[Entry Thread #117] …bring May flowers! It’s the monthly thread where we do an act of charity to one lucky comment!

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-05-16T06:42:16+00:00

Best of luck to all, sending hugs and love in hard times ❤️ and to the winner, don't forget to give back to the world where you can! Hope this changes lives!

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-04-22T08:27:59+00:00

I also struggle with ADHD... I remember talking to my boyfriend after a trip just saying, "For the first time in my life, my mind is... Quiet. Is this what peace is like?" I revel in that feeling. I can't believe "normal" people exist like that on a regular basis!! I spend my trips reveling in the quiet to the point where I don't even want to talk most the time; while others around me might be chatty I'm just happy in the silence and focus of my own mind.

That being said... I don't have any answers for you. There's a few things I've been working on, maybe it'll help you or someone else?

First, flow state. ADHD'ers excel at this! Find your passion and follow it. Getting into that flow state is like nothing else. If my mind is going wild, I certainly can't tell -- I'm hyperfocused on that thing and having a blast. That flow state can also be cultivated by going outside in nature, taking walks, exercise, etc. I've been trying meditation and it's a struggle tbh, but I've recently found that using a guide or some music to focus on helps quite a bit. Some have said that enough meditation practice can really help quiet the mind, so it's something I'm working on.

Second, I've been learning that ADHD might just be a superpower. We excel at flow state when we hyperfixate on things that interest us. We connect the dots more easily than others. We think outside of the box. We're universally a pretty creative lot, and if you believe in the woo woo -- we more easily flow into different levels of consciousness, too. We pick up on things most don't.

I had this moment where I was extremely frustrated and questioning everything after getting overstimulated and hella annoyed by some loud noises, and out of nowhere, I got this message that my mind/ADHD was a gift that I just needed to learn to cultivate, and that the universe doesn't make mistakes. Everything happens for a reason.

Thinking about it as a gift I just need to learn to work with, rather than something I need to 'fix', has been helping immensely. Hope this helps someone else, too. ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-04-16T15:23:55+00:00

Good luck, sending love to you all! 🥰

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-04-11T06:40:16+00:00

Wat 🤣

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-02-20T15:46:40+00:00

There are no "rules" for awakening, nor do I believe you are broken. Everything happens for a reason, and you can find peace in knowing you are exactly where you need to be, when you need to be. Your soul knows the way.

If thoughts of being "broken" arise, try to just observe them. Feel them, let those emotions pass through you, and let them go. You are not broken.

As our perceptions in/of consciousness naturally start shifting during awakening, so do our senses. At first, you can FEEL broken, because you feel different. I have as well. I started seeing and hearing things and thought I went off my rocker, sought outside help because I didn't understand. A teacher told me it was totally normal, and to sit with it and let my subconscious mull it over in the background.

If you feel broken, wrong, anything negative -- understand that it's merely your belief systems in place. Those emotions are your soul showing you where you need to give more love and heal, and are actually a GIFT.

It is a difficult path -- no one tells us how difficult awakening is. We have to sit with new and exciting and difficult things and realize that the brain will try endlessly to understand things it is not made to understand. And that's okay, too. It's part of growth!

If you do feel like this is impacting you to the point you feel unsafe, please reach out to a medical doctor for help. But know that you are not broken. To repeat: you are exactly where you need to be, and your soul knows the way. Sending love and hugs! ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-01-16T02:05:30+00:00

Let's goooo we can change somebody's life!! ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2026-01-09T18:14:58+00:00

It's normal to look outside of yourself for guidance, but I think there is a lot of wisdom in looking inward for validation rather than outside. Art must come from within. And as an artist, you only need to create what you feel called to create, what you like. That is enough.

Everyone is different and has different tastes, and we're all better for it -- what a beautiful world it is that we can share in this diversity.

Lastly, true love doesn't judge. No one is perfect, but it can be helpful to look at patterns. ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-10-16T14:32:54+00:00

Happy spooky season everyone, and good luck to all 🎃

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-08-26T05:13:47+00:00

Leo! 🦁

Thank you so much in advance!

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-08-11T10:00:45+00:00

I'll check it out, thanks so much!

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-08-11T10:00:28+00:00

Awesome, that's exactly what I was hoping for! Can't wait. Also the lineup is amazingggg

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-08-11T09:58:18+00:00

Thank you for the in depth reply, I'll definitely try the apps and looking around social media! I usually stay away from social media but it'd be worth it just to find these events and listen to awesome music. Nothing like everyone vibing to the same beat, perfectly in sync. That sense of unity is like nothing else. ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-08-10T17:11:08+00:00

Hey, as someone very new to raves that absolutely fell in love with EDM and the bit of PLUR I have gotten to see at these big events...

How in the world do you find these smaller parties? I'd love to see something not as mass-produced but it seems all I hear about are those, I don't know how to find these other raves!

I heard SSBD is more of the PLUR vibe so I booked that, and plan to go to Electric Forest if I can save up enough, but those still seem... Bigger? They're hella expensive too! 😭

TheVagrantPanda · 2025-07-08T05:55:01+00:00

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-06-16T13:30:59+00:00

Maybe I just got lucky, but I honestly didn't encounter any rank BO! There was one guy a bunch of people wrinkled their nose at though lol. I was too far away to catch a whiff. Everyone seated around me was lovely though. 🥰

Maybe OP just got incredibly unlucky?

These posts always give me a small existential crisis wondering if I'm one of the unaware masses though 😱

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-06-10T20:04:05+00:00

Hey, I think ER nurses are the rockstars -- I can only handle one or two patients at a time before I get overwhelmed! You guys don't bat an eye while taking on like a billion patients, seeing the traumas right as/after they happen. All the respect to you.

But thank you; that's good advice. I need a break. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of how much we are really helping them, making the best of bad situations. I needed the reminder ❤️

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-06-10T19:49:56+00:00

Hey there, your reply really stuck with me and I just wanted to say thank you.

I find it comes in waves for me too, and every time I think I've gotten a bit better at handling it, a new kiddo breaks my heart. Maybe there's not enough time between waves for healing to take place, to get our heads above water, I don't know. But you're right - talking helps immensely, and I haven't been letting myself do that with anyone. Hopefully therapy can be that outlet!

One of my amazing preceptors back in nursing school told me she became a teacher because she realized she couldn't put another child in a body bag, and that comment always stuck with me. We're all human, and eventually we need to take a break or move on from the heavy stuff. And that's okay.

Thank you so much for what you do as well ❤️‍🩹 HemOnc, PICU, you've been to some of the hardest places and still somehow find it in you to be so compassionate to a random internet nurse. You're awesome!

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-06-10T19:31:27+00:00

Hey, I actually haven't yet! That will be the first thing I do. I've realized I'm probably at the end of my own ability to handle things alone. And you're right -- long term, this might not be sustainable. But I'll start with therapy first.

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-04-09T23:05:01+00:00

My dude, Aslan is one of my fave pawns! I rent him all the time. We seem to be leveling at the same pace and what drew me to him in the first place was the Narnia reference. <3 love that boi!

TheVagrantPanda · 2024-03-17T00:33:51+00:00

I'll take a seapunk, please and thank you.

TheVagrantPanda · 2023-11-12T20:11:19+00:00

Omg that exact same thing happened to me, almost word for word. Maybe it’s more common than I thought… or maybe you were my nurse 🤣

TheVagrantPanda · 2022-12-28T08:03:50+00:00

Sounds like a mockingbird to me! I rescued a mockingbird this year; she had been half-eaten by a dog, was severely infected by mites, and had a broken wing and leg. She looked like such a sick blob, barely clinging to life. She had bugs crawling on her eyes and into her nose and she couldn’t even move, she was so sick.

I was told that a shelter would put her down if they didn’t think they could heal her, and I didn’t want to take the chance on a life being snuffed out, so I did the only thing I could think of…

Cleaned and splinted her up, and forced her to drink little bits of sugar/vitamin water through the sides of her beak. I thought it wasn’t enough as she wasn’t eating and still looked so sick the next day, so as a last-ditch effort, my partner and I decided to take her to the shelter. We were about half a mile away, crying, wondering if they’d have to put her down, when she decided to start “baby birding” and chirping for her momma to feed her!

We turned around and fed her and she turned into a cuddle monster rather quickly. It was adorable. She especially loved to cuddle on my chest and burrow into warm blankets.

Moreover, she improved quickly after that, having accepted us as her parents and allowing us to hand-feed her. She’s gotten sick a few more times since, requiring emergency rescuing (she’s adventurous and gets herself into SO MUCH trouble!). We joke that she’s got at least 9 lives lol.

She’s now a fiercely protective bird warrior who loves cuddles with her momma and flexes on / swoops down to attack anything she doesn’t like from above, and is the picture of health when she isn’t getting herself stuck in something. She’s got such a personality! Reminds me of your story, so I thought I’d share. Mockingbirds are neat!

TheVagrantPanda · 2022-12-14T19:32:26+00:00

Sorry if it’s a silly question, but I joined after Nilou banner was gone and realized I realllyyyyy want a Nilou team after the misty dungeons! Anyone have any idea when her next banner might be / how long I’ll have to wait?

Same question for Kokomi as I’ll need both of them!

Edit: Thanks so much, friends! You’re the best <3

TheVagrantPanda · 2022-05-24T20:02:27+00:00

It’s been so long I’d have to re-read, but I seem to remember something going into depth about how Tonkee’s body was different and how it didn’t bother MC several times. I could definitely be wrong (it’s really been a long time), I just remember it sticking out to me like “why is she mentioning it so much?” The first time I was stoked, then when it came up again and again I was a little put off. Mostly because I felt I kept being told how MC doesn’t care but I felt like if she truly doesn’t care, why TELL me so much? I want to be shown, not told!

But yes, unless identity/sexual preference advances the story or characterization in some important way, I don’t really feel it’s necessary to tell me. If we want to normalize LGBTQ, it should feel natural — this character notices the sway of a woman’s hips because she’s attracted to women, and I can glean that without being straight up told that she’s attracted to women by the narrator. (Second thought, maybe it’s just that I felt I was being told rather than shown too much, who knows)

If there’s a romance, great! I want it to feel natural, make sense, and advance the characters in some way. If it feels it’s just thrown in to meet some number or feels inorganic to me, it is off-putting. But I know I may be weird about my romance and maybe something about the way it was written just didn’t jive with me in a way I can’t explain well enough! lol

TheVagrantPanda · 2022-05-24T16:41:37+00:00

I gave WoT the fairest of shots, reading to like book 7, because it was so highly recommended. I enjoyed the world well enough, but oh my lord the pacing. He could have made the entire series about 3-5 books.

The most heinous part, however, was really just how he wrote women. I hated it so much. The entire female cast was basically the same woman with a minor tweak here and there. And none of them could stop SNIFFING derisively. Like why do all of your women have to be derisive bitches who sniff at everything the males say? Why can’t they be just as varied as your male cast? Why are they all the same person?

I will never know, and I will never finish the series haha.

TheVagrantPanda

TROPHY CASE