#hopefully this answers your question well!!

[creatingblackcharacters]

I finished watching a YouTube video about representation and if it really matters. And I have to ask, why don't people ever throw this question at white men? They understand the ethics of showing 'your kind' on screen even if they pretend not to.

Also just because it is 'badly written' or you personally don't like it doesn’t mean it's 'forced diversity'. Not everything is going to have good writing or be mainstream popular. Even the 'mid' stuff just can't be considered good representation for some reason.

Just to cover my bases before someone dishonest shows up. Yes, I do understand that bad writing can disort discussions on topics but let's not pretend that's the real issue.

Sorry for ranting, I figured this was a good blog to ask about this phenomenon. Hopefully I'm not the only one seeing this play out. I look forward to yours and everyone's thoughts.

I might send some more asks about this topic later after I have collected my thoughts some more.

Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful day~♡

White Fragility- Robin diAngelo

I will say, this was more of a rant than a question 😅 As for the question that was in there, you answered it yourself.

"They understand the ethics of showing 'your kind' on screen even if they pretend not to".

I've addressed this numerous times amongst my lessons, but one of the core issues of media AND society is that we don't address whiteness as Whiteness, we address it as "normal". "Default". We treat the white experience as though it is the Way life is, and everything else is a difference. Because they know when they're not on screen lmao, they make it a racist point every single damn time 😅. They just don't call it like it is!

It's why many white people (TRUST, it's the women too) are insulted when you point out that they are just as attached to their whiteness as I am to my Blackness. It plays just as much of a role!! We just don't use those words because they're "uncomfortable"; they reference an existing power structure that we're not supposed to talk about. "Race doesn't matter"- meanwhile their unacknowledged whiteness runs every aspect of their life- including their perception of media!

So when there is a "loss" 🙄 of white characters, it goes off as an alarm bell. They don't see it as "representation matters", because for them, that's what's supposed to be on screen! That's what makes the most sense to begin with! You don't have to ask about what's normal! Representation is for those who are "different", but that difference gets rid of "normal". And if you're going to change what's "normal", then it HAS to be good! Because we can accept mediocre white men being mediocre, but when you mess up the normal and introduce people of color, well... Them being mediocre is bad because it "wasn't" bad when it was the mediocre white men!

[meanbossart]

Hellow

I was catching up with the latest chapters of ANE before reading The Spice™️ and I was reminded of how well you build and describe the environment surrounding your characters. Which prompts me to ask:

1 Do you have any drawings/sketches of landscapes and places from ANE that you can/would like to share?

2 Any advice for someone (me) that isn’t really good at putting their characters in places? I always end up with either a ‘too crowded’ or a ‘too barren’ of a setting.

Thank you for reading and hopefully answering my questions byee:3

Hello!!

Thank you! I have no idea what I'm doing so I'm glad I'm able to paint a good enough picture 😅

I do have two VERY simple sketches of the house of blood/the compound that I made to compare against my boyfriend's mental picture of it, basically to see how well I had been able to describe it since it's by far the most challenging area to put down into text.

(everything is very boxy and not exactly the ideal proportion, but again, this was a very simple sketch I made to "aid" the descriptions rather than for it to stand on its own at all) Here you see the "apple core" of the hive with the drow settlement and all the precarious platforms that interconnect and spring out of it. The cabins you see are sometimes two stories high so the area us actually quite big! Which is how Do'zynge is able to walk across the support-beams on the underside of said platforms even though he's rather large for a drider. The catwalk pictured can be moved up and down to connect people to different floors a little faster.

Here's a similar sketch based off of an specific scene, this one focuses more on the walkways built into the walls. I'm not sure why I huddled the doors together so much, they should definitely be more spaced out.

Also, while I used the same shorthand for everything, the spawn living spaces are all wood and stone - from the doors to the floor and railings. While the drow settlement (where Dalyria is too) is mostly metal and well structured tents.

For your second question, that's rough because I am also never quite satisfied with my descriptions 😂but I think that's a part of it; you need to make peace with the fact that you will NOT be able to paint a perfect picture, and think of the whole process as less of a job that you must do alone, but rather a collaboration between you and the reader's own creativity! You have to be willing to put some of the onus on them to imagine what it is you're trying to transcribe, instead feeling under the obligation of giving them exact descriptions for every little thing.

I try to use words that evoke a specific style and mood - say that the room is ornamental, warm, say that it's all golden and red and six sentences from now mention that the couch your character sat in is velvety. Reveal things as they come into relevance instead of interrupting the pace for two entire paragraphs to describe the room your characters just walked into - when appropriate, consider what they would even pay attention to at all and maybe limit yourself to it. Set a rough base for your environment at the start of a scene and then sprinkle descriptors in throughout the prose, and always consider if you truly NEED to get into the specifics of something or if the reader can be left to their own imaginative devices.

Also, unless necessary or some sort of plot device, I find that trying to establish where things are in a room (doors, furniture, stairs) in a map-like manner is a waste of time. Just say "behind him", "to her left", "right ahead", I don't think being overly specific benefits anybody - your reader picturing this set of stairs facing the west rather than the east is unlikely to be consequential to your narrative.

That being said, don't shy away from pointing "unnecessary" things out when they help set a mood, or help in characterization. Way early in ANE there's a scene where DU drow walks into the room where him, Astarion, and Shadowheart have been staying and are now about to leave, he takes note of the fact that one of them made the bed - he doesn't say who, besides that it wasn't himself, but I put that there to hopefully establish from early on that one character's priorities had started to change. In the compound, Dalyria is described as collecting useless things she found in the underground and displaying them around the office - this, on top of her new look, outfit, and company should paint a picture. Irennor's living situation should say all there is to know about him, and the way DU drow dismantles his belongings after only what is immediately valuable instead of considering the historical significance of anything says something about him, too. That's my favorite way of setting scenes, by finding out how to say something about the people in it.

[cokoweee]

COKO- DLKJFKADHKFDAKFHADFDSFDSKJFDKLFDHAK

COKO.

Youuuuu magnificent artist you-

This update- .... THIS FRIGGIN' UPDATE-

LET'S BEGIN. First off- THIS IS GORGEOUS. It amazes me how uniform and clean your art can be- while also being whimsical and naturally flowy. The shades of purples just add the perfect touch of depth and life- And then the contrast of the gray with the characters and the white of the snow and smoke?- AMAZING.

Next.

Despite Donnie's brain becoming his worst enemy right now, he's still pushing past it to make sure Kendra's okay and not accidentally harming herself. Her being both drunk and sickly, he's making sure to keep an eye on her like a good boyfriend would.

With this exchange we also hear that Kendra's fever had come back hours ago during the party- This poor girl can't get a health break if her life depended on it. :(

I love that even though Donnie has indeed grown in terms of emoting and feeling again, he still has those classic deadpanned lines. When I read his first line in this panel, it was deadpan. (I think his expression also hints at this haha).

Kendra continues on for a bit about how the alcohol helps her to forget. But with all the years that she has been drinking, it NEVER WORKS. "You always remember though.." But then, after saying such a fact, she immediately contradicts herself stating emphatically "..I know that for sure I for one WON'T." Perhaps it's Big Mama's drinks flowing through her system that makes her think she definitely won't remember what happened. "I'll forget yesterday.. today.."

And then Donnie asks the question every fan is DYING to know the answer to:

"Is that why you did it?"

When Kendra kissed Donnie- was she somewhat in control of her actions? Was there feeling and connection smothered deep underneath the waves of alcohol? Was the drink poisoned? Did it mess with Kendra specifically to make her kiss him?

DOES SHE TRULY LOVE HIM?

Donnie is physically shaking with anticipation, anger, mourning, all the feelings he desperately doesn't want to feel. he begins to interrogate Kendra on why she did it. GET SOME ANSWERS. Prove him he's wrong.

"Big Mama made you do it, right? That's why you want to forget it..."

And then Kendra drunkenly but simply replies, "Do you want me to remember it?"

And what's Donnie's response? Will he yell at her to "JUST FORGET IT-" and storm off? Will he go silent and try to weasel his way out of all these emotions flying high in the air and in his heart?

No. He does the unexpected. He tells her straight out- "I WANT YOU TO REMEMBER OUR FIRST KISS." He says it with such emphasis, such passion and gusto, that it completely takes Kendra by surprise... And then, just as Donnie admits his true feelings, he freezes and backtracks. "Ah- Wait-" It's terrifying to tell someone such heartfelt emotions you have for them. It's terrifying because you have no idea if you'll be accepted or rejected. "I mean- Scratch what I said!" (I can't give you an opening to hurt me- I can't be vulnerable with you- I can't I can't I can't)

After Donnie speaks, Kendra begins to move her hand closer to his. Not enough to touch- but extremely close. She is slowly but steadily showing him to not be afraid of her. Don't be afraid of feeling. I won't hurt you.

(ALSO HER NAILS?? LIKE BRO?? THEY LOOK SO GOOD WHAT THE SHELL-)

... And then her nose ruins it. XD (Seriously, honey, GO INSIDE IT'S COLDER THAN A SNOWMAN'S CORE OUT THERE.)

Now we see Donnie immediately and instinctively protecting his mate friend- handing her his own shirt to keep her warm in the chilly air. Forget their earlier conversation- she's still sick, and her health is priority over some dumb dumb feelings.

Walking back into the hotel room to hopefully find more medicine for his sick girlfriend, he grips down on his wildly wagging tail, once again trying to mask over the fact that he's never been happier in his life. We also can't see his expression very well throughout these panels- if not at all. I really like this. It's almost as if when you can't see him, he's forcefully disassociating, not allowing anyone, (including the reader) to see what's going through his mind and heart.

And when Donnie leaves, Kendra watches him. <3 And then not long after...

... She joins him inside.

DKLFJADKFHAHFKHDSKFH

COKO THIS UPDATE- THIS UPDATE-

You did what so many tv shows and movies and fics don't. HAVE THE TWO LOVE INTERESTS TALK ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS without any need for intimate touching, kissing, etc. They just stand in the cold and talk it out.

.. AND I LOVED IT. :)

You did an amazing job on this update, dude. Seriously. This was some really good dialogue and writing and art and I loved every second of it. :)

Good luck with the next chapter thingy! You got this!

Remember to drink water and see what the sun looks like!!

~ Melissa

OKAY IVE GOT TWO OF YALL WITH LONG ASKS SO I GOTTA SPACE EM OUT

So with that line “you always remember though” was meant to be read with the you emphasized but my jittery brain was blanking last night. Seeing it now that I’m awake I’m glad I left it like that cause she doesn’t know if she’ll forget or not.

Donnie without anything in his system, no voices to hear, makes him really start to slip up. Do things, say things without fully planning it through. His hearts being plastered on his sleeve rather than staying where it can’t be ripped away.

I left the update pretty bare/practically empty of any thoughts the two are having. If I showed them these panels would be stuffed to hell but yall are filling in the blanks nicely. You and Kiku have your analysis, lil bird pickings of updates and it always get me goofy happy agegrgquahahhe

Also I’m grabbing a bagel, the morning summons

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 55

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Grian's pov*

You sigh in relief, that was close... too close, you almost had to think about some of the stuff you really don't want to aknowledge.... Hopefully Joel doesn't get funny ideas from that.

Sure, you might have gotten a slight bit attached to one mortal...or two...but it's just more fun this way! Yes! Nothing more to it. Nothing at all... And well you don't need to justify yourself to him anyway! Who is he to question you? ... Outside of like being the literal sky.

You are digging your metaphorical hole deeper at this point.

...

ANYWAY, It's time to go back to your vessel now, It's been a long enough time that it shouldn't be too weird for you to wake up... Well it might still be but at this point you are too bored to care.

You just give it a bit of a push and you open your eyes.

Ugh, It's way too bright in here and now that you are back inside the body the pain has somewhat returned, going to have to fix that at one point tll. You never understood why humans were made to be so fleshy and weak and sickly in the first place...

You push yourself up on the medical bef, the muscle mass in the arms is mostly intact with minimal athropy luckily, the legs are pretty much the same so not an horrible state by mortal standards at least... The door to the room opens, It's a nurse... She seems shocked to see you awake, she quickly dashes to your bedside to check on some monitors near you...then after a few minutes of questions that you really didn't care about she nods and leaves to make a call...

Soon after Cub burst trough the door, covered from head to toe in water.

"Grian? I was told you were up."

"That I am ..."

You should probably be asking questions right, they think you have been unconcious for the last week or so.

"... What happened? The uh nurse that found me when I woke up didn't explain much."

There! Perfect! Now he thinks you are clueless and your divinity is once more kept secret, good job you!

"You ...got shot protecting Hotguy from a sniper"

"And how long was I...?"

"Oh just... A bit more less then two weeks"

"Hmm."

...

The silence that follows is akward, you just want to get this over with so you can leave and the two of you barely know eachother... You really want to ask about what the associations current plans are for you but you can't just ask that, you already made Cub suspicious with the blood samples way before everything went down...

...Ok maybe you can phrase it in a non-suspicious way, It's a better option then laying on the bed for who knows how long.

"So... What now?"

"Uh?"

"Can I like ...leave now?" That should sound earnest enough hopefully.

"What?"

Cub is not the expressive type, you have gathered that from the little you have seen of him. This is not an exception, he just tilts his head before giggling a bit, you really can't tell if It's genuine or not.

"Grian, you just woke up from a coma you- you can't just...you can't just get up and leave."

"Oh..."

Well then, you messed it up, he's -

"Where would you even get that idea? Is that something you have done before? Wake up from a possibly life ending injury and just leave?"

There is a right answer is. . . You don't know what that is, you have no clue what he wants you to say. So you do a bit of gambling.

"Yes yes, many times, all the time"

His smile falters a bit, this somehow feels more like genuine confusion or thought...he just looks at you, did you say the wrong thing? You should have just done the mind reading trick... No, you gave yourself a challenge, if you just used all your powers this wouldn't be any fun anymore.

...

He doesn't even say anything else he just keeps looking, you tilt your head a bit and it seems to bring him back.

"Right... Well, I'll be speaking with the medical staff then."

"Sure."

He slowly gets up and after a few seconds goes to open the door and leave... He stops just as he reaches for the door.

"And Grian?"

"Yeah?"

"Scar is worried, should -"

"Tell him to come by."

"Alright"

And like that he's gone.

*End of Chapter 10*

[vvickydisc]

what’s been your fave ribbun stories? by that i mean what are the kinda you like seeing!

ah... oh wow this is a difficult question!! i actually don't read alot of ribbun fics (if thats what you meant by stories) of course the most notable classic ribbun fic i like is Acetate Ribbun! the first ribbun fic ive read was Distraction, Distraction, Just To Avoid Abstraction (Explicit) and i must have liked it so much because i saved/downloaded it the one ive been keeping my eyes out for is A shattering begins with a single crack (Explicit) seems promising to me! my enjoyment of ribbun is pretty self-indulgent as most ships are! so i dont have a ground-breaking analyzation of what i like about their relationship :c please feel free to suggest ribbun fics to me!!

[raven-cl]

They got married everyone, clap and cheer !!

[charles-leclerc-official]

So what are your rare pairs?

Ohhh there are so many good rare pairs in F1. I would consider something to be a rare pair with under 200 works in the fic tag (just roughly this is not science here)

Here's my list of the ones that give me the most brainrot

Maxcar - obsessed with them Choscar - underrated and underappreciated to a criminal level Bryan/Charles - I MEAN Gax - a classic Oscmark - I have no defense for myself sue me

Maxcar right now has been the one chewing up my brain as far as rare pairs go. Idk something about them makes the rpf go brrrrr

I have a feeling next year I will be well into the Chewis insanity, but I need to see them as teammates I think for that to fully kick in

[measureyourlifeincake]

just took an adhd assessment and... i honestly dont see how this will be sufficient for giving me a diagnosis? i just had to take two tests, one where i had to hit the space bar when hearing a high pitch after a low pitch (as opposed to after *just* hearing the high pitch), and one where a bunch of letters flashed on the screen and i had to hit the space bar when any of them except for x popped up and like... i don't see how this has anything to do with any of the issues i actually experience in my life due to my probable adhd???? like ok i guess it has something to do with focus? which is a part of the whole adhd thing but not all of it? i did take a (very brief) adhd questionnaire as one of my intake forms before seeing this psych for the first time but that wasn't part of the assessment itself but even that (which was only like. 15 questions? maybe?) seemed like it had more to do with how i experience adhd

[skyward-floored]

Hey! Here's a HDW question that's been stuck in my head and maybe you've got ideas on: how common are dragons, exactly, and if there's more than two of them, do they have social structures that look like Humans / Hylians? Or are they more like, big territorial lizards who don't share living space? Or some in between situation like when you see a bunch of turtles piled up on a sunny log and they aren't interacting, but neither do they really mind being stacked next to other turtles. And then all of that question is build up to: if Link'd had more contact with Volga (and maybe dragons generally) what would a draconic childhood look like?

*eagerly rubs my hands together* hehehe, worldbuilding questions >:D

So I don’t know how common dragons are unfortunately, since in Hyrule warriors Volga seems to be the only one. They appear to be fairly rare in other zelda games too though, so I would guess that Volga is one of very few. I won’t entirely discount the existence of others though, who’s to say there aren’t more hiding around other places in Hyrule? (...that might be interesting to explore actually hmmm *makes note*)

Anywho, I’m thinking Volga is more like you said with the turtles, where he prefers his space (maybe a bit territorial?) but also doesn’t mind being around other people/dragons/etc. But he definitely has territory he’s protective of too I think.

I don’t totally know what his childhood would be like living with dragon(s), I haven’t thought about it much! A lot of focus on learning how to fight I’d think, and hunt probably, though since Link is only half dragon it might be a bit different. Also figuring out what Link is capable of, and learning how to use it well, whatever it may be.

I uh, don’t know much else of what it would be like XD though Link would probably spend a lot of time hanging around Gorons since they also seem to live in the caves. He’d probably thrive a lot more too since he’s surrounded by all that warmth, and actually knows who he is from a young age.

Just learns to do things unique to him a lot better I’d think.

[bookwyrminspiration]

What’s your theory on Brant?

It's regarding his last name and why it's redacted in the Registry. People knew Brant before he joined the Neverseen, so his last name can't be a secret. Edaline and Grady certainly have to know it, and others must remember, even if it's not in the registry

So why redact it? I've wondered whether Brant's last name was changed to Ruewen sometime in the last 16/17 years. Edaline and Grady adored him and he was going to become part of the family, and even though the wedding didn't happen they were still looking after him. Perhaps as a way to honor Jolie's wishes and what would have been, they gave him their name

Then, once everything was revealed, perhaps they took it back, which is why it would be redacted retroactively. It's not redacted because they don't know it, but because they don't want to be tied to him anymore.

There is, of course, the possibility instead that he's simply family of someone important--e.g. a councillor or something, and so they're trying to hide that connection. But I'm rooting for him to be a Ruewen because I think that would be. Quite emotionally poignant :)

[sharkian-fics]

what r ur fave things to write?

Well, I guess one thing that goes without saying is that I like writing scarian nsfw, yeah?

Anything more than that though, hmmm. I'm not sure how...specific to get with this, lmao. What exactly you're lookin for. If anything. I dunno. Just gonna ramble here I guess.

One thing I love writing is dialogue. And writing it between scar and grian is something I adore doing. It can be so fun, just writing them bantering. I think the most fun I had with writing their dialogue was when writing both oh, won't you join me? and you fuck a guy and suddenly he threatens to kick you out. They were an absolute delight to write.

As for actual content of the writing...I quite like writing trans characters, especially trans grian, though I've got one fic out with trans scar and there's two more in the works. I also like writing grian being a dumbass about his feelings for scar, though established relationship/them being soft and domestic is always fun too.

Also...fluff. Just. In general. I am a sucker for fluff. Writing and reading it.

[thats-a-lot-of-cortisol]

companion!tav questions

General 3, 11

Story 8, 17

Romance 7

for Diodore! (I love that name it's fun to say)

Ooh, several questions! This'll be a bit of a long one lol (and thank you!!)

General:

3. Does she have any comments or advice when you recruit other companions?

Shadowheart: "It's not...common for a cleric to obscure their deity. I suppose I can't begrudge her commitment to secrecy."

Lae'zel: "She reminds me of my aunt... I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Astarion: "Gods, rogues [eye roll]. His dagger skills had better match his audacity."

Gale: "...Is that what all wizards are like topside?"

Wyll: "I can respect an idealist. We need someone to bring up the mood around here."

Karlach: "Oh...oh my. [Clears throat] She seems nice!"

Halsin: I can't for the life of me think of a specific line but it would be something trying (and failing) to keep cool and not show how excited she is about him officially joining the team lol. She'd be asking him a lot of questions about Surface flora and fauna in the "walking around" random dialogue.

Minthara: "She may not be a thrall of the Absolute anymore, but that doesn't mean we should bare our backs to her. Tread carefully."

Jaheira: "[Whispers] Am I supposed to recognize her? Did I miss something?"

Minsc: "Some people have a devil on their shoulder, some have a rodent. I guess."

11. Are there any moments in the game that trigger unique dialogue for her?

A few things might:

She would have a couple lines wondering why a Baenre would join the Absolute after you meet Minthara.

She talks about remembering her father mention the Society of Brilliance after you meet them in the Underdark.

She reacts...a bit badly when you meet Karn'iss and explains her own fears about becoming a drider if you talk to her afterwards, as long as your approval is high enough (moderate or higher). If you didn't get certain details in Act I, you would get them at that point.

(idk if this is what the question meant? But uh hopefully I covered it.)

Story:

8. Does she have comments on who Tav chooses to spend the night with?

For sure. For low-normal approval, she'd make a snarky comment about it and move on quickly. For moderate & higher approval she'll ask about it in an attempt to be supportive ("this is what friends do, right? This is what bonding looks like?") but if you try and give her details she gets embarrassed and backs off.

17. If romanced, how does she react to the Dark Urge trying to kill her in Act 2?

Pausing for a moment to process wtf is happening and then getting very matter-of-fact. She'd talk them through it logically, trying to keep them grounded, except for the last bit before the last saving throw, where she'd accidentally show how scared and concerned she is for them. She would very purposefully place a hand on their shoulder, arm, etc. throughout to try and reach them and show that she's not scared of them (whether or not that's true). Durge would get her Aura of Protection bonuses on their saving throws. Lots of "hey, hey, look at me"-s.

Romance:

7. What questions can Zethino ask Tav about her in the Love Test?

I'm assuming this means from the pre-existing bank of questions she asks from? I got these from the love test ask game/master post(?) that veilkeeper posted.

What, if anything, do they miss most about their home?

When they die, what will be their legacy?

What is the worst thing they've ever done?

Typically, she would approve of honest, straight-forward answers and disapprove of answers that are clearly flattery or that she views as being too sugar-coated.

The questions are from this ask game!

[spearxwind]

I there anybody who might have seen Talas in his Big Eel form but never makes the connection to him in his mer form...? (I just had a really funny mental image of somebody telling a story about seeing 'The Emperor' that Talas overhears, but this person is just too dumb/unobservant to do 1+1=2 with him RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM. Cue the highjinks of Talas being completely ????? about this person and being a bit meh about eating them because somebody that dumb can't really be a threat, but letting them go would be risky...)

Love Challenger Deep!!! Such a cool world!!! Have a good day!

Okay so this is a great question, there's a bunch of layers to the answer to it. I will say its probably not the funnies you're expecting though, so sorry about that x)

The reason why Talas kills people out at sea and sinks their ships is SPECIFICALLY because they have seen him, and thus would be able to make the connection that he's the emperor if they were to see him on land. If he finds out a crew saw him he will go out of his way to eliminate them. It's pretty common knowledge that seeing the emperor means certain death, so it WOULD take a really stupid person to brag about it because a) either he's just lying for clout or b) he did see it and death is Fucking Coming for him.

If Talas heard that from someone, he would first try to find our if said person ACTUALLY saw him, because if they didnt then it would not matter a lot (sailors talk about tall tales all the time) and your proposed hijink situation would happen where Talas is right there and obviously knows this person is lying, and he would probably be entertained hearing what lies they're telling about him. Maybe he'd even throw in a lie of his own just cause

But if he found out they DID see him for real and just hadnt put 2+2 together yet then he would think that must have been a mistake on his part (letting someone who saw him go accidentally) and that would make them a HUGE liability. And he would kill them for it.

Talas is also not a good person.

He has killed people for way less. He also does not need an excuse to eat someone other than "I'm hungry and you're in my immediate vicinity", so if he does have an excuse for it You Bet He Will.

[punch-love]

Sorry you're not feeling well today 😕 have some distraction

66, 67, 70, 81, 91

(Just scrolled to a random spot and found questions lol)

66. when have you felt the most confident in your writing? 

I think whenever I complete the final draft, and I'm re-reading and getting engaged by my own story. It's so easy to get disconnected from a piece of writing while you're actually writing it, but when I re-read and something I wrote makes me laugh or moves me or turns me on, it's like - that's it. I'm a picky reader and I think when I can make myself my own audience it makes me feel very confident as a writer. I also feel confident whenever someone has an intense emotional or physical reaction to something I've written.

67. when have you felt the least confident?

When I'm writing something and I'm bored. I write with an undercurrent of wanting the reader to be engaged, so when I, myself, am not engaged in what I'm writing I feel like what I'm writing is dead. I also struggle with side plots sometimes, so writing can feel like a juggling act where I can keep characters and dialogue in the air, but I keep on dropping the actual narrative plot.

70. are you very critical of your own writing? how much do you find yourself editing (either during the writing or after the fact)?

I often get told I'm very hard on myself but I don't think that's necessarily true when it comes to my writing. I would say I'm a critical editor - I won't publish something unless it is, to me, technically perfect and technical perfection requires a very lengthy editing process. I like to edit, though, so to me, it's like a type of restoration. I know that what I have is valuable, and the polishing and buffing process is what makes it really shine. I do edit a lot though, everything I write goes through multiple drafts, a beta edit, and then after I post it, a desperate mobile edit as all of my grammatical errors suddenly make themselves known to me. I like it though, it's my favorite part of the writing process hands down.

81. if you could go back in time and give your younger self a piece of writing advice specific to you, what would it be?

I would tell them to transfer all of their files to google drive instead of relying on word docs because that's how I lost all of my high school writing. I'd also tell them that their strength is in writing about violent, uncomfortable, profane things and that just because the people around them want them to write about happier, more "traditionally girlie" writing that our gift just happens to be weird violent shit, and that's okay. I think I'd also tell my younger self that just because something makes people uncomfortable, doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to exist.

91. how has your writing style changed over the years?

I used to write primarily scripts because I wasn't confident in my prose but was very confident in my dialogue, specifically my sense of humor. I think as I got older, I started working more with exposition and heavy imagery and then, eventually, combining the two. I think in the past I thought I could either write something funny (dialogue heavy) or something serious (exposition heavy) and now I try to do both. I also think I have a much better flow.

[massivementalitynut]

Hello <3 💐

1. What are your top 3 Jjk characters and why? 2. Please pick a specific scene from an anime/general media/book that you wish you could have been present in and why. 3. Is there a character you dislike but identify with anyway?

Hello :D! My, what an interesting set of questions. I was struggling with how detailed to answer them but figured I would go with the flow and see what happens XD

My top 3 JJK characters are: Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru and Nanami Kento. My surface level reasons are because I find them visually attractive, love hearing their voices and seeing them beat the shit out of enemies. On a deeper level... each of these fine young men were dealt a deck that was stacked against them and I am fascinated with how each played their cards so differently (Satoru raising the next generation to replace the old generation, Suguru defecting to erase non sorcerers and Nanami leaving but coming back). Despite their differences, they all share commonalities (They care about the younger jujutsu sorcerors and became guardians/mentors to them).

Specific moments that really cement them in my top three would be when Gojo reels back from sorcerer mode and simply treats others like a doting figure (the baseball game and playing with Rika at the beach giving gifts to the kyoto students). Geto not being afraid to show his love for others in public (his interactions with the girls and still calling Gojo by his first name :') plus being willing to part from the familiar to go down a new path. Nanami bearing the brunt of a soul sucking job and still taking the time to help others (baker girl and Yuuji) his 'what it means to be an adult' speech still echoes in my head as I age :'3

Okay, this is my favourite question out of this bunch! (because it really caters to my self insert tendencies lol x3)

Anime: Shokugeki No Soma during the Moon Banquet Festival scene so I can try all that amazing food XD (Specifically, the time fuse mapo curry noodles <3)

General Media: I would have loved to have been present during the paintball contest in Community (TV Series) because I have never been in one and think it would be so much fun >w<

Book: Okay, I was not sure what type of book you were referring to so I just picked a manga (my fav non manga books aren't really places I wanna be present in hahaha ':D). I choose Blue Period during the festival (yes another festival but for art!) in the first year university arc. Seeing their creations in person would be even more breath taking I think ^-^... and maybe accidentally bump into Yakumo Mirai to which we then see if there is chemistry ;3c (Hey, you know I had to include at least 1 romantic self insert moment in this answer section XD!)

Hm.. It doesn't happen often and doesn't last long but years ago, I disliked Nagito Komaeda from the Danganronpa Franchise but I identified with his belief in the cycle of good luck/bad luck. It was only after the game and additional content that my belief in that waned and my feelings for him grew (yeah, I fell in love with him .////.;). Fun fact: He was the only character out of the cast that I was able to strengthen bond/affection lvls to the max without a guide 'xD

[being-serious-off-main]

what do you mean when you say you have/don’t have spoons?

oh it’s a metaphor it’s saying. it’s saying like the spoons are like how much energy you have (2 spoons: a little energy, 7 spoons: solid amount of energy) and it’s like how many spoons it takes to do a certain task, it can vary by day. for me some days it only takes a spoon or two to brush my teeth, but other days it takes five. it’s just a helpful way for me to convey stuff and like be able to explain how i’m feeling a bit easier (: