A better world is possible and it holds a place for you.

“Vanilla” the subjective experience can be caused by any one of dozens of aromatic organic compounds. The Vanilla Orchid seed pod (not a bean), when ripened and cured properly, contains over 200 aromatics, many of which contribute to the subjective experience of “Vanilla” to varying degrees. However, Vanilla Orchids are… well, Orchids, which means they’re precious little darlings and a pain in the ass to grow, hence the low supply of the pods. Ripe vanilla fruit accounts for less than 15% of all Vanilla consumed annually.

From whence the rest, you ask?

Enter Vanillin, so named because it is foremost of these compounds in producing the aroma and flavor of the vanilla experience. This tasty little aromatic is actually a metabolic intermediary in all sorts of plant metabolisms, including but not limited to most woody trees.

During the development of Industrial Paper manufacturing, during a step which involves taking the pulverized and pulped wood fibers and washing them of the various compounds a living tree needs but a sheet of paper does not, one of the results was a rich, brown, pleasant-smelling, organic spirit. It was discovered that Vanillin could be mass-produced from this substance, and so Artificial Vanilla was born, which makes up the remaining 5/6ths of the vanilla consumed worldwide each year.

See, here’s the thing. Humans, like most Animals, can’t smell things that have no relevancy to our lives, and there’s correlations between attraction and aversion to certain compound classes and the lived experiences of our Ancestors. Smell is a deeply chemical sense, and we wouldn’t find Vanilla pleasant unless that aroma had some sort of universal relevance to Human Survival. Our ancestral environment was riparian woodlands.

There’s Vanilla in decaying leaf litter.

There’s Vanilla in rich soil.

Old books smell good because one of the products of the decaying wood of the paper is Vanilla.

This past month, Parks & Rec has been doing a lot of work on the field adjacent to my school. They have trucks with flatbeds, mowing/tree-cutting/postholing machinery, etc. And when they arrived, I (campus monitor) was told I would need to herd the kids away from the trucks/machinery and basically prevent them from creating a dangerous situation.

So when recess came around and the kids stampeded out the door I held them up and I said (being funny but at the same time serious, you know how it is, kids listen better if you're funny)

"Okay, I know that you're all smart AND mature, right? And talented and good looking? Definitely the smartest and most talented class in this school? (I say this to every class, they're all 'my favorites'.) And because you're SO intelligent and mature, I don't need to actually TELL you that these guys have vehicles and machinery that you need to stay clear of, right? Because I know you figured that out already, and I also know that YOU know how sad I would be if any of you were run over, or squashed, or had a pole fall on you. I would be SO SAD, like, I would probably have to lie down on the floor and cry. So you're not going to make me cry, right? I can trust you to stay away from the trucks and machines no matter where they are on the field? Because you're wonderful and amazing? My favorites? My inspiration?"

And they're laughing at me of course, because I'm being so dramatic. Some of them are "Yes, and-"ing my dramatics and inventing more involved mourning processes I should undertake if any of them get run over. Some of them are yelling at me that they are NOT mature yet and they are VERY STUPID and I should know this.

It's been three weeks. We had one conversation about it. None of them have gone anywhere near the trucks. This is actually in excess of the typical elementary-schooler's working memory and I'm very proud of them. I haven't had to blow the whistle at ONE person for getting too close even when the trucks were literally 40 feet from the actual playground.

so i wanted to throw in some suggestions that, whenever I’m trying to find a character reference or otherwise draw very interesting-looking yet regular-looking people, which i usually have to do for bit characters in @ikroah​ or something, I tend to look for references in the following places. these are far from the only reliable way to get inspiration, this is just a non-exhaustive list of places i’ve looked before for visual inspiration when needing to create a character, whether starring characters or background ones:

pre-2000s television (The Sopranos and Twin Peaks especially having incredible character design)

extras in comedy sketch shows

esports players

real photos (not staged stock photos) of line cooks

70s baseball players

athletes from more obscure olympic sports like the javelin toss or greco-roman wrestling, especially if you’re looking for a specific body type

ska, jazz, and blues musicians

firefighters

improv troupes

for teenagers, searching “high school english class project” on youtube and sorting by Upload Date

state senators, small-town mayors, and generally obscure local government positions like comptroller or treasurer (yes i know politicians can be bad sometimes but smaller elections especially don’t really depend on looks)

people who walk by your window (if you live in a city like I do)