9: on reasonable roof risk

september 10th, 2024

my two cents of advice for readers curious about urban exploration (or any exploration!):
– be respectful to yourself and others!!!
– use common sense!
– research (even a quick google search is better than nothing!) what you’re thinking about doing before you do it — there may be risks (physical, legal, etc) you hadn’t considered, as well as useful information on how to help mitigate those risks if you choose to do the thing anyway
– do the above point yourself even if someone who seems knowledgeable and trustworthy is leading you! you might pick up on really valuable information they’ve missed or omitted, even if they have the best of intentions. relatedly, I’d recommend steering clear of “just trust me bro” situations
– remember that it’s extremely okay to turn back or change activities at any point if you want to! even and especially when you’re with friends — peer pressure (even the indirect and non-malicious pressure of “well my friends are doing it and it looks like they’re having fun”) is hard to ignore, but good friends will definitely support you setting and maintaining boundaries that feel right for you <3

art-wise, this isn’t my favorite shading yet, but in the interest of getting the page up only slightly delayed, I’m calling it good enough! I do like some of the art here; freehanding the rooftop city view was very fun 😀

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transcript:

some of Blobic’s younger friends are currently into urban exploration, like she was when she was their age
[ Blobic and a friend watch other friends climb onto a roof using a shaky pile of rubbish ]

looking back, a lot of her escapades were more disrespectful and/or dangerous than she’d realized at the time, and she’s concerned that her friends will get hurt or will hurt others
[ Blobic climbs onto the shaky pile of rubbish while remembering a previous experience of hers: climbing across a slanted roof as loose shingles fall into darkness below ]

on the other hand, these adventures can help a new place feel like home, and it’s heartwarming to see them having fun and feeling free and testing their limits as new adults
[ in the present day, Blobic climbs onto the roof and smiles at her friends excitedly admiring a rooftop view of the city ]

Blobic is learning how to balance encouraging safety and being a good role model with yes-and-ing exploration and healthy mischief
[ Blobic, still smiling, uses her super-stretchy goo arms to help steady the pile of rubbish for her other friend to climb up ]

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