Last night I dreamed I was back in my grandmother's house--the one she raised me in with the black and white sun porch and green hallways and crystal chandelier and terra cotta tiles on the porch. I dreamed I walked over creaking floorboards and into her bedroom, where I saw her bed, unmade, with the white sheets and a crushed velvet blanket in dusky green, rumpled and warm like she'd only just gotten out of bed to make herself a cup of coffee. I dreamed I climbed into the still-warm sheets and held her pillow to my chest. I breathed the smell of her. I just sat for a while, breathing, in that bedroom I remember so clearly, before I eventually woke up and remembered she was gone.
I don't know if I find the dream comforting, or sad.
A pun post crossed my dash, and I reblogged it with an equally bad pun in return. A couple of my followers find it funny, it's a good day for everyone.
That was on July 7th.
Virality on Reddit was entirely algorithmic. You could garner a couple crossposts, but the success of a post was entirely dependent on whether or not it hit r/all--the main page of Reddit. If your post does that, it's immediately exposed to 10x the number of people and immediately gets upvoted.
On my pun post, I get a couple reblogs. And those reblogs get a couple reblogs--nobody really adds any content to the post, it just gets a couple reblogs here and there.
There's a specific chain of reblogs that I'd like to focus on. The most popular post on this chain has about 25 reblogs on it. Half the posts have three reblogs or fewer. Five posts in this chain have just one reblog total.
But the reblog chain keeps going. And going. It breaches containment many times over. And finally, after a chain THIRTY SIX posts long, at 9:30 AM, July 22nd this morning, it hits a popular account.
99% percent of the people who have seen the post--virtually unchanged from how it left my dash--have seen it because it was curated by 36 different people. That's insane to me.
None of those 36 people know that they're part of this chain. They saw a post, reblogged it, and moved on. If any one of these people had not reblogged, the post would have a fraction of the impact it has.
And yet, after two weeks, the post has effectively hit the main page of tumblr. It was picked up, only because people liked it enough to show it to their followers. There were no algorithms necessary.
You really, truly, cannot get this on any other website.
We know that we cannot take the current President's statements at face value. But in light of Trump's recent speech where he claimed that he's "saved" NASA and always supported them (which isn't true), I wanted to elaborate on some of this.
He's slashed the budget, forced removal of DEI history and contributions at NASA, and caused many NASA workers' unemployment. I have worked closely with people in these spheres and know that the budget cuts have deeply jeopardized the future space missions, space exploration, and space science.
My close friends and colleagues, especially those relying on DEI programs, have had such a difficult time during this administration, and we still are. This program found some success with Artemis II and beyond in spite of the current administration's lack of support and lack of funding.
This is all the more reason you guys have to stop circulating shit about Artemis II being “US army propaganda.” Along with that it just isn’t, all those arguments are various forms of associating this with Trump “but leftishly.” In fact I don’t think he should get credit for a program from an agency he’s done everything he can to kneecap at every turn. You don’t have to give it to him!
One of the things about writing that feels the silliest is when there’s a detail in the scene that the character doesn’t think is important but you know the reader will know it’s important because otherwise it wouldn’t be there, so you’re just sort of making eye contact with the reader over the character’s head and whispering “don’t tell them”
Yes, the principle that details only be included if they’re plot-relevant is known as Chekhov’s gun. What Chekhov neglected to mention in his letters to younger playwrights outlining this principle is that sometimes as the writer you feel as if you are barging onstage in the middle of a scene to hang your loaded gun over the mantel while wearing giant clown shoes. Even if you’re actually dressed all in black and sneaking and the conventions of theater mean the audience politely decline to notice that you’re there
Please keep interacting with this post because when I come to tumblr to procrastinate, this shows up again in my notifications and guilts me into writing again
Baffled. Someone posted a comment on the first chapter of Lucky Child that's just a huge spoiler for something that happens incredibly late in the story. Do they really expect me to approve that??
It's such a funny feeling. Your art always makes me feel so nostalgic about Not Quite Keiko. I know I'm still in the middle of the story, technically, but... seeing this, I'm reminded of all the story that's come before, and I feel connected back to it, and I'm just so grateful you shared this with all of us. I love the colors and expressions; you always capture NQK so well, and the animated one at the end is so cute. (Oh, the pool scene!! A forever favorite!) And the visits from other characters are so much fun, too.
Thank you as always, my friend. This was such a wonderful treat today. You've spoiled me absolutely rotten!
So like, please let the WIPS escape the basement whenever you like, because seeing Hiruko after I've been away from the story for a while was really, really lovely, and I love your work, and this was so lovely to see today. <3 I love the expression he has here. You really capture him perfectly every time!
this has been sitting around for so long, i only just got around to finishing it and i somehow took my sweet time yet also very much rushed it lmao! you can tell when my patience ran out 😭
i have been daydreaming about these three the parasites fiend for canon mixing interacting for forever now and am glad to finally have this silly thing done!!! i have so much to say but my brain refuses to work right now—it is 2:07 rn and i really shouldn't be awake 😭 okok enough babbling baiiii @luckychild
I am HOWLING! This is absolutely perfect. Great dialogue and it's just too funny! Minato and NQK have such different reactions and of course they'd contradict each other like this—PERFECT!
And also you reminded me about one-shots I never finished, so thanks for that. They're now on my To Do List. Minato's infinite hair, Minato and Shizuru...
And HARUKA. Oooooooh my god, YESSSSS. I love her so much and the chaos of them meeting would be SO GOOD!
Bless you, my friend, for this. I feel an urge to write side-material, and I haven't felt that in ages. It's a gift to feel it again. Thank you so so much!
(Also, concept: If I met Haruka, I'd be a stammering wreck because she's the most attractive human who's ever lived. Imagine NQK becoming a stuttering wreck IN FRONT OF KURAMA...)
anyone I see posting about the fucking Harry Potter show I'm blocking.
it's 2026 you can't pretend not to know what she uses the money for.
and yes, even if you are pirating it, if you sre talking about it online it doesn't mean shit. every bit of cultural relevance you give her is still money in her pockets. I'm sorry she's not a corpse decomposing in the ground yet, you cannot claim "oh but I'm making with it things that would make her angry!" while you are also helping keeping her rich by keeping her relevant.
i'm thinking of your one piece si fic idea and having quite the blast thinking of all the parallels and character development i'd probably be able to draw out by comparing NQK and your avatar in one piece—speaking of! what name would your si go by? Star? I don't think you mentioned si-ing as a specific character so it'd make sense if you just go by your name but i can also see you come up with something else!
i'm so curious on what differences i'd be able to see between ur one piece si and nqk, seeing as you have changed quite a bit (as have your readers throughout the lc journey xD)!
it would be wonderful to see a character i hold so dearly be reborn in a different story; this is probably so odd for you to read hahaha
hope you're having a good one!
These are the same questions I've been asking myself as I tinker with my idea for a One Piece SI fic! It's definitely a bit odd to think about, but it's also quite fun.
(Long rant below. Enjoy!)
As of this moment, the story's outline features a self-insert avatar modeled after a version of myself rather than a reincarnated-into-a-character situation. This provides a point of meaningful difference between Lucky Child and my OPSI fic. I don't think we want to sit through another behemoth of a story that wrestles with the same conflicts and character choices, and staying away from "taking the place of a canon character" avoids redundancy between the two works.
(Because if any of us has to hear "OMG I stole [character's] life and I have anxiety about it!" one more fucking time... haha!)
Speaking of avoiding redundancy: I'm tinkering with creating a slightly fictionalized version of myself rather than using a 1:1 version of myself like I did in Lucky Child. I started writing LC at age 26, and I modeled Not Quite Keiko on who I was at that moment in time (not-yet-out-as-nonbinary, in a new relationship, at the start of a meaningful career). NQK is a time capsule of myself at that age. As you stated, though, I've changed a lot since then. 35-year-old me is nonbinary, has an established career, and has been in a long-term relationship for about a decade. It stands to reason that any SIOC I create today will share those traits.
However... while planning the story, I've realized some of the traits listed above are either repetitive with LC, or they don't really complement the story I want to tell. For reasons I won't share yet, using a 1:1 version of my 35-year-old self doesn't quite work for this story (and using the me-of-today as my SI avatar feels like another redundant chapter of the Lucky Child playbook, anyway).
Which brings me back to creating a slightly fictionalized version of myself. When writing creative nonfiction and personal essay, you have to learn to treat yourself as a character and tailor yourself into someone interesting on paper. I'd pull a page out of that playbook and craft a version of myself that has the truth of me at their core, but the facts would be arranged a little differently to make using that SI avatar more convenient. (Yes, this is how the nonfiction sausage gets made. It's not very glamorous!)
My SI avatar would probably end up going by "Star" since that's the name I go by now. (IRL as well as online at this point!) There's a chance my character might end up using some kind of alias or nickname, but I'm guessing not. I'd probably place them in their mid-20s, but they'd be out as nonbinary already, and maybe they'd already be established in the career I have now. (Or perhaps they wouldn't!) I would also make sure to not reuse anecdotes from my real life that I've used in Lucky Child if I decide to feature the true-stories-pulled-from-my-real-life flashbacks that pop up across LC. The themes of this story would be different, and therefore the anecdotes I choose to share would shift focus, too.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, by this SI fic would be an isekai situation rather than a "reborn into the world of One Piece as a baby" scenario, once more to distinguish it from LC. There would be an inciting incident that drags my avatar into the world of OP, where they'd encounter one of the canonical crews and get entangled in their affairs. Their knowledge of canon would of course play a role here, and I have some fun ideas about how to treat that knowledge in ways that make the narrative interesting without feeling like a rehash of LC.
Which brings me to this: Crucially, no matter their age or whatever creative edits I make to their history, my SI avatar would remember writing Lucky Child. They likely would have already completed the work back in their own world by the time they got roped into OP. I want my avatar to refer to LC often, perhaps saying things like "Oh, I'm not falling for that mistake in this story!" when referring back to choices NQK made that didn't work out so well for them. Lucky Child has a distinct meta aspect in which NQK constantly refers back to YYH canon, but in this OPSI work, I think NQK would reference OP canon as much as they would LC canon (and SI fanfiction in general). We're getting a few layers deep with this meta, baby!
Basically, my OPSI would view LC as a sort of "VR run" or "practice run" to getting isekai'd. Because they've written extensively about the anxiety of "keeping a story on track," they know better than to try and attempt such a thing in this new world. I know exactly how they'd approach their knowledge of the future, and it's remarkably different to NQK's approach. It would keep this story fresh and interesting, rather than feeling like LC with a new, OP-flavored skin.
I've ranted enough I think. Sorry this didn't directly answer how different my SI would be, but I hope it was interesting nonetheless! Thanks so much for the ask. <3
protagonists can and will be sexist, racist, insensitive, cruel, stupid, etc, especially towards the beginning of a story. these are called character flaws and they are a surprise tool that will lead to narrative fulfillment later
And sometimes "narrative fulfillment" doesn't mean "the character overcomes their flaws" or even "the antihero is punished for their flaws"! sometimes it means the narrative says "wow was that fucked up or what? anyway i'm rod sterling"
i'm thinking of your one piece si fic idea and having quite the blast thinking of all the parallels and character development i'd probably be able to draw out by comparing NQK and your avatar in one piece—speaking of! what name would your si go by? Star? I don't think you mentioned si-ing as a specific character so it'd make sense if you just go by your name but i can also see you come up with something else!
i'm so curious on what differences i'd be able to see between ur one piece si and nqk, seeing as you have changed quite a bit (as have your readers throughout the lc journey xD)!
it would be wonderful to see a character i hold so dearly be reborn in a different story; this is probably so odd for you to read hahaha
hope you're having a good one!
These are the same questions I've been asking myself as I tinker with my idea for a One Piece SI fic! It's definitely a bit odd to think about, but it's also quite fun.
(Long rant below. Enjoy!)
As of this moment, the story's outline features a self-insert avatar modeled after a version of myself rather than a reincarnated-into-a-character situation. This provides a point of meaningful difference between Lucky Child and my OPSI fic. I don't think we want to sit through another behemoth of a story that wrestles with the same conflicts and character choices, and staying away from "taking the place of a canon character" avoids redundancy between the two works.
(Because if any of us has to hear "OMG I stole [character's] life and I have anxiety about it!" one more fucking time... haha!)
Speaking of avoiding redundancy: I'm tinkering with creating a slightly fictionalized version of myself rather than using a 1:1 version of myself like I did in Lucky Child. I started writing LC at age 26, and I modeled Not Quite Keiko on who I was at that moment in time (not-yet-out-as-nonbinary, in a new relationship, at the start of a meaningful career). NQK is a time capsule of myself at that age. As you stated, though, I've changed a lot since then. 35-year-old me is nonbinary, has an established career, and has been in a long-term relationship for about a decade. It stands to reason that any SIOC I create today will share those traits.
However... while planning the story, I've realized some of the traits listed above are either repetitive with LC, or they don't really complement the story I want to tell. For reasons I won't share yet, using a 1:1 version of my 35-year-old self doesn't quite work for this story (and using the me-of-today as my SI avatar feels like another redundant chapter of the Lucky Child playbook, anyway).
Which brings me back to creating a slightly fictionalized version of myself. When writing creative nonfiction and personal essay, you have to learn to treat yourself as a character and tailor yourself into someone interesting on paper. I'd pull a page out of that playbook and craft a version of myself that has the truth of me at their core, but the facts would be arranged a little differently to make using that SI avatar more convenient. (Yes, this is how the nonfiction sausage gets made. It's not very glamorous!)
My SI avatar would probably end up going by "Star" since that's the name I go by now. (IRL as well as online at this point!) There's a chance my character might end up using some kind of alias or nickname, but I'm guessing not. I'd probably place them in their mid-20s, but they'd be out as nonbinary already, and maybe they'd already be established in the career I have now. (Or perhaps they wouldn't!) I would also make sure to not reuse anecdotes from my real life that I've used in Lucky Child if I decide to feature the true-stories-pulled-from-my-real-life flashbacks that pop up across LC. The themes of this story would be different, and therefore the anecdotes I choose to share would shift focus, too.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, by this SI fic would be an isekai situation rather than a "reborn into the world of One Piece as a baby" scenario, once more to distinguish it from LC. There would be an inciting incident that drags my avatar into the world of OP, where they'd encounter one of the canonical crews and get entangled in their affairs. Their knowledge of canon would of course play a role here, and I have some fun ideas about how to treat that knowledge in ways that make the narrative interesting without feeling like a rehash of LC.
Which brings me to this: Crucially, no matter their age or whatever creative edits I make to their history, my SI avatar would remember writing Lucky Child. They likely would have already completed the work back in their own world by the time they got roped into OP. I want my avatar to refer to LC often, perhaps saying things like "Oh, I'm not falling for that mistake in this story!" when referring back to choices NQK made that didn't work out so well for them. Lucky Child has a distinct meta aspect in which NQK constantly refers back to YYH canon, but in this OPSI work, I think NQK would reference OP canon as much as they would LC canon (and SI fanfiction in general). We're getting a few layers deep with this meta, baby!
Basically, my OPSI would view LC as a sort of "VR run" or "practice run" to getting isekai'd. Because they've written extensively about the anxiety of "keeping a story on track," they know better than to try and attempt such a thing in this new world. I know exactly how they'd approach their knowledge of the future, and it's remarkably different to NQK's approach. It would keep this story fresh and interesting, rather than feeling like LC with a new, OP-flavored skin.
I've ranted enough I think. Sorry this didn't directly answer how different my SI would be, but I hope it was interesting nonetheless! Thanks so much for the ask. <3