shai-manahan

[shai-manahan]

Best Pali orgs to donate to at this time? Am thinking PCRF.

don't donate to orgs right now, donate to people. gazans need huge funds to evacuate to egypt, get treatment, buy food and other necessities. it is the most urgent and the best way your money can have the most impact.

here is fundsforgaza linktree full of verified gofundmes you can choose from

here is the operation olive branch spreadsheet full of gofundmes organized by different factors such as families, age, number of children, medical conditions as well as how close they are to meeting their goal etc

[shai-manahan]

not sure if its okay to ask but any plans to make jade and owen gender-selectable?

No. There are only two gender-selectable ROs in the story, and it will stay that way until the end no matter how many requests I receive. I know some authors are fine with changing set genders, but I am not, in all honesty, okay with it.

#jade stein #owen russell #interactive fiction #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #writing #ask #anon #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

Palestine Masterlist 

Introduction to Palestine: 

Decolonize Palestine:

Palestine 101

Rainbow washing 

Frequently asked questions 

Myths 

IMEU (Institute for Middle East Understanding):

Quick Facts - The Palestinian Nakba 

The Nakba and Palestinian Refugees 

The Gaza Strip

The Palestinian catastrophe (Al-Nakba)

Al-Nakba (documentary)

The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (book)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (book)

Nakba Day: What happened in Palestine in 1948? (Article)

The Nakba did not start or end in 1948 (Article)

Donations and charities: 

Al-Shabaka

Electronic Intifada 

Adalah Justice Project 

IMEU Fundraiser 

Medical Aid for Palestinians 

Palestine Children’s Relief Fund 

Addameer

Muslim Aid

Palestine Red Crescent

Gaza Mutual Aid Patreon

Books:

A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine

The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge

Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean

The Balfour Declaration: Empire, the Mandate and Resistance in Palestine

Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique

From Haven to Conquest: Readings in Zionism and the Palestine Problem until 1948

Captive Revolution - Palestinian Women’s Anti-Colonial Struggle within the Israeli Prison System

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History

Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics

Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of The Palestinians 1876-1948

The Battle for Justice in Palestine Paperback

Uncivil Rites: Palestine and the Limits of Academic Freedom

Palestine Rising: How I survived the 1948 Deir Yasin Massacre

The Transformation of Palestine: Essays on the Origin and Development of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

A Land Without a People: Israel, Transfer, and the Palestinians 1949-1996

The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood

A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples

Where Now for Palestine?: The Demise of the Two-State Solution

Terrorist Assemblages - Homonationalism in Queer Times

Militarization and Violence against Women in Conflict Zones in the Middle East

The one-state solution: A breakthrough for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian deadlock

The Persistence of the Palestinian Question: Essays on Zionism and the Palestinians

Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians

The False Prophets of Peace: Liberal Zionism and the Struggle for Palestine

Ten myths about Israel

Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question

Israel and its Palestinian Citizens - Ethnic Privileges in the Jewish State

Palestinians in Israel: Segregation, Discrimination and Democracy

Greater than the Sum of Our Parts: Feminism, Inter/Nationalism, and Palestine

Palestine Hijacked 

Palestinian Culture:

Mountain against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture

Palestinian Costume

Traditional Palestinian Costume: Origins and Evolution

Tatreez & Tea: Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora

Embroidering Identities: A Century of Palestinian Clothing (Oriental Institute Museum Publications)

The Palestinian Table (Authentic Palestinian Recipes)

Falastin: A Cookbook

Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen

Palestinian Social Customs and Traditions

Palestinian Culture before the Nakba

Tatreez & Tea (Website)

The Traditional Clothing of Palestine

The Palestinian thobe: A creative expression of national identity

Embroidering Identities:A Century of Palestinian Clothing

Palestine Traditional Costumes

Palestine Family 

Palestinian Costume

Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, v5: Volume 5: Central and Southwest Asia

Tent Work in Palestine: A Record of Discovery and Adventure

Documentaries, Films, and Video Essays:

Jenin, Jenin

Born in Gaza

GAZA 

Wedding in Galilee 

Omar

5 Broken Cameras

OBAIDA

Indigeneity, Indigenous Liberation, and Settler Colonialism (not entirely about Palestine, but an important watch for indigenous struggles worldwide - including Palestine)

Edward Said - Reflections on Exile and Other Essays

Palestine Remix: 

AL NAKBA

Gaza Lives On

Gaza we are coming

Lost cities of Palestine 

Stories from the Intifada 

Last Shepherds of the Valley

Voices from Gaza

Muhammad Smiry

Najla Shawa

Nour Naim

Wael Al dahdouh

Motaz Azaiza

Ghassan Abu Sitta

Refaat Alareer (murdered by Israel - 12/7/2023. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un)

Plestia Alaqad

Bisan Owda

Ebrahem Ateef

Mohammed Zaanoun

Doaa Mohammad

Hind Khoudary

Palestinian Voices, Organizations, and News 

Boycott Divest and Sanction (BDS)

Defense for Children in Palestine

Palestine Legal 

Palestine Action

Palestine Action US

United Nations relief and works for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA)

National Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)

Times of Gaza

Middle East Eye

Middle East Monitor

Mohammed El-Kurd

Muna El-Kurd 

Electronic Intifada 

Dr. Yara Hawari 

Mariam Barghouti

Omar Ghraieb

Steven Salaita

Noura Erakat

The Palestinian Museum N.G.

Palestine Museum US

Artists for Palestine UK 

Eye on Palestine 

[shai-manahan]

Hi! It's been a while since I've talked about the upcoming updates, but I finally had a chance to actually sit down and make plans! (the life of a corporate slave, am I right? 🙃)

It has something to do with the changes I will be implementing on my patreon, though. I've thought for a while how to give content that's worthwhile of subscriptions while also making sure I can be comfortable with them, and in all honesty, I had a tricky time doing it. HM is too personal for me, as I used to talk about before, and some of the patreon benefits I promised before eventually felt too revealing - of my own thoughts and people whose lives were a huge inspiration for this story.

I will be talking about these changes and the update schedules as well below the cut.

UPDATES

I aim to finish at least half of HM's Book 1 this year. It seems to be a more realistic goal than forcing myself to finish everything right away (which tbh may have been a huge pressure I put on myself the past few years), though admittedly, things are unpredictable in the field I'm in; my job is full of overtime hours, and I spend most of my weekends trying to recover (or sick).

Still, I gotta finish it one way or another, and it's not going to write itself (though I wish it would!), so yeah, set realistic deadlines, pull out a few all-nighters, and maybe I'll actually get through it, who knows?

I do hope I'll have steadier finances by the time Book 2 starts so I can put more focus on writing and have sufficient energy for it, but that's a conversation for another day.

Changes in Prologue - Chapter 2

Okay. I know I promised not to make revisions until I write more chapters, but changing how some game mechanics work and reworking the stats made it a necessity, and I underestimated how much rewriting I'd have to do. A few scenes ended up not working well anymore, and I couldn't resist from revising a few clunky sections while I was at it.

Dialogue options were one of those that were significantly affected by the stat changes, but no worries, nothing is changed in the story -- meaning Wesley still fucks with the Ripper's life (oops), Richard still goes off doing whatever non-sus thing he's doing, you can still punch Bale (it's even a lot funnier this time), Bertrand remains a bitchy cop, and you'll still have your sad flashback with your former best friend/lover/crush or whatever they are to your MC.

The plan is to release the updated version of Prologue and Chapter 1 to patrons by the end of March (I will have a few days off work that week) and release it to the public once the new content is also ready, which I presume will be available next month (I will keep you all posted but I really hope I can get it done by then because it's been forever 🥲).

I might tweak Chapter 2 a little so the available portion can stand on its own rather than be divided into two parts, because it's just too long lmfao and is harming the pacing as I keep worrying about the length. I'm also incorporating a few suggestions a few folks gave me these past few months.

Succeeding chapters

I've probably said this before but things are bound to get more insane in HM once we're past the first three to four chapters. But also quicker to write in a way. They're the kind of scenes I thrive in, and while they have bigger variations, they're a lot more fast-paced, characters start being manipulative little shits, and the threats are more prevalent than ever. Your Ripper will not have a good time, but I certainly will (I say as I look at my outline and get sad doing it). There will be a few "breaks" in between, but this is not and will never be a light-hearted story. Anyway, I'm inclined to believe I'll be more consistent with updates when that time comes, so bear with me for now :')

PATREON CHANGES

This is getting long, so I'll just list the updated tier benefits and end the day with it. I'll be posting a schedule that I will be committing to (here and on patreon tomorrow morning), with the below details as well (so if you wanna stop here that's totally valid) but for now, here's the tentative list:

Tier 1

Early access - 4 days before a public update (this month will be an exception and you'll get the update as soon as the other tiers get it, too).

Sneak peeks and deleted scenes - I included the latter because apparently I delete a lot of great scenes

Hints for future revelations in the story - the categories will depend on results of polls; the hints may be about Bale's death, about Ripper's family, Pharos, Cyro, the ROs themselves, or the nightmares that the MC is getting, etc. Might be in form of vague conversations/dialogues between unknown characters, might be me dropping subtle info about those involved. Either way, it will be fun :). The polls and these hints will be given monthly.

Tier 2

Early access - 1 week before a public update

all the other benefits for Tier 1

monthly RO snippets - I'm still experimenting with this, but I might simply write MC x RO snippets (with different kinds of MCs for different scenarios because I deeply hate writing blank slate MCs, sorry)

a choice to see the POV of a character, decided through polls, for every chapter/update.

Tier 3

Early access - as early as it's available and goes through testing stages

all other benefits for previous tiers

Non-RO short stories

Previews on unintroduced characters :)

That's all for tonight! I am so tired lmfao but I hope you all are having a great weekend so far! See you tomorrow :)

#patreon #patreon changes #updates #hollowed minds progress update #interactive fiction #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #wip #writing #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

LIWAY (2018) dir. Kip Oebanda

#absolutely recommend everyone to watch it #it's available on youtube too! #not if related

[shai-manahan]

I am torn between Wesley and Jade 😢

Also how would the romance progress between Jade and MC who was previously in a relationship with Wesley and is still in love with them?

Jade is very cautious. She knows that MC and Wesley had a bond that would be difficult for both to ignore, and she'll understand that sometimes you have to give the person you like some space and time to deal with fallouts they may have experienced, but it's also not a factor she'd want to stay hanging over her own relationship with MC (temporarily, sure, but if it keeps happening.....). It's not about jealousy; it's the fact that she has other problems of her own, her own life to manage, and considering MC already comes from a place of privilege, the added drama would just be too exhausting if MC fails to decide whom they really want to pursue, or what they want to do.

I'm glad you like her tho :')))) She deserves a lot of love tbh.

#jade stein #f wesley #interactive fiction #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #wip #writing #ask #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

Hii I really love your demo, obsessed would probably be a better word lol but I'm wondering if you are active on your Patreon because I'm seriously considering becoming a member. Wishing you lots of love 💕

Hi! I'll be more active near the end of the month, but I recommend subscribing on the first week of March instead if you can wait. There will be additions and changes to the sort of content I release there as well + an early release of an update at the end of that month 👀 and February's about to end in a few weeks anyway, so that's what I'd advise!

And I'm really glad you loved it!

#Tbh I didn't expect February to be this busy at work LMFAO I've been working overtime a lot......... #hopefully i manage to get my goals done for March :))) would be cool considering it's my birth month #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #interactive fiction #wip #writing #ask #whitewolf275

[shai-manahan]

that demo broke me inside

Anon, are you okay?? 😔😔

#whatever did this unfortunately it will be worse so............... #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #interactive fiction #wip #ask #writing #anon #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

Hey! About the content warnings, I absolutely DESPISE mandatory content warnings at the beginning of each chapter, because at this point they are spoilers, and it sours the entire chapter to me if I read them, so I have to avoid reading them, but then I risk stumbling upon some content that's actually a trigger for me without knowing about it. In that sense, generally diskike chapter-based content warnings since even if I can decide not to see them, that still means I won't be warned about stuff that may be an issue.

On the other hand, I like a list of warnings that I can read at the beginning of the story, or that I can check in the menu. If all warnings are in the same place, they are not chapter related, so I'm not really spoiled since I don't have any context for when or how they will come into play.

Both raise some similar points so I'll be combining these asks!

The current state of the demo is set up in a way that you can view the general warnings at the beginning, and yeah, I won't remove that. I probably wasn't too clear with what I said earlier (I was getting ready for work, sorry lmfao) but adding a toggle for chapter-related warnings as well is what I'm leaning towards right now.

I do have another question I want to emphasize, though.

When it comes to content warnings you see at the beginning of the story, would you prefer to read a complete set that applies even to unreleased content (i.e. warnings for chapters that aren't in the demo yet) right away? Or would you prefer for them to be gradually added as the plot progresses? Naturally, those that are inherent to the themes will always be there, but I'm still deciding for the rest.

#hollowed minds series #interactive fiction #hollowed minds #wip #writing #ask #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel #konoi and noir #anon

[shai-manahan]

Hey, so about the content warnings tbh like it when it’s on the first page with all the information. I don’t like when there is warnings every chapter, it makes it so hard for me to continue reading kinda fell like it’s spoiling what I’m about to see/read.

If you chose to do it every chapter it would be a good idea to make it a chose if people want see them on or not.

For my perspective content warnings every chapter is to much, it’s like going in to watch a horror movie and want content warnings in the middle of the movie. Like look at the genre and if you don’t like it don’t watch it. I know this can be controversial but it’s just my opinion.

I do hope you have a good day/evening/morning 😄

I think that's valid. I'm only asking because I'm the kind of reader who ignores pretty much every warning in a book if it's recommended by friends whose tastes I trust, even when the content sometimes hits a little too close to home, but I can also acknowledge that this isn't the case for everyone.

And in my opinion, people can still enjoy stories in a genre that they don't usually like exploring for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes, yes, the warnings can push readers away from continuing; sometimes they also help people brace themselves for what they might see. I just want to know if there are folks who'd prefer a certain approach with regards to how they are handled so I could consider them :) especially if there's something related they wish could be implemented in IFs. I'll most likely include an option for readers to see warnings every chapter, but I did want to hear more thoughts.

Anyway, the morning has barely started for me, but I hope you're having a good day yourself, anon! And thank you :))

#hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #interactive fiction #wip #writing #ask #hollowed minds book one #anon #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

Hollowed Minds Progress Update 1/21/2024

Hi! It's probably odd to start this with a question, but how do you all feel about the way content/trigger warnings are implemented in IFs? I'm asking this because I'm doing bits of additional coding for accessibility. In the next update, for example, you'll get to choose if you want lore-related text to be displayed on the stats page or for it to simply display stat changes + relationship trackers.

Would you want the content warnings to have the same treatment (i.e. having the choice to have it displayed before every chapter)? Or is there something else you prefer? And do you find it better if warnings for the unreleased content are also displayed? I didn't make a poll because I'd like to get actual responses for this that's more than just numbers.

While I won't be writing anything that's too explicitly violent, HM can still get very heavy and I wish to take into account the thoughts of everyone who would read the entire thing. So do feel free to send an ask :)

Anyway, fixing game-breaking bugs was mostly what I did the last few weeks lmfao. I did write a few thousand words but nothing I can share yet, except maybe for a fact that MC's personality traits (depending on your config -- though the current setup isn't applied in the current demo yet) have a lot more flavor texts involved, and characters will be showing more reactions related to them. And I don't know if I've already mentioned this yet, but I made it so you could refer to Wesley using their surname 👀 (I probably mentioned that already but eh.)

Meanwhile on Ch 2's Part 2: Alonzo's driving skills vs MC's level of patience :'))))

See you next weekend!

#hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #interactive fiction #wip #writing #hollowed minds book one #progress update #hollowed minds progress update #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

what’s the RO’s heights from tallest to shortest?

Answered this right here. But the ranking is basically:

Alonzo - Owen - Wesley - Jade

#hollowed minds #hollowed minds series #interactive fiction #wip #ask #writing #anon #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel #e alonzo #owen russell #f wesley #jade stein

[shai-manahan]

Hollowed Minds Progress Update 1/02/24

Hi! I hope you're all having a good year so far! I planned to post this last night but I was too anxious over having to return to work lmfao (with the holidays being over and all). Anyway, I know it's been a year since my last update; believe me, I'm upset about it, too, and I'm trying to make up for that.

To be completely honest, aside from my health, one thing that's been stopping me from progressing steadily was my attempts at improving the way I write. I was struggling to find my own style the entire year, experimenting over and over (sometimes without rest, like an idiot), and I know that probably sounds stupid, but writing as a craft is so special to me that I want to be better at it.

It did backfire, though. A lot. Mostly because I couldn't maintain a balance between this and irl stuff.

The thing is, I plan to write trad novels and short stories in the future. I plan to go back to writing screenplays, too. I don't think I'll ever stop making IFs, but there are things I want to write about that I can never do through this medium (and the same is true vice versa). This is also why I tend to keep editing HM while trying to push through with newer updates; this is the only way I can learn more about what I wish to do in the future. This is my chance to practice and experiment, before I get anything published and make the kind of impression I aim to make.

And I think I finally found the style I love to use the most this time.

I feel ready now to post progress updates regularly at least every two weeks (this one doesn't count). I was ashamed of my slow progress for quite a while, but I know I can start moving forward again. I'm also just eager to show you the story I've always wanted to share, and that'd never happen unless I push myself so :').

You're free to ask for progress in case I miss doing this btw, just. don't be an ass about it lmao. And feel free to send asks as well!

So far, this is what I'm trying to improve for the posted demo:

conciseness

strengthening the settings and the descriptions involving them

revising a few dialogues that do not fit the characters at all

readability and making some details clearer

overall pacing of ch2's first part

the nightmare scenes

reassessment of which variations would be most important to the plot and MC's characterization.

everything else I cannot think of right now

I think I'll dedicate a week or two into finishing whatever needs to be cleaned up so there'll be less game-breaking bugs that might happen for the new content. But after that 👀

That's all for tonight!

P.S. recently bought a lampshade and damn. this is definitely much better for my eyes when I write.

#hollowed minds series #interactive fiction #hollowed minds #wip #writing #progress update #hollowed minds progress update #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel

[shai-manahan]

Happy New Year, everyone :)))

[shai-manahan]

This is a monument to the US colonization of the Philippines. The US killed at least 200,000 Filipinos in the Philippines-US war and US imperialism until now greatly affects the Philippines. The struggle for liberation of colonized peoples is one. I, for one, welcome this defacement, and would actually like to see it vandalized even more.

#not if related #politics #colonization #I agree with this entirely except 200000 is actually a huge understatement #literally millions died. this is backed by several journals and statements that the Americans made themselves at the time #the amount of massacres (+concentration camps) Filipinos went through. and the lack of american reparations for most of them. #the way indigenous filipinos were enslaved and displaced #The 1904 world's fair is just a preview on how they were treated. And I was six when I first learned about the Samar campaign. #so yes I support this :')

[shai-manahan]

Do you have any visual sources for the readers to help find Filipino models and actors to use as Reaper FCs in their fanworks? Pinterest is not... the best source, to be honest.

Oh, Pinterest is absolutely not the best source. I will preface this by saying that I don't use face claims for HM as I'm personally uncomfortable with them, so as much as you're able, please use them as references instead. If you still want to proceed with using face claims despite that, at least use one that shares the same ethnicity with your MC; otherwise it's best to use pictures with vague images of facial features.

Anyway, I saw a few lists crawling around tumblr, but here is one I find to be quite diverse! It's more focused on Indigenous Filipinos, including some who are also of mixed descent (tho unfortunately there are no enby FCs included). From what I can observe so far, the blog linked within the doc has non-indigenous Filipino face claims, too, which you can also check for yourself if you want to look for more.

I think that's a good starting point; I might add to this if I can find more. There's no absolute standard as to how Filipino characters should look like, but thank you for asking! I hope I've been of help, and I hope you can enjoy exploring options for your MC as well!

#face claims #ripper #interactive fiction #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #wip #writing #ask #anon #hollowed minds book one #if wip #interactive novel #interactive game #if game

[shai-manahan]

reading some of the prompts and.... is alonzo ok? 😭

No, they're not. No one is okay in this story😞

#e alonzo #hollowed minds series #hollowed minds #interactive fiction #wip #writing #ask #anon #hollowed minds book one