#(he's a key component to the plot)

[tailsbeth-writes]

(set the alarms my dear) there's a million lives to live.

‘Ah, ah, ah. I didn't say you could move…’ Henry might be home alone but he pauses the video and looks around anyways. He is grabbing some earphones from the coffee table drawer without another thought, as if the breathy tone might tinge the walls. Once the earphones are in, he presses play on the video. He quickly recognises the voice as Andrew Scott, the voiceover continues and the girl on screen has her mouth wide open and is fanning her face with her hand. Henry feels tingles over his skin as the video repeats.

Henry encounters the Quinn app while Alex is on vacation with some law school friends. Both Henry and Alex make some discoveries about pleasure.

Rating: E | Word Count: 2.1k | One-shot

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger - a plot device in which a component of a story ends unresolved, usually in a suspenseful or shocking way, in order to compel audiences to turn the page or return to the story in the next installment. A cliffhanger can end a chapter of a novel, a television episode, a scene in a film, or a serialized story (book or movie).

Cliffhanger endings usually fall into two categories:

The main character comes face-to-face with a dangerous or possibly life-threatening situation.

A shocking revelation comes to light, threatening to alter the course of the narrative.

Tips for Writing Cliffhangers from Dan Brown

“Cliffhangers pose big questions at the end of a chapter or section,” Brown says.

“Typically, a cliffhanger stops during a climactic event midway through the action instead of at its natural conclusion. Is your hero about to push the villain off of a racing yacht? Stop where the hero has the villain in his grip. Leave the reader thinking, ‘All right, I’ll read just one more page....’”

Brown suggests these strategies for creating cliffhangers:

Move the last few paragraphs of a scene to the next chapter.

Create a section break between your work.

Introduce a new surprise that the audience will not expect.

Use pulses, or short sentences or phrases to remind the reader of lurking danger.

Tips for Writing Cliffhangers from R.L. Stine

R.L. Stine advises writers to develop the very end of the novel first and creating at least 5 potential cliffhangers for each chapter ending.

To successfully build up to a cliffhanger, Stine suggests using descriptive elements to remind readers of potential danger.

He also advises using these structural elements to frame a cliffhanger for maximum impact:

Start chapters with a sense of urgency.

Keep passages concise and cut out superfluous descriptions.

Blend descriptive passages into action scenes.

Stay grounded in a protagonist’s sensory experience.

Find plausible ways to withhold key information from a reader (i.e. narrate from the point of view of a character who can’t get/doesn’t know the information).

Open a chapter in the middle of a scene.

Open a chapter or section with a question, an interesting fact, or a change of pace.

Use a “pulse” to remind the reader of lurking danger.

Use flashbacks to open new sources of suspense.

Finish a chapter with a cliffhanger ending.

Source ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[fragmentdecosmos]

Ok, so. I know this is far-fetched, but stay with me now. I’ve scrolled through numerous Duke Thomas fanfics as his #1 fan, and I have yet to see his potential for behavioral attachment and obsessive tendencies being used as a key part of a plot. So I decided I’ll do it myself.

A mutual of mine made me read—though I didn’t want to at first—Batman: Urban Legends, and the Smile Drops drug derived from Scarecrow’s fear gas storyline really opened a door into a lot of previously unexplored terrain regarding the long-term consequences of fear gas/Smile Drops.

What fear gas does is trick your psyche by rearranging your neurological pathways into whatever the component of the formula wants. It’s never been in a solid form before, only as gas, and the transformation from gas to solid for the creation of Smile Drops is revolutionary. Pair that with ith the power vacuum left from Two-Face retiring (Batman: Detective Comics #1042–#1064) and the disappearance of Scarecrow, it makes it more than likely that someone was smart enough to take it apart, recreate it, and make more of it—with different purposes.

But what does it have to do with Duke? You may ask. Well, as I stated before, one of the most interesting aspects of Duke as a character is his obsessive nature—obsessive nature that’s only intensified by the void left behind by the loss of his parents. Obsessive nature within which lies my main point: what happens if a mutated version of fear gas—or Smile Drops—hits Duke? What happens when the drug hijacks his brain’s attachment mechanisms? What if his obsession— this means to fill the void— doesn't attach to a thing—like the idea of justice or protecting the Narrows—but instead latches onto a person?

There’s compelling science behind this. In times of crisis or trauma, the human brain goes into survival mode. If someone is present in that state—especially someone who offers safety or relief—the brain anchors to them.

It’s a form of trauma bonding.

The prefrontal cortex is compromised, the amygdala overfires, and oxytocin (the bonding hormone) is dumped into the system. To put it simply, when in a state of heightened vulnerability, the person who’s present when your brain is unraveling and re-forming becomes ingrained—wired into the architecture of your mind as something internal, essential, inescapable.

I thought about who the most interesting character would be to tie into this plot— to be there when Duke loses his mind. At first, I considered Cassandra Cain anx then Stephanie Brown. But ultimately, I chose Jason Todd and here's why;

They’re the most similar members of the Batfam: both from lower-class backgrounds, raised in similar, neighboring areas; both lost their parents and went through the foster system, only to run away from it; both were eventually adopted by a wealthy man who—regardless of intentions—forced them to give up part of their independence. A man who holds, in many ways, the power to shape or break the futures they’ve been fighting to build. Long story short, they're the same in the ways that matters; kids who never had a choice but were expected to rise anyway.

I think Jason would see himself in Duke, in that way. He’d be sympathetic, patient, maybe even protective sometimes.

And, do I think this could be one of the few genuine chances Duke has at building a healthy relationship with someone during this timeframe (without his parents in his life)? Absolutely.

But would Duke see it that way, especially so soon?

Absolutely not.

Because, Duke lives in the Manor he watches Bruce and Jason argue constantly. Jason cuts off contact with the family over and over. There is no time for them to bond. And for Duke, that doesn’t matter—because this has nothing to do with him.

But then, picture this; Jason operates in Crime alley and Duke the Narrows so they are in proximity when Duke gets this new lesser than version fear gaz. And Jason saves Duke. Is there when he unravels.

And in the aftermaths, Duke internalizes an obsession with Jason without even realizing it, at first. And it's true to say that Jason wouldn't be weirded out, if Duke got attached to him, especially after Red Hood And The Outlaws #25 and in the light of the events that have taken place in Heroes In Crisis—but this is Gotham and thats excuse enough to spoil something that could have been good, given time— but here's the tragedy: Duke doesn’t fully recognize it as a real connection, let alone attachment. His mind, altered by the drug and shaped by loss, dehumanizes Jason. He doesn’t view him as a person but as a subject—something to analyze, to observe. This pattern fits Duke’s psychological profile; he has a tendency to step back from things to view them clearly. That detachment makes it easier to cope, but harder to connect. (He did this with Riddler—treating Nygma as a puzzle instead of a person who creates them.)

So what does that mean for their non-existent relationship? It becomes… strange. Complicated. Duke keeps Jason at a distance emotionally even more now, all the while being mentally obsessed with him. And it all roots back to a single moment: while under the effects of Fear Drops, and completely blind of senses, Duke confused Jason for his mom—and clung to him like he once did her. And now, the lines between those attachments have blurred. Every time he thinks of her, he thinks of him.

What could have been the foundation for a healthy bond becomes something distorted—not out of malice, but because the trauma left Duke unable to tell the difference between love and survival.

Here are the tags, dropping this sometime next month!

[tobiasdrake]

Okay so I started watching Pretty Cure after seeing how raw the fights go. I'm about seven episodes in, and first impression? There's one thing in particular I find really interesting about the way the show is presented.

A key element of writing is the art of creating narrative excuses. Writing can be broken down into two components.

-> This is what I want to happen. -> This is how I explain why and how that is what happens.

Let's say I'm writing a fight between Daredevil and Thor and, for my story, I want Daredevil to win. The next step is to explain why and how this fight ends in Daredevil winning.

-> How do Daredevil's powers contribute to this victory? -> What experience does Daredevil bring to the fight that he can put over Thor? -> What weapons or gadgets or special techniques have I established (or, if I'm working far enough ahead, can I establish) to justify Daredevil winning? -> What are the environmental factors that are working against Thor and to Daredevil's benefit? -> What is going on in the characters' heads?

Etc. etc.

I have decided from the outset that Daredevil is going to win this fight, and now I can work backwards to explain why that happens. A lot of writing fumbles and awkward storytelling come from failures to take the things the writer wants to happen and have them make sense as things that would happen.

Pretty Cure is a Magical Girl series and, as such, it has the transformative format. The characters have two modes: A powerless mode and a super mode, which they can switch between.

I've seen a lot of transforming hero media. Power Rangers, magical girls, and some battle shonen like late-stage Dragon Ball work on this mode-switching format. And for series that mode switch their heroes... often times, you kinda want to have fun in both modes?

The hero fights the bad guys in their base form first, then mode switches, and then the real fight begins in their super form. Power Rangers gets special mention for having two mode switches, going from normal human to Super mode and then mode switching again to have a mecha fight with a kaiju monster.

But when you do that, there's always that lingering question of why. Why not mode switch on the spot? Why would we ever fight the monster in our powerless state?

There's a lot of ways you, as a writer, can answer that question.

They're trying to protect their secret identity and can't transform until the witnesses are away.

The character is a martial artist and wants to test the opponent's mettle before kicking it up a notch.

The thing they use to transform has been taken from them and they need to get it back.

Transforming would have an adverse effect on something and they need to do it sparingly.

Etc. etc.

What I find interesting about the powerset in the first Pretty Cure series is that it's designed for this kind of mode switching from the ground up. Because the girls cannot just... transform.

They don't have transformation sequences. They have a duo transformation sequence. Their powers have to be activated by each other. It's literally a plot point that they cannot transform if they aren't both there to do it together.

This is what allows for the mode switching. Sometimes they're fortunate enough that danger comes while they're hanging out together.

And sometimes David Bowie jumps out of the bushes and attacks one of them while she's by herself.

And she has to survive until the other one can get there so they can mode switch.

I dunno, I just think baking in an excuse like this to justify depowered action sequences without needing to come up with a unique explanation each time you want to write one is pretty clever.

And also having the characters powered by each other like this plays to the collective power fantasy that tends to be really popular in anime. That we are all individually strong in our own ways, but that the truest strength comes from the whole group working together.

It's neat.

[cecilysass]

Undercover Smolder Mulder: Pine Bluff Variant Fic Recs

I'd describe Pine Bluff Variant as a low key fan favorite, an episode that I even feel like appreciation has grown for over the years. Oh sure, it doesn’t get the fan love that a Memento Mori or Pusher might, but we sure do see those Mulder Scully intense looks gifs popping up pretty often, right? Plus, it has partner trust angst, undercover intrigue, hurt/comfort, genuine thriller-style suspense, and serious MSR overtones.

I like PBV for all of those reasons obviously, but also because it feels like the show going with a slightly different tone. Starting from its action-based, FBI operation cold open, we know this is more conspiracy / bioterrorist thriller than classic X-file. Yes, there’s a sci fi component to the biotoxin--and the scenes that reveal its victims have a horror feel--but this episode just isn’t as much about the supernatural. It also raises the interesting--and nowadays more pointed--question: aren’t anti-government groups operating under their own rules sometimes potentially as dangerous as the government itself?

TXF tried several kinds of experiments in its later seasons, in production and structure of show (Triangle or X-Cops), in exploring all kinds of playful, self-aware and satirical comedy (lots of season 6, Hollywood A.D., etc.), in making drastic moves with its mytharc (One Son, Requiem, etc). Going in the direction of a more purely action-suspense thriller for a MOTW wasn’t something they ever tried again (that I can think of anyway). And I think that's kind of a shame? It feels like a good change up. Different without messing too much with the show’s basic DNA.

Not to mention, y'all, Scully thinks he betrayed her! And there's the scene with the finger! And Mulder thinks he's going to die! There's so much good stuff here!

Here is a list of Pine Bluff Variant fic recs. (As usual, I really think there should be more. This episode has sooooo many openings. You should write some.)

Calling Bluffs - mangokiwitropicalswirl An angsty little post ep that doesn’t flinch from the way coming close to death affects Mulder (or Scully). It also raises the question of how much their bond always puts them at risk. Moving ending.

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before - pinebluffvariant Immediately post ep, Scully protects Mulder. There is some satisfying hurt/comfort. But what really shines in this fic is the ending, which ties a nice bow on season 5 and kicks me in the feels. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, indeed: sniff.

Passing Solace - DarlaBlack An intensely romantic NC-17 scene set in the middle of the episode, focused on their deep care and need for one another. Beautifully written.

All of This (around) Us - secondsflat In this sweet fic they share whiskey before Scully sets his finger bone, and Scully voices her frustration at not knowing about his undercover work. An intimate, atmospheric little scene.

Snakebitten - onpaperfirst This is a riff on all of season 5 written with great skill and subtlety. So, so good. It’s canon divergent in that it seeds the Pine Bluff Variant / New Spartans storyline back earlier in the season—and it has more RST. Such a treat.

Postcards Slipped Under the Door - skuls Two years after Pine Bluff Variant, some time after the events of En Ami in season 7, Mulder begins receiving ominous postcards from the New Spartans, suggesting they have regrouped. Skinner and Scully think it’s too dangerous for him to get involved in the case again, so Scully goes instead. This is hard on Mulder, as they’re in a recently begun relationship. Angsty, plot-driven, satisfying.

[panlight]

Hello! I’m always very happy to see posts from this blog! The question I have is, what do you think are key components to Bella’s personality? Like, while reading the books, or even reading fanfics, what makes you go: that’s Bella!! There’s usually a lot of talk about her sarcasm and stubbornness, so what are other key traits?

I think one of the key aspects of Bella's personality is that when she commits to something, she commits. I think either Charlie or Renee say in the books that she was always a "constant little thing." Once she makes up her mind about something, she's going to follow through with it, even if everyone tells her it's a bad idea. (Lucky for her that she has plot armor that usually protects her!) This is related to stubbornness but I think it's more than that.

For example, she decides to move to Forks so Renee can travel with Phil. Renee tells her she doesn't have to do it, tries to talk her out of it. Bella has made up her mind, though. And she gets to Forks and she hates it, but she made up her mind. She's following through. She decides she wants to be a vampire and no one can sway her from it. Not Jacob, not Rosalie, not even Edward. She's made up her mind. She decides to keep the pregnancy that is killing her but she's mind up her mind, she's following through.

I think another factor is something of a martyr complex. That is she's selfless, sure--but she's mostly selfless with Big Gestures whereas with the little things she's more human and flawed, like stomping her feet and whining it's not fair that Jacob isn't aging but she is. "What kind of world is this? Where is the justice?" etc. But she'll move to Forks for Renee. She'll go to confront James to save Renee. She'll go to Volterra to save Edward. She'll almost/actually cut herself with a rock to distract Victoria and Riley to save Edward and Seth. She'll carry this dangerous pregnancy to term so Renesmee can exist. But she'll also whine about the weather and having to age and write Eric off as a greasy chess club type. She's not a perfect saint, but she's self-sacrificing.

She's also got self-esteem issues (don't we all?). Sometimes to a frustrating degree. I remember reading New Moon for the first time and after her reunion with Edward and how it takes her a long, long time to be like, "oh you love me," when it was just screamingly obvious the whole time. It was obvious when he left he was doing it to protect her, but her self-esteem was so low that she believed the lies. She thinks she's mousy and unattractive but literally every teenage boy in Forks is throwing themselves at her. And one of my beefs with Breaking Dawn is that she doesn't really develop self-esteem so much as she becomes a sparkling, gorgeous superhero because vampirism and the problem is solved.

She follows through, she's always going to volunteer as tribute to save someone else, and she'll always worry she's not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough.

[starlitsemantics]

the most frustrating thing about larian's underwriting of wyll (to me, purely selfishly) is that even when centered as a character, his key choices (killing or sparing Karlach, breaking his pact or saving his father) aren't even weighted

every other companion as far as I can tell gets default choices for resolving their quests that you can support or talk them out of, which is very rich character wise

wyll not getting default choices (as far as my testing goes anyway) *could* be interesting for an interpretation of him as lost or indecisive, but his writing outside of those scenes doesn't support that

he made his pact decisively

he can decide to join Karlach in Avernus

now obviously, part of why that works is that those choices are both the selfless, kind paths, whereas the others come with a moral quandary component in theory, but I don't think that quite clicks

sparing karlach is not a super complicated choice when presented to the player - she is pretty obviously much more Zariel’s victim than a danger

breaking his oath means not just that his father dies tadpoled, but also that baldurs gate loses a leader they'll need (iirc ulder's role in rebuilding is even flagged in the dialogue options)

if wyll is meant to be decisively selfless and good, which I think works perfectly fine as a character, not only should his default choices reflect that, but it should also feature in way more of the game's plot and dialogue as a counterpoint to the other characters (in particular, shadowheart and astarion). it just doesn't make sense for him to be passive in those quests (killing nightsong to have an easier time getting to ketheric especially - why do we at most get a negative comment, instead of what he does in act 1 if you choose to do evil for better access to the cult)

some of this imo could genuinely be fixed by just giving the player a "do nothing" option and letting him act - give this man agency

it wouldn't fix everything but I would at least know how to write and understand him as a character

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 1 Redux

Masterpost

"It's like. Crazy, y'know?" Bernard's says, voice only a little tinny through Tim’s headset. "Like, when they started posting, I was kind of unimpressed, honestly. I figured it was worth watching the channel, in case the story was interesting, but it wasn’t really worth it for the sake of the actual puzzle-solving. I mean, the first video was just, like, a slideshow of pictures with a handful of Caesar ciphers and some creepy music. That’s practically the platonic ideal of Baby’s First ARG, but now? They're using literally everything! The current drop is like. The simplest part is the spectrogram! And I think it's intentional."

"Isn't it supposed to be intentional? I thought that was like, the whole point of an ARG." Tim smiles despite himself. He can always count on Bernard to distract him from the stress of work; in all the time they’ve known each other, his boyfriend has never been without some curious new obsession, and he’s always happy to ramble in Tim’s ear, while Tim works on whatever.

Right now, Tim is halfway through the tedious process of upgrading the processors in his cowl. The layers of casing and protection alone take forever to remove properly, and the actual components he’s working with are extremely small, so he has to be very careful not to damage or lose them as he works. This means he can’t exactly listen to anything that might fully distract him, but listening to Bernard explain the new ARG taking his internet communities by storm is more than welcome.

"No I mean, like. Yeah, obviously the clues are intentional,” Bernard explains. “But like, the way the difficulty curve is increasing? I don’t think that’s just a thing of convenience, and it’s happening too quickly to feel like it’s them learning about all this stuff. Hell, early on there were all these red herrings and stuff, and basically everybody just sort of wrote them off as a cheap way to increase the difficulty. But the further we get, the more their choices seem intentional. Which doesn’t exactly match with the idea of somebody who’s dropping red herrings to confuse and pull attention away from the actual plot."

"You think they aren’t actually red herrings?"

"What if they aren’t? That would tie in with the whole ‘dig deeper’ thing. Like, if I were making it, I’d be pretty annoyed if people just looked at the immediate surface level clues and ignored everything that didn’t immediately fit together."

"Yeah, telling you to dig deeper, sure makes it sound like they want you, maybe, dig deeper." Tim chuckles, carefully pulling a filter out of place, and adjusting wires, so he can start unscrewing the first processor.

“God, it’s driving me crazy!" Bernard’s voice cracks just a bit, and Tim pauses, gripping the screwdriver tightly. Getting stuck solving a riddle is always annoying, but Bernard sounds more frustrated than he usually is about these sorts of things. Mentally he rolls back over the last few weeks, quickly realizing that they really haven’t spent much time together lately. Both his day and night job have been pretty busy lately, and he knows Bernard gets it – he may not know about his night work, but he knows Tim has a lot on his hands, but Tim also knows Bernard has a bit of a tendency to get a little too into things. It’s one of the many things they have in common; one of the reasons they work so well together.

“Literally every fucking drop,” Bernard continues, oblivious to Tim’s running thoughts. “The same exact words are hidden somewhere in one of the layers! Like it’s low-key become an Easter-egg hunt on the forum! People keep joking about sending prizes to whoever can find it first, whenever anything new drops. Nobody really seems concerned by it, though. I think they all just assumed it was another sort of Red Herring, just one that’s more thematic than actually distracting. Meanwhile I'm literally on the verge of going back to the beginning of the whole thing and solving it from scratch, because I think we're missing a lot." Tim smiles, as Bernard finishes his rant with a huff. It’s not really anything they usually do, but if Bernard is frustrated enough to go back to the beginning, it presents Tim with a bit of an opportunity. And he did finally solve the Stone case the other day, so he actually could take some time away from the nightlife right now.

“Hey, what if we tried to solve it together?” Tim asks, before Bernard can wind up again.

“What, the ARG?”

“Yeah. We haven’t exactly had much time together lately, and I love a good mystery, so why not?”

“Dude,” Bernard says, voice dropping down a register. “Babe. Are you serious? Because I really need you to tell me now if you aren’t serious because I would fucking love to walk you through SARA.”

“Is... that the name of it?”

“Yeah. Actually that’s the other thing. Nobody’s been able to figure out why the channel is named that. And I think you can agree that it would be weird to have the actual name of your channel be irrelevant.”

“How does Friday sound?”

“It’s a fuckin’ date!”

[kathaynesart]

I remember when you first started Replica and I haven't been here in a hot minute!

May you please do a debrief of what it is, the characters and their relationships.

I want to be able to give my friend (who I finally dragged down into this TMNT rabbit hole) a good explanation of your wonderful comic!

(⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Aw thank you so much! Hm… I suppose a summary would be good to have on hand. For the uninitiated with no context, here is the basic elevator pitch:

The year is 2044 and the last remaining Resistance of Earth has just fallen to the alien invaders known as the Krang. In a last ditch effort to save the planet, Casey, a freedom fighter is sent back in time to undo the events that first led to the invasion. While he is ultimately successful in his mission, the state of his original fallen timeline remains unknown. The last of the freedom fighters, his family, perished to ensure his safe escape, leaving their world to the mercy of the Krang.

Which brings us to the ultimate question: when you already know the heroes are doomed to fail, what can be gained from being told their story?

For the rest below, I’m going to write with the assumption that the reader has some basic knowledge of the series and the film because I feel that this story is best enjoyed with proper context.

SUMMARY

Replica is a story meant to answer many of the questions the first 4 minutes of the movie left us wondering. It’s to explain the basic history of the bad future timeline and how it came to be. The plot focuses particularly on the later half of the apocalypse, all with the intention of leading up to the opening scene where the Krang wins and Casey Junior is sent back in time to fix the mistakes that Leo and his family could not.

It’s to answer questions like:

How did Leo get injured?

Why is Mikey so old looking?

What were these characters like in the future?

What happened to Raph, Donnie, and April?

Where is big bad Krang Prime in all this?

How did the Resistance finally lose to the Krang?

Did they plan to send Casey back in time in advance?

What happened to this world/time-branch after Casey Jr was sent into the past?

MAIN CHARACTERS

For the most part, the cast is comprised entirely of characters from the series. My goal is to keep this as canon as possible, so no new OC's... save for one (kind of).

Omega Bootyyyshaker 9000 is where this story starts and ultimately where it ends. He is a brain scan AI of Donatello, created to act as both a support system for the Resistance after the turtle’s untimely death and also a key component in a plan that will hopefully put a stop to the Krang should the Resistance fail. Omega is great because he adds some much needed levity to the story, acting a bit more like the aloof but silly teenage Donnie (a side affect of not having to experience the usual physical weariness that comes with being an organic, aging organism in an apocalypse). However, he also adds more weight by being the thing that is supposed to outlast all of them and act as the last line of defense for the remainder of the universe. He claims to merely be a "replica" of Donnie's mind, but whether he's just a digitized scan, his own AI person, or somehow connected to Donnie in a deeper way has yet to be seen.

Leonardo Hamato: the man, the myth, the legend. Casey Junior spins tales of how great his sensei was in the movie, but in this story we really get to see Leo go from his lowest point as a pawn for the government, crushed by the shame of his past actions, to his greatest height as the leader of the Resistance. He is going to fail a lot in this story... but ultimately his greatest success is overcoming his own inner demons and coming to terms with being the father figure he had never asked to be. He cares deeply for his family and Casey... but he thinks he'd be a horrible dad.

Michelangelo Hamato: the only other surviving turtle to see the end of the world. He is the emotional bedrock of the family and a stand in therapist when he's not being a silly little guy. His mystical powers are unparalleled, but in his attempts to regain his lost Ninpo he taps into something far deeper, leading them down a path that intertwines the destiny of their doomed future and a past that has yet to occur.

Casey Jones Jr: a sweet boy taken in by the Hamato family. He strives to become a great warrior like his mother (Cassandra) and his Sensei (Leo). We are going to watch him grow from child to teenager as he slowly takes on the roll of being a fighter in the resistance. Through it all he must walk an unsteady line that allows him to find the strength to weather the storm but retain a certain spark of hope that helps keep his family going.

April O'neil: Commander of the Resistance and another honorary Hamato family member. She is the voice of reason and most emotionally stable of the family. Even after dealing with so much loss, she keeps a stiff upper lip as well as cold and calculating mind that always puts the colony's wellbeing first and foremost.

Donatello Hamato (deceased): The story begins shortly after Donnie’s passing during an infiltration mission against the Krang. He was dead set on planting a probe behind enemy lines that would allow them to spy on the Krang’s movements. However it seems that he had a secret agenda in planting something that would work as a final doomsday weapon against the Krang. What that is exactly, we do not yet know. The man self-destructed in a last ditch effort to avoid being interrogated by the Krang as well as a final attack to injure Krang Prime.

Raphael Hamato (deceased): The eldest brother who sadly passed away many years ago in the fight against the Krang. A boisterous but considerate man whose death sapped a great deal of the fighting spirit out of his brothers. His absence is greatly felt, but he might not be as far gone as he seems.

Krang Prime (One): Our big bad of the story. He is the leader of the Krang that has latched onto this planet like a cancer, using up its resources and assimilating its population. However, unlike the hundreds of planets that have come before this one is particularly personal. He doesn't want to merely assimilate but utterly destroy the descendants that caused his imprisonment thousands of years ago. His current state is unknown after being last seen with Donatello at the time of the man's self-destruction.

NEED TO KNOW DETAILS

All Resistance fighters have tiny self destruct bombs in their brains so that the Krang can not probe their minds to find out the Liberty Colony's location. They go off automatically after Krang infestation reaches a certain percentage, but can also be set off via voice command.

Donnie's brain bomb was far more potent because of the amount of information he knew. He did not want to risk the Krang getting any part of his mind.

The Krang have been searching for the resistance in a frustrating game of cat and mouse which has only become more difficult now that the Resistance easily knows their every move by using Donnie's probe.

Central Park Colony: now destroyed, but was once the last massive human colony in North America, housing both the EPF (Earth Protection Force) and US Government. Racism was a huge problem as most yokai and mutants were either quarantined, tested on, or used as living weapons in the fight against the Krang. It has since been destroyed.

Liberty Colony (aka the Resistance): grew from the ashes of the Central Park Colony. It is comprised of the survivors and lead by Leonardo, April, and several others. It is much smaller and more militaristic, but treats yokai, humans, and mutants equally.

Artificial Intelligence (like Omega and Shelldon) are able to fend off the Krang assimilation that people and tech would normally succumb to. It is for this reason Omega is used as both a protector of the Liberty Colony and operator for a majority of the vehicles so that the tech can no longer be easily taken over by the Krang during attacks.

Leonardo and Michelangelo (as well as Donatello's) Ninpo have all been stripped from them by this point in the story. While Leo can not tap into his family connection at all, Mikey at least has regained the ability to use some of his mystic powers.

Mikey's mystic abilities however come at a price. Since he can not tap into his Ninpo and the fountain of energy from his ancestors, he is instead using his own life force to cast his spells. It is slowly draining him.

TIMELINE Can be viewed HERE

SOURCE MATERIAL The video that inspired this all can be viewed HERE

Hope this helps! Sorry it's a bit long, tried to break it up with images. At least there might be a few interesting bits of information other readers may not have noticed. I snuck in a few things that haven't been mentioned yet, hehe.

[wileycap]

Crossover AU's I'll never write (watch as this one is the one that forces me back into Longfic) but I like playing around with: Zuko In Westeros.

Set after S1, a little after Cave of Lovers in atla, well before Jon Arryn's death in Westeros. You know he has to run into Ned Stark. Ned Stark is the only high lord who wouldn't have him killed/thrown into a dungeon, if we're being honest. Yes, obviously Zuko gets a new dad - I believe strongly in giving Zuko parents, like you would give an enthusiastic dog squeaky toys even though it keeps ripping them apart and making a mess.

I thought about Tywin, but - Tywin has no regard for honor. While Tywin would be very interested in making a vassal of this foreign prince with strange powers, for Zuko it would just be terrible. It would make a brilliant psychological thriller where you're waiting for Zuko to figure out what kind of person Tywin really is, and Tywin trying to stay one step ahead, but it wouldn't have Softness, and Softness is key here. Though: the comedy potential of Robert dying and Tywin immediately announcing that Cersei will marry the foreign prince is tempting.

There's also that Northerners are more superstitious and accepting of things like "the spirits dropped me here." The North is fertile ground for multiversal travellers.

In no particular order, here's a list of uncollected thoughts:

1. I don't remember Ned's character well enough to remember if he's the sort of person who would believe that Zuko showed "shameful weakness" or that Zuko is a coward. But I think it'd take about the space of one Regular Zuko Action for him to realize that Zuko is neither weak nor a coward and that it's a miracle he's still alive.

2. Building on that: Ned does have a good grasp of the realities of court life. He has a number of ideas on the reasons a king might want his son and wife gone after grabbing power. (Zuko does not take well to theorizing.) He also notes that anyone having an affair with a royal consort would be risking their life. Almost anyone. Add to that his uncle following him into banishment? Not contesting the coup and the murder of his father? He puts two and two together and gets 22: Zuko is Iroh's illegitimate son.

3. He takes Zuko out to a vast, open, snowy field to tell him that. It's a good precaution.

4. To the Westerosi, Zuko is obviously from the uncharted West. This makes a neat bit of sense for everyone involved, except for Zuko, who has had access to the maps and education of a nation that has steam-powered ships. Zuko wisely doesn't say much about it.

5. To Zuko, it's spirits. The spirits, representing authorial whimsy I guess, literally tell Zuko "guess what kid the age rating of your surroundings is about to go up" and yeet him. They also give him the Westerosi language, because frankly I'm not nor will I likely ever be good enough to pull off a learning the language-plot. At least not well.

6. Speaking of which? The thing that made this idea rotate around in my brain endlessly? The inciting incident? I thought about the bilingual struggle of literally translating a word into English and going "wait, that's stupid." (Or the other way around. Like guys, pineapple? Seriously? Pine apple.) And then I thought about Zuko realizing that his country, full of Firebending people, has a name that literally translates to "Fire Nation."

7. Okay this is me abusing the list format, I just wanted to break up that paragraph. But my fellow bilinguals, you get it, right? The word refers to the thing. You don't have cause to interrogate it. Until you forget it in English and you have to break it down into its components and you realize that the word is stupid. It's dumb. To Zuko, the word for his nation is one word. Which happens to translate to "Fire Nation", which Zuko thinks sounds ridiculous.

8. Dragons. "My uncle killed the last dragon in single combat" is an absolutely terrible thing for a Ned to hear, having it be followed by what boils down to "which is a shame, because I always wanted to ride one" is criminal. This is also a great reason for Ned to keep Zuko under wraps: while he doesn't look anything like a Targaryen, Robert might not care. Talk of a dragonrider - even a prospective one, even a hypothetical one, even one who just idly imagined it - becomes very dangerous when the rider in question can breathe fire.

9. Zuko would like to not be married to anyone. It seems that literally everyone wants otherwise. This vexes Zuko.

10. Zuko is not aware of exactly how groundbreaking Firebending is for the people of Westeros. Zuko is also not aware of how terrifying his descriptions of a vast warlike empire with steam-powered metal ships and legions of Firebenders are. Zuko honestly isn't trying to scare anyone. He isn't!

11. Everyone who gets a chance to talk to Zuko is terrified by the end. (Varys makes a special trip to the North and has a brief but illuminating - or at least he thinks it's illuminating - conversation with Zuko while in disguise. He comes out of it deeply disturbed.)

11.5 Hopefully no priests of R'hllor see Zuko. oh, shit, too late.

12. Ned thinks that maybe his ancestors who built the Wall were Waterbenders who retreated across the polar ice caps and ended up making a kingdom in the deep, deep North. He wouldn't be opposed to visiting an ice palace.

13. Firebending can kill White Walkers.

14. For maximum Soft, the Gaang is dropped in shortly before the end. Katara and Sokka are questioned about whether they know any Starks, by Ned. Ned takes Sokka's description of wolfshead helmets as proof that they are at least distant kin. Zuko is perplexed and a little offended.

15. I am drawing a huge blank on the Stark kids. I feel like Jon and Zuko would HATE each other, though. Robb would be respectful, but distant. Bran, I feel, would be cool with him, maybe the most out of everyone. Arya would be endlessly intrigued by him, but not necessarily like Zuko as a person that much. Sansa might hate him too, which would provide interesting common ground for her and Jon. Rickon... no clue. I don't have a good grasp on Rickon.

[calypsolemon]

You've said that Ink Click Clack is trying to protect others from the leaking narrative but what exactly is the danger posed by the unbound narrative? Like is it a physical hazard or just a "things man was not meant to know"

Sort of both!

As illustrated in my comic, even just the mere act of Click Clack removing his mask around mortals can endanger them if left long enough. Anybody in proximity to him is exposed to increasingly more detailed and expansive parts of the narration. For mortals, this onslaught can eventually break their minds, leaving their own stories lost in a sea of others, causing them to lose all sense of self. For his fellow gods, this is easier to cope with, though its something he'd prefer not to expose them to on a regular basis, in the same way Thespius wouldn't want to expose his fellow gods to the whole expanse of every human emotion, or Bau would not want to overwhelm his friends with all memories.

However, this is just how Click Clack functions normally. While removing his mask can be a risk, its an action he has complete control over, and can therefore easily stop before things get out of hand. When split into his component parts however, there's no way for him to edit what leaks out into reality anymore, no way for him to dam up the outpouring. But on top of that, without his other half, he has no ability to edit the story of the world itself. What is leaking out into the world is a story that is gradually losing all direction or purpose.

This means that the longer Ink-click is left alone, the people of Hobbyhoo, the Grove, and eventually the entire world, will experience an onslaught of key, "plot-important" events happening in their lives. Life-altering successes and tragedies alike, things that should only happen once in a great while, suddenly compound into a single afternoon. Everyone is suddenly having their 15 minutes of fame, their worst days of their lives, their defining moments, all at once. Its complete chaos without rhyme or reason or direction! And notably, it's quite the opposite of what Click Clack wanted when he began editing the problems out of his friend's lives.

Ink-click is attempting to ward all this off temporarily, by running into the space between the god's domains. Physical "distance" can't truly change this effect, but on a spiritual level, burying himself where nobody but his other half can (hopefully) find him will at least buy them some time to come to their senses.

[bruhstation]

Since we see him every now and then, what is Ryan like in Casa Tidmouth?

ryan works at the harwick branchline with daisy. in the secret of the lost treasure and misty island rescue arcs, ryan is the bystander to thomas' adventures that lead up to his fight with sailor john and skiff, eventually adding to the number of supporting characters that got dragged into both the mystery surrounding the gold dust and the mess thomas has left on sodor. after sailor john got arrested and thomas went missing, ryan helped thomas' friends look for his whereabouts while also being the key witness to sailor john's mad ramblings about "lady of the legend" and his motives for almost blowing up the island. ryan never asked for any of this but because he likes thomas and knows info that other people don't, he just HAS to step in

outside of the plot-heavy stuff, ryan's one of the kinder sudrian railway workers compared to his weirdo coworkers. he considers daisy and thomas to be his closest friends despite the former having the tendency to push her workloads onto him in the past and the latter being a bit standoffish despite ryan's attempts at hospitality.

ryan's extended family, on the other hand...

ryan is connected to the gresleys through his mother. his mother is the daughter of joseph gresley I (the gresleys’ grandfather), so he’s the cousin of gordon, scott, spencer, and mallard. he doesn’t talk to his cousins often ever since he’s a teenager because they’re nutjobs who mostly care about themselves and ryan has self-respect and values his sanity

unlike most his cousins who has the power of hater-ism coursing through their veins, ryan is a perfectly normal man who cares about his friends. he talks about his issues directly instead of letting it simmer. he sometimes have drinks with daisy and thomas after work. he used to have trouble articulating his more “negative” feelings and driving his opinion, but he’s doing better lately. he wants to maintain peace by being kind to others, which makes him prone to being dragged into any weird business his cousins have whenever they have the chance.

whenever holiday season is around the corner, ryan knows exactly what to expect. scott, his most famous cousin, the only one who still GAF about tightening what’s left of the gresleys together, will ask him to come over for dinner with his cousins (his charisma stat is maxed out). ryan can’t refuse because scott will pull excuses like “it’s just once a year” or “there's a dog” and ryan doesn’t have anything else to do. the family party will start off normal, then when mallard brings out the wine (provocateur!!!) things go south. gordon and spencer would badmouth each other about each other's secrets/fails, they get into a fight, scott tries to calm them down, ryan frowns at the disinterested mallard, sighs, goes outside to the nearest telephone booth to call daisy and ask her to pick him up. at this point it’s comical

ryan’s really the opposite of his cousins, from clothing to backstory. when designing him, I took the key components of his cousins’ designs and invert them. his cousins dress lavishly – big coats and suits, but ryan just rolls up his sleeves and dons a vest. his cousins’ haistyles are combed back, gelled, etc, while ryan’s hair goes everywhere (parted bangs show hairline). most of his cousins have horrific trauma related to death and loss from their childhood, while ryan’s just a city boy who grew up with nothing eventful in his life (except attending his cousins’ funerals). he doesn’t even inherit the gresley surname and is oblivious to most of the gossips surrounding or is inside the gresley family.

ryan is his own person who gets thrown around like a volleyball a lot, but he still has a good heart. one can consider ryan to be what any of his cousins would’ve ended up like if they had normal upbringings. who am I kidding? lol

[weaselandfriends]

Death and Identity in Post-postmodern Mystery

This essay contains spoilers for the entirety of Umineko When They Cry and spoilers for up to Chapter 140 of The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere.

Near the end of the first half of Umineko When They Cry, a bizarre curveball is tossed into the logic duel between Battler and Beatrice. Beatrice claims that Battler is somehow not actually Battler, but rather an imposter, a body double brought to the island as part of a plot to seize the inheritance. Thus, Battler is unqualified to be her opponent, meaning he must be expelled from the metafictional realm where the game takes place, and the game itself must be cancelled.

Battler, stumped by her logic, cannot form a rebuttal. He disappears, his very existence denied. "Without the one pillar that established his soul," the story reads, "he had fallen into the very depths of darkness, and had been drifting about all this time."

In The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, a parallel moment occurs at the climax of the story's first half. The protagonist, Utsushikome of Fusai, confronts the person she believes to be the murderer, someone she knew when she was young. Cornered, he attempts to appeal to their childhood friendship, indicating he had even been in love with her. Utsushikome of Fusai cuts him off coldly, saying:

"I'm not Utsushikome of Fusai."

She then bludgeons him to death with a blunt instrument, committing a murder for which the reader immediately and unambiguously knows the culprit.

Identity is the fundamental question of even the most basic mystery novel. What is the identity of the culprit? Which character, seemingly a functional member of society, is actually a murderous villain?

As the genre has developed in complexity, this question has only become more prominent. Red herrings designed to throw off genre-savvy readers necessitate many non-culprits to also lead double lives or conceal key components of their identities. Inverted mysteries, where the culprit is revealed to the reader right away, emphasize the duality of the culprit's public persona and their murderous secret: Columbo's villains are exclusively elite, wealthy, and cultured, and Light Yagami is the seeming portrait of a model Japanese youth. Even House MD, a mystery story where "diseases are the suspects," predicates its drama on the fact that the diseased victim is concealing a double identity; in House's words, "Everyone lies."

Meanwhile, the mystery genre blurs the line between art and game. A proper mystery, as genre purists will tell you, must be solvable, must be fair, must follow certain "rules." If the culprit turns out to be a character who had not appeared in the story prior to their reveal, then the parameters of the game were broken, the reader had no chance. Ditto for the implementation of fanciful poisons or contraptions, secret twins, hidden passages, and so forth. These rules are in service of preserving the phenomenological experience of reading a mystery; like a game, the value of the work is expressed through the reader's attempts to interpret it, rather than its existence as a static artistic monument.

Yet, the genre has long been entangled with literary art. Mystery's foundation lies with authors like Edgar Allan Poe and Wilkie Collins, placing it as an outgrowth of the romantic and realist literary epochs. But between 1880 and 1930—the peak of literature as mass market entertainment, before film slowly usurped it—from when Sherlock Holmes popularized the genre until the so-called Golden Age of Detective Fiction, mystery became its "own thing," and in being its "own thing" suddenly resisted the artistic spirit of its time, whatever that time might be. The Golden Age coincides temporally with the height of modernist fiction, and yet none of the stream of consciousness or abstraction that defines the latter seeps into the former whatsoever. In the post-WWII postmodern era, when literature increasingly rejected the concept of objective truth altogether, detective fiction (both in literature and in new, televised forms) continued to doggedly assert the objective truth of the culprit's identity, the objective solvability of the crime.

A lot of this discrepancy has to do with the general schism between "art" and "entertainment" that arose in literature between the late 1800s and early 1900s. As the modernists ventured in more experimental directions, a newly literate and growing middle class continued to clamor for works that were more relatable to their pragmatic, dollars-and-cents sensibilities. (I often talk about "modernism" and "postmodernism" as these all-encompassing artistic zeitgeists, but the truth is that literary realism has never fallen out of vogue with mass audiences, and even in the 1920s a realist social satirist like Sinclair Lewis—not to mention twenty names you've never heard of writing at a similar bent—sold more than Hemingway and Faulkner combined.)

By entrenching itself within the "entertainment" sphere, and by continually defining itself against itself (the process by which "genre" is created), mystery fiction was able to develop independently of the overall artistic milieu and maintain a faith in objective reality even as that became an increasingly untenable position elsewhere. And it's what makes post-postmodern mystery fiction like Umineko and The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere so fascinating to me.

Umineko didn't emerge in a vacuum. It extends from Japan's dedicated mystery subculture, and I've heard that it shares many similarities with The Decagon House Murders, a 1987 novel by Yukito Ayatsuji. Japan has its own unique relationship with postmodernism as a literary movement, with it being more of a clearly-defined artistic fad that reached prominence in the 1980s specifically, compared to the West where postmodernism seems to be the nightmare of a post-WWII world from which we cannot awaken. I wish I had more familiarity with the Japanese mystery subculture to more authoritatively speak on this subject, but I do know that it, like the West, still believes strongly in the solvability of its mysteries. I described Japan as having a "postmodern" mystery scene, but that's not what Japan calls it. In Japan, the term for a solvable, "fair play" mystery is honkaku, meaning "orthodox"—or, roughly equivalent, "classical." And beginning with The Decagon House Murders, Japanese mystery entered a new era, shin-honkaku—neoclassical.

These terms are a perfect fit. In the West, the classical is associated with the Renaissance, and indicates a focus on mathematical precision in service of the objective truth associated with God. (The golden ratio, after all, is called divina proportione in Italian—divine proportion.) The precise, solvable logic of a classical murder mystery fits within this framework, and the neoclassical mystery retains its core beliefs, much as how Napoleon Bonaparte wielded neoclassicism to lend divine legitimacy to his rule. Despite the increased complexity and metatextuality of shin-honkaku mysteries, there remains that belief in objective truth.

Umineko does not believe in objective truth.

Umineko, as a mystery, is fucking bullshit. Solving it relies on so many unspoken metafictional conceits, and even if you do "solve" it, it turns out that the culprit of the first half of the story isn't even the """real""" culprit, because the first half of the story was actually just in-universe murdersona fanfic and the actual """""truth""""" of what happened on the island is completely irrelevant to most of the mysteries with which the reader is presented.

And that's under the assumption that Umineko actually tells you who the """""""real""""""" culprit is, because it doesn't, unless you read the manga, where it was thrown in as a bone to an absolutely incensed fanbase. Umineko was not popular with the Japanese mystery crowd, which makes sense, because they get pretty directly and brutally lampooned. This is a story where a detective quoting Hercule Poirot gets introduced halfway into the story and is an unequivocal villain (she calls herself an "intellectual rapist"), with the heroes fighting to conceal the truth from her.

No, Umineko does not believe in objective truth. It might believe it exists, in some abstract way, but it does not believe it matters, compared to the magic of subjective reality. About 90 percent of Umineko (honestly a lowball estimate) depicts stuff that didn't really happen. Sometimes it depicts stuff that didn't really happen within the subjective reality of a fanfic that itself didn't really happen. Even most flashbacks set before the mystery or flash forwards set after are mired in unreality.

No, what Umineko believes in is emotional truth, subjective truth. The story's key phrase is "Without love it cannot be seen," referring to how biases (love) influence one's understanding of reality. The "Red Truth," objectively correct statements, are depicted as painful and punishing, or spiderwebs that ensnare helpless victims. It is in the space between what is known objectively where magic is allowed to exist, where interpretation can supersede fact, and where true emotional catharsis can be reached.

As such, it is the antithesis to the mystery genre.

It's also the antithesis of postmodernism. Not rejecting it, in an impossible attempt to return to some pre-modern understanding of the world; no, Umineko agrees with postmodern thought on the subjectivity of our reality. Where it diverges is in the interpretation of that subjectivity, seeing in it not the cynical nihilism postmodernism quickly (perhaps from the onset) devolved into, but a new method of reaching emotional and intellectual fulfillment.

This, to me, is what the post-postmodern artistic zeitgeist has increasingly turned toward. Works that recognize the information-dense, ungraspable reality of the post-internet age, but seek and ultimately find emotional catharsis within it. Everything Everywhere All at Once, Spider-verse and unlimited lesser multiverse stories, Homestuck, even the origin point of the literary mode Infinite Jest all operate within this theme.

Where Umineko seeks its catharsis is in identity. While the central "game" of the mystery, sometimes literalized as a chess match between Battler and Beatrice, initially appears to be Battler's attempt to discern the true culprit in classical mystery fashion, from Beatrice's perspective the game is an attempt to assert and confirm the existence of her identity altogether.

In "reality," Beatrice the Golden Witch "does not exist." There is no magical being haunting the island. Beatrice is an identity invented by another character in an attempt to generate meaning for their life. And that meaning is, fundamentally, important, perhaps more important than the objective facts that deny her existence. Which is why, as the story continues, Battler switches to Beatrice's side and defends her existence from a slate of cackling ghouls dredged out of the annals of classical mystery, who sling the "rules" of classical mystery about like weapons to maim and kill. Objectivity is the enemy, the Red Truth is a prison, but it cannot cover everything and in the mercy of subjective reality, a different sort of "truth" can be allowed to live. As the story goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that this "truth" is everything. Umineko never explicitly reveals the true killer on Rokkenjima, though mostly only through technicality. That's fine. Even by technicality, subjectivity can be allowed to live. Beatrice's identity remains.

Return to that moment I described at the start of this essay, where Beatrice briefly denies Battler's identity. In the overall narrative of Umineko, it winds up being an almost entirely inconsequential scene. Shortly after Battler disappears, his sister Ange asserts that even if Battler was not born to Asumu, he is still Kinzo's grandson, meaning he is a true heir to the Ushiromiya family and thus qualified to be Beatrice's opponent. Battler returns and the status quo is swiftly reestablished.

What is the purpose of this scene, then? In character, it makes sense as a play for Beatrice to make. Her own identity has been constantly under assault from Battler, most recently—and most painfully, for her—when Battler forgot an important promise he once made to her. She is giving him his own medicine as revenge. But it's a very dramatic and extreme turn for something so petty. The scene does establish that Battler was not actually born to the woman he believed to be his mother (Asumu), but what does this mean for the story itself?

Beatrice's claim stems from a convoluted baby swapping plot that is revealed much later in Umineko. It turns out that Rudolf had a child with both Asumu and his mistress Kyrie at the same time, and Asumu's child, the "real" Battler, died immediately, so Kyrie's child was renamed Battler and substituted for the real thing. Both children were Rudolf's son, and thus Kinzo's grandson, and all of this really has nothing to do with anything else going on in Umineko's mystery, and is kind of pointless. (It does suggest Battler as a red herring identity for the mysterious baby Kinzo tries to foist onto Natsuhi in Umineko's fifth episode, but as far as red herrings go, it's a lot of legwork for not much deception.)

I've always been fascinated, though, by what it would mean if Beatrice's claim were true. Not just that Battler wasn't Asumu's son, but that he was not related to the Ushiromiya family at all. There's some fairly compelling evidence in its favor. It's stated early on that Battler, at age 12, became angry when his father married Kyrie shortly after Asumu's death, and estranged himself from the family for six years. His appearance at the family conference where most of Umineko takes place is the first time anyone in the family has seen him since, and almost everyone is surprised by the physical transformation Battler has undergone, particularly remarking on how incredibly tall he is. Near the end of Umineko, when it is suggested that Rudolf and Kyrie are the mystery's "true" culprits, the idea that they brought in some yakuza thug to pose as Battler and help them murder everyone becomes compelling.

But that's just the practical aspect of the mystery. What about the story itself? What would it mean for the ultimate moment of emotional catharsis at the end of the narrative, when Ange—dying of cancer—finally reunites with her long lost brother, only to discover he isn't actually her brother at all?

Well, that's actually what happens at the end of Umineko. Not because Battler is a yakuza thug, though. It's because of yet another oddly-inserted plot element where Battler receives brain damage escaping the island and develops a dissociative identity disorder that causes him to view himself as Tohya Hachijo, an amnesiac author.

Though somewhat farfetched, this last-second development makes sense within Umineko's thematic framework, where identity—and the capacity for people to inhabit multiple identities at once, either literally or through the subjective interpretations of the people around them—is one of the key drivers of the story's emotional core. For Ange, her brother is lost, and yet meeting Tohya is a moment of intense catharsis, because she is willing to believe in the redemptive magic of love and "see" a subjective truth more powerful than objective reality. After all, this meeting occurs in the "Treat" ending, and is placed in contrast to the "Trick" ending, where Ange instead embraces objective rationalism and deals with uncertainty by gunning down anyone who might possibly be a threat to her. (Which turns out to be every character in her immediate vicinity.)

I wonder how that Treat ending catharsis would read, though, if instead of the author Tohya Hachijo, who deals with his identity disorder by writing fictional accounts of the Rokkenjima massacre that, while not the literal truth, reach for a subjective or emotional truth, the version of her brother Ange met was Battler the yakuza thug, who was never her brother but a cheap imposter. It would probably undermine Umineko's entire message. It would at the very least make the Treat ending seem like a nasty trick in its own right. Or would Ange still be able to "see" an emotional truth even in this? Where does the line between subjective reality and pathetic delusion lie? What, exactly, would be the identity of the brain-damaged man she reunites with? What is the identity of the story's protagonist?

That's where The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere comes in. When its central mystery starts, a metafictional interlude occurs in which rules for solving the murder(s) are established. The first rule reads:

1. THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PROTAGONIST IS ALWAYS TRUTHFUL

This rule, like many of the subsequent rules, is highly questionable. The story has already thrown into doubt who exactly the "protagonist" is. That seems like an odd thing to say, because the very first chapter, numbered 000, appears to make it explicitly clear:

"Understand this: Your role in the scenario has been elevated from that of bystander to that of the heroine, and your victory condition is thus," she continued. "You must ascertain the identity of your opponent, the cause of the bloodshed to follow, and prevent it before it comes to pass. In order to accomplish this goal, you must pay close heed to all which transpires, and use deduction, alongside your skills and past experience of the events to follow. Do you understand your role?" "Yes," I said, muted.

The issue is that whoever the perspective character is in 000, they are not the same person as the perspective character for the rest of the story. It eventually becomes clear that they share the same body, that they are both called Utsushikome of Fusai. Nonetheless, they are distinct identities. They have different memories, different motives, and different personalities. Much later, they even hold a conversation with one another in the same metafictional realm where the mystery's rules were outlined, a metafictional realm that turns out to not be metafictional at all.

Of course, neither of these Utsushikome of Fusais are actually Utsushikome of Fusai. They are gestalt personalities that combine the memories and personality of an original Utsushikome of Fusai with the memories and personality of an entirely different girl named Kuroka, and then after the two Utsushikome of Fusais diverged from one another for reasons that are, as of writing, not fully clear but potentially due to the accumulation of memory over a centuries-long time loop. This labyrinth of identity defines the story as much as its core mystery. As said mystery hurtles toward its climax, scenes in the present are intercut with flashbacks detailing how the current identity of Utsushikome of Fusai came to be. In the present mystery, there is no ultimate reveal of the culprit (one is proposed, but in fairly faulty fashion). In the past, though, the reveal of the truth of Utsushikome's identity is laid bare, brutally and explicitly, to the point that it consumes the main narrative, and culminates in the scene I described at the beginning of this essay, where the gestalt entity inhabiting Utsushikome's body discards her identity as Utsushikome and performs a brutal on-screen murder.

In doing so, the traditional climax of the mystery novel—the unmasking of the culprit—is reframed. It is the protagonist, not the culprit, who is "unmasked." Flower is, ostensibly, a time loop murder mystery (though only one loop is shown), and shortly after committing this murder, Utsushikome meets another character, who tells her that in 90 percent of loops, Utsushikome herself is the murderer. It's a claim that seems unbelievable, despite what just happened, based on the reader's knowledge of Utsushikome as a bumbling and indecisive girl who needed the most extreme circumstances to rouse herself to violence (an "anxious waif," as the author, Lurina, described her to me). It's a claim even Utsushikome meets with doubt. At the same time, how much does the reader really know about this character? How much does she know about herself? Throughout the story, her name is split into various nicknames: Utsu, Su, Shiko, each tied to a different part of her existence. The fragmentation of her name symbolizes the fragmentation of her psyche, and the version of her the reader follows—the ostensible "protagonist"—is Su, the smallest and most fragmentary scrap of her, the one most divorced from knowledge and understanding.

If Umineko exhibited faith in the magic of subjective interpretation, Flower provides a cynical counterpoint. Forget comprehending other people, or the confusion of your increasingly complex world. What if you cannot even comprehend yourself? What if, rather than the redemptive turn of Umineko's Treat ending, one looked inward and saw only greater incomprehensibility? In Beatrice, Umineko has its own character whose psyche fragmented into various constituent personalities, each with their own name and appearance. Yet Umineko posits a beauty in these personalities, and its protagonists fight for their right to exist in the face of crushing objective reality. For Utsushikome, her fragmented selves are base, ominous, potentially murderers, or indeed actually murderers—as even Su considers herself the murderer of the original Utsushikome. Her primary goal, more important to her than solving the mystery, is finding a way to undo the gestalt fusion that underlies her personality and restoring the original Utsushikome. Beatrice fights to justify her existence; Su fights to destroy it.

Postmodernism's focus on the subjectivity of individual experience quickly turned it toward cynicism, even nihilism, and the all-pervading "irony" that David Foster Wallace made his personal bugbear. One can only know their own experience of the world, not anyone else's, and the outside world is becoming increasingly complex, increasingly unfathomable, increasingly disorderly. Post-postmodernism was, from its inception, a deliberate turn away from that cynicism. A way of finding emotional catharsis even after logic dissolved. Umineko operates within this framework, while Flower goes in the opposite direction. The postmodernists were too optimistic. They at least believed in subjective truth. In the world of The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere, even that strip of reality is shredded.

Entropy features big in the postmodern landscape, brought to literary prominence by Thomas Pynchon, who studied engineering physics and often used mathematical motifs as analogies for social concepts. Flower, too, engages with the concept of entropy, or rather revolves around it. The central murder mystery is set at the sanctuary of an order of scientists dedicated to curing death, and the way they have sought to do so involves stealing a piece of an entropic god-entity and incarnating it in human form.

As such, Flower strongly ties the concept of death to the concept of entropy. I said before that identity is the fundamental question of even the most basic mystery novel, but the same could be said for death; you'd have to go back to The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, or maybe mystery stories made for children, to find a mystery without murder. Van Dine's rules for mystery put it emphatically:

There simply must be a corpse in a detective novel, and the deader the corpse the better. No lesser crime than murder will suffice. Three hundred pages is far too much pother for a crime other than murder. After all, the reader's trouble and expenditure of energy must be rewarded.

I love this because it's such a cavalier treatment of death in narrative, as though death, rather than a tragedy, was simply a way to kickstart a plot—or a "reward" for the "expenditure of energy" (as though a reader's energy is finite, and always being entropically lost). Indeed, many of the Golden Age detectives who found themselves amid a new murder a month seemed to take a similarly detached tack toward the whole affair. Umineko lampoons this as well; its Hercule Poirot parody, when faced with a group of people playing dead, goes on a six-man mass decapitation spree just to ensure there really is a mystery to solve.

Flower philosophically confronts the question of death as early as Chapter 002, when fan favorite smarmy bitch Kamrusepa goads Su into an argument over the moral implications of curing death. Kamrusepa takes a rationalist, "anti-deathist" perspective, stating that not only is curing death a fundamentally good thing to do, but the most good thing that can be done; that curing death would not only be valuable in and of itself, but would also lead to the alleviation of every other social ill. Su is less sure. Certainly, a deathless world wouldn't be free of social strife. But there's also another argument she flirts with: Perhaps people, like Van Dine's readership, somehow need death to orient the meaning of their lives around.

Her thought process mirrors that of the mystery genre. If the genre has absolute faith in objective truth, it also has absolute faith in utter destruction. Crimes less than the complete annihilation of a thinking being will not suffice. In such a way, even the most orthodox or classical mysteries themselves have a drop of the postmodern in them, a faith in the incontrovertible necessity of entropic dissolution, though in the form of the human body rather than society or information. It's notable to me that, in contrast, Umineko posits a sort of immortality for its victims, alive in the "Golden Land" within the Treat ending despite the objective reality of their tragic deaths, or even alive within the metafictional conceit of the Rokkenjima game board, where if the players desire they can always open up the box, set the pieces aright, a play with these characters once more. Through its use of the time loop, Flower rejects this proposal; its characters are trapped in a game without end, and ultimately conspire to escape this hellish immortality they've wrought for themselves. (Remember also that Utsushikome's role as protagonist, explicated in 000, was not to solve a murder, but to prevent it, which she fails at utterly and quickly.)

The Flower That Blooms Nowhere is still ongoing, and many of its mysteries remain unresolved simply due to that fact. I've spoken extensively to the author, Lurina, and she assures me she is committed to the solvability of the mystery, which suggests that she intends to ultimately reveal the truths behind the murders and everything else. This essay isn't intended to be predictive of the story's future (which, as of the latest updates, is heading into some of the most exciting territory yet, with many meditations on death and identity that I would love to talk about in this essay but withheld because I know many readers aren't caught up), but rather an assessment of what currently stands. What I find most fascinating about Flower is how it rejects so many of the redemptive post-postmodern precepts that imbue Umineko, despite borrowing so much of its metatextual complexity, and without retreating into the classical or even postmodern, as would seem to be the only alternative. Instead, Flower's vivisection of identity and death within post-postmodern concepts strike me as a wholly new and unique artistic direction, and once more makes me excited for the growing avant garde to be found within web fiction.

[ddvauconspiracies]

First thing I’m going to share my thoughts on is Martyn. Yes I know that he has not appeared in the AU yet but I believe he is a key component to help us predict what could happen in future chapters. First of all: He gets a lot of attention from Doody in forms of fan art proving that he is a big part of the story. Here is some reasons why I think this.

Why would he get his own emotions chart like HG/Scar and CG/Grian? Doody would only do this if they had to draw Martyn a lot/or he is really important to the story. We see him show up a lot in various forms of fan art from @kitsuneisi and @xmaruu11. Now that I proved that he can help predict future chapters let’s do what I made this blog for, creating and sharing conspiracies! Now, on the emotion chart of Martyn above we can see under the ‘pain’ one he is holding a double sided axe. “Shroom? What is so important about the axe?” Well, I did some digging into Doody’s posts and found this little goodie, a small spoiler for future chapters.

In this drawing we can see Martyn with the same axe looking at Ren. What does this mean? Well it could be a few things. (You can always dm or ask a question if you think I missed something) We already kind of know that Martyn is a part of the vigilante group so why does he have to attack/kill ren?

Ren plays a role with the emerald soldiers. This theory seems pretty far fetched and I don’t really believe this is the case, but I’m going to share it anyway because I believe in evidence. It is pretty obvious that the vigilante group’s worst enemy is the Emerald soldiers so It does seem justified for them to attack someone working with them.

Martyn is being punished by the Mimic. This one is going to sound weird at first but hear me out. It has become pretty obvious from Doody that there may be some…cute little feelings floating around between them. How lovely, and the mimic being the silly little stalker he is found this out. Martyn does something the Mimic calls a ‘big no no’ and the Mimic finds and kidnaps Ren to punish Martyn. The stuff in the middle that could have pissed the Mimic off I will be making another post about those conspiracies so just sit tight.

My personal favorite reason, this one seems the most far fetched out of all of them but it is fun to think about. What if Ren is a part of this third party, a cute little plot twist @xmaruu11 threw into the writing. A party that is not the vigilantes or the emerald soldiers, but still pisses the Mimic off to have Ren punished for it. Another post will be made about this going into more detail about my three conspiracies. If you have your own about this DM ME! I would love to include all of them. No idea is a bad idea! <3 -Shroom, the conspiracy theorist.

(Just a reminder the AU and the art included in this is made by @xmaruu11 and @kitsuneisi

[vodkassassin]

I'm dying over your SVSSS especially 'and I'm reminded of the simple life' you have taken my heart and stomped on it. I've reread it at least 2 dozen times in the last couple of months. And before that it was actually the fix that got me into svsss to begin with.(I followed you from your Naruto fics but that deserves a whole other rant)

It's incredible I adore all parts but especially the twist with you and sj's backstory the way sqh tried to save sj so hard. Even though we as readers know that the system probably took so many points away from him. Also mqf being the first one to really hug sqh the way he was so horrified over sqh blaming himself for his ribs??? I'm on the ground screaming. The sheer level of MUST PROTECT from all the other peak lords???? Yqy fully latching on to sqh as another little brother??? Mobi-jun practicing being gentle???? The way sqh is still so confused about what this going on??? The confession?????? I'm dying.

I cannot wait for a sqh chapter. I have so many questions??? What is the system doing in all this(I adore how it's just looking in the background adding to all of sqhs stress) how is it reacting?? Is the story he told yqy and sj almost the whole truth??? What prompted him to go after sj??? He needs so many hugs and I want all of them to give it to him. He should be hugged 24/7 ( I am dying for a sj hug even though I know thats probably a long way off if ever kind of thing). Also lqq is adorable I love him.

@haleingstorm thank you?!?! Tumblr totally ate this ask I can’t believe I never saw it until now!

I honestly have had so much fun with the plot of simple life. For a story that started out as a simple one shot, for it to have evolved into the 18 chapter (and counting!) monstrosity that it has become is just SUCH a trip. Amazing.

YQY’s POV was something I’d been looking forward to writing for a long time. I was super excited to actually get to that point in the story where I could finally share it and the reveal! The comments did not disappoint ☺️

It’s good to hear that so many people enjoy reading all the character interactions as much as I do writing them.

Plots of stories are all well and good, but in my humble opinion the relationships between the characters, and the characters own introspections, are a key component what makes stories so engaging.

Thanks for the ask <3 Feel free to leave as many as you like! ;D

[impel-clown]

I have this HC where Crocodile and Mihawk realize that Buggy's wormed his way into both of their hearts when he actually makes them both laugh and they start looking forward to setting eyes on him all the time. What clinches it is when Shanks stops by and Crocodile and Mihawk both get protective and jealous because of the history Shanks shared with Buggy. Buggy just thinks his two "partners" are plotting to murder him.

Mihawk realized it first, that the clown had gone from an annoying, albeit useful, asset to someone he actually wants to spend time with. Crocodile of course, mocks him for this. Here he had thought the greatest swordsman had some taste, he is with Crocodile after all, but liking the clown? Really?? The guy making dicks out of balloons, that's a person Mihawk wants to be with? What a waste of time. But hey, it's the swordsman's life he can do what he wants with it.

And then it's two weeks later and Crocodile is storming into Mihawk's greenhouse, practically his own sandstorm because now he too has feelings for the clown! Oh sure if it was just sex he wanted, that would be one thing! Crocodile wouldn't even flinch if his feelings were just contained to wanting to fuck the "emperor" til he was begging, crying mess. But no! Here he is, a former warlord, wanting to get Buggy things so he can see the other man wear them, wants to hear the clown's stories and jokes because fuck if it doesn't spark something in him. Here he had thought his own tastes were above this! Being with the greatest swordsman in the world? Great! But add an honest to God Clown to that? No, just no! Meanwhile, Mihawk continues to water his tomatoes throughout the rant, only occasionally interrupting to remind Crocodile that if he harms his orchids, he'll have far bigger problems than a crush on a clown, Mihawk will make sure of it.

And for a while, that's that. They don't immediately make a move on Buggy, not ones to make some big grand gesture of feelings. Instead, they'll ease into. After all, they have time. So slowly, their bullying moves onto teasing (and still some bullying, but it's with care). Mihawk sometimes gifts him with fresh produce from his garden. Crocodile offers to train together. Hell, they even go and watch one of the shows he puts on with his crew! They couldn't be any more obvious about their affections.

(Buggy has no idea his feelings are reciprocated and just assumes these are all attempts on his life.)

And then Shanks comes strolling up to the island and Buggy makes the offhand comment that hey, he may loathe the red haired bastard, but at least he appreciates Buggy's company! It takes about thirty seconds of Crocodile and Mihawk sitting in silence after Buggy leaves to realize, that in fact, no they do not have all the time in the world, and that yes, they could have been more obvious with their affections.

The following few days are spent as Buggy's shadow, glaring daggers at Shanks and reminding him that Buggy is a Key component of the Cross Guild, and he can't just come waltzing in here demanding Buggy's attention, thank you very much.

Shanks, having immediately clocked this whole situation, just laughs.