I'd rather be in outer space šø
oozey mess
h
occasionally subtle
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Peter Solarz
we're not kids anymore.
izzy's playlists!
tannertan36
Discoholic šŖ©
AnasAbdin
todays bird
$LAYYYTER
ā£ Chile in a Photography ā£
Product Placement
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Three Goblin Art
Love Begins
Origami Around
Sade Olutola
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@roguestargirl
The Summer Hikaru Died is like. what if you believed you were a disgusting monster for being gay. but then you meet a real monster, and over time you start to believe that even this monster deserves to be safe and happy, and it's the first time you start allowing yourself to believe that maybe you do too. what if I cried one million tears forever
consume | expel
so I watched TSHDā¦ iām not ok
you'll never reach the stars
I don't care what "critics" are saying. Markiplier's IRON LUNG was amazing and a breath of fresh air for the horror genre. Even one of my best friends, who studied film and is the most critical movie-goer I know, said it was impressively done and can't stop talking about it.
I know people treat Mark Fischbach like just another cringe Youtuber who appeals to teenagers and weebs, but I've been unironically following him for more than a decade, and he constantly proves to be one of the most genuine and uncontroversial creators out there. He has a passion for horror and dedicated almost 2 years of his life, and $3 million of his own money, to create a passion project for his fans.
And he continuously expresses so much grace and humility toward the people who gave him the means to pursue filmmaking. IRON LUNG is not a perfect work of art, but it's a love letter to the people who made him what he is today -- his fans. I'm so proud of him (and so glad one of my favs is genuinely a decent, generous person, compared to a lot of the toxicity I see from so-called influencers these days).
whatās this? clea with the steel chair (the best read on the situation and some really fucking good advice)
not only great advice for alicia, but also for the player. whatever you choose, itās the right choice. live your life and enjoy it.
if i had a nickel for every time guillermo del toro directed a scene where an offputting freak takes their brother's young, vivacious girlfriend to the park and uses butterflies as a means of flirting with her, i'd only have two nickels, but it's weird that it's happened twice
Victor Frankenstein doesnāt deserve his sonās forgiveness but his son forgiving him anyway, after all Victor did was apologize ā and also how his son has always stayed kind the entire time despite all the horror, the abuse, the torture and the violence he has to endure simply for being himself ā just further proves the point that the actual monster in the story is never the creature thatās deemed a āmonsterā, and also the creature whoās deemed a āmonsterā is actually the one with the purest and kindest heart
Frankenstein (2025) dir. Guillermo del Toro
"To be lost and to be found, that is the lifespan of love"
I have no wordsā¦
There's something so saddeningly ironic about there being an enemy in the third installment that tries to continue the legacy of it's predecessor while trying to do it's own thing, but ending up falling flat in it's execution because of lack of understanding what exactly made the original shine, resulting in a bit of a convoluted mess of an attempt.
I've been thinking about this for a few days already, and that isn't to say that I think Supermassive disrespected Tarsier's product the way The Kin bastardizes The Lady's life and displays everything about her for sale, but I cannot deny the fact that there is the lingering factor that I really do feel like Supermassive didn't fully understand what exactly made Little Nightmares truly special, and just tried to replicate what the originals did by copy-pasting.
(I mean, they didn't really copy word for word bar for bar, but it sure felt like it)
There's a bunch of repetitive elements from the first two games and while it does offer it's own thing, it's overshadowed by the fact that they chose to go with this direction in the first place, resulting in people constantly comparing and noticing elements from the first and second games that are also present in the third. And thus, leading to a very unrealistic expectation of "Will Supermassive be able to fill in the big shoes Tarsier left behind?" instead of "Will Supermassive be able to carry on the torch further?"
The biggest factor of why people (including me) felt off about the third game is first and foremost, the atmosphere.
LN 3 loses the droning, gloomy and gritty atmosphere that came with the first two, and while they have the art direction down to a T, atmosphere is still the make or break of games.
Another would be the bosses. Supermassive has a glaring issue with this one: they immediately showcase the boss in their entirety as opposed to building tension.
Yes, the enemy will follow the protagonist to the next room, but for some reason it's chopped up into segments, instead of a continuous flow. There's just something wrong with how they executed the presentation of the bosses.
Before The Hunter's reveal in his shed, you could hear his footsteps and his grunts when you enter his house, and that's when the tension begins. And this becomes an ever present factor, everytime you make a semblance of a progress as you go around The Hunter's house.
That tension pays off, when you finally enter the shed after solving the attic puzzle and unlocking the door, and have to sneak around him as he has his back turned to you, while he's skinning an animal.
This leads to the first chase: constant gunshots ringing in your ear, quickly followed by the reloading of shells as he readies his weapon to fire another shot at you.
Then, after six shots (hehe), you and Six duck under a den, as you take a breather from the chase, now transitioning to ANOTHER tension build up as you try to make your way to the hole in the tree, avoiding the Hunter and using the grass as cover as he searches for you. See how consistent LN 2 builds up it's suspense?
Little Nightmares 3 doesn't have that all that much, the closest you have to that is The Supervisor closing the shutters before meeting her in her office space. And for progression tension, the sequence in where The Kin prepares a meal for Mini-Kin (which is FUCKING HILARIOUS at how feral Mini-Kin is, slamming his food bowl down aggressively to signal Kin's attention LMFAO)
And yes, both were teased as a silhouette, but it wasn't enough to build tension. Too much time has passed before they appeared again. There's not enough consistency on making the monsters memorable because the formula is simply: Encounter the boss in it's idle state > go to next room > solve a puzzle > proceed to a chase/next few rooms without the boss appearing again.
You don't feel like you're constantly on the edge and looking around your shoulder if they're ever going to show up, it just feels like a "SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER" ambush.
I guess what I'm saying, is that The Monsters aren't nearly as aggressive and persistent as they should be. Well... That, but also the sound design is kinda like... repetitive. Nearly all the monsters in this game sounds like cracking joints and stretchy leather, coupled with screeching and wheezing.
Like, yes, I know. These things have jobs other than trying to get children. But I'm so disappointed at how there's no consistent build up with most of the bosses. I think the reason why Monster Baby worked more than the Supervisor did for me, is because Monster Baby wasn't fully shown to me, even when it became active. Only her gigantic hand was.
And it continued that way, it continued to showcase me Monster Baby's mannerisms and silhouette as she interacted with the surroundings and the protagonists, before I got to see her face in full view. But even with that, Monster Baby still suffered from the same "lack of tension build up" that the other monsters did because she was sparsely placed around the Necropolis map, eliminating the element of thrill and scares, and leaving the players feeling like there isn't much of Monster Baby showcased. Especially since MB was the face of promotional material.
Which brings me to my next point: pacing. The pacing is off with this game. A lot of the times, exploring either felt repetitive, or inconsistent. I think this is the reason why I felt like there was a lot of repeating elements, because the only time this game managed to capture my attention was when it showed me an area that was remotely even familiar to the first two. Which, you might think to be partially be my fault, but that's actually because the starting area literally is just the boat that the Guests exit out of, and the inside looks like the train concept art from LN2/Six's starting position in LN1.
It subconsciously installed this mindset onto me that I should be looking for references to the first few games, instead of having a brand new, completely unrelated area. Games do often control and influences player thought patterns based on environments and atmosphere, so if what it shows me the first time the game starts is a reference to concept art/the first game, of course I'm going to start thinking, "What else are they going to reference"
... Which is what LN 2 avoided. LN 2 started off completely opposite to LN 1's dilapidated, fully metal and industrial starting point, taking place in a forest full of deactivated TVs.
Keep in mind, regardless of my criticisms I'm enjoying LN 3 more than I initially did. To the point that I would encourage replaying it. But with that, also comes more flaws that I see with how Supermassive handled this third installment. I'm not saying this is a bad game, but unfortunately, I cannot deny that it is the weakest in the franchise thus far.
I can't call this a trilogy, because of how much the third game strays away from it's first two predecessors in terms of it's story. In fact, it feels like a new entry in the franchise, but one that is very much peppered with so much references and repeating segments that it makes you sneeze in confusion at what it's trying to achieve.
I guess all I can do is, to quote a legendary youtuber who played it:
"It's got the skin of Little Nightmares, but the bones are all wrong." - Jacksepticeye
Said it a year ago and Iāll say it again.
Pirate all your favorite shows, movies and games while you still have the chance.
Oh, and never stop supporting physical media.
whistles
trips
Oh no!! I just tripped Over this rock in The Garden! They really need to put up some kind of Wallā¦ and I dropped my Link all over the groundā¦
I really need To Watch where Iām going, geezā¦
Iāll just put this here
The Neurodivergent Writerās Guide to Fun and Productivity
(Even when life beats you down)
Look, Iām a mom, I have ADHD, Iām a spoonie. To say that I donāt have heaps of energy to spare and I struggle with consistency is an understatement. For years, I tried to write consistently, but I couldnāt manage to keep up with habits I built and deadlines I set.
So fuck neurodivergent guides on building habits, fuck āeat the frog firstā, fuck āitās all in the grindā, and fuck āyou just need time managementāāhere is how I manage to write often and a lot.
Focus on having fun, not on the outcome
This was the groundwork I had to lay before I could even start my streak. At an online writing conference, someone said: āIf you push yourself and meet your goals, and you publish your book, but you havenāt enjoyed the processā¦ Whatās the point?ā and hoo boy, that question hit me like a truck.
I was so caught up in the narrative of āYouāve got to show up for whatās importantā and āPush through if you really want to get it doneā. For a few years, I used to read all these productivity books about grinding your way to success, and along the way I started using the same language as they did. And I notice a lot of you do so, too.
But your brain doesnāt like to grind. No-oneās brain does, and especially no neurodivergent brain. If having to write gives you stress or if you put pressure on yourself for not writing (enough), your brainās going to say: āHuh. Writing gives us stress, weāre going to try to avoid it in the future.ā
So before I could even try to write regularly, I needed to teach my brain once again that writing is fun. I switched from countable goals like words or time to non-countable goals like āfunā and āflowā.
Rewire my brain: writing is fun and Iām good at it
I used everything I knew about neuroscience, psychology, and social sciences. These are some of the things I did before and during a writing session. Usually not all at once, and after a while I didnāt need these strategies anymore, although I sometimes go back to them when necessary.
I journalled all the negative thoughts I had around writing and try to reason them away, using arguments I knew in my heart were true. (The last part is the crux.) Imagine being supportive to a writer friend with crippling insecurities, only the friend is you.
Not setting any goals didnāt work for meāI still nurtured unwanted expectations. So I did set goals, but made them non-countable, like āhave funā, āget in the flowā, or āwriteā. Did I write? Yes. Success! Your brain doesnāt actually care about how high the goal is, it cares about meeting whatever goal you set.
I didnāt even track how many words I wrote. Not relevant.
I set an alarm for a short time (like 10 minutes) and forbade myself to exceed that time. The idea was that if I write until I run out of mojo, my brain learns that writing drains the mojo. If I write for 10 minutes and have fun, my brain learns that writing is fun and wants to do it again.
Reinforce the fact that writing makes you happy by rewarding your brain immediately afterwards. You know what works best for you: a walk, a golden sticker, chocolate, cuddle your dog, whatever makes you happy.
I conditioned myself to associate writing with specific stimuli: that album, that smell, that tea, that place. Any stimulus can work, so pick one you like. I consciously chose several stimuli so I could switch them up, and the conditioning stays active as long as I donāt muddle it with other associations.
Use a ritual to signal to your brain that Writing Time is about to begin to get into the zone easier and faster. I guess this is a kind of conditioning as well? Meditation, music, lighting a candleā¦ Pick your stimulus and stick with it.
Specifically for rewiring my brain, I started a new WIP that had no emotional connotations attached to it, nor any pressure to get finished or, heaven forbid, meet quality norms. I donāt think these techniques above would have worked as well if I had applied them on writing my novel.
It wasnāt until I could confidently say I enjoyed writing again, that I could start building up a consistent habit. No more pushing myself.
I lowered my definition for success
When I say that nowadays I write every day, thatās literally it. I donāt set out to write 1,000 or 500 or 10 words every day (tried it, failed to keep up with it every time)āthe only marker for success when it comes to my streak is to write at least one word, even on the days when my brain goes ānaaahhhā. On those days, it suffices to send myself a text with a few keywords or a snippet. Itās not āsuccess on a technicality (derogatory)ā, because most of those snippets and ideas get used in actual stories later. And if they donāt, they donāt. Itās still writing. No writing is ever wasted.
A side note on high expectations, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism
Obviously, āSetting a ridiculously low goalā isnāt something I invented. I actually got it from those productivity books, only I never got it to work. I used to tell myself: āItās okay if I donāt write for an hour, because my goal is to write for 20 minutes and if I happen to keep going for, say, an hour, thatās a bonus.ā Right? So I set the goal for 20 minutes, wrote for 35 minutes, and instead of feeling like I exceeded my goal, I felt disappointed because apparently I was still hoping for the bonus scenario to happen. I didnāt know how to set a goal so low and believe it.
I think the trick to making it work this time lies more in the groundwork of training my brain to enjoy writing again than in the fact that my daily goal is ridiculously low. I believe Iām a writer, because I prove it to myself every day. Every success I hit reinforces the idea that Iām a writer. Itās an extra ward against imposter syndrome.
Knowing that I can still come up with a few lines of dialogue on the Really Bad Daysādays when I struggle to brush my teeth, the day when I had a panic attack in the supermarket, or the day my kid got hit by a carāteaches me that I can write on the mere Bad-ish Days.
The more I do it, the more I do it
The irony is that setting a ridiculously low goal almost immediately led to writing more and more often. The most difficult step is to start a new habit. After just a few weeks, I noticed that I needed less time and energy to get into the zone. I no longer needed all the strategies I listed above.
Another perk I noticed, was an increased writing speed. After just a few months of writing every day, my average speed went from 600 words per hour to 1,500 wph, regularly exceeding 2,000 wph without any loss of quality.
Talking about quality: I could see myself becoming a better writer with every passing month. Writing better dialogue, interiority, chemistry, humour, descriptions, whatever: they all improved noticeably, and I wasnāt a bad writer to begin with.
The increased speed means I get more done with the same amount of energy spent. I used to write around 2,000-5,000 words per month, some months none at all. Nowadays I effortlessly write 30,000 words per month. I didnāt set out to write more, itās just a nice perk.
Look, Iām not saying you should write every day if it doesnāt work for you. My point is: the more often you write, the easier it will be.
No pressure
Yes, Iām still working on my novel, but Iām not racing through it. I produce two or three chapters per month, and the rest of my time goes to short stories my brain keeps projecting on the inside of my eyelids when Iām trying to sleep. I might as well write them down, right?
These short stories started out as self-indulgence, and even now that I take them more seriously, they are still just for me. I donāt intend to ever publish them, no-one will ever read them, they can suck if they suck. The unintended consequence was that my short stories are some of my best writing, because thereās no pressure, itās pure fun.
Does it make sense to spend, say, 90% of my output on stories no-one else will ever read? Wouldnāt it be better to spend all that creative energy and time on my novel? Well, yes. If you find the magic trick, let me know, because I havenāt found it yet. The short stories donāt cannibalize on the novel, because they require different mindsets. If I stopped writing the short stories, I wouldnāt produce more chapters. (I tried. Maybe in the future? Fingers crossed.)
Donāt wait for inspiration to hit
Thereās a quote by Picasso: āInspiration hits, but it has to find you working.ā I strongly agree. Writing is not some mystical, muse-y gift, itās a skill and inspiration does exist, but usually itās brought on by doing the work. So just get started and inspiration will come to you.
Accountability and community
Having social factors in your toolbox is invaluable. I have an offline writing friend I take long walks with, I host a monthly writing club on Discord, and I have another group on Discord that holds me accountable every day. They all motivate me in different ways and itās such a nice thing to share my successes with people who truly understand how hard it can be.
The productivity books taught me that if you want to make a big change in your life or attitude, surrounding yourself with people who already embody your ideal or your goal huuuugely helps. The fact that I have these productive people around me who also prioritize writing, makes it easier for me to stick to my own priorities.
Your toolbox
The idea is to have several techniques at your disposal to help you stay consistent. Donāt put all your eggs in one basket by focussing on just one technique. Keep all of them close, and if one stops working or doesnāt inspire you today, pivot and pick another one.
After a while, most ātoolsā run in the background once they are established. Things like surrounding myself with my writing friends, keeping up with my daily streak, and listening to the album I conditioned myself with donāt require any energy, and they still remain hugely beneficial.
Do you have any other techniques? Iād love to hear about them!
I hope this was useful. Happy writing!
another
Artiste : Merururuu
"I'm the only one who'll lovŠµ your sins"
(you can't resist that lookā¦)
https://x.com/merururuu
"rujinu are doomed ship" to you. to me they're about to embark on their 60 episode kdrama back from the dead amnesia slowburn mutual pining angst with happy ending storyline
HE LOOKED AT HER WITH HIS HUMAN EYES ššš
