Back At It Gin

Something that people seem to have no conception of, unless they've experienced it themselves, is how fucking isolating it is to not be able to eat a lot of foods that most people can eat.

"People with allergies just shouldn't go out to eat, because it's selfish to make your allergies other people's problem."

Humans like to eat. Humans like to eat when they hang out. Humans go out to eat to hang out. Eating is incredibly important in social situations. It's just a thing that we do. Not being able to eat in these situations is incredibly fucking isolating.

I remember being a kid, sitting in one of my social groups, watching them all eat pizza, alone, while I got nothing, because my social group leader forgot to get me something to replace it. Again.

And this shit still happens to me, even now.

Disabled people deserve to experience luxuries just like everyone else, including going out to eat. Safely.

quiet kid powers deactivate

Being nice to someone you don’t like is not manipulation btw it’s being civil

Do you think Stede WANTED to put some of that yummy lavender soap in the breakup box for Ed?

Like...

Lucius, trying to get Stede out of his funk: Alright, first things first. We need to get rid of everything he left here. (Gets a box and plops it in front of Stede; starts putting stuff in it)

Lucius: And I'm talking everything, his jacket, his guns-

Stede (reminiscently): He only has one gun

Lucius: okay, well if he did have extra guns, they would go in the box. Now get up and help me.

*a few moments later*

Lucius: Alright, that should be it- Captain?

Stede: Yes?

Lucius: I'm pretty sure this silk jacket is yours.

Stede: Well, he kept holding onto it whenever he was in here, so I figured he'd like to have it.

Lucius: Captain, this box is meant to be a way to let yourself be petty and throw it in his face that you don't need any part of him and he doesn't get to have any part of you. You don't put stuff in here just because you think he'll like it.

Stede: *sigh* alright.

Lucius: *nods*

Stede: Can I at least put some of the lavender soap in there? I think he'd really appreciate it-

Lucius: IT ISN'T A CARE PACKAGE!

It disturbs me how many people don’t know the anatomy of a pen/pencil/brush/stylus/tool of choice when held by an artist. I would have thought this was common knowledge!

There is a tube inside your tool of choice that is filled with art. When you first pick it up for the day, there’s a very small blockage (the red part in the diagram that I have helpfully provided for you) of bad or awkward art that has sunk down and settled near the tip. The only way to get rid of it is to draw it out onto a page/canvas.

Once you do that, you can get to the good art! It’s totally normal. It happens to everyone. That’s why people do warmups before they draw - they know that awkward art is lurking right near the tip, so they’re getting rid of it.

New artists especially seem to not know that it’s there, and sometimes they might think their bad art blockage is never ending, but if you keep drawing, you’ll get to the good art. Sometimes that awkward art blockage can build up a little bit if you go a long time without drawing, too. Just keep going, though. I promise you that you can break through it, if you just keep going.

There was a phrase that I used in my classroom when my students would ask me about doing questionable things, and my response was always, "Technically you can, but should you?"

The reason I used this instead of a simple yes or no answer is because it opened up conversation. Instead of blindly looking for permission, the conversation became more about cause and effect. Usually it navigated the "well you can't tell me what to do I'm going to do it anyway" instinct in kids when I'd say no, because all they were looking for is something to challenge them.

For example: "Can I jump off the slide?"

"Technically you can, but should you?"

If they answer no, I'd ask why. Usually they'd say because it's against the rules or I don't know.

If they say it's against the rules, I'd ask them why they think it's a rule. And if they'd say I don't know, I'd explain that the slide is five feet off of the ground, and jumping that high is a good way to hurt your knees or worse.

And then the most important part: if you did do it, how can you make it safer?

That's when the creativity juices started to flow. I'd get anything from pillows to beds to bouncy shoes to wings to someone catching them (which became a whole different conversation). And I told them since we didn't have those things here, it wasn't safe. And safety is everyone's number one job at school.

It stopped them from doing it behind my back. It got them to engage in critical thinking. And it helped them figure out how to do things without help.

However, there's always been an itching thought in the back of my head. Somewhere out there, did one of my past students drag their mattress out to the slide and jump off of it?

For 2025 I want to give you all the best advice I took to heart last year which is simply “do it for the plot” bc doing anything good or bad is better than doing nothing at all and at the end of the day you’ll have a fun little story to tell and it will either be “omg do you want to hear about this crazy thing that happened that was awful” or “omg I gotta tell you about this awesome thing that happened” but like either way it’s good for the plot! Even if it’s scary or you don’t know if it will work out or not, at least it gives you things to look back on at the end of the year! You’ll learn more about yourself! Go forth and by any and all means possible: do it for the plot besties :)

I have a head girl interview but I’m nonbinary and I prefer to be referred to a he/him than she/her when someone doesn’t use they/them.

Therefore,

I will refer to it as my head UFO interview.

Unidentified

F’ing queer

Object

And if I am assigned the role, I will:

Go on the website they get their badges on

Buy identical badges to the head girl ones

Make them say things like ‘head UFO’ and ‘head enby’ etc

Wear them at random intervals and see how long it takes for someone to notice

Laugh when I’ve left year 11 having worn a ‘head gay’ badge the entire year and nobody has noticed.

Thank you for listening to my scheme

Edit: I didn’t get Head UFO, but I did get senior prefect. Or as I like to call it, MEGA PREFECT. Fear me! All the praise, literally no responsibilities, or gender requirements.

My favourite feeling in the world - running barefoot through wet grass in an evening rainstorm!