I Don’t Want to Live in the Land of the Brave Anymore

beatyourwings:

I don’t want to be Theo. I desperately don’t want to be Theo. But as the molecules of Boylston Street’s pavement waft through New England tonight, I can’t help but feel that we’re all being asked to turn into some version of him.

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This is a brave statement.

Even if terrorism hasn’t physically hurt us, it has caused emotional damage to many of us, myself included (my mom worked in Manhattan during 9/11 and my dad works right near the Boston Marathon finish line).

We shouldn’t be brave just to front and show “them” that “they” haven’t destroyed our spirit; we should first check that we’re actually okay (and it’s okay to not be okay).

If you want to talk about it, find a friend, family member, teacher or look for a counseling service (there are many hotlines and low-cost ones available). If you need to think quietly for yourself, do that. Don’t try to move on if you cannot. Mental health is just as important as physical health.

After you’re okay, look to help others within your means. Then look to help society, again only doing what you are able to. Ask yourself: “Why has this happened?” “What in society has led someone to do this?” “How do we prevent this from happening to anyone in the world again?” These are frighteningly huge questions, but they are the ones that allow us to see the true cause of these events, beyond just blaming one person, one group or one religion.

dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info
dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info
dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info
dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info
dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info
dresdencodak: Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link.  Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos. This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap. Hope you like it! (for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)
Zoom Info

dresdencodak:

Inspired by Anita Sarkeesian’s Video Game Tropes vs Women, I wanted to pitch a Zelda game where Zelda herself was the hero, rescuing a Prince Link. 

Clockwork Empire is set 2,000 years after Twilight Princess, and is not a reboot, but simply another iteration in the Zelda franchise. It just so happens that in this case, Zelda is the protagonist. I’m a very big Zelda fan, and worked hard to draw from key elements in the continuity and mythos.

This concept work is meant to show that Zelda as a game protagonist can be both compelling and true to the franchise, while bringing new and dynamic game elements that go farther than being a simple gender swap.

Hope you like it!

(for more info about this project, check out my FAQ)

What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone? Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person. Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.
Zoom Info
What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone? Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person. Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.
Zoom Info
What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone? Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person. Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.
Zoom Info
What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone? Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person. Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.
Zoom Info
What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone? Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person. Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.
Zoom Info

What do you want to be remembered for when you’re gone?

Okay, popping back into Tumblr with a philosomorbid question is pretty random, but there’s been a loss within my wider circle of friends and I’m feeling it as well, even though I’ve never met the person.

Well, I find my peace in nature, so here are some dinky phone photos I took in the past two months, traveling across New Zealand with some of my favorite people.

BATTLE BEAST!! INITIATE FLUFF SEQUENCE!! I used to play this game SO MUCH on our crappy Windows 95 PC because it looked awesome and I got to fight as a stuffed dinosaur with a pacifier. YES.

It’s now a part of my old-Windows-games-I-used-to-play-but-now-cannot-run-on-my-Mac collection (this is actually a thing for me).

New glasses (Love L740 Crystal Shadow) from one of those free frames deals. I couldn’t find any good pictures of this particular frame on someone with a very shallow nose bridge, so here’s more of my face on the internet. Pseudo-review: I was worried they wouldn’t, but they DO in fact fit and stay on my small, flat face just fine. The key is bending the earpieces WAY the heck in (you can see in the third photo that they’re almost at right angles). Downside to this is that it kinda hurts the back of my ears and the glasses will no longer fit into a regular glasses case. They’ll still slide off my nose but ALL glasses slide off my nose. Despite the dramatic cat eye shape, they’re actually quite subdued. The frames are less noticeable than my default metal-framed glasses. I guess it’s a compromise, since I’m too poor/wimpy to get Lasik. Sturdy plastic frames tend to be heavier than metal-only ones, so it may take getting used to. They’re pretty much the same weight as my old glasses, though, so no complaints here.
Zoom Info
New glasses (Love L740 Crystal Shadow) from one of those free frames deals. I couldn’t find any good pictures of this particular frame on someone with a very shallow nose bridge, so here’s more of my face on the internet. Pseudo-review: I was worried they wouldn’t, but they DO in fact fit and stay on my small, flat face just fine. The key is bending the earpieces WAY the heck in (you can see in the third photo that they’re almost at right angles). Downside to this is that it kinda hurts the back of my ears and the glasses will no longer fit into a regular glasses case. They’ll still slide off my nose but ALL glasses slide off my nose. Despite the dramatic cat eye shape, they’re actually quite subdued. The frames are less noticeable than my default metal-framed glasses. I guess it’s a compromise, since I’m too poor/wimpy to get Lasik. Sturdy plastic frames tend to be heavier than metal-only ones, so it may take getting used to. They’re pretty much the same weight as my old glasses, though, so no complaints here.
Zoom Info
New glasses (Love L740 Crystal Shadow) from one of those free frames deals. I couldn’t find any good pictures of this particular frame on someone with a very shallow nose bridge, so here’s more of my face on the internet. Pseudo-review: I was worried they wouldn’t, but they DO in fact fit and stay on my small, flat face just fine. The key is bending the earpieces WAY the heck in (you can see in the third photo that they’re almost at right angles). Downside to this is that it kinda hurts the back of my ears and the glasses will no longer fit into a regular glasses case. They’ll still slide off my nose but ALL glasses slide off my nose. Despite the dramatic cat eye shape, they’re actually quite subdued. The frames are less noticeable than my default metal-framed glasses. I guess it’s a compromise, since I’m too poor/wimpy to get Lasik. Sturdy plastic frames tend to be heavier than metal-only ones, so it may take getting used to. They’re pretty much the same weight as my old glasses, though, so no complaints here.
Zoom Info

New glasses (Love L740 Crystal Shadow) from one of those free frames deals. I couldn’t find any good pictures of this particular frame on someone with a very shallow nose bridge, so here’s more of my face on the internet.

Pseudo-review:

  • I was worried they wouldn’t, but they DO in fact fit and stay on my small, flat face just fine. The key is bending the earpieces WAY the heck in (you can see in the third photo that they’re almost at right angles). Downside to this is that it kinda hurts the back of my ears and the glasses will no longer fit into a regular glasses case. They’ll still slide off my nose but ALL glasses slide off my nose.
  • Despite the dramatic cat eye shape, they’re actually quite subdued. The frames are less noticeable than my default metal-framed glasses. I guess it’s a compromise, since I’m too poor/wimpy to get Lasik.
  • Sturdy plastic frames tend to be heavier than metal-only ones, so it may take getting used to. They’re pretty much the same weight as my old glasses, though, so no complaints here.
zuky: thecosmonaut: marthur: So there is a manga set in 19th century Central Asia and the heroine rides horses and shoots things and is completely charming and it’s full of really well written female characters who are portrayed as capable and strong even while they do traditionally feminine things and also there’s great game politics and the art is incredible and it’s just… nice, I enjoyed it a lot GO AND READ IT So, okay, this is awesome, and the art is mind-blowing, and I’m kind of in love with the fact that the main character shares a name very similar to one of my own, and you should all just read this manga because you’re honestly missing out if you don’t. Despite that unfortunate all-caps intro, this manga, named Otoyomegatari, looks pretty good, at least at first glance. I’m extremely picky about what media goes into my head, especially concerning representations of race, as well as Central and East Asian cultures, so that’s already saying a lot. It’s a story of cultural exchange, by way of inter-marriage, among two neighboring but different ethnic groups by the Caspian Sea, probably Kazakhs and Uzbeks. They’re both Muslim cultures along the Silk Road, but a Kazakh bride marrying into an Uzbek family brings the trademark skills of her culture to the story: specific clothing and food, archery from horseback using stirrups (a Mongolian/Kazakh innovation which enabled them to conquer China), falconeering. Will the cultures mesh peacefully through the marriage or will the inevitable cultural clashes become a more serious problem for the family, the village, or worse? This seems to be the central tension in where the story is heading. There are some problems with the writing and dialogue layout, probably because of the translation, but it’s easy enough to overlook. The art is excellent, and I’m especially impressed by the authentic look of the clothing. Being part Manchu, having visited relatives in Mongolia, I have a strong affinity for the cultures of the region and hate to see them misrepresented or degraded (Borat from Kazakhstan, anyone?). My family is obsessed with the fine details of Silk Road history, and actually my tech company Digital Stoneworks is planning to produce a video game about the Silk Road and Central Asia next year, though it will be set in the 7th century, during the Tang dynasty. It looks to me as though Otoyomegatari handles culture responsibly; I’m looking forward to reading the rest. I changed the original description to proper capitalization. This series has so many lovely cultural details with great characters and histories. It really feels like a world that exists and has existed and hopefully will continue to exist. Here is the link to read, again.
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zuky:

thecosmonaut:

marthur:

So there is a manga set in 19th century Central Asia and the heroine rides horses and shoots things and is completely charming and it’s full of really well written female characters who are portrayed as capable and strong even while they do traditionally feminine things and also there’s great game politics and the art is incredible and it’s just… nice, I enjoyed it a lot

GO AND READ IT

So, okay, this is awesome, and the art is mind-blowing, and I’m kind of in love with the fact that the main character shares a name very similar to one of my own, and you should all just read this manga because you’re honestly missing out if you don’t.

Despite that unfortunate all-caps intro, this manga, named Otoyomegatari, looks pretty good, at least at first glance. I’m extremely picky about what media goes into my head, especially concerning representations of race, as well as Central and East Asian cultures, so that’s already saying a lot.

It’s a story of cultural exchange, by way of inter-marriage, among two neighboring but different ethnic groups by the Caspian Sea, probably Kazakhs and Uzbeks. They’re both Muslim cultures along the Silk Road, but a Kazakh bride marrying into an Uzbek family brings the trademark skills of her culture to the story: specific clothing and food, archery from horseback using stirrups (a Mongolian/Kazakh innovation which enabled them to conquer China), falconeering. Will the cultures mesh peacefully through the marriage or will the inevitable cultural clashes become a more serious problem for the family, the village, or worse? This seems to be the central tension in where the story is heading.

There are some problems with the writing and dialogue layout, probably because of the translation, but it’s easy enough to overlook. The art is excellent, and I’m especially impressed by the authentic look of the clothing. Being part Manchu, having visited relatives in Mongolia, I have a strong affinity for the cultures of the region and hate to see them misrepresented or degraded (Borat from Kazakhstan, anyone?). My family is obsessed with the fine details of Silk Road history, and actually my tech company Digital Stoneworks is planning to produce a video game about the Silk Road and Central Asia next year, though it will be set in the 7th century, during the Tang dynasty. It looks to me as though Otoyomegatari handles culture responsibly; I’m looking forward to reading the rest.

I changed the original description to proper capitalization. This series has so many lovely cultural details with great characters and histories. It really feels like a world that exists and has existed and hopefully will continue to exist.

Here is the link to read, again.

(via qiow)

Source: pixiv.net

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