music + words + photographs

You are adored; someone out there loves you more than you think.

Your anxiety will tell you the worst-case scenario. It's a liar; don't listen.

You mean so much to your friends and family; they may not say it as often, but they really do love you.

You've already survived things you didn't think you'd survive.

No matter what anyone tells you, you're beautiful, smart, and you matter.

You're never a failure.

You're strong, and you can get through everything one step at a time.

Keep your mind off things that don't help you think positively. Keep yourself distracted from bad thoughts.

It's okay not to be okay. But make sure you speak to someone and let go of any negative emotions.

You are not bothering anyone at all; they would love to hear more of your thoughts.

Stop feeding bad thoughts.

As long as you're breathing, people will judge you. Learn to not care about anyone's opinion of you.

because there's no innovation left to be done! Father knows just about everything there is to know about alchemy. he came directly out of the Gate of Truth and was a part of the All-In-One. the military has been learning at his feet and running experiments at his behest for decades, to the point that they can manufacture armies of alchemically produced supersoldiers and keep human transmutation experts on retainer. there are no more boundaries left in reach of bureaucrats to push. the only mysteries that remain are theosophies better suited to the contemplation of lone archwizards than the nationalized arsenals of warhawks and policy wonks.

reading between the lines, the only way to square Shou Tucker's "groundbreaking innovations" with the state of the alchemical art as we see it in later chapters is to admit that the State Alchemist system is a naked, repugnant farce. a system which pushes public-facing researchers like Tucker to constantly make innovations or else lose their grant money and military privileges doesn't exist to elicit progress, because there is no progress those scientists can possibly make. not on the periphery of the military-industrial complex as they are.

instead, the State Alchemist system exists to take very smart people who are too clever for their own good and make them desperate. the seemingly degenerate outcome where an alchemist pushes limits in the hopes of rushing under the wire and meeting a deadline is actually the system working as intended, because Father wants to take useless pawns - lone wolves with no meaningful skill in the scheme of things - and trick them into making useful idiots of themselves by violating the taboos against human transmutation.

what do you want to bet that the official who came around to check Shou Tucker's work for yearly review knew exactly what he was looking at? that the brownshirt paper pusher who showed up on his doorstep could tell Tucker had mutilated his wife, and they rubber-stamped his research grants anyways?

my parents (usually my mom) will capture me in a blanket and just sorta swaddle me an say 'can we keep em ?' 'ill take care of it' and my dad will respond with things like 'i dunno.. i think it bites' and ill jus wriggle about biting the air threatening to bite them if they dont set me free,

hey netizens! i'm not sure how many people are aware, but youtube's been slowly rolling out a new anti-adblock policy that can't be bypassed with the usual software like uBlock Origin and Pi-Hole out of the gate

BUT, if you're a uBlock Origin user (or use an adblocker with a similar cosmetics modifier), you can add these commands in the uBlock dashboard (under My Filters) to get rid of it!

youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.openPopupConfig.supportedPopups.adBlockMessageViewModel, false) youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.adBlocksFound, 0) youtube.com##+js(set, ytplayer.config.args.raw_player_response.adPlacements, []) youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.hasAllowedInstreamAd, true)

two years ago i wore baggy sweatpants and flip flops every day because i was depressed but then decided eh to hell with it and bought some black edgy emo clothes bc thats how i always wanted to dress but never got a chance to and it was only then that i realized that the sweatpants flip flops look was just keeping me in my depression funk. i didnt like the way i looked and i didnt identify with the clothes i was wearing and it only made me feel worse.

i then went through my entire wardrobe and got rid of everything that made me feel that way.

now i have multiple outfit possibilities requiring different levels of effort but on days where putting on clothes just seems like a project i just have to put on black jeans and a band t-shirt and i can still feel good about the way i look which is a really good way to start off my day.

2023-07-02

Jinju in the Forest

Canon EOS R3 + RF50mm f1.2L

Stunning Abandoned Homes Are Surprisingly Full Of Life

“Abandoned homes are the kind of thing you typically only happen upon when your GPS leads you astray. Unless, that is, you’re author Ransom Riggs, who’s on a mission to find them.

A short comic I made about my experiences as a seasonal worker, and the way places change you.