getmehelp

i get frustrated because i'm sick of picking up the loose ends every six months. i get frustrated because it's always this same shit, same problem - i lose myself in a matter of months; spiral out of control, lose touch with friends and loved ones. i stop taking care of myself and therapy gets hard and i let everything around me wilt and shrivel and fall off; start somehow both sleeping too much and not-enough. i panic-attack and cry in my car in a target parking lot, pulling my hair out and hurting my ribs from sobbing so hard - and later, when i'm better, i'm embarrassed because how could i let it get that far?

it feels like - i already have done this so many times. isn't there a way out of it? isn't there a point where i've just... won? that it never happens again, that i just get to be done? maybe this is weakness, i guess - that i still (so often!) succumb.

i am used to it, so i forget exactly how hard it gets. do you even know how many times i've laid in bed, exhausted, blank and numb and listless and said - i can't anymore. i just can't. i'm not even really upset. it's okay. i've been here long enough. so much of my life was beautiful.... i'm just... done.

do you know how many times i woke up and i said - i can't and put my feet on the floor and said i can't, i don't want to and took a shower and walked the dog and bought myself fresh bread and put a nice playlist on and said i really can't, there's no end to this and i went to work and i called a friend and i made myself cookies even if food tasted like ashes and decided that i really should wait for the new album from that artist i love and i thought i can't, it's not worth it and then i washed my hands and cut my hair and drank more water and wrote a poem and signed up for an art class at the local community college and said i can't, i can't, i won't do this again, and i paid my rent and let the dishes rot in the sink but still made myself eat anything fresh even if it meant overdrawing my account on a stupid bag of plums just because they looked delicious and do you know how often i closed my eyes and thought this is it i really fucking can't, something has to give and i have nothing left that it can take and then i went to bed and i got up and i fucking survived anyway

yesterday the local ice cream place opened up for the first time this season and they were giving out tiny samples of their new dairy-free options and i tried a mango sorbet. three months ago i was positive that februrary was going to be my last month on the planet. i am teaching my dog a new trick and i just discovered a new band i love. i got a plant from the clearance aisle and repotted her and she's been perking up. i made salmon for alison and we ate it in her new house with her new beautiful baby girl. my manager told me he keeps recommending my work to others just because i always include a stupid number of puns. tomorrow i'm trying a new dance class. tomorrow i'm maybe going to buy more plums.

hello world! here are the covers i made for messermoon’s (aka @little-shit-soph) choices, based on the penguins classics format! i’ve made book pdfs that go with each cover, and all the necessary files (+a printing tutorial for those who are first-timers) to print can be found in this gdrive folder.

feel free to use these at your own leisure and if you do end up printing my covers, please send me a picture—i would love to see how they turn out <3

“Alright,” Harry says, but he looks down at his arm. “Am I in trouble?”

“No, absolutely not,” Sirius says quickly, and Remus nodded, desperate for Harry to understand. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

Bold the ones that apply to your character:

tulip: daydreams a lot, has a cute fashion style, often forgets things, the smell of fresh baked cookies, can be very touchy, soft features, is good at keeping secrets, smiles a lot, truly wants the best for their friends, deep down insecure

rose: in love with femme fatale movies, eye-gazing, dark lipstick, doesn’t want people to know they’re emotional, has a weak spot for animals, most likely writes poetry, very understanding, never judges people, dancing to music at 2am

orchid: the “i don’t give a fuck” vibe surrounds them, likes to draw a lot, reads fantasy to escape reality, messy hair, can be clumsy, stands for what’s right, most likely an activist or tries to be, fantasies over a zombie apocalypse, cats 

waterlily: seems unreachable, organized, works hard for school, actually super kind once you get to know them, is obsessed with the tiny house movement, tries to be environment friendly, loves to photographs nature and their friends

tulip: daydreams a lot, has a cute fashion style, often forgets things, the smell of fresh baked cookies, can be very touchy, soft features, is good at keeping secrets, smiles a lot, truly wants the best for their friends, deep down insecure

rose: in love with femme fatale movies, eye-gazing, dark lipstick, doesn’t want people to know they’re emotional, has a weak spot for animals, most likely writes poetry, very understanding, never judges people, dancing to music at 2am

orchid: the “i don’t give a fuck” vibe surrounds them, likes to draw a lot, reads fantasy to escape reality, messy hair, can be clumsy, stands for what’s right, most likely an activist or tries to be, fantasies over a zombie apocalypse, cats 

waterlily: seems unreachable, organized, works hard for school, actually super kind once you get to know them, is obsessed with the tiny house movement, tries to be environment friendly, loves to photographs nature and their friends

While planning my WIP, I decided to add a new denomination of important characters: dynamic and static. So let’s travel back to sophomore English class and get a little more in-depth with it. 

What is a static character?

A static character is someone who’s persona is unchanged at the end of the story. They can still go through the same conflict, external and environmental changes, and everything else a character normally goes through. However, nothing big about themselves changes drastically. These characters are usually lovable and/or charismatic types, and heroic figures at that. In a sense, they need to “change” for the reader to enjoy them as a character. These characters are easy to throw into a series without much having to go into their character arc.

But are static characters boring? Not inherently! Just because they don’t change doesn’t mean they are uninteresting. The fact that they are unchanging is prominently based upon the idea that they are super compelling to begin with. They still have agency and power within the story.

Are they always going to be static? They don’t have to be when in a series. By definition, they must be static for at least one installment (book, season, movie, etc), but they can change in the next. Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, for example. He is static in season 1, but dynamic in season 2. 

Can I have a story full of static characters? Yes. This would probably be on the trickier side, but the short answer is yes. Take the movie Sicario, for example. Every single main character keeps the same personality they began the story with. While Emily Blunt’s Kate and Daniel Kaluuya’s Reggie could be debatable, I would argue that their set of principles and main personality stays the same. Even though they are left disenfranchised by the end, their characters as a whole remain largely the same. But going back to the previous question of “are they always going to be static?”, Josh Brolin’s Matt is another  good example of “no”. He’s static in the first installment, but dynamic in Sicario: Day of the Soldado when more time is allowed for character growth.

Examples of static characters:

Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle book series); his personality and motivations stay the same, which is what moves the series along. 

Joyce Byers (Stranger Things, no spoilers); throughout everything, Joyce remains the compassionate, maternal, curious, and protective character she entered the first episode as and continues to be the rock that keeps her family grounded.

Nick Fury (MCU); even though we see him change a little and even soften up momentarily in some installments, Nick remains to be a tough, no BS, paranoid, and controlling character within the MCU. 

What is a dynamic character?

A dynamic character is, obviously, the opposite of static. These characters go through major changes internally throughout the story. These changes can be for better or for worse. Sometimes, a character must go through changes in order to be likable (either to readers or other characters), become the hero or villain, or fix the entropic nature of their previous life. They can also just be dynamic in response to the events around them. 

Do the dynamic characters always have to be the protagonist? No. In fact, they can work opposite a static main character. For example, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky is the dynamic character while Steve is a static one. Even though Steve is learning bombshell information, his persona stays the same. On the other hand, that same bombshell information changes Bucky as a person entirely. 

Are they always going to be dynamic? No. They could undergo a major change in one installment and be set for life. For example, you only have to “come of age” once. If the change is learning a lesson, they might only need to learn it once. However, if the dynamic aspect comes from a character healing/moving on, that could go on for a long time (Hopefully you give closure by the last installment, though.) If you look at Bucky and Natasha from the MCU, their characters have undergone trauma and so their healing process lasts the course of multiple installments. The nature of the dynamicness depends on what kind of change the character is going through. 

Can I have a story full of dynamic characters? Sure, but it’ll get exhausting and might even make your story way messier than it should be. A dynamic character demands a dynamic character arc. If you’re making every character dynamic, you have to give each one a satisfying arc. This also means all your main characters’ personalities will change. Your story will have no steady character(s). Most good stories have a healthy mix of dynamic and static. Even if you look at a story where the majority of important characters are dynamic, there are still important static characters. 

Example of dynamic characters:

Effie Trinket (The Hunger Games trilogy); though there are many dynamic characters in this trilogy, Effie is one of my favorites and the most noticeable as she goes from Capitol Baby to revolutionary. 

Ben Wyatt (Park and Rec); we see Ben go from uptight accountant to a regular Pawnee doofus (and I mean this lovingly) over the course of a season or two as he makes friends.

Captain Marvel (circa Captain Marvel); while she is static in Endgame, she is no doubt dynamic in her origin story as she unravels the secrets around her life and powers. 

A siege occurs when one party sits outside a castle or city on order to capture it whilst another party tries to defend it. Sieges can last days or even years but how do you win a siege?

Team Assault

Attacking a castle like an easy feat today but back when castles were at full strength and packed with defenders, it was less so. A castle may fall at a sudden attack but a castle that is forewarned may not be so easy to break. There are types of warfare that the Assault team can use to take a castle:

Attack: Your team could assault the walls and gates. They could use trebuchets, catapults, cannon and battering rams to break the walls and shatter the gates. They can use ladders or siege towers to gain access to the walls to attack the defenders on the battlements.

Pestilence: A favourite tactic during sieges. Since there is an enclosed space with hundreds or possibly thousands of people stuffed inside, it is a recipe for infection. The attackers can cause sickness but catapulting corpses over the walls or rags infected with germs to spread disease and thereby either killing the defenders or forcing them to open the gates to save lives.

Morale: Some times demoralizing the defenders is enough. An army can achieve this by having the larger army, offering terms to the defenders or evening using hostages in order to bribe or threaten the defenders.

Famine: Starving out an enemy is the most common move. Though the defenders can have stores of food put away, no source is inexhaustible. Soon food will run out and hungry defenders will not be able to hold the walls forever. They will sooner or later die off or give up their fight.

Tunnels: Your attackers could tunnel under the walls of the castle. This sounds like a cool and easy idea but the logistics of it can make for a ridiculously hard mission and you'll see why later.

Trickery: You can always win a siege with dishonesty. You can fly the flag of truce and attack. You can have a spy on the inside. You can do a Trojan Horse thing and make the sheep invite the wolves to dinner.

Team Defense

Inside the castle, the defenders are almost always on better footing than those on the outside. A castle is not just a house, it is a shield and a weapon.

Sortie: This comes from the French word for exit. The defenders leave the castle and attack the attackers. Though it can't win outright it can demoralize and destabilise the army outside and throw them into disarray.

Long Range Weapons: The walls and towers of a castle offer a platform for the defenders to fire crossbows, slings, cannons, trebuchets and bows.

Guerrilla Warfare: Every army needs supplies and supplies come from outside parties. If your defenders are clever, they will try eat away at the supply lines by attacking them. They can also attack outriders and patrols.

Burn the land: Before the actual attackers reach the castle, your defenders could burn the surrounding lands or strip the land of everything edible and leave the attackers nothing.

Famous Sieges

Siege of Tyre

Siege of Ennis

Siege of Vickenburg

Siege of Candia

Siege of Carthage

Siege of Leningrad

Sieges of Constantinople

Siege of Vienna

Siege of Sparta

Siege of Malta

Siege of Troy

The Siege of Paris

“I–” The hero sighed. “We got interrupted by a cat.”

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “scared” to describe characters in your writing? Try using these words instead:

terrified

horrified

worried

spooked

afraid

paranoid

anxious

aghast

hesitant

panicked / panicky

concerned

nervous

startled

petrified

scarred

traumatized

frightened

fearful

shocked

Phrases to Describe Crying

fighting back tears

holding back tears

glistening eyes

tears pooling

tears rolling down

tears streaming

tears dribbling

tears dripping

like rivulets

Facial Expressions and Actions of Crying

sobbing

whimpering

wracking

heaving

trembling

squeezing their eyes shut

shaking

hyperventilating

broken voice

runny nose (roughly 40% of tears go through our nasal passages and never reach our eyes)

silent tears are always so sad IMO

clenched teeth

scrunched face

cinched brow

trying to hold back the next sob

avoiding eye contact

Who else is stoked about Jason’s appearance in episode 6? Even though it was brief, I’m still hoping we get more of him as the season plays out. (Honestly, it would be weird if they just dangled such a tantalizing prospect in front of us without actually doing anything. Especially since Jason’s such a fan-favorite!)

But I was re-watching the previous seasons, and I stumbled on the episode ‘Satisfaction’ in s2. That’s the episode where the original Speedy finds out he’s been cloned and replaced, and has to come to terms with his mentor, his clone, and his desire for revenge against Lex Luthor. 

But throughout the whole thing, Roy’s anger just seemed…familiar. 

I can’t help but feel that, if the show’s creators decide to run with the Red Hood story line (and they’d be missing out on a golden opportunity if they didn’t), then we might just see some parallels between Speedy’s transition to Arsenal, and Jason’s to Red Hood.

For instance:

And the kicker:

Jason will regain his memories. He’ll confront Batman, his family, or something else, depending on which direction the show decides to take it. But whatever happens, there’s going to be a reckoning. 

Jason’s going to want to know why he was replaced, and how they could have left him with Ra’s for all that time without knowing. I suspect that he’ll be especially angry with Dick, since he’s the first one Jason was actually able to remember. And if he remembers that much, then he’ll remember that Dick took his new team with him and left Jason on Infinity Island.

The thing that’s interesting here is that Roy was cloned because the Light wanted an ‘in’ with the Team. Roy’s clone (now known as Will) was their mole. 

But with Jason, we can be sure that Ra’s is holding onto him for some reason, but we just don’t know what it is. I 100% know that Ra’s knows exactly who Jason really is, so we can probably rule out the whole ‘found a wandering zombie boy, took him in and raised him as a part of my killer ninja family’ idea. But that does beg the question. 

What does Ra’s want Jason for?

It can’t be for espionage purposes, like the Light used Roy for. Because, for one thing, they were banking on Green Arrow’s desperation in order to get their mole into place.

Somehow, I doubt that would work with Batman. Because, for obvious reasons, Bruce would be somewhat suspicious if his dead partner just showed up one day at his door. Not to mention that it’s Batman. The man probably questions his breakfast cereal in the morning, for crying out loud.

So Ra’s is taking a different approach. He’s going to use Jason to serve some other purpose, eventually, and it’s anyone’s guess at this point as to what that would be. 

But one way or another, Jason’s back, everyone! He’s back, and he’s going to start remembering things. And when he does, he’s going to be hurt, he’s going to be angry, and he’ll be dead set (pardon the pun) on getting either revenge, or satisfaction. 

Just like Roy did.

That’s right everyone. We have Arsenal. And now we have Jason. I don’t know if we’ll get Starfire, Artemis or Bizarro, but we already have 2/3 of Red Hood and the Outlaws. And if Roy took on his RHATO name, then I’d say it’s a pretty good bet that we’ll be seeing:

Damian:

Dick:

Barbara:

Jason:

Tim:

Cass:

Duke:

Steph: