Dedicated to everyone who feels alone in the midst of a crowd. Two weeks without a letter is not a good look. Blame NEPA and my soul-crushing anxiety.

This newsletter is dedicated to Nnanna for pointing out something I didn't realise. Also, I talked to someone who had been reading my newsletter for over a year, that's unreal to me.

Hey there,

The power of friendship is an overplayed plot in books, movies, anime, and shows, but there's a reason that it's so constant in media. Friendship and, by extension, community is a big part of the human experience. Prisoners in solitary confinement go crazy; staying indoors for long will make you stir-crazy. As much as my partner wouldn't admit it, you need other people and their company to exist. "No man is an island" and all of that.

Moving on from that, I find that people struggle with asking for help and letting people help them because they have this absurd notion in their heads that they can handle things by themselves. It's one thing to ask for help; it's another to keep a ledger in your head to repay each time someone does something nice for you.

Something I learnt early in life and my career is to ask for help if you need it - a listening ear, a wall to bounce ideas off, someone to point you to the right course, Grammarly Premium log-in details, the store where you can buy a dress. There's a lot of stigma around asking for help, which I think is ridiculous. If Hitler had friends, trust me, you have friends and people you can turn to. Allow people to extend you the same courtesy you extend to them.

I had something to work on over the weekend and while I drowned in it, one text to JoJo and I had a working plan. It's amazing how talking to someone would put things into perspective for you.

On Life.

I want us to defund NEPA. Because obviously, privatisation didn't work. Absolutely useless. I'm planning publicity for another event in Lagos, shameless plug time - if you're in Lagos and want to watch anime horror movies, you should come to Otakumart's VillainVille. We're showing horror movies and playing spooky games.

Shameless plug time over.

I can't think of anything spectacular that happened in my life recently. Apart from October's run of anime which I think is mind-blowing. Also, Chainsaw Man's first episode? My goodness, there was so much blood. Word on the streets says that it gets worse. I don't think I'm cut out for that anime. But my mama no born quitter, so we'll push through and continue watching.

I think I have a problem; I have a million shows to watch on my list, but I keep rewatching Criminal Minds. New shows, no matter how excited I am about them don't grab my attention the way rewatching an old episode of CM does.

On Books.

In the last letter, I mentioned how I was reading The School for Good and Evil because my partner recommended it. IT. WAS. AMAZING. Very few books have taken me for a ride the way that one did. I haven't read another published book since I finished because I'm worried they won't have the same effect. If you have any books you can swear by, send them my way.

I'm currently reading another Marauder era fic but this one focuses on Regulus Black and his defection from the Dark Lord.

On Music.

This is not a music thing per say but BTS did throw a free concert in Busan and it was streamed live for international fans (no, i'm not crying about not being in Busan. That's ridiculous, why would I cry?)

Lemonade

My lemonade out of the lemons life has thrown at me is definitely the live in Busan concert. I got two hours of calm and contentment in all the chaos and I think that's something to be grateful for.

This letter's coming on a Monday as opposed to the usual Sunday because again, NEPA are useless and everybody should vote out APC. There are 21 out of 36 states flooded in this country and the president hasn't addressed the nation, I think we're in trouble but that's just me. If you do have a way to enlighten people about the floods, do so.

My friend Emi is one of the people affected by the floods, please take a second to share, retweet and donate if you can so they can have a home to go back to because God knows Nigeria is not going to help. Thank you.

Cheers,

Zia.