#it has a lot of great tone changes and character development

[genshin-scenarios]

welcome to new teyvat!

Summary: Genshin characters in a Zenless Zone Zero AU! This post doesn’t follow ZZZ’s plotline exactly, so there aren’t significant spoilers — but the contents do reference a lot of the worldbuilding so it’s easier to understand if you’ve played it before.

Note: The reader is in the role of the player-proxy!

Characters: Venti, Wanderer, Xiao, Albedo, Kazuha, Lyney

Venti

The mysterious idol ‘Barbatos’ is an internet sensation who releases songs throughout the year, with an annual live concert that takes over the entire city of New Teyvat! It’s always on the anniversary of the city’s founding (new year), spreading wonder and hope across a night of twinkling stars.

Barbatos’ career started when Old Teyvat had just collapsed, as a small musician name that soothed many during a period of great change. What no one knows however, is that Barbatos is not one person… but two!

That’s right; it’s a role shared by Venti and Himmel (Nameless Bard, who is alive in this AU!) Due to their similar appearances, they often swap between songs in concerts and share the role of songwriting & mixing. Fans are aware that there are ‘two people’ to Barbatos, but have been pretty good about respecting their privacy (it helps that their agency, who liaise with the Knights of Favonius and Church, are vigilant about their safety, too.)

Despite having grown into a big brand, they’ve always stuck to composing their own songs and the personal values that fueled them in Old Teyvat’s fall. While Himmel prefers a quieter life of visiting videogame stores, trying the newest cafes, and managing their social media accounts — Venti’s more keen on socialising and is more of an ‘actor’ in early-New Teyvat development. He has the ability to go into Hollows, and sometimes does his own mysterious investigations as part of his cooperation with the other ‘Archons.’��

Basically… Himmel’s a civilian, whose dream was actually to see the world (before said world collapsed during an apocalyptic incident), while Venti has a hidden side to him (growing combative abilities that can rival other high-ranking agents, though he hides it beneath a lighthearted, ‘helpless,’ tone). Venti’s goal is mostly to make Himmel’s wish come true; getting rid of the corrosion that’s eating away their world so that it can once again heal. And perhaps, if they’re lucky — the fields of cecilias and asters can bloom once again. 

Venti’s chirpy and charismatic as always; you met when he commissioned you to help with a hollow visit ‘for artistic inspiration,’ and never learnt about its ‘true’ purpose despite feeling like there’s more than meets the eye. There is also the possibility that Venti just wanted to get his mind off something and blow off some steam, of course. Despite acting like a helpless civilian 80% of the way.

You only realize he’s Barbatos at the end of the quest (when you finally meet face-to-face), and Venti runs off seconds after, leaving you to process the cliffhanger alone. Eventually he does return to visit your videostore though, borrowing movies for ‘inspiration’ (it was actually for Himmel and his bodyguards). 

He likes to butter you up with endearments like ‘my favourite proxy’ and ‘beloved fan,’ often hanging off your arm while he drags you around the city to explore the shops and such. He’s often undercover, and you get the feeling that he’s less interested in the places you go to, and more about running away from Himmel or Jean (their manager) whenever his mood isn’t the best.

You do meet Himmel at some point when he’s in the arcade causing a stir! (Beating all the highest records to claim a grand prize). You thought he was Venti at first before noticing their differences in demeanor, which immediately made Himmel adopt you as his companion for the day (their one similarity is their penchant for dragging you around. Albeit you can tell that Himmel actually is interested in the items he’s browsing in the stores, rather than having his mind wander elsewhere like Venti does. …It does make you wonder just how much is on his mind.)

However, you’ve always wondered about the logistics of them being Barbatos (does one write the songs and the other sing?), which was answered when Venti took part in a high-stakes mission with Jean and Diluc (the Mondstadt prologue team!), responding to your concern about his concert that night with ‘oh, no need to worry about that. I will still be performing, even if we’re in the hollow all night!’

It’s kind of impressive how Himmel and Venti can seamlessly copy each other, though. If you didn’t know either of them well enough, you could have certainly been fooled by watching back on the tapes of Himmel mimicking Venti’s upbeat, bubbly crowdwork (and tricked into situations where Himmel was trying to push you and Venti’s crushes on each other along, by leaving you voicemails asking you on a date from Venti’s phone. He is your number one shipper).

Wanderer

A hacker and ‘childhood friend’ of yours from the now-fallen Old Teyvat, Wanderer disappeared off the grid for a bit before reappearing as Nahida’s aide many years later when you were caught in a Bad Situation (your secret identity as the proxy ‘Viator’ was almost leaked to the press!)

After the fiasco (chasing down the people responsible, who turned out to be tied to the fall of Old Teyvat,) Wanderer moved in on the street where you lived to help ‘keep an eye on things’ (he was worried about you being in danger and wants to personally make sure you’re safe).

Despite how you’ve been separated for a while, your friendship resumed in a seamless manner as the both of you catch up on each other’s lives: Wanderer is working as a double agent right now who’s infiltrating the Fatui as ‘the Balladeer,’ while you’ve become a proxy to find out more about the fall of Old Teyvat (your previous home) and missing companion (Aether, Lumine, or both!) 

While the both of you have high-stakes secret lives, Wanderer’s civilian cover-up is pretty simple. He runs a bangboo workshop for select customers (whoever doesn’t get on his nerves) and usually shuts himself into his apartment, but has established a new routine of visiting your store once a week; usually in inconspicuous clothing like a hoodie or such. If you don’t invite him to get lunch or dinner he will get huffy.

He likes to quip that ‘trying to appear normal’ is pointless due to the nature of your double lives. But you begin to help him (to Nahida’s joy) open up his world to more friends over time. They're usually his co-workers, who he avoids talking to more than necessary (because of his double agent work), but now that you're acquainted with them too he can't just let you wander off to meet them alone, right? He's affiliated with Nahida but you can never be too careful. (He'll never admit that he's a worrywart).

Wanderer does get a bit jealous whenever you hang out with agents, saying he doesn't know what the big deal is. ‘Being able to fight in hollows doesn't make them special.’ Because of this, you didn’t even know that he can work as an agent too — Wanderer just doesn’t do it often because after the Old Teyvat incident, half of his body had to be replaced with new metal parts (made of Nahida's new tech, rather than Raiden's), which he's still getting used to!

The first time you see him in the hollows is when someone dug up and tried to blackmail him with his past (ties to Raiden Ei). Naturally, you’re the only one he trusts to back him up (you knew vaguely about his family ties from your time in Old Teyvat, and the loss of his close friends during the city’s fall — the mechanics and metalsmiths (of Tatarasuna).

His story quest concludes with you calling for backup from Childe (one of the few Fatui who Wanderer’s begrudgingly okay with you being acquainted with). After they successfully escape, Childe drops Wanderer off at your video-store, saying that he’d probably want to see you the moment he wakes up.

‘Even when he wasn't able to move anymore… the only thing on his mind was making sure they wouldn’t target you, too.’ 

‘...He cares about you more than you think. But I guess you don't need me to tell you that.’

Xiao

The Adepti are a special operations unit that served under Zhongli after the fall of Old Teyvat, and are now begrudgingly affiliated under the Liyue Qixing (if Zhongli wasn’t still behind-the-scenes with them, they would've probably retired by now). 

Now that things are peacefuller, most of the Adepti live as civilians and only go on field missions once in a while — save for Xiao, who’s one of the most active units and a workaholic to boot. 

He has a fanbase (think like Section 6). While they've only seen him with his yaksha mask on, they’re convinced just from the way he walks and talks, that Xiao must be an incredibly attractive man. They aren’t wrong, but his co-workers tease him a lot for it, which he ignores as he disappears midway through news conferences and interviews, leaving it to his them instead. 

You met during one of his missions, of course — and in true Miyabi fashion — Xiao was actually trying to arrest you and treated you as a potential enemy at first, due to your Proxy work. 

But after you saved him in a hollow (purifying him of ether corrosion) and he saved you from Ethereals, you formed a reluctant alliance that turned into slow friendship after it was clarified that you were no longer on the Liyue Qixing's wanted list. On the contrary, you're now an ally!

You learn that during the fall of Old Teyvat, Xiao and the other yakshas were hit heavily by ether corrosion after spending an extended period of days in the hollows; most of them are fine now, but as Xiao took the brunt of it, he’s somewhat ill like Harumasa and has to be checked on by Baizhu regularly. 

Though he often soldiers on and pretends he’s fine, his coworkers ask you to invite him out for lunch and errands so that he’d rest instead of training all the time. —It’s what everyone admires him for, but they’re just as concerned about how hard he is on himself. 

You are one of the few people who he’d stop training for and take breaks with, if you ask. You think it’s because Xiao has the impression that you’re a workaholic too, and that by complying he’s helping you rest. 

Xiao doesn’t see the point in engaging in civilian relationships because he considers his ether corrosion to be a deadline of sorts; before he’s unable to fight any longer, he wants to do his best to protect New Teyvat and eradicate the source of ‘evils’ — so that no one else is lost to the endless void. 

Despite that, many people gravitate towards Xiao. You learn he actually has more friends than he lets on (Venti, Yelan, Keqing, Ganyu, Cloud Retainer and the other adepti, to name a few), and every time you run into them on your hangouts, Xiao almost seems… embarrassed?

You soon learn that this is because everyone knows that he has a soft spot for you and really wants to see Xiao acting all domestic (waiting outside your video-store because he arrived early, carrying your bags, walking to you immediately if he sees you…)

Xiao would rather eat cement than put on a show for them so he often ushers you away (as you can tell, the main angst in this AU is his corrosion since the other yakshas are alive. It's otherwise quite casual and fun!)

He is so obvious about his favouritism, though. The yakshas (basically his family) have been trying to invite you for dinner for the longest time, but Xiao is too wary of what kind of things they might ask you once you’re there. 

When the dinner finally happens, though, you all hit it off! Bosacius teases Xiao, asking if what he was really worried about was sharing your attention, seeing as you’re now distracted on the side.

Of course, all Xiao gives in response is a little huff. "...What a ridiculous thought.” 

Albedo 

A clinic owner by day and scientist by night! Albedo specializes in treating non-regular people, like Thierens, those with machine parts, ether corrosion, and… your eye implants! (A unique ‘gadget’ you got from your old teacher.)

Albedo seems to be especially interested in you. He likes to test the limits of your ability to connect to your bangboo and notes that people often seem to be drawn to you. …As a proxy, of course. What’s putting that blush on your face? 

Awful, awful. He’s way too flirty for a doctor, but you guess it's also your fault for befriending him outside of work. You had no idea what you were in for when you agreed to be his research partner; and after a few days of radio silence, you were suddenly called upon to ‘fetch’ Albedo from the hollows like it was just another Tuesday afternoon.

This becomes a normal occurrence quickly, due to Albedo’s inability to sit still when a theory comes to mind. He is also very unafraid of Ethereals and is immune to corrosion (as a homunculus,) which means that his reaction to you finding him is always a little smile (playing innocent), as if you’d just found him on an evening walk (how did he carry so many vials into the hollow? And are those bones???)

Only a handful of people would believe you if you told them about his hobbies, though. For the most part Albedo is an elusive, pretty face in the neighborhood who’s known for being a top-notch scientist. He often exchanges research with Baizhu and Tighnari, and Cyno and Xingqiu too?

The latter is more towards his art account online (Albedo went viral for his genius, ‘surely those who post art without captions are a different beast!’) As such, he’s able to bid his paintings off to fund his scientific endeavors. You tried becoming his ‘art agent’ for a function once and swore you’d never attempt it again, though. Art aficionados are terrifying…

Funny thing, by the way: when you first met Albedo, he was a villain to be reckoned with in your eyes, as the Knights of Favonius reached out to you with an urgent commission to catch a rogue scientist.

You were entirely convinced that Albedo was some kind of evil criminal until you finally caught him in the hollows — only for the knights to go ‘if you do this one more time we really won’t be able to cover for you!’

…Turns out, Albedo is affiliated with the knights, though he doesn’t work in their HQ and such. He is indeed a genius but has the tendency to use abnormal approaches, sometimes to the point of suspicion from other governmental bodies (meaning the Knights of Favonius have to sometimes cover his neck.)

Emotionally betrayed (from being led on) about the ‘dangerous, unpredictable individual’, you tried to leave right after you got your commission payment from the knights (this is Kaeya’s fault. Kaeya never clarified things because he thought it’d be funny. And then as you were chasing down Albedo, he also caught onto your misconception and played along. They’re both horrible!)

Albedo still likes to tease you about it these days, and in your early friendship he’d ‘act’ the part of a villain and stress you out with lines like ‘I don’t know, Proxy, will you be able to keep me in check?’ Or ‘You would know how unpredictable I can be.’ 

Or: ‘Don’t worry, you know my will is malleable to yours.’ ‘…And what about the law?’ ‘Well,, there is no emotional compulsion tying me to that.’

You know he’s a good person, but sometimes the way he looks at you from beneath his lashes does make your heart skip a beat. Out of stress, surely. Not… anything else.

Kazuha

Representing the Alcor in the Outer Ring as their duelist, Kazuha isn’t seen in the city very often due to his sensitivity to crowds and loud sounds. 

The first time you met, however, was in the city's outskirts: he was escorting an important shipment and was taking a late-night break — and archons, Kazuha was so ethereal with his hair down and gazing up at the moon, that you thought he might’ve been a figment of your imagination. 

You’re proven wrong a few days later when Heizou (renowned detective) asks if you can travel out to help the Alcor with a shipment task. They’re being targeted by rival groups as a large tournament is coming up; but Heizou feels like there’s more to this ‘competitiveness’ than meets the eye. Also… it’s the first year since Kazuha’s close friend, Tomo, was lost in an accident last year. So Heizou thinks your arrival would be a good distraction.

While your sense of direction mainly comes in navigating mazes, Kazuha shows you a different way of moving through the world. He’s able to find his way throughout the Outer Ring no matter where he’s dropped; ‘reading the wind’ with his senses, he says, while keeping you close to his side with fingers entwined. 

Yeah. Kazuha’s a bit of a romantic, claiming that your second meeting must’ve been a work of fate; but you soon realize there might be something more meaningful in your interactions after learning about the burn marks on his hands. 

While they're still recovering, the fact he tries to hold you close is a show of trust — and, a way for him to memorize your presence in case something urgent happens during the tournament. That way, he’d be able to rescue you even if smoke and thunder raged, muddling his other senses.

When said drama does occur during the night of the tournament (rogue groups attacking, xyz), you weren’t in the vicinity when Kazuha was fighting off foes. You do however rescue him from being surrounded by enemies, via grabbing and pulling him through a hollow rift by the hand. There, you helped the Alcor regroup and sort out their counter-attack, and Kazuha still hasn’t gotten over the moment your fingers wrapped around his skin; somehow, he did recognize your touch. 

It’s ironic how his intentions to protect you concluded in the opposite; after the drama in the Outer Ring passes, you do encounter Kazuha quite often in the quieter parts of the city. Beidou has been sending him on errands more often ever since she noticed your friendship, and doesn’t want Kazuha to get all mopey from not seeing you for too long (he likes to send you pictures from his strolls around the Outer Ring though, of desert landscapes and orange sunsets that seem to consume the clouds.)

Kazuha also quite enjoys movie nights with you! He prefers this in the comfort of your living room rather than the cinema, since there’s less people (and it’s easier for him to double as a bodyguard for your store). 

He reminds you that you’re more high-profile than you think, and to be careful because of the risks of your double life. Most importantly… he’ll always come to your rescue if you need it, be it through wind or storm. So don’t hesitate to contact him (he really can’t stomach the thought of losing another friend.)

People know of Kazuha as the cutie from the Outer Ring who hangs out with you often!! He also has friends in the city like Heizou, Kokomi, Gorou and etc, but they claim that he’s hard to get a hold of and disappears quite quickly. Which is strange considering how Kazuha often spends the night at your store’s guest room or couch after long movie marathons, or only departs reluctantly way later into the night.

Lyney

The Fatui’s House of Hearth deploys stealth agents of all kinds; Lyney and Lynette in particular are their best, able to disguise themselves in a myriad of ways and changing identities at the drop of a hat. It’s almost like magic, some might say. 

To be honest, Lyney’s a little bit in love with the job since it also deals with surprising people with tricks — and while he and Lynette do street magic and small shows every now and then as civilians — it’s not their ‘job’ like it is in the canonical game. They're more active in the House of Hearth’s missions, especially as they’re one of the few with the ability to go into hollows and withstand their corrosion.

Therefore, Lyney’s love for magic is a little bit suppressed! They have to keep a low profile after all, since it’d be pretty easy to trace an amazing magician’s acts to his flamboyant mission escapes if he isn’t careful. So when you come along, well… You’re one of the few outsiders who know about both his lives. And that makes things special, because he can now excitedly show you the newest tricks he’s been practicing!! Both for missions and civilian shows.

You met when the House of Hearth needed a Proxy for a rather difficult mission; leading them through an undiscovered hollow and getting very stressed out because you thought they’d been cornered by Ethereals, only for the twins to… disappear?

Well, just for a second, so that they’d swap places with the Ethereals and were now the ones cornering them. The entire mission starts and ends with you only hearing Lyney and Lynette’s voice, and that was supposed to be it; until they decided you’d be worth befriending after hearing the concern and panic in your voice. 

Lyney visits first, to make sure things are safe before giving Lynette the okay to drop by in the future (can’t be too careful!) He comes disguised as a regular customer before he then admits that you’re even cuter in real life — and that’s when you realize why he sounds so familiar! 

Before you can blurt out his mission name however, Lyney puts a finger to his lips and reaches behind your ear… revealing a flower and envelope. You’ll later find that it’s a ticket to his and Lynette’s next big show! 

Lyney departs with a little smile and thanks, and you never could’ve expected that his civilian appearance would look so… unassuming. (He doesn’t wear a hat when he doesn’t want to get noticed, and even has glasses!)

A few civilian hangouts later, you learn that he does need the glasses; it’s just that during missions and shows he wears contacts because of all the moving around. Lyney even jokes about buying a new pair that’s the same shade as your eyes, so that he can be reminded of you (they’re such an enchanting colour, I could gaze into the mirror all day!)

Lyney’s always appearing in different disguises and styles, but the look in his eyes and soft, familiar smile always helps you identify that it’s him. (In a later scenario, Lynette stoically says it’s the look of love, causing both you and her brother to turn tomato red.)

Your favourite hangouts have to be when Lyney is his ‘most genuine,’ or relaxed — when he drops by the video store around sunset or the evening — and the world is too busy in their own homes to worry about the phantom thief roosting at your door (a little bit like a cat wandering home. Though Lyney’s a lot chattier and willing to charm than any feline you’ve met.)

[kasey3285]

They’d be named Candyman, who is not actually a man made of candy, but a man who is part flesh and part candy. (Lore under the cut)

He’d have a lighthearted and goofy attitude, playing along to the setting’s fantastical, childlike, and innocent tone but he’d also have another side for when things get bad. He’d be that character who knows more than what he lets on and uses the goofy attitude to mask that.

If he were a side character in a video game, he’d be relatively out of the way in the normal route but he’d have a much more important role if the player character made decisions that were wrong or evil. In this route, you’d see past the happy-go-lucky surface by of the world and see into what it really is. He’d act as a guide for you, helping you understand what you’re seeing and telling you how it all came to be.

Unbeknownst to you, he’s playing to his own motivations as well as yours. Some part of this darker side to the world corrupts people and he’s trying to steer you off that path. He’s trying to help you because he was victim to it once too. It’s what made him part man, part candy.

But if you don’t start making better choices, he won’t wait to watch you fall victim to it too. One way or another, he isn’t going to let it happen to someone else.

can someone make a character that if you stab them in a certain area candy gore comes out and if you stab them in a different area normal gore comes out?

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Asunder

slow-paced high fantasy

a woman who has a contract with an eldritch entity allowing her to see the dead & survives by taking various jobs

when a job searching for stranded smugglers in a cave goes wrong, she ends up with the soul of a dying stranger bound to her shadow

along with a scholar and her old childhood friend, they travel to his home country to find a way to unbind him and save them both

dark fantasy world with gods, demonic entities, arcane magic, and semi-sentient beasts used as transport

[felassan]

Sylvia Feketekuty: "To celebrate DA day, I've made a bluesky account that I'll keep active for a few days to talk about my work on Inqusition or Veilguard! After a few days I'll lock the account, because I'm not a social media person. Happy to talk until then though. I want to say straight off: the reception to Emmrich, Manfred, the Mourn Watch, and the Grand Necropolis has been heartwarming for all of us who worked on those people and places. Thank you all very much!" [source, two]

Rest of post under cut due to length and spoilers. [Post Two, Post Three]

Sylvia Feketekuty: "In the meantime, I do want to talk about a couple of things I saw floating around regarding Emmrich: 1. Emmrich being 52 or 50. I think people got 50 from data mining a character file, but we can't do a ranges in those files. As in, I couldn't input 50-60, it had to be a whole number. I put down 50 as an early ballpark, then went more accurate in later audition scripts. 2. Fifty-two is a old number I threw into an early document before his art or character was totally final. (And which caused another developer a headache because they thought it was accurate, I never updated it. Sorry about that.) 3. "Wait, how old is Emmrich then?" Once I saw his final character art, I felt more mid to late 50s. MAYBE early 60s. But unless we specifically state a character's age in the game, it's all malleable. I honestly would just adjust it to your impressions unless stated otherwise. 4. I've also seen comments on how weird it is for Emmrich to act like there's an age-gap in the romance if your Rook is around his age. And you're right. 5. The reason is because Rook WAS younger when those scenes were written and worked on. I felt it'd be odd if I never addressed the May-December aspect, especially as it hooks into some of Emmrich's worries. 6. By the time that shifted, it was really too late to change without catastrophic repercussions to the excellent cinematics and music and other things that depend on line delivery and timing. 7. To be clear: you can feel how you want about the age gap coming up at all! But that's how the discrepancy came about. 8. "Is there a way to reconcile Emmrich acting like my Rook is way younger than him if they're not?" Great question! I have several suggestions: -Accept it's an error. (True, but unexciting) -Emmrich considers a gap of 3-5 years scandalous. (Funny, albeit a bit cartoonish.) -The Mourn Watch has perfected swapping out organs, and Emmrich is nervously hiding that he's way older than he looks out of vanity. (Untrue, but funny.)" [source thread]

User in reply to point 6. above: "I'm personally glad it was too late to change because their argument about it is genuinely my favorite scene in the entire game! 😭💕 It's such an important moment to me" / Sylvia: "Thanks! That one was one where I was all sweatily trying to balance things out, with tone, with pacing, etc. Really glad it came together for you. (Cine and the actors did heroic things there to get it feeling just so!)" [source]

More snippets:

Emmrich's favorite ice cream flavor? Rum raisin [source]

Lots of people on the dev team shared the vision of having a bunch of gothic weirdness in that pocket of Thedas [source] (Necropolis/Nevarra)

Sylvia "especially liked writing the Mourn Watch origin, it was fun to write a fellow nerd for Emmrich to chat with" [source]

Sylvia poured some personal worries and fears into writing Emmrich [source]

On Vorgoth and their nature: "I'm a little leery of saying anything, partly because I'm cowardly avoiding publicly defining anything more until/if I ever need to. And partly because I did want them to be a fresh unknown. Sorry!" [source] "I'm glad you like Vorgoth, but I'm afraid I don't have much for you that isn't in the game. I deliberately wrote them so as to leave room, if we ever revisited them, or for Vorgoth to remain mysterious, if we did not. I'm sorry if that's not a very satisfying answer!" [source] "I will say, it was fun to throw in a few lines about Vorgoth's art collection. Their passion for it is sincere and deep. (I wanted all the Watchers to have a little non-death related hobby or interest, because they can be so singularly focused.)" [source]

Dwarven Mourn Watcher is a rare origin combo for Rook so Sylvia wanted to call it out [source]

On the outcomes of Emmrich's quest: "I tried really hard to make the options equally viable, and more up to the player's interpretation or preferences of what it would mean for Emmrich in their view. It's been interesting seeing reactions to it, which hinge sometimes on various single lines pushing people one way or another!" [source]

"The Grand Necropolis is always eager and ready for a new member of the Mourn Watch to grace its ranks." [source]

User: "I loved Emmrich's view on death and what his personal quest ultimately went on to say about the nature of death itself, and how the beauty of mortality lies in its impermanence and unpredictability." / Sylvia: "I really wanted to dig into those themes, and everyone in cine and art and level design and editing and the whole team honed in exactly on the vibe. The floral stuff especially, I was so thrilled when I played through the Memorial Gardens' with the art and lighting in." [source]

User: "I experience thanatophobia and that first conversation w/ Emmrich was so affirming and helped me describe my own anxiety to others" / Sylvia: "Thanks, the thanatophobia was, as you may've guessed, a personal experience for me too. I'm glad it was something that helped a little." [source] "I suspect that phobia is way more common than people think, and part of the reason Emmrich talks about it was to express that sentiment out loud. I find it helps sometimes just to acknowledge it." [source]

What languages does Emmrich speak other than Trade? "I think he'd be familiar with Tevene, since there's surely many, many old texts about magic written in that language. Kind of like a doctor that knows latin through their work. I also named that MW alphabet "tomb-script", though I'm not sure if it has a spoken component or not since it never came up in-game. If it does, he'd be able to speak that for sure." [source, two]

User: "Playing as a Mourn Watch Rook has been an absolute delight!!!" / Sylvia: "Thank you so much, I really liked writing those branches of the dialogue. Since Emmrich's so focused on necromancy, it was fun having a Rook who could be both casual and knowledgeable about it." [source]

User: "In your opinion, what outcome do you prefer for a romanced Emmrich (lich/non lich)?" / Sylvia: "Interesting question! To be honest, I'm afraid to answer it properly in case anyone takes my answer to be a canonical one. I really wanted either path to feel equally interesting/correct for whatever you decide fits your Rook's relationship with Emmrich. (We're also in the strange waters of meta-reasoning. I GAVE Emmrich his fear of death-Sorry Emmrich!-which makes me feel a little culpable for that, even though he's entirely fictional. And that might prey on my mind when trying to decide. A very odd experience!)" [source, two]

What music genres would Emmrich be into? "Classical music is very much playing to type for Emmrich, but I feel it's also correct. He'd enjoy a nice concerto or an organ recital. Or, if he's feeling daring, a bold new Orlesian opera! But I don't think his tastes are too outré in that area. That said, I saw someone post something like "Leave Emmrich alone, let him attend the Depeche Mode concert" while listening to Depeche Mode's "Violator", for the first time, which made me laugh. (Great album. If he could get over the shock of synths, Emmrich might enjoy "Waiting for the Night".)" [source, two]

When writing Emmrich the devs wanted to try and hit the gothic romance vibe [source]

Does Emmrich mix his own fragrance/cologne? Does he ever vary it by the season? "I think Emmrich goes to some of the many perfumers that have set up shop in Nevarra City around the Necropolis, just because he trusts their judgement and expertise. I hadn't considered him varying it by season, but that's very fun! I certainly think he has more than one bottle of scent." [source]

User: "How does Lich Emmrich have sex?" / Sylvia: "I don't mind the question! But my answer's a bit boring: I generally stay at arm's length on the more explicit romance stuff, just because if it's not stated or shown in-game, I don't want to bring in a canonical answer that might affect what people imagined. My general preference for romantic scenes that get physical is to leave blank space somewhere, so players can imagine what happens next. It's not the ONLY way to do it, I think there's legitimate artistic reasons to go more explicit. But that's how I approached Emmrich (and before him Josephine.)" [source, two]

User: "The scene with the fade glow where he touches your hand haunts me in the best way" / Sylvia: "Aw thank you. Our animators and audio people made that scene way better than I could've hoped! They took such care with everything there. I want to say that little eye-peep from Rook was added in by one of them, which was the perfect touch." [source]

User on Emmrich: "i’m curious whether you think he’d prefer dogs or cats (or both, or neither)" / Sylvia: "I think he'd consider cats and dogs a little too noisy and messy for his tastes. Not like a nice, quiet plant or skeleton! (Weirdly, I actually had a scrap of banter going over this exact subject at one point. It got tightened down to the exchange with Harding about the pig he used to hug when he was a kid.)" [source, two]

Sylvia was trying to tease Nevarra with the Tevinter Nights story Down Among the Dead Men [source]. "It was really fun to tease the Necropolis, so to speak, in TN, and I'm grateful we got to actually let players through its gates at last." [source]

User: "if Rook chooses to save Manfred and keep Emmrich mortal, what would Emmrich wish to become of his body once he did pass on?" / Sylvia: "Good question. I think he'd want to remain active and useful in death. A guide for other Mourn Watchers, or posted as a mystic guide somewhere dangerous, or perhaps an oracle in the library." [source]

User: "when and how was it decided that Emmrich would be romanceable? I remember reading that he would not be a romance option." / Sylvia: "I'm not sure where that came from, because I pitched him and then shortly after that we decided the entire cast was romanceable. That was fairly early on in the development of Veilguard, as I recall it. (Could've been a crossed wire?)" [source]

Trick Weekes: "Sylvia wrote the fantastic Emmrich "the Vol-carnage" Volkarin and everything that happens in Nevarra while dealing with a lead writer whose attitudes about corpses and undead are... not dissimilar from Taash's." [source] / Sylvia: "I still remember when you gave the very accurate feedback "I think we need to give players whose Rooks aren't into corpses some roleplaying choices to express this" and I was all "Ohhh yeaaaaaah." (Thank u Trick, you were right)" [source] / Trick: "Specifically, being able to express this without locking themselves out of the content! (For non-Sylvia folks) Given my issues with corpses, Emmrich as a whole was SUPER Not For Me, so I gave one caveat and then said, "For the rest of my critique, I will be impersonating his target audience." [source]

Sylvia on the secret origins of Manfred: "After I pitched Emmrich, I started jotting down notes and thoughts on his plots, his quirks, all that kind of stuff. It was very early on Veilguard, anything was still possible. We were chatting in the writer's room about it one day, and I think we'd just seen some early concept art for Emmrich. And our lead writer Trick Weekes joked that Emmrich looked like a man who'd have a skeleton named Manfred. And I laughed and went "Yeah he does!" And then I thought about it. It's wild in retrospect, but that one comment spurred a train of thought that led to the core of Emmrich's arc. He may've ended up a very different character without it! tl;dr: I stole it from Trick." [source, two, three, four]

"I got to play with a pretty free palette when defining the way Emmrich and the necromancers view death and spirits. But I tried to keep it within the confines of existing lore. That's one reason why that scene where Emmrich talks about Manfred to Harding goes into "the eternal question" of whether a soul actually returns with the dead or not. Nevarra has distinct beliefs, but I thought it'd be interesting if its people argue over their interpretations of those beliefs." [source, two]

"the other writers also suggested a bit later on that the big choice dig more into Emmrich's philosophies. Initially, it was more personally focused on his fears, which made it 'relatable' but pettier. Without that correction, I think it would've been weaker, I totally needed the team push." [source]

"I have a few guides to graveyard symbology, and it's so packed with references and meaning." [source]

User: "Did any of your own fears & experiences, make it into the writing of Emmrich? If yes, is it information you’re comfortable sharing with us? If it’s too personal to give any details, that’s fine as well. Also, across the other games, who do you think Emmrich will get along with best?" / Sylvia: "some of his fears are absolutely personal. The reflexive-compulsive panic over death is something I'm very familiar with, and I wanted to explore that through him. Because I suspected it was not uncommon, and worth examining. The question of who he'd get along with from the other games is surprisingly tough! Because without asking the other writers about their characters, I wouldn't know for sure. So I can only really speak to Josephine with surety. That said: -I think Josephine would be polite, and grow to like him, but would never entirely be over the ostentatious necromancy. -I think Emmrich meeting Sera would be the funniest match." [source, two, three]

"Peter Cushing was also one of my go-tos as an example of what I wanted Emmrich to be." [source]

"(Huge shout out to all the animators and level designers making Manfred run, quite literally. Like 95% of his personality lives in his movement, I think they nailed it.)" [source]

On Emmrich: "I tried to put a lot of passion and sincerity in his love for the dead, and I admit the Necropolis was THE big place I wanted to see in Thedas myself ever since reading about it in a codex." [source]

User: "Thank you for letting him have that cemetery dream date!" / Sylvia: "Having the date in the cemetery was one of the first things I wanted when thinking about the romance." [source]

"Josephine was the first time I was entrusted with a new character and a new romance at once, and that'll always be special to me." [source]

User: "How much input did you have in Emmrich's appearance in the podcast?" / Sylvia: "In the podcast, none myself. I believe it was handled by a third party but reviewed by a few people at BW, I don't know too much past that. (We did provide a descriptor and character rules. Stuff like "Emmrich never swears" and "always says amongst" and broader, more thematically useful things.)" [source]

User on Emmrich: "Are you planning any other external-media stories for him?" / Sylvia: "Thanks very much, The Flame Eternal has a special place in my heart for being the first time Emmrich got to be center stage in a story. (And very flattering to hear about the cross stitch. That's so cool!) I can't speak to any external-media plans, I'm afraid. That's not an implied hint about anything existing or not, it's just literally outside what I'm allowed to chat about. It'd be fun to do something like that again though!" [source, two]

"I must give full credit to Nick Borraine, Emmrich's voice actor. He got the compassion and tenderness the character needed right away." [source]

"And glad him being closer to your age resonated, I really wanted someone older out on an adventure. No reason that has to stop at any age IMO." [source]

User: "do the mourn watcher/nevarra in general raise their pets after they die to keep them around? like a dog skeleton with a whisp in it?" / Sylvia: "To be honest I hadn't thought out this one, but it's a very good question. I'm not sure how common that would be, or even if it's permitted to have pets running around the family crypt. (I definitely thing people would WANT to do it.) You know, I think I'm going to have to leave this one in the vague quantum foam of the future. I think I'd want to not only double check existing lore, but answer that in-game (or in a book or etc.) if we ever need to. (Hope that's not too much of a cop out. Sometimes I like to leave questions I'm not sure about alone, because until it's in an official game or story, it doesn't quite count.)" [source, two, three]

User: "as someone who shares emmrich's anxiety about mortality, getting to spend time with him, and in the grand necropolis and with the mourn watch, was genuinely soothing" / Sylvia: "Thank you, I'm glad he was a comfort. It's a familiar fear for me too, and I'd hoped he would connect that way with people very much." [source]

On the giant ribcage 'ceiling' in the Necropolis: "sadly, even I don't know all the mysteries of the Necropolis. (Which is to say it's a very cool bit of art but has no stated origin yet. Could be a large dragon, a giant...or something weirder!)" [source]

On TN story Luck in the Gardens: "It was nice change up, writing in first person and with someone so rascally. I've got an enduring affection for the Lords after writing Hollix, the scamp." [source]

User: "I just love his genuine enthusiasm for everything he does. If the other party members had fan clubs Emmrich would be the president of each and I love that for him" / Sylvia: "Thank you! I really wanted him to embody a kind of expansiveness and generosity of spirit, to stand in contrast to the eeriness of his abilities." [source]

User: "What was your inspiration for Josie?" / Sylvia: "My girl! When I came on to Inquisition, there'd already been work done on setting up the spine of the main plot, and figuring out the overall cast. But one of the advisors was a little murkier. It just said "Diplomat" on the white board. We knew we wanted someone in that position, but not who. So in a game where you were out exploring, killing demons, etc., but also had a big organization to run? I immediately wanted to make a Diplomat firmly there for you. Somebody you could hand the keys to the entire Inquisition to while you were out, and know it'd be in good hands. I also thought it'd be fun to have someone from Antiva, since that area wasn't covered yet by anyone in the cast. And I needed her to be polished, smooth, but heartfelt, because of that aforementioned trust. And that was the core of Josephine! Her voice actor, Allegra, brought her to life with such lovely charm, and hearing those early sessions also helped me further hone her tone." [source, two, three, four]

"Our music supervisor Ron Dazo hit it out of the park with Emmrich's music IMO. And so glad you liked Hezenkoss! Just very fun to write as a character." [source]

User: "Did any specific watcher raise MW Rook?" / Sylvia: "Good question! I kind of left that one alone because I wasn't sure if I wanted to let Rook define that themselves, or leave it open, and also I'd have wanted a full conversation on it. In the end that was a little out of scope so I left it unsaid. Which is to say that it COULD be Vorgoth who helped raise your Rook. And that stands until/unless we give a definitive answer (or let you choose from a range of answers) one day." [source, two]

"It was such a pleasure for all of us to finally get to explore the Necropolis, I am very glad we got to throw open the gates." [source]

User: "I was wondering if there were any Mourn Watch details you wished you had more time to explore? I was so struck by some of the ethical implications in your stories" / Sylvia: "Geeze, now that's a question. I mention it with Emmrich, but there's some resentment over the power the Watchers hold as THE mortalitasi of the Grand Necropolis, between them and the other orders. There's something to that situation I liked. There's also questions of how they select people for the order. What their standards are, how closely they work with benign spirits. And how they cultivate those relationships. How deep does that go? I also mentioned in a codex "the lives and bodies of those who tamper with the undead of the Necropolis are forfeit unto the Mourn Watch." which is pretty chilling. What's that punishment like, exactly? And in general, writing about anything weird or unexplained in the Necropolis brought me much enjoyment, and it would be fun to dig around how the Mourn Watch deals with (or what they want out of) all these mysteries and entities." [source, two, three, four]

"Geeking out with Emmrich about spooky stuff was a delight to write." [source]

"I liked writing someone older this time, it was something different for me and rewarding in some unexpectedly different ways. (And thanks especially for the nice words on DAtDM - I was very excited to introduce people to the Mourn Watch there!)" [source]

"Ah, tomb-script. I named it but it was our concept artists who went developed it with the hexagon shape-language of the Mourn Watch, which I loved. Conceptually: I think it's used purely an occult or sacred language. Something for the graves, or books on magic, but not everyday things." [source]

"Some trans people kindly offered their help with some feedback on some of the romance lines and others, which absolutely made them much better." [source]

"Trick Weekes actually wrote a ton of the banter where Emmrich inquires into qunari artifacts and customs, and Taash talks about what it was like to grow up under a scholar. I really dig the dynamic they unearthed between the two there." [source]

User: "Do you remember what was written in the script to describe ✨this✨ moment? [link]" // Sylvia: "Lol. I miiiiiight? Let me look at my notes. Ah hah, I do! My note says that Emmrich "takes a second, surprised." And then he's touched afterwards." [source, two]

Sylvia: ""i hope it's not too late, but were there any designs in mind for what Nevarra City looks like?" Not too late! We've got a few sketches in the World of Thedas books, but that's it. If the team ever went back to Nevarra City proper, I'd imagine the art team would want to do a deeper dive." [source]

Sylvia: "(Glad you liked Myrna in particular. My first Mourn Watcher everyone got to know!)" [source]

Sylvia: "I'm glad to hear getting to know Emmrich has been of some comfort." [source]

[mikiruie]

𓈒⠀⠀⠀⠀︵︵ ⠀◟ † ◞ ⠀︵︵ㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀𓈒 ⠀

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡ ♫₊ ⊹ 𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝔂 𝓽𝓪𝓹𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓻𝔂 : 𝓁𝒶𝓂𝓅 ﾟ。ꪆ୧. 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓼 𓂃 ˖ ˚◞✧

── HAYATO SUŌ ﹕ 蘇枋 隼飛 ┊͙ WIND BREAKER ࿐

𓋜 wbk. masterlist // general masterlist.

premise. you thought it’d take a lot to frazzle hayato suo of all people, but a little downpour during your first date ends up proving you wrong.

content. hayato suō / f!reader. fluff — sfw. somewhat established relationship (first date). 1 petname (sweetheart). suo is taller than reader. suo is in love + a nervous wreck.

word count. 4.1k

soundtrack. rainy tapestry : lamp.

écoute chérie! ᰔ this is a repost from my old bloggie + edited a lil ‹𝟹 @luffysprincess @tetsuskei

19:57

“Attention all park-goers, the fireworks display for tonight is cancelled due to the untimely weather.”

The overhead speakers loudly declare several times to the entirety of the amusement park of the recent development, with a few still turning their heads in confusion at the sudden announcement.

“We’re sorry for the cancellation and we hope to see you again soon. Please make your exit out of the park, and have a great rest of your night."

Suo’s hand is grasped firmly in your own as he leads you out of the designated fireworks viewing zone, in tow behind you both are the several hundreds of other disappointed families making their way out.

“It’s really coming down now . . .” You heard their worried whispers and begruding moans as they hurriedly gathered up their kids, quickly brandishing whatever means they could scrounge up to shield the young children from the rain. Blankets, jackets, umbrellas, bags— whatever was available.

Unclear at first glance in the darkness of the night, rain clouds have already begun to form over the park. Your head cranes up to the sky to take a peak when a couple droplets of water hit the tip of your nose and slopes of your cheeks as light trickles of rain start to shower from above, quickly increasing in intensity at an alarming pace and drenching those who were unfortunately caught in it’s torrential downpour.

Dozens of children can be seen and heard crying into their mother's laps across the viewing area, covered in hastily bought clear plastics ponchos while holding extinguished sparklers in tiny, freezing cold hands.

Some quietly trudge behind their parents in sadness, their sneakers and socks getting soaked by the puddles of water that have begun to form on the ground while they walk while others wail and tug their relatives back towards the grassy clearing, whining and pleading for them to stay behind.

“You’re shivering,” Suo comments, concern lacing his voice. He pulls you closer to him, still walking along briskly as his hand begins to rub up and down your arm. Goosebumps stand to attention atop the surface of your skin underneath your sweatshirt, responding to the sudden change of temperature in the atmosphere.

What was predicted to be a clear, warm spring night ended up being a freezing, rain-filled one instead.

Suo pulls his damp jacket off his shoulders, draping it over your own instead. The scent of his jasmine-scented shampoo and hints of the oolong tea he drank at the café you two visited earlier in the day are immediately recognizable, wafting in the chilly air as you pull the fabric tighter around your figure.

“I’ll be fine,” You insist, still bowing your head lightly in response to his gratitude and trying to ignore the chill that has begun to sneak up your chest underneath your clothes. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, though?”

Suo’s jaw tightens at your question, before responding with a curt “Yeah.” It’s quick and terse, the tone of his voice unbefitting of his character.

“Just keep that on you, okay?” He asks, “Your parents won’t like it if I let you catch a cold.”

Passing by a small girl on the way out whose sitting on a bench crying to her parents about missing the fireworks show, the slight dip in Suo’s usually relaxed expression doesn't go unnoticed by you. His hold on your hand tightens ever so slightly the more saddened families he walks past, the pace of his footsteps quickening with each puddle he unintentionally splashes in.

The water kicks up and onto your socks and shins, a dull chill growing in your lower half each time.

“. . . I'm really sorry,” He manages to speak again after some time pondering in the silence, the exit of the amusement park becoming clearer in the distance with a sigh.

Your head tilts, pulling his jacket’s hoodie up and over your head to shield your neck from the downpour. For a split second, a part of you wonders if he’s apologizing for soaking your shoes.

“For what?”

"I didn't know it'd rain so hard tonight that they'd have to cancel the fireworks display."

You perk up to meet his face, deciding to give him a comforting smile. He reciprocates with a half hearted, polite one of his own— clearly annoyed but not wanting to take it out on you.

The Suo you know would never do something like that anyways.

“I said it’s okay.” You assure him gently, fastening your pace to keep up with his steps. “You couldn't have known this would happened in advance."

It was true, nobody had prepared for this outcome at all. The weather forecast for the night said it would only be a light drizzle; with the park's staff not even being aware of the cancellation until fifteen minutes before the viewing, when they were told to rush out the emergency ponchos and begin handing them out to the guests who were waiting for the fireworks show before one of the staff got on the loud speaker to address the viewers.

“I know, I know,” Suo runs a hand through his hair disheartenedly, eyebrows knitting in frustration when you finally exit the park. He quickly finds and pulls the both of you underneath a nearby overhang to shield you from the ensuing rain, making sure you’re the one closest to the wall despite being more drenched than you are thanks to his jacket.

“It’s just . . . awful that our first date ended up like this.”

Suo’s pristine, cleanly pressed and ironed white shirt is now littered and stained with little specks of rain, wrinkled with splotches of water lining the chest area, and his watch decorated in tiny shimmering droplets that slide off and drop to the ground into larger puddles below your feet.

Both your eyes shift around and towards the entrance, noticing the other families that slowly begin to trickle out group by group, each one just as disappointed as the others before them.

“Hey. Cheer up,” you tease, ripping your gaze away from the sour sight, nudging his shoulder with your own in an attempt to ease the tense atmosphere.

The drenched fabric clings to his muscles, slightly translucent and showcasing his flawless skin underneath as he pulls his jacket tighter around your body in haste.

“Well would you look at that,” You hum while he zips it up for you, it almost feels like he’s becoming one of the parents you saw in the park from earlier. “Mature, calm and collected Hayato Suo— getting all frustrated because of a little drizzle?”

“You know it’s not that,” he rebuffs, out of breath and shaking the wet strands of hair that stick to his cheeks and forehead with a heaving sigh. The crease in his eyebrows becomes more prominent than before, his frustration clearly showing with how he stares angrily at the soaked stone tiles beneath your feet with a huff.

"I just can't believe this,” you hear him mumble underneath his breath, looking up and around at your surroundings when the rain begins to pick up, several families standing around nearby as some are looking at signage for bus routes or getting into their cars in a hurry.

“Our first date, and I've already screwed it up."

Your stare quickly hardens at his self depricating words, feeling sympathetic for the usually put-together man whom you’d never guess could become so bothered by something quite literally out of his control, by nature’s circumstances.

“You’re being too hard on yourself.”

Your eyes flicker to meet his in the darkness as you take his cold face into your hands, where the only light that reveals him to you comes from a lone lamp post just shy of you two, reflected in the curtain of rain that blankets you on all sides.

“You didn't screw this up," you reassure him again, this time more firmly as you stand your ground, doing anything in your power to lighten his dreary disposition. “Stop beating yourself up, Suo. It isn’t going to be the end of the world that a little rain ended up crashing our date, you need to stop worrying yourself to death over this.”

Even in the chaos that surrounds the two of you, your quiet but firm words manage to reach his mind when you notice the way his gaze visibly softens upon seeing the concern your eyes hold for him.

Suo’s shoulders relax, his arms falling to his sides in defeat and fatigue. He looks tired, worn out and disappointed all in the same vein, so you let him rest his head on your shoulder, carding your fingers through his hair and separating the clumps from within while you do so.

“I’m sorry, I feel like I’m getting your clothes even more wet—” he begins to apologize yet again, attempting to pry himself from your hold quickly when you shove him back into your arms with a huff.

“If you say sorry one more time, Suo, I’m going to pinch you.”

For once since the rain had started, Suo lets out an amused chuckle. A genuine one.

“Alright, alright.” He concedes, letting himself rest once again atop your figure. Suo’s a decent amount taller than you, meaning he has to slump a little in order for him to lay his head on your shoulder. You try to stand on your tiptoes in an effort to reduce the distance, straining your legs to try and match his height.

“Is this uncomfortable for you?” You ask him hesitantly, worried that he might strain his neck or back if he keeps this up. He murmurs into your shoulder in response, his words muffled by both the sounds of rain around you and the fluffy material of your sweater.

“I’m alright,” you make out faintly in the silence, and you continue to brush through his wet hair as he takes the time to quietly regain his composure.

You've never seen Suo so frustrated before until now, and over something that he had nothing to do with. For as long as you had known him for, Suo had always been levelheaded no matter the circumstances, being the type of person who doesn't go undeterred when things don't go his way or how he intended.

Hayato Suo doesn’t get bothered at the little things.

Hayato Suo doesn’t get annoyed at the minor inconveniences.

But you can't deny the irritance displayed prominently on his face and in his body language when it's presented right in front of you. The way his knuckles clench and his fingers dig into the soft skin of his palms when he feels the rain beginning to come down harder around you two, bouncing off rocks and soaking into the grass below.

The calm mask that Suo normally wears seems to slip off for a brief moment when with you as he visibly swallows, finally lifting his head up and shoving his hands into the damp pockets of his pants.

He steps back from you, an awkward laugh bubbling it's way up his throat in his attempt to soothe over the situation as he beams down at you.

The smile he gives you doesn't even reach his eyes.

“Ah, I'm sorry things had to turn out like this.” He apologizes again, like he's been doing repeatedly in what only feels like the past fifteen minutes; an attempt to assure you that he genuinely is. He’s much more collected now though, you feel relieved in that aspect at least. "I really am, is there anyway I could make this up to you?"

You shake your head again, mouth pulling into a disgruntled frown. “I told you it's fine, you don't need to keep apologizing for this, Suo.”

“But it's not fine,” he laments, the facade of his effortlessly maintained persona slipping once again as he grimaces when the rain from his hair trickles and drips down onto his face, wiping the raindrops away with the crumpled up sleeve of his shirt.

“I wanted to do something special to end off tonight with you,” he confesses wearily, and you feel your heart sink. His voice is tinged with disappointment, a reflection of his own self-frustration.

He looks away, hoping to avoid eye contact whilst staring off to the paved parking lot beside you two, ashamed of himself. “Someone like you deserves a better first date than . . . this."

You scoff at his statement, huffing as he keeps depricating himself. It’s infuriating, and your words are pointed to embody that. “Suo, what's so bad about this first date, hm?"

Suo’s face morphs into one of startled confusion, stuttering lightly when he turns back to face you. He chuckles unsurely as if you've just told a good joke.

“What do you mean? Do you not see what's happening around us right now?"

He gestures to the still remaining families that surround the entrance of the amusement park nearby, most of the children having calmed down from their earlier states of despair but still appearing to he visibly deflated by the rain and cancellation of the fireworks. Most are preoccupied with a device or toy of their choosing while being shielded from the rain by coats, signage or the strollers of their younger siblings.

Disgruntled parents stand just out of reach trying to figure out the best routes to take home, arguing with the park's staff about refunds for the fireworks show while heckling them about the poor management and lack of communication with the staff and park-goeres.

The chill of the wind can be felt through your soaked clothes, goosebumps rising all over your arms that cause you to shudder. Everything begins to slow down to what seems like a barely moving standstill; anything from outside of your little bubble with Suo being reduced to a snail's pace in your eyes.

The quick movements of those surrounding you become like smear frames in the distance, the raindrops still raging on even more heavily now serving as the only remainder of reality; the only constants being the sounds they make when they fall from the darkened sky up above onto the two of you.

“Does this look like a perfect first date to you?”

Suo’s question snaps you back momentarily, the pace of the world resuming in an instant. He waits for your response; arms crossed over his damp shirt and wearing a skeptical expression on his face that is mixed with something else that you can't quite discern otherwise.

Confusion, frustration, anguish?

Your lips purse in thought for a brief moment, which he promptly takes as his answer as he rambles out another hasty apology before you can even properly respond. “See what I mean? Look, I'm so sorry about all this. I swear, if you let me take you out again next time I can do better—”

“Hayato.”

The sudden use of his first name stuns him into silence as he immediately stops. You stare at him only for a few seconds but they feel like a century, gulping down his dry throat as he waits for your reply. A sense of worry envelops him when you don't respond immediately, uneasiness in his voice when he speaks again.

“Yes?”

You step towards him to fill the space between you two, the feeling of the soaked soles of your shoes slosh around in the puddles underneath making shivers shoot up through the calfs of your legs. Suo’s gaze follows you expectantly, his eyes afraid to leave yours when you reach for his hands from deep inside of his pant pockets.

“What are you—” “Shh.”

They're cold to the touch from the cold rain and wind chills of the night when you hold them in your own, thumb brushing over his dry knuckles and settling into the folds of his palms.

“You were lying about being fine earlier,” you conclude, smoothing your fingers over the grey-blue veins underneath his skin. You press your hands over his, hoping to warm them up with what little body heat you have left.

“I wasn’t lying.” He quips, and you tut lightly. “You could’ve just kept your jacket on, you know.”

“But then you’d be cold if I didn’t give it to you.”

“Do you really think I can’t handle a little rain?”

“What makes you think that I can’t handle some rain myself too?”

This little back and forth of yours is getting nowhere you realize, and you instead shove both of your hands into the pockets of Suo’s jacket he wrapped you in earlier faster than he can oppose to. You feel his hands warming up instantly when combined with yours inside his jacket, the blood that runs through his veins slowly unfreezing as you intertwine your hand with his.

“Well, you know what upsets me?” Suo’s face drops at your words, shock overtaking his face for a moment before you finish your sentence.

“You haven't even asked me about how I felt about the date yet.”

Suo blinks owlishly, his eyebrows unfurrowing as confusion settles into his face again at your response, letting you continue your spiel.

“This whole time you’ve been going on n’ on about how you ruined our date, how you’re so sorry and everything,” the frustration in your voice is evident, and your nails dig lightly into his palms. Suo isn’t bothered by the feeling, instead clasping your hands together further as your voice begins to grow louder in annoyance.

“But if anything, you shouldn’t be saying that— I should be! So, ask me! Ask me, Suo! How did I feel about this supposedly awful date!”

It’s silent for a few beats after your voice trails off, and you’re suddenly reminded of the fact that you’re yelling at your date in a very public location.

Embarrassed, your heart thrums in your chest worriedly, wondering if you’ve accidentally said a few words you shouldn’t have before noticing Suo slowly breaking out into an unsteady laugh, shoulders shaking with mirth as you finally heave a sigh of relief at the fact that the timid smile he shows you this time does reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Suo apologizes for what seems to be the twenty-seventh time in the past hour alone, this time more freely before pulling you in closer by the hip. It’s a lot warmer with your bodies pressed up against each other, and his head settles into the crook of your neck again with a hum.

“What did you think of our date then, hm?"

Suo’s breath feels hot against your skin, a sharp contrast to the chill that circulates in the air around, carried through the rain and wind in it's journey. Bodies swaying blissfully in the darkness, hidden away from the blaring headlights of the cars pulling out of the parking lot underneath the overhang.

Sparkling specks of water drip and fall down around you, pooling into that puddles that have for sure already begun to ruin the bottoms of your shoes. Rainwater has begun to seep through the soles, your socks becoming victim to the nature of your circumstances.

The wet fabrics of your clothing clings to the sides of your figures, the image of Suo collarbone and upperhalf of his chest glazed underneath his shirt teasingly as you try to take a peak at what is hiding underneath.

Suo’s hair is fully drenched, no longer straightened and parted neatly in the middle, clumped and pushed to the side from when he ran his hand through it. Droplets of water drip from his cheekbones and eyelashes in perfect spheres, cascading down the edge of his jawline in a resemblance of tears.

Even when soaked to the core, like a frenzied housecat who got caught in the sudden rain; Suo looks just as handsome as the day you returned his feelings. As beautiful as the day you accepted his confession underneath the cherry blossom trees of the park nearby Furin High School.

Your voice is low, settling into the background sounds of the rainfall. “Well. I think that our date was wonderful," you reassure him yet again, smiling as your fingers dance over the nape of his neck and ghost over the sensitive skin mischievously. “Even without the fireworks."

Suo looks unsatisfied with your answer, confused and beginning to ask you questions in rapid-fire succession like you’re being interrogated for a job offering.

“But the fireworks were the whole reason you came here—” He begins to say, sucking in a cold breath of air, his tone laced with hesitance and uncertainty.

"Aren't you, disappointed . . . ? That you didn't get to see them?"

"No, Suo," you chuckle lightly, shaking your head in exasperation as to how he managed to come to that conclusion in the first place.

Logical, thoughtful and methodical Hayato Suo.

“I didn't come for the fireworks, I came for you.”

As wonderful and flashy as fireworks are, and indeed what could be considered major highlight of a trip for many of the visitors of Makochi’s amusement park, your heart was never dead set on seeing them.

“It was never about the fireworks in the first place.”

Fireworks can be seen anytime and anywhere, but your first date with Suo could never be repeated. Could never be replicated in the same genuine, wonderful, picture-esque way it is now to you.

“It was about you.”

Heat floods his cheeks immediately at your words, so genuine and sweet, dusting them a light shade of red as he smiles in tandem with you. “. . . Well, I'm pretty sure you didn't come here with me to get rained on towards the end of our date, though," he jokes, bringing a hand out of his pocket to cup your cheek. The warmth radiating from your skin defrosts the chill in his palm that grew when he pulled away from your hands almost instantaneously.

“It wasn’t about the fireworks for me either," he confesses slyly, his words piquing your interest.

“Oh?” You egg him on jestingly, prodding at his chest with light pokes that are increasingly exaggerated with each of your words. “What was it about for you, then?”

Suo’s head drops onto your shoulder again in quiet laughter. “Let’s just say this . . .”

His fingers smooth over your jawline tenderly, eyes soft and heart full of love— same as when he first confessed his feelings to you.

Hayato Suo, a man who you never thought could be so smooth before, whispering into your ear, “It was all about wanting to kiss the most beautiful girl underneath the fireworks as the perfect end to our date,” he teases.

“Well, how does that sound?”

“Who said it had to be under the fireworks?” You ask.

“No one,” he shrugs, “But it would've been quite romantic if we had.”

A grin of your own grows on your face immediately, tongue swiping over your lips in anticipation.

“We can . . . still kiss right now, if you want.”

“While we're soaking wet?” He laughs, drawing his face closer to yours while doing so. His hands itch to grab hold of your face and pull you in, to close the minuscule gap between you two, but he holds himself back in fear of overstepping his boundaries.

“Are you sure?”

Suo looks to you for permission, lips barely an inch away from your own. The steady rising and falling of his chest is accentuated by his sopped shirt clinging to his frame, hot breath fogging up in the cool night air.

You nod, without a doubt in your mind, finally connecting the distance between you two. Suo smiles into the kiss, eyes closing in satisfaction while his hands stay planted at your hips, respectfully and never straying away from their hold.

The taste of rainwater is evident on both of your tongues, the two of you giggling as the twinkling sounds of rain and ripples of the puddles flow through the atmosphere around.

Suo’s the first to pull away, hesitating when he chases your lips one final time before reeling his head back to catch his breath.

Even in the darkness, only illuminated by a street lamp several feet away; Suo’s cheeks are rosy with euphoria, eyes crinkling with sparks of happiness flying throughout.

His forehead leans against your own, the wet strands of his hair sticking to his head. The whites of his teeth gleam when he smiles, quietly whispering for your ears to hear only.

“Maybe I should make sure it's raining again when I take you out on our second date, then.”

reblogs ++ comments are greatly appreciated !! ꒰ ˆ ᗜ ˆ ˶ ꒱

© property of mikiruie 2024. all rights reserved.

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[daemyra-fire]

This person commented on the GMA video of the interview with EM, Ann and Max, and I found it very interesting and wanted to share it because she is a person who claims not to be an Osblaine fan and I found it incredible that even the people who don't support their relationship or 100% Nick, understand it the same as we do and it has nothing to do with romance.

In the comment it says:

As a university professor with a PhD in literature, I’ve dedicated my life to analyzing narrative structures, character development, and thematic consistency. And I can say this confidently: what the writers did to Nick Blaine in Season 6 of The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t bold or subversive storytelling — it was a narrative betrayal.

And just to be clear: I’m not an “Osblaine” shipper. I didn’t love Nick because of his relationship with June. I appreciated him as a deeply layered character whose quiet resistance stood in contrast to the louder, more visible defiance of others. Not every hero needs to shout.

Nick’s resistance started long before June. He smuggled contraband to Jezebels. He joined the Eyes to report predatory Commanders — a decision rooted in moral outrage after Waterford’s first Handmaid died by suicide. He managed to take down Commander Guthrie – the creator of the Handmaids´ system. He continued this pattern of calculated dissent after meeting June - Nick was the one who secretly smuggled the Jezebels letters out of Gilead and delivered them to Luke in Canada, an act that directly led to Canada refusing to sign a diplomatic agreement with Gilead.

About his promotions – Serena gave him a Wife (Eden) out of jealousy. He was promoted to Commander not as a reward, but as punishment — for pulling a gun on Fred to help June and Nicole escape. Even his marriage to Rose served a purpose: to get closer to the Mackenzies, who had custody of June’s daughter, Hannah. Nick was always trying to help — quietly and at great personal cost.

The Marthas in Season 4 speak to him like an equal, not like they fear him. That tells us a lot. And even other Commanders call him a “boy scout” in Season 6. He wasn’t like them — and he never wanted to be. His character was consistent, reserved, and morally conflicted — not perfect, but clearly not ideologically aligned with Gilead.

And here’s something telling: in his apartment above the garage, we see Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. This is not just a random prop. That novel is about enduring love and resistance in the face of cruelty and loss. The writers deliberately gave him that book. It’s a clear signal — Nick was written as someone with inner depth, quiet resistance, and a poetic soul. That choice was intentional.

I’m not mad that he died. Yes, it contradicts The Testaments where he’s still alive, but that’s not the biggest problem. I’m devastated because he died in vain, and worse — was framed as a traitor. After seasons of showing us his internal resistance and quiet bravery, the only logical conclusion to his arc was for him to stay in Gilead and help destroy it from the inside. That was his purpose. That was his path. Until the show changed course.

And here’s where context matters: after Season 4, there were changes in the writers' room,. After Season 5 Bruce Miller stepped down as showrunner. The result? A drastic shift in tone and character logic — especially for Nick. In Season 5, the writers seemed to be positioning Lawrence as morally compromised — until Bradley Whitford reportedly pushed back. So what did they do in Season 6? Gave that arc to Nick instead. Serena gets redemption. Aunt Lydia gets redemption. Even Lawrence and Naomi. But not Nick. It feels like the writers didn’t want everyone to be redeemed, so they sacrificed the one character whose quiet resistance had been there all along.

Then there’s the retroactive flashback in Season 6 — where Nick says life before Gilead wasn’t so great. That was never part of his character before. It’s a late, awkward insert designed to justify the narrative pivot, and it falls completely flat. Max Minghella himself, the actor who plays Nick, was shocked when he read the scripts for Season 6. He admitted in interviews that he questioned whether he had misunderstood Nick as a character all along — which should be a red flag. When even the actor doesn’t recognize the character he’s played for years, that points to a deep inconsistency in the writing. Nick wasn’t perfect — but he was principled. He wasn’t loud — but he was brave. He didn’t want power. What happened to him wasn’t just a sad ending.

It was bad writing.

---

This is literally what the writers thought everyone was going to buy into season 6 when they gave us proof in previous seasons that he wasn't like the others and even fans who weren't that involved noticed! 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[theresattrpgforthat]

As someone who designs games, are there any specific games you've read that do interesting things with the Forged in the Dark or Powered By The Apocalypse systems that get you excited to write your own stuff?

(Asking those two since Protect the Child is FitD, also excited to hear if another system is excited rant worthy)

My friend, thank you so much for giving me space to ramble lovingly about games and mechanics. I don’t know if anything suggested here will be new exactly, but I am relishing the chance to talk about how the games I’ve read and played have impacted my design journey.

This is going to be a walk-through of various games that have given me a lot of tools to work with. Right now my head is full of Protect the Child, so I'm not really thinking about any other design projects, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless!

Brinkwood, by Far Horizons Co-Op, Slugblaster, by Wilkie’s Candy Lab, and Moth-Light, by Dissonance.

I knew of a few Forged in the Dark hacks before I heard about Brinkwood, but when I realized that the Masks were basically communal playbooks, my mind was blown. Both Slugblaster and Moth-Light appealed to me because of their setting, but when I read the rule-books I was also impressed by how they were able to take the base Forged in the Dark and change it to make the rules work for the proper genre and tone.

Brinkwood takes the playbooks with special powers and makes them communal. You can pick up a new set of powers every time but still play the same character, so you can have variety while still pursuing the same character’s storyline. Because the Masks are shared, the “crew playbook” doesn’t look the same as it does in a lot of other Blades hacks, as no matter what Masks you take, you’re still engaging in a rebellion against vampires. Brinkwood also gives the GM a lot of guidance on how to flavour the antagonists in a way that is challenging, interesting and dangerous, while also giving the players a way to veto any subject matter that bleeds too much into real-life boundaries. Honestly, I think Brinkwood probably directly influenced my game A Terrible Fate more than Protect the Child, but the initial moment of realizing how much you can play with the game was a really important step in my development.

Slugblaster re-organizes your dice resources as Boost & Kick, and shifts Stress into a currency (Trouble) that you have to spend, rather than a time bomb. This gives your characters more longevity and takes away a lot of the gritty trauma that works for Blades, but doesn’t make sense for hover-boarding teens. Additionally, Slugblaster gives agency of faction creation over to the players in a way that’s way more personalized than it is in Blades. Specific questions are meant to be answered by specific playbooks, which I think is a great way to speed up crew relationships, as well as ensuring that each player at the table has a piece of the world that they contribute to. When setting decisions are left up to the group as a nebulous whole, one player may have more say over setting creation just because they have the loudest voice or the most ideas. By giving specific choices to specific playbooks, you’re ensuring that each player has a piece of the world they can point to and claim as theirs.

Moth-Light takes the CATS safety tool and embeds it into Pact creation, allowing the genre and tone to shift the way the game is played slightly to reflect the kind of story the group wants to tell. The core setting is the same - a planet with gigantic bugs - but the ways the characters interact with the setting changes depending on the Pact that you choose. I think this is a genius way to give a group a way to use Safety Tools without them necessarily realizing it, and it ensure that the group enters the story on the same page. This mindset fuelled my choice to present the world-building as a series of questions for the players to answer, establishing some truths about the technology levels and the use of magic before players make their characters, setting some basic limitations to make sure folks are on the same page. Currently however, I don’t think I’ve achieved the seamless translation of CATS into a game-appropriate setting exercise - I’ve just ported CATS into the game.

External Containment Bureau, by Mythic Gazetteer.

External Containment Bureau minimizes a lot of their character options and does away with playbook options in order to make character creation customizable while still quick, and one of the primary ways they did this was by changing the way gear rules work in the game. In standard Blades, you can only use equipment to improve your Effect, but in ECB, you can use your equipment to add +1d or improve Effect. This is primarily because ECB doesn’t use stats in the way Blades does, but I liked the way that little tweak gave the player an additional resource.

Additionally, ECB doesn’t care about load. Instead, the character comes with some gear associated with their department, and a few gear slots that they can fill themselves. You can always have everything in your Gear section on you - the limitation is in what’s available. I really liked how the game provided a balance between gear that made sense for your department and gear that reflects the way the player wants to portray their character, so I did the same thing in Protect the Child.

Antiquarian Adventures, by acegiak

I heard about the way Stress works in Antiquarian Adventures when I was listening to the Dice Exploder podcast, and it sparked a lot of thoughts about what Stress can be used for, especially since I knew that I didn’t want to give the characters Trauma in Protect the Child. Thematically, it doesn’t make sense to imply that parenting is inherently traumatic, and I don’t want to cast the Child as a source of trauma for the parents.

Antiquarian Adventures solves this problem by allowing Stress to re-set every time you fill it, as long as the player is able to dictate how the character suffers some kind of setback or brings about some form of trouble as a result of getting too stressed out. The exact trouble is attached to the playbook, adding to the distinct flavour of each trope. In Protect the Child, I made sure to add one Reaction that was unique to the playbook, to reflect the same kind of thing.

Last Fleet, by Black Armada Games.

Last Fleet blew me away with the Pressure mechanic. It’s a physical manifestation of stress that exists in the setting, that doubles as both a player resource and a ticking clock. You can spend Pressure to give yourself a better chance at success, but once it hits its cap, your character is forced into a situation that that they cause themselves.

In many ways, Last Fleet is doing something similar to Antiquarian Adventures, but the one thing it adds is that it gives the player options in terms of how they’ll cause trouble. Some options overlap across playbooks, but each playbook has a unique collection that helps keep it somewhat distinct from the others. One of the best moments I had in play was when one of my players realized that he had the option to actually turn on the group - the reaction was like a little present he’d just unwrapped for the entire group, and it made for an extremely memorable moment for the table.

Last Fleet also inspired me to shorten the Stress Clock in Protect the Child. Base Blades has a 8-mark Stress track, but in early play-tests, I felt like it was difficult for anyone to fill up their clock in a single session. The Last Fleet Pressure track can only hold 5 marks of Pressure, and re-setting it doesn’t empty the track, but rather puts it at 2. I think that constant Stress provides a bit of a friction point for players, which is needed since it’s easier for players to achieve bigger dice pools in Protect the Child.

Beam Saber, by Austin Ramsey

When I was agonizing about how to encourage more roleplay between players, someone recommended that I read through Girl By Moonlight. Unfortunately, I don’t own a copy of Girl by Moonlight. I do, however, own a copy of Beam Saber, so when I decided to comb through other Blades games for relationship mechanics, I stumbled on the relationship clocks of Beam Saber.

In Beam Saber, you write down beliefs you have of each other character in the party, and attach each belief to a slice on a Connection clock. During downtime, you have the option to Cut Loose, which helps two Pilots relieve stress with each-other at the same time as filling the Connection clock. Filling the clock awards XP as well as provides the characters an opportunity to confront each-other about the way they see each-other.

I liked the idea of using time together as a chance to relieve stress. As far as I understand, this moment of connection is also seen in Girl by Moonlight, but I decided to limit the amount of stress you could relieve in Protect the Child because I’m still operating under the ethos I was introduced to in Last Fleet - I want to keep the characters under a lot of pressure, making room for them to make terrible decisions, and therefore giving them room to grow.

Lady Blackbird, by John Harper.

I returned to Lady Blackbird when I realized that the way I’ve set up runs in PtC means that it may be hard for players to do things like engage in long-term projects, or train for XP in a regular Downtime session. I also noticed that it was hard to get the players to roleplay with each-other with the way that Downtime is written in base Blades - it’s often navigated through in a very procedural way. Finally, I wanted to make the game a bit more one-shot friendly, with a way to present a Downtime-like section partway through the game without bogging down play too much.

Lady Blackbird has moments in between Action scenes where it explicitly encourages players to engage in flashbacks or character interactions in ways that allow them to clear conditions and provide a bit of exposition into their backstory. This, coupled with the Impressions in Beam Saber, gave me the tools to both encourage the players to role-play while also giving them the tools to foster relationships with each-other.

Right now, Rest Stops only have two moves: Bond with the Child and Bond with Each-Other. By reducing both of your options to moments where your character interacts with other characters, and encouraging both of these options to reflect your character’s ideals and history, I’m hoping to provide some of the maintenance of Downtime while encouraging the role-play that happens in Lady Blackbird. Longer downtime actions are relegated to Time Passes, which will only come up in campaign play.

I still haven’t perfected this stage though. For example, I haven’t figured out what to do about wounds.

Apocalypse Keys, by Rae Nedjadi / @temporalhiccup.

It’s kind of hard to quantify or describe the influence Apocalypse Keys had on my design, but I’ll give it a shot.

In Apocalypse Keys, your character never has to fail. There’s always options to give yourself a success, it’s just a question of how much you want to sacrifice parts of who your character is in order to get what you want. Apocalypse Keys is itself an amalgamation of a number of different mechanics from various places, such as the way you use tokens to improve your rolls, as originally found in Libretè, or the Theorize roll, popularized in Brindlewood Bay but originating in Codex: Moonlight.

The character playbooks are also centred on different struggles that the player has decided to wrestle with. The Summoned has a lot of moments centred on fighting destiny, while the Last wrestles with grief and loss. Some of the themes in these playbooks give you a lot of freedom to explore struggles and traumas that affect people in real life, but are flavoured in a way to give your monsters great power and extremely interesting backstories.

Finally, the way your character looks is completely up to you, and is irrelevant to the things your character can do. If you want a thousand glowing eyes, it doesn’t matter which playbook you choose. If you want to be the spirit of all werewolves that came before you, it doesn’t matter which playbook you choose. If you want to carry a golden spear that can listen to the regrets of the restless dead, I don’t think it matters what playbook you choose. I think that there’s a bit of a carryover from what I love about Changeling: the Lost to be found in Apocalypse Keys, in that your character’s origin and presentation can be as varied as whatever you can imagine, and can fit into the themes of whatever playbook you decide to wrestle with.

Protect the Child doesn’t directly borrow any mechanics from Apocalypse Keys, but I think the ethos behind the design is there. I want the players to experience the same creative freedom, while tying down specific themes to specific playbooks. I want to enable conversations about real issues that affect real people, while allowing the table to situate those issues in whatever setting makes the most sense for the group. I want the players to feel powerful, and at the same time recognize that the biggest obstacles to being good parent are generally incredibly personal.

I also admire the way that Nedjadi designs, from the rigorous play testing, to the purposeful openness about his inspirations, to his careful documentation of who has inspired him and where his ideas came from. I think being able to provide a clear through-line to the ways your were influenced by other design works is good for the historians of our hobby, and it also reinforces a culture in which game designers influence and allow themselves to be influenced by each-other.

[breathlesswinds]

(Devlog) What We Learned Making A Trans Dating Game

Hello, Amelia here, the writer for Breathless Winds. It's been 250,000+ words, countless revisions, and three years since this game entered development, and I wanted to talk about what I've learned leading up to release.

The concept for Breathless Winds was actually sort of a joke between friends. I was talking with Doris about how there should be a dating game where you play as a trans woman and your dating options revolve around certain ‘tropes’ we’d both seen in trans fiction-- the totally accepting cishet guy who falls in love with the trans heroine before she even knows she’s a woman, the cool trans woman who the heroine doesn’t know if she wants to date or wants to be, and so on.

Doris wound up suggesting we make this game ourselves. We both like visual novels and want to tell LGBT stories. Still half-jokingly and half-seriously, we started fleshing out what the romance options would be and coming up with a setting-- and soon, we were fully committed to making this game real.

I was a fan of visual novels but had only ever written prose. I knew which visual novels I liked and which scenes stood out, but I didn’t know why they did or how to make my own. 

I read some great advice from visual novel developers, but a good amount of my knowledge came from just working on Breathless Winds. As our first project, this game has grown a lot with us and we’ve learned a lot while making it.

Learning How to Write Visual Novels

A bad habit I had to break out of was only using the ‘novel’ part of the game and not the ‘visual’ part. I would sometimes write “He smiled” or lines like that, and Doris informed me that we can convey this much more simply with a sprite change.

It sounds obvious in retrospect, but lines like that are often pretty invisible when you’re reading a non-visual novel. These lines change the sprite of the character inside your head (if that makes sense, haha). I realized that I’m so used to them being ‘invisible’ that I didn’t notice their absence in visual novels I liked, so I would accidentally include them while writing. 

I was also writing these routes in a word processor, so I didn’t have the visual portion to reference, myself. I wound up making a lot of ‘tone’ notes like, “Lantana should be smug here” so that the meaning would carry when revising and implementing these into Ren’py. 

So, while visual novels share a lot with prose, they’re an entirely different medium. On the subject of representing things visually, I’ve struggled trying to figure out how much can be visually represented and how much should be written. 

Every asset in the game has to be drawn by Doris, so if I want the characters to go to a new location for a scene, I have to keep in mind that’s another background that Doris has to draw. If I want a new character to show up, that’s another sprite she has to draw. I don’t want to overload her, but if I’m trying to avoid this entirely, characters sometimes wind up standing in one room talking for ages without anything significant changing on-screen.

I’ve learned that it’s recommended for something to almost always be changing on-screen, though, so sometimes I just have to ask Doris to make a new asset for a certain scene. I still try to stick to locations/characters that already exist more often than not.

Every single thing in a visual novel is deliberate. Another thing I’ve had to learn that I never even considered before is how to write each line so it fits in the text box. It sounds obvious, but when I’m playing a visual novel, I don’t usually think about how each line has to be carefully constructed so it doesn’t need to be split up into two or more text boxes. In my mind, if a visual novel is well-created, there’s not much that breaks a reader’s immersion.

Planning & Outlining

The previous section might sound really weird to some people, so let me elaborate.  I’m a lifelong ‘write by the seat of your pants’-er, so the biggest trial-and-error of creating Breathless Winds for me was planning out the game.

Initially, I created outlines for each of the four routes, and we agreed ahead of time on which CGs each route would have. That way, Doris could draw the necessary backgrounds and CGs while I was in the long process of drafting this game.  My original outlines weren’t great. I know a lot of people have different experiences with writing, but for me personally, a story is always shaping itself in my mind. When I started making the outlines for Breathless Winds, I knew the concepts we wanted to convey, but I didn’t know what each route (and the game as a whole) was really about yet. This might sound weird and unprofessional, but sometimes, I don’t know what a story is about until I finish the first draft.

So while I was writing, I would look at my outlines and I would think, “this doesn’t actually make sense, he wouldn’t say that” or “this plot point would work better if moved to this other section” or “there’s a plot hole here I didn’t notice”. The story wound up changing a lot in this way as I learned what it’s really ‘about’. 

And even after I finished the first draft, I’d get feedback from Doris and/or my editor and they would suggest fixes to problems that even I hadn’t noticed, and then I would revise the route some more, and later on I’d come back and need to redo part of the route to comply with something I wrote in a later route-- I haven’t really felt ‘finished’ with Breathless Winds at any point, and I think I’ll still feel this way after the game is released.

This means that sometimes, a background was created but would go unused because there was no space for the scene that would use it, or we’d need a new CG last-minute, or so on. 

When I’m figuring things out as I go while writing a non-VN, the only person that I can adversely affect is my own self… so I’m eternally grateful for all of Doris’s patience with me on this matter. I think Breathless Winds has come out a much better game for all the re-plotting and revision. 

I redid the outlines several times as I went. I think I’ve understood how to create outlines that personally work for me-- ‘living’ outlines that hit all the main points, but leave wiggle room for moments when a character does something unexpected, work the best for me.

Scope Creep

So, originally, each route was meant to be 40,000 words. “With four routes, that’s only 160,000 words!” I thought. “And some of my favorite visual novels are about that long, so I can write that much, too!” ← clueless

This is the most infamous mistake that new creators make, and I walked right into it. I should have known better since I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with past non-VN writing projects before, but I was starry-eyed and didn’t realize how much work it is to make a VN. Some of those favorite visual novels I referenced were made by much larger teams, writers whose full-time job was writing (I wrote all of these routes on the side while working at a day job). 

If I could have done it again, I would have asked Doris to start out with a really short VN. But, I don’t regret making Breathless Winds at all. It’s brought Doris and I a lot closer, for one. Every time I thought I wanted to give up on this, Doris would motivate me to continue. Without the two of us both and our strong friendship, Breathless Winds wouldn’t exist, and I think that’s beautiful. 

No matter what, we’re going to see it through to the end. (I hope people like it, though…)

Anyway, here I am talking about how much 40,000 words is. Each route now is about 60k to 70k words. The problem with having evolving outlines is that they can often evolve into double their original size.

We came up with the idea of the poachers really early in development, and then not addressing the poachers felt like a failing, but by that point it was too late to remove the poachers entirely… and so the game wound up a lot longer dealing with the poachers. 

I think that if we had an editor sooner on in the game’s development, then we might have had someone to tell us, “do you really need all of this in the game? Does this plot point really need to be there? Will you be able to write all of this in a reasonable amount of time?”, haha. But Doris and I were really excited about the possibilities of this game when we started creating it, and without anyone to reel us back in, we wound up coming up with more and more things we wanted to put in the game.

Did you know there was going to be an island full of talking rats who say things like “the big cheese” and stuff all the time in Breathless Winds? Yeah. 

The Core Design Philosophy of Breathless Winds

So, for anyone who’s read this far but doesn’t know yet-- the premise of Breathless Winds is that you play as a trans woman who doesn’t know she’s trans yet, and she finds love with one of four love interests as she discovers her gender identity. 

In real life, it can be a lot messier for a person to date when discovering their gender identity. To put it briefly and mildly, a trans person’s life and sense of personal identity can rapidly change during a gender crisis and the early stages of transition. 

However, we wanted to make this game a ‘wish-fulfillment’ type story-- a trans fantasy about acceptance, community, and love. During a gender crisis, it can be easy to feel as if one has lost touch with themselves and become isolated from others. A sincere wish shared by many trans people is to be accepted, loved, and even celebrated as their true gender, not just tolerated. 

Since many trans people don’t get love and acceptance in real life, especially with the ongoing transphobic moral panic, we wanted to create a game that would bring this feeling of trans joy and celebration to trans audiences. 

We also hope that cis players will still enjoy the story and characters, and maybe come away from the game with a new understanding about being transgender and other aspects of LGBT identity (although we never intended this game to be ‘educational’).

Making Characters that Celebrate Trans Identity

Although we went through several revisions, the core identities of each character stayed the same since the game was first ‘jokingly’ pitched. In another post, I discussed how each character is themed around a change in seasons. (I also wound up theming them around the four humors when I was initially concepting them-- I really wanted to avoid too much ‘overlap’ in the LI’s personalities, haha). 

Ultimately, characters are created to serve a role. The LIs in Breathless Winds were designed to be love interests, of course-- characters who would appeal to the hypothetical trans femme audience. As mentioned earlier, we modeled them after other trans fiction tropes because these types of characters have a certain tried-and-true appeal, but this left plenty of flexibility to put our own spin on it. 

A trans woman being loved as a woman by a cishet guy can feel like a high form of ‘passing’, ‘fitting in’ to the female gender role, and being validated by his orientation. He only likes women, and he likes you, so you’re undoubtedly a woman. As a cishet guy, he represents a sort of acceptance into a societal norm that trans women can desire to live to. (Lantana, as a cis lesbian, represents the sapphic counterpoint to this-- although there is of course a big gap between the ‘normalcy’ of a cishet man and a cis lesbian woman, and I don’t mean to say those two are equivalent.) 

But not all trans women want to live to that (cis) societal norm. Rue and Valerian, as a trans woman and a trans man respectively, are the t4t options. 

Rue’s route represents that trans/sapphic ‘envy’ (“do I want her or do I want to be her?”) as well as finding power in community aside from what society considers ‘normal’. We’ve always been pretty clear about what we wanted to do with Rue’s route.

We went back and forth a lot more on Valerian’s route. Initially, we were unsure if he should be trans. He and Rue are the two less-friendly love interests (at least initially), so I was afraid it would come across that t4t is a more hostile option, which is not true at all. But it also felt like a mistake to not have a trans man in the game-- but making Gallardia trans would have required a big overhaul of what we had in mind for him and his route. (Although, childhood friends t4t is a really good idea...)

Beyond that, Valerian takes a villainous role in any route that isn't his own. We were worried that it would be wrong to have a trans antagonist who represents unjust power. However, Breathless Winds is a queer game with other positive trans characters, and we've always approached Valerian as a hot anti-villain man that you can't help but like.

In the end, Valerian’s route is about breaking generational cycles and what it is that makes you a man, and I also managed to sneak in a scene where they dance at a ball in the royal palace, so in the end I think it all worked out great.

Wish Fulfillment and Catharsis

Doris and I both agreed that we wouldn’t depict on-screen transphobia in Breathless Winds. Poppy worries about not being accepted, but fear of acceptance can come with any change in identity. Rue was rejected by her family for being trans, but this doesn’t take place ‘on screen’ in the game. There exist certain metaphorical parallels for transness and transphobia, but every route has a happy ending. 

Following up on this-- it can be difficult to write about discovery of gender identity without writing about transphobia, considering how many trans people suffer from internalized transphobia during their period of repression.

Sometimes, repressed/closeted transgender people ‘hyper-perform’ their assigned gender as a form of denial. A trans woman might grow out a beard and join a gym, while a trans man might become very interested in makeup and feminine clothing. 

In Breathless Winds, Poppy often struggles with ‘strength’ and what it means to be a man. In several routes, she tries to prove her strength under the assumption that being stronger would make her happy. Afraid the world would reject her if she became who she really is, she preemptively rejects herself.

Not every trans person suffers from prolonged denial, internalized transphobia, or even gender dysphoria. I don’t think it’s impossible to tell a purely-positive story about trans joy. 

While Poppy never gets rejected for being trans, faces transphobia, gets called a slur, etc, she faces both internal and external (metaphorical) obstacles to realizing and accepting her identity. 

Gallardia represents a societal norm that Poppy can’t live up to herself as a man.

Lantana suffers from certain aspects of her identity as a woman, which makes Poppy feel guilt for wanting to be a girl.

Rue is isolated from town at the start of her route, a ‘punishment’ for breaking this societal norm.

Valerian has to hyper-conform to his masculine gender role at first in toxic ways before finding acceptance from within and from his loved ones.

These struggles are real to a lot of people, but instead of pretending they don’t exist, I hoped to tell a story about catharsis. Poppy is able to live up to her truth as a woman and finds love with Gallardia, Poppy and Lantana redefine what being a woman should and does mean to them, Rue and Poppy find community in others who don’t fit the norm, Poppy and Valerian stop seeking gender validation from a society that was never made to serve them. 

Although these powerful forces of oppression exist, loving yourself as a trans person- and loving those around you, protecting the natural world, and standing up for what you believe in- can save the day. That’s the kind of story we wanted to tell.

Wrap-up

There’s a lot more I could write, but this has already gotten really long (sorry!) so I’ll wrap it up here. 

Learning how to write a visual novel in terms of technical skill (how to depict events on-screen, how long each line should be) as well as in terms of writing skill (how to outline the game, how to plan visual assets) has been a massive undertaking for me. 

Writing Breathless Winds has been a big challenge but also deeply rewarding, and all of your support has made the experience even more wonderful. Thank you for reading and thank you for supporting the game!

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

So with some of the takes I've been seeing in the Wandee Goodday tag, I wanted to share my perspective.

Just to note - I firmly believe art is subjective and what we see can vary a great deal based on our own perspectives and lived experiences. I'm not calling anyone wrong, I'm just saying this is my personal take on things. (I feel like this should be obvious, but nuance is so often lost online).

And my main goal with watching QL is fun and escapism. I'm here to have a good time. I tend to go with the flow, I like imperfect characters (I even like the fucked-up ones), and I trust the characterization and plot elements to be doing what they need to do until a problem shows within the narrative itself.

Ok, disclaimers done - here's my take on Dee & Yak's interactions around the fake dating idea.

I think all of their interactions are deeply affected by the degree to which they have already developed genuine feelings for each other, but are not yet in a place to admit it, even to themselves.

Do I think Yak has real concerns about being out as a boxer trying to hit a career high? Absolutely. But I think his quick jump to a "let's end this" reaction was mostly a kneejerk attempt to protect himself for what he felt when Dee, the man he is already emotionally connected to, and desperately wants to be able to kiss, dropped a request for fake dating over a real deepening of their relationship.

We don't yet know the level of societal homophobia this show is aiming for, BL land can go many different ways with this, but considering his brother's openness in the gym that he owns, training boxers, there is a tone being set. Yak literally holds hands with Dee in the middle of the street. He doesn't panic when people recognize him at the hospital. This may change, but I'm going to trust the signposts that his career concerns are valid, yes, but are not the dominant issue between them.

Similarly, is Dee competitive and overly focused on winning? Clearly. It's set up in his earlier conversation with Yak for a reason. But at the same time, his insistence that it has to be Yak is not just about his need to win - again, this is about genuine feeling. He wants Yak. This is a way to get Yak, and to frame it to himself in a way that feels less scary and vulnerable, especially after being hurt by Ter.

I know a lot of people saw Dee as being pushy. I do agree with that, and yes it is going to cause more issues for them in the future. But I wish more people also saw Yak holding firm to his boundaries and refusing to give in to the immature behavior from Dee, showing why he's such a good partner for Dee.

And sure, we haven't seen Dee support Yak as much so far, but the scene with the mother and child wasn't there just for kicks. Dee is empathetic and caring, and that will be important in his relationship with Yak as well. He is there for people when things are at their worst.

Some people see Dee on the bridge as being manipulative.

I saw Dee as finally cutting out the toddler shit and being emotionally real about why he's taking the scholarship too seriously, how sensitive he is to what people think of him, why Yak is someone he trusts implicitly, and how he knows it's not Yak's problem and it isn't fair to expect him to fix it.

Some people see Yak as finally agreeing to fake date as showing he is weak to emotional manipulation.

I see a man who has more agency than that. I see a man who is affected by seeing genuine vulnerability both because of how caring he is as an individual, and because of how much he wants a real emotional connection to Dee. And eyes-open, he makes a choice.

These are two characters who have never just been friends with benefits from the beginning. And the narrative has never been about what they are saying. It's about what they are feeling.

[themyscirah]

What runs/stories do you recommend for someone starting WW? Could you please be specific (/nicely)

Yeah ofc!

My Wonder Woman Starter Recs (specific style 😎)

First stops: for an initial introduction to Wonder Woman, I'd generally recommend going to at least one of three places first. These three are:

Wonder Woman: Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Wonder Woman: Year One by Greg Rucka

Wonder Woman: the Hiketeia by Greg Rucka

Of these I generally recommend reading Historia first, as it's a retelling of the origin of the Amazons as a race and how Diana came to be (so it essentially starts from the beginning) and is also the most recent of the them (if that means anything). Something to note about Historia though is that it's a DC Black Label book, so it's events aren't strictly canon in the main DCU and there are some changes and new elements present. I don't think this is something that should discourage anyone from reading it though, it's the best WW origin story out there, and even in strict main canon over the years her origin is one that has had many fluctuations and small (& sometimes big) changes. WW:Historia is three prestige format (longer) issues.

You'll notice the third book there is WW: The Hiketeia. Hiketeia is a great book if you're looking for a view into Diana as a professional and experienced hero. It's a graphic novel so standalone and not too long, and has a great Diana and really interesting plot (Diana vows to protect a young woman and finds herself pressed against the wheels of Greek Tragedy). This is also the first work with Diana done by Greg Rucka, one of her most prolific and loved writers. A sampling of this work (and also Historia) I think gives a good guide to where to go next in terms of runs on her main title.

Wonder Woman: Year One is the second book on the list up there, but I'm mentioning it last here as it's a bit more complicated in terms of format. Unlike other year one books, WW: Year One is actually a series of issues on her main title, showcasing Diana's arrival to man's world in Rebirth (and also current p sure) continuity. The issue numbering for this one is strange (only the even issues 2-14 on WW (2016)) so I recommend looking for this in trade form if possible.

These 3 books I think give a taste of some of the best standalone stuff in the Wonder Woman mythos, and give the reader a good idea of where they may want to go next in terms of longer runs on the title. So I'll break that down here as a Step 2.

STEP 2: WHERE NEXT?

Here I break down some highly recommended runs based on what they have in common with the standalone books from step 1. As a rule, these runs are going to be much longer than the above and generally more connected to the wider DCU and other books. Look for the italics to see the introduction to each new work. Explanation paragraphs follow after each italic/bold rec.

Curious about Greek mythology in WW and the Amazons' origins after reading Historia? Liked the prescence of a supporting cast and Diana learning about Man's World from Year One? Willing to read a longer run? I recommend: Wonder Woman by George Pérez

George Pérez's time on Wonder Woman totally reinvented the character after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and is fundamental in establishing many core concepts of her lore. At 62 issues, 2 annuals, and a 4-issue crossover event at the end (War of the Gods), it's definitely a commitment to read, but it's the most enduring and well-loved run on Wonder Woman for a reason--it's just that damn good. Lots of focus on mythology (although with a lighter tone than Historia) alongside Diana learning her role in relation to Man's World & establishing herself as a hero and ambassador. Pérez's run also has almost-certainly the most expansive and developed supporting cast in WW comics, something that really drives the emotional core of the series, especially in later issues. Obligatory note that this series was written between 1987 and 1992 and contains some very occasional aspects that I thought were in some way dated/uncomfortable etc. while reading (details of Cheetah's origin, depiction of the Bana-Mighdall, Hercules) but despite that I still highly, highly recommend this run. The word fundamental cannot begin to describe it.

Liked the experienced Diana of the Hiketeia? Interested to see her attempt to balance the high stakes responsibilities of an ambassador and superhero? Looking for some really badass moments and fights? Haven't read enough terrible tragedy? I suggest: Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka 2003 EDITION.

Some of Diana's coolest moments of all time are collected here. Also one of her most controversial. The 1st Rucka run is very much the story for anyone who liked the Diana of the Hiketeia and the tragedy of that and Historia. 2003 Rucka Diana is a Diana tested, forced to make decisions that are anything but easy, and live with the consequences. She's extraordinarily capable, but her enemies know that and are prepared to that end. This run, along with the Pérez run, rank among my favorite Wondy comics of all time (those and Historia are my top 3). This run is such peak Diana, especially in terms of sheer badassery. Her final confrontation with Medusa is in my opinion perhaps the greatest Wonder Woman fight scene of all time. Her encounter with Athena in the second-to-last issue breaks me every time. Cannot recommend this book more.

*a note abt this run is that it is more context-dependent than the other ones listed here, as it's the run that finishes out the Wonder Woman vol. 2 book and so has some guest appearances from characters introduced in other prior runs (Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Cassie Sandsmark, and Vanessa Kapatelis, to name a few). I read this run before knowing much (if anything) about any of them, and still enjoyed it a lot, so I wouldn't be worried about this really but just thought I'd mention it.

Rucka's 2003 run is published from Wonder Woman (1987) #195-226. You can also find it in trade and I believe(?) omnibus. Sometimes the Hiketeia is included in collections of this series, as the 03 run is thematically similar in many places, just with a much deeper look at Diana and the world & with higher stakes.

Liked the specific characters and plot threads of Wonder Woman: Year One? Want to see what happens with Diana's exile, or learn more about Barbara Ann? Want a Diana in between the extremes of young and highly experienced? Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka 2016 EDITION may be for you.

...yes I'm putting ANOTHER Rucka book on here. He writes a great Diana, what can I say. This run is the same one that Year One came out of, just the follow ups to that story and versions of the characters. I have this run listed as separate from Year One though, as there's some really big time skips since the events of that first volume. A lot of time has passed since then, and there's more history between the characters, not all of it without drama. This run continues to be weird with the numbering, as well as some artist changes, so I definitely recommend looking into reading this in trade format (physical or digital) if at all possible. My recommended reading order is WW 2016 by Rucka vol. 2 "The Lies" (Wonder Woman: Rebirth Special #1, followed by 2016 main title odd numbered issues 1-11), then Rucka 16 vol. 3 "The Truth" (odds 13-23) then Godwatch (evens 16 through 24) followed by 25? But The Truth and Godwatch combine near the end so that doesn't really work either. This run is so good but recommending it is such a pain because the numbering is so all over the place. On God I never know which order to read this in. Going to revoke my previous statement and say read it as Rebirth Special 1, then only odds 1 through 11, then from 13 through 25 normally. That may lead to some weirdness as you read because the two stories take place at different times and have different art styles, but they come together at the end pretty dramatically so I think it's less confusing to read it this way? Maybe? So strange bc this is one of the go to good starter runs and yet it's set up so unintuitively. If someone has a better way to read this then let me know and ill edit, ik this explanation is super confusing bc neither way to read it is totally ideal imo and I feel I definitely read it in a weird order.

Going to call that a good rundown of some of my greatest recommendations in terms of Wonder Woman comics. If anything wasn't fully clear here or anyone (not just anon) has questions or wants to talk abt WW comics/my choices feel free to send as many asks or dms as you want. Have a good day everybody, & as Diana says, may the glory of Gaea be with you <3

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Vol3E1 "Round One"

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a new collection of RWBY Recaps!!

This is a unique project in that instead of writing purely for my own entertainment, these recaps are part of the Fandom Trumps Hate auction (you can check them out here if you're interested in learning more). Specifically, these recaps are a gift for the lovely Kae who requested some meta on the earlier Volumes, or work that focused on Ozpin and/or Ironwood. I figured that Volume Three would touch on all those requests and, frankly, it's an era of RWBY that I was already interested in covering. Volume 3 was a turning point for RWBY's tone and overall mythology and I'm eager to see what I think of it in 2024, after six additional seasons and a rather chaotic overhaul.

(If anyone is reading this from the future, one of the reasons why it took me so damn long to get the first recap out is because finding official streams of RWBY has become a fool's errand as it changes ownership. Fun!)

Anyway, the game plan is simple: cover all of Volume Three at an undetermined, though hopefully steady-ish pace from here on out. Technically, the deadline for our FTH fandowrks is at the end of 2024, however, I absolutely plan to continue this series past my 5k promise. As always, this will be a RWDE-focused meta (though I'm eager to see how much nostalgia carries me through the season), so if you Don't Like; Don't Read.

Everyone got that? Great!

Now, indulge me for a moment and cast your mind back. It's October of 2015. Pizza Rat is a tumblr icon, Left Shark still reigns, and everyone is arguing over whether a dress is gold and white, or blue and black (it's the former FYI ;). Amidst such quality memes RWBY begins airing again on the 24th, presumably bringing with it another season of stellar choreography and simple, if entertaining conflict. Team RWBY has just helped contain a massive breach courtesy of Cinder's machinations, Torchewick is in Ironwood's custody, the White Fang is falling under Salem's puppeteering, Penny has revealed her android identity as well as her supposed fate to save the world, the girls are beginning to acknowledge the responsibility of their chosen career path, and the mysterious Raven has been identified as Yang's birth mother. All in all, RWBY has a lot to play with going into its third season.

It's notable then that we open peacefully. The viewer is treated to a number of environmental shots to set the scene, including one of the forest with its iconic falling Fall leaves. Ruby is positioned at the edge of a cliff with her signature rose petals drifting behind her. Stylistically it fits the scene, though from a literal standpoint it also implies that she used her semblance speed to get here. Given the momentary reveal that she's speaking to her mom, that's a rather heartwarming detail.

Sidenote: has anyone given any thought to cliffs in this series? It only occurred to me recently how often they show up, often during character milestones. Here we have Ruby talking to Summer for the first time, her (bodiless) grave situated at the end of a cliff. The Beacon initiation involves chucking the kids off a cliff and seeing how they fare, an action that is the catalyst for the group's introductions/growing dynamics. Shooting Oscar off the edge of Atlas solidifies Ironwood's turn from anti-hero to outright villain. Though I'm far from a fan of this scene, Ruby's (ridiculous) near-fall off the cliff during the fight with Cordovin preludes her (supposed) growth in leadership as she stands up to Qrow. Penny lets herself fall from Amity after sacrificing herself to get it up into the air. Then, of course, we've got the girls falling off of Ambrosius' bridge, taking them to a world where - execution aside - the intention was for them all to go through major developments: Ruby is literally reborn, Jaune experiences a lifetime of struggle, Yang and Blake finally admit their feelings, and Weiss... gets over her whole country being destroyed?

Idk, we'll have to come back to that one.

I clearly don't have a big takeaway here, just the acknowledgement that this is a visual RWBY gravitates towards. Might do a whole side meta on it some day...

Anyway, as said we realize quickly this is Summer's grave with her name carved into the headstone along with "Thus kindly I scatter." Notably, she also has her rose motif there and it's likewise prominent on Ruby's belt in this scene. Looking back, we can see how RWBY did a better job at the start of sprinkling in these significant character details before, you know, dropping them completely and then attempting a rapid-fire resurrection. Meaning, I would have bought into the emotion of Ruby giving her pendant up in Volume 9 if we'd gotten these moments consistently throughout the story's run. It wouldn't take much, just a reminder every couple of episodes to maintain the momentum. Give Ruby a scene where she explains that this rose was left by Summer before she disappeared and she's treasured it ever since. Show a flashback where we learn that it was really left behind for both girls and Yang handed it down to Ruby when she was old enough to keep track of it. Give us a minor conflict where it's lost during battle and Ruby unnecessarily endangers herself in an attempt to retrieve it (perhaps in Volume 8, setting up that the object itself is not as important as the intangible love it represents). Hell, keep it lighthearted where Yang gets Ruby something rose related at the gift shop, Nora tucks a Rose into her hair while wandering the wilderness, Qrow gives the pendant a cheeky flick while talking about how Ruby's as stubborn as her mom. My point is there are a million ways the show could have built towards that scene in Volume 9 - ways like showing us that rose on Summer's gravestone - but the show dropped the ball halfway through.

Here and now though, Ruby begins catching Summer up on everything that's happened to her since she started Beacon, which serves as a useful way to catch the viewer up too - both those who, for whatever reason, may have started RWBY with Volume 3, and those who just need a hiatus refresher.

Ruby is delightfully awkward here, a personality trait that I think becomes more forced as the series goes on. She jokes that she hasn't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet - while doing that cute little rock on her heels thing - and says that she's able to "keep [Yang] in line" by being on the same team. She follows that up with, "...that was a joke" which is just quintessential Ruby to me. Love it.

She recaps that Yang has grown a lot as a fighter since Summer left, the rest of their team is made up of Blake and Weiss, together they form Team RWBY and yes, that's as confusing as it sounds. She's stopped bad guys and met some "odd" teachers, including Ozpin.

(THAT'S MY BOY!!!)

Looking back, this is actually a fascinating couple of lines. At least, I think they have the potential to be fascinating if RT had followed a clear writing path. Ruby wonders again why Ozpin let her into Beacon early, but shrugs it off under the assumption that he'll tell her one day. "You know how he is."

Yeah, I do, Ruby. Do you?

We already knew from their initial interaction that Ruby knew who Ozpin was - she recognizes him on sight - though him posing the question implies that he never visited Patch post-her birth. At least, not recently enough for Ruby to have formed a memory of them meeting. I can only assume then that she's heard enough about him from Tai and Qrow to a) be sure of his identity (any promotional material/news about Beacon would have helped with that too) and b) believes strongly that her impression of him formed since entering Beacon aligns with what her parents presumably said about him: "You know how he is." The fact that this is in reference to Ozpin's secret keeping makes me wonder how often that came up around the dinner table. Did Tai ever express frustration, a la Ironwood, that they're clearly being kept in the dark about things? Did Qrow ever dodge the girls' questions about where he's been because he can't be honest about his spy activities, aligning Ozpin's reputation with secrecy by virtue of working for him? The casualness with which Ruby shrugs off Ozpin's secrets to Summer heavily implies that Ozpin's cagey history is both well known to the family and accepted.

Honestly, I would have loved to see this woven into Ruby's core characterization, perhaps even an extension of her "simple soul." Give me a girl who is intrinsically accepting of people, including their need to keep certain things close to the chest. Teammate deliberately kept her faunus identity under wraps? Friend hides the fact that she's an android from the whole world? Ruby accepts them. Ruby gets it. The fact that Ruby does, canonically, accept their duplicity without so much as a blink is, I think, one of the reasons why I expected her of all people to be more sympathetic towards Ozpin's hidden identity. We can argue about the girls' right to the truth via participating in this war till the cows come home, but at the end of the day Ozpin's secrets are intrinsically tied up in his family, his history, and the trauma surrounding both. Let the others get mad, prioritizing information over personal motivations (that does fit their characterizations well, with Blake perhaps being an exception), but Ruby? The show has never been willing to commit to the kind of dark story that would result in a 180 character growth - endlessly forgiving protagonist becomes jaded and cynical as she experiences The Horrors - and little moments like this one further emphasize to me that Ruby, specifically Ruby, is uniquely suited to helping Ozpin not just fight, but finally finish this war. It should never have been (just) about her talent with a scythe, or even the rarity of Silver Eyes. The Gods wanted Ozpin to unite humanity and here's a young woman who unabashedly loves everyone that the world tends to despise: secret keepers and drunk uncles and faunus and Schnees and scary androids. Ruby should have been the emotional bridge!!

Okay, I swear I'm not going to make this series a rehash of my issues with the later Volumes lol. Inevitably some things are going to crop up though.

Moving on, Ruby mentions that Tai is here too and the viewer gets to see his avatar for the first time, albeit from a distance. In keeping Summer updated on her... husband? Wait, were they married? Well, in keeping her updated on her partner, Ruby says that, "He's, you know... Dad," which, unlike the Ozpin line, is just plain funny. Sure, most of her talk is very exposition-y and absolutely functions as a soft lead-in to new content, but that's not to say a story should ever put absurd dialogue in a character's mouth simply for the sake of the viewer. That is, Ruby should never say, 'Oh, Tai is here! You know, my Dad?' because the person she's talking to, Summer, knows damn well who Tai is. Television has actually gotten better about this as a whole. Once upon a time a medical drama would have the doctor yelling, 'Her skin is turning yellow - she's jaundiced! Her liver is failing!' to ensure that the viewer understood precisely what 'jaundiced' meant, never mind how absurd it was for a professional to be shouting that among their peers. (Granted, medical dramas as a whole are absurd. I say that with love.) Despite RT's general inexperience, RWBY belongs to an era of televised storytelling where leaving certain things unsaid is par for the course.

Here, the unspoken information is what it means for Tai to be, you know, Tai. We don't really know who Tai is yet- personality-wise, I mean - so Ruby's comment functions more as a way to set up our expectations rather than to connect with us in agreement. We now expect Tai to be the kind of guy who does things to make his teenage daughter sigh and go, 'That's Dad...' and we, presumably, look forward to seeing that.

Granted, the three things we do know about Tai at this point in the story consist of:

He's a fellow Huntsmen (which is an insane job)

He let his daughter join Beacon two years early to also become a Huntress (also kinda insane but I support him)

He maintains a relationship with said daughter and daughter Sr by sending them their dog in the mail (do I really need to say it?)

Based on that I suppose we can guess as to what Tai is like lol.

He calls Ruby away so they're not late for the match and she sends a last message to Summer over her shoulder: "It was good to talk." As we transition, a murder of crows flies across the sky. Or is it an unkindness of ravens? I can barely tell in real life, let alone when they're animated blobs, but either option works well enough given the upcoming revelation about the Branwen twins.

Cutting to the arena a little time in the future, the viewer is treated to some establishing shots that, while simple, are honestly pretty cool. I believe this is our first introduction to Atlas' floating environments and showing a bit of Beacon Academy in the background helps give us a sense of scale.

This event is clearly popular, with the stadium absolutely packed with people (even more are trickling in from ferrying ships) and, to RT's credit, they did a bit of work to convey diversity in this world. We see a decent variety of skin tones as well as faunus characteristics, to say nothing of the cool designs many of the competitors will get. Beyond the main cast still being overwhelmingly white, I'd say the biggest issue here is the lack of body diversity, what with everyone having the same, stick-thin figure. Yeah, RT is clearly using the same base model copied a hundred times and I'm very aware of their previous status as a small, independent company, but such visuals nevertheless stand out in a series that's been pushing a minority plotline for three seasons.

The camera swoops down to follow Team RWBY in the midst of a battle which, again, is staged in a way that's clearly meant to catch up/invite in new viewers. It's very trailer-esque as each shot lingers on Weiss, Blake, and Yang for a moment before finishing with Ruby, complete with a twirl of Crescent Rose. This is the show visually reminding you of what it's really about. Sure, we might have started with Ruby speaking peacefully by a grave, but at the end of the day RWBY is the story of a team engaging in combat situations.

Oobleck and Port are announcing the event and Oobleck throws out his standard "Doctor" when his title goes unacknowledged.

You know, I started RWBY nearly a decade ago. Four years ago I secured a PhD, so I feel that now.

Port provides another handy info dump for those "just now joining us." AKA the viewer who has no idea what a Vytal Festival is, but this is as good an excuse as any given that people are still entering the stadium. Simply put, all the Kingdoms' huntsmen schools are competing as teams first, then as duos, then as individuals to determine the final winner who will have achieved "victory for their kingdom!" Age and year are irrelevant, which makes perfect sense given the nature of RWBY's combat. You've got young prodigies like Ruby and people who sneak into Beacon like Jaune, and though the other schools/years probably don't have as much drama going on, the variety of semblances, weapons, dust use, and personal experience really makes this anyone's game. A first year might easily beat a fourth year if they won the genetic lottery with their semblance, or a student from School A might trounce someone their age from School B, depending on how much their school has sent them into real combat situations.

Given all that, I kinda wish the Festival had developed the other Kingdoms more, given that it's the perfect opportunity for the cultures to learn from one another and/or butt heads. In a perfect world, one where RT had some sense of where their story was going, I would have loved to see:

Strong development of Vacuo's citizens, especially given that it will be the focal point of Volume 10 and possibly the end of the series (if we ever get that...).

Though the gag that Weiss excepts strict, militaristic fighters from Atlas only to get Neon is funny, that 'Don't judge a book by its cover' lesson really doesn't align well with what Volume 7 and 8 try to push. Better, perhaps, to set up Atlas' dictatorship tendencies before swinging hard in that direction (and I'll get into how what we do see doesn't make the cut).

How Remnant's racism gets displayed in a highly public competition. Do Blake and the other faunus face more discrimination now that they're in the public eye? Do asshole citizens challenge wins because no way did a faunus beat that human?

How different schools approach training their huntsmen. Specifically, everyone seems to abide by the four-person team structure, so why would this competition eventually highlight duos and individuals? It seems counter to what Beacon, and by extension all the other schools, are trying to promote. This setup would make more sense if we were shown that different schools have radically different curriculum. Maybe it's eventually 1v1 because Vacuo's individualist, survival-based culture teaches huntsmen to fend for themselves; teammates are just another liability. Maybe Atlas, being militaristic, prizes safety in numbers and has students train in groups of six rather than four. Maybe Mistral is incredibly semblance-focused (a way to develop Neptune's phobia rather than just making it a gag; a fighter who can't or won't use their semblance is considered effectively useless) and if you can negate that aspect of their style somehow, you find they're lacking severely in weapon-based combat.

Again, I know that RWBY, particularly early RWBY, only had so much time per episode, but looking back it feels like there are a lot of missed opportunities in this world-watched event. None of this is even taking into account Cinder sneaking into the school, or Penny being outed as an android. If any RWBY rewriters are reading this, the Festival is a potential goldmine of characterization and cultural development. If you're going to write random RWBY books, write some about that!

One moment of cultural significance that is shown though is the Atlas security hovering around the arena. They mostly keep to the background, without any single appearance being obtrusive (yet). This is one of those moments where (some) fans look back and say, "See? Ironwood was always a controlling, military-obsessed bastard," but the reality is that this is incredibly tame by real world standards, to say nothing of the realities of RWBY's fantasy world. Regardless of how you feel about the, uh... motivations behind the security in your country (because that's a whole other conversation), you expect there to be some level of professional oversight when that many people are meeting in one place. That's a reality we have to work with, which includes all the potential pitfalls, biases, manipulations, and accidents that come with any large-scale endeavor. Toss in the fact that RWBY's security is designed to defend against man-eating monsters and I'm honestly surprised it isn't presented as dystopian here. Meaning, we easily could have been given a story where people are comparatively safe from grimm in modern day Remnant and the security functions primarily as outside control and/or a fear-mongering tactic. It's not that security is inherently unnecessary, but those walls have done a damn good job for the last generation or so, so why is James so insistent on populating this festival with his probably not-needed robots? Seems sus 🤔.

As it stands, grimm DO attack people on the regular (that was kind of a big part of last Volume's finale), security IS necessary (according to many other council professionals once James raises the issue), and it's arguably MORE necessary now - during the festival - because there are so many potentially negative emotions just waiting to crop up. Instead of "Seems sus," the reaction to having defensive robots around is more, "No duh." At the very least RWBY might have had the characters react to the security with suspicion/fear, even if that doesn't totally track with the rest of the worldbuilding, or better yet, demonstrate that there are major issues with AI leading the charge (robot mistakes kid in grimm mask for real grimm and fires a shot!). Granted, we get that through the hacking at the very end of the Volume, but here and now the Atlas ships seem to be used primarily for transporting viewers, the crowd is fully at ease with these guys, and — as we'll see later — the prospect of additional security in the form of AI is greeted with enthusiasm, not wariness, simply because it will keep real, breathing people off the front lines. Those are all important things to keep in mind when you consider whether a) The show took a very sharp turn in Volumes 7-8 or b) The show capitalized on a long established, slow burn plotline.

(Psst the answer is 'B')

ANYWAY, Oobleck is yelling about the "Spectacular spectacles on which to speculate on!" and I love him all the more. While he and Port narrate we get some non-animated shots of people viewing the Festival from around the world, though frankly it doesn't do much to help RWBY's worldbuilding. Some people watch the fights from a camper outside, others are in a minimalist apartment, still others are in what's basically a bar... if you're looking for intriguing backgrounds to drum up interest in the world outside of Beacon, you're not going to find it here. The presence of various faunus individuals is really the only thing that distinguishes these settings from a show based in the real world.

Onto the fighting! (It's about time :p) The girls are facing off against Team ABRN (pronounced "Auburn") from Haven and they're decent for a couple of one-off characters. I like the design of the girl with the skateboard - Reese - and how her weapon, the board itself, gives her a lot of flexibility in battle. Since it functions as a hoverboard she has a lot of maneuverability, she can use the board as a shield, a projectile, adapt its abilities via Dust, and - of course - she can pull both sides apart to duel wield the guns. Looking at all that flexibility, it is a little lame that she 'loses' that particular encounter with Blake by slipping on the ice, but then we're not really supposed to care about these characters. They exist solely to get us hyped for the battles to come and give a quick primer on how those battles will work. AKA, now we've learned that the battlefield itself has hazards the girls must circumvent.

Blake is cute here though. She's so concerned and I'm like yeah, girl, that looked like it hurt 😬

This whole exchange has that same vibe: one of casual playfulness, which makes perfect sense given that this is supposed to be a fun competition. They're exhibition matches, not real attempts to take the other team out (which is why Yang's supposed act later in the tournament will be seen as so heinous). The guy with the pink hair (Nadir) full on pouts when Ruby successfully traps him in a block of ice and, of course, we have the classic "Got your back!"/"My BFF!" lines in response. The girls are enjoying themselves and that's so damn wholesome to see after all the tragedies - plot and writing-wise - of the later Volumes.

Team ABRN are able to make a bit of a comeback and - *gasp* - the girls have to actually think creatively/combine techniques in order to get the upper-hand. Blake successfully tricks Reese with a clone and catches her in the midriff with a quickly timed ribbon, cleanly knocking her out of the ring. It's here that we learn a team member can be eliminated via leaving the bounds, or having their aura dip too low (remember when that was a thing?) I know I just said there's teamwork, and there absolutely is here, but it did stand out to me how Blake just like... disappears after this moment? I mean she comes back, but it's clear RT wanted each girl to have her moment in this battle, despite the fact that any member who successfully defeated their opponent would be rushing off to help the others. That should be a near defining win condition - defeat one opponent and suddenly it's a 2 vs 1 situation for someone else - but that expectation falls by the wayside until the fight's final moments.

It's a good fight though. Not the greatest by RWBY standards, but it was no hardship to rewatch for this recap either. Weiss pulls out an epic ice hand that ensnares two of the members, now rolling chaotically across the arena, and clearly she thinks this is the end of the fight. However, Arslan — the monk-type who favors hand-to-hand combat (or the one with the "Eastern martial arts influence" according to the RWBY wiki...)— simply rolls her eyes, plants her feet, and shatters the ball with a single hit. Gotta admit, it's pretty cool.

Of course, Team RWBY still comes out victorious in the end. With all of Team ABRN now in one place, the girls have one of those lovely mind-reading moments and pull off a coordinated attack, allowing Yang to sucker-punch them all out of the ring. Again, it's nice to see that kind of teamwork, as well as the adorable way they all stand there, mildly shocked that they won.

I'll take that over the brazen, cocky confidence they've gained any day.

The only thing I'm kinda iffy about regarding this fight is how Team ABRN feels a little less like a full-fledged team to me, and more like a faint Team RWBY echo. It's most noticeable in the Yang vs. Arslan sections where you've got two yellow-coded, hand-to-hand snarkers facing off. Blake and Reese both feel like the cool, alternative style members of their teams, and then you've got the Weiss-Ruby duo trying to overtake the Bolin-Nadir duo. It's admittedly a subtle familiarity that lessens with each example, but it stood out to me in the re-watch; like Team ABRN only exists to give Team RWBY someone vaguely similar to overcome. Which, granted, they do. These are not characters we're going to follow as the series progresses, so in most respects they've done precisely what they needed to do and in a way that looks cool and feels entertaining. So this isn't a criticism, really. More an acknowledgment that RWBY is a series with limits and if we want to know more about these characters/flesh them out beyond their paralleling characteristics, we'll have to do that ourselves in the fanfic.

As Ruby jumps into the air in a victory celebration, we PowerPoint slide cut to the festival later that day where she nearly collapses, asking if anyone else is starving.

Yeah, child. You just made it through a physically intensive battle in front of an audience while existing as a teenager. Of course you're hungry. Blake's stomach gives a giant, embarrassing growl in response and Weiss sarcastically bemoans the fact that there's nowhere to eat at the food-focused festival. Good times, good times.

Ruby: "It's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fair grounds too."

Before they can grab lunch though Weiss declines a call from her father and an old 'acquaintance' suddenly shows up.

Emerald.

You know, kudos to Katie here because Emerald's laugh and, "Good to see you, Ruby" sounds so fake to me now. It just oozes, 'I secretly hate you but am pulling out all my acting skills to convince you otherwise' energy. Obviously RWBY has a host of villains/antagonists that have done a plethora of heinous things, but there's something particularly skin-crawling to me about seeing Emerald in retrospect. Part of it is the deception. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally would prefer a villain who's upfront about their nature from the get-go, rather than one who pretends to be my friend before stabbing me in the back. The first scenario just lacks the same emotional punch, you know? Though the other part of it is, of course, knowing where everyone ends up. Beacon will fall. Ozpin will "die." Pyrrha will actually die, and our heroes will be sent out into a war they're in no way ready for. Yes, Salem is our ultimate Big Bad, yes Emerald has her sympathetic moments and does a heel-turn into "good guy" territory four Volumes from now... but I think the fandom often forgets that she willingly and actively participated in this horror show. This isn't someone just along for the ride because their crush manipulated them, this is someone with a working brain between their ears who has PLENTY of time to consider the ramifications of this and still went, "Yeah, I'll lie my way into orchestrating a massacre."

All this hindsight angst is interrupted by the joke (and I use that term with great reservation) that Ruby must have dropped her wallet because "Girl pockets are the worst!" Sorry, but that has such cis-guy-trying-to-relate-to-women-and-failing-miserably energy to me. Like yeah, I also hate the super small/outright fake pockets that they often sew into women's clothing and I too have smiled at women promoting pockets as part of their independent brands... but somehow hearing the RWBY writers reference it just doesn't land. It's not #problematic, just cringy.

Emerald butters them up a bit by complimenting their fighting and Weiss notes that they haven't seen Emerald's teammates in action yet. We cut to their battle where they dominate the other team, complete with a disguised Neo showing her real eye color before she knocks the competitor out. "[They did] really well," says Emerald in the fakest humble tone ever heard.

Ruby invites them all to lunch and Emerald - clearly horrified by the prospect - dodges by claiming that her teammates are too socially awkward for a meetup. In her defense, Mercury is in the process of randomly sniffing a boot, so although this is absolutely just an excuse, she's also not wrong. Like, at all lol.

Fishing for more info, Emerald asks who's moving onto the doubles round and it turns out that Team RWBY voted for Weiss and Yang. There are three things that I love about this moment:

They voted. Yes, Ruby cheekily tries to make it sound like this is all coming from her genius as team leader, but at the end of the day they decided as a team who would represent them. It's a small detail, but those stand out so much more now that we have Ruby vocally and angrily calling the shots.

(This is a ridiculous side-note I'm 99.9% sure I've mentioned before, but every time I talk about Ruby's intense form of "leadership" in the latter Volumes, I'm reminded of Rick's, "This is not a democracy!" in The Walking Dead. If you know, you know.)

They chose Weiss and Yang. From both an in-world and meta perspective, it's actually a little surprising that Ruby isn't representing them. As established, she's team leader. The team is named after her. She's the protagonist of the show. She's also, canonically, a prodigy wielding an insanely deadly weapon. Yet it's refreshing as a viewer to have a new duo taking the spotlight and within the story-world this choice reinforces Point #1: They're a team and no matter how individually talented any one member may be - or even what titles they hold - they are, at the end of the day, all on equal footing. Why shouldn't Yang and Weiss represent?

The way they both respond to this reveal is dang cute. Weiss' "I will happily represent Team RWBY" while curtseying to Emerald vs. Yang's "Yeah! We're gonna kick some butt!" while slamming her fists together. It's a great contrast and shows why these two might have been chosen. Though powerful on their own, their styles and personality are different enough to compensate for any flaws.

With all that out of the way Emerald rejoins Mercury and her smile immediately drops. She's disgusted at having to get all buddy-buddy with them, but "Orders are orders." She has this classic villain moment where she expresses shock over how they're just so happy all the time and I'm like oh, honey. Darling. Morally misaligned baby girl. Just give it a few Volumes.

We cut to Team RWBY at lunch and aRE THE BOWLS SUPPOSED TO BE THAT BIG?

I recalled that they were big as a visual gag, but not half the girls' size. Honestly? Great choice. I too want to live in a world where you can get insanely giant noodles a millisecond after you order them.

Deviating from the others, Blake nods at the seller dude and receives an equally giant bowl filled with fish. You know, I really wish RWBY had done something with the faunus' animal traits rather than turning them into an endless joke. The concept of a god merging humans with literal animals and then, generations down the line, cat-people being influenced by cat instincts as well as human instincts (because remember, we're animals too) is actually really interesting to me... but navigating the racial implications of that takes a level of nuance that RWBY was never interested in exploring. So we're just left with a Blake who is fish obsessed and chases laser pointers and hates dogs and we're supposed to laugh at all that, rather than buying into her teachings that many people use these traits to dehumanize the faunus.

Anyway, Weiss shows off a bit and pays for all their food. At least, she tries to. Turns out her card has been declined, which is more than a little confusing to her given that she was "barely into [her] monthly allowance." Hmm, could that possibly have anything to do with her ignoring her father's phone calls? Surely no one knows.

Luckily, Pyrrha shows up and offers to pay instead (it's nice having a famous BFF, huh?), but like... what were the girls' initial plans? None of them were expecting Weiss to pay, yet they act like Pyrrha is saving the day by showing up, implying that they don't have the money to cover their meal. The shop guy even takes Blake's fish away, leaving her despondent. So what? Were they planning to eat and just worry about the bill later? Actually, that sounds exactly like something these chaotic preteens would do lol. Yang especially. She was introduced while "buying" a drink before destroying the whole dang bar.

Speaking of teenagers, they all finish their bowls with the kind of appetite only seen in 14-71yos. Although, it was a near thing for Jaune. He's very close to barfing (callback!) and Nora encourages him to "aim it at the enemy!"

She continues ragging on him for a bit, failing to come up with any compliments while hyping up her team. Pyrrha is a world-renowned fighter, Ren is basically a ninja, she can bench five of herself, and Jaune is... Jaune. Nora also doesn't include him in her secondary list which implies that Jaune a) hasn't trained as much (or, more realistically, hasn't gotten as much out of it) as the others, b) doesn't possess an "awesome" weapon, and c) is still frequently yelled at by Glynda.

Poor Jaune. I don't say that very often anymore, but he's going through it here lol.

All of this leads to Nora spiraling at the possibility of them losing. This includes the oh-so-causal drop that she and Ren "have no parents and no home left to go to" which is a HELL of a thing to throw out in a comedically framed breakdown. I mean, being orphans is sad enough, but "no home left to go to" won't be explained until we learn that their town was basically wiped off the map, so damn.

Team RWBY reassures them that a fight with actual rules is nothing compared to what they've already been through. You know, the murderers, extremists, and sociopaths. "Oh," gushes Ruby, "imagine what it'll be like when we graduate!"

As Port and Oobleck call Team JNPR to the arena for their match we cut to Emerald and Mercury settling in to enjoy the festivities. In retrospect, this right here is a really nicely composed shot:

It tells us that Emerald is serious about going through with this destruction (again, she's no manipulated damsel), but she's not getting the same personal enjoyment out of it like Mercury is, as showcased by the smirk. The focus remains on them with Team RWBY framed in between. This is the villains' Volume. They're going to win. Our eyes follow the soon-to-be champions not of the festival, but the battle, while our heroes are literally and metaphorically trapped between them. Finally, Yang is the only one who looks back. We won't know this for several episodes, but she's at the heart of their plan and has every reason to cast the almost-but-not-quite-worried glance over her shoulder. Subtle foreshadowing, how I love thee.

It's shit like this that makes my brain go, "It used to be good! RWBY used to be fun AND occasionally insightful! Those overworked animators were uplifting a mediocre story and the result was good!!!"

As they take their seats who should show up but Cinder, casually using her semblance to pop a kernel of popcorn (power move). "Even if you know how a story ends," she says, "that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." True that! I mean, she's talking about knowing that Team JNPR will be moving on because they need Pyrrha to murder Penny, but I agree with the sentiment outside of that context.

Actually, do they ever explain how they manipulated the fights? I mean, they obviously entered and are winning their own battles and we know that Mercury will be staging his injury with Yang... but here Cinder makes it sound like she's pulling strings in every match. Toss that onto the list of development I would have liked for this Volume: what precisely are they doing behind the scenes? I'll have to pay careful attention going forward to make sure I don't miss anything because right now all I can recall is them looking at Penny's blueprints (presumably obtained via Watts).

Team JNPR's area is randomized into a forest and mountainous land before the battle commences. We end on that cliffhanger, complete with the superhero-esque freeze shot.

And that concludes the first episode of Volume 3! As well as my first recap in a long while. If you've followed me at all you'll know that work has been my personal Big Bad the last two-ish years. Given the scope of my responsibilities and the energy they extract, I simply don't have the time or means to write the way I used to. However, I feel like if I can muster up the willpower to finish this on tonight of all nights (people reading from the future: check the posting date and you'll understand), then I must be getting a little better at carving out writing time in my hectic schedule. All hail self-improvement!

On that positive note, everyone have a wonderful night. Or at least try to. Seriously. Text a loved one, treat yourself to a favored snack, do something that feels fulfilling. Take some deep breaths and I'll see you for the next one.

~Clyde❤️

[faggotmox]

I've seen the light, I'm absolutely obsessed with the pitt and I'm feral for Noah Wyle. Explain him to me. I need to know more.

(oh my god this got so long im sorry slap my hand slipped)

noah, my boy my babe my little whump whump, got his break out role in er as john carter. carter ended up being the focus of the first 11 seasons out of 15, returning to finish the series in season 15. i know after er noah got a main role in falling skies, & the librarian franchise. sadly his career never got much bigger BUT he is a really good actor & the roles he does choose he really crushes.

now...john carter :) if you enjoyed him in the pitt i urge you to run a train on er. carter is a great character, he starts out as a surgical intern in season one before realizing he isn't cut out (pun!) for surgery & his real love is in the emergency department. its so fun going over everything that happened to carter in my head. he's such a dynamic character that changes a lot, even just episode to episode.

like how to summarize john carter? the song africa by toto is actually his theme song lmao. like season 9-12 carter storyline is like verse for verse africa by toto which sounds like an indictment but isn't. the sad little rich white boy goes through a personal tragedy & then flies to the fucking congo with tv brand doctors without boarders to figure out his priorities & then decides to use his families INSANE (theyre the richest family in chicago from like exploiting coal or something in the early 1990s & he feels white guilty abt it) fortune to cure aids in africa. which sounds like it'd be terrible but...but i promise isn't.

also he's kinda bisexual king if im honest. like fr fr he & peter (his mentor in season one, & friend after) have wild sexual chemistry & when carter becomes addicted to narcotics (he got stabbed in the er by a patient with a giant cake cutting knife! bc he must suffer) peter is the only person he trusts & takes him to a treatment center. then when luka (a croatian er doc that convinces him to go to africa) is thought to be dead in africa carter goes back & is determined to find his body. like carter, is it gay to fly across the world to recover your ex girlfriend's ex boyfriend???? i think it is. he, luka, & abby have the most dysfunctional chemistry in er history im sorry.

like carter is just some rich guy who lost his brother to cancer & wanted to become a doctor to help people. he's also super cute when he cries or flips out :)

is this what you wanted to know slap? lmao also if you've seen the pitt watching er would be fun imo bc you will clearly be able to draw lines between the two shows & characters. to be robby is clearly a current day carter that has finally grown into mark greene's shoes as mark always thought he would. i think doctor robby is a nice nod to a more modernized version of mark's character while still being carter too. also if you like the political side of the pitt then er was the show that set the tone for that. its not a medical romance. er makes a point to highlight how the healthcare system fails & the systemic issues within medicine (which is personified in the 'big bad' of the first 10 seasons, dr. robert romano).

my only criticism of er thats popping out on my current rewatch is that somewhere in like maybe season 9, but i think season 10 & on, is that sometimes they kinda write medical problems/illness as a moral failing & that aways rubs me the wrong way a bit. maybe im just rose colored goggles over the first 8 or so seasons, but i really feel like they dont often fall into that.

but i'll point out something that i think is a really good thing about er. it's an ensemble cast that gets fully developed (for the most part, minus a few) & storylines are allowed to arc over seasons. you get good slow burn, well-developed stories that weave in & out over large chunks of episodes. most characters get a decent amount of screen time, even secondary/background characters (shout out nurses chuny & helah & yosh). i dont think a lot of shows achieve that. also so many of the characters are multifaceted, theres things you like or dont like about them, things they do that are upsetting or bad but also good.

OH! also there's a character named dr. weaver. she's a disabled lesbian who kicks ass & is a great doctor, but she's also a hard ass. kerry is such an interesting character, i adore her. plus they actually write over many season kerry realizing she's a lesbian to becoming comfortable to living a gay little life & it's pretty good.

thanks for coming to my ted talk--

hey this gif works perfect for my case!

[foxglovegames]

Trouble Comes Twice - the Postmortem

We celebrated Trouble Comes Twice's anniversary around a month ago! We'd hoped to post this postmortem back then as well, but it's taken us a moment to find the right words haha.

Anyway, we hope that this postmortem can give our players and other visual novel devs some insight into what the development process looked like for us. It's also a great way for us to look back at what went well and what went less well.

We'll be taking about the ideation phase, our (lack of) marketing for the Kickstarter, and also sharing (what we can) on our earnings from the game!

Coming up with Trouble Comes Twice

The original tone of Trouble Comes Twice was a lot more comedic and packed to the brim with anime tropes we enjoy. Most didn't make it into the final game, but some stayed and evolved e.g. all of the love interests are based on popular visual novel archetypes - the childhood friend, the tomboy, the shy girl, and the bad boy. 

Some, like Cameron and Zoe, changed a lot from their concept while Adrian and Stephanie stayed quite loyal to our original ideas of them. Cameron's character actually underwent the most changes after the initial reception to the demo, where a lot of people felt like he was too much of an ass haha. (Fortunately, he became a fan favorite when we dropped the new demo!)

The premise with the bet was something we invented to create some drama and establish a common plot thread throughout each route. Honestly, looking back, we would probably have approached the bet differently if we wrote it today and a lot of our pre-planning was... clumsy, at best. Still, it was a labor of love and I'll never forget the fun and excitement we had everyday balling ideas for the characters and coming up with their designs.

As Melli and I are just writers with limited coding experience, we worked with a past game jam friend to code the GUI and set up the base for the game (though the actual scripting was done by us and Melli put everything together in the end). Our biggest expenses pre- and post-demo was the character art and CGs, meanwhile we relied on free music and BG packs to save money.

Why a bisexual romcom?

So, this was sort of a no-brainer to us. We had decided right from the start that both twins could date both the male and female love interests, and (at the time) we feel that a lot of similar games had playersexual MCs rather than established bisexual/pansexual MCs. While playersexual charas are also awesome, we wanted to write a romcom where the main cast are always queer regardless of who you end up romancing. 

At the same time, bi/pan people don't all approach romantic relationships the same way e.g. Cameron is confident and has experience dating people of all genders, while Adrian's demi and Jace still struggles a bit with his attraction towards men. We know that some of our players felt like that made certain routes less romantic than others and we hear you on that feedback and have 100% taken it into consideration for our future romance games. But anyway, that was our thought process behind Trouble Comes Twice's romance dynamics!

Preparing for Kickstarter & the actual Campaign

Our Kickstarter launched at the start of August and let me tell you, we were nowhere near as prepared as we should have been. 😭 We hadn't set up a Steam page yet, we were trailer-less, and we only had a couple of hundred followers across our socials at best. I feel that there's a lot more successful Kickstarter projects to refer to and even a lot of marketing guides and advice now, but mostly it's on us for not researching more. 

The Kickstarter campaign did surprisingly well despite the lack of promotion and only having a rough alpha demo - we were even able to double our goal! - but we  wouldn't recommend what we did for other devs.

You should invest time into making a good demo, spend time building an interested audience before launching your campaign, and research so you've got some kind of marketing plan. We were lucky with word-of-mouth and that other visual novel devs with larger followings helped share our game, but we should have made more effort reaching out to bloggers, streamers, and game sites. Some crowdfunding successes may seem like they came out of nowhere and were just pure luck, but there's usually a lot of grinding behind-the-scenes that you don't notice.

The post-Kickstarter era, at least for us, was the harder bit. We now had 353 loyal backers who had expectations based on promises we had made and we had to make sure we met those expectations while also staying true to our wants as the devs. It was a learning process for sure, but we're fairly proud that we always did our best to keep our backers in the loop. It's frustrating to write an update explaining that the game has been delayed again, but backers are more open to being understanding than you think as long as you communicate!

A tip we'd give to new devs considering Kickstarter: Don't overestimate what you can do, but overestimate what you need. There's always hidden costs, unexpected taxes/fees, and other unknown obstacles that might eat up your budget. In our case, we made enough to make the game as planned, but had to change CG artists around halfway through development which meant our original budget didn't cut it anymore. Fortunately, we had earned a decent amount from our Patreon and pre-orders that we were able to use to complete the CGs, but that isn't always going to be an option for everyone and that also meant we were unable to use that money ourselves. (We didn't take any money from the original Kickstarter campaign, so whatever was earned through patreon and pre-sales was our only "salary" at the time.) 

Writing the game

Writing is, for obvious reasons, one of the most important parts of a visual novel. Melli wrote Jace's routes and I wrote Hazel's routes, which removed some pressure off our shoulders compared to trying to write over 300,000 words all on our own. 

It's fun working with another writer, but there are also some unique issues and considerations that come up when you're writing a game with two protagonists split between two writers. Especially because at the time, there weren't many visual novels with a similar set up to refer to.

The main things we learned, were:

Consistency. We wanted each couple to have their own dynamic, but the characterization needs to remain consistent between routes. You don't want Adrian in Jace's route to feel like a totally different character in Hazel's route. Additionally, we had to be careful that the tone and writing style of the protagonists' POVs still felt like you were playing the same game. Some routes can be more comedic than others, but we've got a problem if Hazel's routes are all (unintentionally) more serious/angsty in tone than Jace's or vice versa.

Watch out for your word count! Longer does not always equal better and writing eight routes, we had to put some restrictions in place. Even when writing on your own, it can be tough to guess how long your story should be, and it was important to us that the routes were roughly the same length so that none felt more "canon" than the other. However, with two writers who have different writing styles and ways of planning, it was tricky to compare our outlines and we struggled at times when it came to matching each other's word counts. Moving forward, we're probably going to be more lenient when it comes to word counts - some routes have to be longer than others, it doesn't mean that route is automatically more "important". We're also doing more regular meetings and frequent check-ins to make sure we're on the same page. In the future, we hope that should save us a lot of trouble when it comes to pacing! 🙈

Balancing your own wants with the wants of your players. In theory, these overlap most of the time. But making a commercial game (that people had already "bought" through the Kickstarter), there is some pressure when it comes to meeting certain expectations. We can't always just write what we want and assume everyone else is going to love it, but we also don't want to neglect what we personally like. We had a survey for the beta where we were able to get regular feedback and a lot of helpful advice. We definitely want to continue with surveys in the future - they are a great way to gather opinions from different players and figure out what works versus what doesn't! 

We took on too many tasks outside writing that distracted us. This bit is sort of inevitable for indie devs like us. 😅 Working with a limited budget and limited resources, you just end up having to wear a lot of hats! We think we did quite well sharing these duties though, and moving forward (thanks to you guys) we can afford more hands on deck to help us out. 

Marketing

The bane of every indie game dev's existence... although secretly, I kind of enjoy marketing but don't tell anyone that!

Having learned a thing or two from promoting the Kickstarter, we spent more time researching games marketing but in the end, trial and error was the best teacher.

As we got closer to the release date, we were posting almost daily on social media and grew our Twitter to over eight thousand followers. We didn't have any viral posts, but we saw a consistent growing interest in our game and it was such a motivation boost to see comments from potential players being excited for the game. We know a lot of devs have said that Twitter didn't help their game much but according to our stats, a decent number of our players found us through the platform. 

We saw less success here on Tumblr. Perhaps we haven't cracked the code here yet or maybe we're just comparing our numbers from Twitter unfairly! We're not hung up about it though, we love it here because it feels easier to connect with our followers and other devs there, and it's nice because we're able to write longer posts like this one! 💓

Aside from posting on social media, we reached out to several streamers and some bloggers prior to release to send them free game keys. 

We also commissioned some art from other artists to share, as we obviously couldn't reveal ALL our CGs before the release lol and visual posts tend to do a lot better in our experience. It was so much fun to see the characters in other art styles and we hope we can afford to commission guest art pieces a lot more frequently in the future!

In hindsight, we definitely regret not releasing a trailer sooner! We underestimated how much interest a good trailer could garner and delayed setting up our Steam page because of it. Steam was the platform where we sold the most copies and most of our buyers found the game through Steam itself.

Also, posting your trailer on youtube adds another site where you're promoting your game so there's really no reason not to get that trailer done as soon as you can. 

Final Notes

After the initial stress, we were pretty happy with our release! Although there were some things we would go back and change if we could,  that's just the nature of these kind of things. For the most part, we're proud of what we achieved and happy that we have learnt so much from Trouble Comes Twice that we can take into consideration for future projects.

We can't share exact numbers, but we wanted to open up a bit about our earnings for the game to help other aspiring devs: As of writing this, Trouble Comes Twice has earned close to 85,000 euros. This counts our profits from 2020 to now (the Kickstarter, Patreon, pre-sales, and actual sales). Removing fees, taxes, the salaries of our talented artists and other freelancers, as well as the money invested into our next game, our personal pockets did not see anything close to those numbers. But we're super proud of how much our little game has made and so grateful that it's allowed us more creative freedom with our next title! 

So, what's next?

You might have heard but for the past year, we've slowly been working on the demo and upcoming announcement for our next visual novel:

A 17+ supernatural neon-noir romance game about monsters, love, and other horrors. 

Play as vampire detective Circe (female protagonist) or hellhound cop Dante (male protagonist) and delve into the mysteries of North Haven, where demons, vampires, and supernaturals hide in plain sight among humans.

The game features six routes, with three romance options available to each protagonist. Dante only has male romances and Circe has both male and female romances. 

The game tackles a darker, more angsty tone compared to Trouble Comes Twice. Still, we hope that those who decide to check it out will enjoy it! We plan to announce the game this coming Autumn. Follow our Twitter (we're still not calling it X sorry) or Tumblr to stay up to date.

[blueberryscones30]

beyblade burst surge: final thoughts

I’d like to start this off by saying that Beyblade has a special place in my heart. Burst introduced me to anime and watching the first season is definitely one of my core childhood memories. I’m so happy that the series has expanded to tell different stories, introduced new mechanics, and teach new messages. No matter what I say here, I love Beyblade, and I love Surge. There’s no argument about that.

To keep a fluctuating tone, I’ll alternate between points of what I did and didn’t like about the series, and finally a rating and where I’d rank it among the other seasons. So, without further ado…

Con One: Out of Character Writing and Throwaway Characters

My favorite season of the Burst saga is the first one, and I couldn’t count all the reasons for why that is. The characters, the battles, the way everything felt so fresh—and that’s only a few.

But one thing that stuck in my mind as a kid was the Beigoma Academy Bey Club and how they interacted with one another. Each member had their own unique chemistry with the others, and their development and challenges all felt equally important, even if they didn’t technically advance the story. The filler episodes with those five were ones I could watch over and over again.

The Comets in Surge…are not like that.

When you have a character, they need to be serving a purpose in the story. If their role, their niche, if you will, can be easily replaced by a another character (or can just be erased completely), something has to change. Their role is altered, or that character is cut, or their merged into another character. The Comets’ role was to cheer the protagonists on and occasionally provide commentary, which are roles filled by countless other characters in the show. 

And it’s clear the writers didn’t want to make them sitting ducks, so occasionally, they’d have Guy (or Chuck? Which one is the one with the donut lips?) mention wanting to get stronger so he could chalk up to the Hizashis. They don’t do anything with this idea, however, and it’s massively irritating. I feel like Hikaru and Hyuga could have functioned as individual apprentices to Honcho and nothing would’ve changed.

And while I know characters like this (Toko and Nika in season one, Naru, Kit and Honey in season two, and Taka) aren’t usually there to serve a purpose in the story, they’re there to add personality and warmth to scenes that the Comets just didn’t possess. 

On the topic of characters, Surge reintroduced a lot of old characters that were fan favorites. After Rise, which had been pretty isolated from the casts of the other seasons, it was time to get them back in the spotlight. This went better for some characters than it did for others.

My grievance seems to be the most popular: Wakiya. He arrives in episode eighteen, where it’s revealed he’s the commissioner of the Ultimate Tag Series. He seeks out the Hizashis of his own accord and opts to become their coach for seemingly no reason at all, very rarely offering help except to tell them the new matchups or give them genuine advice that’s quickly overridden by his need to be soulless comic relief. He credits all of their victories to himself and does not interact with the former members of the Beigoma Bey Club present in this season once. I don’t need to explain how this is weird to anyone who’s seen the first two seasons (which is probably all of you, and if you haven’t, what are you even doing here?). Characters relegated to the backseat in this season were also thrown around in terms of their established character to play a certain role (Sisco and Free). Surge’s biggest strength is with its returning characters; when they’re not up to par, it throws off the show.

Pro One: The Protagonists

Hikaru and Hyuga are really great protagonists with amazing chemistry. I originally thought that they were twins, but as time went on, it became much clearer who was older and younger—Hikaru took the analytical, cautious, “think before you speak” older brother role, while Hyuga was impulsive, bullheaded, and brave. This got them into arguments plenty of times, but it also helped them in high-stakes moments that felt like a really good way to flesh out their characters.

You can get a more in-depth review of what I think of these two in my individual episode reviews (that’s true for everything I’ll say here), but I love the balance the writers struck between using Hikaru and Hyuga’s differences for comedic effect and plot relevance. Of course, watching them fight could be funny, but seeing them struggle and grow in a competition where effective cooperation can make or break your team was a really good way to write them. I loved how they were both forced to stray from their own philosophies and stay true to them in certain situations throughout the season. Like in episode 21, where Hyuga had to trust Hikaru’s plan rather than keeping on the offensive to beat Aiga and Ranjiro; or in episode 24, where Hikaru puts aside his fear of losing and charges forward to keep up with Valt and Honcho. The series doesn’t paint one of them as less courageous or smart than the other—it’s just that they need to find a compromise to bring the best out of each other, which I love. This is personified in their combination move, Twin Break Impact.

Of course I adore Hyuga, but I preferred Hikaru over the two because I thought his internal conflict was more interesting and down-to-earth. Most Beyblade protagonists have the same formula of bouncing back from their setbacks and focusing on the love of the game instead of the outcome naturally, but Hikaru’s fear of losing and overcautiousness was a very refreshing route to take. I also liked how he interacted with other characters, mostly Aiga. 

Hikaru and Hyuga carried a lot of fond memories for me. Their little scenes together in the last two episodes might’ve brought a couple of tears to my eyes. I think they were a big strength in this season that really overpowers some of its flaws.

Con Two: Flare

Lain’s excellence as an antagonist was right there. His concept is interesting and, I’d argue, more compelling than some of the more popular villains. I love his dynamic with Shu. The little moments where humor shines through with him were great. If there’s any character I need to apologize to for being too hasty with my judgment, it’s him. I really, really like Lain.

But I can’t say I love him for, something that isn’t his fault. Flare is just not a good plot device, and it’s so intwined with Lain’s character that it just all falls flat.

According to the series, Flare is when “your fighting spirit comes out as a flame.” This is not elaborated on and questions such as, “why don’t all the legends have Flare” and “how is this different from Resonance” just aren’t answered. At the start of the season, Lain is the only character to possess Flare and it apparently makes him a real threat on the battling scene. In fact, it makes him so much of a threat that he’s able to defeat Lui and Free within the first eight episodes.

The assassination of the credibility of these two was already egregious, but it becomes even more frustrating when Lain steamrolls through all the legends with just as little issue. He loses to Shu once, and completely destroys him their rematch not even one full episode later. This makes battles uninteresting because Lain has practically a guaranteed win. It also defeats the purpose of bringing the legends back in the first place—a tournament between so many formidable Bladers is supposed to be unpredictable. I had fun watching almost every single battle that Lain wasn’t in, but in most of his, I didn’t feel particularly invested.

Flare also steals away Lain’s ability to make strategies and actually think for himself in a battle, which is Burst’s main mode of characterization. I can’t name a single strategy that Lain spent time thinking about because he was just that overpowered. While the story relevance of Flare was really cool towards the end of the show, from a logistical standpoint and a good 95% of the run time, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Pro Two: The Legend Festival/Tag Series Arcs and Pairings

The main format of the season being in tag battles was a really smart choice. We haven’t seen them in action much, and there are so many opportunities for interesting character interactions. The series delivered. There wasn’t a single pairing for tag matches that I disliked. 

The Legend Festival was a great introduction to all of the characters. There wasn’t much time to see all of them respond to the environment and circumstances, but the limited time they had to tell the story would’ve made that kind of exposition difficult. They did well with the moments they had, though. A common complaint I heard about this series is that the legends don’t talk about anything other than Lain and the protagonists, but it didn’t feel that way to me. I think their dynamics had a lot of life to them, and quirks and topics from earlier seasons shone through.

The Ultimate Tag Series was also a solid arc. The tournament style confused me, just like it did for the Legend Festival, but I think that’s just because I’m easily confused (If anyone could explain it to me, though, that would be nice). I think the episode where the pairings were being slowly revealed and Hikaru and Hyuga raced to get their preferred partners was incredibly fun. A lot of pairings I didn’t expect a lot out of shocked me by having compelling battles and by being narratively interesting. Aiga and Cap’n is the best example, but Valt and Honcho and Hikaru and Hyuga did this, too. Lui and Drum was my overall favorite, but the others were by no means bad.

Con Three: Power Creep

This is a bit intertwined with the point about Flare. The thing about Surge is that it doesn’t just bring back old, popular characters; it brings back blading legends. They are supposed to be the best of the best, forged under trials we’ve followed them through since the start of the saga. However, nine legends, two inexperienced protagonists that need to rack up a reasonable win rate, and a completely new antagonist that needs to be a threat is a lot to juggle. So, legends are losing a lot more than they should.

This is not a problem exclusive to Surge—in fact, the Lùinor Cup arc in Turbo is one of my least favorite for this reason. In case you forgot, in Turbo, Lui is an early-season boss who makes a tournament of the best across Asia. The winner will battle him as their prize. Aiga, who literally picked up a bey for the first time three weeks ago, defeats him. I honestly think my most passionate opinion about Beyblade is how Aiga should have lost that fight, but that’s besides the point.

The point is that Burst, since season three, has had a habit of downscaling incredibly strong characters to hype up new ones, which just doesn’t work. But since they made Lain so overwhelmingly strong and Hikaru and Hyuga need to, you know, win, the problem is much more prevalent than in other seasons.

(It’s worth mentioning that this could have been forced by the run time. The space for what you can do with the story being cut in half will inevitably result in a decrease in writing quality. Unrealistic outcomes for battles and Lain being so strong happen because the story needs to come to a close with the time they’re given, so there isn’t much room for nuance. However, since I think this issue could’ve been made less extreme, I’m putting it on the con list.)

I just found it infuriating, and I think a lot of the fandom can agree on that point.

Pro Three: Lain and Shu’s Arcs

Lain gets way too much hate from the fandom. The Flare thing can be annoying, but I think that makes people overlook the complexities of his character and the amazing dynamic he has with Shu in this season.

The main impact Flare has on Lain is an uncontrollable, burning desire he gets to completely annihilate strong opponents. This is what he does for the entire season, but instead of simply sitting on top of his achievements, he realizes that it hasn’t worked—he still needs his “thirst quenched” even after doing what he thought would satisfy it. Lain struggling to understand why he’s like this is such a cool direction to take his development in. In his inability to comprehend why he’s feeling this way, he takes things too far.

Shu, in classic Shu fashion, takes it upon himself to protect Lain from what happened to him in season two. I’ve already written a very long review about how obsessed I am with the way they interact, but the gist of it is: Shu was willing to be associated with the worst time of his life to protect Lain from his own ruin, and Lain learns to view Shu as a mentor without even realizing it. There’s so much to break down with them, and they were definitely one of my favorite parts of the series.

Con Four: Uninteresting Primary Mechanic (Lightning Beys)

This is more nitpicky than the other cons I’ve listed, but it bothered me in the earlier episodes of the show. Each season has had a core mechanic, a new thing it does with its beys to keep them fresh. I don’t blade in real life and I’m sure there are changes in the merchandise from season to season, but as far as the anime goes, it’s 

Special moves (ex: Rush Shoot, Crux Boost) for season one

Bey evolution for season two

Turbo beys and turbo blades for season three

Gamma beys and hyperflux for season four

The one for Surge is the lightning bey and sparking shoots. When a launch is quick (or effective, or just good, I guess?), you get a shower of sparks that gives your bey a speed boost at the start of a battle. Hikaru and Hyuga struggle to perform sparking shoots for about five episodes before they figure out how, and then it’s almost never mentioned again.

I tended to consider sparking shoots and lightning beys as just a worse version of their counterparts in Turbo, because you need to do the same thing for a result that’s much less useful. Being unburstable is definitely preferable over a small speed boost. 

I also wish it was more consistent, because the other mechanics were innovated on throughout the season—in fact, the parts when they were innovated on were some of my favorite parts of their respective season. I remember literally jumping out of my seat at the debuts of Sprint Boost and Crux Boost. Spryzen Requiem and Genesis/Strike Valkyrie were so unique and had amazing designs. The turbo blades a lot of battles were fought, and I regard the rainbow hyperflux very fondly (as you might’ve been able to tell by my reaction to its return in the notes). I can’t say the same for lightning beys, and while it’s not directly impacting the story, it takes away an immersive element to battles that I really would’ve liked to see.

Pro Four: Expansion on Existing Characters

The returning characters that weren’t handed the short end of the stick seriously blew me away. Their development was subtle, but made sense and fit their role in the story. This could apply to all the returning characters that I haven’t mentioned on the con list, but I appreciated Valt, Lui, Rantaro, and Ranjiro the most. 

Valt’s role in mentoring the Hizashis and helping Shu improve Lain is such a testament to how he’s grown since the first season. I loved how coolheaded he’s shown to be (especially next to Aiga or Hyuga) but still lets old habits that make him definable shine through. I want to point out the scene where Honcho demanded an explanation from Shu over why he partnered with Lain. Even though I think Valt from season one or two would have jumped to join Honcho, I think Valt in Surge has more trust that Shu knows what he’s doing. He also knows how to wait and watch for a time to intervene, which is just such a nice change.

Lui’s grown a lot since his debut as well, mostly seen in his relationships with Drum and Shu throughout the season. I think I said why Drum and Lui work together so well on a comment on one of my fics:

“I actually think they have really good chemistry under the surface. Lui respects people who are ambitious, honest, and don’t mind breaking a few rules or being impolite to get to the finish (just like Drum), while Drum is literally surrounded by prickly and arrogant people throughout the entirety of Rise, so by the time they meet, he’s super used to it. However, despite these similarities, I don’t think they would’ve gotten along well had Lui not had these realizations and [as you said] learned to care about others.”

While Lui is skeptical of Drum’s competence at first, he learns to appreciate his drive and strengths, which make them a fearsome combination during the Tag Series. He also tries to comfort him when he’s frustrated (in a very Lui way, but it’s there nonetheless). As for Shu, he compliments his battles during the season and says he looks forward to their next match, which seems out of character at first glance. However, Lui has a good understanding of what Shu is trying to do with Lain and their relationship has improved since the early seasons. It’s another show of maturity that I’m really happy to see—it shows the writers care about taking these characters and their stories to the finish line, and they understand that they just don’t stop developing after the climax of their arcs.

Rantaro and Ranjiro’s relationship was a nice touch on the series that we didn’t get to see in Turbo (I don’t mind that too much—Turbo had a lot going on, anyway). Ranjiro looking up to his older brother and wanting to live up to his legacy is standard enough, but Rantaro underestimating him because of the baby duck act he’s used to was smart, in my opinion. It’s a realistic response to have, and I like how they’re taking character decisions in more nuanced directions.

Final Thoughts and Rating

I’m delighted I got to watch this show, and while it’s not my favorite, I have really fond memories of it. My series ranking is as follows:

Burst (10/10)

Evolution (9.5/10)

Rise (8.5/10)

Turbo (7.5/10)

Surge 

I’m aware I said I liked Surge and proceeded to rank it dead last, but was definitely more process of elimination than anything else. Turbo and Surge both had strong moments, but Turbo was more consistent and lacked a lot of the flaws I talked about here. I rank Surge at about a 7/10.

Thanks so much for following me through my watch-through! I asked before, but if anyone could give me instructions on where to find the Beyblade manga, that would be really nice. Also, I’ve decided that I’ll give the first episode of Quaddrive a watch. I’ll be sure to tell you how that goes :)

[sunvylovebug]

Love garden

↬ Warnings: No warnings …⁠ᘛ⁠⁐̤⁠ᕐ⁠ᐷ

↬ Female!Reader and person narration (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

↬ Author Note: I love Diluc<3 I've written some other stuff with Genshin characters, you can check it out on my profile if you're interested<3

↬ Summary: The uncrowned king of Mondstadt has begun to develop feelings for his childhood friend.

↬ Word Count: 1,003 Words

Since childhood, Y/N and Diluc had been inseparable. They grew up together in Mondstadt, sharing games, secrets and adventures in every corner of the city. Their friendship was as solid as iron, forged by years of laughter and loyalty, of promises and memories, of good and bad times together, little adventures and tons of love and care for each other.

As time went by, they both had to take separate ways, separating for a while, but even after so long their hearts were still connected, it was impossible to break a connection that had prevailed alive for so many years after all.

While Diluc, after years of being away from the nation, assumed his role as the owner of the Dawn Winery in the mornings and the enigmatic, mysterious and heroic Dark Knight Hero of Mondstadt in the evenings, Y/N found her own purpose after studying at the Akademiya of Sumeru, returning to Mondstadt to tend to a small garden that had been built in the heart of the city.

One day, while Y/N was in her garden arranging the flowers and making sure everything was in order, Diluc appeared unexpectedly. Although his face showed a serious expression, there was a soft intensity in his eyes that Y/N had not seen in a long time. "Y/N, I've been thinking about you." Diluc said, slowly approaching. "Can I stay with you for a moment?"

Y/N looked at him with curiosity and a slight smile on her lips. The garden had always been her place of peace, the place where everything seemed more pleasant, more simple and peaceful, Diluc's presence made it even more special. "Of course, Diluc. You're always welcome here."

He sat near her, on a small bench of the place, watching how she worked with delicacy and mastery on her plants, she already had a good time taking care of this place. A pleasant silence formed between them, interrupted only by the occasional birdsong and the soft rustling of the leaves as they moved in the wind.

"You know..." He began to say in a thoughtful tone. "Sometimes when I see the flowers here, they remind me of what we've shared since we were children, the days in my father's garden, the sunny days where we played hide and seek with Kaeya or Jean, or when we'd go looking for bugs and flowers with you... The times when as children, everything seemed simpler."

She looked up from the flowers, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and affection. They didn't usually talk about their feelings this way, but she felt there was something different about the way Diluc was acting.

"Kinda funny..." She said with a soft smile. "Maybe it's weird for me to say it like this but I've always thought that this garden is like a reflection of various connections I have with people, especially our friendship. I take great care of it cause it means a lot to me, as you do too, Diluc."

He was silent, but his eyes shone with an intensity that Y/N couldn't ignore. Finally, he leaned a little closer. "Y/N, there is something I need to tell you." He began, his voice filled with an unusual vulnerability. "How I've felt about you has changed over time. You're not only my friend, but someone I truly appreciate more than I could ever put into words. You are a beautiful girl, you are strong and honest, you are charismatic and kind, you are sweet and brave... I could spend all day talking about how I see you... but I'm scared, I don't wanna lose you because of the things I feel for you."

Her stomach flipped over, she felt her heart beating faster, her cheeks flushing as she listened to Diluc's heartfelt words. She wasn't sure how to respond, but the sincerity in his voice moved her deeply.

"Diluc, I've felt something special for you too, for a while now..." Admitted Y/N in a trembling voice. "But I- I didn't know how to tell you. I was afraid it might ruin our friendship."

Diluc smiled, a gleam of relief in his eyes. "You don't have to fear that, Y/N. What I feel for you has grown over time and I think it's something worth feeling together, if you'll allow me."

With a gesture full of tenderness Diluc took Y/N's hand, looking at her warm and comforting eyes with an expression that blended love and affection that became overwhelming to the young woman's melting heart.

"Let me show you how special you are to me, not only as a friend with whom I have spent countless moments together, adventures and good times, but as someone I wish to protect, care for and love as long as you and life will allow me to."

With her heart overwhelmed with emotion, she nodded slowly, looking into his eyes, nervous and excited by his words. Her trust in Diluc and the love she felt for him came together in a moment of pure connection. "I'd love to do the same, Diluc."

He ran a hand around her waist with a gentle smile and a soft shade of pink on his cheeks. He held her chin with his gloved hand and looked down at her. "May I?"

It was the happiest day for both of them. She felt like she would faint soon from so much emotion her heart was feeling, she nodded shyly and it was then that Diluc brought their lips together gently, a tender kiss full of the love and affection they felt for each other.

From that day on, the garden became an even more meaningful place for them, a place to spend time together and create many memories.

Each visit was a mixture of laughter and intimate moments, as Diluc strove to show his devotion and affection in every gesture and action. Through the seasons, through time and through life's changes, their new relationship blossomed so beautifully, just as the flowers did in Y/N's garden.

[regthomas1728]

Editing Responsibly

While Preserving the Author's Voice and Intent

GIF by capricornus-rex

If you're confident in your skills as an Editor, then skip this post! If not, keep reading. I'll be as direct as possible and include fun pictures/gifs.

Covering:

Readability

Focal Points

Tone

Character Development

Grammar/Spelling are not as important as we may think. It’s important to understand the foundations of grammar but ultimately, the most important part is that the story is readable. Many established authors have a style of grammar and beliefs of how grammar *should* be. Authors are going to write with their voice, so readers should learn to read that voice. We can establish our voice through how we write.

Example: Some authors use dashes to indicate urgency or to jump into action or dialogue. Others may use asterisks instead of italicizing or bolding something.

The point: don’t correct style, correct how readable a work is. If you understand it, it’s readable, if you think there is room for misinterpretation or it takes a few times to understand a sentence through no fault of your own, mark it.

GIF by demondetoxmanual

You tell 'em Dean!

Next are focal points. Where is the author directing the reader? Is this the best place for the reader to be? For example, if a war has broke out in a field, are we focusing on all the action or the ramifications of the action? Think about the easiest way to impact the reader? Is the reader going to be emotional reading about the six characters locked in a gun fight? Is this gun fight going to be revolutionary to the story? What’s interesting to watch is not always interesting to read.

I heard the suggestion of focusing on something small. We see this in Mulan when the Chinese Military comes across a burnt village. We see an overview of the damages but the item that gets the most screen time is the helmet on a pike and the doll toy next to it. The implication is that not only men died, not only was the military suffering a great defeat but innocent children were being slaughtered. We see how evil the enemy is and what the military is fighting for. We strongly agree with the mission.

This is not the only way to do something but the main idea is that you make every paragraph meaningful, impactful, and every word important. Quality over quantity (to be further discussed at a later point not in this post).

As a Beta Reader, I recommend encouraging your author when a sentence was exceptionally meaningful, where it impacted you, but simultaneously, you should inform them when a sentence is lacking or setting you up for something and it doesn’t deliver. Tell them when a sentence seems redundant in a way that is not helpful or apart of their voice (there is a good way to use repetition throughout your story to be impactful).

GIF by cutsliceddiced

Ramsay has a lot of shows. One features kid chefs where he is very polite, very encouraging, and gives a fatherly vibe. Overall, 10/10 show to watch with my grandma. Then, there's Hell's Kitchen. The very opposite. He's cooled down over the years but he's still not the nicest guy. Not very fatherly. The tones are different. His word choices are different, his expressions are different.

What tone are you trying to convey in your story. Every word in the english language is different. They all have connotations that imply more than what the given definition may tell us. How you use words changes how your reader sees something. You’re painting a picture, use vibrant colors but also use dull ones to show how important each color is important. Does this make cents? Make dollars?

The words make up sentences make up paragraphs which make up a scene. If your scene is happy, you are NOT going to use the word “nice”. There are also problems with generalizing a scene. Happy is not enough. Try “delighted” “cheerful” “advantageous”. The more you know about the scene, the more you can write for it. Happy can mean nothing bad (content), it can be a roller coaster ride at the state fair (exhilarating), or wedding day, saying the vows and then *final kiss* (glowing/radiant). The english language lends itself to too many ways of conveying emotions. Use it.

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Finally, character development is going to make the story. Every plot has been used and overused–there isn’t much that can surprise a reader. Characters, however, can distract from a plot and help you surprise your audience. This is going to be different for everyone but give your audience thoughts, small actions, flaws, and relatable dialogue. (there is too much for this, if anyone wants more about character development, I've got plenty to say)

Awesome Sauce,

Regine Thomas Tumblr Arse | With (His) Spunk regthomas1728@gmail.com