Bodies Should Have Crash Logs. Why The Fuck Did That Just Happen.

Nice things the DQXI Party would say (or think) about Erik 🩵

Veronica

Not much that she’d actually tell him about.

Veronica def respects his go-getter attitude. I feel like she’s also secretly super impressed by his niche market knowledge

Serena

Deeply respects Erik’s willingness to go to the ends of the earth for people he cares about. Heart of gold!

Thinks he’s rather cute too

Sylvando

Adores Erik’s dance moves! So suave and stylish!

Not the worst campsite cook either!

Jade

Eternally grateful for everything Erik’s done to protect the Luminary up until the point she found him again

For someone whose combat is informally trained and recreational at best? His skills are crazy impressive

Rab

Such a spry young lad! He wishes he had such a spirit when he was a young man!

It’s very cool to him that Erik has practical magic like Peek. And his Earth magic that just exists for some reason.

(Spolers for Act 2 Below)

Hendrik

Man was he annoying when Hendrik wasn’t fighting on the same side as him.

I think on a meta-level, Erik kind of helps Hendrik internally recontextualise what it means to be a good person

Say something nice about- Erik!

DQXI Party Members and how likely it is that I would trust them to drive my car (if they knew what cars were)

Erik

Absolutely not. Jumping off cliffs is a character motif of his. I'm not even sure if I'd let him ride as a passenger princess.

I think if he were behind the wheel he'd be far too confident in himself AND the car. Would drive as if his deftness and agility stats transfer to the vehicle, like being attuned to a weapon. That is not the case.

Drives with the fervor of a soccer mom late for her three kids' practice. Would absolutely make an illegal U-turn.

Veronica

Officer that is a child.

Serena

Now I don't think that she'd be terrible but she'd be the opposite of Erik. I think she'd respect the car for the beast that it is, but I think she'd fear it.

Drives like grandmother who's just trying to get to the grocery store that's five minutes away from her house because she needs some eggs.

I couldn't put her on a highway, I couldn't do that to her.

Sylvando

The safest driver. I actually don’t think I can with my whole heart trust anyone else behind the wheel.

The passenger princess has no control over his playlist and it's exclusively Charlie XCX, Kim Petras, and Dua Lipa.

Drives like he passed his license exam on the first try. His parallel parking is awe inspiring. His merging is smother than his skin. The sheer aura that he emanates from behind that wheel ensures that no other drivers try anything stupid because they'd be embarrassed if he saw them do that.

Jade

You will not convince me that her road rage would be the most devastating out of anyone else in the party have you heard her in combat. "Try and dodge this-" no thank you <3

I don't think she drives recklessly, I think she's very safe and knows the rules of the road. Would not make an illegal U-turn or cut anyone off. However, when she drives, she is sending a message, and that message is "I've got places to be."

Drives like she placed an order for takeout/pick-up and just wants her goddamn food. She's had a long day, she'd like to eat before 10pm, and if her fries are soggy then someone will experience consequences.

Rab

I actually think he might be too short.

Honestly? Not an awful driver. Drives very defensively, a little on the slower side, pays absolutely no mind to bullshit that other people on the road try to pull.

Drives like a 16 year old on the way to the mall. Unbothered. In his lane. Really just enjoying the fact that he's going on a little ride.

Hendrik

Other than Sylvando, literally the only other party member I would actually allow to drive my car.

Is so scared of the car but you would never know.

Drives like a salaryman trying to get home after his 9-5, please just let me go because if I need to spend even ten more minutes trapped inside this metal box I will cry.

Jasper

I really don't know about this one bestie like I wanna say he's a good driver but I think that he's also far too overconfident in himself.

Honestly. Also drives like a mother, except she's trying to get her children to school and THEN rush off to her own job.

I do think he'd make an excellent passenger princess with questionable music taste. Does prefer taking the train.

I don't talk about it much but I love rom hacks and game emulators. if you're looking for a free hobby that is really fun I highly recommend checking it out. convincing your computer that it's a nintendo wii is also very funny

How to begin a sustainable way of life

This is a draft of something I've been writing for a couple months. It is mainly focused on the culture of the USA. Feel free to repost or otherwise share, with or without credit.

Do not tell people what to do—help them do it! 

Give the gift of relief from being forced to engage in society’s unsustainable ways of life. 

“People need to eat more plant-based foods.” ->Talk about your favorite recipes, give others recipes, cook for them, and grow vegetables and plants in your garden and give them away as gifts. 

“People need to repair their clothes.” -> Offer to repair others’ clothes, and teach people how to repair their clothes. 

“People need to buy less clothes.” -> Give them old clothes that you don’t want, help them repair their clothes

“People need to buy less plastic stuff.” -> Learn to make things that can serve the same purpose, such as baskets, and give them as gifts. Let people borrow things you own so they don’t have to buy their own. 

“People need to stop using leafblowers and other gas-guzzling machinery.” -> Offer to rake the leaves. You can use them as compost in your own garden. 

“People need to be more educated about nature.”-> Learn about nature yourself. Tell people about nature. Be open about your love of creatures such as snakes, spiders, and frogs. Do not show awareness that this could be strange. You are not obligated to quiet down your enthusiasm for creepy crawlies to demonstrate awareness that it is weird. Point out at every opportunity how these animals are beneficial. 

“People need to use cars less.” -> Offer rides to others whenever you must go somewhere. Whenever you are about to go to the store, ask your neighbor or your friend who lives along the way, “Is there anything you need from the store?” 

You cannot control others’ behaviors, but you can free them from being controlled. 

If you think to yourself, “But this would be so difficult to do!” ask yourself WHY? Why does your society coerce you into less sustainable ways of living, forcing you to consume excessively? After thinking about this, consider that it is less simple and easy than you thought to make more sustainable choices, so why would you judge others for not doing it? 

Do not act alone—act with others! 

Environmentally friendly behaviors that can be done alone, without collaborating with or consulting another person, are the least powerful of all. Whenever an “environmentally friendly” behavior is suggested, figure out “How can I give this as a gift?” or “How can I make this possible on the level of a whole community?” 

“Personal choices” do not work because every single person has to make them individually. If you are focused on making your own personal choice, you are not focused on others. If you are not focused on others, you are not helping them. If nobody is helping each other, most people won’t be able to make the “personal choice.”

You inherently share an ecosystem with your neighbors  

            Start with your neighbors, the people physically close to you. You live on the same patch of land, containing roots from the same plants and trees. You can speak to them face to face without traveling, which means you can easily bring them physical things without using resources to travel. 

            Always talk to your neighbors and be friendly with them. Offer them favors unprompted and tell them about how your garden is doing. Do not be afraid to be annoying—a slightly annoying neighbor who is helpful, kind, and can be relied upon for a variety of favors or in times of need is a necessary and inevitable part of a good community. If you make the effort to be present in somebody’s life, they will have to put up with you on some occasions, but that is just life. We cannot rely on each other if we do not put up with each other. 

Simply spending time with someone influences them for good 

Every hour you spend outside with your neighbor is an hour your neighbor doesn’t spend watching Fox News. Every hour you spend talking with someone and interacting with them in the real world, eating real food and enjoying your real surroundings, is an hour you don’t spend only hearing a curated picture of what reality is like from social media. 

            Isolation makes it easy for people to become indoctrinated into extremist beliefs. When someone spends more time alone, watching TV, Youtube, or scrolling social media, than they do with others, their concept of what other people are like and what the world is like comes more from social media than real life. TV and online media are meant to influence you in a specific way. Simply restricting the access these influences have to yourself and others is helpful. 

A garden is the source of many gifts 

If you grow a garden, you can give your neighbors and friends the gift of food, plants, and crafted objects. This is one of the foundational ways to form community. When you give food, you provide support to others. When you give plants, you are encouraging and teaching about gardening. It is even better when you give recipes cooked from things you grew, or items crafted from things you grew. You can also give the gift of knowledge of how to grow these plants, cook these recipes, or craft these objects. 

More on gift-giving

            Some people are uncomfortable with receiving items or services as gifts. They want to feel like they are giving something back, instead of having obligation to return the favor hanging over them. 

            It can help to ask a simple favor that can be easily fulfilled. People generally like the feeling of helping someone else. 

When you give someone a gift, it can help to say something like “Oh, I have too many of this thing to take care of/store/eat myself! Do you think you could take some?” This makes your neighbor feel like they are helping you. 

When allowing others to borrow items, you might not get them back. Don’t worry about that. It just means the item found a place where it was needed the most. You can ask about the item if you think it might have been forgotten, and this can create an opportunity for a second meeting. But don’t press. 

If the person you give to insists upon some form of payment, this is a good opportunity to negotiate a trade. 

Ask to be given compostable or recyclable things 

Ask your neighbor to save compostable scraps, biodegradable cardboard and paper products, and any other items that might be put to use. Use them in your own compost pile. Or, start a compost pile at the edge of the yard where you both can add to it. Remember that “wet” compost like vegetable and fruit bits needs to be mixed with twice as much of “dry” and “woody” compost like cardboard, leaves, small twigs, paper and wood bits. 

Use the front yard for gardening

Overcome the cultural norm that the front yard is only decorative. Use the front yard for gardening so you can be seen by others enjoying your garden, and others can witness the demonstration of the possibilities of land. In the front yard, anything you do intentionally with your land can be witnessed. It also makes you a visible presence in your community. 

Grow staple foods 

Don’t just grow vegetables that cannot be the core component of a meal themselves. Grow potatoes, dry beans, black eyed peas and other nourishing, calorie-dense foods. Grow the ingredients of meals. You could even build a garden around a recipe.

Invite neighbors and friends over to eat food made from things you grew 

Be sure to send them home with leftovers.  

Grow plants for baskets 

Containers are one of the fundamental human needs. If we had more containers, we wouldn’t need plastic so much. You can learn to make baskets, and to grow plants that provide the raw materials for baskets. 

If someone rakes their leaves, ask to have the leaves  

If you see someone putting leaves in bags, don’t be afraid to ask if you can have the leaves. More likely than not they will be happy to agree. 

Collaborate with neighbors to plant things in the no-man’s-land of the property line 

In the border land between your neighbor’s yard and your yard, it is almost always just mowed grass because no one can plant anything without it affecting their neighbor. But these border lands add up to a lot of space. It would be much better if you talked to your neighbor about what would be nice to plant there, and together created a plan for that space. 

Give others the freedom to wander 

Make it clear that you will not get mad if the neighbor’s kids play in your yard or run across it. Invite the neighbors onto your land as much as possible. Tell them they are allowed to spend time in a favored spot whenever they would like.  

The power of the hand-made sign 

If there is a yard sale, you always know about it because of the hand-drawn signs placed around. Therefore, a cookout or unwanted item exchange can be announced the same way. In rural areas I have seen hand-made signs that say: FIREWOOD or WE BUY GOATS or EGGS. This is one of the few technologies of community that remain in the USA. If someone who looks to buy and sell can put up a hand-made sign, why shouldn’t you?  

Religious people or people with strong political opinions like to put signs everywhere. If they have the confidence and courage to do so, why shouldn’t you? 

So if there is a message you would like everyone to see, use the simple power of the hand-made sign. Proclaim “BEE FRIENDLY ZONE!” above your pollinator garden with all the confidence of a religious fundamentalist billboard. Announce to the world, “VEGETABLES FREE TO ALL—JUST ASK!” “WE TAKE LEAVES—NO PESTICIDES.” Instead of YARD SALE, or perhaps in conjunction with YARD SALE, you can write, PLANT EXCHANGE or SEED SWAP or CLOTHING SWAP. Who can stop you? 

Someone has to do it for society to change  

Some of these ideas might be eccentric, strange, or even socially unacceptable, but there is no way to change what is normal except to move against it. Someone has to be weird. It might as well be you. 

Rowlet but neopets

a writing competition i was going to participate in again this year has announced that they now allow AI generated content to be submitted

their reasoning being that "we couldn't ban it even if we wanted to, every writer already uses it anyway"

"Every writer"?

come on

DQXI Characters at a Pool Party

Erik

He’s there to have a Good Time. I don’t even think he packs a shirt or shoes. This man is rawdogging it with nothing but swim trunks and a towel. Not a fantastic swimmer by any means but he can survive the deep end of the pool yknow? Good luck pulling him out

His hair doesn’t lose any of its spikiness when it gets wet by the way

Veronica

Wears a pretty standard one piece swimsuit or tankini— it really just depends on what she’s able to find in her size

She’s not the most comfortable in the water but she certainly jumps in to try and have fun! Might spend more time chilling out on a floatie than actually swimming

Serena

She wears a cute little swim dress with a pretty polka dot pattern :) Spends most of her time wading or floating in the shallow end of the pool. Subtly tries to convince Veronica to play mermaids with her.

She actually really hates getting her hair wet so she’ll probably do it up in a bun.

Sylvando

He’s the host! His papi said he was allowed to have some friends over to their vacation home whenever he’d like to, so of course he sends out invites months in advance.

He’s so glamorous. Big floppy sun hat, chunky sunglasses, probably sandals with a wedge. Carrying around a mimosa at all times, whether he’s in the water or just walking around.

Jade

Probably one of the better swimmers, not because she’s properly trained but just because of her baseline strength. Tries to goad the girls into racing her or doing the best cannonball, ends up playing mermaids with them

Also loves lounging on a beachchair in the sun all day, being able to enjoy doing nothing without feeling bad about it

Rab

Wades in the shallow side like that one meme. Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In his lane. Focused. Flourishing.

No one put him in charge of grill duty but somehow he ended up there? He and Erik are like two dads standing in front of the grill with a bottle in their hands.

Hendrik

He’s got on swim trunks and one of those swim shirts because he likes keeping it modest. Not really one for swimming but he’ll sit at the edge of the pool and dip his feet in while chatting with the others

Until Jasper walks by and casually kicks him in

Jasper

Only there because Sylvando let everyone bring a plus one and Hendrik asked Jasper to join him. Spends a lot of time in the shade because he burns like paper in a fireplace.

After kicking Hendrik into the pool, they spend the rest of the day fighting with pool noodles. It escalates to the point where Sylvando threatens to call his father

The girlies 🤭

My puter refused to upload, so I'm doing it from my phone