#but of course i'm here if you need

[knifearo]

being aromantic is like. hey btw you're going to live a life that is the culmination of most of society's worst nightmares. sorry lol ✌️ but then you turn around and take a really good hard look at it and it turns out that living in that nightmare is fucking awesome and you get to wake up every day and take that fear that other people have and laugh and hold it close until it's a great joy for you instead. and being happy is a radical act that you define instead of someone else. and you're sexy as fuck that's just a fact of life i don't make the rules on that one

#aromantic people are just sexy i'm not making the decisions here it's just facts #course ur hot as fuck. it came free with the aromanticism #being sexy is just default settings for aromantic people 👍 #hope this all helps. anyway i'm on my 'i hope i die alone <3 i can't wait to die alone <3' kick rn #i think the existential fear that people have of Not Partnering specifically is so. well. #obviously that shit is strong and it is SO awesome to be free of it. #realizing you're aro and you don't Want a partner can be such a hit to the solar plexus #cause society says that's the only thing that'll make you happy. so either you go without that thing or you force yourself #into doing something you don't want which would make you unhappy anyway. #so you think it's a lose lose situation and you have to come to terms with what amatonormativity presents as the worst possible situation #but then! whoa! turns out personhood is inherently valuable in and of itself and romantic partnering is just a construct! #and that nightmare is now your life to do with as you please... define as you will... structure as you want... #best case scenario. is what i'm saying. #every day i wake up ready to spit all that amatonormative rhetoric back in life's teeth by being alone and being happy #and it's so fucking satisfying. every day. #fucking JUBILANT being by myself. and i love being a living breathing 'fuck you' to the romantic system #you need a partner to be happy? oh that's sooo fucking crazy guess i'll go be miserable then. in my perfect fucking dream life lmao #yeah obviously it's the worst possible outcome on earth to die without a partner. so terrible. can't wait for it :) #aromantic #aromanticism #aro positivity #aroace #arospec #sorry to bitches who are sad about not having a partner. i could not give a fuck though get better soon #you couldn't EVER pay me enough to go back to a mindset in which my inherent value wasn't enough by myself. #FUCK that shit. absolutely miserable and a bad life outlook in general. like genuinely do the work w/ amatonormativity and get better #life is something that can be so fulfilling whether someone wants to kiss you or whatever or not #i'm on antidepressants and i have people i care deeply about. what the fuck would i need a partner for lmao

[killerandhealerqueen]

Can I bitch for a second? Like, I just want to understand why, in the past few years, comments and reblogs on fics have gone the fuck down. Like why? What fucking changed?

In 2020 and 2021, I used to get comments all the time on almost all my fics and now it's like...I'm lucky to get any. I also know that I write for small fandoms so like, that's a contributing factor, but still. Even with my latest multichapter fic, there are no subscriptions. Like, everything has just gone down.

And while I realize that the pandemic happened in 2020-2021, the decline has been happening for a while, especially here on tumblr. Comments and reblogs and asks about fics are just...not really a thing anymore.

And people wonder why writers don't wanna continue. Yeah, yeah, that whole thing of write for yourself, we all write for ourselves, lets be honest. We do. But we also want to share our creations with you because that's the whole fucking point of art. You want to share it with others and have them appreciate the work and time you put into it. And we'd like to hear feedback! It's literally not a bad thing to want comments. And people need to stop making writers feel bad for saying they want comments. And reblogs. Likes and kudos are great but they don't do anything. They just tell us that you liked the fic/work. But they don't tell us what you thought, what moved you, what rewired your brain, what made your heart thump or flutter or clench. That's what comments tell us. That's why we want comments. We want to see our fics through your eyes.

Writers shouldn't have to beg for interactions, so please. Reblog and leave comments on fics. Please. It's really the least you could do

#sass rants #i'm sure someone's gonna get pissy with me for this but i don't fucking care #i shouldn't have to fucking beg people to reblog and comment on my stories #it's fucking 2024 people #how about we start acting like a fandom again and start reblogging and commenting on EVERYTHING #from gifsets to art to fanfiction #(of course let's have the comments be nice we don't do rude comments here) #but yeah #start commenting on fics that you like #because the writers you love WILL stop writing after a while if they don't feel appreciated #because we all need to remember that this isn't a full-time job for most of us #so show your favorite writers/gif makers/artists some appreciate and reblog/comment on their shit

[icewindandboringhorror]

Some fantasy traveler inventory details (like what they would carry in their bags), based on two of the recent costumes I did.. love finding random little scraps and items and putting them together lol

#it's obvious who's is who's since they match their outfits HOWEVER.. consider if they were switched lol #evil villain looking man carrying around pressed flowers in a cutesy lacy pouch #fantasy costume #what's in my bag #actualyl that would have been funny to make a video. I should make a video #I'm sure someone else has already done this #but like.. lifestyle vlogger type content however I'm dressed in fully costume as some weird elf or something #pulling things out of my bag and showing them to the camera and talking about how they're useful for whatever #but it's all fantasy scenarios and talking like it's very common #'and of course. i know it's a bit cliche #EVERY traveler has one of these. but you know. theyre just useful! thats why everyone has one!' *pulls out a completely unrecognizable item #thats like some weird fantasy world prop and doesn't even explain it because In-world it's normal and wouldnt need to be talked about* #'room tour' video and it's just like 'yeah I sleep on this mat under a bunch of trees uh.. over here by these rocks. at least right now. I #kind of wander around a bit. so' #Like a clothing haul but it's a potions shop haul or something and they ramble about some obscure drama in the potions community and how the #y hard to barter and steal and entire flock of sheep or something just to get one of them. etc. etc. #I could do ones for different characters too like. multiple people from different walks of life showing what they carry around with them. #just like this but more interview sort of vlog format instead of photos #This is where not having much money and not having my own house with land becomes an issue though #I think it would take you out of the illusion if the background was always the same. I can make small sets because there's one blank wall in #a room that it's easy to move all the stuff away from in front of and clear a spot and like hang up fabrics or whatever but still.. hmms #So one of those 'fun idea but dubious about handling the execution' things. also One Of Those Things where without looking it up you're 100% #sure it's already been done and you don't want to look weird since it's vaguely niche. Like if 100 people have done something it's fine but #if only like 3 other people have then you look weird maybe ghhjbj.. or only one other person gods forbid. looks even weirder potentially #Or do people not care about ''copying'' anymore?? idk. I'm not updated with the internet's changing culture. I just have a fear of accidenta #lly doing something like that and then people getting mad even though it's really just that I competely had no idea it had been done because #again.. I live under a rock and am unaware of everything lol. ANYWAY. also would require my face being on video which I don't like. Though I #would be in costume so that helps. I think to be fully comfortable I'd need light modifications to make my face look different. which isn't #hard but is more effort when it has to be translatable in multiple angles. ANYWAY. ghjbhj... Now I think it would be funny actually. maybe #one day. I haven't made any videos (aside from on the gameplay/sims channel) in a long long time actually. hmm'st

[anglerflsh]

wow ive been kind of off lately I should take a day to rest an[explosion]

#[.art] #self #complaining tag #I'm good. I needed to draw about it but I'm good. it's fine. whatever #love it when I barely ask you for money to Live outside of gifts and 30 a month. and then you withold the gift SOMEONE ELSE GAVE ME #that's fine it's totally not as if I told you I need that money before. and you decided I was a bit too mean #about you compiling a document I Need To in order to keep the room and board in the place I am living in. by the way #she proceeded to change topic completely to the weather and forget about anything ive told her on the clothes I have here #or about the courses I follow. she takes notes for my sister's classes but cannot be bothered to remember i dont have exams in april #that's fineeee it's fine. it's fine. I know my sistser needs the help and I don't. I would rather die than ask for her help anyways #you can at least pretend to forget about both of us equally instead of telling me I should graduate in two years because im smart enough #which I am not. by the way. At least when I will fail at something I'll have the opportunity to tell her I told you so thank god #dont get me wrong i know her giving me compliments is a good thing I just sort of wish the were things actually about me #and not about the idea she has about me being some kind of prodigy that's simply too lazy to actually be exceptional. anyways

[another-clive-blog]

HOW HAVE I NEVER NOTICED THIS

LAYTON USES TU FOR FUTURE LUKE BUT SWITCHES TO VOUS THE SECOND CLIVE'S IDENTITY IS REVEALED.

Tu and vous both mean you but Tu implies closeness : in the entirety of Unwound Future, Layton only ever uses Tu with Flora, the Lukes and Claire

#I'm shaking crying throwing up #WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME. #He immediately uses tu for Future Luke which is A LOT #In real life we often stumble trying to know which one to use because vous is distance but also respect like for a boss or teacher #(Everyone except Claire uses vous for Layton because he's a highly educated adult and a gentleman) #Layton must really appreciate and trust Luke. He immediately went 'Oh that's a Luke of course he's a close one' #And it makes sense that he would discard the tu when he finds out that nope this is a total stranger manipulating us all #But also normal people would go from tu (affectionate) to tu (derogatory). Of course Layton doesn't as a gentleman but. Ouch #And he never goes back to tu not even after finding out Clive is the orphan he saved #I'm crying why are you doing that to me. It's so subtle I had NEVER noticed but it's there #Maybe the vous will go back to respect or pleasant distance one day but Clive isn't deserving of a tu. He's not Luke. He's a stranger #I HAVE to do a complete pronoun analysis one day. I've talked about it here and there but I need to do a big analysis #Professeur layton et le destin perdu #Professeur layton #hershel layton #clive dove #Been posting a lot of angst lately oops #Professor layton and the unwound Future #Professor layton and the lost future #Unwound Future spoilers #Lost Future spoilers

[mel-loly]

-Thank you very much for the +1.5k followers! <3

#Let's gooooo!!!!! We managed to reach more than 1.500/1.5 followers!!!! #thank you all very much for everything. for being here since I started this blog! you guys are very especial for me💖 #thank you. thank you. thank you! love y'all!!! mwah!! <333 #(and of course.. my 1.5k celebration for sure needed to be one of my favorite ships! lol- I really love them <333) #happy #1500 followers #happy 1.5k!!! #my sweet people💖 #my bees!!! #(lol- this is an old one akgzks still.. mean a lot to me ^^ <333) #one piece zolu #zolu fanart #zolu #luzo #straw hat luffy #monkey d luffy #op luffy #luffy fanart #roronoa zoro #one piece zoro #op zoro #zoro fanart #one piece luffy #one piece fanart #one piece #op fanart #i'm mel and this is my blog✌️ #art mel #my art #art

[flamebloom]

I am the latest colors, I sing the newest songs I read all the lyrics so I can sing along I am the latest colors, I hate the newest songs I can't stand the lyrics, I'd never sing along.

#yuno kashiki #milgram #milgram project #kashiki yuno #milgram fanart #flameart #finally did milgram art and of course it's yuno and from something that I wan ted to take maybe an hour #but here we are like 7 hours later #But I'm happy with it! #Love her! #those lyrics kept coming to mind while doing the portraits #she can claim it's simple all she wants but I smell a liar you can't just have all these different acts you put on in a need for 'warmth' #and there not be deeper issues ma' a m #but now I have cosplayed her I have the plush of her and I've drawn her #is this enough miss kashiki....

[rhysintherain]

Types of outdoor survival guys:

Survivor Guy

"This is the way humans were MEANT to live!" (Absolutely Not)

Lives and dies by his bow drill firestarter

Do it alone to prove something (not sure what, but do your thing, buddy)

Ironically the type of guy most famous for... not actually surviving

Vision Quest Guy

The whitest kind of guy

"Something something the transcendent experience of communing with nature"

"An old Indigenous guide once told me [insert Billy Graham quote here]"

Won't stop climbing into caves

Some kind of fabric tied around his head

"Man the Hunter" Guy

Beautiful and inherently useless flint-knapped knives

"Primitive Skills" (I literally hate this term with every fibre of my being)

Caught a squirrel one time and now believes he can "live off the land"

Why are you not wearing a shirt? The woods are COLD, dude

Super Adventure Guy

"It's not actually that far down, maybe like 1500 feet?"

Has broken so, so many bones

Somehow the guy least likely to die or disappear before you hear about him

Seriously dude, how are you still alive??

Experimental Archaeology Guy

Just the most unhinged man you've ever met

Thinks hunting goats with a stone spear is a polite dinner conversation topic

Indiana Jones couldn't get ethics board authorisation but somehow this guy can??

Has 3 atlatls and knows how to use them

Boy Scout Guy

No fewer than 3 types of firestarter on him every time he leaves the house

Can make a shelter out of literally anything

Infodumps constantly. Dangerously close to mansplaining for most of it

Could give a lecture on field first aid with no prep at all

Passes out at the sight of his own blood

Weekend Warrior Guy

"I saw this on TV once!"

Has every single outdoor survival gadget

Backpack weighs more than he does

All his co-workers know exactly where he was and what he did there last vacation

Carries a machete for some reason

German Tourist Guy

"Just let me park here for a minute, I need a selfie with that bear."

"Something something conquering the forces of nature"

The most expensive hiking boots you've ever seen

You're more likely to spot this kind of guy in the Canadian Arctic than polar bears and caribou combined

Outdoorsy Chick Guy

20-minute monologue about the importance of teaching your daughters they can do anything a boy can

Pink camo

She's probably a bow hunter

Medicinal plant enthusiast (accuracy not guaranteed)

"Men are crybabies, this is So Easy!"

#outdoor recreation #based on a) outdoor survival media and b) several years of outdoor rec courses #I'm not even trying to be mean I just know so many of these guys #quite iften you get the outdoorsy chick/vision quest guy combo but they don't really need their own category here #can you tell im watching too much Alone? #can you tell i really want it to be spring now so i can embrace my worst outdoors guy traits?

[nomattertheoceans]

I've been reading the Percy Jackson books for the first time over the past two weeks! Just finished "The Battle of the Labyrinth" last night (which btw is my favorite of the series so far!!)

I have now gained a new obsession but it might not be what you think

#like i swear to god i did not expect to be absolutely enthralled by the protagonist's mom kahskahfjkaja #she's just so fascinating to me #she's so kind and smart and she has given EVERYTHING for her son okay #like her staying married to an abuser for years to protect him omg she deserves the world #like when Poseidon called her a queen in the first book he was 100% right alright she is a queen #the woman murdered her abuser with a monster's head LIKE THAT'S SO AWESOME #also i cannot explain how obsessed i am with her relationship with Poseidon okay #like. do i want her to still have feelings for him? yes. do i need poseidon to pine and long for her from the distance?? ABSOLUTELY YES. #like realistically it's more likely that be does not but I need it okay #like at first i wanted them to be reunited because you know. of course i did. #but i am perfectly content with her finding love and happiness with a mortal man and Poseidon pining for her from the distance #like listen. this woman is amazing and she deserves to have an immortal all powerful god unable to get over her alright SHE DESERVES IT #but the way he just showed up at Percy's birthday party and called her as beautiful as ever????? omg??? BECAUSE YES SHE IS #and she blushed??? be still my beating heart #kahskahfksja honestly laughing at myself right now like I'm just over here watching a Sally Jackson tele novela in my head #AND HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE #percy jackson #no spoilers please if you see this post i know very little about the story and I'm thoroughly enjoying myself that way #also jsut as an fyi i am also a little obsessed with Percy and Annabeth kajakshdjshsha they are too cute and intense #sally jackson #percy jackson and the olympians

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

Also I quit my job of what would in about a month or two have been 10 years, and perhaps now I will get to actually be a human being again.

#honestly? honestly? #last week i told the two (2) godawful egomaniac lab head Man In Academia bosses i quit and that we need to formalise it asap and i just #felt like a little feather about to float away on a breeze #maybe now i can do normal people things like eat and sleep and have a routine of some sort idk #i have been slowly losing it for at least 3-4 years now #i took a screenshot and last year i had no fewer than 14 fucking travel orders fulfilled #most of which consisted of like 12+ hour days on ships and docks #i'm just so tired man #not for reblogging obviously #i don't really wanna vent anymore or ponder them and the entire godforsaken institution but like #good riddance tbh #which is really really sad when you think about it! but here we are #it was just... no trace of future anywhere to be seen! entirely a Void!! #gonna post a beefy lesbian paladin real quick to push this post down lmao #but i felt like sharing because i know there's good and concerned people who follow me here and i both appreciate and miss you all #and lord knows some of you have been listening to me vent and whine for ages #am i going to miss some great people and the research community of my field? of course but also it was all just completely unsustainable

[mcdannowave]

And you’re his ‘Sunshine’ 🌈

#h50 4x20 #pessimist #Annoying #reaction gif #scott caan #danny williams #hawaii five 0 #mcdanno #you're not fooling anyone Danno #''Well.this 'cloud' will be around you way often. until ur PT is finished''...''We already live on the same house.how is that possible?'' #''For starters I'll help u at home w/ the exercises. w/ no slouching. physical therapy is no joke Danno'' #''Oh I know that.I took care of one stubborn SEAL once..and then again.bc the Neanderthal gets shot at /alot/'' #''Hey..i'm alive and here. aren't I?''...''Of course u are.I was ur backup..and ur nurse..and the conscience in ur shoulder'' #''C'mon. i'm not that reckless''...Danny just raised his browns and was deciding if he was laugh or not at that #''Ok Mr Tough Guy..u can help me at home.but push me over the limit w/ ur annoying aura and next time.u gonna sponge bath urself'' #Steve didn't argue.Just made a 'zipping' motion over his mouth and smiled at his Danno #''Can't wait to help u w/ the sponge bath btw....'' ''Steven..my leg is almost fine.i don't need ur help on that'' #He said.walking to the parking lot to his next appointment..''Oh.. I will insist on that. Better safe than sry''.Steve smirked his way away #and Danny could only thought: Well../some/ help in the shower would be nice (even if just a chair was enough) #he wouldn't pass the opportunity to have Dr Steve there for him.... #headcanon tags #mine

[starriesse]

[ID: A fifteen striped flag. The first and last four stripes all have small bumps facing inwards. The stripe colors, from top to bottom, are desaturated orange-yellow, pastel desaturated orange-yellow, desaturated orange-yellow, pastel desaturated orange-yellow, dull pink, light pink, pale pink, white, pale pink, light pink, dull pink, pastel desaturated orange-yellow, desaturated orange-yellow, pastel desaturated orange-yellow, and desaturated orange-yellow. In the center of the middle flag there is an icon of a halo with wings, while the other flags do not have said icon. End ID]

♡ ⁔⁔ IMPURANGELIC ... !!

[PT: Impurangelic. End PT]

— A gender related to impurity and angels. This gender is the feeling one may have of feeling defiled or impure, while wishing they could go back to when they were pure. This gender is also related to the song "Pure as a Lamb" by Baby Bugs, fallen angels, mourning over what could have been. It embodies mourning, melancholy, and a wish for a softer reality.

— This gender was created with trauma survivors in mind, and I would prefer if only trauma survivors use it. Despite the religious themes to it, it is not exclusive to religious trauma survivors. This term was not created to aestheticize, glamorize, or romanticize trauma; it was created for coping reasons. The use of the word "impure" is not meant to be derogatory, nor is it meant to promote or romanticize unhealthy mindsets. Once again, this is a term created by a trauma survivor to cope with feelings related to their trauma.

#☆ : galaxies #mogai #liom #liomogai #mogai coining #mogai term #mogai flag #liom term #liom flag #liom coining #actually mogai #actually liom #mogai gender #xenogender #neogender #religion cw #ask to tag #apologies for the long paragraph on the post... #i just wanted to make it very clear where this term comes from #this term is of course primarily created for myself + my coping #although others are welcome to identify with / as it #if i didn't want anyone to identify with it i wouldn't post it #just please be mindful + safe #you do not need to use this term if you feel it will do more harm than help for you + your health #okay sorry for the tag ramble #i'm nervous about posting this since this is heavier than what i typically post on here

[mildmayfoxe]

yknow it is crazy to think about how much i have been able to improve my quality of life by selling art as a supplementary form of income. like obviously it's a second job and it's taxing but it's also so rewarding to know how much people enjoy my work and how much good it is doing me to like, feel like i can buy snacks at the store. to be able to get takeout every once in a while. like obviously those are extremely minor changes or things most people take for granted but to me it's huge. having berries in the house when they're out of season and more expensive. buying things for CONVENIENCE??! it feels so crazy to me to have such a sense of luxury which i know says more about the bleak feeling of poverty that's followed me around my entire adult life than anything else but i feel so much gratitude that i am afforded these small luxuries at least in part because of people that like my art. not to mention how nice is is to make things consistently again when, prior to 2020, i hadn't made art regularly in almost a decade. anyway. it's cool!

#of course there are extenuating circumstances! i finished my student loans in 2020 with help from family #i moved to a cheaper place in 2020. i get paid more now than i did then; even though i'm only working four days a week #obviously i am not RICH; i cannot afford to live by myself. housing here is crazy. but i can buy MEAT at the STORE #not only do i have SNACKS in the house i also have MULTIPLE KINDS! do you know how crazy that is. #and now of course a lot of it is combatting my wicked sense of guilt for buying anything i dont 'need'. like snacks. #but obviously i still buy them i just make myself feel bad about it for a while first. lmao #i mean i haven't done my taxes for 2023 yet who knows maybe i'll be hit with some big fees and i'll take this all back #but idk you gotta be grateful. anyway i think i'm gonna order pizza later #chatpost #i used patreon money to buy a new desk chair a couple years ago. a NEW one!! not one from the street!

[good-to-drive]

I totally agree with the general consensus that Ringo provided a lot of emotional support and coolheadedness to the other beatles to the point where they'd have probably killed each other without him but I do also wonder sometimes how much of that is being supernaturally patient and easygoing and how much of it is Ringo just having a tumultuous and isolated childhood where he was never taught to recognize and assert his own emotional needs so he became a blank slate on which others could process their emotions

(And tbh I also wonder how an inability to access or assert his feelings may have contributed to his tendency to process pain by numbing himself and the pretty shitty way he treated women)

#see also: george falling in love with his wife and paul routinely telling him he was easily replaceable #and yet ringo has nothing but warmth for either of these men #and of course I'm not saying we shouldn't appreciate how much patience and kindness that takes! #but also i guess it takes a certain lack of assertiveness or the ability to see/value your own emotions #and that's also something interesting to think about #speaking from experience here a lot of alcoholics want to be numb more than they want to be alive #and if ringo couldnt access his emotions it makes sense his only recourse would be to erase them #but for me it comes from childhood psychosis and i think for him it comes from isolation at a young age and a lack of emotional support #you need your caregivers to teach you what 'sad' is so you can then teach yourself what to do about it #or you may start to cope with that constant feeling of unease and dissatisfaction (that you can never quite grasp) in destructive ways #also his mom started getting him falling down drunk when he was not even twelve years old so tbh the alcoholism was probably inevitable #anyways all this is just to say that the fact that he could absorb pretty much infinite distress CAN definitely be construed as a virtue #but tbh it might also be symptomatic of some painful shit that he needed/deserved help with #ringo starr

[palismet]

the alt. thanks to them opening boards are going to emotionally scar me for life. look at his face. luz is terrified but desperate with a hope she feels is unfounded, needing that optimism to imagine a way out of this that doesn't hurt; that doesn't end in more tragedy?

she thinks they're on the same level of bad but sad. that she did as much as hunter in the name of helping belos, without knowing the whole truth of who belos was, who he is. she's traumatized by it.

she needs to not be alone in it.

the i'll keep your secret if you keep mine is a knife to the heart. we are in this together, she is saying. whether we like it or not, at least we have each other. at least i'm not alone.

but what do you say to that? how do you make a witch's oath without magic? you take it to heart. you hold it closer to anything. there aren't words for a devotion like that, the kind of devotion hunter has led with his entire life, and now, here, it's for luz. it's for everyone, for protecting them, to be able for them to get home again.

it's reminiscent of that good old golden guard loyalty, but remade in the light of this new world, new life. it's a cause to live by, a goal, a dream; and as the story goes, we can see - there isn't much he isn't willing to sacrifice for it, especially if the cost is only himself.

(he has nothing to return for, after all. he has a graveyard, filled to the brim with bones and masks and a future he only narrowly escaped.)

sacrifice - that is something he's been waiting for his whole life. so of course he's willing to risk everything for them. what better ending is there, where at the very least, his friends can go home to where they are loved? where no one has to be afraid, anymore?

#toh analysis #the owl house #thanks to them #toh storyboards #the owl house storyboards #hunter toh #luz toh #hey u ever think ab how hunter has been trained AND made to be a sacrifice his entire life? for phillip and the coven? #u ever think ab that frame they cut of the end of the danger deep water battle w/ belos possessing hunter at the end of the ep. #his small; shrew smile he gives after 'never hurt anyone ever again'? #i think of that and the smile he gave at the end of hunting palismen. the smile of acceptance. of i am doing all that i can; #of i am doing what is Right. it's the same thing here. that determination. that need to do what is Right. #obsessed with his ARCCCC look at how much he has changed and yet how some things stay! #how it's almost FORESHADOWED right here in this moment? the soft nod of i'm here with you? i will make sure you're not alone? #bc of course it ends in sacrifice. of course he would give everything for them; their kindness; their love n acceptance? #how couldn't he!!!! it's what he wanted + waited for his entire life and the meaning of that? the power of it? magic of friendship 🥺💛 #and then flap :( which he would never expect. why would anyone sacrifice for Him? it's only supposed to be the other way around? #the hurt of it!!!! the love!!! the way he is never prepared in the face of it!!! i'm so normal ab this !!!!!

[dallonwrites]

random sunday afternoon thoughts but i think the thing with writing advice isn't only that it's just that -- advice -- but also that most of the time it's really just an intro to some kind of craft theory. like you can see a post about how to write better prose for example and it can give beneficial ideas -- show don't tell, specific language, utilise the senses -- all of these are good as theories on craft but with any theory there are exemptions, there are ways to bend it. you also have to ask why this is a theory in the first place, what idea of good prose does this theory come from? but ultimately the thing is no writing advice can tell you how to work that advice into your writing voice/specific story. so seeing these posts as examples of craft theory rather than advice helped me out a lot because instead of wondering which advice to take on for a story, if i "knew" enough about this writing thing to make that call, i was seeing these posts as an intro to a theory on craft, and then i'm asking myself what i can do with this theory, what can this theory do for my story? where does this theory come from? what kind of story/writer does it consider, what kind does it not?

atm i'm writing a flash in 1st person present which is not a POV i use a lot and before i would read as many resources on 1st person present as possible -- which in itself isn't bad, resources exist for a reason! -- but i'd always get stuck because in my attempt to learn as much about "how to write" something as possible, i would forget the only person who can teach me how to write something in my story is me. those resources do help, but the answer is in my story. and that answer will look different in the next 1st person present story i write. there's a garth greenwell quote i love about drafting that says "if anything i try to forget all considerations of craft or technique, to work from a place as near to ignorance as I can manage". i think part of taking in writing "advice"/craft theory is also understanding the gaps in it that are filled in by your story, what will strengthen and what will weaken it. and understanding writing advice as just craft theory helped me because it's just that -- theory, possibilities with craft -- and isn't meant to answer specific questions about how to write a specific story, and you will also learn a lot more if you let yourself lean into the unknowing that is a natural part of writing. because you don't need to know craft to write, you just need to know what your story needs, and a lot of advice and "rules" are really just intros to craft theory that can help you start to know where to look for your story's answers, rather than giving the answer itself. tldr most writing "advice" and "rules" is just craft theory, and instead of trying to shape your writing to fit "advice/rules" you should be thinking about the ways you can shape theory to fit your writing

#i don't think you need to unpack every piece of advice you read in this theoretical way but i do think its important #when a lot of popular advice does get passed around at what is ultimately an introductory level #for example i see a lot of advice posts on story structure here that are very obviously surface level takes on #western ideas of story structure -- which is why i think its so important to see these things for what they are #which is craft theory. and then thinking okay where does this theory come from who does it benefit who does it not take into consideration #i'm obnoxiously literal about language sometimes but i think advice as a word holds a lot of weight because it kind of suggests that the #person giving it knows something you don't? not that i think people giving out writing advice see themselves that way #but seeing these things as someone sharing writing theory rather than advice/rules makes things feel more balanced to me #and someone may know more about a specific craft thing than you of course. that's why sharing craft and learning from other writers is #such a beautiful thing. but do they really know more about writing than you? #do you know more about writing than them? that's not something you can measure #the person that knows more about a piece of craft theory than you doesn't know how to write your story better than you #i don't know a lot about writing fantasy and someone with more experience will know more about #things like worldbuilding craft etc. building magic systems and lore. #but that doesn't mean they know how to write my fantasy story better than i do. because it's my story. #i can learn from them but what i'm learning is craft theory. not how to write my story. does that make sense #+ i will learn how to write my story by embracing the fact that i do not know how to write fantasy i just know fantasy craft theory #but also im someone who doesnt believe craft rules should exist in the first place lol but that's another post