#couple goals am i right folks???

[vasfasan]

out of the first four captain swan kisses...

the first was willing

the second was with one party not giving consent and subsequently leading to the other party getting kicked in the balls

the third was with one of the parties unconcious

and the fourth was not with the actual person, but with a past version of one of the parties

[alpaca-clouds]

You Cannot Create A Solarpunk Future Under Capitalism

I am feeling like a broken record, but I just need to make this clear once more: No, Solarpunk in any form is not possible under capitalism. If you think it is, you either fail to understand Solarpunk, or you don't get what capitalism even means.

Technically I wrote about this already almost exactly a year ago. Let me reiterate it again, though: Solarpunk at its core is build around a couple of ideas. Those are:

Living in relative harmony with our environment, rather than destroying it. (Which includes using renewable energies.)

Decolonialism.

Social justice and the same rights, chances and possibilities for all people.

Neither of those three points is archievable under capitalism, as the end goals of capitalism are opposed to each of them.

Let me go through each of them.

Environmental Sustainability is not archievable under capitalism.

This is the point people tend to argue about the most. Because they will go: "But if the renewable energy sources are cheaper than fossil fuels, the capitalist will see more possibilities to make money with it." Well, do I have news for you: A variety of renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, are already a lot cheaper than fossil fuels and yet somehow the capitalist argue against using them. Care to explain that? No? Well, I'll do it for you. (Technically already did in that blog last year.)

See, when someone's net worth is listed somewhere, most of them actually do not have billions of dollars on their bank accounts. And no, they also do not swim in gold coins. Instead their net worth comes from calculating how much money they would be able to make if they sold all thier assets. A lot of those assets are shares in companies they have, as well as stuff like their fancy houses, fancy cars, fancy private jets and fancy yachts. Most billionaires have not more than a couple tens million dollars in liquid money, meaning money they can just spend. If they wanna buy something that is more expensive, they will usually go to a bank, say: "Look at all the stuff I have. I wanna buy myself more stuff. Gimme money?" And the bank will go: "Of course, Sir Billionaire, here you go. Have a nice 10 billion dollars."

And this is where the issue arrises: Most of the billionaires who are investing in the energy market, have already invested billions in fossil fuels. Be it by owning shares of fossil fuel companies, or by owning mines, oil rigs, power plants and the like. And this puts them into a silly little position: Even if they wanted to make more money through renewables, they cannot without harming themselves. Because in the moment that renewables become even more viable than they already are, fossil fuels lose their viabilities - and hence all the assets they hold in fossil fuels lose their value in an instant. The billionairs know that. The banks know it, too. Which is why banks do not want to give the fossil fuel billionaires money for that, even if they ask.

And that is only on the energy-generating side of it. If you go into the other stuff that harms our environment... Simply put: Public transport will never make as much money, as selling everyone their own car. And plastics are just so much cheaper than any alternatives. And the companies need fast fashion, because they won't make as much money, if folks only go buying new clothes every ten years.

Capitalism is build on the exploitation of the environment.

You cannot archieve decolonialization under capitalism.

Let's talk about the call to decolonize next. This is even easier explained: Capitalism is build on colonialism. And contrary to what you might have been told in school, colonialism has never ended. Most indigenous folks never got their ancestral land back - or have to fight to remain on it to this day. The most notable examples you know off might be indigenous people on their land (at times the land they originally had been forced onto after their ancestral land had been stolen from them) fighting pipelines that the capitalists want to put onto that land. That is colonialism.

In fact a lot of the raw material we use to power capitalism is produced on stolen land or is moved across stolen land to be financially viable. Be it oil springs, that can be found there. Or be it mines. That is both mines that produce coal, but also mines that are used to produce lithium and other materials used in batteries of electric cars. These raw materials should technically belong to the indigenous people from whose land those materials are sourced. And we do know for a fact that some of them will prefer to leave those materials in the ground. Maybe because of the harm to the environment that mining for them creates. Maybe because the land is sacred to them. Maybe because some of them just do not care about cheap electric cars.

It is more than that, of course. Because colonialism also allows for slave labor. And yes, I mean slave labor. Like classical slave labor where people are pressganged into laboring in those mines, or in other factories, where they are not paid at all - or are paid in breadcrums. The reason that the global south is so abhorently poor, even though most of the raw materials powering our world are found there, is, that the people in the global south are exploited, while the land is often owned by people from the global north, who either got it through colonialism - or by buying it from someone who got it through colonialism.

And once again: The profit motive of capitalism is directly opposed to decolonizing - and because of that it won't happen. Capitalism is built on colonial exploitation.

You cannot archive social justice under capitalism.

Capitalism as a system was invented for one reason and one reason alone: To allow former nobility, who were close to lose their power and influence in a Europe of anti-royal revolutions, to hold onto the power and influence and veil it underneath the idea of meritocracy. Basically saying: "Everyone gets what they deserve based on the work they got in." Obviosly they got the most, because they owned the land that everyone was working and living on. And then they did their best to brainwash everyone into believing this - at which they actually succeeded.

Here is the thing: Capitalism needs an underclass to exploit. Sure, a good chunk of that exploitation will happen in other countries, where the poor white middleclass folks do not need to see them toil, but some of that exploitation simply cannot be done in those other countries. At times because the work physically needs to happen in the western nations - stuff like road contruction, general contruction work, cleaning and such are an example of this. And at times because some things might be time critical, cannot be transported that far and stuff like that - like farm work in some cases, or also all the Amazon warehouse stuff. Oh, and all those fastfood jobs belong into this area. Stuff that is paid minimum wage and exploited to no end.

And then there is of course prison labor in the US, which once again is just slavery.

And all of that does not even go into the care and nursing work that is either underpaid by a ton when it is happening on the open market (like in hospitals, schools, kindergardens and other care facilities) - or is happening completely for free. Mosten done by women, who will care for both children, as well as elders and disabled family members for free.

The true endgoal of capitalism is to turn the labor of the lower classes into money and value for the upper class to hoard like bloody dragons. As such capitalism will never be compatible with any sort of equal rights and equal chances.

Those three aspects are truths that just cannot be changed. Capitalism will never be able to create any sort of justice, equal rights, or sustainability. It is not in the interest of capitalism to do so, either.

[constellationofaster]

putting out some feelers to see if anyone is interested in reading a potential Sauron redemption arc (+ haladriel) with canon divergence following s1

i’ve been working on the plot for a couple of weeks because i am obsessed and delusional about happy endings

it would be a deeper dive into his mind and why he wants power/control/order and taking his word for it that Morgoth’s grip on him was (and maybe still is) strong and his goal is to heal and rebuild middle-earth

it would be a push and pull, since he believes he is doing something right and also is self-serving

i don't want to take away from the character we've seen up to the canon divergence so i do worry that him being a bit of a sad boy (in his mind, which he somewhat fights against) could be somewhat out of character but would be his motivation for power (he and Galadriel seem to understand being misunderstood/rejected, and this is where i am thinking about focusing his desires on)

if you heal and rebuild middle-earth, you have to be loved right? and those ends justify the means... right?

so yeah

and in Tolkien fashion, Sauron finds himself (and Lady Galadriel, of course) on a negotiated adventure! (which he initially agrees to because he wants to spend more time with her while he has the unexpected opportunity and maybe convince her a second time) and finds that maybe basking in her light and middle-earth and its folk is healing a part of him instead

too bad a new darkness is on the horizon that no one foresaw

i have lots of other things in this plot and will likely post it eventually regardless, but am just wondering if anyone has some interest in reading this since Sauron is a forever baddie and we love that about him

[xray-vex]

Please help! I am a queer disabled artist and need to move out of my ex's place!!

Realizing I never shared this on here, so here it is.

I am in desperate need of financial help right now while I endure a very difficult phase of my life. Last November I ended a 12-yr relationship, and around the same time had my hours severely cut at my contract job (I am ineligible for unemployment). I am disabled with ADHD and severe anxiety and it has been difficult for me to find work (my current gig is remote work designing ads for social media). My car is old and in need of thousands of dollars of maintenance which I cannot afford, and this also means I don't have reliable transportation.

I am rapidly going into pretty bad debt and am trying my best to raise enough money to help me move out. While not ideal, I will have to live with family while I get back on my feet (I had an abusive childhood and have to move back in with my parents). It is a cross-country move and therefore pretty expensive - the estimated shipping cost for the U-pack cube is $3600 alone. Beyond that, I will need air fare, expenses for my cat, etc. Right now, my target move date is late Sept. 2024 but I've had to push that date back a couple of times already, partly because I don't have enough money and also because I am struggling to function at all. I also recently was assigned a new doctor and will have to sort things out with them to make sure I have enough of my medications for a few months after I move to give me time to get new doctors in my new location.

I have set a goal of $4,000 to help me get through this terrible time in my life. I've raised about 41% of that so far, and I'm so grateful to all my supporters and patrons!

For transparency, I also have a Gofundme shared with family & friends who I am not out to, re: my queerness (*so far it has only had limited success, as I’m not active on the social media accounts connected to those folks). I’ve kept that separate from my socials in fandom due to deadname etc.

Other ways you can help support me: I have a Redbubble store that sells a bunch of my designs on merch. It doesn’t make me very much money at all, but every little bit helps: https://www.redbubble.com/people/xray-vex/shop

I am also attempting to get my shit together to accept commissions from people, so I will update soon with that info hopefully.

Thank you for reading!!

[pastafossa]

Right ok many things have happened in a short amount of time which is where I've been, and most of it is GOOD for once, which is wild when I'm still feeling out of it after being beaten by the Emotional Trauma bat for a few months and I think my body + brain has just kinda short-circuited.

I've been offered a booth spot for my wood carvings at a local witchy market event in April, and I've said yes! If this goes well, it will seriously help my bills and really start getting my name out beyond my normal sellers online. This is huge. I've never done an event before, and my anxiety's through the roof, but mom's agreed to help man the table so that makes me feel a bit better. This is an artsy city and there's tons of tourist traffic in Summer, so establishing myself to the point where I can get into their view would be amazing (tourism is where my teacher sells 75% of his carvings and makes a living).

Additionally, I am now in talks to do a brief, 10-20 minute class on wood this summer at another witchy event run by the same group. If there's enough interest, I might be able to run regular classes (which means more $ as a bonus). This has sort of always been one of my end goals with carving - it's a dying artform, and I LOVE teaching and showing people how easy it is to get into! This is also what my own carving teacher always told me he thought I'd wind up doing eventually: essentially taking his place and continuing to teach others like he taught me.

A couple folks in the community who are published have said they think if I wrote a guide on the various carving woods, their associations, and how to work with them, it would sell, and they're happy to help me. It wouldn't have to be long and it wouldn't be too hard, since most of it is stuff I already have written down for my own notes, but I'm also wondering if this isn't a good way to dip my toe into publishing and see how it goes, especially since I want to publish an AU of TRT one day when it's done. It's not the door into the publishing world I expected to open, but damned if I'm not inclined to take advantage.

I have no idea what to expect going forward. I'm still having some issues after what I went through, but damn, even I can feel this this is a potential path ahead that might do a lot for me.

Anyway, I've got some stuff I've started writing, the promised little one shots, that I'll do before slowly transitioning back into TRT. Ironically, I've used the time to go back over my outline and streamline a few arcs, and had some epiphanies that I think will improve the plot even further. So that was nice, and I think when TRT starts back up, you're going to love what's coming!

Lastly, to the person who dropped that cash into my ko-fi: thank you. You have no idea how much that's helped.

[bengiyo]

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 2 Eps 17-20 (Finale)

Last week gave me everything I wanted and more. The whole squad went over to Yako's place for a curry party and everyone had a great time. Later, Nagumo got a diagnosis for her condition and got to have personal time with Yako. Kasuga and Nomoto continued to work on their communication and making sure they aren't trampling over each other. They're continuing to work on this move. Seriously, we had a curry party and a s'mores party last week. We planted strawberries together. Let's finish this.

Episode 17

Looking for housing is so stressful. I was wondering if we'd get into housing discrimination in this.

Red beans in Japan are different from what we eat here. Theirs carry a naturally sweet profile that doesn't mesh well with creole cooking.

I feel like those beans needed to boil longer, but that's me thinking in my home cooking terms.

Yes, ladies, tell each other how happy you are to see each other.

@furritsubs thank you for the note about Azuki beans.

I'm really enjoying the way they're handling this situation. The realtor wasn't trying to be homophobic, but the systems he was upholding with the landlord references reinforces the status of same sex households. I also like that they acknowledged how circumstances closet people in ways that hurt them. This is good payoff from the news bit we saw earlier in season with Kasuga.

Getting a tasty treat in before going back into the fray is so valid.

Kasuga being even more affectionate about Nomoto's food now that they're dating is exactly what I wanted.

Episode 18

Oh fuck yeah, let's continue to unpack how structural homophobia makes people scared to share something that should be a joyous occasion.

Amused that Yako is the primary person using Nomoto's given name.

Are we going to have a takoyaki party next??

COME THROUGH, YAKO!!! You gotta help your folks get through this bullshit, but never let them forget that it's bullshit!!

I am relieved that we checked in with Ms. Fujita about divorcing her husband at the same time as we're working through LGBT housing issues. Single divorced women likely also face huge challenges in housing when marriage is the goal we're being pushed into.

Wow, Sayama, you are in contention for the Yihwa Best Girl Award this year. You are an ally. Love the way she examined how what she said might have been hurtful.

Feeling like you somehow failed because you didn't get married in your 20s is so real. I sometimes struggle with this in my 30s.

This show uses its characters to illustrate its political points in a way that feels gentle and accessible, but also carries a sense of urgency. Women are facing extreme reproductive pressure right now, and it's clearly not making those who don't already want husbands and children happier. Hell, it's making them resentful to the point of divorce as they get older.

Hold on. Gotta cry a bit about Nomoto telling Kasuga that being told outright that hiding who they are upset her made her feel better got me.

Episode 19

Takoyaki Party let's goooooo!!!

A party where you cook together like this is always so much fun. We had fun with some friends' kids a few weeks ago teaching them how to make pancakes and letting them add their own toppings before, during, and after cooking.

Nagumo managed to enjoy a bite of food with them. Hold on. Crying again.

We've seen takoyaki a few times lately, and I am very impressed with this cooker.

Yako, tactful as always, is gonna check on Nagumo. I love her.

This is so important. Couple formation does affect the friends around them, and I'm really glad Yako let Nagumo voice that she supports her friends even as she knows she's going to miss the dynamic they've had. Yako is so right to point out that a change doesn't mean it's over, and their friendship will last if we all continue to reach out.

This realtor scene is so good. I like how politely she asked for them to disclose their relationship with the express purpose of securing ideal housing, and we're getting into how the financing of housing can affect people's privacy. She's also owning that landlords can discriminate against couples. I also appreciate that their meeting room was private.

I'm ready for the moving in party!

Episode 20

They got the house!!

A crab cream croquette party!!!

Wait, where's Nagumo? I wanted her to try a croquette too!

We are on the bed together. This is not a drill.

Yes, let's acknowledge that they have liked each other since season 1.

The intimacy question is on the floor!

They are finally hugging!

NOW KISS!!!

That was very sweet, and felt right for them. I'm glad they had that moment in the old place before they moved.

Cried because of Ms. Fujita and Nagumo possibly getting hired.

So glad Yako and Nagumo are still hanging out! That's really how some friends groups will be. Two people will just gel at a party and grow close.

Oh hell yeah we're at casual intimacy now.

I'm so excited to see where the TV goes next season!!

Oh my goodness Kasuga is wearing a lighter sweater!!!!!!

Final Verdict: 10, Go Watch This Immediately and Then Show it to a Friend. Seriously, do not make excuses for yourself. You owe it to yourself to watch this show. Between this, Ossan's Love Returns, and What Did You Eat Yesterday? coming back, we cannot stop supporting our shows about older people getting together and forming their own forms of family. This show built on the foundation of its first season and made every little detail feel so potent and impactful. I did not expect the pen pal to grow into a trusted confidant and core member of this friend group, nor was I expecting the women at the supermarket to help Kasuga as much as they did. This season was excellent, and will be joining WDYEY on my comfort watch rotation.

Big thanks to @furritsubs and friends for making this watch possible.

[theleastprofessionalchef]

Ah jeez, I started making this post end of May and saved it as a draft so I could come back with the recipe, and fully forgot to do that for uh. Yeah. A long time. I've since made a few more batches of successful mead, and have a couple more fermenting right now! I'll reblog with pics of them later.

Well! better late than never. Leaving what I'd written initially unchanged, so-

-

Two months apart - start and end - my first successful batch of mead! I've tried a handful of times over the years, but had an unfortunate habit of doing... SOMETHING wrong each time that resulted in lightly sweetened cleaning alcohol 😅

But finally, a success! Real mead! Sweet, but not too sweet, and boozy enough without being straight up moonshine

Recipe:

Roughly three pounds of honey

3? 4? Of those little mandarin oranges, quartered

1 packet ale yeast, I used this

Various whole mulling spices, I used a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves this time, but I've also tossed in cardamom pods and anise occasionally, maybe a couple peppercorns. Go wild

So much filtered/distilled water. So much. Like two gallons?

I'll be real folks, I used a cheap shitty online guide that I don't remember the link for, that said it was a good basic way to learn how to make garbage mead and that any brewer worth their salt would cringe at. It is also coincidentally the same guide I used years ago in the aforementioned cleaning alcohol incident; I haven't changed what I used or did, so I honestly don't know why that came out bad and this good. Shrugs! Yeast can't read.

Dissolve the honey in warm/hot water. Not boiling- you don't want to kill the yeast when you add it in. Think a nice, warm shower. Stir it well, add the oranges and spices, and mix in the yeast until also dissolved.

Load it all up into a large glass container like the one pictured. I ordered a carboy online for this, which is the 'proper' thing to use, but you can honestly get away with an old milk jug you've thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, if you again, don't care about it being the highest quality. Carboys come with the fermentation/filtration Thing on it to let gases out and nothing in (the little doohicky plugged into the top of the lid) but you can also get away with stretching the mouth of a balloon over where the lid would go and poke a teensy hole in it with a needle. The goal is to let the gases that build up during fermentation escape the container, but not to let outside air in.

Fill the container the rest of the way up with water, but leave a couple inches of space on top. This thang's gonna bubble like crazy once the yeast start feeding, and you don't want it to overflow and make a mess of your cupboard.

Put it in a dark, cool space, and wait a few days!

It'll bubble a lot those first days; DON'T mess with it. Leave her be. Let her have her hot girl summer. After a few days, maybe a week, it'll calm down a bit; now you can top off the water supply.

Fast forward uhhhh two months or so, and it's done! There's a more legit way to know for sure when it's done that involves watching the tiny bubbles that form near the top as part of the fermentation process, and figuring out when they'll stop, but I'm impatient and don't know jack and am here for a good time not a long time.

Enjoy mead! And maybe do some better research than I did if you want something fancy.

OH AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT STIR IT WHEN YOU GO TO DRINK THE FINISHED STUFF

You'll want to scoop the fruits and spices off the top and then siphon it off into another container, or do what we did and simply ladle it off the top (because on a ship of 10-13 sailors, 1 1/2-2 gallons of mead won't last longer than an off day), and NOT drink the detritus off the bottom. You can kinda see it in the picture above. It is not like unfiltered apple cider. That stuff tastes gnarly.

Do not shake the mead before drinking.

[flowerwiththemachinegun]

Have we learned anything new from Tseng's background? Well, since I haven’t I’ve come up with this. I surely am not bilingual or anything and I couldn’t figure out just how to make my own little language (yet, I have to for another fic) so all of this is just yanno, english. Right before FF7 events, cause I don’t like little ponytail Tseng. GN as usual unless folks start getting overly freaky (not in this fic)

Title: Dead Languages

Description: about 2.5k words. After committing the silliest of crimes you catch the Turks' attention. Taking little to no time to catch you and bring you in for interrogation. The only problem is they have absolutely zero clue what you’re saying, until Tseng finally arrives. Staring at Tseng with absolute delight, relief washes over you. Part 2 will contain more detail about the conversation between the reader and Tseng. 

___________________________________________________

To say Reno was pissed was an understatement, pacing back and forth behind Rude’s seated position in front of you. Elbows on the table, Rude’s head buried in his hands out of stress, sighing heavily once more. They’ve tried for hours to get you to talk. There’s just absolutely no way you’ve made it all the way to Midgar with no way of communicating with anyone. From the few words they could make out, they knew you were from Wutai. That and your appearance made that painfully obvious.

They’ve tried threatening you quite a few times, the eccentric duo getting fed up with your “games”, as they call it. Genuinely, you had no idea what they were saying, but boy, were they angry. The red head’s face was just as red as his hair and the bald guy. Well, he seemed more upset at the other suited man for screaming so much. They were certainly no less upset after a blonde man dressed in all white came into the room. Sitting across from you for not even ten minutes staring back at the two men in black saying something in a dismissive tone, then leaving. You couldn’t help but think everything about him was a bit strange. The blonde’s get up combined with the strangely obedient creature he had in tow.

Eventually, you were left alone, staring at the wall for what you felt like was an endless amount of time. After an additional hour went by, numerous people came in and spoke to you, well tried. Each of them speaking a different language you simply couldn’t understand. Growing more and more frustrated yourself, you couldn’t help but give up any attempts at communicating with anyone. Your anxiety gnawing at your mind as you realize you might never leave this room at the rate things were going, surrounded by all of these strange faces. Every person is either talking to you like you were a five year old or becoming frustrated with your lack of communication. At some point, it was no wonder you completely shut down. 

Alone. Again. In this tiny interrogation wall, rubbing your eyes before laying your head in your arms. To think that the trek from Wutai to Midgar was exhausting, “that was nothing in comparison to this shit,” You thought to yourself, deciding to do your best to enjoy the next couple of hours as you were waiting around for your next round of interpreters. You couldn’t quite understand why they were so intent on talking to you rather than locking you away. It was an all-around ridiculous situation to be quite frank, becoming obsessed with myths of beasts living inside of precious red orbs. You wanted nothing more than to obtain that power for yourself in an attempt to take over other nearby villages to save your own.

Coming from a small village where a majority of your people were dying off, the population was not able to multiply faster than what they were expiring. Sure, your goal may have been a form of tyranny, but hell, you were the only one even trying to push for the future. The objective was simple enough: bring back as many of these strange creatures, harness their power, and force the other villages to follow your traditions. It mattered not who you had to slaughter to make your dream happen. It seemed to be going surprisingly smooth, the Shinra building being surprisingly easy to break into. You were able to make it to the materia room and snag as many of the summon materia as you could after practically disfiguring one of the infantrymen and snagging his uniform to blend in. Only to be caught by Reno and Rude as you were making your way back down the ungodly amount of stairs that made up the side entrance.

Pulling yourself from your thoughts as the door was all but being kicked open by Rufus, evident that he, too, was fed up with trying to find a way to speak to you. Raising your head up to acknowledge those who have walked in. By this point, Rufus was ready to just lock you up or, worse, pass you off to Hojo. Of course, he had his other two suits in tow, Reno and Rude, both of them just staring at you with an almost pitiful expression. Thinking to yourself, “That was concerning.” They haven’t said much to you since coming into the room, talking amongst themselves instead. Probably pondering on what they were going to do with you. Watching the white clad man stand up, pulling a device out of his pocket and holding it to his face as he walks out of the room. He almost seemed relieved by whatever that interaction was. Leaning back in your chair, you simply stare at the two Turks, curious as to what would happen next but making no attempts to speak. 

A few moments pass by before Rufus enters again, this time with another man in black. Dark hair ran down his back, neatly pinned up so that not even a stray hair would fall into his face. Not even a wrinkle in sight. What really caught your attention, though, was his eyes. Beautiful honey like pools meeting your gaze, immediately perking up at the sight of his tilak. An action that did not go unnoticed by the others, as over the course of the day, you would hardly acknowledge them, maybe sparing a disapproving glance. You quickly utter a few words, which causes Tseng to do a double take. Very rarely was the Turk caught off guard, but he couldn't deny that hearing someone speak his language was surprising in itself. 

Your gaze never breaks from Tseng as you hear Rufus address him, “Oh? Is this a lost friend of yours?” Tseng pulls  the seat out from in front of you and gets comfortable, for once his movements showed just how perturbed he was by the situation. Trying to keep his voice steady as he responds to Rufus, “Not quite, but I could tell you they came from the same place as myself. Our language never expanded outside of several villages. A place called Mahitotsu, no outsiders were allowed in either, never allowing themselves to mingle with modern-day people. Most of them wouldn’t be able to read nor write in another language due to the permanent barrier they’ve put between themselves and the rest of the world. The villagers themselves are reluctant to even deal with their neighbors.”

With a nod of Rufus’ head, he gestures towards you as he speaks, “Well, figure out why they're here stealing from me.” Something Tseng too was very curious about, most information regarding Shinra or materia for that matter is practically nonexistent. Coupled with the fact that your small off grid village also knows nothing of the world outside of it. For you to trek from the depths of Wutai to get here must have called for a damned good reason. Opting to give you a more traditional welcome in hopes of making you more willing to tell him any information you may have, Tseng starts by taking his gloves off, extending his hand to you. Placing your hand in his, Tseng brings the other to rest soothingly on top of your own. Bringing a few questionable looks from everyone in the room, they’ve never seen this tactic before, and Reno was going to make it known. Regarding Tseng in a teasing voice, “I thought you were here to make them talk, not flirt.” 

“It’s simply a greeting.” Tseng retorts back, red daring to tint his cheeks. It’s been so long since he’s done this. Paired with the way you're staring at him almost makes him want to melt. Getting rid of those thoughts quickly, Tseng begins addressing you. Stating that he obviously knew where you came from, asking what brought you out here. How did you get out here? Not for a minute did he let your hand go as the interrogation went on for hours, not that you could complain. At some point, Rude couldn’t help but mention that it was an awfully long greeting as he stared at your connected hands. Sure, he could’ve let your hand go quite some time ago. A part of him just can’t help but to enjoy this.

Once Tseng received all of the information he could get out of you, looking to Rufus to summarize what was said. Giving Rufus your name as well as place of origin, “They’re looking to save our village, albeit it’s not the smartest plan, though for that particular region of the world it would work considering the lack of knowledge and resources. The goal seems to be using summons as a way to entrap all of the other surrounding off-grid villages, forcing them to abide by our customs, down to forcing them to forget their own language and convert to our own. The reason is that the village is roughly estimated to die off in the next century. They seem to think ruling by fear would be the best way of going about completing their goal.” 

Rufus taps his fingers along the table, resting his head in his hand as he looks from your conjoined hands back to meet Tseng’s eyes. “Right idea, though this should be used for something much bigger than a bunch of forgotten tribes. I’m impressed they’ve made it thus far.” Tseng can’t help but nod in agreement. It is quite the feat to have survived the journey here. Especially knowing there isn’t much known about the rest of the world where you reside. Once again, pulling Tseng out of his thoughts, Rufus throws an idea out, “If they can prove to be just as loyal and useful as yourself, I say we keep them. Obviously, you would be doing all of the training. Not to mention, they need to figure out how to communicate with the rest of society. Dare I say, I have a good feeling about this. Or you could let them know they can rot in one of Hojo’s pods. The choice is theirs.” 

Tseng gives your hand a gentle squeeze before explaining what your ultimatum consisted of. With a shake of your head, you tell him that if you can’t accomplish your goal that there isn't a point of going forward in life. Translating your words back to Rufus draws a deep scowl from him, considering your choice should have been clear. Tseng gives a light shrug, letting out a deep breath. He certainly didn’t want that to be your fate, but after trying to convince you to change your mind and join them, it was clear you weren’t going to budge. Giving Rufus an almost sad expression, doing his best to cover up how he felt about the series of events. “All they want is for our people to continue to thrive-”

Cutting Tseng off as Rufus can’t help but finally notice a specific word that Tseng keeps repeating, “Our?” A smirk spreads across the vice president's face, “You’re people are right here, Tseng. Though, I imagine you have some attachments left to your hometown. Am I wrong?” At that, Tseng breaks any eye contact, staring down at your hands as you bring your other hand to rest atop of his as you sense his tension. Still refusing to look at anyone as he speaks, “It would be a shame for that to be their fate in my eyes, yes. Though I’m sure I've been long forgotten about, there are still people one could say I care for.” 

“Then I have another proposition, this time something that could benefit you both and myself?” Rufus finishes with a questioning tone before carrying on, leaning back in his chair. “We can make merging these villages a reality. It would be easier done if we utilize our troops. Though I have no intentions of trying to spread a dying language, I by no means plan on getting rid of it either. We can leave them isolated as they have been after bringing them together, of course leaving a group of soldiers to keep watch, make sure everything goes according to plan. Anyone stationed there is going to learn how to speak…whatever it is, you all call it. Though this will result in the land becoming Shinra property, is that something you can deal with? We can work out the finer details later, but (Y/N) will work for us, and they will have to live here.” 

“It isn’t me that needs to consider this,” Tseng states before finally meeting your gaze once more. It’s debatable if taking over land in Wutai would start another war, but it doesn’t seem like Rufus plans on making a ruckus as Shinra takes over the land. At least not yet. Translating what Rufus had to offer, and this time, it manages to catch your attention. A frown crosses your features as he details the portion about residing in Midgar and having to learn a new language, but to his surprise, you don't mind Shinra’s occupation so much. More than likely, due to your severe ignorance in regards to what Shinra is capable of. Telling Tseng that as long as you can get your way, it was an arrangement you could live with.

This starts the journey for the next year, being forced to live with Tseng until you can navigate the world by yourself as well as becoming a trustworthy individual. The plans to take over (insert town name here) would also not come to fruition until your training was thoroughly complete. You have to prove yourself in order to pave the way for your goals, even if you fail to realize you're being taken advantage of. To everyone's surprise, Tseng wasn't too upset about the arrangement. Sure, living with a total stranger wasn't on his ‘to do’ list per se, but you had him completely and utterly captivated. Tseng's subconscious had every intention of getting closer and closer to you. Making sure to spend more time than necessary teaching you what different items were as well as teaching you how to communicate with everyone else. Though he loved talking to you the most in your native tongue, there was something so magical about how your voice rang out to him as you spoke. Maybe this living situation would prove to be far more beneficial than he thought, and it had nothing to do with your training. 

___________________________________________________

I hate to cut it off abruptly but every other idea is going to be put into part 2. This seemed to be the most decent stopping point for me. Couldn’t get this out of my mind, as I tried writing other fics this idea just kept begging me to use it, so I shall. 

Tseng lowkey has attachment issues and falls in love easily, can't tell me otherwise and it's a hill I'll die on. He just tries to keep his mask on at all times, but I can see poor babies' tears right through that shit.

[dreambunnynotes]

daily reflection: nov. 16th ❤︎

good morning lovely friends! here is what i accomplished and what i could have improved today, to hold myself accountable. it was really effective for me to know that i had posted my goals list on tumblr yesterday where others could see it; whenever i felt like giving in to my adhd brain that tells me that tasks are to be feared, i would simply remember that i had kind folks online who were interested in seeing me succeed hehe, it helped me so much! here is my first day ❤︎

accomplishments:

i completed all of my cleaning goals and more! it turned into a deeper clean than i thought it would be which felt really nice (and is usually how it goes once i get cleaning). it's so lovely to be able to start fresh with a clean working and sleeping space; it's so much easier to feel inspired, be productive, and take care of yourself when your environment is as ready for you as you are for it!

i wasn't going to complete all of my texting and calling tasks, BUT I DID! these types of tasks are the hardest for me to get done because i have pretty intense social anxiety and rejection sensitive dysphoria, and communicating with others both online and offline takes a lot of mental preparation and energy for me. but i did it, and i am so, so proud of myself! in fact...

self-compassion:

not only did i accomplish my original communication goals, i also ended up replying to two friends i hadn't seen in a long time, even though i was anxious! both of them were at my sister's show last night and i was so surprised to see them and a couple of other friends that i had to go have a bathroom cry from the anxiety lol. i had so many emotions coming up; the first was sadness and shame seeing that they had all come in a group together and that i wasn't with them. i joined them two seconds after i saw everyone, but the sadness was still there because i was positive they would have invited me into the group earlier if i had been less isolated this last year, which is where the guilt came in. i realized i had been isolating from my friends for so long out of fear that i wasn't wanted, didn't provide anything to them, and that maybe i didn't have people i liked being around after all, but that is so, so far from the truth; i do have friends who love me and who i love, and all of them were so loving, so kind, and actually sent me messages after the show telling me how much they loved me and how happy they were to see me! it made me cryyyy and feel so many feelings. i have plans to see them next week, and i actually feel like i'm overcoming my isolation era at long last; i'm really proud of myself for having self-compassion and using tools i've learned in therapy to better my life! :')

my next step is to learn more about and overcome this shame i have around letting my friends love me for who i am; the only way to learn more about it is to actually make plans to see friends and be vulnerable; wish me luck 😭💗

improvements to make:

as for my other tasks; i cleaned out one of my emails, but i have so many email accounts that it felt a little bit lacklustre to call that an accomplishment. today i'd like to break down how big the task of consolidating my digital life will actually be so that i can take measurable and consistent steps towards completing my goal (writing that sentence is baffling me right now - bunny from a few days ago never would have realized how much writing out her goals could help her in being less afraid of them! this feels like a huge accomplishment for my adhd brain!)

today felt like a really successful day, and i'm super proud of myself! this was only the beginning of what i actually want to accomplish in a day, but it was such a great way to try it out. i'm excited to see where this journey takes me and how these daily checklists and reflections will affect my productivity; they already have helped so much! if you've made it to the end of this, thank you for taking the time to read about my day, it means so much to me! lets try our best to have another successful day! ❤︎

[agirlandherquill]

through the puddles of ink

since it's a new academic year, a new chapter of my life and i thought, since i've been on tumblr for around eight months now that it's about time i properly introduced myself - this would shock the person i was when i first started this blog, but as it's grown so have i, and i think university has indefinitely helped my confidence - so, without further ado, here goes i'll start this properly by explaining the title of this post - through the puddle of ink

ink is important because obviously it is the basis of literature, the foundation of stories and fitting to my blog name, you dip the quill in the ink to write, to forge an adventure that tests the imagination and takes a reader to wonderful places and puddles because let's face it, ink is messy, ink is chaotic, just like me, my characters, and my writing and because through the looking glass is a very iconic title i also watched that movie in the cinema years ago, i took inspiration, and here we are now - this post is a reflection of me, the beautiful nightmares and writing gremlins that co-exist within my brain and a way for me to get to better know my mutuals, anyone and everybody on writeblr!

here comes the scary part - only for me, and my semi-awkward self - introducing myself, i've never been very good at this stuff so bear with me - and have mercy on my nervous soul,

for the longest time i've loved the sort of self-imposed anonymity of this blog, and don't get me wrong i still do adore my blog name but I thought it was about time I properly introduced myself, so, let me just shuffle some papers in the library of my mind, find the right phrasing for this and... (cue angry hitting of the keyboard) hello! my name is Erin and i'm a writer, a lover of chaos, and a semi-functioning tempest somehow existing within society - i love and ramble about lots of different things - books, shows, songs, you name it, i can waffle and sometimes i can waffle well (that is how i am now going to describe my writing, because it feels like it fits so well)

phew, i got that out, that tiny paragraph was a lot of effort (and i've beaten writers block more often than i can count)

this little post might not seem like much, but to me it's a lot, and i'm happy to have made it this far, and i'm so looking forward to continuing to grow alongside this blog and writeblr (i love you all, no seriously)

and now onto some very much needed rambling about my works, because there's a lot the lovely folk of writeblr are yet to know (and it will come, in time, but here's what i can say for now)

Ruin's Reprisal - we all know the tale of this, my oldest, most functioning (cough, using that term loosely) work - well, where to start? well, i'm on the final stage of proofreading, and once that's all done i'm hoping (let's be honest, dreaming,) to have the final draft complete and out in the great wide world come christmas/new year (that is a courageous goal, even for me, but who knows, maybe i can pull it off, just maybe)

A Deal Of Daggers - it's almost time for nanowrimo, which marks two years since the idea for this first came to me, and i cannot wait to spend autumn working on it (not that i am participating in nano properly this year, what with student-life obligations, but i'm going to write what i can) and i've been steadily chipping away with a few chapters already

those are my two main works, and probably the only works i've been focusing on over the last couple of months - and i've fallen completely and wholeheartedly in love with them all over again, as i do, every single time i open the files on scrivener

as far as my tired but over-eager to write brain can think this should be it for everything i wanted to include in this post until the next post (which won't be long, i can guarantee it),

~ Erin, A Girl and Her Quill, or whatever this hellscape would like to call me :)

~ ~ ~

now for the tag list! (i forgot to add it when i posted, oops!)

(p.s if you'd like to be included/notified too, interact with this post :))

@humbly-a-doppelganger @imawholeassmood @frostedlemonwriter @yrndrgn @abditorywriting

@riveriafalll @lead-to-code @casualsuitturtle @floweryprosegarden @joeys-piano

@catwingsathena @godsmostfuckedupgoblin @nothoughtsjustmhaandotherthings @anaisbebe

@drchenquill @leahnardo-da-veggie @tiredpapergirl @pastelpinkhobbies

[mcromwell]

Ayo! New follower here. I love your art and your mind set of just messing around to make cool stuff. but I’ve also seen you love been to at least one convention (I didn’t scroll far enough to see more about conventions) and I wanted to ask. How you did it? I really enjoy making art and I would love to make it a career so this boils down to :

how did you do it? And how can I do it too?

not just like first steps but what happens after that? I’m young enough that if this doesn’t work out I have plenty of time to look into other careers before worrying about paying for rent or necessities with money from my future occupation. I know that everyone’s experience is different but I still hoping you can give me a somewhat clear answer.

thank you for inspiring me

(sorry this ask was so long)

Hello there! Thank you for your message.

These questions are large and hard to answer. Being more specific in your questions helps. "How I did it" is very... large in scope. That question could be answered just by saying, "I did it by never wanting anything else and never losing sight of my goal." But that doesn't help you much. So I'll just try to touch on some key points and contexts.

I'm 32. Only in the last couple years has my practice been enough to make a living doing it. I've always wanted this and literally everything I've done in my life has been to get here. I've worked two jobs my entire working life (age 19-now): retail/customer service and art stuff on the side. Because of the pandemic, I got double unemployment and stimulus checks, which became my initial investment into merch and savings safety net to get started. I started therapy to address my fears of asking for help, my negative self-talk, and catastrophic thinking. (Therapy has helped me with my art so much.) Then I was laid off for real in 2020 and hit the ground running with art. I split rent with roommates, I live very very cheaply, and art is my passion. If art for a living is what you want to do and you're happy to make lots of concessions to get it, this career works. It takes a while to get momentum and regular sales/attention-- just don't quit. The more stuff you do the more people will recognize you and like your work.

It would be dishonest to not address my privilege here, too. My parents have always emotionally supported my practice, my friends too, and I got to go to art school with no debt. I did outside of school art mentorships. My art education experiences taught me a lot of art techniques and self-employed skills and that only happened due to the support of my folks. I had resources a lot of people don't. (Which is why I want to help new artists learn this stuff as much as I can; not everyone is as lucky as I am.)

My advice for you if you want to do what I do, which is being self-employed making and selling art and art merchandise for a living:

Get used to making concessions right at first. Your art career will probably not start out gangbusters, so get used to low sales and saving money and working hard. Make things within your means and grow from there.

Fuck around and find out. Try making merch, try making videos, try things you see other artists doing, try everything and see if it works for how you like to make stuff. I learn so much from YouTube, to be totally honest. Artists are good sharers.

Follow a shit ton of artists and see what works for them. Join artist groups and ask thoughtful, specific questions to learn from those already doing it.

Learn how to write about your art. Write about why you make it. It helps make it more compelling to others. "How to Sell Your Art Online" by Cory Huff is a good book to read for tips on this.

Develop a healthy relationship with art-making. If you sit down at a blank page and it terrifies you: address that first. Don't try to start a business if you're still struggling with making art regularly.

In fact, don't start a business until you're really ready. Art comes first. You can easily do art and build skills and do commissions and run an online shop along with working a job that pays bills reliably while you grow into the artist you're meant to be.

Don't pigeon-hole yourself into only one channel: don't JUST apply to cons, try street fairs too. Don't JUST sell online, get your work into cafes as well. You'll see which routes are more profitable/worth the time as you try them out. Eggs in many baskets, you know.

There's probably a whole essay I could write on this. And you're right--mileage varies between person to person vastly. The part of the world you live in, your access to transportation, education, your mental health, what type of work you like to make, etc. Art careers almost never look the same 1:1 even in fandom spaces like furry/anime. If you're self-made, it will reflect that.

I recommend the YouTube channels Rafi Was Here, Robin Sealark, Cat Graffam, and the website The Abundant Artist (again by Cory Huff) for more resources.

Don't be afraid to take leaps of faith. Try everything. Be true to what works for you and what doesn't feel sustainable. Be authentic with your art and stay true to your interests. And good luck.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

I am...a Professor

I've been on a bit of a faerie kick lately, and Emily Wilde is one of my favorite human protagonists for fae books. She is objectively bad at people, but that's not unusual for academics in general. As a recovering academic, the fact that this book is about how bananas field work can go just tickled me. If you squint, there are echoes of Evy Carnahan from The Mummy in this book, and between that and the wintery vibes, this book was just a delight to read. Let's talk Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

Emily Wilde is a career academic whose career has been stalled by the fact that she is...straight-up bad at peopleing. Her saving grace is the solidity of her scholarship, which is why she rocks up to a rented cottage in Hrafnsvik with no grad students and no sense of how to take care of herself while in in the field. Our girl cannot split wood and doesn't so much as know how to bank a fire to stop herself from freezing to death overnight. She also accidentally manages to offend every single one of her hosts and the village headwoman, so she is in very real danger of freezing or starving to death by like chapter three.

And then Wendell Bambleby shows up on her doorstep with a pair of grad students and charm to spare.

Y'all...without giving too much away in spoiler territory, can I just say that I adore how Emily and Wendell are essentially two complimentary halves? Emily is all hardcore scholarship, the scientific method, and goal-focused to the exclusion of other people. Wendell is all flash, showmanship, people skills, and innate knowledge. They would be THE academic power couple at Cambridge...except that right from the get-go, Emily is not shy about telling us the Wendell is kind of a dumpster fire of an academic. He objectively exploits his grad students (although they do get co-authorship on papers and he doesn't sleep with them, so he's already better than most of the horror stories I was aware of in academia), he blatantly falsifies his research to basically no consequences, and he's objectively less interested in the academics than in the clout and money that comes with being a world-renowned academic.

The problem is that faeries--their chosen academic subject--aren't known for hanging around Cambridge and popping into office hours for in-depth interviews. So Emily and Wendell are both well and truly out of their comfort zones doing research in a tiny, wintery village. And for all Emily is terrible at people, she is stunningly good at faeries. Brownies, small folk, and even a changeling don't give her pause, and at no point is Emily out of her depth in terms of knowledge--even if actual magic tends to trump KNOWING that you've been magicked.

While Emily, Wendell, and the other characters are what you read this book for, the faerie lore, setting, and sheer winter vibes are phenomenal. I also loved the journal format of this book more than I thought I would. First-person journal style novels (I could maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe justify calling this an epistolary novel, but that might be stretching the genre a little, since the perspective is pretty firmly limited to Emily, with only I think two interludes from Wendell) tend to either feel like there's a lot of distance between reader and character, since the story is literally mediated through multiple meta layers of textuality, or that there isn't enough distance between character and readers. Emily being bad at people means that the book leans toward more distance, but as you get to know her, that distance closes a little, and the understated, scientific tone honestly makes some of the more objectively emotional events hit weirdly harder than they might have otherwise. I think the writing style works brilliantly with Emily as a character, and honestly the whole thing reminds me a little of Olivia Atwater's Regency Fairy Tales in tone and mood.

I am loathe to offer any plot spoilers here, because frankly this book was excellent and I strongly recommend it. It's a very, very slow burn romance with fantastic lore and Emily is a compelling character on her own merits long before she realizes what book she's in. I am absolutely psyched for Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, and you will likely (eventually) get a review of that one from me as well. In the mean time, remember to be polite to you fae, bring gifts, and keep an eye on your mind just in case something decides to enchant you.

[drdemonprince]

It feels like there's been a sea change in just the last couple of years within online activist culture where behaviors that were once seen as social responsibilities (like calling out bigotry, especially if you were cishet/white/aligned with the dominant culture) are now mocked and looked down on as either "liberal" or just memeified and used as a punchline, like the "just say you hate women" thing. Now most of the time when someone is being a bigot online I see everyone saying to just mute/block and move on. And it's like...I thought we tried that and it didn't work and that's how we ended up with the alt right.

I know what a lot of people think of as "SJW" shit can be annoying, but this backlash feels reactionary and also like it's downplaying itself by framing people who challenge bigotry in public spaces as uncool and "cringe." Which isn't new behavior, but seeing it from folks who call themselves leftists is a bit disturbing. Especially when the alternative is just letting people say whatever they want and letting it pass by unremarked on. It feels like staying silent just normalizes those prejudices.

I don't personally see it this way, but I see why one would. I see a lot of people becoming more cognizant of leftist theory and tactics, and leaving behind a lot of concerns that, while they had certainly good reason to be concerned about online, were not tactically the most helpful to focus on. Even like, as you put it "bigotry" -- personally that is a word I notice I used more when I was in a more liberal mode of thinking, personally, and tended to think and act with a focus on individual hearts and minds, whereas now I care vastly more about power: who has it, who knows they have it, and how do we build it. I am more interested in addressing the power structures and our collective organizing goals so that we can develop more power together to destroy systems of injustice. My goal is no longer even to rid the world of bigots or bigotry so much as to eliminate the power of institutions that create racial injustice, pathologization of the mad, economic injustice, etc. And so: lots more blocking and moving on. Lots less fighting in comment sections. And a lot of that stuff when done well actually *is* deplatforming the bigots, anyway.

I think you have legitimate concerns as we've moved into the post-vibe-shift era. Some people have become reactionary edgelords or just revealed they always were. But on balance? I see radical leftist movements becoming a lot less easy to manipulate with bad faith liberal talking points and time-wasting distractions and a lot more focused on a shared ideology and desire to build power, and I think we even see that in how much more disruptive and effective our protests are getting.

[magpiemalarkey]

Been talking a lot about writing tools and sites here because of the news about NaNoWriMo picking up a terrible sponsor! Here's some more! I'm not sure there's any one program/app/site/tool/method that has ever worked for me consistently. I'm just sort of always looking for new tools to add to my collection, I guess. Here's a couple I've used at some point and will probably return to in the future.

750 Words : Recently moved to a 2.0 version. It's geared a little bit towards people that might use this for freewriting or journaling, but I've used it during a few different nanowrimos! 750 words is the number you have to reach for it to give you "full credit" for writing that day and I found that to be a decent chunk of writing without being overwhelming. It's very private, and it has some interesting metrics which can be fun to look at and some badges for achievements, lmao, but is otherwise a very stripped back experience, which can help if you need to avoid distractions. The new website is not as clear about this as the old, but this site does run on a subscription of $5/month or $50/year. (I was grandfathered in on the old version and never had to pay the subscription. Not sure if that will carry over to the new one) You do get a 30 day free trial to try it out though!

StimuWrite: This is a sort of word-processor program you can buy on itch.io. (Well, the base program is name your own price/free and some of the add-ons are like $2. It works on windows, mac, and linux!). It is like the polar opposite of 750 Words in terms of experience. 750 is stripped back and simple. StimuWrite is designed for folks with ADHD or other people whose brains cannot focus unless there is outside stimuli! There are visual themes and background colors to mess with! There's a soundscape! Do you like cafe background noises? They have that! Want to pretend you are writing on a beach? There's ocean noises! Need noises to happen when you type? You can have Ye Olde Typewriter Noises! Or bubbles! Or scribbling noises! Not enough stimuli? You can also have streams of emojis flutter up on the sides as you type! The more you type the more they go! These can all be turned on and off and adjusted to get just the right combo. Plus there are some additional themes and add-ons you can buy. I am partial to the clacky typewriter noises and sparkle emojis. It also functions as a word counter and let's you set a word goal (and will do a big splash of emojis for you when you hit that goal if you set that option lmao) Other than that, it does not have many word program functions, but you can always copy and paste your work into a fancier program to edit and format it. (which you may want to do anyway because it doesn't really have a save or load function, just an export function)

[klausinamarink]

writers 20 questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45 at the moment! I have a few more wips to post on the way so the number is going to go higher

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

130,657

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things. I’m looking to branch to other fandoms though like The Locked Tomb in the future

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Standup, You’re Never Too Much, Recapturing the Sunset, Just Another Flesh Wound, One Kid Gone, Another Up and Vanished

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! But not always as sometimes I immediately forget to reply and when I do, it’s a few weeks or a month later skkshdk forgive me

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Biting Back in Anger. It’s Eddie having a bad day and blowing up at Steve, who leaves trying not to cry :)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhh most of my fics have happy endings but I think I can nominate The Tinsel Tradition. It has Steve, Eddie, and Robin building a home together in NYC, healed and happy in every queer way!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope, thank god

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’ve been writing more smut recently and exploring some areas. I’m honestly gotten more comfortable though it’s still a challenge to get the right words without coming off as awkward lmao. but that’s Phil’s (@theheadlessphilosopher) job 🫶💜

10. Do you write crossovers?

I’m more of a fusion au writer who borrows the setting and elements and places my blorbos in there than a straight-up crossover. Unless that counts as a crossover? Those two terms are kinds confusing sometimes..

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

There are a couple folks who played around this idea with me but nothing concrete. Though I guess Phil’s beta work can count because he writes better lines and scenarios than me

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

You’re asking me, a Steddie blog—

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

oof. I have a TLOU steddie wip based on resande’s sketches, but it’s looking unlikely to be done because the person looking it as my beta reader over got busy with other things and I’ve lost the writing juice 😔

16. What are your writing strengths?

Many people tell me that I am very visceral with my descriptions, esp with horror, and setting the tension is top-notch 🥰 (I am a freak who loves gore and blood tehehehehe)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have too many ideas and a problem to actually write what I want that it comes off as juvenile to me. I also have a tendency to gloss over the editing of my fic which I’m trying to break out of.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I honestly don’t mind it at all. However, I do get taken right out of the story if the language is written literally (like kanji for Japanese, Cyrillic for Russian, etc.) and not romanized when the character is speaking because that’s not how it works

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warrior Cats. We all started our writing careers from that series at some point in middle school lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Noooo, I can’t pick favourites- I love them all equally. But FINE, I’ll say it would be When Life Gives You Pickles, Make It Into Soup. I wrote this as mostly self-indulgent because I LOVE pickle soup and is the best comfort food of all time. I think anyone making soup in general for their significant other if PEAK relationship goals because who doesn’t love soup?? Of course I had to Steddie-ify it

thanks to Devon for tagging me! Tagging others with no pressure: @thefreakandthehair @pearynice @3minsover @penny00dreadful @chaosgremlinmunson

@cranberrymoons @dies-somniator

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

New Edinburgh spreadsheet. I made a bunch of changes for a variety of reasons, including, I learned that I'll have other opportunities to get the Guy Williams, Greg Larsen, and Sara Pascoe shows, so I replaced them with people I won't. Harriet Kemsley and Chris Cantrill are streaming on NextUp so I replaced them too. The goal here is to maximize volume of shows seen so I can have the broadest possible picture of what they all are. That is definitely the best way to consume art, right? That's what you're supposed to do, with art?

(There are exceptions, I've heard the Nish Kumar and Mark Watson and Sarah Keyworth and Tom Ballard shows before because they've recorded early versions in various places, but I like them enough to be willing to pay to be in a room with those people and hear it again.)

I was also pleased to see NextUp are also filming Amy Gledhill, Catherine Bohart, and Milo Edwards, as they were on my list as well, but didn't get onto my schedule for whatever reason (in Gledhill's case, because she arrives after I leave). And some other people. NextUp isn't filming as much this year as they did last year, unless they end up announcing a lot more. I watched 21 NextUp streams from Edinburgh 2023, and there were a whole lot that I didn't watch. So far, they've only announced 18 from 2024. I might just watch all of them this year. Or most of them. I'll give Tony Law a miss. Not sure I could sit through a whole hour of Jessie Cave. Not a big fan of Daliso Chaponda either. But I'll probably watch the rest.

Before, I had two issues of booking no time between shows, because they were in the same building and I hadn't factored in the separate rooms, so I thought they were in the same venue and one couldn't run into the other. I've solved one of those problems by replacing Guy Williams with Mat Ewins, which I think was good, because Mat Ewins is one of those comedians I keep reading is very very good, but I watched his TV special and didn't get much out of it, I don't think he translates well to recordings. You have to be in the room for it, so I guess I'll take this rare opportunity to be in a room with him and see what that's like. I still have the issue of Kiri Pritchard-McLean running into Sophie Duker. They're both shows that I really want to see, and neither fits into the schedule anywhere else, so my current plan is to just sit at the back of both rooms and hope those rooms are near each other so I can get from one to the other. Worst comes to worst I guess I miss Sophie's show and it is likely to get filmed at some point, probably. But hopefully it's fine. Constantly checking the time as I get anxious that this show will run too long and I'll miss the next one - that's the best way to consume art, right?

I think the rest of it's okay, though. For every other situation where there's half an hour or less time than that between the end of one show and the start of the next, they're either in the same venue, or in venues that are a fairly short walk apart. That hopefully leaves room for even if one venue runs a bit behind or a show runs long, though I guess I'll see how well that actually works out. I'm aware of the possibility that I might miss some stuff. I am currently mentally preparing myself for the possibility that I might miss some stuff. It is possible that the fact that I have been creating this trip in my mind for four years, and actively planning this specific one for a year, is putting too much pressure on the situation. It is fine, I know it's not the end of the world if things go wrong. That probably actually is the best way to consume art. Which is a shame, because out of all things I've claimed in this post about my mentality toward Edinburgh, that's the only one where I'm lying.

I added some music things at the end of a couple of nights. The last time I was at a festival like this - a really big one that goes all over the place - was Celtic Colours, a Celtic folk festival (mainly music, but they also had cultural events and stuff, I think my mother learned to make a quilt, my dad and I were just there for the music) in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I've been there a couple of times, the last time I went was in 2019, it was fucking amazing, one of the best weeks of my life. We saw a bunch of incredible concerts for which we'd carefully planned and bought tickets, but my dad and I talked after the festival, and found that for both of us, if we were pressed to pick our top favourite memory from the week, it was a night spent at the Red Shoe Pub in Mabu, Cape Breton. It was a pub that has live Celtic music all the time, not just during the festival, we just showed up there on a couple of nights, and got to have some food while listening to local people who'd brought their own instruments and used the pub's piano, and it was like nothing we have at home, it was so much fun.

I saw that there's a pub in Edinburgh that advertises live Celtic music throughout the Fringe Festival but also just has live Celtic music all year-round, doesn't require booking tickets or anything, thought it might be fun, so I left a couple of nights open to just go to that pub, in case that also turns out to be a surprise highlight. There's every chance that it'll turn out to be so overcrowded I can't even get in and/or not enjoyable at all, but that's fine, if that turns out to be the case then going back to the Air B&B and getting some extra sleep probably won't be the worst thing I could do.

I put music in brown and comedy in yellow. I think that's about the balance I want. Couple of music things because I can't be a lifelong Celtic music fan who goes to Celticland for the first time and doesn't see music. Mainly comedy. Probably not enough time for, you know, the activities of daily living.

I think that might actually be the final version of the spreadsheet. It has a few more people I don't know well on it than the previous versions, all people I've looked up and think look good and had some reason for booking them, but figured I should take a few more chances as that's what you do at festivals. I might have overbooked. But I'd rather overbook than underbook. I have all that plus I got ridiculously lucky with what's playing in London while I'm there - Daniel Kitson, Brynley Stent, Desiree Burch, and a Nish Kumar WIP, obviously, because otherwise I wouldn't be booked to see Nish Kumar enough times. It's not like I've heard enough versions of Nish Kumar yet (I'll be honest: I've already heard a lot of versions of Nish Kumar's current material, and I'm nowhere near sick of it, he may have written a perfect stand-up show).

I've sorted out my itinerary for London, too. And the couple of Scottish Highland days in between London and Edinburgh. Got my British cash. I think I have everything. I'm leaving in nine days. Still doesn't feel like a real thing. I've spent so much time going all over Edinburgh and London and Fort William and Mallaig in Google Earth street view, but it feels like I'm playing the Sims. It's not a real place.