#I like being creative and read the stories nobody would make

[neil-gaiman]

Hello!!

First of all, THANK YOU!!! The world has been feeling harder and more hopeless to me in recent years, and individuals like yourself help more than I will ever be able to express to bring light and hope back into my world. Loving and obsessing over gems like Good Omens, and American Gods (the novel at least, I must admit I never saw the show 🙈) have always given me motivation, sparked my creativity, and made me feel so much love for this, often unfortunately cruel, world. I can't express the solace it brings to me when the creators of the things I love are thoughtful and decent human beings. So, again, THANK YOU 🫀🫀🫀

I just finished my second viewing of Season 2 and have a question for you (my apologies if it has already been asked and/or answered and I missed it)!! 

How did you select the song "Everyday" by Buddy Holly? It is absolutely perfect on so many different levels, and for so many different threads and characters, all while still encompassing the perfect feelings of this show. I always include playlists with the stories I write, and often agonize over which song is the best choice for certain moments. You had to pick one song to encompass the entirety of it, and it truly blew me away! 

Thank you this Season and for everything you do; it really does mean the world to so many of us 🫀🫀🫀

In February of 1991 (I think) Terry Pratchett and I were staying in the Chateau Marmont hotel in LA. These days it is a very fancy hotel but back then it was pretty manky and run down. We were being put up by a film company and each morning we would fax over an outline for a new version of Good Omens the Movie and each afternoon we'd go to the studio for a meeting and we would realise that nobody had actually read what we had sent over that morning. Then we would go back to the hotel and work on trying to incorporate the studio notes on the outline they hadn't actually read into what we were doing.

We worked up in Terry's room because it had heating, and it was incredibly cold in LA that February, especially cold because I was in a chalet out in the grounds and there weren't heaters or extra blankets or anything in the chalet.

And at some point in there we were talking about music, and I suggested a few scary and ominous songs that might work to signal the end times. And Terry said "What about Buddy Holly's song Everyday? It sounds so upbeat and cheerful. But what if it was about the end of the world?" And I got all excited at the idea of Everyday being the Good Omens theme song.

So it's really just there to make Terry happy.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

I know you made shorts for Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but do you have any other thoughts about Kingdom Hearts?

Ik this is kinda vauge and you get these kind of asks all the goddamn time, but I hyperfixated on those games for most of elementary and middle school and its always cool to see your favorite Youtuber talk about stuff you really like. Not to guilt trip you into answering this one or anything, just. . . I'm very tired and it would be very cool lol.

Again, saving my character design thoughts for some more shorts, but I adore Kingdom Hearts. Like, the first game really ISN'T much more than a cross-promotional branding exercise for Disney and Square, same as any of a dozen other similar crossover centric franchises; it's a Saturday morning cartoon show that wants to get you invested (or keep you invested) in a bunch of fancy IPs to buy toys of, but it's a really good one of those.

And it's a game that understands that the central thing that's going to hook people IN to that kind of thing is characters that are willing to believe in what they've got going on with one thousand percent sincerity. Which I think is the thing they nailed more than anything. Sora cares SO MUCH, and he wants to find his friend and his love interest (Kairi and Riku, respectively) SO BADLY, you can't help but root for the poor kid and want to believe in it.

Then, with the first game successfully managing to hook a solid fanbase, the creative team went "hey what if we had even MORE extremely earnest cool anime people getting deep in their feelings?" and now we're off to the races with Organizations and Oblivion Castles and fractions of 358 days.

And the thing that makes all the hyper-convoluted wheels-within-wheels plot machination nonsense WORK is that down, deep down, right at the core of what the franchise is always trying to say, is that love will save us. Yeah yeah hearts and darkness and unversed and nobodies and keyblades and blah blah blah (to be clear: I adore all that nonsense), but all of it is top-to-bottom in service of that singular central thematic clarion call.

Love will save us.

What holds Ventus together after Xehanort tears his heart apart? The love of Sora. What keeps Roxas the nobody from fading into Sora? The love of Xion and Axel, and Hayner, Pence and Olette. What brings Xion back? The love of Axel and Roxas. Hearts ring together and resonate and bind themselves to each other and there is no darkness so deep, no tragedy so absolute, no villain so foul that the cry of a loving heart cannot defeat it.

Roxas is a nobody doomed to darkness? Fuck you, Kingdom Hearts is love, no he isn't. Xion is a mere replica puppet, a failed experiment that nobody will remember? >>EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER<< get seasalt icecream'd on top of a clock tower at sunset, IDIOT.

Over and over again characters sink into despair and loneliness, they fear that their connections are fake or fading, they fear being forgotten or left behind (Riku in the first game, the breaking of Ventus, Aqua and Terra, Roxas thinking nobody would miss him, Aqua in the Realm of Darkness), and over and over again they are proven beautifully wrong. There is always a hand reaching out, there is always someone who will miss you. Love will save us.

And this absolutely gets hokey, of course it does, it's a saturday morning children's cartoon. It's a bit simplistic, maybe a bit naïve, but honestly in a world where you can't walk two steps without bleak-minded doomer cynicism forcing the assumption that nothing truly good is possible and that the worst will always happen, Kingdom Hearts is a story so absolutely drenched in hope, sincerely held, that it feels like a fucking balm.

Also, LITERALLY where the fuck else are you going to get Woody from Toy Story reading an edgy anime villain for absolute filth? Nowhere, that's where. ONLY Kingdom Hearts.

None of this is to suggest I don't have criticisms of the franchise or that it's faultless. I could talk for several hours unbroken about all my gripes and problems, chief among which is LET KAIRI DO THINGS OH MY FUCKING GOD the franchise is low key misogynistic towards its female characters sometimes but I am talking about the things I love here let me just be happy for a second.

[thankskenpenders]

Help me out here: Why is there so much Ian Flynn hate going around lately? I thought everyone loved that he was contributing to the games. Now suddenly they aren't. I guess that's par for the course for this series but I don't get it. He isn't perfect but I like what he's done. Am I a weirdo?

Ian Flynn has always had a lot of fans, but any creator putting their work out there is going to have detractors as well. That's just the nature of being an artist. To some extent, it's no big deal. He's not a perfect writer. Nobody is! I consider myself a fan of his work, but I've criticized plenty of individual writing decisions from him on here.

But Ian doesn't just have critics. He has his own obsessive hatedom. And the specific nature of Ian's hatedom is... interesting.

A decade ago, Ian was only the guy writing for Archie Sonic, meaning any debates over his work were quarantined within that tiny niche of the larger Sonic fandom. Only people who kept up with the comics month to month had any real reason to have an opinion on the guy, which means we're talking about merely thousands of fans as opposed to millions.

Within that group, he had some haters. You had the people who were mad about story changes made during his run, particularly things like ancillary characters getting killed off (although over the years we've learned that most of those were editorial mandates from Mike Pellerito). You had the people mad that Ian didn't push their favorite ship, with feuding SonAmy and Sonally fans claiming that he was CLEARLY biased towards one or the other. You had the people who just really, really liked one of the previous writers way more - usually Penders, as hard as that may be to believe today. That sort of thing. Pretty normal comic fandom type stuff. Again, it comes with the territory.

Unfortunately, many of those haters only got worse over time, morphing into reactionaries who constantly try to incite Comicsgate type culture war bullshit.

There are people still mad at Ian for making Sally bi and pairing her with Nicole instead of Sonic in the later Archie comics. There have been elaborate MS Paint red string conspiracy boards explaining how people like Ian and Jon Gray have apparently been destroying the franchise from the inside for years by Making Sonic Woke. (Jon gets dragged into this because people are still mad about him drawing The Slap 20 years later. Yes, really!!) There was an unhinged change.org petition trying to get Ian fired, specifically from people who were mad that the Freedom Fighters aren't in the IDW comics. There was even a very sad little fan campaign from these people trying to get Sega to move the Sonic comic license away from IDW and over to Udon, because they thought Udon would bring Sally and Bunnie back and also make them sexy again. There's a lot of this.

(Unfortunately, Penders has also exacerbated this by gossiping about Ian on Twitter and giving these fans ammo, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.)

The thing is, for years, people who only played the games or watched the cartoons had no reason to pay attention to any of this. Now, though, Ian isn't just writing for some weird spinoff comics that only the super nerds read. Now he's writing comics that are canon to the games, and ALSO some of the games themselves, and ALSO consulting on other tie-in media like Sonic Prime, and ALSO writing the official Sonic encyclopedia, and ALSO serving as part of the new Sonic Lore Team at Sega. And on top of all this, he's got an increasingly popular podcast where he fields questions about his work on all of these things, which serves as one of the fandom's main windows into creative decisions being made behind the scenes.

As a fan of Ian's work, it's been really cool to see him rise in prominence. But the dark side of this is that his obsessive haters from the Archie days now have WAY more of a potential audience of their own. Now, every Sonic fan has to have an opinion on Ian. What this frequently means is that you'll have the Comicsgate types taking things Ian writes or says out of context, attempting to get more of the general fandom to yell at the guy.

Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of Sonic fans who take the bait:

You've got hardcore fans who disliked basically any recent piece of Sonic media and are looking for someone to blame.

You've got the people who are concerned about the sanctity of Sonic's canon, who shoot the messenger any time Ian mentions a new retcon from Sonic Team on the podcast - or any time he even mentions the THOUGHT of changing anything about the canon, as we saw recently with the Sol Dimension nonsense.

You've got people who romanticize some sort of mythical artistic vision that Sega of Japan supposedly has (or had) for the franchise. To many of these fans, American contributors like Ian just don't "get" the heart of the series and are trying to turn Sonic into something different. (This "heart of the series" tends to be some mix of Japanese instruction manual lore, the cinematics from Sonic CD, the OVA, and/or the games written by Shiro Maekawa, depending on what Sonic media the fan in question grew up with.)

You've got fans of specific characters or ships who pin the blame for how their faves are depicted entirely on Ian - most vocally fans of Shadow, even though the root problem is that Sonic Team hasn't known what to do with Shadow since 2006. At best this stops at regular old criticism, but at its worst this devolves into claims that Ian has an agenda against certain characters.

You've got fans annoyed by a perceived over-emphasis on comic-original characters in the IDW comics, ignoring the obvious facts that these characters exist because the game cast is so tightly controlled by Sega, and also, you know, that people just like the IDW characters and want more stories about them.

You've got a LOT of discourse over IDW's Sonic being a hero who tries to give his enemies second chances, as if half of Sonic's closest friends aren't already former villains and rivals. Honestly this is very transparently just reheated Steven Universe discourse lmao

You'll also see people who just think they could do Ian's job better. They can't believe that THIS GUY is the American fan working on all these Sonic projects, when clearly THEY understand the characters and lore and themes SO much better than this charlatan.

All it takes is for someone in one of these categories to be unhappy about some recent piece of Sonic media, and for them to come across an out of context quote or comic panel that rubs them the wrong way, and suddenly the leftist Zoomer Sonic fans will join the latest dogpile on Ian alongside the reactionary Comicsgate types who are mad at him for Making Sonic Woke.

In general, when fandoms get upset, they tend to want a scapegoat. A person or two to point a finger at and go "THAT's who ruined the thing I love!" This tends to be based less on reality and more on which contributors are the most visible online. You'll sometimes see teenage and adult fans of children's cartoons single out a storyboarder who's particularly vocal on Twitter, blame them for every story decision they don't like, and harass them off the platform out of a sense of retribution for their favorite ship or whatever. Failing that, fans might choose to blame every nitpick, down to individual lines of dialogue and frames of animation, on a showrunner, just because that's the name they associate with the show. And unfortunately, when it comes to Sonic, Ian is now arguably the most prolific and outspoken contributor on the English speaking internet, and therefore a common scapegoat.

Some of the things I've seen Ian blamed for are truly wild. A lot of people have claimed for YEARS that he's just lying about the existence of creative guidelines and restrictions from Sega - or, as fans call them, The Mandates - even though they're just an inherent aspect of working on a licensed property. Others claim that The Mandates are real, but somehow Ian's fault. A vocal minority of fans have convinced themselves that Ian is the sole reason the Freedom Fighters don't exist in the IDW comics, even though Ian says he's been pushing to bring them back since day one.

Sometimes you'll see people say he ruined shit he didn't even work on. A few weeks ago on Twitter I saw someone claim that Ian had written a rejected script for Sonic Forces in which Tails died. I could not find a source for this for the life of me. As far as I can tell, the rumor seems to have been born from an alleged leaked script for Forces with margin notes from Aaron Webber that criticized the way Tails was written, and also an old tweet where Aaron joked that Tails would die in an upcoming episode of Sonic Mania Adventures. These merged into "Aaron Webber criticized a draft of the Forces script in which Tails died." How'd Ian get dragged into this? Who fucking knows!

It's all just a big game of telephone. All it takes is some asshole to make something up about Ian on Twitter or YouTube or a DeviantArt journal or some forum, and at least a couple people will believe it, and then it gets repeated as fact. Again, this used to be contained by the niche nature of the Archie Sonic fandom, but now there are WAY more people who are receptive to this shit.

It's just sad to me that Ian tries to be so open and honest about his work, to try to explain the rationale for certain things, to keep fans looped in on the direction the franchise is headed, and this just gives the Flynnspiracy types more quotes to take out of context and try to paint him as the devil. If it sounds like I'm being overly defensive and dismissing his critics, man... some of the things I've seen people say directly to him are just unbelievable. People will send paragraphs-long angry screeds in to his podcast that completely tear him apart, and he has to sit there and be like "Well, that's your opinion, and you're entitled to it." People literally pay for special guest interview episodes where they just rapid fire complaints about his writing at him directly to his face. I don't know how he does it. I would snap.

All of this over Sonic the fucking Hedgehog of all things.

I don't know how to wrap this up. Engaging with fandoms online is very tiring, which is why I tend not to do it. Things like this are too common. I guess, just... remember that making art collaboratively is a complicated thing. The people involved are generally trying their best given the circumstances, but they're only human. They make mistakes. But please treat them like humans. Criticism and dogpiling are not the same thing.

[edelfie]

#𝓣𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘! who’s that girl?

Y/N L/N is a nobody. well, maybe that’s a stretch, but it’s nothing compared to the other words the media uses to describe you. washed up, irrelevant, talentless—any cruel word or insult has or will be thrown your way. but 10 years in the game has forced you to grow thick skin, even if the supposed quality of your music doesn’t suit it. so why is it that today, of all the days, you awake to the worst news imaginable—worse than all the name-calling and jeers?

or, you open twitter. it doesn’t go well.

BLIND ITEMS! —

## this millionaire’s daughter influencer is known for buying many of her followers across all platforms. however, brands and colleagues ignore it because of the fat check lining her pockets.

## this one-of-a-duo A-list model is having business disputes with his other half and sibling. apparently, he wants more creative control over their projects despite having been in the industry for less time. it’s so serious that legal litigation is in the works. [revealed: lev haiba, alisa haiba]

## the not-so-indie band’s newest album is rumored to be about a controversial figure in the industry. this figure has already produced an album about the lead singer years ago, however it failed to garner any publicity.

## off-the-charts wannabe pop star is postponing her next album because her team knows her career is over if she doesn’t chart well. after nearly a decade in the industry and without a single long-lasting, cultural hit, she’s better off waiting tables than writing music. [revealed: Y/N L/N]

gracetheestallion. the haiba twins fighting ?? i can’t believe, like actually

colormeshocked. if y/n doesn’t clutch up rq then i’m gonna be so sad for her — underdawg. honestly, it’s just not fair how she’s treated by the industry — garagoesgaga. it’s “unfair”? she literally only makes trash songs and hooks up with men in relationships, girl bye — underdawg. your misogyny is showing, ugly <3 — garagoesgaga. wowwwww insults, so mature. average iq of a y/n fan

read more…

NOTES! —

Two posts in one day? It's more likely than you think! Anyways, today's fundraiser is for the family and sons of Reyna and Javier. Reyna and Javier lost their lives in a fatal crash, leaving their three sons without parents. Of their sons, one of them was dependent on their parents as he has been wheelchair bound all his life. In this brief period of time, he has lost both his parents and his primary caregivers. The entire family is feeling the financial strain of the sudden loss, so every help counts. Please consider donating here on GoFundMe or copy the link and share it online!

If you're new here, or even if you're not since I'm just starting to post again, I strive to bring attention to different fundraisers in all my posts. I primarily focus on sharing the stories of individuals in dire need, such as refugees in Gaza or those experiencing sudden homelessness, however there is no comparison between struggles, grief, and loss here! So I also take the time to share the stories of families such as Reyna and Javier's, and would deeply appreciate it if you could show them some much needed love as well.

I won't say too much, but as someone who has had the cards stacked against them (being a poc, nonbinary, queer, a religious minority, etc.) and has experienced my own share of loss, I can say that while the pain doesn't feel the same, the knife digs itself into you either way. My family was privileged enough to afford a funeral for my grandfather, who recently passed, but with many other family members getting older in age and being taken by the devil that is cancer, it does make me nervous as to how we will make it through. Regardless, I just hope that my plea and the stories I share will implore you to help others—not out of moral or societal obligation or to save face, but out of humanity and compassion <3

SEVEN EVIL EXES + MASTERLIST + NEXT

© all rights reserved—edelfie (2024) // do not plagiarize, modify, copy, use, translate, or repost my work on other sites without permission

[physalian]

Take A Risk and Don’t Write a Chosen One

This trope stands the test of time for some very good reasons: Audience wish-fulfillment as they live vicariously through the hero, automatic plot-induced agency for your protagonist, and automatic legitimate reasons for your protagonist to join the whirlwind adventure of the day.

I like chosen ones. We all have our favorite famous chosen ones and I’m not here to say the concept of a chosen one is bad at all.

However.

Those “automatic” windfalls that come pre-packaged with the trope can lead to the author taking shortcuts, or not thinking they have to put in more effort to write a compelling character, because they’re the “chosen one,” what more do you need?

Not writing your protagonist as commanded by the powers that be to participate in the plot forces you to get creative with why they’re here, what they want, and how they entrench themselves in the story. And most importantly, if the gods haven’t chosen them to act, they must now choose themselves to act.

—

I have never read Harry Potter and after its author-who-shan’t-be-named flushed her reputation down the toilet, I never will. I’ve seen the movies, they’re ok. I have no nostalgia-driven love for this franchise, and most of that comes from watching Harry be an incredibly boring protagonist.

Book readers correct me, but Harry is the poster child of “only exists so the audience can live vicariously” with generic heroic traits and nonexistent or at least unimportant side quirks and distinguishing hobbies, interests, or personality tics. He’s “brave” and “courageous” and “determined”... as most child protagonists of children’s books should be. He has zero flaws that come back to bite him in the ass. He acts the way he’s supposed to, not the way he should want to, as an independent being.

He’s the least interesting character in this entire cast, and I can’t stand Movie Ron. Ron, Hermione, Neville, or Draco would have made much more compelling protagonists and so much of this relies on the “Harry is important because the plot demands it” crutch.

Why is he the chosen one? Because his birthday happened at the right time of year? What is the story trying to say about the dichotomy between him and Voldemort? What about his personality, his wizard-societal stances on the many faux pas in this series, or the choices he makes, that makes him the chosen one? Why should I care?

You know who’s a great chosen one? Percy Jackson. Why? Because he understands the screwed up world he lives in on page 1. Being a demigod isn’t everything he ever dreamed and despite what Disney + wants you to believe, he’s got a crap bio dad who’s as disappointing in book one as Percy expects him to be.

He’s not even the chosen one by the end of the original series, and what a fantastic twist that was.

An infamously self-chosen protagonist has her own iconic hero quote: "I volunteer as tribute". Katniss is a nobody. She's not the evil president's daughter, she's not the child of a famously martyred revolutionary, she's just a girl who refuses to bow down to the reaping, refuses to let her sister get slaughtered, and volunteers for a death match that historically sees anyone living to survive another year cowering in relief. Yeah, she has some convenient skills in her archery and survival knowledge, but those matter because her district is starving, she learned through necessity.

Every second of her story, Katniss is fighting for her right to exist, and she only becomes a "chosen one" dragged around by the powers that be when she becomes marketable to the grand scheming of the actual revolutionaries, when, before, she didn't care about politics, she just wanted to save her sister. She matters because she chose compassion in a world where survival demands only serving yourself.

—

It’s so, so easy to start planning your book and make your cool fantasy world and figure out how your protagonist fits into it. So easy to say “well they’re the long-lost princess and the only heir to the throne” or “this magic amulet from her great great aunt is the key to saving the world” or “she’s the villain’s secret love child and the only one who can stop him because blood magic” or “this vague prophecy picked this little desert slave boy to bring balance to the Force”.

None of these stories are at fault for writing chosen ones.

But push yourself to let go of that crutch and come up with other reasons for why your hero is the hero. Usually this character has been isekai'd into magical-fantasy-land or magical-hidden-fantasy-urban-underbelly and you can still write that character.

Refusing to make them the chosen one demands one thing first and foremost: How is this outsider going to fight for their place to exist here? What do they bring to the table with their hobbies or interests or unique skillset that happens to be mighty applicable and useful in this new world? What is it about their personality that draws these strangers in? What do they want from this new world, and what are they willing to do to get it?

This choice demands you give your hero agency (though whether you give into those demands is up to you).

More importantly: I think it gives your audience agency, as they still live vicariously through their hero. Sure, lots of kids have lost their parents and live in horrid conditions like a cupboard under the stairs, but none of us will ever be “chosen” by omniscient wizard prophets. Harry would have immediately been a more compelling protagonist to me if he’d stumbled upon magical shenaniganry and fought for his place as some forgotten nobody mudblood.

Harry would have shown us his courage, instead of the story insisting he has it, we promise, just don’t think too hard about it.

Stop giving me characters who accept their destiny because God said so. Give me characters who fight tooth and nail for a destiny they discover on their own and I’ll root for them to succeed even more than someone compelled by force. Not everyone can be a chosen one, but everyone *can* choose themselves and decide to act.

—

With that said, I have an announcement! I have a new book in the works bereft of a prophecy-ordained hero. It’s time I put all my sagely writing wisdom to the test in a shiny published paperback myself. If you’ve learned anything from my blog in your writing journey, please subscribe for updates on the upcoming novel!

[ladyloveandjustice]

Anime Expo Final Day: Q & A and Live Draw with Witch Hat Atelier's Kamome Shirahama

Sunday was not as bad as Saturday crowd wise, but still a bit hard to deal with.

I got into the second Witch Hat Atelier panel, which was a live draw with Kamome Shirahama! We weren't allowed to take pics of her of course, and she came in the Iguin cosplay and somehow managed to draw in it, but I did get to take a pic of the brush buddy:

And here's the live drawing she did (Quifrey by audience demand) which we were allowed to photograph.

I was taking notes throughout the panel but then the notes app just decided to stop working and I lost it all. But I did write down everything I remembered immediately after, so here we go:

When asked, Shirahama said her influences were American and French comics in addition to manga. She mentioned Akira and the French comic Mobius, as well as a French comic with "cities" in the title I couldn't catch.

EDIT: (According to gaston26 in the comments: "I think she talked about French comics artist Moebius and the french comics with cities in the title is most likely 'Les Cités obscures'. ;)" That sounds right!)

She says she was inspired by the art style and diversity of American comics. She was also inspired by children’s literature like The Neverending Story.

When asked about the diversity in her story, she quickly said that the diversity was intentional and the fact that its even a question shows that we need more diversity. She said, "Nobody would ask this if it was just a romance between a boy and a girl or something like that, so it shows there needs to be more".

When asked how she feels about Quifrey being so popular, she mentioned that Quifrey was going to be a villain but his design was so good she promoted him to a main character.

She stated that she tries to write a story her younger self would read, but she says she was a “twisted kid” so as a child she’d be saying things like “a Pegasus with those feathers wouldn’t be able to fly!”

When asked about the magic system she said she was still actually trying to learn the magic system herself.

She talked about magic as a metaphor for creativity and said her audience is very creative so she feels they could relate. She always wanted to write a fantasy. She mentioned again that she had a mangaka friend early on and that it really made her appreciate what goes into making art and got her thinking in that direction.

She stated that there are no real villains in her story, just people.

When asked about how she comes up with names, she said she “asks Google”. She wanted names where her character would be the only one that comes up in the google search. Early on, with names like Coco and Agott, she didn’t do this, but it made her mad when other things would come up in the google search. When asked if she was inspired by any sort of ethnicity/culture for characters, she asked to pick one, and was asked about Kustas. She said that was a tough question and eventually said she took inspiration from Rome and also indigenous Japanese cultures for him.

She said she doesn’t use screentone because she’s "lazy" and prefers to work with her ink pen. When asked about her assistants she said they are the best ones at doing speed lines, which she’s "bad" at.

She said Quifrey and Olruggio were partly inspired by people she knows- not in looks, but in personality. She said traits like being strict on the outside and sweet on the inside (I imagine she's referring to Olruggio there) were inspired by those people she used as models.

She also mentioned that she draws very fast!

And that's about all I got down.

After that, the day was kind of rough, as I temporarily lost my wallet but fortunately someone eventually turned it in to lost and found. I went to Little Tokyo and attended the pop up Akiba Maid War café there. I got a Ranko cookie! The maid who served us mentioned the cafe's rivals like the poison the drinks and did the spell thing. We got a singing performance where both our maid and the woman playing Manager danced, with Manager intentionally doing it very badly. It was fun!

And that's all for my con report! Hope there was some interesting info! I'll be posting cosplay I saw and art and merch I got later.

[cozage]

The Daughter's Return Part 3

Chapter 20: The Battle of Marineford

Start From Beginning | Next Chapter | Table of Contents | Read on AO3

Characters: female reader x Portgas D. Ace Word Count: 3.1k Note: Just wanted to preface this story by saying this will NOT be a word for for recount of Marineford. I took some slight creative liberties because...well, I hate regurgitating the same story that's already been written word-for-word.

--

Marco stared down at you, still holding you firmly against the floor. Your widened eyes alerted him, and he turned around to find a massive ship falling from the sky.

“You have to get below-”

A giant crash came off the starboard side of the ship, cutting off his words. The surprise made you both freeze, trying to listen to what was being screamed down below. 

“Who is that?” you whispered, but Marco only shushed you. He was looking to your father for guidance, but Whitebeard seemed just as confused. 

“Nobody is moving from that ship,” Whitebeard said, his eyes on the battlefield. “It must be abandoned.”

“No.” You shook your head and finally pushed Marco off you to set up. You were still hidden from the Admiral’s sight, which seemed to satisfy everyone. “I heard screaming.”

“Then they died on impact. Perhaps an enemy attack gone wrong,” Marco offered, to which you shrugged. It still didn’t feel right, but you didn’t understand how it got to this place. 

The fighting began to pick up again, and you could hear swords clanging against each other. 

You continued to stay low, occasionally peeking over the bannister to gather more intel about the battlefield. Little Oars had fallen on a segment of the wall and prevented it from raising, which meant you had a way to get in. Your path to Ace was becoming more clear. 

“ACEEEEEE!” A very familiar voice shouted, causing your ears to perk up. “I’M HERE!!”

“LUFFY!” Ace shouted, solidifying your speculation. 

You stood to your feet, looking at the strange ship that had crashed into the sea a few minutes before. It was him. Ace’s little brother. The pirate with a 300,000,000 berry bounty on his head. 

“Luffy,” you breathed out, a smile growing on your face. So he had found out about Ace’s capture. Perhaps he wasn’t totally clueless.

“Ace’s kid brother?” Marco asked, looking at the young boy skeptically. “He’s got quite a crew.”

You frowned, Marco’s words sinking in. “Those people aren’t his crew. In fact…” you scanned the area around the ship. “I don’t see his crew at all. Those people are-”

“Criminals. Pirates sent to Impel Down,” your father chimed in, looking at them all. “How the hell did they break out?”

You had to assume the answer was Luffy. He had a tendency to make mayhem.

You could hear screaming between Luffy’s makeshift crew and the Navy, but you took the time to quickly assess everything. You could make it to the ship Luffy was on, and run with him. You knew he would make it to the platform, especially with help from people like Crocodile, Buggy,  Ivonkov, and…

“Jinbe,” you whispered. 

You had heard he had been captured and sent to Impel Down for disobeying the Navy and refusing to fight in Marineford. But he was here. You almost cried from relief. It had been so long since you had seen him, and yet everything about him remained the same.  

You had been so focused on Jinbe that you hadn’t seen Crocodile sneak up behind your father, trying to go in for a strike. 

But Luffy was instantly there, blocking his strike and kicking Crocodile away from your father to protect him.

“Listen, brat,” Crocodile growled. “If you want to save Ace so badly, go do it. I’m here to kill Whitebeard and that’s it.”

“So this old guy is Whitebeard, huh?” Luffy said, his skin glowing with a pink hue. “Well, he’s Ace’s friend, so I won’t let anything happen to him!”

You snickered lightly at his words. Nobody could deny they were brothers. 

“Runs in the family, huh?” Marco whispered, and you nodded in agreement. That was an understatement.

“You came here to rescue your big brother?” your father asked Luffy, staring him down. 

“That’s right,” Luffy said, giving a slight nod. He had the look of pure determination in his eyes. Failure was not an option.

“You’re just a kid. What can you do?” your father scolded, and you flinched at the harshness of his words. “A squirt like you is going to get slaughtered real easy!”

“Shut up! You don’t even know me!” Luffy shouted back, and you had to stifle another laugh. “I know what you want! If you want to be the king, you gotta go through me!”

“Just like Ace,” Marco mumbled, rolling his eyes. You gave him a grin in response. 

The two had an intense stare off, your father doing his best to intimidate Luffy. But you knew Luffy. He wouldn’t back down, no matter what the odds looked like. 

“What a cheeky punk,” Whitebeard said, giving his smile of approval. “Don't go crying if you get a few boo-boos.”

“Yeah right! I’m not old like you!” Luffy shot back, the two of them turning to face Marineford together now. 

“Just sit tight, Ace. I’m coming for you.” Luffy said, and then turned to your father. “Old man, there’s something I gotta tell you…I heard on the ship that the Navy is moving up the schedule. They just have to get set for something first.”

Your heart quickened and your eyes darted to Ace. You couldn’t lose him yet. You weren’t ready to watch him die. 

“Thanks for letting me know, kid. Glad I ran into you.” Your father’s eyes moved to you, looking for some kind of strategy guidance. Your mind was racing as it ran through the options. You had to get to him as fast as possible. 

“Sure thing,” Luffy said. “Hang on Ace! I’m on my way!” 

Luffy began to run away, but you couldn’t let him go without you. 

“Luffy!” you shouted, pulling away from Marco and walking towards him and your father. “Hang on a second!”

Luffy’s head whipped around, and a smile broke across his face when he saw you. “You made it back to the ship okay! Good to hear!”

There was no time for small talk. You had to get to the point. “Luffy,” you warned. “Marineford is full of traps. You have to be careful.”

“Do you know where they are?” Luffy asked, his dark eyes looking at you. He trusted you. You could help him.  

This was your moment. Your time to break away. 

You nodded. “I do.”

“Great!” Luffy grabbed your hand and ran toward the railing, picking you up as he got ready to jump. “Come with me and show me!”

“No!” your father yelled, helplessly watching the two of you jump over the side of the deck and towards the battlefield. 

“Get back here!” Both Marco and Whitebeard roared simultaneously as you hit the ground, but found your footing and began sprinting, refusing to look back. 

You ran next to Luffy, swiftly keeping up with him. You found the weak spot on your shackles and quickly snapped them off, just like Rayleigh had shown you. You still had your weakened sea prism bracelet on, but you could feel energy course through your veins now that you had the marine-grade stone off. Your body felt lighter and more free, like you could do anything. 

Like you could save Ace. You were getting closer by the second. 

“Look!” One of the soldiers shouted. “Someone’s on the ship with Whitebeard!”

You risked a glance back, but you only saw Squard standing with him on the deck. No Naval threats were advancing on your father thankfully, considering he had sent most of his commanders to trail you. 

Though it was strange to see Squard on the ship. You distinctly remembered placing his ship in the rear of the fleet to keep him and his men protected. 

It was even stranger to see him unsheathe his blade. And then stab your father in his chest. 

You let out a garbled cry, immediately stopping in your tracks. All of Marineford seemed to pause, watching in a mix of awe and horror. What the hell was Squard doing? Your father had saved him from a life of evil, called him one of his own. And he was returning the favor by stabbing him in the chest?

“No,” you whispered. Your feet began to move back to the ship, trying to find a way back to him. You should’ve never run away. You should’ve stayed. You could’ve stopped this if you had been there. You should’ve seen this betrayal coming. 

Marco was by your father’s side in a flash, throwing blue flames at Squard to force him away. The three of them spoke, but you couldn’t make out any words.

Your heart pounded in your chest as you watched the three men converse. You felt sick to your stomach as you watched the wound in your father’s chest leak blood. 

And then your father leaned forward toward Squard and wrapped him in an embrace. 

You couldn’t help but think back to your last arrival home, when you had expected a harsh scolding, but all you had received was his arms wrapped around you. You weren’t sure why Squard had done what he had, but it was clear the Whitebeard had forgiven him. 

Just like he had to you, when you had stabbed him in the heart by lying to him and losing Ace. And getting everyone into this huge mess in the first place. 

If anything, all of this was your fault. 

Someone touched your arm, causing you to flinch. Luffy’s eyes looked at you, wide and determined. He was clearly surprised by this, but neither of you had time to waste. 

“I know he’s your old man-” Luffy started. 

“Let’s keep moving,” you nodded. One small wound wouldn’t stop your father. He would be fine. You would get Ace back and pretend like this never happened. 

As you continued forward, things moved in a blur, as they often do in battle. You knocked out two Marines and stole their swords, easily keeping up with Luffy. Parry one, dodge a blade, stab and slice when you could. But always keep moving.

After a while, you started to let Luffy do the battling. He was good at wiping out lots of Marines at once, and you could hear a group of pirates running behind you to offer support. 

You could hear Marco’s wings flapping overhead, and you knew he was waiting for the perfect moment to scoop you up and take you back to be imprisoned on that ship. But you wouldn’t go back. Your father could fend for himself. You would never stop fighting until Ace was back in your arms and you had given him a proper ass-kicking. 

Explosions raged, soldiers fell, and yet you stuck close by Luffy, steadily making your way toward the platform. You could feel Ace’s eyes on you, but you refused to meet them. You didn’t want to know what he was thinking. You didn’t care. Once he was safe, he could yell at you all he wanted. You had plenty of yelling to do as well. 

You were doing well keeping up with Luffy, despite the inability to catch your breath. You were thankful he was doing most of the fighting, because you were exhausted just from running alongside him. That baby you carried was back to being an annoyance. If you would have joined this fight at your full power, the Navy wouldn’t have stood a chance. You would have destroyed them before-

A large hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you, causing you to cry out in shock as you were yanked backwards. 

“Get off!” you screamed, swinging a blade around to meet your assailant. 

“Easy!” Jinbe scolded, ducking out of the way. “You’ll kill someone with that thing!”

“Jin…” You couldn’t bring yourself to say his name. “You’re on our side?”

He gave a swift nod. “I promised I would never fight against you, didn’t I?”

Tears welled in your eyes, and you had to fight to keep them from spilling down your cheeks. You couldn’t afford to be weak here. You had to save the crying for later. 

Luffy, as oblivious as always, didn’t even notice as you wiped your eyes. He was glancing between Jinbe and the wall. 

“Can you get us across?” Luffy asked, staring up at the wall. 

Jinbe chuckled. “I can get you across. She stays with me.”

You groaned. Of course he had been recruited to keep you contained; to take you back to the Moby Dick. 

“She’s coming with me,” Luffy said. “Ace has to see us fighting for him.”

“Do you want to go over the wall or not?” Jinbe asked him, his grip still firmly around your wrist. 

“Go Luffy,” you urged him. You wouldn’t be much help over there anyway. You might even hinder him from progressing. And you had a feeling that whatever Jinbe had in mind for getting Luffy over the wall wouldn’t work for you. 

“I’ll make it,” Luffy said, giving you a nod in thanks. 

“I know you will.”

The second Jinbe let go of your wrist, you took off in another direction. You could hear him shouting for you, but you ignored him. There was no way you were going back to that damned ship. There were plenty of family members you could help. 

You slashed through the crowd, taking down every uniformed officer in your path. You had always loathed sword training days in Wano, but they were finally starting to pay off. Perhaps you would practice more often. 

If you got out of this alive. 

A cheer of pirates off to your left made you risk a glance over, and you saw Luffy being shot through the sky, onto the next phase of the rescue. As much as you wanted to be with him when he freed Ace, you were grateful you weren’t on that journey. It was something only a rubber man could survive. Even though you weren’t with him, you found yourself smiling. He would make it. 

“Don’t move!” A shrill voice shouted, and you felt the barrel of a gun press against your lower back. 

Shit. You had been distracted for one second, and now you were at the mercy of some rookie navy man. 

“Drop your weapons!” He commanded, his voice slightly more authoritative. He probably had no idea who you were, or else he would’ve fired already.

Your eyes glanced to the sky as your swords clattered to the ground. You could see Marco’s shadow circling, trying to find the perfect opportunity to intervene without getting you killed. 

“Please don’t shoot,” you whispered, throwing false fear into your voice. You put your hands up, trying to think of some crazy story. You just needed him to believe you for a fraction of a second so you could disarm him.  

“And why shouldn’t I?” The barrel jammed into your spine, causing you to flinch. 

If you didn’t have this baby, bullets would mean nothing. This cadet would already be on the ground seeing stars.

A large, familiar shadow cast over you. “Because if you do, you’re dead.” Your father’s voice boomed from behind you. “So how about you go ahead and lower that gun, boy.”

The pressure at the base of your spine quickly receded, and you could hear the gun clatter to the ground. 

“Please-” the cadet started. 

“Get out,” Whitebeard growled. 

The sound of footsteps quickly receding made you relax for a moment. You bent to the ground and picked up your swords.

“I’m not going back,” you said sharply, determined to hold your ground. 

“I didn’t ask you to,” your father snapped back. 

“Good!” you hissed. You were afraid to look at him, so you didn’t. You lowered your voice before you added, “Thank you.”

He didn’t say anything more as the two of you moved across the battlefield, trying to protect your family while also moving closer to Ace. Even with his wound, your father kept a pace so quick you were having trouble keeping up with him. Maybe you were just getting slower. You’d have to train harder in the future.

You could see the platform again finally. You could see Ace, and you finally met his eyes. Even though his face was filled with horror, he was still so beautiful. You wanted nothing more than to run your fingers through his hair, to kiss his chapped lips, to be wrapped in his arms again. 

A shot of pain coursed through your left arm, and you cried out as a navy officer kicked you down to the ground. He seemed just as surprised as you that the blade had struck you. 

He quickly backed up, choosing to retreat rather than deal a finishing blow. A strange decision for a captain to make, given that he certainly knew who you were. Why run?

Not that it mattered. Your father quickly followed him and spilled his blood before he had a chance to blink.  

And then the sound of a cannon brought the Navy’s plan together. The captain had meant to be a distraction. He had meant to keep you and your father in a stationary place, so that the cannonball would end one of you. He hadn’t expected you to fall to the ground, because he had planned to keep you busy while the cannon took aim. 

“No!” you screamed, already knowing what would happen. You couldn’t stop it; your knees were still weak from collapsing. 

Your father was back overtop of you in a flash, protecting you from the hit he knew was coming. You wanted to beg him to run, but you had no time. You had been foolish; you deserved that hit. Not him. You were tired of everyone else sacrificing themselves for your mistakes. You were supposed to be better than this. You were the best strategist on the Grand Line. How had you missed something so obvious?

The cannonball struck true a moment later, straight into your father’s chest. You screamed out, but he stood tall and firm, as if it hadn’t even affected him. 

“Dad,” you cried. “Please-”

He refused to acknowledge you, though. Instead, your father stood in front of you, trying his best to remain on his feet and keep you protected from further harm.  

This was the worst day of your life. There was no comparison. 

And then somehow it got worse. You could see Sengoku’s arm fall, giving the order to execute Ace.

You could hear someone screaming as the blades began to fall toward Ace’s tender neck. Your ears began ringing, your vision became blurry. Then you realized it was you who was screaming. 

You wanted to rage, to kill everyone on this battlefield. But all you could do was scream. Scream and scream and never stop. Ace was going to die right in front of you.

As the blades fell swiftly, your last thought was that it was all for nothing. And then an overwhelming presence washed over you, knocking you into unconsciousness.

--

Tag list! @taeyoge @teiza @tojislawyer @trafalgardnami @bloopbopsblog @dancingnewcat @dxestyi @flooofity @nyxthedragon01 @deadsnothere @h-rhodes1598  @morgyyyyyyy @trafalgardvivi  @fiestynatureweeb @frogpogjoghurt @beepboopcowboy @ms-portgas @luvyallbabes @appalost @zuchkaa @saybeyonce @stray-npc @kitsunechan707 @theyluvmesblog @heartysworld @aira-needs-sleep  @mothmomjay @ophelias-flowerss @aqualein @sehyojae @fanficwriter5 @forgotten-blues @amberash05 @firefistnoct @depressed-but-make-it-cute @stuckinthewrongworld@lizpoir

[aitadjcrazytimes]

It's been a good run

But it's time to bring this to a close!

The saga is over, C, T and I are all together. T and I are in the swing of it, C approves as much as it is possible for him to approve of anything, everyone knows about the blog and is chill.

C is back at his rightful place of walking his sister down the aisle.

I'm getting everything I want, and we're all free to make each other miserable until the day we die.

I'm not going to be updating this blog anymore! Nobody else involved with the situation will be submitting any more AITA posts either, because they are either not on tumblr or agreed it would be annoying.

I will say that there is some stuff on here that I've alluded to that isn't necessarily 100% in the spirit of things, so I've included some stuff below the cut for the folks who have caught onto that. I would not suggest reading it if you like how all of this played out and want to keep it that way. I know that's incredibly vague, but I'm not sure how to phrase it without making it weird?

Thank you all for listening and talking to me over the past few days! That's where I'm leaving it!

...

...

...

...Is everyone who wants to keep believing in the disaster polycule gone? Yes? OK!

So, this was fake. I made up the whole thing. TK and C and T and everyone else are fictional characters. Did I lie? Yes. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Q: All of it? Even the og AITA post? The followup AITA post? The screenshots?

A: All of it.

Q: Wh... Why did you do this...?

A: Well, first this all started as a Red vs Blue fanfic for the ship Chexer (Church/Tex/Tucker)-

It started as a fanfic for Chexer. However, I was already working on a different fanfic for RVB that was totalling about 15k words at this point (+ at least 90k to go), and I knew I would never have the time or energy to write this one. I thought: yknow. this would be really funny as an aita post.

Q: It was a fanfic of a Halo fanfic series.

A: Yep!

So, I submitted Tucker's perspective. I did not expect for it to get more than maybe 100 notes at most. I totally thought someone would call it out right away.

The funny part is, if I'd dedicated all this energy to a fic instead of this blog, I'd probably have about 15-20 thousand words of fic already, but whatever, can't ruin my personal day!

Also, I wanted to see how many people would figure it out/how long it would take for it to become too obvious that this was a fandom thing. I was dropping names and RvB lore since the beginning. A few people did figure it out, and I DMed them in private to let them know.

Q: But why make the blog then?

A: Because I love to lie and be a nuisance to the general populace! <3

It was always my intent to wait until Carolina's perspective got posted (i am honestly still shocked i got away with "Carey/Georgia/West Virginia/Alabama/Miss Louisiana 1988"), let it simmer for about a day, then come clean. Which is what I'm doing now!

The reason I'm coming clean now instead of dragging it out is because I don't want anyone to feel stupid or like they got duped. You're not stupid! You were a part of this story! This was, as one anon said, a creative writing project. It was a collaboration! Thank you so much for helping me!

That said, I'm sorry to anyone that finds this disappointing! I had a blast doing this, but I will not be doing it again. I have gotten my fill. I have had my taste of being an influencer, and now I can go on with my life without ever feeling like I need to start a youtube channel.

Q: How did you keep up with a consistent timeline?

A: I didn't, especially at first. But in my time as a liar who lies about things, I have found that usually people are willing to believe you when you say "yeah, i lied about that".

Q: Wait, what about the thing with your kid?

A: Yeah, I fucked up on this one. In the other fic I was/am writing, Tucker was around 33. So, when I was saying what Junior's age was, I subtracted it from 33 and got 18. It wasn't until I was showing my partner the blog and they said "Wait, he had his kid at 13??????" that I realized I had fucked up. Oops!

Q: Was it really ALL fake?

A: For the most part. I will say that I did actually drop chocolate cake all over my tits that one time and had to shower by myself like a fucking loser. That one was true. I did also get my nails done for the first time ever, which did actually affect my typing. And I am in a band (but so is Tucker, canonically)! There are a few other things as well, but I don't want to list all of them.

Q: DID you ever read homestuck?

A: Nope. And I never will.

Even the title, though I will say that the title I came up with was "Leonard "Alpha Bitch" Church's Decidedly Not Lo-Fi Beats to Get Nasty and Get Clean To: The Movie"

Q: So there was never a combination sex/bathtime playlist?

A: Maybe! But perhaps more accurately: the combination sex/bathtime playlist was inside of you all along. You can make it. There are only three songs on there that are canon to the lore of this blog. Those are No Children by The Mountain Goats, Take It Out On Me by Thousand Foot Krutch, and one unknown song from the album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV by Coheed and Cambria (Yep, the call was coming from inside the house, I gave Church my music taste). I had intended this to be Wake Up, but it's out of my hands now. The rest is yours to fill in.

Q: What's your main blog, so I can follow you?

A: Hi, this is aitadjcrazytimes. You're not getting that.

Q: Your AO3 handle?

A: Nope, not that either.

You will never find me. And that's the way I want it. You will see me in every blog. Every new follower. Every stranger you meet on the street. You will look into your discord kitten's eyes, and you will absently wonder if he was the one behind aitadjcrazytimes. And you will never know for certain.

Q: But-

A: Let me live on in your memory. The only person who knows both who I am and the fact that I did this is my partner, who is not into RvB or commonly on tumblr. I am not a RvB blog. I am not a writing blog. I am a nobody on the fringes of tumblr society who's been here long enough to know how to remain in the shadows.

And, even if you do manage to find me, against all odds:

No one will ever believe you.

I am closing my askbox. I am also closing my messages. If you have anything to say to Tucker or Me (tumblr user aitadjcrazytimes), you are welcome to do so in the replies or reblogs, but you will not be receiving an answer. I'll keep this blog up for anyone that wants to go through after the fact and do a deep dive or what have you.

Thanks to everyone who made this into the wild ride it was! Live long and get fucked or whatever! Xoxo <3

[wesavegotham]

I keep reading comics because there are rare gems like Boy Wonder.

But the main continuity? Writers keep thinking taking things away from Bruce (Alfred, his fortune, his company, his house, his hand, his family for the nth time, did I forget something? I fear they are running out of things he can lose) and making him have a mental breakdown over it that causes him to alienate everyone is still a novel concept.

But we've reached a point where it's not every run doing it, which would be somewhat okay with the cyclical nature of comics, but instead it seems to happen multiple times during one run. Can't wait for Bruce to screw up and hit one of the Robins in the face again. Or for a Robin to die. Apparently they will just be back on the next page and we'll never see anybody talk about it because literally nothing matters anymore, even death. If I have to read the batfamily breaking apart, Gotham being taken over by a villain with Batman rumored to be dead, Bruce remembering he needs his family members and then them getting back together with none of the previous drama getting properly adressed one more time...

I'm sorry guys for all the rants this morning. I'm pretty tired right now and...I just want stories to be good. For there to be a creative vision you can analyse. A character arc worth talking about?

I know my rants make me sound very negative. And I guess I am. But it is born out of a love for stories and characters. Older Damian comics like Batman and Robin (2011) or Robin: Son of Batman had good emotional conflicts, themes, character arcs...and simply the writers showing knowledge of DC continuity and what was going on in other books. Or them simply remembering what happened in their own book. But recently you get messes like Gotham War where three or was it even four writers did not seem to be on the same page about what the basic plot was, who wanted what and why they did what they did. Back then a lot of people put most of the blame on Tini Howard (because blaming women, real and fictional, still seems to be people's first instinct) but even back then you could tell that nobody in that group knew what they were doing.

[neil-gaiman]

Hello, mr Gaiman! This is a long one, I'm sorry- I doubt you'll ever see this ask, but I decided to leave it here anyway, because something You've reblogged recently has left me with a lot of thoughts. You reblogged this post with a quote of Ursula K. Le Guin, where it was said that if someone claims to be "a camera" or "a mirror", they should not be regarded as a real artist. That the rule of "writing about things you know about" is completely irrelevant when it comes to being a writer.

I wonder, to what degree do You, an experienced writer and, I assume, artist, agree with this statement?

I'm a teenager with hopes of becoming a writer one day, and I've heard the exact words - "try to write about things you know" - so many times, until I kind of began to agree with them. It feels almost like I shouldn't make - or share - stories about things I've never experienced, like I should leave that field to others who have those experiences, because otherwise, I'd be creating something untrue. Would You say that's a bad way of thinking - as in, one that makes me less of an artist? And that I and others who share this way of thinking should stop caring about this sort of thing? Or is it right to restrain our stories this way? And, more theoretically (because despite my self-consciousness I remain a fantasy creator who would rather write stories about stuff I haven't been through, hah) - is someone who wants to write about the world around them, present it in a creative or thorough fashion, say something about it, to "be a camera" that registers important things, would that person not be considered an artist in Your eyes?

I hope you're having a nice day, again - sorry for this being such a long essay, and if you never even read it, that's absolutely fair haha

"Write what you know" is true. Nobody else knows your stories. Write them.

[sytokun]

A lengthy thought wall about the recent RT shutdown and DillonGoo Studios' interest in acquiring RWBY - I speculate and entertain some hopium about the pros that could come with it and why all in all, impossible it may be, it's probably the best shot we have for RWBY.

Some rwde cause it mentions Shane's letter and nobody likes that.

I've been reading a lot, a lot of the various discussions around RWBY's fate and Dillon Goo Studio's (henceforth shortened to DGS) interest in acquiring it. Here's my overall evaluation everything so far:

This goes without saying but this is obviously an optimistic take on the matter, I wanna talk moreso about the pros rather than the logistics of whether DGS can afford it, whether you think it's just clout-chasing, etc.

Dillon's a former RWBY animator and a fan of Monty's work. No matter what you think of Monty's style of action, in the greater public sphere, RWBY is known and liked precisely for that and largely that alone, period. Only RWBY fans who are already invested in the show will mention story or characters - for the majority of people, i.e. future RWBY fans, the action is the main selling point, and DGS clearly can deliver on this.

Dillon himself is at least amicable with most of CRWBY and likely open to negotiate with them given prior work history. For any other media corporation, consulting the old IP holders of a defunct company is a minor formality at best or even a laughable waste of time. And if you want to bring up a certain almost 10-year-old letter and the person working with Dillon who wrote it, there are plenty in the comments section who would agree with me that it's not as big a dealbreaker as one might think, given the company the letter largely condemned is well dead and buried. I won't go further into that matter.

DGS is very community-oriented - they're very intimately familiar with 3D animation and produces creator-friendly content like the Goo Engine which helps future animators inspired by RWBY to make similar anime-style 3D content. Every single RWBY fan animator whose work we enjoyed benefits from this acquisition - all of whom can grow into future animators for the series, intimately familiar with its trademark action style.

DGS is probably the only genuine fan of RWBY that has a remote chance of acquiring the IP with the express motivation of using the IP creatively. This can be clearly seen in the steady improvement of their animation content over the years and desire to push the medium. All other candidates are corporations whose motivations with RWBY are, more likely than not, going to be entirely financial (not necessarily a bad or unhealthy thing, but it's a factor).

If RWBY stays under WB or given off to Crunchyroll? They have no stake in RWBY beyond pure business. They have no interest in what's best for RWBY or its growth, only how it will be most profitable or recoup the losses from RT. The only companies I can see being more creatively invested in RWBY are ArcSystem Works who implemented RWBY in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, or Shaft that animated Ice Queendom, but those are both Japanese companies unlikely to go all-in on a foreign IP - especially given that these studios usually adapt other IPs, not buy them outright.

DGS is invested in RWBY. Their entire studio's style is built on RWBY-esque action animation. Acquiring RWBY more or less guarantees it'll become their main flagship series and their main investment, whereas with WB, Crunchyroll or other big platform, RWBY is nowhere near prolific enough to be much more than another shelf-filler in their library. At worst, Warner archives RWBY for eternity and at best, they only bring RWBY out for tie-ins and crossovers to prop up their larger DC properties. Why give RWBY the spotlight when they own the likes of Justice League and Looney Tunes?

DGS may not be the most plausible choice, but it's clear that unless some big company like ArcSystem Works or something throws their hat in the RWBY ring, DGS is far and away the people's favourite, even gaining approval from JJ Grelle (Tyrian's VA), who quite notably refused to reprise their role for Rooster Teeth.

DGS is still very much an indie studio which IMO RWBY has flourished the most under, the time period where it retained a certain unpolished energy that made you invested in watching it improve and grow. I don't want to watch a RWBY that uses its precious time under a new studio to just go by the numbers and coast by on its existing fanbase. I want to watch a RWBY that grows, innovates and takes risks, that impresses and draws new and old fans in the way it does for every single person that has watched the Red Trailer for the first time.

I think a lot of folks have a preconceived notion that RWBY has to continue on the exact same production value as V9 left off, but that never had to be the case. I think a return to a much more subdued production with smaller teams focusing on strong individual episodes over large overarching narratives will be healthy for RWBY and more easily invite new fans, which it sorely needs if it wants to stay afloat this time around.

Whether this means a continuation to V10 or a reboot I don't know, but I know I'd rather take a RWBY that a new studio respects and will produce in a way that fits their strengths and limits, over trying and overreaching themselves to make something work that even Rooster Teeth failed to, or over no RWBY at all.

That's the crux of it: the worse alternative is no RWBY at all. CRWBY and especially us as a fandom are in no position to be picky when that's the alternative. There's no such thing as a perfect deal, but this is about as sweet as they come. If the only hurdle is WB's refusal to sell, then that's on Warner. If the only hurdle is affording the IP, I, many others and no doubt other associates Dillon Goo Studios knows are likely to help them meet that price.

I do wanna stress, despite my optimism, I'm not asking to stake all our hopes on DGS as the saviour of RWBY, god no - the last thing I want is a weirdo Monty 2.0 cult and I doubt Dillon would want that either. I'm not saying the RWBY they'd make will be perfect or be equitable for everyone either - some compromises must be made and professionally speaking, whoever owns RWBY next has no legal obligation to make V10 or bring back anyone from CRWBY. Any such action is solely on the graces of the new IP holder and at the end of the day, I think whatever creates a healthier, longer-lasting future for RWBY should take priority over our sentiment or attachment.

But as things stand right now, if DGS isn't just farming Twitter likes and is honest-to-god serious about acquiring RWBY, and no better candidate presents themselves, this is about the best option we have right now, and I myself will be ready to help and contribute in whatever little way I can. Because I know the very real alternative is either a complete gamble on yet another faceless media subsidiary, or watching RWBY rot behind a vault for the next decade or more.

[ilyuu-archive]

right where you left me.

synopsis : it takes years to build up feelings and memories that means the world to you and him, and it all takes one evening for it to break down and leave nothing but time standing still and a relationship that could've been. (or you recall the night you broke up with kazuha, thinking it all over again.)

tags : angst/no comfort, modern!au, childhood friends to lovers to strangers, mentions of getting high, light swearing, ambiguous ending.

wc : 2500+! (2635.)

a/n : and yes this is all based off of taylor swift’s right where you left me from perse!! along with that, please do excuse any grammar and formatting mistakes

for the saudade event by the all amazing and angsty creative @soleillunne! the first half is written by the wielder of cat pics, @https-furina, and the second half from yours truly. ready your tissues because in spite of the beautiful and vivid wording from verse, it hurts (in a good way, of course)! nonetheless, i hope you'd enjoy this as much as i did! &lt;3

also, perse, thank you; i had so much fun writing this! the possibilities were endless for me, and reading your part when trying to get a feel for this story made me roll up in a corner and cry (not actually though, so don't worry about me, hehe),,

There's idle chatter and the faint clinking of cutlery and wine glasses, almost drowned out by the harsh winds and rain that batters the restaurant's dimmed windows.

The lights are soft and subdued yet hold a warmth that hugs every living being inside the building - some sheltering from the rainstorm, others rekindling with their lovers or families. That should be you, rekindling with a lover that was never yours in the first place.

To your left, you hear the gossip of two friends; a couple in their friend group recently broke up, "good riddance," one girl chirps, "she deserves better than him." The conversation promptly shifts to that of one regarding marriage and weddings. What would you have looked like on that fateful day with white veil and a glittering ring on your finger, the thought makes you grimace.

"What a sad sight," an elderly woman whispers to her husband from where they're settling at a table not too far away, she's gazing at you with a sorrowful look, "poor girl."

The words shift a small crack of a smile onto your face - is that truly how you looked to the unknowing bystanders around you? Did they think you'd been stood up on a first date?

If only.

The more you stare at the empty, red crushed velvet chair in front of you, the more the realisation starts to hit even harder than before that he isn't going to magically turn up, dressed ever so handsomely in smart casual attire with his silver hair in its usual messy ponytail.

You hadn't seen his face since that night, how pained he seemed as he watched you smash the empty wine glass adorning your table, his eyes trained on the way it shatters into a million pieces on the white cloth. It was almost a perfect metaphor for your heart at that exact moment.

"You know we're here because we need to talk, right?" His voice is familiar, nostalgic almost as he places his blazer over the back of his chair. He hasn't changed since you were children, sneaking after school to the nearest McDonalds until your curfew, "y/n.."

"Do we have to talk?" You respond quickly with a sharp tongue, your hands shaking as you find anything to do with them, this even includes unfolding and folding the napkin in front of you repeatedly. Conversations are whispered all around you, some followed by short laughter.

Kazuha almost winces at the tone of your voice but he knows it's deserved. You had been friends since you could remember, joined at the hip no matter what happened. Your mothers always commented that you were inseparable, never found without the other close behind - so how did it come to this?

It came to this because you had became attached, craving his presence at all times even as you went to university. You wanted him and nobody else could even remotely compete with the man that Kaedehara Kazuha had grown into somehow from that clumsy toddler you'd wrapped around your chubby fingers all those years ago.

For a while, the rebellious teen thought the exact same about you. He would ponder over the hours the two of you spent together in his dorm room, sharing a joint as you forget the stress of the exam season you'd just barely managed to survive.

He would reflect on the nights he'd carry you on his back, taking you back to your dorm after an exceptionally rough night clubbing with your friend group, who always roped you into unbelievable scenarios.

He had expressed his concerns over your friend group more than once but you had shrugged him off, flashing him that playful smile he couldn't get enough of. "It's fine, Kaz," you reassure him as you apply a layer of mascara to your eyelashes, "we only live once, right?" When you'd responded with that, Kazuha initially thought 'yeah, we do.'

Nights under star scattered skies sharing joints would only last so long, after all Kazuha was at university to study business management, the heir to his father's publishing company. With this future responsibility came the family reputation and the eventual arranged marriage to another rich family - that was a criteria that you had never fit in and pre-emptively, you never would.

"You know it's not my decision, y/n," His voice is almost breaking when he takes the seat in front of you, clammy hands clasped together in front of him on the clothed table. You scowl a little, it had never been his choice, had it? "we should seen this coming."

"We?" You repeat, narrowing your eyes at him, "you - you should have seen this coming."

Kazuha lets out an exasperated sigh, closing his eyes for a moment as he listens to the bustle of the restaurant around the pair of you. He starts to consider that a restaurant was not the best location to be having a lover's quarrel.

When he reopens his eyes, they fall to you across the table. Your eyes are glittering like the chandelier that hangs from the ceiling in the centre of the room and he can almost make out the tears starting to pool in the corners of your eyes.

"I never wanted to hurt you, you know that, right?" For some reason, those words hurt your heart more than he most likely intended.

They feel like knives, sharpened daggers that plunge deep into your most fatal organ and tear it apart in ways that Kazuha would never be able to grasp. In that moment, you nearly wish that you could inflict this kind of pain on him so he could feel how your heart ached at that exact time or how the tears stung at your eyes, blurring your vision to the point where you could barely make his figure out.

Even with a singular tear running its uneven path down your cheek, you find the chance to smile, turning your gaze away from him as you let out a soft, pained laugh.

"If that's true, you should have known it would have hurt less for you to have turned me down instead of giving me a chance like you did." Your words bite at Kazuha more than you would ever know.

He hides the way his nails press into his skin, digging into it so hard they leave red, crescent moon marks and almost draw blood. Kazuha chews down on his tongue, the metallic taste of his blood flooding his mouth when he conveniently suddenly finds it hard to swallow, leaving him to succumb to the consequences of his own actions.

His mouth is dry when he opens his mouth to speak but words don't come out, just a simple exhale as he processes the back and forth argument that will continue for the rest of the night, "I've met her already."

"And? Is she nice?" You reply shortly, holding your tongue. There are thoughts running through your mind, hundreds in tens of seconds that you can't even grasp yourself. His family was wasting no time in selling this marriage to the media, gaining that social coverage they crave as socialites.

Kazuha lets out a small hum as if the energy had suddenly shifted back to normal between you.

"She's alright," Kazuha starts and you part your lips to speak, quick witted and sharp but Kazuha holds a hand up, silencing you before he continues, "but she isn't you."

"No, you don't get to get to pull that shit now, Kazuha," you laugh, it's bittersweet and causes Kazuha to visibly wince, "you damn well don't get to say shit like that anymore."

Kazuha's ruby eyes fall to how you are gripping an empty wine glass on the table, one that was supposed to be filled with a dark red liquid by now, its fruity taste becoming bitter on your tongues.

You have every right to be angry with him and Kazuha is drowned in remorse when he catches your knuckles turning white before the stem of the wine glass cracks in your palm, dropping the bowl of the glass onto the white cloth decorating the table as it shatters into sharp, broken shards.

The visual of glass breaking causes you to blink quickly, suddenly back to reality as you realise you're gripping at your phone in your hand with almost the same strength you'd put into the wine glass that night. Your muscles relax, leaning forward on the table as you rest your head in your hands.

It’s time to go.

So? There’s nothing much you can do now, and as much as it leaves such a bittersweet taste on your tongue that you can’t bother to swallow at all, it’s as much as the truth. Not as if some miracle can fly across the sky and everything will end in a happily ever after like in a fairytale. To rely on that, really, is desperation (is it really?) as its finest. Or maybe that’s your feelings talking. Maybe that’s just the lifetime worth of memories you held with him, sweeter and lighter than this entire evening has been, that’s making you want to hold onto that thin, fragile string of hope that means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

You feel your chest ache, a familiar feeling lately that you’d rather disappear, fade, or just… vanish. Really. Just anything to make this go away; it’s more of a reminder than anything that makes it twinge whenever you run through that night in your head too many times to count, each small detail almost nothing, a blur, when all you see is the way Kazuha looked at you. Pained? Helpless? A combination of something you couldn’t pin on in the midst of your own heated thoughts?

You wipe the corner of your eyes with each hand, your warm palms something of a comfort. Not the time.

A moonless night bears witness to the two of you lying atop of the roof of your apartment complex, years felt like days, from your school days, with how clear the memory of Kazuha looking over to you with such adoration swirling in his eyes along with the faint stars.

Your shoulders start to tremble.

The embrace of a familiar warmth wrapping around your waist, the blanket slipping onto the floor from the edge of the couch nothing compared to the comfort seeping into your skin.

Muted colors play across the two of you from the movie - it’s nothing but a backdrop anymore as you find yourself a bit more focused on his hand, your fingers wrapped in his, the pad of your thumb lightly caressing the back of his. You feel his breath, a huff, waft over your neck from that.

You try to let go of a sigh. It only comes out as a broken whimper.

His lips shifting against yours, soft, so sweet, as quiet sounds are shared between two of you. His shallow sighs of your name dripping with every nights’ worth of what ifs, every waking days’ worth of thoughts that crossed and blurred a line between friends and something more.

A chance, a hope, a dream - all of it was woven into the few words Kazuha murmured against your lips, over and over, bounding it with you in his hope that it’d make it real.

You know it all meant something to Kazuha.

Every mote of sand of time that fell within the two of you meant something to him, cherished it close and closer to his heart than anything else. You know that much. It was obvious - so obvious, too obvious - in every word he said that carried gravity and care to you, in every act he’s ever done for you for the sake of making you smile. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

He loved you. Kazuha loves you in every sense of the word. It was only that very love that led to this, as much as the two of you shared in it. This is the best for the two of you.

You know that, and he, of all people, especially knows that. It meant something to him, and so he just had to go ahead and say yes, let you into a world that was only for the two of you, and led you on until the edge of the world and into the reality you’re in now.

Do you blame him for that? For all of this? You’re not sure anymore.

Sure, of course, on that night, he knew where… this, the relationship, was going, how it was going to end. Kazuha could’ve prevented this if he hadn’t held your hand on that one day, stared into your eyes long enough for you to see that he felt the same - he instead gave you, this, a chance.

Things might’ve been better if he didn’t.

You click your tongue. Nope. Don’t think about him, or just don’t think in general - your thoughts are bound to come back to him regardless, no matter what you do. There’s no use thinking about this, no use in even giving it a second of your evening like this.

You stood up. The chatter stirs around you, aware or not, fades to the backdrop. It’s not exactly ideal to stay here, especially since you feel as though you’ll start crying at any given moment. You pick up your umbrella leaning against the leg of the chair, still dripping a bit.

In your thoughts, in your dreams, in your what ifs, yes, but this is neither of those things - this is the truth. This is your reality (how many times will you say that to yourself until you finally realize it?), and the reality is, amid soft, crackling candlelight, a gentle coat of companionship, cottony velvet rolling across the cushions, decor ivy slithering on the walls, just that - a rather pretty veil over your eyes to try and cloud the emptiness that sits with you across the table.

He’ll be alright. Of course he’ll be alright. He’s Kazuha.

You hadn’t realized you were already outside. The light jingle of the bell atop of you fades, leaving a lonely echo. The thrum of the rain felt underneath your feet, clearer than it had been inside.

There’s a heaviness in the air you can’t quite place either, or maybe that’s just all you and the feelings you can’t seem to leave behind (not that it’s easy to do so in the first place.)

For some reason, whenever it rains, you’d feel as though you can finally breathe (he’d know that). You try to smile. It’s weak, shy of breaking down, and to the point that even you don’t believe in it, but it’s a smile nonetheless; it makes you feel a bit better.

You bid goodbye to Kazuha, the thought of him.

You bid goodbye to the man you love.

You bid goodbye to the memories you know you’ll visit later whenever anything and everything reminds you of him.

Will he be happy? Will he be alright? You know you’ll find yourself thinking about this some time later, but you try to find comfort, even as thin as it is, in the idea that he’ll think of the same things you’ll be - that’ll he find that pseudo happiness in a past that’ll already be too far to reach into.

You open your umbrella, the panels springing open. The canopy you’re under trickles with rainfall, pelting said umbrella in an almost melodic symphony if you try hard enough to hear it. You take quiet pleasure in that as you walk out and into the tears.

You’ll be alright. He’ll be alright. You both will be alright.

(He doesn’t like the rain that much.)

The rain itself drowns that one out.

[sandeewithtwoe]

tell me about ur ocs brother /nf

Thank you for asking!!! I love my characters so much :D

Unfortunately I haven’t been drawing them recently, so most of my art are gonna have their old designs bleh. I also have a lot of OCs so I’m just gonna talk about the main four!

This is the main group of the story! In order, their names are Beatrice, Garah, Nick and Eli.

First off, Beatrice is a human who’s been closed off from the outside world by her kingdom because the entire planet has been overtaken by monsters. Humans were scared of this change and so they barricaded themselves from everyone else. Beatrice however, got bored of her home and decided to explore the world and make new friends.

She’s brave, impulsive, curious and optimistic. People at home didn’t really like her cause she’s a bit weird, so she got bullied a lot. Her dad also wasn’t the best at showing love, so she was miserable in the human society. She’s hoping that she’ll find a place that would accept her somewhere else.

Secondly, Garah!! She’s a goblin witch who really loves making random potions. She’s also able to do levitation magic, but it’s pretty weak, only able to pick up small objects. She wants to be able to make all the potions in all books.

She’s quick witted, creative, arrogant and sometimes over confident. Her backstory is kinda long but basically after her mom died from sickness, she decided to work in a shady bar. Then she got into an abusive relationship with her boss and got arrested by the police for stealing drugs. Beatrice and Nick broke her out of her cell.

Thirdly, Nick the goat man!! He’s like super strong and tough, also pretty big. He’s the tank of the group! He also dyed his hair blue and his pronouns are he/him

He was in love with his fiancé but then she died from a rare disease, so he got all depressed, lost his purpose in life. Instead of getting a life and move on he decided to go in a forest and wallow in his own self pity for like 2 years. He acts all serious and scary but he’s actually very antisocial and emotional.

And finally, here’s Eli the drow! He’s got healing powers and can move really fast (his anxiety gives him a boost lol). He’s also a big nerd and has read a lot A LOT of books as a kid, so he’s very knowledgeable about most things, although the real world is sometimes different from what he knows.

He is VERY anxious, cautious, kind and always follows his morals. He kinda sees the world in black and white, but he’s trying to learn how to break away from that mindset. After not being able to save his best friend’s life as a kid, he’s always willing to help those in danger.

They’re my babies, I love them!! Oh, I just realized I haven’t explained the plot yet. Well basically, they’ve accidentally found a crystal that gives very dangerous powers to whoever monster is touching it, so now they have to find a place where it would be safe from getting into the wrong hands. It’s like finding a tiny nuclear bomb and now you have to put it somewhere where nobody can find it.

OKAY THATS IT I HAVE MORE CHARACTERS (vilains) BUT THIS IS ALREADY LONG IMMA STOP HERE. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ASKING ABOUT MY OCS <333

[djarins-cyare]

So it’s been a year…

One year since Disney released episode 1 season 3 of The Mandalorian

One year since I published chapter 1 of Be-All And Endor

I don’t really remember much of the first 20 weeks of that year, just that it was a flurry of proofreading and finalising and uploading (the hard parts) and comment reading and new friend making and massively appreciating (the wonderful parts).

Proofing and publishing 2 chapters a week with average lengths of around 10k words was exhausting. But for the first 8 of those weeks I had Din Djarin on the screen (intermittently *ahem* but this isn’t a post about the quality of s3) and for the rest of the year I had my readers leaving comments and sending messages, and it was… overwhelmingly the best year of my life.

I mean that. The best year. Ever. Because of you. Any of you, all of you, if you’ve ever even just clicked on my fic and given it chance, you’ve raised the hits on it. Even seeing that metric tick up has made me so thankful.

Because I didn’t think I could write. I always wanted to be an author but never believed in myself.

I did an English degree with writing in mind, but told myself nobody ever does anything with an English degree. I took creative writing modules, and when the published author who ran the class gave me scathing feedback, my dream fully died. I got an okay grade, hardly anything to be proud of, and I graduated and went to work in another industry.

I suffered from clinical depression.

One day many years later, I found a favourite author online and messaged him to ask when his fourth novel in a series was being published, and (emboldened by the anonymity of being online) cheekily offered to proofread it for him. Except he took me seriously and sent me the prologue to see what I could do. Like, for a real book you can buy on Amazon. After feeling sick for two whole days I went all Autistic Obsession on it and sent him back the most thoroughly proofed bit of writing anyone had ever seen. And I got the job. (I say ‘job’, I’d volunteered for free in exchange for the privilege of reading it in advance, so I can only ever call it semi-professional since I didn’t earn from it).

This, amongst other things, lifted me from my depression. I came off the pills and felt happier, more creative. Once the proofing was completed, the author encouraged me to write my own stuff, but whilst I’d gained some confidence… my brain was empty. I had no clamouring stories to get down on the page, no gems ready to polish.

Then in summer 2021, a friend sat me down and showed me the first 3 episodes of the Mandalorian. And my brain chemistry was instantly altered. I binge-watched the first two seasons, by the end of which I was unequivocally in love with Din Djarin, and then I binge-watched them again.

Around that time, I moved to a different country. Well, Wales is still the UK, but it’s a different country to England, and I was now 170 miles away from my friends. I went because as a single woman on a middling salary, London is too expensive to live in and having rid myself of an overbearing long term relationship, I was NOT keen to get into another one just to pay the bills. The pandemic meant I could work remotely, so I upped sticks and moved to Cardiff, resolving to visit my office in London (and my friends) once a month. It’s 2 hours by train, totally doable.

So what to do with all the spare time I suddenly had?

By Easter 2022 I’d started writing. 9 months later (yes, it’s my actual baby), Be-All And Endor was complete and I began publishing alongside season 3’s release.

Now… it has over 62.k views and 1.2k kudos 🥹🤯

Did I think it would be this popular? No way. I can’t even believe it now. I still see SO much wrong with it, which is why I’m still proofreading and editing it.

A professional proofread/edit takes a long time, and if you’re wondering what I’m doing to it, it involves the following:

Checking for things like clichés, non-inclusive language

Checking all adverbs to see if a better word can be used (e.g. ‘bellows’ instead of ‘shouts loudly’… adverbs usually end in -ly and it’s not good to overuse them)

Rephrasing any passive sentences (simply put: ‘the ship is flown by Din’ is passive; ‘Din flies the ship’ is active)

Reducing average sentence length (shorter sentences are easier to read)

Going through every single damn polysyllabic word (e.g. anything that has more than 3-syllables) and seeing if a shorter synonym can be found (this helps the rhythm, as too many long words slows things down and can make readers stumble… and I use them a lot 😖)

Checking the 50 most frequently used words and seeing if I can find synonyms for those (helps give more variety in the language)

Ensuring Din’s name isn’t overused or underused, and adding epithets (e.g. ‘the hunter’ or ‘your Mandalorian’) where it’s overused but it’s too confusing to just say ‘he’/‘him’

These are the big things, but there’s more too - I’m streamlining decisions I made to use certain phrasings throughout; tweaking Din’s word choice here and there to ensure his voice is captured the best way possible; revamping some of the photos. And with all the tiny tweaks, it’s slowly padding things out too… when publishing was done it was 393k, now it’s 403k, although it’s not extra content as such, just better described.

I’m up to chapter 13 so far, and I’ll probably be doing this for another 2 years to get through all 40, because (a) I want to write other things too so that slows down the proofing, and (b) I so badly want to be proud of this project… everyone’s telling me I should be, and I am in a way… but it’s more gratitude to others than pride in myself… and I feel like if I get this proofing done and finally have a story I’m truly happy with, I can at last let myself be proud of what I achieved here.

I confess, I’m so envious of those who can post something without obsessing over it. I know it’s a facet of my autism, and I’ve long since accepted that my neurodivergent brain will not let me be cool about things other people are cool about. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that I should turn it to my advantage, so okay… I’m gonna make this fic the same quality as a published book on your bookshelf. And meanwhile I’m gonna enjoy and love all the fics that people can write and publish with far greater speed than I can, because the greatest thing about this fandom is that every contribution is worthy of appreciation, no matter the author’s experience or writing method. Quality fic isn’t synonymous with proofreading, and I hope it’s clear that I’m describing my obsession with perfecting my own writing, not other people’s. I’ve read so many amazing authors on here, and I want them all to know how much I love their work (any recs are from the bottom of my heart).

So anyway, this long and rambling post has turned into something unintended… I guess you now have some insight into my mind and the origins of Be-All And Endor and the future of it. Not what I meant to do, but I’ll leave it in for context.

Because the real reason I started writing this diatribe was because I wanted to express my true and undying gratitude to everyone who has ever read, commented, or left kudos on my fic over on AO3, and/or messaged me, followed me, interacted with me, or reblogged my masterlist here on tumblr 🧡💚

I know I am insanely lucky to have received the level of support I have, and I don’t take that for granted at all. I want to give back to this fandom, and I love reading and reccing other people’s fics, meeting new moots, and hopefully soon I’ll be publishing new fics for you all to read too. Fresh material is percolating, so it won’t be too long now.

So thank you to everyone who reads this post, you’re the absolute best and I love you more than I have the vocabulary to describe. Please accept a grateful forehead kiss instead 💋

[jerseyshoresy]

I froth at the mouth over your fics!!!!!

May I please request something where some drunk asshole confronts the reader at MoDeans and hits the reader, then all of the LK crew starts coming over but reader just decks the cunt and lays him out. Wayne already guessing you'd be fine but everyone starts fussing asking questions and shit bur you're cool as a cucumber?

Okay so I'm OBSESSED with this idea of this because uh yeah anything with the LK crew at MoDean's is sure to be fun to write lol. And thank you SO much for your kind words, you're so sweet! I'm glad you like my writing and I'm honored you all trust me to bring your creative vision to life :) much love!! <3 <3

OH! ALSO! This isn't explicitly romantic because I wasn't sure if you were looking for more friendship or romance so it's implied Wayne x reader but it can be read either way tbh. Enjoy!

All Hands on Deck

Implied Wayne x gn!reader

Warnings: cussing, fighting, mention of blood, Gail being... Gail

Done was another long day of chore'n so you decided to hang out at MoDean's with your best friends, relieved to finally relax in good company. You greeted the group, all of whom already had drinks, and so you ordered yourself one, too, taking a seat at the bar next to Wayne.

"Y/n, how're you now?" he asked, his expression softening ever so slightly when you sat near him.

"Good, and you?"

"Not s' bad."

You smiled. "Glad to hear it."

Everyone was listening intently to Squirrely Dan, who was in the middle of a story about some guy and an ostrich--you weren't all too interested in the details-- so you took the time to peek around the bar, seeing who else from Letterkenny had shown up for the night. The regulars were there, naturally, as were some people you knew from high school. You even spied Jonesy and Reilly who had stopped flirting with women to flirt with each other. You shook your head, enjoying the stereotypical evening with the same people who were always around. Turning your head a little more to the left, though, and you almost choked on your drink. There was some guy you had never seen before, sitting at a table and downing beers like nobody's business.

"Who's that?" you asked Gail when she brought over your drink.

"Dunno," she replied, leaning in closer to you, "but he's from out of town. Heard he's from the city. Montreal."

"Really? Their downtown is pretty nice from what I've heard."

"I'd be happy to show him what a real nice downtown looks like," Gail groaned, gyrating her hips in a way that felt so dirty you had the urge to clean the countertop she was gripping seductively.

"Don't you have customers to serve?" you asked, earning a glare from the bartender.

"Don't you have a tab to pay?"

"Fair enough," you grumbled, taking a sip of your drink. You looked at the man one last time before turning back around in your seat. You were surprised someone from the big city would come all that way to be in Letterkenny, but it didn't matter to you. The guy was spending big money in alcohol consumption and singlehandedly keeping MoDean's in business for the next month, which was great for Gail and even better for you. You tuned into the conversation with your friends, wondering what the next topic at hand was.

"...and that's how I got cow spit in my eye," finished Daryl, earning looks of disgust amongst the group.

"How about you, y/n? How was your day?" inquired Katy.

"It was alright, nothing too interesting," you said. "The most exciting thing to happen to me was hearing some guy's here from Montreal."

Right as you said that, you accidentally made eye contact with the man from Quebec. You quickly averted your gaze, not wanting any trouble.

"So yeah, that's been my day. I'll be right back, I gotta go to the bathroom."

After you did your business, hands washed and dried, you starting making your way back over to your seat. All of a sudden, the screech of a chair being pulled out from under a table caught your attention and in no time, you were face to face with the stranger from the city.

"You got a staring problem?" he snarled, very obviously intoxicated with the way he was slurring his words. "You've been lookin' at me all night and I don' like it."

You went to reply angrily but you couldn't get any words out--the only thing in your mouth at that moment was a a drunk dude's fist. You staggered from the momentum of the swing, your face bleeding profusely, and your mind reeling from the audacity of this city dweller. You heard the chorused yells of the Letterkenny residents, all equally unhappy that the out of towner hurt one of their own. You knew your friends would be over any second to take care of the guy, you could see them running from your peripheral vision, but you wanted a piece of him first. Fueled by anger, you threw a power packed punch right back to the man. In an instant he was knocked out, his unsteady body crumpling to the floor.

"Holy shit, y/n, are you okay?" Katy asked, putting a hand on your back in a soothing manner. Daryl held a clean rag to your nose and mouth to stop the bleeding while Dan pulled out a chair and had you sit in it. You even saw some of the regulars take the man's unconscious body and throw it out behind the dumpster. Throughout the aftermath of the ordeal, though, you realized you never saw Wayne.

"Are you sures you're okays, y/n?" Squirrely Dan questioned.

You laughed. "I appreciate everyone's concern, but there's no reason to fuss. It was just one punch, I'll be fine. You guys go sit, enjoy your drinks. I'll be over in a minute."

They relented, taking in your condition one last time with worried looks before taking up their spots at the bar.

And now here came Wayne.

He stalked up to you, taking a swig of Puppers.

"Fuck, bud, you didn't even give him a chance." Another sip of beer. "I almost feel bad for the guy."

"Yeah," you sighed, "me too."

You enjoyed comfortable silence together for about a minute or so before Wayne spoke up again.

"You know, I didn't rush to your side because I knew you were okay. You're tough."

"I know." You met his eyes, the dingy lights of MoDean's doing nothing to dim their shining deep blue color. "Thanks."

Wayne was a man of little words, and you didn't feel like there were more words to be uttered anyway, but his look said it all. You spied the smallest hint of a smile on his lips as his head turned to the rest of your friends at the bar, already back to smiling and having a good time.

"Yeah," you answered, his question not needing to be asked out loud, "let's go have some fun."

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

Secretary Questions and Answers Part 1

What's the answer to life, the universe and everything?

Being nice to people you don't know. nd also large amount of cocaine

Why did you make the reading comprehension section in the last module?

I'm a librarian! Teaching literacy is half the fun of my job! The rates of functional illiteracy are quite high (up to 50% in some areas of North America). I believe that literacy is one of the few ways to better one's situation, and it starts with asking questions about what you are reading and trying to read in-between the lines. I like teaching people :)

Bingus?

Did you do 9/11?

When I was a wee young lass,

What are some other interactive novels you would recommend?

Secretary Answer: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante!

Author Answer: For choice of games/hosted games, I like Night Road, the creme de la creme series, fallen hero (which is probably the most predictable recc ever), lies under ice was a really cool recent sci fi release, slammed! is old but pretty great. Separate to choicescript, Our Life Beginnings and Always has a special spot in my heart, it's very much a comfort game for me. I played Digimon Survive this year and although it's kind of a hybrid (it has a lot of turn-based strategy) it's a cool spooky VN. I like the zero escape series too, but also heavily criticise them the way that only somebody who likes something a lot can.

Secretary Answer: show off

What are the characters opinions about peeing in the shower?

nobody pisses in the shower excepts:

Vantage (time efficient)

Hypothesis (he also poops in the shower)

Beth (she's incontinent)

how do author and secretary come together to work on DYVJ? what's the synergy and system like (if there is a system)?

The author writes and does the creative management of the story. She chooses what is inputted in the story and all.

The secretary, me!, deals with a lot of the behind the scene stuff, and with participates in the character design and scene compositions. Create plot points, keep track of things, etc.

essentially, she writes and i am her HR manager. the blog was my idea :)

you guys gay?

i ate her pussy, yes

why is she named surpass

iirc it's because I wanted to evoke a sort of - I don't want to say "Superman" vibe, but I wanted to have a name that evokes power and force. It also feeds a bit into her personality. She's kind of cocky, I'm sure you've noticed, and 'Surpass' has a kind of 'come at me bro' feel to it, making it more the kind of name she'd pick.

Can we smooch Surpass?

Surpass is presently unsmoochable.

Very serious and important question that is totally serious and not at all not serious. At all. Ever. So. Would CG let MC pamper her and feed her sweets via hand? I want to hand feed my handler a Cannoli

CG would be unbelievably tsundere about anyone trying to pamper her.

How did you play Baldur's Gate 3?

my wife says i play games like a maniac. in stealth games (hitman, my beloved), i just run around with guns and kill everything and then finish the missions. allegedly im not supposed to play the game like that! bg3 was a similar experience: what do you mean im not supposed to kill story npcs for their loot? aradin, eat your heart out