#ifirestone

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

I might've missed reading this, but i was wondering what the lights on sonic's head and joints are in chronic sonic, since shadow has them too. Are they chaos monitors or markings or something else?

Spot on! For Shadow they’re his markings. For Sonic, they’re chaos monitors! & kinda mobility aids? Tails built em to help with joint pain, headaches, movement and all that!

[thatdisasterauthor]

Heya! I was wondering about your book Camp Daze. Is it intended to be open ended or do you intend to follow it up with a sequal at some point? Love your story, was ppartially wondering because having a 'end point' to that kind of story seems really difficult to me.

It's the first book in a three book series!

And yeah, finding the right endpoint for stories like this can be very tricky. But endpoints in disaster stories is actually something I am DEEPLY interested in. Like, to the point I'm trying to find ways to do a PhD about it. (Well, about disaster storytelling in general, but endings and the frequent lack there of are a big part of it.) So! Hopefully I can pull it off in a way that's satisfying.

[breelandwalker]

Hello! I was wondering, have you ever had a point in your life where you've gone to do magic and have felt like you don't have the spark for it at the moment? I was having a hard time feeling an answer with my cartomancy, and went to set up a quick ward to get my head back in the game and felt like everything fizzled away halfway though. Ive done readings regularly, so it's not being out of practice. Was just wondering if you've run into this road block and any advice you may have

Oh absolutely! I think it happens to most of us at some point. It's like when you sit down to do any kind of project and just...lose motivation and interest midway through. Sometimes the spoons just aren't there.

With magical workings, I find that I have trouble finding that focus or spark or sense of connection when I'm tired or stressed or distracted by other things. If there's a lot on my mind, if I haven't slept well, if I'm hungry or thirsty, if I keep getting interrupted, if my surroundings aren't quiet enough, or if my brain just isn't cooperating. Or sometimes, things just won't WORK. Like candles won't light or things keep spilling or, again, interruptions.

The important thing I've had to remember is that when this happens, it doesn't mean I've lost my touch or that the magic is backfiring or what have you. Sometimes it just means circumstances aren't right for what I want to do. Sometimes it means I'm not in the right frame of mind, or I need to practice some self-care and basic maintenance first.

What usually helps is putting the working aside and returning to it later. Just give it a little bit to rest and reset, as it were. This applies to readings as much as it does to spellcasting or ritual work. Even making charms and things for the shop sometimes gets put on hold for a day if I'm having too much trouble handling the pieces (i.e. hands won't cooperate, pieces keep dropping, fire won't behave, bottles keep getting knocked over, cats won't stay off the worktable).

So in your case, I'd suggest checking in with yourself. See if there's something you might need to take care of first so you can focus properly or raise that energy and feel that connection. Maybe take a shower or have a snack or a nap. Or just give yourself a little break and try it again the next day. Sometimes the proverbial Magic 8-Ball just says, "Outlook unclear, ask again later."

Good luck!

[fibul]

(Not anon that asked but i think itd be a little funny if they got really heavy if he went too fast, that way when he finally gets a happy ending takes them off hes like one of those cats that because better hunters cause they had a bell on them that they learned how to sneak with)

-FourHedge

[APPROVED]

[thebibliosphere]

I was wondering, is there a difference in how you write your 'for publishing books' vs how you write fanfiction? Do you do a different or lighter editing process or is it around the same?

My style and writing voice are the same, but the editing process “for publishing” is much more intensive. 

 My fanfic is what my first drafts look like. I use my preferred sentence structures, preferred descriptors/turns of phrases, regardless of repetition, and don’t really bother to filter my filler words out because that sort of thing takes a lot of mental exertion on my part to spot. And I’m not about to torture my ADHD over something which I am primarily doing for fun. Usually on the spur of the fixation/moment. (Honestly, you’re lucky if I read my fanfic before I hit post sometimes lol.) 

 The “for publishing” work, on the other hand, needs to be more concise and not read like it was written at 4am on a fixation bend. Even if it was written at 4am during a fixation bend. This is why I hire editors lol.

[tenya]

(Theres a theory I've seen in a few fanfics where her hammer is chaos energy like shadows spears, so her emotions would effect them, ie: when she's pissed/strong emotioned she can break stuff easily, so that's a possibility)

that’s a nice thought! but the truth is probably closer to what @chaosspear said :(

[sonicunderground-hq]

Besides moral, how come you guys decided to open up an askblog?

[systlin]

Since there's so much drama and just yuckiness in tiktok witch (I can't remember the name) and drama in witchblr, any advice on a place someone can go to find resources and chat/get advice

The answer to this is complicated, as most things are. There’s no one place, and you should never attach too much weight to any particular person. If you fall into the habit of taking one person as the be all end all Authority On Everything, you leave yourself vunerable to exploitation and bullshit. 

Yes, including me. I implore all of you to not hold me up as the One And Only Authority on things. Do not hang all of your own path and practice on me. I am happy to help to guide if asked, but I do not have answers for everything, and you ought to seek out opinions other than mine in all things. 

You need to be able to seek out these opinions, spot the ones that are closeminded or exploitative or hateful, go “Well fuck that” and discard them. 

You need to be able to take ‘no’ for an answer. As in, if a closed practice says “No, not for you,” you need to be able to take that respectfully and not react with self-centered entitlement. 

The commonality that most witches and pagans I trust is this; they have read widely of books on many subjects relating to witchcraft and religion, not just their own but many. They have read the worst Silver Ravenwolf and also obscure academic works looking at the historical cultures from which they draw. They have read the Bible as well as the Quran as well as the Eddas as well as Greek myth as well as Gerald Gardner’s work as well as the works of anthropologists studying the archeological leavings of those who came before us. They understand then the context in which modern paganism and their path exists. 

They have sought out knowledge themselves rather than only getting it in approved doses from another. 

The people I chat with/get advice from must past a simple test; do not look down on or hate others for things they cannot control. They cannot be racist, or deinigrate those unilke them. And they cannot insist that all must follow their way, and that All Others Are Doing It Wrong. They cannot insist that some cannot practice because of physical issues beyond their control. 

If a person passes this simple test then I may chat with, bounce ideas off, ask advice from, ect. 

The vast majority of the questionable content on both Witchblr and Witchtok, from what I’ve seen, stems mainly from people with a very very narrow view of things who have not read widely and sought out opinions from a wide variety of people. They tend to be self centered, entitled, and to not like to be told ‘no’. They assume their way is the only way, and become upset when other people do not conform to what they think is the Right Way to practice. 

So my answer is this; speak with many practitioners and cultivate friendships with thoughtful people who have done a lot of self-introspection and wide study. Quality over quantity, always.