Pastelpinkseal

“Day Off” by Jordan Bolton

Part of “Scenes from Imagined Films” Issue 2 - Order on Etsy now

*this is especially important: these days on Tumblr there’s a wonderful atmosphere of being able to talk openly about your mental illness or your struggle. And that’s great! But there’s a difference between sharing in order to help yourself and other people and sharing just because you have no other coping mechanisms. As much as you’re able, try to work on developing a different outlet. People aren’t qualified to be your therapist because they’re nice to you a couple of times. Please remember that they have lives too, and their job is not to make you feel better or pity you, no matter how difficult your life is. 

And last but not least: 

But… 

I really don’t have a way to better this. 

Your interests are your own. I can’t advise anyone to change their interests to fit in with a certain group of people - that’s stupid, and actually quite damaging to your sense of self. 

Instead, I would recommend that, maybe if you feel like your topics of conversation are falling flat with this group of people, you move on to other, greener pastures. There are bound to be places where your ideas mesh better with an audience. 

And of course - try to be considerate about what you say and how you say it. 

Sometimes, what might seem like a harmless comment to you might be a very discomforting thought to another person. I recently had a conversation on a forum with a guy who was telling me that his headcanon was that Pearl (from SU) would soon get a male love interest who loved mechanics and weapons next, and that would be her best arc, because she would finally get a ‘healthy’ love interest. 

His intentions were good, but he was entirely unaware of how cringey this kind of thing was to a bunch of (probably queer) people, who have spent their entire lives being told that the only ‘good’ character development for them would be to get a ‘male love interest’. No one wanted to be the jerk to say “fuck off, we don’t want that to happen” but everyone was answering him in a flat way, trying to discourage the discussion further. Instead of picking up on the hint, he bulldozed on, thinking he was having a ‘lively conversation’ which was, in fact, in its late stages of death. 

I know I’ll probably get a few messages to this saying: What about people on the Autistic Spectrum? Sometimes, people can’t pick up social cues or ‘hints’. And if that’s the case, it’s incredibly difficult to understand why you’re not having any luck communicating despite your best efforts. 

I feel that on a person level, please believe me. I made this infograph for THAT VERY REASON. Because I WAS that awkward kid who didn’t pick up on hints well. In fact, I still have trouble talking to people. If any of you have had the misfortune of being my conversational partner, you’ll know that I tend to be overly blunt and come off as very unfriendly. It’s something that I, myself, am working on currently in order to grow into a better person. It’s a struggle in progress, but I am aiming towards the progress side, and I just wanted to help out others while I was at it. 

People have written a lot of touchy-feely pieces on this subject but I thought I’d get right to the heart of the matter

A great Twitter thread on character-driven stories, character arcs, and agency by Naomi Hughes

(The link she referenced is this article)

The two tracks werent synced right and it sounds like everything’s gone to shit at MTT Resort

Let's type a skull ⌨️💀

what advice would you give to a 19 year old?

just bc you find someone hot or funny doesn’t mean you should immediately date them, just because someone gives you attention doesn’t mean they’re the right person for you, being 19 is not “old” and you should embrace it rather than dread it, work out now so your future self can thank u later, use your planner, network w your professors because you’ll never know when you’ll need their connections in the future, stop fucking comparing, everyone’s secretly struggling, no one is worth putting on a pedestal, decentralize dating in general tbh, having a crush is fine but don’t obsess, interrogate yourself on what you truly want, explore new things (stop sticking so religiously to your comfort zone), nothing on your phone is that deep, have a plan for the future (it’s okay if it changes), put effort into friendships but don’t chase people, put yourself out there because it really does amount to something, decentralize luxury brands bc that shit is overrated as fuck, journal more, experiment w fashion and perfume and your general style, having social media is ok but spend less time on your phone in general, not everyone will like you and that is okay, you won’t like everyone and that is okay, don’t take people’s reactions so personally, don’t take yourself so seriously, invest in therapy

Giant Skeletons by Jocelin Carmes

This artist on Instagram