#and once again we see an example on how i'm incapable of thinking of something when asked about it

[whateversawesome]

Spy x Family Chapter 103: Peace and Family

How nice it was to see the Forgers go on an outing again!

A few things to notice...

I'll start with Twiyor hehehe:

This is easily my favorite panel in the chapter. They're getting closer and closer!! Loid sits first, Yor follows. She's not shy about siting next to him. Good for you, Yor! 👏

See how comfortable they are with each other? She has a soft smile and he's not pretending anything; he's just there, existing. By the way, observe their body language: Both of Yor's knees are pointing at her husband, she's also leaning slightly towards him. Twilight, on the other hand, sits at a more neutral position, still it's an open position. Notice how one of his knees is pointing at her too. And their hands are mirroring each other.

It's worth mentioning that Yor is such a good influence on Twilight. This man suffers from anxiety and it's hard for him to turn his brain off and just relax. Yor reminds him of this. She is his peace 😌

And look at Twilight being honest with his wife and admitting something very true about himself (that it's hard for him to stay still). I believe that every time Twilight is honest with Yor, they get closer. In this chapter there wasn't even a fake twiyor moment for this to happen. We're making progress!

Also, did you notice Yor teased Loid?

It is the sacred duty of a wife to tease her husband and call him old every once in a while 🤣 I'm glad Yor is finally fulfilling this fun wifely obligation 😆

All joking aside, it's pretty obvious Yor feels much more comfortable with Loid now. When they are with other people, she still gets nervous, probably because she thinks she could mess up and blow their cover. However, when they are alone, she seems much more relaxed and able to make comments like this that show that she trusts Loid enough to joke with him, to tell him in between lines that she notices things about him (just as he notices everything about her) and that she worries about him too.

Endo is a master of "show, don't tell" and he's been showing us how Twilight and Yor are getting closer little by little. It's in every detail: their body language, the way they talk to each other, the words they use, how they see each other.

Another example in this chapter? Twilight is incapable of saying "no" to his wife hehehe.

Yup, he still has that shoujo filter attached to his eyes when it comes to Yor.

Now that we have overanalyzed Twiyor, it's time for some crazy theories.

This could be important!

Don't you find it funny that each gave a different answer according to their experience?

Yor feels lonely, because she doesn't feel like she's normal enough to belong to society and it's hard for her to make friends.

Twilight got separated from his his herd. His family and friends died and he had to go to a different country, where he is scared and feels in constant danger just like Belle.

AND ANYA?! I'm wondering if this is a clue. I'm wondering if Anya is a missing person, meaning someone is looking for her, whether it's Project Apple or her biological family.

Talking about Project Apple, we seem to get crumbs every once in a while. I believe it's still too early to get an arc that will actually involve Anya and Project Apple together, but we'll know more as the story moves forward. It's a good sign that Project Apple is in Twilight's mind; he has good instincts for this. We may see him or Yor get involved with it in one of their missions before we learn Anya's past. OR either of her parents may discover what Project Apple is really about without knowing one of the test subjects is their own daughter.

Something that Anya has said several times is that her parents are dangerous people. It's easy to forget about this, but it's true. Twilight and Yor are very dangerous, but not for Anya. The day they find out someone hurt their little girl, it'll be a very bad day for all the people who participated in Project Apple.

[kookygobbledygook]

Some people have been saying this, but I don't think it's been said enough and I'm just going to add my voice to the mix.

Nimona's nomination is being framed as an example of "Look at what Disney missed out on!" and I get it. It's a nice, tasty schadenfreude situation and we all like to see The Mouse get taken down a peg.

But I think we need to be very clear; Disney did not miss out on anything because they were never going to take that sort of risk.

Disney was never going to release anything close to the Nimona we got. It would have been sanded down until anything obviously queer or controversial was as faint and unnoticeable as possible by the casual viewer. And then they would still be too scared of any potential backlash. So they would have given the film a limited release at theatres, with no advertising, or social media or support.

Like what happened with Strange World.

You remember Strange World, right?

No?

That's because no one does.

And I believe that was deliberate, because that way Disney can go "Weeellll... obviously we would LOVEto take more risks and have more inclusive stories but that's clearly not what the public wants!"

Look at the original concepts for Wish. The evil royal couple? The peter-panesque star boy that would have made the gen zers go feral the same way millenials went feral for Jack Frost? These could have been the best things about the movie, and even they were scrapped, and replaced with something more homogenised. And those ideas are nowhere near the level of the concepts and discussions Nimona brought to the table.

Disney can barely have explicit gay people. Nimona has a gay south Asian man in a relationship with an east Asian man. As a protagonist! But more than that, you think Disney could ever come up with a relationship as complicated and difficult as Boldheart and Goldenloin's? They would never have the guts to show one love interest cutting off the other's arm in a straight relationship. Let alone a gay one! And then for them to be on opposite sides of the conflict, shifting between feelings of betrayal, and questioning each other motives? That's some adult dark shit for a kids film.

Asha as a character was forced into the quirky girl role that Disney has already flogged to death with Anna and Rapunzel. You ever think they would allow a Disney princess to be as dark and violent and nuanced as Nimona? You ever picture the titial character of a Disney film AS the third act conflict, rampaging through a city in a self destructive rage? Nimona is anti authoritarian, vengeful, bloodthirsty, a pretty explicit trans allegory, and even, by the climax, openly suicidal. You KNOW that terrified Disney.

I had a thing about the Director here too but I was shocked by how long that got so I'll have to save her for a different post.

My point is the things that make Nimona art, that make Nimona a great story, that make the film important and Oscar worthy, are all things that Disney has become too chicken shit to produce. If Disney had released a film called Nimona it wouldn't have been Nimona. I fully believe that if the film hadn't had been 90% finished it wouldn't have been shelved. It would have been lobotomised and vivisected. Everything special and vital about the movie and its message would have been removed, and no one would have known what could have been. Once again we would have gotten scraps and been thankful for them.

It makes me think about films like Wish (and others we don't know the name of, and never will) and think of what they could have been if studio's like Disney were braver and let their artists make art, instead of content.

tl;dr Disney didn't miss out on Nimona because they are incapable of making Nimona. If they had produced it the real Nimona wouldn't exist. We didn't miss out on Nimona. And that's purely by luck.

[epickiya722]

I'm listening this video on Yuji, and so far I'm enjoying it, and I'm reading the comments and realized... Yuji's selflessness is framed as a flaw, not a strength like other stories tend to do.

Yuji isn't awarded for his selflessness. In fact, anytime he acts on his selflessness something bad happens.

Example, Yuji's fight against Choso.

Recall that during that time Yuji notes he doesn't have to be the one to save Gojo. Keep in mind, Yuji has already accepted his role to die once he consumes all of Sukuna's fingers.

And then what happens?

Not only did Choso nearly kill him, but Yuji is then left in a vulnerable state which allowed Jogo and the Hasaba Twins to force 11 cursed fingers down Yuji's throat. (It felt wrong to type that.)

Sukuna is awakened and then we know the rest.

Yuji's selflessness is a strength given he does play a part into helping people. However, it's his biggest weakness. It allows leads to his selfishness.

I know, I know. Yuji is selfish?!

He is! Just not in the way you think.

Remember what Wasuke told him. He told him to help people so he can be surrounded by people when he dies.

Yuji goes on to do that.

What makes Yuji selfish here is that he views himself only capable of doing something no else can do. The motivation to also be surrounded by people for when he dies. And Yuji accepts death with ease almost. (I'll touch on that later.) As the poster of the video I'm watching said, "other people exist to be saved, which gives him a role in the world".

You know who else had this mindset? Suguru Geto.

There was a time that Suguru believed that as jujutsu sorcerers they exist to help those weaker than them and incapable of protecting themselves. It's both selfless and selfish. He gives himself a role that only he feels he can fulfill. But then this spirals into something worse after the encounter with Toji. After that, Suguru went from helping people with a selfless-selfish attitude to then putting on a face to "help" those same people he hates and feels shouldn't exist.

Back to Yuji, this mindset also evolves into a deeper, more cynical ideal.

After Sukuna demolishes Shibuya, after Mahito kills Nanami and maybe Kugisaki, Yuji goes into this state of self-loathe because he feels he's at fault for these things. Which isn't even so because Yuji is just a teenager who can't control the actions of others. This eventually leads to "something only I can do" to "I'm a cog".

His role as Sukuna's vessel and a Jujutsu sorcerer isn't something he was exactly happy with before, but he went about it with a smile on his face. He was still able to hang with Nobara and Megumi. He was still able to crack jokes and be that sunshine character we know. After Shibuya?

He doesn't even think of himself as human anymore. We barely see Yuji actually have funny moments. He barely smiles.

Then it comes tenfold when Megumi gets possessed by Sukuna. Yuji's role as Sukuna's vessel, a role almost everyone around him sees him as, is now given to someone else. It was something only Yuji believed he can only do.

This what makes his "I'm a Jujutsu sorcerer" like in 247 hit home for me. It's a duty he still has and at this point, it's just something he accepts he is. It's something he feels he can do and only can do because what else is there?

Rewinding back, something else about Yuji's selfishness is that he doesn't think about how others may feel about his death. Again, he accepts being Sukuna's vessel and dying via execution without so much of how that could affect others. Granted, he wasn't close to Megumi or Nobara or even Satoru at this time, but he also had other friends before. What about how Iguchi and Sasaki? What about his teachers? Yuji was known in his hometown and probably well liked because he was friendly and some even saw him as a legend.

Yuji has a habit of throwing himself into situations almost recklessly. Nanami is one person to puts him in check with this, reminding him that he is just a child he (Nanami) is the adult.

That's a moment I like because in other animangas, the child protagonist being pointed out as to being a child in a dangerous situation is either played for laughs or it's for the villain to have some breakdown moment. These protagonists also tend to be self-sacrifical, putting themselves in these situations and the get praised for it.

In JJK? Nope. It's a bad thing and rightfully so.

That's really all I'm saying here, this is more so a ramble on a point I thought was interesting from a video I watched.

[ye-local-simp]

Hi everyone!! Just some Grim theories and questions I needed to get out of my head!! May have spoilers

I don't think Yuu is the only one who is from another world. Don't you think Grim is too? Considering he knows nothing about Twisted Wonderland. Like he didn't know what Spelldrive or even Halloween. I understand he probably didn't come from the cities, but he must have at least heard of one of these once. For example, for Yuu, there is absolutely no way they should have heard of Spelldrive. There was no magic, and in their world, it wasn't an event. But if Spelldrive is so well known(even enough fo Tv) , it makes me think, " How has Grim never ever even heard of this"

Also before I kept brushing off the question about why he even came to NRC but now that I think about that's actually a good question. I feel like NRC was way too specific. Like there is something else that drove Grim to NRC rather.Because if he just wanted to become a great mage, he would've looked for another prestigious school like RSA (back then he didn't even know about the types of people who studied there) after being kicked out by Riddle. This also sparks the other question "How?"If he was travelling in the wild, how did he know abou NRC, its not like monsters would communicate with each other. Or if Grim was just floating around Twisted Wonderland, surely, he must have been spotted by someone. Like taken into custody because why would people have a direbeast amongst magicless people. Even if they didn't see Grim as a direbeast, they would see him as a familiar and insist on finding his owner

Also we know that he is a monster but I don't know if I'm the one who wasn't paying attention to the game but it does seem like no one actually knows what Grim actually is? I find it weird that the professors for such a prestigious college doesn't know what Grim is, and I'm assuming they actually do know a lot about the different creatures of Twst. I know about the overblot that happened at the beginning but its weird how no one knows a single thing about Grim. They called him a "direbeast" but that's still too vague. For example, a phantom is a monster, but if we had to specify, we would call then phantoms. But for Grim, I feel like we can't specify here. So I really can't tell who he is meant to be based on.

His past. I get that Grim doesn't actually know much of his past, but he is bound to come from SOME where. Not even his parents. During the winter break, he didn't show an ounce of feeling like going out. It makes me wonder as well that he hasn't shown any sign of curiosity about himself as well. All he knows is that he is a monster, and he wants to become a good mage(I don't think he even knows why he wants to be a good mage). It just sounds like someone brainwashed him to wanting that like that is just a future he can see himself doing, it don't even know if he truly feels for this.

Idia's findings.What I find weird is that he says when he tried to measure blot numbers, it goes crazy like people who turned into Phantoms. I think that Grim is actually a phantom. The question is, is the phantom of who? Most of the phantoms we have seen through the overblots are linked( for example, the old lady phantom for Vil's overblot). Grim must be linked to someone else. I am actually not sure if it is Yuu since Yuu is incapable of using magic, but then again, who knows. But then again, he is way too close to Yuu, like them both being one student, the fact he was so attached to Yuu at Chapter 6, and maybe even them both sharing Ramshackle.

Lastly, this links to what I just said. I think that Grim is actually a very power-hungry monster. Yes, he had shown some feelings for Yuu during Chapter 6, but it shows that all he wants is to be a strong magic user. For example, eating the stones, he ate the stones before losing control, I feel like those stones somehow contained a bit of "evil" from the users. Like Riddle is now more lenient for the rules, Vil understands he is still beautiful even though he still lost the performance, Azul is letting the contracts go etc and the evil that inspired them to do that in the first place is getting onto Grim especially after Grim's outburst( that's why I feel like after every black stone he eats, the more evil/crazy and monstrous he becomes, rather than power because it seems as if he already had the power in the first place but he just needed the feral part that makes him a "monster"). Plus, he even said that he didn't feel anything after eating them. If it had something to do with Power,.he would have felt more powerful, but maybe instead, it was evil since that is more of a mindset thing.

Sorry! I feel like I analysed this way too much😅

[theladyofbloodshed]

I finished ACFTL I wish I could open the Valory Arch, go back in time and forget these books ever existed.

Spoilers ahead for this rambling review.

This was such a boring book. It read like middle grade but that feels insulting to middle grade books. Everything - everything - was spelt out to the reader because they are clearly incapable of making inferences. 1. A seamstress sees the scar on Eva's wrist then mysteriously leaves the room - and then it's explained to the reader later that she left because she must have been informing them of the scar. 2. Explaining that vampires are often called demons due to the story curse, so the demon they are thinking of is actually a vampire. Like yeah, we got that. 3. Explaining that Archer is the man who pulled her out of the well... like girl we aren't stupid.

Once again, Evangeline remains a naive and almost stupid protagonist. 1. Desperately chases after Archer after the assassination attempt, crosses a room then is like actually no I should go to my room, never mind! The definition of forgetting why you entered a room. 2. Her - and other characters - not realising that Wolfric, Honora, and Aurora Vale are actually Wolfric, Honora, and Aurora Valor. It's like pulling a mask off a villain in Scooby-Doo.

There were plot holes and several mistakes that I cannot believe editors and proof-readers missed. For example, Evangeline is bleeding a lot on her gown after taking a knife to the chest but three minutes later - after soaking through her dressing gown - it has sealed. So it surely wasn't deep at all? She was thrown into a well. But also in that paragraph, she was thrown into a wall.

Whilst it's not new to this book, the over the top descriptions are unnecessary. We don't need a paragraph long description of every single outfit in the book. Some of the descriptions make no sense. 'Then, like a pop of soft flowery fireworks, the owners of the voices entered her suite.' What does this mean? When have fireworks ever been soft and flowery? Like in the previous books, there was an attempt at a whimsical, fairy tale fantasy but when the author is beating you over the head with "IT FEELS LIKE A FAIRYTALE" to get the point across, it's lazy. What makes a fairytale a fairytale? Just saying that it feels that way is lazy.

The overuse of words drove me crazy. Everything was little. In the same paragraph, we had a little foolish then a little paranoid. A little broken heart. A little voice. GET A NEW WORD. Speaking of new words, I'm certain a thesaurus was regurgitated - "guards were imbibing" or "diaphanous peach gown".

It felt something like guilt. It felt something like love. Just say it was that!!!!

There was an extraordinary amount of telling the reader rather than showing. Massive info dumps. Pages upon pages of thoughts and talking about a history rather than readers finding out through character's actions.

There was an absolute cop out with Luc. Oh yeah, the vampire pretender for the throne? He's ran away. And that's it. We don't need to tie up that loose end.

I don't even know why Apollo wanted to marry Evangeline? I thought it was just because of the spell in the first book. His motivations made no sense. None of it made sense. It could have been 200 pages shorter because the entire plot was Evangeline bouncing between the two thinking about how cute the world is and how magical fairytales are. I don't understand how they broke Jacks' curse. I miss the Jacks from the Caraval series.

If anybody wants to buy 3 special edition book, let me know!

[amemoire]

Time to finally write that RIDICULOUSLY LONG HC I've been wanting to make for Lyney. Basically, this is me talking at length about how I view him in relation to Arlecchino's choice of naming him her successor. Things like the qualities he has that make him suited and the similarities I personally think are there. Some details may change with the next update and I'll edit this or make a new post if I feel the need. I'll divide the sections too because I think that makes it a little easier to digest. If you do read it then tysm! I'd love to hear some thoughts.

First of all, let's talk about Lyney in his current role. He is both leader and strategist of what we can assume is the fontainian branch of the HotH, lending belief that the main base is in Snezhnaya or elsewhere. This makes him one of Arle's highest subordinates and allows him to have command over others. We see him exercising this right throughout the AQ when he enlists the assistance of and oversees other Fatui operatives. Even if certain things are only made possible with Arle's backing, we know she isn't just playing favorites.

We have to consider that in drafting a plan, he has to list all the benefits and downsides it may hold while convincing her to approve it, and this may include things such as losses in money, resources, or manpower at times. But more often than not, he is able to gain approval. Arle isn't going to lend aid if she believed him incapable of delivering and she has in fact rejected his ideas in the past. ( Namely ones that placed him in needless danger when he wasn't thinking clearly. ) Another thing worth pointing out is that he can speak directly with Arle without going through a superior first or needing to put in a request and waiting for x amount of time. I also believe that there are certain plans he can put into action without needing her approval first. Once again, he does have the right to command some underlings and can fund things on his own. These would be smaller scale functions such as the distribution of magic pockets.

I also have the hc that Arle trusts him to act in her place on certain occasions in which she is not present. An example being an old thread of mine in which he was receiving sensitive intel on her behalf. While maybe not completely, Lyney is practically like a second-in-command.

My next point moves onto the other half of his role in that he's always been a skilled strategist. While he currently formulates all the plans for the Fontaine branch, he also used to plot out all of Lynette's missions when they were younger, before he had his vision and was barred from accompanying her. He would do things such as pick safe places to hide, plot escape routes, guide her along what paths to take, and set a rendezvous point. We know that he's incredibly smart with the skill to draw accurate conclusions based on little information and careful observations, just as we saw in the Meropide questline. This display even had Freminet commenting, " That's our Lyney, " making this a commonplace thing he does but never any less impressive. In fact, it also serves to prove he's a source of pride for the HotH.

Next I'm gonna try to combine two points. The first being how he is capable of playing the long game. He waited 10 years to clear his mentor's name rather than rushing into it before they were ready. Something like this is vital for a leader. If you're too reckless and act before the time is right or while you lack the proper skills, then it'll only end in catastrophe. On the other side of things, we know he doesn't like leaving people behind if he can help it. One of his stories talks about an affiliate of theirs who he promised to help if things went south. Although the man never actually believed Lyney would come to his aid, he still pressed the button as instructed. And to his surprise, the magician came through in the end. These two things are both important. One shows that he has the ability to hold a grudge. Not everyone should be forgiven after all. If you show kindness to everyone, then you'll sooner get hurt. By being in the Fatui, they'll naturally have enemies and he is prepared for this. The other is that he can and will keep those close to him safe where possible. While the world they live in is dangerous and one screw up is enough to be abandoned, he doesn't fully believe in this. Or at the least, he's already planning ahead and devising ways to get out of sticky situations. So if lives matter, you can trust him to return with a full team. These stories can also show that he's good at keeping his word— whether or not others believe him.

Finally, I'm gonna get into things more directly related to his relationship with Arlecchino. On a base level, there are a lot of things they have in common with one another. Apart from the boss drop, their ascension materials are exactly the same consisting of rainbow roses and Fatui insignias, their promo art displays similar poses ( while tailoring to their different personalities ), they're both 5* pyro units, and their visions have a chance at being obtained through similar means. We don't know how Arle got hers yet, but if we believe that pyro is related to passion, then that passion can be in protecting others. She killed the former head of HotH to save the other kids from abuse and became the Knave. Lyney was prepared to kill when he was just a child. And then he went on to obtain his vision through a desire to protect his sister. In short, I take all of this to mean that she sees herself in him.

Before moving on I just want to toss out there that I do hc that Lyney has killed before and will do so again if absolutely needed. He doesn't like to, but he's long known the kind of life they're expected to live in the Fatui. And seeing as Arle has already named him her successor, he's also aware of the kind of tasks and decisions he'd need to make in that future role. It was never going to be a bloodless path he walked, and I think it says a lot that he's fully embraced her decision and is working towards fulfilling it as best he can. I want to share these artworks ( one, two ) to showcase the kind of portrayal I aim for. This artist and I are on the same wavelength and they're one of my favs for Lyney!!

One of the most important things behind her decision however, is the fact that Lyney still has his humanity about him. He is able to love and show compassion. He can still behave like an ordinary young man— he has hobbies and passions, knows how and when to have fun, can laugh when he's happy and yell when he's mad. All the while, he has proven that he can carry the burden of being her successor and leading this branch of the Hearth. She doesn't want him to be just like her or the Harbingers. She wants him to stay true to himself and lead that way. However, as depicted in the art I shared and stated in other posts, he is already suffering in silence. He's currently battling an identity crisis in which he's lied so much that it's habitual now and donned so many masks he no longer knows which is the real him. He holds himself to high standards— show no fear, show no doubt, don't be weak, and don't cry. If he should slip even just a little, then everyone else will falter too. Lyney continues to say he's fine when he's not and smiles through it all.

But Arlecchino sees this.

And she's likely worried for him to keep living that way. Which is also why she pushes him to learn how to lean and others and ask for help. She wants to give it. But Lyney believes that as leader and successor, he has to be capable of doing everything on his own. Nevertheless, she'll continue to remind him— so that he doesn't become a lone wolf lost in the bloodshed.

[limeade-l3sbian]

This is a heavy ask; Do you think it’s ever too late to make something of yourself with a career? I’m in my mid twenties and, due to varies circumstances, don’t have any education. And honestly now I think whatever potential I might once have had has shriveled up and died. My brain feel useless and heavy. It doesn’t work like I ever want it to.

How could I ever tackle school work again? It seems implausible. It’s like my ability to do anything has rotted. To bring an example, I once tried to teach myself something related to academics. Every person online who’s spoken about it said it room them a week. When asked how long it would take from others, they responded “probably at most a month, I can’t see it taking longer than that”. And that wasn’t them being condescending, it just seemed easy for everyone. But not me.

Whenever I tried to teach myself it was like it refused to stay in my brain. I tried for six months. I still hadn’t learned anything. I’m so sad from being stupid and useless. My brother has multiple educations, my dad was a brainiac, my mom a well respected teacher - and yet i’m like this.

I just want to be anything but this horrid failure i’ve managed to become.

-incapable anon

You absolutely can make something of yourself, anon. It's not even a question.

Failure exists when the effort has ceased. But just this recurring desire within you to do more than what you're doing now means you haven't failed yet. I am absolutely terrible at math, anon. Like, REALLY bad at it. Like you said, what could take most people twenty minutes, tops, could take me close to two hours to get down. And it's embarrassing and it's frustrating and I've cried wondering why I'm so bad with numbers.

But I still put in the time, even if I know I'll forget. Because each time that I pick it up again and forget, there's just ONE little bit from before that I remember.

Let's pretend for a moment that your struggle to retain things is a learning disability (pretend, because I don't want to just randomly diagnose you lol). There are colleges that will work with you. Community colleges, especially, are a great way to get a "late" start into pursuing whatever career you decide you want as well as saving money. And I'd say since you're in your mid-twenties, you have the advantage of a far more developed brain to figure out what you want to do.

You can't compare yourself to your family. You just can't. You're going to, because we as humans love to do that. But you have to shut that shit down the moment you feel it creeping onto your hope. A "late" start is still a start. I don't know your family situation, but you said your mom is a brilliant teacher? Work with her in ways that help YOU retain information. Or just look them up! You have a chance to really plan this out and make things be how you want them! That's an amazing thing.

You CAN do it, anon. I'm not even asking, I'm TELLING you. You absolutely can do it.

[vergess]

The Letters from Watson situation and you bringing up that being exposed to bigotry over time normalizes it reminds me of a situation where I was hurt because someone didn't tw for bigotry. I watched the Nanny a lot as a young kid and when Matt Baume did a video essay about it and it's roots in queer culture I decided to try and re-watch it. When I actually went to watch it, I was floored by the sheer scale of fatphobia presented. It wasn't a jab here or there every other episode, it was a barrage of fatphobia in every episode, baked into the text. I tried to hold out, to see if I could ignore it, but eventually found myself in tears as a chubby child actress was berated on screen for comedic effect. But what really scared me was... The show was getting to me. I was starting to see the thin but less petite elder daughter as fat, when I wouldn't have before. The show was changing my perspective despite my best efforts to not let it get to me. Fatphobia is not comparable to anti semitism, but this taught me that, if you are going to present a piece of media, or analyze it, not mentioning or warning for bigotry is irresponsible at best, and endorsement at worst. I'm still a bit irritated that fatphobia wasn't mentioned even once in the essay. I'm really sorry this backlash is happening over a very reasonable reaction. :/

Mmm, actually I think most kinds of bigotry are very comparable.

Not universally, no. But, in general? People benefit from comparing them. Solidarity is often built on learning the things we have in common first, so that we can better help respect and protect each others' different needs, interests and abilities.

Just off the top of my head, for example, fat people and Jewish people are both characterized as greedy, and in fact, Jewish people are often specifically characterized as fat.

But that's REALLY off topic, haha.

In this case, while there were some warnings made about a month ago (apparently these warnings were repeated if you use the email reader, but I do read on the website, where the warnings are not repeated), and while I was aware of the content going in, my issue is, again, not with the existence or lack thereof of the TW list.

As I have. Repeatedly and constantly said. I think the TW list is lovely. It's great. It's very complete. Nice work everyone. No one has any problems with the TW list. No one has ever had any problems with the FUCKING. TW. LIST.

THE PROBLEM. IS WITH. THE UNHINGED. ANTISEMITISM. IN RESPONSE. TO THE MOST MILQUETOAST. IMAGINABLE. POST. EVER. MADE.

Here's the breakdown.

20 y/o Jewish woman: Gosh, even with the trigger warning a whole month ago that imo was really not enough, that sure was some antisemitism. I would prefer to see more pushback on such intense racism in the future, but it is early days. Sure hope things get better as we go!

Me, 30+ Jewish person: Haha, yeah, reminded me of how much it hurt to read when I was a kid. Glad I've got bigger problems to worry about nowadays lol.

Every gentile within earshot: OH SO YOU THINK WE SHOULD CODDLE YOU POOR LITTLE JEWBABY FEELINGS HUH? WE SHOULD CENSOR ART FOR YOUR PRECIOUS WIDDLE OWIES? YOU WANT YOUR TO PRE-DIGEST YOUR WORDS BECAUSE YOUR SUBHUMAN JEW BRAINS CAN'T READ? KILL YOURSELF!!!!!!!!

Me, again: Okay, well. That is an extreme fucking reaction so let's fucking calm our asses down with the goddamn nazi shit for ten fucking minutes, perhaps????

And then the gentiles devolved into further screaming about how I'm, I don't know...

They seem to have convinced themselves of a lot of things at this point. The ones willing to put their names on it are mostly content to call me anything from a liar to a harasser to an imbecile incapable of reading, to someone with a personal hatred of the Substack operator, etc etc.

They seem broadly convinced that I "want" something or to impose on the substack. Which is nonsense. All I "wanted" was to read some books I liked with a group of people and discuss, and that ship has thoroughly fucking sailed.

The anonymous bitches are mostly wandering into blood libel at this point. Again, I used to post all my anon threats, but I stopped doing that once bigots got smart enough to start reporting me for spam when I did that, because victims showing their harassment in public is, of course, the real harassment.

They also seem not to be aware of a very simple fact:

I can still see your comments in my notifications page if I'm the OP, even after you've blocked me, and it is very fucking obnoxious.

[emerson-kane]

Shadow and Bone [Not spoiler-free]

[3.5]

Before I get into my critiques, I want to say, I did enjoy reading Shadow and Bone. I read the entire book in one day and plan to read the entire Grishaverse this year. This was the trial book to see if I was truly going to try and read all seven books, and I'm at least continuing onto the second book now.

Now onto the critiques...

1. "I hate myself" "I'm so ugly and weak!" I severely dislike this trope. The girl who thinks she is incapable of finding love, being pretty, winning a fight, or doing anything. I wish more fmc's liked themselves, not saying they have to be egotistical, but think they have a place in the world. And yes Alina does eventually find her voice but it takes more than half the book for her to like herself. On the other hand, if Leigh Bardugo really wanted Alina to be the "ugly" one, I think she should've made it more in depth. What makes her ugly? Her unkept hair, the dirt in her face, unwashed clothes, and malnourishment. All of this is fixable. Gives us something unfixable. Give people a reason to call her unconventionally attractive besides, "She needs sleep and food.".

In general I kept repeating to myself how I wished the characters were more complex. And we see a tiny bit of complexity with Alina and at the very end. The only complex characters were the Darkling and Genya. I wish Alina dipped into it earlier, maybe she wanted to give into her powers, maybe she wanted to make people cry and beg for mercy after she got handed her deck in life or show the trauma Mal has from battling, more than "He won't talk to me".

1.5 Alina is weak, can't fight, and can't hunt. How did she get into the military? Surely this is some kind of entrance exam to join. If so, how is she so incapable of doing anything related to the military.

2. I will admit before going into this book I knew very little of Russian culture. But after reading it, I decided to research a little along with reading other reviews that mention this issue. Many others have mentioned this, but: - Treating kvas as equal to champagne. For what I read it's impossible to get drunk off of them and many children drink them. - The female characters have male last names and male characters have female last names. - While Bardugo says the language is made up and based off of Russian, some of the words are just Russian. Like kvas for example. But other words are directly from the Russian language and translated incorrectly.

I know some will argue, "Okay? Why does this matter? It's fantasy." Because it would've been very easy to fix. And no one says you have to base your fantasy country off of a real existing country. I will add Bardugo has talked about this and has apologized.

3. This one isn't a critique just my opinion. Love triangles. It's one of my most disliked romance tropes. I will say, I was pleased with how this love triangle ended, rather than mc picks boy 1 and now boy 2 hates her because she won't date him.

4. Good vs Evil. This is a YA fantasy book and not adult fantasy. But I would've liked to see less cut and dry, this is good and this is evil, and we are good, and they are evil. Towards the end of the book we get to see Alina have a moment were she isn't the savior to protect them from evil and has a moment of "evilness" herself, but I wish there were other times we could see her not being completely good.

---

Even though I have frustrations with the book, again, I did enjoy it. I read the entire thing in a couple hours and only put it down a few times. I enjoyed Genya's snarky comments on the royal family. I enjoyed reading about the Darkling's character, how he went from acting like a child to threatening to destroy the lands, showing how truly immature he is (whether it was on purpose or not). I am interested in the rest of trilogy and it gets extra points because its in 1st person and I loss interest fast in most 1st person books and I not once thought of dnf-ing the book.

[mrsluthordanvers]

CJ STOPPP juliet and sawyer's reunion is my absolute favorite part of that entire shit show of a series and now you've suggested a supercorp take?? how dare you??? i'm feeling a lot thanks i hate it

you’re having feelings? you’re having feelings?!

well then definitely don’t think about Kara and Lena as girlfriends trying to save the world during crisis. Don’t think about Kara waking up on her couch without any memory of crisis ever happening or the world before it. Don’t think about how Kara feels different when she’s around Lena now. Sure, she knows that she’s had a crush on the woman since the first day Lena’s red bottom heels stepped onto DEO property after the LuthorCorp take over.

That’s not new.

What’s new is this feeling that she suddenly knows Lena. A woman she’s barely had more than one polite conversation with. Now there’s this constant buzz in the back of her head that tells her she knows Lena from somewhere other than the DEO. Which is impossible. She can describe the day she met Lena in vivid detail, there’s no way she met Lena before.

And yet every time they’re in the same room together Kara finds herself staring. Trying desperately to pull back the curtain of haze she can feel inside her head that is hiding something she feels she’s supposed to know, that she needs to know.

Lena doesn’t seem to be similarly affected as far as Kara can tell. She’s still the perfect example of professionalism as she walks around the DEO and Kara has to do everything in her power not to follow Lena around until she figures out what’s bugging her. Not that Kara sees an issue with that plan, but Alex has told her it might be weird, so she hasn’t.

In fact, she tries to keep her distance. The further she is from Lena, the less she feels haunted by the idea that there’s something important she should remember. But despite Kara’s best efforts, they keep getting drawn together. Kara doesn’t remember ever seeing Lena this often before… last week. Now Lena’s in the lab whenever Alex calls Kara down there for something. She’s in every debriefing. She’s even in the break room making coffee every time Kara tries to sneak in there for a snack.

That’s when she decides to embrace it. She wants to be around Lena, the world wants her to be around Lena, who’s an alien to argue.

“I thought you could use some fried sugary goodness in your life. You eat donuts, right?” Kara barely stretches out her arm to offer the grease-stained bag when it hits her.

“I thought you could use some fried sugary goodness in your life. You eat donuts, right?” Kara lifts a white paper bag between her and Lena.

“Well, I am human.” Lena smirks as she takes the bag from Kara, leading her with a laugh to a white leather couch.

“Kara!”

Kara blinks once and finds Lena standing before her with a concerned look on her face, one hand reaching towards Kara.

“Is everything-“

Lena’s fingers brush against Kara’s forearm.

Tears run down Lena’s face as Kara kisses her. Cool hands cupping her jaw like she’s going to disappear through Lena’s fingers.

“You lied to me.” Lena gasps as she pulls back, more tears falling down her face.

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Kara croaks as she runs her thumbs over Lena’s cheeks over and over again trying to catch all the tears.

“I thought I lost you.”

“I’m right here.”

Kara and Lena jolt apart with wide eyes.

“Did you feel that?” Kara whispers, eyes searching Lena’s face as she nods.

Kara takes a tentative step forward, reaching slowly for Lena, giving her time to step away. When she stays where she is, Kara slowly wraps her hand around Lena’s fingers making them both gasp.

Suddenly Kara is flooded with memories. They flash by one by one, from the moment they met until the moment Lena told Kara she loved her, each going by faster then the last until they’re at crisis. Kara’s gripping Lena’s fingers tighter as it passes in a blur but still much too slow for Kara’s liking. When she opens her eyes Lena’s crying too, even as she starts to smile.

“Kara…” Lena hiccups, and Kara catches her around the middle as Lena falls into her and burrows her face into Lena’s hair. She can feel Lena’s hands fisting in her cape pulling her closer and closer, holding her so tight Kara knows Lena would be hurting anyone else.

“I got you.” Kara whispers as she strokes Lena’s hair, holding her as tight as she’s allowed. “I got you.”

“Kara,” Lena laughs, tears running down her face as she pulls back to cup Kara’s jaw like she’s going to disappear through her fingers. “Kiss me.”

Kara laughs wetly as she leans forward, letting Lena pull her forward until their lips brush. It’s soft and loving and a little tentative at first, but then Lena tilts her head and slides one hand to cup the back of Kara’s neck and suddenly it’s hot and desperate and Kara’s head is spinning.

“-never letting you go again,” Lena gasps quietly when she pulls back just enough to break their kiss.

“Never.” Kara agrees readily as she tugs Lena in again.

---

I know you sent me this two weeks ago when I finished LOST but I wanted to write a thing so here we are... 

In case anyone wanted more context...I finished watching LOST for the first time and wrote this post bc I’m incapable of watching a tv show without making it about Kara and Lena

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

Why is Valkyrie not a hero? She came back to save her people and she also fighted with Thanos alongside others in Endgame, thats pretty heroic behavior.

I'm going to preface this by saying I love Valkyrie, just look at my url. But no she's not a hero, she's a warrior.

There is not much we know about her because the movies she's been in she wasn't fleshed out enough (we don't even know her name), hopefully in Thor 4 we'll get more from her, what we know so far is she took part in the colonization and genocide both Odin and Hela carried out in at least 8 realms. Now, that time is only mentioned in Ragnarok by Thor and Valkyrie herself as he mentions the "legendary" stories and how he had always wanted to be one of them.

THOR: The Valkyrie are legend, elite warriors of Asgard. You are sworn to defend the throne.

This is 100% propaganda and the best example of history being written by the victors. From Thor's perspective what the Valkyries did was epic: they brought peace and justice to those realms and expanded Asgard's rule across the universe. But if you ask those planets do you really think they would tell the same story, or would their recollection of events be entirely different?

A quick look at a history book will tell you that empires would usually lie to their people by telling them their conquest was always one of peace and exchange of cultural and sociological ideals. Remember the murals in the palace of Asgard of peace offerings, garden parties and peace treaties?

The reality was their will would be imposed by force, any native who wouldn't kneel before them would be massacred, they were forced to follow their orders and rulings, and the palace of Asgard was built by slaves out of stolen gold from other realms.

A far cry from those garden parties, right? No wonder these murals were covered by Odin and their history completely rewritten. As Hela puts it, "Odin was proud to have it but ashamed of how he got it". But let's not forget all this death was carried out by Odin, Hela - and the Valkyries as well.

So Val took part in all that and did so willingly and for centuries. Until the end when Odin chose to stop the genocide, started calling himself the protector of the 9 realms he had previously decimated and Hela turned against him.

VALKYRIE: Look, I already faced her (Hela) once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything. THAT'S what's wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham.

As you can see there Val says she "believed in the throne". What she means by that is what Odin was asking of her and her sisters (to force their will on those realms) was something she agreed to, she had been indoctrinated to believe the Asgardians were the superior beings and everyone else in those planets were inferior to them, incapable of ruling themselves and needing of their "guidance".

That last line about the "golden sham" could be interpreted as her growing tired of the lies and their conquest but personally I think it's way too vague, especially for a movie that claims to be open about colonization.

After all her sisters are murdered by Hela she moves to Sakaar and spends her days drinking her life away. I sympathize with her but at no point she shows any remorse for the things she did as a Valkyrie. She feels regret and grief and pain from losing her sisters, that's all. And frankly I don't blame her, years upon years of indoctrination can't be easy to let go of.

VALKYRIE: Look, I've spent years in a haze trying to forget my past. Sakaar seemed like the best place to drink and forget and to die one day. I don't plan to stop drinking, but I don't want to forget. I can't turn away anymore. So, if I'm gonna die, well... it may as well be driving my sword through the heart of that murderous hag.

Again, she's blinded by vengeance and she wants to avenge her sisters. Not a peep about her time as a Valkyrie and her conscious involvement in it.

She fights the zombie einherjar until all the Asgardians board the ship, at that point not only she's focused on vengeance but she wants her people (once Thor convinced her to return to Asgard she immediately starts moving to help them) to be safe too:

VALKYRIE: The people are safe. That's all that matters.

As she expresses her pain and sorrow at watching Surtur destroy her home. She still loves Asgard and her people and there's a lovely selflessness to it all.

After this it is confirmed (not shown) that she helps her people board a few vessels in order to escape Thanos and she leads and basically rules the Asgardians during those 5 years of the blip while Thor is way too depressed and finds himself incapable of helping anyone. At the end she joins the einherjar and the rest of the heroes to defeat Thanos and eventually they win.

So, does this make her a hero? In my opinion? No. She's a warrior, her full focus in the past was to protect the throne and ensure Asgard's power and authority, when that was over she spent countless years enslaving innocents for the Grandmaster to be killed off as entertainment in the arena and in the end she protected her people and fought Thanos. She's flawed, she can be good and bad, she's not bounded by right or wrong or hero or villain, she's a warrior which means she can be a bit of both. And that's why I love her.

The problem is Asgard's propaganda about Valkyries has successfully gotten in the minds of the fans and too many people see them as heroic women who would kick ass while flying their beautiful pegasi. Reality however is a little more complicated than that.

Please don't get me wrong, she's capable of doing great things and putting her life at risk to save those she cares about. But that's just the thing, a warrior can do and be everything from good to bad. And I believe heroes tend to be more squeezed in little boxes where they refuse to do immoral things even when the results are right. In short, ends justify the means for her but not for them.

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

hey so i'm hoping to get some writing advice about creative burnout? like i seem to write in fits and spurts. some months i can churn out a oneshot or chapter everyday and some months i can do one (1) creative thing only. so i'm wondering how to prevent creative burnout and how to just create more smoothly <3 thank you!

Creative Burnout & How To Ward Against It

First, I’d like to preface this all by saying you’re definitely not alone. You probably already know this, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded.

I know from personal experience that creative burnout can leave you feeling hopeless, detached from yourself—the kind of identity crisis no one needs in 2020. 

So buckle in, folks. It’s a dosy.

I. The Symptoms

Not to be the local WebMD page here, but signs of burnout can include:

Procrastination (more than usual)

Dreading writing and feeling stuck or overly perfectionistic when you try

Physical tiredness and/or irritability

Feeling like everything is monotonous

It’s more than just writer’s block. It’s a physical and emotional exhaustion response to something that goes deeper than a simple lack of inspiration. In my experience, and from a bit of research, I’ve found that what your brain is really looking for is dopamine.

Dopamine is essentially your brain’s chemical reward system for doing something interesting or exciting to you. As someone who is diagnosed with ADHD, I have chronically low levels of dopamine, so this is a constant struggle for me—but it is absolutely made worse by creative burnout.

II. The Problem

Studies have shown that the more we do A Thing the less that thing will give us dopamine (unless a component of the activity changes regularly). This is because eventually our brains desensitise to the stimuli provided by the activity, and subsequently, we become disengaged.

But it’s not necessarily The Thing (i.e. writing) that becomes boring. Actually, more than a few factors could be at play here, and the first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem.

1. ENVIRONMENT LACKS EXCITEMENT/CHANGE—

Sometimes, the monotony of everyday life can feed creative burnout. This becomes especially applicable in quarantine when you’re not leaving your house.

What we don’t realise is that even something as small as the variables of driving to and from work, or interacting with passing coworkers, gives us dopamine. So if you have the same routine every day that does not involve any added variables, your brain will begin staunching that dopamine supply.

2. EITHER TOO EASY OR TOO CHALLENGING—

In 1975, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined the term “flow”, which refers to a heightened state of creativity and concentration on an activity. Csikszentmihalyi posited that if your skill level is equal to the level of challenge in any given activity, you will experience this state of flow.

The chart below is taken from Csikszentmihalyi’s own study on the subject of flow and motivation. It examines “your skill level” on the x axis in relation to the “challenge level” on the y axis.

Essentially:

Too much challenge + not enough skill = anxiety, worry (which might lead to procrastination and perfectionism)

Too much skill + not enough challenge = boredom, apathy (which might lead to monotony, irritability, and other depression-like symptoms)

Skill level = Challenge level = Flow

3. NOT ENOUGH “ACTIVE” STIMULATION—

When it comes to dopamine seeking, there is a distinct difference between active and passive stimulation in the brain.

Active stimulation is any form of activity that you have to actively engage in. For instance; exercising, doing a crossword puzzle, or reading a book. These kinds of activities not only give you dopamine, they also facilitate critical thinking and problem solving thought processes, which act as catalysts for creativity.

Passive stimulation, on the other hand, comes in the form of television, social media, and YouTube. It’s anything you can consume without having to actively engage. Passive stimulation will indeed give your brain dopamine, however, it won’t activate your creativity.

The problem also lies in the speed at which you receive the dopamine from passive activities. Passive stimulation is so easy to access that the more you consume, the harder it becomes to pick up active stimulation. Your brain expects a hit of dopamine just by picking up a phone or turning on the TV—it becomes addicted to the quick fix of a Netflix binge.

III. The Solutions

Based on the problems mentioned above, I am going to list a few solutions. Keeping in mind that not every solution will work for everyone, these can act as both preventative measures and remedies for someone who is currently burned out.

1. CHANGE UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT/ROUTINE—

Aim to do at least one thing per day that will add “variables” to the monotony. This can be as simple as going on a long walk, dressing up in that bold outfit you always wanted to wear to the office but never did, or sitting at a different workspace in your home.

Anything you can do that’s simple, but might provide an extra variable to your day to spice things up. Note: this shouldn’t be the same thing every day.

2. CHALLENGE YOURSELF MORE—

If you find yourself bored by your work, try challenging yourself more. This could mean setting goals for yourself that go a bit beyond what you’ve been doing. 

For example, if you’ve been writing 500 words per day, see if you can beat your own word count every day for the next week. If you’ve been writing mainly fluff pieces, switch it up and do an angst piece. See if you can write a book in a month, or start a blog where you don’t write fiction at all!

Anything you can do to add a little kick to your workload. Note: Beware of challenging yourself too much! This can lead straight back into burnout.

3. CHALLENGE YOURSELF LESS—

If you’re on the flip side of that coin, and find that you are anxious, procrastinating, and perfectionistic when it comes to writing, fret not. Just because you’re experiencing any of these things, doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing the job with your skillset.

It just means your perception of the job needs to be shifted.

Procrastination, at its heart, is a fear of failure, which results in actively avoiding the negative emotions associated with the task that causes this fear. Perfectionism is a type of procrastination that is a combination of a fear of failure and a fear of success (or, more accurately, other’s critiques of your success) all at once.

Neither have anything to do with your actual skillset, but they have everything to do with your perception of your skillset. Obviously, this is a harder thing to fix, as it has to do with deeply ingrained levels of self-esteem.

What I can offer you is a tactic to trick your mind into thinking you’re capable.

If you have a task, big or small, and you are feeling overwhelmed by it (like you might go curl up in bed and scroll Tumblr), immediately break that task up into smaller tasks. Keep breaking up the smaller tasks until you have the smallest possible part of the bigger task without doing nothing.

Then do that smallest possible thing.

If your goal is to write a 2000 word one shot, a small part of that task is writing half of it. An even smaller part of that task is breaking the one shot up into “scenes” and writing one scene. For instance:

Jude wakes up to a sore throat, a runny nose, and a fever.

She tries to go to work, but Cardan, being the mother hen that he is, threatens to never make her another grilled cheese sandwich (her favourite food) ever again if she doesn’t stay home.

Jude agrees begrudgingly, and Cardan sits her down in front of the TV with a bottle of Gatorade. He leaves to go get medicine from the store.

When Cardan comes back, Jude is worse than before. He makes her soup and saltine crackers and spoon feeds her.

She complains the whole time and, in her feverish state, threatens to never buy him another bottle of wine (his favourite food) ever again if he doesn’t let her feed herself.

Each bullet point represents one “scene” of about 200-400 words each. Obviously, there will be more details that you work out as you write. But with these five smaller scenes, your goal is no longer writing the 2000 word one shot. Your goal is writing the first of the five scenes.

If you complete the smallest possible task, you can stop, and you’ll still feel like you’ve accomplished something because you can cross off that task from your list. But chances are, by the time you cross off one task, you may have inspiration enough to keep going.

4. ENGAGE IN ACTIVE STIMULATION—

Since active stimulation has been proven to turn on the creative “tap”, try incorporating more of these activities into your daily routine:

Exercise: As the resident couch potato, I hate to say that exercising is good for creativity, but it is. Even if it’s just going on a short walk, so long as you’re moving.

Reading: Sometimes you have plenty of ideas, but no words to fit those ideas. Fill your well of words by carving out an hour or two each day for reading a good book.

The Creative Process: In the writing world, the creative process is a process of about 20-30 minutes that the writer partakes in every day before they start writing. This process should be creative, but also have nothing to do with writing. You can try colouring in a colouring book, painting, organising a page in your bullet journal. Anything that is creative but does not make you think about everything you have to do that day. Think of it as creative meditation.

Listen to music: Having APD, I personally can’t listen to music while I write. However, studies have shown that if you listen to at least ten songs per day, it will significantly benefit your dopamine levels and overall mood. If you’re like me and prefer to work in silence, maybe stick on a couple songs during your creative process. If you can manage music and writing together, get out those headphones!

5. KEEP A REGULAR SCHEDULE—

I know this is the most cliche point in the book, but it’s valid. This doesn’t mean do the same thing at the same time every day over and over, because ultimately we’re looking to avoid monotony. 

But having pillars of structure to bolster the excitement can definitely work to keep you from slipping into burnout. Going to sleep, waking up, and having your meals at relatively the same time every day are good examples of this. 

Feel free to change up the things you do between breakfast and lunch, but make sure you have those pillars of consistency so your brain knows that a break is on the horizon and doesn’t get tired.

6. PACE YOURSELF—

This is particularly difficult for those of us who are coming out of a creative burnout, but I urge you to pay special attention to this one. If we are suddenly hit by inspiration and the writing is flowing and flowing and flowing, eventually we will hit the point of highest dopamine capacity for writing.

Not putting a check on the flood of inspiration coming out of a creative burnout, I’d argue, is actually a guarantee that many of us will experience burnout all over again. It becomes this vicious cycle in which we are trapped.

While it feels great to write non-stop and receive immediate validation for that work, try to limit yourself to how much you’re writing and how immediately you post your writing (if you plan on posting it).

Whenever I finish a one shot or a chapter of something, I like to allow at least one day for editing before I post. This timeframe is important, because it acts as a buffer of rest between writing marathons. 

You can take however long you need for the editing process, but definitely make sure you have a set amount of time in place. Otherwise, your brain might not have enough time to come down from what is essentially a writing high, and you will always need to reach greater heights in order to achieve that same level of dopamine.

~~~~

Overall, the most important things to take away from all of this are: 

Change up your environment

Keep your brain actively stimulated 

Have pillars of structure between which you can run about chaotically to your heart’s content

PACE YOURSELF!

Hope this helped. Happy writing!

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Tip Masterlist

Fic Masterlist

Celebrate 2K with me!

[k-s-morgan]

Hello! I came upon your Black Butler fic Those Gentle Slopes that Lead to Hell by accident a few weeks ago, and I just wanted to let you know I adore it. I first watched the anime when I was 13 (over 10 years ago now), and have since long fallen out of the fandom. Your story made me remember just exactly what I used to love so much about Black Butler and the dynamic between Ciel and Sebastian, so I wanted to thank you for that. If I'm not mistaken, I read that you plan to follow the anime in your story, including season 2. It made me curious what your thoughts are on season 2? Personally I rather disliked it when it came out, but I haven't rewatched it since. If you don't mind, I am curious to know your thoughts about it since you are able to put them so eloquently! Anyway, I am very curious to read how you will continue your story and how you will use the storyline of season 2 in it, I am sure that whatever you have in mind will be brilliant!

Once again thank you for your work, I really love it!

Hi! Thank you so much for your words, I’m so happy you liked this story! I have a lot of passion for it. And yes, I plan on following S2 - I absolutely love this season and consider it a love letter from Sebastian to Ciel! It has ellipses and missing words, sometimes missing sentences; some pages were left intentionally blank, but ultimately, it’s all about feelings. The whole premise is basically Alois wishing for Claude to destroy Sebastian, and Claude deciding to do that by taking Ciel from him. It’s pretty huge when you think about it. In addition, there is Sebastian wanting to prolong their contract and re-structuring everyone’s lives to accommodate Ciel’s amnesia, giving him another chance at revenge; being unable to kill him even after Ciel becomes a demon. 

There were some elements I disliked, like heavy and inappropriate sexualization of Hannah - many characters suffer from it, but sometimes it felt like they created her for this very purpose. S1 was more dignified in this regard. But all in all, I enjoyed the season a lot.

I like Claude as a contrast to Sebastian. From how I see it, he is an actual normal demon: he’s cold, shallow, with no morality or interests other than eating something & getting power. Claude doesn’t care about Alois, he’s really just fulfilling his duties. Sebastian is actually living a life of a butler, going out of his way to please Ciel and earn his favor. Claude kills Alois without a second thought; Sebastian cannot bring himself to kill Ciel no matter how many times he has a chance to do so.

I’m in love with the ending. It’s fascinating that Sebastian actually allows Ciel to become a demon. He was told clearly that the moment Ciel wakes up, he’ll do it soulless. Rather than killing him on sight, Sebastian cradles him in his arms and waits. He attacks afterward, when it can’t actually hurt Ciel. Instead of still killing him, Sebastian goes along with the charade and keeps doing his butler duties. Demons can kill their masters without serious repercussions, we saw that on the example of Claude and Alois. Sebastian has every right to kill Ciel - more than that, he’s in direct proximity to the sword that can help him with this. And yet, he stays.

Ciel acts like he’s in control, Sebastian acts like he has to obey him, but they both know it’s a charade. It’s so palpable in the moment where Sebastian pretends to make tea and Ciel pretends to drink it. They try to stick to their routine desperately because they feel lost, confused, and scared. Ciel knows what could happen to him any moment - he saw what became of Alois. He could also tell Sebastian to leave him and start navigating his new life by himself, unburdened by anyone and anything. And yet he not only keeps Sebastian close, he actually makes an emphasis on Sebastian having to stay with him for all eternity! And Sebastian acts all miserable when he can make a decision to kill Ciel any moment, putting an end to their contract once and for all.   Sebastian knows he doesn’t have to do anything anymore, but he can’t bring himself to kill Ciel to terminate their bond. He can’t face the idea of being invested in someone so much either, though, because this is it - he told himself countless excuses before to prolong the contract, but now there are no lies left. So he’s miserable and lost, going through motions and unable to make a decision, incapable of admitting he needs Ciel yet equally incapable of killing him. It’s such an open ending, but I find it extremely beautiful. 

[kinetic-elaboration]

September 8: Homecoming Dance

Wrote another HAICG ficlet! Could probably use more editing but tbh I’m going to crash at pretty much any moment so I’m just gonna throw it out there. Maybe I’ll fix it up some more before putting it on AO3.

This is for @ellavere who asked for Kirk and Spock being embarrassing parents.

Post-5 year mission, ~1600 words

*

Sevin leans in closer toward the mirror, adjusting the knot in his tie one more time. Logically, objectively, he knows that it’s already perfectly straight, and that he should leave it alone. But he can't stop himself from fidgeting with it.

"It's fine, you know," a voice behind him declares. "You look great."

He doesn't turn around, but he does watch in the mirror as his dad stands up, and walks over from the bed to stand behind him. He rests his hands briefly on Sevin's shoulders, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in his jacket. Sevin is in his parents' bedroom, because they have the only full-length mirror in the apartment. But he's wishing he'd just stolen the mirror and set it up in his own room, because at least then he'd have an excuse to tell his dad to get out of his space.

Being alone with his own unfettered anxiety would be easier. Not comparing himself to his confident, handsome, Starfleet Captain parent would be easier. His dad is smiling at him in the mirror like he's the proudest person in the universe, and Sevin can barely remember to keep his shoulders straight. And he won't remember anything else, either, like how to act or what to say, and his suit is the right size, but feels like it’s much too small.

"This is dumb," he says, instead of trying to explain the rest. "I should—I should tell her I'm sick—"

"No! No, you're fine and you're going to have fun. Spock—!"

Sevin glances at the mirror again, at the bit of movement from the hall that caught his dad's attention. Jim is waving Spock over, drawing him into the room.

"What do you think? Doesn't he look great?"

Sevin half-turns so that he's facing both of his parents now, his dad still grinning and his father, next to him with his arms crossed, and what any human would think was an inscrutable expression on his face, deeply and seriously considering. "You look very handsome," he says finally, seriously, and reaches out to straighten the knot in Sevin's tie.

"It's already straight," he insists, with a hint of a whine, and his father just raises his eyebrows innocently.

"I must admit, I still do not fully understand the concept of the high school dance," he says, and Sevin rolls his eyes, because he knows this isn't true. His father does understand. He just doesn't entirely approve. Sevin's not sure if this disapproval is his protective streak showing through or just the way he sets himself apart from purely Terran rituals—or if it's no more than the usual parental denial that his little boy is a full fifteen years old. But if his father forbade him to attend the Fall Homecoming Dance, he wouldn't even put up a fight about it.

"Oh, they're great," his dad answers, while Sevin pulls at his jacket sleeves. "A real coming-of-age thing for Earth kids. You go to a crowded, stuffy gym, decorated with streamers and balloons, and stand around by the bleachers and drink unnaturally flavored punch, and sometimes dance a little, and try to avoid seeing too much of the chaperones."

Spock raises his eyebrows again, the corner of his mouth pulled sideways, his eyes starting to narrow. He is immensely amused. "That does not sound 'great.'"

“He means ‘terrible,’” Sevin mutters, in Vulcan.

Jim doesn’t hear him, but he considers a moment, then admits, "No, it's awful. But," he adds, turning back to Sevin, "also important. Rite of passage, like I said."

"Did you actually have fun at any of the dances you went to?" Sevin asks.

"I did. Once, my sophomore year. I went with my girlfriend at the time, and it was actually pretty decent. Plus, I bet a San Francisco high school dance is a step up from a Riverside High dance, so—" He reaches out, claps Sevin once on the arm. "You'll have fun."

"You will have to tell me about your experiences," his father adds, "as I have never been to such an event, and I am very curious."

"Or dad could just tell you about his and I could stay home," Sevin mumbles. His parents are already standing with their two forefingers touching, which they do almost any time they're in reach of one another, and they don't even seem to hear his comment, because his dad says:

"It's too bad we didn't sign up to be chaperones. Then you could see for yourself."

Sevin fully expects his father to protest, as he himself is protesting—"Oh, no, I don't think you'd have any fun"—but Spock seems to be giving the idea serious thought. He's tilted his head to the side, watching Jim with a careful, appraising, subtly pleased look.

"That would be an interesting experience. Of course, I do not dance—"

"That's a lie. You dance. We've danced."

"That was on a diplomatic mission and thus not comparable."

Sevin's dad is wrapping an arm around his father's waist, pulling him close, only half-joking as he drops his voice a little lower:

"What about our wedding?"

He feigns shock. "A special occasion."

"Okay—can you just—?"

They stop abruptly, almost nose to nose; both turn to him but do not disengage. Spock, at least, looks faintly embarrassed. But Jim just grins.

They are always like this. Sevin can imagine them, showing up to the dance, probably in the dress uniforms that are their only conception of fancy outfits, completely failing to police amorous teenagers because they're too caught up in their own little romantic bubble. As if fairy lights and wilted balloons really set a mood. He has a sudden fantasy of one of his teachers, perhaps Ms. York from Physics, forcibly disentangling them and chiding them for their bad example, and it almost makes him laugh.

"You can't be chaperones anyway, because who would watch Selen?" he asks, proud of himself for his logic.

His parents exchange a glance. "A babysitter," his dad says.

"Nyota, perhaps. Or Dr. McCoy," his father adds.

"Oh, well, too bad they have all the chaperones they need. Maybe another time." Another time, when he stays home with the baby, and they enjoy last year's pop hits echoing drearily in a poorly lit gym. Before either of them can answer, the doorbell sounds, and he's flooded with an intense and refreshing sense of relief.

The relief is followed just as quickly with a twist of nerves so intense, he's half-sure he's about to be sick. Do regular humans feel this way, he wonders, this strongly, or is the strength of his emotions part of his Vulcan heritage? And what mental barriers or strategies could possibly hold the Vulcan version of adolescent confusion at bay?

"I'll get it," he says, in the half-second's pause that follows. That's his date. His date and this is really happening but it will probably be fine--it's just a dance! It's just a dance. Something to laugh about when he's thirty and high school is just a series of anecdotes from his past.

He gets two steps toward the door before his dad reaches out, grabs him by the shoulder, and turns him around. He rests his hands on Sevin's forearms, and looks at him seriously, right in the eye. His dad's go-to move for weighted moments. He'd like to squirm out of the grip, and he could—he's twice as strong as his dad, at least—but in a sense more important than the physical, he is completely incapable.

"Dad, what—?"

"Just wait a moment, okay? I know you have to go. I just wanted to tell you that I've been to these dances and I know that sometimes...the night goes in a direction you don't expect, so... I want you to be prepared. No sex without safe sex, right?

He can feel his face turning red, like a tomato. Like a furnace. He is going to overheat and then faint. Maybe if he tries hard enough he can sink into the floor.

"Dad."

"I know! Dad, so embarrassing. Just promise me, okay?"

He wriggles himself out of the grip at last, ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck with his hand. He can feel his father staring at them both. "I'm—You don't have to worry because I'm not having sex, okay? I'm... not in the same galaxy as having sex."

He glances at his father, stone-faced and tense, his mouth a thin and impassive line.

"He's not having sex," Jim says, as if to translate, and Spock nods, once.

"Good."

Even to Sevin's ears, it sounds like a threat.

Luckily, the doorbell rings again, and he's saved from further embarrassment—of the parental variety, at least.

"I really have to get that!" he says, and half-sprints from the room.

Three steps down the hall, he realizes both of his parents are following him, and he turns abruptly on his heel, almost running into his father in the process.

"What are you doing?"

"Meeting your date," his father answers.

"And taking pictures," his dad adds.

Sevin opens his mouth to argue, but one look at his parents' faces, and he knows he's already staring down defeat. "Just one picture," he insists, as he starts walking toward the door again.

"Three," his dad counters, while his father suggests, "Perhaps four," and Sevin starts calculating the odds that they will scare away his date before he even gets her out of the building.

The outlook appears, at first, bleak, but they are ultimately in his favor. 

[cinaja]

Hello! I've been following you for a short time, so I'm sorry if you answered it before, but could you elaborate why you think the Wall was a bad choice?

Oh my god, my first ask!!! Thank you so much, I'm super excited😊 And I've never written anything on the problems of the Wall - this blog is still rather new.

So, here we go.

I think that the Wall (the entire policy surrounding the Treaty, really) is responsible for 90% of the problems in acotar. The thing is that after the War, they freed the slaves, but they never did anything about the mindset that allowed it to happen in the first place. Fae thought humans were less than animals before the War and they continued thinking it afterwards.

The Wall was the coward's way out. The issue was the Fae's mindset and changing that would have taken work and time. So people decided to build a Wall between the people, nice and easy. Except that it solved nothing.

This is what the Wall did:

"But surely other territories would protect it [the treaty]", I said, scanning their faces.

"Not as many as we'd hoped", Rhys admitted, wincing. "There are many - too many - who have also felt squashed and suffocated during these centuries. They want their old land back beneath the Wall, and the power that came with it. Their vision of the past has been coloured by five hundred years of struggling to adjust and thrive."

(Acowar, chapter 16)

So basically, 500 years after the War, no one is ready to fight for the humans anymore - not even their former allies. I think that if people who were willing to die in for human freedom now won't lift a finger to help them, something went extremely wrong. The Loyalists, on the other hand, are ready to do just about everything to get their slaves back. This is not how things should look 500 years after slavery was abolished.

So here are the problems the Wall and the policy surrounding the Treaty created:

The first issue wasn't really the Wall but rather the Treaty. Namely the fact that they let the Loyalist leaders get away unscathed. Of course,you can't just kill all enemies if you want to work towards peace, but someone like Amarantha? Who killed all her slaves instead of letting them go as the Treaty demanded? Something like this cannot go unpunished. And there needs to be a change in the ruling class - someone like the King of Hybern cannot remain in charge. Putting new rulers in place of Loyalist territories would have been absolutely vital to make it possible to change the mindset of the people. (It's what they did in Germany after WW2)

Now, moving on to the Wall. Building it meant that thousands of Fae lost their homeland. They basically just drew a line through the map and any Fae south of it had to move. Imagine leaving behind your home, knowing that you'll never see it again. With immortal beings, this bitterness can last quite a while and over centuries, it's no longer the Treaty that gets blamed, but the humans. This creates real hate towards the humans and the Fae who fought with them and lead to Hybern's almost-success.

Afterwards, all these different Fae had to somehow share the new space. We know from another scene that the lesser faeries took the human's place at the bottom, so I understand why they would be angry. But everyone lost wealth, influence and land. All of this adds to people wanting to go back to the time before the Wall.

And, of course, the biggest issue: The fact that both cultures were completely separated. There was no interaction over 500 years, meaning that on both sides, the view of the past and each other is no longer realistic in any way. Humans see Fae as monsters, Fae see humans as less than animals. The Wall allowed hate to fester on both sides (Although, of course, the Fae side is more problematic. Humans may hate Fae, but they don't run around invading their countries to slaughter and enslave them. Besides, they have more reason for their anger/fear than the Fae do, after everything Fae did to them.)

Now, without a Wall, humans and Fae would have been forced to work together. For example, there would have been trade between their countries which would have lead to more wealth for all (Hybern, for example, suffered greatly because their biggest trading partner - the Black Land - went to the humans) and created a co-dependence. You don't easily attack your trading partner.

Beyond that, cultures and people would have mixed. It would have needed laws ensuring equality as well as protection for the humans and there would have likely still been conflict, but it could have worked. Perhaps not in the first generation, but the second. It is easy to see the faceless humans as lesser - but what if you work together with humans, your child's best friend is human and your sister is married to one? The more interaction there is , the more do humans seem... well, human, and not like property. And they, too, would learn that not all Fae need to be hated or feared.

Now, I'm hardly an expert on these things. But I think the only way to achieve peace and to overcome prejudice is to have people live and work together (with people in charge who make sure that things develop in the right direction.) The Wall does the opposite of that.

The really sad part, I think, is that they had such a unique chance after the War to get things right. Humans and Fae had just fought side by side in tze Alliance - the Fae had helped to free the human slaves. There were friendships, sometimes even more than that, between them. There were many Fae who cared for humans and likewise - Mor, for example, was respected by the humans and in a relationship with Andromache, a human queen. Miryam (a half-human former slave and, likely, war hero) was married to Drakon (a Fae prince). All these people held sway over humans and/or Fae. They were in a position to make change work.

And it could have worked. Perhaps not all Loyalists would have been swayed, but at least for the Alliance, it would have been possible to get humans and Fae to live together. The proof are Miryam and Drakon.

Now, I know that Miryam and Drakon are a unique situation, being a married human-Fae couple. Having your rulers be a mixed pair just makes a lot of things easier. Besides, the Seraphim had been pro-humans during the War and as their ruler, Drakon was in the position to make the choice to live together with the humans. But "Miryam's people" weren't really her people at all - they were former slaves from a country (the Black Land) that treated humans worse than any other. Miryam wasn't their princess or anything, she was just a half Fae female who had been enslaved just as them and then returned to free them. They owed her their freedom, but otherwise, they were not beholden to her. Getting them to choose to live together with Fae and actually create a working system was certainly no small task.

I'd say that if it was possible for two people with a vision and some influence to get Fae and 50k former slaves to live together in peace, it would have been possible elsewhere, too. There would have been conflict and it would have taken work, sure, but after five hundred years, humans and Fae might have become interwined enough that no Fae ruler would have been able to gather enough support to wage another war against the humans. The Wall ruined that chance and with it, any hope for lasting peace.

Once again, though, I'm no expert on sociology or politics, this is just what I pieced together with my understanding of these subjects. Also, I'm sorry for the long post - I seem to be incapable of keeping things brief😂

Tags: @sjm-things

[shinygemstone]

I have no preference, probably ariel?

Yes, I used to do that before I got my chromebook

Sit wherever with 3.4 billion tabs open and go back and forth between writing three words to a paragraph and the 3.4 billion tabs. Anyone who sees my search history will break.

Flutist. WHY IS THAT PRONOUNCED LIKE IT'S OU AND NOT JUST U AND WHY DOESN'T IT SOUND LIKE FLUTE???

Nah

Being unable to finish anything

Posting stuff

Without action is soooo much easier.

No lmao

Yes. It was cursed and vaguely creepy in hindsight and stAY AWAY FROM MY 7TH GRADE FANFIC WE'RE ALLOWED TO BE CRINGE IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

I- NO

I would wish for a magical, self-sustaining farm that I own and the government cannot take from me, to end global warming and for once a month, for the richest person on earth to be k*lled until there are no more people with over ~500 million net worths left.

I struggle to write manipulation. It's meant to be subtle, but when I write it it's so overt. Healing, on the other hand, is a piece of cake for me.

People don't usually borrow books from me. I have one book that I let a girl borrow in 5th grade and then we graduated and I haven't seen her since soooo

No, but I might annotate a book at some point. For fun. And I don't judge people who do these things, unless they're doing it with library/other people's books. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, KID WHO TORE THE SIDES OF PAGES OUT OF WARRIOR CATS BOOKS. I HEARD A RUMOR THAT YOU ATE THEM. KEEP YOUR DIRTY PAWS OUT OF THE LIBRARY

A stick of gum.

Well, the love interest is a reboot of a reboot of a character who was based off of my friend in 7th grade. The friend has since come out as genderfluid asexual and the current version of the character is an evangelical christian, so they couldn't be more different.

Uhh there's this moment where a character convinces another character to get drunk by making her viscerally uncomfortable. I'd been planning that scene for ages and it was honestly kinda disappointing and made me drop the WIP.

I've always wrote, I guess, but my writing was kinda dog shit for a long time. I didn't know how long was "normal" so I was cool with ~500 word long chapters on Quotev. Then I went onto AO3 and learned that you want to be more than double that. I have posted some fics on AO3 but those are a fandom I don't think my Tumblr moots will enjoy. I also don't post about it on here because the source material is kinda dog shit.

Eternal happiness, thanks. My WIPs don't need to be finished as long as I can write a oneshot every now and again.

No and no, it's just not something I think about

I use sheets if I have a lot of characters and that's about it.

Anywhere, anytime. As long as nobody's looking over my shoulder.

Prep is for NERDS, the story half writes itself in the first draft. Then I edit it and make it good.

Pandora would get along very well with Luz Noceda

I just think about them. No and no. It's really simple.

Definitely Eleanor Earl, because she requires a lot of research to make her both historically accurate and not a racial sterotype.

Syretia Longfoot, because she's just such a vibe. Syretia does as she pleases while being loyal and is not afraid to challenge someone but also won't get herself killed. She's so fun.

Everything around me, I suppose. AUs are a very fun spot to start, especially in my head. For example, remember Syretia? She was originally Undyne from Undertale but the narrative changed and distorted and warped until she became herself.

I do not remember my dreams sooooooo

Hahahahhaaaaa what readers

Sic semper tyrannis is overused in my fandoms and I love it. It's the last words of one of my OCs.

Yes, I also draw. Especially my OCs. I can't make comics, though.

YES. YES. IT IS SUPERIOR. FUCK NOREDINK AND IT'S IRRATIONAL HATRED OF THE OXFORD COMMA.

Never end or start a sentence with the word "and" or "or".

Honestly nothing in this context. Except maybe band shit.

That I was incapable of finishing anything.

My writing process is so random that I couldn't say, but I think cats think I'm weird 'cause I shower so much.

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.