#highladyluck

The way I knew part of the answer was going to be ‘I like deeply unreliable narrators’ 😂🥰

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

AMAZING. and that's a mood lol... the vagus nerve really has a lot to answer for given its contribution to the hyphen in the gut-brain axis

i'm mostly interested in this topic as it relates to the neuroscience of trauma, so lately i've been reading people arguing about whether or not polyvagal theory is bunk (probably). the theory builds on the foundation of the autonomic nervous system (which regulates involuntary processes like breathing and digestion) as split into the sympathetic (which activates our bodies and gets them ready for fight-or-flight type stuff) and parasympathetic (which calms our bodies down) nervous systems, with the vagus nerve being part of the latter.

but the psychologist/neuroscientist stephen porges further proposed that the parasympathetic nervous system is itself split into two more parts: one "more evolved" part associated with mammalian impulses to regulate ourselves through social connection, and one "less evolved" part that follows reptile and amphibian impulses to freeze when stressed. (he proposed this theory in 1994, but this paper from 2011 was fairly readable for me as a non-scientist.) this got people who study trauma (like my problematic fave bessel van der kolk) excited because a big issue with ptsd is overactivation of the autonomic nervous system--what if we could hack the vagus nerve and make it settle down just by making and nurturing social connections? unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence for the evolutionary or physiological mechanisms behind the theory (check out this review from 2023 roasting the whole concept). porges still has like, many books published by norton (one coming out this august) and plenty of influence in the field, though.

also, this definitely doesn't close the book on the vagus nerve as a potential site for trauma treatment--now it seems like vagus nerve stimulation is the hot new thing (either using an actual device to do this or through ~self-care stuff like meditating and splashing cold water on your face).

4: which of your fics deserved more attention than it got?

Oh boy. Probably The Musician. It's still probably one of my favorite pieces that I've ever written and I'm kinda sad it largely got passed over. I get it though: as it is quieter character study of a tier three character, rather then a big splashy shippy fic. Asmodean is one of those characters I've been thinking about non stop since I read him, and a great example of Jordan's ability to write pretty much everyone with humanity and depth. I've been asking the questions 'but WHY did he sever his mother?' and 'what REALLY happened between him and Lanfear that broke their friendship apart, and how did LTT feature into that'? and 'What really drove him to join the shadow, when he so clearly doesn't want to be on Team Evil?' for years now. The chance to try my hand answering those questions was delicious, and I'm still really happy with the outcome.

5: which of your fics deserved less attention than it got?

C ("Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead")

I was going to go with D because for the most part this is Not My Jam, especially on the fated rather than arranged side of things, BUT. There is an exception that I wish I saw more of and that I could absolutely be sold on, which is: fated or arranged marriage that doesn't end up as any kind of romantic relationship.

Like, I'm just not particularly interested in the 'and then they catch feelings' endgame that usually seems to play out with this trope? But one thing I will pretty much always be a fan of is two people who hate each other being forced into a situation where they have to not just interact but cooperate (grudgingly!) towards a common goal, and end up not falling in love but (still begrudgingly) coming to maybe respect one another a little bit. So like... enemies-to-colleagues-with-banter.

And I would definitely be down to read that kind of dynamic in a fated/arranged marriage situation. But as soon as it goes romantic I pretty much lose interest, when it comes to this trope.