#but I'm constantly making more notes for it

[chalkrevelations]

Some things I needed all in one place:

#one of many reasons jc is the best btw #because he was a mature adult who MOVED ON from his dislike of jzx #but not only that #jin ling is constantly treated like this baby who needs to get over the violent murders of both his parents #who’s unreasonable for not wanting to forgive his father’s killers #but he isn’t #he has every right to be angry at wwx and wen ning (via op)

#no i very genuinely think about how isolating this must be. every single new connection jl makes over the course of the novel #is almost entirely unsympathetic to his hurt and anger about his parents deaths. which is the same thing he was told he was filially #obligated as their son to avenge. like?? #that boat scene fucking haunts me because what do you mean a 14 year old broke down and started sobbing about how hes an awful person #and about his fathers sword and no one until jiang cheng even tried to go over?? #that scene where jingyi is like omg r u gonna stab wwx again... like i get his worry but also GIRL SHUT UP #the world TOLD jin ling this hurt and anger was his obligation!! his birthright!! that it was the cause of his pain and isolation!! #and everyone expects him to just not care because wwx is nice actually?? hello?? (via @obsidianstrawberrymilk)

#god yeah #“uh just get over the violent deaths of both your parents lol can't you see the murderer is Nice Actually?” #jin ling please get some other friends (via @qiu-yan)

#i have like. 90+ posts drafted on my blog & at least 5 of them are specifically about the meal at the inn after yi city arc #if i were jin ling i would NOT still be hanging out with those other kids after that. #jin ling should have been on the cell phone amulet being like: 'jiujiu theyre teaching war revisionism at cloud recesses... come pick me up #and when wwx almost tried to hand off jin ling's clarity bell to sizhui for empathy............ #quick jin ling hop into the post-canon political au that only exists in my head! you'll be safe there! #also something something something abt gender analysis & yu ziyuan's narratively unsympathised 'hysterical' anger being passed down #to the 'young mistress'. #man. he should've been angrier & at more ppl. i understand his choice not to be. but at least let me hold his grudges for him. (via @autumnsplight)

#i literally cannot take WWX being confronted with a child he basically made an orphan #and the novel still focusing on how its HIM that suffers because of it because jiejie died being angry at him:((( #jl even talking to him once he learns who wwx is - is a gift (via @whumpbby)

#slightly spiteful au where the sacrifice spell doesn't work successfully/as intended #what i'm saying is instead of wwx coming back to life we dump shen “peerless cucumber” “noted villain-hater” yuan in mo xuanyu's body #for (blah blah reasons) everyone still assumes this is wwx back from the dead #except shen yuan (svsss) isn't aware of the fact that he's in a romance #“it is gross and weird that you all keep excusing this murderer's -- i mean my! -- behavior around this poor helpless child!” (via @ahavaas)

#“The murderer is nice don’t stab him :(” stab him again baby (via @starryribb0n)

something something jin ling’s grief over his parents, especially jin zixuan, is constantly invalidated and made fun of by everyone except jiang cheng

[trickstersaint]

do you have any beginners advice for poetry? Also, what style of poem do you use?

TRICKSTERSAINT'S BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO POETRY:

read! find poems that you like, poems that you don't like, and take the time to notice the things that you like or dislike about them. maybe take some time to annotate a few. spend some time with the work that you'd like to emulate. we learn to write by reading, and that's as true of poetry as it is of fiction or scientific papers or children's books.

write! i am constantly saying this, but writing is not a talent handed down by god: it is a skill that you learn, and hone, and improve. write things that are silly, or trite, or derivative, or straight up bad: every piece of practice that you get is practice, and it's going to help you improve in the future. it's alright to not be writing masterpieces every time. you're only going to be able to make things you're happy with if you let yourself create things that you aren't happy with, as well.

use pen and paper! there's something scientific about the way that your brain processes things when you're writing them by hand (the longer physical task gives your brain more time to process things as you write/hand writing makes different connections in your brain) but i am not going to claim to be an expert on those things. what i can tell you is that i generally have an easier time with poetry when i'm writing on paper. plus it's more romantic... grounding... you get to sit around looking hot and mysterious writing in a notebook...

write down literally everything. my notes app is full of poetry snippets, and most of it never gets used, but every so often i get to revisit an idea and work a full poem out of it. save yourself the struggle of finding something to write about later by creating a little collection of your inspirations.

write the same poem over and over! there's only so many things to write about, and sometimes you hit a topic that you want to explore in a multitude of ways (or one that you can't decide on an approach to). it's okay to write five different versions of the same poem. again, practice is practice, and reworking the same poem is a great way to identify some of the techniques that you're using in your own work.

try different styles! experiment with line length, rhyme structures, enjambment. try a prose poem. get rid of all the punctuation. give concrete poetry a go. there's tons of things to explore, and you never know what you might end up loving. (i think the form i write in is best described as free verse!)

rhyming poetry is, most times, harder. i know it seems like the default because of the poems that most of us have to read in school, but what they don't tell you about shakespeare and the romantic poets and all those guys is that they were REALLY skilled at wordplay and it takes a lot of skill to find the right words and structures to make a rhyme work without making it sound trite. your poems don't have to rhyme if you don't want them to <3

poetry, in my experience, works better on implication. when you overexplain things, it prevents the audience from drawing connections for themselves. same principle as explaining a joke; it loses its punch if you don't let someone think about it for themself. practice leaving spaces in your work, rather than trying to fill in any possible confusion.

find a method of editing that works for you! another bonus of using pen and paper to me is that it's MUCH easier visually to edit things when they're in a notebook. crossing things out, drawing arrows to put lines in different places, scribbling a certain line at the top of the page so i don't lose it later, all of that works better for me because i have a more visual grasp on the situation. if you find it easier to do it some other way, though, find what works for you!

be gentle with yourself. non-negotiable. beating yourself up isn't helpful. treat yourself with the same grace as you would someone else; remember the difference between constructive and non-constructive criticism. you gotta be nice to yourself about things or you're going to kill the love and hope that you have for this new skill that you're tending to before it grows big enough to defend itself.

share! or don't! put yourself out there according to your comfort level, especially at the beginning. people who care about you will be gentle with you if you're not feeling confident. and if you're really looking to improve, comments from other people are going to be really valuable!

FINAL ADVICE. do whatever the fuck you want. poetry is a space of endless possibility and the best way to create things that you are going to love is by doing it YOUR way. you don't have to do anything you don't want to. you don't have to use any specific style, have to follow any specific forms, have to go with any specific topic. you don't have to cultivate a particular style. write seventeen sonnets about a speculative technological future and then a two-line poem about a bird you saw the other day. follow whatever sparks joy for you. it's your poetry and you get to make what you want of it <3 being a beginner just means that you have room and room and room to explore and learn and grow <3

[themightymoose]

My Hatchetfield aus

Okay so I'm just gonna go ahead and make a list of all my aus because I'm gonna be honest it's gonna take me ten years to write any of them.

(I'm not including Brainless Jocks Must Die because it's already in the works. Just kinda needed a break from it.)

Werewolf Chasitys

Yeah we're starting off strong here. Idk I just really like the idea about this wholesome, Christian family being big, scary werewolves. Like werewolves are very rare and everyone is like "lol, wouldn't it be funny if someone in Hatchetfield was a werewolf" while the Chasitys are sweating bullets. This is something they constantly try to pray away (with zero results) and they're scared about the secret coming out because werewolves are seen as a danger to society, and the Hatchetfield police are always saying that if there were to be a werewolf in Hatchetfield, they'd kill it. Oh and the mental image of one if them getting sprayed by a spray bottle is funny.

And puppy Grace

Death Note au

Pretty self-explanatory, Grace takes the place of Light, The Black Book is the Death Note, Wiggly is Ryuk (or another LiB) and tbh I think it would be funny if Misa was, like, Ruth. And L is a tough one because everyone in Hatchetfield is kinda stupid, but Steph would be fine ig. Sure, she's not the world's best detective or anything, but I can see her getting suspicious of Grace and wanting to get to get to the bottom of these mysterious disappearances. Maybe in order to prove herself to her dad (???) And when L dies and Near comes in, Near could be Pete, in order to avenge his girlfriend. I don't really have a whole idea on it but it's fun to think about

Ghost!Richie and Ruth

Grace is also the main character of this surprise surprise. This takes place after Dirty Dudes Must Die, and I like to think that Richie and Ruth was the ensemble because that would be cool. But basically they come back as unhinged ghosts that only Grace can see, because they didn't die at a black altar. But they do come back with basically no morals due to the influence of the Black and White. So they either A: egg Grace on during her murder spree because they wanna see people suffer, or B: annoy the shit out of her all the time. Grace hates them, she wants them to go away, but they can't (or won't)

The Idiots' Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse

Hey this one doesn't center around Grace :). This time it centers around Zoe and Hailey during the events of TGWDLM. Don't really have a lot to say about this one. But they try not to get infected, they fall in love and kiss, and then die. The end

The Parent(al Figures)s of Hatchetfield

Probably might be more of a oneshot collection than anything tbh. The premise is basically just the (good) adults of Hatchetfield slowly realize that all these teenagers are severely fucked up and now these kids each have literally 20+ parental figures. Fun times

[riemanifests]

　

　 　 　 　 ‿︵　 ◜ ⬡ ◞ 　︵‿

　　 　 How To Build a Better Sp.

　

　 　 🧬 ｀　Inspired by the movie "How to Build a Better Boy". 　

　

　 　 　 　 ‿︵　 ◜ ⬡ ◞ 　︵‿

　　　　　　Recreate Your Sp 　

┄　⊹　Figure out what you want them to do / be like - i want my sp to start texting me more - i want my sp to be loyal to me - i want my sp to be more organized - i want my sp to write a letter for me 　 ┄　⊹　Decide that they are that way now - my sp is constantly messaging me - my sp is so faithful to me - my sp is so organized - my sp wrote me the sweetest letter ever

and that's it! yes that is truly it. that is all you have to do because your decisions / assumptions get reflected by the 3d. so if you see it as done, start describing your Sp as the way you want them to be, and just accept that as true now, then the 3d will change to reflect your new story. but again, they already changed if you say they changed. 　

　

　 　 　 　 ‿︵　 ◜ ⬡ ◞ 　︵‿

　　 Manifest an Sp From Scratch 　

┄　⊹　Make a full list describing your dream partner - you can describe their appearance - you can choose their traits or hobbies - you can talk about how they'd treat you - you can mention what the relationship would be like 　 ┄　⊹　Decide that you will meet / have met them - omg i just met the partner of my dreams - i am going to meet someone exactly like this - i have my dream partner - i am in the perfect relationship

and for those of you who doubt that you can do this... think about how many people exist on this planet. i'm sure there is at least one person who completely matches your list out there waiting for you. 　

　

　 　 　 　 ‿︵　 ◜ ⬡ ◞ 　︵‿

　　　　 　 　 Movie Notes 　

┄　⊹　Be authentic it's okay if you're a dork like Mae, you still don't have to change yourself to get the Sp you want. you should never feel like you have to change yourself to be worthy of them, you deserve to be loved for being you and you can certainly manifest them loving you for you. 　 ┄　⊹　Choose your own beliefs your friends and the people around you are not always going to have the same beliefs as you. they may hold beliefs that don't serve you, so it's up to you to make sure you stand in your own beliefs and choose what you take from others wisely. you also shouldn't let anyone bring your hopes down or influence you just because they don't agree. it's okay to not agree with others and it's okay if you want different things, but you should always advocate for what you want and believe in your dreams + yourself, even if everyone else around you doesn't. 　 ┄　⊹　Don't try to force the 3d, it won't work you can cry to your Sp you can yell at them and you can constantly message them hoping it will cause a change in them, but if you think of them as the same version then it's never going to work. you shouldn't waste your energy in the 3d especially if you're trying to change the 3d, if you want to change the 3d then you need to focus on changing the 4d. change your mindset, change the way you see your Sp, and let the 3d be. you don't need to waste all of that energy. 　 ┄　⊹　Whoever has to move, will move for you don't worry about how your desire will manifest or even try to figure that out. there are infinite ways it could happen and whoever has to move, so that you get your desire, will move for you. this is your reality and it will rearrange itself to match your 4d, so always focus on the end and never worry about the middle. 　 ┄　⊹　3rd parties don't mean shit this may be controversial and i'm not so sure i agree with these types of manifestations anymore however in your reality no one can take your desires away from you nor can anyone hold them from you. i have manifested 3rd parties away myself as well. in the movie Mae liked Jaden even though he was with someone else, but she kept liking him anyways and in the end he broke up with his girlfriend and confessed that he liked Mae back. sooo.. yeah this is your reality. 　 ┄　⊹　You have options you can manifest your Sp back and for them to change, or manifest someone better. there are so many people on this planet so don't ever feel like your only option is your Sp, because they're not. ┄　⊹　You can experience your mental scenes in the movie Mae imagined this scene about prom night and noted all the details. in the end it played out exactly as she imagined, and this made me think about visualization. you really can have your mental scene be something you experience in real life, if you just trust and believe that you are capable of experiencing it. your imagination is a powerful thing so you can experience whatever scenes you want. 　 ┄　⊹　Your Sp is meant to play the role you gave them i know a lot of people get insecure about their Sp, compare themselves to others, and question why their Sp would choose them. but this is your reality and your Sp is meant to play the role you gave them, so if you decide to manifest your Sp then they are meant to choose you back because that is the role they must play. they do not have free will they are just reflecting your assumptions. and since you're the boss of this reality and you chose them to be your partner, then why would they not choose you over everyone else? they're meant to because that is the role you gave them. 　

[aceshigh10987666]

As someone who has both I'm glad to answer questions.

My advice is to focus on the autism diagnosis, see if that fits, and if it does, get comfortable with what that means and get used to being part of the autistic community.

Once you feel like you have a good understanding of autism it will be much easier to figure out whether you have SzPD as well.

But the simplest way I can talk about the differences is that autism is, above all, a communication disorder with a lot of additional sensitivities and other disabilities. SzPD is about one's willingness to be perceived and to let others get to know what kind of person you are.

Autism reduces your ability to interact with allistics (non-autistics). It creates miscommunication. It means that you don't understand people the way they meant to be understood. It means that they misunderstand you. Things don't quite translate and it's like you're from a different culture. It's like having your own dialect that uses English words in a somewhat different way, but no one knows which dialect each person is speaking, so everyone is constantly misunderstanding what the speaker meant.

(Note: Autistics communicate with each other just fine. The difference in communication is only between autistics and allistics. If you are autistic and surrounded mostly by other autistics you may not have that same experience of feeling like you can't communicate adequately. And don't judge it by your ability to communicate with your own family. Autism often runs in families and it is very unlikely that the older generations were diagnosed if they were low support needs autistics. If you are autistic and you can easily communicate with your parents, chances are that they are undiagnosed autistics!)

The overlap between both autism and SzPD is primarily in how both disorders have the same sorts of emotional issues. Both are very prone to alexithymia (difficulty identifying one's own emotions) and delayed emotional processing.

Also, both can have low emotional empathy (the ability to feel an emotion when another person feels it). Both can also have high affective empathy (the ability to imagine what it might be like and then feel the emotion that goes along with that imagining). Or in both you can have low empathy.

SzPD is not a communication disorder. Someone who has SzPD (but not autism) will not have notable deficits in their ability to be understood by others. They will have a strong preference not to be perceived by others. They will have a preference for solitude and independence, but that can also be a feature for anxiety, so that's not very diagnostically useful. The big thing that makes schizoid its own disorder to me is that there is a genuine fear or distaste for being known and understood. That revulsion toward emotional connection and intimacy is not a feature of autism.

Though sometimes it can seem like an autistic has a revulsion for someone being close, this is often due to sensory sensitivities or difficulty with eye contact or some other form of momentary reaction to the situation. Many autistics don't like being touched in typically affectionate ways, or only once in a while, which is also mostly due to sensory sensitivities.

The way you tell the difference is that the autistic shies away from this sort of contact because the interaction feels painful or uncomfortable while it is happening. It is "too much" or overwhelming.

The person with SzPD is uncomfortable with the idea of someone knowing them too well, and often has no idea of how that could even happen because they don't have much of a sense of self. Imagining that sort of closeness feels invasive or unsafe.

More questions? Ask!

learning about what szpd is is making me question if I am actually autistic or just have szpd or maybe both. I wish there was more info about the differences and what having both looks/feels likes.

sadly i am not equipped enough to help you on this, maybe someone else in the notes can give you more info?

[setaripendragon]

WIPS - I'm curious about the Cat SI. I mean, it's a reasonably self-explanatory title, but I'm interested to know what sort of direction you'd take.

Ahaha, hoooo, okay.

Buckle your seatbelt, cause this one turned into a monster on me (the thing titled 'CatSI' in my WIP folder isn't a file, it's its own folder with fifteen different files inside), and I will try to keep this short, but... ^^"

It started when I was watching some Order of the Green Hand theory videos on youtube, specifically the ones about the Ned+Ashara=Jon theory, which, while I don't think it's true in canon, I do still find it fascinating.

And then I wondered, okay, what if Catelyn didn't blame the bastard (since he's technically not one)? But since that is kind of entrenched in her whole... main motivation, and I genuinely cannot imagine a Catelyn that wouldn't (I don't... really like her. She's the main reason I stopped reading the books, tbh, so I may be being unfair to her ^^"), and the blame the bastard trope is one of my Big Nopes (hence why I don't like her, probably), and I really needed an escape from reality at that point in time...

So it originally started with a freshly transmigrated Cat having a bit of a meltdown on her wedding night (a sexist feudal hellscape wedding night as someone on the ace spectrum, to boot) all over a Ned who also very much wants to just have a meltdown, for obvious reasons. And Cat decides 'fuck it, the old gods don't look down on polygamy, I can at least make sure he gets to keep his lover and son' and tells him to damn Hoster Tully and keep them both.

It gets, you know, a lot more political than that, because everyone and their mother has an opinion about it, or wants to use it against them, etc, but that's the gist of it. Mostly it's an exercise in Make Things Better for Ned Stark with bonus OT3 as endgame.

But, well, I got a lot more invested in this AU as time went on. That need for escape during the pandemic meant I was thinking about this AU pretty much 24/7 and it grew out of control.

I eventually decided to have Cat transmigrate in at birth, and I've plotted out a Childhood Adventure for her that I've stuffed full of fun things for me to play with like a trans friend, issues with the Faith, internal Riverlands politics, her mother's death, etc etc etc, and is, you know, supposed to serve as a sort of set-up for her being properly integrated into the world by the time the Rebellion starts.

So, instead of starting at her wedding, the main story (or Book 2 of the trilogy ^^") starts at Harrenhal. The ten-day tourney in which, word of god says, so much stuff happens. The tourney is being held in honour of Cat's cousin, and the first part of the story focuses on all the ridiculous romantic nonsense that goes on there. There will, of course, be Cat pining over Ned who's pining over Ashara, as well as Lysa pining over Petyr who's pining over Cat and also Lyanna pining over Rhaegar who's ignoring his wife. Cat tries to keep Lysa and Petyr apart, and tries to get Lyanna's attention anywhere else, and actually thinks she's succeeding...

Right up until Lysa tells her she's pregnant. She talks her out of telling their father, but then her own wedding is looming, and the only way to get out of it is to let a good man get killed, and then Petyr challenges said man to a duel for her hand and Cat... says nothing. She doesn't ask Brandon to spare Petyr's life, and so he doesn't. Petyr dies, and Lysa is devastated, and Cat is guilty, and it only gets worse when Lyanna gets 'kidnapped', and Brandon goes off to King's Landing despite Cat's best efforts (were they, though?). Cat gets to stew in all this guilt for a while, and then...

Finally, the Wedding. Politics happen, Cat fights with her father about her betrothal to Ned along with Brynden 'Only Sane Tully' Blackfish, has a panic attack about her wedding night, cries all over her uncle, and asks him, in a fit of desperation to do at least One Thing Right, if, when he gets to King's Landing with the army, he'll try to save Princess Elia and the royal children. Then there's the wedding night, she introduces the idea of polygamy to Westeros (oops?), and ends up fucking pregnant because there isn't really a way to get out of it at this point.

She goes North to meet her new sister-wife Ashara, and then goes looking for Lyanna (honestly, I still haven't quite decided if I'm going with the standard Tower of Joy thing, or if I'm gonna go with the Green Hand's theory about Winterfell, but since it's another theory that I think is fun despite not thinking it's true, I'll probably go with Winterfell). Four pregnant women walk into a bar... Everyone has their babies with no one dying, because Cat actually brings a midwife or six with her, so this one almost counts as a success! Except little Targaryen-Stark baby (who we will henceforth call Geralt) has to go into hiding, and Lysa's bastard can't be known to be hers, and Cat had a girl instead of a boy! Oh, and then Princess Elia shows up with Rhaenys but not Aegon or Brynden. (Honestly, I am very seriously considering killing Brynden off here. Would make sense, him taking on the Mountain and all, but... I don't wanna...)

Baby Geralt goes with Elia north of the wall, and Arthur comes with his sister and the rest of them to King's Landing. Which is where the Politics start. Cat makes the mistake of getting involved by offering the King an excuse to kick Jaime out of the Kingsguard, and then she ends up defending Jaime's honour against Ned, which sticks an oar right in there just when the three of them were starting to build a relationship, and also attracts the attention of Tywin Lannister.

More stuff probably happens, but my notes for this part are a fucking mess, ngl -cries- Why do I like political intrigue so much? It's so hard to write! But, yeah, there needs to be some stuff with the Faith's reaction to the OT3 marriage, Oberyn finding out Elia's alive and the tangle of alliances and grudges that creates, possibly some stuff to do with the Tyrells and other loyalists, and also Cat probably getting too involved in helping Robert govern the Seven Kingdoms.

We end with a bunch of weddings; Tywin engages Jaime to Lysa as a way to drag Cat closer to their family, Robert of course marries Lyanna, which leaves Cersei with Stannis. (And Cat, of course, is still on the outs with Ned, and Ashara's caught in the middle.)

So literally no one except Robert goes home happy.

Then, I have another story planned that covers, primarily the Greyjoy Rebellion, but also the rest of the time before canon. Story starts with Cat, you know, doing everything in her power to prepare the North for the Long Night ('taters, precious), except then, whoops, she gets kidnapped by Iron Island pillagers, kills a man who's trying to rape her, commandeers a ship, survives the war by the skin of her teeth, goes to Pyke and convinces Robert to let the Iron Islands have a not-a-kingsmoot to decide the next Lord Paramount instead of leaving Greyjoy in charge.

Meanwhile, Ned thought she was dead and had a missed-opportunities style revelation that he wishes he hadn't left their relationship so strained after the whole Kingslayer thing, and they make up and talk things out, while Ashara just straight up kisses her as a welcome home. Cat detours to the Citadel on her way home to ask after that one Maester who knows magic stuff, because she's been in this racist sexist feudal hellscape for over a quarter of a century and she wants plumbing, damnit, and also gets the ball rolling on magical sunlamps (Generation-long night?! GRRM, there would be no survivors, wtf?!). Ned starts having wolf-dreams five or six years early, gets his own wolf companion, Cat maybe accidentally wakes up the Lion of Night, the Stark family ends up even bigger than in canon (nine kids instead of six, because I am a sucker for kidfic, okay), everything ends happily ever after.

Until the beginning of canon, anyway =D

(And then there's the AU where the extra Stark babies are all transmigrators as well; Obi-wan Kenobi, Tony Stark, and Frodo Baggins (or possibly Wei Wuxian, I haven't quite settled on that one 100% yes). But I don't have much more on this beyond a few funny snippets of the transmigrators recognising each other and doing a spider-man meme about it ^^")

Most of what I have written for this AU is actually a whole bunch of Canon Crossovers where, variously, Jaime Lannister, Tywin Lannister, the Six Canon Starks, Cat herself, or Ned Stark from the AU swap places with their canon counterpart and generally freak out a lot. (And the reverse, but that's less fun because Cat, of course, spots them at 200 paces and is there to explain shit.)

[cinnamon-flame]

I was going through my art folder again and I saw one of the oldest wof stuff I've ever drawn (the fourth one ever I think?) and I redrew it! I love Turtle and I just took this excuse to draw him again

[hephaestuscrew]

Who says the episode title phrases in each episode of Wolf 359?

I've created a spreadsheet to show which character says the episode title phrase (i.e. the words which form the name of that particular episode) in every episode of Wolf 359. Graphs summarising this data can be found below, but to look at the full spreadsheet in all its glory, and see the progression through the series, you can follow this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cQLkhxbDAItU6rdiUAYGn54FXXxYC-JXlCmP_Dqe9FA/

(Please note: I’ve focused here on which character first speaks the exact title phrase within the episode itself. In some cases, this is not the only - or the most significant - time that the title phrase is spoken.)

EDIT: This post previously stated incorrectly that "the devil's plaything" is not said in Ep57. In fact, it is said by Pryce (through Minkowski). Thank you to @yaghoulghosty for pointing this out!

Season breakdown graphs below the cut...

[amelikos]

I wonder what Liko and Amethio will talk about in the cave. My current guess is that Liko could somehow bring up something that weighs on her mind and open up to Amethio. We've seen that she was aware that Roy and Dot were worrying about her and tried to cheer her up to not "inconvenience" them further (which is such a Liko thing to do), so maybe the things she cannot tell Roy or Dot and that she'd rather keep to herself, she would bring up around Amethio. In turn, Amethio could also tell her something that weighs on his mind because he doesn't really have anyone to share things with since he doesn't seem to have friends (outside Soublades). I think it would be neat if they had a talk that is exclusive to both characters and maybe realize it's actually easy to talk to one another when it comes down to it.

Liko is going through similar steps as Amethio right now (Amethio also went through losses that made him stronger after facing Friede, Rayquaza and Hamber). So maybe the events that will unfold with Amethio are going to motivate Liko even further, which would fit since Amethio is connected to her growth as a trainer. Explicitly shown through the writing this time too since they brought up the battle on Roy's island back in HZ006 and had Amethio highlight and directly comment on Liko's progress (which also means he was paying close attention and remembered the events from back then). And he is the one showing up after Liko's confrontation with Grusha, to challenge everything she's been through up until that moment. Maybe Amethio's involvement will be key in Liko eventually passing her course somehow and making her stronger. Which is interesting, because by directly opposing Liko, Amethio is contributing to her growth, which will eventually serve as fuel for her to stand against the Explorers.

Also wondering if we'll get another "thank you" this time, just like towards the end of HZ045.. Maybe Liko thanking Amethio at the end after they manage to get out from the cave, and his reply would be different from the previous time and he would be more honest in his words. Or Liko thanking Soublades. Since they are shown sitting next to a fire to keep warm, maybe Soublades is the one who lit it, so I could see Liko saying thanks. I think they could use this opportunity to interact with each other's Pokemon.

I'm also curious whether Friede will show up to the cave or not. We know he's heading out to look for her while Grusha will help Roy and Dot, so will he show up once she is out or before that? Mostly because I wonder if Liko and Amethio's moment will remain their "secret" and something that remains between the two of them, or if Friede will be there and see Amethio. Next episode will mark twenty episodes since Friede and Amethio teamed up against Rayquaza together, so I wonder if they'll have an opportunity to interact before the current chapter ends. Amethio's connections to Liko and Friede are his most prominent ones out of the main group and they kind of grow together, so I wonder how things could change going forward.

[the-way-astray]

you guys know that instead of complaining that there's too much hate for a character in the main tag, you can just. make positive content and posts about that character yourself and block the negative tags right. you know this is a thing you can do. right

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent-ish things ~

[byanyan]

just a head's up: while I hesitate to call hiatus of any kind bc I want to give myself the freedom to write when I have the energy/focus/etc., I will just note that I'm gonna be even slower than usual around here for... idk, probably for a bit. I'm in the worst state mentally that I think I've ever actually been in and it's uhhhh. it's not great lmao. writing is my main escape & distraction so I don't want to step away from it but doing anything is hard as fuck rn so I'm really not interested in pressuring myself to get shit done when it comes to the hobby I'm supposed to be having fun with. I'll be slow, I'll be selective, and it's possible I'll be dropping a lot of drafts?? maybe?? OR at least like. temporarily removing a bunch from my drafts (to be added back later) just so the number is less big & overwhelming lmao.

thank u guys for ur patience w me & for writing w my glittery lil creature, I appreciate u all sm 💜

[moonchild-in-blue]

Thoughts on The Artist's Way (by Julia Cameron) so far, plus some interesting passages:

So the book is like a 12 week course in getting in touch with your creative self - it provides some tools to help cultivate you creative/artist brain. It's been on my shelf for years and only now I'm getting into it.

Before the course/program begins, she opens with some introductions on what is the creative act, and 2 daily/weekly habits to maintain in order to nurture the artist brain (aka maintain consistent creative habits).

There's an initial introduction where she establishes a link between Creation and Creator (both the Artist and a Higher Creator), and how creation (aka making art) is inherently a spiritual activity. It sounds a bit weird at first, but it's actually quite interesting. There's a not-so subtle Christian undertone, but absolutely can be read as a connection/energy with Life itself (this is mentioned in the book too).

One of the things that stood out to me was:

We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.

Then she moves on to "what to expect" from this book, which is basically a means to creative recovery (whether be an artist's block, a drought, or just a perceived lack of imagination / ideas / time / motivation / confidence in your own work / etc).

She talks about how it's important for us to have a mourning period for ourselves, and to allow that grief and pain to be transformed into something new. The book uses the term "withdrawal" as a reflection of an interior retreat - as in, we withdraw inwards during that non-creative/mourning period.

Then the concept of Morning Pages are introduced - which is what I'm particularly excited to see. It's a daily exercise where you start your day with writing 3 pages of literally anything. A long stream of consciousness, about absolutely anything and everything that comes to mind.

Almost like a meditation of sorts, or a mindfulness habit. By allowing your brain to be emptied of all that is negative/ bothering you/ occupying your mind, you make space for the artist brain to thrive.

It's a way to fight your Censor - the logical part of your brain that questions everything you do. The Censor is a self-preservativon mechanism - a survival instinct - that deems everything outside of your comfort zone as dangerous.

I love the way she put it like that, because I am SO guilty of letting that part of my brain dictate how I should/shouldn't live my life - and by proxy, it affects the way I approach my art. From my own notes:

[the Censor] is a form of self-sabotaging. We do not need to live in survivor mode. There is comfort in safety and familiarity - nothing grows in comfort.

The second tool/exercise introduced is the Artist Date. Like in a real relationship, an Artist Date is a weekly allocated time where you do something creative (strictly yourself), as a way to engage with the world from an artist's perspective, and nurture the creative part of yourself. To "fill the well" as they put it.

There's a huge emphasis on how important it is to keep our creative well (I personally call it "library") well stocked. From my notes:

Art is a wordless language. Is an "artist-brain pursuit" - a constant, life-long commitment. That language is sourced from all the sensations we experience and translate into a visual medium ; into patterns and symbols.

To keep those sources, we must participate in life, not just observe it. Art comes from detail, "from attention". From a mind void of the Logical [Censor], and with enough space for the artist to wonder. It is self-intimacy.

Avoiding ourselves, avoiding the hard questions, the reality we don't want to face, is to avoid our creative selves. Self-sabotaging.

The next chapter is Week One, which will effectively mark the beginning of the program? course? thing? Not sure if I want to start tomorrow, or if I want to sit with this for a few days first (or the week). But yeah!

So far it's pretty great, love the way some things are worded. I know a lot (if not all) of you are creatives in some way or another, or otherwise struggle with similar questions, so I'm kinda sharing this in case anyone needs it. Also just to document this aside from my notebook, accountability and all.

[thesmokinpossum]

when i tell you my jaw hit the fucking floor at this scene...

[iamnotlookingidonotseeit]

fascinating revelations out of my dad's professional coaching of the whole family today

my mom scored astonishingly high on empathy and caring for a woman who seemed to find it next to impossible to express that to me

my dad has done an insane amount of work to be so warm and personable considering that his natural inclination is towards strong reserve rooted in anxiety (just like me!!)

my sister shocked - SHOCKED 🙄 - to learn that she scores almost zero in empathy AND very high on manipulation

actually shocking reveal that my sister always knew she was my mom's favorite. like I kind of assumed she was mean to both of us but apparently most of the biting comments were for me

[prettyiwa]

Pls I'm begging u

When is red chapter 4 coming out? I am so mf addicted I can't stop reading the chapters over again

Unfortunately, unlike Hanakotoba, Red is left more to the whims of my inspiration 😭😭😭 (Honestly, Hanakotoba is a rarity in that I have a planned schedule for it).

I know and have plotted most of what I want to happen in Winter, but the first scene is vague enough that it's been making me want to pull my hair out. I can take a look at it tomorrow since I'm technically ahead on Hanakotoba, but we're still looking at the time it takes to write the festivals + the sick chapter.

I'm really very touched that you're enjoying it so much! I'm happy to talk about it or give insights or whatever else in the meantime.

EDIT:

alright circling back to this, unfortunately hanakotoba + one other fic have my priority right now. just taking a couple days off to think about winter threw me off my hanakotoba groove enough that it's taking more time than i thought to return (bad).

even though red started out as a silly little thing that was supposed to ease my way back into writing, it's starting to feel like the opposite/take more attention than it did originally, which isn't conducive to my tentative return from burnout.

i still love red very much and it's still receiving attention from me, but not in any way that will allow me to contribute to it right now 💔

i still welcome comments and asks about red/fom (begging for them actually) because they help keep me motivated/on task. please. i beg.)