So Often We Hear About How Mental Illness/neurodivergency Makes People Interesting, But Here’s A Shoutout

So often we hear about how mental illness/neurodivergency makes people interesting, but here’s a shoutout to the people whose mental illness makes them boring.

Systems who dress at a middle ground of everyone’s style because dressing differently depending on who’s fronting may arouse suspicion. Systems who talk, write, and text the same regardless of who’s fronting for the same reason. System members who can’t do the things they want to do because their system only has the time and resources for so many hobbies.

People with OCD who spend so much time doing compulsions that they don’t have time for the things they want to do. People whose compulsions are mental so no one knows that they’re struggling. People who can’t do certain things because they would trigger them to the point that they couldn’t function.

People with OCPD who are told that they’re too ridged or not spontaneous enough. People whose entire personality, including hobbies and the things they like, are part of their disorder.

Autistic people who dress to avoid sensory bads. People who only eat a few foods. People who can’t go out and socialize.

Really just anyone with so much going on inside their head that they don’t have time for anything else. People who aren’t even capable of being on tumblr or any social media.

Neurodivergency isn’t always something that fits an aesthetic or makes people interesting. Some of us are just focused on surviving. Our symptoms aren’t something to be consumed by others. They’re personal. In the age of the internet it can seem like everyone is always performing, but I promise it is okay to just look after your mental health.

If anyone wants to add on with more mental illnesses/neurodivergencies please do!

How to Maintain Your Magic Accessories: an overview for novice mages

Many spellcasters-to-be imagine how exciting life will be once they've acquired some skills and a wand, but very few picture the everyday upkeep of said wand. That's why we at the Mage Guidance Department created this guide: to spread awareness so that prospective mages can know what to expect when choosing a life of magic. It's not all fun and mind games—it's a commitment to care!

(This is my piece for Dottolus' Dotnomicon: Grimoire of Wonders, a magic book zine organized by @dotzines. Below the cut are the static versions. It was fun to play with the idea of a book with magically shifting content!)

An illustration in portrait orientation, all in shades of purple and cream, with six panels. The first panel contains the title, “How to Maintain Your Magic Accessories,” and subtitle, “an overview for novice mages.”

The second panel has three items and text. In the top left is a witch or wizard hat with three pins, a band, and a sagging tip; it has gloom lines around it. Below the hat is a scuffed-up belt. To the right of these is a fancy mage’s robe, covered in fur. The text below it all is in bullet points and reads: “Re-point your hat every month or two. Oil your leather straps each season. De-lint your robe weekly.* *Daily if you have a furry familiar!”

The third panel has a magic mirror, crystal ball, and two gems, all cloudy, as well as a scuffed-up magic staff and a broken magic wand. The bullet points below read: “Wax wands & staves regularly, and store them out of direct sunlight when not in use. Polish scrying orbs, gems, and mirrors to maintain their surfaces. Clarity = power!”

The fourth panel shows a messy heap of books and scrolls in disarray. The bullet points below read: “Store spell scrolls in a cool, dry place, and unfurl them annually. Organize scrolls & spellbooks in the way most useful to you: author, difficulty, etc.”

The fifth panel has three dotted-line outlines of shapes with sad faces in their centers, as well as two potion bottles with question marks above them. The bullet points below read: “Refill your component pouch regularly based on your usage of various ingredients. Potions gradually lose potency over time; throw them out after they’re a century old.”

The sixth and final panel displays a knotted pendant necklace, a spattered bracer, and between them, an object that looks like three cutesy figures connected side-by-side. Each figure has two little feet, an expression (angry, smiley, and grimacing), and a messy upright ponytail (forked, fanned, and flopped over). The text below has bullet points and then an address, reading: “See individual items’ care instructions! If you’re still not sure or need more help, ask your local mage guild, or write to us at: Attn: Mage Guidance Department, Dottolus’ Dotnomicon: Grimoire of Wonders, 2560 Conjuration Court, Tower #2, Dottenstadt, DZ 8-0316-29”

The same image as previous, but with the illustrations now being of the items cleaned up and orderly. All the text is the same, including the first panel’s title.

In the second panel, the hat is now pointy and the belt and robe are clean of scratches and fur. Sparkles surround the items.

In the second panel, the cloudy items have been polished, the staff’s scuffs are gone, and the wand has been bandaged back together. Once again, sparkles surround the items.

In the fourth panel, the messy heap has been completely replaced by an orderly bookcase. The top half is a shelf that contains books, separated in the middle by a dragon statuette bookend. The shelf itself is labeled “Abjuration” on the left and “Alchemy” on the right. Below the shelf is a space with diagonal boards forming cubbies; a few scrolls are rolled up inside.

In the fifth panel, the outlined items are now present: a seashell with sharp corners to its spiral, a fancy quill, and a mound of some glittery sand- or dirt-like substance. The question mark above the left potion bottle is now an X, and the question mark above the right potion bottle is now a check mark.

In the sixth and final panel, the necklace has been untangled and hung from two points, the bracer is unmarred, and the figurines’ hair has been tamed and re-styled. The angry figurine’s hair now comes to a single point rather than splitting, and the other two ponytails are similar to before, but cleaned up.

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pringletrees

1 year ago

Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.

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pringletrees

3 years ago

A new friend!!

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pringletrees

5 months ago

HERE WITH ME // Molly Mendoza

Sumi ink, gouache, gel pen on 7x10” Arches

For solo show at Nucleus House 1/10/25

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pringletrees

7 months ago

Genuinely I think you guys should look into Solarpunk. Like, it’s a dark day in America, and everyone is feeling hopeless. And unfortunately America is a country that literally doesn’t mind its own business and has to be involved with the rest of the world. Mostly in a bad way. But.

I think you need to check out Solarpunk. Yes it’s literary as it’s speculative fiction. Yes it’s an aesthetic. But it’s also a real life movement. It’s activism against the climate crisis. To reverse the effects of our planet. It’s activism for human rights. The right to housing, the right to food, the right to water. Activism for education, health care, child care. To have the choice to have an abortion. It is about banding together with your community, with your fellow humans.

Solarpunk is about feeling rage about everything that is wrong with the world and using it to help fix it. It is about feeling hope that the actions you do will change things for the better, no matter how slow. Organization. Protests. Even something like calling, emailing, writing a letter to the people in your government. Your mayor, your county representative, your state representative and so on. It is about choosing kindness to help people in need. To help people who were once in cults and are taught to be afraid of “outsiders.” To help people when they realize that they were wrong and help them be able to grow. To share food with others, offer a friend a place to stay, join community events.

It is okay to rage. To cry. To scream and feel like the world is burning to the ground. Let yourself feel those emotions. And look at Solarpunk. Use your emotions as fuel to make things better. For yourself and others. To make things a bit kinder. For yourself and others.

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pringletrees

2 years ago

yknow what would be a fucked up phone feature

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pringletrees

3 years ago