#but I set myself the challenge of completing a short story a week over the break | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ettawritesnstudies · 6 months

Text

Death's Promise

My entry for @inklings-challenge on Team Tolkien! This story comes from my world of Laoche, which recently got rehauled (yet again) with a new pantheon and more depth to the religious worldbuilding.

In this world the First god is the Artist, who created all of the others to rule over different parts of creation, and the counterpart to the Artist is Death, who isn't an antagonist force but more of a celestial clean up duty. Her role is to be a storykeeper and guardian of souls, then break down the physical remains so the Artist can repurpose the materials. She's often met with dread, sorrow, or fear, but she is fundamentally, kind, and a caretaker of the Artist's creations when their lives are done. In this story, a young gravedigger meets her, and she gives him a promise.

The complete story is under the read more! I'll also be posting it to my blog so it can be found there in case tumblr's search function gives up on me.

Thud. Thud. Thud. The rhythmic falling of hammer on chisel chipped blocks from the stone wall in the crevasse where Martten worked. Dust swirled in the air and made his candles sputter. He stepped back from his work and coughed, assessing the progress. Almost deep enough. The niche needed a few more inches before it would fit Elanor’s body. Maybe a couple more inches after that. She was a large woman, and she ought to be comfortable. It was long enough now—Elanor was also a short woman—and he should finish before the dawn. His arms ached as he picked up the hammer and the chisel which he wrapped in fabric to dampen the clinking noise of his carving.

It had been a busy week. With all the unrest in the city, the devout were bringing down new bodies every day, and they’d run out of empty loculi. He longed for his bed and a shower to wash the dust from his hair, but he needed to finish this work first. He couldn’t sleep in good conscience, knowing Elanor didn’t have a place to rest. The candles kept the place warm, at least. Dozens of them burned around the small alcove, casting a soft glow around the small space. This deep underground, it always stayed cold, even during the day.

It was not day, though you couldn’t tell at this depth, except by the ice deep set in his bones.

He was just about to raise his arm to strike again when a flicker caught in the corner of his eye. A bent figure moved down the corridor, sending long shadows over his work. The newcomer was an old woman, ancient even. She used a cane to support herself and wore a black veil over her black robes. This must have been a superior he hadn’t met yet. He only joined the Siblings since the riots started a month ago, and he hadn’t yet met every follower of the Artist in Dazar. He lowered his tools and gave her a respectful head nod.

“Evening. Do you need something?”

“May I ask whose body will lie there?” She asked. Her raspy voice sounded like a rustle of dead leaves.

“A woman named Elanor Cernall. She was a weaver who died in the most recent attack on the market.”

“What was she like?”

“I didn’t know her myself, but from what I heard, she was a good woman. Pessimistic at times. Slow to forgive or forget if someone wronged her and her kin, but she had a strong sense of duty. Loyal to the Artist and his people. Skilled at her trade, too. The Siblings preparing her body said that she made and donated the cloth for a good number of our habits.”

Martten kept his head bowed as he spoke, but as he finished his story, he turned to the wall again. Night was getting on, and he wanted to sleep a bit, at least. “Did you know her?” he asked as his first stroke fell.

The old woman hums in the affirmative. “I did. She was a good woman indeed.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“A life well lived is never a loss, but another shining craft to add to the collection of the Artist,” the old woman responded sagely. It was a response Martten heard before, but it didn’t seem like a platitude for her. When she said the words, she gave them weight, and the truth of the saying settled over his shoulders like a shroud.

It added meaning to his work. The followers of the Artist didn’t bury their dead in the traditional way. They hid them underground in catacombs so nobody could disturb them, but they didn’t cover the bodies with dirt or cremate them to get rid of the bodies. They let them decompose on their own, laid out on shelves and adorned with spices to mask the smell. The followers of the Artist remembered and visited - their cemetery was a collection of finished works who kept each other company in the dark. It seemed fitting that they should also have nicely finished graves in which to rest, places befitting the masterpieces. He angled his chisel and gave it a few gentle taps to smooth out a piece of jutting stone.

“It is kind of you to learn her story,” the woman said, interrupting his silence.

“I know them all,” Martten said proudly, then lowered his voice again. “Is that odd, that I talk to them sometimes? Isso the fisherman, a cheerful friend. Aikaterina the scholar, a persuasive orator and wise teacher. Eula, the singer, leading the Siblings in worship. Her poor boy Alex helps me sometimes. He doesn’t have anyone else left.” He paused his carving to gesture to each of their niches. “They keep me company. They’re almost like friends.”

The old woman made the symbol of storge to him, the middle three fingers of the hand held over her lips. It put him at ease, knowing he enjoyed her good company as well. “It’s not odd at all,” she reassured him, setting herself onto one of the empty ledges from earlier in the night to sit for a while.

“The other Siblings appreciate the sentiment, but the rest of the city…” Martten trailed off, a wistful feeling overtook him as his mind wandered. “I was telling Monica the other day—that mother in the niche under Isso. I was telling her about this baker girl, Emalee. I pass her stall after work and she always gives me the leftover bread and pastries from the day. She’s sweeter than her treats, but we don’t talk at all. I’m afraid she’d think I’m crazy for confiding in the dead.”

Martten realized what he was saying too late, after the confession already left his mouth. He talked to the shrouds often enough, but here he was almost treating this old woman the same way. It was wrong, but somehow, she didn’t feel like another human presence; her form so slight and so shadowed, just another ghosts.

“Apologies. I’m rambling. Monica was a grandmother of twenty-seven little ones when she passed, and I think she would understand another lovesick boy whinging about his crush while she’s just trying to rest. I don’t mean to trouble you with my cares.”

The old lady laughed, and it sounded to him a little like the cawing of a murder of crows, the sounds overlapping unnaturally as they echoed off the close stone walls of the catacombs. “I’m not troubled. I’m pleased to find a follower who loves the stories as much as I do. The dead like to be remembered; they enjoy the company too. Monica especially. Only two of her twenty-seven grandchildren visit anymore, and even then, not regularly.”

Martten frowned at that news and struck his hammer especially hard in response. A sizeable chunk fell out of the niche, splitting cleanly along the pins that he drove into the stone. He stooped and set it to the side, then returned to his tapping, working methodically left to right so the surface would come out flat and smooth.

“Do you carve all these loculi?” The woman asked.

“All since I joined the Siblings a month ago.”

“Who assigned you this task?”

“No one. It needed to be done, and so I volunteered. I’m a mason, when I’m not with the Siblings, so I have the skills for it. It’s fitting, giving our crafts back to the Artist and all, and the work means more than breaking blocks for the Atilan buildings all day.”

“You must be weary.”

Martten sighs. “Yes.” He won’t complain, though. It’s worthwhile, and no ache in his bones can change the satisfaction that comes with the effort. A few more strokes and the last chunk came out of the niche. He set it aside on the small pile of rubble for one of the other Siblings to collect, then returned his tools to their own cubby. “But as weary as I am, it’s these old bones that deserve the rest.”

The old woman raised herself from the ledge where she was sitting. Her cane caught the light as she moved, and he realized it was made of bone. A large bone, yellowed with its ancient age—maybe the leg of a stegodon. Part of him wondered if the strange woman collected it herself. It had carvings along the length with symbols that he couldn’t read. “These old bones appreciate a moment to rest and chat with such a charitable young man,” she said cheerfully.

“I hope your old bones walk the world a while yet,” he said, and offered her an arm to steady her as they walked out of the catacombs. She placed her hand on his arm, and Martten realized it was strong, but cold as a corpse.

“They will,” she responds, completely confident. She stopped, took her other hand off her cane, and it stayed standing upright on the point, on its own. She pulled back her veil to reveal a grinning skull beneath, then took her cane in hand again. Martten took a sharp breath as she showed her true form, but didn’t pull away, eyes fixed completely into her empty eye sockets, which had a soft flicker of orange glow within, like distant candle flames.

“You will have a good death,” she promised. “It will be peaceful and painless after a long and well lived life. Your loved ones will surround you, including the sweet wife of which you spoke. Your children and grandchildren will outnumber even Monica’s. One of them will carve your niche with as much care as you carved Elanor’s tonight, and they will tell your memories, and they will pass down your example of kindness to their children. It will be sorrowful, but only in equal measure to how much they loved you.”

Martten didn’t realize he was crying until she brushed the tears from his cheek with a cold and bony finger. He found no words of thanks, question, or response, before she returned her veil, and continued their march towards the exit of the Catacombs. As they walked, the weight on his arm grew less and less, and when he emerged into the light of dawn, he was alone.

#etta rambles #the inklings challenge #inklings challenge #team tolkien #story: complete #laoche #the laoche chronicles

31 notes · View notes

lurkingteapot · 8 months

Text

thai language study update

It's been two years today since I first started watching a Thai show, the first time I wittingly exposed myself to the language at length. Two years ago, I'm pretty sure I would not have been able to pick Thai out of a line-up with other Southeast Asian languages. A few day from now, it'll be two years since I thought "I'll note down words I catch, phonetically, best I can. Just for fun." About a month from now, it'll be two years that I started to learn the language in earnest.

Where am I at?

Listening comprehension: I can follow most shows that are set in the present day without subtitles, provided they a) deal with everyday topics rather than specialised ones (Chaan's legalese is lost on me; I still don't fully follow the legal and ethical debates between the friends in Not Me, never mind the medical jargon in shows like Triage) and b) use modern-day Central Thai (you may have seen my crying about คำเมือง /kʰam mɯːaŋ/ here). Of course I don't understand even close to everything -- maybe 70% on a good day? but I tend to get enough not end up completely confused.

Reading comprehension: Handwriting and less common fonts still challenge me a lot, regular print fonts tend to be fine. Song lyrics tend to be fine unless they're very poetic (hi กีดกัน/Skyline). Tweets tend to be okay, but it heavily depends on the subject matter (politics or economics? help.), how much context I know, and how much slang or cute/funny spelling variants people use. I can read short news articles, but depending on the topic it'll be either slow or agonisingly slow and require extensive dictionary help, and I might still get things wrong. Not something I do for fun yet. I've started on the novel The Eclipse was based on (too difficult still) and a few short stories (somewhat easier) and realised that the big downside of mainly learning through shows and audio (interviews …) is that it leaves me sorely deficient when it comes to vocabulary that describes people or actions. Hardly anyone says "Getting frustrated, he tossed a book onto his desk, where a couple of other textbooks and notepads already formed a messy pile" or, idk, describes clothing at length in a show.

Writing: so-so. It's legible, I have the writing system down sufficiently to take notes at speed most of the time, but I second-guess myself too much. Should I be doing more of this for practice? probably.

Speaking: eeeeh. I do NOT have the vocabulary or grammatical knowledge to sound smart or coherent yet, and my pronunciation is middling at best. Speaking is also the area where I struggle most to get practice. That said, I can hold a conversation as long as my interlocutor is willing to help out a little (by helping out with vocab and/or accepting that sometimes we'll have to guess at what the other is saying). I can make myself understood on a good number of topics of daily interest in my daily life—often by going the long way around and trying to describe things or actions I don't have the words for.

I'm still really enjoying myself. I got to go to Thailand for a little over two weeks earlier this year and that was a huge boost, both in terms of confidence and in actual speaking ability. Main goal for the next 12 months is to expand vocabulary (both active and passive), and if everything goes my way I'll be going to Thailand for another two weeks or so to actually use my Thai. We'll see.

#language learning #languages #learning thai #personal #langblr #(? I guess)#progress update #my nonsense

16 notes · View notes

lifewithchronicpain · 5 months

Text

Thousands of people in pain are urging the Drug Enforcement Administration to scrap plans to further reduce the supply of opioid medication in 2024.

The DEA recently announced it would cut production quotas for oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine and other opioids for the 8th straight year, despite complaints from pain patients and healthcare providers that the medications are already in short supply and difficult to get at pharmacies.

The DEA invited people to comment on its plans in the Federal Register. Over 2,400 have so far – many with heart breaking stories to share about not being able to get the pain medication they need.

“I was finally able to establish a reasonable pain management routine but that was disrupted when my regular pharmacy was no longer able to supply my medication (a moderate dose of Norco) and not a single other pharmacy was willing/able to fill my prescription,” said Jessica Ericksen. “One pharmacy supervisor screamed at my doctor on the phone when he called in to try to get my prescription set up with them. I now have a 1.5 hour round trip drive to get my medication, which is particularly challenging for a disabled person who is unable to drive.” “I am one of the many that has had my life destroyed by the government regulations on pain meds. I haven't been able to get my medications for the better part of a year,” said Paula Perry. “I'm now basically bedridden and praying for death. Stop doing this to people, we are dying and you guys make it worse every year.”

“Most of us in pain have gone through all of the other drugs to treat our pain and these are the drugs of last resort. The opioids don't totally treat our pain but allow us to function,” said Heather Larson. “The DEA needs to stop playing doctor and let the doctor decide what is right to prescribe. If production is cut anymore, people will commit suicide or go to the street for pain medication.” “I have already had to jump through numerous hoops just to be prescribed my meds, but now have to call pharmacy after pharmacy monthly to find my meds, because they are out of stock at every pharmacy around me in a 10-mile radius,” said Jill Bartruff, who suffers from scoliosis. “I also had a surgery in September 2023 and could not find a pharmacy to fill my post op pain meds. I was in immense pain and was unable to advocate for myself to get my meds filled. Imagine being cut open and discharged from the hospital with no pain control.”

“Why do you continue to cut supply when legitimate patients cannot obtain their medications? Many are already out of their meds for weeks on end,” an anonymous poster wrote. “You should be able to see you're making the situation worse.” Are you a U.S. pain patient with an opioid prescription? Please take a few minutes to complete PNN’s survey on how opioid shortages are impacting pain care. It will help us document how serious the problem is. Click here to take the survey. (Read rest of article at link up top)

I've taken the survey, it's a few minutes long and easy enough.

#disability #chronic pain #ableism #spoonies #chronic illness #opioids #opioid crisis #prescription opioids #medical bias #pain patients #survey #article

10 notes · View notes

annamarabella-grumble · 1 year

Text

My 7 Favourite Games of 2022

It’s so close to the new year now and I’ve been taking a little holiday from streaming, making new videos, and writing anything longer than my grocery shopping list, but there was one list I didn’t want to miss out on making: my favourite games of 2022. Since I started streaming every week in January of this year, I’ve played — and actually finished — a ton of games, and I’ve collected my seven favourites in this post.

They may be favourites for different reasons: having an emotional impact, a gripping storyline, or outstanding world building. Game mechanics tend to be secondary to my enjoyment of the story of a game, but there’ll be shoutouts to games whose developers clearly put thought into quality of life and what most respects players’ time.

Not all of these games were released in 2022, as I came to a few of them late, but I first played them all to completion in 2022.

Number 7: Gotham Knights

See, here’s the thing: I don’t care about 60 FPS, I really don’t. I understand that the PC version had some performance issues; I play it on the xbox series x, and it looks and plays absolutely fine for me. Second thing: I also don’t really care which version of canon or continuity any Batman game gets its characters or story from. Third thing: I enjoy the Arkham games as a viewer, not as a player myself. If you also don’t make either of these things your entire personality, keep reading.

What kept me playing the game was the mix of open world and linear storytelling. The main story, the additional rogue case files, and the Batkids’ own storylines gave the game a solid scaffolding to keep you going whenever you were tired of running after Freaks and Regulators and the Mob in near-endlessly procedurally generating chases and preventing small-time crime. But if you just wanted to dip in for a bit, especially to test out new abilities, the open world was yours to patrol for a night, wreck some shit, and go home.

Yes, that stuff gets repetitive, and if your brain isn’t wired in a way that enjoys that, I absolutely understand everyone who says they got bored of the main gameplay loop after an hour; that’s totally fair. For me, though, who likes checking things off a list and not having to think too much while cracking skulls? Perfect, I’ll do a hundred nights of patrol out in the streets of Gotham to collect shiny things.

For what it is, Gotham Knights is a perfectly solid and enjoyable game. As soon as you step away from a narratively linear game experience and into an open world, with online multiplayer mechanics to boot, the main challenge is keeping the player interested. Keeping up any narrative arc of suspense is difficult to do, and as a consequence, the final showdowns with the rogues can feel anticlimactic. The main final fight only happens after an exceedingly long section of sneaking and grappling through underground tunnels; in that same vein a lengthy chase through the sewers ends with a rather standard boss fight, too. Gotham Knights isn’t really about the set pieces. Still, there’s a large variety of locations and I like the neon aesthetic of the main streets.

I’ve played as each of the heroes over time, though I mainlined the story as Batgirl first, and I’m enjoying the variations in their abilities and fighting styles, while the mechanics are based in the same system to allow for an easy switch-over. There’s a ton of gear modifications to really bulk your character up, and it’s just fun to get together with a pal and run around mashing buttons. There’s less of a focus on the combo system from the Arkham games, which personally suits me fine.

Gotham Knights got the Batkids right, I feel. Yes, for simplicity’s sake there’s a strong, almost exclusive focus on some of each of their core characteristics to explore in the short cut scenes tied to memories around the city or the Belfry. But each of those is also tied to Bruce’s memory, and how he approached training and, for all of them except Barbara, raising them. (And even she would say that she got half her stubbornness from her father, the other half from him.) We get to know them in part because Batman knew them so well. And there’s a lot of heart in those moments. They were, for all their struggles to hold things together, a family, and that comes across really well.

In a game focused more on narrative or simply on only one of the main characters, those aspects as well as the rogue case files would have been more fleshed out and explored more deeply than Gotham Knights has room to do. But I appreciate the effort put into making Gotham City itself more lived in and vibrant than in previous games, though sometimes it still somehow manages to feel deserted? It’s odd. The real upshot for me was, though, that it doesn’t feel grindy. The presence of other case files suited for different level caps, and an emphasis on other contacts and side quests, makes it so you’re not just endlessly levelling up in order to be able to progress in the main story.

The game’s single greatest failing is that it doesn’t let me beat up cops wholesale, even though literally all of them will immediate open fire if they see a cape.

Number 6: Eternal Threads

Eternal Threads is a narrative puzzle game that completely took me by surprise during the summer. One long summer night without sleep turned into a treasure hunt of memories — and many of them sad, upsetting, or at least foreboding.

The story of Eternal Threads hinges on six housemates that all died in the same house fire. And you, the player, arriving from the future not to prevent the fire itself, but to save the six people trapped inside.

There’s a way to save all of them, and then there’s a way to help each of them resolve either past trauma or point them towards a solution for the challenge they see before them. You can stop once all are projected to survive, but you can keep going to find the best ending for all six characters. It does eventually feel like trial and error, trying to find the crux in it all that shakes the remaining puzzle pieces into place, but thanks to the narrative and all characters having relationships with each other that contributed to the mystery, and if you’re following those lines, it’s not just randomly turning over random pieces of the puzzle.

The visualisation mechanic felt familiar from playing detective games but with an added twist thanks to the visual timeline of events you can scroll through and tamper with.

Each of the characters led fully realised lives — some with tropes bordering on cliché, and sometimes the writing gets a little edgelord — but you come to care for each of them. I’ve written a detailed review of Eternal Threads, if you’d like to know more; including information on additional trigger warnings.

Number 5: The Excavation of Hob's Barrow

Hob’s Barrow is a stunning indie folk horror game inspired by English folk tales. I mean, apparently I’m cursed because every time I wanted to play the second half on stream, either I got sick or my PC stopped working somehow, so I had to finish it on my own. But at this point, that’s honestly part of its charm.

There’s things in that barrow Saxnot doesn’t want me to see.

Hob’s Barrow is a great blend of an emotionally affecting storytelling and classic point and click adventure games. Thomasina’s story is told in a classic framing narrative, along with flashbacks to her childhood, that keeps its final twist close to its chest. It’s a game that tells you from the outset, “you are doomed by the narrative” and then doesn’t stop for questions. There’s a solid mystery at the heart of the story, which is satisfying to unravel. And then, we ourselves unravel as we enter Hob’s Barrow, and everything we thought we knew was true is turned on its head.

There’s plenty of mystery and folk horror here, including references to the fair folk and the Lambton Worm, a real folk horror story. Thankfully, however, the game doesn’t rely on jump scares — they are present, but they’re not overused. Equally, its twist don’t rest on shock value. They’re foreshadowed well, and whether you piece things together with a bit of lead or just before it happens, they are shocking. Just not because they come out of nowhere, not because the game is more invested in tricking you, the player, than telling a compelling story. They’re shocking because they’re impactful, because there’s emotional weight to them.

The voice acting is incredible, as is the sound design and music — it’s delightfully Twin Peaks in places, which makes me very happy. (You can support the artist, The Machine, on Bandcamp!)

The protagonist’s voice actor, Sam Béart, in particular, does a fantastic job bringing Thomasina to life: from a troubled upbringing, to becoming a confident young researcher, to the tragedy and loss she eventually experiences.

Play this game! Play this game!

Number 4: A Little to the Left

There’s a full review of this game up on my channel already, so I’ll keep this brief, but I really cannot recommend A Little to the Left enough if you’re looking for a cozy puzzle game to while away a few hours with, and especially if you find putting things just in the right order satisfying.

The adorable art style and the way these puzzles fit together visually truly make the serotonin go brrrrr. Plus, when you’re done with the main levels, there’s a daily tidy to keep you engaged and exercise the little grey cells. The music is adorable, and it’s just so chill.

I have a more in-depth review here: 8 Reasons to Play A Little to the Left.

Number 3: Stray

This landing high up on this list won’t be a surprise to anybody: A+++ cat mechanics, no notes. The cutest cat game of all time, calling it now — with an absolutely devastating revelation.

Aside from being an adorable game about a cute cat, it’s also a powerful story about humanity, its foibles and strengths, and what’s left of us when, well. Nothing’s left of us. The world they forged outlived them in this story, and it outlived them so well that it’s as if they were still there, locked into Plato’s Cave, aka the domed city.

The Village is a place of light, because the humans that lived there used the light as an act of rebellion. They knew things were over, and they refused to live what little time they had left in the dark. The robots that lived with them, outlived them, continue to remember them. They don’t revere them as gods, they simply remember and take care of the things that mattered to them.

In this dystopia, the corporations that got them into this mess are long gone along with them. Perhaps, in the sprawling Outside, there is hope for new life. Give Earth to the cats. They’ll know what to do with it.

I have a more in-depth review here: 9 Reasons to Play Stray.

Number 2: Hades

Now, this game didn’t come out in 2022, and I was severely late to the party, but I picked it up for real and actually successfully escaped a few times over the summer, and I would like to thank everyone who psychically or otherwise bullied me into finally playing it.

If you’ve played it or, well, not lived under a rock since its release, then you’ll know why Hades is outstanding: the dialogue system, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the weapons and combat, the relationship mechanics, the roguelike…. ugh.

To borrow from the essay I wrote just after completing my let’s play of the game:

With Hades, I’ve learnt not to mourn the boon combo I lose when I inevitably die — I know I can make my own luck on the next run, and the next, and the next…

Zagreus’ complicated relationship with… well, everyone he’s ever met is by turns ready to pluck at your heartstrings, make you laugh, or ignite a blinding fury that will carry you through the next round on burning heels. In the Greek underworld, everyone’s queer and no-one is sorry (except they are so very, very sorry; sometimes, when you catch them in the right light). Everyone’s also punishingly hot, and it’s frankly unfair to make bisexuals play this game and expect them to get anything done without some sort of health warning.

You needn’t have spent your formative years soaking up Greek myth — though which of us hasn’t had something elgeebeetee happen to them whilst immersed in the adventures of Olympus, I ask you — to enjoy the story and the many characters’ idiosyncrasies and relationships.

I am perfectly content finding things out by the piecemeal method. Piecemeal is certainly all Father gives you, so settle in, folks, hope you’ve all packed your bags for the guilt trip. But don’t worry, you can make it all better by commissioning new rugs and furniture you’ll never once sit on because Zagreus. cannot. sit. still. Someone make that boy take a nap.

AND NOW WE’RE GETTING PART 2. BISEXUALS JUST KEEP WINNING.

Number 1: Cult of the Lamb

My GOTY is Cult of the Lamb. I love it, I’ve finished it and I still play it.

And here’s a variation of something that I originally wrote in that same essay about Hades, but which applies to Cult of the Lamb as well because both of them are roguelike games that I ended up loving after being scared of the genre for years — me being an absolute hoarder of stuff in video games.

The game acknowledges gains, motivating the player to keep going, ever on the quest for more, more, or simply to try out the new toys. This also lends support when you feel stuck, because you’re not being punished for not progressing in terms of region bosses defeated. Once you have, then, spicing things up through additional conditions and incentives means you still earn rewards for making it through again and again and again, giving the game the longevity it needs to keep players coming back for more to ensure that they actually see all the stuff that’s tucked away.

Cult of the Lamb is far from being as expansive in its story content compared to Hades. If you keep coming back it’s because you enjoy the familiarity of the main gameplay loop, or because you want to fully upgrade your cult base and deck it out with ALL the decorations. Or, because you’re cranking up the difficulty and using more of the drawback conditions on the fleeces; akin to Heat runs in Hades, to spice things up.

Speaking of decorations — and I shouted this out in my video review (Cult of the Lamb is my GOTY) — is that removing or editing buildings is so easy. In Stardew Valley, it’s a hassle, in Animal Crossing, it costs loads of money and it’s a hassle. In Cult of the Lamb, you can just pick something up and plop it down somewhere else, or remove it entirely, and it’s the work of seconds. Good news for all of us millennials who can’t commit to putting a new sticker on our laptops.

What were your favourite games you played in 2022?

#games i played #games i played in 2022 #favourite games 2022 #grumble has thoughts #video game recommendations #video games

14 notes · View notes

fiftytwotwentythree · 11 months

Text

Wellness Wednesday:

Cleaning Out My Closet Fridge

Part of my wellness journey is working on my financial wellness - What are my spending habits? What can I do differently? What can I cut out?

Couple weeks ago I challenged myself to use up as much as groceries/pantry supplies before buying more groceries - maybe meal prep here and there.

Well, I've been doing good on clearing out the freezer - working on the fridge and pantry now.

I noticed I had an abundance of deli meat and breads laying around - so - I was very conscious about eating up those foods first before they went bad.

To be honest I was little more conscious this week because not too long ago I had entire loaf of bread get moldy and I just despise when that happens.

So - I at a ton of sammies this week. Really spiced it up by changing my breads, meats, and cheeses - never got boring.

Other added benefit - I saw significant drop on my weekly grocery bill. A practice I want to entertain more in the future.

Another step to help out my pocket book is I made the decision not to buy any more expensive nuts - aka - my Wonderful's Pistachios. I am going to see if I can find a more cost effective snack alternative... Plus, I still have plenty to finish off in my cabinets.

Beyond my wallet and weekly diet - I broke the 2 week plateau streak and hit some weight loss (slightly over 4 pounds). Felt good considering I didn't do anything besides partake in some extra deli meats.

Sleep-wise - man-oh-man - I need to sleep. I hate how this is a constant battle.

Socially - saw some fam - good times/stories/jokes - and - tomorrow I plan on seeing some good friends at the movies... and hope to enjoy said movies.

24th CHECK-IN:

Current Goals:

Lose 52 lbs

Completed as of 4/12/2023

New Goal: Maintain or Continue on The Weight Loss Path

Avoid "Junk Food"

Minimize Take-Out / Fast Food Consumption

Short Term:

Vegetarian-ish Diet: Completed

End Date: 4/09/2023 - 46 Days Total

Meal Tracker:

THURSDAY

Lunch:

(1) Hot Ham & Swiss on a Burger Bun

(1) Turkey Swiss on a Burger Bun

Handful of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Snack:

Bag of BBQ Corn Nuts

Supper:

(1) Hot Ham & Swiss on a Burger Bun

(1) Turkey Swiss on a Burger Bun

(2) Triangle Wedges of Watermelon

(1) Glass of Milk

FRIDAY

Lunch:

(1) Turkey Swiss on a Burger Bun

(1) Chicken and American Cheese on Burger Bun

Bag of BBQ Corn Nuts

Snack:

(1) Old Wisconsin Turkey Sausage & Cheddar Cheese Stick Combo

Supper:

(2) Chicken and American Cheese Sandwiches on Sesame Seed Buns

(1) Triangle Wedge of Watermelon

Bag of Orville Redenbacher Ultimate Butter Popcorn

SATURDAY

Lunch:

(2) Chicken and American Cheese Sandwiches on Sesame Seed Buns

Bag BBQ Corn Nuts

Snack:

Handful of Good & Gather's Tex Mex Trail Mix

Bag of Smartfoods White Cheddar Popcorn

Supper:

(1) Pineapple Brat on a Bakery Bun

- Ketchup

(1) Taco Brat on a Bakery Bun

- Ketchup

(1) Grilled Potato

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

SUNDAY

Lunch:

Cesaer Salad

Snack:

Bag of Smartfoods White Cheddar Popcorn

Bag of Orville Redenbacher Ultimate Butter Popcorn

(1) Glass of Chocolate Milk

Supper:

Chef Salad

(1) Medium Orange

MONDAY

Lunch:

Santa Fe Style Salad

Handful of Wonderful's Smokey BBQ Pistachios

Supper:

Chef Salad

(1) Medium Orange

TUESDAY

Lunch:

Santa Fe Style Salad

Handful of Wonderful's Salt & Vinegar Pistachios

Supper:

(1) Homemade Oven-Baked Ham, Pastrami, Chicken Swiss Slider on a Artesian Bun

(1) Medium Orange

WEDNESDAY

Lunch:

(3) Leftover Homemade Oven-Baked Ham, Pastrami, Chicken Pepperjack Sliders on a Artesian Buns

Supper:

(3) Leftover Homemade Oven-Baked Ham, Pastrami, Chicken Pepperjack Sliders on a Artesian Buns

(2) Glass of Chocolate Milk

(1) Medium Orange

Bag of Orville Redenbacher Ultimate Butter Popcorn

Workouts:

THURSDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 sets of 20]

FRIDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 sets of 1 min]

SATURDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 sets of 20]

SUNDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 sets of 1 min]

MONDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 Sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 sets of 20]

TUESDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges [4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [5 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(5 min) Planks [5 sets of 1 min]

WEDNESDAY

(200) Jumping Jacks [4 sets of 50]

(100) Glute Bridges[4 sets of 25]

(100) Push-Ups [10 sets of 10]

(100) Assisted Push-Ups [2 Sets of 50]

(50) Reverse Leg Lifts [5 sets of 10]

(50) Leg Kickbacks [5 sets of 10]

(100) Sit-Ups [5 sets of 20]

WEIGHT TRACKER:

Starting Weight (Noon, 1/01/2023): XXX.X lbs

Weight at Last Check-In, 6/07/2023: ZERO lbs

Weight As of Noon, 6/14/2023: -4.4 lbs

Total Weight Loss: -69.8 lbs

Closing Thoughts:

The Good:

Coming off a 2 week plateau and losing over 4 pounds. Nice little bump - but - still aware another plateau can surdace.

The Bad:

I've had some tad off days at work.

The Ugly:

Feel like a broken record - but - I am jonesing for some good ol' fashion sleep.

#52 in 23

3 notes · View notes

umichenginabroad · 3 months

Text

Abhi in Paris

Week 3: Belgian Delights to Backpacking Dreams

Week three of my study abroad adventure in France has been nothing short of exhilarating. Over the weekend, I decided to venture beyond the borders of France and explore the charming city of Brussels. A quick trip to Quai de Bercy (the Paris City Centre Bus Station) and a four hour bus ride later, I was saying hello to Brussels! The journey began with iconic sights that left me in awe – from the Grand Place to the Atomium, each corner of the city seemed to tell a story of its own. However, what truly stole my heart were the delectable Belgian waffles and the exquisite Belgian beer that added a flavorful touch to my weekend escapade. My Belgian Waffle was covered in Whipped Cream and White Chocolate sauce and let me tell you, this might have been the sweetest & creamiest waffle I've ever eaten.

Returning to my studies on Monday was a stark contrast to the leisurely weekend, as I delved into classes and even faced my first homework assignment. I had to complete some Fourier Transform work in MatLab, and honestly, so far I've really enjoyed the French education systems. It's characterized by a longer semester allowing for a relaxed pace with less or no homework and more breaks in between. The academic challenges were complemented by a newfound passion – rowing. ENSEA, the school I am attending, offers a rowing club, and I decided to give it a try. I've rowed extensively in high school, but lost touch since then. The rhythmic motions of rowing against the serene backdrop of the French countryside provided a refreshing break from the intellectual pursuits.

As the week progressed, I found a balance between academia and recreation, allowing myself to fully immerse in the rich experiences that France has to offer. Thursday marked the beginning of my preparations for the upcoming break from school, where I'll be embarking on a 20-day backpacking journey through Spain and Portugal. The anticipation of exploring new cultures, landscapes, and cuisines fueled my excitement.

The weekend brought another round of adventures as I visited the enchanting Montmartre with my girlfriend Sneha from Michigan, who's also abroad in Paris studying at HEC Paris. The panoramic views of the city at sunset, the Wall of Love adorned with "I love you" declarations in countless languages, and the warming sensation of Vin Chaud (hot wine) made this day an unforgettable chapter of my journey. Each step I took seemed to lead me to a new discovery, a hidden gem waiting to be explored. The evening ended with a beautiful view of the sunset over Paris atop Montmarte with Sneha.

Also, super exciting--EVERYONE in Paris where's overcoats and as an early birthday gift, Sneha got me an amazing Parisian overcoat!

Sunday was dedicated to art and history at the Louvre. Standing before the iconic Mona Lisa, I couldn't help but feel a profound connection to the artistic legacy that has shaped the world. The Louvre itself, with its vast collection of masterpieces, offered a glimpse into the cultural tapestry of humanity.

Looking ahead, Thursday of the next week signals the beginning of my much-anticipated break from school. With a backpack on my shoulders and a spirit of adventure in my heart, I am set to explore the wonders of Spain and Portugal. The journey will include a few days of relaxation on the beaches of Tenerife, particularly Playa de Las Americas. As I packed my bags over the weekend, excitement and anticipation filled the air, knowing that new experiences and friendships await me on this backpacking odyssey.

In the midst of academia, rowing, and weekend explorations, my study abroad adventure in France continues to unfold with surprises and discoveries at every turn. Stay tuned for more tales from the road as I embark on the backpacking journey of a lifetime!

À bientôt,

Abhi Athreya

University of Michigan, Aerospace Engineering 2025

ENSEA in Cergy, France

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEENSEA #AbhinavAthreya #IPEWinter24 #France

0 notes

stuffnonsenseandotherthings · 3 months

Text

Triage Final Thoughts

Watch It Or Drop It Challenge

Did I drop this drama or did this drama drop me? (i.e. I loved it until it turned into something I no longer recognised)

Strengths

I watched the first 10 episodes of this drama in 3 days.

3 days.

I may have been on holiday but, even for me, that's quite a lot of drama in a very short amount of time, especially when I had other things going on.

Anyway, needless to say I was hooked.

Much like Manner of Death (with whom it shares a director and screenwriter), Triage is much more a mystery drama with a side of BL than a BL with a side of mystery but, in my opinion, that doesn't hurt it in the slightest. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that focussing more on the non-romance elements allowed it to strike a good balance in its storytelling; the time travel aspect was well thought out to the point of having a fun little detail where wherever Tin fell asleep had an effect on how far back in time he travelled, the illegal organ farming plot line wasn't immediately obvious and developed nicely with bigger and bigger clues being dropped along the way, and the romance found space to weave itself believably through both and tie everything together as the emotional impetus.

The pacing of the drama shouldn't be overlooked either. It was quick, concise, and moreish (in the way all the most binge-watchable shows are), never lingering too long on a plot point or story beat but instead spending just enough time on key points and characters that you were invested in what was going on. I liked Tin and his growing desperation to save the man he'd come to love, I liked the morally grey Tol and how he was still learning how and who to be in the world, I liked the subtle changes in Sing and Gap's relationship and the anticipation of the sweet sweet pay off when their sniping finally turned into something more, I was both deeply frustrated by and sympathetic towards Mai and her moral dilemma of how best to support her mum, I was swept up with how each (re)iteration of the timeline built up over time and with each revisit we got closer and closer to an answer, to a solution, to something...

As I said, I was hooked.

And then the end of episode 10 hit, Tin died and everything changed.

Weaknesses

A word of advice to anyone writing a plot including time travel: DON'T set the final arc of the plot in a completely different timeline to the one you've spent more than half the drama developing and ESPECIALLY DON'T give the characters your audience have become attached to entirely new personalities and story arcs.

What do you mean Tin is a nihilistic arsehole now who, instead of being an exhausted but conscientious doctor, actively overlooks medical malpractice??? Since when??? And why is he dating Fang now (other than to highlight the show's issue with female love interests that I'd been giving the benefit of the doubt up until this point)??? And WTF has happened so Sing?? Did he hit his head? Why is he all sappy and dating Gap now? Yeah I know I said I wanted them together but not like this with all the build up conveniently skipped! (also Gap did not benefit from increased screen time and a boyfriend, take them away from him).

Deep breaths

Anyway, to add insult to injury, not only did the characters become completely, slightly/much more unlikeable people who just happened to be played by the same actors, multiple key plot points were thrown in the bin. Tol's heart condition, despite it turning out to be the whole reason he was doomed to die in the first place, no longer an issue! Yay! All the time travel rules about who can remember what, what can be changed, what can be brought back from the present? Deader than Tin at the end of episode 10!

These were not the characters I was invested in, these were not the plots I wanted to see to the end, this was an entirely different story.

Conclusion: I gave myself a week's break before I tried to write this because I wanted to avoid ranting but, looking back, I'm not sure I succeeded in that. In my defence, I was (and still am) incredibly frustrated by the whole experience because there is so much to love about this series and the first 9 and a half episodes are incredibly strong. I'm still thinking about scenes and plot points and characters fondly from the first half of the show and I know how badly it ends for me. I genuinely believe that, without the last 2 episodes, Triage could well have been one of my favourite Thai BLS of all time and that makes me sad because I feel like I missed out on something special.

Now, I am willing to give the show some benefit of the doubt. I know that my personal philosophy regarding the soul and the self is very different from the Buddhist viewpoint and that will have coloured my reading of the timeline switch greatly. I also know that I was pretty stressed towards the end of my holidays so that might have lowered the amount of goodwill I was willing to give at the time. Both of those things could have affected my experience of those last 2 episodes and maybe one day I'll give Triage a second chance and realise I was far too harsh on first watch.

Maybe

But not any time soon.

I need to recover first.

Watch Or Drop: DROP (I skipped through all of episode 12 and I barely know what happened in the end, I need to be honest with myself and admit I dropped it at the last mile).

Final Score: It was on track to get 8.5 but I didn't finish it so N/A

Would I Rewatch It: Not anytime soon.

Highlight:

Confirmation of the fact these two haven't killed each other yet (gif credit to the wonderful @pharawee)

Representative Screenshot:

Watch It Or Drop It Masterpost

0 notes

bunchezofroze · 3 months

Text

I Have Decided to Start Posting My Short Stories, So here's the First One

"Haunted Computer"

By Rozetta Stone (Prompt from GeneralBug)

Alright, this is getting tiring. I have been watching this girl attempt, and fail, to ask out her crush for like two weeks now. I'm here because I was just passing through her apartment when I saw her giggling at the computer and decided to let my curiosity get the better of me.

I found out from the other person's messages that this girl's name was apparently Carmen, and I learned from Carmen's messages that her correspondent's name is Trea. Now something I know about Carmen, that Trea doesn't, is that Carmen really likes them, like way more than is reasonably expected from "platonic" feelings.

At first, I was really quite amused, watching the girl write out a long winded confession of her oh so eternal love, only for her to fumble with the backspace key as she deleted any trace of it. But after two weeks of it, it's honestly just a bit sad at this point. I mean, she clearly finds this person very dear to her, but just can't get over the hurdle of actually expressing those feelings.

Today she and Trea were talking and joking about some show about paramedics or firefighters or something, and some ship called "Beckie,"or whatever that was never going to happen. I wasn't too worried about it. Then her expression changed in a way I was familiar with at this point, and typed out a string. "we could totally be like them, but like... actually set sail haha. but only if you really want too cause li..." And then she deleted it all while shaking her head.

I'm done. I can only watch this for so long. I decided a bright idea would be to try and help her. Of course, the whole wandering spirit thing makes helping her a bit challenging. Wait, did I mention that? Oh well, suffice to say I needed a way to get her attention. So, I decided that the best plan of action... was to possess her computer and try to talk to her... yeah, not my smartest move.

It was decided though, so I did a couple stretches, and then dove head first into greatness. Of course, saying that you're going to possess and communicate with the living through a computer is one thing, while actually doing it is another. But I was determined, so I decided to take control of the mouse. She seemed a bit startled when all of a sudden her mouse had a mind of its own beneath her hand, but I mean, rightfully so. I went down and opened her sticky notes app - yes people actually use sticky notes don't question me - and started typing.

I've seen enough

I can only take so much of this!!

So now, I'M GOING TO HELP YOU!!!

Adding exclamation marks will surely get my point across. She sat there for a while with her mouth agape, and then finally moved it, "Wh.. who... who are you? An.. and what?" Ah yeah, I should probably explain myself a bit better huh?

My name is Mirriad; I am what they call a ghooooost

Spooky, I know

But honestly, I may or may not have been spying on you for the past two weeks

"Excuse me, YOU WHAT??" Whoops, that was way too forward.

Don't take it like that

Look, I've been watching you chat with Trea, and I think it's all really cute

But you are completely hopeless girl

So I wanted to try and help you out is all

She sat there for quite awhile in thought, hands in her crossed legs, before finally speaking, "I really wanna tell them, but I just can't. Every time I get excited that I'm finally gonna do it, and then... Then I get this gut wrenching feeling that it'll all go wrong, and I chicken out." She turned her head, as if I was actually there looking at her, and then added, "I'm sorry."

Carmen...

You don't have to apologize for being scared

You just have to overcome that fear and do what you know your heart wants

Look, I'm gonna be your wing ghost

With my help, everything will be a-okay

She looked back over, "Alright, but what do I say?"

Tell Trea the truth

What you want them to know

I would say the worst that can happen is a no

But let's be honest, there are way worse things she can say

So good luck!! *thumbs up*

And now she looked mortified, "That doesn't help! What if they think I'm weird? Or gross? Or overwhelming?!" At this point she had her head in her hands and was very clearly panicking.

Listen

Or read I guess, I don't know...

Doesn't matter!

My point is that it'll be okay as long as you're yourself, I promise

"A.. alright, but what do I say, like, specifically? Can you like, type up a love letter or something?"

Sorry, but I'm not a computer

So I can't write anything for you

But just try and keep it simple, alright?

She looked down at the keyboard, "Okay, then here goes nothing I guess." She tentatively moved the mouse over to her chat with Trea, and started typing,

UselessLesbian: |

UselessLesbian:

UselessLesbian: |

UselessLesbian:

UselessLesbian: Do you wanna go out sometime? Like on a date? Like a date-date?|

She looked over it, shook her head, and went for the backspace key. But before she could even reach it... *enter*. Sorry Carmen, but it's for your own good. She let out a little eep, and sat there startled, waiting for something. And then...

BuckIsBae: is typing...

BuckIsBae: Oh... That was unexpected.

BuckIsBae: But yeah! I'd totally be up for that. Just let me know when.

Carmen's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She then launched out of her chair and started jumping up and down, cheering, "Yes! Yes! Eeeeee!"

It seemed that my job was done, so I went ahead and vacated the computer. After calming down, she went back to her computer and started frantically typing, making plans for her newly acquired date.

When the weekend rolled around, Carmen was quickly getting ready. Her and Trea were going to some fancy schmancy cafe in town that seemed nice. She was rushing to the door when she stopped and turned on a dime. She looked around the room a bit before saying, "I don't know if you're still here, but thank you Mirriad." And with that, she turned and left through the door, ready for what was sure to be a time of wonder.

Why did I do it? I mean, I could say I did it because I was sick of seeing her struggle, but if that was really the case, I guess I could've just left. So I don't know. Maybe I did it because I have some pent up emotions about being hurt and losing out, so I did this to hopefully free my soul from this mortal plane. Or, ya know, maybe I'm just a fan of sappy romance.

#writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #short story

1 note · View note

vanriblogs · 6 months

Text

Feelin bad about being burnt out on Baldur's Gate.

A friend got it and was enjoying it. Later they bought it as a gift for my boyfriend, Skirmish. I'd heard enough to be intrigued because I do love Lore and Smoochin NPCs. I asked Skirmish if he'd be willing to stream some of the game for me, and rather than just continuing his own save, he started a new file to let me make my own character.

I regretted this a LOT because I wanted to continue the story, but it was unreasonable to expect my boyfriend to play as much as I wanted to.

But then that same friend gifted ME a copy with their next paycheck.

It took 2 days to download and I had made the unfortunate mistake of having Discord open when I could finally start the game because it snitched on me and Skirmish called while I was starting character creation.

We started a multiplayer game and I was quickly learning that I don't really like the multiplayer aspect.

So when I finally got to make my own character on my own save file that I could play whenever I wanted, I had gone through the opening 3-5 hours twice within a single week, making this instance number 3.

And at some point I felt really stuck and didn't feel I could continue any of my active quests, so I restarted. That new game was TOO efficient and I restarted again because I felt I had missed out on a lot of character interactions and that's what I thrive on.

All the while I was getting increasingly frustrated because my friends wanted to know how my progress was coming along and kept eluding to things in the game and it felt like the only way to get them to stop talking about it was to beat it, but every restart pushed that further away. (I prefer playing games blind and didn't expect to ever own Baldur's Gate, so I didn't mind discussions beforehand)

But I finally had a save where it felt I could progress and was finally getting to stuff I Hadn't Seen Yet after like... 3 weeks of owning it myself.

So visiting Skirmish and having brought my laptop, I realized I didn't actually wanna do the multiplayer because it was still the beginning of the game that I had gone through SO MANY TIMES in such a short timeframe.

And the character he used in our game, he had two copies of...

And deleted the one where he had been playing with me on accident...

Meaning that we had to start ALL OVER again with different characters...

And the character I chose to play just didn't feel fun to be in the Baldur's Gate setting.

He did let me play on my own for a little bit. And I felt bad cuz I know he wants to play a game with me. He and I just have different priorities and play styles, so finding one we can do together has been a challenge. Honestly, Minecraft has been the most successful

(He and I have talked it out since then, we're chill)

So yeah... I haven't even gotten through Act 1 and have burnt myself out within a month trying to complete it in a way that I'm happy with while also trying to progress quickly enough to satisfy other people.

And I'm just feeling oddly guilty about it all while I'm trying to design some merch.

#VanriTalks

0 notes

certainstrangerrunaway · 10 months

Text

Weekly Challenge 7/1: Saddening Start of Summer: lazy days and an epiphany!

Runtime: 21st - 25th of June

Summary: It was a disaster of a week. I was all over the place throughout, both task-wise and mentally-wise.

This week commenced right in the middle of a calendar week, Wednesday, at the very start of summer and on the year's longest day, Summer Solstice. However, even though the start marked a very nice beginning in terms of the solstice symbolism, it proved to be not so nice in terms of, well, my life.

So, what happened?

First of all, I had some sort of a life crisis in the middle of previous night due to which I was unable to fall sleep until deep into the night. Namely, I felt that my life has turned against me, that it is oppressing me and causing me much distress lately: everything in it is constant now: no changes whatsoever are taking place and no new people (whose arrival I, ironically, oppose) are filling my indolent hours with ecstasy. Instead, my daily hours are filled with boredom and with the same or simillar set of tasks (which I wilingly imposed on myself, mind you) that I couldn't see, in this bleak moment of my life's dark hours, where they are leading me on, while giving me little cognitive reward along the way.

It was truly, in some weird way, the "weak piping time of peace" in which I suddenly found mysel and which troubled me. But, unlike the unnatural Richard, I didn' set out to murder it away. And unlike the other Richard, I didn't give up my life to self-pity. (Both of these comparisons are worrisome, indeed. No one likes being compared to weak or irationally evil characters, though I am constantly elevating myself above them.) Instead...

... I eventually managed to force myself to sleep somewhere around three o'clock (the witch hour!) I kept going and fighting, despite this week and the following one being very critical in terms of me giving up on this project completely. I was near the brink of giving up, and I am very happy of the fact that it didn't turn out to be like that and that I am still writing these posts, even though a bit late. Better late than never, right? Quttiers never win, after all.

(I used the term 'force' above to describe the compulsory way I pushed myself to sleep and thay is really a good word to describe it, since it was such a chore to put my phone away and to sink into a realm of dreams. Even when I did it, I needed to turn on some of the asmr soft voices to which I sometimes sleep, so to feel safe and less lonely. That's how bad my health was these days.)

Some nine hours later, I was woken by mom: it was the noon of my younger sister's graduating from high school; mom couldn't read her diplomas due to the dioptry, so she needed my help. After this, however, I kept lying in bed, mostly fapping to internet porn for the next two hours.

I also woke up, as I recorded, to "some terrible weakness around the heart," though it could be due to unfiltered air in the room. Nevertheless, I was anxious about my heart's healt, as I was countless times in the past because of the same problem. (This problem started around the time I started antidepressant therapy, so I am quite confident that it is induced by medications, like the other problems regarding my nervous system.)

That was Wednesday morning.

I had the first meal of that day between two and three pm, exactly twelve hours after my tormened moment in the night. At 15:15 pm, I turned off my phone for the new session of 'Mind decluttering.' At 17:00 pm, I decided it's high time to focus on my life a little bit more, that I need a plan longer than a week: I got an idea of writting a script for the "next chapter" of my life, a story in which the main character is going to be a man in his mid twenties, who has the same parents as me, lives in the same place as me and is in the same life situation as me. In short, I wanted to create the character of Me and then to script the next portion of my life based on everything I know of me.

The script was supposed to be my best guess at being realistic to myself: idealistic script was to be avoided. I thought that if I get truthful to myself and realise life ahead of me in this literary form (in the way I know I would have lived it if I don't change anything soon), then that would be an eye opener to me, which would help me determine what are the things I need to change in my life. I thought I would learn how to avoid the life that is harming me so much right now

I was wrong. Or, at least, not completely right. Turns out, I only wasted my time that day, as I couldn't really reach a conclusion different than whatever I knew before. (You see, I am a person so isolated that I am already aware of everything regarding my life, even of the things I probably shouldn't be aware.) So I kept living more or less the same life after this day. Sigh.

Night arrived. It was time for indoor excercises: the second this calendar week, the first of the summer.

That was my first day of this summer, my twenty-seventh in order, recounted by me. Or rather reconstructed. Whatever, it was a disapointment. I am disapointment. Eternal disapointment, it seems. Very saddening start of this summer: I am only left now with hoping that the rest of it will stand in the sharp contrast to its beginning.

The highlight of the next day, and of this entire week (that's how uneventfull it was) were high temperatures: hottest so far, ranging between 30° to 35° C. A friend who was temporarishly residing in Poland cried all day over messanger of how hot it is there. Being closed entire day in the house, I didn't feel it that much, but could verify it by venturing on the balcony: the day simmered with heat.

So, that's what turned out to be my ⚡'main goal'⚡of Wednesday: writting about my life ahead of it happening. This extended to the portion of the following day as well, which eventually ended with covering Richard II in the company of Tim Nance from youtube. The day after this was very weak: I only covered Tim's introduction to two Henry IV plays. And the 'studying' started rather in the evening, as was my custom in this period (mostly due to lazy habit than anything else.)

(And now I am embarrased of the kind of picture this paints about me. The picture I created myself. Good. I will then try to better it.)

Saturday: I went over some notes I made about 1 Henry VI some two weeks ago while watching Tim Nance. I previously have 'lost' them. I also covered Act I of 1 Henry IV. Another lazy day.

Sunday: I finished Act II of 1 Henry IV with Tim Nance. Another lazy day, though this time with a twist: 💥an apiphany!💥

⚡General task summary⚡

🍀 Diet and indoor excercises with the after-shower (👼 week): I was supposed to start having three regular meals throughout the day, since my bioritam was significantly altered, and I usually didn't have proper number of meals throughtout the day. I also decided to have regular indoor activites, reminiscent of old days when I was training aikido: every second day, followed by and shower session. Every other day would be a 'rest day' without showers.

In terms of the diet, only Thursday was successfull. The rest days were Wednesdays all over again. In total: 1/5 days of proper diet this week.

Excercices had a middling success: Wednesday was carried out, as established. Thursday, the rest-day, not at all. I couldn't resist having usual 'boredom showers.' Friday was okay, but out of order. Saturday, a nice rainy day, was like ordered for me to rest. The week ended with a "jerk off incident," which killed my motivation for further excercises. In total: I excercised 2/3 days this week and had 1/2 showerless rest days.

🍀 Proper sleep and no porn consumption (week 2): This week, proper sleep assumed not only feeling rested upon in the morning, but ACTUALLY WAKING IN THE MORNING. Due to my out-of-place bioritam, not only my diet suffers, but circadian rhythm as well. I regularly wake up around or post noon, and that was the case for every single day this week: the last two days were especially out of order with me being obsessed with new game I discovered by accident, Endless Siege. It resulted in staying awake all night on Friday and Saturday, waking in the middle of afternoon the days that followed. On the other hand, only once did I feel rested.

So, in total: 0/5 days of proper sleep this week with 3/5 porn free days. (The last one, though, I recorder that I did "jerk off to a vision that made me sick and my mind feeble and insecure.")

🍀 Teeth brushing at night and Mind Declutter (week 3): Newly discovered game interrupted my brushing streak on Friday, and I suspect on Sunday as well, since I didn't record while I didn't do it.

In total, 3/5 days of brushing teeth, while mind was decluttered 5/5 days (though the last one was weird, not sure what happened to me there.)

In conclusion, this was a week of poor nutritious pattern and irregulated sleep, okayish rhythm of exercise and resting, good pornless week and very good week for my teeth and information flow in my brain.

0 notes

mikeartblogyear3 · 11 months

Text

Week 12

The continuation of the work which I might call “How do I release you?”

It’s being pieced together slowly, and is completely afraid of colour at the moment.... I never know what to do with such vibrant things, they seem to already be so formed and finding a way to access it and move it around is really challenging.

The dots and lines are trying to play their own way, but I do like the areas that harmonies with the background the most. There’s a strange push and pull to creating a landscape that looks one way, but is also something else. I didn’t want anything to be settled and ready to change at any moment.

Maybe that’s what I wanted to showcase... that state of change. Being someone that knows how to live in that space of things constantly moving. It’s definitely someone that I want to build towards

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Research:

I was given this recently from a friend and found it could be apt in some ways to somehow tie into my research.

I’m finding it very similar to other various philosophical texts on witchcraft.

This section in particular... the unifying and accepting of the inner and outer states is very much the nature of witchcraft - externalising and pairing external objects and recipes with emotions and finding some semblance of connection.

I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath last year and this reminds me of that novel, but with The Bell Jar I feel that I highlighted the inner entirely and was questing to find that external link but was never able to.

Artist Research:

∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆

Semester overview:

I want to spend some time in this space just going over the work I did this semester and attempt to see it with a bit more clarity....

I started my falling into a minimal space with Fallen Aurora. I wanted to focus my attention on a simple landscape setting and attach as much of myself to that space. I kept the structure of building and the terrain as simple as possible, and instead focused my attention on the flow of gradient. Narratively I kept the scene relatively minimal as well, a depiction of a person watching an aurora fallen to earth. I enjoy creating scenes that asks questions rather than answers... I prefer to live in that state of exploration and want my work to hopefully elicit that reaction in the viewer.

This minimal scene continued with “Will I die before I figure it out” ... another graphite scene that depicts a figure lost in a maze and has now accepted their surroundings as their new home. I wanted the structure again to be minimal and the figure to be almost a shadow. This piece was intended to be placed in the middle of a much much larger circle, but I ended up making an irreversible mistake in the spray painting room and destroyed it completely. It was to appear as a focal point, as if looking at it through a telescope, somewhat voyeuristically.

My practice became excited with narrative/ creating a short story in a surrealist way and how I could go about doing that. It was a really confusing and experimental project and I still haven’t defined it to one thing. Initially I wanted to draw three pieces that linked in some way that I hadn’t decided on during the initial sketching. As I continued with it it kept speaking to me - are they sisters or is it the same character that’s changing. Behind the creature in the first image is a home, and I feel like it reflects my struggle to see myself outside of the family dynamic and then the journey of individual structuring, the sword in the head being a masculine battle energy - piercing the inner sanctum of the character. The last image is afloat and looking more serene, perhaps contemplative or now more content with having fought for personal understanding. the three spaces on the bottom reflect images found in the top three- the rock being found in the third picture up above, the string from the red, and the third in black I never found. A lot of this project is still a question in my head, but I found that keeping the initial space of containing the story in a triple sketch meant I could relax more to viewing how it wanted to grow.

I didn’t know how to access the previous piece anymore. I felt like there were too many parts that didn’t know how to connect to one another and I could sense a slipping pattern in me, so I jumped out of it and creating something more illogical and automatic. This is definitely in line with my love for surrealism... I just wanted to focus on creating a space to play in. I quickly did a layer of spray paint, but then focused most of my time applying lines and dots to the scene. The minimalisation I’ve been building on felt a bit empowered here. I felt less pressure in constructive a visual when I only had to think of applying one dot and line at a time and not the image as a whole. I didn’t know what was being made and I went along with that unknown element. The pairing of positive action gave me a feeling of desire to expand... away from logic I could just enjoy.

This piece showcases what I wish to delve deeper into with the continuation of my practice. Art is my way to finally be reactive, to not heavily judge a decision, to live without being plagued by heavy thoughts. I want to celebrate life and be in it and not spend all of my time contemplating it.

Lastly I wanted to end the semester with the hope of illuminating my main desire for my practice. To develop a space where I can feel and be connected to. I can’t find that anywhere else, so I need to appreciate and respect it. I wanted to express the basic space of lines and dots again as they seem like the beginnings of a much more detailed piece. I wasn’t concerning myself with creating it to look in one way, but allowed the unformed to be much apart of the scene as the formed. A shifting landscape is what I desired to capture, one that is ever changing but vibrate and alive.

Also, side note: experimenting in colour felt so uncomfortable and weirdly difficult to navigate, but it just meant that I had to fight harder to move out of that.

Conclusion:

I got stuck a lot this semester with my practice. I didn’t know how to attach and keep myself collected on it, and that has affected my ability to explore. Through it though I have developed an understanding that I prefer - questioning and analysing after the piece has revealed itself, as opposed to killing it with overthinking even before it has stepped out of my head. I want to strengthen this process more and feel confident that it’ll be enough for the viewer/audience. I still retain my graphite drawings as I need them whenever I’m feeling uncertain. I fall into their flow and allow myself rest in that space. Ultimately though I do want to just get better at making in an automatic way and build the ability to externalise more confidently. The minimalising has given me a small room to think about all of this.

0 notes

escape-rock-bottom · 1 year

Text

Journal #26 - My Nemesis, Sugar (Discomfort Challenge Journal)

They add sugar to EVERYTHING. I’m definitely getting ahead of myself with the lack of context there but seriously. 95% of foods I see in stores have some form of added sugar. The ones that don’t and claim they’re sugar free have those nasty synthetic sugars instead (The ones that give you diarrhea or headaches. Those ones.) It’s pretty ridiculous, and I now completely understand why I gained weight eating what I thought were health foods.

I have a bit of a history with weight and eating problems. It really started in childhood and spiraled into full on insanity once I was put on pills and started getting some crazy bad symptoms from my mental illnesses. I graduated high school at a weight of over 250 lbs at a measly 5’2” height (yes. I’m short. Bad Genetics. Moving on.) and a really terrible habit of eating large portions of food alongside snacks.

Then, there was my lack of an actual balanced diet and hydration - No joke, most of my hydration came in the form of juice or soda. I rarely drank water. I didn't know how sick I felt thanks to the combination of antipsychotic side effects and dissociative issues. I was slowly and silently killing myself and I didn't bother to care.

It was when I almost hit 300 lbs and was almost incapable of walking without feeling horrible leg pain and unbearably winded from walking a few hundred feet that I made a hard decision: Lose the weight. I won’t get into the details of the weight loss journey itself since that is its own long story, but I did drop 150+ pounds over 3 years after stopping all my psych meds and having gastric surgery.

I’ll tell you, it feels great to be able to move, run, and walk. All the things I struggled doing are just everyday occurrences I don’t think twice about. I have a whole other fitness journey ahead of me regarding bodybuilding and cardio health but I’m happy to have lost that weight. The sad thing is that I fell back into old habits (on a smaller scale) and ended up not regularly exercising and eating pretty terribly. There are plenty of things I can’t do, but the fact that I eat in a calorie deficit combined with choosing sugar-packed, non-nutritious foods to consume, I ended up skinny fat - little muscle, high body fat. I also ended up with a bad sugar addiction, constant nausea and headaches, fatigue, and some deficiencies.

Right around the time this challenge came up, I decided I’d try to exercise more and eat better. I honestly didn’t actually commit until the challenge began and I tossed all my sugary, salty vices in the garbage and set myself boundaries.

I’m insane though. Just limiting how much added and natural sugars I eat to less than I normally eat wasn’t enough. I wanted to see how well I’d manage without eating ANYTHING with added sugars. I set a discomfort challenge to do just that. The only thing I learned from that is the above statement: Added sugars and artificial sweeteners are everywhere in store bought food.

Home cooked meals suffer this fate as well, since some of the recipes required ingredients with added sugars (that reeeeally don’t need to be there.) I couldn’t even eat ketchup! It’s really given me the awareness to actually analyze my decisions when choosing my foods. I learned where to look for “hidden” sugars and what foods are safe (Hint: Fresh food that you have to cook)

The way I felt was along the lines of frustrated at this fact, but I also had a bit of a mindset change: Going without sugar isn’t that bad, and I don’t feel any loss without it. I’m pretty sure I killed the intensity of my addiction due to the already 3 weeks long sugar restriction. I realized that reaching for sugary foods is both a habit and an addiction. It was annoying to not be able to eat certain things and having little selection to choose from that day aside from eggs, fruit, bread, and lasagna to name a few things.

If I truly want to finally move forward and leave my sugar addiction and poor food choices in the dust, I will have to rework my habits. So far, I’m finding these action to be the most helpful:

Throw out any junk food. Out of sight, out of mind.

Have emergency snacks or meals on hand for when you crave junk foods. These will be healthier alternatives that offer a similar feeling as the real deal does

Hold yourself accountable. Have a visible daily food tracker. No need to track macros or calories, just write down exactly what you ate if you feel that level is excessive.

Plan out your meals for the day.

When heading to the grocery store, have a list in hand. It helps to set intention and keep your focus solely on the list. Try to be in and out in under 20-30 minutes. Not only will you not grab junk food, but you will save on impulse buys.

Inform others of your dietary choices. Decent people will respect that, supportive people will hold you accountable when given the task to do so.

I won’t lie, part of me still struggles with the shift, but it’s actually a lot nicer to restrict sugars. I’ve noticed a decrease in sluggishness and nausea and an increase in energy and focus. I still have a long way to go, but it’s a great first step to improving my health.

Find what works for you. I’m not here to tell you to change your habits (eating and dieting is a touchy subject for some.) However, I just thought it’d be interesting to finally tell my story and my journey regardless. Maybe you’ll take something, and maybe you won’t. If you’re like me and need that extra push: Go empty that pantry of all that crap you shouldn’t touch, buy some healthy nutritious foods, and try and fail and try again until you find what works the best for you.

#drvn30 #food #eating #diet #weight loss #my journey

0 notes

januariblues · 1 year

Text

Evaluation

My final product for this project is three separate teasers for the short film ‘Fall for her’ by @mills-mayo. Though during this project i have faced many issues, i believe i have overcome them in a creative way.

One issue I faced was the script for my client’s project, this is due to there being an oversight with how long we believed it would take to complete which was reflected in our schedules. This meant that any work scheduled after the script had to be delayed, as we were physically unable to move forward with the production without the script. I managed to overcome this due to having the oversight at the beginning of the project to add in extra time for each section, allowing for any issues that arose down the line. In future I would ensure that script writing is done as soon as the idea is formed, that way there is a script for the scheduled filming and there may even be multiple drafts of the script.

Another issue I faced was a lack of access to locations for the shoot, this lead us to having to be creative with our location choices. We ended up filming all scenes in the same location and using a projector and props to signal our locations. This was interesting as it lead to us having unique challenges such as trying to position actors and props in a way which would not cast shadows on the backdrops. Though we were successful with this, I believe the final product would have looked better if the scenes were filmed in distinct locations instead, which I would do next time.

The third issue I faced was when trying to align the availability of the location with the cast and crews' schedules. This proved to be difficult as everyone had varying schedules which had little lean way to ensure that everyone would in fact be able to be on set together. However, in the end we managed to find two days which filming could take place – though they were a week apart which was less than ideal as it effected editing time meaning I was unable to produce as much promotional content as I would have liked.

The final issue during production was when only two of our actors arrived on a shoot day – this did majorly affect our production as we were then behind schedule by over a week. Though we overcame this by managing to film a few days later, this was less than ideal.

In terms of my final product, I enjoyed editing together the three distinct teaser trailers as it allowed me to explore the story from each character's perspective, however for the time I had to edit this was not the best idea as it was more time consuming than one trailer for the full project would have been. It also meant I had unique issues with each teaser that I had to overcome, which lead to me not having a fully finished product in terms of how I would have liked it to be completed. In future projects, I would not produce three teasers when low on time.

Each teaser was slightly different in length, which may be an issue from an advertising point as it may led to inconsistencies in the reach, they could gain due to how algorithms work. As well as this, the fact that they are a maximum of ten seconds is both beneficial and a detriment. This is because though audiences are more likely to consume short form content, it does not advertise the plot as well as it could have if each teaser were thirty seconds long instead. Another issue with them being short is that it was difficult for me to record voiceovers which were only ten seconds long, whilst still making sense and advertising the plot of the film. Next time I would make the teasers twenty to thirty seconds long to avoid these issues.

The voiceovers proved to be a challenge in themselves. This is due to me not having the actors record the voiceovers, due to them being unavailable. To get around this, I recorded the voiceovers myself, meaning each one is far more similar than I would have liked. As well as this, I did not pre-plan the voiceovers before recording as I was not sure what would fit into the ten second time limit. This meant that I had to rerecord each voiceover multiple times for them to not have pauses or filler vocabulary. Next time I would plan each voiceover before recording them – making a script for each – and I would ensure that this was done before shoot day so the actors could do the voiceovers.

Overall, though I am proud of myself for the issues I have overcame, there are many things I have learned during this project – which I will be applying to all future work.

<<< Previous Home

0 notes

lyrebirdswrites · 3 years

Note

Hiiii ❤️ hope you’re doing okay! Don’t mean to be a bother. Just wondering when do you think you’ll be continuing The Long Con? I’m dying for a new chapter. Sorry to ask. Hope your exams went well 🙂

Hello there anon! Don’t worry, this question is never a bother when people ask nicely. It’s been a while since the last chapter so I understand the curiosity haha

Midsems did go well! But I can’t say that exams are a thing of the past because I’m actually coming up on my end of semester exams soon. My last exam is on June 15th iirc so I won’t be on holidays for a while. Hence why my ao3 has been quiet; I have reached the pointy end of the semester and it demands my attention rip

So my best reasonable estimate is that I’ll have chapter 5 finished in June. Possibly before my last exam, but it’s unlikely that I will be doing large volumes of writing while uni is still happening because this is an important semester for me. There’s always the chance that I might finish the chapter unexpectedly fast in a burst of inspiration and motivation, but inspiration and motivation is a fickle beast so I’ll refrain from making a promise I might not be be able to keep. June is definitely a safe bet, late may is a big maybe.

Anyway. I know it’s been a long wait already and that people are keen to read more (honestly the fact that people are invested in my story at all continues to blow my mind! insert justin bieber meme: so blessed so moved so grateful can’t believe this is my life never going to take it for granted always going to give back). I too am keen to write more. Once I have these pesky ~responsibilities~ and ~consequences of my actions~ dealt with, I shall be writing lots.

#fic: the long con #lyrebirds answers #anonymous #in the holidays I can write as much as I want which means I’ll be writing ALL THE TIME #and that is the lifeline I cling to during this dark end of semester period #like for real on June 16th I am gonna wake up and start writing like it my day job I have so many plans #lots of fanfic but also hopefully some original stuff too!#I most likely will not be posting the original stuff online anywhere #but I set myself the challenge of completing a short story a week over the break #so that’ll be happening behind the scenes #but uuuh yeah expect ch 5 sometime in June!#I wish it was sooner I miss tlc so much :(

7 notes · View notes

em-dash-press · 2 years

Text

3 Ways to Write Scene Transitions

Moving from one scene to another in your short story or novel can be challenging. If your plot spans more than a day or a week, you've got plenty of time to cover.

How do you transition your scenes without jumping over crucial plot points or making the pacing feel rushed?

There are a few tips you can try when you're facing this problem.

1. Tease What's to Come

Let's say you've started a chapter with your protagonist encountering people they don't like while shopping at the grocery store with their exhausted two-year-old. The experience is frustrating, so your protagonist is simmering while sitting at a red light on the way home.

The main action of the chapter happens when the babysitter arrives that night, but it's only 12 o'clock in your scene. You needed your protagonist to encounter the people that annoy them to establish motivation for the action later on.

You could jump time by teasing the action itself. Your protagonist could thrum their fingers on the steering wheel and glare at the red light.

They opened their arms to the resentment churning under their skin. It sank into their bones, morphing into electricity that kept [Protagonist] plodding through their day. The red light mocked their need to take action, but they could wait.

Because when the babysitter showed up that night, they would take their revenge out on the city.

That could be a great place for a scene break or even the end of your chapter, depending on how much you've written. The reader won't mind a time jump because their interest gets piqued. They'll want to know what revenge means for that character and what will spin out from the choices they make.

2. Switch Points of View

If you're writing a 3rd person POV story with perspectives from at least two characters, you can also transition scenes by switching narrators.

While one character completes a plot-relevant action, the other could move the plot along by being a bit further in the future.

Consider something like this as an example:

Sarah's heart beat wildly in her chest as the heavy words finally fell from her lips. It was just the two of them in that park, but it had felt like the whole world had watched her admit her love for Melanie in the molten gold rays of the setting sun. All she needed now was an answer.

[Scene break symbol or the start of a new chapter]

Melanie heard Sarah's heartfelt words echo in her ears long after she had mumbled something about needing time. Time to think, to process. Sarah had been so understanding, even when she dropped Melanie off at home right afterward and skipped their usual Facetime call that night.

It wasn't until Melanie woke up the next morning in a sweat that she realized she finally had to unearth her biggest secret—she had only started the friendship with Sarah because she'd been in love with Sarah's older sister since the second grade.

You could make that time jump into however long you needed. Play with the scene set up in particular and then give the page or two to whoever loves to read your writing. They could talk about if it felt like a rushed scene or if the time jump felt right for that moment.

3. Wrap Up the Moment

Most of the time, I find myself struggling with a scene transition because the moment that I'm writing isn't finished.

Recently I was writing a scene with two friends in a wagon on their way to a new city. They have a great conversation that sparks some character development in-between plot points, but I could feel that conversation coming to a lull.

It felt like the right moment to insert a transition, but something didn't feel right.

I had to walk away from my work and come back to it to realize that I needed to wrap up the moment to move anything forward.

The solution I found was ending the conversation by making them appreciate their friendship more than before, based on what had been said, and then the protagonist ended the scene by reflecting on how they knew they could face anything in the new city with their friend by their side.

The next scene started with their wagon approaching the city walls after a night of sleeping under the stars. The reader will still understand that it took more time to reach their destination, but they don't have to read excessive details about the cold night air or hard ground under the protagonist's back to get to what they're most looking forward to—the arrival at the new city.

Nothing about that night would add anything to the plot, so dropping the overnight experience at the beginning of the sentence makes for a great transition to the next scene.

Make Your Transitions Clear

Whether you end a scene with a cliffhanger, a heartfelt moment, or by switching between points of view, your transitions should always help the plot.

You can always edit them while reworking the finished draft later or ask for beta reader opinions from the people who always love reading what you write.

#writing #writing help #writing advice #writing tips #writing scene transitions #scene transitions #fiction #writeblr #writers of tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writers #novel writing

3K notes · View notes