Critique for Zephyr <33 - 1081 words

Ok let's get going!! Quick reminder these are just my suggestions, plus I'm going to focus on the things you can improve because this is a great poem with amazing amazing potential and I don't have enough time to tell you every good thing unfortunately xD
Also one more note I am reading this in order, so my critiques are from a first reading to give you the authentic reaction of a reader

I don't remember his face
gazing at me

I think maybe the first line could have a little more impact? Maybe a full stop might make the reader stop and really take that in, then want to figure out why.

you would think I'd remember
but no

I don't have an opinion on this, but something to consider - depending on where you want emphasis you could change ‘you would think I’d remember' to ‘you’d think I would remember'. Neither way is necessarily better than the other, but it changes the meaning subtly, which is always what you want to think about with poetry!
Honestly, I don't think you need that format for ‘but no’. I get it looks cool but personally I don't think it adds anything that couldn't be done with just full stops either side or an elipsis after. And maybe a stanza break before this line could be good?

The memories blur together and all I see
is blue
Thoughts shift back and forth
Like waves on an ocean
They blink clearly
What happened?

Quick note here that applies to the whole poem - I don't see very much punctuation other than the occasional question mark. Obviously you don't have to think about it quite as much with a poem as prose but you still do, and it can be used really effectively to add meaning or emphasis and also just to separate and distinguish the rhythm of what is a very lengthy poem.
For example, here, the spag confuses the meanings - all they see is blue? But without punctuation, it can also read ‘is blue thoughts shift’, which would also need to be ‘shifting’. So something here needs to be changed. Also generally decide whether you are capitalising lines or not, as there's a bit of variation. For this stanza, I'm not sure if it has the emotional depth that maybe it could have? Also I don't really get the similie, thoughts are like waves shifting, yes, but I feel like it doesnt work on it's own. Maybe they are (some suggestions off the top of my head) foaming with -insert emotion- like the aftermath of a posion, or the waves keep swilling just out of reach. The image switches up quite quickly to ‘they blinked clearly’. And then when you ask ‘what happened?’, ironically I was slightly asking myself the same thing about the metaphors. But it does leave that intrigue for the rest.

I wake up in that hospital bed
Tears drive down my face
Mama and Papa yell that I'm awake
Or am I?
The screams come back again
Why do I scream?
I don't remember anything anymore
Life flashes
Boom after boom after boom
I'm drifted away

Ok so is this the narrator being born?
Maybe a better verb than ‘drive’ because that feels a little jarring to me. Again, you need some punctuation everywhere!
To me, ‘boom after boom after boom’ doesn't make too much sense. I don't know what's going on really. Maybe that's the point, but if it's not, it does need to be a little clearer (context I'm an A level english lit student so I generally understand poems ahaha).

My thoughts linger around
A w a k e n
The nurses stare at me
Flashing lights in my eyes
I nearly scream
Mama and Papa have disappeared
They do not care again
The same as always
The same
The absolute SAME
They never did care
They will never be Mom
Or Dad
Foster parents don't deserve that recognition
But they try
or so that's what they think

I can walk again
The ground cool beneath my feet
Goosebumps go through me
I am sad
so I cry
Ants crawl on me
I STOMP
squish that ( BLEEP ) bug
I hate them
I fall
The nurses steal me back
Capture me into that cage
That room is haunting me

Again, ‘thoughts linger around awaken the nurses stare’ doesn't make sense. In a poem, the lines need to still be roughly like a sentence and make sense when you put them together. I don't think you need that spacing of awaken at all, it honestly does very little.
OOOhhh I like this bit about the parents, ok good plot point.
Ok so if you can walk you're not a baby… then why are you in the hospital… hoping this will be clear soon!
Again, the formatting isn't that necessarily. Also I don't know if the ant lines make sense in the context of this part of the poem. Whilst I do like them and that realistic humour, it's not really related?

Eugene decides to visit
Me
I missed him
Hand
in
Hand
I love him so much
He says to me
He cannot deal with this
Me in the hospital
Going off on my own
Me being me
Us being us
He doesn't hate me
He hates
U
S
Tears and tears fall
Seeing no eye to eye
Why would he say this?
I don't know

I think ‘me’ should be on the same line. Also read it aloud to yourself, it feels a little jumpy in places, like you're just going topic to topic or just random thoughts, ‘hand in hand’ doesn't follow on naturally. If you like your formatting, keep it, but it doesn't add emphasis.
Ok so this is very emotional but it feels very detached. From being first person it feels very clinical - as a reader I don't get the emotion. Obviously it doesn't want or need to be melodramatic and some crazy imagery, but something more might add.
I've worked out you're not being born now, oopsies. Is it just random times you've been in the hospital (when I say you, I mean the narrator)

A new person visits me
Today
Blonde hair
Blue eyes
Eyeliner
And smiles
Smiling at
me?
They ask me questions
If I remember anything
No
No
No?
They leave
just
like
everyone
I hate them

Why is this random just visiting… tad confused honestly. The description sounds a little childish, you can describe but in a deeper way that conveys some kind of emotional value, like, I don't know - perfectly winger eyeliner that must've taken hours, / hours I don't have. Just feels a little surface level at the moment.

Hospital support group
Its fine
Fine
Fine
FINE
A girl named Luna
A boy named Jasper
A person named Zinnia
And someone else
P
R
E
T
T
Y
She's named Lois
What does it mean?
L O I S
She has an eating disorder called anor ( BLEEP )
I like her already
Though she doesn't like herself
Florian
The one who left?
He's back
To lead this group
He's okay
Nice?
Kind of
But just okay
He cares he says
Repeat
Speak how we feel he tells us
So we do
Repeat
Respect each other
So we do
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
I drop

When I looked at this stanza, I don't personally like the whole thing being short or one word lines. For me it takes away the emphasis that a few of these can have, so it's best to vary line lengths, as with stanza lengths. With the ‘fine’ list, you could do something interesting with punctuation to add an emotional factor, like going ‘fine? / fine… / fine. / fine! / or something. If you wanted.
Honestly, putting ’pretty' like that only makes it harder to read. You can play with formatting every once in a while to really add emphasis, but very rarely otherwise it looks a little clumsy, in my opinion.
I do like the rest of this stanza though, just needs a few mid-line commas and maybe a couple less ‘repeats’ because my brain skipped over them once I'd seen there was more than 2.

Right this is getting pretty long so I'm going to skip over a few stanzas and give you any major pointers for now.

- Pretty sure Lois' eyes are brown at one point and blue at another?
- I love the ‘she wishes’ repitiion. Favourite bit of the poem so far, and first bit with a proper emotional punch. From here, I think the poem really improves maybe you don't need all the first bit of it? Such a long poem is hard to keep focus on anyway. Radical suggestion, but a suggestion nonetheless.
- ‘it was florian’ - have I missed something? On a first reading without looking back, I actually have no idea what he's done.
- the ‘she’ repition stanza is good, though maybe takes repition a bit too far? Some breakup from that would be good.
- ok dramatic turn of events! um I honestly don't know if this might be better thinking about it in prose? Just so it makes sense as a story in your mind, so it makes more sense to the reader as a poem?
- ‘cradles me’ sounds like a baby and therefore makes me confused
- ok it all makes sense in the final stanza, maybe a little too late?

Ok there's all, really enjoyed this poem, and just some things for you to think about!

✪ Daily Task 21: Bookstore Daily ⊹ ₊

In the kingdom of Corvus, troubling events unfold. The queen vanishes and is found days later, stabbed just beyond the borders, her killer’s weapon yet to be found. At her funeral, the king declares his intent to rule until death or until he grows too old, yet the day after, he abruptly announces his resignation, appearing like he was being held at gunpoint. When the coronation for his heir, Atlas Crow, happens the next day, Atlas is nowhere to be found. With the king stepping down and no heir in sight, the kingdom faces a dangerous question: who will be targeted next?
​
Iris Brook is determined to uncover the cause behind these events and prevent further harm.

» — ⋙ 118 words total ⋘ — «

Weekly 3

Part 1
327 words

One of my main reasons for procrastination is that something seems hard. Especially if I don’t know how to do it. Like, what do I write for this daily, or this essay? Ugh, I don’t know, I’ll deal with it later. Maybe if I put it off I’ll think of something. I’ll wait for inspiration to strike. I’ll wait till I feel like it. But I’ll never feel like it. I’ll never feel like doing a boring challenging task. So I wait until the last minute and then go, oh no I really need to do this now.
Another reason is just that starting things is hard. Even if its something I enjoy. Boring tasks are harder, but sometimes I’ll get distracted and end up not even doing something I enjoy, like reading. The internet is a death trap in that regard, a tar pit that you can easily get stuck in, scrolling through social media or messing around on random websites. My main offender lately has been Tumblr, but TV Tropes is terrible for this as well. And then after I scroll through awhile I can check messages on Scratch and other sites, and then oh, there might be new social media posts to look at… scroll, check, repeat.
But yeah, starting tasks can be very hard. And switching between tasks. It’s an executive function thing, I think. Some things are not so hard when I start them. But some are, like writing something I don’t know how to write, and sometimes I’ll stop in the middle of writing it and open some new tab on my computer and mess around. Again: the internet makes it very easy to procrastinate.
If I’m going to procrastinate, I’d rather at least do it productively, by like, doing some easier, more fun, less urgent task instead of the one I need to do. That would at least be better than scrolling, which is neither productive nor all that enjoyable.

Part 2
206 words

I tried exercising, listening to music, and rewarding myself. In between tasks I exercised by putting on some music and dancing to a couple songs, since after sitting for awhile I needed to stretch. The exercise provided a much-needed break, and afterwards I was more ready to continue with my work. I tried listening to some upbeat music while I worked, but while I enjoyed the songs, I found them too distracting. I had trouble thinking hard enough and writing while they were playing. I should try and find more instrumental music that I like that I can listen to instead; I can’t listen to anything with lyrics while I read or write. I could use it while doing other tasks like putting away laundry though, and I normally listen to it already while drawing. Finally, I rewarded myself after completing a task by playing Tetris and Willy the Worm on my computer. Having the reward helped motivate me to complete the task, but I was also tempted to just leave the task half-finished, call it good enough, and claim my reward quickly. In the future I think setting a clearer goal for what exactly I need to do before I get the reward would help.

Part 3
325 words

I tried the Eisenhower Matrix, and it didn’t work that well for me. First of all, I had trouble sorting the tasks into the categories. What qualifies as urgent? What about how some things are sort of urgent but some are more urgent than others? How do I figure out what’s “important” and “not important,” especially when they’re things I’m just doing for the sake of it? Like, I have a fanfic I want to write soon before the inspiration fades, but do I really need to get it done soon? And is it really important? This might get easier with practice. Maybe if I did it more, I would figure out better what urgent and important mean to me in this context.
Also, I didn’t like how the box titles didn’t always make sense, particularly the delegate one — it’s not like I can delegate the task of taking a bath. I also wasn’t a fan of the delete category — watching such-and-such TV show isn’t so unimportant that I should never do it. It just shouldn’t take priority over the other tasks… which I guess is kind of the point.
I also had trouble sticking to the matrix. Like, there was a task that seemed quick and easy, so even though it wasn’t urgent or even that important, I went ahead and did it first. It ended up taking longer than expected, so it wasn’t the ideal use of my time. This also might get easier with more practice and discipline. Also, it’s only been one day; maybe over the course of the next couple days, I will use it more to prioritize the tasks on it I haven’t completed yet. (Looking at you, edits on essay that’s due Monday…)
I think some form of this could be useful to me, sorting tasks by how urgent or important they are. But I think I need more practice with it for it to really be helpful.

Part 4
I spent an hour doing homework.

❝weekly 21❠
Lilia has always been a bit of an outsider in her small town by the ocean, but they're used to it. Vaer life, along with the lives of everyone else in vaer town, tends to follow similar patterns. The first time any significant change occurs, it is in the form of a mysterious monster appearing on the beach, and throws the entire town into a panic. Lee, like everyone else, is afraid of the monster, but somehow finds herself alone on the beach one day. That's when the monster approaches her. But it turns out that the monster is not actually a monster but is a fox named Yun who uses an ancient type of magic that many have forgotten about. Yun explains that the magic has been corrupted, which is why they appeared as a monster to Lilia. They ask vaer for help and offer to teach vaer their magic, and Lee agrees. However, when the two are investigating a possible source of the corruption, a tiger named Edison appears. He also uses the old magic, and its corruption causes him to view Lee and Yun as a threat, so he attacks them, killing Yun. The old magic, however, creates ties between people, requiring Edison to now dedicate his life to making things as right as possible between himself and those who were close to Yun. This includes picking up their teaching. Lilia, naturally, is NOT happy about this. The story is told through transcripts of audio interviews between Lee and Lizzy, the admissions administrator for a prestigious and selective school in the city of Verdigris where Edison works, investigating the events that led to Lilia's arrival at the school, as well as the ongoing work to discover the source of the corruption of the old magic.
❝298 words❠

──★ ˙ constellation daily
514 words … november 22

Have you ever looked up and been in awe of the night's beauty? Did you know that thousands of years ago, people relied on the very same stars we see for navigation, farming, and tracking of time? That's right - there are generations of stories stitched into our sky. For today's SWClassic daily, your job is to write 500 words relating to a constellation of your choice! A retelling of Orion's myth, or an imagining of how Leo the Lion would fare on Earth, let your imagination soar. You can earn 500 points for completion and an extra 100 points for sharing proof!

constellation chosen: lyra

Mother had always pressured me to practice the lyre. Partly because her deceased sister played it. She was also named Vega, which was the brightest star in the Lyra constellation.

I for one did not really care about the instrument. In fact, I dreaded those hour long practices. It gave a nice sound, sure, but I just did not feel like playing it. When I was younger, I was curious about it. But that novelty has faded long ago.

A sigh escapes my mouth, as Grandma sits in front of me. We visited her every weekend, and we had grown close. She was the only one who knew about my true feelings to the string instrument I was supposed to love. She let me tell her all of my problems, and I could go on and on about how I did not want to play the lyre.

Eventually, she spoke up. “You know that Orphesus played the lyre. The one that is painted in the sky.” I nod. That tale has been told to me so many times by Mother.

“You have heard that he used the instrument to charm creatures and objects,” I nod again, following along. “But what they didn't tell you is that he played from the heart.” She leaned over, putting my hand on my heart.

I was confused, what was the difference between how I was playing and “playing from the heart”?

“When you play,” she continued, “you just see the lyre as a noise maker. It is not just that, but also a form of expression. You have to pour out your emotions for it to be properly used.” She explained.

When I went home, I picked up the lyre. This was the first time I would be practicing because I actually wanted to. Heading outside, I sit down on the ground. The cool blades of grass prickling me, and a gentle breeze floats by.

I pick up the instrument and adjust it. Closing my eyes, I think of all that has been happening. What I feel. I feel like I don't want to play the lyre because of the pressure from Mother. I decide to play about that, and I snicker from the irony.

I pluck the strings, a gentle tune filling the air. I feel a warm presence embracing me, although there is nothing really there. I sway gently, and hear the sound of an animal approaching me. I let out a soft chuckle, remembering the story of Orphesus, and how he charmed animals.

Instead of thinking about how long I have to practice for, I think of the present. How the notes change based on my emotions. I play a song that I normally play, and yet it sounds enhanced. It sounds like there is something in it, rather than just a noise. Is this the feeling I was supposed to sense all this time?

When I finish, I look up to the sky. There it is. The lyra constellation, looking right down at me. I smile, as I close my eyes to continue playing.

- I really don’t like the teacher (but I like the subject because I don’t do the dreaded English Lit and Lang and RS and Philosophy and Modern Foreign Languages anymore) and any work they set is just a pain to get through

- The teacher set me a lot of work and I don’t want to deal with it right now

- The deadline is not tomorrow or the deadline feels like a fake deadline to me and I’m not stressed about it enough

- I’m doing something else my brain thinks is more important than my schoolwork (coughs researching universities and courses and having a career crisis coughs)

- The task is really mundane

- The task seems so long and I just can’t bring myself to start it because it’s a huge mountain (#1 reason why Skylar did not EPQ)

- My mother or my father just told me to do it and now I really don’t want to do it because I was going to do it and now I have no motivation to do it. Or they’re just nagging me and I’d like control of my own life back

- My desk is too messy and I can’t put my books on it

- I genuinely cannot concentrate in my study because it is bringing me back some bad memories of crying over my grades in there and telling myself I’m not good enough

- My brain keeps on going back to memories that I’d rather leave behind and I don’t know why I have remembered them and it’s distracting me like crazy and I can’t focus

- I’m too stressed and it’s just shutting me down

- I cannot focus ANYWHERE in the house and I don’t want to use the downstairs kitchen

- Every time I sit down to work I remember the pressures of my A Levels and also pressures from myself to be a straight A student and then I remember my teachers and other people telling me that “you probably won’t get more than a B” and feeling absolutely crushed and wanting to go cry in the corner

- I’ve just had a bit of a mental breakdown or other sort of crying session/feeling generally uncomfortable with myself as I am now and I don’t feel like I’m in a state to work because all I want to do is hide under the covers

- The music I’m listening to is Not The Right Vibe

- I need to print out practice questions and it’s Too Much Effort to go downstairs and print them

- I missed the time I blocked out to do my work

- I want to write

- It’s really late and I don’t feel like staying up late working

- I haven’t had my tea yet





Listening to Music
I chose to pick listening to music as one of the techniques I do fairly often but I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about what sort of music makes me focus and what sort of music doesn’t make me focus. I decided to spend my time studying for my physics test doing this technique and I picked out a few different types of music for about half an hour each!

Session 1 - The first session I picked I decided to use as a control! I chose to listen to my regular vibe of Japanese music, consisting mainly of Project Sekai and AKB48. I chose a specific section in my playlist that included the songs Sakura no Hanabiratachi, Yume e no Route, Yume e no Process, Yuirii, Sayonara no Imi, Kimi no Na wa Kibou, Integral, Gunjou Sanka Movie Ver, and Yoka ni Mitorette, songs that I knew I could study well to.

I managed to get through about ten minutes before distracting myself with the idea that “I should listen to The Big Bang Theory Theme!” Because I was studying for my physics test. I managed to make it through half an hour with one and a half questions complete.

Session 2 - I decided to try listening to some on theme music for my second session which went really well but I kept getting distracted by my hiccups so that was an annoying problem. I put on The Big Bang Theory theme and managed to get through two questions! Which is a lot more than last time - I’m about halfway through this pack of past paper questions and will probably move on to some AQA ones soon because that spec is harder than the one I do ahaha.

Session 3 - I chose to listen to some instrumental music this time around! I think it helped, but I did choose to listen to more electro pop-type beats. Also it was 10pm and I was very tired and I was not about to stay up past midnight so I was losing focus at this point during the study session. Nevertheless, I told myself I had to keep going until 22:45 (because I spent a while of this session procrastinating) and then I could go to my room and wind down by writing.

Overall, I think listening to music helps me when I’m studying because it helps block out some of the stray thoughts I might have that come and distract me, but sometimes finding the right music can be hard so I just stick to my usual taste of AKB48, Nogizaka46, Project SEKAI, and other related pieces of music.

Make Goals
For my study sessions on Wednesday I decided to set myself some goals during the session! For my free period, I decided to complete my schoolwork then so I could use the time at home to revise. I set myself the goal of completing my biology practical write up and my physics homework which was due in on Friday. If I finished them, I also planned to do some maths revision.

I started the day off with an unexpected free period as my lesson was cancelled, so I started the session with the aim of finishing some chemistry homework on buffers. I thought it went very well, but because the session was an hour and fifteen minute in total, I did end up taking more breaks than anticipated (even though I knew the work would take me a while!!) and I failed to reach my goal.

I think setting goals was really helpful for me when I was doing work, even though I tended to get a bit distracted. It helped me reach a certain thing at the end of the session and I could always move around my studying if that goal wasn’t met.

Rewarding Myself
On Friday, I decided to try rewarding myself after each study session with time on my phone, etc. I thought this was somewhat helpful, but it didn’t help me as much as setting goals for a study session.





I chose to do time blocking for my part of the weekly! I decided to try two different types of time blocking to see which one worked best for me. On Tuesday, I organised my day into half hour blocks like this:

17:00 - 17:30 Chemistry Homework - Buffers
17:30 - 18:00 Physics Homework, electrostatics
18:00 - 18:30 Proseka + Action Pfps
18:30 - 19:00 Chemistry Homework
19:00 - 19:30 Dinner
19:30 - 20:00 Break (Action Pfps/SWC Daily)
20:00 - 20:30 Print out and do Organic Chemistry practice questions
20:30 - 21:00 SWC Daily + Action Pfps
21:00 - 21:30 Chemistry Homework
21:30 - 22:00 Chemistry Revision
22:00 - 22:30 Make tomorrow’s schedule

I made sure to mix in some fun stuff for my breaks such as working on Action pfps while also working on my studies and ensuring that I was studying effectively.

The half hour time blocking didn’t go as well as I though though, since I first got home at 16:54 - I underestimated the time it takes for me to get home since I normally spend some time after clubs talking to friends and there were also roadworks, which hindered my ability to get home for a 15 minute break. Then, my mother also came home early and I find it really difficult to focus if she’s in the house so I struggled to lock in when I first got back for my next session at 17:30. I got some of my physics homework done, but it felt like a lot and I felt that I couldn’t concentrate so I took a half hour break to do whatever before coming back to work.

I found that this method of half hour time blocks with very little breaks was frustrating for me as it wasn’t long enough that I would be able to lock in without getting distracted and it also led to me underestimating the time I’d spend on a task - for example, I only gave myself one slot to do my physics homework but it took me about an hour.

I then did my schedule for Wednesday, trying to work in 45 minute blocks (with 15 minute to half hour breaks) with the exception of my afternoon free period which was an hour and fifteen minutes of work!

14:10 - 15:30 Biology Practical Write Up and Physics Homework
17:00 - 17:30 Break - Proseka
17:30 - 18:15 Chemistry Past Questions (Organic)
18:15 - 18:30 Break
18:30 - 19:00 Past Maths Paper (Pure and Mechanics)
22:00 - 22:45 Past Maths Paper (Pure and Mechanics)

I failed once again at this timetable, and found out that time blocking is not very effective for me because I really struggle disciplining myself and also because I get distracted by stray assignments on Google classroom which I need to finish. I also found that my parents are extremely unpredictable and when they come and nag me, I get extremely annoyed and I just can’t concentrate anymore. And sometimes the place I’m working in I just can’t focus in because it carries with it a lot of bad memories and I just need to not be working in that environment for a time.

I tried time blocking once again using the calendar app on my phone! I thought this was an incredibly useful thing and so far I’ve been able to keep myself disciplined as it sends me reminders five minutes before I need to start studying and when I need to start studying. I can also adjust my day so I can be flexible with myself and block out time I should spend having a break/working on SWC, and so on. I also found out that 45 minute work sessions works really well for me, or a 1 hour work session, 15 minute break, and 45 minutes of work.





I spent an hour locking in on studying for my chemistry test! I got minorly distracted partway through but other than that it went pretty well! I have a much better understanding of Fridel-Crafts Acylation and Fridel-Crafts Alkylation as well as some of the Carboxylic Acids topic we just did in chemistry!

Daily 22, 871 words and all the constellations I could find/think of!!
“There are two of us,” Hydrus declared. “So we can produce heirs!”
“But I’m the prettiest,” argued Casseiopia. “I won’t have any trouble finding a spouse.”
“Hmmph,” grumbled Orion. “I’m the strongest. I can make the sky powerful, unlike you two.”
It seemed Lyra had walked in on yet another argument between the constellations.
“What is it this time?” she sighed.
“We decided that the sky needs to revolt,” Hydra announced. “The Olympians don’t treat us as equals; we can’t be a part of something where are value isn’t seen. But now we need to figure out who’s going to rule our new kingdom.”
Lyra thought this was a pretty silly way of deciding, but said nothing. Just let Ganymede and Orion and Leo and Hydrus and Hydra and Casseiopia argue like always. Meanwhile, she made a plan.
“I serve the gods,” Ganymedes said. “I know the most about leadership.”
Casseiopia scoffed. “You know nothing. I was a queen.”
“A queen who made the gods angry and ended up almost sacrificing your daughter,” Leo reminded her. “Besides! We all know I’m the most charming of the bunch. And the most intimidating.”
Leo flashed his perfect smile and shook his mane, earning him a glare from everyone in the room.
“Everyone hates you, Leo,” Hydra said dismissively. “I am the smartest; I have fifty heads, after all!”
The constellations argued and argued and argued.
Lyra just smiled.
“Why don’t we take a vote? You can’t vote for yourself, and whoever gets the most votes gets the crown,” she offered.
The other constellations just looked at her and stared. Lyra rarely spoke up, and when she did she never risked doing it during an argument.
They looked at each other and shrugged.
“It could work,” said Ganymedes.
“It could,” agreed Casseiopia.
“Maybe we should do it,” nodded Hydrus slowly.
“Someone get me some papyrus and a ballot box,” Hydra thundered.
Lyra was slightly shocked that it had worked, but didn’t let on, in case it would make the others start to doubt in the idea.
Hydrus hurried off to do Hydra’s bidding.
Hydra smiled triumphantly and settled into a chair.
“I think we all know who’s going to win this,” she said smugly.
“What makes you so sure?” challenged Leo.
“It just makes sense,” Hydra shrugged.
“No, it doesn’t,” harrumphed Orion.
Luckily, Hydrus came back with the papyrus and box before they started to get really mad.
“Okay,” Casseiopia said. “What now?”
“Everyone close your eyes,” Lyra suggested. “And write down the name of the person you think should rule.”
All the constellations nodded and started writing.
After a few minutes, it seemed like everyone had finished, so Lyra clapped her hands to get their attention.
“Now fold your papyrus and put it in the box,” she said.
The constellations filed in a line and did so.
Once everyone had finished, they sat back down and smiled arrogantly, sure of their success.
Lyra allowed herself a tiny smirk and sat down next to the box.
“Aren’t you going to open it?” asked Ganymedes. “Tell us the names!”
“I thought you all would like to wait a bit and come to terms with what might happen,” Lyra said innocently.
All six of them glared at her.
“Fine, fine,” she sighed. “I’ll do it.”
Lyra reached her hand into the box and carefully pulled out a slip.
She unfolded it.
“Lyra,” she announced.
The constellations did nothing.
Lyra pulled out another slip.
“Lyra again,” she said, letting herself smile a bit more.
The constellations furrowed their brows.
Lyra pulled out another slip.
“Lyra yet another time,” she announced.
The constellations bugged their eyes.
Lyra pulled out another slip.
“Aaaand.. Lyra once more!” she announced.
The constellations reeled back their heads.
Lyra pulled out another slip.
“Lyra!” she announced.
The constellations gaped.
“And last but certainly not least,” she winked. “LYRA!”
The constellations all stood up at once.
“How?”
“What?”
“Why?
“There must be some mistake!”
The constellations protested and protested.
Lyra let herself smile a tad more.
“There’s only one way to settle this,” she said.
She walked over to Leo.
“Did you write my name down?” she asked.
“Well. . . yes,” Leo admitted.
“Did you?” she asked Casseiopia.
“Yes,” Casseiopia said, her chin up.
She asked each constellation, and each gave the same reluctant ‘yes’.
The constellations looked at each other and confusion.
Lyra just leaned back and smiled a bit more.
Orion slowly turned his head to look at her.
“Lyra,” he said slowly. “What did you do?”
Lyra smiled a little more.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just suggested something. You all seemed to agree with it well enough.”
The rest of the constellations gave her dubious looks.
“Fine,” she relented. “I did have a plan.”
The rest of the constellations glared at her,
Lyra just threw her head back laughing.
“It was nothing,” she snickered. “You all are just too easy to trick. I knew that if any of you were forced not to vote for yourselves, you wouldn’t want to help anyone else. So you would vote for the one person who definitely wasn’t going to win. What you knuckleheads didn’t realize is that every single other constellation was thinking the exact same thing.”

No Man’s Land
1987 words



I leant my head against the sodden walls of the trenches, icy rain lashing at my face. Bullets whistled overhead, distant thuds echoed through the air. Tears stung in my eyes. It was Christmas. I should be home right now, exchanging presents with my wife, my children. I tried to wave the thought away as I swallowed a lump in my throat. Any thought of my family felt like an iron hand clenching around my heart.

My ringing in my ears grew to a crescendo of exploding shells and clashing bayonets. I took a shaky breath in and hugged my arms around my chest, in a desperate attempt to prevent the numbness bleeding through me. And then…





Silence.



The sort of silence that feels deafening. Not a single sound could be heard. Not the fervent whispering of soldiers, not the terrified shouts from the battlefield, not even the scuffling of rats. A few of the men surrounding me were starting to glance cautiously over the top of the trenches. A strange sort of confusion started to drown out the pain and grief I had felt mere moments ago - a desperate spark of hope lit me up. Was it finished? In time for Christmas? Maybe I would go home and eat mince pies with my children, and put carrots out for Santa’s reindeer.

I hauled myself up the dripping walls of the trenches. Soldiers stood silently, facing each other, nervous smiles glowing on their faces. The battlefield was still the same dismal, grey place. But against it all, you could feel the anticipating buzzing in the bitter December air.

A sweet, lustrous sound began to fill the air. Something I hadn’t heard for so long. Singing. It started off quietly, only a few people, in a language that I recognised but didn’t know. German. They were singing. The music began to intensify, voices building layers of harmony. I could feel myself joining along to the familiar tune of the carol ‘Silent Night.’ It was… magical. After all these gruelling months of fighting, shivering at night in the fear of your looming death, watching your friends keel over in front of you, watching their eyes glaze over, we were coming together through a worldly celebration.
A flicker of warmth ignited in me as the song spread through the English trenches, as I saw the men beside me lift their heads, close their eyes in the peaceful bliss of the mellow melodies.
For the next few hours, we all just stood there and sang, until the final hymn grew softer and softer until it ebbed away. A few minutes of that same crushing silence followed before ripples of excited chatter drifted through the air.

I glanced at a few of the men who were stood around me, clustered in small groups. I tentatively made my across to some of them, picking my way around snoring soldiers and scurrying rats that nibbled at my frayed uniform. They nodded at me as I joined their little group.
“Hello, Tom,” one of them sighed. One of my only friends left here - David. “That was… beautiful. But I’m so-” His voice cracked with fear. “I’m so scared. It’s like we’ve been gifted with false hope, but it’s all being shadowed by the knowledge that it’s going to end, all too soon.”
I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, trying to hold back my own pain. I had to stay strong. I smiled weakly at him.
“Do you want to go up and see what’s going on? In No Man’s Land?”
He nodded at me.
“Ok.”

No Man’s Land. Lulls you into a false sense of security, lies to you, comforts you. A place that belongs to no one. A place that belongs to everyone. A place that belongs to itself.

I hauled myself up the ladders that lined the trenches. The battlefield was cloaked in darkness and the sky was glittering with a cacophony of stars. I winced at the shadowed sight of bodies. I tried to force my gaze away from them, but I was completely fixated on the glassy eyes that would never see the sky again, on the trails of crimson that adorned my boots.

I squinted into the distance. Dark figures slowly became more detailed as we approached closer and closer, until I recognised the faces of people who have been torn away from their families and watched their own friends die right before their eyes. I could see myself mirrored in each of them, the steely mask that they covered their biting agony.

My eyes roamed around them. They were all huddled together, whispering to each other quickly. Some of them had furrowed brows, drawn together in confusion, but some of them had anxious smiles on their faces and elated voices.
I noticed a soldier who was curled up on the battlefield, clutching the hand of who was presumably once his friend. His grief carved lines in his face, which was pale and ghostly. I looked back at David before I started making my way over to the man.

He clawed at his face and let out a raw, unearthly scream.
“Why?” He asked, his voice harsh and broken. “Why?”
I couldn’t bear to watch the torment darken his face anymore. I rushed over and tore his hands away from his cheeks, which were now peppered with scarlet blood. He jumped away from me and looked me up and down, and began backing away, his eyes widening in terror.
“Du bist Englisch!” He cried at me. “Du bist böse!”
I shook my head at him.
“No, no, I want to help.”
He simply backed further away and stared at me intently, as though trying to understand me. He then let out a deep, pained sigh and collapsed onto the ground in resignation.
“Dann töte mich.”
His voice was devoid of any hint of hope, joy, life. It was… empty.

I looked at him, then at his friend whose sandy hair was splayed around his face, his skin eerily white. He gazed blankly upwards towards the inky dark sky.
I wrapped my arms around my chest as my body shivered in the bitter night air. I didn’t know what to say or what to do. We just stood there anxiously, our gazes flitting around cautiously.

I rummaged around in my pockets and my fingers caught on a crumpled wrapper. A small smile quirked at my lips as I pulled out a cracked bar of chocolate. My parents sent me one every week. It was a tiny burst of sweetness and joy amongst the darkness. I broke a row off and offered it to the soldier.
He glanced up and saw the melted chocolate in my hands. He grinned and took it gratefully from me, nibbling off a corner. I then broke off a chunk for myself, closing my eyes as the rare thick sweetness flooded my mouth.
“Danke. Danke.” He thanked me, clasping my hands in his. “Ich bin Karl.
I shook his hand. “I’m Tom.”

As I was swallowing my last treasured piece of chocolate, I heard an echoing cheer rise up from behind me. I nudged Karl and nodded my head in that direction. Both the Germans and English had organised a football match. The game had just begun, and a frozen football was being hurled around a pitch formed of pieces of debris. Joy flooded through me. I caught Karl by the arm and dragged him over towards the pitch, laughing as we stumbled over the hard frozen ground of No Man’s Land. I spread my coat over the ground and patted the spot beside me.

I melted onto the ground, my body relaxing as the coat cushioned my weight. Karl lowered himself down slowly, and I heard a small sigh of contentment escape his lips. I handed him another piece of chocolate and we began to watch the game. The soldiers’ pained, grief-stricken faces were starting to mellow into expressions of nervous happiness. Maybe the next few months wouldn’t be so bad, after all? Maybe the war had finally stopped. Maybe I would be able to go home for Christmas.

No Man’s Land. A warm shoulder to lean on. A place of peace. A place where people can come together. A place where nothing and everything matters.

Pale winter light flooded into my vision. I blinked sleep out of my eyes.
“Karl?” I croaked.
“Tom.” Came the thickly accented reply.
It was the morning. Soldiers, German and English, were either sleeping peacefully on the ground or clustered in small groups, chatting quietly. An unfamiliar sense of peace hung in the air. The ghostly, white sun painted streaks of gold and pale pink across the clouded sky.

People were beginning to rouse, and a cacophony of voices began to fill the space. Those same daggers of fear were beginning to pierce through the warm cloak of safety that had been draped over my shoulders over the past day. It was going to be over. Maybe in a few hours. Maybe in a few minutes.

I wrapped my arms around Karl. I remember snippets of chatter between us, moments when we leaned on each other’s shoulders, when we laughed together over the course of the night. I felt like I had gained a true friend within less than a day. And I couldn’t bear to lose him.

That was when I heard the first gunshot. It shook the ground, and immediately a tense silence fell over us. Karl sprang to his feet, his frail body immediately shrinking in fear, his legs trembling, like when I first met him. I could feel my own body shaking, and I sucked in a wobbling breath. Then there was another. And another. The Christmas Truce was over.

A strangled cry startled the silence. Karl.

I turned around, my heart thundering in my chest. I stumbled backwards.
Karl was lying motionless where he was standing just a moment ago. I rushed to his side and pressed a hand to his cheek. Already cold. I let out a raw scream. He was gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye. The grief was immediately drowning me in a bottomless ocean. I couldn’t carry on any more. Karl was dead.

Dead.

“Karl.” I murmured. “Why did you have to go?”
I smoothed his hair around his sunken face, gently closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. I reached into my pocket and took out the chocolate. I nudged a piece into his icy hands, and put the rest in his coat pocket.
“Good luck.” I whispered. “I’ll see you soon.”
I turned my back on him, forcing myself not to look back. I couldn’t. It would break me. I was already broken.

Then I felt the bullet whistling towards me in the air. I didn’t even have time to react. I felt it lodging deep into my back. I felt my legs buckling, my body crumpling to the floor. I crawled desperately towards Karl, my muscles already beginning to shut down, not responding. I clawed at Karl’s coat and dragged myself next to him and took his hand. I looked up at the sky. The sun was escaping behind the threatening clouds, as though it knew I was dying. I smiled. I could finally get free of this prison, this hellhole.

My last thought was of my family, my wife’s round, grinning face lulling me to sleep, my children laughing and skipping in our garden. Then the darkness began to embrace me, its cold fingers dragging me away from the world. I accepted it and settled into its chilling caress and let myself be swallowed by the darkness.

No Man’s Land. In the end it was a haven for exhausted soldiers, but it became a battlefield all too soon. A place of friendships. A place of deaths. A place of war.

Weekly 3
1170 words

Part 1

My biggest obstacle for completing tasks is probably the exact same as everybody else - it’s too boring. If the task was fun - like doing some gardening maybe - then I would be happy to do it, and actually enjoy it. Most of the time I enjoy doing SWC tasks, like the dailies and weeklies - particularly last week’s weekly which I completed easily in a single day as I was having so much fun with it. But if the task is something boring like cleaning your room, or even worse, cleaning the bathroom, or maybe doing some homework or forcing yourself to go out for a run in the icy rain when it’s only 2 degrees outside, you’re going to try and put it off.
I would much rather be reading a book (I always would be, to be honest) or maybe doing some crochet or playing my flute. I’m actually not a terrible procrastinator, apart from when it comes to SWC, actually. Most other things I get on with very easily, as they’re usually in real life, but there’s something about SWC being online that just makes it harder to get around to. Not the dailies, and the weeklies I complete every Saturday within one day usually, but the writing competition is my worst procrastinated task. They’re due tomorrow and I haven’t even started on one of them and the other I’m only half way through, and I need to put them in for critiques. Tomorrow I’m busy all day long, so I’ll have to wake up early if I want to get them finished and shared on Scratch in time for the deadline, which means I’m going to have to write about 5,000 words today with the weekly and the writing competition. I usually just pretend the writing competition just doesn’t exist until a few days before the deadline, and then I start stressing about the deadline. I wish that I had looked at the deadline earlier! I’m planning to complete my entries for the last part of the weekly. Actually I just saw the the deadline has been changed to the 26th, so I’ve got much more time than I expected, which is great!

ANd some tasks, I’m just too scared to start. They seem quite daunting and I’m afraid to start them in case anything goes wrong, especially if I’ve got a big school project to complete, that can be particularly nerve wracking. Some tasks can also be quite confusing - I’ve had my fair share of badly worded tasks set on Classroom from my teachers, with many of them just labelled ‘homework’ and a link to some random website.

Part 2

Three habits:

I set goals to complete the weekly by 4:00 so that I could get started on my writing competition entries
I went out for a walk with my friend for a while, which was both exercising and socialising
I tried to stay hydrated throughout the day, as I often struggle with staying hydrated, particularly at home when I’m not carrying a bottle around with me, so I decided to have a sip of water (or more!) every 30 minutes to an hour.

I didn’t actually complete the first goal as I actually arrived back at about 4:00 and I was mainly focused on completing my first writing competition draft which I spent a lot longer than I expected on, but I’m glad I did it well. I’m now completing the weekly, then I’m going to have a break before starting my next entry.
I went out for a lovely walk for an hour with my friend and we went to town and I dragged them to the bookshop again which was super fun! It was raining quite a lot and it was very cold so it was actually quite refreshing to be away from the house.
Surprisingly I actually succeeded with my goal of staying hydrated - I’ve had plenty of little drinks throughout the day and it made me feel a lot better and in a weird way productive, as I have been trying to drink more water but not doing that well with it!

Part 3

I haven’t actually begun doing my tasks yet - those I will do once I’ve written this - but I have chosen my time management technique. At first I thought of doing time blocking, but I’ve tried this before, and to be honest, it doesn’t really work. Usually, I just create to-do lists and tick them off how and when I can, but for this weekly I wanted to try something different, so I decided to go with the Pomodoro technique.


First, I’m going to put my phone away in my bedroom, and sit down in front of my fire in my living room with my laptop, and close all of my other tabs, so that I don’t want to watch a particular Youtuber’s latest video - scrolling isn’t a problem for me as I’ve managed to stop my addiction to scrolling, and I actually only watch long videos on Youtube, and often they’re quite educational - I love watching TEDed and Kurzgesagt (if you watch the second one then you’re my best friend.)
My tasks that I need to complete today are the weekly and my writing competition entries, so I’m planning to use this weekly to do my writing competition entries as if I do then I can’t do one without the other, so I’ll be forced to do both. I estimate that my writing competition entries will each take up to an hour, so I’m going to start completing the one that I’ve already begun after this and then have a break to go out with my friend (one of the task for the previous part) and then begin the other one, take another break and complete it. After I’ve done this, I would like to complete the weekly by writing about my productivity! If there’s extra time then I would like to clean my flute and do a bit of practice as well - maybe I’ll do this in my break, as I don’t see cleaning or playing my flute as a chore, as when I’m cleaning my flute I usually watch Youtube and when I’m playing I have a great time. I’m going to watch Traitors whilst carrying out the first part of my tasks to complete - I know that’s supposed to be a distraction, but I actually enjoy it more if I get to simultaneously watch and write and the same time, and I’ve gotten into a routine of watching Traitors whilst doing the daily, so now I’m used to it I actually complete it better and faster.

Yep, I’m finished with my first writing comp entry, and I’ve done quite well carrying out the Pomodoro technique, I think!

Part 4

I’m going to focus on cleaning my flute in preparation for a full day of music rehearsals, and starting my fanfiction writing entry, which I’m super excited to begin!

!! This is an expansion of a scene in Episode 8 of the Event Story Our Constellation of Song. If you do not want spoilers for Leo/need’s story for Project Sekai, then I suggest that you click off this post! The spoilers aren’t major, but it would be best advised if you are a person who doesn’t like spoilers. Many of the character’s lines are not written by me but taken directly from the story itself. !!



“Oh, since we’re here… that place should actually be pretty close by.” Honami called out to her bandmates as they walked home from their Thank You show.

“What place?” Saki replied, confused for a moment until she remembered. “Oh! Right! Nice catch, Hona!”

Ichika, Saki, Honami, and Shiho walked to the park, smiling from their last show… from being able to be with each other again. They made it to the park, and all looked up at the sky, watching the meteors streak through the constellation of Perseus and into the sky beyond. It was as if the Pegasus itself was carrying their wishes, their dreams, and their feelings, into the night sky.

It had been a long time since they last watched a meteor shower together - not since the Leonids they watched when they were young. Before Saki got sick. Before they got separated.

“Oh, there’s another one!” Ichika called as she spotted another meteor fly past.

“I had a feeling this park would give us the best view,” Honami said.

“They really are beautiful,” Shiho remarked, as more meteors began appearing across the sky.

“Yeah…” Ichika said, trailing off into silence.

They stood like that for a moment, before Saki spoke. “Oh, hehe…” she laughed lightly, “my wish came true…”

Saki was in hospital, sitting on her bed and watching the rainy sky clear into something beautiful. She smiled sadly as she watched the first star of the night appear. If only she weren’t in hospital and Ichika, Honami, and Shiho were here…

She missed them so much. Being stuck in the hospital with nothing to do. Missing out on her Junior High life, not knowing when she'll be better and she could be discharged. And yet, there it was. Stella after the rain…

Shiho smiled. “Yeah. Hanging out, talking, and seeing a meteor shower on our way home…”

There was a time that Shiho thought they would never be together again. Here she was, walking through the school hallways acting completely cold for Ichika and Honami’s sake. She didn’t think that they’d ever end up reconciling, and yet…

“You said you wanted us to be like this forever,” Honami said. Saki was in complete awe at this point.

Honami remembered when she sat on the climbing frame with the others. They were walking back from their very first band practice, and the future seemed bright as ever.

“I want us to be like this forever!” Saki had declared so happily as the four of them watched the Leonids together.

Honami didn’t think it would ever happen again after she pushed Ichika away…

“Yeah,” Saki smiled, remembering that time too. “And I also wished for this the day before I was given the okay to go back to school. I really wanted us to see a meteor shower like this again some day.”

And they did. Here they were, together as they should be, watching the Perseids streak through the sky.

“I’m really glad that my wish came true…”

“Saki…”

Ichika’s attention was diverted from her friend as she spotted yet another shooting star. “Oh, there’s another one…”

Just then, an idea came into Ichika’s mind. “Why don’t we make the same wish again? For all of us to stay together for good.”

Ichika remembered when her friends pushed her away. Saki was still in the hospital, unable to bring everyone together. She really was the glue of the whole group. Without her, Ichika watched as Honami and Shiho told her to stay away, and ignored her every time they spoke.

Saki’s wish of them staying together forever seemed so far away. It seemed like it would never come true, not with the distance between herself, Honami, and Shiho. How had it come to this? Ichika wondered, as she spent yet another lunchtime by herself. If only Saki were here…

“Oh… yeah!” Saki smiled once more. She gazed up at the stars, at the constellation of Pegasus, and watched the meteors fly by. She pleaded, earnestly, from the bottom of her heart. “The four of us. Together. Forever and ever! So we get to see lots more meteor showers like this! Please make it come true!”

That dream had never seemed closer.

Their starry sky, leading to their future. A bright future.

✪ Daily Task 22: Constellation Daily ⊹ ₊

(Note: This is my third time using my characters Theo and Zoe. I love them so much and I was going to try and do them justice this time. I am also going to use this daily to see how much I’ve improved from November 2024 to March 2025 and then to today. WARNING: November 2024's writing kinda sucked and March 2025's was a tiny bit better. FUN FACT: I like to switch between Zoe and Theo for who’s narrating so today I shall be using Zoe POV) Quick thank-you to SWC for showing me how to improve not only as a writer but as a human being.)

It had been a long day. I had decided to work overtime at the restaurant to earn some more money for college savings. Of course, I don’t have to, I’m only 15 and I can’t even drive yet. Zoe, how are you heading home then? My mom had picked me up on her way home from the hospital that she works at as a pediatric nurse practitioner.

“You’re awfully quiet, sweetheart. How was your day?” Mom asked, trying to get me to say something.

“I’m fine,” I say as usual. “Fine” was often a way for me to say “I don’t want to talk about it.” My mom clearly knew that because she went back to humming along with the radio which was playing a song way more upbeat than either of us actually felt. Mom had obviously had a rough day too and was trying to put up a front. I could tell by the way her eyes drooped and she stifled a yawn. We both needed rest.

…

We got home and Mom was the first to get out of the car while I sat there for a minute and continued to scroll on my phone. I told her I’d get out in a few minutes because I was too tired to get up right now.

I watched her walk to the front door, pull out her key, and then pause for a few minutes. Huh… What was wrong? She walked back over to me with a piece of paper in hand and motioned to me to roll down the window. When I did, she slipped the paper in through there with a knowing smile and headed back towards the front door.

The light from my phone gave me just enough light to see the words and before I even read the letter, I recognized the handwriting. It was Theo’s hieroglyphic penmanship that I have grown so used to reading over the years. Theo was the neighbor's sixteen-year-old son and my childhood best friend whom I still are friends with to this day. The letter read:

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Dearest Zoe,

I require thine assistance. Meet me at our hill as fast as your chariot will take you. Don’t make me wait too long.

Totus tuus, Theo
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Yep. Definitely Theo.
That made me turn my phone off and unbuckle my seatbelt. Why couldn’t he just text? Probably just being extra or he lost his phone again. I swung open the car door, stepped out, and shut it behind me as I trudged off, phone in pocket and paper in hand to our stargazing spot.

“Totus tuus” What did he mean by that? He usually just signed off with a classic “Sincerely, Theo” and left it at that but today I got a “Totus tuus, Theo.” Always and forever. That’s what that meant, right? It probably didn’t matter. He probably didn’t mean it like that.

…

Our stargazing hill finally comes into vision. It’s a small hill with an old oak on top, swaying in the gentle summer breeze. The hill was speckled with flowers at this time of year and it was beautiful. I started up the hill, avoiding stepping on blooms while my weary eyes relaxed in the presence of all the natural scenery and ethereal beauty. Once I get to the top, I see him. Theo. His tousled brown hair, his green eyes that twinkled in the starlight, and his peaceful smile. He was laying in the grass, looking toward the stars.

“Nice of you to finally show up, Zo” Theo sighed dramatically and patted the ground next to him, gesturing for me to join him. I lay down beside him and look up toward the stars. “You’re probably wondering why I wanted you to meet me here, aren't you?”

“Yes,” I replied almost immediately and he chuckled in response.

“Zo, remember when we came up here as kids? We used to look for the constellations and you would tell me the stories behind each one. Remember?” he inquired and that drew a small nostalgic smile out of me.

“Yeah… what about it?,” I yawned. How could I forget? Those nights were one of my favorite childhood memories. We used to come up here once a week, but then that gradually decreased to once a month, and then to once every season, which eventually became once every summer.

“I thought maybe we could start coming up here again. Maybe more often this year?” he requested, his voice not above a whisper. Was he afraid I’d say no? That I'd turn my best friend down? Because if so, he was so wrong. I wanted those moments back more than he did.

“Yes, definitely. Absolutely.” I answered quickly as if he’d dismiss his own thoughts if I waited too long. Once he seemed to process my response, his fingers gently intertwined with mine.

“So, what constellation catches your eye today, mini astronomer?” he grinned and went back to his goofy self. My eyes returned to the stars while his lingered on my face. I searched through the stars for a pattern and was met with one of my favorite constellations.

“Lyra” I murmured

“Ly- who?” he responded, obviously perplexed

"You're telling me that you’ve never heard of Lyra? The constellation?” I gasped dramatically and he smirked at me.
“No, I don’t look that stuff up because I look forward to you telling me” he replied and I smiled.

“I’ve never told you about Orpheus either?” I guessed and Theo confirmed with a simple “nope.”

“The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a tragic Greek mythology love story” I explain and he gestures for me to start. “Orpheus is the son of Oeagrus, king of Thrace, and Calliope, goddess of eloquence, patron of poetry, and one of the nine muses. Being the son of a Muse, Orpheus was musically gifted, so much so that it was said that animals, trees, and even rocks gathered near to listen.”

“Wow. Must’ve been really good.” he commented and then gestured for me to continue on.

“Orpheus traveled around and beasts and humans alike would stop to listen to his music and eventually at one of his gatherings he saw the girl whom he would fall in love with. That girl’s name was Eurydice. Some myths say she was a wood nymph and few even say she was a daughter of Apollo. Something inexplicable filled the two people’s hearts and they got married. The god of marriage, blessed their union and it was said that even the Apollo and the muses played at the wedding”

“Wow. Must’ve been a nice wedding. I wonder how much the venue was.” he joked and we both laughed for a few seconds before he quieted down and let me continue.

“Things were great with the newlyweds, but not for long. There was one man who despised this union. Aristaeus, god of beekeeping and cheese-making, wanted Eurydice for himself because of her beauty. Aristaeus waited in the bushes for the young couple to walk past, planning to jump on Orpheus and kill him and then take Eurydice away. When the god tried to make his move, Orpheus took Eurydice’s hand and they ran. The chase was long and Aristaeus showed no signs of stopping. Eventually, Orpheus felt Eurydice fall and her hand slipped from his. Orpheus took a minute to process and then knelt beside Eurydice only to see her pale complexion. She had stumbled into a snakes nest”

I paused, feeling Theo’s grip tighten a little on my hand, “Hey, Theo? You okay?”

“Yes. Continue please,” he responds so I do what he says and continue.

“Orpheus begged the snakes to bite him too but they wouldn’t. They thought his voice was too beautiful. Eventually, overcome with grief, Orpheus uses his music to split open and rock and creates a path to the underworld to get Eurydice back. Using his lyre and his voice, Orpheus marched through the underworld and straight into Hades’ palace, not even Cerberus dared to stop him. When he got to the palace, he played for Hades and Persephone and begged them to let him take Eurydice back with him. Hades openly cried and Persphone’s very heart melted. Hades promised Orpheus that if he could make it back to the surface without laying eyes on Eurydice, she would go with him. Orpheus almost made it but then doubt took over. He thought that Hades was tricking him. That Eurydice wasn’t really behind him. He decided that just one peek wouldn’t hurt but as soon as he turned back, Eurydice faded into darkness and he was kicked out of the underworld. He kept trying to get back in but not even his music would get him in there anymore. Eventually Orpheus was killed. His spirit joined Eurydice’s and the gods hung his lyre in the sky. That is the story of Orpheus, Eurydice, and Lyra. Any questions?” I finish off the story and he looks at the constellation in awe. For a while we just stay like that. Hand-in-hand, laying on the grass, and staring up at the constellation.

“Zoe?” Theo’s voice breaks the silence.

“Yes” I answer, my attention drawn back to him.

“You know I would go to the underworld for you if I had to, right?” He asks in a tone not above a whisper.

“You would?” I inquire.

“Et nunc et semper”

» — ⋙ 1691 words total ⋘ — «

weekly 3 for fairy tales!! 839 words

Part 1 (302 words)

Gonna be completely honest here: most of the time I just don’t want to write. I enjoy writing, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not fun when I don’t really have an idea that I love, because then it feels more like something I’m forcing myself to do rather than something I actually want to do. Also, my motivation is very unpredictable. If a task excites me, then I have tons of motivation and want to do it right away, but then that often eventually wears off and we get to option two. If something doesn’t seem exciting to me, then I don’t have any motivation to do it, and it’s really difficult to force myself to actually focus (I have this amazing gift where, even if I remove every single distraction, I still find something to be distracted by. Or I just stare off into space and daydream.) on doing it.

And, of course, we have school. From 6 AM to either 3 or 4 PM, I’m at or getting ready for school. By the time I get home, especially if I had extracurriculars that day, I just want to relax and don’t want to do anything that my brain somehow equates to work (Even though I signed up to do it. And it’s also optional. I really don’t know what’s wrong with my brain honestly). And then I end up procrastinating and saying that I still will have time tomorrow to work on it until it’s three hours before it’s due and it turns out, I won’t actually have time (who could’ve guessed). Also, when I do that, I just end up feeling stressed and then like I’m not contributing enough when I eventually can’t get it finished on time because of how long I waited to actually do it.

PART 2 (211 words)

Music: I made a playlist specifically for writing! I’ve found that either loud energetic songs help me work, or if I’m writing something sadder, slower songs help with that. I try to usually match the music to the vibe of my writing, because usually it ends up definitely affecting the tone. Also, when I really need to focus, sometimes I’ll listen to Studio Ghibli movie soundtracks because they’re calmer but still enough that it helps keep my attention focused (and the Howl’s Moving Castle soundtrack will always be my favorite).

Time pressure: While it’s not always the best one, it is the one I end up with most often. Knowing I have limited time to work always makes me write faster or at least write something. Since it’s not good to wait until I actually don’t have time, I can set timers to motivate myself.

Brainstorming: I don’t usually brainstorm before I write—I kind of just start writing once I have an idea—but I tried a couple brainstorming methods and I think a mind map works best for me. My mind is usually all over the place, so it gives me the chance to write down a lot of very different ideas but then still connect them all in the end.

PART 3 (326 words)

I’ve found that I can work well at school when I have a specific time schedule and blocks to work, so I thought I’d try time blocking. I think it did work okay, especially if I interspersed short breaks so that I wouldn’t lose motivation. Knowing when I needed to do a task I think helped with procrastinating because then I’ve already planned it out and I can’t just tell myself that I’ll do it later, which is what I unfortunately do way too often. One thing that wasn’t as great was that I am NOT good at planning how much time a task will take me. (For illustration: the last three times I baked a fairly easy recipe (cookies) I figured it would take me maybe an hour or an hour and a half. It took me three. Is this partially because I am mildly afraid of cracking eggs and always make a mess while piping icing or mixing dry ingredients? Possibly.) think if I figured that part out, it would be a lot more helpful, because I don’t like stopping in the middle of tasks because I will eventually forget about them and they will sit there for weeks until I finally remember. Also, if I don’t include enough breaks, I’ll just get bored and lose motivation, and then I end up messing up the schedule. I think I need someone else to hold me accountable to sticking to a schedule or else I’ll forget or just abandon it. One more thing that was kind of annoying to me was that I couldn’t really move things around, even if I finally got a good idea or was in the middle of a task or scene if I was writing. However, I know things like to do lists really don’t help me because it just ends up feeling overwhelming if I have a lot on the list, so I think I’d try doing this again.

PART 4

worked on a piece for an art club at my school <3

Weaving Starlight || 544 words || Daily No. 22

lowk have no idea where I was going with this uh

There are stories of the lovers and the loved, the happy and the desperate, the mortal and the immortal. The best stories are woven of all of these threads.
Listen.
Once there was a maiden who lived in the stars and a man who plowed the ground. The maiden’s long, slender fingers wove beautiful tapestries out of starlight, but her tears fell like dew to the ground with every loop, for she was a lonely soul, and there was no one in the vast black sky but her.
The mortal was not too lonely. He had his fields, his cows, the sun. He whistled a cheery tune as he worked, hat cocked over his brow to shield him from the noonday glare.
Still, his house felt empty, and in his secret heart he would have given much to see it filled with warmth and laughter. He had lived alone for a long time.
(You think you know how this story goes, don’t you, reader?)
So. There they are, mortal and immortal, lonely and alone.
(Wait and see.)
One day the man took in a lost wanderer who asked for refuge by his fire to warm her chilly hands. In return, the wanderer told the man the story of the celestial maiden, endlessly weaving starlight into silken night.
The man was fascinated, both by the tale and her skillful way of telling it, and asked her to tell it again and again as the night wore on…
The maiden stopped, luminous threads trembling in her cool hands, and listened for a sound she could not quite hear…
When morning came, the wanderer did not leave. Nor did she leave the next morning, or the morning after.
The next spring, she did leave the farmhouse briefly. When she came home she was in blossom-white with a ring on her finger, and the farmer kissed his bride as he led her home.
And the maiden went on weaving.
(There, I told you, didn’t I?)
In time, the farmer died. So did the wanderer. Their children heaped the good earth over their graves and stood quietly for a long time, hearts aching, for they were young and their parents not yet old, taken by illness.
And then, as one, they turned to look at each other, a tale springing unbidden to their minds. For they knew the legends of the celestial maiden in the sky – their parents had told it to them time and time again – and they also knew that if one could steal her starlight threads, a favor, even to reversing death, would follow…
(It’s a cruel thing to snatch at the livelihood of an immortal, but they were children, reader. They did not know.)
It was simple, they thought. Follow the brightest star in the sky, swim up the river of tears that flowed from the maiden’s lonely eyes. Then, before her long, cold fingers could stop them, they would wrest the tapestry of the night sky from her, demanding their beloved parents back.
The maiden tipped her head back, swinging her feet as she sat on the thin crescent moon.
Something was going to happen. She could feel it in the way the starlight buzzed and shook under her fingertips.
It was about time.

WEEKLY 3

PART ONE

The main thing that keeps me procrastinating is the fact that, if something doesn’t need to be done now, then I can do it later. Lately, I’ve gotten into a mindset of sorts that’s essentially, “I’ll have time to do it later, so why should I do it now?” If it wasn’t due within the next 30 minutes or so, I’d start to neglect it, because I’d think ‘Oh, I can just do this later.’

However, there has to be a reason why I’d rather do it later than now. I think that the main one is because I’d just much rather watch videos, as from what I’ve seen from my screen time, I’ve spent a lot more time than I would’ve liked scrolling through my phone instead of being productive. That’s one of my main weaknesses, how easily I can be distracted from things I need to do from my phone or other devices.

Additionally, the main reason why I keep putting it off is because the thing I need to do just seems too daunting and annoying to do. It feels like it’s just going to be so annoying to do the activity now, when I could just spend my time doing something else that I actually enjoy. If it’s going to be a tall wall to climb over to complete, then I would much rather do something I enjoy doing if I don’t need to climb that wall now.

I feel like often I don’t particularly despise the thing I need to do, I just hate the fact I need to do something other than the things I like the most, or things I’d rather do, like read, watch videos, watch TV, etc. I just have something that I’d prefer to do, and I figure that it would be okay to do that thing because I don’t need to do whatever I need to work on now, so why should it matter if I do something I enjoy rather than my work since I can do it later?

341 words


PART TWO

The first motivation I tried was listening to music. I personally think that this worked the best for me. I listened to a lot of NEWS, and I found that listening to music helped the words when working come a lot easier to me. Additionally, one of my main problems was that I got bored easily when working and was distracted easily by my phone because of this. However, listening to music gave my brain something to pay attention to, and made it easier for me to concentrate on my work. It essentially stimulated my brain, but due to simply being audio I was able to get work done, but I didn’t get bored or distracted while doing my work because I had music playing. It allowed me to focus and lock in, and the music’s rhythm also helped me get in the zone for working.

The next one I tried was exercising. I walked around a lot and stretched before getting started on my work. It certainly got me in the mindset I needed to be in to start working, and it helped me have a spurt of motivation when I started working. However, I found that as I worked that motivation eventually drained, and by the end of my working session I started to lose motivation near the end. Exercising before work definitely worked short-term for me, giving me a boost of motivation after putting myself in the zone, but by the end it wore off.

The final motivation technique I tried was rewarding myself. I told myself that after I finished working I could watch an episode of My Love Mix-up. I found when using this technique I was rather unfocused, as all I could think about was the reward, being able to watch the episode I was looking forward to. I felt this technique didn’t work the best for me, as my mind was constantly on the reward, and I found it difficult to get through my work when all I could think about was watching the episode. However, it did at the very least give me a push to work.

Overall, I think listening to music works best for me, and then exercising and rewarding myself in that order.

374 words


PART THREE

The method I attempted was Pomodoro’s technique. I felt like I didn’t particularly do very well with the technique, as often I let my break overstay its welcome. I would work on something for 25 minutes, and then have a long break of which I felt I spent more time on than I should’ve. Similar to before, a lot of times I was too focused on the reward—having a break, that I became unfocused at the task I had at hand. I don’t think this method worked very well for me, as I kept putting off when I’d have my next 25 minutes, and I also was mostly unfocused.

Due to me being so focused on the fact that after my allotted amount of time, I could have a break, I was unfocused as I did my task since I just wanted to have a break rather than do the task, and I knew all I had to do was wait out the time. So, while I tried to be productive, I mostly just didn’t work on the task at hand very much, and instead worked at it with less efficiency than I could’ve. I only thought about the fact that I could have a break if I just waited out the time. So, I wasn’t very motivated to use the time to my fullest, since I would have a break after, so why work to the best of my ability?

This is why I often don’t like doing methods that reward me for doing my work. I’m so focused on getting the reward, that my work will end up half baked since I figure “I just need to do the work to get the reward, doesn't mean that work has to be good.” and it ends up making it so I’m not very motivated to actually spend my time to the best of my abilities.

316 words

PART FOUR

will work on nano for an hour cause I’m behind

──★ ˙ my fantasy of us
1,043 words … november 22

cw - obsession

I am lost in a faraway land of my imagination, daydreaming of us and him. He is standing at the front of the classroom, presenting something about the book we read. I stare at him longingly, eyes resting on his face. But I don’t care about the topic he’s talking about. But rather, his voice is the only thing I care about.

It’s so gentle, and deep at the same time. I play around with the idea of him whispering into my ear, telling me how much he loved me. Oh how I wish that was reality.
Every time he looks in my direction, my heart flutters. Maybe he was up there presenting just for me. It felt like he was sending me silent signals, telling me things.

“If you weren’t there, I would have never talked in front of my classmates.” He would tell me, as I let out a giggle. “No seriously. I am so glad to have you by my side.” Then his arms would wrap around me, as we gaze at each other’s eyes-

The bell rings. He finishes his speech, and I groan as I grab my things. I steal a glance at him, half-expecting him to come my way.

But he instead goes over to her. My stomach twists with jealousy. Why was he talking to her and not me? She is not good for him, and will only just ruin his life. I have to stop this before she ruins my chance with him. After all, I should be the one he talks to, not her.

I walk over, a smile plastered on my face. But inside I’m angry at their interaction. How dare she try to get in between me and him?

“Hi there!” I chime, abruptly joining their conversation. He greets me politely, his brown eyes meeting mine. I feel as if I was going to faint at the way he looked at me. He soon broke eye contact, but it lasted for three seconds. Three whole seconds.

She looks at me, also greeting me. However, I can tell that she was slightly disappointed at my arrival. Oh you won’t last too long, sweetie, you will quickly realize that he is already taken. Well not yet, but he soon will be.

The three of us talk for a few more minutes as we grab our bags to leave the school. I cannot help but continue to stare at him. How handsome he was, his shoulders broad and muscular. His hair was messy, but the locks curled enough just to make it look good.

Was he also wearing new shoes? How did he know that I was thinking that he should get new shoes? He must know me so well. It fit him perfectly—the color standing out from his clothes to make a statement, while still matching the other pieces.

We soon go our separate ways, but I know it won’t be the last time I will be seeing him today. I silently scowl as he also says goodbye to her. But I can wait. He soon will completely forget her once he realizes that we were meant to be.

I heard that he had plans at the mall, and therefore intended to go. Of course I wouldn’t be hiding behind bushes, that's weird. But rather, I will pretend as if I just so happened to be there at the same time. I know exactly what stores he likes, and where he usually goes first.

I followed him to the mall, this time taking another route. It was quicker than his, so that it would lower his suspicions.

I soon see him walking around the mall, still dressed in his school clothes. But what was that thing clinging onto his arm?

No. It can’t be.

There it is. It’s her. That stupid girl from earlier. What was she doing touching my man? Did she not get the hint that he was already taken by me? Sirens are screaming in my mind, as I stand there, frozen in place.

They end up not going to the store I was at, but rather, an ice cream shop. I eventually get myself together, and trail behind them. My hood is up so that I won’t be recognized.

I see them together. Not just eating ice cream, but sharing one ice cream. It was pistachio and strawberry. He hated the strawberry flavor, so why was he eating it? Oh don’t tell me, he was probably eating it because that was her favorite flavor.

I was fuming with rage at that point, but tried my best to cover it up. The corners of my mouth twitched, as I continued to watch them from afar. I clutch tightly onto the strap of my black bag. I don’t know what to feel anymore. Is it anger or sadness? Maybe a mix of both.

Tears slowly well up, and before I know it, they begin to stream down my face. Each one delivers a burning sensation. I see him say something funny, and she giggles. That was supposed to happen to me. Those giggles are supposed to be mine. Those arms are supposed to wrap around my arm, not hers. I open my mouth to scream from the agony, but nothing comes out.

I bolted out of the mall, unable to continue watching this K-Drama between them. Did I get this all wrong? Was I not the main character, but rather the stupid side character that the protagonist has to go through?

What did she have that I didn’t? Why did he choose her over me? I will break them apart, I will get my way in the end. He belongs to me and only me-

Then it clicked. I broke down, sobbing into the sleeve of my hoodie. I collapsed, sitting on the sidewalk as onlookers stared at my pathetic appearance. The weeping sounds turn into hysterical laughter, unable to be controlled.

What was different between me and her wasn’t who was prettier. Or who made a move first. It wasn’t even the personalities.

But rather, she loved him as the person he was.

I didn’t.

I loved the fantasy of us—not the reality of him.

rambling about my story (iykyk) || 1000 words

I promised I would make this so here goes haha.
Okay so my story! There are three main characters, Juniper, Thorn, and Lark. Plus technically another important side character but she’s dead so like lol.
Juniper is the main main character, and she’s a healer. She works in the Wretches Lanes, which are basically the slums because what even is a main character that doesn’t have to struggle for every bit of their survival. Cough anyways she lives there with her little sister Bets who is an absolute cinnamon roll and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.
Thorn is my innocent baby, he’s a fae (ooh) and he lives in the fae Courts. I based the fae Courts off of the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), and then further divided those Courts into Houses based off of their calendar (House Thaw, House Bud, House Bloom, House Green, House Medial, House Dry, House Harvest, House Festival, House Wither, House Hearth, House Bitter, House Bright). In case you’re interested in knowing, I wrote that entire list out without looking at my worldbuilding sheet once. Fear me.
Fae are actually really interesting, at least to me. See, they’re born without hearts, and their abilities to feel real emotions are linked to the state of their heart growth. Sadly, due to a very tragic and sad occurrence in their past, the fae have not only stopped growing hearts, but have actively suppressed true emotions. Every fae is born with an emotion that, even without their heart, is as close to real as it’s going to get, and in the current fae culture these have been labeled Flaws and are closely monitored. Thorn’s Flaw is curiosity, but although he’s terrible at suppressing it, no one pays him much attention because everyone knows he’s weird anyway.
Finally LARK MY CHILD! Lark is my favorite little morally gray baby. She’s a palace healer, and in fact works directly for the prince. Unfortunately, Prince Cedar has begun paying her more marked attention lately, which she isn’t sure what to do with. On the one hand, she’s flattered and genuinely touched. On the other hand, she’s calculating everything she can make this relationship do for her…
…and then feeling terribly guilty for even considering his affections in such a mercenary manner. But the fact remains that as a prince he’s powerful, and she can use that power to her advantage.
We then have my final child, who I don’t actually love as much but I need her for the plot. Her name is uh uh wow I forgot lemme go look.
Okay her name is Princess Lorre and she’s fun I guess. Basically her only personality trait is being in love but I needed someone easy to sacrifice because I’m just going to kill her off anyway. This is just the first draft though, so I’ll probably go back and make her more interesting so it hits harder when she dies.
So that’s the main crew there!

We then move into the plot. Juniper catches the plague and makes the decision to leave and seek the cure, terrified of dying and leaving Bets alone. Luckily for her, the cure is in the fae lands, where no human has ventured for hundreds of years. Yay.
Meanwhile, Thorn is feeling increasingly unsettled in his role – he spends all his time hunting for lore about fae hearts, which he found mention of in an old storybook and has been obsessed with ever since. As for Lark, when the prince falls prey to the plague, it looks as though her life might be about to fall apart, and everything she’s worked so hard for slip through her fingers.
I would go into the nitty-gritty of the plot but there’s a lot of spoilers so all you get is the setup hehe. Yes, I know I’m evil.

However I will happily ramble more about the characters themselves! The journey for each of them is a bit different. Juniper must learn to swallow her pride and accept that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. She starts out trying to be entirely independent, and ends up realizing that dependence doesn’t mean you’re clingy – it means you have people to lean on when you can’t do it yourself. Thorn is my little introverted baby, and while he’s good at reading books, he’s not very good at experiencing emotions, which only gets worse when he starts to grow a heart. His journey is about discovering his feelings and making sense of them, while also coming to see that his passive lifestyle isn’t going to do him any good if he wants things to change. He’s going to have to come out of his shell and make things happen.
What else hm. Let’s see.
Oh yes Lark my child! Lark goes from being pretty self-centered and lowkey kinda greedy to more compassionate, I guess. She stops thinking about only herself and takes a look at the others around her. However, I don’t give her a full redemption arc, as that would defeat the whole purpose. The whole point of Lark is that she’s not supposed to sit easily with readers – they’re supposed to be a little uncomfortable with her, and I’m not going to change that just to give everyone a happy perfect ending. When Lark returns to the kingdom to save her prince, she’s lauded as a hero, and it’s hinted that her path to the crown has been effectively smoothed over – but although she loves Cedar, she’s still certainly not blind to how advantageous this all is for her.
One more note before I wrap this up! Both the plague and the heart growth of the fae come in stages, which I thought would be a fun dynamic to play with. Growing a heart for the fae is especially fun, since they have rather plantlike biology and their heart resembles a root cluster with a flower growing out of it.
So yep!

✪ Training 04 ⊹ ₊

User: @babyoda1546
Nickname: Sage
Cabin: Action (TENSION TENSION TENSIONNN)
WPM: 35-45 (way faster without test)

VS

User: @z3phy_th3_cr4zy
Nickname: Zephyr
Cabin: Magreal (down by the bay :music_notes: )
WPM: 65-115 wpm

Info:
Prompt: No Prompt
Time Limit: Five Minutes

FIGHT!!!

I worked on the third weekly
» — ⋙ 288 words ⋘ — «

✪ Daily Task 23: Cabin Wars ⊹ ₊

(half of this is terrible because I'm tired and I just want to help my cabinnnnn)

War Challenge One

Word War 4

Weekly 3

Challenge 2

✪ Cabin Wars 2: Writing Challenge One ⊹ ₊

Prompt - Write at least 200 words about a character undergoing a dramatic change, either for the better or for the worse, to earn 50 points. This applies for up to four campers (resulting in 200 points earned maximum.)

(Note: This is about a character of mine. I’m fine)

Have you ever felt vulnerable? Not like the kind where you’re opening up to someone. No, no. The kind where it feels like you’re bleeding. Where in your most vulnerable spots, it feels like you’re bleeding out. I do. It happens in my wrists and then the crook of my elbow (antecubital fossa) and then my achilles tendons. Then it’s cold and itchy poison makes its way into my heart making me feel horrible and weak inside. It makes me feel as if I’m being laid bare. Bleeding in front of everyone and they’ll never know. Even as I write this, I feel tingling in my veins. Maybe I’m going insane. Maybe I just need to sleep and it’ll all be okay. I don’t know what to do.

I wasn't always like this. I wasn’t always vulnerable in the worst of ways.I didn’t always feel as if people were cutting slits into me with just their eyes. I used to be happy. I used to be normal like everyone else. That was before it happened. Before it changed me and sent my life into a spiral of paranoia and insomnia. I used to be happy. The happiest girl in town. Look at me now. Do you see her? Probably not. I’m different now. I’ve changed.
(226 words)

Em's Weekly #3- Procrastination
Notes: don't judge I was lazy and didn't feel like editing so I may or may not have a trillion typos lolll

Pt 1- Taking Accountability
303/300 words

The first problem is that I look at something and feel overwhelmed because it either looks really hard, it looks like a lot of work, or I don’t know where to start, making me put off the item longer… and longer… and longer. Sometimes, I’ll sit down to do something and think, “let me just do first to motivate myself” (so like watch an episode of tv, or scroll for 5 minutes) and then I find myself 3 hours later still doing the thing I said I was only going to do for a few minutes. This makes me become angry at myself and I become more discouraged and then get absolutely nothing done. A lot of times, I’ll think about something a lot in advance and either lose motivation, forget all of my ideas, or psych myself out because I’ve overthought about it. I’ll have already hashed out a plan in my head and when things don’t go according to that plan, then I’ll get discouraged once again and not do what I need to. Also, sometimes I just don’t want to do something, like I’m not in the mood, too tired, or in the middle of something else. Other, less pressing things that I actually want to do (like an assignment that’s due in a while) can distract me too, because in my mind I’m being “productive”- I'm getting something done, but in that process I’m making it more stressful and difficult for myself to do the thing I don’t want to get done. Finally, I’d rather talk to my friends than work. Sometimes I’ll get distracted texting or calling my friends instead of doing my work and although it’s fun, I think that it’s a drain on my energy and stops me from working when I need to.

Pt 2- Motivation
221/200 words
Exercise- By stretching and walking around my house before starting my work/in between work sessions, I found that it gave me a chance to quiet my thoughts and was a good way to get the wiggles out before sitting down for a long period of time. By stretching in between each time I worked, I kept myself on track without getting distracted and kept both my body and my brain quiet.
Rewards- I rewarded myself by drinking hot chocolate after studying for a long period of time. Not only did it make studying a lot more fun, it also gave me motivation to work and so I worked a lot harder and for longer periods of time than I usually do. By drinking hot chocolate while I studied, I had a reminder of what I worked so hard for AND a yummy drink to study with, which definitely helped me stay motivated!
Make goals- I created a list of everything I needed to do before starting work and found that it kept me a lot more motivated because I knew what I needed to do and in what time frame I needed to do it in! I also made goals relating to my personal health before I started working, which I found really helpful. I will definitely be continuing this!

Pt 3- Time Management
332/300 words
Pomodoro technique- I used a type of pomodoro technique to study where I worked for 50 minutes and took a 10 minute break. I liked this because first of all, it takes me a while to lock in, so the regular 25-5 minute intervals didn’t really work for me. Not only was it hard for me to get focused in such a short amount of time, I also found it challenging to take enough of a break in 5 minutes. I found that 5 minutes was barely enough time to go to the bathroom, refill my water, or make a snack, so I switched to the 50-10 minute thing. I really liked it, although I will say that maybe a slightly shorter time frame would have been better because in the last 10 minutes I found it challenging to stay focused since I had sat still and locked in for 40 minutes before that. In the future, I think I’ll do 40-10 or 40-7 to give myself a longer break but not get unmotivated. One thing I found helpful was pulling up videos with lofi music and timers on my computer. This was a fun way to do it (since a lot of the timers had really cute characters) and the music helped me focus a lot more. Another thing I implemented while using the pomodoro technique this time is listing what I got done in each session. This helped keep me on track because I had a way to track how I was doing and if I looked at the piece of paper that I was writing on in the future, I wouldn’t want to be disappointed in myself because I was distracted (if that makes sense lol). I will definitely be using the pomodoro technique in the future because I think that it helped me stay focused and get a lot done! I definitely recommend this, and if not the exact pomodoro technique, at least using timers can really help!!!

Pt 4- LOCK IN CHAT
I locked in on studying for my biology test! And I got a 100%, which is really good considering it’s an AP class, so thank you to this weekly lol