#Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

[deception-united]

What is intrigue? How can you use it in story telling?

Intrigue in storytelling is the art of captivating readers by introducing elements of mystery, suspense, or unanswered questions that pique their curiosity and compel them to keep reading. It creates curiosity and engages the reader, compelling them to delve deeper into the narrative and keeping them guessing. Here's are some ways to effectively use intrigue in your storytelling:

Foreshadowing: Drop subtle hints or clues about future events, creating a sense of anticipation and mystery. These clues can be woven into the narrative in a way that feels natural yet intriguing, prompting readers to wonder how they will unfold.

Unexpected Plot Twists: Surprise your audience by subverting their expectations. Introduce twists and turns that challenge their assumptions and keep them guessing about what will happen next. This unpredictability adds depth to your story and keeps readers engaged as they try to anticipate the outcome.

Withholding Information: Strategically withhold key pieces of information to create suspense and intrigue. By keeping readers in the dark about certain aspects of the story, you heighten their curiosity and desire to uncover the truth.

Sense of Urgency: Establish a sense of urgency or impending danger to raise the stakes and intensify the intrigue, whether it's a ticking clock, a looming threat, or another pushing factor.

Gradual Revelation: Pace the unraveling of the mystery or unanswered questions, gradually revealing clues and information to keep readers engaged. Each revelation should deepen the intrigue and prompt new questions, driving the narrative forward and maintaining momentum.

Character Motivations and Secrets: Explore the hidden motives, secrets, and conflicts within your characters to add layers of intrigue to the story. As readers uncover the complexities of the characters' personalities and relationships, they become more invested in their journey and the outcome of the story.

Setting and Atmosphere: Use the setting and atmosphere to create an air of mystery and intrigue and enhance the sense of suspense.

Thanks for asking! Happy writing ❤

[raffaellopalandri]

Book Of The Day - Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Book Of The Day – Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Today’s Book of the Day is Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, written by Daniel H. Pink and published in 2009 by Riverhead. Daniel H. Pink is an American author, and the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven books. His books have sold millions of copies around the world and have won multiple awards. Drive by Daniel H. Pink I have chosen this book as the candidate for…

[theambitiouswoman]

Book Recommendations 📚📒

Business and Leadership:

"Good to Great" by Jim Collins

"The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries

"Zero to One" by Peter Thiel

"Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek

"Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

Success and Personal Development:

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey

"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol S. Dweck

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear

"Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth

"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

Mental Health and Well-being:

"The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle

"Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" by David D. Burns

"The Gifts of Imperfection" by Brené Brown

"The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook" by Edmund J. Bourne

"The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook" by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley

Goal Setting and Achievement:

"Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want—Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible" by Brian Tracy

"The 12 Week Year" by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington

"Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink

"The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

"Smarter Faster Better" by Charles Duhigg

Relationships and Communication:

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

"The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman

"Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High" by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan

"Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life" by Marshall B. Rosenberg

"Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" by John Gray

Self-Help and Personal Growth:

"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson

"Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown

"Awaken the Giant Within" by Tony Robbins

"The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod

"You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero

Science and Popular Science:

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

"Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

"A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins

Health and Nutrition:

"The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II

"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan

"Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker

"Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Fiction and Literature:

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

"1984" by George Orwell

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

[financeprincess]

Gaining & Maintaining Power: A Reading List

Power & Manipulation

48 Laws of Power by Robert Green

The Prince by Machiavelli

Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis by Eric Berne

The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

Power: Why Some People Have It - And Others Don't by Jeffrey Pfeffer

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success by Kevin Dutton

Charisma & Social Skills

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism by Olivia Fox Cabane

Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards

Never Eat Alone, And the Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi

The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over by Jack Schafer

Persuasion

The Art of Seduction by Robert Green

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini

Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter by Scott Adams

Pre-Suasion: Channeling Attention for Change by Robert Cialdini

Win Your Case: How to Present, Persuade, and Prevail, Every Place, Every Time by Gerry Spence

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler

Methods of Persuasion: How to Use Psychology to Influence Human Behavior by Nick Kolenda

You Can Read Anyone: Never Be Fooled, Lied to, or Taken Advantage of Again by David Lieberman

Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change by Kerry Patterson

Psychology

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Green

Philosophy and Mindset

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Mastery by Robert Green

The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Taleb

The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia

Public Speaking, Rhetoric, and Debating

Rhetoric by Aristotle

How to Argue & Win Every Time by Gerry Spence

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie

The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds by Carmine Gallo

Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion by George Thompson, PhD

Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs

p.s. a lot of these can be found on z-library.

xoxo ❤️

[lurkingshan]

Phee, New, and a Masterful Misdirect

I know I already said as much, but this week drove home again how strong DFF's writing is. Because the way this show used Phee to throw us off the scent until the end game was so, so smart.

In the first four episodes, our attention was deliberately drawn to Phee. He was established as part of one of the two romantic pairings, and we were encouraged to wonder wtf was up with his relationship with Jin. We were also given many subtle hints that Phee was acting suspicious and seemed to be intentionally investigating the boys, while Tan stayed kind of vague and in the background. Tan seemed to know Phee better than the rest, and many guessed he might be helping Phee, but for the most part, the focus was on Phee.

Then as we moved into the flashback, Tan disappeared for four entire episodes, while we get a major reveal about Phee's relationship with Non and lots of time spent on its dissolution. So of course, the prevailing theory becomes that Phee is the one orchestrating this whole investigation and tormenting these boys in the woods. And the assumption is that he's doing this because of his deep love for Non, his shame for not supporting Non when everything hit the fan, and his conviction that he was done wrong. Tan is once again assumed to be helping him, though theories differed on why, with some guessing he was Non's brother and some speculating on other reasons.

But it turns out, Phee isn't running this operation at all. "Tan" is New, and he has been the driving force the entire time. It's his guilt over leaving Non alone to go abroad that motivates him to investigate, and he pulls Phee along with him.

And Phee? Well, he's not quite as broken up about Non's death as we thought. Sure, he wants to understand where Non went and why, for closure. But he doesn't seem to be carrying any huge burdens of guilt or shame, which makes sense because aside from Non's screenplay that alludes to culprits he doesn't name, he doesn't actually know the truth about Non's situation with Keng or what any of these boys did. He jumps into a romance with Jin incredibly quickly, and it's clear the attraction and his feelings are genuine even as he justifies it to New by claiming it's for the investigation. He takes Jin to the place where he asked Non to be his boyfriend, so apparently this is not something he holds sacred. The morning after he has sex with Jin, Phee is in Jin's room while he's asleep, and does not take the opportunity to investigate. Instead he moons over Jin, cuddles up to him, and instigates morning sex. He is still staring off into space smiling to himself about it until New accuses him of cheating on his brother, at which point he remembers what he's supposed to be doing, makes his excuses, and puts up walls with Jin.

And from then on, they don't seem to learn much of anything, and I suspect that Phee doesn't really want to, because he likes Jin and doesn't want to know what he did to Non. Phee, as it turns out, is just an immature high school boy who liked his boyfriend, but moved on pretty quickly once it was over. He would not be doing any of this if it wasn't for New, and it's clear his heart isn't in it. New is the one who feels deep guilt, who wants to learn what the group did to Non, and whose trauma compounds until he snaps and hatches a plan to trap them at the vacation house and dose them with hallucinogens. Phee goes along with it, but as we saw, his motive seems to be more about reconnecting with Jin before he leaves the country than actually caring about punishing these boys for what happened to Non.

What a great, nuanced little twist to this reveal. New has been the one running the show the whole time, and the show managed to keep that from us via a classic misdirect with Phee. I love that this show manages to keep finding ways to surprise us even when we have some of the picture figured out.

[racefortheironthrone]

MAWS Episode 5

I was a little surprised at the discourse coming out of Episode 5, because I thought the episode (and also major elements of Episode 4) did a very good job of setting up a conflict in which both Lois and Clark's actions make total sense.

For Lois' part, the stairwell scene in Episode 4 did a very good job of elaborating on her main drives and motivations: Lois grew up with a father who constantly lied to her and kept secrets from her, and she has defined herself in reaction to that. She dedicated her life to an occupation that's all about exposing the truth and uncovering secrets. Not only does she have a point that someone with immense power should be held accountable to the public, but she does have a legitimate beef in that her co-worker and partner has been both withholding information about big things (his secret identity) and lying to her constantly about small things (the bagels).

Handcuffing herself to Superman and throwing herself off buildings is an extreme reaction, and she should probably talk to a therapist about her disregard for her own safety, but to be fair, it's not like she hasn't tried and failed with more normal methods, because Superman has been avoiding her and deflecting her questions.

For Clark's part, he's right that he has a right to privacy and that his secret being exposed could put the people he loves in great danger - even more so now that he knows that Task Force X is specifically coming after him as an alien threat. As we saw with his childhood, his Kryptonian heritage is something that frightens him and makes him question whether he belongs. Moreover, in her statements about publishing all of Superman's secrets and calling Superman a liar, Lois didn't give him any reason to believe that she would understand his motivations or prioritize his interests when it comes to his secret identity.

I would argue that the ending of Episode 5 only works because both sides have a point. If either Lois or Clark were completely right or completely wrong, the scene wouldn't hit as hard as it did and we wouldn't get the right emotional response.

To use a TV Tropes term, this episode is the Darkest Hour beat, as the bonds between Lois, Clark, and Jimmy have been frayed because of their conflicting drives. We're supposed to be upset about it, and we're supposed to want the band to get back together - because that's what's going to give the emotional payoff when Lois and Clark rescue Jimmy and come to a reconciliation by uncovering the reverse-engineered alien weapons program that Lois' father (a confrontation with whom Lois' arc is clearly building to) and Amanda Waller have been running on an unsuspecting public, thus recommitting the group to truth, justice, etc.

[charlewiss-writes]

flight cancelled / george russell

masterlist

day 9: airport (part of one-word november prompts!)

pairing: george russell x reader

summary: trying to get home was never more difficult. maybe it was for a reason after all.

author's note: this is awful lmao hope tomorrow will be better 😵‍💫

word count: 0.6k

"what do you mean the flight is cancelled?" you mom almost screamed through the phone. knowing how she would react, you had already removed the little electronic far away from your ear, to avoid going deaf before actually coming back home. "yeah, there's not much that I can do, you know?" you were a bit pissed. it wasn't like you had preferred staying hours stranded at the airport rather than going back to your parents house. "I'm sorry, I have to go now, bye!' you quickly ended the call before she could object with whatever motive she could find.

"annoying boyfriend?" a voice called from behind. when you turned back, you were met with the figure of a tall man, engulfed in a too-big blue hoodie, hair fluffy and slightly going over his blue eyes that looked at you curiously. you smiled, still a little bit warily, not knowing the man well enough to strike a full conversation. "no, annoying mom" you joked back. he caught your unsure approach and giving you his hand to stretch, he introduced himself. "sorry, should have introduced myself before. i'm george. i would assume you were supposed to be on the flight to england too?"

you huffed and nodded, clearly annoyed at remembering again why you were stranded at the airport. he continued. "I don't think we'll get an answer soon about when we can go back home". he was now sitting beside you, with his small luggage just by his side. "don't tell me about it. I was supposed to be there at her birthday and now I won't get there on time" you rubbed your hands on your face, trying to get rid of the stress that had built in your furrowed forehead. "I can get both of us back at home" he spoke quietly, not wanting to disturb the poor woman that was sleeping beside you. you laughed a bit, incredulous at what he was saying "it's not like we can drive there, george".

"it's quite a long story. coffee first, maybe?"

you weren't accustomed to the f1 world, so it didn't surprise you too much when he told you he was a famous driver, lewis hamilton's teammate at mercedes. glady he didn't think it was mean that you didn't even have a clue who he was: on the contrary, you had started to like george even before knowing about what he did for a living, and it amazed him that he could simply be george at your side, not bothering to put on the perfect pr-trained mask he was so used to portraying.

—

"you're going on a date? with who?" your mother was following you all around the house, asking a lot of questions while you grabbed all the things you needed before heading out to meet george at a local café near your house. after getting to know him at the airport and then, when he kindly offered to fly you so you could get here on time for your mom's birthday, you had continued texting back and forth, not being able to spend a minute without the british on your thoughts.

"it's not a date, mom. and I don't know, someone i met?" you tried giving the least amount of info you could, knowing that she wouldn't let you in peace, always intruding too much on your personal life (not that you minded too much, knowing that she had good intentions).

she frowned at your answer. "you never go out, and all your uni friends are out of town. where did you met them?" she was right. you didn't have another choice than tell her the truth. "at the airport?".

[daylighteclipsed]

As someone who only got into KH as an adult, what do you think of Riku's motives during KH1? There's very different opinions from long time fans. From dismissive it's just badly written, he's being petty, it doesn't make sense, he's desperately in love with Kairi so he resent Sora, he's a fuckboy who always want more and never could have enough to it's gay panic from soriku fans. Some even call it plot holes since the games don't state it outright. As a new adult fan how do you see it?

I think Riku is someone very unhappy. He feels left out and forgotten by Sora and Kairi. He's jealous, for multiple reasons, but only understands some of them. He's built his identity around being the more mature, cool older brother figure, which drives an emotional wedge between him and Sora&Kairi who allow themselves to be more childish and carefree. And he doesn't really know who he is outside of this role -- hence, his fear that if Sora and Kairi don't need him anymore, they won't want him around and he won't really have a purpose. But it's a role he doesn't actually enjoy playing, as we see he's much happier when he abandons those expectations in order to follow his heart and be true to himself.

I think those expectations, forcing himself to play that role, is part of why Riku fails to express how he's feeling to his friends and begins retreating from them -- which is the "change" Kairi picks up on, but also, for instance, Selphie notices Riku sitting by himself and staring at the ocean for long periods of time. Riku's always wanted to see other worlds, but I think, by the time KH1 starts, he's started talking about it more frequently. He's started making it happen by building the raft. He is so focused on leaving, he, in his words, hasn’t even thought about what he wants to do when he gets where he’s going. I think he's frustrated that Kairi and Sora aren't really taking the raft seriously -- and though he knows Sora likes to slack off and it's not personal, I think he's hurt especially by Sora's lack of care because this is supposed to be their dream, and Sora seems happier goofing around with Kairi. But Riku tells himself it's fine because once they're sailing everything will be different. Everything will finally change. Right?

Those expectations -- to be the cool older bro figure who's strong and unbeatable and always levelheaded and never needs help, the sort of ideal Sora strives for -- are also, I think, part of why Sora does not reach out to Riku and ignores all the signs that something is really wrong until it is too late. He's used to Riku never needing his help. Even if Sora notices something is up, he's not worried because Riku can handle it on his own -- because he always does. And while Sora does gradually abandon this mindset the more he sees that Riku is capable of being manipulated and defeated -- he's only a year older than Sora, he's a kid, and he needs help sometimes because everyone does -- it's not until the end of KH2 that Sora fully gets this, as Riku lets Sora be his support and admits he's always been jealous of Sora. This is the moment they both really become equals.

What Riku tells Sora about being jealous of Sora’s ability to follow his heart and live more carefree isn't the whole truth, but it is some of it… I personally do think Riku has feelings for Sora. In KH1, I don’t think Riku understands this. A lot of what we see in the beginning of KH1 seem to be relatively new developments. Riku retreating from his friends and becoming obsessed with building the raft and leaving, like I said. But also Riku’s dragging Kairi (as a romantic interest) into his rivalry with Sora and mean-spirited teasing. Based on Sora’s surprised/confused reactions to Riku’s behavior, this has to be relatively new. If I were to speculate… I would say that Riku perhaps noticing or at least perceiving a blossoming romance between Sora and Kairi, which would also have been relatively new, is what spurned this change in behavior from him and the sudden building of the raft instead of just dreaming about it.

And that doesn’t necessarily mean Riku is jealous of Kairi in a romantic sense, as many people can feel jealous or forgotten when their best friend begins dating or hell even just starts spending a lot of time with someone else. We see this kind of jealousy when Riku meets Donald and Goofy, too, and it’s that feeling of abandonment by Sora that even pushes Riku to trust Maleficent. Riku’s mean-spirited teasing about Kairi really could just be because Riku feels like he needs Sora to feel inferior to need Riku around and Riku wants Sora’s attention… But I think there is enough, especially looking at the series collectively, to strongly argue Riku is also jealous of Kairi in KH1 because he has feelings for Sora that he doesn’t understand or know how to handle. You don’t have to like it, but to completely deny it as a possibility at this point is foolish.

There’s also the fact that Riku feels like working with Maleficent is the best move in terms of most quickly saving Kairi. To Riku, it looks like Sora is goofing around in all these different worlds, playing hero with his special sword and his new best friends who think he’s so special. He’s prioritizing people he just met and strangers over Riku and Kairi. For Riku, who seems to have always had Sora as his first priority, and probably just assumed the reverse would be true, that’s gotta feel so insane and when he’s already been feeling like Sora’s not pulling his weight in their friendship lmao… But Riku still offers Sora a chance to help him save Kairi, for them to work together.

Sora turns his blade against him, and Riku realizes Sora can’t do what Riku believes is necessary to save Kairi. Sora is not willing to get his hands dirty to help Kairi... but he is willing to sincerely fight Riku as an enemy. And that’s the breaking point for Riku, I think. That’s when making Sora lose and hurt begins to take precedence over helping Kairi. Riku wants to cram Sora back into that dependent, inferior role that Sora never truly belonged in, was (much like Riku playing the superior) also unhappy in, and certainly by the end of KH1 does not fit in any longer.

KH1 Riku’s also arrogant lmao. He’s not happy playing the repressed but cool older brother, but he is used to always winning and being the best among his peers, so that’s going to affect what he thinks he can/can’t do or handle, like when he shouts that he’s not afraid of the darkness, for instance. His failures in this game (and having his butt handed to him by Sora) definitely humble him.

So we have Riku’s motives. We have an idea of what he’s feeling and thinking: He’s jealous of Sora. He’s jealous of Kairi. He’s jealous of Donald and Goofy. He fears if Sora doesn’t need him around, Sora won’t want him around. He’s unhappy with the role he plays and the way things are and desperately wants everything to change. He feels abandoned by Sora. He feels responsible for Kairi losing her heart and wants to save her as quickly as possible. He’s arrogant. He thinks working with Maleficent is the best move to fix his mistake… and later the best way to hurt Sora, as badly as he feels Sora has hurt him.

Maybe it’s not easy to extrapolate everything from only the first game or even a first run-through of the first game, but I think it all makes sense.

[sflow-er]

Get to know me tag game

Thank you for the tag @putnamcapital! I had a really intense day today and this was a nice distraction.

Do you make your bed?

Yes. The bedroom looks and feels cluttered with the pillows and bedspread piled up on the chair, and I don't like that at all. Also, I feel like the sheets get icky sooner if I leave the bed unmade. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but the feeling is compelling enough.

What's your favourite number?

I prefer even numbers for some reason, and my faves are 8 and 12.

What is your job?

I'm a self-employed translator of factual texts. Articles, websites, brochures, instructions for use, etc.

If you could go back to school, would you?

Maybe. I was always interested in medicine but didn't take all the science courses in high school that I would've needed to study it in uni, so if I had infinite resources... Yeah, I could see myself going back to do those damn courses and then applying to study medicine.

It's an incredibly unrealistic scenario, though. I have neither the means to study full-time nor the energy to do it alongside work and other adult responsibilities. I also don't know if I could muster the motivation for another uni degree even if it was in a field I liked.

Can you parallel park?

In theory, yes. But the town where I learned to drive had a very small population and ample parking space, so I never needed to do it for real, and I haven't even had a car at my disposal since moving to the city (seventeen years ago this autumn).

A job you had that would surprise people?

Hmm, well, I was an extra on a TV show once! The gig was only a few days, but it was interesting to see the process and compare it to the final product.

Do you think aliens are real?

In the sense of there being other life in the universe, yes. Absolutely. In the sense of them abducting people, no. Definitely not.

Can you drive a manual car?

Yes, that's the norm in my country.

What's your guilty pleasure?

Fanfic. I also have a few embarrassing comfort movies (that I'm not going to name) and about 30 seasons of Survivor under my belt, so...no shortage of guilty pleasures here.

Tattoos?

Alas, no. I always wanted one but could never come up with a design/subject I was 100% sure of.

Favourite colour?

Red, green and dark grey. My least favourite colours are orange, yellow and purple (yeah, that makes me a terrible YR fan, I know).

Favourite type of music?

I'm one of those people who got stuck on the music of their formative years, which for me was alt rock from the 2000s (and a little bit from the 2010s). So, that. I do also listen to some later artists but the bar is much higher for them to become my favourites.

Do you like puzzles?

I love puzzles. Not necessarily jigsaw puzzles as I don't have anywhere to put those (or crossword puzzles as I'm surprisingly bad at those), but I do love games with puzzles in general (video games, escape rooms, board games that require some deduction...).

Any phobias?

Serious case of arachnophobia. I'm also afraid of bugs, clowns and (sadly) dogs, but I wouldn't say any of those fears are severe enough to count as phobias.

Favourite childhood sport?

Lol no. I hated sports as a child.

Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, on occasion.

What movies do you adore?

There are too many to list specific titles! I enjoy speculative fiction (scifi, fantasy, horror if it's not too gory), animated films, historical fiction, adventure, good comedy and some drama. I don't watch many realistic adult dramas or biopics unless I'm particularly interested in the filmmaker or subject matter. My least favourite genres are generic action, war, and anything focused on cars or sports.

Coffee or tea?

I love both but mostly drink coffee.

What was the first thing you wanted to be growing up?

Writer, I believe. Someone in my extended family claims I once said 'president' when they asked all of us cousins what we wanted to be, but I have no recollection of that.

No pressure tags: @scatteredpiecesofme @plantbasedfish @silvagrey @bluedalahorse @willedeservesbetter @palehottubchild and anyone else who wants to participate! I feel like I've seen a lot of answers already and I know I've also missed a bunch, so, sorry if that was you. And if any of you don't feel like playing, no worries whatsoever! 💜

[bcbdrums]

🍄🍬🌿🧩 Truth or Dare!

"🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings"

uhmm... hmmm... hmmm... i don't think i can pick one pair, lol. i'm gonna pick. a few.

i'll preface this by saying i'm a canon purist 99% of the time, so when i have a headcanon, it's because i think i can defend it very well with evidence from the source material.

Star Trek - Jim and Spock share a mental link that was created by accident and allowed intermittent empathy/mild telepathy of both a conscious and subconscious nature. this is evidenced in several episodes, but a particular moment on the bridge in The Immunity Syndrome is my solid basis for this. (I promise I'll keep writing "Always Will"... Star Trek is the fandom of my heart. I'll come back to it. I promise.)

Kim Possible - (angst alert! tw: infant death. tw: child death. tw: miscarriage. i hope i did that right...) Drakken and Shego had twins that didn't survive. The event brought them closer together and made them re-think their priorities... This is post-canon when they were dealing with the good vs. evil issues already, and the only thing they knew for sure was they wanted to be together. This event also led them to realize...they want to be parents. (Yes, my fic "Rekindling" is in fact, headcanon...)

Soul Eater - I haven't posted a fic about this one yet so I'm leery to share it... But a story is already in the works. And I'll be very, very vague... Stein's "experiments" on Spirit were extremely mild and rapidly turned into something else... Something Stein was doing to cover for Spirit, to protect him from something else going on in his life... And that's where I'm leaving that because I want it to be a surprise when I post the story! But a couple people I've told might guess this, heheh. (No title for this story yet... Titles are my worst enemy.)

"🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character"

Spirit Albarn did not cheat on his wife. 😎 I'll die on this hill. In a diff post than the one I link, I compared him to Greg Universe (of Steven Universe). The authors present both as characters you want to hate, who you question, who look like lousy fathers. But slowly the story starts to unfold and you realize...there's more here than what was presented on the surface. And maybe the surface was a lie all along. I use that comparison because most people seem to get it with Greg. But only a few people get it with Spirit. That's fine. It's my headcanon; it doesn't have to be yours. And I enjoy other ppl's headcanons very much. But you did ask.

"🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity"

this is where the whole... 'write for yourself' thing, comes into play. i've actually seen a lot of tumblr discourse about this recently... write for yourself! people say. but, we share creations out because...we want people to see them. we are writing for ourselves, and then sharing them...

here's what i'm learning. my motivation to create has to be for myself, in the grand scheme. it's fine to create things here and there for others. and i personally love gifting fanfic. but if your goal when you go into creating is... 'i'm going to tailor this story so this person will like it,' or, 'i'm gonna post this and i can't wait till this person comments!' that's when you're in danger... you're not creating for yourself anymore. now your satisfaction is going to come from...what that person thinks, whether or not they comment, how deep is their comment...

your satisfaction has to come from responding to your own creative drive.... i suppose that's where the advice starts. make sure your motives are in the right place. and... hey, if the creativity is sated? allow yourself to rest! as i'm writing this (it's being queued so, not coming out near the same day it was asked), my writing well is a bit dry. you might want to create, and feel bad you're not doing so... but it's okay to rest! if your mind just wants to daydream but the hands don't want to write the story or draw the piece right then... just let yourself be. allow yourself that space. i think you'll find creativity is better for it in the long run.

'but i'm worried my followers will be disappointed?' now, there you're not creating for you again... if they're friends, they'll still be there. if they're just...a random number in your stats, then again... your motives aren't in the right place. i'm a firm believer in...don't base your self-worth on internet stats. it's just not something i can get onboard with. your value is not determined by number of views, comments, reblogs, etc...

"🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?"

ahhhh hmmm.... i haven't done any immediate clicks in awhile. i'd say if something squicks me pretty suddenly. but blessedly, with AO3 tagging, i can often avoid accidentally running into those things.

wanna be clear though, writing is in art itself and sometimes... well, i'll give an example. i read a fic not too long ago with a twist ending. it is the sort of thing i would not have read had i known. but, had they tagged for the twist it would have ruined the story. so i was not bothered by the lack. i personally would have done the same. am i haunted by what i read? yes. but storytelling is its own art and well...yeah. it's not like in picking up a physical book we're gonna get the tag warnings.

that was slightly off topic, uhhh... i think mostly just if one of my squicks shows up i'll click away. something that's not my thing. and depending on how good the fic is, i'll try to push past it. but if it keeps happening... like there was one long, long multi-chap where main char was kidnapped and tortured and my poor li'l happy-ending heart didn't realize until i was fairly deep in that the whole point of the fic was torture that just got worse and worse... closed that one, never finished.

oh okay but one thing... if a story is VERY out of character, then i'm not interested. like.... the whole point in fanfic is to see more of the character so if it doesn't read like them, then... yeah. that's actually probably the most immediate thing for me. i can handle poor grammar and formatting and english-second-language writers and new writers who are learning the craft... all of that is fine. long as the character is in character, i'm pretty game to read most things.

thanks for the ask!!!!

[soundbulb]

as with all sweeping statements about writing, you need to take it with a grain of salt, but I've devised that an over-commitment to autobiographical writing is the easiest way to ensure you won't make consistently good work. it's easy to clock in young authors, and some of it's symptoms are clumsy pacing, even line to line pacing and over crammed phrases. it's easy to point out in songwriting, but I think of musicians like [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], how they're writing is painfully mediocre despite people saying they're known for this quality. part of this is because they're supposed to be able to play at weddings and target playlists, but beyond that what they're really known for is their willingness to talk about their lives, but if you just look at the writing it's overwrought and clunky; filled with words that don't lend to their story or atmosphere. autobiographical writing carries the ethos that you write things because you believe they're true, not because it serves your work; you write things because that's the way you think it happened, not because it's a good creative decision. you only offer your perspective on your life. shouldn't be surprising then that this usually makes for dull, myopic writing.

memoirs are their own art, and there's tons of ways to do them. I'm not talking about the literal autobiography. good memoirists will even tell you the driving motivation behind their writing ethos isn't literalism or "writing things as they happen". fiction is also best served when you accept that there isn't going to be a Truth in your writing. you're efforts for truth are really efforts for verisimilitude; you just want things to feel real, so you might have to sometimes write something that's true. (most of the time verisimilitude isn't best achieved through truth). your details should be focused, which isn't to say overly strategized, but they shouldn't be wasted on things that feel unrelated but are "true". I think of the way surrealists use details, how they intuitively build the emotional world we live in, choosing to connect objects with deeply held states of existence that are indescribable, but signaled through these objects. the ceiling fan in twin peaks that can best be described as dread, but it's both more specific and more wide reaching than that; how the phrase "powder blue" begins to land the further you get into toni morrison's song of solomon, as this mix of danger and belonging; how the first story sets up the profound confusion and alienation of invisible man. writing is unique in it's direction of attention; in order for your audience to know something is in the room, your narrator has to notice it. every description comes with the implicit fact that your narrator's attention is drawn to it, and the question: why? that doesn't mean that everything needs a cut and dry reason, maybe the reason is just that it commands attention. but your attention can flesh out an entire setting, an entire character. now imagine if you wasted that ability on things that were there, or true, but don't build anything. now imagine if you wasted that attention on feelings, words, scenes that have happened, but don't build the story. this is what makes mediocre writing so infuriating; the hint of deliberation that makes you pay close attention to things only to find they're presence is evoking nothing but the fact that the writer literally saw them. if the purpose of your attention being drawn to something is only to build out a room as it literally was, and not to make the room seem the way it did, THAT is bad writing. things feel realer when they're specific, when they evoke an emotional response, not when they're rote reproductions of reality.

[patheticlittlemen]

WORK WIFE

[Edward Nashton x Male Reader]

Chapter 5- Alive Again

Words: 1419

Warnings: None

A/N: Unintentionally scheduled this for the same day volume 3 of Riddler Year One comes out lol

You walk into work, tired but ready to get the day started. Once you make yourself comfortable at your desk, Edward drops off a coffee but doesn’t stay for the normal chat. Instead, he quickly explains that the office got a new account and he has a lot of work to do. You thank him for the coffee and get started on your own work.

After a few hours of sorting paperwork and greeting guests, you see someone walking up to you. Thinking it was Edward, you turn to see him but are surprised to see Olivia.

“Oh, hey Olivia.” It was comforting to see she still wanted to interact with you.

“Hey Y/N! Did you make it home safe Friday?” You pause at her question, deciding whether to tell the truth or not.

“Uh, yeah. Edward drove me,” You aren’t lying, just…omitting some details. “I assume you did too?”

“I did. Amaia’s girlfriend picked her up and I crashed with them.”

You nod and smile, wondering if Olivia came up to you just to ask that, but she answers your question before you can finish the thought.

“Do you wanna get lunch today? I forgot mine and figured it would be a good chance to get to know you. While we’re both sober, I mean” She smiles and her question seems so genuine, throwing you off a bit. All your life you had looked at people and wanted to be their friend, but you had never experienced someone else doing that to you. You’re always hesitant about when others ask you to hang out but see no ulterior motives or anything Olivia could want to gain from this.

“Yeah, there’s a new sandwich place called Screw Head I’ve been wanting to go to.” You offer.

“Oh, I’ve heard about that. Sounds good, I’ll stop by again in a bit.” Olivia smiles and heads back to her desk, leaving you feeling a bit surprised that she would want to hang out with you. Trying to ignore the paranoid thoughts running through your mind, you go back to doing some paperwork.

Before you know it, Olivia is driving you to lunch and talking about work. The whole drive there you’re very tense and have to try really hard to keep up with your reactions and responses, your brain working overtime trying to make sure you’re acting normal.

You follow Olivia inside when you get to the restaurant and sit down across from her. Olivia continues talking about work until she stops herself in the middle of a sentence.

“You know what, this is probably boring. What’s going on with you? How are you doing?”

“Oh, uh…I’m good.” You’re a bit caught off guard by her asking about you, you’ve gotten so used to just letting others talk. 

“You sure?” She raises her eyebrows and cocks her head to the side. You have to process what she said for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer.

“I’m making it through. Trying my best, y’know?” You try to dampen any sadness in your voice with a nervous laugh.

“Aren’t we all.” Olivia laughs and shakes her head. “Well, you’re doing great.”

You blush a little at Olivia’s unexpected kindness and before you can thank her, the waiter comes over and sets down menus. Olivia looks over it quietly as you try to think of something to say.

“How are you doing?” You ask and Olivia looks up, smiling.

“Hmm, I’m alright. Not bad, not good, just kind of here.” She says, shrugging. You nod understandingly. 

“What are you gonna get? I think the reuben sounds good.” Olivia says, and you settle into talking about the menu until the waiter comes and gets your orders.

“So. Edward…” Olivia says once the waiter leaves.

“What about him?” You ask, furrowing your brows.

“Is he your boyfriend yet?” She asks, smirking a bit.

“I- no, he isn’t.”

“Do you want him to be?” 

“Maybe? I don’t really know…” you shake your head, a bit frustrated.

“Fine, I’ll leave that alone. For now.” Olivia laughs. You roll your eyes and she goes on about something else, with the waiter eventually dropping your food off.

The lunch goes well, with you being able to keep up with Olivia’s rambling and her even asking you a few questions. She pays the bill without you even noticing, making you feel a bit bad but she insists that it’s not a problem. While she’s driving, she changes topics when you’ve made it about halfway to your work.

“Do you like Edward?” Olivia asks.

“I thought you said you were going to leave that alone.” You say, sighing.

“Come on, all my friends have partners so I can’t set them up with anyone. And I said I would leave it alone then, but it’s now and I’m not leaving it alone.”

“What makes you think he likes me back? Like if I were to ask him out, what makes you think he would say yes?” You ask.

“Babe, use your eyes. He looks at you like you’re the best thing to ever grace this world and when he’s not near you, he’s constantly glancing at you.” You flush a little bit at that and don’t respond. 

“Did Edward really drop you off Friday night?” She asks.

“...yes.” 

“At your own apartment?” You stay quiet and Olivia’s eyes go wide. “Did you…”

“No! No, all we’ve done is hold hands.” You say as she pulls into the parking lot and parks. Before she can say anything, you open the door and step outside. Unfortunately, Olivia is right on your heels.

“Hold hands?”

“It didn’t mean anything.” You insist.

“Do you want it to mean something?” 

“Well, I-” You try to argue but Olivia cuts you off.

“So you do like him.” She nudges you as you walk into the building with her.

“If I say yes, will you drop it?” You say, rolling your eyes and holding the door open.

“So when are you gonna see your work wife- sorry, I mean Edward…“ Right as Olivia says that and walks past you, Edward is strolling in right behind her. Your eyes go wide and you feel heat rushing to your cheeks as Edward raises an eyebrow and smirks but continues walking. You look back at Olivia who had waited for you and see her giggling.

“Not. Funny.” You say, playfully shoving her.

“Hey, I might have helped you out there. Anyways, I have work to do, unlike you.” Olivia jokes and you scoff. “Text me after you guys hook up tonight!”

You shake your head as Olivia walks away and make yourself comfortable at your desk, but you barely have a second to process what happened before Edward appears.

“Ah! Jesus, Edward, where did you even come from?” You say, startled.

“Work wife?” He says, ignoring your question.

“I…ugh, Olivia’s dumb…” You mutter and awkwardly laugh. Edward doesn’t respond and continues to stare, making you more nervous than you were.

“It just means-“ 

“I know what it means, Y/N. I’m just trying to get on your nerves.” Edward laughs and his intense gaze is replaced with humor.

“You are the worst. Don’t you have work to do?” You say, mildly annoyed.

“Actually, not really. I finished everything I had to do today, except for pestering you. Ah, I can check that off my list now.” He says. Edward seems different, a lot more confident. It’s still his smile and his voice, but not his words. Is he flirting?

“So we’re hooking up tonight, right? I mean that’s what Olivia said.” Edward smirks. Definitely flirting.

“Up to you, pretty boy.” You say, glancing down at your computer that just dinged to notify you of an email. When you look back at Edward it seems all his confidence has disappeared and he looks a bit scared. Also very red.

“Sorry, I just remembered I have you to do. Shit, no, I mean work. I have more work to do.” He stammers and doesn’t let you respond, just running off to his desk.

You’re a little worried you went too far but try and push the thought away, reminding yourself that he started it first and you were just matching his energy. The image of him scurrying away made you laugh a little, though. As much as you prefer direct communication, you’re enjoying what you have with Edward right now. Even if this is all it will be, you’re not complaining.

[kozuki-hiyori]

The One About Traflagar D. Water Law

(what a name, by god)

Okay, so I was thinking about ZoLaw... (hush, don't think about it) Anyway! Then I was thinking about those two as individuals, and, well, this is the Law part of that

(I picked apart a lot with Zoro, and it's so, so much, so I'm going to try and keep it shorter by focusing on one specific thing here)

And that is Law's spite and his trust.

I'd say a huge part of Law is spite (not all that surprising I'm sure). It is was drove him as a child to seek out Doflamingo, and what drove him in the following years to try and kill Doflamingo. Just about his entire life is driven by spite. All of it. I find that so interesting. That what he needs it to prove people wrong (and often times hurt them). It's this need to tear people down, to destroy them, but it's driven by the memory of those he loves who were hurt.

Bloody revenge driven by love bled out.

Law who will go to all sorts of lengths to ensure the protection of the people he trusts and loves.

Also, though, that leaves the question: if he has no one to spite, then what drives him?

I think, otherwise, what drives him is knowledge.

It seems to be what propels him forward in his studies as a child. And later, after defeating Doflamingo, he goes after the poneglyphs because he wants to learn more about the world.

What is in comparison such a personal and passive goal for life is so interesting as the relief of his other main motivator. (I say that, but academy can get rather... heated, so, uh, maybe not so calm, but still, generally, it is not the death his spite aims for).

Anyway, great, spite out of the way, what about his trust, cause I think this is another interesting thing to puzzle over when it comes to him.

So, let's go over three instances of trust (or not) pertaining to Law: his trust in the Straw Hat's, his trust in his crew, and his trust in himself.

First there is Law's trust in the Straw Hats. He obviously doesn't trust them when it comes to his true plans. Those, he doesn't share, not when asking them to aid him in taking down Doflamingo at least. It can't even be said that he trusts their strength, as he still assumes he will not being leaving Dressrosa alive. They aren't brought in to take down Doflamingo even, they are a distraction that he can use, a group guaranteed to cause chaos enough to give him a chance at Doflamingo.

(Actually, interestingly, he didn't really need Doflamingo dead, just exposed for what he truly was. Dressrosa doesn't end with Doflamingo killed off, but instead torn from his post as a Warlord and sent off to Impel Down. And Law is content with that. He sees that as having accomplished his goal. (Which is fascinating really, that there isn't some exact 1-to-1 in his desire for tearing another down.))

So Law trusts the Straw Hats to do what he needs them to, but not to the point of telling him any truth. Either he doesn't think they'd help if they knew that truth, or he assumes they'd stop him if they did.

When it comes to his crew, he obviously loves them and they love him (this isn't up for debate, have you seen that loser and his crew together). He obviously knows they stop himself from martyring himself, and he doesn't want them getting hurt either. Now, something important is whether Law was certain he would die. If he was, that implies he simply didn't want to cause the death of his crew as well (so he either didn't care for the Straw Hat's lives, or he assumed Luffy's crew is stronger than his and thought they could escape). If he wasn't certain he'd die, then I'd say his lack of trust is shifts slightly to his crew and their strength than the Straw Hats.

I doubt it's the second one, if One Piece Party has taught us anything, isn't that he doesn't have enough self-confidence for that. I still thought I'd point that out though.

Anyway, finally, we have Law's trust in himself. It's there to the extent that he believes he will be able to take down Doflamingo (or manipulate a situation that will result in that), just not that he will be able to do so and remain alive after the fact. He trusts in his own intelligence and planning most of all. What he doesn't trust is that he can survive. At least, I assume.

He has all these people. He doesn't want to bring them down with him, but doesn't believe that he won't. So he pushes them away to protect them.

I just can't quite figure out exactly what angle has him pushing them away: resignation in his fate, or a desire to not be stopped.

In the end, I think Law is also quite protective. That spite is the desire to protect those who he's lost, retroactively, to expose the fact that people are wrong about why they died, to expose their killers. And for the living, he'll push them away to ensure that they continue to live.

What he doesn't protect is his own well being.

[amplifyme]

I have an update on Acquainted With the Night! :DDD

Finished Part I (of III); and Nan's writing is stunning. Only watched the Pilot episode of the show (will watch more when I get my hands on the series), but she nails the atmosphere and ALL of the character voices and motivations and is so beautifully, intelligently capable of so many things on so many levels. Incredible. (Glad you sent me the wikipedia link to catch up-- never would have seen those plot twists and turns coming from a mile away.)

I love Diana, love her to death. It's interesting approaching her character through a (I presume) post-series lens as opposed to seeing and growing attached to Catherine's love story. She's already firmly attached to Vincent; but the love really blooms after slowly getting used to his life Below. And him and sunlight...???? Beauuuuuuuuuuuuutiful, uhhh.

I love the quiet, the dark, theatrical fairytale mixed with the brash-in-check, empathetic street smarts of an on-the-ground, workaholic cop. Mouse's backstory (I understand now why you love his character so much), Vincent's teen years (Winslow and Pascal-- Nan's writing made me remember their character names within paragraphs of meeting them) Diana's loft, the computer, the fire, the roses, the danger and injuries, the tunnels, the wedding, the Bowry... but most of all, Vincent and Diana's completely in-sync communication that doesn't require them to "speak" the same and yet understand each other's language: ex. she calls him babe and yet he never asks why until halfway through; she defines rape and sits, watching him come to his own conclusions for over an hour; she cops out his motives yet misses the nuances, but understands his flowery interpretations and translates them with her playful and crudely simple analogies; etc. His trauma and gradual acceptance of and outreach for touch was... touching (heh.)

I'm so hooked on this series. Aaaaaaaaaaand I found "To every craft, its proper mystery"! What a surprise~~~~. (I tried to type the phrase into my search engine to see if it was a quote from somewhere else, too; and thus far nothing-- the only search results that come up are your blog, unprompted, and a few other assorted sites.) There are so many quotable lines that happen every other sentence... and all of them are beautiful.

Again, I am delighted that you posted the excerpts you did; otherwise, I would have missed out on a brilliant, brilliant story.

Responding under the cut...

You have no idea how happy this makes me! One of my favorite things in the world is being able to share this magical world of BATB and Nan's AWTN series. I've long considered it one of the best pieces of fiction ever written - fan or otherwise. I have to pull out the zines every couple years or so for a re-read, just because it's that good. I just wish there were scans of the zines themselves so you could experience all the fan art, too.

Your presumption is right: this is written through a post-series lens, often referred to as 4th Season fanfic. I love that you loved Mouse's origin story! Cat and Mouse is one of my very favorites in the series.

Oh, I was gonna warn you about You, Darkness, since it's a rather dark (but truthful) portrayal of Vincent's otherness and drives home the fact that he's not just a man who looks like a lion, he is a beast, too. So many of the Classic fans (those who ignore or deny the 3rd season and only accept Vincent with Catherine) prefer to overlook that beastly aspect of Vincent and don't seem to understand the terrible toll all the killings he committed in Cathy's defense had on the part of him that is a man. In the episode The Outsiders, Cathy tells him that there are dark places in all of us. His response sums it up well: "But part of me feeds in that darkness, and I am lost in it."

The S2 ending trilogy of What Rough Beast, Ceremony of Innocence and The Rest Is Silence examines the damage that darkness did to Vincent. Nan novelized those eps in the official book Beyond Words, Beyond Silence, which is my second favorite of her works. It's on the web page I linked you to and well worth reading to get a better understanding of Vincent. One of my favorites in AWTN 1 is Dialogues, because it really drives home how damaged he is post-Catherine. It also explains why I came to love Diana so. She never wanted a watchdog or Vincent's protection. All she ever wanted was him, in all his aspects, no apologies, no excuses.

The entire 3rd season is set up as a sort of flip-side to the V & C story. In it, Diana is the one to find an injured V and bring him to her home to heal and grow stronger. She's his protector. And I love that about her.

"To every craft, its proper mystery." ❤️ That's the single line of Nan's that's stuck with me all these years. It just really struck a chord with me. Such a short phrase, but it packs a punch.

Anyway, I'll stop before this becomes novel-length. Enjoy your journey, and keep me updated. You get to meet Devin, Vincent's brother, in AWTN 2. Oh, and As On a Darkling Plain is so, so good! I'll give you the backstory on that one once you get through it. I sure hope you're able to find a way to watch the entire series soon!

[tgrailwar-zero]

I mean, Saber and his Paladins are being nice to us now, but it's with the expectation that we join up with him and help him on his terms later. Just as they won't hesitate to deal with us if we step out of line, we shouldn't hesitate in dealing with them either while we still have the advantage and element of surprise, no matter how much we may like each other. It's our survival on the line here. We know the Red Team isn't exactly predisposed to liking us, not even Rider, who's probably going to collect on his moment of pettiness, even if they don't especially trust Caster. If we put our trust into Saber, and by extension his entire Team, we'd be putting ourselves in unsafe hands, especially with Caster (who clearly wants us dead at all costs) around, and without the knowledge and power (?) the Keys can offer us. That's a lot, even without trying to rescue Avenger from their clutches in mind.

The Blue Team probably won't be inclined to want us back, either. Avenger alone, perhaps; But they're already in a precarious position as it is, and they don't have the time or resources to accommodate the liability of the Admin's measures against us (or even what she'll do to them for helping us, like Avenger said would happen to him), much less help us search for the Keys. Moon Cancer and Pretender now have actual reason to act against us, now that we're not part of the Blue Team anymore, and thus not on their side. We also did help basically drive Avenger off a cliff, after all, no matter how well-intentioned the act was, and I doubt they'd forgive such a slight that easily. We could still try to reconcile with them, but we just don't have anything we could offer them besides perhaps Avenger and K's abilities, given that the hacking niche has already been taken by Moon Cancer.

We can talk a big deal about the inhabitants of the Solar Cell, but the truth is, given our past, they'll be more likely to want us dead than not. The townspeople here are only being kind because they don't actually know who we are, and because Historia and Lune vouched for us; If they knew about us, and without Historia and Lune defending us (Which they'd have little reason to do without Saber wanting us on his side), what do you think they'd do to us?

This doesn't make their lives any less valuable just because they aren't on our side, or their motivations to protect their world and themselves any less understandable, but. Just think about it. We came back into this War, into our second chance at life, as Interlopers; There's no way around that.

Without K, we're without allies, without Servants, without anyone we can trust. We'd be leaving Avenger in the hands of someone who doesn't care for him and will most likely kill him after she's done using him, and K without support on a dangerous mission alone. And we at least owe it to her to give it a try, given we're the ones who selfishly summoned her to get back here in the first place.

_

[art-of-manliness]

You Are (Kind Of) Your Job

You are not your job, you’re not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You are not your f***ing khakis. The above represents one of the most memorable and fist-pump-inducing quotes from Fight Club. And it certainly includes a lot of truth. You’re not your possessions. You’re not your wealth. And you’re definitely not your Dockers. But you’re not your job? Well, that’s not entirely the case. One of the most comprehensive studies on masculinity was conducted several years ago. It sought to uncover what gives men a sense of well-being, and it produced a surprising result.  A survey was given to thousands of American men in order to assess their “Positive Mindset Index,” which measured a matrix of their “happiness, confidence, sense of being in control, emotional stability, motivation, and optimism.” The survey found that the very biggest determinant in a man’s PMI wasn’t a factor you might expect like relationships or health. It was work. “Job satisfaction,” the survey reported, “is by far the strongest predictor of positivity, being around three times higher than the next strongest predictor.” A similar study done with men in the UK put the results this way: Men who have high job satisfaction are very likely to be content in other aspects of their life. . . . Everything else — contentment at home, in relationships and friendships — flows down from men being satisfied at work. This finding wasn’t about how much money men made in their jobs, but rather their sense of being valued at work and having an impact on their company’s success. In a way, this finding cuts across a dogma we’ve been developing in the West for decades now: That what you do for work doesn’t define you. That the health, hobbies, and relationships you cultivate outside the office are more important. That you’re a human being, and not a human doing, damnit.  It’s the kind of thing that sounds great in the abstract. Yet, no matter how often we rehearse it cognitively and rhetorically, it never entirely resonates viscerally.  That’s because it ignores thousands of years of deeply ingrained human history. In every culture around the world, masculinity was defined by three imperatives: protect, procreate, and provide. Men have an innate drive to be useful, to be effective, to provide value to their tribe.  We’ve tried to get away from the reality that men derive crucial satisfaction from their work, not because it’s stopped being true, but because that satisfaction has become harder and harder to come by. That is, because it’s become increasingly difficult to secure satisfying employment, we’ve generated ex post facto reasoning about how such work isn’t actually so important. It’s akin to the sour grapes phenomenon: “I can’t have this thing, but who cares? I don’t need it. It’s not so great, anyway.” This cultural shift isn’t without significant value: you shouldn’t put all the weight of your identity and happiness on your job, and things like health, hobbies, and relationships can do a lot to compensate for lack of satisfaction at work. But, even if it seems unpopular and discomforting to do so, it also seems necessary to recognize that such factors can’t entirely make up for being unhappy in your job — a role you’re going to spend a third of your life pursuing. Your work is going to have an outsized impact on how you feel about everything else. Believing that it doesn’t matter how you spend your 9-5 — that you can put in your stultifying bit while on the clock and then make up for it in your off hours — can lead to prematurely resigning yourself to doing work you dislike. But while it is indisputably far harder to get a satisfying job these days, not being content with the so-so, and attempting to find yourself a fulfilling vocation, may be one of the most worthwhile efforts you ever make. The post You Are (Kind Of) Your Job appeared first on The Art of Manliness. http://dlvr.it/SbqJmL