Feeling Fickle News Issue 2

From-Home Fest is back, I have opinions on how to share pronouns, and it was a thumbs down week

Author

Tristan Willis
January 23, 2026

COMING UP

FROM-HOME FEST

From-Home Fest is back for year three, with a host of experiences and shows (live and asynchronous) that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home — perfect for a chilly weekend! You can check out my piece, a solo journaling game where you play as a caretaker of Cloud Nine here, and you can check out the entire festival line up below!

Advice

TRUST TRISTAN

Seriously, ask me anything. I’ll give you advice, reveal my secrets, or tell you I don’t want to answer your question.

I’m fairly knowledgeable about: playwriting, poetry, making zines, crafting & sewing & cheap art, TTRPGs, death acceptance, Stardew Valley, Hades II, celiac-friendly brands and meals, grant writing for individual artists, mushrooms, distanced & digital theatre, Ernst Lubitsch movies, battling resentment, myself

Opinion

Sharing Pronouns, ranked

Disclaimers: Yes, some people don’t use pronouns, and not all times are great times to share pronouns. I’m not talking about those things. I’m simply ranking the ways I have heard people share their pronouns & how I’ve shared mine myself.

  1. “The male/female/man/woman/boy/girl ones”
    This doesn’t mean what you think it means.

  1. “The normal ones”
    [Buzzer sound] Bad, truly hate it, but not last because maybe everyone who doesn’t use he/him or she/her should start saying this.

  1. “My preferred pronouns are ____”
    Look, language changes, almost everyone was saying it like this at one time, I get it, but the implications that upset some people aside — presumably of course they’re your preferred pronouns, you’re sharing them. Wordy in a way that feels self-serious and/or underdeveloped.

  1. “I use _____ pronouns”
    Very common, totally fine, reminds us that pronouns are just a tool of language.

  1. “My pronouns are ______”
    Perfectly serviceable, true neutral. Tied with just saying your name then your pronouns like “Tristan, they/them.”

  1. “I take _____ pronouns”
    A little confusing in an exciting way — where are you taking them, who are you taking them from????

  1. “You can use _____ pronouns for me”
    Mysterious, confident, a tiny bit off-putting — so we can use these pronouns for you, but what do other people get to use?? who are these other people?? am I in the cool group or the not cool group??

Obituary & Reviews

This week sucked for so many reasons, including the passing of our chief critic and sweet boy, Gus, on Tuesday night. He’ll no longer be providing reviews or, worse, cuddles. He was a very lucky dog who lived a long and comfortable life and left in much the same way he lived: cuddled under a ton of blankets with people very sweetly telling him what a good boy he was. Gus was a shining example of how to love hard even when you’re scared or upset, and even when it feels like the whole world is out to get you.

GUS: 100/4 PAWS
THIS WEEK: -100/4 PAWS

Quick Recs

DO AS I DO

A little sampling of things I’ve enjoyed recently.

Mississippi Masala

I finally watched Mississippi Masala earlier this month and I can’t recommend it ENOUGH. Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury are a delight to watch together, stumbling through those early days of attraction until they find their path from necessity, and Nair solidly lands complicated themes of displacement and bias with a grounding in true events and experiences. It’s truly lovely.

Writing at 6am

I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I spent two weeks of January getting up to write from 6-7:30am and it was truly miserable and truly incredible. I am not a get-up-and-grind-fluencer. I am not recommending this for everyone or for every day forever (that feels unsustainable to me). But for two weeks I wrote a ton, without fighting my usual internal judge, and that felt nice.

Just a close up of FRIES

Look, it’s no Big Pan of Fries, but this has become a staple in our apartment over the past year. It’s very comforting and tasty, and incredibly easy to make. I recommend throwing in some peas and carrots and serving it on top of fusilli or penne.

Lemon Pepper Chickpeas — perfect for when you need to convince yourself you’re still a person after only eating fries for two nights straight.