I'm a very dry texter so people always assume I'm mad or annoyed or something with a text like "Wow thank you." and it's like I said I'm thankful so it means I'm thankful??? I hate how humans made words and then decided that words have different meanings based on the way you're saying it.
We don’t mind if those posts were directed, we did a shitty thing, but we’d like to tell our side of the story, even if it’s less of a defense than a simple explanation for closure for us both. Dm us please.
For anyone who needs this reminder, so people may come and go. It’ll hurt, yes, but it’s not your fault. It was their choice and they’re missing out on a wonderful person. That being said. If someone is hurting you to the point of harm, physical or mental, you need to leave. Don’t force yourself into toxicity because of manipulation or even guilt, you don’t owe anyone anything, all you will ever owe is yourself your life. It’s yours not theirs.
I’ll be scrolling on Pinterest or something and I’ll come across really cute fanart and there’s comments that are something like ‘I support LGBTQ but this ship sucks/ will never be canon’ and I’m just here like, if you don’t like it scroll and don comment but don’t disrespect other people work or opinions js bc you don’t like it. Like I can understand if it’s just a gross ship like Tony Stark and Peter Parker or Muichiro Tokito and Giyuu Tomioka but even still unless it’s making people who aren’t in the fandom aware that it’s p3d0 js scroll.
(mainly focusing on radical acceptance, harm reduction, and distraction)
— Feeling Angry:
Ripping cardboard, an old shirt, paper, card stock, slashing open a plastic bottle (safely), etc.
Yelling, shouting, listening to loud music.
Splatter paint.
Scribble on photos of people in magazines.
Run your hands under freezing water.
Squeeze ice.
Eat/drink something sour or spicy (examples: drink hot sauce, eat a lemon, eat sour candy, eat spicy ramen, etc).
Make a cloth doll to represent what you’re angry at. Cut and tear it up.
Flatten aluminum cans for recycling or stomp on egg cartons.
Hit a punching bag or a pillow.
Pick up a stick and hit a tree.
Rip up/burn an old newspaper, phone book, or a piece of paper. (Do this safely)
On a sketch or picture of yourself, mark in red pen what you want to do. Cut and tear the picture.
Draw or paint wherever you want to harm (pro tip - if you use henna you can peel it off like scabs, and it stains. You can also use acrylic paint and pick of off like scabs.)
Make clay models and cut/smash them.
Throw ice into the bathtub, against a wall, at a tree, or at the ground (basically anything hard surface that can safely break it).
Dance.
Clean.
Exercise.
Stomp around in heavy shoes.
Play a physical sport (handball, tennis, soccer, basketball, etc).
— Feeling Sad/Depressed:
Do something slow and soothing.
Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles.
Curl up under blankets with a warm drink (tea, hot coco, warm milk, coffee, etc) and a book.
Give yourself a present.
Hug a loved one or stuffed animal.
Play with a pet.
Make a list of things that make you happy or you like.
Use positive affirmations.
Do something nice for someone else.
Light sweet smelling incense.
Listen to soothing music.
Apply lotion to the parts of yourself you want to hurt.
Call a friend and talk about things that make you happy.
Cook or bake.
Watch a comfort show or read a book.
Visit a friend.
Paint your nails, do your makeup, do your hair, make an outfit.
Cuddle with someone or something.
Sit outside/sunbathe.
Go on a walk.
Reach out to a loved one you haven’t spoken to in a while (family member, old friend, etc) (do not text an ex.)
Do an activity you enjoy (reading, writing, playing video games, driving, etc)
Watch a kids show
— Feeling Guilty/Shameful:
Read, write, or speak some positive affirmations about yourself.
List as many good things about yourself as you can.
Read something good that someone has written about you.
Do something nice for someone else.
Look into volunteer work you could do in your community.
Remember when you’ve done something good.
Think about why you feel guilty and how you can change it.
Make a list of what a stereotypical “bad person” is (don’t get philosophical on me, just do it). For example bank robbers, abusive people, etc. Then sit with a loved one and see if you fit in that category. (Most likely not)
Talk to a friend or a loved one about how you’re feeling.
— Feeling Panic/Distress:
Blow on the back of your thumb
Use the 478 method (breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, out for 8 seconds.)
Use the 54321 method. (List 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, one thing you can taste)
Tense/clench all of your muscles (from your forehead to your toes) and one by one relax each muscle.
Eat something sour, spicy, or cold
Squeeze ice
Take a freezing shower/bath
Acknowledge how your feeling and use safety affirmations
Put anything cold on your face, chest, or neck
— Sense based techniques:
With hearing:
Pay attention to sounds of nature (waves, birds, rainfall, leaves rustling)
Pay attention to the sounds of the city (traffic, city music)
Sing along with your favorite songs/play an instrument
Hum a soothing tune
Make a spotify playlist
Be mindful of any sounds that come your way, letting them go in one ear and out the other
Turn on the radio
Listen to soothing or energy giving music
Listen to the air around you
Listen to your general surroundings and think about what you can hear (list them in your head)
With vision:
Look at the stars at night
Look at pictures you like in a book
Buy a pretty flower
Light a candle and watch the flame
Look at nature around you
Watch a sunrise or sunset
Take a walk in the park or a scenic hike
Browse through stores or window shop
If you have access to a LED color changing light (of any sort), watch the colors change on it.
Watch visual sensory videos on YouTube or TikTok
Make a stimboard
With touch:
Take a long hot bath or shower
Pet your dog or cat
Get a massage, soak your feet
Apply lotion
Put an ice pack on your forehead
Sit in a comfortable chair at your house
Take a drive with the car windows rolled down
Hug someone
Put clean sheets on your bed
Wrap up in a blanket
Change your sensory input by changing clothes, putting your hair up or taking it down
Feel a soft blanket or a textured object
Use a fidget toy or a stim toy
With smell:
Use your favorite soap, shampoo, or lotion
Burn incense or light a scented candle
Use essential oils
Open a window and smell the air
Open a package of coffee
Boil cinnamon
Make cookies, bread or popcorn
Walk in a wooded area and mindfully breathe in the fresh smells of nature
With taste:
Eat some of your favorite foods
Drink your favorite soothing drink, such as tea, hot chocolate, a latte or a smoothie
Eat dessert
Suck on peppermint candy
Chew gum
Eat something mindfully
Sensations:
Squeeze a rubber ball very hard
Listen to loud music (careful of headphones for a long time at a high volume)
Hold ice in your hand or mouth
Go out in the rain or snow
Take a hot or cold shower
Splash cold water on your face
Take a shower/bath or jump in a pool with your clothes on
Take a cold shower/bath
Stomp your feet
Tense all your muscles and slowly untense them one by one.
— Harm Reduction (s/h) Specific:
Throw ice into the bathtub, against a wall, at a tree, or at the ground (basically anything hard surface that can safely break it).
Ripping cardboard, an old shirt, paper, cardstock, etc.
Yelling, shouting, listening to loud music.
Count to 100
Tense/clench all the muscles in your body before relaxing them one by one. (Staring with your forehead down to your toes)
Break sticks
Run your hands under freezing water
Squeeze ice cubes
Hold an ice pack, ice cube, frozen orange, etc to the spot you want to s/h
Take a REALLY cold shower or an ice bath
Take a shower/bath or get into a pool with all of your clothes on (I know it’s gross, but it works)
eat/drink something really sour, spicy, or cold
Wax your legs (safely)
Safely destroy shit
Paint, write (non harmful thoughts), or draw where you want to s/h (protip: if you use henna or acrylic paint you can pick it off SAFELY like scabs. Henna also stains.)
Journal
Express yourself creatively (in a painting, drawing, with fashion, etc)
Go on a run
Talk to a safe loved one or call a loved one
Do something you enjoy (video games, painting your nails, reading/writing, watching TV,
Daydream or fantasize about life getting better (do this safely)
Squeeze a rubber ball, stress ball, etc.
Distract yourself using a high concentration activity (Examples: do a puzzle, play a puzzle game, do some math, read, write, play an instrument, learn a new skill/language, cook, bake, etc)
Distract yourself using physical activity SAFELY (exercise safely, go on a run, play a sport, cook, bake, dance, sing, etc)
Bite down on a SAFE item (like a silicon chew made for chewing, jaw breaker candies, chew stim toys, ice, etc)
Punch a punching bag or pillow (SAFELY)
Yes I know I repeated some of the same coping skills, that’s because they are not limited to one section. If anyone has any other coping skills/distractions feel free to comment them and I’ll add it!
Apparently this is a thing that still needs to be said in this fandom space but in case my stance wasn’t made abundantly clear by all the other times myself and everyone I know has needed to say it: fuck AI.
The fact that people who claim to be fans of Fable, Bound, WW, or any other tangential SMPs, streams, podcasts or writings by the surrounding group of creators, are cruel enough and comfortable enough to feed the faces, voices, ideas, art and writing of those artists and creatives into a AI scraping sites is so disappointing and honestly a little sickening.
I don’t know a single artist or content creator who isn’t vehemently against this kind of disgusting character and generative AI training. And by engaging with it you are actively placing yourself against them. I could scream about how disgusting AI is until the cows come home but at the end of the day if those arguments haven’t convinced you already me regurgitating it isn’t going to, and there are other people who can say it better than I can.
Not only are you denying yourself the ability to engage with media creatively and stifling your own imagination, but by training and engaging with character AIs and generative AI art based on fandoms and fan work works you are actively ripping apart and destroying the work you claim to be a fan of.
I hope the weight of guilt on your shoulders increases with every prompt you give it. I’d say cry me a river of tears but we all know the AI companies would use use it cool their data centres anyway.
Everything that Connor said here is absolutely true. But I have another point to add to it.
Not only are you disrespecting the creators, actively destroying the work you claim to love AND the environment in the process;
You will never get the same satisfaction from engaging with generative AI that you do from consuming the original source and creating something yourself because of it.
It is empty. There is nothing there.
I promise you; you will find so much more fulfillment from engaging with other community members than you will from a machine.