# THE SOMNOLESCENT MANIFESTO, SECOND EDITION
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## Summation
_We are simple folk. We find appeal in what you find boring. We rely only on_
_what we can trust, ourselves and those who prove themselves to us. We belong_
_to no movements and our morals are our own alone. We don't suffer irony or_
_pretense lightly._
_We write, draw, program, grow, and build exactly what we want to see. We use_
_the computers that you throw out and leave behind until they break, and then_
_we fix them and keep going. If we can't be a part of it, it's not worth our_
_time. We like our surroundings familiar and our friends to stay awhile._
Somnolescent, in everything we do, **boils down to a celebration of**
**humanity**. We like our people as humans, imperfect, emotional, occasionally
irrational, and very charming indeed. We like the objects and technology we
interact with to be human, simple, limited, and very fun to spend time with.
The pursuit of our creativity comes down to appreciating and exploiting the
limitations of what we're creating with.
We see honesty and personal growth as cornerstones of humanity. A Somnolian
actively engages with what makes them uncomfortable to make peace with it.
We see setbacks and upset as inevitable, and we ground ourselves in embracing
things for what they are, not what we want them to be. Others want to change
the world around them or cloak themselves in surface traits to avoid what
hurts. We prefer to change ourselves and learn to be okay with exactly what we
are, even when it takes years of dedication, work, and hard truths.
It's easy to simplify us down into simply liking old tech, or liking animal
people, or being creative folks, but those are all-too-basic readings of why
we've stuck together through the end of the world. We've put in the effort
to enjoy what we have in common, our shared mindset and our fascination for
the old, unloved, and often-ignored, and it's made us comfortable telling each
other damn near anything and sharing hours-long discussions on everything.
**We're all human, and we don't want it any other way.**
## Somnolescent and People
**Somnolescent operates first and foremost on trust.** We trust in people to
make their own decisions and decide their own paths forwards. We trust in our
imperfections as people, knowing those who matter will love us regardless. We
trust in our work, shaky and strange as it can be, because we know we put love
and charm into it.
We believe people are generally good from the beginning, and so, we put our
trust into them making decisions we occasionally disagree with or may even
find harmful to ourselves or others. When issues arise, we deal with them on a
case-by-case basis. Protecting good folks from making bad decisions before
they've made them leads to fear and guilt--and ultimately, repression.
**Being Somnolescent means confronting repression.** What we have all noticed
individually is that what made us happy as children tends to be what makes us
happy as adults, just on an adult level. Running from what you are will never
make you happy. **Deciding how you are is how you should be will always make**
**you happy.**
Growth is not a quick fix. A common misconception is that growth is as simple
as changing your surface characteristics to fit your surroundings better. It
might not be now, and it is slow even when it is now, but it needs to happen.
We have all faced insecurities and things we've felt we need to hide from the
world and from each other. A great relief sets in when we admit it to the
people who should know about it, and ultimately, grow past it.
In the creative life, we're aware of our imperfections and shortcomings.
Artists specialize; musicians and writers pick genres. No one does everything
or everything equally well, and that's what we enjoy. We're stronger together
precisely because of the variety of interests, mediums, and techniques we
bring together as a group. Technical perfection is boring and a fool's errand.
For where we roam, the worlds of cartoons, light fiction, and personal
ebsites, perfection only leads to sterility.
When we produce wonky lineart or introduce perspective issues into a drawing,
we embrace them, as much as they might bother us then. We trust the right
people will see the love and charm we put into our work, and we grow and learn
what to watch out for next time. Deciding to wait for when you will never make
a mistake only means you will never get anything done. We encourage indulging
the impulse for off-the-cuff doodles, written, musical, or visual, as they
arise.
On the whole, Somnolescent is apolitical. People turn to politics out of fear
of the world around them or to gain power. While we believe in pushing for what
you feel strongly about, it doesn't have a place in our group. This world has
been made maudlin enough by the false dichotomy of "with us" and "against us".
**People's views are not black and white.** Where they are, they can very
easily be traced back to repression--a problem with personality, not with
ideology.
It all comes back to trust. We have no reason to hold grudges; **living well
is the best revenge**. We have no reason to hold each other back from realizing
what works for us all individually; **we're adults with individual, though
parallel, tracks through life**. Trust can be the scariest thing in the world,
but trusting and following what we feel is right is what makes us feel alive in
the end.
## Somnolescent and Technology
We live in the single greatest time there's ever been on Earth, a time of great
knowledge and light speed communication across the world. We can live as simply
as we want to, able to grow plants, develop tools, tinker and upgrade complex
systems, and build anew as we need--and do it while chatting with friends as
far as 4,800 miles away.
**All technology coexists.** The advent of the DVD did not make tapes or
LaserDiscs stop working. They still hold movies and TV shows. If someone
doesn't care about video quality, a VHS and a Blu-ray are fundamentally
interchangeable. In a lot of cases, the downsides add to the experience. The
horror movie community considers the hazy, unfocused look of VHS appealing for
a grittier, scarier feel. We're much the same way.
We reject great change as a way forward. **Our technology complements who we**
**have always been--humans.**
The humanity in technology comes from what we use it for and what we put into
it. The memories spent with specific hardware, MP3 players and cameras and
computers. In packaging, these are just plastic and circuit boards. In our
hands, we project what we do and feel onto them. Our computers become
extensions of ourselves, lived-in spaces we set up exactly as we like, and they
evoke good times and good feelings every time we see them.
You likely have a combination camera-music player-video player-game console-web
browser-phone handheld computer with infinite storage beside you right now.
It's perfect--**and it means nothing**. It is a dedicated distraction device.
It's built to steal your attention with pellets of food and "personalization".
You will likely dump it in two years, leaving behind a device capable of
simulating vast worlds like was unthinkable 100 years ago. It's two years old,
after all.
**Somnolescent rejects this.** Somnolescent means doing something the less
"convenient" way, pulling out stacks of CDs or magazines and pouring over every
booklet, page, and song within, because it satisfies our touchy, grabby,
tactile hands more. Somnolescent means we keep it working for us as we need it,
until it simply can't. Somnolescent means not leaving behind friends because
we have more exciting friends.
**Technology needs to be human to matter.** If we're imperfect, limited yet
lovable, technology should be equally as imperfect, limited, and lovable.
There is no humanity to be achieved in technical perfection. There is all the
humanity to be achieved in a carefully crafted graphic on a hand-built HTML
page.
## Somnolescent and the Future
**Somnolians do not come from glorious beginnings.** We've struggled like
anyone else has. Our goal is to define ourselves based on our approach to that
struggle, not that the struggle's taken place. We all have a sob story, but
not everyone handles that and comes out stronger for it. A Somnolian does.
For creation's sake, it comes when there's fun to be had. For one another,
we're here as support--not necessarily just nice words (though certainly lots
of those), but as a second opinion, as assistance when things aren't working
out, and as a guaranteed friend group to regroup in, even when the world is
shaky and mistakes get made. Ideally, one day, we'll be able to create together
in person.
The effort we put into one another and our group is why not just anyone becomes
a Somnolian. Our dynamic is that of old, longtime friends, and we don't
especially have the greatest social tolerance at times, so privacy is key to
us. We do like talking to new people, however; opportunities to chat with
Somnolians arise whenever they do, which is increasingly frequent.
Even as we move into new phases of our lives, the core of our beings stay the
same. We like things simple, reliable, charming, old-fashioned, and fun. In
this hectic world where we're expected to roll with the changes and "right" is
never an easy answer, **that's exactly what a group of doofy old heart young**
**adults like us need.**
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http://somnolescent.net
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