I’d go with “you’re still my friend”. If they disagree with you guys still being friends they’d not consider you still being their friend, but you still consider them your friend.
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My 10-year old daughter asked to read The Parenting Simulator yesterday, which was fun. She’s mentioned it offhand before but never went further than that, and I wasn’t about to push. It went well; she got up to year 10 in an hour or so of solid reading before we had to go fix dinner.
Takeaways:
-She struggled early on with wanting to know what the ‘right’ choice was. I explained it wasn’t a game where that really applied. That helped her. She’s a perfectionist and I think the concept of failing in the game stresses her out
-She asked about a back button at one point because she picked something she didn’t want. Womp womp. Had to tell her she was stuck with it.
-She definitely got into it; while she was reading we had to repeat questions to her a couple times about unrelated matters because she was engrossed in the game.
-When she asked about reading my other stories, I said maybe to Toaster but probably not yet to Day After (the sex is not super gratuitous but she’s still 10, and has only just started watching some mild PG-13 movies this year). She was bummed since she liked the idea of Day After’s royalty setting, as she has wanted to be president since she was 4. She isn’t as enthused about the prospect of reading NPT, which puts her about on the level with most everyone else in existence.
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Personally I found You are still my friend confrontional. It sounds like I don’t care your feelings you are MY friend want you or not.
I am your friend is positive and constructive. I am here for you and if you change your mind I will hear and be for you here like I always did.
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For context, it’s a situation where they want to know why you’re helping them.
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I like Mara’s take. “You’re still my friend” might come off like you’re forcing them into something they don’t like, whereas “I’m still your friend” is defining yourself.
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I see you like my friend You will always have my back. Would be my choice that or a snarky remark Han solo style. I have free time to help my old pal style.
As I said Focus in what you feel about your friend and make it know the other that count on you it is the best way of making more positive and immersive for me.
But maybe is a cultural thing for me There is clear difference You love me to I love you
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I disagree with both @poison_mara and @JBento. “I’m still your friend” sounds to me like I’m forcing the concept of our friendship onto another. “You’re still my friend” sounds like an admission to me, they are my feelings about the relationship.
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I think it is a cultural thing about how people see the I vs You.
It is an interesting debate. Because in a game I probably won’t use ever You are my friend except in a very hostile environment when the receptor will say something like Fuck you You won’t dictate what I feel and who I am friends with
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Honestly, cultural differences makes a lot of sense. It might also just be a me thing.
Personally I believe friendship to be defined by the individual. While I can see me and another person as friends, they might disagree. With this line of thinking to say that “I’m still your friend” would be kind of saying that I can read your mind or I can tell how you view me. It could even be used to gaslight.
Meanwhile “You’re my friend” is just talking about my views instead of trying to force the thought onto them. However, I could see this same phrase used to manipulate through guilt.
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Interesting. Here is exactly the reverse. We see I feel X. Like giving our sincere feelings without impose People say I love you or I see you as a friend.
You are in love with me or You are My friend is seen as rude and very narcissitic. It sounds really imposing
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I was initially on the “I’m still your friend makes more sense” train but now both seem good 
Maybe depends on the context and what else is being said? Perhaps “I’m still here for you” or “I still support you” would also work.
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Okay, now I’m super confused. Doesn’t “I love you” mean the same as “you are my beloved”, which is the exact same format as “you are my friend”?
This is so not worth the headache.
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@poison_mara and I were just discussing this in a side chat! The use of you within her culture at the begining of a sentence comes off as aggressive, even though (in English) the intent may not be meant to. So both of the examples of “you are my friend” and “you are my beloved” wouldn’t look good on paper to her. It would be better to start with “I” for her culture from what I’m understanding.
Both “I love you” and “you are my beloved” work for me, but not all cultures it seems.
Honestly, both actually work for me. My critique was more of a nitpick. If I had to choose one over the other, I’d use “You’re still my friend” over “I’m still you’re friend”.
“I’m here for my friend” might work better if you are trying to navigate through both cultures.
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I personally think We are friends is the more neutral approach in general
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Happy July 15th everyone!
Excerpt sharing time!
Remember that excerpts shared here are not intended to elicit proper critique and feedback, but if anyone does have an opinion, feel free to contact the author in a DM (also making sure they are ready for the feedback would be a good idea.)
These sharing exercises are to help build up confidence, and some authors may be at the point where the act of sharing is still overwhelming to them.
For this month’s excerpt, I am going to share the experience of discovery in a prison’s morgue (I know, what can go wrong with that?):
Tap ... tap ... scratch ... tap ... tap...
Wha—? You stare at a minor mystery as you spin around to confront the tapping and scratching you hear. The sounds are originating from one of the corpse coolers behind you! Can another person be trapped in a cooler? Gah!
Quickly determining that nothing has dropped to the floor from the slightly ajar cooler or climbed to the ceiling, you ponder what this means.
Tap … tap … scratch … tap … tap… As the taps and scratching linger, you are forced to confront the possibility that you may not be alone here with the three corpses. Tap … tap … scratch … tap … tap…
Could this be the killer… or perhaps an innocent soul, such as yourself, finding themselves awakening in a dark, claustrophobic space… or perhaps it is one of the conspirators that had escaped the grisly death the others had subsumed to?
With the taps and scratches fading away, you focus on the possibility of confronting whoever – or whatever – may be in that cooler.
Tap … tap … scratch … tap … tap…
The taps and scratches emitting from the corpse cooler in question once again draws your attention. A gentle caress of interest touches your consciousness, as if you were being coaxed by your curiosity.
Refusing to send your thoughts down that rabbit hole, you decide to check out the corpse cooler instead. You advance toward the cooler, ready for anyone or anything to jump out at you. Even though the cooler’s door is still slightly ajar, you do not see anything inside the cooler.
Tap … tap … scratch … tap … tap…
There is no getting around the fact that you are going to have to get closer to whoever, or whatever, is in the cooler. Quickly, you open the freezer’s door all the way, and you are surprised by what you actually do find.
It isn’t some terrifying ghost or spirit, nor is it a frightened victim hiding themselves from harm. It is someone’s truncated hand!
The hand seems to be as surprised to encounter you as you are at seeing it. As it draws back into the recesses of the corpse cooler, it rears back on its wrist and splays its fingers out in a defensive spread before you.
You notice that there is a filigree chain of gold and iron threads attached to the wrist-bone of the hand that anchors it to the wall of the corpse cooler. Is this hand on a leash, or is it being held against its will?
Does a detached hand have free will while unattached to its body?
How is it that a hand is animated all on its own, and is it even sentient, or is it reacting as part of some unseen and unknown entity?
I feel that given the context, I’d approach things a bit differently.
I would write the following dialogue:
Questioning person: “Why are you doing this, for me?”
Helping person: “Despite everything that has happened between us, I still consider you a friend in need and I want to help.”
Questioning friend: [Appropriate response as dictated by the narrative]
Start of week 3 status update: I continue to focus in on my editing passes and changes I am making based on the feedback I have received.
I also have a success to report – my secondary goal this month is:
This past weekend, I achieved a gaming goal of mine (beating Honor Mode in BG3), so I spent time away from my editing tasks and was able to come back to Patchwerks with fresh eyes today!
This is a victory for me, and I hope to do something next weekend to help myself keep a healthy balance that nurtures health and well-being.
Good luck on your writing this week, everyone!
. 
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That sounds awfully wordy… I might just go for “…for old times’ sake”, or something.
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Mi snippet this month is an entire 500 words game
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And here I was just listening to Queen yesterday, too.
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Right forgot to give my update from last week. Even though I had two days off work and had hoped to use those to catch up on some writing, life had other plans. Ended up having to do a bunch of stuff around the house. Still got some writing done though and managed to hit my goal.
Also think I’ll share an excerpt this month. This month I’m giving you the start of the “Archer” background. One of the 5 possible backgrounds/classes the MC can take and the one that has gotten the most work so far.
Summary
In. Out. In. Out. You slow your breathing and steady your aim. In. Out. In. Out. In, and let go. The arrow soars through the sky and finds his new home in the heart of a deer. Standing up from your hiding place you make your way over to your catch. It has been a hard winter so you’re sure everyone in Springwood will appreciate a haul as good as this one and it will definitely get you some coin.
“Nice one, newbie.” Xavier, your mentor, says as he makes his way over to where you’re standing. You’ve been hunting together for a couple of months now. Having shown some skill at a local archery competition the experienced hunter decided to take a chance on you and take you under his wing. Coming from a family of farmers this was the break you had been hoping for. You really didn’t want to be stuck on a farm your entire live.
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I don’t have an excerpt but I do have this satisfyingly checked off check list that I’ve been working through for the last couple days!
Look at all those checks! 
And now that I feel good (for now) about my revisions, I’m refocusing on writing the next bit.
(also, it’s my birthday and it hasn’t been what I was expecting in the best possible way so like, on a personal note, things are also going well, which is nice 
)
I’m really happy for and proud of us all! (And maybe “I still care about our friendship”? Idk, my initial instinct is with “I’m still your friend” tbh, same reason as Mara 
like to be a friend implies, to me, to be doing the work of being a friend–listening, help you move, etc–so I’d say it that way to imply that while you may not want to do the action of being a friend to me, I still want to do the action of being a friend to you. It’s neat how differently we’re all seeing such a short expression.)
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