I've recently returned to playing piano about 2 weeks from the writing of this. I played for some months about 8 years ago. Then lost interest as I was forced to take piano lessons as a teenager. However piano and traditional music was still something I really enjoyed alongside the electronic ones. Many of my traditional tastes included piano solo pieces, or with some piano/saxophone (another favorite of mine). However piano specifically called to me as it makes me feel the most emotion out of any traditional instrument. I had this sudden re-interest in learning piano randomly weeks ago, and so the next Monday I went to guitar center, got a new stand, some learning books, printed some music sheets, and picked up my keyboard from my parents house.

I've been practicing since then and my progress is very satisfactory and fulfilling. I dream of perhaps being a piano instructor for children and teens; to find another piano player and play together or another musician at my level once I get better; or perform for a crowd or small audience, anyone really. I attend traditional performances when I can for inspiration. I'm actually planning after work today to go to a music shop and purchase some CD's. Which goes into my next point.

TRADITIONAL MEDIA. More specifically cassettes and CD's. Love physical media. I'm not sure if I talked about my fixation on cassettes and Walkman's before but I had a period where I was obsessed with them. I went thrifting for a cassette player for the house and some Hall and Oats tapes. I even got a Walkman for my birthday from my bestie! She's awesome. Now it's CD's at the moment, I completely was blind to the fact my car had a CD player. I mean I see it everyday, but like I use Bluetooth. Only now I'm like "Oh yeah I can find new music at a store." Which is what I did with cassettes. Exciting!

I just recently graduated with an associates degree at my community college. I don't feel any specific kind of excitement. I can confidently say "I did it. Woopee." not in a depressing way, but not excited either. It wasn't a grand achievement in my mind, although I am proud of my work to myself in reservation. I didn't go showcasing it apart from my closest friends and love. It's just a passing step in my life. I have something incase I need a new job/career in the future, that's all it was to me, and that's all it is to me now.

So what now? What's the big goal. Well I don't really have one, I can never really set major checkpoint goals for myself. At most it's short term, like what I wanna do tomorrow, at most next month... nothing major really. It felt unnerving, realizing that was life. Just do things without a major goal. I didn't like it. I don't like it now, well also kind of. I switch my perspectives often after some self reflection. I know one thing though and that's that I need to do SOMETHING. I do like learning, but I don't want to go back to college for another 2 years, or for any big goal. I'd just go back to learn stuff, nothing more. However that costs money, and I don't like getting assigned work... so what do I do? Well I figured something out!

Self learning online!!! And educating games. I signed up for LinkedIn Learning with my library card for free courses, along with some courses in math, grammar, and coding in Khan Academy also for free! So I can work at my own pace. On my 2ds I play Brain Age:Concentration Training for some added edutainment. I love learning stuff! So alongside my usual hobbies and impulse learning within random subjects and software like I already do. This provides some more "established/consistent" work I can do over time. With actual progress checks! Again I love learning when I do it myself. Math is actually kind of fun when you ain't got a teacher telling you what to do. Who knew? Anyways that's it.

Cosplaying for the first time was a lot of fun, especially doing a couples cosplay! I've fursuited before obviously but being a character I liked was special, especially a furry like Legoshi with Haru! It was fun acting out as him, I tried to sound like him, and walk like him, yknow roleplay as him as I walked around the con floor. As well as doing some of the poses like his cover pose where he leans back. I want to cosplay Hatsune Miku next for sure, she's one of my favs :3 Umm yeah cosplaying is awesome and another thing to add onto my enormous list of hobbies and things I've tried in life.

Extra memory: I remember practicing my Legoshi voice at Joanns fabric, it was kind of cringy but a lot of fun. Same with walking around the hotel floor before contime, trying to mimic his walk and hands. The SU Connie thing followed the same story basically. It was fun roleplaying as connie with my special person as Steven around the hotel, confloor, and chinatown in Chicago!

I recently watched Steven Universe, or specifically finished the series. I had previously only seen some episodes years ago when it initially released, but just never completed it for some reason. Anyways, binge watched it with my special someone and it was a wonderful experience. I physically recoiled and reacted and yelped at certain scenes that dealt with emotional situations that I myself experienced. That's the immediate praise I want to give this show, the emotional scenes that I can relate to hit... they hit HARD. I'm not going to go deep into it since I don't think I should vent that hard on my blog, but scenes involving Connie and her mom, Ruby in the pool at the motel, Sadie with her mom at the event where she initially was going to perform her pop song. I can't remember other specific moments off the top of my head but I did have at least 6 solid physical reactions to emotional scenes.

The plot itself was very well written, character development, and the dialogue was very mature when it came to emotional scenes. Again, this show writes emotions very well, and I love the love in this show. All the relationships are beautiful, biggest example being Garnet of course. Fusion itself also being a main thing, ughhhhhhhhhh (good groan) yeah this show does love well, in fact I'd say one of the only shows I think that writes different kinds of love perfectly/near perfectly.

As for the art style I'll focus on the background art first because gahdayum the backgrounds, sets, architecture, environments, anything and everything not character related was drawn beautifully. So many opportunities for wallpapers! Lot's of beautiful gradients, vector shapes, and excellent terrain. All I need.

As for character's themselves. All well designed, but my personal favorites are Garnet, Peridot, Steven, and Sadie... which is most of the main characters. Love em tho! Garnet's voice is amazing along with their backstory. Peridot, well, she just like me frfr. Steven of course being the main character has a lot of development as he matured. Sadie reminds me a lot of my best friend. Yeaurppp that's pretty much it. If you wanted a deep analysis of the entire show this blog is not for that XD, go read the wiki. Really great show, highly recommend it. OH and also the soundtrack (instrumentals and main songs) are absolutely fantastic. I have a bunch of them in my Spotify playlists and likes. Speaking of which I have to organize my Spotify again... argh.

So I've always enjoyed RPG's since... well ever. Especially with my passion for Dark Souls since 2017. I never really got into physical TTRPG's even like DnD. I love the idea of DnD and the possibility it brings, but I could never find myself actually sitting down consistently for sessions. It's too large of a commitment, and other TTRPG's didn't interest me.

So lucky for me when months ago I decided to create a physical replica and homebrew version of Inscryption

https://youtu.be/tZmOeZ6oGRM?si=kRn3DXHsp-QIQmKr

(Seen above)

I have tried multiple sessions of it, creating a new adventure every time! Since then I've grown ever more fond of TTRPG's and the unique joy that only they can bring. I grew fond of roleplaying as the antagonist, or story teller, or mix of both. It's a lot of fun! I've introduced ideas from DnD like decision making and communication events into Inscryption that you otherwise wouldn't get from the digital copy.

Anyways now I recently purchased Baldurs Gate III and I have been LOVING it! So much to do, to say, so many things to interact with. It's the closest to a TTRPG experience I could get in digital format!

Urmm yeah that's all I gotta say. Fantasy and medieval stuff rocks :D

So further continuing with how I feel about being identified in different ways. Today I went to a gas station to pick up some things for my best friend. While in there I was wearing my Axolotyl beanie my friend got me for chrimas. My earrings, round glasses, and unisex clothing leaning towards a slightly more fem look, not a lot but I clearly was not attempting to look masculine in any way.

I go up to the worker and they say "How is your day sir." And my immediate thoughts after were "Whoa okay haha buddy alright you can call me sir once." Then after I say my days good Sir." And that hit me. I don't know how to explain my specific disturbance. It was the flood of a weird feeling. I thought to myself that I'm not presenting as a woman so I can't tell them to referr to me as not sir, nor nonbinary because I doubt they would even know what I was talking about. I also began to think if it even was worth informing them I didn't want to be called sir as it was just a quick interraction that I wouldn't have again with them. I know they're doing it out of respect, since they're obviously under the assumption that I am a man. So they refer to me as such.

However I still didn't like it. I just had to accept it in the moment. I was called sir 6 times throughout that interaction. Now I'm not traumatized or anything, I'm fine mostly. They didn't do anything wrong. Again I just felt... like I wish everyone just knew what I preferred or felt like. But I know the world doesn't work like that, I just wish it did.

The worst part is I don't know what I would have preferred more. For them to refer to me as nothing, no mentions of masc pronouns, or preference for fem pronouns, or simply would just prefer to have me referenced as "you". "You have a good day." "Would you like a bag." "How was your day?" No sir. No sir. I am not a sir...

Every day more and more I wish I was born a woman. Not to become one, but to have just been one. I wish I lived in the beauty of a woman's world. There's a certain love that women have and show to each other, it's something I am slowly over months getting to be more and more part of. It is beautiful, such a beauty of empathy I've never been able to experience before. I could never go back to a man's world, It's not the same. I don't feel like myself. But again I also am not ready to jump into such a confusing world of seeing myself as a woman who always was. So I stick to a general nonbinary title, as it best suits me. I'm not a man, but I don't mind he/him. I'm not a woman, although I would love to be seen as she/her without a question... unfortunately some people will only respect you unless you "pass". I fit best somewhere in the middle. But even then I want to be somewhere else. This world is very judgemental. I'll hang safely within the comfort of my friends. Not even my own brain can make me feel safe.

So this is just a follow up of my previous post. Currently listening to Ww by Other Nothing, I really enjoy listening to a certain genre of ambient music that resembles Silent Hill's atmosphere as it perfectly... or near perfectly helps me express how I feel. It's a certain empty emotion I cannot express in words, so I let music do the talking.

Anyways back on topic. I've felt better having He/They/She as my pronouns. As I stated previously I don't really like seeing myself as a "man" despite me being indifferent to Him/Masc expressions. Although that has changed recently. I've stated previously that I don't really see myself as a woman, nor do I think I ever truly could be one. As I feel like a fraud if I were to transition (A whole nother can of personal worms that I'm not gonna talk about), and also I'm not ready for such a drastic change, whether physical or simply in the way I choose to identify. However a recent experience has led me to some more self discovery.

I went roller skating with my best friend who is a cis woman. And she let me borrow some of her clothes, a skirt, a vest, and some fishnets. The rest was from my own wardrobe. I felt... myself in them. It was refreshing to finally be able to dress the way I wanted to.

I don't want to be referred to as a femboy, nor as crossdressing. I hate that, for myself. Femboy is an objectifying term to me, and I don't want to be seen that way. Crossdressing I am a man who's supposed to be dressed in men's clothes, but I am pretending to be a woman in women's clothing. It's an awful term and makes me feel off, I don't like it. Again because I don't want to be seen as man.

When I am wearing more feminine clothing, that is it. I am simply wearing more feminine clothing. I am not a man, I am not a woman, I am simply wearing clothes.

However further gender confusion proceeds. As during the entire night, and when I got home, I felt like a real woman. I was holding my best friends hand most of the time since they had some difficulty keeping their balance, and throughout every moment I held her hand I understood.

I would tease the girls at school when I was a kid with my old friend. We'd call them lesbians because they held hands and thought it was weird. But now I get it, the support women have for eachother is something I never understood nor even had an oppurtinity to understand when I was younger, until now. I've always chosen to play as female characters in my games, since I was a kid in Black Ops 2 zombies as Misty. And my nicest friends through highschool to now were all women. There's a special type of friendship that I've only experience with queer afab/nonbinary people. It's something special and beautiful to me. I know part of it is the struggles we've faced due to bullying for our identity. And again I am partly of fault of that as a child, I teased others for the reasons that I would also be later on. But it never ends.

At that night when I was dressed more fem with my friend. I was bullied, I was called slurs, and had my drink thrown away by someone when I wasn't looking. However I wasn't upset, because I was so over ecstatic and at peace with the fact that I felt like a real woman for that night, I felt the beauty of a woman to woman friendship that I was so lucky to have. It's something I could have never thought to ask for, but I have it.

I feel my truest self in feminine/unisex clothing. It's unfortunate I live in a world where I am hated for simply trying live as myself. However the few people in my life that accept me, are beyond anything I could ever have dreamed of.

I've considered switching my pronouns around from he/they/she to they/she/he. Again I don't mind masc pronouns and expressions, however I won't deny I prefer more fem slang and expressions. Life is an interesting thing, I am almost 22... that's okay.

I'm listening to the SH2 soundtrack as I type this. I have a fondness for it as many of the tracks perfectly sound how I feel at times of confusion as I fight my own thoughts. As in times where I know a certain emotion I'm feeling is wrong, or unnecessary, and I realize it's dumb, but my body tries its hardest to make me feel that way no matter how hard I understand I do