My NYR:
Continue exercising and writing at the rate I've managed this year.
Reduce digital media intake.
Learn to pickle vegetables well.

I also just really like Zhao. Her design isn't something I'd normally be excited for, but her tiny fluffy bunny form dragging a claymore around as a terrifying osha auditing rep caught my attention immediately.
That she makes damian her bitc... errand boy is just icing on the cake.

Fair. I guess it's like the emergency stop button on a train - no one actually wants to try and push it.

... I know that grok is the ai, but what does the button do? Just ai-ifies your stuff?

Because you may think you're shaming those who are easily pandered to, but it really sounds like you're just dictating what traits men and women are/n't allowed to have.

And I will say, thank heavens my parents, despite being asian, are the goofballs in their families. Makes the visit much less stressful when they tend to treat me as a peer rather than a forever child. I am very, very lucky.

... Our first stop on the gauntlet is hard mode halp. I'm already ready to be doooone but no one stops talking

*just focusing on the finger food feast planned for after the gauntlet of socializing that will be my reward; chili cheese nachos wait for meeeeee*

And you know there is no way this is fitting into 30ch let alone the 20 you planned and you know this bc you posted ch23 already and are less than half done with arc 2 of 3.
This is no longer a short story, huh?

I love that every time there was some handicraft he didn't remember he asked me if it was mine.
Bro all of mine are in this shoebox. Those 2 giant boxes are all yours. Also those are definitely NOT mine, they're hideous (but in that "they were 3-5yrs old when they made it so it's fine" kind of way)