#there might be something lifechanging for me as well there

[lazer-cannon-deth-sentence]

I said something about trigun being lifechanging and somebody immediately asked "old one or new one" and I cannot stress enough how MUCH I don't want to start this conversation

[merchelsea]

took care of my girl - max verstappen

pairing: max verstappen + fem! driver!(charles gf) reader

summary: after a lifechanging turn in your plans, you need to sort things out with charles to be able to get together with your true love, max. things can't always get so hard, can they?

author's note: the so required part two is FINALLY out. a massive thank you to every one that asked for this, i hope you enjoy it! (a HUGE thank you to @stupidandunnecessary for helping me outt)

word count: +1,6k

previous part

last night, charles and you exchanged less than ten words. you wanted to talk to him, but you didn't know how to start, nor how to do it without hurting him.

it was clear that his feelings were not love, maybe some attraction and friendship, but not love. still, you didn't want to hurt him.

you loved max, but you were in a relationship with charles. you weren't quite sure if he would understand, and even if he did, things were a lot more complicated since you were three public figures.

charles woke up to find you, very dizzy and confused, staring at the ceiling of the room in silence. he regained his sences before you thought of moving, and he soon started talking.

"you love him." he stated, looking over at you. startled, you turned to look at him, taken aback by his smiling face. "I- what?" you asked him.

"max. you love him." with that smile planted on his lips, you struggled to articulate something to tell the him. your well-prepared speech for this very moment seemed to vanish, and your words failed you.

"I'm sorry." it was the only thing you could say after having your mouth half-opened for seconds.

"what are you sorry for? loving someone? that is not your fault." he reassured you. "I'm not angry, if that's why your apologizing. I'm happy for you." you couldn't quite comprehend what he was trying to tell you, and he noticed it by the puzzled glances you shot at him.

"I'm happy for you both. I know I've never been a top contestant to the 'best boyfriend' award, quite the contrary. but I also know we both started this relationship out of loneliness." he claimed. it was evident that you weren't the only one preparing for this moment.

"I'm still sorry." you persisted. he chuckled, but you never even gave him a trace of a smile. you couldn't.

"you don't have to be. you deserved to be happy. to be loved in the same intensity that you love someone. that is something only verstappen can do." leclerc understood this situation a whole lot more than you expected him to, and you were starting to wonder if he might have a female max in his life.

"its a fact, even tho it pains me to admit. I could never make you happy the way he does." he added.

"you deserve that too. I know this probably means nothing to you right now, but it's true." you smiled sadly to him, and he shook his head in disagreemeant.

"it will never mean nothing to me. apart from everything, you were my friend first, and I would hate for that to end." you smiled softly at him, the sadness now less evident. you two stood silent for a while, just breathing and thinking. "look, I'm sorry for not being the boyfriend you deserved." he appologized, breaking the akward smile.

he was ready to continue, and he would have done so if you hadn't interrupted. "it's not entirely your fault. we didn't work out because we didn't love each other. period." charles too was sad about how your realtionship was ending, but he was also grateful that none of you had to get hurt before it happened.

"now, I think we are both mature enough to recognize that and begin another chapter." you continued. he nodded softly and you both stood quite looking at the ceiling.

"y/n, you should really go get him. I still have a headache to deal with but I'll try to pack everything and leave before you return home." he advised with a warm smile. he rose from the bed, moving around it to bend over and kiss your forehead.

"you deserve this, mon chéri." he whispered as he exited the room to confront his weary reflection in the bathroom mirror.

after changing, you left the bedroom with the intention of grabbing a bite to eat. however, you decided that sharing a meal with Max might be better, so you sent him a text. within seconds, he responded, as if he had been awaiting your message his whole life.

the truth is, max could deny all he wanted, but he panicked when he got home and realized charles would be sleeping in the same bed as you, and probably trying to get you back. although he now knew that you loved him, it didn't change the fact that you had been with charles while still harboring those feelings, and that thought terrified him.

that's why he left his hotel without even hesitating and met you at a coffee shop near your house.

"how did he react?" he was clearly trying to avoid the subject, and noticing it, you respected his decision and never brought it up. but he has his limits, and he clearly crossed those. he needed to know, and if you were being real, you needed to tell him as well.

"better than I expected." you replied with a smile, which wasn't what he had anticipated. he couldn't decipher whether your smile meant "we broke up" or "we got back together."

"better how?" he asked, not so sure now that he wanted to know.

verstappen didn't think of himself as an anxious person, but when it came to you, he struggled to conceal his apprehension. He yearned to know every detail, and he might have even fainted if you hadn't filled him in.

"well, he told me to come and get you." you were finding that whole situation a lot more funny than you should, max acting all calm when it was so clear that he was freaking out could be ranked on top of the most entertaining things in the world.

he let out a heavy breath that he was holding for god knows why and you finally could see the beautiful smile he was hiding behind the seriousness.

"really?" he asked, smile still playing on his lips. you nodded, smiling too. anyone who passed by would think you two were a couple on the best stage of your relationship, smiles so wide that everyone could see were genuine.

"well you already have me, so…" max points with a joking tone, every word coming out of his mouth being the most truthful. "why do i always want to kiss you in situations or places where i can't?" he throws his head back, frustrated.

"oh why can't you kiss me now?" you asked. cofusion and also frustration kicking in when you realize its not going to be today as well. you begun to think max might be actually afraid to kiss you.

"there's people here. and i know it's a discreet place, but still…" you almost grasped what the dutch meant, were it not for your intense desire for his lips to meet yours. "what? I don't care about the people, you know I don't."

it's true, he knows you never cared about people's opinions. that's why, from the both of you, he was always the one that helped you with everything you thought of putting out to the world. most of it not coming out thanks to him.

"you may not, but I do. you know how this things work and I don't want my gi- your name associated with sleeping around for a seat."

your smile didn't fail on showing up. he could have just said the most horrific thing ever, you hadn't listened. max verstappen calling you 'my girl' was something out of this world for you. you covered your face with your hands as the gleam in your eyes intensified.

"but, you know, you could always take me home." he added, grinning with both his lips and eyes. "let me finish this and we'll go right away." max nodded and took his phone out, pretending to be composed on the outside while feeling like an exuberant child within. he eventually even snapped a few pictures of you to keep for himself and immediately changed his locked screen. he's not familiar with the concept of going slow.

exiting the coffee shop, you and max laughed like a pair of joyful fools, unable to recall precisely what was so amusing. at some point, you found yourselves laughing at each other for no apparent reason. what you both knew for certain was that spending time together was effortless—it brought a profound sense of peace.

as you closed the door behind you, max took your hand and pulled you close to him. his free hand found its place on your cheek, his thumb tenderly caressing it. "after all these years, I can finally kiss you."

the smile on the red bull driver's face emphasized his happiness. although your smile wasn't as broad, your eyes spoke volumes.

in the end, his focus remained on your eyes. for three years, max had gazed into those same brown eyes, yet each time felt like he could continue indefinitely. and, indeed, he could.

from his prespective, it was the greatest view one could have. and he was genuinely sorry for everyone that would never get the chance to do so.

when he finally let go of your eyes, he foccused on your lips, not as mesmerizing, but equally breathtaking.

before he kissed you, you got a good look at his deep ocean blue eyes. had you not been studying them since the day you met their owner, you might have easily lost yourself in their beauty.

you almost cursed max for closing them, but if that meant you got to study his lips too, you could never complain.

once he guided you into the kiss, one of your hands instinctively traveled to the back of his neck, while the other one squeezed his, trying to be sure that this was really happening.

it became evident that your lips were made solely for each other—the way they fit perfectly, moved in harmony, and how max's lips embraced yours as if he had been doing it for a lifetime. every element aligned to create perfection—this is what love felt like.

with max, it felt right. with max, it was love.

taglist: @mehrmonga @yourusername1 @lexiecamposv @electrobutterfly @miakatharinaa @jeconnaismeslimitesus

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 29: The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte

This is where my Sparks adventure started!! I'll always feel super lucky to have been able to anticipate this album's release and listen to it on the day it dropped! That's super rare, especially when it's a band that would very soon become so important to me... because yeah, I wasn't even a super huge fan yet at that point but could definitely already TELL that I was on my way to getting there. Based on previous experiences of this kind... and well, needless to say, I was so very right.

Thanks to all this, both the release of TGICIHL and all the excitement surrounding it, I remember this whole time period (spring-summer of 2023) really fondly now. It was a start of something really special and lifechanging, oh truly. And for Sparks especially it's been such an unbelievably successful time. I mean, Hollywood Bowl???? And so much more but, well, we all know. It's been such an honour for me to even just be able to see it happen from afar.

The album itself is very great and I feel like I might even underappreciate it a bit still. It wasn't a huge instant favourite but I still loved it from the start, then fell off from it for a bit... And now I feel like its biggest value for me might lay in something very different than simply having the catchiest or most instantly appealing songs for my liking. Because first things first it's a true testament of how far Sparks have come as artists and how they'll never run out of things to say and new areas to explore. Some of the most touching and insightful of their songs are here, and to think that they're just putting out these absolute masterpieces after over 50 years?? 300+ songs in and it's still all new and as amazing as always.

I don't even have that many huge personal favourites from TGICIHL, but as I returned to them over time I really started to love them all more and more. Sure, I had some early favs, but all in all this is such a solid album, so I can't even bring myself to pick just a few. I blabbered a bit about It Doesn't Have To Be That Way at some point in the past but it's definitely not the only song here that often brings me to tears and makes me feel understood in a way that nothing else before it did. And that I love returning to on my bad days especially (just to weep some more, you know). I might regret not finding Sparks earlier than I did, but it's so utterly amazing that I got here at all and at such a wonderful time to, when I could see all of these beautiful things unfold. Can't wait to see what else is to come 💖

[topazadine]

"I Can Think of Ideas But Can't Write Them!"

Estimated Reading Time: 13 Minutes

Irrelevant hyperspecific Cleveland Ohio meme (it came up on my files when I searched for "think" so now you're stuck with it too)

Anyway, I see some iteration of this sentiment on the reg, both here and on other social media.

"I have this awesome idea about XYZ, but when I sit down to do it, I find it impossible to do anything. How do I get started?"

Great question and exceptionally valid; I think a lot of us have dealt with this at some point or another. So let's go through why you might have this happen to you and what you can do about it.

Perma-reminder that this is just my opinion and you are free to disagree, to think I am stupid, whatever. Take what you like and leave the rest.

Reasons why you might feel that you have great ideas but can't execute them

Writing, like many other activities, is just as much about your mindset as it is about your practice and your skills.

We can either psych ourselves into writing some amazing, lifechanging work ... or we can convince ourselves that we shouldn't even bother.

So how does our mindset play into our writing abilities? Here's some possible answers.

You've thought about it too much.

In essence, you've worked through the plot points so many times and refined them in your head to the point that you fear putting it on the page because you're certain that it won't match the beautiful vision you've daydreamed.

I have no evidence for this other than my own intuition, but I think this might happen more to people who are a 4 or 5 on the Vividness of Visual Imagery scale. I'm only a 3 so I don't have this problem quite as much. People with a 1 or 2 VVIQ score might have this problem even less, but don't quote me.

You are trying to envision the entire thing at once without outlining.

Most writers, including yours truly, cannot contain an entire story in our heads without any notes whatsoever.

For some reason, though, some newer writers are incredibly averse to outlining; they want the entire thing to spring forth from their heads whole cloth. Not everyone, of course, but enough people that I have noticed a trend.

I suspect this might be due to some academic trauma from being forced to outline every little thing in school and then being judged on that outline. But no one's judging or grading you anymore; your outline is just for you. Don't worry about it being perfect. It just needs to exist.

There are too many moving parts and you feel overwhelmed.

I encourage writers who are just getting started to focus on a simpler story to begin with. You can write your epic 120k thriller later; the idea is not going anywhere. It will always be there, waiting for you to be ready.

You feel that the project, in its current iteration, is beyond your capabilities.

And it very well might be, but you shouldn't let that stop you. Something existing in its rawest form is better than it not existing at all. There's always time and time more still to fix it as you grow in your capabilities.

You are a perfectionist.

This goes with the above point but also extends to other problems with writing, including being reluctant to revise and nitpicking your work as you go along.

Perfectionists often experience so much anxiety about the idea of not doing their best that they procrastinate or refuse to do something at all because they don't think they can do it perfectly in one go. Many "lazy" people are actually terrified of failure so they don't put in any effort.

It's something you need to work on as a writer, because there is no such thing as a publishable, literary-classic-quality first draft. A perfect first draft is one that exists.

You've got Imposter Syndrome.

Then we've got those who don't have an accurate assessment of their abilities and it holds them back. Imposter Syndrome often goes hand-in-hand with perfectionism; you feel like you're not as good as the writers you like, so you don't bother trying to reach their level.

Imposter Syndrome is the epitome of "comparison is the thief of joy." I have a lot of writers who I know are better than me; my favorite writers have lifted the bar so high that few will ever surpass them. I doubt I will ever get to their heights of success and eloquence.

But I do not let this stop me because I know that once upon a time, they were exactly where I am. Well, maybe not exactly where I am in Cleveland, lurking in the depths of Lake Erie. Skills-wise, though? They've all been here too.

You're thinking too far ahead.

I mentioned this in my post about how to write faster: writing has stages that must be put together one at a time. Every writer has different stages and does them different ways, but the average writer is not plotting, outlining, drafting, revising, publishing, and marketing at the very same time. It's just too much all at once.

When writing, don't think about everything else. Don't think about whether it will sell, or how long it will take to revise, or how to query, or any of that. All you need to think about is plot -> outline -> draft, in that order. And then you'll be okay.

How to Get Idea on Paper Now

Relax.

Yes, really. The first step is to relax. Take a deep breath. Tell all your anxieties about whether you'll ever get published, or whether you can do this, or whether you're even capable of writing, to shut the fuck up.

When you get those anxious thoughts, tell them that they are not helpful and they are not serving you. Practice mindfulness, such as by reciting a mantra to yourself until the thoughts give up. Outlast them out of spite.

Ask yourself what is scaring you so much.

Again, much of your struggles with writing likely come from your fears about the outcome rather than genuinely not being sure how to proceed.

You came up with this awesome idea, and you have probably played it in your head over and over again for days, weeks, months, years, but now find it impossible to get started. That tells me that you do have a story in you, but there's a blockage somewhere from brain to fingers.

So, gently question yourself about this and remember these key answers to your concerns.

Are you afraid of failing? If so, you have to ask what failing actually means in terms of writing. That you won't live up to your own expectations? Most of us won't, at least at first. And that's okay. You're trying, and that's what matters most. Are you afraid people will laugh at your work? Well, there are a lot of shit people in the world who love to tear others down. That says more about them than it does about you. Are you afraid you'll waste time on this project that will go nowhere? No writing is wasted. It's all practice. Are you worried you'll never get published? You're getting ahead of yourself. Nothing gets published if it's never written. Are you afraid that you're not going to do your work justice? You probably won't at first. And that's okay! Writing is wonderful because you get to keep picking at it until it is perfect. Unlike other crafts, such as knitting or embroidery or woodworking or painting, you don't get just one shot. You get as many shots as you want.

Release your perfectionist tendencies.

I know, this is easier said than done.

Perfectionism is not very helpful as a writer because either you never put anything down because you're afraid it sucks, or you peck so long at your completed draft that you never finish it. At some point, you need to just say "fuck it" and be done with the damn thing.

Could I peck and poke and prod at my drafts forever? Sure. I see things I could fix in all my works, even the published ones. I'd drive myself crazy if I continually reread my work with an editor's eye.

So, I like to see my work as kind of like Impressionist art.

Taken together, it makes a beautiful whole, but some asshole could go and complain about every little paint smear and how it doesn't exactly match the vision. And that person is dumb. And I don't want to be that person to myself, or to you.

When you've gotten to the point where you are utterly sick of your finished product and you'd rather stab yourself in the face than look at it again, then you are done. Go, my friend. Be free.

Stop reading authors you admire.

... For now! Not forever. Just give them a break for now, especially if you are dealing with Imposter Syndrome.

When you're struggling to get your idea finished, it's very easy to demotivate yourself by looking at authors you love and comparing yourself to them. But these authors have advantages you do not (at the moment).

They've been writing for years.

They may have professional training, like an MA in Creative Writing, or even teach this for work (like Anthony Doerr, one of my faves).

They have a team of professional editors who fix all their dumb mistakes and guide them through the revision process.

You are seeing the completed project, which has been looked over dozens of times, and not seeing the effort it took to get there. Their drafts may have been even shittier than yours, but you don't get to see that in most instances. So put them aside and promise to return to them later.

You should still read stuff, of course. But I recommend reading authors you don't like (yes, you can learn from them as well). Beta read for other people who are at your same level. Not only will you see that you're doing just fine, but you'll also get to learn from their mistakes.

Plus, I hate to sound mean, but yeah, it can be an ego boost.

That's why I don't read books by my moots until I'm in the Percolating or Revising stage, because I know their books are wonderful and will make me feel a lil sad about my own skills. I hate-read instead.

Remember that you can revise as many times as necessary

The way we teach writing, at least in the United States, is utterly antithetical to making great habits; specifically, I'm thinking about timed essays like the ACT. I got a 36 on the writing section of my ACT but I was still sweating bullets the whole fucking time because I would essentially be penalized for taking it slow and thinking things through.

You need to unlearn this habit. If you are writing for pleasure or self-publishing, there are no deadlines. You don't have a due date. You don't need to turn anything in. No one is checking over your shoulder, dinging you for not having a flawless essay done in 1 hour or less.

One of the best books to reassure anxious writers is More About How to Write a Million, specifically the revision section. The work is a bit dated now but the examples remain timeless, showing exactly how much work professional authors do to get from a sorta-shitty first draft to something beautiful. No draft starts out as a perfect angel. They're all a little ugly.

Writing takes as long as it needs to. Revisions are done as necessary. Revise, and revise, and revise again. It doesn't have to be perfect in one go.

Do it Bird by Bird

I love this phrase by Anne Lamott and use it all the time for everything. There's plenty of other adages that are similar, like "the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."

One thing at a time. Split the whole process into chunks. When you try to think of everything all at once, you get overwhelmed and demotivated.

This was my order when I wrote the first story for The Eirenic Verses, which is now actually the sixth book in the series (love how that works for me).

Create a concept. High Poetry.

Refine the concept. High Poetry can be used for warfare, healing, etc, and was given to Breme by the goddess Poesy.

Create a main character. Cerie Korviridi, a High Poet. All I knew about her personality at first was that she is kind of a bitch, but she slowly grew into much more as I continued to write her.

Create a world. Breme, which has High Poetry but is impoverished, and Sina, which does not have High Poetry but is technologically advanced.

Create other characters to populate the world. Haniya, Uileac, Orrinir, Mordrek, Ono, and background characters as necessary. They are all connected to Cerie in different ways and have different relationships with her.

Create a plot. Cerie must use her High Poetry to end the war between Breme and Sina.

Develop the outline. Using the Plot Mountain method I have mentioned before.

Cut the outline down to the basics. Using the Double Outline method I will explain in a minute.

Develop the sections. I write by scene rather than chapter, as I mentioned in another post.

Write the intro. The first chapter went through a lot of revisions, I will admit.

Write the climax. To know what I am building up to.

Write the ending. To know where I'm ending up.

Write the subclimaxes. Other scenes of tension and intensity.

Write the downtimes. Places for exposition and discussion.

Percolate. I let it sit for a while while I went to outline and write other parts of the series.

Revise. Self-explanatory!

Percolate and Revise again.

Say "fuck it" and be done. And now it is glaring at me from my MS pile, waiting for its turn.

Write the blurb and marketing materials. Those are sitting in storage.

Rinse and repeat. Now that I am writing in an established universe, I don't need to do steps 1 through 5.

If I think about this all at once, I'd probably go "TWENTY WHOLE FUCKING STEPS? WITH SUBSTEPS?? I'm going to drown myself" and not do anything.

So, instead, I went "Okay, I have an idea. Now I will refine the idea. Now I will impose the idea on a hapless victim. And now I'll throw her into a world. And now ...."

You get the point.

Try the Double Outline Method

The Double Outline Method was invented by me for people like you (and me). People who want to capture every single possible detail before they get started writing, but then find themselves losing all motivation because they've basically done the whole thing in outline form.

With this method, you can cram every last plot twist and thought and theme and whatever into your outline ... and then let it go and use a much simpler outline to actually work.

This way, you can give your Bordie Collie brain its little treat and set it to the real work: herding all your thought-sheep into order.

Now, I have some tips to help you actually get the damn thing done once you have tackled your insecurities. I'm wishing you the best of luck, my friend!

I've created a masterlist of writing resources that you can peruse at your leisure, all for free.

The posts I write can sometimes take me hours - they're always intricate, always thoughtful. This one took me about 2 hours to write.

I do this as a labor of love for the writing community, sharing what I have learned from almost 15 years of creative writing.

However, if you'd like to support me, maybe you'll consider buying my book?

At $0.99, that's about 7 cents for each minute you spent reading this post.

9 Years Yearning is a gay coming-of-age romance set in a fantasy world. It follows Uileac Korviridi, a young soldier training at the War Academy. His primary motivations are honoring the memory of his late parents, protecting his little sister Cerie, and becoming a top-notch soldier.

However, there's a problem: Orrinir Relickim, a rough and tough fellow pupil who just can't seem to leave Uileac alone.

The book features poetry, descriptions of a beautiful country inspired by Mongolia, and a whole lot of tsundere vibes.

You can also check it out on Goodreads for a list of expanded distribution. If you loved it, be sure to preorder Pride Before a Fall, arriving January 1, 2025!

If you do purchase my book, don't forget to leave a review!

Reviews are vital for visibility on Amazon and help to support indie authors like me. Whenever you love a book, be sure to let the author know! It's much appreciated.

[pikapeppa]

15 questions for 15 friends

Tagged by @elveny and @johaerys-writes -- thank you, my loves!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My mom. Apparently my dad really wanted to name me after my mom and she was like "ugh really fine" LOL. My dad is also named after his dad, who was named after his dad... REAL ORIGINAL. This is going to sound like a total humblebrag, but my mom and I are both published academic authors, so we have to use our middle initials to distinguish who published what 🙃

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Probably in therapy last Thursday LOL. Though I got a little prickly-eyed earlier this week watching the episode of ATLA where Zuko and Aang go on their lifechanging field trip to the Sun Warriors' secret village 😂❤

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Nope! Childless by choice.

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED? I played T-ball when I was 5 or 6 (hated it, cried so much that my parents pulled me out LMAO) and I was on the volleyball team in Grade 6. I'm left-handed and I had a habit of serving into the wall, unfortunately, and the habit got worse when I was nervous. During one game, they took pity on me so much that they paused the game until I got the ball over the net. I was fucking humiliated and have never played a team sport since then. 🤣💀 Re: other physical activities, I like dancing! I've taken a ton of different kinds of dance classes including swing, salsa, bellydancing, and Bollywood dancing, and loved all of them!

DO YOU USE SARCASM? No. Me? Never. 🙃🤣 Forreal though yes. All the time.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Uh...! I don't know if there's any one specific thing? I usually take in an "overall impression" of appearance. Vague, but that's all I've got. If the question was "what's the first thing you notice in people you're attracted to", that might be a different story 🤣

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR? Brown.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? I am going to copy Johaerys's answer and say it doesn't matter to me, as long as the story was good. But also, who says scary movies/horror media can't have happy endings?? 🤣Haunting of Hill House, anyone? (Bittersweet, maybe, but it counts as happy to me!)

ANY TALENTS? Would it be wretched if I said I feel like writing might be a talent? Whatever, I'm saying it. 🤣😅

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? In a hospital in the same city where I currently live! Which I will chose not to reveal openly! 🤣

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? Writing! It takes up a solid 75-90% of my free time. Also gaming (which I might count into the writing time since it often becomes Research™ for the writing 🤣). I also enjoy baking and cooking, though I don't know that I'd count those as hobbies since they're necessary ADLs?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS? A cat named Meeko. She is my daemon. We can never be apart when I am home. Case in point, a photo taken in real-time while completing this quiz:

HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5'3".

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL? Uhhh... what level of school are we talking here? In undergrad, I took an incredible linguistics/history course about writing systems, and that was probably my favourite class ever. I took a course during undergrad about different schools of psychotherapy that was pretty damned influential too.

DREAM JOB? I also loved Johaerys's answer here: "I don't think there's any sort of job anyone could do in this capitalist hellscape we're all currently living in that would be enjoyable enough to make up for, well... living in a capitalist hellscape." I'm lucky enough to work in the public healthcare system so I'm pretty safe from the worst of capitalism, I guess, though my job (speech-language pathologist) is one I chose more for practicality (certainty of employment) than because I was really passionate about it. If I could do something else and not have to worry about money, I would either want to be a fiction editor, or a sex therapist.

Tagging forward to @ranaspkillnarieth @iamcayc @heroofshield @fantasy-girl974 @hellas-himself @midnightacrobat @alyssalenko @vorchagirl @elinorbard @stuffforthestash @mwasaw @lordofthenerds97 @y0ureviltwin @ladyofthelake91 @perhapsrampancy @cha-mij and genuinely, anyone else who wants to share!!! Tag me so I can spy on your life! 🤣❤

[humanperryfic]

i'm coming here from perryverse and just like. how do I get as good at writing as you are? what's your secret?

Awww thank you! Crazy that you're saying that since I think I've actually improved a lot since writing that fic.

Obviously the number one answer I have is going to be to just write, a lot. I got good as fast as I did because I bingewatched Phineas and Ferb in the first three days of the original Covid lockdown in March 2020, and then wrote a ton of fic because I was lucky to just be insanely bored.

So write. Write a lot. Write when you can. Slap it all out there on the internet. See what sticks.

Answer number two is going to be read, a lot. But not just passively. Read great fanfiction. Ask yourself why it's great. Read terrible fanfiction. Ask yourself why you hate it. Read real books. Ask yourself about what's going on that you like or don't like, especially between the two mediums of print and fic (because they are different! Also, "real" books tend to use a broader variety of vocabulary, which is always good). Read fic written by people who write English as a second, third, fourth+ language (assuming you're a native english speaker). Ask yourself why you would write/rewrite things to flow a certain way.

Read with an eye for things you want to do yourself.

Answer number three? Always have a little bit of outside perspectives and advice coming into your mind. The best way I've found to keep learning at this point is following people that give advice on writing particular characters or things. @cripplecharacters, @writingwithcolor, and @howtofightwrite are some of my favorite blogs to read whenever they post, and they have invaluable advice.

You're never too good of a writer to not learn new things or unlearn biases/misconceptions.

Answer number four is to keep things rotating in your mind. Not always at the front. But somewhere back there. Keep a running list of ideas on your phone or whatever somewhere I have a Discord server that's literally just me, where I keep my ideas for various things sorted, as well as a Noteful notebook for just...random ideas and plotting things out.

You never know what kind of random idea could be your most interesting fic idea.

Answer number five: Don't throw out any of your writing. Keep things around in whatever form you write in. Microsoft Word, Google Drive, whatever. Keep things around, even if they suck and all you wrote is a sentence and a half. You never know what you might come back to...and hey, keeping the old stuff is a great way to look back and see how far you've come.

Every scrap of writing tells a story. Keep it.

Answer number six: With that in mind, do try out writing an entire fic, plot bunny to published, in the AO3 editor at least once. You have to finish it in the month timespan. You have to publish it. It's a challenge, best suited for a shorter oneshot (though I've done it with fics up to 16.5k words lol), but it'll tell you something about how you write.

(If you fall short, copy/paste it all into a separate document and finish it. Don't waste your work.)

Answer seven: Plot brackets. Plot your fic out by writing the very very basics of what you want to happen in square brackets (ex. [perry goes home] [candace teases him about having a crush on someone]). Fill it in in whatever order you want. Make the brackets short and sweet. Use meme references. Or whatever. Make them stupid. Whatever gets the plot and vibes out onto the page.

[insert summarizing quip here]

Answer eight (the random stuff that I can't do a whole paragraph on each): Onelook Reverse Thesaurus. Lifechanger. When you can, write with your internet/cell service turned all the way off so you don't fall into a research/distraction rabbit hole. Try to write ten words every single day. Take a look at TVTropes every so often- Tropes are Tools, and you should know what's in your toolbox. Write about things you're obsessed with. Write the bad stuff. Write the dumb ideas. Write for the fandom with ten fics.

It doesn't matter. Just write it.

[iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin]

hi friend, it's 🪼🩵

i currently have a three hour break before my next class so i'm here lol let me tell you what i did today !! 🩵 i was able to clean my room after procrastinating it for 6 months. i also got out of bed immediately and did not scroll on my phone for 3 hours. i'm a new person !!

alsoo, i need advice on smth 😓 i'm thinking of getting a job (part-time, i can't commit that much yet) like maybe a server? or like a cashier?? i just need extra cash to support my addiction of collecting things 🥹😓🤧

oh i need to mention i really like collecting makeup and i recently got into hirono figurines!! they're just so cute ugh i might send an imgur link so you can see them idk

you don't need to give advice, and if you do, it doesn't need to be lifechanging. i've js been thinking about it for like... 8 months so i feel like i should do something about it

oh, you're writing another chapter right? good luck with that my friend. i can't wait for your magnus opus. this will be equivalent to the invention of the light bulb i swear

i have quite the social energy today... i will tone it down a little. sorry if i drift between topics a lotttt it's a habit 😓 anyway take your time replying

as always thank u my friend and ily 🪼🩵

yessss cleaning your room (while sometimes the most daunting task ever) feels so refreshing! i used to leave my room so messy and i still can let it get pretty disorganized, but once i started making my bed every day i found i felt so much better. and when i don’t doomscroll, i also have a much better day!!! so good for you 😍

i think it’s a great idea to get a part time job. it can also be awesome for helping social skills, especially if you have coworkers (that’s the one thing i miss with my job. it’s just me by myself a lot of the time except when i meet with clients). i’m a petsitter and finally getting that job really changed my life. i had a lot of mental health issues and my job gave me something to focus on and a sense of purpose. it also allowed me to have some more independence, save money, and, of course, spend it on all the things i fangirl over. so i highly suggest!

and if you don’t have a block of set free time for a job, i can highly vouch for “gig work”. idk where you’re located but service jobs like rover/petsitting, doordash, instacart delivery, etc is a viable option but it comes with its own unique set of challenges as well. 🩷 whatever you choose, i think you’re making an awesome decision (even tho working does suck and we are also slaves to capitalism and so on and so forth. still gotta make money unfortunately)

also yes, send me your collections! i actually love looking at collections even if its not of my immediate interest.

taerae chapter should be finished soon 🤩 i also wrote hao’s ending and i love it sm. i’ve had too much energy the past two days, i need to calm down lol

🩵ily 🪼💘

[andaniellight]

you're one of the most memorable authors that i liked back in my jujutsu kaisen phase and knowing you're currently into one piece now as a multishipper and i'm actually this 👌🏻 close to have a ship in one piece as well (possibly zolu or zosan tbh) thanks to you, do you ship anyone with anyone else in one piece? if there aren't, can i know your headcanons towards the one piece ships that you ship?

HI ! HELLO ! ! !

Oh, shit, "one of the most memorable authors"? Where did that come from! Genuinely, what a title. Either way, I'm honored tho, thank you so much :D Forever grateful that people letting me know they liked my stuff, so I hope you enjoyed your stay in this shit show of mine (assuming you must've been following me since, what, 1 year ago? 2 years ago?) !!! I truly thank you for giving all of my stories a chance back in JJK phase <3 and sorry if they ever broke your heart......

Now, for other ships in One Piece beside ZoLu and ZoSan (and please keep in mind that that means I also ship ZoLuSan ok HAHAH), I'll have to warn you first that this answer will wander every where since my thoughts are all over the place.

I really like Frobin's dynamics (Franky & Robin). I love them as much as I love Nami and Vivi's dynamics. Thanks to that particular scene where Robin turned into a literal angel growing a pair of wings to save Franky from falling, I guess? Also realized that Frobin is basically a ship of 'a character who has/grew up with siblings x a character who's an only child' something something. And, I know, as I write this down, a lot of people would think that 'oh what a cheap reason to ship characters like that', but I do have the tendencies of shipping characters in critical moments (?)

Or, if I'm allowed to summarize it, my One Piece ships are basically a bunch of "a character with a very specific and precise personal dream to achieve that they don't really think it might effect the others so greatly so long they get to experience a life of their own and feel truly alive" x "a character whose dream is to 'serve' other people because they know they're capable and are willing to go the extra miles to prove that it is such the greatest ability to have"

That's how I started shipping ZoLu in the first place anyway; in a huge critical moment that had a lifechanging impact. Luffy shielding Zoro from bullets on a whim on their first meeting with 0 hesitation not only because he could do it without dying but also he knew Zoro would suffer further in the most unfair way (because bullets hurt normal human, okay? AND ZORO WAS TIED DEFENSELESS) WHICH THEN turns into Zoro repaying that to Luffy right away but still he stayed by his side, even decided to devote his life for this silly lil guy who just saved him despite knowing Luffy must be a much stronger person than him because of the devil fruit he ate the sheer willpower Luffy has and has shown whenever he announces about this dream to be the king of the pirates (an even more insane dream than Zoro's, and Zoro understood this as well).

The same thing for Nami and Vivi. The build up of their bond in Alabasta was just [chef kiss] MWAH. Postponing each other's priorities to prioritizes the other's needs instead. Nami understood what a grave dread Vivi was feeling for her oppressed country she'd rather die than letting her to feel that even longer, shared sentiments and whatnot, but Vivi feared for Nami's life in the brink of death because of a deadly illness and it's louder and fiercer than anyone could expect. Their backstory are so similar in a way but they did what they had to because of different reasons entirely. This kind of mindset I believe was an offspring or some sort from how they grew up where they had to "betray" their loved ones, by abandoning them temporarily, for the sake of their loved ones' safety.

And for Frobin... Robin used to disregard her life so easily because she has no one else left that she cared about, but now, she has a dream to find the Rio Poneglyph which tells the True History of the One Piece world including the Void Century, continuing the research of her mother Nico Olvia and her old mentor Clover. While Franky on the other hand has a dream to build a ship to go on countless adventures and see that ship reach "Laugh Tale", and this dream of his was based on the discipline of kindness he's built along the people he cared about and still continues to care about despite the distance and everything.

Anyways. Those are pretty much a handful of ships that I ship aside from ZoLu that have, at least, "patterns", and a couple of layers of why-s they're interesting to ship, to me. Unlike ZoSan, which, I basically ship solely based on horny reasons-

[laozubun]

@alilwicked asked: Jiang Cheng’s whole body trembles, the blade shaking, yet steady in his hands. Why wasn’t he trying to get away from him? He could have easily done so.. and yet he’s staring down at him, something he’s imagined for years and years.

This man… this man who he grew up with, who had been by his side since as long as he remembered. They had cried together, fought together, played together. Gotten into trouble together. Jiang Cheng hated admitted that he missed him. He missed him so damn much.

‘You…’ his gaze was nothing short of rage, but grief began to fill there instead, twisting and turning like a sword buried in his chest. There might as well be. ‘You just left…, you checked out, and never told me why’

        oh...oh...where  does  he  even  begin?  the  last  time  he'd  really  seen  jiang  cheng,  spoken  to  him.  was  after  he'd  found  out  about  the  core  transfer.  something  he  would  of  taken  to  his  grave  if  he  could.  he  doesn't  blame  his  brother  for  how  he  reacted;  rage,  hurt,  confusion.  it  was  so  much,  wei  wuxian  knew  it  was.  to  know  one  of  the  few  family ��members  you  have  left--  lied  to  you.  kept  something  so  impossibly  lifechanging  from  you.

even  now  in  the  face  of  cheng's  fury  he  stands  unflinching.  it's  frightening,  yes,  but  it's  necessary--  they  need  this  more  than  ever.  he  did  abandon  him,  he  let  him  believe  he  didn't  care  anymore.  the  twin  prides  died  because  of  him,  and  his  negligence.  

wuxian  doesn't  shy  from  the  blade,  doesn't  shrink  down  at  cheng's  tone.  his  expression  is  drawn,  somber  but  carefully  calm.  he's  done  it  a  thousand  times,  kept  from  trembling  beneath  the  guilt  and  worry.  didn't  matter  who  it  was...he  had  to  maintain  his  composure.  "  i  know.  "  tone  soft,  a  little  tattered  at  the  edges  of  every  word.  "  i  know  i  did.  i  just--  i  didn't  know  what  to  say.  i  lied  to  you,  i  kept  things  from  you.  "  it's  frustrating  suddenly,  having  to  dig  for  the  words.  "  but  what  else  could  i  have  done?  what  difference  would  it  of  made  then?  separating  myself  from  you,  from  everyone  was...there  wasn't  any  other  way.  "  there  is  a  redness  at  the  corners  of  his  eyes,  his  vision  growing  watery  and  foggy.  "  it  hurt  more  than  you  know,  breaking  the  promises  i  made  to  you.  i  didn't  do  it  to  spite  you  cheng.  i  didn't  think  i'd  come  back--  i  didn't  plan  on  ever  seeing  any-  any  of  you  again.  "

finally,  finally  his  voice  breaks  on  a  hitched  sob.  "  im  sorry.  "  he  keeps  his  hands  at  his  side,  but  his  fists  clench  tight  enough  to  hurt.  "  im  sorry  didi--  i  should  of  been  honest  with  you.  if-  if  anyone.  i  should  of  told  you,  i  shouldn't  of  shut  you  out.  im  sorry...  "

unprompted / always accepting

[girldigital]

I'm back

This might have been the longest month I have ever experienced. I’ll try and divide it in themes, simply so I don’t forget anything as there is loads to do.

Prospect:

So, I’m in talks for yet another job. I went through 3 rounds of interview and a task. Frankly, I think this job would make me miserable, but it does come with remote work and perks that I cannot say I have where I’m at, so I’ll take anything at this point. Besides, I need to move, and this would be the perfect final push to do so. It’s funny, I think everything went so much better than I had expected, and yet I am fully ready for rejection once more. I’m not sure how I got so lucky getting the job I have now. Beginner’s luck I guess. I find it fascinating how in London everything can go right and still not work out. At least I’ve gotten used to it at this point. While I do want to escape and be done with having to open Linkedin everyday, I also have a lot less drive to leave, as I’ve now finally gotten past what I had been dreading all year. It’s even crazier considering it all went so much better than I could’ve ever have anticipated…

Install:

Speaking of what I was dreading, I finally went on install. If you would have told me that it would be some of the best time I’ve had in London so far, never ever would I have believed you and yet. It truly was a lifechanging month. Of course, there were a few hiccups, to be expected with a project manager as messy as I am, but the bonds and moments I’ve shared with these people has been so refreshing and heart warming, it couldn’t have come at a better time. It’s no secret that I’ve been feeling a lot more isolated as of the past few months. Yes, I have my new bestie by my side, but as I’ve probably already mentioned before, he’s already got his own little world in Londonm whereas he has become mine in a way. I’ve met a few people here and there but there;s something about connections here that feel so shallow and performative, and that was prior to the huge fallout as well. Frankly, I can count on one hand the people who I’ve felt a genuine bond with since #that day so it’s not like that was too heart shattering.However, being on install allowed me to share so much laughter, and have such real conversations, in ways I hadn’t experienced in a while. Even when things weren’t going according to plan, I always felt supported and loved. I’ve met people with the craziest of life stories, some of them I hope to see again and I know the feeling is mutual. The biggest install was the scariest, being 5 nights and me being the project manager, but I’m very grateful to have been a part of it and to have met Poggy, Ellie and Brodie particularly, though the entire team was lovely. I could say so much more about it but I’ll leave it at that. Then I had a few day jobs, highlight meets include gay Russian yogi who I kikiyed with about drag race (it had been a while since I’ve been able to do this…) and sexy Italian skiing dilf. Oh and how could I forget, new half Algerian bestie N.

She’s so cool I told her a thousand times we’re totally hanging out after all of this. I can’t believe she’s just been working downstairs all this time and we never crossed paths – glad we did on one of her last days though. Cosmic things…

Hoping she can bring me to this Algerian restaurant she spoke highly of. She also is a great cook, has a cat and is a weed smoker? Match made in heaven if I do say so myself…

Love:

Lol

Friendship:

N never responded. I have yet to respond to A, now that I have more time, I’ll get around to it…While nothing will change on a practical basis, I’m curious to see the ripples. It’ll be out of my court though so I don’t care.

Otherwise, same old. S and I chatting daily. One time we were both in bed blabbering, checking eachother’s profile on FEELD (disgusting) when I told him he should get a hoop earring. He said him and his brother were actually planning on going to get it pierced the day after, which besides the crazy coincidence, was great for me as I suggested they come to my regular lovely piercer, which they all ended up doing (S, M (brother) and V (friend). We all ended up getting pierced except for V (my lovely Irishman piercer wasn’t too kind that day for some reason), then headed to this exhibition one of their friends was in nearby (love love love people who hang in south). Gorgeous paintings, met a lot of S’s friends who all assumed I too was Spanish. I definitely need to perfect it though and I’m glad I have the perfect opportunity to do so now. We then headed over to this Turkish restaurant, had some delicious bites, and S talked about this radio show he had in Madrid about people’s anthems on Tinder. It’s funny because I had thought about doing something like that in the past, but here he was, with it already done and in such a flawless way I can’t even be mad. He shared with us the spreadsheet he had of all the data he’d collected during that project: names, descriptions, artists, etc. I was scrolling through it, switched tabs and saw this group jump out at me. I went “Oh okay Drexciya, nice” and S’s eyes lit up. He said that’s exactly the track that made him start the project altogether. Mind you, there were hundreds, if not thousands of songs in that document. It’s pretty surreal that I highlighted the one thing leading to its very genesis. After our meal, we headed to Set Social to unwind. We played pool, harassed by this drunk girl going by Miel who was enamored by V and I’s micro bangs, and potentially by S’s charm as well. At some point, my shirt lifted revealing my famous hip birthmark only for S to make notice of it, and tell me he too, has a birthmark on his hip. He lifted his shirt and showed me, leading me to comment on the spooky nature of our friendship once more, our unexpected twinship can be quite scary at times. V went off to this event for Palestine whilst S and I trailed behind playing scrabble. I think I failed to mention that V, besides being gorgeous and having a musician boyfriend buddies with Bjork in Iceland, is also a dentist? I love it. Anyway, we played until some of his other friends joined us. I fell napped for a few minutes, came back, discussed and left when S did. I then got home, napped and headed off to this event I got invited to by this other friend, who I met at an event S suggested. It’s kind of crazy the mechanisms that this man has engaged in my life. Music was good, met some baddies, got home, slept. Few days later I get hit up by said friend (I forgot to mention this is the same person who actually is besties with this girl who reached out to me on Soundcloud years ago for DJ advice, how insane) to DJ this fashion pop-up on Brick Lane for one of the girls that was present at that club event. I did, turned the party the fuck out, got a hype man who gave me all the confidence I needed in the world, lied to him about having a boyfriend and kind of really used S as inspiration, and ended up being offered a piece from that designer as payment. Can’t complain about anything really. I’m very happy. Everything is weird and odd and not really as planned but it feels like the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. I also attended this play with MS, it was super sweet. The guy from sex education (Ncuti?) what a legend… I truly had a blast, I love doing things, I love learning, I love discovering. I need to remember why I even came here to begin with and it was to experience new things…and it took a while but I’m finally there I think.

[therookieretiree]

Making use of your inventory - The Rookie Retiree

One of the first startling, but repeated retirement experiences I encountered was finding out that almost everything I needed, I already had, in multiples! Previously, there was always a never-ending shopping list of necessary items. Now, this was no longer necessary. Everything I required was already in the house! 

I felt like a fairytale character who just awoke from a long slumber. This dream was somewhat like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice or the movie Groundhog Day, except instead of buckets of water or reliving the same 24 hours, my life included purchasing similar items again and again. The pandemic had a coincidental effect on those who used their time inside to clean out closets. Marie Kondo through her book The Lifechanging Effect of Tidying Up, encouraged a nationwide purge of items which flooded every thrift store from coast to coast. Note to reader: I discovered this phenomenon well before the pandemic.

What was in the Archives? 

In the first few months after retirement, I found that I had every favorite cosmetic and cream in duplicates and triplicates, at least. Ditto on over-the-counter medications. I had enough day and nighttime cold medicine for a large, extended family. There were enough scarves in my closet to accentuate every color on the spectrum. I had handsome table and silverware in storage, that could now be repurposed for daily use. My closet held just the right jeans and jackets, purchased and rarely worn, that were now ideal for my weekly plant and animal volunteer duties. There was almost nothing needed that I did not already have! This bounty reminded me of an Isaac Bashevis Singer story I often taught to third graders about a man who traveled all over the world looking for gold, when it turned out it was already hidden in his oven at home.

How Did this Happen to All of Us? 

A look at the history of consumerism in America might provide the rationale for my previous behavior, and millions of others. There is actually a “theory of consumerism.” It states that “progressively greater levels of consumption are beneficial to consumers.” This idea, which pervades America today, was the result of the industrial revolution when goods became available for reasonable prices in large quantities. It was perpetuated after WW2, when consuming was perceived to be patriotic. No doubt Americans have reached the saturation point in this theory causing our collective environmental tragedy, spurred on by the incessant intrusion of targeted advertising on every electronic device. 

Before the industrial revolution, all goods were made by hand, and people did not go shopping. The wealthy had more items of better quality, and the lower classes had only what they needed, if they were lucky. All of that changed with the advent of stores. 

At first, people were happy to purchase quality products that would last, such as ovens and washing machines. Shortly thereafter, appearance became the commodity, not the function, as in striving to own the newest automobile. Shockingly, since the 1950’s, globally, we’ve consumed more than all of the humans who came before us! The plastic garbage in the oceans and the electronic waste piles in India remind us of this calamity.

Greedy Corporations are not Solely to Blame 

There are psychological reasons for over shopping, as well. We humans like to give in to temptation without thinking. Buying something makes us feel good for that nanosecond. We like to prove our self-worth by flashing our stuff. We like to maintain a certain image in our style of dress, our homes and our cars. We get bored. Shopping becomes a habit

There are other explanations, as well, which are out of our control. We are unknowing victims! We watch HGTV. Many live in houses that are too large and need to be filled up. We might have too much expendable cash. We are also victims of our own faulty thinking. We rather buy something to make us feel better, than do the hard work of solving difficult issues.

It’s a Generational Issue

Our generation has lots of excuses for excessive consumerism. We grew up when malls were the “Cathedrals of Capitalism.” We’ve seen the evolution of Costco, Walmart, and Target. Our spending habits have been nurtured by the media to run on autopilot. However, the tectonic plates are moving. Millennials love tiny houses and prefer experiences rather than things. The pandemic has forced all of us to look at how we consume and its effect on the planet and its residents. 

Where does this fit into retirement? I would say this movement is perfect timing for us! Since status is a thing of the past, there is no great need to polish your social persona. Having better clothes, cars, and household items is not a goal at this stage. However, what makes us different, is that we’ve earned the right to be discerning. If so inclined, you could do the ultimate de-accession of all your worldly goods, and move into a spare one bedroom apartment. For some, this would feel right.

For others, discernment and Marie Kondo’s idea of “what sparks joy” could be a guide. Since you already have more of everything that could ever be used in the next 20 or 30 years, purchasing in the future should have a very practical purpose. To create a pleasing environment and personal image, practicality should also include aesthetics. 

After clearing the clutter, taking a hard look with a discerning eye will chart your future course in the material world. Take note of your prior value of quality, design, and function. Have any of these elements been neglected? This is the time to create a physical world that is discerning, modest, and reflective of your values. That is the ultimate revenge for rampant American consumerism. 

  Source: https://www.therookieretiree.com/blog/i-have-everything-i-need

[rk-ocs]

A chat with my friend over OCs

I am loving Michelle.  She sounds pretty amazing. Like, I can imagine she left words on many people.

Red has a lot of mixed words, and its confusing to know if she has it right.

Her first words to Gavin are to tell him she remembered to bring him a subway this time. And he's like "who the heck are you?" beacuse at that point he's never met her. Gavins first words to her, were "wake up, I come with breakfest." far later in the future, beacuse greeting with food is apparently a thing with them.

Desmonds to red would be something like "so I hear you are good with false ID."

Red would reply "for the right price of course"

Reds first life-changing words came from the convieance store robber. "Don't move"

Her reply was "bah"

He still doesn't know what that means.

-------

I think he's like a sort of uncle to her. They are friends, and he asks her to make maps for his work, and genraly keeps her well feed, clean, hydrated, and picks her up from the hospitial. She needs people to take care of her, and Gavin is one of those people who does.

If it were significant words that people said to change your life it would be a very diffrent interpretation in their lives. Rather then announce the hairbrininger of change, it would be announcing the moment or significance of change which would be intresting to explore

It is, and it is represented by food here.

In contrast Desmonds dosemt seem significant at first , beacuse their initial meeting was one with a specific purpose. But later they rely on each other so much, and the initial words are so misleading.

The last is a brief meeting, not one of a lasting relationship, but a bit like being struck by lightning. Not a nice meeting, but worldchanging is not always brought on by nice people.

If I had to define her with a quote it might be

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn. William Nicholson

---

One of mine might be "I finally found someone who actually mentions Stockholm syndrome in a pokemon story and actually explains it quite well."

---

Yah It would be intresting to see what impacts me, and who

-The food things is cute. Like really cute holy shit

----------

I know right?

Whos words would be on your characters skins in a version of the soulmark AU I mentoned earlier. The one where the words are from someone who would completely turn your life around.

(it wouldn't nesscarly be first words that are important, but the words said announce the arrival of someone lifechanging)

That's the point of being Red.

Learning to overcome the challenges. Learning to balance.

I'm a fast reader, then I copy and pass it to you

Thats amazing, a great representative for Red. The fact she can deal with what's thrown at her , is wowie

---

The Five of Wands shows two types of conflict - outer and inner. The former arises when the world around you is filled with hassles and minor obstacles that would not slow your progress alone, but, when combined, they become increasingly difficult to overcome. The latter meaning manifests in times of difficult ethical choices, when the head fights the heart and when both are in combat with the conscience, each trying to tell you the best way to act and the right thing to do. It can indeed seem that you are being held back and attacked from all sides in such times.

When an outer battle is signaled by the appearance of this card, expect several problems to crop up all at once, each demanding immediate attention and none seeming particularly easy to solve. In the Rider-Waite variants the five combatants are evenly matched and armed, because none of them are any more important that the others. The situation then becomes a lesson about setting priorities calmly and without vacillation. In the Five of Wands there is a tendency towards rashness and loss of control, and you must be careful not to let that overwhelm you.

For inner battles marked by the Five of Wands the approach you must take is similar. Strategy is the key, because the energy of this card is natural, wild and untamed, an "every man for himself" philosophy. In such situations, once again, a clear head will prevail where hot-headed personalities get overwhelmed by difficulties. The emphasis is now on finding the sources of inner conflict and righting the wrongs that have caused them too appear. As long as there is guilt there can be no peace. Forgiveness and repentance, in these cases, make much more powerful weapons than the thickest wand or the sharpest sword.

The implementation of new ideas is a central theme of the Wands and the Five can show times where this implementation is halted or blocked in some way. This card may also appear when your ideas meet tough challenges by skeptics or opponents around you. At times like this, the best offense is a good defense. Hold fast to your resolve and let nothing deter you from your objectives. You will always succeed if you can tap the fiery energy of the Wands and, instead of using it for destructive purposes like fighting and quarelling, use it for constructive purposes. Compromise if you must, but refuse to lose your cool, even while standing on the hottest coals.

--------

I don't think it's a faimly curse. I think it's every few generations.  So perhaps Reds Grandmothers is cursed, her mom is not, and it hit Red the hardest. Or perhaps everyone has a diffrent curse.

Like say Her mom is cursed with Drive. She is so driven in her goals she ignores everything not related to her goal

An assassin who turned templar after he uncovered a first civ artifact that caused an earthquake. There's more to it than that, but he's pretty known in fandom for insisting he makes his own luck, which would make it kind of funny for him to have Red as a decendant

Meanwhile, I think reds patron first civ 'false god' either hates her, or is entertained by her misery. She gets into so much trouble. She does not have to even be doing anything, as evidenced by the convieance store robbery she first 'dies' in.

She has the weirdest luck, I swear

-------

No, but I'm glad you like her. Between her teleporting, and timetravling, flawed imortality, seriously increasingly convaulted backstory and now world jumping, I'm beginig to worry she might be risking a case of Sue.

The only cure for that may be failure.

Most of the time. Other times she would have no choice but to bulshit

RED QUEEN OF BULLSHITTING

--------

Oh God that's all pretty heavy, and not even cannon, so how about we have something slightly cannon and lighter.

Red messes up fourtuntellers. Any fourtuneteller she meets will spout strange things at her.

A Palm reader told her she had no lifeline and declared her a zombie, then she almost got stabbed.

It doesn't get better with Desmond (as a ghost at the time, and commenting on the shenanigans life throws at her) haunting her.

----

Fortune

"I don't know Desmond, anytime I do anything tangibly related to fortune telling, It gets weird. "

So that palm reader told you, that you have no lifeline. And her friend tried to stab you.  These are cookies. What could they do?"

Red frowned and cracked open the cookie. It smelt fine, but the fortune its self was very bizarre.

"While anyone can overbalance themselves they were cloudy, the true test is admission to someone else. Faults are tangible where permission is thin. The only real way to look bewildered is to not be backhanded so soon. Always try to do things in chronological shot, its less withholding that way."

-----

"I swear Red, this would only happen to you."

------

"I have some advice for you"

"Ok then"

"An option in hand is worth seventeen in the obstacle."

"A nineteenth-Century mouth manhandles no feet. An anonymous game believes anything but an essential game gives thoughts to his motorcycles. A copy in time integrates nine."

"Ummmm......? Whaaaaa???"

"Live well child"

-------

[smokestarrules]

Amity, Willow, & Sports™

Because watching Wing it Like Witches and then Any Sport in a Storm right after each other gives me Thoughts. 

Specifically, how Amity and Willow’s character arcs in these two episodes simultaneously mirror and contrast against each other. Firstly, something to note about both of these characters is that they’re at their most confident when participating in their specific game. 

For Willow, this is still somewhat of a new development. She’s finally coming into herself and realizing that her true personality is a lot less quiet than she’s been thus far. For Amity, confidence isn’t new, but confidence without a glass floor is. She’s genuinely talented at Grudgby, and she enjoys being naturally good at something. 

This is Willow’s monologue at the very start of of AsiaS. Willow’s passion for Flyer Derby is genuine and exciting, and she’s excited especially for the chance to lead a team at Hexside. She's good at it, and she wants to be good at it, and for Willow, being good at things is still something she’s getting used to. 

But this was undoubtedly the way Amity saw Grudgby, too; she works hard for every scrap of praise she can get, so having something that she's actually good at that doesn’t require constant work would be lifechanging. Grudgby is something fun, and she enjoys it. 

Now here’s when Willow and Amity’s stories part ways; instead of paralleling, now they contrast against each other, starting with the implications of this photo.

Willow’s good at Flyer Derby, wants to be good at Flyer Derby, at least in part because her fathers had once played. The sport might have even been the kick for them to fall in love with each other, which would mean Flyer Derby is responsible for how Willow’s family interacts at all. She has a tender relationship with the sport, and while I’m sure she genuinely loves to play as well, she also wants to do her parents proud with it. 

On the other hand, however, I think it’s safe to say that Odalia - at the very least - probably wasn’t a big fan of Amity playing Grudgby. It has nothing to do with her studies, so if I had to guess, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amity didn’t have to bargain with her parents to even get permission to play. 

Besides reading to the witchings at the library, Grudgby would’ve been the only thing that was Amity’s entirely, and as Captain of the team, she threw herself wholly into that feeling. 

But Amity’s downfall ends up being her own selfishness; she’s the Captain, and she lets that responsibility and cockiness go to her head. She wants to win, yes, but she also wants the win to look good, and so she makes a risky move in order to fulfill that want for more. A move that’s risky for her, yes, but even more so for her teammates. 

Which ends badly, to say the least. And it’s a wake-up call for Amity; she realizes that she doesn’t like the person she is during Grudgby, not if she’s willing to hurt her own teammates just to make herself look better. Her confidence in the game is utterly shattered, then, and it’s all because of her own actions. There’s literally no one else to blame. 

But Willow’s defining moment ends very differently. She purposefully gives the winning flags to Hunter instead of allowing him to catch her, effectively putting herself in more danger to take the win. She doesn’t care about the way she’s viewed, just that they’re able to triumph together as a team. When Amity was selfish, Willow is selfless. 

Both teams won their games, technically, but only Willow’s was a win worth celebrating. 

So, with that, it’s not surprising at all that Amity decided to quit Grudgby altogether, which is honestly a pretty mature decision to make. She didn’t like who she was when she was playing, so she made the choice to stop playing entirely in the hopes that that would help. 

Which is just a very long-winded way to say that s3 Willow and Amity are Sports Buds. 

[pocket-aces]

Headcanons about the Grey sisters ...but mostly Abbey because I rewatched those episodes

tumblr please don’t remove this one from the tags 🔫Also I still do asks for TSS characters so feel free to send me some 👉👈 

☁️ - Miranda is both the oldest and the favourite child. Their parents are strict, wealthy, emotionally unavailable and have a lot of rigid/traditional views that they force onto their daughters. They wanted their daughters to excel and have very successful or safe careers. e.g. doctor, scientist/researcher, lawyer - private schooling, best universities yadayada 

☁️ - Miranda and Abbey had a good relationship to begin with, and Abbey looked up to her, but their relationship first begun to sour with the favouritism. Miranda is extremely smart and her grades always reflected that, but her behaviour met their expectations due to that pressure of not wanting to disappoint her overbearing parents. 

☁️ - Abbey began to get jealous/resent her older sister as their parents devoted all the time to her, funding all her extra studies/tutors/projects, trying to get her into oxbridge etc. while she was chastised for trying to get their attention by acting out of line of their expectations. 

☁️ - And so Rebellious teen phase Abbey happened but it just got to the point where Abbey would keep doing things her parents disapproved of but she just learned how to hide it better. Aka. classic strict parents accidentally raising an expertly sneaky child trope.

☁️ - She scrapes by with good enough grades in school to get into some kind of university/college/apprentice course that she wants to do. (That of course her parents are probably disappointed with 😂). I’m thinking something related to anthropology or history given her canonical love for lost civilisations. Hence, Abbey is just as intelligent/book smart as Miranda, she just has no interest in maths or science and prefers studying human history. 

☁️ - Through a combination of some of the unethical or immoral things she did at uni to keep her education funded + her knowledge about human history + her drive to become more financially successful than her parents thought she starts taking mercenary-style jobs. These aren’t on the scale of what she’d do later on, but things like stealing artefacts or recovering them from dangerous spots nobody else will - things with a discreet but big payout so she could finally cut her parents off. Although she’s still on speaking terms with Miranda at this point. 

☁️ - So Abbey is doing these jobs on the down low and is doing well financially, she does other random jobs like babysitting Zak who I think she geniunely cared about to an extent? I think the money was just much more of a motivator than any care/admiration towards the saturdays and that she wouldn’t have gone after them if pay wasn’t involved. (can’t say the same for Doyle though)

☁️ - The parenting style of their parents p much raised two emotionally unavailable women who are incredibly stubborn and refuse to reveal their feelings under almost all circumstances, even with eachother. Especially for Abbey who now securely values money and fierce independence over love, family or affection. 

☁️ - Miranda moves to Antarctica (to get away from her overbearing parents and the weird world trauma because think about it nobody with that much money would choose to live there unless they wanted as little contact as possible). And that only deepens the rift between them. 

☁️ - At some point Abbey becomes more immoral, going to work for Van Rook and doing jobs that require more than just stealing/recovering things illegally, at which point Miranda cuts contact with her. 

☁️ - I do wonder what would happen to her after canon. I think the ending scene suggests that Miranda and Cheechoo eventually got back onto speaking terms with the Saturdays + Miranda probably earned some brownie points by stopping Beeman. I think for Abbey to quit the merc game there would have to be something serious or lifechanging happen. Aka. She might eventually parallel Doyle and learn something that makes her question if chasing the money rather than working on healthy relationships was worth it. 

☁️ - I’ve seen thoughts that their surname is a play on ‘morally Grey’ and I can definitely understand why. While Abbey is definitely more immoral than Miranda, both don’t set out to cause harm without a motivation, for Abbey that motivation is money but for Miranda that motivation is the greater good, disregarding emotions and personal feelings for the idea of the greater good by freezing Zak and therefore stopping kur. Hence any collateral damage they cause is ‘in the job description’ 

[bitchesgetriches]

hey auntie bitches, can I get this off my chest? I got a lifechanging non-retail job late fall 2019… and then laid off just short of a year later because covid. I’ve been applying for jobs, doing everything “right”, getting occasional first and second interviews that seem to go really well… and then hearing nothing ever again, or receiving a rejection email if I’m lucky. Do I smell bad? Can they tell that I smell bad over the internet?

My friends are sympathetic but in fields where they’re changing jobs on purpose/getting promoted/taking funemployed breaks between positions, so they have helpful advice like going to a coding boot camp. Aunties, I don’t want more school or a whole new field, I want to do any of the wide range of things I already know I’m good at.

I know the rational reasons why the job market is tough right now and why other candidates might be getting picked over me. And the social safety net has caught me, but I’m just so demoralized and sad, and it’s hard to write cover letters crying.

My darling late-blooming petunia... you smell wonderful. Like fresh-baked cookies! But that's not the problem.

You are a wise and insightful person. Yet it's hard to rationalize "the state of the job market has nothing to do with me" with "I keep getting turned down for jobs." Like... even if your stagnated job search is not your fault, it's pretty hard not to take it personally! I don't blame you for feeling demoralized! It IS demoralizing and anyone in your shoes would be hard-pressed not to feel the same.

So along with my deepest sympathies and commiseration, I'm going to offer some radical advice: stop job searching. Just take a break for a while. Maybe that's a week, maybe it's two weeks. Instead, do the things that fill your cup--the things that make you feel rested, rejuvenated, and filled with joy. Maybe you start listening to a new podcast, reading a new book series. Maybe you start a new workout routine or reconnect with friends through some socially-distanced quality time. Whatever it is, it should be just for you and not at all related to the job search.

Then, return to the job search. The time away should make you feel refreshed and ready to look at your job search in a new light. At this time, try some whacky new tactics for getting employed. Or start your own business. Something you've been scared to try before now. But the point is: you need a fucking break from this heartbreaking, miserable experience.

Why You Should Take a Break: The Importance of Rest and Relaxation

[mikami]

heya luna! hope you’re well. I really enjoy your blog and wanted to ask - as weird as it may sound - why you like death note? Ofc I like it a lot too, but I thought you might have some interesting reasons as to why you’re so passionate about it. along those lines, I was also wondering what other stories/shows/movies you enjoy? take care!!

Hey, thank you for the sweet ask!!

This honestly made me sit and think for a while - I've been into Death Note so long that it feels self-explanatory and I hardly ever really put thought into what I like about it? So it was fun to ponder.

Part of it is of course just the extremely major role it's played in my life. A lot of lifechanging relationships were facilitated by shared love for Death Note for me. If the show came out today, I'd probably be nowhere near as passionate about it because I'm older and because the history I have with it strengthens my love as is now.

BUT THAT ASIDE.

What really drew me into Death Note was being spoiled for it. At the time (2008, I was 14), the idea of the protagonist of a mainline shounen dying in a totally un-aestheticized way was completely new to me and I was immediately fascinated and needed to know how it got there.

Since I read Death Note totally out of order, I actually never had any attachment to the thriller element of it that's the main draw of the whole franchise.... ah..................

I still think the striking and brutal deaths of L and Light are its absolute strongest points though and I genuinely appreciate these writing choices as bold moves, even today.

I also like the atmosphere - the fact that every non-Wammy character is just kind of a boring suit-wearing average joe adult is something that most people spice up with headcanon immediately, but I love it... I love the 'tense coworkers' vibes, I love the 'these people are so goddamn ordinary and non-nerdy and far removed from my living reality' vibes. Like, this level of 'standard' is so unimaginable to me irl, it's like entering a fantasy world. I ENJOY THE DREARY SUBTLE EMOTIONAL TENSIONS OF IT....

Also I'm obviously just really attached to Mikami and Light as characters and I think that is the main reason I am still here and active after all this time.

For other media: currently I am HUGELY into Gundam, it consumes my everything. I'm big on Beyblade. I'm an animation-watcher primarily, live action media tends to not interest me much. There's a lot of anime I am passionate about, it's hard to list haha.

But my MAL might be an indicator.