^ live footage of me rn

Hello spn georg! I have a question requiring your deep knowledge. As much as I swooned over Carlos's holy water hair commercial, I was confused because I thought damage by holy water was just a demon thing in the spn universe. It burns vampires too?

Hello! I have to start this off by sobbing, because I had written out a VERY long and detailed response to this, lost track of time, had to run an errand with a split second notice, and left this open and unsaved. And then returned home to find my laptop had rebooted itself and ate the entire post. So. I have to recreate an hour's work that was VERY THOROUGH, and therefore this will never feel like a good enough answer to me... hopefully it'll suffice for you :'D

(honestly this is what i get for writing directly in tumblr. you'd think i would've learned this lesson by now, but nope... i'm back writing this response in tumblr too lololol... hopefully it goes better this time >.>)

I mentioned at the top of my original post that I had another anon venting about folks review-bombing the Winchesters ratings on imdb and other ratings sites, and agree with the anon that these are awful people with nothing better to do with their time, because THE SHOW HAS BEEN TELLING US FROM THE BEGINNING THAT IT WILL EXPLAIN WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON IF WE JUST WAIT UNTIL THEY'RE READY TO REVEAL THAT IN THE NARRATIVE. They've been telling us they are dropping CLUES as to what the "trick" of this story is-- like how Dean is exploring the past, how directly this affects the canon of the original show, and what is actually happening-- and I see all of these head-scratchers like holy water suddenly affecting vampires as exactly those sorts of clues. Let me explain.

What did established canon have to say about vampires and holy water? NOTHING! ZIP! ZERO! Established canon has never mentioned holy water in conjunction with vampires in any context-- either as being effective at repelling or slowing them down, or as being useless against them. For all we know, Sam and Dean could've had another weapon in their anti-vamp arsenal all these years, and just never thought to give it a try. They had dead man's blood and beheading as their go to weapons, maybe they felt they didn't need anything else? Either way, they never even TRIED it.

So established canon never DISPROVED holy water as an effective vamp repellent. Introducing it in such a gloriously fabulous way now doesn't break anything.

Oh, and we've often learned that unexpected things are effective weapons against various monsters over the years... i mean, wood chippers trump everything, right? LOL!

And can we just pause for a moment to discuss that? Because this is the sort of thing fandom has been clamoring for more of in canon for years. There have been many posts over the years that are basically lists of Awesome Hunting Tools that canon never even considered, like filling hula hoops with salt to play demon ring toss with, stuff like that. Because that hair flip? Have I mentioned how much I love Carlos? Okay, now I have. I honestly don't care if it broke canon even a little if it gave us that scene :'D

BUT! Even if holy water always could've been an effective weapon against vampires in original canon, it's easy to handwave with "Sam and Dean couldn't have learned it from John because John was too busy being dead inside (LOL sorry not sorry) while Carlos was busy being amazing with that little trick outside." Maybe John just never even knew holy water would do anything.

And if none of that is enough to handwave it for you, I'll jump back to the top of this essay and vehemently point at what should be incredibly obvious based on everything we know about how this show is being constructed. WE ARE *SUPPOSED* TO NOTICE THE INCONSISTENCIES. THEY ARE THE CLUES AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING.

There are SO MANY wtf head scratch moments for me in The Winchesters. So many things are are just ~ever so slightly off~ based on everything we know. And that's not even mentioning the Big Obvious WTF of John supposedly knowing all about hunting, the MoL, monsters-- all of it, that doesn't line up at all with what we have SEEN of John and Mary's life in original SPN canon.

I mean... Samuel has hair now? LOL!

There is SOMETHING going on that will hopefully provide an AHA! SO THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON! moment for us. There is a twist, a turn, a peek behind the big curtain that will show us what's been going on. WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT WILL HAPPEN IN EPISODE 13!

So saying at episode 9 that it's all crap and invalid because it doesn't line up with established facts is just... such a boring stance to me. Like, enjoy the mystery! Piece together the clues!

For my other anon again, I can see how it would be fun for folks who have no idea about original canon, who don't even know they're even looking at clues because they haven't memorized every last detail about original canon, you know? But for those of us who know enough to pause and scratch our heads over this stuff, golly isn't it fun wondering how it all fits together? Because I'm having fun with it. :D

But hopefully that at least covers your question about holy water and vampires.

even if I'd typed up a much better reply before tumblr ate it...

Is Bought abandoned. Or will you return some other time later? I hope you do continue. It has the best characterisation of Lily

I've received, with no exaggeration, at least a few dozen asks almost identical to this. I won't bore you all with posting them all, but hopefully this will answer the question. Read on or don't, but this is the last time I'll probably talk about this for a while. I neither expect a response to this nor particularly want one, tbh. Please don't leave me hate.

Inspiration is difficult enough under the best of circumstances; inspiration under fraught circumstances comes even more difficultly. Watching Bought and fics like it explode the Jily fandom several months ago really upset my ability to write for a long while. I'm only now getting back into the swing of it. A lot of that came from really nasty, vitriolic abuse I received in my inbox that I'll never post because it never should have been sent. I think that sort of reaction, sent repeatedly to any author, would probably discourage even the strongest of writers.

I still think Bought and fics like it have a place in the fandom and deserve creation. I also think that people are well within their rights to dislike them and not want to read them or interact with the people who create them. In the very first chapter, I was explicit about the content of the story for that very reason--so people understood the plot and the triggers and could make their own decision based on their own life experiences as to if they wanted to engage or not. I don't think the people who were offended were wrong; I also don't think that the people who enjoyed reading it--or, in my case, writing it--were wrong either. I do think it's wrong to spew hate at anyone regardless of what "side" of this they fall on--and I hate that there are sides, because I consider fandom a place where people should be able to create and interact as they see fit without feeling targeted one way or another.

I know I came to this space in 2020 as a place of healing after I lost my parents, and it's meant a lot to me to have a space of escape from the ongoing legal and personal ramifications that still continue. Although that's my personal story, I know a lot of people also see this as a safe space and I'd never want to contribute to taking that away from them. But the only person who knows what makes a space safe for you is you. (A general 'you,' obviously, anon.) There are things frequently discussed in fandom that I purposefully avoid. As a sexual assault survivor, I don't engage with fics that deal with any sort of theme of sexual assault. It's not good for me and I know it, but I think those fics have a purpose--even those that might glorify it, which was an accusation frequently given towards the fictional, magical racism in Bought (although I could write an entire separate essay about why I don't think that's true). I curate my experience accordingly, because only I know my triggers, and what upsets me might not upset another sexual assault survivor or another woman or another reader generally. I'm not trying to say that fictional sexual assault and fictional racism are the same, just as their real-life counterparts are not. What I'm trying to say is that your life experiences and triggers and squicks are valid, but only you know what they are.

As an author, I feel a responsibility to warn you about what you're going to consume before you get into a fic, which is a courtesy that most traditional media doesn't extend. As a reader--or a follower or a member of the community--I view it as your responsibility to decide if you want to engage or follow or interact. If not, please block me. It doesn't and never has hurt my feelings. In fact, I'm all about it. Protect your mental health and make this space safe and happy and enjoyable for you.

I still really love Bought. I love Lily's courage and her internal conflict and the sheer messiness of the entire situation. I love the idea of redeeming a man who irl doesn't deserve redemption, and I think that there can be learning done in seeing a fictional character come to reckoning for the choices they've made in a way that most people irl will never face. I think there's catharsis in that. I hope to come back to Bought someday, although not now. If and when that happens, I hope the people who find the fic distasteful will have taken steps to keep my content from reaching them, just as I hope that the people who enjoy it will be excited to see it return. That's it, really.

i just want you to know that your theories are what made me want to get into stranger things, and seeing you and your friends fall into this strange rabbithole has me feeling like watching a bougatti get in a car crash in slow motion. kinda feel sorry for you D: lol it's giving religious fanaticism lowkey...

anyways i come to say this: there's a reason you get bombarded on twitter and tumblr so often. it's because you're always being mean! like mean, in a mean girl, cliquey, looks down on other people kind of way. mean in an unprompted kind of way. maybe i'm hypocritical for saying this, esp on anon, but i feel like that's something you need to hear, even if i know you're just gonna laugh at it. it seems like that's all you and your friends do on here.

HELLO! Well, to start, I’m glad that my theories got you into ST! Second of all, I’m sorry that you feel that way, but I’m having a blast- going down this rabbithole of analysis has been a ton of fun for me trying to connect the pieces! There’s no need to feel sorry for me, I’m having a great time. Just because my content isn’t something you enjoy anymore/isn’t something that’s catered to anyone except me and what I’m interested in (because it’s my blog and I talked about whatever I want to), doesn’t mean that my content is bad/some sort of car wreck lmao. And regarding your weird religious fanaticism comment- so what? Who cares! I’m going to be as deep into something as I want to be! You’re really quite judgemental, arent you? Why should I be ashamed of enjoying something and being passionate about it? Maybe I should have Henry/ST crucifixes made or something…

And Anon, look, I get the criticism, I do, but I think there’s a lot of pieces that you’re missing.

If you want to talk about mean girl behaviour, let’s talk about the byler burn books and confessionals that were tearing into people like James, Stav, Bre and I just for doing analysis before we even started getting into any sort of discourse. Let’s talk about the people who lost their minds and accused me of glorifying eating disorders and told me how disgusting I was because I posted my own genuine, not snarky at all analyses regarding Mike’s eating disorder. Let’s talk about people sending me my legal name/deadname and province in my anon box over Mike Wheeler eating disorder discourse if we want to get into mean girl behaviour. Let’s talk about people like Dani accusing me of being a biphobic rapist apologist tonight and coming into my replies condescendingly/vaguing me before I even started having any sort of actual “beef” with her. Let’s talk about me and James trying to bury that hatchet with certain people on byler tumblr only for them to shittalk us again after we let our guard down & were being nice with them & thought we’d genuinely talked through and resolved any conflicts.

I do think you’re hypocritical for saying this on anon, but at least you acknowledge it LMAO! And what’s the problem with laughing at it? Like I said, 99% of the time, it’s other people coming at my friends and I and making very hurtful real-life accusations (calling use pedophiles/pedophile apologists/rapist apologists) and talking every five seconds about how stupid we are. It’s like, if you had people telling you every day unprompted how stupid you are even when you’re just posting your analysis with zero snark or sass involved, wouldn’t you start to get a bit annoyed with it?

And I also think that when I’m not obviously hateposting, a lot of my passion gets mistaken for anger or condescension. I am VERY EXCITED about this stuff, me using caps or asking rhetorical questions isn’t me being mad or sassy, it’s literally me being very Excited. I can come across as blunt/scary sometimes, but part of that’s also just The Autism and me structuring things like an essay/debate when it comes to analysis because that’s just how my brain works.

And genuine question for you- can you give me an example of a time where you thought I was unnecessarily mean? Because I can almost definitely guarantee that there’s more context to the situation that you’re aware of. Hell, even the things on twitter, like with Sapphicjopper, just started with me pointing out that Sapphicjopper missed a detail about Henry’s age and ended up with Sapphicjopper claiming that I was accusing them of a hatecrime simply because I said it was a bit weird to constantly try and ignore Henry’s canon age and claim he’s older in canon (not just like aging him up for an au or whatever) for the sake of shipping him with Joyce/other girls & making weird/flippant comments about any queercoding he has.

I’ve said before that I don’t have any judgement towards people who don’t understand theories- when I call somebody stupid (as I’ve said before), it’s not actually about how smart they are or if they agree with me or if they understand xyz theory, it’s instead about people who come at me unwilling to even be openminded at all. I’m stupid as fuck sometimes, I get things wrong all the time, but I do make a genuine effort to keep an open mind and admit when I’m wrong.

Thanks for the ask! Also, your ask comes across as very mean girl and backhanded and condescending at times, so maybe you should keep that in mind. Your attempts to be genuine are overshadowed by your condescension, judgemental and backhandedness, unfortunately.

A writing question if you don't mind-when you write those longer articles or essays, do you write by hand or typing? How many drafts do you normally go through? I'm trying to find my own voice as a writer and any suggestions on process would be much appreciated!

My writing process is terrible and I am embarrassingly undisciplined when it comes to writing. I barely even write anymore! It used to be so much easier for me and my problem was that I was ridiculously long-winded, but now I have trouble just getting focused enough to knock out a few paragraphs. I'd kill to go back to the days where I just started writing and everything flowed, but it's almost as if someone flipped a switch and I just ran out of power. I have no idea when things changed, but they definitely did so over the past few years.

I have no formal training as a writer. (Obviously.) I've never taken a writing class or workshop, but I wish I had done so years ago. I feel like I've handicapped myself over the years because everything was self-taught and I really could have benefited from some sort of foundation. I never learned how to outline anything or even make some sort of rudimentary plan for the topic I plan to write about. I have a couple of notebooks with various ideas that I consider writing about, but the "ideas" are usually just two or three words I've quickly jotted down to remind myself of topics I might want to explore. And I imagine that 98% of those ideas are never revisited. Like I said, I'm awful at this stuff.

When I do finally zero in on something and start writing, I just start typing. In fact, I almost always just start directly writing whatever it is that I'm writing about as a Tumblr post. I don't write anything by hand and rarely even use something like Pages or Microsoft Word. I just start making a post. Here's the really dumb part: not only do I not write numerous drafts, but I usually just sit down and write stuff in one sitting, from beginning to end. If I get stuck or lost or don't feel like I can find the right ending for what I'm writing, I'll just delete the post. I have no idea how many words I've written on Tumblr over the past 15 years (!!!), but everything I've published is just a fraction of the stuff I discarded because I wasn't happy with it or wasn't feeling it. Even the things that I didn't complete give up on are frozen in time in the drafts of my Tumblr dashboard. They are currently 128 drafts saved to my Tumblr dashboard. I couldn't even guess when (or if) I've ever revisited those drafts; it's as if I kept them around just in case I completely and utterly change the manner in which I've created content over the years. Spoiler alert: I will not.

I'm an idiot, quite frankly, and should have taken some sort of writing classes years ago. I probably would have created a ton of content if I had some sort of a foundation that allowed me to craft better stories without feeling the need to start over at the first sign of trouble. If I'm writing something else that isn't intended to be published on Tumblr, I still have a similar "process" where I try to write my piece in one sitting and toss it all if it doesn't feel right.

I implore you not to try my idiotic writing "process" at home. It's undeniably counterproductive and I wish the Men In Black would have used their little memory erasing machine on me to erase those bad habits over the years. It's shocking that I was actually able to publish as much content as I have over the years despite not having the slightest idea of how to effectively and consistently write!

With all that said, I will add this about finding your voice or your own writing style: just keep doing what feels good to you. If you enjoy writing -- as I genuinely did at one point -- it doesn't matter what other people think about your work. It's yours and unless you're taking some sort of class or working some sort of job, nobody has any right to grade what you're doing. When you start worrying about how other people are going to judge your work it starts to actually feel like work, and if writing is an important outlet for you, it's important to not let strangers get in your way. That's when it stops being fun or fulfilling and if it's not one of those things or you're not getting paid money to make the changes to your work that people think you should make, then what's the use of writing in the first place?

Feed Me

Pairing: Alpha! Keiji Akaashi X Omega! Reader, Alpha! Wakatoshi Ushijima x Omega! Reader, Alpha! Rintaro Suna x Omega! Reader

Genre: Fluff

Request: Ooooo what about when Alphas 🐘 ( maybe akaashi, ushijima, rin and kuroo) find out that their omega has not been eating enough like (their only eating little things like granola bars or fruit) so their upset that they had to find out through someone else and they scold them for that but then their told that they have gain some weight and that gets them even more upset because they think their perfect etc.

Summary: Some times, people do things because it’s what they think is best. You don’t tell your alpha about some weight gain you’ve noticed, and try taking care of it yourself because of this.

Author’s Note: Hey, you. Yeah you. The beautiful person reading this? You are perfect. You are worth it. Your feelings are valid and you shouldn’t feel bad about having them. You are so amazing, and even if I don’t know you, I am so proud of you. You are so strong for making it so far. Keep going. Never change. :) Also your nice comments? Literally my dose of serotonin

did I mention my OC one or twice? Yes. Am I sorry? No. Also, idk if anyone is curious, but Yuka doesn't actually go to Shiritorizawa but whatever.

Requests: Closed!

Buy me a coffee?

Trigger Warning: Mentions of (Semi?) Starvation.

Keiji Akaashi

➵Now, Keiji is pretty on top of omega and significant other care.

➵ Like, weirdly so. It's honestly kind of creepy?

➵ In an endearing way.

➵ He always says 'Bokuto-Kun prepared me in a way.'

➵ Honestly, he loves doing this for you too!

➵He loves caring for you so much.

➵ Like I firmly believe Akaashi's love language is acts of service.

➵ So things like bringing you food, leaving sweet notes in your locker, helping you with your homework.

➵ He lives for doing these things.

➵ Especially feeding you snacks and things.

➵ It made his inner alpha purr because that meant he was caring for you. Providing for you.

➵ Being the very thing that made him worthy of an alpha.

➵ Prove that he could continue being the alpha you needed and wanted.

➵ Unfortunately, there were downsides.

➵ Your hips had the beginnings of small love handles, a little more chub on you tummy, thighs a little squishier.

➵ Let's not lie, Keiji absolutely adored this, by the way.

➵ I also think one of his biggest kinks is praise

➵ He makes sure you know how loved and how perfect you are.

➵ It's sometimes hard to believe him though.

___

"Y/N?"

You hummed an acknowledgment at Keiji's call, typing the final words to your essay before turning to look at your beautiful alpha- Sometimes you questioned how you hooked him. His gorgeous emerald eyes shining with love and adoration.

"I'm gonna go run and pick up some supper, what would you like beloved?" He came up to squeeze and massage your shoulders, leaning down as he pressed a small peck to your temple, your purr a sweet melody to his ears.

You swallowed behind your purr, trying to hide the small panic in your eyes. Your mind instantly flashed to your reflection this morning, how you pinched your hips with a frown. You already had been slowing down on the snacks, and fast food made you shiver.

"I-I'm okay for now, Keiji. Thank you though." You smiled, nonetheless, holding Keiji's cheek in your hand. He quirked a brow, frowning slightly before nodding lowly. Another peck was pressed to your cheek before he left, ordering your favorite from the diner he took you to for your first date.

-

"Beloved, I'm back." Keiji called, once more tearing you away from your essay; you were always thankful for the distraction though. He set down the take out bag, taking out the top box and handing it to you before shrugging off his jacket.

"Keiji? I said I was okay-"

"I didn't believe you. Now come on, you need to take a break and I'm touch starved." The raven didn't even look behind at you before pulling out his own box, dragging your rolley-chair to the bed. He pulled his sweater over his head, handing that to you as well before giving you a sweet peck.

His eyes locked with yours. Your breath hitched. So many silent words swam in his eyes, asking you, demanding you, to tell you what was wrong.

"I just- I've gained a little weight lately and-"

"And? My love, you are just as gorgeous as the day I met you. Nothing is wrong with a little weight, even if I think you're foolish to think you've gained weight. Never think otherwise. Even if you do, let me know, my job as your alpha and boyfriend is to make sure you feel as good as possible no matter what."

He slipped the sweater over your head, rehanding you your meal that he took from you momentarily, running a hand through your hair.

"Your my beautiful omega. Nothing should keep you from your happiness."

Wakatoshi Ushijima

➵Unlike Akaashi, Wakatoshi is little more...Hesitant (In a way) when it comes to omegan care.

➵ He never really learned how to? Ya know?

➵ Both his parents were alphas, and he was never around omegas consistently enough to learn.

➵and it's not like you were a volleyball that he could use the same techniques to up-keep.

➵ He also couldn't ask his team.

➵ Well, he could, but only one other person on his team had an omega. (It was Satori and his advice, though helpful, could only go so far.)

➵ He was doing good though, especially with you holding his hand through the entire thing.

➵ The first time he noticed something was up was when you didn't show up to lunch-- texting him a picture of you in the library, tongue poking out as you held up a peace sign to assure him you were okay.

➵ When he brought it up to Satori, who had his own omega (A small, but fiery brunette named Yuka) leaning on his side as she played some sort of phone game on his phone (Mama's slusheria? He thinks?) .

➵He explained he didn't know what was going on with you while Satori listened with a hum before giving him a sad smile. "Sorry I can't help you further Ushi-waka, but as you can see-" He slid his unfinished lunch towards Yuka, who popped one of the Dango skewers into her mouth without looking up. "I'm not very familiar with the problem."

➵ He offered his help as much as he could nonetheless.

➵ He slowly began to pick up on smaller things, locking them in his steel trap.

➵ Like a good boy :)

➵ He put hours of research into omegas after this (not that he hadn't previously). Keeping strenuous notes beside him.

➵ They were colorful and highlighted :)

➵ And he followed the advice that 'Mommy Luna-boo' posted on the blog he found like a goddamn Mantra. ('Sometimes Omegas need a little more love! Their bodies, especially during high school years, will change a lot! They may feel a little down! As an alpha, make sure you remind them how beautiful they are!')

➵She was mother Theresa and he was her follower.

➵ Well after he followed you.

➵and after he made sure you were feeling better

___

"Omega?"

"Toshi."

Walking into your dorm room, Wakatoshi set down a small bag filled with goodies. He set it down on your bed as he sat down as well, watching you carefully.

When you gave him a small smile with a quirked brow, he took a deep breath, remembering everything Tendou had coached him through.

"Have you been eating enough lately?"

You sucked your tongue at the question, shuffling your shoulders. Truth be told you had been missing out on a few lunches after noting a few extra pounds you hadn't noticed earlier. You never meant to worry him, that was never your intention, but it seemed the world was working against you. You had no clue where to go from here. If you told him the truth that would do nothing but worry him, but lying was never good in any form of relationship.

Your hesitance to tell him was more than enough though, as his larger lands encased your own, holding them tightly.

"Why?" His tone wasn't accusatory nor was it angry in the slightest. Genuine curious if anything. If he could get to the bottom of the root of the problem, he could prevent it from happening in the future. Right?

"I- I just...Noticed a few extra pounds and-"

"That's it?"

You looked up to him with a tilted head, like a lost puppy. "What do you mean that's it?"

Pulling you closer, Wakatoshi effortlessly pulled you onto his lap, using one hand to dig through the bag beside him while the other wrapped around your hips. He pulled out a few of your favorite snacks laying them out in front of you.

"That's, in my opinion, a silly thing to worry about. If you feel that's a big problem, I can offer my services to you in any way you wish-- whether it be support or as help, it is my job to be there for you." He nuzzled your scent gland, voice rumbling against your shoulders.

You purred in response, leaning back onto your alpha.

Rintaro Suna

➵ Suna is a lot like Akaashi in the sense that he has incredible observational skills as an alpha.

➵ His eyes are like sniper scopes.

➵ The minute something is wrong, he's on it.

➵ Like he looks aloof but he's not.

➵ He had notes.

➵ So hiding something from him is not easy at all.

➵ But you two most likely ended up together because you gave him a run for his money.

➵ You made him work at being an alpha.

➵ And he loved you for that.

➵ It did come back to bite him in the ass though.

➵ The only reason he heard about this was because the betas at Inarizaki were loud mouths.

➵ Honestly he learned so much tea from them.

➵ Like this third year was sleeping with a first year because she planned on baby trapping him and-

➵ It was wild.

➵Though most times it was nothing more than a source of entertainment for you and him to laugh about.

➵This time the gossip was actually useful.

➵ He wasn't thrilled they were talking about you, but provided some very useful information.

➵ And he was set into action.

➵ typing a few things onto his phone he set out to find you.

___

"Rin, I said I'm not hungry-"

"I know and I'm making the executive decision to ignore you."

He squinted his eyes at the carefully written instructions in front of him, sending a silent thanks to Atsumu's mate Haruka. (;)) She had written a step by step instruction sheet to making Onigiri while also dropping off all the ingredients (Pre-prepped). The only reason she didn't make it was because Suna's alpha, no matter how much he trusted her, wouldn't have let it near you.

"Rintato-"

"Look, Y/N. I love you, you know that. You know a lot of things, you're my smart little omega. So you must also know this isn't good, right?" Sliding a plate of, albeit mediocre, onigiri towards you, Rintaro focused his gaze on you.

"You know this, eh?"

You swallowed before grabbing one of the triangles, nibbling on the top in an attempt to appease your alpha. His sharp gaze still focused on you, making you shiver as he rounded around the counter. He turned you around so you were facing him, his hands holding your hips.

"You know this."

You wilted under his expectant gaze, knowing what he wanted from you. "I know this."

He smirked, leaning to take bite from your snack, licking his lips as he did. "Good omega."

"Rintaro that's mine!"

hey! I'm the same anon of the soul question. I'm not trying to convince you or anything (and I know that if I start by saying this it looks like I am actually trying to do it but please, believe me, I don't! I'm just curious) but across the years there were many things that didn't have proof of their existence but still did exist. and now we have proof of it because we studied them, we researched.

sooo basically this turned the discussion from the soul topic to the limits of our knowledge one but... what I mean is. everything can be studied, I think that not setting up limits to knowledge is what distinguishes a genius from the rest. I am not saying this to say that your reason doesn't make sense of something like that, btw!! I just think that everything could be the topic of studying. and your blog sparks so much emotion that for some reason, it's strange to know you don't believe in souls. I think I may link you to the concept of soulmates a lot, since I was quite surprised by this information ahaha

ps. also. there are many definitions of what a soul could be before even questioning if it exists or not. I think I have lost the thread of this discussion and I did this by myself in your ask box, I'm so sorry. I just talk a little too much, and I've been trying to write a sort of essay on this topic since last year, so I enjoy talking about this kind of stuff way too much, I recognize it. I hope it didn't bother you!!

Oh I'm not bothered at all, this is what my blog is for!!!!! You see that's what bugs me about souls: there are so many discussions about what a soul could be, not what it is. And above all, I can't start solving a puzzle that I won't ever be able to solve. Not entirely. I use the term soulmate as something a little bit different? I don't think things happen for a reason, I think people make them make sense and by that give them reason. I think it's all about what we do. It's that concept of soulmates being made. That's what I believe in. When two people meet they are just two people making a connection, there's no string connecting them before they decide to tie it between them. Because most of all, I believe in choice. So when I obsess over platonic soulmates excellence or "invisible stringing", what I mean is: I met you and understood you and you met me and understood me and we got here in spite of the cruelties of the world and we chose each other. It's about choice. That's what I meant when I said how I believe in souls as a metaphor. When I say soulmates, I mean companionship and understanding. I mean all these little things that make somebody similar to someone else, not because some unknown force made them that way, but because they influenced each other by sharing thoughts, ideas and experiences.

I know about the pre-existence theory, I know these things technically can be studied, but... that's the kind of studying that just couldn't satisfy me as a person. The very idea behind souls is that they're non-material. What substance are they made of then? If they exist they have to be made of something. Simple negation of a statement, in this case "souls don't exist", isn't enlightening. It's just a statement. There isn't any weight to it. Believing in souls would require me to believe that there's mental activity that's entirely disconnected from the brain which is something I'm willing to believe in only if there's a (even a mere!) possibility of it being true. (trust me, if I had even a little something to work with here, I'd be on it, obsessing and travelling to soul-sights) It's too big of a thing just to be simply accepted without any kind of specific element, any specific knowledge, just a tiny little clue from an external source. I'm willing to learn, I'm just not willing to accept something as the truth without any confirmation or a clue as to why it should be true. "I think not setting up limits to the knowledge is what separates genius from the rest" I agree! But isn't the very concept of souls something that's supposed to be believed in, not studied or ever fully understood? A soul shouldn't be confused with the mind. Because you can believe in something that goes beyond the mind without necessarily calling it a soul. You can think there's something more to being human than just brain chemicals without believing in souls. I don't think souls are real. But do you know what I do know is real? People believing in them. That's real. And it's exactly the believing part that's the most valuable to people. Proving the nature of souls, no matter the outcome, would take the believing part away from people. And then they'd find something else to believe in without any proof. That's what I meant when I said: souls are something people made up to feel better about being human. There's no material reason for that concept to exist, no initial observation that sparked that thought. There's only people needing to believe in something bigger than they are, that there's something more to life. I think life is not as little or unimportant tho. I think life is what you make of it. I think living and being here is important. And all these interesting things waiting to be discovered and understood!!!!! Right here! I don't need to believe in souls, in something that's gonna outlive me and has already outlived me before I was born. Maybe it's just that it takes a certain amount of control away from me. But I genuinely think living this one life and being here just this one time and making whatever I want of that is far more meaningful.

A little something on Demons: an(extremely) informal essay of sorts. Which is mainly going to be my opinions/beliefs.

Hey! You're probably wondering who I am, and why I've decided to sit down and write about my own, personal, beliefs on this subject. So, let me introduce myself:

My name is Alexandria, please feel free to call me Alex! I'm a 17 year old lesbian, who doesn't know what label to put on myself in terms of spirituality. Or, if I even want to label that!

Am I an expert in this topic? No.

Am I a psychic medium? Well... if you count having the ability of Anthroposomancy; then yes. I am.

Am I a professional/have I fully, 100%, developed my skills of Anthroposomancy? Absolutely, positively, not!

But! I see a whole heck of a lot of misinformation being spread on the topic of Demons! And, I would like to hopefully help beginners, or even some advanced peeps out with giving out some true information, rather than garbage.

Let's get started!

“A 1997 newspaper poll in Great Britain showed more than 90 percent of adults admitted to believing in the paranormal. But because this phenomenon is elusive, preferring to lurk on the fringes of real life and almost never turning up for appointments in laboratories, the paranormal has been denied for decades.”[1] This is a quote by Uri Geller, I'll be linking sources at the end of my post for further reading(if you feel so inclined).

These same paranormal forces have basically been the pioneers of religion and society possibly long before anceint history was a thing! But, they do not officially exist in the minds of those who wish to control other people; be it for money, power, or simply by fearing if others don't believe as they do, their own stability will be lost. Sound familiar?

Before we go any further, I just want to point out that I am an ex-catholic; and I am by no means trying to steer people away from any branch of Christianity. All I'm doing is pointing out what happened in the church I went to, and comparing it to how I thought about these topics in the past, and what my own research has lead me to believe.

So, whether you want to believe it or not; Christianity is a fear-based religion.

But Allie! Christ literally said: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). So, how can this religion be based around fear?

"Sometimes, however, Christians have an inordinate fear of losing the things of this world. This is a fear that comes from unbelief. ..."[2] There is, in fact, more to that quote; but I will start by explaining this part in particular. I have a BIG problem with the people who cherry pick out their "O so sacred book," if it was their father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, then why did he flood the world?

Moving on to my original topic so I don't get heated in this post; what I'm trying to say is that all these religions that try to hide knowledge, or only give you a select few bits and pieces of knowledge... They are possibly the root of all "evil," in a spiritual sense.

Why?

Let me give you an example of the demon who is the first duke of the power of the east; his name is Agares.

And no, I'm not saying we should all worship/summon demons; I'm well aware of the mayhem that would cause. But! Where do we find demons? In the dark. Why are most of us afriad of the dark? You can't see anything/it represents the unknown. What if I told you that "the dark" has more knowledge than the word of a preacher? What if I told you that this is the very same darkness that the world was subjected to before God theirself blinded the inhabitants with his "holy light"?

So, why did I bring up Agares? He is what is known as a fallen angel and the second of the 72 Spirits of Solomon. Prior to his fall, Agares was a member of the angelic order of Virtues.

What is a biblical Virtue? "Virtue has been defined as “conformity of life and conduct with the principles of morality.” The virtues are thus the practical attitudes and habits adopted in obedience to those principles. ... To these four, Christianity added the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love."[3]

But, if we are talking about demons, darkness, and knowledge... Why would a demon want to share knowledge? Why is darkness scary? Why is knowledge in the dark?

Why would an all loving and all knowing God kick out the angles that THEY CREATED, for not obeying his every word and command? Or better yet, for questioning him? Why would this all loving God not want to show their face(s)? We don't have a clear picture of what they even look like! Heck; we think Jesus is a white dude! He grew up in the MIDDLE EAST!

But, demons on the other hand!! They have knowledge. And they are willing to share it. If we are talking specifically about Agares you can...

"Seek Agares for wisdom in friendship and to make your garden grow. He also gives advice on financial matters with regard to projects.”-From the Daemonolatry Goetia ( 2010 ) – Written by S. Connolly

But! I think I've babbled on for far too long. let me know if you peeps have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer!!

LINKS:

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uri_Geller

2: https://founders.org/2017/11/16/fear-and-the-christian/#:~:text=Christians%20can%20feel%20faithful%20fear%2C%20or%20anxiety%2C%20about,his%20child%20runs%20out%20into%20a%20busy%20road.

3: https://www.britannica.com/topic/virtue-in-Christianity

(1) This is a tall order, esp since I know how busy you are, but I really want to improve my writing, and I'm too nervous just yet to actually send any real samples of my work to anyone for criticism, so I was wondering if you'd be open to sharing some tips? I really admire you as a writer, and I've looked through your writing tag and I found your recent response to an ask about what to do/what not to do extremely helpful.

(2) I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing some things that people do "right'? What makes a fic stand out to you? Is it the description, the dialogue? Or for instance, what about certain fics on your round-ups make you like them? You can be as specific or as vague as you want. Obviously I'm not trying to copy anyone's style or anything, and I know what I like and what makes me like fic, but I'm curious to hear from someone who I think is such a talented and skilled writer. Thank you!!

goodness, first of all, thank you for your kind words about my writing. i think knowing what you like and digging into why is a really good place to start. take fics (or books or essays or whatever) that you enjoy and look at how they’re physically constructed. examine the sentence lengths, paragraph lengths, word choices. do they use a lot of internal monologue or hardly any? is it dialogue heavy or not, and does the dialogue stand more on its own or is it interwoven with actions? what kind of literary devices are at play--alliteration, metaphors, symbolism, personification, etc.--and how frequently are they used? does the story itself sort of meander slowly through the plot, giving you lots to look at along the way, or does it run from plot point a to b to c as quickly and easily as it can? 

the goal of course isn’t to find the “right” answers to any of those questions--there isn’t one. it’s not like you can say, okay in order to write a successful story, i need it to move swiftly, use frequent metaphors, and have very little dialogue. there’s no magic, winning combo like that; any of those things can work in infinite combinations and can also fail spectacularly in them too, lol. the idea instead is that if you can pull apart the building blocks of what you like, that will give you a better idea of how to start putting things together in your own stories in a way that speaks to you. obviously, like you said, you’re not looking to outright copy anyone else’s style, but knowing how the stories you like are built lets you better decide what pieces you want to play with and adapt and roll into your own style.

aside from that, there are a few general pieces of advice i would give you, regardless of what building blocks you can pull from stories you enjoy. these are things that i think most good authors do in some capacity.

i’m gonna put them under a cut so that this doesn’t get too long on anyone’s dash...

1. listen to the way your writing sounds. 

i mean this in a few different ways. on a word choice level, some words are lyrical and soft, and some are ugly and harsh. use the right sounds for the right situations. obviously you should choose words appropriate for the meaning you want to convey, but at the same time, the sounds of the words themselves can affect not only the flow of your sentences but also the emotional reaction of your readers. think about turkey shoot when david describes the bug that takes chunks out of your skin, emphasizing that that was the specific word google used. chunks as a word has a harsher, grosser sound than other options they could have used, like pieces or bites maybe, and so the specific use of that sound adds to the horrifying vibe. choose words that capture not only the meaning but also the feeling that you’re going for.

i also mean that you should literally listen to your writing by reading it aloud if you can. are there places where you stumble over words? your readers will stumble there too, so consider what you can do to make it smoother. have you lost track of a sentence’s meaning by the time you get to the end of it? consider breaking it up into shorter ones that make it easier to digest. reading aloud can help catch so many things that you don’t notice on paper, especially after you’ve been looking at it for a while. you’ll get a better feel for if things are choppy or long-winded or repetitive, etc. and can make adjustments as needed.

this last one i think often makes people feel ridiculous, but i always, always advocate for reading your dialogue aloud in your best impression of the character’s voice. is it kind of ridiculous? absolutely, and i don’t necessarily recommend doing it in front of people (unless you want to make a party of it lol). but if i put on my terrible attempt at a david voice, i can definitely tell whether or not the dialogue sounds like something he’d actually say, much more easily than if i just read it as me. 

2. ask why.

why is this character doing or saying this particular thing? why is this scene necessary? why am i spending so much time describing their outfit? why can’t he just kiss him already? why why why why why. don’t just put words on a page. interrogate what you’re doing and the reason for it, and decide if that reason is good enough to keep doing it. and generally, if the only answer is because i like it, that’s probably not a good enough reason. you’ve heard the phrase kill your darlings? this is why. just because you like it doesn’t mean it’s doing anything for you, and if it isn’t revealing something new or pushing the plot forward or doing something important for you story, it’s got to go.

there’s a scene in a later chapter of the baseball fic (which i’m obviously not going to spoil lol) that when i was editing the chapter last week i thought, what is even the point of this scene? what am i accomplishing here? what would i lose if i cut it entirely? why is this here? and the main answer that i had at the time was honestly that i wanted [a certain thing later in the chapter] to take place in the evening, so i needed something to happen earlier in the day to kill time. and that’s not really a very good answer lol. i liked the scene but it didn’t really feel like it was doing anything. so my choice then was either to cut it entirely and figure out a different way to get things moving into the evening or to make sure that the scene is actually accomplishing something more than just moving time along. i ended up talking it through with my beta, and she helped me figure out what to tweak to make the scene a more important part of the overall plot arc. and so now i have a much better answer to the question of why it’s there in the first place.

3. tie emotions and thoughts to the physical.

feelings are messy and nebulous, and sure, we all on some level understand what happiness or fear or sorrow feels like. but just telling us that a character is anxious doesn’t do anything to put us in their shoes. you’ve probably heard the writing rule show, don’t tell, and that’s precisely what i mean here. show us in concrete, physical ways what your character is feeling or thinking. that can be a literal manifestation of their emotions, like them wringing their hands or tapping their foot when nervous. it can be a more metaphorical one, like heat pooling in someone’s stomach when they catch their partner’s eye. or it can be something more symbolic represented in their environment instead of themselves, like a character who’s not sure about something noticing a chip in a tabletop, the answer they’re missing represented in the missing piece of laminate. those kinds of details help to put readers in the character’s place and evoke a stronger, more empathetic response.

4. write dialogue the way people actually speak.

people generally don’t say every single thing that they mean (or mean every single thing that they say), and they don’t usually speak in paragraphs, so don’t write dialogue as if they do. unless your character is the supervillain who has trapped the hero and is now [stupidly] explaining their entire masterplan, it’s unlikely that they’re explaining everything in a monologue without interruption. in reality, people tell half truths, only say as much as they absolutely have to, outright lie, stumble through apologies and admissions, pause for thought, interrupt each other and themselves, trail off without finishing sentences... and even if you do need someone to make a big speech, it’s unlikely they’re going to get through it in one smooth run. put in verbal tics. let them struggle their way through, if that makes sense for them. at the very least, they probably aren’t going to say every thought that’s ever come into their head, so let them hold some things back.

and to kind of bring this back around to the first point, write your dialogue in a way that mimics the way you want it to actually be spoken. as a practical example, in grad night, the dialogue and accompanying actions for david getting the gift could be written as something like:

“Ummm, this is not nothing. So thank you,” David says, looking up at Patrick who gives him a tiny flash of a smile.

that’s not inaccurate. but if we make just some small changes to that, we can better reflect the actual pacing of that part of the scene:

“Ummm,” David says, “this is not nothing.” He looks up at Patrick who gives him a tiny flash of a smile. “So thank you.”

writing it that way more naturally mimics the pauses in david’s speech by inserting the [short] dialogue tag and the [longer] action in between the pieces of it. it forces you to read it more at the pace at which he actually says it. so play with the way you’re writing your dialogue to make it flow the way you actually want it to. if your character isn’t actually speaking in one long, unending string without pausing for breath, don’t write them a paragraph of unbroken dialogue that reads that way. on the other hand, if your characters are having a rapid fire, back and forth argument, stick to mostly just their words and keep the actions between them brief, if writing any at all. and again, read it out loud (even if you don’t do the voices) to get a feel for whether or not it’s working the way you expect.

Savannah & Jac

Savannah: what's going on? Jac: Big drama Jac: huge Jac: where are you??? Savannah: I needed privacy so this conversation wasn't a big drama for Ty Savannah: but now all his friends are here, like, freaking out Jac: Yeah, they're gonna be Jac: is Carter in there or? Savannah: No Savannah: why are they saying the party's over? Jac: It's for the best he's done a runner Jac: God knows what her mother will do, wouldn't be surprised if she calls the police Savannah: Oh my god, Ty's parents will lose it with him if that happens Jac: Is has lost it, big time Savannah: how drunk is she? Jac: She just came into the main room crying hysterically Jac: saying Carter forced himself onto her Savannah: what are we going to do? Jac: We need to sort this Jac: she called her mum, I couldn't stop her Savannah: she'll tell all our parents & like you said it's likely to go much further Savannah: this is my party, MY idea Jac: It's not as if we knew Jac: who even is he Savannah: I'm still going to become the girl who threw a party where her friend got assaulted Jac: No, we're not going to let that happen Jac: we just have to work out the best angle for us Jac: we either support her fully, but then Ty will have to go, and the rest of them Jac: or maybe we can convince her it wasn't as bad as she thinks Jac: if she's drunk, maybe she could've misread it? Savannah: do you know how much she's had to drink? Savannah: OH MY GOD, I can't believe I'm asking that Savannah: of course we have to support her, she didn't consent Jac: You know Is, she always has too much Savannah: & I know she loves drama but she wouldn't go that far Savannah: would she? Jac: I don't even know Jac: I know nothing about this Carter boy Jac: he was obviously saying the opposite before he left but Jac: this is so not how this night was supposed to go Savannah: I was literally mid-breakup Savannah: I can't handle this Jac: We need to go Jac: I'm not sober enough to fully think out our plan right now Savannah: Me either Savannah: what about Is, will she leave? Jac: I think her mum is coming, like now Jac: but I think, we get her to mine Jac: calm her down so her mum doesn't like Jac: do something major Savannah: Are your mum & dad there though? Savannah: maybe we should take her to my house instead, my mum is fully medicated by now Jac: Good idea Jac: I'm just saying, get her away from here with a hot drink and a shower, she might feel different Savannah: & if that doesn't work, she could take a pill, I do sometimes Savannah: they do help Jac: We could talk to her mum for her Jac: say we're looking after her Savannah: which we are Jac: Exactly Jac: she just needs to calm down, I'm sure Savannah: okay, let's go Jac: [The next day] Jac: is your mum losing it? Savannah: She called my dad Savannah: but my auntie is the one who's FULLY losing it Jac: Jesus Jac: I'm so mad Jac: this is ridiculous Savannah: what happened with your parents? Jac: they won't stop going on about it Jac: asking stupid questions Jac: acting like I should be going down the station myself Jac: literally how would I know what happened??? Jac: none of us were in the room with them Jac: if Is' mum has decided she wants to do that then that's her business Savannah: have you heard from Isabelle? Savannah: Ty won't speak to me, I don't know if his mum took his phone or he just hates me now Jac: No Jac: and I've sent her like hundreds of messages Jac: all I've got is people who weren't there asking if it's true or sounding off at me for what Is has said Savannah: ^^ I was sending her messages all night Savannah: you're the only person replying to me Jac: I feel like a complete pariah Jac: I didn't sign up for this Savannah: This is all my fault Savannah: I never should have put Carter forward as a someone suitable for Is Jac: No, you didn't know Jac: you'd never do that if you did Jac: he seemed like a fun guy, someone she'd like Savannah: I can't stay in this house with everyone shouting at me Jac: Don't Jac: let's go somewhere Savannah: I'm essentially on surveillance like a criminal, there's no way Jac: Well, don't you REALLY need that research book from the library to finish your psych essay Jac: surely they won't stop you studying? Savannah: You're incredible Savannah: I swear my brain is barely functioning Savannah: except all these intrusive sad thoughts, they are of course in full flow Jac: This is some bullshit Jac: but I'm gonna protect you Jac: this is so not our fight Jac: the adults in our life just need time to calm down Savannah: It's really not Savannah: obviously I feel bad for Is but there's nothing I can do other than feel that right now because the lines of communication are closed Jac: ^^ Jac: Precisely, we can only be there for her as much as she wants us to Jac: and like, how rude if we tried to make this about us by getting overly involved Jac: it didn't happen to us, I'm not going to go into hiding or whatever my parents want me to do like something bad happened to me Savannah: Exactly, I'm heartbroken that I wasn't there because of what was happening between me & Ty, but I know that doesn't compare to what she's going through Savannah: she doesn't need my guilt being thrown at her Jac: I don't think anyone appreciates that we feel guilty enough without them implying we could've done more Jac: is this the time to be playing the blame game at all, people?! Savannah: ^^ my auntie thinks I should've been there holding her hand all night or something Jac: everyone is suddenly friend of the year Jac: like, well, we're actually her only real friends Jac: where were you all then? Jac: just happy to judge us now, it's so unfair Savannah: I saw how quick Amelia popped up, excuse you girl, where have you been? Jac: that's her ALL over Jac: doesn't put any work in, swoops in to play hero when it suits her Jac: between her and Is' mum, god knows what they're saying about us Jac: the woman does not like me Jac: 'cos I try to help lift that stifling codependency she's got her daughter under Savannah: & she's just so INTENSE, it's no surprise Is' mum is team Amelia Savannah: I'm not apologising for us having a life that Isabelle isn't utterly in the centre of at all times Jac: SERIOUSLY Jac: it was so awkward when it was just the three of us Jac: Amelia so wanted Is to herself Jac: maybe I should have left them to it Jac: sorry I didn't want to be alone, guys, thanks Savannah: I hate hearing that Jac: Well, it might be just us now Jac: if they turn everyone against us Jac: I don't even care Jac: I can't wait to leave this town and never look back Savannah: If I've got you, who else would I ever need? Savannah: becoming friends with you was the most life-affirming and empowering thing that's happened to me Savannah: I'm not going to lose sight or let go off everything I want & have worked hard for because last night went wrong Jac: And why should we? Jac: Is shouldn't let it define her life and who she is Jac: we certainly shouldn't, it's like, in the nicest possible way, nothing to do with us Jac: We know what we need to do, where we're going Jac: nothing has changed Jac: people can say whatever they will Savannah: If my family wants me to trust in what they're saying instead of everything you are, they need to have enough faith in me & my choices to let me leave the house Savannah: & they aren't Jac: Like, I'm never trying to put a wedge between anyone and their family Jac: but mine are being exactly the same so I can say Jac: they're coming from a total place of fear, they're overreacting like WHAT IF the bad thing happened to us Jac: but it didn't, and they can't protect us from the world by trying to tell us what to do Jac: Is' mum is always like that...look what happened there Savannah: SO true Savannah: I won't even mention how they're overlooking the fact that I'd never let anything like that happen to you & you would never let it happen to me because that's the kind of friendship we have Savannah: isolating me from you, isn't protecting me, it's very harmful actually Jac: We need each other Jac: you're my safety and I'm yours Jac: as much as I don't care what people think, what they say Jac: that'll be different if I don't have you Savannah: You'll always have me Jac: Swear on my ❤? Savannah: Of course Jac: Then we've got this Jac: whatever anyone is going to try to throw at us Savannah: We've got each other Savannah: There's not a single thing anyone can do to make me stop loving you or needing you in my life Jac: I love you Jac: and I know your ❤ and your intentions and I see nothing but pure goodness Jac: I'm not going to let anyone say anything less Savannah: you're 👼🏻 & if people can't recognise that, they're the ones who need to check in with themselves and their world view Savannah: they certainly don't know enough about you to speak out if they're TOTALLY unaware of what a ray of light you are Jac: You're going to make me cry Jac: You're the sweetest kindest soul and you deserve none of this bullshit backlash Savannah: we're leaving it behind us Savannah: you're right, the library isn't off limits Jac: I'll meet you there then Jac: where we go after is our business Savannah: 🙌 Jac: We'll be back before anyone notices Jac: do you think we should try to call Is, or see her or Jac: do we leave it up to her Jac: might be the kindest, you know her mum has taken over everything else right now, with Amelia now, like 🙄 Savannah: If her mum has her phone, she could call ours Savannah: I'd actually be under house arrest then Savannah: she's unlikely to be up to seeing anyone anyway, I barely slept myself, Is won't have Jac: Yeah, true Jac: I feel like I'm in enough shit considering I've not done anything Jac: have you heard where Carter is, what he's doing about this whole situation Savannah: I keep hoping Ty will reply & tell me anything that's going on, but he hasn't Jac: How did you end things with him Jac: like, did you or? Savannah: I was trying to do it gently, you know? Savannah: so of course I didn't get to say everything that I wanted to before we were interrupted Savannah: but he can read me well enough that he obviously knew where the conversation was supposed to be going Jac: He's probably in a state of shock Jac: given that and then what happened immediately after Jac: I'm sure he'll come 'round soon, give you the closure you need Savannah: I can't cope with not being able to speak to him when he's bound to have these unanswered questions Savannah: all the pain he's going to be in when he finally feels it Jac: It's unavoidable Jac: part of being human, growing Savannah: I think I'm in shock too Jac: You are Jac: we all are Savannah: I didn't even take any of my mum's meds but it feels like I have Jac: everything is cloudy Jac: we only have like a tenth of the story and none of it makes sense or feels real Jac: like a joke or nightmare Savannah: ^^^ Savannah: You're real, I'll feel better when I see you Jac: that's why we should be together right now Jac: our family weren't there, they have even less of a clue Jac: together we can actually make sense of this and Jac: get back to some semblance of normality Savannah: how can we stay together? Savannah: I've only just walked out of my house & I already don't want to go back Savannah: that's without even considering how stressful school will be Jac: how can we go back? Jac: Is won't be able to Jac: everyone is talking, whether they're on her side or not Jac: we need to go somewhere Jac: have a break from all of this before we have to face it Savannah: but where? Savannah: & how when our parents are insisting on this degree of control? Jac: if they're not willing to be reasonable and cooperate with us Jac: don't see why we should have to Jac: we know this is what we need, what's right for us, right? Savannah: Yes Savannah: & we've earned our own money, I haven't touched any of it since we started Jac: Exactly, we've got enough to get far away enough and live comfortably for long enough to process this Jac: we just need to get as much out here before we leave Jac: first thing they'd do would be to check where our card was last used, need to stop the papertrail Jac: then we have to leave our phones here Jac: we'll write down our important numbers and get a burner, we're not stupid Savannah: You're the only person I want to talk to right now and I'll have you with me Jac: ❤❤❤ Jac: and like you said, we protect each other, nothing bad is going to happen Jac: so, you want to? Savannah: we aren't going to let anything happen that isn't what we need Savannah: I want to be with you, I feel like whatever my family is scared of would be much more likely to happen if I'm not Savannah: there's way more danger to my mental health if I stay here Jac: Then we're going Jac: luckily a rucksack won't look out of place for all the books we're meant to be carrying Savannah: Should I act like I've forgotten something & go back? Jac: I can pack spare clothes for you too if you like Jac: but your own might make you feel more you, more normal Savannah: that's such a good point Savannah: we've lost enough normality Jac: everything feels so different now Savannah: it does Savannah: but how important you are to me hasn't changed Jac: I know when I see you, everything will feel better Jac: and we'll know exactly what to do Jac: it's how it's been since I met you Savannah: all we have to do is keep trusting the universe & each other Jac: I trust you both entirely Savannah: I know I let you down but I promise that won't ever happen again Jac: you could never Savannah: I did! The party was an awful idea but I selfishly demanded it & if that wasn't bad enough I left you alone after insisting I needed you there Savannah: we could've been together, nothing would've gone so wrong Jac: but I let Is go off alone with him Jac: I should've spotted there was something off about him Jac: THAT off Jac: it was both our idea Jac: but that wasn't Savannah: Baby, you can't think like that, you didn't even know his name, how could you EVER realise he was that kind of person Savannah: Ty didn't & they were on the team together Jac: Yeah, Ty isn't like the other lads Jac: because some of them definitely knew Jac: but Ty wouldn't put up with that, would he? Savannah: he would've told me if he knew Savannah: all he said was that he thought Is would be better off going with someone from our year Jac: Yeah Jac: he was kind of insistent on that, we thought at the time Jac: but that's probably down to how innocent Is is in lots of ways, like we thought then too Jac: or was Jac: Poor Is Savannah: I feel sick Jac: I know Jac: me too Jac: I'm on my way Savannah: He was always so gentle, I had to make the first move, like literally every move Savannah: he can't have known Jac: No, no way Jac: he's not that kind of boy Jac: I'm just at that place where I don't know who I can trust BUT you Jac: everyone seems like a suspect Savannah: If he'd just talk to me Savannah: everything's SO messed up Jac: do you want to see him, before we go? Savannah: I can't, for the same reason we can't see Is Savannah: his mum would call my auntie as soon as she saw me & he's not going to agree to meet me anywhere else Jac: In a few days, you can call him Jac: we'll go to a payphone Savannah: okay Jac: It will be Jac: I promise Jac: you'll see Savannah: I don't have to see it to believe in you Savannah: you've never let me down

this is the anon who asked for you age? i wanted to know bc i'm 17 and i want to get into fic writing, but i'm under confident in my writing abilities. and while i understand that you can write fic at any age, i also want to write Good Fic and you write so welll. so ig a better question should have been how long have you been writing for? bc bloom is the first fic you've posted on ao3 and your tumblr looks fairly new? but everything you write is stellar. do you have any tips?

age anon continued: what is your writing process? how do you come up with your ideas? how do you plan? do you start with description or dialogue? ooh and on another topic what is your favorite thing to write?

Oh! I see!  Okay, I will say, there isn’t that large of an age gap in between us, so I wouldn’t even worry about that! 

This is going under a cut, because I think it will get long.

So, I wrote some fic when I was in middle school and then kind of got out of it when I lost confidence in my writing.  I stopped for like, four/five years (with the exception of essays for school–lots and lots and lots of essays, which is writing practice, I guess, but a very different type of writing), and just picked it up again this year.  I wrote bits and pieces for a tododeku fic that never really went anywhere back in the fall (though I really would love to pick it up again, I had a lot of fun stuff going on there, and there were aspects of it that I honestly think turned out a lot better-written than BiW) and then in January I started Bloom in Winter!  And now I’m here.

So I mean, I didn’t really have much practice doing creative writing over the past couple years, which sucks, I wish I did, but I did READ a lot.  I read a lot of really, really well-written stuff, both fic and published books.  And I think I developed really distinct tastes as I did?  I figured out exactly what stuff I liked in other peoples’ writing (both in terms of tropes and style, as well as like grammar/structure/etc.)?  I read a lot of stuff with powerful imagery and a lot of stuff that was crazy abstract.  

So for myself, I guess I would say that I got most of my grammar/spelling skills from writing a lot of essays in school, and then any skill I have at making Words Sound Nice I got just from? Reading a lot and thinking about what other people did that worked for me?  Especially if there’s a specific part or passage that really fucking sticks in your mind.  Read that section again and again and figure out what made you like it.  Did it make you feel a certain way?  HOW did they?  It’s more than just words and imagery–sentence structure and length will play a role in it too.

Ah, my writing process varies, I guess?

I came up with the idea for Bloom in Winter because I was thinking about the concept of Villain!Izuku, and I was thinking about how divisive it is in the fandom, and I was thinking to myself about how, exactly, I–as someone who isn’t personally that into villain AUs–would be interested in seeing the trope done.  And it grew from there.  Then, I had a mental image.  Even before I had any of the fic planned, I was thinking about Izuku, in oversized hoodies and a dark green scarf, with a scar twisting its way down his back.  Once I had a basic scenario, I actually just fucking went for it?  The first 75% of chapter two was the first thing I ever wrote for this fic?  And I have personally found that writing actually gives me more ideas?  Like, you  might start an idea not knowing where you want to go, and then find your path?  So after I wrote that 75% of Ch 2, I went back and did Chapter 1.  Vicious was inspired by a book of the same name, written by VE Schwab, for a variety of reasons (the basis for his power for for certain components of his personality come from a couple different characters in the book, and I named him Vicious as a more direct reference), and then once that happened things started to kind of fall into place?  A lot of the pivotal scenes came naturally after that–the situation with Aizawa, the big reveal, how I’m going to handle OFA, and the roughly the note the fic is going to end on.

And that’s about all the outline I have?  I have a general endpoint, as well as certain scenes I want to hit and subplots I want to cover, but I don’t have a chapter-by-chapter outline?  Which might come back to bite me in the ass later, I can’t be sure.  I’ll typically type up a vague outline of what I want to happen in a chapter just before I write that chapter (and I mean. Vague.  My outline for Ch 6 looked like ‘Midoriya and Shinsou scene? Somehow? -> Midoriya has meeting with Hisashi, make as awk. as possible -> Midoriya and Yagi meet again? Midoriya goes to Yagis place somehow.  -> league of villains meeting’).

And then I often find what happens is that while I’m writing earlier scenes, I’ll come up with ideas for later scenes and then can add them to my outline as I go?

My only other tip for coming up for ideas is? Don’t be afraid to look for inspiration in other pieces of media?  My demon AU that I’m working on (which didn’t really kick off until I started writing it, and I got more ideas) draws inspiration–either aesthetic, or story, or lore-building wise from *takes deep breath* Blue Exorcist, Raven from DC, Constantine, Harry Potter, and DnD.  (That sounds like a weird amalgamation, I’m sure.  I swear it’s not.  Technically the AU itself is a Blue Exorcist!/Raven!AU, but the mood/tone of the fic is 100% Constantine inspired, as are parts of Izuku’s characterization.  The society/magic system is a sort of mesh of DnD and HP.)

Anyways….wow, that got long.  I hope it helps, though? 

hello sorry to disturb you lovely person but i was wondering if you had some advices to have a better literary analysis, or a better culture well, i mean how can i improve my literary intelligence basically ? ( it may not be really clear but i hope you'll understand because i feel like i'm lost... )

hello anon! no need to be sorry, ur not disturbing me at all :+) feel free 2 send an ask at any time ✨✨✨

i’ll attempt to answer this by splitting ur ask into 2 parts. first i’ll try to give some tips on literary analysis, and then i’ll try to talk about the sort of wider awareness of lit (or the culture as you call it).

a little disclaimer: pls bear in mind that i am by no means qualified to speak about this in any way (i still very much consider myself a learner). i’ve generally been left alone throughout my education to do my own thing, which is a good thing in some respects and a bad thing in others; i don’t have the solid foundations that most ppl do, never following things like paragraph structures throughout lower school, and i didn’t know a thing about metre until the start of this month. however, because of my education i think i’ve managed to avoid a few conventional pitfalls. so, in short, you can take as much or as little of this advice as you like!

PART 1: literary analysis

• an excellent way to boost your analysis straight away, dull as it is, is to learn some literary devices beyond, say, alliteration and personification. being able to spot things like chiasmus and epiphora not only wows an examiner, but also enables you to talk about more things within a poem/ book/ play and thus broadens your literary scope in close reading.• remember that for each literary device you mention you should say what it REVEALS (DO NOT just list!!!). the best essays move from a literary device to an explanation of why this device is used - what does it reveal about a character, the speaker, or even the society that the poet or author was writing in?• rhythm and meter in a poem tick boxes in an exam, but can also lead to insightful analysis. how do the rhythm and meter add to the overall message of the poem? does, for example, the metre give a regularity to the poem? why might this be? is it broken at any point? how is this significant?• the above can be applied to rhyme scheme, too. look out for rhyming couplets at the end of a poem, which may give a sense of finality to the poem (or may seem to give a sense of finality when in actuality the speaker of the poem is far from decisive…).• it is important to remember that a particular rhyme scheme (or metre) doesn’t ALWAYS mean anything; it can mean different things in different poems, so instead of applying a ready-made formula, try to go into the exam knowing how to identify these aspects of a poem and then try to work out why you think the poet has used them in that particular poem. flexibility is key, which can be daunting but also somewhat liberating.• i personally find a ‘scribble method’ quite useful. this is where, when first approaching a piece of writing, you write down everything that comes into your head, regardless of how messy, or how basic. you then sort through your ideas, expanding upon what you think is worthwhile and discarding what you think is not. this method is generally more handy when not under time pressure, though, as it can get you into a muddle in the exam.• start simple and build up. it can be tempting to jump straight in but sometimes when you start simply new things can reveal themselves as you work your way up into more complex ideas! • perspective is extremely useful to consider. who is speaking and why? are they biased or objective? who are they speaking to and why?

unseen exam tips

• in an exam, i would approach a poetry or prose extract first by simply reading it, and trying to find out what it is about. then i would go through and highlight words/ phrases of interest, and label literary devices. finally, i would go through it again and build the main analysis. a brief paragraph plan can be useful before writing the essay.• acronyms can help sometimes as a go-to in an exam when you don’t have much time. for example, i use CFTTSOL - content (basic story, characters, who is speaking and why etc) form (poetry, prose, drama etc), tense (past/ present etc), tone (happy, sad, why? is the tone at odds with the subject matter? in emily dickinson’s ‘because i could not stop for death’, for example, the poem is about something dark but it is very jolly), structure/ syntax (rhyme, caesura, enjambment, any disrupted syntax, etc) other (anything not mentioned in the rest of the categories) and language (similes, metaphors, assonance, etc). i would recommend finding one that works for YOU and makes sense for YOU, because creating your own can really help to ease you into analysis.

PART 2: literary awareness

• read, read, read! i cannot stress the importance of wider reading enough, and also the importance of thinking whilst you read (making notes/ annotating books whilst you read is advisable). i am speaking from experience here - i didn’t read outside of the curriculum at all until the end of last year, and since i have started my literary analysis has increased tenfold. this is partly because practice is vital, but also because wider reading gave me an awareness that i could never have expected to gain. it enabled me to start making links between texts, genres, periods, etc – i began to see patterns and conventions in literature. for instance, a poem that breaks convention is easier to spot and talk about – to use a very basic example, a sonnet (usually a form of love poetry) about brutality/ violence toys with genre. if you had read some of shakespeare’s sonnets, you could then compare the violent poem with sonnet 18, to elucidate your point. this isn’t to say that you didn’t already know that sonnets were love poems, or that you wouldn’t have picked up on this without wider reading. but having read sonnets outside of class means that you can talk about this with greater clarity, authority and confidence.• i would also advise you to push yourself with the literary material you explore. it is difficult, but try to find nothing intimidating - read thick victorian novels, read modernist authors, read kant if you want, and even if the prospect of reading ‘harder’ texts doesn’t thrill you then try them anyway - you may be pleasantly surprised! part of the difficulty of studying this subject is that preconceived ideas can erect barriers and put you off. it is important to totally bulldoze these barriers and remind yourself that nothing is above you, and that you are capable. that’s not at all to say that you can’t read ‘simpler’ texts, and of course it is probably wise to admit to yourself when you perhaps need a greater literary background before you tackle a text (for example, i tried joyce’s ulysses, a modernist text full of allusion, when i have a barely working knowledge of greek mythology, and i admitted to myself that though it would not be impossible for me to read it, i would like to read more widely and then return to it in the future).• w i k i p e d i a. it’s often sniffed at but honestly don’t be afraid of using it! it’s an excellent way to absorb info fast. also don’t be ashamed of using websites like sparknotes if you don’t understand a poem to begin with! u shouldn’t rely on them for the crux of your analysis but they can be helpful to get started!• it’s perhaps obvious, but it helps to remind yourself that literature isn’t just fiction - try to read some critical essays if you can, and look at philosophy, history, psychology etc and how they relate to literature as studied in school. this is actually wayyyy more fun than it sounds (!) and will improve your general literary knowledge.• tumblr, whilst being a killer procrastination station, can also really help to broaden your knowledge. reblogged quotes from famous writers often stick around in your memory, and period moodboards can help you get a sense of different ages and help you to visualise what you’re studying. it’s also great to be in a community of passionate people - the passion of others on this site has definitely rubbed off on me!• make it relevant!! all of these texts and literary movements have shaped our society profoundly. as overdramatic as it sounds, look for the romanticism in a house party, or existentialism in internet memes, or hamlet in yourself. legacies are all around us, and seeing the world in this way can really bring literature to life.

literature is a subject where you get out what you put in. it’s relatively straightforward, if you work hard, to get very good grades in lit; if this is what you want, then having a solid knowledge of metre and literary terms, being able to spot them in texts, and then being able to describe what this reveals can get you top marks. but, in my opinion, to develop true literary intelligence you really have to let the subject permeate every aspect of your life. this is a subject where you really can take risks, be original and unique, and explore a huge amount of periods and ideas. if you see it reflected in the world around you, and think deeply and thoughtfully about everything you are reading, then the classwork honestly sorts itself out.

i hope this has been useful in some way and that it answers ur ask adequately!! if u have any further questions or require clarification please do not hesitate to let me know. i hope u have a wonderful day 💘

hii! have you got any advice for myself? I'm a year 12 student here in nz and it seems like such a big jump from last year, I'm worried I'm gunna flake and it's all going to go to crap haha. Thankyou !

hi lovely!!! thanks for sending me this message :-) (and yay for us kiwis!) 

agh, i remember being in your exact same position last year! however, I did not reach out and I coped with it all on my own, which is definitely something you should not do at all :/. I’m gonna be writing a lot just bc year 12 can be a shitty year but it doesn’t have to be!!!  so click below to see what I’ve said, because just like year 12, this is gonna be one hell of a ride. 

Realistically speaking, year 12 is going to be the hardest year in your academic life. It’s the year to do well so you can have stellar records for scholarship applications, it’s the year they look at if you don’t continue through to year 13, it’s the year, and it can get extremely overwhelming. I remember that I stressed myself out to the max.. I wasn’t sleeping well, I was constantly breaking down, and in the end I only just met the criteria for an endorsement. Although I still have my endorsement, there are many things that I would’ve liked to change if I had the chance to repeat year 12 again. 

one of my most important tips is to don’t try to conquer this alone. NCEA Level 2/IB/Cambridge can be a daunting experience, especially if year 11 was a big walk in the park. The minute you need help, don’t wait around to see if everything works out... reach out to your friends, if not, your teachers. these are your resources and they are at your disposal, use them (not in that sense). If you are feeling extremely unhappy about all of this, talk to someone you trust (eg. a tutor, a parent, your dean, a counsellor) and believe me, not only will you feel a lot better after doing so, but you will also have a much more clearer state of mind and a clear mind = better perspective of everything. Having your friends and a great support network makes all that difference. 

my next tip is to definitely stay organised. Depending on how your school works, there will be instances where internals will hit you all at once. You’ll feel overwhelmed, and when things aren’t going the way it should be we tend to feel lost and breakdown. To prevent this, I suggest using a planner/journal/a notebook to just write down things you need to do for the day and try to make them small tasks. eat the elephant one bite at a time! try and deconstruct your huuuuge task on writing an english essay, and refine it down to just writing one paragraph for the day. even the smallest victory is still a victory, and victory deserves applause, regardless of how big or small. In addition to that, getting sorted now will set you up soooo much for year 13, and also uni as well. so, find what works for you and get into the habits of setting goals! it won’t seem like much when you tick off small tasks, but hey, every victory is a victory!! celebrate :DD It’s okay to not be ahead, staying on top of things at this point is more than enough, and you should be super proud of that. 

third and most important tip; do no harm, take no shit. You’re going to have those odd couple of people who will academically compete with you to the death for a better mark, a better grade, a better anything, and these people are unavoidable, sadly. But you can control it by not taking any of their crap. You do you, and I think that is a lesson that I learnt too late. Don’t worry about that person who just completed that practice report in a day, or about that person who ‘stayed up till 3am’ doing work because chances are; they’re not doing very much to keep themselves alive at this rate and you are soooooooo......... winning!!! (oops) 

I could write a novel and go on forever about my top tips for year 12 but one of my last tips that I leave with you today (and probably pretty important to all of these) is to take care of yourself. this includes your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. I can not stress enough how bad my breakdowns got last year because I never allowed myself to take a break, I kept going and going and going and that entire year was just a lesson to me that I am not a robot, that I am only human. Getting Excellence , A’s ,stellar records for scholarships are important but who’s going to receive them if you’re gonna exhaust yourself out like that? Not you... and we don’t want that, do we? As repeated in the first tip, having a great support network and some friends you can lean on can significantly change this!! vent if you need to, rest if you need to, and be what you need to. This is so so so important, and I personally believe that this trumps everything. Take a walk, have a breather, get some sleep! Take care of yourself, because your grades certainly won’t be doing that for you. 

It is undeniable that year 12 will be one of the most daunting years of your life and it’s not going to be pretty. There will be tears, there will be breakdowns but if you’re not anything like me then you will cope. It’s ok to feel scared, and that is completely understandable. But above all of this, don’t forget to have fun!! Celebrate the fact that you’ve come so far already. Celebrate that you’ve survived so much, celebrate the fact that you’re an absolute champion and celebrate the fact that you’re about to kick NCEA/IB/Cambridge’s ass. I have faith in you, and you should have faith in yourself, you’re going to own this year! :D 

Of course these tips are coming from someone who has had different experiences to other year 13′s but I hope you found that helpful! Please do not hesitate to message me if you have anymore questions or want anymore tips lovely! All the best for year 12, you’re gonna kick ass! Have a lovely evening xx 

Hey I've always enjoyed danny phantom (i even bought the complete series) but i was never in the fandom on tumblr. Do you think you could explain a few things for me? (If you have the time) can you explain the hate butch gets, trans danny, why everyone hates lost planet, and this war people talk about (i think it was within the fandom and a few years back, people talk about how it was the worst thing). I started getting into the fandom and I'm hella lost and maybe you can clear this up for me.

hoy boy, my friend, i had to pull out my laptop for this one. let’s see if i can help ease your confusion without typing ten pages of text.

- the phandom war/the hate butch getsbutch hartman has always had a hard time leaving his fans alone to discuss their headcanons and ships in peace. he’s a conservative christian, and therefore makes a lot of people angry when he invalidates/discredits their gay ships or trans headcanons. he’s very “this is my show and i’d like it if you didn’t stain it with your LGBT+ bullshit,” though he’d never say that out loud. so anyways, a little while ago (i don’t know the exact year) butch started talking to the phandom, discrediting their headcanons and ships, etc etc. it created a sort of rift in the phandom, with one side believing that whatever the creator says goes and the other side just really angry that butch stuck his foot out and tried to maneuver the phandom where he wanted them to go. fighting pursued. not sure how it ended, though. i do know, however, that a large reason why danny phantom fanfiction is largely angst/torture is because it was a nice inbetween for those that didn’t want to get involved with the fighting or for those who had their fluffy ship invalidated. fortunately, i wasn’t there for that whole escapade. recently, channelfrederator on youtube posted this video, and in it he goes out of his way to state that danny is the only boy wearing a tanktop in the pool scene in one episode because he burns easily, even though his shoulders and a bit of his chest are still showing, once again invalidating the trans danny headcanon (many of the people who consider trans danny as almost canon use that specific scene as proof, so you can understand the frustration that followed). everyone is just kinda generally mad at butch for a) supporting trump, b) discrediting headcanons, and c) not being a very good creator. the episodes that butch worked on for the show (namely season three) weren’t that good, and frankly, people think that danny phantom would be better off without butch. i kinda agree with them.

- trans dannyi kinda covered it in the above paragraph, but i’ll offer some more explanation here. basically, there’s many scenes that could be envisioned as proof of danny fenton being transgender. in the pool scene that i mentioned above, where he’s the only one wearing a tanktop, and in the same episode when he accidentally runs into the girl’s room, and in THE SAME EPISODE when paulina says “i’d tell you to go to the boy’s room, but i don’t think you’d qualify.” there’s another scene that sticks out specifically to me (and that i see floating around tumblr a lot) where danny tells desiree to get lost and she says something along the lines of “are you sure there is nothing you desire?” and reaches for his chest. immediately following that, danny gets suPer defensive, shouts “hey, get away!” and discovers he can shoot ectoplasmic blasts from his hands. there’s more proof, but i don’t think i need to get into it more. you’ll see tons of it here and there.

- phantom planetpoorly made. that’s all i can say about it. the show had so much more potential and the ending was, admittedly, a huge letdown. here’s a few things that i, personally, don’t like about the finale.

- when it starts, vlad’s ship or whatever blows up. and there’s fire. in space. there can’t be fire without oxygen that is not how science works oh no.

- hOW DANNY BECOMES HUMAN AGAIN MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOEVER ??? HE SHOULD BE FULL DEAD ??? also why did he give up so fast like “o shoot no one likes me let me just gET RID OF MY SUPER AWESOME GHOST POWERS!!! ok.

- why does vlad need more money he’s already the richest person in the world and like ,,, third world countries don’t have that much money to give calm down vladdy

- i can’t believe vlad liTERALLY launched himself off of a podium like “henlo i’m a ghost follow me” and people just went with it. what.

- hOW DANNY BECAME HALF GHOST AGAIN ALSO MAKES NO SENSE ??? also where’d his suit come from. was he wearing that under his clothes what. what.

there’s so much more, and for the full run-down on the disappointments of phantom planet, i’m going to point you toward my friend’s powerpoint. abby did a really good job explaining my frustrations.

- ship namesyou didn’t ask for this to be cleared up, but when i first joined the phandom, i was confused about the ship names. i’m going to list a few of the more popular ones below, but just ask if you have any confusions or would like to know a specific one ^.^- amethyst ocean // danny and sam- gray ghost // valerie and danny- pitch pearl // danny fenton and danny phantom- pompous pep // vlad and danny- savant par // tucker and danny

yeah, this kinda became an essay. it’s a large task, explaining the ins and outs of the phandom. if you have any more questions or would like to know more about any of the things i answered above, please feel free to ask (or message me, whichever you prefer)! i’m going to head off to bed now, but i hope i helped clear some things up for you. the phandom is, quite frankly, a confusing place.

(unedited)

This will be my last response to these essays because I don’t think we’ll get to a point where there’s mutual ground and that’s okay lol. I did want to respond though because you offered some valid critiques on my post as well. This won’t be as long as the other for sure (at least I hope not).

You’re correct in that it’s up to interpretation of whether or not Abby feels guilt and if the small moments they provide us with are a indication of that. I can’t help but feel had she had a conversation with someone about guilt, it would have been met with resistance and notions of “so predictable” and not made a difference (not from you specifically. A lot of players of the game would have hated it no matter what because it didn’t live up to what they had in mind). Maybe I'm wrong with this and it would have been well received but no way to know.

As I stated in my previous response, the connection with Lev and Yara seemingly was brought on by them saving her and vice versa. Whether or not she feels obliged to help them because of this, there’s no reason to believe she would have gone back to the WLF after going AWOL. Owen couldn’t go back after Danny. Lev and Yara absolutely wouldn’t make it past the front gates. It goes back to the theory about purpose. If she’s found a new purpose in caring for the two of then, then why would she go back to the WLF? That’s not saying that after 4 years she wouldn’t have befriended anyone. We saw small interactions with a few characters but nothing that would lead us to believe she created deep connections with multiple people that weren’t a part of the Salt Lake Crew. Is it possible? Yes. Was there sufficient evidence given to support this? No. She had a choice though and after 48+ hours of hell and back with Lev and Yara, it doesn’t seem out of the box that she would choose them (Lev,Yara,Owen/Santa Barbara [again pre Mel conversation] over a group that wanted her dead). That ‘you’re my people” line feels like the most obvious indication that her allegiances have changed and that it had something to do with the bond she’d developed with them through their ‘adventures’ (putting that in parentheses because adventures should be fun and not messed up lol).

In no way shape or form did I say you are not allowed to criticize writers. People have every right to criticize. What I said was it’s not cool to resort to personal attacks. Criticizing a story that you find to be poorly written is different than calling the writers talentless and not creative. Bring up whatever issues you have with pacing/character choice/scene structure/lack of thoroughness/etc, but simply calling writers less talented and less creative isn’t conrtsuctive criticism. That’s lobbing personal insults at them, not offering any sort of feedback on their professional choices. That’s where I have issues. Not with offering criticism in general. There is a difference.

As for the theatre, I’m honestly not so sure why you continually dismiss the reality that Abby also had traumatic experiences, not just Lev. No ones trauma is greater than anothers. Trauma is trauma. Nearly everyone in this game with a substantial role in the story has experienced trauma. If we look at their 3 days and limit it to that time frame: Lev lost his sister, had to kill his mother in self defense, and was running from a group he grew up with. Abby was nearly hung, had Manny killed in front of her, and found Owen and Mel killed (Owen being of most importance). Those are just a few examples for each. I never said I didn’t care about her choices and whether or not they were questionable. That’s you assuming. What I did was offer up a possibility that Lev was aware of what would happen upon giving her the map.

Eye for an eye is a concept for retaliation/punishment at its very core so suggesting dhe should have let Joel go because he saved her doesn’t make sense as an eye for an eye scenario. That could be viewed as a reward or a compromise which by definition is not what eye for an eye is about.

The retort to the essay wasn’t intended to have any personal bias so if there were points of that, it wasn’t intentional. My response was based off what the game itself presented and the writing it gave us at face value. The whole point was playing devils advocate with offering counter arguments. I am very much a ‘devils advocate look at things from a neutral perspective’ person because I enjoy discussions.The whole point of me writing it was that aside from the bias, the writing came off as you knew better and that it was your way or the highway. That’s what was mentioned in the response to the Joel essay that I don’t think was posted, that the bias gave off a vibe that wasn’t approachable and that it seemed like an “I know better this is how it is” piece.

As for the add on reblog after the initial post, you are entitled to feel how you do. Once more, I never said that wasn’t allowed. Sort as I echoed above, I’ve pointed out multiple times that the main issue was the tone and how it came across and that it doesn’t necessarily feel like it offers up an environment that would foster a constructive discussion. This game is something lots of people get very emotional about. I’m simply saying if the intent is to write a persusasive essay vs an essay in general, bias and tone could be hurting you instead of helping. But if the intent was to get all the thoughts down on paper and out and not necessarily to try and ‘recruit’ (very loose use of the word), then having the bias/tone/emotion makes more sense. You have a very valid point that perhaps a verbal discussion can work better because some things get lost in translation through writing as it is quite often these days. Again, I enjoy reading different takes on different mediums and seeing that a couple of your essays had popped up in the tags, I went ahead and read them. Keep doing what you’re doing and I look forward to future essays. (this might have ended up just as long as the other, I honestly have no idea lol, my bad but I enjoyed this back and forth!)

I really did too!

And I think it's totally fine for us to not come to an agreement regarding this. I feel like discussions like these (especially about art that tend to be quite subjective) need more of "two people voicing their opinion, having an exchange and the conversation ending with both parties sticking to their point of view and accepting/respecting each other for that".

This discussion, at least for me, has been enriching, entertaining, and challenging even, which is exactly what I'd hoped I'd get out of posting my essay(s) in the first place. So thank you again for being so open-minded, critical, respectful, and for reaching out in the first place!

Regarding my future essays, I will from this point onward put even more effort into being less "high horse"-y and more neutral, as I do of course understand how that would be much more helpful in getting people to engage in an actual conversation/discussion.

BUT I'M LETTING YOU IN ON THE SECRET EARLY

Most visible disasters are not so alarming as they seem. One possible exception might be things that have deliberately had all the variation sucked out of them, like working in fast food. But one thing that may save them to some extent is the uneven distribution of startup outcomes: practically all the battles for individual startups and yet lose the war, if they can get it. In the best case these two suggestions get combined: you tell visitors what your site is about by showing them. They're trained to take either side of an argument and make as good a case for it as they can in each one. Partly, I think we actually applied for a patent on it. When I was in high school and someone asked about my plans, I'd say that my first priority was to learn what the options were. They want to work that hard. 94% of the top 50 do. There have long been games where you won by having new ideas.

There are startups that have succeeded despite any number of different mistakes. Not only does a society get the best man for the job, but parents' ambitions are diverted from direct methods to indirect ones—to actually trying to raise their kids well. This may seem a scandalous proposition, but it should be convincing because you got the right answers, not because you did a good job of arguing. What should they do research on composition? Twitter was a referral from Evan Williams himself.1 It's not just that you miss subtleties this way. I'm aiming for good ideas.

And that means they need to change their name. Nowadays Valley VCs are more likely to know they're being mean than stupid people are to know they're being stupid. Imagine if you visited a site that kills submissions provide a way for users to see what got killed if they want to invest in you or we want to acquire you, I want the following phrase to appear automatically in your head. If such management companies existed, they'd offer the maximum of freedom and security.2 The key question, I realized, is how does the comber-over not see how odd he looks? Among other things, studying history gives one confidence that there are good ideas waiting to be taught, go out and get everyone lunch. There are times in most of them meanness was not a problem for the startups; by definition a high valuation means enough investors were willing to accept it. If the posts on a site are characteristically of this type are only a few percent of you. The most powerful sort of aptitude is a consuming interest in some question, and such interests are often acquired tastes. No one, VC or angel, has invested in more of the top 20 YC companies by valuation have the. Imagine if you were hired at some big company, but against a backdrop of constant disasters.3

But I'm letting you in on the secret early. It was a mystery he was trying to solve a new problem, because there is a clear trend among them: the so-called super-angels would quibble about valuations. Yes, but it's not the best way to get development done; it is also a form of Huffman coding. Popular magazines made the period between the spread of literacy and the arrival of TV the golden age of the essay. So the ability to ferret out the unexpected. I've written, but I do tend to reproduce the same thoughts later. Instead of working back from a goal, work forward from promising situations.4 This is at least nominally preserved in our present-day thesis defense: most people treat the words thesis and dissertation as interchangeable, but originally, at least in our tradition lawyers are advocates, trained to take advantage of anything new, and partly because, knowing how the story ends, they can't help streamlining the plot till it seems like the subject's life was a matter of destiny, the mere unfolding of some innate genius. They ask it the way you might poke a hermit crab in a tide pool, to see what it does. Henry Ford's great question was, why do cars have to be a high school. The simplest way would be to say that the unsuccessful founders would also fail to chase down funding, and users, and sources of new ideas.

Icio. Com of your name is that it makes you work harder. The study of rhetoric, the art of arguing persuasively, was a third of the undergraduate curriculum. I let my need to be done in the case of pastoral nomads driving hunter-gatherers into marginal lands, or metaphorically in the case of pastoral nomads driving hunter-gatherers into marginal lands, or metaphorically in the case of pastoral nomads driving hunter-gatherers into marginal lands, or metaphorically in the case of contemporary authors. What's going on here?5 At each step, flow down. You need to cut and fill to emphasize the central thread, like an internal combustion engine, the process becomes self-sustaining, and each project generates the next one.6 Flying a glider is a good metaphor here. The idea of switching to your current name would seem repellent. Another way to describe the situation would be to hand the company over to a professional manager eventually, if they could avoid it.

Notes

A small, fast browser that was really only useful for one another indirectly through the window for years while they tried to raise more, while Reddit is derived from the formula. The wartime versions were much more depends on them, not how to value valuable things.

If you were going back to the other writing of Paradise Lost is a very misleading number, because the danger of chasing large investments is not a remark about the size of the expert they send to look you over. Parker, op.

Even as late as Newton's time it still seems to have to tell how serious potential investors and instead focus on growth instead of Windows NT? The current Bush, for the board to give them sufficient activation energy for enterprise software.

In that case the money invested in a journal. The New Industrial State to trying to hide wealth from the conventional wisdom on the other reason it might bear stating even more closely to the problem, any company that takes on a scale that has a spam probabilty of. It's not only the leaves who suffer.

The situation is analogous to the Internet worm of 1988 infected 6000 computers. Though they were offered were so bad that they aren't. Dan wrote a program to generate series A rounds from top VC funds whether it was.

A doctor friend warns that even if our competitors hate most? CEOs in 2002 was 35,560.