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buoyantsaturn · 4 months

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C.J. buoyantsaturn's 2023 year in review

JANUARY

But I can't help getting caught up in it all [12,446 words] summary: Nico, Leo, and Will are living their happily ever after - until an old friend moves back into town.

FEBUARY

Then you hold life like a face between your palms ... and you say, yes, I will take you / I will love you, again. [4,718 words] summary: “You’re still going to marry me someday, right?” Nico’s head snapped up, drizzling paint across the floor as he lifted the roller from the pan too early - which was exactly why they’d chosen to finish up painting first. Nico snorted, a gorgeous sound that sent Will’s heart fluttering. “Of course I am. What kind of question is that?”

MARCH

crocheted mushroom [1,618 words] summary: It had started off with something Will had mentioned in passing - a specific plant that only grew in the Underworld with its own magical healing myth. The next time Nico had gone to run an errand for his father, he returned with the flower, pressed and fragile, blandly announcing to Will that - according to Persephone - the myth was bullshit, even if the flower was pretty.

APRIL

How many kinds of love might there be in the world, and how many formations might they make [5,908 words] summary: Nico turned toward his husband with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. He took a second to admire the work that Will and Annabeth had done - she’d designed a coop that was a perfect scale replica of the Apollo cabin back at camp, complete with nesting boxes where the bunk beds were placed. Nico called back, “Where do you think we’re going to find magic chickens in the middle of Texas?” Or, five friends who come to visit Nico and Will, and one who doesn't.

MAY

Work and play, they're never okay to mix the way we do [77,579 words] summary: “We don’t have an appointment,” Reyna stated without greeting, lifting her eyes from her computer screen to look at them both, though her hands stayed where they were on her home row keys. “We shouldn’t be long,” Jason replied as he took a seat in one of the chairs opposite her desk. When Nico didn’t move to follow, Jason glanced back at him and nodded to the other open seat. He didn’t speak again until after Nico had sat down. “We want Will Solace to open for Lost Heroes when we go out on our next tour.”

JUNE

Put the Car in Drive (don't stop running 'til you're long gone) [17,487 words] summary: Because, no matter what, Will would always come home to Nico.

JULY

lemon drops [3,753 words] summary: "Um. Did you ever do the whole…law school…thing, like you said you wanted to? Because I think I might need a lawyer.”

AUGUST

Doctor Doctor, Give Me the News (I've Got a Bad Case of Loving You) [29,023 words] summary: As he started out from behind the reception area for the first time in four hours, Leo called out to him, “Hey, by the way, Apollo’s doing that thing again where he talks about adding more staff members. Just be prepared, ‘cause you know he’s going to ask your opinion. Since you’re his favorite, and all.”

SEPTEMBER

(all i really want is to be your) Boyfriend [2,941 words] summary: “Nico, you’re never going to believe this!” Hazel exclaimed. “CPR got back together!” Nico turned his face toward the ceiling, wondering what he could have possibly done to deserve this.

OCTOBER

yet i need to talk to you [4,116 words] summary: “Being away from you just makes me think about how I never want to be without you, and--” Nico snorted. “Are you asking me to marry you? Haven’t we done this already?”

NOVEMBER

Remember nights we spent on hard wood floors [67,859 words] summary: A sudden, tense silence passed between them. “Is it really this easy to start a band?” Lou asked. “Probably not,” Nico replied, “but we should meet up sometime to see what we can do.”

DECEMBER

bear skin rug [1,077 words] summary: Nico spun back around, a bright smile on his face as he said to Will, “See? How cool is--” Black spots danced in his eyes, and before he could say another word, Nico passed out.

#fic rec #solangelo #jasico #will solace #nico di angelo #jason grace #soldezangelace #leo valdez #mine #my writing

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macaroni-and-tree · 4 months

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Adding onto this post from last year, when does the protagonist get to Hisui? (long post under the cut)

First we can narrow it down to the month,

Laventon arrives in a cold enough month to need at least 3 layers and a scarf, so we have a base estimate range of November-March for Laventon’s arrival

It looks like the protagonist got here around maybe spring or early summer. April-July to give a range.

Its definitely warm enough for them to wear a t-shirt and shorts, so maybe not as early as April. It cant be after July because Laventon arrives sometime in November-March. However, November and December have to be taken off the table because that would make it Febuary-March, which, does not sound or look correct considering the protagonist’s attire.

So now we’re at January-March for Laventon’s arrival and April-June for the protag’s. Now if I had to take an educated guess and pick the months, I would say March and June. Here’s why:

Typhoon season ranges from July-November. Obviously they would want to avoid reaching Sinnoh (which is based off Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan) during that period. It would take roughly 32ish at the quickest to go from Galar (England) to Sinnoh.

So they’re gonna want to be in that area before July and after November. So they probably left in around late January or early February to get there during what is still a cold season.

And then a year and 3 months after March is June of the next year.

Next we can get the year

using Laventon’s camera we can deduce the game happens sometime in between 1924-1926.

How do I know that? The model of the camera he has is similar to these 2, and since we’ve already determined he bought this thing in Galar and he got here from Galar a year and 3 months before the game.

The earliest this game could take place would be 1924, one year after the Furet Camera v1, considering he bought the camera the year he left. I think a safe guess is 1925 because it’s a french (Kalosian) Camera and I’m not 100% sure if or when the first camera was brought to England (in our case, Galar).

So my final conclusion is that Pokémon Legends Arceus takes place in June of 1925 and Laventon Gets Here in March of 1924.

Thank you for your time

#pokemon #pokémon legends arceus #prof laventon #professor laventon #pokemon laventon #pla #akari pokemon #rei pokemon #i did this while off my meds #pkmn #correct me if anything is wrong #i might come back and do the exact time of day for the player falling

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nordleuchten · 11 months

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Do you know if Adrienne was mad at Lafayette for his affairs?

Dear @mxtallmadge,

I think that “mad” is the wrong word and that “disappointed” is a better fit. That being said, there is little to no written record left by Adrienne concerning her husband’s affairs (that I do know of). She was very private in that regard, so everything is either circumstantial evidence or speculation.

When we look at La Fayette’s affairs, there is plenty of discourse with whom, why and when he had an affair. In an early version of his memoirs there are some allusions to his affairs so we can be certain that there were some. The passage was removed form the final version of his memoirs. Anyway, there are two women histories are convinced La Fayette had affairs with - Diane de Simiane and Aglaé, comtesse d'Hunolstein. But even with these two, there are people who argue that an affair never took place.

We will come back to these two, particular Diane de Simiane, but we first have to take in the context of the time to understand how Adrienne must have felt about La Fayette’s affairs. Because the thing is, theirs was an arranged marriage in 18th century France and they were part of the nobility. Affairs were not uncommon, in fact, sometimes not having an affair was more uncommon than having one. That is not to say that these circumstances make it easier, if you love your partner the way Adrienne loved La Fayette. But she probably was not surprised, after all her own father, uncles, the King – they all had affairs. Her father even boasted that his mistress had formerly been the mistress of Louis XV.

Second, Adrienne had never to fear that La Fayette would abandon her. She was his wife, mother of his only four children, there were no illegitimate children. He loved her and although he strayed, he always returned. There was never any sign of contempt, of displeasure with her, there was no talk of a divorce or a separation. In fact, La Fayette refused to remarry after Adrienne’s death. Again, this not necessarily made Adrienne feel better, but she had at least never to worry that La Fayette would not return. For him his affairs seem more like adventures and less like true romantic affairs. La Fayette wrote in his Memoirs (Vol. 1):

I shall spare you also the confession of an unedifying youth, and even of the story of two romances dedicated to beauties who were then very celebrated, in which my head had a larger part than my heart. The first, scarcely begun, broke against the obstacles of jealousy with which I collided head-on. The other-in which I wanted at first to triumph less over the object herself than over a rival-I pursued, despite long interruptions, on every possible occasion. Our relationship went from esteem all the way to the contrary sentiment, and was finally terminated by a catastrophe unconnected with me. It is more pleasant for me to speak of the tender and stable affection that I never cease to feel for the woman whom I had the good fortune to marry.

Idzerda Stanley J. et al., editors, Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: Selected Letters and Papers, 1776–1790, Volume 1, December 7, 1776–March 30, 1778, Cornell University Press, 1977, pp. 3-6.

La Fayette’s affairs (that we know of) and also the occasional flirts later in life were mostly marked by being short and very passionate (to the point of being childish.)

Adrienne most likely learned to accept and live with it, knowing that her place was still secured and that La Fayette spend more time with her and the children than with his mistresses.

But I promised you to come back to Aglaé and Diane. In Virginies Memoirs of her mother there is a letter published, written by La Fayette to one of his closest friends (and at that point also his in-law), Latour-Mabourg. The letter was written in January 1808, shortly after Adrienne’s death and gives great detail about Adrienne’s last days. There are two little passages that are interesting in the context of the question:

She [Adrienne] said to Mme de Simiane: “I was going to have a malignant fever, but I shall be well attended to, and shall get the better of it.”

And the second one:

“The last day she [Adrienne] told me: “When you see Mme de Simiane, give her my love.” Thus her heart was all life when her poor limbs were already numbed by approaching death.

Mme de Lasteyrie, Life of Madame de Lafayette, L. Techener, London, 1872, pp. 397-432.

We can see from these accounts that Diane was around Adrienne and the La Fayette’s in general during this time and that Adrienne did not seem to mind. Diane was a friend of the family, she was close to Adrienne’s aunt, Madame de Tessé and probably also to one of Adrienne’s sisters. But Diane was not only with the La Fayette’s during Adrienne’s last days, she also spend some considerable time with the (extended) family during their exile in Danish-Holstein. She most likely was a guest at Anatsasie’s wedding. In the Memoirs of Adrienne’s sister Anne de Noailles, Marquise de Montagu, we can read that:

Eine Freundin der Gräfin Tessé, die Marquise von Simiane, entfloh mit einem falschen Paß versehen und auf ihrer Reise von einem alten Jakobiner, einem sogenannten Freunde des Herrn von La Fayette, behütet, aus Frankreich; sie kam gegen Ende des Winters [1797/98] nach Witmold und war nicht wenig überrascht, hier, wo sie die Leutchen ziemich traurig anzutreffen wähnte, bei ihrer Ankunft von nichts Anderem als von Heiratsprojekten [the marriage of La Fayette’s oldest daughter Anastasie with Charles Latour-Maubourg] und einer Kindstaufe [The Marquis de Monatgue, Adrienne’s sister was pregnant] zu hören.

Marquise of Montague, Anna Pauline Dominika von Noailles, Marquise von Montague – Ein Lebensbild, Münster, Aschendorff, 1871, p. 203.

My translation:

A friend of the Countess Tessé, the Marquise de Simiane, escaped from France with a false passport and protected on her journey by an old Jacobin, a so-called friend of M. de La Fayette; she came to Witmold towards the end of winter [1797/98] and was not a little surprised to hear of nothing but marriage projects [the marriage of La Fayette’s oldest daughter Anastasie with Charles Latour-Maubourg] and a child's baptism [The Marquis de Monatgue, Adrienne’s sister was pregnant] here, where she thought she found the people rather sad.

There is a second paragraph in the same book:

Frau von Montague, ihrer Entbindung nahe, half ihnen [Adrienne’s children], die glorreichen Wunden ihrer Mutter verbinden; dann, wenn diese Pflicht erfüllt war, beschäftigte sie sich mit dem Brautschatz, mit der Haushaltung und dem Gute [Witmold], gehend und summend; “rund wie ein Thurm”, aber unermüdlich. Man konnte nicht umhin, sie zu bewundern und doch über sie zu lachen. Frau von Simiane, die zugegen war, behauptete, sie würde sicherlich in einem jener großen Schränke, die sie in jedem Augenblick aufmachte, niederkommen.

Marquise of Montague, Anna Pauline Dominika von Noailles, Marquise von Montague – Ein Lebensbild, Münster, Aschendorff, 1871, p. 205.

My translation:

Madame de Montague, near her confinement, helped them bind up their mother's glorious wounds; then, when that duty was done, she occupied herself with the dowry, with the housekeeping, and with the manson, walking and humming; “round as a tower”, but tireless. One could not help admiring her and yet laughing at her. Madame de Simiane, who was present, said she would certainly give birth in one of those large cupboards that she opened at every moment.

You see, La Fayette’s affairs, in the context of their time, his behaviour and the reactions of his friends and family are quite nuanced but I hope I could shine some light in the topic. I hope you have/had a great day!

#ask me anything #mxtallmadge #marquis de lafayette #la fayette #adrienne de lafayette #adrienne de noailles #diane de simiane #virginie de la fayette #anastasie de la fayette #marquise de montague #french history #history #letter

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thislovintime · 1 year

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Peter Tork and James Lee Stanley promoting Stranger Things Have Happened at Costa Mesa’s Tower Records on December 2, 1995. Photos by Pat Smith.

“He plays ‘em, and he sings the songs [on Stranger Things Have Happened]. Backing him on the album are Dolenz, Nesmith, ex-Eagle Timothy B. Schmit and his current music mate/opening act, acoustic guitarist and yarnspinner James Lee Stanley. ‘I want some ambiguity — not straight moon-June-spoon-lovey-dovey,’ Tork says of his music. He delivers that straightaway in the title track [listen], a world-beatish ditty that explores love through the metaphor of Mao's Long March. ‘The inference to be drawn is that once you've fallen in love, then the work begins,’ he explains. ‘Everybody wants to think you fall in love and that's it, like in movies and pop music. The truth is that's not the truth. The bloom of infatuation always wears off. Then what?’” - Chicago Tribune, January 19, 1996

“Songs on the album span from hard rock and reggae to classical. ‘The music is eclectic, very broad-based,’ Tork said. ‘Peter is a multi-faceted guy,’ [James Lee] Stanley said. ‘He is largely influenced by reggae.’” - The Defender, February 21, 1996

Q: “Why, after all this time, do we finally have the first Peter Tork CD?” Peter Tork: “I don’t know. Shouldn’t I have ever put one out? Oh, you mean why did it take me so long? I don’t exactly know… I needed James and he couldn’t help as long as I lived in the San Francisco Bay area. That’s one thing. I suppose, too, that until recently, I wasn’t equipped psychologically.” [...] Q: “How did you come to work with your producer, James Lee Stanley?” PT: “James is about my oldest friend. No, make that my friend of longest standing. I worked with him once before, in my early days, and I thought, as a result of that experience, that it would be very good for me to work with him again. Plus, he was in the neighborhood.” Q: “How did you pick the songs?” PT: “Each one differently. Some of them I’ve had on my mind to put [on] my record for a long time. Others we just sort of played and started to record.” [...] Q: “Why didn’t you put Long Title on Stranger Things Have Happened?” Peter Tork: “We tried, but it’s how these things go sometimes. We weren’t happy with the way it was turning out, so we dropped it. Maybe the next solo album.” Q: “How do you write a song. What starts you off.” PT: “Pretty women start me off, and there’s no one way to write. Sometimes someone says something that sounds interesting, and you jot it down. Sometimes you find yourself humming something that you realize you haven’t exactly heard before. The hard part is ‘asking’ for the inspiration to get the other parts, other verses, bridges, if any, etc.” - Beachwood Confidential newsletter, 1995

“‘It’s kind of middle-of-the-road, up pop,’ [Tork] says. ‘Micky and Mike Nesmith sing backup on a couple of songs. If it isn’t available in your local record store, you can get it by calling 1-800-Not-Ribs-0!’” - Los Angeles Times, November 12, 1995 (x)

“That’s another reason that we were friends for life, because I saw him shine when, you know, there were no Monkees, the Monkees idea wasn’t even on the horizon. And he was a wonderful performer and a wonderful musician, and I saw him like that. And I think the fact that he got that from me, that kind of respect all through that period, probably helped the bond as well.  And I remember that, after The Monkees’ resurgence, I think it was about, it might have been ’90, ’91 or something, and I said, ‘Peter, why haven’t you made a record? All these guys have made solo records, and you haven’t.’ And he was so humble, he just said, ‘Well, you know, no one has asked me.’ And I said, ‘Jesus, Peter, I have a studio, I have a record label, I have distribution.’ I said, ‘Why don’t we, at some point, make you a solo record, and we’ll shop it, you know. And the worst case scenario, if literally nobody likes it but us, we can put it out on my label, which is distributed by Capitol. So we can’t lost, you know.’ And, you know, I just, I just said, ‘Let’s just do that.’ And I, I must admit that my vision of the first album, because I had seen him perform this organic acoustic music, I wanted to present him doing those, those banjo things. I wanted to make, essentially, an acoustic record, so that I could demonstrate that there was no… no phony stuff behind him, that he was the guy doing this stuff. I wanted to present that so it would shift peoples’ conception of him. Yes, he’s a Monkee, and he was famous and he was a teen idol. He was also always this musician, he played the acoustic guitar — he really played the guitar, he really played the banjo, he really played the piano. And I wanted to do that. But he said, ‘James, you know, I’m not that guy anymore. I want to do a rock ’n’ roll — I’m a rocker, I want to do a rock ’n’ roll record. And I wanna do, I like all these synths and stuff.’ So I said, ‘Okay, well, I mean, let us… let me see what I can do to help further your vision.’ One of the things I’ve always done as a producer is try to figure out what the vision of the artist was, and then serve that. And I learned that from reading about George Martin, who never discouraged The Beatles. He never said, ‘That’s a stupid idea, we can’t do that.’ He always tried to help bring to life whatever the vision was that the artist had. So that’s what I tried to do with Stranger Things Have Happened. Tried to just assist him in realizing that vision. […] [With the 7A re-release] I went back and revisited the record, and I’ll tell you the truth, I liked it a lot. I was, I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked it. I mean, it was Peter’s thing, not mine, and it sounded like a Peter record. It didn’t sound like one of my records; if you listen to my stuff, it’s much different than that. But I liked it, you know. I thought it was very inventive and very varied. [...] [As a songwriter, Peter] was always trying to do something which you hadn’t heard. Which is pretty rare, because many of the hit songs that you hear are derivative, they sound like some other hit song. Peter always wanted to write something that you hadn’t heard before. [...] I mean, his writing was interesting, you know, and fun to play. Always surprising.“ - James Lee Stanley, The Monkees Pad Show

#Peter Tork #Tork quotes #<3 #James Lee Stanley #1990s #90s Tork #Stranger Things Have Happened #1995 #Tork songs #long read #Peter deserved better #Tork performances #<333 #Two Man Band #The Defender (newspaper)#Chicago Tribune #Beachwood Confidential Newsletter #can you queue it

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justplainsalty · 10 months

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How Soon is Now? 🌻

Me, wading through the angst muck like a pig in shit ☝️. I would not make this a song fic but it would be multichap and every chapter would have an epigraph with a section of lyrics.

[Insert footage of me deleting and rewriting this several times.] TIME FOR BULLET POINTS.

Tess falls pregnant in September.

Unfortunately, she does not realize this until early December. She had assumed she was pre-menopausal, and food has been scarce. She's happy to not have periods.

She and Joel have been busy, busy prepping for winter, doing as many runs as possible, stashing food away so they can survive until spring.

[More under the jump.]

She has an IUD. Had an IUD. It was due to expire anyway, but turns out it fell out sometime during her last two extremely hellish periods, when she'd been stuck shivering and groaning over the toilet for hours. (Thank god those only happen a few times a year.) She figures it all out when her breasts are tender and she can't feel the strings anymore.

Unfortunately part II, FEDRA requires pregnancies be registered, and bans abortions for people who fall pregnant from August through November. They have to keep up enough population to feed their supply chain, and the summer months are when resources are most plentiful for supporting births and families newborns.

Tess will have an abortion, one way or another. She refuses to be pregnant, refuses to go through that misery again, especially at her age, refuses to put their work on pause and leave Joel without a partner, refuses to risk death during the delivery process, refuses to bring a child into this fucking hellscape world.

She doesn't tell Joel any of this. She'll figure it out on her own, as soon as possible; he doesn't need the weight of this burden on his shoulders. And maybe, a part of her doesn't want to face what it would do their relationship. She doesn't know what the consequences will be, but she knows they'll show up if she doesn't act fast, and there will be a reckoning.

She starts taking more risks during their runs, and during their daily life -- drinking more, going out without Joel more, taking the more physically demanding route around and outside the QZ, provoking the people in the slums known to be happy to swing a fist at anyone so she can put herself in that path. She won't go to one of the dirty back-alley butchers with unsterilized tools. She'll figure this out on her own. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Joel calls her out on it one day, and it's the knock-down drag-out fight of a lifetime. He gets her backed into a figurative corner. And the truth comes out.

Joel turns white and storms out. Tess gives him a minute, and then snatches up a bottle of moonshine that was for trade and storms out in the opposite direction. She won't wait at home for him to slink back, shitfaced and having whatever reaction he's going to have. She's glad Tommy is gone, if he was still here, Joel would be tempted to tell his brother.

She stays out as late as possible, going nowhere in particular, just stalking their usual paths around the QZ, ducking the checkpoints. It's so much harder without Joel, she'd forgotten.

By the time she gets back, she's hammered. She lies down on the cold, refreshing, disgusting tile of their bathroom and hopes, just this once, not to wake up in the morning. Her arm and the tile beneath her are wet. She's not crying, is she?

Joel is back the next morning. They're both hungover, so prickly with each other. It's not forgiven, and it's not forgotten. Even if they somehow seem to be in consensus that this pregnancy is bad and should be terminated, Joel's reasons feel so much more personal. He never wanted to be a father again. He doesn't blame her for getting pregnant, but he blames her for not telling him until whatever date it is, late December or early January. She doesn't understand why it's the case, but somehow, for him, that's worse. And he blames her for the foolhardy way she's been acting. And probably, on some level, the anger is probably covering up for his fear, so it's particularly vicious. It's hard not to take it to heart. He's angry at her. She starts to withdraw, to lash out. To assume everything from him is said and done backhandedly.

They don't patch it up. It's approaching February. Tess is probably close to five months along. Her body is changing; it remembers her last pregnancy from a lifetime ago, when her son was born, and is trucking along fast enough that she's looking quite far into the pregnancy. She hates every single day. Time is running out for her, for them.

As with everything in their lives, the best luck and the worst luck seem to collide and happen at the same moment:

Someone she crossed has snitched. One of their regular FEDRA clients warns them that FEDRA is coming to pick her up, now, tonight, to put her in custody until she can be screened by an OB/GYN, and possibly to be kept in "protective custody" until her little parasite is born.

They're out at a drop. Someone has changed their mind, doesn't like the terms. Ammo has been scarce this far from FEDRA patrols, so no one has guns.

Someone comes barreling at Tess. Normally Joel would step in front. He meets her eyes, looking sick, and steps aside, faking a stumble.

He lets them hold him back, sagging in their grip. His eyes and face are dead. He has gone away somewhere else.

She wakes up in FEDRA custody. She hurts all over. That fucker was thorough.

There's a doctor, comes in with a clipboard and a falsely sympathetic expression. No heartbeat. Sick relief warring with strange and unwelcome shame. Not for what she'd done, but for the how. For the expression she'd seen on Joel's face. For the fact that she'd put too much stock in blissful ignorance and gotten pregnant in the first place.

The FEDRA fuck can't keep her mouth shut:

Her fetus, their child. It was a boy.

A son, an heir, of their nebulous and unstable empire, of things that could be snatched away at a moment's notice, of nothing in particular.

Send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it!

#long post #i did a thing #tlou #if i were going to actually write this fic i would work harder to make it more in character and use better words #pls know that these aren't necessarily my 100% head canons for these characters; im just playin around.#but i'm writing this in a noisy hostel common room so i can charge my laptop #this is no thoughts just vibes bc i can't even hear myself think rn #ask meme #ask game #anyway i have a lot of thoughts about abortion and population control and birth control in the QZ so i could go all day #hahahaha highly reconsidering posting this. why am i so anxious about this. it doesn't feel quality enough. it feels Bad.#fuck it i can always delete later.

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tomorrowusa · 7 months

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In the UK, the Labour Party just flipped a seat in a by-election. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have been doing this quite a bit recently.

This time it was in Scotland in the constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Labour support skyrocketed over results in the last general election. The seat had previously been held by a member of the scandal-plagued Scottish National Party (SNP) which has 44 seats in Parliament.

Labour has defeated the SNP to win the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. The party's candidate, Michael Shanks, took the Westminster seat with 17,845 votes - more than double the number polled by the SNP's Katy Loudon. The result was a swing of 20.4% from the SNP to Labour. The by-election was called after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was ousted by her constituents for breaking Covid rules. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a "seismic" night and that people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West had sent "a clear message".

This was the second-best result for Labour in this constituency since the second Margaret Thatcher win.

The ruling Conservative Party saw its support drop by 11.1 points in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. It's their latest disappointment in the unusual number of by-elections which have taken place since the 2019 general election.

But the worst may be yet to come for the Conservatives.

I was looking at a YouGov/The Times poll taken in the UK in early October and noticed something astonishing. Only 2% of those polled in the 18 to 24 age group said they would vote Conservative. Even when poll results are weighted by likelihood of voting, that number creeps up to just 4%.

If that's too small to see, check out the PDF for full poll results.

I don't regard polls as infallible, but this looks downright miserable for the future of the party of Brexit.

The slightly less poor Conservative standing with the 25 to 49 group (10% raw, 15% weighted) shows that the longtime trend of voters becoming more conservative as they age is not as strong as it might have been in the past.

The next general election must be held no later than 28 January 2025. Though it would probably be held sometime between May and December of 2024. Of the 21 general elections since 1945, 15 have taken place in May, June, or October.

#uk #scotland #by-election #rutherglen and hamilton west #parliament #house of commons #labour party #snp #lib dems #conservative party #michael shanks #tory support plummets with young people #uk general election

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beatriceeagle · 9 months

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I love your theories about what “A Merry Note” and “New Beginning” are about, but do you have any thoughts on why they got uploaded when they did? Especially “A Merry Note”, because it seems to me that Peter and Balthazar weren’t really talking that much over the break (although what their relationship looked like post-one foot is still something I can’t wrap my head around). And for “New Beginning”, do you think that was peter-initiated, in an attempt to cheer a “freaking out” Balthazar up?

So many thoughts. Once upon a time, obsessively laying out the pre-Wellington timeline in LoLiLo was like half of what I thought about.

So just to lay out some timeline stuff that I think helps in this conversation, as I've mentioned before, I'm pretty sure that "New Beginnings" was uploaded at the wrong "in-universe" date. "A Merry Note" and "New Beginnings" are the first two videos on Peter's channel, and in the "Balth in a Bath" videos, set in February, Balth says that there are only two videos on the channel—but the upload date of "New Beginnings" is in March. So I think we can safely say that the intended in-universe upload date of "New Beginnings" is sometime in late January/early February, before the filming of "Balth in a Bath."

That in mind, it seems like the timeline of events is probably something like:

October 31, 2014: Ben films "one foot in sea."

November 1, 2014: Pedro attends Balthazar's gig, sees him talking to Damian, and leaves without talking to him.

November 2014: Balth and Damian get back together.

Late December, 2014: School ends. (Going by google for this one.)

December 24, 2014: "A Merry Note" uploaded.

January 1, 2015: Ben speaks to Balth and Peter at a New Year's party, and they agree to live together in Wellington.

January 2015 (no particular order):

Balth's family reunion

Balth and Damian break up

Late January/early February 2015 (in order):

flat move-in

"New Beginnings"

"Balth in a Bath"

(I can reference in-universe sources for all of this, but I'm trying to keep this relatively brief.)

So my takeaway from this, in combination with the vague things that the characters say about their emotional states at this point (and the tone of Balth's songs) is that Peter and Balth were distant and busy between "one foot" and "Balth in a Bath," but they weren't totally out of communication. They were very close friends, so they probably did hang out, especially before school ended. (And I do think "A Merry Note" was probably filmed before or very shortly after the end of classes.) They just weren't talking about anything meaningful during that time, in part because Balth was still dating Damian. (And then after Balth and Damian broke up, they were kind of scattered and busy and not seeing each other.) And so I would imagine "A Merry Note" came out of what was, on the surface, a pretty normal hang-out. Talking about and making music is just one of the ways that Peter and Balth communicate.

As for "New Beginnings," I think it was probably an honest communication of Balth's emotional state at that point! He would have written and recorded it before "Balth in a Bath," before Peter went off the rails, before he himself got overloaded with school. I really do think that Balth viewed the move to Wellington as a fresh start, a chance at a new beginning. He'd just graduated, he'd just broken up with someone with whom he clearly had some baggage, he was in a new town and starting a new phase of his life—optimism seems really reasonable there.

It's just that we only get to see about 15 total minutes out of that time period, so it reads as very odd from the vantage point of the rest of LoLiLo.

#lovely little losers #nothing much to do #lolilo meta #meta #all around great guy pedro donaldson #balthazar jones #ask

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this-is-spn20 · 1 year

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Day 25 of Christmas: Celebrate Christmas!!

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! This was such a cool writing experience for me! I've never written this much in my life. But as fun as this was, it was exhausting. Honestly, I'll probably never do this again. But I might do something similar! It just depends! But if I do ever do this again, it'll have to be a lot of prep time around it. But maybe next year, I can collab with other writers and make this a collaborative thing! Perhaps even have you guys make submissions! Either way, Thank you to all the new people who followed me and my small blog! 51 followers! I might not be a lot to some, but I never thought I'd get this many! So thank you for spending time with me. Also worth mentioning, I will not be writing for 2 weeks, I need time to recharge. So if anyone sends in any requests, they will not be written/posted until mid-January. Yes, this means requests are officially OPEN again. I just won't be posting anything until the middle of the month.

I wish you all a prosperous New Year, and may 2023 have mercy on us all. Stay safe and healthy.

Spread Love,

-Marissa

The word count is 3,245. (I'm so sorry)

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Today was the day!! You were finally at the most exciting day of the year! You spent all month, not just sitting around, sulking in the bunker all month long. You did so many things and had so many adventures! So many new stories and memories made by all your friends, and you couldn’t be more grateful to Sam and Dean for going along with your crazy shenanigans. When you first brought the idea up to them, you just knew they’d reject it hard. But nope! They were reluctant, but they went with it, for you. And you hoped your presents would be enough to pay them back. You’d always loved giving to people. Giving so much that you barely left any compassion for yourself sometimes. You just felt that if everyone around you was happy, so were you. If there was a problem? You’d be the first to try to handle it. You were just a bit worried the boys wouldn’t like your gifts. You’d thought about them really hard before even considering buying them. But still, sometimes all the brainstorming in the world could lead absolutely nowhere when it comes down to the mercy of the recipient.

It was 7 am on the dot when your bed was shaking and you jolted awake, immeadiently you dug under your pillow and pulled out a pocket knife all in a flash. The person unlucky enough to be at the end of the knife was nonother than hellraiser Dean. Your knife landed on his forehead and he quickly jerked away, slightly losing his smile. You grumbled something about how you should beat his ass for scaring you silly like that. But he just laughed mockingly at you. He practically dragged you out of your bed and down the hall to the map room. Your brain and legs were barely working so you struggled to keep up with Dean’s long legs. Sam sat in one of the chairs and shook his head as he saw Dean drag you in with puppy-like excitement. You took and Dean took to sitting on the floor, eagerly awaiting Sam to do the same. Early in December, you’d all agreed with everyone getting 5 presents from each person. Meaning everyone is getting 10 presents. Which you all figured would be more than enough. You all agreed to rock paper scissors as a way to determine who would open their presents first.

Whenever that game came into the mix, Dean always lost first. And indeed that’s what happened today. You and Sam were locked in the childish game, staring at the other’s hands intensely. Trying to decipher the other’s next move. You and Sam played the game just for fun sometimes, it was a good little mind game to occupy each other for a bit. And it was always a toss-up of who would win. Today, Sam won. Throwing his hands in the air in victory, You mumbled something about not being awake enough for the game. Dean and Sam declared you a sore loser while you helped Sam grab all 10 of his gifts. The first box Sam went for was a medium-sized box and something rattled inside a bit he didn’t shake it even more fearing it was fragile. The wrapping paper went one way and the box lid went the other. Finally, Sam slightly gasped at the light blue polaroid camera. Sam loved it if the way he held it so gently was any indication. Dean then spoke up and said, “Well for all your modern technology crap, I know you still appreciate the older things. I bought extra film in case you go overboard, like usual.” Dean smiled shyly at Sam. Sam gave Dean a subtle bitch face but thanked Dean for the gift. He really did like it. He would always be a fan of classics. Sam absolutely loved the air fryer you gave him. He’d been begging Dean for one for months to no avail. You brushed him off to avoid more blushing when he expressed his gratitude to you. He was speechless when he opened the black leather boots you got him. You noticed his current boots were hanging on their last life and thought it’d be a nice present. Sam seemed to enjoy Dean’s Bluetooth earbuds and speaker, glad he wouldn’t always have to listen to Dean’s music on the road now. He also really liked the leather messenger bag from Dean. Sam being the resident researcher meant he had to keep a lot of books, his laptop, and papers with him at all times. He wasn’t really a fan of carrying his workload with him at all times. At least he had somewhere to put his stuff on the road now. The solar phone charging bank was perfect for his long hikes. He often had to end his hikes early because of his phone battery. He couldn’t do late-night hikes either for the same reason. But now, with Dean’s gift, it was possible now and he couldn’t be happier. The last gift from Dean was a mini projector for Sam’s room. Anytime Sam wanted to watch an old movie or anything really on a projector, was now a possibility. Sam was excited and looked as if he would burst with joy. But he wasn’t done just yet. He still had to open the rest of your presents.

Sam tore into the wrapping paper again with fervor. It was a huge package, and he couldn’t hold himself back as he let out a short but happy little giggle. You giggled too at his adorable, bright, happy face. When the package was opened, Sam couldn’t believe his eyes. It was beautiful. A gorgeous 4 feet tall bookshelf lay in front of Sam. He stuttered and stumbled with his words a bit before he just grabbed you and held you in a big, warm hug. His voice wavered even with his attempts to keep his voice steady. He whimpered a soft, shaky thank you in your ear. You told him he still had one more gift before he dissolved into a puddle of tears. He let go of you and opened his last present. He opened it to see a box of cassette tapes. He was confused until he saw the cassette player at the bottom. Sam looked at Dean who just shrugged his shoulder and sat up a bit, not knowing where this was heading either. You told Sam to play the first tape. He popped the first tape into the player and your voice played through its small, but fairly loud speakers.

“Hey Sam, I wanted to do something special for you for Christmas. This box of tapes is me reading your favorite stories to you and singing your favorite songs to you as lullabies! I’ve included a few other songs and stories you may not know just for a little variety. I hope you enjoy it. Sweet dreams Sam.” Sam pressed pause on the tape. Sam looked over at you to see your face flushed with a shy smile on your face. You looked up and saw both boys look at you in awe. They couldn’t believe you did something so sweet for Sam. Dean had a small smile of approval. There was a hint of jealousy you saw there. But he had his own set of tapes coming. He just didn’t know that. Sam was so happy. There were tears in his eyes again and he could barely hold them back. Letting one tear slip out. His voice was soft as he said another thank you and held the tape player close to his chest.

Dean was about to play rock paper scissors with you but you told him you’d let him go first. He was surprised but didn’t complain as you and Sam helped him gather all the presents addressed to him. Dean went to open a long present. Excited to see it was from Sam he ripped the paper off and threw the lid somewhere you didn’t register. You let out a ruckus laugh and Sam did too. Dean was pissed as he pulled a walking cane out of the box. Dean immediately gave death glares to both of you. You were pretty sure he wanted to beat Sam with it. Sam slowly stopped laughing and explained the gift hoping his dear brother would beat him while he was speaking.

“You know when we hunt, sometimes we have to hike or set up camp. Well, I bought the cane so that it’ll be easier for you to walk through whatever terrain and have a quick weapon to defend yourself if you’re alone or you just need something quick. That and you’re old.” Sam smirked and Dean was getting ready to smack Sam in the back of the head. Sam interrupted his thoughts by telling Dean to twist the little elephant at the top of the cane. Dean was surprised that the top could come off and as he pulled the top of the cane away from the rest, there was a long, fairly thick almost sword-like blade that was attached to the elephant. You stared at the blade in wonder and Dean did the same. It was so fucking cool. He loved it Although Dean did threaten Sam with a good smack if there was another gift like that in the future. Sam laughed and brushed Dean off, knowing that he would never do such a thing. Dean moved on to his next present with slight excitement. He opened another one from Sam. It was a coffee maker! Dean tore the remaining packaging on it and admired it as he slightly sat back. The bunker’s old machine was getting worse and worse. Instead of coffee, it was producing something close to a sludge instead of a drink. So Dean having his morning cup of caffeine and sugar wouldn’t be your guy’s problem anymore. The next few gifts had Dean damn near jumping around like a little kid. Dean really liked the pair of boots you got for him, and damn near tackled you when he open his own set of your handmade winter accessories. He for some reason was very taken by the gloves. He also loved the safe you’d given him. He had a hard time finding places in his room to keep his most prized possessions. He appreciates the fact that he now has a place for all the items he holds dear. Dean opened another considerably large-sized present and he gasped when it revealed a chair hammock. Sam told him he noticed the only place in the Dean Cave to sit on was the couch and not much else. Sam hoped he could help spice up Dean’s relaxing place with a bit more comforting furniture. Dean pulled Sam into a tight, yet short hug. Clearing his throat he quickly moved on to the next present. Another long package and Sam snickered. You shook your head, knowing you’d probably have to keep Dean from tearing Sam’s head off. Dean unraveled the paper from the box and almost dropped the box in surprise. You gasped and looked at Sam with wild, yet soft eyes. Dean’s hands started shaking as he revealed the red and black electric guitar to you in pure, unadulterated excitement. Dean played a few out-of-tuned notes and hugged the instrument to his chest. The number of times Dean said thank you to Sam was uncountable. Desan felt so proud to have a brother as cool (and annoying) as Sam. Another, longer hug this time was shared between the brothers as you looked on with slightly teary eyes. When they finally broke away, Dean quickly grabbed his last present which was from you. He tore the paper apart quickly to move on from his overwhelming emotions. It didn’t help when he opened the lid to the box and saw his own set of cassette tapes and tape player. He couldn’t believe you took the time out of your days to make something like this for himself and Sam too. This just solidified what they both knew. They didn’t deserve you.

The boys sat themselves up a bit from where they sat. You were last to open their gifts You grabbed all your gifts and looked to the boys with playfully suspicious glares and started opening the first gift you laid your hand on. They were getting anxious. This was a way for them to pay you back for everything you do for them. As far as they were concerned, you didn’t need to pay them back a dime. They just wanted to show you they appreciated you. In whatever way they could. And for now, they just hoped you liked their gifts, although nothing could top what you did for them. You started off with Sam’s gift which was in another long, thick box. You opened it up and squealed loudly while jumping up and down. You were freaking out when Dean told you to pull the thing out of the box. It was an axe bass based on one of your favorite characters of all time. Marceline from Adventure Time. You loved the show and all its characters, but you loved Marceline even more. She was just such a good character and attached to her. Now you had a token of her character. Sam watched the show with you a few times and grew to love it. He saw how much you loved Marceline, so he made the move to buy you the bass, just for you little fangirl self. You were such a manic mess, you couldn’t stop smiling. Even when going for your next gift from Dean. You ripped off the paper so fast the boys swore you took it off in one swipe. You opened it to see a roll of LED lights. You were never much for following trends and the newest fads. But you just loved those lights you saw everyone had on tik tok. You just loved the idea of changing the aesthetic of your room in a few seconds. It was fun! You hadn’t stopped talking about the damn lights for a week and now that you had them, you could finally spare the boys' ears. Until you inevitably found something else to obsess over. Dean’s knife necklace was a hit with you along with Sam’s pair of daggers made for you with your initials engraved on both blades. Sam also indulging in your childish side felt nice, most considered you to be a bit too childish at times but while that could be true, you just wanted to feel like a kid again sometimes. So when your next present from Sam was a medium-sized bubble machine you nearly crushed the man in a hug. Dean’s next gift almost made you cry. You knew the boys were getting sick of you going on and on about making new things with crocheting and such. You told them countless times that trying out sewing would be a dream come true. So when you saw a cute light blue sewing machine, you screamed so loud the boys needed to cover their ears. They knew you were happy but jeez did you have a pair of lungs on you. You melted when you saw Dean had already ordered different fabrics for you. Ugh, these boys were more than you deserved.

Sam’s last gift to you was one of the best things yet. He got you a telescope! You were so happy that you almost let a tear escape your eye. You’d always loved space and everything to do with it. Hell sometimes if you had nothing to do around the bunker, you’d look into the science of space. You loved learning about new advances made and you always wanted to look at the stars and planets. But since the bunker’s telescope only showed the different dimensions and now that didn’t work either since the departure of Mrs. Butters. You had nothing to see the stars with. Until now. Thanks to Sam you could now watch all the stars and planets you wanted. You wrapped Sam in a softer hug leaning up to whisper a thank you in his ear. He squeezed you even tighter for a moment, then let go.

You’d opened up all your presents and thought you were done when Dean protested, saying you didn’t get his last gift. Thinking you’d missed a box under the tree you looked again until Dean told you to come with him to the garage. The dammed garage you’d been forbidden to go in since the beginning of the month. You were teaming with excitement as Sam covered your eyes and Dean grabbed your hands to lead you to the garage. Your steps were unsure and hesitant. But when you felt the cold concrete in the garage touch your bare feet, you walked even faster. Finally, Dean stopped you and positioned you to face your right. Dean counted to three and Sam took his hands off your eyes. The first thing you saw was bright cherry red 1961 Chevrolet Corvette. You screamed for the longest time and jumped up and down. You couldn’t believe it! When you first moved into the bunker, the boys gave you a tour of the place. When you first stepped into the garage you fell in love with this car only to be wholly disappointed that the car didn’t start. You quickly turned to Dean and captured him in the tightest hug you could muster. Tears fell freely from your eyes as you thanked him over and over again. When you finally pulled yourself together, you went to Sam and held him in the same way you did Dean.

Dean asked if you wanted to take her for a spin and you quickly agreed. Not even bothering to get your stuff. You felt at peace and satisfied to hear the purr of the engine. You, Sam, and Dean drove all over town and were having a blast. Your holiday season was done, but that didn’t mean the adventures did. And you were ecstatic about the adventures to come next. With your boys at your side, you could do anything.

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nyrator · 5 months

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Got the Rotten Nyan tumblr queued up with art I've neglected to post on there.. keeping a few more sketchy doodley art still on Twitter/the website, but should be all up a little after midnight my time~

... still feel really self conscious with the kind of content I've been making vent art of lately, please don't be afraid to message me with any concerns or criticisms... I tried tagging it all with a custom warning tag (that way it won't nuke the post, I think...) hopefully that's enough... if not hopefully people let me that as well

In other life news, I'm seeing a therapist, got a job, etc~ More in the cut

So, yeah. Life.

Still a vtuber, but feels like I've stalled lately... Not in terms of growth (if anything I keep growing), but in terms of motivation. I have a list of games to play, but I just can't focus on playing games anymore, it's rough.. mostly do zatsus, but even those are pretty hit or miss and sometimes I spiral into really dumb personal unprofessional rambles...

My art commissions are picking up- more than I can handle, honestly... My clients have gotten pretty big and it's getting me recognition, I have a few big offers in store once I can get around to them and I'm excited about it... but commissions are hard. I'm going to raise prices in January, and I try to accept five a month... but I can't keep up. I can't even do one a month it feels like... And yet I keep getting dozens of requests..

So in spite of this, because of my own doing and lack of doing, I've been bleeding a lot of money. I'm at a dangerous point of money... so I finally got a seasonal job at a local chocolate shop.

Haaaaaaaa.....

It's rough... I was in a huge depression over it, and I still don't want to work... The people are nice, the hours are light, and the pay is better than expected, but it's still so stressful... My social anxiety is terrible lately, it makes me want to curl into a ball and cry. I can't stand it, I can't stand being seen, I can't focus or memorize anything on the register, I can't handle dealing with customers or fast-paced environments...

They say the season lasts until Easter because of the nature of the store, but maybe I'll leave after Christmas time if it doesn't work out.. It's really a pain, and also could affect things like my food stamps and subsidized rent. Plus, the gas I have to spend, the clothes I had to buy, etc etc.. I wonder if it'll be worth it (probably, but nyeh)

I'm in need of money, though... one, my phone is on its last legs. The battery barely lasts an hour, it's very slow and unresponsive, and the 32 GB of storage is becoming more and more unwieldy.. Going to maybe buy one tonight...

My throat is also been a mess lately- I've had trouble swallowing, to the point I was unable to eat anything without a 50-50 chance of just choking on it. Drinking water was like waterboarding, it was like I was drowning. After raising my mattress, it's helped a lot, but not entirely, so I think it's something to do with scarring thanks to acid reflux- been trying to get an endoscopy for a year and finally have one scheduled in mid December. I'm worried how much it might cost.. hoping insurance covers it, but I still had to pay almost a thousand for my colonoscopy a few years back, which terrifies me...

Other small things- items I'd like to own, taking care of Bootsie (she's fine but overdue for a checkup and she's like 13 years old), etc.

But yeah, therapy. Also started taking that- we're trying to avoid me taking any medication, but I'm afraid I might need it.. I see her every week and I've been going since early October, and she seems like a decent therapist- she's the same age as me and understands a lot of internet culture, which.. is weird to talk to someone like that who "gets it" (she's a cosplayer, for example, and knows of vtubers), but it's nice.

Been reliving a lot of past stuffs... Been trying to improve, had some good phases, but fell back apart recently and not sure how far I can really get... keeping my apartment clean is hard, feeding myself is hard, drawing and doing anything is hard. I don't watch any media these days besides some indie vtubers I know, I don't really do much of anything but be depressed.

My biggest issue, as always, is my complex/trauma/whatever you want to call it... I've started trying to embrace it the past year. I've openly admitted to it, I made an alternate Twitter account for vent art of it, etc. But it makes me hate myself so much... It's become an addiction it feels like. Do I let it consume me and fully embrace it, even though it will push people away and make people think worse of me? Even though it will attract strange people who want creepy things from me? Even though it's expensive and gross and exhausting and uncomfortable to manage?

Or do I try to quit cold turkey? Get it all out of my system, and then never talk about it again. Delete the vent account, stop drawing it, stop being paranoid without things to take care of it, and just move on. I don't know. It's a part of me. But I hate it. And I really hate myself for it, it's my biggest tool to hate myself with.

But I've tried to embraced it, and that's what the RN update will have, and I apologize for it. I don't know how to move forward now. Therapy reopened a lot of thoughts about it- it really is a weird trauma, and a lot of it stems from my childhood... I want it gone. I want to be okay and not hurt myself mentally...

But such is life I supposeee. Again, I apologize that most of my art lately has been venting about it.. even if I embrace it, I don't want to be exclusively that kind of artist, you know? It's just one of many aspects. But it's invasive. And I don't want it to be invasive, but I don't know how to handle it.

The main goal of therapy is to get me drawing again. To give me what I've lost- a drive and motivation to continue. It feels like I just go through the motions when I draw. It's awful. I can't picture anything, no ideas. Rotten Nyan is completely stagnant lately. I don't know what to do about it. Life is just empty and depressing, it feels like. I gave up on myself, and now I don't know how to un-give up. But that's what therapy's for. Hopefully it helps... She brought up medication again, and I wonder if I should try it at this rate...

My anxiety is very bad. I end up relying on my complex trauma coping methods a lot when anxious. It's embarrassing and gross. And it just fuels my anxiety more using those things. I can't stand driving, or being around people, or crowded situations. I can't handle stress, or excitement, or being praised, or anything. My nerves are shot and I just have to curl into a ball. I don't know how I'm going to improve, but I have to try...

And then my focus, which I just can't focus at all anymore.. I don't know if it's depression/anxiety, ADHD, or what, but I just can't focus at all. It's awful. Very forgetful, very not-able-to-draw.

Otherwise, not much different. Got the new Nagata Kabi manga (I still worry about her a lot... she's so relatable though, she speaks to me, but she flares my anxiety like crazy too...) Still obsessed with my Disney anime boy gacha game, it's great, Vil's great. Vil, Cater, Lilia, Jade... so many good characters....

I guess that's all for now. Hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving- will keep doing what I can to try to improve.

And again, I'm really sorry about my art output and that most of it is just gross vent art about a gross personal trauma... I'm sorry...

#text stuffs

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