#I love the use of the interludes for snippets of dialogue

[wowbright]

@redheadgleek it's got Ewan McGregor

[theicarusconstellation]

into the dark snippets below the cut because i’ve missed it recently:

“Are you happy, Reg?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happy.”

“That’s not true. I’ve seen you happy. I’ve seen you delighted. I hold onto every single time I see you that way, especially now. I think…I think it’s one of the best things in the world.”

^ dialogue snippet i haven’t filled in with “scene fluff” yet.

James sits up against the head of his bed, coaxing Regulus’ head up in his hands. He’s frowning, a horrible sign, for James never frowns unless it’s about something important.

“Love, what’s wrong?” He asks. His palms are hot where they cup Regulus’ face.

“Are you…going to leave me?” Regulus whispers shamefully.

“What? No.” James scrambles to sit Regulus in his lap and kisses him hard. “Regulus, I – no. Have some faith, would you?” He half-smiles, the words coming out soft and teasing around the edges. Regulus flushes red with embarrassment, berating himself for doubting, but it doesn’t help the nagging feeling of worry eating at his chest.

James holds him close and rests his cheek on Regulus’ shoulder, his fingertips tracing light patterns against his back.

“Regulus, I brought up our ages because the marriage ritual will work on us now.”

^ scene from interlude ii coming up (lowkey a major spoiler but…gotta keep you on edge🤭)

[ussjellyfish]

Fic writing asks: 1, 7, 40, 49, 51, 57, 72 (sorry if this is a lot, there were too many good questions in this one 🥲)

These are good!! thanks for asking, it's always lovely to be asked.

(thanks for waiting too).

Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

Having time and energy to write is harder for me than the ideas, so I daydream often, and sometimes don't get to write it down at all. I love throwing ideas at people, that's so fun and rewarding, but that hasn't been happening lately. (if anyone wants to volunteer as tribute...I would love to talk about Discovery fic). I should 'ship less niche things but...the heart wants what it wants.

7. Post a snippet from a wip.

(from Michael gets pon farr)

Michael sat up on the biobed in one smooth motion, her attention focused on Hugh, then Tilly. It wasn't that she didn't recognize them - she knew them all - but she'd never looked at any of them this way. Her gaze stung when it found Joann, like Georgiou's had in the beginning. Michael was there, but she wasn't. Michael fought the hunger behind her eyes, reigned it in a little so she could smile at Tilly and shiver.

"It's worse, isn't it?" Tilly asked.

Michael's eyes lingered on Keyla for a moment, as if she was hungry. Her gaze brushed across Joann again, scorching as if Joann were staring into a hot oven. Then Michael found the president, and she stopped moving her eyes. Tilting her head, Michael took a step, then another, her motion sinuous and quick.

When she smiled now, all apology was gone. Joann had never imagined herself as having any kind of telepathic skill, but she knew what Michael wanted, and it was to rip the president's silken blue nightgown off with her teeth.

40. What is your favorite world that you’ve created for a fic?

I am really partial to "Beverly Crusher and Kathryn Janeway, get married, save the galaxy, get punished for using Romulans to help save the galaxy by getting sent to the most boring, least resourced, end of the line space station, and then have a couple kids there. They also have a cat. I spent so much time world building that one, and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I could do better now, but...you know, it was fun. Toreth is there, and she and Janeway are almost friends and there's a whole 7 seasons of a show that I didn't write but I know what happens. (somewhere). It would have been fun.

49. What fic of yours would you say is the best introduction to you as a writer?

Uncharted maybe? It's one of the best things I've written, just in terms of world building and feelings and actual thought that went into what I was making. It's definitely me at my best.

Me on an ordinary day is very... "In case of emergency please contact" (It's sick fic, the stakes are low, there's romance but it's subtle and there's a whole interlude where I get distracted by original characters).

Or migrations and other recurring phenomena, where there's some sex, some desire, but it's mostly dialogue and friendship and also very low stakes and nebulous.

Firefly is still the most just for me thing I've ever written, but it's really long, so probably not a good introduction.

51. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Other people can write things I am not good at, like fast plot, and snappy things, and I love the surprise of someone else's fic. I don't know what's going to happen, so even if it's the most similar thing to what I would write, I love it, because I don't know what is going to happen.

I write what I write because I'd like to read it, and there's not really enough of the soft floaty sort of things I love, so I keep writing them.

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

I don't do it often, I'm not the most intentional writer. I'm much better at dialogue, so sometimes I can make that work? Character says something that ends up being funny later or hints at something that ends up happening, but it's not a neat sort of symbolism. Would be cool if I used it better.

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

The most recent one, usually! I'm so honored when people read things I write and comment. I'd probably write them anyway, but comments feel like I'm writing something that matters.

Someone once wrote almost an essay about my character motivations, and that was really fun to read.

@aleksandrachaev has a real knack with comments. <3.

Comments make me feel loved and connected. That's fun.

(the asks are here)

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

So, Marauders 20......

I have to admit, I loved this issue.  Because it was most definitely a spotlight on Storm issue, giving her one last moment of awesome before she leaves the book.  In fact, the entire issue was just everyone sitting around telling their favorite Storm stories.  And it was great! 

Under a read more, because this got long:

We get to see Storm being a badass:

And again:

Storm being both badass and compassionate:

I love this scene between Storm and Emma so much.  It acknowledges the history that they have, and how they have progressed in this series to a greater understanding of each other.  Also, unrelated, but the significance of the bullet-shaped broach that Emma gives to Kitty is wonderful and I love it.

Storm being practical:

This is just precious and adorable.  I also really like the interaction between Storm and Kitty in this series.  Storm is letting her take the lead while also still being “mom.”

There’s also a scene with Storm taking out all of her knives, since the group has a bet going about how many she carries:

We get to see a flashback of Bishop pulling a clever trick, in which he gets humans to surrender just by pretending that Storm is there with them.  (she wasn’t there, it was a total bluff)  Hell yeah, Bishop:

Pyro actually gets to speak!  Like, a significant amount of dialogue!

I already commented about the bet he and Storm had going about how long he would stay with the team, which is very cute.  This scene is downright adorable.  Storm seems just....affectionately amused by Pyro.  (He is, of course, completely wrong about her number of knives.  She has way more than three.)  Pyro making bets here also fits in with a headcanon I have for him.  It’s not clear how much crime Pyro was getting into before he joined the Brotherhood, but given that he had a successful civilian career, I’m guessing that he didn’t really have much of a record, if any, beforehand.  But I could still imagine Pyro being kind of wild and indulging in a few “vices,” especially gambling.  He seems like he has the kind of impulsive, thrill-seeking personality that would be into gambling.  I could imagine him having money troubles because he’s wracked up a few gambling debts.  Hell, maybe that’s one of the things that attracted him to the Brotherhood, the promise of easy money and some thrills. 

Also, since I always have a lot to say about Pyro: I find it interesting that Pyro’s praise of Storm involves her solving problems with a minimum of violence.  He obviously admires badasses and any show of force, but Duggan seems to be hinting at an arc in which he learns some restraint and less violent solutions.  He seems to admire Storm here not just for being a badass, but for solving the problem without going over the top and “setting anyone on fire.”  I also like the sense of easy camaraderie Pyro seems to have with most of the crew here.  And I like how he’s drawn, especially on this page - he still has some of that “bony, long-faced” look without necessarily being “ugly.” 

(Also Storm is so cute in the bottom panel, so cute!) 

We also see Emma talking to Sebastian, and Sebastian actually not being treated like a strawman for Emma to knock down.  Like, he actually has some dignity and even sympathy in this scene?  I’m not sure I actually trust Duggan not to do something horrible in the next few issues, since he seems to enjoy bashing Sebastian so very much, but I appreciate this moment in which Sebastian is allowed to sound intelligent and human:

LOL at Emma asking Sebastian why he’s not with the others.  Emma, you and Kitty beat the shit out of him, are wheeling him around everywhere like your little pet, and everyone on the boat either openly hates or is apathetic towards him.  Of course he doesn’t want to hang out. 

But still, this is a nice moment when neither of them is being hateful towards each other, and it doesn’t feel like the usual “Emma steps all over Sebastian” scene that we’ve been getting.  I don’t know what will happen with Lourdes return, maybe it will turn into more Sebastian-bashing, but I appreciate this scene for what it is. 

Of course, being me, I still have complaints.

I think the main complaint is that this issue, as much as I love it, feels like Duggan is playing catch up.  Like he said, “Oh wait, I need character development for the rest of the crew!” and tried to cram as much as possible into one issue, after spending about 20 issues mostly shining a giant spotlight on Kitty and Emma.  I really love the little interludes we get, the hints of other missions that the Marauders have been undertaking, but it’s a bit frustrating that we didn’t actually get to see most of that as it happened.  We got three full issues of nothing but Kitty’s funeral, Kitty’s return, and the Sebastian beat-down revenge, but we only get a little snippet of Bishop and Pyro going on a mission together in Angola?  (Sorry, I will never shut up about the funeral-return party issues, because even though they probably fit the story that Duggan is telling, it felt extremely self-indulgent.  Like fan-fic level self-indulgent.  You’re really gonna spend that many pages mourning a character that we all know is coming back immediately?)  Hey Duggan, was that the Bishop and Pyro story that you mentioned way back in an interview?  Are we ever going to get that?  I don’t mind the idea that the Marauders have, of course, been running more missions than we get to see, but it feels like a bit of a cheat.  Like Iceman and Pyro’s moment in the last issue, it feels like a lot of the Bishop/Iceman/Pyro character development has been happening in the background, and Duggan is just showing us the results and expecting us to accept it.  “Oh, by the way, Iceman and Pyro are buddies now.  And he and Bishop went on a mission to Angola, but I couldn’t bother showing you that, I had to show Kitty and Emma riding on horses instead.” 

Iceman just standing there while Storm beats the shit out of Hate-Monger feels like a metaphor for his whole role in the series.  At least he got to talk in this issue, and sit next to Christian.  And Christian got a line!  Are he and Iceman still dating?  We don’t know, Duggan won’t tell us!

Poor Shinobi didn’t get to speak at all, but I’m glad to see him there, regardless.  Duggan seems sympathetic to Shinobi, and I hope that means good things coming for him down the line.  

So basically, I’m glad for what we got for Storm, and for the boys.  I hope we get more of it in upcoming issues, but I also wish this stuff had been spread out more organically through the series.  As much as I complain about all the focus on Emma and Kitty, it isn’t really that I want them to have less focus, I just wish that the monthly books were twice as long so that other team members could have equal time to shine, and Duggan would still have space for self-indulgent horse-back riding scenes (no, I’ll never shut up about that, either.) 

I’m fully expecting the Gala issues to be almost entire Emma-Sebastian focused (although it would be great if we got some Shinobi as well), so I’m just trying to prepare myself for it now. 

[disneydreamlights]

i did not realize tippi/bleck was your OTP please tell me more about why you love them (i also like them but its been years since i played spm so i need to renew that love)

(It’s been years for me too and I’ve been meaning to replay I will just never tire of them.)

So I’m actually going to break this ask down into two parts. The first just talking about their relationship in general and what the game presents, the second actually getting into how they are the ship that very much defined what I consider a lot of my personal ship tropes today. This also isn’t the first time I’ve gone off about them either so I’m going to link this post from 2013. (It’s not my best analysis and I don’t necessarily agree with everything in it now but I mean I was 17 so for a seventeen year old who had no critical thinking skills, I think it was good for what I wanted to convey at the time. XD)

So with that out of the way let’s talk about those memories.

"I remember that day well... The room was warm. The whole place was at peace."

This is the introducing line to the first memory, to the story of Blumiere and Timpani that serves as the foundation for the story of the game, and it shows how much this day meant to Blumiere that even lost in the shadow that became Count Bleck, fallen into darkness and depression and utter self loathing, that he remembered this day as a positive despite it being, as he himself says, “the day that our tragedy was set in motion.” The memories are fond to him and his small bits of happiness, and the idea of that is heartwarming to say the least. It also gives a very early establishment on why their interactions are significant. A lot of the lore is read between the lines, but the game establishes quickly that humans and the Tribe of Darkness do not like each other. So when Timpani shows that she doesn’t care what he is, just that he needed help, it very quickly establishes both her character and why we should empathize with this unknown, and it establishes her bond with Blumiere.

She saved him without knowing who he was. Her kindness and empathy is what draws Blumiere in. And it proves a very strong foundation for their relationship as it progresses. From here in story, we’re only given snippets of who they were before. They give further background on the prejudices against them, how Blumiere’s father is working to keep them apart, and how they seem willing to overcome the obstacles at every turn. Despite the warning from the first memory, you cheer for these unknowns and hope for their happiness, it’s what they deserve. The memories where they’re happy (Blumiere proposing to Timpani, the one with them under the stars, even them just getting to talk again) are wholesome and heartwarming. And the one where Timpani tries to leave after Chapter 3 is heartbreaking. Because you want to believe in their happy ending.

Which of course gets taken away in the Chapter 6 interlude. Watching Blumiere learn that Timpani is gone, well...I’ll grab the dialogue exchange here:

"Timpani! What did you do with her? I must see her!"  "Still your tongue, Blumiere... Can't you see you've been duped by a dirty human? You have brought shame to my name...and to the entire Tribe of Darkness!"  "And so what if I did? That doesn't matter to me! She's my entire world!" "Well, then it will interest you to know...that she no longer resides in this world." "What... What do you mean by that?!"  "This is the price those who resist their own fate must pay, my son."  "She... No... It can't be so!"  "Someday you will see, Son. Our kind and humans must never mix."

Yeah, it’s pretty depressing honestly. Blumiere is so clearly heartbroken and destroyed to the point that it basically convinces him that nothing matters. That he’s willing to destroy his home and everything else in the entire universe because he has nothing. This is a broken man, and it’s why he finally heeds the Prognosticus’s call in the final interlude before the main fight to become Count Bleck.

Now granted it’s not a sucker punch to see the interlude unless you haven’t been picking up the hints in the Castle Bleck scene (Chapter 6 does a fantastic job of hammering in who Blumiere is) watching Blumiere in desperation turn to the book right before you lead into Chapter 8 really hammers home how little he had to live for.

And this is double if you take a lot of the popular fan headcanons (his mother being dead, often times at the hands of humans. His father being abusive. That kind of stuff) as fact for Blumiere’s story. This was quite possibly one of the only people to ever show him kindness, and he lost her, for as far as he’s concerned, forever, and it destroys him.

Which takes us to the timeline of the main game which does an equally good job of fleshing out their love. While the game first points Count Bleck out as an absolute madman and threat with a desire to do nothing more than destroy and recreate the world however he wants, he doesn’t stay that way. The game first foreshadows that something happened to push him over the edge early on and his interactions with Nastasia where he even lets her back out show that he’s fully aware of his actions and not some delusional monster, but chapter 6 in this exchange really drives everything home.

Count Bleck: You QUESTION Count Bleck?! This worthless world's destruction matters not! Far better for Count Bleck to wipe it out of existence than let it remain!  Tippi: How can you say that? That's...horrible!  Count Bleck: Count Bleck scoffs at you! An insignificant Pixl lectures Count Bleck on what is right and wrong?  Tippi: This is not up for discussion! You're wrong...and sick! All living things have a heart. They're all priceless. You can't just...erase them!  Count Bleck: Of all things, you defend the heart? Nothing could be more worthless...All things...are meaningless. Aside from Timpani, no treasure mattered in the least to me...

First since this happens before the memory I put earlier this is your first sign that something awful happened to Timpani, but it also just really drives home just how the loss of Timpani drove the hopelessly in love Blumiere into depression and sent him spiraling. All you know is that Blumiere lost Timpani, and he might as well be dead for what’s left of him, and it’s heartbreaking.

But then Tippi remembers, and Count Bleck realizes exactly who she is. Blumiere learns his quest for destruction of the worlds that took her away from him and of himself is meaningless, and Timpani learns that the madman she’s hated, wanted desperately to stop, is the one person who means the world to her. And the result when they reunite is absolutely devastating as Blumiere attempts to play the part the prophecy sets out for him, and Timpani just wants her husband to stop. Blumiere is throwing the battle because now that he knows she’s alive, he can’t hurt her. He doesn’t want to win. He wants to die, and he wants the world to be safe for her, because all he wants is her happiness and her ability to live. The final boss sequence is absolutely killer if you have any investment in their relationship for that reason at all because they’re so in love and both know what they want can’t happen. And it’s heartbreaking.

Then Dimentio happens and in a desperate attempt to save the world, they confess they love each other and use the power of the Pure Hearts and their love for each other to destroy the Chaos Heart. The lines like actually made me emotional now and I’m reading them out of context in a script and not after the about ten hour journey of the main game.

Count Bleck: There were so many things I wanted to say to you...but I could not find the words.  Tippi: Oh, Blumiere... Only one thing matters to me now. I never had the chance to return your question... Blumiere... Do you still love me, as well?  Count Bleck: Of course... I have thought about you every moment since you disappeared... But I have caused you so much suffering...  Tippi: Perhaps...my life would have been more carefree without you, that is true.  Count Bleck: But I had to be with you, Timpani. I will never apologize for that...  Tippi: I know, Blumiere. And I love you...  Count Bleck: And I love you, Timpani... Hundreds of thousands of years from now, that fact will not have changed...

Like look I’m not here to provide an emotional analysis I don’t have to this is just very good. “And I love you, Timpani... Hundreds of thousands of years from now, that fact will not have changed...” is just honestly a beautiful line and I honestly cry just reading it now. (I’m not joking I have fangirl grin on my face just from reading this I miss these two so much.)

And to get their final dialogue, much like the memory scenes from earlier in the game, the conclusion to their tale immediately after this:

"Timpani...do you remember the promise we made to each other that day?"  "Yes, I remember..."  "If there was a place where we could be happy together, we would find it."  "Will you come with me to that place now?" "Blumiere... Of course... I will always be with you..."

It’s just very sweet and satisfying after going through the story. You’ve spent so long rooting for them to have their chance (since the moment you understood what was going on in the memories) that it makes the conclusion all the more just wholesome and satisfying that after everything they’ve been to, they finally get to be together and happy, as shown by the scene in the after credits where they walk down the hill together.

So to tie all this part together, the brilliant writing of SPM is really what gives this ship the chance to shine. By giving us time to get attached to Count Bleck and Tippi first before revealing who they are, we already have a baseline investment in their happiness and thus in the ship. The ship comes secondary to their characters so you have these two already very enjoyable characters (Tippi’s sarcasm and interactions with the heroes of light are a a lot fun, and Count Bleck is so charismatic that whenever he and his minions are on screen they dominate) and then you add in ship that makes an enjoyable build up to the game with good chemistry and mostly heartwarming moments, and make it a tragedy, and it becomes very easy to get invested in it, and to love. And it makes for one of my personal favorite love stories I’ve seen in gaming.

The rest of this essay is more to do with my personal taste and less objectivity so I’m going to throw it under a read more but oh boy did this ship either literally shape my ship tropes or just hit almost every single one of them I have that well.

So needless to say I have loved this ship since I first beat the game probably about thirteen years ago so it’s hard to say whether my ship taste came first or this game defined my ship taste but let me just list all my tropes and you’ll see what I mean:

Light/Dark Dichotomy - From looks to roles, these two embody this trope to a tee. Timpani is light, she’s a descendant of the Tribe of Ancients, the guardians of the Light Prognosticus, and in game is represented in the rainbow butterfly form, who while angular her colors and overall form (butterflies) tend to give her this general association of friend. She fights for the heroes and radiates a presence of general light. Blumiere is her opposite, a member of the Tribe of Darkness, the guardians of the Dark Prognosticus, and in game is represented by mostly darker colors. He is the main antagonist and his presence in game is often tied to some of its darker moments. They embody this contrast.

Opposing Sides - I need to preface the way I’ve phrased this. In most instances I would call this “Enemies to Lovers” however because of the storyline of this game it’s not quite enemies to lovers but it sure does embody the spirit of the trope where two people are fighting against each other despite loving each other and spend the majority of the game not in love with each other because Blumiere has no idea who she is and Timpani has zero memories. The important thing is that they are working against each other, and the tension of going against somebody you love is wonderful. The scene preceding the Count Bleck boss fight embody everything good about this trope.

Forbidden Love - I mean this is literally obvious but Blumiere’s father is literally against the pairing from minute one and literally tries to kill Timpani over it this pairing is as forbidden as they come.

Tragic - I don’t need to define why Timpani and Blumiere are tragic but boy do I love me some good angst and these two are legitimately swimming in it it’s very very good. My favorite thing about the angst is that it never affects the overall tone which is a testament to how well the game is written. Slight tangent but like SPM as a whole gets very very dark, partially due to the Timpani/Blumiere elements and their tragedy but also in part due to the last three chapters of the game. Like Chapter 6 is definitely the heaviest hitter but there’s a lot to unpack in Chapters 7 and 8 as well. But despite this the game’s atmosphere never feels oppressing, it’s still fun with lighthearted moments and it’s still a game that won’t make you feel super depressed. It balances its darkness with the bright colors and the tone of the writing very well. And because of that, despite the fact that they literally destroy a world while you’re on it and then send you to the Mario version of hell, the game never feels too dark to be enjoyable.

The rest of these aren’t as clearly defined by words but I am very much a sucker for the idea of “my love for you is my one weakness” and the one thing that could be used to bring somebody down and drag them to hell. But also being the one thing that’s keeping them out of going down and the one thing that can bring them back out. It makes me emotional and I love it. I would also like to propose the idea that Timpani and Blumiere are soulmates since they’re most definitely true loves but things like soulmates are kind of subjective in the first place.

To tie it all home you can see the elements of my long standing SPM obsession littered in my fandom tastes today if you look hard enough for it. This game had a major part in forming my tastes because before Kingdom Hearts, even before Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, this was the game that captured my heart and attention. It’s the only game to have an amount of (sadly unpublished and lost on old devices that no longer work) writing to rival the amount of things I’ve written for KH over the years. And at the heart of the phenomenal game is a wonderful ship that, years after my last playthrough of the game, still holds a spot in my heart reserved for it.

Timpani and Blumiere are a fantastic ship and between its wonderful writing and its effects on my taste, it has a lot of reasons to still be my favorite ship of all time.

[loverofallthingssmart]

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

ahahaha...... answering this made me realize how much dialogue in my fics is interluded by description and just the character inner thoughts HELP ME okay so this is REALLY LONG MY BAD

this snippet is from he likes boys...!

“Aww babe, you had a crush on me? That’s so embarrassing.”

There it is.

Keefe smiles crookedly at him and Tam will not blush, no matter how cute the way his boyfriend looks with his face all scrunched up and eyes bright from giddiness.

Keefe gets off the bleachers, stretching his arms out as he waits for his boyfriend. The edge of his shirt rides up and Tam pointedly avoids looking at the small strip of tanned skin peeking out as he packs his things, ignoring the hand held out in front of him and descends down the stairs quickly to avoid the afternoon crowd.

He stops at the bottom and feels Keefe stand behind him, waiting for a response.

Tam purses his lips, “We’re dating, idiot. You’re even the one who confessed to me and asked me to prom. Which is so daring, by the way, like what would you have done if I said no?”

He crosses his arms and turns, leaning his head back against Keefe’s shoulder, eyes closed, soaking up the sun.

Maybe Linh was on to something when she called him a cat,

Arms snake around his waist as Keefe’s head falls on his shoulder. Tam can feel butterfly kisses along his neck as Keefe’s grip around him tightens.

“I love you.”

Tam tries to hide his soft smile, but it’s no use. “That doesn’t answer my question,”

He feels Keefe chuckle along his shoulder.

“ You have to say it back,” he whines, “Otherwise people are going to think you hate me.”

Tam scoffs, “No one will think that, I’ve been obsessed with you and your stupid hair since like middle school.”

“Still,” Keefe’s head lifts up, “Please Bangs Boy? For me?”

He pouts and Tam feels the familiar swell of affection in his heart for this wonderful boy.

He sighs, “I love you too.”

Keefe’s glee is palpable in the air around them. “You do, don’t you?”

Tam’s eyes narrow. He knows that tone….

“You know that’s like kinda cringe of you right?”

i really like this mostly cause i love love love love kam banter and also i think writing tam affectionately annoyed by his cringe bf keefe is very fun and an instant mood-lifter. i also am proud that i sort of got keefe’s humor in this fic like maybe?? just a little bit?? so yeah <3

thank you for the ask! 

send me writer asks!

[inner-islands]

Ashan & Inner Travels in Conversation

In August of 2019, Ashan and Inner Travels released albums (Transfigurations and Nature Spirit, respectively) on Inner Islands. Throughout the last couple months the two have had an on-going email dialogue about their new releases and the creative process in general. Ashan is Sean Conrad, who also runs Inner Islands and releases under the Channelers moniker. Inner Travels is the work of Steve Targo, who has been releasing a stream of incredible synthesizer, keys, and field recording-based output for the last 5+ years and has been consistently releasing with Inner Islands since 2016. The flow of the following conversation has been slightly edited for ease of reading.

Ashan: Hey there Steve, I would like to start by saying what a pleasure it's been to work with you over the last few years. And it's been a joy watching the Nature Spirit album take shape and come to life. I know this project started in quite a different state. How did the final vision for the album come to you and what was your process in realizing it?

Inner Travels: Sean, it has been such a blessing to work with someone as kind, patient and understanding as you! It means a great deal that you enjoyed watching Nature Spirit grow, since you were instrumental in its creation. 

So was Jason C, who asked me to make a mix for his radio show in Seattle. That’s how this started. I wanted to use the opportunity to showcase my unreleased music, so I picked 4 songs and shared them with you. Much to my surprise, you wanted to release them! That's when I began to think about the music in album terms. Lately, I've been making music without much thought as to what I'm going to do with it.

As you probably know, of those songs I shared with you, “Babble” is only one on Nature Spirit. That's because I felt it went so well with "Forest," another song I had and didn't know what to do with. Now I had one side of a tape. I recorded more music specifically for Nature Spirit, which is how “Calm After the Storm” was born. Musically, the album was complete. But I spent a great deal of time on the nature sounds -- mixing various field recordings together to create scenes.  

As the album was developing, I discovered and completely fell in love with Takatoshi Naitoh’s In the Forest. Its structure inspired me so much! About 5 minutes of forest sounds, then a song. Then another lengthy section of forest sounds, and another song, more forest sounds. ... Usually, I hear nature recordings with music one of two ways -- as a 1-2 minute interlude or playing throughout the entire duration of an album. Giving nature sounds more time to be heard on their own -- no music -- appealed to me greatly. It made me think more about how the field recordings relate to the music. 

Ashan: Yes! I absolutely love how the field recordings get their own spotlight on the album. What was your process like for gathering the field recordings? Do you come across a spot that has a great sound and you think you'd like to go back there later with a recorder? Or is it more spontaneous?

Inner Travels: Usually, I’ll bring a recorder where I think I might hear some nice nature sounds, like to a park or a trail. Sometimes I just open a window when it rains and hit record! But it is a challenge to get more than a minute’s worth of nature sounds without being interrupted by the sounds of passing motor vehicles. Most of the field recordings on Nature Spirit are edited, or they are collages of several recordings from different places — by a creek, in a forest, different thunderstorms mixed together. I wanted to leave machines out of the nature sounds, but I also wanted to try designing my own climate or landscape.

Ashan: I haven't researched it too much, but from what I've read Irv Teibel used a similar process of combining elements of field recordings for his Environments series to make these fantasy versions of nature without certain undesired human-centric sounds. What is appealing to you about designing your own environments and landscapes? I think that fantasy can be a powerful tool in getting a different perspective on the mundane reality. Do you experience that at all?

Inner Travels: Generally speaking, the appeal lies in taking the listener on a journey and having some kind of positive impact on that person. Both are equally important. Additionally, on Nature Spirit, I wanted to have the sounds of the woods that I remember from when I was a child. The woods around here are much quieter today, and smaller, so I applied techniques to achieve that goal. It is fantasy — you’re right — but it is rooted in my own reality, as I remember it, anyway. 

How did your new Ashan album, Transfigurations, spring to life?

Ashan: The pieces that make up Transfigurations were made during the same creative arc that also produced the tracks for Far Drift Afield, which started in November 2017 and probably went until April or May of 2018. All the tracks for both albums were made in a very similar way: choosing sound palettes that appealed to me and then making the elements of the palette intermingle in a complex pattern for a while. I love how organic and "played" it feels though. It feels like I chose the palette and someone else performed it. I'm really into that balance of organization and chaos that drives these pieces.

Inner Travels: “Chaos” is not a word I’d use to describe either album! Did you play the instruments on each song from start to finish? How did they mingle with each other?

Ashan: It's kind of funny. People might describe something like a Hendrix guitar solo as chaotic, but he's actually very calculated. And although my work on this album is very mellow, it's chaotic in a compositional sense because I didn't decide the sequential unfolding of the pieces. The pieces are all made from grabbing snippets of things (some I played and some I found) and looping them with different loop durations and having them fade in and out at different prescribed intervals. So although I am the one determines the loop and fade lengths, I have no idea what it's actually going to sound like until I push play. My strongest intention when composing these is the palette of the sound, the rest is what I deem chaotic.

Inner Travels: How did you discover the process you used for Transfigurations and Far Drift Afield? Did you find it easier to create by setting loose loops of intermittent lengths? I’m also curious to know how you chose your sonic palettes for these songs. It sounds like you also have a number of field recordings mingling in the mix.

Ashan: I started this process shortly after I moved, back in the fall of 2017, to a much smaller space and couldn't leave all my gear set up the way I used to. Everything is always in a case, on shelves, or in the closet. I really love working quickly, so I needed a way to create without having to set up so much stuff. I found a flow recording one or two new elements and sampling the others (both sampling myself and others). I tried making one piece with the various loop lengths (the track "Far Drift Afield") and thought it sounded really weird. But after a while it kind of grew on me and I made more. There are so many inspirations for this kind of composition: the way cricket sounds phase in and out of each other, the sound of waves, Steve Reich's "Come Out", Brian Eno's generative works, and so much more.

The sonic palettes for the pieces came from abstract feelings and images that I wanted to re-create in sound as closely as I could, trying to manifest these imaginations into the realm of sound. These pieces, to me, are almost like sculptures because their makeup is so static. But the sculptures are slowly revealing new facets of themselves because of the temporal aspect and the way the elements of the pieces mingle in time.

There are a couple of field recordings on the first two tracks of Far Drift Afield, some rain sounds. But there is some noise in a lot of these tracks that might pass as field recordings, hehe. I sampled from some of my cassette demos and from vinyl for a number of these tracks.

I think it's fascinating that you were working with evoking these memories of the woods from your childhood with your field recordings. Are your recordings from the same woods that you visited when you were growing up? Were you thinking about any particular memories when you were designing these environments? Or was the reference point something more general? And what was the effect for you hearing your memories materialized and encapsulated in sound?

Inner Travels: I feel tranquility in the field recording collages on Nature Spirit. I feel as if the music grows out of these collages, and the two become one sonic entity. So there’s this wholeness to the listening experience for me. And I do feel what it was like going into the woods as a kid, where everything’s new and you pay closer attention to details. 

I did not record in the woods where I used to play as a child, but I recorded not far from there, at a small forest park. This was the most difficult place in which to collect usable field recordings because of how many vehicles drive past the park every minute or two. Looking back, I might have subconsciously took on the challenge because of its proximity to my old neighborhood. 

From like the age of 4 to 14, I grew up in a subdivision where there was a wooded area across the street from a playground. To the childhood me, it may as well have been a forest without end. But a few years ago, an old friend and I walked through it all fairly quickly and easily. I think we were taken aback by how small the woods became — or always were. I know I was. Everything seems large when you’re a child. I think, too, that many trees died or fell there over the years, and other developments came into the area. 

Ashan: The way that you worked with the field recordings makes me feel like I'm engulfed in this huge wooded area, completely set apart from any human, urban development. For me, I find spaces that are dominated by the presence of non-human life to be super potent. They can be awe-inspiring, beautiful, and definitely ominous sometimes. There is a power there that I'm really attracted to. I feel like your work on this album touches on some of the more benevolent forces that can exist in those spaces.

Inner Travels: Great! I really wanted nature to sound big and kind here. But you’re right, it can be ominous, especially on a large scale. Especially when it’s a thunderstorm, like in the intro to “Calm After the Storm.” But it’s a storm that’s winding down. On Nature Spirit, I tried to make the outside world inviting, so that the listener would want to close their eyes and hear it.

Your process, the notion of songs as sound sculptures — it’s all very appealing! Do you find this method of making music easier than other more conventional approaches? Are you still using this approach to make music? If so, will you use it in other projects of yours, like Channelers?

Ashan: I can't say I find the sound sculpture method any easier than other methods. It's all just a matter of if I can get into a groove while working with the sounds. The pieces that I think are the best are the ones that are mostly realized in one sitting, or at least the scope of the piece is within sight in the first sitting. I've tried making some more pieces with this process, but none of them have really turned into much. At the moment, I'm trying to keep the Channelers project more rooted in live instrumental performance. The Ashan work over the last few years has been more about electronic, computer-based approaches.

Do you think you would be able to translate some of your Inner Travels pieces to a live setting? I would love to see you do a live set one of these days.

Inner Travels: I am grateful that you want to hear me play live. Honestly, I never have. I would like to play an Inner Travels set someday. The right opportunity still has to present itself. Once it does, sure, I think I could translate my music live. But right now, my focus continues to be on recordings. That’s where I feel my music has the deepest effect.

Ashan: I hope I'm there for one of your performances, if they ever happen :)

Inner Travels: Oh that would be wonderful! I hope you are, too. It would be nice to meet.

You have played live before, right? What do you enjoy most about it? How do you translate your music when you perform? I’m especially interested in how you would handle performing Transfigurations and your other recent albums. 

Ashan: I've played out and toured a fair bit over the years, but within the last few years I've felt similarly to you: that my work perhaps has a deeper effect on record than live. But I definitely think there can be something powerful about the live experience, especially if the space and the sound system both support the vision of the music. I think the power of the work can grow in magnitude if these factors are considered. Trying to do this kind of music at a bar venue with a poor sound system that has little clarity in the high mids and highs is really just a recipe for disaster, haha. It's just not good for anyone involved. But when these things are taken care of I feel like the music can be much more immersive. Because the sound is coming out of larger speakers than one usually uses at home, the physicality of the sound resonates both in the architecture of the space and in one's body more. I think it's actually a powerful role to be in as the person in charge of the sound in the room. There's definitely some responsibility there as to what you, as the performer, are choosing to bring into the space and into people's bodies. When done mindfully, I think it can be a really positive experience.

Inner Travels: Although I haven’t performed music live, I have DJed weddings and parties. It is a different world, but to a probably much lesser extent, I have felt that responsibility of being the person in charge of the sound of the room. I say lesser because no musical performance was required of me, nor was I ever playing my own music. I used to DJ before I started making music. But when music resonates in one’s body, that is such a special thing. I would like to experience that with my own music someday — and yours, for that matter. You are right, I completely agree with what you say about how positive it can be to perform.

Ashan: If I was going to try to perform the new Ashan pieces, I would definitely need to use my laptop with Ableton Live. Nothing about that work is really playable on an instrument. Lately, I prefer to play my Channelers material live because the recordings themselves have more of a basis in improvisational instrumental performance. Some pieces just kind of lend themselves more to a live setting, so I'll just focus on those more. I'll often use my dulcimer, a synth, a sampler, and some effects.

Inner Travels: Do you improvise then, when you play as Channelers? I’m also curious if you use field recordings live? Your nature sounds are immaculate on the upcoming Channelers album!

Ashan: Yeah, there is always a framework and there are always elements of improvisation in a Channelers set. I want things to feel dialed in to a certain degree, but to have enough freedom to explore and be in the moment with my playing. When I haven't had as much improv in my sets, I have felt like I'm performing in a box and the set lacks a certain vitality.

A lot of your pieces feel like they contain long, unbroken improvised takes. Is that actually a method you use often? Or is there actually a lot of editing behind the curtain?

Inner Travels: The answer to both questions is yes. I make up one part, say a rhythm or a melody, then I build over the top of that. I try to play long, too, until I get bored. I play it, record it, go over it later, edit if I feel the need. I’d say some of the most edits I’ve ever made in a song was on Nature Spirit. A lot of parts were cut out of “Forest.” Sometimes it felt as if all the keyboard parts were just talking over each other without listening, like when people argue, haha! But all the songs on the album had things removed. Some improvisations just didn’t work. 

When I create music, I make it up as I go. Sometimes, better ideas about composition present themselves at the mixing phase. Like on “First Light (Part 2),” all the elements were played over each other when I recorded it. It was a straight river of sound. But while soloing each track, I thought it might make more sense to start out with one sound, then gradually fade the other tracks into the mix. So I carved out the arrangement after the fact. Did you ever have that experience? How much of your music on tape is improvised and edited?

Ashan: Improvising and editing is definitely my go-to as well for recording on the computer - being as free as possible and then just grabbing the best moments. Recording on tape is a different animal though. There are almost never any edits to my tape works (Arden Tapes, Space Makes Clearing, Faces of Love, Slow Leaf Spell). I'll just do another take if a part isn't up to scratch. And there are often elements of improvisation in all of those, but the frameworks are almost always laid out beforehand. Then the final mixes are made in the tape machine and digitized/crystallized.

What do you have planned for Inner Travels going into 2020? Any releases or collaborations on the horizon?

Inner Travels: There is an album that I have been working on since 2017 which I hope to finally finish by early next year. Also I will probably release the music that I did give Jason C for his radio show.

I am involved in a couple collaborations. I’m not sure I go into great detail about them, other than I’m truly excited about them! My hope is to finish both of these projects next year as well.

Speaking of collaborations, I loved your Skyminds tape with Michael from earlier this year! What about your plans for 2020?

Ashan: Excellent! I'm excited for more folks to hear those pieces you gave to Jason C. And I'm looking forward to the unveiling of the collaborations you have going and the album that's been in the works!

Thanks for the kind words on the Skyminds album :) We're planning to release our follow-up early next year! And we're also hoping to get a couple more things out throughout 2020. I also have a Channelers album that will probably come out on Inner Islands in the spring - the latest round of tape pieces, which has been an ongoing project since 2017. And who knows what else! Things always seem to reveal themselves through the year ;)

[bahhumpug]

I have mixed feelings about this book. Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore unravels Milo's many reincarnations with interludes in an in between world where he reunites with his love, Death aka Suzie. I love the concept and some of the snippets of Milo's various lives, but the larger chunks of his lives were way too long and were the ones that included extreme violence and problematic issues (e.g., a gratuitous use of the n word). And while the dialogue was often funny, it never changed in style or tone throughout Milo's past and future lives and so it felt jarring to see people using present day lingo and ways of talking in say 500BC or 2200 AD. So I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book yet. I think I need to let it sit with me for a bit. Have you read it? Thoughts? * #funaekreads #funaekbooks #instabooks #instareads #bookreview #podbookclub #reincarnationblues https://www.instagram.com/p/B4lYGkQgMKE/?igshid=85ptumrbccz1

[brynnmclean]

Fic asks: Flsvx!!!

Josie, OMG, that looks like a sneeze! XD

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

... shit, okay, hm. I feel like doing anything from heavy on your shoulders is pretty much cheating since that is a Dialogue Fic, so let's try something else.

I love this bit between Luke and Rey in my interlude fic, we move lightly:

“I was always dreaming about other places,” Luke says at one point, rueful. “Wishing I was somewhere else. My uncle told me my father had been the best fighter pilot in the galaxy, so I spent most of my free time learning all I could about speeders and starships, dreaming about flying far away.”

“I did that, too,” Rey says, a lump in her throat. “I learned how to fly from computer simulations off an old Y-wing, and I had an old Rebel pilot helmet. I used to dream about flying missions.” And then, with a flare of pride, she adds, “I’m good at mechanics, too. Back on Jakku, I reconfigured an old speeder bike for transportation.” She holds her hands out to him to show the scars all along her palms, all the burns and cuts from that job and all the rest. “It took awhile, but I made it work. It’s—” Oh, she aches suddenly, thinking of it. “It’s probably been torn apart for scrap now.” She hopes it sold for a good amount of food portions. “I want to go back one day to get a few things.”

I have a big soft spot for those two and the warmth that I wanted in their relationship and the similarities I saw in them. I'm proud of the little I wrote for them before TLJ came out. I think I got down the vibe I wanted and it's something I want to revisit.

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

There's usually at least one round of revision? I try to at least step away and give myself some time to look at a piece once before I post it, even if I don't send it along to a beta for another pair of eyes.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

Mutual pining, bed sharing, pretend relationships BUT ARE THEY REALLY PRETEND-- though, ah, I will say those tropes have hit, um, a bit close to home as of late! XD

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

Oh my God, I very badly wish I could borrow and do justice to @rain-sleet-snow's OCs Kyrie and Limia from when you can't do what you would (do what you can). I was never sold on Rey Kenobi, but that fic. Those characters. The reunion I dream of!!!!

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

... Cassian? Jyn? On emotional levels? Maybe?? Maybe also Tauriel????? I just like Feelings, okay. But does that count as Suffering? Not sure about that. XD

[alphabet fic writer questions]

[juliesioux]

Chapters: 5/10 Fandom: Arrow (TV 2012) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak Characters: Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoak, Donna Smoak, Noah Kuttler Additional Tags: Abandonment, Love, Romantic Soulmates, The Unimaginable, Beach House, Klamath, Shower Sex, Honesty, post havenrock, olicity - Freeform, Olicity Fic Bang, Olicity Fic Bang 2017, OFBB 2017 Summary:

This chapter is a heavy one. I am starting the deep dive into Felcity’s abandonment issues after her father vanished from her life. She is slowly including Oliver in the healing process and he is including her in his own when it comes to the commitment that it takes to love each other.

There is a lot of dialogue and external processing and yeah, they renew their physical commitment to each other. These two love one another so much it is ridiculous. 

No snippet, just enjoy. I am immensely proud of this one.