Well, it’s been a little while. Sorry for being away! It was something that came as a bit of a surprise to me too. The short and long story I’ll tell is that I attended a protest and got in legal trouble. Happily, I’m back now, and am ready to get back into the swing of things.

A new story has been posted! As always, spoilers follow.

This month was the first one where patrons voted for a new story to be started after another one had not yet concluded. I am definitely taking notes. Nevertheless, I was also happy to start a new story and re-discover the almost gooey concentrated drama of… well, drama. Even though a lot of my writing has been free from teen angst and Very Special Episode themes since Consequences finished, even Consequences itself was a lot more genuinely serious than my other works. It was nice to write about “dumb drama” again, because dumb drama is something that reminds us of our humanity.

It’s really nice to read or hear about something insignificant and be reminded of how much we care. Drama isn’t really important in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes it can feel like the most important thing in the world. I think a lot of us secretly like drama a lot more than we claim, because it reminds us of the energetic and eventful years of teenagerhood when drama was everywhere and so many things felt life-and-death.

I distinctly remember being a dramatic teenager and thinking, multiple times a year, “Everything has just changed” after big events. I enjoy writing about it, but I also wanted to explore how people might evolve after their dumb drama stories. It’s been really fun to write not just about a story happening, but how someone is recounting a story happening after the face. It adds a new dimension of humanity and possibility. It may not even be that monumental to read, but when it comes to writing it, it gives me a great deal of glee.

Dinner Break is also a return to eye-rollingly over-emotional plots and one-liners, and I’m partially reveling in that, but another part of me is always sheepish about bringing out something that can sometimes feel shallow and, dare I say, trashy. I’ve been reflecting on my work (as well as a lot of things!) lately, and it makes me wonder what I’ll leave behind a long time from now. Hopefully, I don’t have to give that serious consideration for a while.

I’m feeling happy and fulfilled to return to writing, even after so short a time. I hope the writing brings you joy, and I’m looking forward to writing the next chapter soon. I’ll talk to you all next week.

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