The Most Typical Of The Typical Days In A Writer’s (my) Life

*passes you a troll armed with a crossbow designed to break down fortress gates*

who has the “its been a week…. pass the detritus!!” pic

oh, the irresistible feminine urge to read six totally different books at the same time

Jimmy, to Lalo: You’re a monster!

Lalo: And you are a lawyer. Nobody’s perfect.

I had to speak French once (like, it was a test, it actually had to be French, not whatever works) and I had to really resist the temptation of saying “hombre” (spanish for man) instead of “homme” (french for man) because my brain somehow decided that “hombre” sounded, like, more beautiful? more natural? more suitable? idk. I wasn’t even learning Spanish back then yet.

Also, during the same test I think I almost said (or even actually said, I don’t remember) a really tired “Yeah…” instead of what should’ve been a really tired “Ouais…” (same thing but in French). Since English is also a foreign language to me, this is yet another example of what OP’s describing.

What they don’t tell you about speaking multiple languages is that your brain does not in fact have a box labeled Spanish and another one labeled German. Instead it has a box labeled “Not English” and sometimes when you’re talking or writing in one of the languages you speak it will just start pulling random words from that box.

This. I do not actively seek a romantic relationship right now and I don’t know if I would or would not like to have any in the future. But I suppose that if joining the Jedi Order was an available option for me and not something:

a) fictional,

b) only available to individuals with certain abilities,

c) only to be joined at a very young age,

then giving up romance would seem a small price for everything that the Jedi Order has to offer and that was listed in the previous posts:

friendly community

lifelong financial stability

loving and supportive environment

self-fulfilment through helping make the world a better place

encouragement to learn, explore, discover and teach

learning to manage my emotions in a healthy way

also, all sorts of wild adventures

getting cool Force powers and learning how to master them

last but not least, wielding a lightsaber

If there was a real-world community that provided all these things and didn’t require worshipping any deity, and if I knew for sure that they were legit, did actual good things, taught actual cool skills and didn’t scam, trick or manipulate anyone, then I would’ve seriously considered joining them instead of having to drag myself through all these job-career-success things and all the marriage-family-reproduction pressure and other stuff. (don’t worry, I’m not actually considering joining a real-life cult. I’m aware that in reality there’s no way of knowing if any organisation is what it claims to be, and I know that even without Force powers such community sounds too good to be true. I’m just dreaming here, ok?)

Call me crazy, but I know for a fact that I would not want a romantic relationship if I was a Jedi.

If I lived somewhere where I was a part of a community of people that I considered my mentors, my friends, my family; if I lived somewhere where I was encouraged to learn, to travel, to help people, to enjoy life as it is, and better myself; if I lived somewhere where I was supported and loved and cared for by the community, and I did the supporting, the loving, the caring for other people in the community as well; if I lived somewhere where it wasn't constantly implied, or sometimes outright stated, that my worth was tied to me marrying a man, popping out children, and making money...

...if I was a Jedi, I can honestly say that the thought of pursuing a romantic relationship probably wouldn't cross my mind at all---not unless I met someone specific whom I felt that sort of connection with, but even then, I probably wouldn't give up being a Jedi to be with them because I'd feel more fulfilled as a Jedi than I would in a romantic relationship.

I honestly don't understand the assumption that the Jedi are miserable because they can't get married, I really don't.

If you feel like you wouldn't be able to be fulfilled without a romantic partner, then that's fine! Everyone's different! We all have different wants and needs! But just accept that you wouldn't be fulfilled without a romantic relationship and stop acting like it's impossible for anyone else to feel differently.

The Jedi all seem perfectly happy as they are.

Esmerelda Weatherwax is literature's greatest Witch. And it is not even a little close.

What other Witch could so shrewdly bend the very story she was in to her will? To take the tropes and clichés and to weaponize them against those who were wrong in defense of those who could not defend themselves?

What other Witch, when faced with the Good Fairy Godmother, would rip the story from her very fingers and set things to right?

What other Witch, under vampiric assault, could turn the famous bite around and, instead of becoming a vampire herself, through force of sheer will Weatherwax the vampire? What does that even mean?

What other Witch could give a child a gift so powerful it would override narrative convention and let the long lost prince refuse to take his rightful crown in favor of pursuing his dreams?

Indeed, what other Witch would resist the crown when it fell into her lap?

There have been untold millions of Witches in literature, but not a one of them could sit demurely at a social gathering, doing absolutely nothing, and drive everyone around her to near insanity through sheer nervousness?

No one else could be so proficient at both Magic and People that she would barely need or want to use the former because of how effective and predictable the latter could be.

And all of this, ALL of this, while going against her own narrative nature as 'The Bad Witch'. To resist your own role in the story so completely that you transcend expectations and settle into legend as one of the ultimate forces of righteousness on the Disc? That requires more power, more cunning, and more skill than any, every other Witch. Combined.

And she did it by knowing people. By watching them and knowing things and by understanding, better than their own mothers, how to talk to everyone and precisely pass along knowledge. How to command respect, even if they don't like you very much. How to be indispensable, while dispensing with the pleasantries.

She didn't do it alone, but she wouldn't admit that within earshot of Gytha or any of her numerous brood (So, she would never admit it). She benefitted by her associations with Nanny Ogg, with Magrat, with Agnes, with Tiffany, with Ridcully (allegedly), and even with Death.

Who else would earn time for her candle to flicker in the wind, and a warning by the Grim Reaper himself, for the right she had done in the world.

Right. Not good. Not nice. Right.

She was the vessel Pratchett poured his every indignant thought at the inherent injustice in the world into, and she brandished those white hot notions against every part of the stories that tried to make her into something she did not want to be.

Esmerelda Weatherwax is literature's greatest Witch. What more could possibly be said?

This is where the dragons went ...

And although the space they occupy isn’t like normal space, nevertheless they are packed in tightly. Not a cubic inch there but is filled by a claw, a talon, a scale, the tip of a tail, so the effect is like one of those trick drawings and your eyeballs eventually realize that the space between each dragon is, in fact, another dragon.

They could put you in mind of a can of sardines, if you thought sardines were huge and scaly and proud and arrogant.

-Terry Pratchett, Guards! Guards!

I’m too lazy to list all my fandoms so you’ll just have to figure them out from my posts, comments, or whatever your mind-reading powers can pick up

Happy New Year, everyone!

May the Force be with you, always

Live long and prosper

May the odds be ever in your favour

Aim to misbehave

May there be good in this world that’s worth fighting

Don’t. Be. Dead

May you not live in interesting times

Don’t get in legal trouble, but if you do, better call Saul

…and so on and so forth, feel free to add :)

And from me personally: love yourself, love life, love people, and then you’ll be loved too, because I said so

You deserve happiness, don’t be afraid to pursue it, but if you are, try and "do it scared"

May 2025 be your year. Our year.

Your Jane of almost all trades

los pollos hermanos christmas party