damnbo-i

[damnbo-i]

[damnbo-i]

it genuinely feels like something happened behind the scenes this season simply because it feels so disconnected? like the contagain arc completely set off the entire season and essentially put a stop to any prior storyline. it felt like there was a clear tragectory for each character before 8.14 and then afterwards it was completely gone.

eddie's tragectory seemed to be about picking the juice, choosing joy and reclaiming his own identity and having a choice over his own life - end of season, gone.

hen's tragectory seemed to be very family focused, i.e she wanted to protect her family (both Karen/kids and 118) at all costs and would do that, whilst at the same time fighting systems that have hurt people in the past - end of season, gone (based on the way she was, seemed like a perfect setup for captain and that's gone now)

maddie's tragectory seemed to be about her pregnancy and how she was worried that she'd end up like she did last time, and she needed to focus on her mental health and making sure she communicated with her family this time - end of season, gone. little to no story on her pregnancy

buck's tragectory seemed to be a mixture of being alone and being comfortable with that (again) but also with being attached to eddie. a lot of his storylines earlier this season seemed to be him and his feelings towards eddie being away and eddie in general. he also has been shown to do literally anything for him and chris because he counts them as family - end of season, gone.

athena's tragectory, at some point in the season, seemed to be about rebuilding her life and her happiness with bobby (making sure they are both comfortable etc). there was also a rookie arc for her, which would have been a great setup for her character and would've given her a whole bunch of new storylines - end of season, gone.

chimney's tragectory seemed to be intertwined with maddie's (makes complete sense) and yet that was explored for an episode or two. outside of that, from memory alone, he had barely any story until bobby died so ig his tragectory didn't go?

and finally, bobby's tragectory was about being happy to be alive. took him literal years just to be happy and accept his new life with athena and the 118; he was finally at peace - end of season, gone.

not only was the contagain arc a bad storyline for the show money wise and viewership wise, but it was a bad storyline for the season itself, because it halted every single characters storyline - and get this! they didn't even handle the after that well (excluding 8.17 from that because that actually dealt with it well).

whatever they do for season 9, they better have an outline for the entire season, because if they don't, it'll hurt the show incredibly more than it already has.

[damnbo-i]

some people just have no true appreciation for terrible women. oh she killed and ate people? well maybe she was hungry. "I cant defend her anymore-" well then fucking stand aside so i can talk to my client

[damnbo-i]

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

[damnbo-i]

When my brothers were younger I wanted to teach about misogynistic tropes in media without scaring them off by presenting the topic right out the gate as serious and aggressive and intimidating so I pointed out one day that movie dudes usually only ever have three motives- 1. Wife, 2. Daughter, 3. Dog.

And now whenever we watch a movie together and a dude character is about to reveal their angst backstory we take guesses if it’s gonna be 1, 2, or 3.

Which is specifically the most fun to do in bad B-list action movies because you can say “It’s a 1” as it starts and then ten minutes later the ham-fisted Macho Man Tough Guy quietly mentions being married once and you can put your hands in the air and go “AYYY IT WAS 1” like your team just scored a sportsball goal

Truthfully though I think we need more 3’s

[damnbo-i]

My adaptation of the God of Arepo short story, which was originally up at ShortBox Comics Fair for charity. You can get a copy of the DRM-free ebook here for free - and I'd encourage you to donate to Mighty Writers or The Ministry of Stories in exchange.

Again it's an honour to be drawing one of my favourite short stories ever. Thank you so much for the original authors for creating this story; and for everyone who bought a copy and donated to the above non-profits.

[damnbo-i]

I want Helena Diaz to be haunted by Eddie and Shannon through Christophet to the point it makes her sick. I need her to be on the plane home with Chris the day they take him from LA and watch him trace the inside of his palm due to nerves and realise with a pjt in her stomach Eddie would do the same thing when flying before Afghanistan. I want her to call Chris down for dinner and watch him cover his stew in tomato sauce and swallow down the lump in her throat because Eddie would do that.

I want her to ask Christopher to help in the garden and he tells her that lilies are his favourite flower because they mean rebirth and beginnings, all while ditching the gloves and getting his hands dirty in the soil. Shannon would do the same thing in the summer even if her nails were clean. Her favourite were lilies. Chris can't stand the texture of silk, washes his face twice a day and his eye twitches slightly when he is tired.

and one day Christopher picks at his cuticles and tells her about animal facts the drive to church. He ducks his head down when he gets complimented by the ladies after mass and scratches at the spot below his eyebrow.

Shannon haunts her through her son, a reminder of her passing and everything that came before.

Eddie haunts her through living without her, without letting her know whats happening. He haunts her through Chris and the way Chris is shaped to Evan Buckley like he's never known a life without him.

[damnbo-i]

[damnbo-i]

Being the only queer person in a room full of septuagenarians will have you feeling like a snake being passed around a room of elementary schoolers. Nothing makes me feel so much like I'm an ambassador animal as being introduced with, "this is Draconym, she prefers they and them pronouns."

[damnbo-i]

[damnbo-i]

eddie being so taken aback by buck subletting his house is genuinely killing me. eddie who doesn’t think anyone would go above and beyond for him and buck who does it as easily as breathing. eddie who thinks he has to do it all alone and buck who digs through mud and crawls under firetrucks with bullets flying and rips his heart right out of his chest for him, to be closer to him. to save him. eddie who hates that he’s leaving as much as buck does. eddie who says everything that matters is in texas because he can’t face everything he has to lose. and buck who is taking some of the weight off.

[damnbo-i]

you must remember that while you are your mother’s daughter as well as your father’s daughter you are also a secret third thing beyond the reflex of memory and that third thing is entirely up to you

[damnbo-i]

[damnbo-i]

this is a terrible time to be alive *remembers the latter half of the 14th century* this is a not so good time to be alive

[damnbo-i]

Just tried to play an ancient flute and it started filling the room with this awful miasma that wont go away

[damnbo-i]

tea

[damnbo-i]

my friend who is sitting in the same room as me just silently emailed me this