Your go-to post for all of my writing updates in the lead up to Chapter 47 of Trying to Tread Water. I'll generally be editing it weekly.
(Hey guys it's the 30th of May but there's literally nothing to update because of some health issues, check back in a fortnight. So I'll leave the 16th May update here until then.)
What's changed as of the 16th May:
I have just uploaded the Beneath the Surface ch44 companion piece. Which is being published at 2:30am because there's a very mild case of the daycare plagues affecting some of the household so I've been extra busy and this is the only time I've been able to do so.
Enjoy your nearly-smut. I love these two.
Trying to Tread Water ch47 is beginning to leave the notes phase, and has 500 proper words written now. Which is less than I'd hoped for, but there's lots of 'invisible' work like scaffolding the chapter and arranging the notes which isn't apparent via the wordcount update and life also got busier a bit quicker than expected.
There's not going to be much else to update until the 5th of June, as I've got two essays due over the next fortnight. But then I'll be GRADUATING!! So aside from being a great cause for celebration should significantly free up my time for writing creatively instead of academically.
and my final essay is about Mrs Bennet. So we'll all benefit from that research one way or another, haha.
An older and more comprehensive update below the cut.
As of the 1st of May:
I've just created a new fic where I'll be putting the bonus (g-rated) scenes from Trying to Tread Water and uploaded the old one I wrote in response to an ask for chapter 16. I have another ask waiting to be answered which will create another chapter, so it was time for a place where I could compile them.
I've also made a series for all the T3W-verse stuff, but I'm not sure if it should be a collection instead?? I'm new to these ao3 features.
Speaking of bonus content... The Beneath the Surface ch44 companion piece is finally ready to be edited, and is sitting at about 2.5k words. With stuff being a little hectic for both myself and my beta reader I'm aiming to have that up in a fortnight.
Trying to Tread Water ch47 is still in the notes phase, which, for context, means my word document has 3536 words in bullet points. The characters have their own highlighted colours so I can see who's involved in what section, and the bullet points range from vague thoughts for me, to relevant quotes from the Pride and Prejudice novel, to multiple long bits of dialogue (some of 500+ words) which will get added to the story basically as-is with some more prose added in around the speech.
Writing is more like a puzzle than you could ever tell from looking at the finished product, lol.
Asks: The Mr Bennet and Mr Darcy unseen conversation will be getting its own little bonus scene (as mentioned above) at some point.
I have gotten my hands on Bride and Prejudice, and recently watched it! Even took some notes for you, so I'll try and reply this long-weekend :)
The other two are in queue at the moment and should be posted over the next 48hours.
Misc: I've been lucky enough to have my final uni assignment before I graduate (!!!!!) be a Pride and Prejudice one - so depending on how I pull that together it might be uploaded after grades are finalised. Naturally, I have plenty to say on the subject.
There's also that original fiction first chapter which I might upload just for the three people that were interested, haha.
please be kind to me and the ones i love. summer is near and i hope to make great memories. i hope this month is the beginning of the best moments and happiest days of my life. June will be amazing, claiming this 🪴🐿️
Being crazy about a piece of media for any amount of time will leave a weird mark on you forever because years later you’ll see someone posting something about it like “can we talk about this frame” and you’ll be like “ah that frame. i know all about that frame. I was once a scholar of that frame.”
Btw. If you're a teacher and you catch one of your students (kids, tweens, teens) using AI for the first time, please be gentle with them.
Last week i was looking into one of my teen's homework when I noticed she was writing words she "wasn't supposed to know" in english (like "furthermore", for example. They only know very intermediary english) I got a bit mad for a second. I wear an "anti-AI" button all the time, i even told them before why i was anti-AI, yet she didn't listen to me and thought she could get away with it... But i decided to keep it cool because i didn't know why she would do this, since she never did.
Okay, one week after, this Wednesday, it was time for their class again and, when she arrived, i told her to come to my desk and asked her: "what is furthermore?" She went pale when she noticed the paper in my hands. I asked again: "darling, what is furthermore?" Then, she shuttered: "I don't know, teacher. I'm sorry, I had to ask Gemini because I had no time..." then I sat her down, she was clearly upset (she is just 13) and I asked her what happened. "I didn't have any time left because of my exams and there were too many units to go through. So I asked my mom to help me and she told me to use ChatGPT but I asked google instead." Okay. So I looked into her eyes and told her it was okay, that she didn't need to be upset, but she would have to re-do that paper and bring it back to me by the next week. I told her she didn't need google or gpt to do her work, because she got a very high score at her english exam (both at school and at the course). She got right back on her feet and we started class as normal.
The only reason why I'm telling you this is because I hate AI. I hate it SO much. But, as a teacher now, I hate ANYTHING that takes the learning process away from kids. I hate the GLOSSARY in my kids' books as well for the same reason bc they don't want to figure the words out with me, they want to check the answer as fast as they can to get rid of that boring thing and I don't blame them for wanting to get rid of the boring task! But I blame ADULTS for allowing the kids to go the fast way, when they need the slow process to learn something! Her MOM told her to use ChatGPT to ace her homework. You know, the person PAYING the course bills so her daughter can learn english at an early age doesn't care about her learning process. But I do. I care. And you should care too. It's not my student's fault, it's about the learned helplessness, it's about wanting to be the fastest, it's about the knowledge scrapping, the way nobody cares anymore. And the kids are being affected by parents who don't care anymore. They're byproducts of this. So please, when teaching them why AI is bad, be gentle. It's not their fault the world around them is teaching them how to be dumb in a smart, sneaky way.
It feels cool to be "in" on celebrity gossip before anyone else. I ran into Californian Condor V9 and looked her up on the condor lookup website. It says her current mate is dead and she has no kids but I saw her with a new man AND a juvenile.
This doublet is a great example of how high-definition television has transformed what audiences can see on screen. Every stitch, trim, and texture is now visible, pushing makeup artists, set designers, and costume designers to elevate their craft and focus on even the smallest details.
In 2016, this richly detailed piece was worn by Timothy Omundson as King Richard in 𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕, where the clarity of HD truly showcased its smaller details.
But that’s not where it began its life! Several years earlier, it appeared on Henry Cavill as Charles Brandon in the third season of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒖𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔. The piece likely originated with Benedick Blythe as Phoebus in the 1997 television production of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒆 (also known simply as 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌).
Interestingly, while the craftsmanship was always there, it’s far more difficult to appreciate with the lower resolution of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌. It isn’t until 𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕, with its crisp high-definition image, that the full detailing of the doublet truly comes into view—revealing just how much care and detail went into creating this remarkable costume.
This pretty little gown was first spotted on Emma Pierson as Fanny Dorrit in the 2008 miniseries 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒕.
It was worn again by Elizabeth Berrington as Lady Bareacres in the 2018 adaptation of 𝑽𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓.
Where else have you seen this costume, and where do you think it originated? Let us know in the comments below or at Bit.ly/VicEd286
