Many, many hugs!! None of this was deserved.

I strongly suspect this, in fact.
A healthier "you can come home again!" culture is possible, but unfortunately less common than one thinks.

"Hi! I'm Blames -- Blames John."

"Wait -- that sounds like...."

"No relationship whatsoever!"
*turns and smiles at the camera while sipping a martini*
*cue Shirley Bassey knock-off brass*

(This is NOT hard!)

I find that the hours in promotion feel empty, whereas the hours I pour into The Thing Itself feel full, and these reactions are exacerbated when one activity feels like a total psychic energy drain. And this isn't the key to financial or career success, of course, but mental health is key too!

"Community" is not a real thing per se, but a set of ideals toward which a group of humans may strive.

However, there are many humans whose ideals of community are "outsiders can never be accepted" and also "undue attention and achievement will transform a person into an outsider."

This is fascinating and, sadly, directly related to these creator myths required to sustain a career.

"You're either no better than us or you have to kind of *become* your own made-up story." ...is a horrifying dichotomy.

I have myself taken direct, self-sabotaging steps *against* promotion of some of my work because I don't think any "success" that would come from that would off-set the parasocial effects, especially from the many people who treat others as "things to collect & discipline," rather than as people.

Writers have solved this sort of thing for decades, and I don't know why it's suddenly a "crisis" for this team!

Money = the first and foremost social fiction

And Grleks appear to be only 4.40, although I'd need to see in what quantity, frankly.

Me, on Mondays: