Yep. Me again.
I've been really continuing to struggle with depression this past year, and have been dealing with virtually chronic thoughts about suicide and general feelings of sadness and hopelessness. I still occasionally go back here and re-read the blog from a year ago where so many of you wonderful people tried to offer encouragement. That, along with a generous amount of Doctor Who, Pokémon, and Dragon Age have been keeping me held together enough to make it through another year.
Christmas is particularly hard for someone like me to get through though. Being a time where people are supposed to be happy and crap, I find myself extra drained and bitter. Basically I'm scrooge, even though I try to give gifts and make others happy.

With it being Christmas Eve now, I find myself wanting to crawl back in bed so I can forget the holiday.

It'd mean a lot to me if some of you out there could do me the favor of just sticking some positive thoughts and messages here. Not necessarily in the name of encouraging, but more so in the name of having positive and happy things to focus the mind on to help muscle through this time of the year.

Hello! I'm Looks-for-Doves.

I am quite new to this game, although I've heard of The Endless Forest some years previously. I always held it in the back of my mind as a beautiful though, an original idea, a new world definitely to be tried, once the moment came. Now that I'm here, I'm glad that it finally did! The game is a thousand times more amazing than I imagined, and the people playing have all been very friendly and kind.

Despite some blunders. *cough* Apologies to any irked by my following, jumping around or excessive bowing. For that I point a shameless finger at my little doe, Doves. Friendly to a fault, that one, and hopelessly enthusiastic.

I am a complete novice at roleplaying (read: never tried D:), but I would definitely like to see how it goes. The depths of some storylines I've so far encountered are baffling in the best of ways, and also a bit intimidating. Hopefully nothing breaks. ^^'

So, hello once more! I hope we meet in the forest, and should anyone have the urge to nap, frolic, blow bubbles or anything at all, feel free to look for a red fawn sporting magpie feathers.

With love,
Doves

Hey there, long time no see. My computer suffered a major blackout a few weeks ago thanks to a storm we had here, but it's all fixed now and I'm back. I'll finish all the art I owe you guys in a few days, and I'll be in the Forest once again.

Hope to see you soon!

I just have to make the disclaimer now that this poem is NOT mine, all credit goes to Louise Erdrich (if u ever get the chance, plz support her works in any way u can, she's fab). since this is a deer-related poem, I thought u guys might appreciate it as much as I do~

a bit of background on the poem-- I read this in my Environmental Lit class, and absolutely fell in LOVE. the imagery is so intense and unsettling in a frightening, exhilarating way, and goddamn, I just can't say enough about it

Erdrich is part Ojibwa (her Wiki says she's specifically a part of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, but I'm somewhat reluctant to rely solely on Wiki info if I have yet to see such specific info in at least a few other places too, BUT there ya go), so a lot of her work focuses on Ojibwa myths and legends, and this poem is a beautiful example of that

WARNING- this poem undoubtedly contains themes of death (or, at least, attempted murder), and slightly gruesome imagery. also, depending on how u read this poem, this could have rape/attempted rape themes. that's exactly how I read it the first time, and I still personally think that these themes were purposefully written into the poem, BUT if u read it more from the base of that antelope myth, it becomes something else entirely. so I'm not gonna say it DOES have rape themes, but it COULD, so tread carefully

ANYWAYS, enough talking ABOUT the poem, here's the poem itself~
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The Strange People
By Louise Erdrich

The antelope are strange people ... they are beautiful to look at, and yet they are tricky. We do not trust them. They appear and disappear; they are like shadows on the plains. Because of their great beauty, young men sometimes follow the antelope and are lost forever.