#Unfortunately I got no specific dialogue in my head

[sumbier0]

Trolltober Day 20: Kismesis

I Was waiting for thissss

@benatarrrr

[something-about-sunflowers]

Alright, *cracks knuckles, back, pussy, crack, etc* more trailer to break down.

Mirror image of the shot in the teaser? Was it flipped for a reason or are we getting more than one scene like this? What boat are they on? It's not the dinghy, not the revenge (I don't THINK?), and they're not dressed the way they are with the Chinese pirates. (Red scarf presence noted.)

Speaking of: Is this 'Susan' he's talking to? This has to be early on, he's not got his cunty little earring yet. (Just trying to nail SOME of the timeline down, you understand.)

Scarf. Feeling more and more sure it's Ed's silk.

Oluwande 💚. The way this dialogue is cut seems like they're skipping something, the way Olu says 'you dumped him' doesn't flow with the conversation the way it would if it was a immediate response to Stede's 'no, why would he do that?'

Presented without comment.

They're eating the wedding cake. :)

This is presumably happening while Ed is throwing knives at Izzy's head. :(

Anyway. This looks like they're definitely trying to get Blackbeard to stop -

- doing this so they can get through the storm or tell him something's gone wrong. Maybe Izzy's foot/leg gets real bad during the storm? Could be a lot of things.

Initially I thought this might be a precursor to him menacing Frenchie in the one shot in the EW article, but that's in the galley not Stede's cabin and this is a bucket full of bottles (alcohol) and with Frenchie it's a box with bottles (containers, possibly food but I think it looks more likely to be medicine)

(for reference)

I think this is in the auxiliary wardrobe, bride figure in the top right.

Izzy looks MISERABLE here. Whether it's the idea of him knowing EXACTLY why they're at a wedding or because he's in a hell of a lot of pain (foot still present and infected and all that) or some unfortunate combination of both (likely both), I want to wrap him up in a blanket burrito and give him forehead kissies. Also, wider shot here lets me update who's where on the topdown, so:

Jim

Izzy

Frenchie

Fang

Archie

Unnamed bald one with the studded bracers behind Izzy in the previous shot

Ed. Ed you are like. Consistently seen smoking from a pipe. You can't handle a blunt? Or is the weed too dank? Also, pretty sure this is him and Anne and/or the person she's with in the shots a bit after this.

This is why I thought it might have been the shot from the EW article but again, different container with different miscellanea and different room. He. Does seem to be. Interacting with Frenchie a lot though. And. This instance seems very specifically similar to. To him interacting with. A certain someone else. In season 1. . . I'm not saying Izzy's out with a case of Leg Gone and Ed's leaning on Frenchie in the aftermath. . . but.

I feel this so hard. We've all been there Ed. Anyway I'm pretty sure this is the same place he's smoking with mysterious, mostly offscreen, light skin-toned hand person who may or may not be Anne and/or her friend. (No scarf.)

Genuinely I feel like the nose staying on his face would look more believable without the ribbon. Lucius didn't need a ribbon for his finger. Maybe if it was horizontal as opposed to diagonal? It looks LOOSE and that makes it seem like it's not secure enough to be staying on his face like it is.

Deserved (the punch). My baby's leg tho. :'(c It's not even the right height for him. Look how he's gotta bend his other leg just standing.

Olu fighting someone???

Bracer looks like guy number 6 from the wedding raid but this doesn't look like it's on a ship. This guy also seems to have a beard or something that the other guy didn't so idk.

Cracked the code here thanks to @tizzyizzy pointing out something in my server. I was right about this not being during the storm. I was wrong about it being a possibly mutiny. I'm gonna jump a bit ahead in the trailer in a sec to explain but: Ed's got a rock tied around his waist here. You can see the rock at the bottom of the screen.

You can see the line go taut and pull him down.

You can see the rock continue to pull him down. (The rock is right at the bottom of the screen.)

Jumping ahead in the trailer and. Well. Rock with some rope tied around it. (Once again, thank you Tizzy 🙏 you eagle eyed hero) The lighting certainly matches better than the storm did. The question is: Is Hornighost trying to talk him into it or out of it? (And. Yknow. Is he a ghost at all, even?)

Back to where we jumped from. Are these guys wearing the same clothes as the guy Stede 'did a punch' to? Looks like it. *Black Pete voice* What IS this fucking timeline!

Love that Izzy is the only one who doesn't duck away. Also 👀 Lucius spotted. Is he holding hands with Jim? He certainly seems comfortable positioned right between the two little killers doesn't he? ;3c

'Oh no my boat :'(c' Is anyone still on board or did they take a dinghy and get outta there after the storm?

This.

(New promo pic.) This.

(Skipping ahead in the trailer.) And this, are all the same version of Stede. The outfit (weird little arm flappies, red sash) and location are the same. This is absolutely a dream sequence. Stede is dreaming about being the kind of pirate he wishes he was. I'd also venture as to guess this is the extent of his 'revenge on Izzy' that Some Of You are all so clamoring for.

[Out of allowed images, please hold]

[pinkprimrose05]

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED YUGIOH ARC-V

So yesterday I decided to start rewatching ARC-V (for the second time, at the behest of a friend who just got into the show), and, well... shit.

There is a hint of foreshadowing I missed, and it's in Episode fucking One to boot.

Unfortunately, this hint is entirely lost in the English dub (edit: I stand corrected, it's still there, just not as explicitly obvious), and I can't seem to find any source for the Japanese dialogue of the episode (not that it'd help much, in the end; I can't read Japanese for shit and am mostly going off the romanization of structures I only barely understand). But why is this relevant here, you ask?

Well, allow me to explain.

There are several ways of referring to oneself (or one's possessions) in Japanese. You're probably already familiar with first person pronouns 私 (Watashi), 僕 (Boku), and 俺 (Ore), all of which mean "I" in English, and each of which is used by different sorts of people in different sorts of situations.

In the context of ARC-V, Yuuya normally uses Ore when referring to himself, and Ore no for possessions. But being the expert performer he is, he puts on a faux-formal persona for Entertainment Duels, so in addition to giving extra flair to...literally everything he says, he switches to the more polite Watashi and Watashi no for a more, ah, charming impression.

(In comparison, Yuzu already uses Watashi, as it is also the most common pronoun for girls. Gongenzaka defaults to the "manly" Ore, and Sora uses the softer male pronoun Boku and its derivative).

Now the kicker here is that, from the moment Yuuya acquires Pendulum until the end of his Duel with Ishijima, he uses none of the aforementioned pronoun sets. Instead, he switches to the first person pronoun 我 (Ware) and possessive pronoun 我が (Waga), which are now considered a stiff, archaic, and outdated way to refer to oneself, mainly used in fiction by characters with a strong sense of dramatic flair.

But Pink, isn't that basically Yuuya getting really into the entertainer persona?

... well yes, but actually no. I would have written this off as another flashy quirk of his, had it not occured to me that:

1) This is not a one-off occasion, and it only repeats in specific situations. I mean, we don't see this particular pronoun switch making another appearance until the tail end of Episode 39... when Yuuya goes into the Awakened state for the "first" time.

He doesn't talk much when he's like that (which, yeah, fair enough; I can't focus on talking and doing full combo at the same time either), but you may notice that his Pendulum summoning chant changes from "Appear now, my monsters!" (Arawareyo, ore no monsuta-tachi!) to "Come out, my monster servants!" (Ideyo, waga shimobe no monsuta-tachi yo!)

And guess what? The same happens in Episode 1, when he does the very first Pendulum summon.

2) The personal pronoun Ware is not only used by melodramatic characters, but also by those that view themselves as distant from, and/or superior to everyone else. Ancient spirits, magical entities, you get what I mean here...

And it sounds kinda familiar, doesn't it?

An egotistic crackhead with a strong superiority complex, who still strives for drama and entertainment despite his twisted ways. You know him. I know him. Everyone knows him.

He's been trying to hijack Christmas for six years now, after all.

...God fucking dammit.

Yes, Zarc is the only character with enough theatre kid energy to use Ware as his default personal pronoun. And yes, Yuuya copies that aspect every time magical Pendulum fuckery is involved... which, admittedly, would not register as foreshadowing until you have context for what it's supposed to be foreshadowing in the first place.

.. And it still flew over my head entirely in the first rewatch. So much for a resident theorist, lmao.

Seriously though, I think this is pretty brilliant. Sure, it's a niche linguistic detail that requires prior knowledge of the ending to understand, but it hints towards a great mystery behind the origins of Pendulum summoning, which is very damn cool, if I do say so myself.

It's worth mentioning that I also watched Episode 2, which doubles down with the more obvious, but no less neat hint of placing Yuuya on the "antagonist" side of the Duel screen against Yuzu in their exhibition match thingy.

See, this is why I love ARC-V so much. One of the greatest joys of watching this show is finding all the hidden puzzle pieces and going "Oh, so THAT'S what they meant when they did this!", and it never fails to amaze me every time.

This has been Volume 1 of Pink's ARC-V Highlights™, and I'll definitely be back with more... whenever I find another dumb tidbit to hyperfixate on.

'Till then, my Duelist friends!

[thesherrinfordfacility]

not a forensic lip-reader but-

okay so this post absolutely got the wheels turning - but i wanted to share a video of what i was personally seeing, and unfortunately can't do that on an rb, so a separate post it is!!! nonetheless, full credit to @ineffableigh for the spot because it's brilliant!!!✨

couple of disclaimers - first of all, im absolutely not a lip-reader, but i have had some (see: incredibly infrequent and shallow) experience in at least attempting it, so very much anticipating to be completely wrong (but i love phonetics so anyone who does have any expertise id love to know more!!!). second, im still in two camps as to whether there is any hidden meaning behind this; it could very well be aziraphale trying to communicate something to crowley purposefully, or it could be him just searching for the right words as he launches in what is a very erratic and stressed bit of the dialogue. regardless, im still interested, in either case, what words he was at least considering to say next.

so source clips below, slowed down (and im sorry for the shitpit that is the audio, as a result) to 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7x:

personally, im reading at least two, but three vowels sounds from him in the clip. there are possibly around four? maybe more? different oral postures that i can see, and three of them appear to me to be placements for vowels.

first up is immediately after the vocal "um"; aziraphale's lips purse/constrict forwards slightly, before the corners pull and stretch back, almost into the beginnings of a smile. the original post said this already, but i agree - a 'ww' sound, or /w/.

as his lips pull back and his mouth opens, you can see a bit of his tongue placement through his jaw and lower neck. to my eye, his tongue is pulled back, and is set down in the mouth, which would suggest an open back, rounded vowel - such as in 'lot', or /ɒ/.

and then lastly, his teeth come together to round off the first word, with his lips still pulled back, and indicate a voiceless plosive. im not 100%, but i think his tongue also comes forward behind his teeth, which would aspirate - all of which say to me this forms into the 't' sound, or /t/. so, first word? im thinking is 'what' (/wɒt/).

there's a brief pause - and im pretty sure his tongue has initially gone back towards the back of the mouth, and down into an open position, which i think you can see in his jaw position his teeth then open slightly as his tongue pushes forward and higher, and his mouth/teeth close up again as he does so... im veeeery tentative on this, but i think that this would suggest a diphthong, specifically /aɪ/, that you would hear in 'eye'. i can't see any consonant formation, so im reading this as aziraphale saying 'i'.

but then, there's one more word (?) that i think he says; as his teeth contact again after the diphthong, his lips come together fully, pursing momentarily as they do. again, i think im reading his jaw/neck tense as his tongue being behind his teeth - specifically behind the top set, setting his tongue to the alveolar ridge. that would suggest a /d/.

and lastly (kudos if you haven't gotten bored), to follow up the /d/, aziraphale's lips close and purse/tighten slightly, before relaxing. this last part reads to me as another vowel - another rounded one, but this time closed; the 'oo' phoneme, or /u/. put together? 'do'.

so altogether, im reading him to say 'what' - 'i' - 'do'. now, this obviously doesn't make sense, which is why if this is in fact what he's saying (which i highly doubt - see above re: not an expert, and the more i look at it, frankly the more variety of possible words it could be), i think personally he's saying it more to himself than to crowley. the missing word would logically be a first 'do' (i.e. "what do i do-"), and when we're thinking to ourselves, we will occasionally, subconsciously, let our mouths form certain words that we're thinking, but the rest is 'voiced' in our heads, right? so; "what-" (do) "-i do".

whilst ultimately this might not mean that a message is being communicated to crowley, i do think aziraphale is incredibly nervous, as well as excited. i think he's aware that there's a very faint threat along with the offer - the offer he's about to articulate and offer out to crowley - and he's scrambling for how he can possibly word it. that would track along with his erratic hand movements and stilted, clumsy speech before he manages to actually get going with the point. i don't aziraphale is suddenly all-knowing about metatron is planning/scheming, i don't think he knows that there is a threat, but i certainly think he feels threatened, and urgent, in some way. the above, if we're to accept that that's what he's saying (even im very sceptical, but the exercise was fun anyway so who cares), would support it✨

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Hi, @alwayschasingrainbows. There's something I'm curious about. We know the moment when Anne realized she loved Gilbert. But we didn't see the moment when Gilbert realized he loved Anne. Have you ever thought about this? When and how do you think he noticed?

Hi! Thank you for your lovely question, dear @pinkenamelheart!

Of course, Gilbert told Anne "I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school.” But loving - and realizing that we love - are two entirely different things.

I think that Gilbert was charmed by Anne from the first moment he saw her. There was definitely something about her that caught his attention; perhaps it was her large, gray-green eyes that revealed her extraordinary character and intellect? He had certainly shown more interest in her than in the other girls, from the very beginning. Immediately after the unfortunate incident at school, during which he called Anne "Carrots", he tried to apologize to her and gain her sympathy. He gave her a candy heart, and later - an apple (both gifts were of course refused).

I think that over time this fascination turned into admiration as he saw how intelligent and persistent Anne was. He probably watched her from a distance, noticing how she blossomed and transformed from a child into a graceful and charming young girl. After Anne dyed her hair and had to cut it, he noticed that it had become darker. I think he realized how much he liked Anne when she again rejected his offers of friendship, when he rescued her from a sinking boat (or rather; from a slippery old pile).

Later, he was reciting a poem during a concert and when he got to the line: "There’s Another, not a sister,’ he looked straight at Anne. He was probably already aware of his infatuation.

I think Gilbert knew from the very beginning that Anne touched his heart in a way no one had ever touched before.

If I had to pinpoint a specific moment when Gilbert realized he had fallen in love with Anne, I would say it was when he first saw her in the brown glorria dress Matthew had given her. Anne outdid herself with her recitation talent and looked exceptionally charming.

After the show was over, Diana told Anne: "When you ran off the platform after the fairy dialogue one of your roses fell out of your hair. I saw Gil pick it up and put it in his breast pocket." It seems to me that this gesture clearly indicates that Gilbert fell head over heels in love with Anne.

Although I think he may have realized this earlier, and the process was gradual.

Thank you for your question! <3

[nintendowife]

I finished Piofiore: Episodio 1926 on Nintendo Switch a while ago. I enjoyed it a lot and it might be the best otome game I've played so far. There's a beefy amount of content in Episodio 1926 - I reached 100% completion in 70 hours. There's 6 love interest routes, each with two endings. In addition there's an "Alternativa" story route.

In this sequel we return to the city of Burlone, Italy. The game continues from the events of Piofiore: Fated Memories. The three competing mafia families Falzone, Visconti and Lao-Shu still hold control in the city but are facing an uncertain future due to political developments in the country. A religious relic has been stolen and the mafia families must join forces to fight a common threat. The protagonist Lili has a special role in the events as many parties' interests relate to her. This time you can freely choose from a menu which character's route you want to start playing (with exception of one that unlocks only after playing through the Alternativa story).

The story was pretty good and as a whole I liked it more than the first game. Episodio 1926 had its share of sleep inducing routes but some were really good. Nicola's and Orlok's routes with great story/lore portions rose above the others in my eyes. I recall Gilbert's route had some good stuff too. There was a decent amount of historical references and a lot of nice action scenes too.

I especially enjoyed the parts with depictions of violence and murder - which I assume is usually not the reason someone would pick a game of this genre. If you're into that kind of content too, Piofiore is a nice pick. At times it felt like the flow of the story/dialogue was interrupted with "Aria" (flashbacks from the prior game) and "Meanwhile" stories too frequently.

The dialogue was written nicely and I enjoyed the exchanges between the competing mafiosos. They're sort of friends, yet enemies and it creates some delightful dynamics and humor. However, there was one specific part in dialogue that felt out of place: Dante being worried that they possibly couldn't violate on someone's human rights. It made him look like a hypocrite - I've seen what happens in the Falzone basement. Henri's route had some really ridiculous dialogue that made me and my husband laugh in disbelief. Henri apparently thinks he's hung like an elephant.

The characters got a lot more depth in the sequel and Nicola ended up surprising me. I didn't care for him much in the previous game but here he got to shine. His actions really highlighted his intelligence and I liked his playful, mischievous attitude. In that regard he is similar to Yang who likes to rile up others for his entertainment. Yang is still Yang (thankfully) but he was a lot more docile here. Still an entertaining character and my favorite out of the love interests. Gilbert was my husband's favorite. Lili is still a kind-hearted damsel in distress but she's got the smarts to navigate difficult situations. She overcomes her fears and is ready to act to defend herself and the people she cares for.

What comes to side characters, there are plenty of new ones along with returning characters. They help build the lore and world by expanding on past and current events. Emilio's motives and backstory was a very welcome addition to the game as he was a mystery that intriqued me already in the first game. I liked all of the character designs and Lan ended up being my favorite side character with her energetic attitude. There was one particularly funny/good moment where Lili was upset with Yang and Lan got upset on her behalf too and encouraged Lili to display her irritation and act on it. That actually led to a heartfelt scene with some nice character development as well.

The Japanese voice acting for the characters is top notch and helps flesh out the characters' personalities. Emilio's and Yuan's voices annoyed my husband, haha. Gilbert's "yo Dante!" will forever live in our heads. Unfortunately the protagonist Lili is not voiced.

Music is mainly the same as in the first game. It would have been nice to get more new music but at least the tracks are pleasant and fit the events.

The game's visuals are a treat. From the beautifully crafted user interface to backgrounds and character portraits. Sadly there's no portrait for Lili when she talks. The CG illustrations are some of the best in the market. What really delighted me was the effort they've put into designing the clothing, jewelry and hair. We get to see Lili sporting various kinds of attire with incredible detail and her hairstyle varies too.

There is one thing that bothers me in the artist's style however: Lili's comically large eyes didn't quite fit the art style in my opinion.

I was pretty happy with the localization of the game. Now I don't know enough Japanese to judge the accuracy of the translation and I'm not a native English speaker but the text seemed well-written. Not much typos or errors. I remember a few occasions where a word or two were missing but luckily it didn't affect my ability to understand the gist of the sentences.

The biggest offender in the game was poor contrast. There were these memoir parts called "Aria" occurring throughout the game where white text was displayed on top of a background image without a dialogue box. It made it nigh impossible to read parts of the text when the text appeared on top of white/light parts of the image. Another pet peeve of mine was that the sequel continues with the grave sin of talking about food and never showing it. I just love looking at masterfully drawn food in games and not getting any of that left me sour.

I had such a good time with the game that I double-dipped on physical copies of both Piofiore: Fated Memories and Piofiore: Episodio 1926 after playing through the digital versions. I adored the characters and their interactions and I especially enjoyed the darker parts that helped with worldbuilding. Now that I've finished both games I feel slightly melancholic due to having to say goodbye to the characters. If that is not a sign of a good game, I don't know what is.

I think my husband became a Piofiore fan as well! He was partially watching me play through both games. During my Episodio 1926 playthrough he was inspired to start a new game in Rimworld where he created the Piofiore main characters and assigned suitable traits for each.

If they ever decided to make a third game in the Piofiore series, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! If Piofiore caught your interest, I recommend playing Piofiore: Fated Memories first, even though it's the weaker game out of the two.

[commaclear]

Holy crap???????

I very recently started reading (most?) of the stories you have wrote on Ao3 and I'm in love. Marry me?? I'll give you a plastic spider ring I got for 25 cents.

Anyways, I aspire to be an author and was mostly wanting to know, how do you continue??

I have so many little ideas that float in my mind and I don't know how to keep writing after getting through one paragraph.

-Turtle-shell anon.

Oh dear, unfortunately I'm sworn to only marry Danny Devito...

Okay, I've got a lot to say abt this apparently. I was originally just gonna write some quick tips and it somehow turned into a full essay lol

#5 is my top suggestion for anyone who's feeling uninspired or stuck. Stories are driven by their characters, so let them lead the way!

1. Write your ideas down as soon as you have them

I've got about five or six tiny notebooks stowed away in different places (purse, desk, bedside table, etc.), and as soon as I have any kind of story idea, I start writing it down as soon as I can, otherwise I tend to lose it or lose my enthusiasm abt it, and it's harder to keep steam later on. I do this with ideas for future stories, ideas for dialogue five chapters from now, random descriptions of scenes, just literally anything that pops into my head.

Like dream journaling makes your dreams more vivid, the more you write down your ideas, the more ideas you'll start having! It's like unclogging a dam.

Also, physical writing is always better for me than typing when I get stuck because kinetic movement engages the brain more, so I have a few full size journals too to write longer ideas in.

2. Start stories even if you know you won't finish them

Writing is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more stamina you build up. So starting on stories, even if you don't know where you're going or know you won't finish is still productive because you're exercising that muscle and making it stronger. And who knows? Maybe you'll come back years later and finish this story brilliantly!

3. Download WriteorDie2

Write or Die is a horrific torture device for writers, but it is genuinely helpful for me to power through pointless writer's block or procrastination stints. Even when I feel completely uninspired, suddenly I find I'm full of ideas when threatened with screeching violin spiders.

4. Get a hype man

A big reason writers lose steam on projects is you start listening too much to the internal critic, and you end up hating your own project when you've barely even started. The best way to combat this is to get a non-writer friend to read your stuff and tell you everything they like about it. Ask them to say specific things they liked, not just vague "Yeah, it's good!" because specific positive feedback is always more encouraging than generic platitudes.

5. Do free form character PoV word-dumps

Get out a journal. Set a seven-minute timer and start writing in the voice of your main character (or whatever character is most relevant), like they're making a diary entry or giving a soliloquy. Your pencil cannot stop moving until the timer ends. Just keep writing and ignore any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Have your character dump out all their thoughts and feelings and insecurities, have them rant and cry, have them giggle and blush and kick their feet, or maybe they're still masking their feelings and trying to be strong. Just write in their voice, and you'll be surprised by what they have to say.

6. Explain your story to a rubber ducky

If you're stuck in a plot and don't know where to go, explain your whole plot to a rubber ducky. Make sure you go into all the intricacies and details, explain all the side characters and background lore, tell that ducky where you want your story to go next and why you're stuck.

8 times out of 10, simply talking out loud through your plot will get you thinking differently, and you'll unstick yourself. And it doesn't have to be a rubber ducky; it can be literally anything with a face, but trust me, it is important that is has a face, and you need to be talking out loud, even if it's just a whisper.

[fearowkenya]

Winds of Change

Chapter 3: When it Rains, it Pours

The gentle babbling of running water is dissonant in Ryo's ears as everyone slowly starts to regroup, making their way toward the middle of the central path, where—his breath hitches, sharp and cold against the inside of his throat—Shuuji is staring at the ground, head bowed and shoulders taut.

What happened in the waterway left its mark on everybody, and Ryo's doing his best to watch over his friends in the aftermath. Unfortunately, he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head, and neither does Shuuji.

ao3 link in the source, extended post-chapter commentary below! (:

i had a whole bunch of stupid temporary names for each section of every chapter during earlier stages of writing to help keep track of what order the segments were in. like i said on ao3, the working title for this chapter (the middle segment, specifically) was "The Gang Misplaces The Baby". Other notable ones were "be gay do crime hold egg" (ch1 pt1), "Get Punched Idiot" (ch1 pt2), and "EGG" (ch3 pt3).

ive been sitting on all my silly kunemon dialogue for WEEKS. im still not sure how i feel about it - on one hand, i kind of like it when you can only figure out what kunemon's saying through context, usually via ryo. but also i think it's really fun to explore what kunemon's voice sounds like in dialogue - if you translated all of kunemon's kews, would he speak the same way as jewelbeemon or banchoustingmon? it's hard to say, given that theres basically no time in-narrative save for the evolution event where banchoustingmon is center stage. that's part of why i think it's a shame that ultimate and mega stage evolutions are affinity-dependant rather than story-depedant. that said, i've heard that the development cycle for this game was BRUTAL, so i dont fault the devs for it. besides, it's kinda fun to try to figure out how to change ultimate and mega evo scenes so that they fit into a specific area of the story. i won't get into it now, but i have MANY thoughts on the subject.

i also have many thoughts about ryo. i know ive talked about this before, but he was the one to surprise me the most in truthful. i truly was caught off-guard at how much of ryo is hidden behind the walls he puts up at the very beginning. it's so delightful to me that this rough, foul-mouthed, prickly guy is arguably the most emotionally intelligent of the group. i bet he has no idea that his ability to read people is so impressive, and likely views his eye for detail is nothing out of the ordinary. i think these skills are both things that he started to hone at a young age, and now they're just second nature. although. i do think these skills completely go out the window when he's in distress.

also on the topic of ryo - i will die on the hill that he and saki have some kind of shared history. i dont think they go to the same school; there's a few references to saki probably being at the same one as takuma and minoru, and then at the amusement park in truthful, theres a bit of dialogue between minoru and ryo that suggests that the two of them go to different schools. so instead, i've mostly committed to the notion that they're …hmm… childhood "friends" is a strong word. probably closer to childhood "acquaintances". childhood "other kid i kept seeing over and over at the same place, and since theres no one else my age around here i dont have any other options". childhood "best available friend".

anyway, I think they were familiar with one another through their parents. it makes sense to me that one of saki's parents worked with ryo's mother or had some other kind of connection to her that faded after she died. or maybe ryo and saki ended up running into each other constantly while ryo's mother was in the hospital. in either scenario, a much younger saki and ryo would have been together frequently enough that they got to know each other pretty well as kids, then grew distant after their families' paths stopped crossing, not seeing each other again until the start of the camping trip. i think thats a decent reason for why ryo's not quite as temperamental with saki as he is with the others rightrightright at the beginning, and it would explain why he doesn't seem to mind her following him around and saying stuff like "idk what you'd do if i take my eyes off you" without him getting all that annoyed (relatively).

but yeah, this chapter was a LOT of fun for me to write. i really liked the idea of getting the immediate aftermath of the fight with wendimon from ryo's perspective. it was gonna be from shuuji's at first, but i think he would have been too caught up in shock and grief to be paying much attention to any of the others. ryo, on the other hand, is extremely observant and perceptive even though he's also pretty upset.

i had a great time writing shuuji listening in on kunemon and ryo's conversation. obviously i loved the duality of shuuji having no idea what kunemon is talking about while we the reader know that ryo gets whiplash between trying to cheer up a gloomy kunemon, exchanging stuff they've noticed about their friends, then being personally attacked about his feelings concerning a specific person (whose identity i hope was at least somewhat discernible without kunemon goggles). shuuji can understand the words ryo is saying just fine, but the information he learns catches him off-guard, and it occurs to him just how much distance there is between him and most of the group. this gave me a fun opportunity to think about what it's like to be shuuji at this specific part of the story - he's just had this horrible brush with death, and even though he's doing much better than he was before, he's at a point where he hasn't grown close with most of the others yet. we don't see much of shuuji having to build or rebuild his relationships with his peers immediately following the waterway - iirc the bulk of what we get is after those 10 days takuma was gone, and by then, the way he interacts with the others is much, much different.

i also really enjoyed getting a bit silly about the game mechanics in the last segment. finding random shit like plates of ribs and weird bananas isn't really addressed much beyond acknowledging that it was found. i think theres been SOME commentary about how the thing is weird, but to my knowledge, WHERE those weird things were found isn't acknowledged. nobody ever sits back like "hey so why the fuck did i find a pineapple inside of the piano" and i thought i could play with that a little!!

all right, thats gonna do it for this week. as you may have noticed, my ability to accurately gauge when i can post chapters is… hmm… questionable at best. i currently plan on posting chapter 4 on monday, but theres a small local con this weekend so i can't say for certain. my usual weekend chores will likely be pushed to monday unless im able to get them done tomorrow (highly unlikely), so we'll just have to wait and see!

thank you for reading, and as i said on ao3, im really really grateful for the comments ive gotten, even the ones in tags on tumblr. im always happy for more, and im so curious to know what stood out to people the most.

[the-force-awakens]

For the fic asks, 5, 29 for your Poe/Volya fics, and 37

!!! Ah, thank you!! *rubs my hands together gleefully* my time to shine, I love talking about these two

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]? Answer it now!

I feel like every single question I've ever wanted to be asked about Poe and Volya just like - flew right out of my head, lol. I contemplated something about their Force connection but I don't actually think I've included it yet in any of the fics I've posted to ao3, so I'm gonna go with something involving the "bad au" once again, cos it's something that jumped out to me when I was reading the tlj era fics back to back: the difference in when Poe and Volya both think something's changed between them, and why.

In my hand was the one you reached for, Poe mentions in his internal dialogue that something changed between them aboard the Raddus (which I think is reinforced in an earlier one-shot that @dameronalone wrote) during the events of tlj, but in the fic that's pretty much a direct sequel to that, if we got nothing we got us, which takes place from Volya's POV, she thinks that their relationship shifted after he made it back from Jakku and the Finalizer.

And I think that makes a lot of sense, 'cos although we definitely haven't touched on that specific era yet from Volya's POV yet, the days Poe is missing absolutely are what makes Voy in this verse realize just how much she loves him and just what she's been risking trying to hide that. Unfortunately, her crash course in "fuck I can't lose him, I love him too much for that and he doesn't even know it" gets a follow-up grade in tlj when they get put on separate transports during the evac to Crait....cos I'm. extremely evil.

And then of course, for Poe - they haven't really had the time to *stop* since he got back, until the Raddus, for better or worse (but mostly for worse), so I think that's the first stretch of time that he's actually had where he can notice something has changed for Volya that makes her a lot more open with her feelings than before, and ergo that their relationship has shifted because of it.

29. What songs would be (or are) on a playlist for [insert fic]? Explain your choices if you want!

I mean I have a couple of generalized poelya playlists already to be quite honest - their regular one, and one specifically for the aforementioned bad au. And one somewhere that's specifically songs I think Volya would put in a playlist that remind her of Poe.

But.....the two songs that are just simply put the most Volya/Poe to me, to the point that they could really fit any fic I've written for them, is About Love by Marina and Storm by Ruelle. Their relationship is (obviously) very much inspired by my big ole feelings for Poe, so Poe's pretty much the first/only person Volya's also had big ole feelings for, and I think these songs really capture the "oh shit this is my one exception and oh man what do i do with all these FEELINGS" that Volya constantly feels around him:

… Started in the strangest way Didn't see it coming Swept up in your hurricane Wouldn't give it up for nothing Now I'm all caught up in the highs and the lows It's a shock to my system I don't wanna run away so I stay [About Love]

&

I am caught off guard by you Like a wave I'm pulled into It's a feeling I can't fight Like a wildfire deep inside You're taking my heart by storm I'm lost in your love (lost in your love) I can't hold back any more I'm lost in your love (lost in your love) [Storm]

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

Okay, my first thought was not actually a Star Wars fic - although there's definitely some fics of mine there that I wish got more traction, and it'd be nice if my poelya ones got a leetol more attention but I'm also not terribly bothered by that because hey I'm writing for myself and my friends and it's fun - it was a crossover Spidey/Moon Knight fic that I wrote in 2022.

Just...maybe not the crossover you were expecting. I had finished replaying Spider-Man PS4, I think, and I was like....this would work really well for a crossover with Moon Knight. It ended up being a blend of the television show and the early Mackay run before I quit reading. It definitely got a little bit of attention, but mostly just of folks wanting a continuation, which I had no plans for. But it's definitely still one of my favorite fics I've written - writing for Peter really is just so much fun.

fic writer asks?

[astromechs]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @thecasualauthor18 ; thank you!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

it looks like i've got 77 right now

2.  What's your total AO3 word count?

180,976

3. What fandoms do you write for?

most of it is marvel and star wars, have a modest collection for the peacemaker tv series, and then side trips into other things!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

this might be all i ever wanted (all i ever wanted to happen to me) — 226 kudos

whatever happens (happens to the both of us) — 172 kudos

we've come a long, long way together — 171 kudos

why don't you close your eyes and reinvent me — 170 kudos

feeling's running straight to my bones — 132 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i really need to get better about this, because i have been slacking bad lol; i love each and every one and appreciate them so, so much, but i get flustered and then i forget to reply and i'm a hot mess ghfdjks

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i think i tend to favor open/ambiguous endings, more than outright angsty ones? probably almost paradise, though; the one time i acknowledged mcu gamora died and she was still dead at the end of this, so that was depressing by my standards. also my two canon compliant rogue one fics because i mean... gestures to what canon compliant means.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

obviously that time rick astley saved the world in that fic of mine from 2009.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

shoutout to that one weirdo who left me anon hate over... checks notes... carol danvers and jessica drew kissing. i even had to report that to ao3 because it was legit harassment, and for what.

9. Do you write smut. If so, what kind?

i did a calculation recently and like 2/3 of the fics i've published in the past two years have been smut. oops.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i do love inventing ships out of nothing and making you all see my vision — so while a lot of what i've published on that front has been confined to comic characters who've never interacted before, i do have more in my head.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of......

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! anything that's worth my love (is worth the fight) was translated into chinese, and that's still, like, the neatest thing that's ever happened to me.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

i've played around with sharing universes with friends and swapping ideas! and a couple of co-written series we dabbled in.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

honestly? yeah, it's rebelcaptain. straight up. what you've all witnessed this year is the culmination of 1) my pandemic character arc of having zero shame of what i fling to my ao3 account anymore, and 2) that particular pandora's box getting reopened thanks to andor getting released at the end of last year because being insane about them has lived in me like a sleeper agent since 2016.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

ugh unfortunately the marvel cosmic star wars au will probably never get done

16. What are your writing strengths?

getting into character's heads and having the reader experience their emotions, maybe? idk maybe tension between characters, sexual or otherwise? maybe smut? maybe humor?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i hate titles so much. hate hate HATE. song lyrics are my life hack for that.

also what is a plot

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

if i don't know the language, i'm not confident i'm going to get it right, so i usually just take the comics approach of < words go here > if this ever comes up.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

i wrote some unhinged star wars prequels (specifically anidala) fics in high school, and i also started writing unhinged matrix fics around that time. no, none of you will see any of those.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

keep whatever it is (that's compelling you on) — because it's the culmination of a story that had lived in my head for years but i didn't think i was skilled enough to carry out, so i was proud i finally wrote it

Going On An Adventure 🧜‍♂️ by peaceluvr69 — is my comedic magnum opus tbh and i made myself laugh stupid the entire time i was writing it, so that has to count for something

here's hoping we collide — i really do genuinely love how this story turned out 🥹 to the point that i actually keep thinking about making a branch universe off of this to give that jyn and that cassian from five years prior to rogue one more chances to know each other and also be... prickly little assholes in a funny way, because they're funny. i imagine the hell they'd raise together and it warms my heart.

tagging (no pressure!): @quarantineddreamer ; @frostbitepandaaaaa ; @sgtjamesrogers ; @ezracomehome ; @luciechat ; @rebelrainfall

[thana-topsy]

Ok, gosh, sorry to pester but your response got me actually sorta tempted to maybe give writing atleast a small fic a try. So I've got a fair lotta experience with running and playing ttrpgs and I imagine there's *some* skill overlap (Both kinda being in a roundabout way narrative writing, just as a group) and, well, wondering if you have any tips and tricks for fic writing? I know I really struggle with character dialogue when I'm writing both sides of it 😅

YASSS LET'S GO!! Fic writing time!!! (And don't worry, you're not pestering me. If anything you've infected me with Minotaur Brain).

Okay, this is about to get long, so apologies in advance. You've unleashed the beast.

I actually went from playing and running TTRPG to fic-writing because I had more ideas than any single game of DND could possibly contain. I wanted these stories out of my head and I wanted complete control. (Do I have control issues? Maybe~ But only when it comes to impatience. I didn't want to have to wait on people to make story decisions, damn it!) So I can say that, yes, there's absolutely some overlap that'll come in handy!

Ahhh character dialogue. I know a lot of people struggle with that exact mechanic, so you're not alone. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have the boon of having conversations with myself pretty constantly lol. Dialogue comes very naturally for me, and is one of my favorite things to write. I'd say just pay attention to how you speak to people, how people speak to you, and keep in mind that two people talking are going to have different motivations and interpretations of the conversation. It can feel intimidating, but the #1 thing to prioritize is knowing your characters inside and out. Their responses in dialogue will come naturally if you know their personality well.

As far as external sources, I follow a lot of "On Writing" type channels on YouTube, and I'll link a few of my favorites: Hello Future Me has a whole playlist of writing tips and tricks, but his entire channel is just lovely. For dialogue specifically, I gotta recommend this video, which I've watched plenty. (Also he has videos on The Elder Scrolls!) The Closer Look tends to focus on movies and scripts more than written work, but one of the best ways to get better at writing is to critique all types of storytelling media. (Critique as in look critically at what makes a story successful, not just shit on popular media for fun). Brandon Sanderson is an absolute master of fantasy fiction and has a WEALTH of videos on youtube. His playlist on writing advice is great for bite-sized nuggets of knowledge, but also he has entire college-level lectures available for free on youtube. Shit's amazing.

I also love watching channels, like Cari Can Read, that read and discuss popular books. It's entertaining, and also a good example of what to do, and often what not to do, in a story lmfao.

I've also read many many books on writing techniques. "How Fiction Works" by Oakley Hall is probably my all-time favorite.

I hope this helps you get a good start! But at the end of the day, just write! Technique can come later. Get some words down and see where the story takes you. Worry about the craft later. As they always say, you can't edit a blank page.

Best of luck, my friend, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. 🙏

[takiki16]

FIC 20 QUESTIONS

@gallifreyburning tagged me in this!

1. how many works do you have on Ao3?

Ten! I am a prolific reader, but not so much a writer.

2. what's your total Ao3 word count?

253,223. Holy moly. I remember when cranking out 1500 words was a lot for me. I never expected to break that Big Phat 100k, which is yet another reason gallifreyburning is the wind beneath my wings. Half of those words are hers.

3. what fandoms do you write for?

The Old Guard and Jupiter Ascending are my two most dominant fandoms per stats. I've also written for Mad Max, the MCU, Leverage, and The Man from Uncle (the 2015 movie), but I wouldn't call these my most active reading fandoms.

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

If Never Again, If Every Day (cowritten with gallifreyburning, TOG)

Kiss With a Fist (cowritten with gallifreyburning, TOG)

A Fine Chain (JA)

and sat him doon at her bed feet (Leverage)

breathes there the man (TMFU)

lolllll no surprises here.

5. do you respond to comments?

Unfortunately not. When all of my fics were relatively short and I only got a handful of comments on each one, I replied individually to each comment. However, we have THOUSANDS of comments on INAIED, and although I've replied to some of the particularly consistent and wonderful commenters, there is no way for me to get all of them. However, please know that they are all loved.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

and reason quite decay, for Mad Max. It's a pre-canon snippet to the 2015 movie, about how Max lost the little girl he keeps hallucinating. I was very, very much into the "all lower caps, title is a line from a poem" aesthetic. Still am, to be honest, but A Fine Chain is just CONSUMING me atm.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

and sat him doon at her bed feet is a triptych of each of the Leverage OT3 being a selkie and getting together with the OT3, so that's technically three happy endings in one, but our INAIED boys worked so hard for their payoff that I have to put them first.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have been lucky enough to avoid this so far!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written a grand total of like...two smut scenes, both of them m/m, but DEPENDING on how much longer I can tolerate the slow burn of A Fine Chain, I may be writing something f/m in the near-ish future!

now private chats between mutuals about IMAGINED character smut, on the other hand...

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't write crossovers - they generally don't appeal to me as a reader so I avoid them as a writer.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know, and I hope and pray it never happens to me. INAIED got a few weird pings last year, but so far I've been very very lucky.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have gotten a request or two, but I don't remember if a translation was ever posted?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

LOLLLLLLL. If it weren't for @gallifreyburning i would still be languishing at 5-something chapters of AFC and a handful of fics, and I would never have written for TOG at all.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Harsh, bro. I don't think I have a very favorite ship, but I definitely have favorite dynamics. See my "you are responsible forever for what you have tamed" tag

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Much Nothing About an Ado. My post-canon Mad Max fic where Max comes back to the Citadel and Furiosa decides to Hit That, but in the sexy way this time. But hey! I thought that It would take another decade to finish A Fine Chain, and I am ROLLING!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Mmmmfdfnggg. Umm...I'm very good at long, flowery descriptions, and at grounding clips of dialogue to specific physicality and setting, I think? When I want to write something, I usually see a movie of what I want to write playing out in my head, and then I have to figure out how to translate those actions to the page in a way that accurately conveys the action and tone. I block out the scene in bullet points first, then bang out a loose first draft, then go back over everything and rewrite it from the top, trying to make sure that someone reading it would see and feel the same things I did when watching the movie in my head.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

TOO MUCH FLOWERY DESCRIPTION. Sometimes I get lost in the movie in my head. Also, my crippling fear of intimacy sometimes translates to being hesitant to get to the actual climax of the story. I have to have acres and acres of slow burn, or I'm writing a single poetic one-shot with artsy film blur. This is where a good co-author is worth their weight in gold - you can't get away with kicking the can forever.

Also - I need to see if this still happens in AFC, but I feel like I rush through smut, and sometimes that pr0n deserves to be LINGERED UPON.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It's nice, if it's used correctly! It's off-putting, if not.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

OOF. I saw the first Tobey Maguire Spiderman as a wee babe, and wrote an absolutely passionate proto-whump fic about it in my spiral notebook along with some very bad illustrations.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

INAIED is a Lifetime Achievement (TM) for me, the thing that makes me genuinely frustrated I can't brag to my coworkers about the massive novel I co-authored. I will be proud of it forever and ever and ever. I own a physical bound copy of it, and take it out every now and again to look at it fondly. I Helped Write That Thing. It is dear to my heart.

[alfryco]

okay your ask inspired me so more AH asks for you: 1, 5, 8, 25, 34, 48, 51!! <3

Thank you for the questions Emrys :3

1) How did you get into AH?

Already answered, but I got into them by seeing a video somebody made on youtube with a bunch of other fandoms that were popular on Tumblr in 2014.

5) Favorite team?

Whatever the hell team name Trevor and Alfredo have now (tho Team Nice Dynamite is always right behind them in my heart)

8) Favorite AU?

Hmm favorite AU would have to be the Fake AH Crew AU just because of all the memories I have of messing around in that AU and all the great content that people have created using that AU. There's just so much to do when the characters you're playing with are literal criminals.

25) Has a video or specific moment ever made you emotional?

Not sure if this is for like sad emotional or happy emotional or whatever, but the first video I can remember off the top of my head that made me emotional in the sad way was when Meg had to host The Know after Monty passed away.

34) Have you seen the musical?

Yep I have! Watched the whole thing when it was mixed with the GTA video.

48) If you have one, who’s your favorite fic author or fan artist?

OOoohhh boy do I *cracks knuckles*

Since I know I can't narrow this down to like one author and artist I'm just gonna do a handful of the large amount of people that have created some of my favorite works and inspired me/influenced me with how I write.

So author wise I have to first give it up for @confusedeevee who without her I would most likely not be writing AH fanfic like I am today, plus she's an excellent beta, amazing writing partner and always helps me brainstorm when I need it and will listen to me rant and rave about all my au ideas even tho it's probably 3 am for her :') and her fics are out of this world, please go read them.

Next is @futureboy LIGHT OF MY FUCKING LIFE who fed (and continues to feed tbh) my alfreyco cravings and has some of the best written dialogue out there and a head full of incredible ideas when it comes to writing! They just have some of the best writing out there and they're honestly killing it with the ST fics right now.

And since we're talking about Alfreyco (because how could we not am i right??) @jusst-you-wait is honestly really to blame for me still writing AH fic to this day, because this lovely alfreyco obsession of mine started when I read her Fake AH fic about Trevor and Alfredo investigating some abandoned building for Geoff and that's all she wrote. Also one of the best hype mans out there and such a great writer!

And I can't forget @shadeofazmeinya and @sorcererinthestars who also have some of the best fics out there in my opinion. And tbh I included both of them in one thing because one is not far from the other when it comes to fics and tumblr and there places in my HEART! Love these two so much and both have them have produced such fantastic work in this fandom and appreciate that every single DAY.

Ok now with artists unfortunately there aren't as many as there used to be in the ye olden days of the fandom, but that doesn't mean we don't have some excellent artists still!

Firstly is @keeningthoughts who without them I would not have the lovely alfreyco outlast fanart that I cry over almost daily and would not have known the joys of being in a server dedicated to a podcast co-lead by two very silly boys. Clay, your everchanging art style and the art you've drawn, no matter how silly, have always made me so happy when i see them on here or twitter :3

And then @ursifors who has created some of the most awesome art in this fandom. Just the way you draw the AH members (and Jeremy lbr) is so incredible and fun to look at. Your shading and the way you draw expressions are always the best. Like the way you nail people's faces is just 👌👌👌👌

51) Any videos, series, podcasts, etc. you’d recommend to new fans?

Would definitely recommend Red Web (how can I not?) if you're into spooky things and conspiracy theories, but for general AH stuff I would recommend Off Topic because that is always a good, tho sometimes chaotic, way to get a feel for the vibes at AH. As for videos, any Between the Games and Shenanigans videos are always great to watch. Series wise, there are always MC and GTA videos, which are CLASSICS even if they're older and Play Pals which is 👌. Always recommend those. Some more recent ones would be GMOD and 7 days to die. Also the Rage Quit anniversary video they came out like two weeks ago. That was an excellent video.

[hagofbolding]

hi! i hope this question makes sense. i was just wondering, do you have a specific process for blocking out the character poses? they way they "act" is really natural and lively, and the poses feel so specific to each character and their actions. do you use a lot of photo referencing and acting the pose out yourself to decide on the gestures?

thank you! i love the comic and i get really excited every time it updates. <3

OH I love this question, thanks so much! I definitely put an unreasonable of thought into every little expression and pose so I really appreciate that it's being noticed, haha.

I do many of my poses straight off the dome, but I definitely will use mirrors and photos for reference when I need to (which is often.) I have no issue with people who wanna use models to pose their characters (especially where extreme foreshortening/perspective may be involved!) but boyyy do I gotta say that continuing to practice gesture & figure drawing will do you wonders in saving time and getting more expressive poses - or at least, moving your character's design away from the generic CSP dummy. (I know it when I see it)

I start hammering out acting details pretty early in the thumbnails, and try to exaggerate things, because it's easier to reel it back in if I think it's getting too hammy and I also want to make sure I am set up to remember my exact intent/idea later one when I'm penciling/inking.

(Also, usually these are usually my favorite drawings. I wish this was what the whole dang comic looked like)

Something I like to keep in mind aside from obvious stuff like "watch movies/consume media/life draw to pick up cool acting & body language ideas" is also how to incorporate the characters' design with their little mannerisms. Buckthorn's glasses give him a really fun prop to play with.

Or like - if someone has long hair, would they play with it or mess with it when they're bored or frustrated? If they're shy, would they "hide" themselves with baggy clothes / accessories when they're uncomfortable? My another solution of mine for making what has been a very acting / dialogue driven comic more interesting has been "ALWAYS GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING TO DO" because talking heads are boring.

Anyway: obviously things get tied down with pencils, goofy cartoony stuff gets grounded in some approximation of reality (unfortunately.)

And then, like, at least a month after I finish penciling I finally make it to inking & coloring this particular page. After having an indeterminate amount of time to obsessively think about the story and characters up to this point, I make several significant acting / drawing changes because I am a ding dong. I just wanted to point out the tweaks I made here - on the left page, I changed Sanctuary to appear more interested in tuning his instrument than looking like he's intently listening to Buckthorn. Because ultimately, the purpose of the scene was to make him look a bit dismissive of Buckthorn's complaint, it felt like a better pose.

I also felt that the forehead kiss felt a little more natural in this sequence & rolling into the panels on the page that follows these.

Anywayyy - I rambled longer than I intended here, but I love this stuff and I got excited. I hope y'all find it interesting and / or useful!

[fatesundress]

For starters, I know you get this kind of comment all the time, but it’s true: Your style of writing is honestly so breathtaking and incredible. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever read anything better in my life. I always look forward to reading your works, and I just have to ask, how did you develop your writing style? It’s like - the details, word choice and plot are always so interesting and authentic. I really hope this ask isn’t overbearing, I’m just so entranced with the way you write.

oh wow. i don't have crying reaction images on my laptop good enough for this unfortunately

this is not overbearing at all anon!! you made my night :')

i mentioned briefly that i initially wrote poetry, which i think translates into my writing style being on the more lyrical/flowery side, and up until recently i really struggled with and hated dialogue and anything character-centric. now it's my favourite and the prose has actually become ancillary in my process at times. honestly language/writing is my biggest and oldest special interest and i've always become really easily fixated on dialects, phrasing, words that stand out to me, etc, so i sort of collect them as i go and they'll get stuck in my head for days where i just compulsively repeat or draw them out with my hands — writing is just easier and more socially acceptable lol. i keep a very long list of words i like that i'm constantly adding to (i'm sure you can find some repeats in my fics) and i get excited at the prospect of writing something that could elicit the same feeling in someone else that i get when i read/hear a phrase that clicks for me. (recent example is in the early narration of baldur's gate 3 when one of the mindflayer's eyes are described as "wet, orange pearls" GOD i can't stop thinking about it) i guess it's like how some people get really hyped about solving math equations or puzzles. that's me when i can write something accurately to the way it feels in my head.

otherwise, i'm obsessed with tom riddle, so that helps. i was talking a while ago about writing an invisible life of addie larue au for him and that's because it's not an exaggeration to say he's always at the back of my mind. every piece of media i engage with somehow loops back to him. i am literally always Putting Him In Scenarios. for plots specifically, to be honest i actually find it hard to write on here sometimes because i always want to do more with him than i find i can in a oneshot! i lean toward longfics with ocs because, well, i get to Put Him In More Scenarios, and ones more niche to my tastes.

hopefully that answers your question, i got a little carried away but thank you again 😭<3

[the-valiant-valkyrie]

Lucy Theorization: Connections to Wanda(...?)

I think I've mentioned this once before, but I really wanted to bring up something interesting I've noticed about Lucy as of late... More specifically, her 'relationship', or lack thereof (we'll get into that in a second) with Wanda.

Now, I'm sure we all know by now, but just in case by some miracle someone's forgotten: Wanda's whole niche is around time travel. Very frequently when speaking to the survivors, she'll get the past, present and future all mixed up in her head, and sort of forget which one's which.

On top of this, she also frequently uses occurrences in previously visited timelines and directly relates them to present ones- which also frequently leads to confusion when there's discrepancies between them. This is what I really want to focus on, here. Now let's take a look at this quote for a second:

This quote in particular has always struck me as odd. Wanda doesn't know about Lucy's existence.

Now, of course, I've mentioned before that Woodie's compendium update already confirms Lucy to be a canonical, 'living' entity. Not a figment of anyone's imagination. And I'm pretty sure it's well known at this point that even Maxwell of all people is willing to indulge the axe's personhood. But, if you need even more evidence, even Wagstaff of all people knows full well that something is amiss with her:

So we can pretty much guarantee here that Wanda is incorrect in her silent assumption that Lucy isn't real or alive. But the real question of the matter is how could that possibly be? It isn't as though she doesn't spend a lot of time around Woodie. She seems perfectly well versed in his deeper secrets (shown below), and not to mention it's very clear she's been around him long enough to know how much he cares about her. Obviously she's aware that he considers Lucy to be alive. She just doesn't believe him.

Really, I can only see this phenomenon having two implications.

Theory one is that this is meant to imply that this is the only timeline in which Lucy is actually alive. While I suppose I have no definitive proof to argue this point with, I don't think this is the case at all. Especially when we consider a lot of the similarities Wanda elaborates on between timelines (Willows are all seemingly arsonists, Abigail is seemingly always deceased, ect):

Really, the theory I'm leaning towards is the second of the two options: Lucy doesn't like Wanda.

Now the why of the matter is to be debated, but I definitely don't think this theory is implausible. For one, it's been pretty much canonically confirmed by Klei that Lucy doesn't really allow her existence to be noticed by those who she does not trust. If she does talk, it's frequently- if only- with Woodie, somewhere where she doesn't think she'll be overheard.

However, it's very clear through both the compendium itself, as well as the other survivor's quotes that they've got at least a hunch that Lucy's not your typical axe. And in the case of, again, Maxwell, as well as Wortox*, their dialogue implies they've actually spoken to each other before.

While it's by no means solid evidence of anything, we do have to consider that we still don't know anything about Lucy's history, nor how she came to be at all. Though if it's anything similar to the magic Maxwell wields, or perhaps something similar to the Constant's natural magic like with Wortox, a native, it might explain why Lucy seems to be so amicable with the two of them... And, considering how much Wanda hates both Maxwell and Wortox, it would give her an excuse for keeping quiet around her specifically.

*It has come to my attention that somewhere in between Wortox's introduction and now, Klei have changed Wortox's Lucy quote. Unfortunately, I can't find the original line verbatim, but it was something along the lines of "She tells good jokes". As of present day, it's now "An axe is an axe, those are the facts". I have literally no idea why they would change it, but the focus on altering that quote in particular is incredibly odd.

tldr: - Wanda, who knows a frightening amount of pretty much every survivor- on account of her time traveling abilities- knows absolutely nothing about Lucy, and does not believe she is alive at all - Lucy has canonically slipped up around other survivors in the past, and has even been implied to willingly speak to some of them before- though whether in the past or present is unclear - The implication here is that Lucy is either afraid or otherwise distrustful of Wanda, and has never once slipped up around her, despite the fact that she can't say the same about most, if not all of the other survivors - Also Wanda's kind of impolite to both Woodie and Lucy :( knock it off Wanda. Show some respect.