#2020 habit challenge

[perregrinstudiessometimes]

Habits I picked up because of school that I keep up with (on my semester break)

Waking up early- I find that, with few exceptions, I wake up before 8:30am every day.

Study groups- okay I’m stretching the definition here, but I have productivity days at coffee shops with my friends, where I work on job applications, blog posts (hehe I’m writing this one from the coffee shop), or work on hobbies (mostly crochet and embroidery).

Notion schedules-I used to keep weekly and daily schedules on notion to track schoolwork, but I now use them to track my work schedule and hangout dates with my friends

Always keeping lists/notebooks around- I am rarely without a notebook in arms reach. I have a notebook in my bag and by my bedside. I keep sticky notes in my apron at work so I can write things down and add them to my notebooks. I used them as a type of bullet journal but with none of the structure.

I still study- I just now have full control on what I study. For example, I plan on teaching myself the Dewey decimal system soon. (And picking up some asl)

Digital art- what started as doodling in the margins of my digital notebooks has become a full-blown hobby of mine.

Visiting the library- honestly, I just find the library to be a very comforting place.

Writing book reviews- while my book reviews for my blog posts are far less structured and formal, they only exist because I got used to writing them for school.

Reading nonfiction- I found through online classes that I enjoy reading textbooks and nonfiction work.

Listening to audio books- I started listening to audio books back when was both full time student and working full time because I had no time to sit down with a book. Now its my preferred way to read.

Picking up hobbies- I am always looking for my next hobby to pick up. Last year I picked up painting and crafting. I also tried out wax seals and gardening (shout out to the two plants I haven’t killed yet).

What productive habits have you picked up?

[thoughtportal]

When Simon Bogemann’s hand began cramping around the steering wheel in a claw position on his commute from Geelong to Melbourne, he began to worry.

Bogemann, then 43, was also getting pins and needles in his feet and fingers every night in bed, and while sitting down during short lunch breaks at work.

His GP put it down to a lack of magnesium and recommended a supplement, in addition to the multivitamin he was taking for a chronic condition.

Bogemann was unaware that both capsules contained added vitamin B6, too much of which could lead to the symptoms he was experiencing – a type of nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy.

The wellness industry’s marketing of over-the-counter vitamins is leading to an increase in the number of people presenting with peripheral neuropathy linked to excessive vitamin B6 in their blood, Australia’s peak body for pathologists has warned.

Dr David Kanowski, a chemical pathologist at Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology in Brisbane, says most people are unaware they are consuming too much of the vitamin.

Bogemann certainly had no idea: “You buy an over-the-counter supplement, you just think that it’s going to be good for you, not bad for you.”

He says it has been a challenge to change his multivitamin to a product without B6.

“One thing that I have learned is that B6 seems to be added, for some reason, to a lot of over-the-counter supplements.”

It is also in some energy drinks, breakfast cereals, and protein and weight loss shakes.

Magnesium tablets, commonly recommended for cramp relief, often contain B6 because it can assist magnesium absorption. But a person who takes two magnesium tablets a day could consume more than 120mg of B6, far exceeding the recommended dietary intake for adults in Australia of 1.3mg to 2mg a day.

It was previously believed that peripheral neuropathy was caused by doses of hundreds of milligrams taken over periods of 12 months or more but cases have been known to occur at levels as low as 21mg.

The initial symptoms include numbness and pins and needles in the feet, which can spread up the legs. Muscle cramps and pain may be felt in the arms and hands.

In 2020 the Therapeutic Goods Administration released a safety advisory warning. Two years later, still concerned about a lack of awareness, the TGA lowered the limit at which products must display a warning label, from 50mg of B6 down to 10mg – and banned products with more than 100mg.skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Nevertheless, cases have continued to rise. Between January 2020 and October 2024 the TGA received 81 adverse event reports of peripheral neuropathy associated with medicines containing a vitamin B6 ingredient, with most of them reported in the past two years.

Kanowski says advertising on social and other media promotes the idea that taking more vitamins is good for health.

“It’s understood that if you want to counteract bad habits, like smoking or drinking too much, perhaps that can be counterbalanced with vitamins,” he says.

Kanowski says the TGA has been “fairly hands off” unless toxins are in a product.

Fiona Sammut, a dietitian based in Victoria, says it’s a big ask to expect consumers to read and interpret “tiny font” disclaimers and formulations.

People who see claims that vitamins will “boost their energy” may take several supplements thinking they are harmless, she says.

While foods are commonly fortified with vitamins for “specific evidence-based reasons”, such as vitamin B1 fortified bread, Sammut says there’s no similar reason for B6 fortification because there isn’t a high incidence of vitamin B6 deficiency.

Most people get enough B6 in their diets from foods including fish, non-citrus fruits and starchy vegetables, and high intakes of B6 from natural food sources have not been reported to cause adverse effects.

Sarah* had symptoms of peripheral neuropathy for years, but “never thought anything of it”, because she assumed they were related to her Crohn’s disease.

In hindsight, she says, the symptoms began about a year after she began taking a multivitamin that contained 60mg of B6 after weight loss surgery in 2011, in addition to the magnesium which contained 82mg she had been taking for years due to cramps in her legs.

She had been having yearly blood tests at her dietician’s recommendations but it was only in late 2021 that the pathology lab tested for B6 levels and found they were 15 times higher than the recommended range.

In most cases, once B6 levels return to normal, peripheral neuropathy will slowly improve within six to 12 months but in some severe cases it can be irreversible.

Prof Matthew Kiernan, the chief executive of Neuroscience Australia, has described a case he saw in his clinical practice of a 40-year-old patient who was worried he had motor neurone disease before the doctor linked the gym enthusiast’s symptoms to excessive vitamin B6 intake from the supplements he consumed as part of his fitness program.

Kiernan, who diagnosed more patients with peripheral neuropathy after his article on the case was published in the Medical Journal of Australia, believes there should be limits on the number of supplements people can buy because they are unnecessary for people eating a balanced diet.

“None of this is policed,” he says. “So, if you go down to the chemist and go down the vitamin aisle, they’re all there. You can get a whole shopping trolley full of them.”

[reasonsforhope]

"China is on track to double its wind and solar energy capacity and hit its 2030 clean energy targets five years early, a new report has found.

The country is expected to produce 1,200 gigwatts of solar and wind power by 2025 if all prospective plants are built and commissioned, according to the study from the non profit Global Energy Monitor.

Solar capacity in China is now greater than the rest of the world combined. Its onshore and offshore wind capacity has doubled since 2017, and is roughly equal to the combined total of the other top seven countries, according to the report.

Dorothy Mei, project manager at Global Energy Monitor, said China’s surge in solar and wind capacity was “jaw-dropping.”

The country’s renewable energy boom is the result of a combination of incentives and regulations, according to the report. China pledged in 2020 to become carbon neutral by 2060...

China’s reliance on coal poses a significant challenge to global green energy targets, but the pace of wind and solar development is a positive sign, Byford Tsang, senior policy adviser at climate think tank E3G told CNN.

“China is rapidly and successfully scaling up its deployment of renewable power and has become the largest investor into renewables globally. This is both a cause and consequence of rapidly falling costs of renewable energy as compared to coal power,” he said.

Tsang hopes that relative cheapness of renewable energy will persuade China to kick its coal habit."

-via CNN, June 29, 2023

[transtheology]

According to Matson, 39, his “disclosing,” as he describes it, is a moment years in the making. He offered his story as indicative of the often difficult path for trans Catholics, including those seeking life as a religious — a category that includes brothers and nuns.

“I am currently based in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky,” he wrote in an email to friends and supporters on Sunday. “I live in a hermitage at the top of a wooded hill, which I share with my German Shepherd rescue, Odie, and with the Blessed Sacrament, which was installed in my oratory shortly before Christmas.”

[...] Matson approached a canon lawyer to discuss his options and was told that only two aspects of Catholic life were categorically off the table: marriage and the priesthood. According to Matson, the canon lawyer recommended being upfront about his status as a transgender man in any vocational conversations with church leaders and mentioned the role of a diocesan hermit, which could prove less challenging than enlisting with an existing religious order.

[...] What followed was roughly a decade of searching and no small amount of rejection. Living in the United Kingdom while pursuing a master’s degree, and later a Ph.D. in theology, Matson entered a vocational discernment program and approached the Jesuit order to ask if he could join.

“They said, ‘No, we just don’t see how this would work for us,’ which was crushing, because that’s where I felt called,” Matson said.

[...] “I thought, well, if I can’t find a religious community to sponsor me, maybe what I need is a bishop,” Matson said.

A priest friend recommended different bishops to contact, beginning with Stowe, who was emerging as a leading voice among Catholics calling for a more tolerant approach to LGBTQ+ people. In 2020, Matson sent Stowe a letter, conveying his status as a transgender man, his vision for an artists’ community and his pull to religious life.

Stowe wrote back immediately, expressing his openness.

“It was an enormous relief,” Matson said. “I was in tears. I felt my hope revive.”

[...] Matson vented his frustrations to Stowe and his spiritual director, saying he wanted to speak out. But he said he was advised to first “build a foundation” in religious life for several years.

During that time, Matson had an experience that shook him. Attending a friend’s play in his religious habit, he was approached by a student who identified as trans and nonbinary. After asking if Matson was a monk, the student said they were raised Catholic, but that their parents had rejected their identity, and the student felt like they “don’t have a place in the church anymore.”

Matson responded by saying there were people in the church who would support the student, and Matson prayed with them, asking God to show the student how they are “wonderful the way you’ve made them.” The student, Matson said, grew emotional, thanking the hermit profusely and saying, “No one from the church has ever affirmed me for who I am.”

[...] As for ever leaving Catholicism itself, Matson bristled at the idea, calling the church “my family.” “I’m Catholic,” he said. “I became Catholic after I transitioned because of the Catholic understanding — the sacramental understanding — of the body, of creation, of the desirability of the visible unity of the church and primarily because of the Eucharist.”

At the very least, Matson said, he hopes going public will spark dialogue about his fellow transgender Catholics, a discussion he believes can enhance unity among the body of believers.

“You’ve got to deal with us, because God has called us into this church,” he said. “It’s not your church to kick us out of — this is God’s church, and God has called us and engrafted us into it.”

[storytellerwhims]

Introduction:🗒️

Welcome to the Tragic Tales of Life Legacy Challenge. This legacy challenge is a realistic story and goal-oriented legacy challenge. That revolves around real life tragedies and drama that happen. This is a more simplified written and less heavy on goals legacy challenge. This legacy challenge was inspired by the Crybaby Whims Legacy Challenge and the Joy of Life Legacy Challenge! I hope you enjoy this tragically fun legacy challenge!

Before You Play:🔞

This legacy challenge is for players who are eighteen and older. This legacy challenge covers heavy topics. That could be triggering or uncomfortable for some people. This legacy challenge uses most of the packs. And also, is a modded legacy challenge so you can’t play it on console. But I have other legacies that are un-modded so if you want to check them out! I would really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy the legacy challenge!

Each generation will specify if there are required mods or not! Here are some mods that I recommend to enhance your gameplay!

Recommended Mods:🖥️

MC Command Center/Mc Woohoo

https://deaderpool-mccc.com/

(18+) Wicked Whims/Wonderful Whims 

https://wickedwhimsmod.com/manual-mod-installation

Basemental Drugs (18+)

https://basementalcc.com/adult_mods/basemental-drugs/

Lumpinous Relationship and Pregnancy Mod

https://lumpinoumods.com/woohoo-wellness-and-pregnancy-overhaul/

Realistic Childbirth Mod by: Pandasama

https://www.pandasama.com/realistic-childbirth-mod/

Rules:🗡️

-Must play on Normal lifespan

-No cheating money etc. unless it’s at the beginning to start the legacy challenge.

-Must complete all the goals to move onto the next tragic tale.

-If you enjoy the legacy challenge please share and give proper credit! 

📲(Use the hashtags #sims4tragictaleslegacychallenge or #sims4ttollg) If you play this legacy challenge and share it on social media, I'd love to see your sims!🥰

___________________________________________

The Tragic Tales (The Generations)☠️

 Gen.1 Single Parent Who Has a Drinking Problem👩‍👦🍺

You're someone who hoped for a beautiful love life like the one you always saw on tv. But that wasn’t your reality. You fell in love with the wrong person and now you're stuck. Living alone with your child/children that reminds you of your tragic romance. You try to pick up the pieces and work a regular job as a teacher but that still was tiring. So after a long day of reprimanding kids you come home to your own child/children. As a person who didn’t want children it’s rough so when they're asleep. You start to sip on alcohol and it becomes a habit. After a while you start to realize you have a problem and try to fix it. To at least become a better version of yourself for you!

Gen.1 Requirements: 

Lifestage: Young Adult

Traits: Hates Children, Romantically Reserved and Bar Drinker 

Aspiration: City Native

Colors: Light Brown and Red

Career: Education

Required Mods:

Basemental Drugs (18+)

https://basementalcc.com/adult_mods/basemental-drugs/

Bar Drinker Trait by: KiaraSims Mods

https://kiarasims4mods.net/2020/05/08/bar-drinker-trait/

Starting Out:

-Start out living in an old apartment in San-Myshuno. Or in a one-star apartment building with the filthy lot trait. 

-Start out with Zero Simoleons

-Have the basic amenities in your apartment

Goals:

As a Young Adult-Elder

-Live in an old apartment or apartment building.

-Be in the Education Career and reach level five of the career.

-Max the Research and Debate and Mixology Skills. 

-Have a child with someone you fall in love with and become a single parent.

-Have a bad relationship with the other parent.

-Start drinking once you become a single parent. (with the basemental drugs mod.)

-Have a negative relationship with your child/children.

-Decide as an Adult to quit drinking for yourself.

___________________________________________

Gen.2 Neglected Child As an Adult Develops Anger Issues🚫😡

As a child you were neglected while your parent got buzzed. Through the pain of feeling unwanted you grew up bitter. At everyone and everything you started to have tantrums on people. That’s when you knew you needed to direct your anger into a career. So you become a Detective throwing criminals in the slammer. Which made all your rage fade away and you start to become a great cop, one that people admire. So much so you get asked out by someone who likes your uniform. You date and marry them, have kids. Life seems good till they realize what a hot head you are! They love you but you severely trouble them but you both stay together. You try to keep calm for them and your kids but your past precedes you.

Gen.2 Requirements:

Lifestage: Young Adult

Traits: Hot Headed, Nosy and Ambitious

Aspiration: World Class Detective

Colors: Dark Blue and Black

Career: Detective 

Required Mods:

World Class Detective Aspiration by: KiaraSims Mods

https://www.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/world-class-detective-aspiration

Goals:

As a Young Adult-Elder

-Move out of your parents house to any world you want.

-Join the Detective Career and reach level ten of the career.

-Max the Charisma and Photography Skills

-Have five enemies from throwing tantrums on people.

-Have a Bad Reputation

-Date, Marry and have kids with someone who you meet who likes you in your uniform.

-Have at least two children

-Gain the Workaholic lifestyle

-Have problems with your spouse but stay married.

___________________________________________

Gen.3 Art Student That Gets Into an Abusive Relationship🎨💔

You grew up in a home full of anger, but you refused to subdue that behavior. So when your parent got mad you shut down and kept quiet. To avoid having problems but as time went on that began to stress you out. So you focused your negative emotions into art. Which led you to graduate high school and get to go onto college. As an art student your world was filled with color and nude models. Whose bodies were art and you painted them beautifully. One day though you never knew could change everything in a terrible way. You meet someone who you think understands you. You date them after a while their true colors shine through and they're dark! You both argue day and night and to not start a fight. You let them seduce you till they get tired and pass out next to you. Your grades start to suffer so you start to avoid them to do what’s best for you. But all that gets thrown out the window when you find out you're going to be a parent! Your narcissist partner reels you back in because of the baby. So you stay but you fear for you and the baby/babies life! Once the baby arrives you make your escape with the baby/babies. Leaving your abusive ex behind you, move into a small home just right for you and your baby/babies. Then you go back to college and finish and become a freelance painter.

Gen.3 Requirements: 

Lifestage: Young Adult

Traits: Lovebug, Creative and D.V.S 

Aspiration: Academic

Colors: Soft Pink and Maroon

Career: Fine Arts Degree University Student/Freelance Artist

Required Mods: 

Trauma Bonding Mod by: Wicked Pixxel 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/trauma-bonding-106764079

D.V.S Trait by: Muva Simmer

https://www.patreon.com/posts/d-v-s-trigger-54622043

Goals:

As a Young Adult-Elder

-Move out of your angry parent's house to go to university.

-Be in the Fine Arts Degree at Foxbury or Britchester University

-Max the Painting and Romance Skills 

-Meet someone who’s toxic become their partner and date them.

-Argue and make up by woohooing with your terrible partner.

-Have a baby/babies with your narcissistic partner.

-Drop out of university to focus on your relationship and family.

-Move in with your abusive partner.

-Leave your awful partner after the baby/babies are born.

-Have a negative relationship with your toxic partner

-Move to a new world far away from your ex-partner.

-Go back to college as an Adult graduate and become a freelance painter.

-Have an art studio in your home where you find comfort.

___________________________________________

Gen.4 Geek Tries to Fit In and Becomes a Pill Popper👾💊

You're a true geek as they call you in high school. You learned from your parents horrible love life. To steer clear, not let raging hormones get the better of you! But yet after the popular kids called you out. You start to think differently you want to show them. You can be a true party animal! So you stop caring about school so much and hangout with the jocks! They show you how to be bad but still be adored! You all go to the nightclubs and sneak past the bouncers at bars. Get drunk and taking pills not prescribed  partying all night! One day they give you a makeover to make you look like one of them. You feel weird but excited taking it all in! Before you know it you're living the teenage dream! But it all ends when you find out that you/person you slept with. One wild night is pregnant! You never planned on your high school years turning out this chaotic! But now the popular teens left you spreading gossip about the pregnancy. So you're left on your own pregnant/going to be a teen parent. What happens now you stop being this pill popper and be yourself again. Starting a podcast about all the pill problems and teen parent struggles you went through. Now it’s up to you if you go and find someone but you have overcome so much at a young age!

Gen.4 Requirements:

Lifestage: Start as a Teen 

Traits: Geek and Party Animal 

Aspiration: Psychonaut

Colors: Purple and Yellow 

Career:  Podcast Host

Required Mods: 

Basemental Drugs (18+) 

MC Command Center/MC Woohoo (linked above)

Lumpinous Relationship and Pregnancy Mod (linked above)

Podcast Host Career By: KiaraSims4 Mods

https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/podcast-host-career

Techie trait by KiaraSims4 Mods

https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/techie-trait

Goals:

As a Teen

-Live with your parent still or move out on your own at an early age. 

-Have a B grade in high school before you try to fit in with the popular kids.

-Max the Gaming Skill

-Make friends with Popular Teens 

-Go to nightclubs and bars with your popular friends.

-Drink, Smoke and Do Pills at the nightclub/bars (Using the basemental drugs mod.) 

-Get a “cool” kid makeover with new clothes that look like ones the jocks would wear! 

-Get addicted to pills and keep doing them till you become a Young Adult.

-Have woohoo with one of your popular friends and end up pregnant/or get them pregnant! (Using Mc Command Center/Mc Woohoo Mod!) 

-Become a Teen Parent 

-Don’t do well in high school after you become a teen parent!

-Become enemies with your popular friends after you become a teen parent! 

As a Young Adult-Elder

-Decide to quit doing pills and go to rehab

- When you age up add the Techie trait by KiaraSims4 Mods

-Make money being a Podcast Host talking about your experience you had as a teen having a drug addiction, being a teen parent and being bullied.

-Reach level Five of the Podcast Host career

-Max the Charisma and Media Production Skills.

-You can decide if you want to date and get married when you're a Young Adult and older or not!

___________________________________________

Gen.5 Public Health Person Goes Crazy from a Disease Outbreak🥼🦠

(Inspired by Covid 19 pandemic.) 

You have always been a germaphobe but now you're making it through something terrible. You go into the medical field thinking it will be great you’ll help save lives. Well as a Public Health person the whole world's health rest’s on your shoulders. Now that there's a virus spreading you seek shelter in your home. Only going out with a mask you’re an philanthropist person this is not the way you hoped to spend. Your Young Adult life but now you're in charge of finding a way for this disease to be cured! Through all the testing in the lab and multiple reports coming in of deaths. It becomes too much for you to bear so you quit your job. Staying home becoming stir crazy from no social interaction. Suddenly you find that you made the worst mistake of your life. Quitting on all these people who can be saved from the outbreak. So you take care of yourself paint and do other hobbies. Then get back to the daily wear a mask save a life. After a couple years of research your the one that finds a cure! You're the hero and now everyone wants a picture with you! But you stay humble just happy you were able to help. You settle down after it’s all over with one of your fellow Public Health workers. You get married and have kids. But your job never ends by making sure you, your family and the public will be safe from future outbreaks!

Gen.5 Requirements: 

Lifestage: Young Adult

Traits: Erratic, Philanthropist and Researcher

Aspiration: Philanthropist 

Colors: Green and Blue

Career: Public Health 

Required Mods:

Researcher Trait, Philanthropist Trait and Aspiration By: KiaraSims4 Mods

https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/researcher-trait

https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/philanthropist-trait

https://www.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/philanthropist-aspiration

Public Health Career By: KiaraSims4 Mods

https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/mods/public-health-career

Mask for story purposes By: Daisy Pixels

https://www.patreon.com/posts/face-masks-for-37685044

Goals:

As a Young Adult-Elder

-Move to any world you want too into a house or apartment

-Join the Public Health career and reach level nine of the career. (You can have your sim go to University in the Biology Degree to jump ahead in the career.)

-Max the Writing and Logic Skills and Reach level five in any hobby skill such as painting. While your sim quits their job and goes stir crazy at home.

-Have your sim wear a mask whenever they go out. 

-Temporarily quit your job then regret it and join the career again.

-Become a Two Star Celebrity for curing the world of the disease.

-Meet, Date and Marry a fellow Public Health person.

-Have at least three kids (Have all of them wear masks to keep germs away.)

-Donate to Charity three times

-Volunteer at least five times in your lifetime.

-Teach your kids Good Manners have at least one of them gain the Good Manners character value.

___________________________________________

I'm still writing this legacy challenge so future gens will be added. And also, past gens may change a little bit if I need to edit them! Thank you for reading the legacy challenge!! 💜 @ts4challengehub

[amywritesthings]

[ + ] = 18+ with explicit content, MDNI

> ATTACK ON TITAN ( SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN )

// series

silver underground. [ongoing] / levi ackerman [+] They say you dedicated your heart to the Scouts. They tell you a lot of things. You remember none of it.

press four for more options. [complete] / levi ackerman [+] After seeing your ex with his new girl at a work party, you take the not-so-smart advice to call a sex hotline to get over him. Your match? Levi. dating on airplane mode. [ongoing] / levi ackerman [+] So you're dating your neighbor who also happens to be a sex hotline dom named Levi Ackerman. Stranger things have happened, right?

seven days. [ongoing] / Armin Arlert gets bamboozled into joining the annual Yeager family beach vacation — and accidentally meets you.

// one shots

first christmas. / armin arlert (holiday ‘23) [+] gingerbread sweet. / reiner braun (holiday ‘23) in the wrong. / levi ackerman (levimonth24) [+] war of clarity. / levi ackerman (levimonth24)

> BALDUR’S GATE 3

// series

the better strategy. [hiatus] / astarion/tav [+] After saving Druid Grove, Astarion has one goal in mind: secure his safety. His strategy? Seduce Tav. But what if that plan goes horrible wrong?

// one shots

valentine’s special / astarion

> FIELDS OF MISTRIA

// one shots

halloween at the inn / march

> JUJUTSU KAISEN

// series

operation battlepass: aka the totally awesome plan to play wingman by yuuji itadori. [ongoing] / choso kamo

// one shots

mistletoe on the clock. / nanami kento (holiday ‘23) something in the movies. / gojo satoru (holiday '23) [+] new year, new choso. / choso kamo (holiday '23)

> THE BUBBLE

// series

famous last words. [hiatus] / dieter bravo [+] Follow Hollywood’s most notorious feud (and secret romance) through Just Old Habits, a one-shot set in 2020, and Same Old Mistakes, the prequel.

// one shots

hallmark, holiday, horny. / dieter bravo [+]

> THE LAST OF US

// series

seeing you, seeing me. [complete] / joel miller [+] After handling a life-or-death favor for Tess, you’re in deep shit. Until she can make things right, she suggests you lay low at her place. The issue? It’s also Joel Miller’s place, and you’re pretty sure he hates you.

// one shots

reckless. / joel miller [+] boston holiday. / joel miller

> MARVEL

// one shots

a first for breathing. / steven grant (moon knight) [+]

> STAR WARS

// series

point a to point b. [hiatus] / din djarin (the mandalorian) [+] Escorting a former Empire prisoner of war to a Rebel Alliance safe zone? It should be a piece of cake. No problems whatsoever.

ownership of mine. [complete] / kino loy (andor) [+] The Empire has integrated their prison systems, one being Narkina 5. The unit manager takes you under his wing - but for reasons you didn’t anticipate.

// one shots

about you. / cassian andor (andor) [+]

> STRANGER THINGS

// series of interconnected one shots for eddie munson

where shadows meet spaces. [+] meet me at the usual.meet me on the other side. [vol2 fix-it] meet me on christmas. (holiday '23)

> MISC

ficlets tag of misc reader pairings. hallo-sleepover '24 drabble challenge '24

[threecheersforsuccess]

I've been yapping for too many years, so I need a living masterpost of the guides and blogs from my Tumblr and Instagram. I feel some of my old work might be outdated, so please take my wording with a chunk of salt.

I'll update my with my content as I go.

Stuff from 2024

♡ What's in my bag? (2024)

My Motivation Education Video Series (2022-2023)

♡ Part 0: Something Much Needed Among Students: Motivation ♡ Part 1: Bare Bones Definition of Motivation ♡ Part 2: Self-efficacy, I think ♡ Part 3: Where is the control? ♡ Part 4: Reward or Autopilot ♡ Part 5: Determination to Continue ♡ Part 6: Personal Interest ♡ Part 7: Outside The Model ♡ Part 8: Where is the willpower? ♡ Part 9: Is stress even a bad thing? Note: I stopped because I did not like the short video format. I'm not sure if I may pick this up again, but I do think the lessons I learned from my readings are pretty neat :)

5am.Raining's Studying Challenge (2022)

Note: A challenge led by my cool mutual 5am.raining on Instagram. I slowly figure out how to make videos. It's a little wonky at the beginning, but I find my style! I made these posts in 2022 ♡ Poorly Filmed Day in My Life! ♡ My Studying Role Model... Haruhi from Ouran... ♡ Fave Leader in My Field: Carol Dweck ♡ What gets me in the mood to study? ♡ What I want to do with my degree... ♡ My Fave Reading Assignment ♡ Study Tunes ♡ How to get back into reading books ♡ Favorite study supplies ♡ Planning Routine (2022 version) ♡ Organizing My Desk ♡ What's in my backpack? ♡ Inspiring Film or Doc on My Field ♡ Imposter Syndrome ♡ "Study Buddy" ♡ Coping with Long Study Sessions

Flipd Productivity and Motivation Challenge Blogs

Note: I yapped so hard I won the productivity challenge. I wrote these around junior year of college (2021). ♡ Long-Term Destination, Short-Term Motivation: Living in The Moment ♡ Embedding Self-forgiveness in Your Self-Care ♡ Study Essentials ♡ The Importance of Play and Breaks ♡ Quote of Week Analysis: Self-Acceptance ♡ How I Plan My Everyday ♡ The Biggest Time Management Misconception I'm Trying to Get Over ♡ Recognizing Burnout (and Listening to Yourself) ♡ Building an Academic Support System ♡ Ways to Make Yourself Take Breaks ♡ The Challenges of a Positive Mindset ♡ How I Build Habits (based on James Clear's Atomic Habits)

Diana's Studying Challenge (2021)

Note: A challenge lead by my cool mutual dianas.desk on Instagram. I made these posts in 2021. Day 1: Challenge Introduction Day 2: What Gets Me Motivated Day 3: Cleaning My Desk Day 4: Study Tunes/Songs I Listen and Avoid Day 5: Current Books I'm Reading Day 6: Relaxation! Arknights Projekt Red Bullet Journal Spread Day 7: My Happy Place Day 8: Week Reflection Day 9: How I Plan Day 10: My Summer 2021 Work Routine Day 11: My Desk Essentials Day 12: Study Snack (Natto) Day 13: Digital or Paper Notes? Which is Better? Day 14: How I Self-Care Day 15: My School Bag Day 16: Proudest Achievement Day 17: Most Favorite Productivity App/Website Blocker Day 18: Work Buddies Day 19: Inspirational Quotes Day 20: My Favorite Place to Work Day 21: #MessyDesk Day 22: Guilty Pleasure Day 23: My Favorite Study Accounts Day 24: Study Methods I Do Not Like Day 25: Trying out a new place to work? Day 26: Part 2 of My Unconventional Study Tips (same as above) Day 27: My Outfit Day 28: Making a Gratitude List Day 29: My Aspirations Day 30: Today I learned… Day 31: September Goals

My Study Tips

Note: I wrote many of these either in 2020 or very early on (2017-2018). Super old stuff. ♡ Unconventional Study Tips Part 1 + Part 2 ♡ One Effective Memorization Tip ♡ Dealing with Bad Grades: What I Do ♡ How to get 800 on the SAT in Math and Full Points on Grammar ♡ Causes of Procrastination + Methods for Each ♡ How to Study When Unmotivated ♡ Making Your Discord Study Space ♡ Ways to Go to Bed Early ♡ My Super Ultimate Guide to AP Calc AB and BC ♡ Using Your Phone Productively (2018)

Journaling

♡ How I Journal (2017) ♡ How I Use My Notebooks (2018) ♡ How to Keep a Daily Journal (2020) ♡ How to Get into Creative Journaling (2022)

Dividers by @fairytopea

[jwirecs]

RECOMMENDED NCT FICS OF MAY-JUNE 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my nct recs of may-june! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

After All These Years || @neolovesneo​​​​💕✅

↳ (there wasnt a summary but think about it, skaterboy!mark. alexa play sk8ter boi by avril lavigne)

Cave Me In || @haespoir​​​💕✅

↳ haechan introduces you to his dealer friend, and mark lee makes it so hard to keep the relationship strictly business. not that you minded anyways.

Head Over Heels || @febtoapril​​​​​💕✅

↳ jeno couldn't hide his feelings for you any longer. so what was the next step? confess.

Hey Angel || @jjsneo​​​​🔞💕✅

↳ you're jaemin's bestfriend — so of course he loves to call you up late at night and hear your voice. he's definitely not calling because the sound of your voice turns him on — yeah definitely not that.

Going For The Gold || @sehunniepotwrites​​​🔞💕✅💯💯💯

↳ 10,305 individual athletes participating in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games. 10,305 frustrated athletes trapped inside the bubble they called the Olympic Village with no means of leaving the grounds or releasing their pent up stress. Amongst the almost indestructible cardboard beds that were rumored to prevent athlete contact and the condom supply they supposedly cannot use, the message the Olympic organizers tried to send were mixed. Many athletes saw this as a challenge, one athlete being Team Korea’s one and only, John Suh. The famed swimmer was ready and willing to take on this challenge but he couldn’t do it alone. He needed a partner for it and you—best friend, fellow teammate, and competitive swimmer—were the perfect match. (*INTERNALLY SCREAMS INTO A PILLOW* < me when i read this at night in bed. AH. ily.)

My Best Friend Is No Longer my Best Friend! (He’s My Boyfriend) || @ilrjsm​​​💕✅

↳ You’ve known him for most of your life. And truth be told, who wouldn’t have a (major!!) crush on this pretty boy? Out of all the instances you’ve fallen in love with Huang Renjun, you’ve never once regretted it.

Puppy Love || @writemekpop​💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ When your boyfriend Jeno wakes up cuddly and horny, you know something is wrong - he's switched bodies with your dog Lucky! You finally realise why he's been so cold. Can you forgive him?

Room For Two || @mochidoie​​​​​🔞💕✅💯

↳ It's Johnny Suh's birthday trip and as your childhood best friend, Johnny books a hotel room with only one bed for you and Doyoung to share. The catch: you're completely head over heels for Kim Doyoung.

These Secrets That I Have || @prodbymaui​​​​🔞💕✅💯💯

↳ Joking that your best friend is the infamous superhero bitten by a spider has been a habit for the group. It was all a joke, until it wasn't.

Whatcha Packin’ || @jjsneo​​​​🔞💕✅💯

↳ the idea of you walking in on him naked is one that would typically get doyoung hard as a rock in an instant. but after a freezing cold wet snowball fight — when his dick is not at it’s full potential — the idea becomes his nightmare. and now he’s determined to prove to you that he has a huge cock.

Give Me The Greenlight || @fadedncity​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ (there wasnt a summary but growing up i was waaaaaaaaay too into the movies of street racing aka fast and furious so like soft spot for these aus.)

Bet || @tqmies​💕💔✅💯

↳ "why are you mad?” “i’m not mad, i just think you can choose better people to kiss.”

Cold Brew || @xiaojunsmintchoco​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ at the coffee shop you work at, there's always this regular who comes and orders the same cup of cold brew coffee every morning without fail. you end up having a rather rude interaction with him one morning when you accidentally spill his coffee on him before his job interview – which turns out to be for the very same coffee shop you're working at. it doesn't matter to you that he got the job, but the fact that he's always on the same shift as you never fails to get on your nerves. Will the two of you sort out your feud, or will the both of you continue to brew these cold feelings towards each other?

Ultimate Spider-Man: Spider-Mark || @onyourhyuck​​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Wherein one night you were saved by Spider-Man from a bunch of men harassing you and you find out it’s your enemy all along.

10:46PM || @nctsplug02​​​🔞💕✅

↳ Anon Req: mark lee smut wherein he's a soft dom who praises you for studying hard for your final exams. (also can you please add a sweet gesture). i sorta feel he's that type. thank you!

Blackout || @springseasonie​​​​ 🔞💕✅

↳ The powerful storm outside knocks your power out even though Doyoung assured you it would be fine. Luckily, he bought candles the day before just in case this happened. But even with the candles to light the dark house, you were still a bit anxious about the storm, so Doyoung decided to distract you for a bit

Floating To You || @lelengerine​​​​💕✅💯💯

↳ The time when your boyfriend had to resort to alternative methods just to make sure you stay safe while shopping

Let Him Look || @catboyieejeno​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ The boys invite you and Yuta on a trip for Mark's birthday, but when Jaehyun makes a few too many plays at you, Yuta reminds you that you belong to him.

Nail Painting || @tywritesxpop​​​​💕✅💯💯💯

↳ (the most softest yuta drabble/fic that i have ever read. i love it)

Promise You || @ethereal-engene​​​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ The first and last time your boyfriend answers a call from a sasaeng who keeps calling your phone.

Weekly Food Shopping || @m-arkmywords​​​​​🔞💕✅

↳ Friday evening spent grocery shopping and then cooking that leads to... other things as your boyfriend comes to spend the weekend.

Xoxo || @yeow6n​​​​💕✅

↳ in which, your little niece has a crush on your boyfriend.

Energizer Bunny || @smileysuh​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ You’ve heard about predator hybrids having prey fetishes-with bunnies being an often glorified playmate option-but you’ve never truly witnessed it firsthand, not like you have tonight

Big Bear & Bee || @smileysuh​​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ You swallow thickly, leaning back against Johnny while you gain your courage. You know he’s not the type to force anything on you, and something tells you that if you don’t make this first move, you might just miss your chance. Turning in his arms, you look up into the bear hybrid’s chocolate brown eyes. Then you’re kissing him, putting all the passion that’s been brewing into the meeting of your lips. You thread your fingers through his soft hair, eager to get close to him, closer than you’ve ever been before. (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. i love it.)

Broken Melodies || @zchnlswrld​​💔🔄💯

↳ watch NCT Dream navigate their love lives as they figure out how to lose someone, accept someone and get someone back. it can’t be that hard, can it?

Boy’s A Liar || @writemekpop​​​​ 💔✅💯

↳ One day, your nudes show up everywhere in college. Did your boyfriend Haechan share them?

Candy || @sixzeroes​​​​💕🔄💯💯

↳ huang renjun, lee jeno, lee donghyuck, and na jaemin are a couple of buds in their senior year of high school. not a single one of them is taken and all of them probably have questionable rizz. but that’s alright, because love is love and having good rizz does not correlate with scoring a romantic relationship. (that’s why all four of them were able to find a girlfriend by the summer after graduating.)

Chasing Stars || @prodbymaui​​​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ When your relationship got announced, it made noises louder that anyone could've imagined. Of course it will, a pair containing a supermodel and a CEO of one of the most successful enterprise that made a name in both the fashion and business industry. But soon enough, everyone witnessed how the perfect relationship they had been envying crumbled down into tiny pieces until there's nothing left to pick up.

Kisses || @writingzen​​​​💕✅

↳ type of kisses with dojaejung

Laser Pointer || @multifandom-02​​​​💔✅

↳ While performing, Boyoung momentarily loses her eye sight.

Manifesting Mayhem || @suhnshinehaos​​​​​💕✅

↳ the one where all of haechan’s friends is in a relationship and yn just happens to know how to manifest romance

Perfume || @onyourhyuck​​​​​​ 🔞💕✅💯

↳ Where you are a witch who makes potions and you get werewolf!Jaehyun obsessed with your perfume scent.

Pull Up || @writemekpop​​​​​💕✅

↳ Tough boy Chenle assumes that you're his girl, but what if he's wrong?

Rent A Boyfriend || @onyourhyuck​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ You want to make your ex boyfriend jealous so you end up renting your ex boyfriend Kim Doyoung to be your new boyfriend.

Sunshine || @bangbangchanie​ 💔✅💯💯💯💯

↳ You’re the sunshine of the group, and Donghyuck hates it. (i know for a fact that if i need to cry, this will be my go to fic to re-read and to cry to. pt 2)

Sweet Life || @ningningsdream​​​ 💕🔄💯

↳ a collection of roommates-to-lovers with ot7!dream

The Marriage And Baby Project || @tyonfs​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ mark lee has had the biggest crush on you for years, so, naturally, he’s over the moon when you’re both partnered for a group project. however, he underestimates just how close two people can get when they have to pretend they’re married for a month while taking care of a fake baby.

The Walls Are Thin || @springseasonie​​​​ 🔞✅

↳ both Jaemin and Jeno have always had a thing for you and were never shy about it either. You always play hard to get, but all of your playing was going to catch up with you sooner or later.

Work It || @ofjunemoment​​​🔞💕✅

↳ Jaemin can’t quite keep a part time job; every time he gets hired, he somehow fucks up enough to be fired straight away. But he just can’t get fired from his job with you, not until he successfully asks you out on a date, anyway.

NCT 127 Reaction || @thatsseonini​​​​​​💕✅💯

↳ reaction to you in a fight (stop haechan is literally all bark but no bite. but thats okay cause hes still a cutie. man fights with words, not fists)

NCT Dream Reaction || @yangtaros​​​​💕✅💯

↳ reaction to you kissing them to shut them up

NCT Dream Reaction || @j0hnj4ej3n​​​​​💕✅💯

↳ reaction to you sleeping on the couch

Treacherous || @suhnshinehaos​​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ after a couple of instances of accidental matching clothing, yangyang finds himself in a dating rumor with possibly the most famous person on campus : yn, the bassist of an up and coming band. yangyang doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. unfortunately yn, who has also built up a reputation for being cold as winter, does.

The Villain In Your Story || @ningningsdream​​​​💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ girls’ code prevents you from liking the guy your friend likes right? (its been a while since i’ve read an nct smau and im glad that i’ve come across this one. highly recommend if someone is looking for a new nct smau to read thats completed!)

Cant Handle This || @hannie-dul-set​​​​​🔞💕💔✅

↳ how are you supposed to explain that you and na jaemin started dating just to prove each other wrong and ended up catching feelings.

Golden Hour || @onyourhyuck​​​​🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ You’re a waiter and Mark Lee the local biker and infamous bad boy loves the eggs your diner makes, but now he wants a taste of you.

Love Jones || @lisired​​​​🔞💔✅

↳ After breaking off your engagement to your fiance, you move to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career. There in the fairytale land where stars go to shine you meet Haechan, an aspiring photographer with a penchant for mischief and flirtation.

Who’s Bad? || @haechrry​​​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Lee Donghyuck saw you while you were on your working hours, with a pretty frown on your face, and decided to shoot his shot disturbing the peace of your mind. But one thing was sure: he found something to sink his teeth into, and you were on the same page as him.

Wi-Fi || @dongfuck​​​​​🔞💕💔✅

↳ (there wasnt a summary but if i didnt have wifi, i would honestly steal wifi from my neighbors if its not pw protected..🤡)

Mark BF Texts || @ohdudehesflirting​​​​💕✅

↳ (name says it all, its cute af)

NCT Dream Texts || @hugs2doie​​​​​💕✅

↳ COMFORTING/COMPLIMENTING YOU WHEN YOU’VE HAD A BAD DAY

NCT Dream Reactions/Texts || @fullsunstrawberry​​​​🔞💕✅

↳ ACCIDENTALLY SENDING RISKY TEXT TO THE GROUPCHAT (i cackled a lil too hard that i choked on my spit)

Thanks For The Flowers Prank || @ohmygs-blog​​​💕✅

↳ Anon Req: ok this is my first submission on tumble in a looong time hi!! since reqs are open, what are your thoughts on pranking tje dreamies with that flower prank? when they didn’t send you any flowers but you send a photo of a bouquet and are like thanks for the flowers babe

Text Prank + Dreamies || @yongislong​​​​💕✅

↳ fake break up prank on nonidol!dreamies

12:07PM || @gyeomsweetgyeom​​​​💕✅

↳ dad!johnny

6:17PM || @febtoapril​​​​💕✅

↳ one bed for two

8:06PM || @nctmiami​​​​🔞💕✅

↳ evenings with taeil

9:26PM || @yoonmeowzz​​​​💕✅💯💯💯

↳ (no summary but WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP LIKE THIS)

Do check out all of the other NCT Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

[3months2mordor]

On Hobbits and Existential Dread

or Why “The Scouring of the Shire” is the True Climax of The Lord of the Rings

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Or more accurately, there lived a human who had been in hard COVID quarantine for six months and certainly felt like a hobbit, what with all the staying inside and eating second breakfast and trying her best to ignore the world, which seemed in the summer of 2020 to be spiraling towards something unknown. And she, well I, was packing for college. On an impulse that I cannot explain except to say that I had previously binge watched all the movies in my seemingly infinite quaran-time, I packed a large red volume of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings with the intention to read it over the course of the semester.

What began as a simple personal challenge to read a chapter a night instead of doom scrolling on Twitter became a profound experience not only in terms of discovering that my parents were right in saying the book was actually really good, but also in realizing that the Hobbits, in their edenic Shire perched on the edge of a world about to enter catastrophe, were more like me, more like a lot of us, than Aragorn or the Elves or Dwarves or Men who people Middle Earth. And here is why the chapter at the very end of the last book where the Shire is nearly destroyed is so very, very important.

Tolkien takes careful time in his books to establish the attitudes and habits of his hobbits who live in pastoral harmony in near complete isolation from the rest of the world. They are content with what they have and don’t have the greed that drives Dwarves to dig, or the ambition that drives Men to war, or even the worship of nature that drives Elves deep into their forests to protect them. They build their hobbit holes, smoke what is definitely pot, and eat and drink heartily. They care little for news of the outside world and tend their fields instead. That’s it.

But the world does not cease to exist just because they want it to. It never does.

As Gandalf warns in Rivendale, “We are sitting in a fortress. Outside it is growing dark.” (Part 1 Book 2 Chapter 1).

Regardless of how much the hobbits might ignore the coming of the Dark Lord Sauron and the existential threat that is his attempt to control the world, it will not go away. They will not be safe from the darkness just because they want to be and they have a supply of candles in the cupboard. And so, at the start of the story, evil comes to the Shire in the form of the Black Riders and Frodo, our hero, must leave to keep the Shire safe from the forces of darkness. Still Frodo is just a hobbit, albeit a brave one. So he laments to Gandalf, “I wish it need not have happened in my time” and Gandalf replies “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” (Part 1 Book 1 Chapter 2).

I feel this quote more deeply every year. A deep childish wish for things to exist as we expected them to be, but a solemn and more mature knowledge that Gandalf is right. That our time has already been given to us. All that we have left is what we do to make that time matter.

But back to Frodo, who takes a good seventeen years to heed this advice, but eventually sets off on an adventure to save the Shire which, spoiler alert, ultimately saves the world. Along the way people despair and seem to lose hope. Theoden, recovering from a spell that robbed him of agency and clearsightedness, cries “Alas! That these evil days should be mine, and should come in my old age instead of that peace which I have earned” (Part 2 Book 3 Chapter 6). Even Sam, in his darkest hour thinking he has lost Frodo for good, groans “I wish I wasn’t the last. I wish old Gandalf was here, or somebody. What am I left all alone to make up my mind? I’m sure to go wrong” (Part 2 Book 4 Chapter 10).

Yet despite it all the One Ring is destroyed and the King returns and good wins. Everything is set right and our heroes get a chance to rebuild the world rather than watch it crumble. They get to go home.

Now this is a fine story and one I desperately needed amongst all of the *everything* going on in 2020. However it is not the ending that stuck with me. For you see once Frodo and his companions return home, the Shire is not the same place they left it.

The Shire, in their year long absence, has descended into a despotic police state run by a wealthy, privileged hobbit who stays in his hole rather than try to help his people as Men, who tower over the hobbits, and are specifically and on multiple occasions called bullies, abuse their power. They use their strength to take food and (let’s face it) weed from the hobbits, desecrate their land with deforestation and pollution, and create a state of fear and paranoia that anyone could be taken at any moment to prison without trial after only a mere whiff of seditious behavior. The world has come to the hobbits and they are so paralyzed with fear that they are unable to do anything other than sit in their hobbit holes and keep their heads down, hoping that they and their families will make it through.

Now, Frodo and his companions, having seen the change that can be wrought from people who stand up to bullies and fight to make a difference, see the state of their home and immediately understand the despair their friends and neighbors have fallen into because they too have felt it. These are the hobbits who faced thousands of orcs and rode in battle and walked to Mount Doom with only each other to lean on and they know how deeply despair of impossible odds can affect someone. But they have also learned that that despair is not inevitable. They saw the Ents on their last march when Treebeard said it was “likely enough that we are going to our doom… But if we stayed at home and did nothing the doom would find us anyway, sooner or later. That thought has been long growing in our hearts; and that is why we are marching now” (Part 2 Book 3 Chapter 4). They saw the Rohirrim ride to battle against impossible odds because it was the right thing to do. They saw even the most pitiful Gollum play his part in saving the world. And they saw the Eagles fly in to help carry the day.

There’s always hope if there’s something worth fighting for.

And so, back in the Shire which was not the Shire they knew but still the one they love, the four heroic hobbits do what had once seemed impossible: they get the hobbits, in their apathy and terror and existential despair, to stand up and fight. And it’s hard, and people die, and it gets worse before it gets better, but in the end the bullies are run off and the hobbits are victorious and they begin to rebuild, not just their homes but their forests and their relationships with each other too.

The hobbits, and me really, wanted to curl up in their holes and hope the world would go away. And sometimes, God, that seems like it’s the only thing you can do when darkness is spreading far on the horizon and it keeps creeping closer but isn’t here yet. But Sauron is not the scariest thing in this book. Tolkien’s real villain was the fear and despair that can paralyze you to stay in your hole until the Shire is burning around you. Yet even the most comfortable and secure hobbits have to stand up and face the world because if we don't, no one else will.

There is a reason Frodo is able to see the mission to the end. And it’s not that he’s exceptional in the way other heroes are. No. In fact it is because he is unexceptional and unambitious and also uncompromising that the deed is able to be done. He, like the hobbits he helps at the end of the series, has to get up and work to fight the evil that hurts people every day. And Frodo doesn’t save the hobbits of the Shire; they save themselves. Then they rebuild. They grow things again, not better, not the same, but they have to go on living. And, I don’t know, I needed to realize that.

We aren’t Aragorn with a throne and a legendary sword and a destiny to be king, we aren’t the Elves with their centuries of knowledge and skills, we aren’t the Dwarves with their mountain holds to hide in. Heck, we’re not even Frodo, or at least I’m not. There’s no way I could handle a walk that long. We’re the hobbits. We see the existential wave of dread and terror that is coming and our instinct to hide from it, to hold it off as long as we can and then silently accept it when it comes. Because what can one little halfling do against a thing like that?

But even the hobbits of the Shire stand up eventually. Even hobbits can take that dread for a bleak future and turn around and create new life. There’s a reason why the symbol of the Shire returning to peace and throwing off the yolk of oppression is a tree. The bullies cut down Bilbo’s old one and it can’t come back. But Sam plants a new one anyway and hopes it will grow.

I’m reading the Lord of the Rings again before this election as I did last time. But this time I’m not alone. I’m reading it with friends. I marked passages like the ones above that made me think but also ones that made me laugh because there is joy in amongst the shadows and if we cannot find those moments it’s hard to keep looking for the light. In rewatching The Two Towers film the other day I was struck, as I usually am, by Sam’s speech at the end of the movie, based on one he gives in “The Stairs of Cirith Ungol.” I think it bears quoting in full.

Sam: It’s all wrong By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad happened. But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Sam : That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Hobbits are remarkable people, Tolkien says, and I hope we are too. I hope we can get through this by raising up our own Shires full of hobbit warriors to face the world and not lie down and give up. Because if everyone did that there would still be a One Ring and Sauron would rule forever.

But we have to save the Shire. It’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. We have to believe that. I have to. I will do my part to make sure it does, but first I have to believe it’s possible. We have to take that existential terror and turn it into righteous fury because we have seen what a shadow can do and we cannot let it spread again. We have been there. But we will not go back again.

[youjustwaitsunshine]

genuinely obsessed with sebs media consumption habits, we know he likes: band of brothers (from the depths of the old sebsite), channing tatum (also sebsite), monty python, little britain (mentioned multiple times) and new girl (seen through glass quickfire questions), can not tell star trek from star wars (tirendo interview) but likes 'the one with the one with the ears' better, uses his phone to take pictures and look at maps (article on the f1 website i think), listens/listened to the beatles, eros ramazotti, blink-182, donovan's season of the witch, had a solid knowledge of early 2010s one-hit wonders in 2020/2019 (ferrari challenge video, guessing a song [actually titanium by sia] was bulletproof by la roux [since the song snippet contained the word bulletproof]) first album he bought was 12 inches of snow, his favorite films are the shawshank redemption and la vita e bella (during which he cried). he had britney and schumi posters up on his wall. he seems to never have heard shawn mendes and camila cabellos 'senorita' before the ferrari challenge (i envy him for this) but does know relatively small german indie bands (jules ahoi [not that small but like. small enough that you can hang out with and talk to the lead singer after a concert])

[delicatesoundofthunderr]

Lock-up ~ Chapter 1

{Charles Leclerc x Reader}

Y/N L/N is the new hope of RedBull. Though, her start to the season could’ve known some better days. With RedBull’s pressure, her dad’s reminders that she is only here because of him and Max’s behaviour, Y/N has a lot on her mind.

Someone she used to know seems to notice, but can’t decided wether or not to help.

Read to see how this all unfolds ❤️

hope yall enjoy!!

•••

I changed a bit of things in F1 to make this story work, therefore Perez does not exist anymore 😭. Also the calendar is different, and I made the reader Canadian but her dad's Italian.

The story will be both present, and past for flashbacks and explanations.

Heres a short diagram of the teams Charles and Y/N have been in.

Charles Y/N

2018 (F2): Prema Dams

2019-2020 (F1): Sauber Racing Point

present (F1):       Ferrari RedBull

This fanfic includes all the good stuff, from closed proximity to forbidden love, you guys won't ever be bored 🤭

Enjoy!!

•••

Present Day -  Spain GP, race #7

" And it's a red flag here in Spain... Who could possibly- Oh and it's Charles Leclerc and Y/N L/N who have crashed!" the commentator's voice boomed through the speakers.

Both cars were immobile in the gravel pits of the circuit, with Charles' front wing stuck in the wall.

" For those of you that are new to Formula One, let's just say these two have made it a habit of constantly fighting each other since the start of the season... once in a while resulting into both of their DNFs," The other commentator continued.

" What a fucking idiot. Turning into me like that, what the hell was i supposed to do?" Y/N complained in her radio.

" If she keeps pulling stuff like that she could literally kill someone, including herself. When will she learn to control herself?" Charles screamed in his team radio.

Both drivers got out of their cars without a scratch, and the glare they gave each other through furrowed brows must've been the most intense part of the whole crash.

•••

It wasn't always like this. Battling the other dangerously, loathing stares, and hateful speeches.

Two years ago, when you were with Racing Point and he Sauber, you and Charles were inseparable. People went as far as saying you guys were dating, but that theory was quickly shut down since at that time Charles had a girlfriend and you were seeing someone.

You guys had formed habits together, but the most important one was skiing in the Alps in the off season.

•••

2 Years Ago -  Italian Alps

" Where do you think you're going next?" you ask Charles on the chairlift.

The beautiful and vast Alps were mesmerizing to look at from the chairlift, but Charles had his eyes somewhere else.

" I think we should go... Hörnli." he says, with a determined look on his face.

" Not the ski slopes idiot, the next F1 team you're joining," you laugh.

Skiing and hiking the Alps was your tradition with Charles. It was your third time doing it by now.

" Oh my god I'm so stupid. Well Ferrari have reached out, so if I have the opportunity I'm definitely taking it. What about you?" he watches you carefully.

" I don't know yet. I should know soon though." You added with a smile that quickly faded.

" Don't worry, There's definitely a big team that has you in their sights." He said, flashing you a smile. " Imagine you end up in Ferrari with me!" he added hopefully.

" Oh I don't think you could handle me beating you every race." you teased, shoving him slightly.

" Oh, You wish! Still... I must admit you're the toughest opponent I've had... yet." he smugly added.

His compliment had caught you off-guard.

" You really think so?" you questioned with a cocky smile. " I'm touched."

" I said yet, and with the cars that we have right now. We'll see when we're in bigger teams." he challenged.

" You didn't specify cars..." you teased.

" Oh shut up," he chuckles, hitting you with his ski stick.

Your laughs could almost be heard echoing in the vast mountains of Italy.

Then, you signed with RedBull.

•••

The tension began at the start of this season, ever since Charles joined his dear Scuderia and you RedBull.

Ever since the Canadian Grand Prix.

Charles' selfish action had cost him his already fragile friendship with you. He wanted to get back at you for what you did to him in Monaco. He let his greed cloud his thoughts, but perhaps there was another emotion present in his thinking...

•••

Past - Monaco GP - race 1

Y/N POV

I had to prove myself. Being the only woman on the F1 grid put a suffocating pressure on my chest, because I had to be perfect no matter the occasion. On and off track.

Winning this historical race meant winning everybody's respect. Especially my dad's. He would have no other choice but to hug me tightly after the win, right? Surely he wouldn't have any reasons to be disappointed in me?

I was both eager and scared to find out. My dad  only wants the best for me, but he sometimes struggles to show it. Still, I wouldn't ask for anything else. His severe teaching is the only reason I'm here.

•••

30 seconds before the lights go out. I close my eyes and go over the track in my head one last time before taking in as much air possible in my lungs and letting it go steadily. I tune out every distraction around me and look up without blinking.

Two cars in front.

Lewis on pole and Charles following.

The red lights are on... and off.

I don't have an amazing start but I manage to keep my position. The first few laps require the fullest of my concentration because of Monaco's tight corners and every car being close. I finally hear Ryan (my engineer) telling me to slow down and keep a good pace.

That was until Lewis made a mistake, leading to Charles and I passing him. There was only Charles in front now. No, not Charles. A car.

I was simply looking at a red car who, by team orders, needed to be passed.

And so I attacked. Trying to push the ferrari into making a single mistake, one I could benefit from.

The ferrari in front was incredibly good at defending, and my heart started to beat faster. There were only a few laps left. I had to win, I needed to win.

My impatience got the best of me. It pushed me over the limit, and I was the one that made the mistake. I didn't brake soon enough.

A bit of smoke is all I remember before disassociating from the moment. I fucked up. My dad was never going to let me forget this. What was the media going to say? I ruined both my race and Charles'. Not even one of us was going to celebrate tonight.

My stomach ached so much. My head was spinning. I saw two hands reaching out to me and helping me up from my seat. Was it Charles? Maybe he forgives me. He had to.

I opened my eyes and saw the ones of a worried marshal. He set me down and my eyes instantly searched for Charles'.

I found his eyes glued to his car, then they finally met mine.  The look in his eyes made my heart drop. Hatred. Hatred I created.

I knew I couldn't run up to him right now, But I had to speak to him. We've had our conflicts on-track, but they never lasted long off-track. This time was different.

I start to walk away, and then looked up to lock eyes with my father's. Disappointment. My heart pinched and anger rose in me.

•••

After the race I searched for Charles everywhere and finally found him by the stands, walking alone.

"Charles!" I call out, half expecting him to walk the other way.

He simply stopped walking and looked at me expectantly.

" Listen I'm- " But he cuts me off.

" Y/N you don't have to say anything. Racing is racing. You shouldn't stop yourself from attacking just because I'm the one in the car in front." he said, rather coldly.

I felt so relieved to hear that. I lifted my arms up to hug him, but he quickly took ahold of my wrist. He closed his eyes, and gripped my wrist tighter.

"Just... Expect the same in following races." He said, opening his eyes with a piercing gaze.

He let go of my wrist gently and turned his back on me, leaving me all alone.

What the fuck. What did he mean? His anger would probably dissipate before the next race, like it always did. Like he said, I shouldn't just stop overtaking him to make him happy.

•••

The media ate me alive, and it made me even more frustrated. First race for Redbull and this is what happens...

I make my way out of the interview room and see my dad. My throat starts to close.

" Terrible start, terrible attacking, and overall shitty race. This isn't the result of my teaching, is it?" he coldly states.

"No." I mutter out.

" What? I couldn't quite hear." he says.

" No, it's not! It's my fault entirely." I say truthfully. This was not a good example of my driving and even less of my dad's guidance.

" There you go." my dad says, patting me on the shoulder.

•••

Past - Canadian GP - race #2

Y/N POV

I qualified like shit for my home grand prix. P6 because my car had a problem, and if it wasn't enough, Charles was P7 behind me. I'll show him that his little speech didn't scare me and it was childish of him to menace me with his words.

The race was tight. I had managed to get up to P3, but Charles was very close behind. I defended him fiercely, and for a moment I thought I had it. That was until his "tires locked up" and he hit my side. Both cars were able to get back on track, although Charles ended up passing me because of this. It didn't matter. I fell down to P8 and finished the race with a disappointing P7. I was fucking fuming.

" What the hell is wrong with him? He got a penalty for that right?" I complain in my team radio at the end of the race.

" Um, unfortunately Y/N, there doesn't seem to be any penalty taken from ferrari's part." Ryan tells me.

"WHAT?" I exclaim.

How was that even fucking possible? Did me and the FIA see the same crash?

•••

The post-race interviews were now happening.

" Y/N, I'm not trying to jump to conclusions, but that move pulled off by Charles seemed intentional. Any thoughts?" the interviewer questioned.

" Yeah I think it says a lot about him," I stated angrily. "What happened in Monaco was a mistake and he had NO right to ruin my home race in return. Him not getting a penalty is also very surprising. I'll never forget this childish act from both Leclerc and the FIA." I replied, pissed.

" Those are harsh words coming from your mouth, L/N. Yet, I think this could be the start of a new rivalry between Ferrari and Redbull. Do you?" the reporter continued.

" Definitely." I firmly said.

•••

You met Leclerc on the way back to the RedBull garage.

" I can't fucking believe you Charles, Monaco was a mistake but this? This was on purpose. You did this just to prove what, exactly?" You voiced, irritated.

Charles' expression was unreadable. He seemed at conflict with himself, trying to figure out what to say.

"I think," Charles paused. " I think we should keep our distances from now on."

Your mouth fell slightly open. After all you guys had done together, the strong bond you guys had created?

" Oh, don't worry about that." You stated angrily, storming off.

•••

Present Day - Post Spain GP - race 7

You felt disappointed after today's race, like any other race that finished badly. You loved your team so much- the team that had taken you in after only a year in F1, the team that constantly supported you... Although recently you could see their trust in you falter. You couldn't help but feel like you let RedBull down each time you made a mistake, like you felt with your dad.

Max ended up winning, so you congratulated him and gave him a quick hug that didn't go unnoticed by a certain someone.

Max was like a literal brother to you, having a similar character to yours and the same dad experiences.

" You really gotta stop targeting Charles like that, Y/N. The team won't like it, and I like you, so you better stick around and stop holding grudges." Max joked.

" Mate did you see the incident? I swear he turned into me!" you retorted, eyes wide.

" Yeah..." Max chuckled, not convinced.

" Oh my god just go on the podium already." You annoyingly said, giving him one last tap on the shoulder.

Max left while laughing, and you were left smiling alone. You didn't want to listen to him when he said you should stop holding a grudge on Leclerc, but a part of you knew he was right. You should definitely focus on the championship, since a gap had formed between you and the leaders. This definitely stressed you out, with your dad's constant high expectations and the team slowly losing hope in your talent.

A sudden pair of eyes found yours in the crowd.

Leclerc's eyes had a new look in them, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it. You simply furrowed your brows and looked away.

~~~~

Quite a long chapter to start with, and i think the following ones will be shorter. Also this was copied from my wattpad, so if theres any mistakes im sorry hahaha

Hope yall enjoyed 💞

[pixelnrd]

Do you have any tips on maintaining a legacy for this long??? Your decades is so so fun and I think I want to do one of my own, but I've never done anything like this before and I'm scared I'll lose interest

Oh boy, I mean... my major tip is be really hyper-focussed and uncomfortably committed and you might stay stuck on the same project for 4 years?

I’ll be more helpful under the cut ✨

Jokes aside, this Legacy has been going since mid-2020. I think the major things that set me up to keep going with it were contextual factors, these being:

I started during the pandemic when I was unemployed and studying online, so I had literally not much else to do and could commit lots of my free time to playing and creating.

The pandemic in my country went for 2 years. In those 2 years I played through the Langstons from 1890 - 1950. The decades challenge was like a personal project that kept me engaged and sane during what was an incredibly boring and isolating time, which is why I was able to be so consistent and committed. Since the pandemic ended, and my real life resumed, I've found it much harder to remain consistent due to real life pressures on my free time, or even to stay engaged if I feel like I have a lot of work to do with crafting the story and get overwhelmed.

I’m now a parent with little kids and spend most of my evenings sitting around at home rather than going out and doing things, which is perfect for sustaining a sims habit and carving out time every day to work on my challenge.

Since I got more than half-way with the challenge before I slowed down in 2022, the urge to complete this Legacy (rather than leave it half-done) has really motivated me to keep going - it’s what got me back in even after I planned to exit simblr when I became a parent. But maybe that's just my personality though - I can’t leave projects unfinished!

I think the moral of this is: depending on your own standards for yourself, and the kind of content you want to create, this kind of undertaking can take a lot of time to get through and you need to chip away at it in a way that is sustainable for you. It doesn't have to be as long as mine (a decade for each generation), and I probably wouldn't recommend that. It also doesn’t have to be a huge narrative story either if that isn’t enjoyable for you.

It's easy to lose interest and it's ok to take breaks to refresh and regain your enthusiasm. Working on anything to burnout point isn't healthy and if it doesn't bring you joy then it isn't worth your energy! I have had many instances of needing to refocus my vision and motivation over the course of this Legacy into something that is sustainable and enjoyable for me. It’s hard!

[chronotopes]

2024 creative/personal writing wrapped

and yes i'm proud enough of my escaprils that i'm going to list a lot of them individually. sorry.

(2023) (2022) (2021) (2020) (2019)

FICTION

Aivide the Prequel. You know her you love her I FINISHED HER THIS YEAR!!!!! It's my only completed public facing version all-OC story even if it's not 100% original fiction, and I'm still so proud and fond of it and excited to continue the story one day in whatever form that takes. This year I finished chapters 5 and 6 for a total of 73,000 words.

Vital Light. You know her, you don't know that much about her, Aivide the Prequel's more embarrassing and earnest younger/older sister. For those new: a revision of a novel from 2016 which is in itself a revision of a collaborative story from (shudders) 2012. Yes I'm insane for attempting it but also yes I feel like I've learned a lot and working on it tends to tangibly improve my life. The mess of excessively wordy first draft writing I did this year totals at just over 90,000 words.

NONFICTION

A lot of my essays this year were escapril prompts, which is a challenge meant for poetry that I cheerfully reinterpreted to be about creative nonfiction instead. Wild success!! Really excited to do it next year!! Ok let's list some essays, with the ones I think are strongest/most editable bolded. They are not going to have word counts because I Don't Feel Like It.

"Change of State," an essay about moving to Maryland.

"The Internet," a kind of underdeveloped use of paleontology as metaphor for growing up.

"Eye contact," an essay about my dynamics with my mother and my girlfriend as well as the concept of 'attention.'

"Trip," revisiting a formative camping adventure with my childhood best friends, who perhaps predictably emerged as a reocurring theme in this project.

"Spiral," an essay about my nichely significant great-grandfather and his war stories of dubious veracity.

"A childhood memory (catholic school gymnasiums)," which is the first essay of mine that mentions Jenny's siblings by name! About going to Easter Mass with her family and, relatedly, visiting your loved ones' childhood spaces.

"Portrait," about augustine and i being in gay love with each other in seventh grade art class.

"What's the truth?", about my own renegotiations of my senior year of college social fallouts.

"Bad Habit," about reading strangers' wedding websites.

"Fog," about New Year's Eve 2022 with Jenny.

"Posture," which is me in senior year of high school and the act of posturing, as I had already covered the Reprimands From My Mother in "eye contact" and had nothing to say about the concept of standing up straight.

"Oh, the light!", which I would never title an essay independently but is functionally just a longer expression of that one jesse pinkman image captioned 'how it feels to be in a transitional state'.

"Purr," about one of my friends' cats as metonym for grief.

"A recurring dream," honestly one of the weakest ones, but it's once again about my fall 2022-spring 2023 experience and the weirdness of it all.

"Beach," about visiting Esther in Florida for the first time and about my larger-scale relationship with the ocean.

"So embarrassing..., or (BEING NOTES TO MYSELF AS 2014 TURNED TO 2015)", or exactly what it sounds like.

"Truth," a sequel to "What's the truth?" that is also about Esther and Julia's wedding.

"Suspended in Air," about going to Harper's Ferry and loving my wife so much it's unreal.

"A reminder:", a total nothingburger of an essay. Essay that could have been a diary entry.

"Moth," a vivid little image of summer in Southeast Virginia as written by someone who's about to move out of there for good.

"The problem of death." Escapril prompts are really on the nose sometimes, huh? I like the central metaphor in this essay that is, in fact, about death, which involves Star Trek Two The Wrath of Khan of all things.

"Desire," about seeing myself in the end of Twelfth Night.

"Simulation," about roleplayed love confessions with Augustine.

"Unexpected Transmission," about the night I found out my boss died.

"Dark Secret," about my relationship to romantic love, especially the unrequited kind.

"Modernity," about fall 2020, taking Women and Modernism while developing my own writing fascinations with the contemporary literary micro-movements of beautiful women and theys on the internet

"The absolute limit," double essay about Reconciliation Dreams Involving The Ex-Bestie.

"Surgery," vaguely hermit-crab style set of annotated recent google searches. About budgeting and planning for the future jinxing and to a certain extent literal surgery. By far one of the strongest concepts here.

"How to exist," another Essay That Could Have Been A Diary Entry maybe but has some good prose. These last two are kind of a culmination of Personal Processes i was going through in this set of thirty essays, in which i took an artistic spin to things that had been too fucked up to write about artistically in years past.

"Tomorrow," about the month of May and my history of planning for it / of grand turnarounds occurring at the end of spring.

There were some non-escapril ones too (okay actually most of them were inspired by past escapril prompts but pretty loosely)

"Visions of the Future," about imagining my future self.

"Myopia in seventh-grade notebooks," which takes a classic trick in adapting a poem from the past into an essay.

"Eavesdropping," the product of my biannual process of rereading all of my past messages with my dead friend and wanting to kick my own ass about it all.

"Attention," about the complicated metaphysics of returning to your hometown.

POETRY

"Tampa," which engages with and somewhat ties up the Ancient Katia Tradition of writing poetry on planes titled after the destination.

An uninterestingly titled anniversary poem for jenny :)

"Pine Pollen," about how (elizabeth stokes voice) i can close the door on us but the room still exists and i know you're in it

FINAL THOUGHTS

I usually do goofy superlatives for these, but instead here are some coherent thoughts about what I think I accomplished as a writer this year and what I think I'd like to work on in the coming year. First, some strengths of this year:

I still have a lot of work to continue, but writing from prompts was wildly helpful in my efforts to formulate interesting and stylistically mature shortform creative nonfiction. Writing event-first is horrible for me and writing Spontaneous Connection-first is great when it can happen but can't be forced. Being forced to contemplate how 'so embarrassing' or whatever could most interestingly be applied to cnf kind of helped me break that barrier, which I am very grateful for. I covered a lot of new ground and revisited some old ground in an interesting way, and though the above essay list is a collection of first drafts and experiments, I'm very happy with what I gained from it.

It was wildly satisfying to finish revising Aivide and bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I still have to go back and do some smaller-scale line editing on it, and it would be a much better overall product if it was plotted and rewritten in 2023-2024 from start to finish, but Aivide the prequel also wouldn't exist without me-from-2021, so it would be very dumb to not give them significant credit. In 2024 I wrote some of the parts of this novel that are the most special to me and reflect the things I love about writing fiction most closely. It's not without its flaws, but I'm still wildly proud of it and think you (yes, you!) should read it if you like loosely-homestuck-connected science fiction or toxic homoerotic girl best friends.

It was also very rewarding to return to Vital Light, which was kind of my Shrek last year in the Prince of Egypt/Shrek analogy that I love applying to my own writing, and find that I was capable of writing Characters And Plots That Interest And Compel Me with stories other than Aivide. Vital Light is still categorized as 'the silly one' in my head, but there are at least invididual parts of it that register to me as meaningful and interesting and I think pursuing the whole project is Teaching Me New Things About Being A Writer, which is the key part.

I think for a lot of college I would make resolutions along the lines of 'this is the year I finally get published!' and would scrutinize all my non-fanfiction out-of-class writing as A Journey To Getting Published while doing nothing on the get published front because litmag submissions are the job applications of writing and we all know how much I hate doing either of those things until actively forced to. Both 'somewhat goofy prompts' and 'deep structural revision of The Novel That Owned My Soul In High School' are good exposure therapy for writing to learn, to tell myself a story, to try something and see if it works, rather than to publish.

In this coming year some of the main things I would really like to do are – 

To gather up the strength for confident and well-considered worldbuilding and get comfortable with reading lots of nonfiction to get a comfortable knowledge base in areas relevant to my subject

To write or conceptualize at least one story (it can be shortform, though shortform is its own uphill battle for me lol) starring a character or universe that did not exist before 2025,

To progress my shortform nonfiction into workable longform nonfiction,

To take at least one local writing class, not so much because I think Classes are really missing from my life but because meeting people who write and are local to you is an interesting and productive part of writing and living in a place, even if they are not interested in the same things you are and do not necessarily share an artistic ethos with you

I am not going to resolve to Submit To More Litmags because I know the kind of doomspiral that instills in me and it is also not terribly important to me right now. But I think I do want to critically examine Types Of Making Your Writing Public and explore the ones I'm comfortable with, as well as observing the mechanisms behind that comfort. Pivotally I also want to read more widely and consistently, including shortform stuff (collective BOO from the crowd!) (i'm the crowd.). First and foremost, I want to continue reading and writing from a place of pleasure and curiosity and exploration – with the obvious disclaimer that 'pleasure' does not mean Reading The Easiest Or Most Feel Good Thing, there is pleasure to be found in new and challenging things and good prose and meeting challenges – because I think that is the best way to do interesting things and never kill yourself.

[clevercatchphrase]

Cheers to a decade

My blog is 10 years old today. I have some thoughts.

On Januray 22nd, 2015, I made this tumblr blog. I remember it being my second semester of my senior year in college and feeling lost and depressed in my dorm room. Despite being in the class of 2015, I had technically graduated the winter prior, having come in to college with enough AP credits from high school to be ahead a semester. I remember not being ready to become an "official" adult yet. Despite having a degree, I didn't feel like I had enough choices in my future, so I stayed an extra year (3 semesters) and got a second degree before finally just being too sick of college life to stay there any longer.

I made this blog to practice art, but in truth, I think it was to distract myself from existential dread of being bottle necked into an occupation I didn't want with little to no choice of upward movement. I can't remember my exact thoughts, but I have a strong feeling it was along the lines of "if I can't get a job I like with my entomology degree, then I will practice art and try my luck as a freelance artist!" Not that freelance is any easier than an hourly paid 9 to 5, but at least it let me feel like I had more options.

It's so surreal scrolling back to that very first year. I posted a lot more frequently and did a lot more doodles and sketches and figure drawings back then. I didn't care about scheduling or queuing posts. I saw a cool tutorial? Neat, I'm reblogging this right now. just pumped out a 2 minute doodle of an animal, and it's going up on the blog immediately. I did more art challenges. Heck, I made a 50 day art challenge for homestuck and DID it! I made my very first long form song comic less than a month after creating this blog. It was for kingdom hearts set to the song "king" by Lauren Aquilina (which was almost certainly inspired by the LoZ song comic made by caffeineandcarpaltunnel set to the same song 2 years prior. (and I don't even play loz, I just liked the song)). I can't help but question myself; "where did all this motivation go?" "Where did all that passion go?" "Now I only post one piece of art a week and queue all the other stuff in november only." (Well, I didn't start doing that last thing until 2022, so I guess I can always revert my neurotic habits). But then I have to remember that until the summer of 2016, I didn't have a job. I didn't have bills. I lived in dorm rooms and off of college loans that funded my meal plan. Any time I wasn't studying or hanging out with other Cepheids (shout out to the 3 of you who know what that means) I was undoubtedly on the internet, enjoying what the 2010's web had to offer.

Can you believe youtube hadn't officially been around for 10 years at that point? musical.ly hadn't merged with TikTok yet because TikTok hadn't even been created in 2015. Vine still existed. This blog is even older than Undertale's official release.

I can't help but think of my life in "chunks" or "eras", some based on where I lived at the time, some based on the state of the world at the time, but a majority of it based on the media I was obsessed with at that time. (For example, 1998 to 2002 I refer to as the "hawaii era" because my family was military and we were stationed in Hawaii.) Shorter eras can also exist within bigger eras, like 2016 to 2020 is my zoo era, because I was a part time zookeeper, but it exists within my undertale era, which is still ongoing (this hyperfixation has a choke hold on me). So whenever I am given a date, I cross-reference it with what era of my life it occurred in, comparing it to my mental state and what was happening with my life. This blog started in my homestuck era (which went from early 2011 to late 2015) and it fucking showsssssss.

Another example; some of the earliest art on this blog was for Kingdom Hearts, because I am a KH fan. KH3 released in 2019. My blog had just turned 4 years old THREE days prior in 2019. KH3 will be SIX years old three days from today. 2019 was before the pandemic. I was still at my zoo job. Ghost switch wasn't even 1 year old yet. It's this kind of mental math that I am constantly doing for everything all the time whenever I have a date to compare to. Why do I do this? I have no clue. To measure up progress or advancements? To contrast what I've accomplished in that same amount of time versus what others have achieved? I don't know, but I've always done it and I will never stop. The endless forward march of time bewitches me so in this way.

Looking at the years and dates, remembering how it overlapped with my time in college and the memes of the early 2010s, which reminds me of my college era (fall 2011 to spring 2016) which brings up a whole well of other memories, like the world ending in 2012, the let's players I'd watch because I didn't have a gaming console or tv in my dorm, the basketball concessions I'd volunteer at to pay for my ticket to go to the student-run convention in the spring, the libraries and computer labs and dining halls, and shitty dorm room thermostats in winter and it's blaring fire alarms that would go off at 3 am because people microwaved popcorn wrong, and the time it rained so hard on campus that the basement hangout zone flooded.

Man... this whole thing got melancholic. I thought it would be nostalgic, but now it feels like I'm doing an elephant walk for my own blog (again, shout out to the three of you who knows what that even means). I don't know if my past self would recognize or approve of who I am now. And yet, I also can't say i've changed all that much. I still live at home with my family because I can't afford a house of my own. I still keep up with the youtube channels I subscribed to in 2013. I still check in on the webcomics that went on indefinite hiatus in 2010. I still use the same deviantart account I made in 2007. I still log on to my neopets account that I made in 2004.

This blog has been with me through a third of my life.

I don't know what I'll do when I finish Ghost Switch. (which will still take me 6 more years to finish, don't worry, I'm not going anywhere soon). Maybe i'll go back to posting shitty little doodles that I drew quickly in 2 minutes to practice figure drawing. Maybe I'll finally learn to code and make that visual novel I've been brainstorming since 2017. Maybe I'll make more (shorter) webcomics with my own OCs. Maybe I'll sit down and actually seriously think about professionally editing and querying a few of those novel drafts I wrote for nanowrimo, which I've also done for 10 years now, too. Maybe I'll come out of the closet and finally embrace the fact that I am a furry and draw nothing but anthro wolves and dogs.

Last year, I pulled out 10 old composition notebooks that I used as diaries for the years 2005 to 2010. This covered the beginning of seventh grade for me, to the end of 11th grade. Rereading these journals was simultaneously the most hysterical things I've ever written as well as the most depressing shit I've ever written, but that's just middle and high school for ya, babe. Still, I bring it up because when I look back on the past, I never know what I will think or feel about the past in hindsight. Seeing so many informative and hilarious posts from those early years fills me with great joy and also great sorrow, because those times are gone now. The internet landscape has changed so much, tumblr included. I do wish I could go back, sometimes. To go back to being so care-free, to relive those highs fandoms gave me when everything was new and exciting and happening Right Now, to be less stressed out about the state of the world, to laugh at stupid nonsensical rage comic memes.

But I also want to stay right here. To be proud of how far I've come, to appreciate what I've accomplished so far, and to remind myself that Today is good, too. I don't want to waste all my time wishing to go back to the past, because in 10 years from now, I'm going to wish I could come back to Now.

Do I even think tumblr will still be around in 2035? Probably. We're kinda like a roach like that, and also i've got some posts queued for 2033 that i need to see go live for The Bit.

Anyway, to end this reflection on a more positive note, thanks for hanging around for so long. We're all stuck on this glue trap together, but I'm glad I'm with you. These last 10 years have been interesting and wild, both on and off the internet, and I hope the thrills don't stop anytime soon.

[nocityfolk]

IT'S JESSE COLT ! | VERSES 001 - 010.

𓄀 VARIOUS VERSES, SUBJECT TO CHANGE: main (i) - main (ii) - horror/slasher (iii) - teenage dirtbag (v) - 50s (vi) - 70s & 80s/stranger things (vii) - western/outlaw/rdr2 (viii) - supernatural/tvd/etc,. (ix) - yellowstone (x).

main (i) | country musician, new york, 26. [ trigger warnings: abuse, infidelity, alcoholism, suicide, loss of a sibling, loss of a parent ]

╰─▸ i. born jensen miller, jesse was raised in a small town in wyoming, and grew up on his family's ranch with his parents, little brother, and two younger sisters. at eight years old after the sudden death of his little brother, romy, the miller family dynamic changed. growing up in a typically distant and dysfunctional family under the rule of his father, jesse became the protector of his sister's and mother, and held a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders. his only solace was music, a passion his father often berated, though it was knox's old guitar jesse learnt to play on, and knox's old guitar that got jesse his first gig. a smart but challenged child, jesse's sole offer for his future was staying with his family in wyoming and working his hands to the bone for a father whose love he could never earn. lucky enough to be noticed at age nineteen and offered a record deal, jesse took it and never look back. jesse dated model gabrielle landry from 2020 to mid-2024, when the relationship came to a sudden head over the realisation that gabrielle and malcolm, jesse's childhood best friend, were together. struggling to cope with the sudden onslaught of popularity he received after the rather public split with his longterm girlfriend, jesse threw himself into his songwriting. his previous upcoming album was entirely rewritten, and jesse decided to visit his hometown for the first time in four years to visit his family, and became the sole witness to his father's suicide. in the wake of the collapse of his romantic relationship and the sudden loss of his father, jesse releases DOGGONE, his third album, as a homage to a past love, and to the complicated memory of his father.

main (ii) | farmhand/aspiring musician, wyoming, 26. [ trigger warnings: parental abuse ]

╰─▸ i. having never gotten discovered, jesse lives in wyoming with his childhood best friend, malcolm. having no options, he throws himself into helping his father around their family ranch, and repairing a relationship that will never truly be fixed. he still does music and sings in local areas, but isn't acquiring any considerable level of fame. with little choice, he moves back into his childhood home and falls back into old habits with his father. desperate to get out and never return, he does odd jobs for money, and works furiously on his music in his spare time.

horror/slasher/dbd (iii) | musician/ghostwriter, traveller, 21-26. [ trigger warnings: none ] | verses 3, 11 (dbd), & 12 (tcm).

╰─▸ i. young and foolish, jensen travels with a suitcase and his guitar, staying temporarily in town after town. ╰─▸ ii. a ghostwriter for popular musicians, jensen enjoys the freedom he gets to have. he's never in one place for too long, but always seems to be in the wrong one.

teenage dirtbag (v) | rock musician, los angeles, 21-26. [ trigger warnings: infidelity, alcoholism ]

╰─▸ i. having chosen to go into rock music, following in the footsteps of his heroes tina turner, metallica, and pink floyd, rather than his childhood favourites dolly parton, elton john, and tracy chapman, jesse lives in los angeles. corrupted by alcohol and fame at a young age, having cut off his family, he's more equipped to dealing with others and has shed his wyoming skin. following a public split with model girlfriend gabrielle landry after her affair become public, jesse is hard to pin down, and much more open about his sexuality.

50s (vi) | music professor/writer, new york, 26. [ trigger warnings: none ]

╰─▸ i. having grown up with his mother's sister in new york, jensen miller is a relatively accomplished writer. a paragon in his line of work, he applies himself with haste and has enjoyed a career that has brought him acclaim.

70s & 80s/stranger things (vii) | record store owner, somewhere, 26. [ trigger warnings: parental death ]

╰─▸ i. following the death of his parents at a very young age, and a single child, jensen has fended for himself much of his life. cared for by his grandparents who have now passed, he is passionate about music and owns a record store, whilst pursing his main hobby of singing/songwriting in his own personal time.

western/outlaw/rdr2 (viii) | outlaw, nowhere, 26. [ trigger warnings: debauchery, thievery, gambling ]

╰─▸ i. chased out of wyoming by his father's debt collectors, jensen partakes in a quiet life of debauchery. he's grown a thick skin to survive and hidden much of his real personality in offence, becoming adept at thieving and robbing. a natural hand at poker, he spends much of his time gambling, and his spare time stealing out of motels.

supernatural, tvd, etc,. (ix) | hunter, everywhere, 26. [ trigger warnings: murder, loss of parents, loss of siblings, blood, death ]

╰─▸ i. having witnessed the murder of his family at the hands of vampires as a child, jesse ended up on his own in his early teens & started hunting spirits and the paranormal. hoping to avenge the death of his family, he travels around western american, tracking supernatural comings & goings, praying for the day he finds his family's killers.

yellowstone (x) | farmhand/aspiring musician, montana, 26. [ trigger warnings: parental abuse ]

╰─▸ i. having never gotten discovered, jesse leaves his traumatising hometown in yyoming to move to montana, accompanied by his childhood best friend, malcolm, and hoping to escape the looming shadow of his father's presence. with little money & a pre-destined future of working on his family's ranch rejected, he throws himself into doing odd jobs for money, and works furiously on his music in his spare time. he still performs and sings in local areas, but isn't acquiring any considerable level of fame.

[letsdeclutter]

Master List of Decluttering Resources

Backup of the list from r/declutter recommendations, due to planned mid-June 2023 Reddit Blackout in protest of plans to charge exorbitant fees for API access.

Some well-established decluttering gurus have omnimedia empires covering YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, multiple books, TV shows, a web site, and more. For these titans of tidying, the list shows whichever one to three resources are most recommended. These resources intentionally showcase a variety of perspectives, so if you dislike one, scan the list for something different.

YouTubers and Podcasts

A to Zen Life. A recovering “emotional hoarder” shares her extreme decluttering journey, including tips and new habits. https://www.youtube.com/@AtoZenLife

The Art of Decluttering. Includes an entire series on decluttering with ADHD, plus interviews with ordinary people who are decluttering. (Australian) https://www.theartofdecluttering.com.au/podcast/

But First, Coffee. Katie in Conneticut intersperses decluttering, organizing, and home maintenance hacks with her experiences with motherhood. https://www.youtube.com/@ButFirstCoffee

Clean My Space. Over 500 videos on cleaning and organizing, dividing the topic into small bites. https://www.youtube.com/@cleanmyspace

Clean with Me. The podcast that talks you through cleaning your house. https://cleanwithmepodcast.com/

Clutterbug. Focus is on organizing and organizational style. She also talks with popular decluttering experts. https://clutterbug.me/podcast

Curious Freedom. Professional organizers explore decluttering issues you may be curious about, from tips to broad minimalism, to smart shopping. (Australian) https://curiousfreedom.com.au/podcast/

The Declutter Hub. Professional organizers Ingrid and Lesley offer a mix of quick-and-easy tips, professional organizing secrets, and approaches to de-hoarding. https://declutterhub.com/the-podcast/

A Hoarder’s Heart. A recovering hoarder shares her journey to a better life, with lots of material on decluttering with ADHD and struggling with the craft stash. https://www.youtube.com/@ahoardersheart

Messy Minimalist. Mom-blogger-style journey from hoarder to minimalist, with challenges and adventures in every room and on topics like decision fatigue. Appears to have taken a break after 2022. https://www.youtube.com/@MessyMinimalist/

The Minimal Mom. How-tos for decluttering, deciding how many items are enough, and even thrifting with a minimalist mindset. https://www.youtube.com/@TheMinimalMom

The Minimalists. Netflix stars Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus discuss ways to live more meaningfully with less stuff. Their topics range widely into lifestyle issues such as diet, travel, personal finance, and chronic illness; this rec is not an endorsement of everything they have to say on those issues. https://www.theminimalists.com/podcast/

My Great Challenge. “Declutter with me” videos and cleaning routines. https://www.youtube.com/@mygreatchallenge

Organize 365. Covers an extensive binder-based organization system, intended to organize people who need a lot of paperwork or have a complicated family. https://organize365.com/podcast/

Simply This Life. Candice exudes enthusiasm along with cleaning and decluttering hacks. https://www.youtube.com/@FancyThatwithCandice

A Slob Comes Clean. Dana K. White talks about her experiences with and insights into decluttering. Her emphasis is on managing your home and fitting what you value into your space. https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/podcasts/

Small Changes. Sarah walks you through minimalist cleaning routines and debunks myths about decluttering. https://www.youtube.com/@SmallChanges

Spark Joy. KonMari consultants Karin Sochi and Kristyn Ivey host speakers on issues related to bringing greater joy into your life, from meditation to shopping habits to productivity and mindfulness. Seems to end with 2020. https://www.sparkjoypodcast.com/episodes

Struggle Care. Therapist KC Davis focuses here on self-care and issues that can be barriers to decluttering, such as ADHD, depression, perfectionism, and having limited spoons. https://www.strugglecare.com/podcast-rss

Instagram

clutterbug_me. Clutterbug content emphasizing organizing and cleaning inspo. https://www.instagram.com/clutterbug_me/?hl=en

find_yourgold. Professional organizer with minimalist home shares her process and inspiration. https://www.instagram.com/find_yourgold/

the_organized_mum. Tips on not letting your house get away from you, but also not letting it bully you. https://www.instagram.com/the_organised_mum/

simplyspaced. Style inspo and organizing tips in a very orderly, soothing home, plus before-and-afters. https://www.instagram.com/simplyspaced/

aslobcomesclean. Dana K. White shows you decluttering tips and talks about why organizing is not decluttering. https://www.instagram.com/aslobcomesclean/

strugglecare. Short items from her mission to help people remove barriers to treating themselves right (including clutter). https://www.instagram.com/strugglecare/

@taramstewart. Organizing and donating tips. https://www.instagram.com/taramstewart/

Books

Links are to Goodreads so you can evaluate reviews for yourself.

The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less (Christine Platt). Radical revisioning of minimalism, incorporating social justice issues and the experience of marginalized peoples. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711709-the-afrominimalist-s-guide-to-living-with-less

Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness! (Donna Smallin). Cute little book of short tips for decluttering. Fun if you want a daily inspiration to tackle a new task.

Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui (Karen Kingston). Uses westernized feng shui principles as a guide to decluttering and organizing. Reviews suggest this one is polarizing. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27071482-clear-your-clutter-with-feng-shui

Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What’s Holding You Back (Brooks Palmer). Motivational approach looking at reasons for clutter, such as fear of change or trying to live a fantasy self. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6262598-clutter-busting

The Clutter Cure (Juli Culbertson). Focuses on assessing emotional attachments, with lots of exercises to help think through what objects are serving your current needs. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/879650.The_Clutter_Cure

Clutter’s Last Stand (Don Aslett). Fast-paced and humorous approach to reducing clutter. Aslett is one of the earliest organizing and cleaning gurus, and any of his decluttering or cleaning books are worth a read. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11610.Clutter_s_Last_Stand

Cozy Minimalist Home (Myquillyn Smith). Primarily a decorating guide, focused on achieving a cozy minimalist home that honors your specific priorities (e.g., not stark white with one chair and an artfully placed rock). https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38915707-cozy-minimalist-home

Decluttering at the Speed of Life (Dana K. White). A decluttering approach that isn’t “all or nothing” but is geared to gradual progress. (The rest of White’s books are also worth a read.) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35540769-decluttering-at-the-speed-of-life

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning (Margareta Magnusson). A gentle nudge toward decluttering so your heirs aren’t overwhelmed and housekeeping in old age is less demanding. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35297297-the-gentle-art-of-swedish-death-cleaning

Goodbye Things (Fumio Sasaki). One man’s journey toward minimalism and personal growth. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30231806-goodbye-things

It’s All Too Much (Peter Walsh). Organizer from TLC’s Clean Sweep explores frustrations related to clutter and organizing, and how to resolve them. He also has a Facebook with decluttering challenges. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34266.It_s_All_Too_Much

The Joy of Less (Francine Jay). Thoughts on simple living and achieving a minimalist lifestyle. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8576972-the-joy-of-less-a-minimalist-living-guide

The Hoarder in You (Robin Zasio). Focuses on the psychological aspects of over-attachment to stuff, including tips on dealing with hoarding relatives. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11452567-the-hoarder-in-you

How to Keep House While Drowning (KC Davis). Subtitled “a gentle approach to cleaning and organizing,” this book emphasizes overcoming shame and perfectionism, handling mental health issues, and creating a home that is a safe and kind place. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60139504-how-to-keep-house-while-drowning

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff (Matt Paxton). Extreme cleaner Paxton shares his process for decluttering sentimental items when it’s time to downsize or when dealing with a deceased person’s estate. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58933265-keep-the-memories-lose-the-stuff

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (Marie Kondo). The now-famous Kon-Mari approach emphasizes deciding what “sparks joy” in your life. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22318578-the-life-changing-magic-of-tidying-up

The Minimalist Home (Joshua Becker). Room-by-room approach to reducing clutter and achieving a more peaceful lifestyle. Reviews note a conservative evangelical slant to his material. Has many decluttering-related best sellers, including Clutter Free With Kids, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39810030-the-minimalist-home

Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter (Erin Rooney Doland). Checklists of tasks sorted by room and by “30 seconds,” “1 minute,” etc. Many are geared more to developing maintenance routines than to actual clutter removal. Her Unclutter Your Life in One Week also gets recommended. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25817627-never-too-busy-to-cure-clutter

Organizing from the Inside Out (Julia Morgenstern). Addresses emotional barriers to organizing, on the way to providing tips and solutions. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220713.Organizing_from_the_Inside_Out

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD (Suzanne C. Pinsky). Tips are intended to be aimed at people with ADHD. Judging from reviews, this book gets both very strong positive responses and very strong negative responses. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19033611-organizing-solutions-for-people-with-adhd

Outer Order, Inner Calm (Gretchen Rubin). Quick read pulling together the Happiness Project author’s thoughts and tips on bringing more joy into the home through orderliness. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39901314-outer-order-inner-calm

Simple Ways to Be More with Less (Courtney Carver). Brief ebook where thinkers on minimalism share ideas and inspiration. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16028018-simple-ways-to-be-more-with-less

Tidy the F*ck Up (Messie Condo). Yes, it’s a parody of KonMari, but it includes actual useful decluttering tips. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45869149-tidy-the-f-ck-up

Unf*ck Your Habitat (Rachel Hoffman). Book developed from the blog, with checklists for routine and emergency cleaning, and an approach geared to students, people with roommates, and people with disabilities. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39901314-outer-order-inner-calm

The Year of Less (Cait Flanders). Documents a year of low-buy (food, gas, and similar only), lowered consumption, and decluttering, including reactions to crisis. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35488858-the-year-of-less

You Have Too Much Shit (Chris Thomas). Humorous 20-page ebook that’s a kick in the face about consumerism and clutter. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24322942-you-have-too-much-shit

Zen Habits (Leo Babauta). Book from the Zen Habits blog, discussing decluttering in the context of living a simpler life. One reviewer calls it “a basic get-your-shit-together book.” Babauta has additional related books. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6056602-zen-habits---handbook-for-life

Web or Blog

30-Day Minimalism Cure. The Minimalists explain the rules and framework for the popular “declutter 1 item the first day, 2 items the second day” challenge. https://www.theminimalists.com/game/

Apartment Therapy Home Cure. Annual (or multiple times a year–it has varied over time) process for decluttering, cleaning, and decorating. Based (increasingly loosely) on founder Maxwell Ryan’s book, Apartment Therapy: The 8-Step Home Cure. Most of the community discussion has moved onto Facebook. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/features/the-cure-program

Avalanche Declutter Challenge. The one where you declutter 30 items on the first day, 29 on the second, 28 on the third... down to one item on the 30th day of the month. https://wannabeclutterfree.com/avalanche-declutter-challenge

FLylady (Marla Cilley). Daily 15-minute missions, habit-building, slow-cooker recipes, and task lists for the run-up to Christmas. One of the early dominant figures in declutter blogging, kind of what would happen if Pioneer Woman confronted a messy house. She also published a couple books. http://www.flylady.net/

Printable Short-Term Goal List (PopSugar). Printable page for dividing larger goals into smaller goals. Especially useful when you feel so overwhelmed that you need to break things into tiny areas or steps. https://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/photo-gallery/44467993/image/44468176/Printable-Short-Term-Goal-Worksheet/amp

Project 333. Popular fashion challenge to dress with 30 or fewer items for 3 months. Part of a larger minimalism blog. https://bemorewithless.com/project-333/

TV-like

Links are to information on the series, as who's streaming what changes over time.

Hoarders. Long-running US series where a psychologist, a professional organizer, and a junk-hauling crew tackle serious hoards. Not for the squeamish. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoarders_(TV_series) Has a subreddit at r/HoardersTV

Nick Knowles’ Big Clear Out. Most recent series from UK decluttering star: his team takes a family’s belongings to a warehouse to sort, then puts things back room-by-room. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15267660/

Sort Your Life Out. UK series with Stacey Solomon, in which a disorganized household declutters and reorganizes. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00116n4

Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Reality TV series where Marie Kondo visits U.S. households and guides residents in using her KonMari method. There is a follow-up series, Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo. Originally on Netflix. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidying_Up_with_Marie_Kondo