#zero drafts be like

[chunkypossum]

just turned 37 words into 322 words.

[waddingham]

—the mirror crack'd from side to side

[phonification]

ive been thinking about taco and balloon forming a little alliance post s1/ pre s2 where they'd (begrudgingly) work together planning on how to break into hotel OJ to steal stuff to take back to their makeshift camp like food, blankets, pillows, etc,,, anything that could be useful to them

[odd-chips]

So I've been teasing this character in my tags/posts for a while, and she's finally hereeee. Anyways WHOOPS, another self indulgent Lethal Company character who is basically the Wario version of [Cap'n]!

Meet Echo and her crewmates: Orion (goggle'd circle-shaped one), Spade (short one with big arms), and Guy (shapely GNC one). Being the opposite of Cap'n's crew, they're all men EXCEPT for Echo!

At first, she started out as a grown woman having a one-sided, very pathetic beef with Cap'n, but she evolved into an angry teenager who projects all of her issues onto someone who literally doesn't know she exists (and subsequently does something horrible to herself to rectify this weird beef). Did it work? Well no, come on, look at her, now she's even worse GOKJDFMKDF

And when I say "one-sided", I mean it. Genuinely Cap'n doesn't know who she is, like, at all. I think the first time they meet will be the inevitable werewolf fight between the two of them when things get out of hand.

Anyways I love the kidnapper fox, but alas, she was too swag for this world, RIP to a real one that lasted a month and a half. u_u)!!

[cheriafreya]

Hugo's banner animation (Vivian's version)

[triona-tribblescore]

What can you say~ Hes got class >;)

[copia]

THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF GHOST ⛧ DAY FOUR

favourite song from Infestissumam — Year Zero

Hell—an archaic Swedish translation of hail. Archangelo, the Italian name for an Archangel, for whom we will bow in praise; hail Satan, and welcome, with the birth of the Antichrist, an age with which humanity's calendar will begin again.

[vhalesa]

Cool looking Nana for a secret santa trade <3

(initial concept sketch under the cut)

[suja-janee]

Oooh this might be a controversial take (for the bireena community maybe) but I feel like I need to get it off my chest

I don’t ship sekhan, I feel like that is completely obvious, but-

I didn’t want bireena in khaos reigns either (even before it came out and sekhan became canon)

At most, I wanted them to meet, try to kill each other maybe, have no choice but to team up, and then leave off on a cliffhanger on what the future could hold. LIKE that was it. No romance yet, maybe not even an official friendship, just obscurity to set up their future.

I feel like we’re still at a point where Bi-Han needs to make a lot of personal growth first. The last thing I want him doing is putting his nasty unredeemed hands anywhere near my precious SAREEEENNNAAAA!! If they were to interact at any point in future games or kombat packs, I want the focus to be on redeeming the two (mostly bi-han) cause at the end of the day, I am a Bi-Han fan first, bireena fan second. I will even take it if they just end up as friends if that means he can finally redeem himself and not go down the constant path of evil and being someone’s side-kick.

From my time on twitter I’ve noticed the constant need of some bireena fans to attack sekhan and complain that we didn’t get bireena, which is fair they’re allowed to do that, but I think that’s genuinely the wrong way to look at this whole situation. I mean, if you wanna think in context to how Bi-han acts/ presents himself in this timeline, I actually think he and sektor make perfect sense. He doesn’t like people disagreeing with him and sektor is basically the embodiment of an enabler/ loyalist. OF COURSE, he’d be down for that (which is not to say I like sektor’s writing either, I wanted her to betray Bi-Han and push her own image onto the Lin Kuei). But I think the point of putting him with her (though I don’t want to give NRS any writing credit yet) is to show how messed up his mind is and how he goes for the wrong methods to get what he wants (like liu kang said).

I know we shouldn’t exactly take the Johnny cage announcer voice as canon but I feel like everyone is missing the “future” part in “bi-Han’s future bestie”. They still haven’t even officially met if you don’t count him kicking nitara’s ass at the Ying fortress. If they had gotten together in khaos reigns it would’ve been just as bad and poorly written as sekhan. If you wanna attack sekhan and call it forced because her entire story revolves around a man then you need to also keep in mind that if Sareena had been written as a romantic interest to Bi-Han in khaos reigns it would be the exact same thing. Sareena still has her own soul to redeem and her own past to confront. The last thing she needs is to be with a man that has all the mental maturity of a group of middle schoolers who frequent Hot Topic.

(This portion is my own headcanoning and how I want them to meet, I’ll mark where it ends)

As stated before, I think the main priority should be Bi-Han and Sareena focusing on their redemption arcs if they are to interact with each other in the future. Bi-Han needs to see the error in his ways of thinking and let go of his pride. Sareena needs to see she’s more than just an underling to Quan Chi and break free from his control. If anything, I think the best way to approach this is to maybe bring up MK Mythologies again and have them meet through that. Maybe Bi-Han gets betrayed and gets stuck in the netherrealm and has no choice but to spare a life (Sareena’s) and relies on her to help him get out. That way it would teach him the value of mercy that he didn’t understand in Khaos Reigns. And from there I think in terms of Sareena’s story she sees someone with a tainted soul and feels some empathy about that. Helping him to redeem himself- to her- would be like a way of helping her understand that no soul is too far gone and she herself can be redeemed and help others.

As far as how he would act after being “redeemed” I can’t exactly tell you how I think he would act, especially since he’s not really the apologetic type. But maybe an interesting route he can take is Kuai Liang’s old role in the previous timelines. He’s seen how fa pride can take you and how destructive it is. That way he’s the perfect perspective to redo/ remodel the Lin Kuei. Kuai Liang seems too focused with the Shirai Ryu this time around so if anyone should be redeeming the Lin Kuei it should be the guy who has taken the most mental and physical damage from being a part of it. And from that little plot line, the Shirai Ryu and the Lin Kuei can make peace with each other.

Again, THIS DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROMANTIC FOR BIREENA. I’m more than happy if they’re just friends in the end. I just want some sort of redemption and closure for them for ONCE! They’ve been subject to so much heartbreak and evil in previous timelines, they deserve better than this one dimensional writing.

(End headcanon here)

I know this may all come off as hypocritical coming from me, the most frequent poster in the bireena tag 😂, but keep in mind the type of content I post. I VERY CLEARLY do not take myself or my art very seriously and most of my art is comedy based. So before you sharpen your pitchforks and sum me up as just another bireena artist, just know I draw what entertains me the most and I’m usually not serious about it.

Do I still want bireena? Or course I do. I just don’t want it NOW. I’m willing to wait- I don’t want forced/ rushed writing on a ship I’ve devoted myself to for the past year.

[bored-boring-and-tired]

when jan came back to charles’s apartment in the last episode there was only one thing i could think of…

she’s a little lad who loves berries and cream

[nemaliwrites]

hi hi! do you have any editing tips/anything from your own editing process you could share? for either original work or fanfics. if you don't mind of course haha

hello hello! i certainly do! caveat that my process is always always changing, sometimes from work to work, so i might not always Do all of these, but they're all in my Editing Toolbox forever and ever. and regardless of the plotter/pantser debate (which...i Hate) i think a lot of these processes are adaptable to any workflow!

first, some craft books that i've read and really helped me understand What Editing Is, especially for longer works. Seven Drafts by Allison K Williams was SUPER helpful for me when i first started out and i didn't really understand what a draft was, or what its purpose was. people always talked about draft one vs draft three and i was like ?? what does that mean?? but the ideas she breaks down in this book, along with a ton of good advice, are primarily to break each draft down to address one issue (i.e. the Character draft, the Technical draft, etc). a good way to see each picture instead of getting overwhelmed by the full thing!

Intuitive Editing by Tiffany Yates Martin is probably the BEST editing book i've ever read. if you only read one of these books, i would recommend this one. or if not, she's actually got a self-editing checklist (link here) that is a really helpful reference.

Another one, which you might argue is more process than editing, is Writing into the Dark by Dean Wesley Smith. I've spoken a bit about him before, but I do think this process is worth trying out, especially if the idea of editing as you go or having one clean draft appeals to you (i am a lazy writer, so this appeals to me LOL).

and now, my one single most important editing tip. this sounds so clickbaity, but it genuinely changed my writing and my mindset. and i know you're probably gonna be like ew what the fuck but HEAR ME OUT:

rewrite the entire thing.

i'm completely serious btw. sometimes, if i keep fiddling with the same piece, eventually i end up losing sight of the whole thing and not knowing where i'm going. so (i use scrivener, but this is possible anywhere!) i open a new doc side by side with my old one, start from the beginning, and retype every single word. it is SO helpful in a way that i think rereading a draft doesn't really replicate. so many lil wordings or repetitions that i am able to catch and then fix.

it's also helpful for me mentally bc if there's something that i (lazy) don't like anymore in the first draft, i just don't type it! less work!

i've actually been switching over to handwriting my first drafts more, and the same process applies to typing it up! 10/10 would recommend.

[garygoldenbignaturals]

average prince-fledgling sitting arrangement

[basket-of-radiants]

Well, my public library hold on Wind and Truth just came through, I suppose we're doing this.

[grailknightmonty]

"the moon will sing a song of chaos"

She had leapt down onto the fortress gracefully like a meteor having mastered its landing, and ran past them way quicker than either of the two could have reacted. Eyes ablaze, as Pearl ran past Skizz she scooped up the wither skull at his feet which he had just leaned down to grab.

"Wh-HEY!"

"Sorry mate, tasks's a task!"

She threw the Ianitee a salute and a wink as she took off in the opposite, soon being followed by both Skizz and Impulse who spun around to start chasing her down the crimson brick bridge. She could hear Impulse shouting something, but she was far too focused to make out exactly what. As she came to the edge of the fortress, she paused for a moment to brandish her dual scythes, giving Impulse a chance to swing at her, only narrowly missing as she parried his axe and knocked him slightly backwards with the swing of her other weapon. She swiftly turned and dived off downwards towards the lava- fire resistance pot already downed well before she had even approached the duo- trails of flames coming off the diamond blades, and her singed crimson cloak billowing behind her.

Skizz ran past Impulse to rush to the edge, and as he watched her fall, he swore he could see the outline of the god of chaos appear in between the strikes of flame, eyes judging, but ever curious at the player below.

Heard that Pearl is a Mianite enjoyer and I haven't looked back 👀 She would make the perfect Dianitee

[crowrrupt]

Past of Zero

[welcometogrouchland]

I love Steph's origin as told in the Secret Origins 80 page giant- I just overall think it strengthens her character by giving her a lot of pathos and adding to her heroism (which isn't something writers were focused on in her actual intro in detective comics #647 since she was just meant to act as a plot device back then) BUT there is one tiny detail in it i will begrudge, and that is the portrayal of her having a minor love at first sight moment for tim

Secret origins 80 page giant, ID in alt

(or well, technically this was their second meeting in that story (the brick was the first) so...love at second sight?)

Mostly because Stephanie showed no interest in her introduction and only showed romantic feelings towards Tim AFTER this moment here:

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Straight up the progression here goes:

The adventure in 'tec where they first meet -> Tim investigating the same crime scene as Steph -> she beats him up not knowing it's him at first, apologizes but says he shouldn't have scared her -> he remembers her/the moniker she goes by -> they talk about plot for a few pages -> Stephanie starts flirting

Robin (1993) #4, ID in alt

Which...is so fascinating to me and says so much about Stephanie. She highlights the fact that Tim "remembered" her. Like. Steph. Girl. This is our bar? It's sweet but kind of speaks to how much Stephanie is ignored at home/how little and sporadically she's shown interacting with her peers (and rarely ever the same kids twice). Her idea of peak romance is just...being on someone's mind even when you're not there.

Kind of also adds layers to Steph's proclivity towards jealousy later on, a manifestation of her insecurity and loneliness (though don't get it twisted, she's not written this way bc Dixon and co think it's an interesting character flaw, they wrote it bc they think it's an inherent character flaw of (particularly young) women/girls, which is very apparent in how he approaches Ariana's character as well from what I've read)

Also the fact that Steph becomes so smitten for Tim almost immediately after this is (a few issues later she aggressively flirts with him during AN ACTIVE HOSTAGE SITUATION. WHERE SHE'S THE HOSTAGE) again is kind of a mixture of kind of funny and sad. One boy is nice to her once and she's fully ready to wife him. Girl you are deranged (affectionate) (concerned)