should use a darker version of the same color or black for shading, which is kinda gross looking to me.

But yeah, I generally try really hard to take in criticism, but if I can't make it work for what I'm currently trying to do I move on.

varethane

Too...... many?? dynamic angles.....??

Tuyetnhi

wut omg there can't be too many dynamic angles

varethane

Yeah, uh, pretty sure you can disregard that one lmao

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Lol, I WISH I had that problem

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, that one totally caught me off guard, I've never heard of drawing too many angles. Usually the criticism is that you're not drawing enough. I told them I was practicing my perspective, which I am, but... yeah, didn't know what to say to that.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

God, what I wouldn't give to have more angles I guess too much detail can be an overload, but still, better too many than too few

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Actually, one of the most legitimate critiques I ever got was from a professional editor at a convention where he was doing portfolio reviews. And you know what he said? That I should have more interesting camera angles.

SAWHAND

Lol! I do think most people have to force themselves to think about the camera angles. I certainly do at least! I think the key to good critique is to understand that it's not really about liking or not liking something. It's not about preference at all. It's about letting the artist know what the audience is likely seeing or experiencing so that they know whether their intentions are coming across. And if you're getting that advice from other artists usually they can tell you why something feels a certain way. For example, a reader might say, "it seems really hectic", but an experienced artist might be able to say "I think having a lot of different camera angles so quickly is making the scene feel very hectic." (just using camera angles as an example, since it came up) And then as the artist, you can say oh great, that's exactly what I was going for, or you can think about changing it. But critique is just about helping an artist refine their vision, letting them know if the tools/techniques they're using are matching up well with their intentions.

RebelVampire

Yeah. Somewhat to the above, I could see a critic saying "too many dynamic angles" if they meant that there wasn't a good visual flow and it was hard to follow in that regard

It's always good to remember a lot of the people who have time to give critiques for a whole webcomic are actually not professional artists. So they can't always accurately describe in that realm what theyre seeing.(edited)

mariah (rainy day dreams)

This conversation reminded me of a Tumblr tutorial from m forever ago by one of the Adventure Time folks. It talks about a lot of things, but specifically I could see someone thinking the camera is "too dynamic" if a comic artist is breaking the 180° rule a lot in their panels or not following screen direction. Though screen direction is probably a little more forgiving in a non-animated format. Anyway, I'll put the link for that tutorial in #art_resources

Mei

Critique is a tough one. Because for the most part I accept critique from close friends that I trust and from my professors. Sometimes though, I personally feel like my art will be going one direction and will waylay the critique for another project. If that makes any sense. I guess what I mean is that sometimes you've already done so much on one piece or comic and when someone gives you critique it's like "okay thank you, I hear you, and I will implement it in the next thing I do, not this page that I am currently doing." I also tend to ask my friends if they don't mind critique? For things that are WIPs and shared. My friend once said "I mean what do you say to that... Can you even say no?" And I was like, "Yes you can completely say no and I wouldn't give critique it's as simple as that", but I guess when you're closer friends,it's less apprehension maybe. That being said, I haven't really run into the unsolicited critique category quite yet. I mean, I feel as if I'll run into that eventually, I've just been lucky enough not to. Plus, a lot of critique I get is actually about things I'm already aware that I need to improve on? I got some pretty fair critique from several people on several projects that I should work on backgrounds, layouts, and location. Which I know is a weakness I have, and honestly I avoid it a lot because I'm really scared of it? And I know that I have to just... work on it and do more visual studies if I ever want to improve. It's just a very daunting task, especially since I'm studying as a character animator, so the backgrounds are almost always secondary (I kept handing off backgrounds to friends to help do rip) And with what was said above about 'too many dynamic angles', I can see why that might be a critique for action sequences. Something like Boku Aca actually suffers visually from that! It's so dynamic that pages can end up looking clunky? I guess?!

DanitheCarutor

Urm to cover my ass, I do agree and see how too many dynamic angles can be a hindrance, but for out of the norm stuff like that I unfortunately need to be shown an example or elaboration on why that isn't working for me. I don't remember how far back the critique was, maybe around chapter 2 or 3. They never pointed anything out, but I believe they were responding to pages like these. Edit: DON'T actually read the contents of these pages, a couple of them might have some heavy stuff that could make you uncomfortable.(edited)

(I do agree that the circular perspective page is awful, it was my first attempt and I didn't have a drawing table at the time to make a larger circle. I might redraw that page at some point.) But it's really hard to know exactly what they mean. Should I do more eye level shots? More talking heads? I'm super thick in the head, and need a little hand-holding, when it comes to understanding critiques like that. I do agree, though. There are so comics that have so much going on that they can be really hard to read.

Mei

I think in terms of dynamism it's just important to keep in mind that if EVERYTHING is dynamic ALL THE TIME, then it ceases to be 'dynamic' and becomes the norm, and it can be as whip-lashy as a movie that uses far too many jump cuts in an action movie. Like you want to be able to follow that continuous string of motion and jumpcuts can disturb that? So similarly in comics it's something people will say to keep in mind

I mean I don't see anything particularly wrong with the angles you're using in the pages you've linked! And at the end of the day, if it works for you then it works? And it's also a personal taste thing i think

some people LOVE comics with tonnes of dynamic panelling and angles. Other people prefer things really grounded in reality and more gentle in terms of the cuts

So I guess to string this back to the critique stuff, it's things you can take note of and be more aware of but doesn't necessarily mean that what you've already made is 'bad' or whatever, because it definitely isn't. I always see Critique as just things that other people notice that you don't, and sometimes they're helpful and sometimes it's like "Okay thanks for pointing that out"

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yeah, those pages look good to me.

I particularly love the lighting in the last page.

Desnik

Oh this is a good creator question. So, for me, legitimate critique is when a person labels specific things in the story and proves that they actually read it, whether they do or don't like it. I might not take that person's suggestions but I do think about how the story's coming across. For instance one of my writing group friends hounded me over explaining each and every little thing in my story...but honestly I'm not going to infodump upfront. But her feedback is terribly important because if she's asking this kind of question about what's going on, she can't possibly be the only person who will be a bit lost(edited)

even though I'm not implementing her suggestion specifically the way she wants it (big simple infodump), at least I'm thinking about what information is clear and what's waiting to be explained later

There's also observing people because that can give me bigger clues than what they say. If they trip over a sentence when reading aloud, then I definitely check it out and see if I can make the prose easier to read. Little stuff like that.

DanitheCarutor

@Mei Sorry, haven't been online much this week. Oh yeah, that is totally understandable, and I have seen how too many odd camera angles or jump cuts can be jarring! I just thought it was an interesting critique since they never elaborated on what they meant, plus even though I've heard of certain angles ruining a scene, I've never actually heard about having too many dynamic angles so it just surprised me. A good chunk of webcomic creators default to more standard angles since perspective can be such a pain in the ass, and takes up extra time, so the feedback I usually see is to have more variety. Sorry if any of this came off like I was complaining! I really wasn't, I just wanted to answer the question with some examples of different types of criticism I've received. Talking about some of the ones that were odd, or I couldn't take for one reason or another. Didn't mean to draw so much attention to myself. xD That is true, though. It might have been personal taste, who knows, we can always improve more.

@Cronaj (Whispers of the Past) Thank you! I was really satisfied with how that page turned out!

Mei

@DanitheCarutor Oh no I never thought you were complaining at all! I was just responding haha sorry if that made you think I was being overly critical or anything. But yeah, I mean some people have different tastes or they point out different things that may or may not be problems. I think having a lot of critique can be a double edges sword anyway. On the one hand, it's great to hear outside opinions. On the other hand, they can give such varying advice that's all based on personal taste that it could not even apply to you. So it's like... take what you can and leave the rest or something?!

RebelVampire

While I normally don't participate in these, I will this week as a fiction writer and as someone who used to do webcomic reviews. For me, when it comes to dealing with criticism and critiques and deciding what's legit is to look for trends - which is the advice I generally give for anybody who doesn't know what to look for. Creativity is not an exact science, and as such, critiquing creative projects is not an exact science. While there are certainly foundations, in the bigger scheme of things, every critique is going to be different and unique. Every critic/reviewer/etc. has their own personal tastes, their own personal goals and aims when giving the criticism, their own personal style for giving a critique, and so on. This is why you can have two reviews that are completely opposite from each other in opinion, because each person is not only influenced by what they think makes a work good, but just their own personal focuses no matter how objective a critic tries to be. But, to me, this is why when you get several people all saying the same thing, that's the time to get concerned and consider changing something. Cause again, every critic is coming from a different place, and if people coming from different places are reaching the same approximate conclusion, they're actually probably on to something. So, I play the patience game, gather multiple critiques, and look for trends before putting stock into any one piece of criticism.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

But what do you do when a bunch of people all say the same thing, but fixing that issue would take a ton of time and effort? A lot of people have said that my font is too small and hard to read. Is it worth it to spend a day just changing a bunch of letters on 70+ pages and saving and resizing them again? Despite all the people telling me it's an issue, I still don't really think it's that bad. I'm used to reading page format comics, and my font size is comparable to other page format comics. I think a big part of why people are complaining is because I'm a page-format comic on webtoons. But also I'm using a custom font which is my own handwriting. Obviously I'm used to reading my own handwriting and find it very legible, but other people aren't and so might find it more difficult to read. Maybe I can't look at the font objectively because of that : /

Kabocha

I think font issues and readability are... A different issue. One thing I noticed as I got older is that the small fonts I used to tend towards got harder and harder to read. So finding a balance between page legibility on the web and print is... Challenging. But it can be done. If you have a small screen with a high resolution (more than a cell phone), might be worth seeing how much you have to zoom in or focus to read it

Granted, I'm not yet 35, but my eyesight hasn't improved...;;!

mariah (rainy day dreams)

I'm not sure about updating the old stuff, but if it's something that's been repeatedly brought up I would definitely increase the size on pages going forward and see if that helps. I can see the value in also updating the old pages if people are dropping off because the type is too small, but also I feel like 70 pages is like right on the board for me of not worth it for the time it would take. The value of your time is a personal decision though.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Even when taking critique, I almost never apply that to old pages. Webcomic readers generally expect a level of improvement, so they can understand if early pages have issues that are fixed later on.

Kabocha

Agreed, though if you have a way to batch process files for export, that might not be bad? It really depends on how much of a barrier to readability it is.

But in the context of critique? Eh, worth knowing for future projects at minimum!

Kabocha

Anyway, to answer the question I suppose... How do I determine what's legitimate and what's not... I guess it depends -- I saw a few people mentioning whether the interests of the critique align with your growth (or I think I saw that; admittedly, I'm not really inclined to scroll up too far right now), or whether or not you trust the person giving the critique. I think those are two good things look at, for sure! I also think it's worth considering whether or not you care. Like, at the end of the day, if it's not a show-stopper or making the work unreadable or unenjoyable, then... Meh? Make a note of it for the future, see if it's something you can incorporate if you solicited the critique. If it's entirely unsolicited... bigger meh.

DanitheCarutor

@Mei Nooo you didn't make me feel that way, I just know it can come off that way to a lot of people and wanted to clarify. Differentiating critique based on personal taste from you doing something objectively bad can be really hard to do sometimes! I usually do what Rebel Vampire said and collect them until I see a trend, but sometimes I wonder if that single critique is someone noticing a flaw no one else does. Although that might be me over-thinking things. @RebelVampire That is a good reminder of how different people are, and how variety there is in how they view things. Man, I wish I knew about your reviews back when you still did them... and I also magically had a decent chunk of my comic finished, I really liked your style. For the most part I try to apply the idea of going off trends. Unfortunately there is one I do tend to ignore since it feels like ends up fitting with my intentions, which are critiques about making my story less sad/uncomfortable/heavy. It probably is a legit flaw, and I might be executing my story poorly for all I know, but I did want to make a comic that could be really sad and/or uncomfortable. Due to that I kind of ignore those critiques... even though I probably shouldn't, it's hard to tell for those ones specifically. But yeah, hoarding critiques like they're playing cards, then finding patterns to see what needs to be improved is a good way to find a quality in your work that might be objectively bad.

keii4ii

@DanitheCarutor I think that's a great point, especially for those of us making very niche stories. Even if you get 99 people telling you they don't like your work because of X, sometimes it is the 100th person that you're writing for, the one who LOVES that (very intentional and pivotal) X in your work.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

ESPECIALLY if those 99 critiques are not aligned with your artistic vision to begin with.

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, the hardest thing about making something niche is a lot of people aren't going to like it no matter how well you pull it off, also getting feedback that works with what you're trying to accomplish is kinda hard. I went into my comic know it wouldn't get a whole lot of people who would understand or enjoy it, so I decided it would be for myself to vent and whoever does like the story can tag along. That seemed like the best plan to keep from getting discouraged. It IS really nice when that 100th person comes along who loves that weird stuff as much as I do.

RebelVampire

@Eightfish (Puppeteer) To add my own two cents to previous replies about fixing old pages, I think this depends first off, what others have said, how you value your own personal time and whether you think its worth the effort. Second, though, I think is to consider what the issue is that needs to be fixed. Some issues are definitely more minor than others, and ppl accept if you fix them later. However, then there's issues like readability, too much front-loading of information, etc. that can be a bit more major because its effecting readers' ability to understand your comic. It's at that point I personally believe that it'd be better to fix earlier pages. Cause the average new reader isn't going to show up to the comic and go "Maybe this will improve with this major issue later." The average new reader is going to give your comic 20 pages at most and then leave if the issues are still there and they can't follow the comic. In other words, always remember readers still have to read the beginning pages in order to get to the improved pages. So the question is, do you think the issue is something that will make readers drop the comic before they even get to that point? Again, though, emphasis, this is a personal decision. There are people who would put in the effort, and people who wouldn't. And both are right because what you do with criticism is ultimately your business.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

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eyesaremosaics · 5 years

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Ugh having a mild panic attack. I feel super emotional, confused, sad, frightened, empty, weakness in my limbs, numbness around my face and in my fingertips. Shallow breathing. I feel like I’m going to burst into tears any second. My heart just hurts and hurts.

Came to be with my sister, because I’m so vulnerable right now. Just trying to breathe through it. It’s going to hurt for a while, I have to get used to it, have to settle into the loneliness and become accustomed to it as a constant companion. My abandonment issues are all lit up. Feeling like no one will ever be able to love me for the rest of my life. That maybe I’m not equipped to be in a successful relationship. Most of my experiences were so bad. My best friend has had no luck either, I always saw her experiences as pretty bad, but she told me a while back: “you’ve had it worse.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. Definitely.”

—-

It’s all a blur to me now, I try to hold on to what I learned from each person, searching for the gift in this big ball of pain. I do find those gifts. My first love, showed me that I am worry of simply being around others. I always felt like such an outcast, having been bullied as mercilessly as I was. He pushed through dozens of girls standing around him, and came to say hello to me. It made me feel special. I remember that day. The rest of the relationship was long, complicated and painful, after that initial phase, I had to compete with other women all the time for his affection. The seed of not being special was planted then. He never officially became my boyfriend, and I always felt like I was never good enough because of that. It totally crushed my self esteem, and set me up for romantic failure in the future.

I had boyfriends in between, who were simply there. My first real one was a cheater, I punched him in the face the first time he did it, and have been violent towards men ever since.

The next person of significance was someone I grew up with, who had pined for me and loved me from afar for six years. When I was finally in a place to receive his love and love him back, of course he didn’t want me then. He put me on a pedestal as this perfect woman. Writing poetry for me... stalking me on the internet. He was terrified of me, he couldn’t accept my love, and he was hurt because I rejected him in our youth. I did this because I was being sexually abused by an older boy at the time, and I was so traumatized from the assault that I developed sexual aversion disorder. I found out he harbored desires for me, and I threw up in a trash can. The very thought of sexual interaction with ANYONE made me want to cry and vomit at the same time. Left me shaking all over.

I think of my thirteen year old self, and I just feel so sad for her. My long time step father and my mother were fighting horribly, and on the verge of divorce—so home life was a drag. I was being abused, and had my virginity forcibly taken from me. I began drinking at twelve to cope with the ptsd. My parents avoided the house, so I had to babysit everyday, and being forced into a position of responsibility so young—alienated me from my peers. Not that it mattered really because they all hated me anyway. I never fit in anywhere. I had no friends at school, a few outside of school, but I was considered a social pariah on campus.

I felt suicidal nearly everyday, but I tried to hold my head high and ignore the constant taunts, and humiliations on a daily basis. It was a sad, lonely existence in those days. He loved me through all that, and thought I was strong. I guess I am strong, but I didn’t feel that way inside. I escaped through books, movies, imagination. I wrote short stories, ran multiple websites, learned html, had pen pals. My only friends were in the computer. People told me how ugly I was every day. That my nose was crooked, that I had overlarge front teeth. They called me underfed vulture, satan (because I wore all black), Bucky beaver. One day they poured pickle juice on my head and told me I was the ugliest thing they had ever seen. One boy cut my hair in class.

That was hell. Once high school came around, I was considered “pretty”, and the same boys who threw me in garbage cans, asked for my number. The fucking nerve, I swear.

Anyway, that stalker boy painted a picture of being the perfect mate for me. Grew his hair out long like mine to “feel closer to (me)”. I was 18, and fell madly in love with him. I soon came to discover however, that something wasn’t right. He had a personality disorder, and three months after we started dating, he crushed me like an insect, with seemingly no remorse. He was convinced I didn’t love him, and took great pleasure in hurting me because I had hurt him in the past (Unconsciously).

It was a long 7 year back and fourth saga with him, and only at the end did I realize he was a narcissist/sociopath. Literally incapable of returning my feelings. I really did love him... I don’t know if I’ll ever feel quite like that again, about anyone, but there was nowhere for that situation to go. He was never going to change, and I deserved better than to be treated like garbage. I went through so much grief, had an identity crisis... realizing I had been tricked and manipulated for years. I felt stupid for falling into the trap because I was blinded by love. It still hurts sometimes, but I forgave him. Not because he deserves it, he was horribly abusive and cruel to me, but because I deserve peace. I had to just accept that that is who he is, and it’s not my fault. Any wrong that I may have done was a result of childhood abuse, and I more than paid my debt back. He pined for me for six years, then I pined for him for 7. That’s 13 years, nearly half my life of being connected to this person. A part of me died with that relationship. The idealistic, romantic, carefree spirit I had, died.

I became an alcoholic and a drug addict to escape the pain of surviving narcissistic abuse. Then I met the man I thought I was going to marry. He swooped in, and it was all fire and passion between us. He told me he loved me, and wanted to build a life with me. He used to think I was the one. However, we were both so damaged by our past relationships that we tore each other to shreds emotionally. It still breaks my heart, we were mismatched. I knew it, so did he, but I loved him anyway. It wasn’t something I could help, I just loved him. He reminded me so much of my father, all the wounds he left in me... were lit up so strongly by this person. He said I was the most special to him, but he had so many options available all the time, and deep in my gut I never felt like he was really mine, or that I could trust him. He was so angry inside, even when he was speaking softly and being nice, I could feel that rage burning inside him. Not towards me... necessarily... though it often manifested that way. I failed so much in that relationship, but I tried my best. I really did. I think he did too.

When he left after three and a half years, I was brutally broken hearted. He seems to think I never really loved him either, and that is so not true. I just wanted to be the most precious thing in his life, but I never felt that I was. I try to make peace with it now. He no longer loves me, not that way, and I just have to accept that and move on. As much as it hurts. I have no other choice.

Then my last boyfriend, who made me feel incredibly special, and shared many similar interests. We had a lot of fun, but there was a lot of problems too. The age gap was a problem, communication styles were very different. We were both damaged people, who unconsciously were damaging each other after a certain point. I really tried my best to get better and be the best person I could be, but I always walked away feeling like a bad person. I always felt like I was constantly hurting him, or being inconsiderate, sometimes people grow apart I guess... it happened with all of them.

I just feel so sad, and tired. Every time I had a crush on a guy, who was good looking, and seemed to have a lot going for them—I would make my feelings to them known, and they would reject me. So I don’t feel comfortable pursuing men as a result. If I think a guy is attractive, my immediate thought is: I’m not pretty enough, he will never like me.”

All my life people told me I was this great beauty. As a child people would always tell my dad: “oooh! What a beautiful little girl!”

To which my dad would reply, with a hint of dread in his voice: “yeah... I’m going to have to keep a bat by the door when she gets older to keep the boys away.”

Ha, yeah no that never happened. Boys are afraid of me, they feel intimidated by me because I am highly intelligent and very outspoken. I have a lot of male energy to me, and that threatens most men I have experienced. Makes them feel like less of a man or something. That explains why many of my exes picked smaller, meek, and more easily controlled women (or seemingly so anyway). It’s kind of lonely, being a strong woman. Feeling like men run from me because I’m “too much” as many of them have said.

The men who do approach me usually are losers or playboys. My dad is a playboy so it makes sense, it’s what is familiar to me. It’s almost like... I don’t think I deserve to be happy or loved, so I attract people that won’t or can’t love me, or people who love me so much but are not a match for me. It’s just fucked. I want to be a whole person, and attract another whole person who has their shit together and inspires me to be the best version of myself. I’m tired of small mindedness, of limiting constraints, limiting beliefs, I want to grow and expand. I want a wider world to live in.

Working for the wealthy family that I do, they have shown me the heights to which one can go in life. The dad came from nothing, and built himself up to where he was because he believed that he could. He believed in himself, and made this beautiful life for him and his family. Of course we all have problems, but they are constructive in dealing with them. Not toxic. Seeing a relationship of mutual live and respect, of comfort and stability. Of abundance... I want that. I have been poor and depressed all my fucking life, doubting myself, struggling with mental illness and trying to die.

I don’t want to die anymore, I am tired of dying. I want to be happy. I don’t want to struggle so hard, scraping for food and for money, I want to generate a beautiful life with love, friendship, creativity, travel, art and giving back to others, to the world. That’s what I want. There has to be a way to achieve it.

I know it starts with me, and these negative beliefs that I have about myself. I’ve been seriously working on my self esteem, on recognizing my value, of taking care of my vessel... I am getting much better, despite my occasional relapse, they are getting farther apart. However, days like this, where I feel so empty and sad... frighten me.

I have been to the darkest places of the human heart. I have got rock bottom and nearly died many times in my life. I have experienced the dark night of the soul, been utterly alone, broken, abandoned, abused—and I’m still here. I survived it somehow, even though I am full of holes, and they still bleed occasionally—I’m still standing.

Romance, seems like a thing I will never be able to have on a reciprocal level, not until I can learn to really love myself. It’s been my life’s work to undo the trauma of my childhood, but sometimes I wonder... will I be alone forever? Will I ever know how it feels to be as madly in love with someone as they are with me. My lifestyle is so unconventional, and I have so many quirks and issues... everyone gives up and leaves. I try my best to be better, and I think I finally am in the healthiest emotional place I’ve ever been, but today I face my fear of crippling loneliness... and it weighs heavily on my heart.

I don’t want to be with anyone for a long time. It hurts too much to be connected to someone. It’s so much stress and pain, and I don’t know if I can go through it or put someone else through it again. Right now I’m feeling pretty hopeless about ever getting married, or having children. I want it so bad, but the conditions have never been right. I also, if I’m being honest with myself... truly don’t believe anyone can love me. I think I’m too much, and too fucked up to be cared about. I don’t think I’m educated enough, pretty enough, or good enough to be loved. That’s my main problem. I just wish I knew how to fix it.

It’s a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight, but how long will it take to feel comfortable in my own skin? I just want to breathe easy and feel confident for once in my life. I want to be valued, seen, heard, and truly known... but I keep hearing that Pink Floyd song in my head..

“Is there anybody....out there?”

#me #manic depression diary #depression #self awareness #self healing #bipolar 2

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denebola42-blog · 5 years

Photo

Clear Sky, 30°F

Errors in Atheism: Some Things Needing Change

Ok, first off, I don't know if there's a God. I just don't. That doesn't mean I believe in Religion. Some of their ideas are correct if you take out the part where they try to force you to believe. See, for example, in the Mormon Religion they teach that we have agency as in freedom to choose, yet I've not often encountered such freedom as to investigating other religions like other members were allowed to. Religion is like that in general and I think that even if there is a God, or even if Mormonism is true, freedom is a stepping stone to truth. You simply can't understand if you're not allowed to think. And you can't think for someone. That's not freedom and certainly telling what they can do or say is just wrong a well and the goes for religion too. Atheism and Religion are two sides to the same coin when it comes to conflict.

Other things Atheism does is nitpick inaccuracies in religion with a fine toothed comb.. Thank you. I actually do appreciate that but I've realized Atheism at least omits some things about their history. There's a popular meme that shows a cartoon of a militant Muslim with a bomb vest, a militant Christian with a gun, and a militant atheist with a MacBook having coffee.. Wrong. That's not always the case. If I recall, in the book “Enemies: a history of the FBI” atheistic Anarchists blew people up. Innocent people and assassinated a couple world leaders. Antifa is historically believed to have propelled Hitler into power by accidentally making his opposition look bad simply by taking the same stance but with violence. Antifa exists today and doesn't just attack Nazis. They attack world summits, civilians, police, nice cars, you name it. Even burning and destroying out greatly damaging businesses of people that have nothing to do with their perceived enemies. Oh and Ayn Rand was atheist and encouraged the same crap that the far right Republicans encourage such as assistance only for the well off.

I'm for LGBTQ rights but atheists omit saying some truths about them. Harvey Milk was a pedo. The leader of the human rights campaign was accused of pedophilia and was a friend of Obama. They say that gays don't rape. They do and they rape a lot and this or the HRC themselves but they add they also get raped a lot as a hate crime. There was a speech I think it was in the 80s where a gay guy said gays were going to take over the USA by basically infiltrating everything and raping people into submission. In the 70s some gays said that the family, families in general as in the family unit, was the enemy of the gay community. Gay pride parades used to include NAMbLA or the National Man boy Love Association. It was basically an organization that promoted and participated in child molestation. What else, oh I've heard them poke fun, no pun intended, at the old movie “Boys Beware” about stranger danger against boys and a similar film called “Girls Beware” about the same danger from lesbians. Two words. The Greeks. That has been around for ages plus did NAMbLA and their associated “Butterflies” group spring up overnight? If so then that makes it part of gay rights? Funny they come out at the same time in pride parades. Oh and there's violent gays like Bash Back and I think there's other Anarchist gay groups. Oh and on an Anarchist website I found a book review of an old book written by an Anarchist speaking for gay rights since he went in prison Straight, but learned to basically enjoy the company of men due to desperation and loneliness. Reverse gay conversion therapy or the original gay conversion therapy because apparently it's pretty therapeutic for him. Oh and the days that still happens. It's pretty common for repeat offenders to do the man booty thing in jail but prefer women outside. Oh and Ice Cube has a rap song about that. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be listening to that stuff. Moving on. Oh and I own the Richard Dawkins book called “The God Delusion.” In the bibliography there's a note saying that prior to, I wanna say 1935, gay referred to prison rape and now we have “gay pride parades.” The crap? And there's the famous remark where Richard Dawkins basically said that pedophilia wasn't that bad.

Enough of that. Now, there's a video I saw where a conservationist removed 80 hooks from dangerous sharks and made friends with some of them. Yes, they repeatedly come back for nose rubs. They literally act like little puppies and do you know how small a shark's brain is? It's the size of a walnut if that. Ok, so atheists are big on science and there's animal experiments that still happen on dogs for example. Do you know how smart dogs are? They save the lives of their families even without training. I've seen video of a cat saving a toddler from an aggressive dog on YouTube. I've seen video of cows playing with a soccer ball and freeing other cows from their enclosures, and then there's primate experiments. And not all of it is even medical there's a lot done just for makeup or shampoo and stupid shit. Oh and don't get me started on human experiments and I don't mean just Nazis. Americans have experimented on the American and other populations from other countries. Facebook recently did a psychological experiment on us, their customers. And in college I've heard of shrinks doing experiments on anyone from children to adults. And he said they still do and some always will even though it's illegal technically. I don't just mean Facebook. Plus there's sexual harassment and even rape in the science fields and they don't get fired like at Google or other fields. They might get fired less then even religion. That's it for now. I'm tired or I'd write more. That's it for now.

References:

https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/tegan-eanelli-bash-back-is-dead-bash-back-forever

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3023834/posts

https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/mar/04/ben-carson/ben-carson-many-prisoners-go-straight-come-out-gay/

https://www.truthrevolt.org/news/friend-obama-and-founder-largest-gay-rights-org-charged-pedophile

http://www.revolutionbythebook.akpress.org/anarchism-and-gays/

https://mobile.wnd.com/2002/07/14612/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk

https://youtu.be/Wu-jfju5atI

I thought of you when I read this quote from "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins -

"Consciousness-raising again 150 The Oxford Dictionary takes ‘gay’ back to American prison slang in 1935. In 1955 Peter Wildeblood, in his famous book Against the Law, found it necessary to define ‘gay’ as ‘an American euphemism for homosexual’."

Start reading this book for free: http://a.co/5Oqgujk

https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2017/03/05/phrenology-and-scientific-racism-in-the-19th-century/

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-secret-experiments/

https://www.onlinepsychologydegree.info/unethical-experiements-psychology/

https://www.bestpsychologydegrees.com/30-most-disturbing-human-experiments-in-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States

https://youtu.be/l4AI6T0-isc

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/richard-dawkins-pedophilia_n_3895514.html

https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/11/13/rise-gay-bigot

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-liberals-war-on-science/

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/04/a-clinical-psychologist-explains-how-ayn-rand-seduced-young-minds-and-helped-turn-the-us-into-a-selfish-nation/#.WXE3ms8FoQd.gmail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand

http://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and de-the-lgbt-community

https://zcomm.org/zmagazine/what-happened-to-queer-anarchism-by-michael-bronski/

https://libcom.org/library/paedophilia-and-american-anarchism-the-other-side-of-hakim-bey

https://m.townhall.com/columnists/mattbarber/2011/09/03/sexual-anarchy-n1031230

http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-abuse/abusive-lgbtq-relationships/

https://youtu.be/8nkeRvtPmn0

https://timeline.com/antifa-history-violence-nazis-5ccb6231879a

https://youtu.be/6UZxKI5eutg

https://youtu.be/-awkYhtey50

https://youtu.be/_J5bDhMP9lQ

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/blood-rage-history-the-worlds-first-terrorists-1801195.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1751204/posts

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/05/sexual-harassment-science-me-too-essay/

https://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/a14104684/sexual-harassment-assault-in-science-field/

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/scicurious/fighting-sexual-harassment-science-may-mean-changing-science-itself

I don't mean to knock on just one or two groups and there's good and bad everywhere. Just had to show I'm not just out to get religion/Mormons. I can come up with both good and bad for minorities, Native Americans, cops, military, gangs/criminals, and me. It's not because we're bad and I'm not amoral. I think our main weakness is we're mortal. We have relatively weak bodies with a pretty limited lifespan, much of it spent/"wasted" trying to figure out what's going on while fending each other off/figuring each other out. What could go wrong? Lol there's many factors but honestly I'm tired and have to get up early. And yes I have way too much time on my hands.

#atheism #atheist #secular #atheists #secularism

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wannaonestars · 7 years

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soulmate! park jihoon

okay in this au you have the “you see color once you meet your soulmate”

and gOD do you hate this method you have because what the heck you’re a fashion and design major

your whole life you’ve been working with clothes in black and white and shades of gray and you had to bust your ass to get into the top university in seoul for fashion

whatever mythical being it was that gave you this curse basically said a massive fuck you to your hopes and dreams like rip

in middle and high school you would literally people-watch in different areas and different cities to meet your soulmate

actually you didn’t give a fuck about who your soulmate was you just wanted to see color and work with it to produce high quality works

and end the shitty friend moments when you’re shopping with your pals and they go “hey should i get the blue shirt or the red one”

you: oh i don’t know andrea i think the slightly darker shade of fucking gray looks nicer

andrea: :DD

SO one weekend you’re looking around some stores in this mall and searching for inspiration for your next piece

and everything’s okay and in black and white as usual when suddenly you saw this??? strange shade???????? not in black or white???????

you’re SHOOK and immediately just start darting your eyes everywhere

and finally when your eyes land on a person at the men’s section of the store a burst of saturation and color splashes in front of you

and everything seems to have just...come to LIFE

you’re shaking because everything you see now feels like a new experience....colors that you can’t identify are everywhere you turn and you’re so EXCITED to learn the names of each

you turn to your “soulmate” person with tears ready to fall but suddenly

you: oh my sweet baby jesus

you: can his fashion sense be aNY SH I TT I E R

your jaw is like on the FLOOR and you’re absolutely appalled by the young man looking through some sweatshirts

in your mind you’re furiously criticizing all the choices he’s made and making

you: why in the world would he pair that shirt with that vest

you: sweetheart that is one hell of a stupid hat you’re staring at

you: is he actually serious about picking that vest

you: what in the world did i ever do to deserve this

you’re fuming at this point and you’re ready to either stomp over and hit him on the head to get his senses back into place or walk away and pretend the meeting never happened

but then he turns around and sees you and when his eyes widen you know there’s no turning back

also you realize he’s really cute so

he walks over all shy with a hand rubbing the back of his neck and a suppressed smile to hide how excited he really is

he says “so....i guess.....we’re soulmates?” with pink steaming cheeks

it takes you like a few seconds to get over how utterly cute that was and the you’re like “yes. and your outfit is a disaster. how dare you.”

and that snaps jihoon out of his bashfulness and he’s just?? excUSE ME???? what the heck do you mean my shirt is suPER cute thank you very much

and you’re like SWEETHEART the design on that thing is utterly atrocious it doesn’t match your face at ALL

and that’s how you and your soulmate got into a huge argument in the middle of the store with ppl staring and taking pics

a few minutes later a middle aged man comes over and taps jihoon’s shoulder and says hey we gotta go you can’t stay here and act like this

jihoon glares at you before he turns around and leaves and you’re just HUFFS i hope i don’t see that kid ever again........

literally two hours later you friends spam your phone with articles about “Wanna One’s Park Jihoon’s Intense Argument With Mysterious Person”

you’re on the verge of crying after realizing you bickered with a massively popular idol and your friends are like “what kind of flowers do you want us to leave at your grave”

you couldn’t focus on anything for a week straight and you’re so scared of stepping outside and having people recognize you so you started wearing masks and sunglasses all the time

it hurt your fashion common sense to wear sunglasses while it was raining but you were too terrified

but good thing was!!! you learned the names of all the colors you could and developed this habit of differentiating even the slightest shade like “that’s not just bLUE that’s cornflower blue with a tint of turquoise on the lower right”

it would only be a matter of time before you start addressing colors by their html code name lmfao

anyways your friends are recognize that your works are becoming a lot better and the color mixing seem smoother and more elegant than before

they ask you if it's because you met your soulmate and beg you to introduce him but you know that they’d lose their shit and fall on their ass laughing if you tell them it’s actually the park jihoon you accused of having disgusting taste

you actually feel really sorry....like however much you hated the way he dressed you shouldn't have criticized him like that man

you start researching him online and you get really interested because damn he has such a nice face

in your head you could conjure so many different combinations of outfits that could work fantastically with him

a few weeks later wanna one is doing a fansign meet and greet thing and jihoon is smiling at every fan and holding their hands and thanking them for their gifts and doing his aegyo

and suddenly.....he sees YOU right in front of him with your deep blue hat and heavy trench coat to avoid being seen

he flinches at first but he can’t be rude so he fakes a smile and just goes...”hi”

and you’re like listen....i’m like seriously sorry for that fiasco back at the store..... and you proceed to apologize several times before he’s like okay!!! i got it you’re sorry

and then you take out the bag you’ve been holding and hand it to him

“here,” you say. “i included a booklet inside.”

and then you just rAN OUT OF THERE like you didn’t even talk to the rest of the members who’re looking at your back like wtf was that????

after their schedules end and they’re at their dorms jihoon takes out the bag you gave him and sees the booklet that read “ok i know i said sorry but please take a look at the clothes i picked out for u”

he’s so ready to get pissed to see you STILL criticizing his choices but then he sees all the clothes inside and the different outfit combinations drawn and written in the booklet....and he’s sOLD like these are so pretty and cute???????

and he tries everything on and woojin is like whoa and guanlin probably gets gayer

jihoon wears one set for his airport fashion the next day and all his fansites basically explode bc he reached another level of stunning

and his stylists and managers are like????? what the heckie HECK

jihoon’s all smiles and stuff and he’s....really grateful to you.....

like when he met you and found out that you were his soulmate he never felt more crestfallen because the relationship already looked darker than woojin’s past

but now...he just really wants to meet you again and thank you....and maybe talk over a cup of coffee....and just be........a soft couple that he’s always wanted to be in..........

jihoon became the top search on naver for the whole week and became the reason for your smile

it’s the first time that your work has ever been “publicized” in any shape or form and you’re so glad it’s receiving such positive feedback

a while later you get an email during your lunch break

and the sender is.....CJ E&M entertainment

they somehow figured out that you were the one who gave jihoon his clothes and discovered more of your works from blogs and stuff and now they want to hire you as a stylist for wanna one and the meeting date is....in three hours

you drop your cup of coffee and spRINT out of your university to catch a taxi cab

when you get to the meeting place at the company you realize that frick frack botta bing botta boom your hair’s a mess and you’re sweaty and you haven’t showered in three days due to your schedule and you’re in no way appropriate looking to be hired to be a person who’s in charge of making people look good

but a staff sees you and is like!! come in!!!!! and you’re like welp it’s do or die

and the company manager and wanna one members are all in a private room waiting for you and the manager starts this speech about how he adores your sense of style and how all the members would be happy to have you as their stylist and how much they’re willing to pay you but the whole time you’re mostly sneaking glances at jihoon

you know how sometimes you would sneak glances at someone who just so happens to look at you at the exact same time and it gets awkward and then both of you would look away really fast

that happens so many time with you and jihoon but...the fourth time that it happens he stares back just three seconds longer than before

he blushes SO hard because of how daring of a move that was and starts fanning himself and beside him jisung is like??? it’s like 20 degrees in here what are you doing

and then the company manager says to you “usually we hire stylists who are married to prevent any kind of special relationship between them and the members...you’ll be an exception to our rule. but the second that we see something suspicious or that you’re violating that rule, then....well, you can guess what might happen.”

and you’re like wow what the heck so i’ll lose my job for getting together with my soulmate

and then the meeting is done and the manager goes to get you your id card and all the paperwork and everyone pre much disperses except for you and jihoon

it’s a bit awkward with both of you staring at the floor....and then you try to break the silence with “this sucks”

and jihoon laughs and just says “it’ll be fine” and he looks up at you and takes a deep breath and goes “give me your number before they come back”

his heart’s racing and he’s almost afraid that you’ll say no

and when you say yes and take out your phone he feels six weights being lifted off his shoulder

and his head jihoon imagines all the possibilities for you two...snuggling besides you as he watches you draw ideas into your notebooks, holding your hand and telling you to pay a bit more attention to him, and smiling when you toss your notebook away, giving in, and leaning closer to him

you have to shake his shoulders to wake him from his daydream lol

you’re like listen bud ur cute i gUESS but we ain’t gonna kiss or anything until i organize your closet

and that’s probably when jihoon realizes this relationship will be anything but the perfect manhwa couple he’s always dreamed of

and suddenly he finds himself swiftly pecking your cheek and going “yeah well i just dID”

you:

the other 10 members watching from a crack of the door: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

he saved u in his heart real fast

#THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS LONG #this actually the stupidest and shittiest thing ive ever written but for lily i perservered #park jihoon #wanna one #wanna one jihoon #park jihoon scenarios #park jihoon imagines #wanna one scenarios #wanna one imagines #produce 101 season 2 #pd101s2 #broduce 101 #broduce 101 scenarios #i tried

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erinllouise · 3 years

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Foundations Sprint One Daily Reflection 02/02/21

What are my goals for today?

Today, I would like to grasp a good understanding of using Git and GitHub and where HTML, CSS and JS come in to play. I would like to get started on the assignment, Ko Wai Koe?

What are my challenges for today?

I struggled yesterday to stay focused on the tutorials. I got much more sleep last night so definitely feeling better today.

My back is getting quite sore from sitting all day and my posture is terrible.

PM - to be done EOD

What excited me today?

I actually got a handle of things! I definitely felt my flow and concentration was much better today and actually ended up self navigating myself around the tasks instead of having to Google everything!

This morning I began learning about branch, pull and merge. I learnt how to create a new branch from the master branch in a repo, how to send a pull request and how to merge other developers pull requests back to the main branch. I found this a little tricky (still getting used to working with the command line) but I definitely felt accomplished at the end of today and very happy with the work I had done.

I then completed three lessons of the Git-Real tutorials from the explore section and found these really helpful and took lots of notes. I found that when I was stuck or not sure of something will work, I just assumed, went with gut and “faked it til I make it”. Worse that can happen? Nothing. Literally nothing will happen cause it just wont work, so I tried something else. If its still nothing ill use the git help x command, google it or look at my notes.

Upon reflection, this is not a sustainable problem solving habit to get into. To be honest, this wasted a lot of my time and I didn’t really learn anything new in the process. I had another look at the eda handbook and re-read the problem solving framework and approach reccommended:

- get intentional and habitual

- start your timer (timeboxing)

- understand: get clear on what is being asked

- Plan: plan your approach

- Divide: break into small steps

- make an attempt at solving it (write and initial solution)

- get unstuck

- improve your solution

- Learn what you learned (reflect)

- Practice!

The first lesson included Git basics which was a nice recap of yesterday and I also did the following; create a new directory in local folder, create a repo, create a README.txt file and LICENSE.txt file in the repo, run git status, add the files to the staging area, commit the files and push the files to the remote repo.

I also learnt how to add staging files to an already committed file, to reset or bring back a commit from the repo back into staging, and bring back a file from staging. As well as how to completely undo a commit including all of its changes.

In lesson two I then learned how to create a new repository remotely and then add this repo to a local repo.

In lesson three I then learnt about cloning and branching and put this into practice using git clone URL in the command line from the remote repo I was cloning. I then learnt how to create a new branch off of the master and navigate between the two using git checkout branch.

I then moved onto the eda tasks which further included forking and cloning. This is where I completed the Ko wai koe task which took me a while to complete.

I then moved onto the final task that included creating a new repo, creating a github page and begin building a reflection blog using. For this I used the command line to bring my remote repo into a local repo and start editing the files from there. Then staging these, committing these, and pushing these to the web!

Who knows if I got all of that correct but nontheless, I did something!

What drained me today?

Just after lunch I started to feel incredibly sluggish and tired (maybe a crash from for four coffees?) so I took a little 15min nap and felt a lot better.

During breaks I tried not to scroll through my phone and found this really helpful as well.

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eunicemamaradlo · 3 years

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ICT Weekly Blogs: A gift for the holidays

Week 8: December 7 - 11

Hohoho! It's almost Christmas! Grab your cup of hot coco 'coz this will be our last ride before our Christmas break. Make sure you leave santa some cookies and a warm milk. And now, for the question of the year: Have you been naughty??

I must say though, I don't really feel the Christmas spirit compared to last year. Probably because of the pandemic and the tons of summative tests we took. Neverthelesss, my wishlist for the gift giving on our supposed-to-be Christmas party is literally ready. But, because of the pandemic, it will be cancelled. Bummer. Nah nevermind, I'll just buy myself a present. I think deserve it. (So... Mom, please don't get mad if I bail out once the pakage is ready for payment. Just consider it a Christmas gift from you.)

Anyways, my schedule for the whole week is fully packed! I had to do this, I had to do that... it's hectic. It's hard to squeeze one more subject in one day; our headaches might get headaches geez.

Here's one good news though—Tuesday's a holiday, meaning, we don't have classes. But alas, our joy completely vanished after a few seconds. Why?? 'coz we're having make-up classes. Supposedly, our quiz was due on Tuesday, but like I said, it's a holiday. Regardless, we still have that very little glimpse of hope that our sir Peralta will give us an early Christmas gift and let us pass the quiz. We tried so hard to be convincing but no avail.

Before all of that happened, sir Peralta sent the scoresheet for our upcoming quiz. This is also the trigger that made us want to get the quiz over with.

Apparently, our hands-on quiz was moved to Wednesday morning. We had minor complications about the time but it was all figured out. In the end, THE NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE.

I was sweating buckets before class started. I kept reviewing the files we coded, hoping it will give me even just a little bit of information I need to pass our so-called Christmas gift.Minutes after my breakdowns, sir Peralta finally sent the output we're about to code.

Apparently, our hands-on quiz was moved to Wednesday morning. We had minor complications about the time but it was all figured out. In the end, THE NIGHTMARE CAME TRUE.

I was sweating buckets before class started. I kept reviewing the files we coded, hoping it will give me even just a little bit of information I need to pass our so-called Christmas gift.

Minutes after my breakdowns, sir Peralta finally sent the output we're about to code.

At first look, we can all say that this is just hard as hell 'coz it looks like there are tons of overlaps and whatnot. Well, I'm just as confused as you are. I never even imagined that this will be the outcome. I guess you could say it's on a whole new level. And with a limited amount of time—45 minutes, to be exact, we have to code this entire thing. I'm having doubts I can finish this in time. We have another einstein problem.

I followed sir Peralta's advice to code it step by step, so I just followed the score-sheet and worked my way from there. My hands were trembling as I type in the code. Oh Santa please help me.

There were some flaws in the scoresheet sir Peralta gave us but it was all ok. The part that gave me a headache was those 2 boxes. I really squeezed my brain to find out how box#3 and box#4 works. I can't find the flaw in my code. SO WHICH ONE IS IT?

I constantly did breathing exercises 'coz I'm panicking.

Sir Peralta, then, gave us a hint. I think it's about putting which one goes first. I don't really remember much but you get the point, right?

In the end, I managed to finish it. I adjusted parts of it because the output is different and I had no choice because I was running out of options, so some of the box positions are different from the scoresheet.

Anyways, we can say that this hands-on quiz feels like your whole life is on the line. That means, I have to pass this one way or another.

By the way, I might as well share this. So, if I had a hard time coding this, then what more in the future? How about the apps we use? Their codes must be harder than this; considering I've repeatedly opened tumblr's HTML code plus part of google's embedded codes. All I can say is, praise to all programmers out there! I can truly feel the pain and hardwork you've put up. I wish I have those skills.

Anyways, IT"S FINALLY OVER. A big part of me was glad it was not postponed to next year. My brain will probably rest and remove all the unnecessary information during our Christmas break and that's probably all that I've learned so far. Hopefully not though.

Hang in there guys, hell week is almost over. WE CAN DO THIS! I hope santa will leave a nice present for all of you! Happy holidays! Lovelots! Stay tuned! See y'all again next year! Comment down one item on your wishlist... maybe santa will grant it.

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an-inbetween-place · 3 years

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12. Return

12:48 AM

Guess that didn’t last long, huh?

I was so close to deleting both blogs associated with this email address and starting with a clean slate. But despite the immense amounts of cringe I experienced from scrolling through this blog, I feel like it would be too much of a loss. To miss out on all those past posts/the memories they conjure up simply because of embarrassment.

So we’ll try this again, right? (I wholeheartedly understand that this reads like a bad fanfiction but I cannot stop myself 🤷🏻‍♀️good thing this isn’t my day job...)

At the risk of sounding like the first five minutes of a terrible romcom, so many things have changed.

As I type, I’m now 26 years old - a real adult, with a whole ass job and a 401K. We’re* even on the brink of purchasing real estate (and along with that a M O R T A G E - spelling it like that makes it less scary, right?).

SO, not like it’s anything that we don’t know but I graduated from NYU in 2016 (NOT with honors, thank you very much ... me) but with a major in computer science and a minor in web programming/applications (..so more computer science). We spent exactly 1 month job hunting (got our offer from bluewolf on the 1 month mark after graduation) and have spent the last four and a half years making money for the man. Halfway through that, the IBM acquisition went through and we went up in salary but went down in culture/coworkers/anything fun.

There weren’t only bad times though. We managed to squeeze in a free trip to Morocco (along with comp’ed flights to Barcelona + the Canary Islands) and have made some great friendships along the way (cue the sparks and melodic background music).

It makes me immensely sad at this moment to think about how one day, I may be scrolling through this blog and no longer in close communication with Mickey/Swati/other Bluewolf friends. I know that it’s probably going to happen (given the natural course things take - i.e. what’s happened with Leo, Mary, Shelby, Caitlin, Emily -- pps, this makes it sound like something terrible happened, which it did NOT, life just goes on) but I just wanted to note this brief moment of sadness.

In addition to that brief moment of sadness, I also regret not keeping up with this habit/not picking this up during.. let’s phrase them as ‘highlight’ moments of my life. If only I had a post - no matter how brief - during graduation, first day at work, first vacation, really good days, really bad days...

Since we don’t have that - here’s a quick rundown.

Graduation - 2016, super sunny, Yankee stadium did NOT have enough shade (I got sunburnt on my nose), super hectic afterwards, felt like something was happening in my mind/body but I couldn’t really tell what it was (like a feeling of something building up), hopped on a flight to Puerto Rico, first family vacation overseas!, June had to do something for work so everyone was tense, but it was a great week or so

Job Hunting - 2016, super nervous/scared, got really good at getting on the phone immediately after waking up from a nap, thought I crushed a interview - didn’t get it, got crushed by an interview - left the building in the elevator crying, and finally things fell into place

Working! Romas Regime - 2016, super scared of code review and being accepted by the rest of the devs, super scared about being able to complete the ask(s), learned so much, had a weird crush on K/L?

Working! Niki/Kate Regime - 201?-2018, had it under control, considered job hunting?, maybe this was the golden age...

Working! TD Regime - 2018-2019, big shift to full time/classic services client/traveling, DEF had a .. i’m not going to demean myself and say it was weird - crush on S (weirdly had a dream involving him the other night...my feelings did not get returned even in dream form.. that’s rough, buddy), got REAL close to mickey (yay :’) ), def had a lil blossoming crush on A (is it a crush if I just want to wrap him up in a blanket and keep him safe? mans is a sweetheart), learned my lesson about eating out all the time.. lol

Working! 2020 - pandemic vibes, we’ll definitely be getting into this more (in future posts? optimistic but I think I can carry that out), working from queens home is pretty sweet but that division between home + work has disappeared (a easy thing to give up in a hard year), no boss regime!, not good for career growth (aka me flip flopping between feeling guilty about this and not caring)

Just right now, figured out a hack in inserting bullet points since I was too lazy to look up the HTML for it... still got it

I knew this was going to blossom into a.. unsurmountable task once I started. I’ll have to go into more detail in future posts. HOWEVER, the reason I wanted to get back into writing posts today was because I was ~~~reminiscing~~~ about 2020.

Obviously it’s been a hard year. I can’t even begin to describe how it felt back in March -- how I woke up in a panic that grey and rainy Friday morning, fretting over buying groceries because that was the only thing I could control. The sheer defeat I felt when I got to TJs and the line was down the block. The ease and relaxation I felt when I finally got home that Saturday morning.. it felt like my entire chest was opening up.

But the sheer fact that what I’m describing is just around the fear of covid and not about loss or sickness or job security says a lot. And the fact that I felt like I had to say that on a personal blog that literally no one reads (and I’d like to keep it that way, thank you) says a lot about the guilt I feel with my privilege during this year (not that I’m trying NOT to feel guilty.. I am cool living with it).

But my conversations with Sharon lately/the posts I’ve been seeing online pushed me to write/reflect on this. A lot of good has happened for/to me this year! And I want to put it into words and celebrate it.

Here we go again with the bullets hack:

Weight Loss - I really never thought I’d be able to accomplish all the work I’ve done so far. We started in July 2019 at 174 pounds and today I weighed in at 135 pounds. Let’s cut ourselves a break and give us that last pound.. that’s 40 pounds!

Fitness - This basically goes hand in hand with the last point but I’m also .. shocked with where I’m at today. I can run a few miles, no problem. I feel good! during my run. I know even if I feel poorly, I’ll get back on the starting line and have the potential for a great run - and even if the next one isn’t, it’s still a run in the books! I know what a figure four stretch, a lateral squat, a romanian deadlift, a bear crawl, what all those things are now!

Family - I’ve spent a TON of time with my parents/family this year (it’s been my only social interaction really). It’s hard at times sure - I miss certain things from last year/pre-covid thats FOR SURE - but it’s nice to spend time with my parents as a ... ‘adult’. It’s nice for us to have this time together.. and for us to be able to make these memories.

It’s late now (lol that depends on your POV) so I’ll leave those bullets as summaries and go into further detail later on. I do want to say, I’m glad I’m doing this. As cringy as it will be to reread, I’m glad to have this down and appreciative of the reflection.

1:35 AM

*P.S. (the ROYAL) we are aware that we’re popping between the use of ‘I’ and ‘we’ here... it’s a thing we do now. It’ll make us cringe in the future, WE KNOW

#no posts will ever be revised #we live in the now #lol i said this is late but what i really meant was this is late for me to be using my brain

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