#Line variation and control is nice

[ckcomics]

Ink Test: Kill this guy

Based on this comic by @hausofdecline

[lesbolesbolesbo]

ellie fucking u at a skatepark :P

very little plot, mostly porn<3 cw/info: established relationship, mean dom!ellie, fem sub!reader (wears a skirt lol), kinda bratty!reader, exhibitionism (FICTIONAL N FOR THE FANTASY PLS DONT FUCK AT SKATEPARKS!), reader calls ellie daddy, grinding, choking, fingering, kinda filthy LOL, completely unedited and also my first time ever writing smut woahh

Ellie had been in a grade-A state all day, and not her regular moody haze; she had scoffed at your homemade brownies, rolled her eyes at your selection in TV shows, and even disregarded a pretty flower you had shown her on the way to the skatepark. You had started getting fed up with her behavior, and decided to did what any girlfriend would do (at least, the type of girlfriend you were)-- tease.

You started small, giving her fuck-me eyes every time she looked at you, habitually, after landing a trick. She'd roll her eyes and mutter "fuck off", before continuing her tricks.

At this point, you're getting needier by the second, so you start rubbing your legs together, just slightly-- when she sees you doing this, she grabs her board in one hand and heads straight to your little patch in the grass that you were watching her from.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?" she scoffs meanly, grabbing your knees and holding them in place.

"You've been mean to me all day," you mumble, avoiding her gaze.

She traces the line of your jaw, then grabs your chin to force you to look at her. "Oh, so you decide to act like a little whore in public just to make me look at you? There are kids here, y'know."

"Wouldn't say you're acting very PG either, though, daddy," you say, letting the corner of your mouth perk up with defiance.

She rubs her lips together, shaking her head, some variation of what am I gonna do with this bitch clearly running through it.

"Get up," she says, unhanding your chin.

"Mmmm, you gonna fuck me in front of all these people?"

She sighs, exasperated. "Not here, baby-- too many eyes on you, but I'll drag you somewhere just public enough to make you squirm while I remind you who owns that pretty little mouth." You swallow, somewhat speechless for the moment, as you stare at her outstretched hand.

Finally, you take it, following her to a shadowy corner of the park behind a small cluster of trees. "This is where you choose to get all that repressed anger out on me? Very nice, very woodsy, though there's not a lot of--"

She cuts you off with a hand around your throat, backing you into a tree. "Do you really think you're going to get away with mouthing off like that after you just made such a slut out of yourself back there?"

You let out a moan from her words, and from the feeling of her hand on your neck as another one snakes under your shirt. "I'm sorry...." you say reluctantly.

"You need to prove that to me, then, angel. Stay quiet while I touch you." She starts gripping your waist with one hand, hard enough to leave fleeting marks with her fingernails. She keeps you in place that way as she shoves her knee between your legs.

"Daddy--" you moan, trying to grind on it, but her hand moves to your hip, controlling the rhythm with her knee itself.

"God, you're wet-- but you don't get to grind on me yet, baby. Not till you've proven you can stay quiet for me."

She keeps pressing her knee just-right on your clit as she moves the hand on your neck to grab one wrist, pinning it above your head; obediently, you move your other hand up and allow her to get a hold on both.

"Mmm, look at you, baby. Trying to prove you can be a good girl for me?"

You nod, trying hard to suppress each moan that threatens to spill out of you as she grinds her leg against your heat.

You're growing needier by the second, especially with the way she nips and sucks at your neck, moving down to your collarbone.

"Daddy... daddy, I'm close--"

"Aww, baby, it's so sweet that you think toys can talk... I told you to stay quiet, didn't I?" She pouts at you with fake pity. "Maybe I should just..." she slowly starts to move her knee away.

You shake your head desperately, your breathing growing heavier as your slick starts dripping down your thigh in a bead.

"Mmm, I guess I'll be nice..." She removes her leg, and just as you start to whine from the loss, she abruptly moves your panties aside under your skirt and shoves two fingers into your cunt, curling them just right.

You throw your head backwards, eyes rolling pathetically as she fucks into you, and a loud, high-pitched squeal escapes you before she bites your lip hard--as a warning or an act of love, you can't tell.

Her hand continues pinning your wrists to the tree as you come undone, squirming and moaning and shaking; the no-sound rule seems to disintegrate along with your self control.

"You fall apart so well for me, baby... guess all you need to shut you up is a little--" she thrusts hard into you, causing your whole body to pulsate "--extra lovin'..." she chuckles, biting on your collarbone.

"Daddy, I'm gonna--"

"Come on, let it happen, baby-- you're doing so fucking good for me." She quickens her fast pace as she flexes her fingers and begins rubbing tight circles on your clit with her thumb.

"FUUUUCK----" you scream, moaning and shaking from the stimulation, falling apart in her arms as she continues fucking you through your orgasm.

"Such a good girl... just needed some attention, huh?" she says before finally letting up, rubbing your back and wrists and kissing your neck as you tremble through the aftershocks.

"Do you think they could hear me?"

"Mmmm, I hope so, baby. Let 'em know exactly who owns this pretty pussy."

hoping this is not as cringy as i feel like it is, pls lmk if youd like to see more from me! (and if so, what you'd like to see)!

[itsabouttimex2]

I hope this isn't an odd question

But, do you think Wukong or Macaque would act or treat different their "cub" if they genders were swapped or being a female version? This is also for a Yan behavior

I don't know too much about how is the raising of a monkey from the father and mother so I was curious with this since they're both mystical demons

I was thinking about this when I saw some fanarts from the artist @/car_nimbus on Twitter, they made a neat versions of the characters with another gender

Monkey Mama

(Hmm okay let me build a hypothetical OG “Female Monkey King” to work off of here and then I’ll try to translate that into LMK’s SWK. Also, I’ll probably make a second variation of this afterwards with other characters, haha. This got a little long to do both SWK and Mac!)

Sun Wukong as a character is already heavily defined by rebellion and personal choice, so I think that making him a girl only really compounds that layer of his character.

In many older narratives, female characters are often expected to be more obedient or modest than men, and very frequently only exist as prizes or, more rarely, villains. A female Sun Wukong; assuming she plays the same role as her original incarnation, defies the expectations of how “traditional” women should behave, shirking the demure and passive “ideal” and adding another layer of rebellion to her character.

(JTTW is actually pretty great in terms of female representation, with characters ranging from the perpetually good Quanyin, the eventually repentant Princess Iron Fan, and the straight up evil White Bone Spirit. I’m a big fan of how the women aren’t slid into any one “role” throughout the story.)

I think: in story, she’d likely be viewed as a sort of “anomaly”—a woman too strong, too outspoken, and too unwilling to conform to typical feminine ideals. Her defiance and arrogance might be viewed as even more scandalous by the Celestial Realm.

Instead of being made a “stable-keeper”, I think probably she’s sent to whatever Heavenly Scullery exists in that divine realm, and put to work very quickly. She would treat this “job” with indifference or even amusement at first-after all, physical labor or menial tasks don't diminish her self-worth or confidence! She’s had a life of hard work, leading an army of Yaoguai, cultivating Flower Fruit Mountain,

So she’s fine with this… at first. Then it turns out that the food she makes with her fellow low-class workers isn’t distributed amongst the people making it, but plated up nice and pretty for a bunch of “stuffy old gods” who didn’t lift a finger! Bullshit!

So obviously, the prideful Monkey Queen goes on a destructive rampage in regards to the unfair disparity of treatment, then storms back down to Earth to throw a “feel-better” party with her fellow Yaogaui.

(Which isn’t just a party, but a symbolic reclaiming of joy and community, with her monkey tribe representing the freedom she craves and the earthly bonds she prefers over heavenly authority. It's not just an escape, but a statement of independence.)

After an extensive set of repairs, the Court sends down someone to drag her back, because, you know, the local super-powered monkey is back on the loose, and that’s not exactly great for them. This time, they offer her a “better” role- she gets to become an official Peach Maiden, lucky her!

Of course, it’s just another form of entrapment, but within a prettier cage. Even though she's given a cushier position, it's a veneer- she's still being silenced, controlled, and stripped of her freedom. The role played by a Peach Maiden is an inversion of Wukong's essence, as these women are happily serving the role of passive caretakers, nurturing with gentle smiles—a direct contrast to the free-willed, brash nature of the Monkey Queen.

(And while there’s nothing wrong with being demure, passive, and feminine, having people try to force her into that role is where Sun Wukong draws her line.)

Here, she is expected to watch in silence as others revel in the freedom and power denied to her. It's a different kind of prison, one that quietly erodes her spirit. When the Celestial Court tries to reintegrate her as a Peach Maiden, they are once again attempting to place her into a docile, decorative role, one that strips away her power and independence. Those immortal peach orchards, a symbol of immortality and divine favor, becomes a prison for her.

Surrounded by "ideal" women who embody the quiet, submissive role she despises, the Monkey Queen finds herself chafing under the pressure of conformity. Her energy, once boundless and chaotic, is now caged, and the simmering resentment builds.

The buildup to her inevitable rebellion after being made a Peach Maiden, then, becomes a very sympathetic moment because it's not just a rejection of the role forced on her, but a rejection of the very system that tries to diminish who she is at her core. Her rebellion isn’t about anger and shame- it’s about reclaiming her true self after having been suffocated by the expectations of the Celestial Court. Her rampage becomes an assertion of her identity as something that can't be confined by heavenly rules or social mores.

The Court, in its attempt to “contain" her, only fuels her defiance further, leading her once again to rebel.

It was never going to end well. But it ends all the same, and punishment is to be levied to the Queen, just the same as any other rebellious rule-breaker... actually, probably harsher.

There’s “you broke our rules and tried to lead a coup”, then there’s “you did all that, and we also find your very person to be wrong on a fundamental level”, and then she gets the book thrown at her twice over.

But! Then she meets Tang Sanzang, who sees something in her that neither the Celestial Realm nor her own band of Sworn Brothers saw. Not a heretic simian savaging a holy realm. Not a Queen to rally behind for their own gain.

But a lost soul in need of guidance.

And from there the Great Monk works on building Sun Wukong up as a person instead of leading her astray or trying to cut massive chunks of her personality out? And talks to her about the things she cares about? And teaches her about all the things she missed after spending five hundred years under a rock?

And then she meets Zhu Baije, who starts out a little too happy and carefree about having a beautiful woman around, but eventually comes to smash open heads when Wukong is disrespected, because that’s not just a hot woman, that’s his sister?

Or Sha Wujing, who helps her with even the smallest things, from trimming her claws to cutting her wild hair to preparing meals for the monk? And lets her perch on his shoulders and head so the queen can get some skinship in?

Then Ao Lie, who is every bit the “disappointment to the world at large” that she was considered? And they take turns braiding each other’s hair and wiping the mess from the other’s face, and sleeping in the same tent and same bedroom because it’s less effort?

She gets a dad and three little brothers?

She gets a family.

And then loses it and is alone again for several hundred years more.

So if we go with this theoretical “My natural existence has been rejected for being seen as ‘improper’ by a court of stuffy traditional assholes” and then “I dearly love/miss my dead found family” angle, I think she’d be portrayed as a very different sort of character in LMK.

She’s quicker to lash out and defend herself, and much less willing to sit around and let the world pass her by- because that’s what was demanded of her by the Celestial Realm.

Be good. Be quiet. Be demure. Be obedient. Be anything except you.

I don’t think she’d be as willing to “rest on her laurels” as her canon counterpart, given that a “quiet boring life” was what she had fought so very hard to escape in the first place, so instead of isolating herself from the world in the first place, she probably sets up a little “souvenir shop” at the foot of Flower Fruit Mountain, taking a human form to sell little knick-knacks that herald to the journey she undertook with her old friends.

In part, this is how Wukong works to honor them. To spread their legacy. To ensure that they aren’t forgotten, left as a footnote in the annals of history. To remember them.

In part, it’s how she justifies all the mistakes she’s made and the suffering she’s been through. Settling in to a pointlessly relaxed life is exactly what she fought against, after all. She’s heavily fallen into the “sunk-cost fallacy”, where giving up and settling in, to her, means “losing”. It means “everything I went through was all for nothing”. So she keeps at this little store instead of just retiring and isolating herself from the world, even though she’d be happier to ditch it and lounge about.

So when MK and his eccentric bunch of friends comes around with their boundless energy and mischief, she immediately goes, “Oh, okay! This is what I wanted!”

(It’s not. All she’s ever wanted is her friends back. How could there be anything else?)

The Monkie Kids are vibrant, eccentric, and full of qualities that immediately resonate with Wukong. They remind her of the energy, camaraderie, and sense of adventure that she once shared with her old companions. She sees MK's arrival not just as a chance to teach someone a few of her old tricks, but as an echo of her own life—a life she hasn't been able to truly let go of.

So she starts projecting- on the surface, MK is very much like her. He's spirited, good-natured, and curious- and reckless. Just like she was. Wukong latches onto this quickly, sort of using the kid as a proxy for herself. After all, if she can't go back to her old life, why not embrace a new one that feels close enough? In some ways, this marks her refusal to accept the passage of time, a desperate clinging to the hope that, through MK, she can rekindle the connections she once cherished.

However, underneath that initial enthusiasm is the repressed understanding that MK, despite his similarities to her younger self, cannot truly replace what she lost. The friends she fought beside, the battles they waged together, and the lessons they learned are unique, irreplaceable moments in her life. No matter how much MK’s gang reminds her of the past, he and his friends a stand-in for the companions she still longs for. But her deep desire to reconnect with her old friends clouds her ability to see MK for who he truly is: his own person, on his own journey.

It takes her a while to get to that point, though. So she’s more doting and affectionate, in a way that somewhat stifles her student’s training because she wants to be both her old carefree self and also a good mentor, and the two just get jumbled.

Sidenote: I think with the difference in actions and behavior, MK would be more open to viewing Fem!Wukong as a parental figure than the OG, especially since he doesn’t really have someone to fulfill that “mom” role.

For their dynamic, I think something like this would be the outcome:

———————————————————————-

The afternoon sun hangs low in the sky, painting the landscape in hues of varied orange and blue. With a tired hand, MK wipes the sweat from his brow.

He’s perched on one of the rocky spires dotting Flower Fruit Mountain, gazing at the view with a small smile of accomplishment. Training had been intense lately… if only because he had been doubling down on the time he spent practicing, without giving as much care to rest or aftercare.

After all, even though his powers were blooming steadily… his enemies also were growing in power and quantity, leading to the ever-creeping edge of fear that anything less than a constant one-hundred percent just wouldn’t be “enough”.

And right as he reaches back to grab the golden staff he has inherited from the Monkey Queen-

“MK! I told you to take a break, not run off to do more training!”

Her voice, uncharacteristically sharp, cuts through the formerly tranquil air, causing MK to jump. He turns just in time to see Sun Wukong strolling toward him, her hands on her hips and a look of mock annoyance on her face.

MK grinned sheepishly, shifting his grass-stained boots against the dirt. “I was just, you know… checking out the view.”

She raised an eyebrow, the corner of her mouth twitching in amusement as her eyes narrowed in annoyance. This kid... “Uh-huh. Checking out the view or sneaking in some practice when I wasn’t looking?”

Caught fast in his lie, MK rubbed the back of his neck, face scrunching up in embarrassment. “Maybe a little of both?”

In spite of herself, Sun Wukong quietly laughs, the sound echoing like a chiming bell through the mountain. Her long, golden hair flowed behind her in the wind, each strand catching the light like molten fire. Despite her legendary status- the rebellious warrior who’d fought the heavens and nearly won!- there was a warmth to her that MK had come to cherish.

“All work and no play, MK,” she said, sitting beside him on the rock and ruffling his hair with a fondness that always made him feel like a little kid again. “You’ll burn out before you get anywhere.”

He looked at her, eyes shining with admiration. “But you never stop training. You’ve been at this for centuries! I just…”

A pause, as his chest turns over, unsettled by the notion of opening up. But… it’s the Monkey Queen. So it.. should be okay, right?

“I want to make you proud.”

Sun Wukong’s expression softens, and she wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulling the boy close in a tight embrace. “You already make me proud, kid. You don’t have to prove anything.”

MK leaned into the touch, feeling a wave of comfort wash over him. Even from the start she’d been like this with him- protective, nurturing… and maybe a bit overbearing at times. But he didn’t mind. It made him feel safe, like no matter what challenges lay ahead, he wasn’t alone.

MK chuckled, turning his face up to meet his idol’s eyes.” I’ll keep up,” he triumphantly declares, pumping a fist.” I promise.”

“Good.” Wukong shifted, her clawed hand lightly missing his spiked locks. “Now, how about we head back to the shop and grab something to eat? You’ve earned it.”

MK’s stomach growled at the mention of food, and he nodded so eagerly that she wondered if his head wouldn’t ache from the motion. “You know, I won’t say no to a good meal.”

The Monkey Queen stood up, dusting off her mentee’s clothes before offering him a hand. “Of course you won’t. C’mon, my treat.”

———————————————————————-

Now, to answer your question about how she acts in regards to her own cub… in general I think she’s much more doting than the OG, willing to express herself through constant displays of physical affection, in ways that are far more varied.

Constant forehead smooching, cuddles, grooming sessions, all of it! Mama Wukong never wants to let go of her baby! Sit down and let her paint your nails! Let her comb and braid your hair! Let her make you a nice lunch (loaded with mystical drugs to keep you nice and sleepy for extra cuddles), or at least a filling snack! Let her pepper your face with kisses as she spins you in her powerful arms!

Lots and lots of indulgent fluffy days of binging unhealthy foods and watching cozy reruns of old shows, your head in her lap as she hums and does up your hair with her lazy hands.

Lots of reminiscing about old suitors as she considers the quietest and quickest ways to kill anyone who makes the futile attempt to pursue you in the same way.

Despite her obsessive behavior, Wukong struggles with conflicting feelings about wanting her child to be strong and independent, just like her! She pushes you to train hard and become powerful, but when you inevitably seek their own freedom or autonomy, she’d experience a mix of pride and heartbreak, pushing her deeper into possessive tendencies.

If you ever tried to leave or even just start to break away, Wukong’s worst traits would bubble up like hellfire. Just as she fought against an entire realm’s authority, she would absolutely wage a war to keep her child close, all while justifying her actions as love.

The Monkey Queen is also more willing to take routes outside of brute force if it means securing extra protection for Y/N. If Macaque or maybe Azure (or someone else like Erlang Shen) wants to try and play “suitor”, well, she’s not too interested… until the thought arises that having him around makes you extra safe! And then she’s willing to think on it.

(That’s assuming that you aren’t one of their biological kids to begin with, in which case there might be a sort of “yandere triangle”. Azure/Macaque/Erlang Shen doing his damndest to reclaim his wife, before he learns that she’s had a child while he was gone... or maybe Pigsy and Tang decided that MK needs his mentor in a more ‘accessible’ position, and plot to drag her to Megapolis…)

Lots of potential monkey mama shenanigans, basically!

[ursiday]

im curious, how do you color your lines? they always look so pretty!!!

Thank you! I pretty much just use a bunch of layers lol I start with something like this in just one color (I used a soft round brush on like 70% opacity for lining this)

Then on a new layer in multiply I go over all the parts I want to stand out more in a different + darker color. I also make a clipping layer to lighten certain parts of the lines from the first step. Explaining which lines I color is difficult to describe but I'm mainly thinking about defining the edges of distinct objects and the light source

You can stop there but I like to add some kind of color filter top of that. My favorite way is make a solid color layer on exclusion mode above the lines > merge all visible layers on a new layer > set this to "color" layer mode so it colors all the lines underneath, but there's a lot of ways you can do similar stuff. I think a gradient map would probably be easier and give you more control for a similar effect

Then I add flats on a multiply layer above all that. TLDR I like to have variation in value of the lines and then vary the hue depending on the value. I don't have a method for how I pick the filters or line colors really I just play around with what I think looks nice with the colors of the piece 🫶

[momokarp]

hi I love your sketchbook art sm! your lines look kinda messy in the best way possible and i rlly wanna achieve that same look!! also i wanted to ask, do you sketch everything out in pencil beforehand or just go directly in with the pens?

Thank you! I used to hate how not clean my stuff looked compared to other’s stuff but I eventually came to really like messy inky things! Makes me feel better about my mistakes and it stops me from being a perfectionist.

As for my process I do both!! I’ll either go straight in with pens, or sketch first in pencil- OR if you want it to look messy but also kinda sick?? Do your under drawings in a super light pen/marker (like yellow or blue or gray) and then lineart on top. Maybe make that color you use something to add to shading later on. I’ve also done under drawings with dried out pens before to get a gritty texture, if you have any dying pens, they can still be put to use!

I just broke into a new sketchbook so I labeled what I did what with for these Needles Concepts. Fineliner pens can get you consistent line weight but BRUSH PENS can be thin or thick or flex to get some nice line variations. There’s soft brush pens and harder ones too if you’re worried about control.

The stuff where I went pencil first and then pen is FAR neater in general, and I can plan more. It’s pretty difficult to go just straight pen but I encourage you try it out a few times. It makes you plan and think about posing and proportion all in your head but boy it can be fun!

[spacemonkeysalsa]

Below the cut is some non-exhaustive ways I would have chosen to expand on Wyll's storyline in BG3. My head is in act one and two today, so that's what I'm focusing on.

I am not mad at Larian for cutting a bunch of Wyll's storyline from early access, because they took out the stuff I didn't like and left the stuff I did. But, then they chose to leave those remaining elements largely underdeveloped, and I am a bit mad about that tbh. I get it, because perfect is the enemy of good and they had to put the game out eventually, but then 8 patches later, there's still been relatively little added for him.

This was just a quick plotting exercise for me, centered on the ways in which I would have developed some of the ideas we see in act one and two. I adore Wyll's storyline, I feel like his character and his story were designed to appeal to me specifically, but then they were left criminally underwritten and that sucks.

Act one:

-Two more short conversations exclusive to his romance (after tiefling party) that foreshadow his possible story conclusions. I went ahead and wrote how I'd have them start, real quick:

*Wyll: "I'm comfortable enough in the wilderness on my own, but I must say traveling with someone is an entirely new experience."

-Tav options

1 * -"...a good experience?"

2 *-"It's new for me too, but you're doing a lot to keep me grounded."

3 *-"Must be nice, not being in charge."

4 *-[durge specific]"I was a bit concerned about being around others."

If 1or2 then:

*Wyll: +1 approval "Forgive me, I'm out of practice. I meant to say that I like being with you."

-Expanding on his father being kidnapped: I think I'd simply include the possibility of a perception check that leads to a false trail/combat encounter. And a short dialogue afterwards when you talk to him: "I understand we might not find him right away, but it was so clear my father had been there. It was hard not to get my hopes up, even for a moment."

-In the event that you steal the idol and the druids attack the refugees, Wyll leaves your party temporarily. You get the "one of your companions has left" notice but it is specifically temporary, and if you talk to your other companions they each have a line expressing their feelings about Wyll running off to try and get the tiefling children out of the grove safe. You have until you long rest to track them down, at which point you find Wyll fighting some goblins alone. And he explains that he was separated from the children. In the event that you long rest without finding Wyll, he rolls a constitution check to survive the encounter. You find his body if he didn't (can revivify, unless it's honour mode), and if he did, he shows in at camp in the morning and you have a variation of the same conversation about getting separated from the kids. The children NPCs are teleported to Last Light at this point, with the explanation of their survival being that Raphael took them there, ingratiating himself to Mol. Wyll should also have a follow up conversation in which he is upset and baffled that you've found no signs of them, and no further signs of his father, but hopeful that means they got out of this area safely.

Act Two:

-Upon entering the Shadowlands, if Wyll is helltouched, he sprouts a tail. You have the chance to ask him about it, at which point he says he was rather hoping we'd all pointedly ignore that. If you're affinity with him is high enough, or you pass a persuasion roll, he admits that he was concerned that his physical transformation might not be complete just yet as he was noticing some strange sensations and overall felt that his body wasn't entirely in his control. His nails are also getting sharper, his teeth are coming to points, as are his ears. Companions have thoughts about this that they'll share. Shadowheart seems torn on expressing the sympathy she so clearly feels, and if you pass an insight check at the end of the conversation, you notice she's rubbing her hand again. Lae'zel and Karlach are both a little glass half full about it, observing that he does already seem quite adept with the tail, at least. Gale is uncharacteristically quiet about it, but does have a reaction, clearly thinking again about how glad he is that he didn't make certain deals when he was considering it at other times. Astarion should have another of his oddly serious moments, observing the hopelessness of losing control of your body.

-Wyll should have unique and more familiar interactions with any surviving refugees at Last Light. And Raphael.

-Include a Wyll specific cutscene if you send him into Last Light by himself. He gets to be main character for a second.

[octobobble]

Hi I hope you don't mind me asking a question about your Break The Narrative AU. When Clickclack edits the narrative, does that or can it reset time? I know you said there's a butterfly effect, but are his edits for things going forward or can he redo the portion where things went "wrong" and start at the start of the scene again or does he change what happened earlier in the scene but remains where he's at timeline wise and sees the new present he created? Also, is there an outcome he was wanting to get when he first edited the script? I absolutely adore this AU to bits!

Hi!!! I’m so happy to hear that you like my au!!! This is the first ask I’ve gotten about it so now I’m jopping with joy :] I love when people ask me questions about my stuff!!!

1. Does editing the narrative reset time?

Yes! And no. Click Clack basically has dev tools that sorta don’t wanna be at his disposal when he’s at that stage, so his ability to edit the script basically gives him the same ability as when you finish the game and are then allowed to jump into any chapter. He’s basically resetting the clock, going back in the script, because he’s continuously trying to “fix” it and keeps failing. It’s somewhat like a time loop, except instead of it trapping them, they’re the one that’s continuously hitting the reverse button. Constantly going back, seeing certain lines be repeated, having so much stuff happen over and over with few variations, seeing the way people act because of his changes to the script, is part of what slowly leads to him seeing the people around him, even his beloved Thespius, as characters rather than people.

2. Was there an outcome he was hoping for when he originally edited the script?

Funnily (or tragically) enough, not really! As in, there wasn’t something huge he meant to change. The story was good, had a nice climax, everything you could ask for really. He only meant to edit a few small things, just a tiny improvement here and there. Break The Narrative is meant to be a sort of slow burn kind of thing. A steady descent into madness. What starts as small but well meaning turns into a need to control a script that disobeys him. He doesn’t really know at what point he went from interest to obsession, at what point he stopped caring about the things and people around him, but it clearly happened, or he wouldn’t be in this situation he created.

[theragathas]

WELCOME TO THE RAGAVERSE!!

WE SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THIS BLOG, PLZ ASK OUR RAGATHAS ANYTHING (as long as it is not nsfw, question that is suggestive or sfw are fine)

Amanda (From Mafia x Coffee Shop AU)

One has to be cold and brash in a job like hers, however that doesn't mean they can't be nice as well! Amanda's the type to switch from calm and collected and harsh and deadly at the drop of a hate. Who says hopeless romantics can't make it look like an accidental?

Cleric!Ragatha (From Dungeons of Dragons AU)

As a follower of the god of justice Tyr, she knows the right path no matter what rules one has to break to give proper punishments for those who deserve it. But that doesn't mean she's the BEST at giving advice. Of course, when you're forced with necromancy powers, who would be?

Ragavamp (From Supernatural AU)

She is THE most unhinged out of all of the Ragathas. This half abstracted vampire like variation of the ragdoll has a very inconsistent personality. She goes from conscious, to rambling, to cryptic, to even acting similar to Kinger. Although she tries to be presentable, her need for blood as to stop abstracting isn't exactly the most likable thing

Sinful!Ragatha (From Sinful Circus AU)

One word to describe Sinful! is: Depressed wet dog. She's clumsy, accident prone, and easily harmed. She pretends that everything's fine but it's REALLY NOT FINE. It's actually really sad sometimes to see her just take the brunt of anything and everything that she endures, and there's a reason she has a satchel of needle and thread in a bag where ever she goes

Swap!Ragatha (From Swap AU)

Chubby and mean, Swap is basically the Jax in the room. She constantly plays pranks, bullies, and torments anyone around her. She uses her looks to control the AI jester of her world so she could get away with all of it too. Having a bit of a surperiority complex, there's nothing she won't do just for any sort of reaction- inlcuding things that end with her getting harmed

BlossomCloud (From Warriors Cat AU)

She was once a clan cat but now she live comfortably with her wife and her other friends in a human house, proud mother of six kits. She is one of the most friendly Ragatha, maybe a bit too much.

LC (From The Literal Circus AU)

An acrobatic and a trapeze artist in the circus, she is the Ragatha that worries a lot while pretending everything is fine. She is a great listener but she didn’t get paid enough for listening people’s trauma.

Red (From Red Riding Hood AU)

Quiet huntress, Red with her trusty shotgun roamed the nearby forest. She was never the type to socialize, hence why she lived alone with her wolf.

Gluttony (From Circus of Hell AU)

One of the seven deadly sin but was surprisingly a people pleaser. Her nice attitude didn’t quite match up with her status, neither does her looks.

Hades (From the Goddess AU)

Goddess of the underworld, despite being a god, she is quite close to morals. Hades is a calm and gentle goddess who loved her wife deeply.

Mafia (From Mafia x Pimp AU)

Mafia is a brutal and selfish person but she often mask it with sickly sweet words or tones as to not scare others away from her. She is the only one that haven’t get together with their AU’s Pomni.

Agatha (From Country City Girl AU)

Farmer girl in the country side, butcher in the small village, she was a bit dense when it comes to love. Trying to court Pamela with a wheel of cheese…

Ragamaster(From Ragatha Ringmaster AU)

The ringmaster of her AU, she is a con-artist scamming others online. Never trust her words unless it had details. Ragamaster is much of a carefree AI that likes to sit back and see the chaos unfold while taking notes. Also she said she is the only one without a Pomni?

AI!Ragatha [Cyber AU]

The only remaining AI of her line, AI Ragatha's entire existence is dangerous. Other AI Ragatha's had a habit of acting on their own an doing what they believe is best, which is why they were recalled and destroyed in the first place.

Apocalypse!Ragatha [Apocalypse AU]

In a world where literally any day you could die and join the undead, Apocalypse Ragatha is here to keep everyone's head on their shoulders. A fierce leader who protects her crew of survivors. Howver one day she went mad when her precious Pomni was bitten, now strike with madness and denial Apocalypse Ragatha will do anything to bring her Pomni back.

Giantess!Ragatha [Songbird AU]

A lone giantess on an island by herself. Giantess Ragatha has picked up quite the hobbies in order to keep herself busy, she just loves animals and talkin about her Pomni. (**Never ask her about her Pomni**)

Cyber AU, Songbird AU and Apocalypse AU belong @fenrirfoxxer

Warriors Cat AU, The Literal Circus AU, Red Riding Hood AU, The Circus of Hell, The Goddess AU, Mafia x Pimp AU Country City Girl AU and Ragatha Ringmaster AU belongs to @inkyprism

Mafia x Coffee Shop AU, Dungeon of Dragons AU, Supernatural AU, Sinful Circus AU and Swap AU belongs to @nobody-nexus

[thaliendir]

sheogorath ~ domains of madness and psyche

crosspost from dreamwidth . dreamwidth version have proper links to various UESP pages , and format nicer ! but work hard on this one and would like to be share-able , so please enjoy this tumblrise version . :)

most well document domain of sheogorath is madness , but kossai believe even this is more than initially seem . would like to propose this domain include literal madness , psyche in general , and cultural madness .

literal madness

literal madness encompass anything which is identifiable symptom or illness , as people would term . even this is cultural category to some extent - ideas of what is normal and sane differ even between cultures . regardless , these traits would exist even if people did not categorise and outcast , specifically with roots in actual variations in mental health , stability of psyche , and otherwise .

this can thus include just about any trait that fall outside these cultural bounds of sanity , but some prominent examples across shivering isles would be :

severe anxiety and paranoia

hyperfixation and obsession

communication difficulty and non-clarity

delusions of all stripes

compulsions

impulse control issues , violent impulses especially notable around isles

depressive and suicidal tendencies

and so this list could go on .

worth note that by and large , residents of shivering isles consider these traits and madnesses to be wonderful gifts and blessings - the blessings of sheogorath is book which detail some of this , that different madnesses have apparent purpose and make lives better , not worse . someone who obsessively write in blatantly unreal languages is not sick or worthy of pity , but dig for beautiful secrets , and might some day find something profound , so profound as to even change world . even if that never happen , might still find nice things to say and share along journey .

and yeah , in reality these kind of approaches might hurt some people rather than help - mind is hugely complex , and everyone have different needs , triggers , and lines to draw . but most of these people seem happy to embrace , even if madness is not necessarily fun , beautiful , or profound . sheogorath look at this madness with love - there is nothing morally wrong with madness , there is nothing about these people that need to fix . only people who need fix is those who believe madness is ailment to fix .

----

psyche in general

as well as above traits of literal madness , emotions , identity , and memories all fall under influence as well , to make for domain of psyche . the blessings of sheogorath again give suggestion to this : "For Our Lord Sheogorath, without Whom all Thought would be linear and all Feeling would be fleeting."

perhaps there is truth here - that everyone would know only here and now , and care for nothing , if not for sheogorath . where jyggalag seek perfect order and conformity , such that even servants and knights all empty husks , sheogorath breathe life into each individual psyche , whether end up sane or mad .

one entry in myths of sheogorath concern wizard ravate , who seek out power from sheogorath - and promise to drive men mad , should sheogorath grant . sheogorath accept , but only if ravate first survive 3 days in shivering isles , sane . ravate inevitably succumb to paranoia , certain that sheogorath set traps everywhere ... yet sheogorath did nothing at all , simply set stage for psyche to turn on self . ravate then turn to serve sheogorath , with claim that sheogorath is already within everyone . while this is myth in-universe and might not be reflective of any specific historical account , think this still serve viewpoint that sheogorath is not just madness , but very psyche , and that at least some people in-universe see this way too .

in curio folio vol vii (18+) , sheogorath explain gambolpuddy have ability to free one from inhibitions and expectations , and take on aspects of identity from whoever last touch . while this book is not official in-game book , douglas goodall go on to say book clarify this as no one pick up on power of gambolpuddy in reference to ra'gruzgob - orcish man who proudly proclaim self to be khajiit . still , result might not always be madness necessarily , but rather change of self perception and identity , where classification of madness is incidental .

there is also case of memory wand , sheogorathean artifact which introduce in legends . while story of talym rend might be on somewhat shaky ground due to inconsistency with shivering isles timeline , this artifact can still serve point that out of universe , there may be intent for sheogorath hold domain over all aspects of psyche .

after all , in all of these cases - how could sheogorath inflict madness if not also responsible for all of psyche ? of course in times past , people often understand madness as some kind of curse , possession , unholy will , or otherwise - but these days , better understand that anyone at all can be subject to various madnesses . what separate people is not ability or inability to become mad , but whether or not life prompt these madnesses at some point . even genetics only serve as one factor - for example , after enough stress , anyone can experience psychosis . there is no one fundamentally above madness , nor is anyone mad fundamentally below others .

-----

cultural madness

as well as literal psyche and variations therein , sheogorath very well might encompass cultural madness ... or else writers have some cruel implications to answer for indeed . regardless , madness is cultural as much as literal - groups of privilege can get away with much more than groups of marginalisation , and what is sick behaviour for one is healthy expectation for another . 

real world have reflections of this in drapetomania and oppositional defiant disorder . drapetomania punish black slaves for desires of freedom , and oppositional defiant disorder punish developmentally disabled and especially DD people of colour for distrust of authority or difficulties in " compliance " . while drapetomania is long gone , ODD is still diagnosis , and still easily ruin lives . that is another rant for another time , however : back on track .

point is , these cultural madnesses still literal variations - but not necessarily in mental health or stability of psyche . three residents of shivering isles in particular catch attention here : dredhwen , dumag gro-bonk , and sontaire .

dredhwen have what seem to be extreme narcolepsy - unable to stay awake , drift in and out of consciousness , never seem to be able to hold for long . these days understand narcolepsy to be neurological sleep disorder , but how dredhwen talk and present - especially if ever speak of hallucinations - would pin for madness .

dumag gro-bonk is gay , that is literally all . would flirtatious straight men receive this same mad treatment ? probably not . similarly , sontaire is honestly just into BDSM with high sex drive - and so coincidentally happen to be woman . this give reason to think that sheogorath shelter not for literal madness , but because people cast out under pretense of madness . histories of these characters entirely unknown , but perhaps to defy purpose of marriage and sex was madness for dumag gro-bonk , while to defy expectations as demure and sexless was madness for sontaire .

in this sense , shivering isles also house people whose communities may term as sexual deviants , people with neurological conditions , developmental disabilities , and anyone else who realistically might get label and treatment of madmen . not all will seek out isles , of course , but isles will be open to such people who choose .

[kasunex]

your tcoaal takes remind me of the warm hearted faded writing found on the inside of those notebooks restaurants leave out so you can leave a nice message behind, it is the tenth egg found in an easter hunt when you were told there was only nine, all that is to say, it is engaging! if you could, what are your bingo card predictions for the upcoming burial route?

Haha, thank you! Honestly I mostly have this blog so that I can vent my hyperfixating mind without annoying my irl friends and family. But I also know I'm throwing things out into the internet void. So it makes me happy when people enjoy my takes.

Burial Route is definitely a tough thing to predict since most of my major predictions for where the story would go are seemingly playing out in Decay. Now, as I said before, there is more than one way to skin a wolf, and I do expect we'll see some basic variations on the same outcomes: 1) Andrew and Ashley become a couple. 2) Ashley tries to reassert control over Andrew; Andrew tries to kill Ashley. 3) Andrew and Ashley try to separate, but they either fail to do so or are emphasized to be less happy with that outcome as opposed to being a couple. I really don't think we'll get any ending where the siblings go their separate ways and live happily ever after apart, since that really wouldn't fit with themes or tone of the story. But ones where they either try and fail or otherwise are left miserable by it in some way seem certainly on the table. Likewise, I do think the siblings relationship will pretty much inevitably develop in a romantic direction, so I don't think we'll see any less incest in Burial. I do agree with the predictions that Decay is Andrew's route, and Burial is Ashley's. Assuming this, Burial will essentially be a mirror to Decay, one in which Ashley's issues are the driving force of the story. The two routes will probably have a lot of parallels, but also go in distinct directions. The focus will be on Ashley's side of the dynamic, Ashley's obsessiveness with Andrew, her fears of him leaving her, and her insecurities in trusting him.

I imagine one of the (presumably bad) ends will be very similar in tone to "Leyley Wins", in that Ashley will do something extreme in a desire to reassert control over Andrew.

We'll probably see a lot of Ashley's side of the flashbacks this time around, such as what she was doing during that year they were falling out, and when exactly her feelings for Andrew really crossed the line. Given a lot of the takes about Andrew being the only one to have feelings for Ashley we're seeing right now are even at this point milk-tier, I imagine they'll be full-formed cheese by the time we have the full picture of Ashley's side.

Obviously Nemlei has gone out of her way to emphasize that Burial -Questionable- isn't going to be the bonding route we expected, and I expect it will instead go down a parallel road to "Shots and Such" of Ashley trying to control Andrew through sexuality. Thus, ironically, the Burial -Sane- Route would be the one with the better outcome, presumably because the two will approach sexuality from a different angle as opposed to Ashley thinking of it as a way of controlling him. That said, I do think it's likely we're going to see "happy" endings to both Decay and Burial - as in, one in which the siblings do become a somewhat well adjusted couple. While I wasn't previously expecting anything better than "Shots and Such", I do see a lot of signs that Decay's main route will lead to a more satisfying alternative. Given that Nemlei has also insisted neither route will be "good" or "bad", it similarly stands to reason that if we get such an ending for Decay, we'll get a parallel ending for Burial.

That's about where my thoughts are at this point! It'll be a long wait, but Nemlei has already cooked harder than I ever anticipated (I literally first played this game to laugh at Twitter and YET LOOK WHERE WE ARE) so we'll have to have faith she'll keep things up.

[a-grim-thin-hope]

Hi there! I'm Jael.

You might know me from two nearly, vaguely "popular" works on the archive if you like Mouthwashing and/or Messmer from Elden Ring. Nobody coerced me to make an account except my own darn self. I always loved interacting with authors I met online or when I appreciated their works--and as I happen to love to chat, figured I'd throw myself at your mercy.

Shoot me questions, comments, concerns, quetzalcoatls, insults, hate, proposals of marriage, and any variation on a theme such as your favourite books, poems, songs, or time of day. I will answer them all.

Ask me for a fic rec! There's at least a 20% chance I've got one for your fandom and there's so many fics I've collected over the years that are so peak and need more attention.

•✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧• •✧•

If you were curious about my works or what I have going on, let me give you a brief overview:

POSTED:

WAITING FOR ME TO GET FAITHLESS (BUT I WORSHIP THE GROUND)

Elden Ring, 1/1 (16k), Messmer/Tarnished, Messmer/OC, Rated G.

Making her way through the Realm of Shadow, a Tarnished Witchmaid comes across the Impaler in his grim Keep and begins to wonder if there's not some way to change her fate--and his. You see, she really doesn't want to be Marika's consort.

Features: a character study into Messmer, fancy old modern English, tense yet curious dialogue, belligerent tension, unwilling intimacy that comes from fighting your not-quite-enemy for hours, and the growing desire to make the tall hot snake man your legal husband. She's just a girl.

EXCERPT:

"The darkness ahead of her shifts, fading with the light of the candles. The raised dais, like a pillar among ruins, holds a throne similar to that before the Erdtree. And in it waits Messmer, his spear thrust into the ground beside him. He rises to his feet, lanky, slender, and wholly menacing. Most Demigods and divine-adjacent had their visages ravaged by the Shattering and their part in it. Yet not Messmer."

YOU KNOW YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS

Mouthwashing, 1/1 (34k), Curly, Anya, and the rest of the crew, Rated T, Time-Travel Fix-It with a Twist.

Jimmy kills himself and takes the easy way out. Curly, trapped in the cryopod, wishes more than anything to take the responsibility his deranged co-pilot wouldn't. Days before the crash, the Captain wonders if he's going crazy, suddenly haunted by a maimed, limbless man that none of his crew can see.

Or: Curly, Anya, and the future ghost of his mistakes.

Features: well-rounded characters that try to stay as close to canon as possible, a messy and toxic friendship between Jimmy and Curly that nonetheless tries to look at each angle, an exploration of Anya and a prevention of her canonical full assault, the friendship between Curly and Anya and how it should have gone if he listened, all orchestrated by the weird appearance of Post-Crash Curly, following himself around.

EXCERPT:

"He hopes wherever he goes after death, it isn’t nice to him. He hopes he never sees Anya when he’s there. [...] He wonders if Jimmy will be there too, and can’t find it in himself to be content about that, but thinks it's probably fair."

WIP/PLANNED:

MAY DEATH FIND YOU ALIVE

Death Note, 1/1 (9.8k--?), Lawmane (L/Misa), slight One-Sided Lawlight, Probably Rated T, Slightly a Fix-It, Mostly Canon-Compliant, Largely a Character Study

In the dead of night, L’s surveillance is interrupted by an unexpected visit from Misa Amane, turning what should have been a one-off conversation into something that quickly spirals out of control. Soon, neither can ignore the delicate (and very foolish) curiosity that unfurls between them—nor return to who they were before the lines blurred. And so, the quiet destruction of Light’s new world is set in motion.

Features: a no chain, no torture AU, a Misa who isn't sidelined and is developed more while keeping her core the same, a faithful characterisation of L that looks into his mind and keeps him alive, a touch-starved genius whose intense focus begins to shift, a recognition of how key Misa's loyalty and devotion is, and a whole lot of gratuitous tension, physicality, stunted emotions, and fanservice (for me. I'm the fan).

EXCERPT:

"Cameras were usually so kind to Misa Amane, perfectly capturing the beauty that was so eagerly pasted across thousands of magazines in Japan. In the dim haze of the headquarters at night, though, L's feed did her no favors. He liked her better that way, nearly... [...] It wasn't any conceived notions about standards of attractiveness, or a leering hunger at the expanse of pale skin. There was just something more honest about a person when they had clawed their way out of sleep."

[kodasea]

Hate to ask but how do you do your lines? In love with them

would also love to know what brushes you use if it’s fine to ask

I'll answer the last half to better answer the first half of your ask!

While I revolve or go through phases, my bread and butter for lining is the MaxU 600 Series Pencil from the gouache Max Pack. It allows a lot of control over how opaque, thick or thin I want my line work to be. I'm also very picky about how my lines look, and if it's too digital feeling, I get ick. So I gravitate toward the pencil texture.

Other stapes are the sharp render from Jingsketch for great general use in blocking in colors + gradients, and the watercolor Maxpack is responsible for a lot of my texture and coloring.

As for the specifics of my line process: line variation and black spotting are almost how I "see," if that makes sense? Inking was the first thing that hooked my mind when looking at art. I remember wanting to become the best at it. Many of my art inspirations incorporate heavy, expressive, or intricate linework.

And shading is my least favorite step. It always looks muddy to me and I tend to be very biased toward flat colors. So to mitigate how much work I have to do in the shading/coloring department, I usually always aim for a level of dimension and volume in the linework to the point where if there was only flat colors, you could still tell a form of light logic (gradients help a lot too). In my brain, lining is almost a type of shading.

Regardless, once I'm happy with my lines, I usually use a gaussian blur on a duplicated line art layer. Then that blur layer gets an overlay layer mode (although sometimes it's darker color/soft light/multiply, whatever effect I want).

The 600 pencil gets particularly awesome here because usually when I do this blur layer, it lights up some of the less opaque parts of the lines. So with the red blur on overlay, it gives my lines warmth and luminosity, like it's glowing.

A bit long winded, but thank you for the ask! It's nice to talk about process--it helps to remind me of where I come from, artwise. I hope this was helpful!

[glindafication]

THOUGHTS ON THE WICKED MOVIE (a week late bc I was busy on opening weekend)

-The soundtrack was AMAZING. LOVED IT. Cynthia and Ariana are both such amazing singers so not really a surprise but still very much appreciated.

-I enjoyed the scenes of Elphaba's childhood, thought they were a nice touch (esp. the bear nanny)

-Cynthia's Elphaba definitely comes across a bit more level headed. She still obviously has moments where she loses control but the moments in the muscial where she just gets angry and no magic happens (like the whole 'no I'm not seasick' bit) are definitely much more subdued. I'm assuming it's mainly bc film acting tends to be more toned down in general. I don't necessarily prefer one way of doing the scene over the other, just thought it was notable.

-Popular was INCREDIBLE. I loved it so, so much. I loved how I could see so many similarities with various performances of the musical I've seen (like Glinda face planting on the bed reminded me of Alli Mauzey) but also it felt original to the film. Also, thoroughly homosexual.

-The Ozdust scene was great. Especially love how they somehow made it even gayer by having Glinda leave with Elphaba instead of going back to dancing with Fiyero.

-Glinda in general was perfect. They nailed the act one energy so well. All the little lines they added fit her so well. I honestly still have a hard time looking at movie Glinda and not just seeing Ariana Grande, but I don't think that has anything to do with the performance. My only complaint was that I needed her to look a little bit more heartbroken and tortured during NOMTW because I enjoy making myself sad. (/hj)

-I do still mourn the loss of Glinda's muscial costumes. I wish she was allowed more than a tiny sliver of the colour wheel to choose from. The costumes are gorgeous, I just wish there was more colour variation. That being said, I did love Elphaba's costumes.

-I really wish they had given Ariana Grande the stupid ringlets for the bubble dress. Partly because I just enjoy them, but also I think the different hairstyle is a really easy way to show that a significant amount of time has passed even though the actress looks otherwise the same.

-I loved the Kristin and Idina cameo. It felt like such a nice nod to the musical without wearing out it's welcome

-I really loved the little parts of for good in the background during couple of scenes. Still upset I have to wait until next year for the full version

-Fiyero is more likable, but I honestly think I preferred when he was more of an asshole initially bc it gives his character more room to grow (but let's be real I don't give a shit about Fiyero I'm just here for Gelphie/j)

-They seem to be doing more to set up Fiyeraba in general, but it's not at the expense of Gelphie so I'll allow it

-I didn't hate the CGI Animals as much as I thought I would

-I miss Dr Dillamond eating paper. It was a good bit

[tactical-mode]

After a rushed release, I took my time re-editing and reshooting and am now happy with the final product. Lesson learned. Perfectionism is the enemy of putting a product out, but I can afford to take the time to be proud of it.

Between where we left Cloud last time and where we find him in this opening shot, I actually filmed multiple scenes using Remake that took us into the station house, through a combat, up the stairs, and back out onto the street. These scenes were cut because they weren’t in the OG, it’s as simple as that. The 76 shots and ~15 minutes of good footage are waiting on the ancillary hard drive to be used in a music video or something.

[Chapter 01] Scene 10:  Meeting AVALANCHE

(see my post from Episode 1 to read about why I enumerate scenes this way)

This is the first major overhaul to a scene from 7R, and I cut a lot, refilmed, and moved shots around much more than folks might notice, and I had to manipulate a lot to make it seem like Biggs is interacting with Cloud, which he doesn’t actually do in the Remake scene.

The character’s mouth animations surprised me by how well they could be interpreted to be saying the PS1 lines, especially:

Jessie: “--s, this, uh, what was his name again?”

Jessie: “SOLDIER? Aren’t they the enemy?”

Biggs: “He’s a professional, unlike the rest of us.”

Biggs: “He quit them, and now he’s one of us.”

For the dialogue in this scene I blended PS1 and EC. Forever shout out to Yinza for preserving the PS1 script.

(remember to turn on closed-captioning for the dialogue!)

Scene 11:  Opening the Gate

There’s some stage blocking here and another instance where I decide to go with Remake and/or EC’s dialogue over OG. In OG, Barret tells them to split up (they don’t), the player is given the option to rename him, he tells Cloud that he doesn’t trust him, and then he tells the player how to use the controller buttons to run. Yeah, that won’t work. We’re going to keep his one line about trust:

“Ex-SOLDIER, huh? Don't trust ya!” (PS1/Beacause)

“You’d better be worth the money, merc. Every last gil.” (7R)

For this, 7R’s line is the most evocative and gives us just a bit more context for the situation at hand. I’m not super thrilled that it extraneously introduces us to the concept of ‘gil’, the fictional currency of FF7’s world, which isn’t relevant to the story right now (in the OG, Aerith introduces it when selling the player a flower). But the line is just so damn cool. Barret is so damn cool.

I cut the extraneous chatter between Cloud and Wedge here. I added a couple of shots around the door opening, such as moving one of Wedge’s face-muggings and a wide shot of Jessie and Biggs being sneaky.

I blended the different movements of the soundtrack here to match the iconic tilt of the camera up at the reactor. I also made sure to keep the entire sequence timed in such a way that Barret’s cold turn back is accented by the tense cellos. They haven’t said which one of Remake’s many composers is responsible for each individual diversion from Uematsu’s original score, but I would put good money on Shotaro Shima for the cinematic variation that plays during this scene. The forevariance of the Main Theme here is a particularly nice touch.

Scene 12: Combat: Cloud vs. 1 MP and 1 Guard Hound

A combat has begun, which means that our major story moments for the episode are behind us. That’s not to say that there won’t be plot in the following few minutes, but there won’t be dialogue. Enjoy the slow-motion feast for the eyes and ears, I really enjoyed making it.

Because Cloud is the only combatant in these, it’s easy to actually choreograph and re-shoot the fights, finaggling the enemies into the same locations as I use the same moves on them. This fight can be repeated after opening a nearby chest, allowing me to quickly restart it without having to reload, with only minor changes to the starting positions. For instance, in the first scenario, the members of AVALANCHE start on the battlefield and spend the first few rounds taking the lift, whereas they’re already at the top at the start of the second fight.

I really loved the naturally moody lighting on the crew in the warehouse, and cutting back and forth allowed me to mask some of the “jumping around” that the enemies and Cloud do – although not all, as eagle-eyed viewers will see. This will become less possible when more characters become involved in fights, but for the opening encounters I thought it would be important to show how this slow-mo thing could give the impression of fights progressing. Here's my favorite from the cutting room floor:

Scenes 13-14: Through the Warehouse

At three separate times, I mask edits to the score. At the end of the combat, Cloud sheathes his sword, allowing me to cut out 14 bars and restore Uematsu’s original score structure. I then put this opening piano on loop, extending it until enemies are on the screen (it’s masked again by the sound of the lift and by Jessie cutting the wires. In Uematsu’s structure, loops of the song don’t include the timpanis and orchestra hits from the beginning, but 7R’s version does include them, which I think is an oversight. However, it had the unintended upside of scoring the arrival of enemies from behind Cloud really well! Also, we can associate the orchestra hits with Cloud once more as they punctuate him whirling around and preparing to fight!

Fun fact: Bombing Mission has a bpm of 136, so when I found editing the music too repetitive I would use placeholders with the same bpm and then fine-tune it later. Highlights from the playlist I made were Rocket Man, Thunderstruck, Go Your Own Way, Jump (For My Love), and, heh, Sandstorm. 

Scene 15: Combat: Cloud vs. 2 MPs, 1 Guard Hound

With this combat, I chose to introduce the viewer to magic - specifically, Cloud’s ability to cast lightning and ice. In OG, the player learns this by taking control of Cloud down on the train platform, but its quite possible in a playthrough for Cloud to never use magic – and indeed, in 7R he begins with different spell abilities altogether!

However, I feel like this short encounter was the way to introduce magic with the maximum hype possible, and I’m proud of the result. Cloud zaps one MP, dispatches the other with a quick sword slice, then fires off an ice spell to nab the pup.

I tried to have the materia in focus while Cloud was casting in order to provide a visual clue as to where this magic comes from, because it won’t be exposited with dialogue for some time yet.

Scene 16: Combat: Cloud vs. 2 MPs

Around 1 minute of combat footage represents about 2-3 hours of shooting, and about 5 hours of editing. This one took a bit longer because I remained in bullet time so that I could get coverage of the crew running out onto the bridge.

For this combat, I cut out a chunk of the score to make room for the section that uses a variation on the Main Theme, accenting a Cloud hero shot.

Scene 17: The Bridge

This was pretty straightforward to shoot except for cutting out a door puzzle that triggers AVALANCHE running into the reactor. Filming around that was a bit tricky. I also dabbled in my first bit of colour-correction here, as jumping from the gap between sectors back into that metal tunnel was hard on the eyes.

A quick clip of the music to ramp up towards the credits, and about a hundred reshoots of that camera so that it passes between the pipes and not through them. And we're done.

Final Thoughts

I can’t believe anyone reads these things, but if you did, hey thanks. Let me know what you think of the series! And dOn’T fOrGeT tO LiKe aNd sUbScRiBe!

[chessismyaesthetic]

Happy birthday Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand!

Vishy Anand, one of my favourite commentators from recent World Championships (he just seems like such a lovely guy and his analysis is always interesting and well explained), is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. The FIRST grandmaster from India (he won the title in 1988) which is hard to believe given how many great Indian chess players there are now, he has the 8th highest peak FIDE raiting of all time. He remains the only player to have won the World Chess Championship in tournament, match, and knockout format, as well as rapid time controls.

Vishy playing Kasparov, 1995.

As a teenager people called him "Lightning Kid" for his rapid playing speed, and later GMs who faced him often described him as one of the all-time greats alongside Garry Kasparov (a logical comparison given the schism in the World Championship and the fact most top GMs would have played both so could compare).

As a lightning fast teenager in the 1980s.

Wikipedia describes him as "a well-liked figure throughout the chess world for two decades, evidenced by the fact that Kasparov, Kramnik, and Carlsen, all of whom were rivals for the world championship during Anand's career, each aided him in his preparations for the 2010 World Chess Championship" which is something I massively admire in sports people - the seemingly rare ability to be a top competitor AND be nice to people.

Check out his game 6 win against Karpov in the 1998 World Championship match for a great win at an important moment. Karpov had won the first four games, Vishy made a draw in game 5, and NEEDED to win. So what does he do? He plays the Trompowsky Attack (1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5) - rarely seen at GM level - and wins in 42 moves! Seriously, go google and admire. Sadly (for me at least since I'm a fan) he lost the WC in the tiebreaker games and didn't manage to become World Champion until two years later when he became the first world champion from Asia and the first world champion from outside the ex-Soviet Union since Bobby Fischer.

Anand v. Kramnik at the 2008 World Championship, game 3.

OR check out game 3 of his World Championship match against Kramnik in 2008. Here Vishy has the black pieces playing against Kramnik's Queen's Gambit Declined - they go into a really tactically sharp line known as the Blumenfeld Attack (this is part of the Semi-Slav defence, classical merin variation if you want to look it up). On move 14 Vishy plays a novelty - a new idea - that Kramnik needs to refute if he's to win. Vishy's idea is to just give up a pawn (which is usually defended) in favour of attacking the white king. Two pawns down, Vishy rejects the possibility of a draw and goes on the attack with Kramnik's king on the run. It's exciting stuff and unbelievably tense when you imagine the WC conditions they were playing in!

Vishy about to beat defending champion Magnus Carlsen in Game 3 of the 2014 World Chess Championship in Sochi.

His career is way too long and too well documented to be worth going into any greater detail - google is your friend here - but what a great player. Well worth delving into his games, not least as he was one of the first to embrace computer prep so that alone is an interesting development.

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Alright.

I understand that a lot of people love your writing, and due to that they want to have you write bottom Shigaraki and top Dabi.

This is because people love how you write their dynamic and the skill you have surrounded it due to the enjoyment you get out of it.

But that’s why you’re so good at what you do. You enjoy and love to do what you do.

And I can admit a few months ago I did ask if you would do it, I was one of those people. But I understood that means no, and I moved on, because if you don’t enjoy writing it, and have -0 love for it, then we won’t enjoy reading it. You will not enjoy writing that dynamic, and you don’t owe us anything. You do this because you love to write, the people who ask for this don’t give you any money, and even if they did you wouldn’t enjoy it and would say no because that is a boundary you have drawn in the sand.

You have barely any boundaries.

- No minors

- No Kinks your not comfortable with

- No Top Dabi and Bottom Shigaraki.

And I’m honestly getting annoyed for you because it’s multiple times a week you’re saying no, some times a few day. 1/3x you post it’s this.

So. Tanco will not write Dabi sticking anything in Shigaraki (minus a very rare blowjob)

Tanco will not write Dabi having full complete control over Shigarki, physically, mentally, emotionally and their dynamic.

Tanco will not write Shigarki having stuff inside of him via Dabi (minus a very very rare blowjob and that ONE fic).

Tanco wrote Bottom Shigaraki once and it was a treat. A delicious treat. If you want this from Tanco reread that fic, and stop asking Tanco over and over again and violating their boundaries that they have lined in the sand since they started writing. Tanco is pretty much the only person who writes bottom Dabi and not too dabi, they are gorgeously unique. Everyone else minus like 3 other fanfiction writers write bottom Shigaraki. Go and read their stuff and stop nagging my favourite fanfiction writer and causing them stress. No you cannot ask over and over again until they give in, I suspect they will just stop writing entirely.

Thank you :)

I hope you have a nice day Tanco, and I hope you’re feeling better soon. Give your cat a kiss for us. :D

I appreciate the sentiment very much, and when I update my blog next I will be creating a pinned post with an FAQ to make my boundaries clear and hopefully quell the amount of asks I get for this kind of content. However, I don't want to discredit any other writers out there writing Shigadabi content in any variation, and while the intended tone of this ask was kind, I am an adult and it is my responsibility to make my boundaries clear. I cannot have others speak for me on that front. I appreciate Anon for wanting to show support, but please remember to be kind to one another 💓