#i feel like by now my issues with chronology are clear

[horsechestnut]

Batfamily Chronological Reading List

Here it is, a massive list of Batfamily comics all sorted by issue release date so you can read them in the order they were originally intended to be read in, or easily reference back to what happened when. Do you want to know what Dick was up to during A Death in the Family? Need to know if Cass was around yet when Steph had her baby for your fan fic? Just a completion-ist with too much time on your hands like me? Then this is the list for you!

About six months ago I was trying to read my way through some old comics and getting insanely frustrated trying to figure out the order they went in. There are lots of reading lists online, but none of them gave me what I truly wanted: the order of individual issues rather than comic runs or collections. I also couldn't find any that featured all of the Batkids. So I took all of the reading lists I was using, found the On-Sale-Date for each of the issues mentioned, found a few other lists to fill in some gaps, and complied them into chronological order.

This list features what I consider to be the main 8 Batfamily members: Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne, and Duke Thomas. It is by no means every appearance of these characters, but it is hopefully all of the important ones and then some. By no means do I suggest reading all of these (unless you're slightly insane like me), it's more of a reference guide than a read list.

Some Disclaimers:

This is still a work in progress. You'll notice that the first third of the list is much more detailed than the more recent entries. That's because I haven't read them yet. As of now I've only reached Batgirl 2000 #15, but will continue updating as I go through (I'm hoping to finish sometime within the next 12 months).

This is not a Batman list. I have included some issues about Bruce that I feel are important to the overall story, but if I were to include all of his important issues it would make the list unusable. You should still be able to follow his character arcs through his role in the comics listed here.

I needed to cut off somewhere, so anything released after December 31, 2023 was not included. I may go back and change this later, but not any time soon.

I do not want to discredit any of the Batfamily members not included here (ie Kate, Helena, Jean Paul). They are all important to Bruce and Gotham in their own way, but again I needed to cut it off somewhere or I never would have found an end.

For any edits you wish to suggest, please do so through this form. Any suggestions given not through this form will not be considered, and as it says in the form, I also will not consider any that don't have an explanation.

Finally I need to say thank you and give credit to the people who's reading lists I used to create this:

cazzam - New and Improved Cassandra Cain Reading Guide

Comic Book Herald - I used both their Complete Robin and Complete Batgirl Read Order Lists.

The Comic Book Treasury - I used both their Robin Reading Order and their Duke Thomas Reading Order

Comic Book Wire - The Signal Reading Order

Daily Jason Todd - Jason Todd's Reading List

Stephanie Brown Wiki Chronology Page

The Unoffical Guide to the DC Universe was also an incredible help with sorting out timelines, and all of my On-Sale-Date information comes from Grand Comics Database (GCD).

I hope you guys enjoy and find this useful! I'm happy to answer any questions, and if something isn't clear feel free to let me know!

[bbygirl-aemond]

Can you explain more what you mean about Rhaenyra's kids never learning from the Driftmark incident?

Oh sure! This ask is in reference to this post discussing the way I think the adults should have handled the Driftmark incident. Let me start with the disclaimer that just because I'm talking about Rhaenyra's kids here doesn't mean I don't take issue with Alicent's, too. But this ask is specifically referencing Rhaenyra's kids, so let's go through the dinner scene chronologically and figure out what they objectively did.

First, we have Jace's "toast" to his uncles. He's trying to retaliate to Aegon's gross comments, but Aemond gets caught in the crossfire. I'm sure it feels great to have your childhood, in which you were bullied and then maimed, referred to as "fond" by one of the people complicit in the things that happened to you. There's a reason Aemond looks upset and breaks eye contact as he goes to sit down; it's because Jace's words had their intended effect. Look at his face here:

Does he look happy, or does he look hurt and angry?

Second, we have Luke laughing at the pig being set in front of Aemond:

Again, this is the kid who should hopefully feel bad about maiming and disabling a family member (remember intent vs impact, he can and should feel sorry while still maintaining he was acting in self-defense). And what does he do instead? He laughs at the memory of bullying him.

Third, we have Jace punching Aemond. This means Rhae's kids are 0 for 2 when it comes to escalating a verbal exchange into a physical fight. I also don't see enough people acknowledge the fact that Jace deliberately punches Aemond's injured side:

In a fight with a man he played a role in disabling, Jace immediately goes for the most vulnerable, injured part of him, weaponizing his disability against him.

Fourth, we have Luke in the background striding up to Aemond as Jace punches his bad side. You can see him in the previous GIF walking up to them both. At this point, again, Aemond has not been physically aggressive in any way, and has been struck in a very vulnerable place, and yet Luke is very clearly intent on joining the fight. So he and his brother are also 0 for 2 when it comes to jumping one person together.

It's also interesting to me that Aemond not only refuses to retaliate, but he refuses to escalate the way the Strong boys are doing here. Remember, he's been struck physically right where they permanently injured him, and yet he doesn't strike Jace back. He pushes him casually to the ground and then turns away, indicating he wants the "fight" to be done. This entire exchange is very one-sided.

Now, I'm not saying these two didn't have a right to be angry after Aemond's toast. But I think it's significant both Jace and Luke antagonized Aemond first, especially given that Aegon was the one who actually made the rude comments. They say they remember his trauma "fondly;" they laugh at him for it; and they weaponize the disability they caused against him. These are not the actions of thoughtful or remorseful kids.

To be perfectly clear, I don't really see this as a moral or personal failing of Luke and Jace. If none of the adults around them treated what happened like it had any significance, why would they? I don't blame children for echoing the beliefs of the adults around them. But I think this shows that Rhaenyra actually negatively impacted her children's moral development by leaning so heavily into the idea that they did nothing wrong and were completely blameless. It left no room for nuance, and no room for the idea that even if your intentions were good, the impact still matters when it's as severe as someone losing an eye.

Like I said at the end of my original post: Both sides here are convinced they're 100% in the right, while hypocritically hating the other side for thinking the exact same thing. But Aemond was forced to reflect on his actions at Driftmark; he lives with the consequences of what he did every single day of his life. Even if Alicent tells him he did nothing wrong, he is forever punished for it, and so we only ever see him retaliate in kind, never escalating or instigating. Rhaenyra's kids don't have that physical reminder, and so in the absence of any accountability they had no way to learn from their past mistakes and continue to repeat them all these years later, where Aemond actually shows signs of having learned restraint, if only begrudgingly.

(Jace and Luke are still my boys tho I can never hate them)

[akane-kurokawa]

Chapter 146 thoughts!

OKAY SO-

Would I seem sadistic if I said I’m so glad we got to see this scene? With the confirmation that filming was chronological, I was giving up hope that we would get it.

I said it in an earlier chapter and I’ll say it again, Frill’s acting is a one of the best parts of this arc. She steals every scene she’s in like a grotesque horror creature. Major props to Mengo for how she’s able to capture the feelings of these scenes so perfectly through her art.

We have to still take everything we’re seeing with a grain of salt since I can’t see how Aqua would have the source for all of this unless it’s all in the dvd (including the parts Ai wasn’t there for) but it does fit well with both the movie narrative and potentially even the real events.

That said, Airi using Taiki to manipulate Kamiki is foul, and her setting him up with a sense of insecurity and abandonment that seems like gasoline to Ai’s spark of her own issues. It really just makes one big fire.

It reminds me of Ai’s scene with Nino, there are all these expectations and demands from her. At such a young age, she needs to be what these people -these people who are CLOSE to her even, not just the fans- need her to be. With Nino, it’s entitlement, but with Hikaru it’s desperation.

Ai is out in a similar position to Aqua a few chapters ago, though unlike Aqua, who accepts the position he’s put in, putting Ruby’s needs above his own (as she even addressed) Ai chooses honesty. She admits that she can’t give Kamiki what he needs, or at least she’s not sure that she can. It’s a difficult decision steeped in kindness, but it also shatters any hope Hikaru had.

Here’s the confirmation that (at least in this movie) Kamiki pushed the murder suicide into happening. I wonder how Taiki feels about it.

My heart breaks for Taiki, acting this out. This is such a fucked up situation for all three of the siblings to be acting out. (Side note I do wish we spent more time with Taiki and his thoughts about all this as it was happening but considering I was losing hope we’d even get this scene, I really can’t complain)

Another note about the ordering of events, we have substantial reason to believe this is rearranging of facts, to some capacity anyway. Ai was all but confirmed to be broken up with Hikaru prior to the twins birth. Hikaru was implied to have been behind Ryosuke’s presence at the hospital (and indirectly Gorou’s murder) after all.

The movie timeline having him and Ai together after the twins are born is very strange to me. I can’t see Hikaru being the chillest about having children, considering Taiki. I’ve always interpreted her having his kids while not being able to love him as being a sort of betrayal to him, like she was using him. Obviously the situation is more nuanced, but from Hikaru’s perspective she isn’t too different from Airi.

This does answer my confusion two chapters ago about that incident being cut, it wouldn’t make sense to include with this new interpretation of the timeline. My guess is that this was constructed this way as a basis for establishing a clear motive, even if it still seems to go out of its way to make Hikaru as tortured and sympathetic as possible.

I love Kana I love Kana I love Kana I love Kana. Another top tier character of the arc (and of my heart always) is Kana, her relationships with the twins have been one of the beating hearts of this series since the formation of new B Komachi.

She cares so much about Aqua, even beyond her feelings for him, and she’s able to pick up when something’s wrong, get it out of him, and then comfort him about it.

He’s promised to live now, the tide of Aqua is turning.

Was that giggle the first time he’s actually laughed? It’s so cute how she’s being so goofy to cheer him up, she cares so much.

Also from a shipping standpoint I am cheering, but not too loudly yet. Aqua is in no place for a serious relationship and I don’t see the endgame ship (this) getting together until closer to the end.

You know, I had jokes that Kamiki has twice now been the dramatic punchline of a chapter (Nino talking to him, Kaburagi talking to him) and I’d said that rule of threes meant his next one would be a big one, but damn.

Not worried he’s going to kill her tbh, it doesn’t seem like she meets his victim profile tbh (superstar women at the height of her career) and he is too calculating in all this to do any kind of impulsive killing, having previously used proxies or opportunities where the victim was entirely isolated. If he was going to be a sloppy killer, he’d be caught already.

That said, this is the arc of everyone having convoluted unspoken plans, so I’m expecting something much more elaborate in this. Maybe he’s planning on doing or saying something that will influence her performance of Ai in a way that affects Aqua’s plan (whatever the fuck that even is), or maybe he’s beginning his own series of falling dominos.

Either way Ruby doesn’t die, especially not before the final arc, so I’m much more excited than worried in this situation. Last week I asked for more to chew on and this week they rolled out a full buffet.

[ichorblossoms]

🫵 Get uno reversed. Tell me about Honeybee!! What's up with Grimm and Yarrow!!

HAIIIIII !!!! OKAY SO i did write about the general premise of honeybee and it's three parts before here. that's the basic "what the fuck are you talking about mintt" intro that i have locked and loaded now for if people ever ask me what the fuck it is i'm being so mentally ill about

AS a story itself, i envision honeybee as an illustrated novel of sorts, told in a semi-linear way. because i apparently cannot be a normal person who wants to tell stories in normal ways. the illustrations and whatnot will need to be decently worked out once i get a solid first draft of the story written, but i currently want to do something like this with the pages where instead of traditional illustrations it's something more akin to comic panels

(caveat that this is a mockup with first-draft unedited writing (with <placeholders>) and quick doodles. this is as not-final as it gets dshgklfdhlgh)

colors not final and this is definitely NOT the art style i'll be using for honeybee, i just needed to convey my ideas dhklghdflkg also i do want to get really fun and funky with the layouts but this was with csp and not like. indesign so it'll be a whole Process come time to actaully tell the final version of honeybee hdklghfdlg

basically i want to have the best of both worlds where i can get into grimm and yarrow's heads when i need to (it's written in third-person limited in both of their povs depending on the chapter/scene), while also showing things as they happen bc i feel like there are crucial moments in the story that hit harder when you see the characters reacting rather than what's going through their heads in the moment? this also is fully bc i'm a visual artist before a writer, but the nature of reading comics means people generally will consume the story faster, so i want to disrupt that a bit

like i said, i'm still on the first draft of the story, so i have a general arc of where i want things to go and land, but i'm still figuring out a LOT of the in-between details. the out-of-date thought-vomit outline is at almost 11k words, while the actual first draft is at 43.5k, which is…..mmmmmaybe about 1/3 of the way done…..? idk, there's a lot of stuff i want to say and do with the story that i haven't yet, so i truly don't know how long the full draft will be. i also think i'm gonna end up trimming a lot of what i currently have written and i also have scenes that have completely changed but. gotta get a draft down first

AS for grimm and yarrow well. god where do i start. they kind of have a different dynamic in each part of the story. p1 is about two strangers—one who gives without thinking and another who has received so little kindness—getting to know one another and learning about how the world is both kinder and crueler than they expect. p2 is about two people who knew one another but are sort of strangers again trying to open themselves up to trusting one another despite a number of personal issue on both ends, and how the process of doing that fucking hurts both parties, but, in the case of these two at least, results in both of them being the happiest they've been in a long, long time. p3 is about two people who are madly in love with one another trying to wreak havoc on the people responsible for getting in the way of that. they drive me bonkers fuckin yonkers for different reasons on their own AND together. yeehaw

briefly back to what i mentioned earlier abt the story being told semi-linearly: p3 is the "present day" of the story, so despite me calling it "part three", honeybee as a work opens with the beginning of p3. from there the story flips between the past (parts 1 and 2), as it is told chronologically, and the present. this is bc i want to make it abundantly clear from the get go that the two of them are so in love with one another and this is a story about both how they got there and what the fuck they're doing now

i could go on about a lot of things here for a lot of time bc i've been hyperfixating on trying to build/tell this story for almost a year and a half now, but i'm gonna call it with the post now bc if i don't, it will dissolve into even more rambling (but you are welcome to ask follow-up questions. no pressure though hfkghldf)

[magpiesmemes]

|| Magpie's Tumblr RP guide ||

So it's been a while since I made one of these but with the shut down of omegle, more people are joining the site to rp, I figured I'd explain some of the basics.

Now none of these are necessary, you can just do as you do but these are some of the 'norms' here on tumblr currently. They may change and evolve over time, they've done so countless times in my time on tumblr but here's this for now for those who might find it useful!! Please feel free to offer feedback on this, I struggle with giving instructions so I've tried to make it as clear as possible but my brain isn't the best with this kind of thing. I will correct anything that needs correcting and add things as time goes on, so please do check back if you request an explanation/addition to something as I will try to add it asap.

Last updated: 29/11/23

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BASICS

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Basic Etiquette

Don't reblog roleplays that aren't yours, often this will mess up peoples thread trackers and it's a nightmare.

Rather than reblog asks to continue them as roleplays, make a new post and link the ask in that post. This avoids blog clutter for both parties.

ALWAYS read peoples rules and about pages. No exceptions.

No one is obliged to write their character purely as they are in canon. Canon divergence, au, or just additional headcanons for canon characters is very common. Do not make issue with someone just because their writing for a character doesn't fit with how you see them. It's their character, just don't write with them if you don't like how they write them. Simple as that.

Don't godmod. This means don't take control of a persons character unless otherwise instructed by the other writer, do not assume attacks immediately hit/injure/kill their character without prior planning for such a thing. You can write the attack, just don't assume it lands. This also applies to your character being aware of things - just because YOU know something, doesn't mean your character does.

Mun does not equal muse. Many people play villains because they're fun, don't assume that these people share the viewpoints of such characters just because they're writing them. The RPC would be painfully boring without some villain muses to stir the pot!!

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xkit rewritten

The absolute saviour of tumblr rp when you're on pc, unfortunately I don't believe it's available on the phone app but it's super useful for pc users. For chrome you can find it in the chrome extensions, I'm sure it's available similarly for other browsers. The functions on xkit that specifically benefit rp are: clean feed (for blacklisting any content you don't want to see), mutual checker, tag tracking+ and trim reblogs. Any others are entirely up to your discretion whether you want to use them or not. To use 'trim reblogs' the post must be in your drafts or posted, then you can use the little scissor tool at the bottom of the post to snip off older replies and avoid posts becoming excessively long.

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Settings

So if you're like me and want a chronological timeline for those you follow? Here's how to do that. Go into account settings. Not the blog settings to edit how that looks, you want the settings that has your account info, dashboard preferences, ect. Click 'Dashboard', which should be on the right hand side menu on your screen if you're using pc. Optional: Enable 'Show timestamps' so you can see how old posts are. I find this useful as it ensures I'm not responding to something that is 5 years old lmfao. Scroll down and turn off 'Best stuff first'. This should make your 'Following' tab chronological, ensuring you see whenever people you follow are posting.

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Blog Design

Try to make sure you have a header and an icon for your blog, you can set those using the 'blog settings' tab. Even if there's no picture of your character themselves, try to use an image that captures their vibe - this advice is for both the icon and the header tbh. While not having one isn't bad, it will make people less likely to follow back or perhaps even block you! Often iconless/headerless blogs are spam bots and everyone loathes those.

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Meanings of words commonly used by RP accounts:

Mutuals - Your mutuals or 'moots' are those following you that you follow back. Private - This means that the blog only interacts with Mutuals. Selective/semi-selective - Won't roleplay with everyone, they'll rp with people based on their own preference. Thread - A single rp storyline. Verses - Different timelines of characters. Eg. Kidverse, fantasyverse, ect. Mun/Mundane - You! The writer of the blog! Muse/Muses - Character/s you're writing. Faceclaim - The 'actor' of your muse, whether canon or otherwise. Who do you imagine playing them when writing or whose icons would you use for them.

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Tagging

When writing with someone it's a good idea to put their username in the tags at the very least, this allows them to find your threads easier. ie: '#magpiesmemes' would be used by others if they were to write with this blog.

Making tags for individual threads is also useful, meaning you can find specific rps far quicker. They don't have to be fancy but some people do like to make fancy ones. A nice simple one would be 'Thread: Threadname'.

Also having tags for specific verses is a good idea, indicating to your rp partner what timeline they're writing it. Something like '#kidverse' will do the job but you also can make those fancy.

Having a tag for rp memes you've reposted is a good idea also, meaning it's easier to find if someone wants to send you something. '#memes' does the job just fine.

Lastly, if you're a multimuse then having character tags is a good idea, indicating to people what character they're writing with. Something like '#charactername' is fine but again, any tag can be fancied up to your likings.

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Pinned Post

Having a pinned post at the top of your blog has become fairly standard practice in the rp scene these days. Usually this has your important links on it (rules/muse pages) and some explanation of what kind of blog yours is. For example: 'This is a Private, selective blog for charactername from fandom/an oc. Written by mun. [Ruleslink] - [Muselink]' This would work as a simple rudimentary introduction for people checking out your blog. You can pin a post by selecting the three dots in the top right on it after it is posted, ensuring it's the first thing people see when looking at your blog. This is mine, for example but it needn't be so indepth. I just have zero chill. If you're writing on a sideblog then it's best to also have a pinned post on your main account with a link leading to your roleplay account. That way people will know that you're a roleplayer looking to write if you follow them - and also they may follow the link to check out your stuff!

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Making Rules/Muse pages

These are important to indicate to people what you will or won't write, your personal writing preferences, ect. Many people won't rp with people who don't have these as it means they can't be sure of boundaries. People often use a post to do this, linking it in their pinned post to ensure people can find it. [Tutorial on how to link posts here]. That's the simplest way. You can also make a google doc or even make a carrd instead, linking them for people to refer to for this information. Alternatively you can use your pinned post and simply list it there - though there is risk of it cluttering your page if you have many muses. To avoid that, you can use a 'read more' such as the one this post was under. Make a new paragraph and various options come up, you want the one that looks like two straight lines with a squiggly line between them. [This icon].

Things to have on your rule page:

- Things you won't roleplay/triggers. - What is your stance on shipping (do you autoship with people who rp your muses partner or do you prefer chemistry first, ect.) - Writing length preference. Do you prefer short simple threads, paragraphs or more novella style? - Do you use icons? Do you prefer your partner would use/not use icons? Same questions with text formatting. - Tagging requests. Are there things you want to avoid on your dash using xkit's blacklist?

Things to have on your muse/about page:

- Basic description of who your character is, it's best to write it as if you're explaining them to someone who hasn't seen what they're from - even if they're a popular canon character. - If they're an oc with a universe of their own, a basic explanation of that universe would be useful but isn't really necessary if you can't/don't want to. - A picture reference of some kind is also useful, if possible. - A description of the verses you write them in. For example: 'Kidverse - This verse is set when my character is aged whatever and this is a short description of what they're like in that particular verse.'

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Advertising Your Blog

One of the many ways people advertise their blogs is by posting self promos. These are usually edited images with a little blog tagline, links to important pages and a short description of your blog. Here's an example of my own. Including tags of the fandoms you write in/write with is a good way to try and draw attention your way. Alternatively, if you're limited in your image making/editing skills you can make a simple post, perhaps with an icon or gif to draw attention. Explain your blog, what you write, who you're looking to write with, ect. Make sure to include tags so people can see it!

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More To Do?

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Okay, so you've got the basics down, now what? Well, there's a lot you can do to make your blog more functional and/or appealing.

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Thread Tracking

So you've got a roleplay but you're scared you'll forget to reply? I recommend RPThreadTracker. There's a how-to use it on the site faq and it's a lifesaver in keeping track of your threads tbh.

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Icons

Though not necessary, you can find icons to use usually by searching the 'charactername icons' or 'faceclaim icons' right here on tumblr, be sure to follow peoples instructions for using them though. Some people will want a like/reblog for their use.

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Formatting

Many people, like myself, use some form of text formatting when writing. Some of the usual ones are small text, like the one I'm writing in now. That's done either by using 'ctrl+shift+-', 'ctrl+-' or you can use this:

while highlighting text. This tool also allows you to colour your text, italicise, ect. Play around with it in your own time to see what works for you. Some other useful keyboard shortcuts:

'Ctrl+b' - Bolds highlighted selection 'Ctrl+i' - Italicises highlighted selection 'Ctrl+z' - Undo, good for if you've accidentally erased text you didn't mean to erase.

[rararazaquato]

chapter 2 is coming. here's makoto and kurumi.

a lot of design notes under the cut, both about these guys and the nda detectives

yuma was specifically given a little facial hair because, in the canon of the fic, he's been too busy to actually shave. however, the out-of-canon reason is that my art style is so chibi cutesit that it makes everyone look a bajillion years younger than they actually are. yuma's design is already a little young-looking despite most evidence in-canon pointing to him being an adult, so i wanted to give him that extra signifier of being a grown ass man.

the longer hair is also there for the same reasons - he hasn't gotten it cut for a while, and the bowl cut made him look childish.

because i have chronic same-face-syndrome, i put yuma and makoto in the same pose to emphasize that they are, genetically, the same person.

honestly, makoto's design versus yuma's in-game really makes it clear just how much a haircut and outfit change can make a character look older. with makoto wearing a suit and having hair that isn't in the perfect shape of a bowling ball, he looks a lot more like a young adult with a babyface. because i feel like he doesn't need the extra age signifiers (and because i feel like he'd want to differentiate himself from yuma more), i didn't give him the facial hair.

the "looking less like yuma" angle is also why he still bleaches and grows out his hair.

i like to think makoto starts taking better care of himself postgame, so i made his hair a bit fluffier and softer-looking to show he's actually been brushing and washing it. i mean, come on. canon makoto ily but you look like a greased-up yorkshire terrier.

i also gave makoto curtain bangs because girl... you have a forehead the size of the moon. i'm also a member of large forehead gang so i understand you pain but still.

makoto's outfit is actually loosely based on an outfit i own irl! i have a hawaiian shirt with similar colors (albeit a different pattern) and blue swim trunks with red lobsters on them.

makoto probably sunburns really easily, both as a result of being pale as fuck (yuma also has this issue) and being a homunculus (he won't die in the sun, but it does result in a mild allergy). so just imagine he's always lathered in sunscreen.\

mentally, makoto is the same age as yuma (so 20 when this fic takes place) and kurumi is 19 (i headcanon she's only a year younger than yuma). chronologically, they are both about four years old. #justhomunculusthings

i changed kurumi's hairstyle because her canon one is stupid. like why does she have two skinny ass braids hidden in her coat. give her those long luscious locks.

she's wearing disposable gloves to protect her hands, and almost all of her clothing is specifically designed to reflect uv rays.

you'll notice the inside of kurumi's mouth is actually a different color than any of the master detectives. that's the homunculus baby!!!

i gave her an ahoge because i hope she gets the protag treatment for the next game. also i hope she and shinigami become girlbesties and also that shinigami gets the fuck over herself. um ok now time for design notes abt the other people. artwork here if u didn't see the og one.

desuhiko actually does turn 20 in the timeframe of the fic. his birthday party is a future chapter.

he gets knockoff heelys in the upcoming chapter bcuz i think he'd enjoy them. but he got them flippy floppys in the meantime.

fubuki got a new hairstyle because i think she would be a bit more loose and silly as she starts going on more adventures.

her and vivia actually have two birthdays between the time i headcanon raincode to take place (march 2XXX) and the fic (july 2XXX+1). so while yuma is 19 in mdarc and 20 in usf, fubuki is 21 in mdarc and 23 in usf (and vivia is 25-27)

yes, that is ibuki mioda on her shirt.

i'm actually scared of needles so halara's earrings get a redesign. they get new ones in the upcoming chapter as well.

their outfit might be mostly long sleeves, but the jacket is lightweight and breezy and the jeans have wide legs, so it's actually nice and cool.

just realized this outfit is primarily yellow with some red and blue acccents. i can't believe i reinvented sollux homestuck. i'm sorry halara baby i didn't mean to compare you to an ugly bitch like that (this is a joke i actually like sollux)

vivia's outfit is inspired by the stupid shit i would make in the sims before i discovered custom content. i feel like he'd be a sims girly.

your guess for why yuma got facial hair due to never shaving while vivia, who is infamously too executive-dysfunction-riddled to leave the fireplace much less shave, has the skin of a newborn baby is up to you to interpret. possible options include (un)fortunate genetics on either/both of them, he is trans and hasn't started/doesn't intend to start t, or he just pays halara to do it for him.

actually i do think he pays halara to help him out with things when the chronic fatigue/executive dysfunction gets too much to deal with. fubuki will do it for free but also she is kind of bad at being helpful as a result of being fubuki.

aaand time for the general headcanons section

every single one of these characters is some flavor of neurodivergent. halara and kurumi are autistic, desuhiko has adhd, and yuma, makoto, fubuki, and vivia have both. i'm sure some of them also have other neurodivergencies but those are the two i'm most familiar with so those are the two that worm their way into my headcanons.

not a single one of these characters doesn't have ptsd. like i'm sorry but you cannot live through chapters 4 and 5 of rain code and not be mentally ill afterwards. most of em also have a few other mental illnesses because i love projecting on fictional characters <3

vivia's also got some sort of chronic physical illness (my personal headcanon is pots), and makoto sometimes uses a cane. yuma should sometimes use a cane but he has the bodily awareness of a fucking peanut and thinks it hurts everyone to walk.

yuma's gonna realize he's any pronouns nonbinary someday, but that won't be for a hot minute. makoto is the same, but he's a lot closer to that realization than yuma is. both are also bi, as is kurumi.

desuhiko is the resident kodakaverse problematic bicon. there's always one of em!

fubuki is a lesbian. "oh but she confesses to yuma in her final gumshoe gab!" well as i said before yuma isn't a man. it's a bit confusing to her because she doesn't know that yet but turns out she's just got that Sense where she can tell that yuma isn't exactly cis.

halara is nonbinary (obviously, that's basically canon) and pan

vivia is somewhere on the aroace spectrum (both out of general lack of interest and because sex and romance are physically/mentally straining) but he's generally gay-aligned.

[uninformedartist]

Quite a personal post. But just wanted to ramble loosely on Loona. So from a post on twitter about Loona, the helluva boss community gives reasons for why loona is that way she is.

Trauma. From her life in the pound and it caused multiple things like insecurities/issues integrating in society and socializing/interacting with people. She has a low self esteem, does not connect with people easily, has abandonment trauma, builds walls to not let people in, lashes out at people (blitz or moxxie mainly) physically and verbally by insulting people or dropping snide comments.

Now all this is understandable, Loona appears to be quite the character to feel sympathetic towards. But Loona is 22, Blitz adopted her I asume 17 going to 18 according to the pound scene in falling stars. In all that time Loona has not that I've seen in the show improved herself at all. And yes I understand its hard trauma can't be "washed away" or healed so easily. But speaking personally, my father he has suffered... he didn't have a good childhood at all. But he decided to choose healing, to not allow the pain of trauma ruin his future. Loona I don't see her seeking healing. Episode 8 season 1 of helluva shows Loona acting so healthy and caring towards Blitz like he's the one person she can trust and depend on. Flash forward to season 2 episode 2 she's seen abusing Blitz all because he said he may replace her in her receptionist position, not as a daughter just her job he made it quite clear. She then has that moment pep talking Octavia saying oh dads are constantly trying cut them some slack basically. To not long after that talk do this to Blitz:

I see these episodes chronological dispite episode 8 of so1 showing recently. Season 1 she was aloof to Blitz, bit of shoving him here and there and some conflict but nothing physical to season 2 she's seen harming Blitz physically and we have yet to see more of her in season 2 as Viv said. Heck even in the pilot, Loona isn't much for hugs or physical contact and is disgruntled at Blitz for doing so but she didn't harm him:

Loona is another character that is clearly affected the most of the constant character regression helluva boss suffers from, Moxxie coming second to mind. Her regressing from appearing in season 1 that she found healing being with Blitz now or is still on a journey finding healing from her traumatic past even though she's been with Blits for the past few years. Season 1 shows her havibg a family bond with Blitz, a strenuous one as they're both hurt individuals in some way but try to make it work and the season 2 shows her physically harming and berating Blitz terribly from said trauma she has. Its just frustrating to me, feels like Viv wrote both seasons in the wrong order, plot and character regression.

This is just ramblings, loose thoughts and personal feelings of mine. Its just I personally have experienced trauma like what Loona is going through but my father has and he has with every fiber in him not to put us through the things he went through, and is healing to this day. Anyhow thats just it 🌼

[pretendingday]

"I was quick to want the world rid of its fools an hour ago, I forget sometimes how much an exemplar I am among them." "That’s not how I see you."

A fanmix about James Fitzjames and Francis Crozier from AMC’s The Terror. Chronological and mostly canon compliant.

Listen on Spotify

Keep reading for songs and motivations.

1. All The Old Showstoppers - The New Pornographers

"When John he saw the numbers he lied, made up the whole thing, failed when he tried" This song is about responsibility, good intentions, and failure. It feels like a good place to start. Also, (Sir) John sure did fail when he tried.

2. Get Famous - The Mountain Goats

"You’ve been waiting for this, ever since you’ve been young, be careful not to choke on your tongue" This song will always be JFJ's theme song to me. The tone of it also fits in with the "tell us about bird shit island, why don't you, James" energy.

3. French Exit - The Antlers

"I’m not a puppy you take home, don’t bother trying to fix my heart" Now, this one is about fighting. It's about the "there hasn't been a single meal we've shared, a single conversation, when you weren't morbing on about what you're due." It's about the "keep your pity."

4. Victorian Ice - Sea Power

"And you better keep moving before you get totally cold" They're victorians, on ice. That's all the motivation you need. Also the song is about communication issues and needing each other, so... I rest my case.

5. Not Dead Yet - Lord Huron

"You’re tired of me, I’m tired of you" This song is about self-hatred and alcoholism. But it's also about not being dead yet, so there's... hope? Maybe?

6. The Counterfeiter - Crooked Fingers

"You don’t belong here, your heart’s a fake, the ghosts who chose you were mistaken" James has imposter syndrome, part one.

7. Someone You’d Admire - Fleet Foxes

"One of them wants only to be someone you’d admire, one would as soon just throw you on the fire" Sometimes it's hard to change, and even harder to know whether you want to impress someone, or still hate their guts. I feel like this goes for both of them.

8. Straight and Tall - Iron & Wine

"Don’t tell me all the shit you’ve done, how you push your luck with everyone, ‘cause your mean upbringing’s left you a mess" James has imposter syndrome, part two, but this time Francis goes "that's not how I see you".

9. Your Rocky Spine - Great Lake Swimmers

"I was moving across your frozen veneer, the sky was dark but you were clear" Listen, it's about the metaphors. I can't explain it to you, it's just the vibes.

10. I’ll Be Your Girl - The Decemberists

"I could be your man, but I’d be that much more" It's gender time. Reading way too much into the dress scene is something that can be so personal.

11. After Those Who Mean It - Laura Stevenson

"It’s as if you knew me, and even though it’s briefly, and though it’s not completely, I can feel you reading, reading me to sleep" This song is about persevering, even though you know it's all coming to an end. It's sad hours, and I'm afraid it's all downhill from here.

12. Colder Heavens - Blanco White

"Here I stand undressed, here I confess my doubt, did you know that I would?" The mortifying ordeal of being known, and also being hunted by a monster bear, and also there's a mutiny. That's not what the song is actually about, but it has the vibes.

13. Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

"He went to fight wars for his country and king, of his honour and his glory the people would sing" Something something "there will be poems". This song is the poem.

14. I Will - Mitski

"And while you sleep I’ll be scared, so by the time you wake I’ll be brave" I feel like I don't have to explain myself with this one, but I do have tissues if you need them. I did warn you it's sad hours.

15. The Pugilist - Keaton Henson

"But the truth is I need you to tell me I’m worthy of all this great living that I’ve been doing" James has imposter syndrome, part three, but now he's also dying.

16. Artifact #1 - Conor Oberst

"The world is full of missing persons, all of these unsolved mysteries" James is still dying. Francis is feeling... not great about it.

17. Genesis 30:3 - The Mountain Goats

"I will do what you ask me to do, because of how I feel about you" This is the song that made me start this fanmix. Imagine someone you love asking you to kill them. Imagine being unable to deny them anything. Remember when I said you could have my tissues? I take it back, I need them myself now, thanks.

18. Another New World - Josh Ritter

"I won’t call it rescue what brought me here back to the old world to drink and decline, and to pretend that the search for another new world was well worth the burning of mine" This song is about an arctic explorer surviving, but at much too great a cost. Perfect theme song for Final Girl Francis. It's also extremely long, so you have time to get all those tears out before moving on with your life. Thank you for listening.

[thessalian]

Thess vs The Fucking Colleagues

I don't know what the fuck is going on with my colleagues, but I want to fucking throttle them.

The day started basically as it was slated to continue, with all of the Annoyances thrown at me at once. On one level, it feels like I'm the one expected to do them because I'm the one who does them properly, instead of typing everything exactly as dictated no matter how much word salad it is and figuring someone else will sort it out the way a lot of my colleagues do. But mostly I figure it's because my colleagues don't like doing those any more than I do but they know I will do them if they need to be done, so they just ... don't. Hell, both Temp and New Girl were working on this afternoon's reports when we still had some from yesterday afternoon to deal with (but they were by Annoyances, so they just ignored them, because of course they fucking did). Can't really blame Goblin for much of this, but I did get an email from Scruffman saying, "Oh, yeah, [Goblin] is off this afternoon". I know emergencies happen, but this is like three times in the last two weeks for various of my compatriots so I have no idea. Still meant it was me, Temp, and New Girl, and those two are very adept at avoiding Annoyances. See above re: taking this afternoon's reports rather than starting on this morning's reports - or better yet, finishing yesterday's reports - like normal people.

I mean, also throw in the fact that apparently there's something very wrong with the system that's supposed to allow people to access their histology reports on our system, or get them sent to people, or something, I dunno, but I did end up having to dig up ten reports from last year because apparently they haven't been getting reports for a fucking year and they're only just now deciding to talk to us about it. Which of course got sent to me because despite being the one who is left with the Annoyances all the fucking time, I'm also in charge of sending reports to people who need them. The good news was that Scruffman did say that he was forwarding that on to IT. The bad news was that they emailed me directly (thankfully copied to Scruffman) going, "Okay, great, thank you so much, now can you send this other twenty or so?" The good news was that Scruffman said, "Give IT until 5pm today to resolve the issue and if you still can't access them, we'll send them first thing". The bad news is that I know our IT department so I decided to make my tomorrow a little easier by downloading all the reports I will almost certainly need to send tomorrow. Even if I don't have to send them, I'd rather be obliged to delete the things than to spend my morning digging the things up tomorrow.

WHO THE FUCK WAITS AN ENTIRE YEAR TO SAY "HEY, WE CAN'T GET RESULTS FOR TESTS WE ARE PAYING YOU TO RUN; SORT IT OUT"?!?

*ahem* Anyway. Surprisingly, not the worst of it.

The worst of it came towards the end of the day. Once all of yesterday's bits of typing were clear, I treated myself to today's shorter ones, which is standard practice when we're halfway caught up, as those are usually the first ones the doctors put under a microscope. (But the short ones do still tend to go chronologically, which is why you start with the short ones from 9am and not the short ones from 3pm like those two idiots did.) Thing is, I had to double-check something on one I'd just finished and sent to archive, so I accessed the Archive folder, sorted by "Last Modified - Most to Least Recent" ... and noticed something odd. Namely that I was the only one who was typing at this point. And it was at least a half-hour until 5pm.

I did a bit of detective work through the archives, wondering what the hell. New Girl ... almost makes sense, since her first bit of typing was done at 8:30 and the most recent was approaching 16:30, so she probably finished for the day. Now Temp, on the other hand... First instance of typing: 9:30. Last instance of typing for the day: a little after 16:00. She did apparently take her lunch break, too, so what it would appear happened was that she either left early or just sat around chatting with others until her work day officially ended. And of course, since Scruffman works an 8:00-16:00 shift, it's not like he'd know, because as long as the work is getting done, he doesn't feel a need to deep-dive the archive to find out who's doing what (or not doing anything, more to the point).

No, I can't honestly tell him. I mean, I could, but he hates confrontation and it'd be a lot of griping to zero purpose. We're more or less caught up, or at least not too far into the triple digits after today, so he probably wouldn't be that fussed, and certainly wouldn't do anything lasting about it. I can tell you from prior experience that going through that whole rigamarole again would just piss me off more.

The migraine is picking up in serious earnest at this point. Yaaaaaaay. I wanted to call in the way I presume Goblin did, but given we were already short a Goblin, I struggled through. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow; if Goblin's sick, we might be short-handed tomorrow. Though honestly, it might do Scruffman some good to see what happens when neither Goblin nor I are around. But he still wouldn't do anything about it and then we'd have to clean up the mess and I at least would end up with another fucking migraine and I don't really want to be stuck in that particular bit of vicious cycle.

I still need to plan some annual leave, given how there are apparently Targets To Be Met. I was thinking either October or early November. There are games and TV shows. Then again, by the time October or early November rolls around, I'm probably going to be such a mess that all I'll be able to do with a week off is sleep. Thing is, I can't really have one sooner, because I know I'm supposed to be moving flats Real Soon Now, but my stepfather hasn't told me when yet. He originally said "Late July", but now we're approaching late August and I haven't heard anything, so...

Ugh. I hurt in so many ways and my spoons are basically at an all-time low. I like my job well enough, but too many of my colleagues are fuckwits.

[all-at-once-you-are-the-one]

Idk if this is a hot take or not, but IMO loml is one of the most straightforward songs on the album and it actually tells a story in chronological order. Let’s examine:

Who's gonna stop us from waltzing

Back into rekindled flames?

If we know the steps anyway

We embroidered the memories

Of the time I was away

Stitching, "We were just kids, babe"

Yes, I know this very much sounds like it’s about a certain someone but I actually think here she is referring to the breaks between her and Joe that she’s previously alluded to in Hits Different & That’s When TV. She also often describes this relationship as making her feel like a kid in other songs like CIWYW, INTHAF etc.

I said, "I don't mind, it takes time"

I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed

This was the line that really sparked my curiosity. What does she not mind? It seems like she’s changing her mind on something and resigning herself to being stable and settled rather than leaving to find something better. This is the period when we got songs like Lavender Haze. He said he needed more time before marriage and she was like you know what yeah, why do women have to get married anyway?? Can’t we just be together?? Both of them were denying that it was what she truly wanted and he just didn’t.

You and I go from one kiss to gettin married

Still alive, killing time at the cemetery

Never quite buried

In your suit and tie, in the nick of time

You lowdown boy, you stand up guy

Holy Ghost, you told me I'm

The love of your life

You said I'm the love of your life

About a million times

She’s waiting and waiting and waiting for the marriage thing to happen and he just keeps placating her by saying she’s the love of his life. (I can totally just picture him saying “but you’re the love of my life and we’re happy, isn’t that enough?”). She has faith in him because he’s such a good guy with integrity, surely he wouldn’t just lie to her and lead her on. Surely he’ll show up in the nick of time to marry her like he said he would.

Who's gonna tell me the truth

When you blew in with the winds of fate

And told me I reformed you

Here’s what’s his name making his grand entrance!

And all at once, the ink bleeds

He promised her all the same things and then took it away so quickly which released the stopper on all her pent up feelings about being let down in this way. The rest of this verse is pretty clear cut

You talked me under the table

Talking rings and talking cradles

I wish I could un-recall

How we almost had it all

Now it’s about them both! She’s going into detail about the way in which they let her down

Dancing phantoms on the terrace

Are they second-hand embarrassed

That I can't get out of bed?

Cause something counterfeit's dead

It was legendary

It was momentary

It was unnecessary

Should've let it stay buried

This is the saddest part!!! This is also about both of them! What’s his name is obvious, but it’s also about her and Joe. She knew they had issues! She knew he didn’t want what she wanted! That’s why they had their break! Now she feels that when they resumed their relationship it wasn’t real, he just started lying to her and she was also lying to herself, and they should have just broken up for good the first time.

Oh, what a valiant roar

What a bland goodbye

The coward claimed he was a lion

I'm combing through the braids of lies

Again, what’s his name is very obvious here. She’s also upset about her breakup with Joe: she broke up with him remotely! And maybe he just let her! She thought he was brave, that he had integrity, but he lied to her over and over and over again, every time he promised they would have the things she wanted for her future. He was just delaying the inevitable and wasting her time.

If you can get past the Matty of it all and accept the story she’s telling here at face value there is SO MUCH she’s sharing with us here.

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Edit Your Novel (Pt. 1)

If you haven't finished writing your first draft yet, feel free to save this for future use :) If you HAVE finished first drafting (BIG CONGRATS! That's a massive accomplishment, and I hope you're super proud of yourself ❤️ ), I really hope this helps you!

There's a lot to get into regarding editing, so this post will focus on more macro edits while part 2 will focus on micro edits.

Reread

In my opinion, one of the MOST IMPORTANT parts of editing is rereading your own book.

I highly recommend printing out your book into a physical copy. Generally, you can print out hundreds of pages at the copy or stationery shop (e.g. Staples), and then put them in a 3-ring binder.

For presets, I highly recommend at least 12 pt. font and DOUBLE-SPACED!!! This is so you can annotate easily DIRECTLY between lines on the paper while you're rereading. For me, I annotate with a red pen. The biggest things to focus on for a first reread are:

Plot + subplots! Example questions:

What things don't make sense?

What things don't you like?

(Spec fiction specific, mostly) Any worldbuilding issues, like no introduction to the cool fantasy gadgets, lore not matching up, or no logistical possibilities (e.g. how do gladiators in your book use modern flush toilets when the world is based on Ancient Rome?)?

Is anything too confusing?

Unnecessary scenes?

Issues with important plot beats (e.g. inciting incident too late, climax too early, etc. depending on how you want your story to flow)?

Characters! Example questions:

Is the development clear?

Are their personalities, motivations, and backstories fleshed out?

Do they have distinct voices that can be relatively easily distinguished in dialogue?

Are their names/appearances/personalities too similar, causing confusion?

Do you have too many or too few characters?

Are the character/group dynamics organic, significant to the plot, and enjoyable to read?

Other things to get picky with include:

tone, mood, voices, general atmosphere

prose issues like dialogue, description, etc.

plot discontinuities (e.g. John has blue eyes in Chapter 4, but in Chapter 6, he has green eyes)

grammar

Go in with your red pen and do whatever you want, as long as you can clearly read what you scribble. Let yourself go wild with *circle* "GRAMMAR ERROR!" or *underline* "STRANGE CHARACTER INTERACTION" or *large bracket spanning paragraph* "BAD SCENE!" Don't worry about making it look "aesthetic," just go for it in whichever way is most efficient for you.

However, for your first reread, or just an earlier one, focusing on the big picture things should be your first priority! Imagine tweaking the prose in one chapter for it to read like the love child of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, but then you realize the chapter doesn't serve the plot at all and needs to be cut...

Revision

After rereading, it's time to revise. Revision is the BIG PICTURE, GENERAL edit! Remember those issues that you found? Now, you're actively brainstorming how to fix them. This is not the REWRITING stage yet—that comes after!

Refer back to the list of questions above, and find solutions. I like to do this in a systematic method where I make a table (in this case, using Notion):

You can make this in any spreadsheet software, or even just create columns in a doc or on paper. I sort it by the ISSUE, SOLUTION IDEAS, TYPE OF ISSUE (e.g. character development, worldbuilding), and STATUS (done?).

Of course, doing this in a linear fashion is also fine, where you directly go down the chronological plot order. However, I would suggest separately brainstorming for each issue before you begin this step.

For example:

ISSUE: Heist is too easy and underwhelming

IDEAS:

Increased number of trained security personnel + improved tech (e.g. city hired guards who were former thieves themselves, security cameras, classic laser beams protruding from walls, a door with more locks and a very hard constitution)

In the thief group, more tension between each other -> harder for them to all cooperate and coordinate, leading to some things going wrong

Decreased competence of certain thieves, or just careless mistakes (e.g. tripping, coughing because of dust and attracting attention, not scaling a wall properly, etc.)

After you comb through all the issues like this (or however much effort each issue warrants), you'll find yourself at the REWRITING step! We'll cover that next time :)

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

I used to dread revising, especially after I'd finished the first draft of my first novel, but now, I quite like the process :) Yesterday, I just finished re-plotting an improved version of my story after LOTS of revising through 4 drafts! I can 100% say that no matter how difficult it is, a thorough revision is totally worth it!!!

OH! Also, goes without saying, but that spreadsheet revision example is NOT a real project hahaha

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[troutfur]

Cloudtail/Swiftpaw/Brightpaw, and the tension caused when Cloudtail becomes a warrior and the others don't.

Bright/Cloud/Swift(/Thorn?) is one I've been trying to figure out for a while in terms of what their pfurr dynamic would be like. Because I've already committed to Lionheart/Frostfur/Tigerclaw/Goldenflower. Which means that rather than first cousins Bright and Swift would be raised as myempfurr, father siblings. Although from a legal perspective, so to speak, they'd stop being so when Frostfur declares her two litters were sired by Lionheart, therefore stripping Tigerclaw AND Goldenflower from the pipfurr, father, role.

(Is she telling the truth? Maybe. Maybe not. I won't tell you either way, but if you wanna feel free to speculate.)

I've also been mulling over the specifics of the chronology of births of the three litters born from that particular pfurr before it falls apart. I have the order down, I believe, Brackenfur + Cinderheart -> Swiftpaw + Lynxkit -> Brightheart + Thornclaw. But I still struggle to really conceptualize what would be the ideal age difference between them and the timeframe during which they are born for it to be a) believable, and b) keeping mostly to canon.

Maybe I shouldn't sweat that detail too much but when writing young characters, as WC tends to focus on, I find it particularly important to have a clear idea of development stage and relative maturity. Hence why the brainstorming/pre-planning section of my docs very often has a timeline plotting births and relevant life milestones of key characters relative to plot beats.

Anyway not too much of this is going to be super relevant to the one-shot because these are meant to be very quick-and-dirty, mostly a means to train discipline and get the writing muscles working, but I still wanted to get my thoughts out. (Not to mention writing all this prologue is excellent for procrastrinating!)

(Wanna see me ramble a whole bunch before getting to your damn prompt? Check out my guidelines and submit one. I'm taking submissions all November long. I have enough to last me the month but I always appreciate having more than needed so I can have my pick. Plus we are rather lacking in the female-character centric prompts I wanted to do more of, so ya know. If you want a higher chance of getting chosen.)

“Swift,” Brightpaw said, reaching a paw out to his shoulder from her place in their shared nest. “I’m sure it’s nothing like what you are imagining. Cloudtail is a warrior now. It’s only appropriate of him to not interact with us the way he used to.”

“When has he cared one bit about what’s proper?” he retorted. “When have we for that matter?”

Brightpaw’s ears burned. It was true that she wasn’t supposed to sleep on a nest with anyone other than Thornpaw’s. It could be tolerated if it was a close myem, a sibling, who was close in age but it’d been a long time since the two had stopped being myempfurr in the eyes of Clan customs. And from there to have done so not only with him but with another tom that were they all warriors would be considered a suitable sire for her kits.

“This is more serious,” Brightpaw continued to insist. “Can you imagine the kind of scandal it’d be? Especially with the kind of history Cloudtail has? You’d want him to risk all of that just for us?”

“It’s no excuse to leave us forgotten like crowfood,” Swiftpaw snarled. “Besides, not only is he Bluestar’s newest darling, you’re forgetting we’re older than him, that everyone knows just how much of an unfair promotion that was, that we are just as skilled and just as strong, if not more! Anyone who took issue would be better off picking the thorns out of their nest.”

“Swift!” Brightheart scolded. “You know the Clan is not going to be like that. Not towards him, especially. Just let it go. When we’re warriors he can just court us and it’ll all be like nothing happened.”

“And when exactly is that going to be, Brightpaw?” Swiftpaw challenged. “A moon? A season? A year? Do you really expect us to just sit here idly by until the situation with Bluestar blows over? Do you think that while he has us forgotten and thrown to the wayside he is not going to be getting to know his fellow warriors? That he may not have fully forgotten us?”

“Oh, now you’re just assuming the worst possible outcome without any real proof,” Brightpaw complained.

“You said it yourself, possible outcome,” Swiftpaw retorted. “With what’s been happening do you really think that the worst one won’t be the one happening? How many times does it have to happen before you realize? How many times before you take it to heart?”

Brightpaw went silent.

“If Cloudtail will leave us forgotten, so be it, we will too,” Swiftpaw declared. “And if both of us want to stay as empf we need to do something. Something that will prove beyong anyone’s doubts that we are ready, that Bluestar’s judgement was warped, that we can do something to turn this Clan around.”

“What do you even want us to do?” Brightpaw asked.

The whiplash in what he was saying was just palpable. Wouldn’t he more than anyone be aware that even with a hundred assessments passed it ultimately rested in Bluestar whether or not to promote them? Wouldn’t he understand deeply that a cat set in his ways like her be would be unlikely to listen to his concerns? Wasn’t he the one wanting to sever from her ‘newest darling’ as he put it?

“We need to fight those dogs,” Swiftpaw declared.

Brightpaw’s eyes opened and she rose to her feet to stand in front of her empf. “No.” She stomped a foot down for emphasis. “No, no, and no. I’m not going to be agreeing to this. You’ve just got to forget this idea. Even with an expertly organized patrol this would be a risky mission but as an apprentice to put on this--”

“Brightpaw do we have another choice?” Swiftpaw challenged. “We’re practically warriors and we need to act like it. Moreso with such a paralyzed leadership over us. If a brat like Cloudtail can just strut around with respect by putting the shallowest act, imagine what we could obtain by actually doing an act of service to the warrior code.”

Brightpaw once again went silent and Swiftpaw rubbed across her neck in reassurance. “You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for, Brightpaw. Let’s prove that to everyone.”

It was a conversation that was forever burned into Brightheart’s memory.

[new-employeeamillion]

When I haven’t been taking screenshots of the funny chalk cartoon, I’ve been thinking about the season of Doctor Who that just finished, and what I’d like to see more of from the show going forward.

I liked Series 14 well enough, with most episodes being really enjoyable, especially in the middle portion. But I’ll concur with the rest of the fandom that the finale didn’t seem like the right place to end things. What was up with spoon lady? And why was the climax so easy? And while there’s a lot of questions about the season’s story arc that seem like cop-outs and letdowns, I’ll wait until next season to see if there’s more than they’re currently letting on. Maybe I’m expecting something I’m not gonna get, because the New Series has nearly always had an issue with making its finales too big to resolve neatly.

But what I am putting all my chips on is another classic series villain returning next year. I feel like I know Russell T. Davies’ writing pretty well now. Too well. It’s usually damn good writing, and I’m still thrilled to speculate on who or what he can bring back for a new generation.

Below is a list of every enemy to return under his producer-ship (sans the Dalek Emperor and Rassilon, the latter a more morally grey force in the Classic Series). Patterns I’ve noticed are that they tend to come from the first half of the classic run, and they tend to be re-introduced in rough chronological order to when they debuted. The Autons and Toymaker are clear outliers, but between Dalek and Series 4, and now again with the start of Ncuti Gatwa’s tenure, there’s a sense of progression through rejuvinating the show’s history.

So my prediction for the next classic enemy to return is something from the back half of the Tom Baker era. Keeping with the new theme of bringing back the all-powerful entities, most likely the Fendahl or Black Guardian. Don’t hold me to these predictions…unless one comes true, in which case, I’ll have told you so.

And again, this is going off the foes re-introduced by Russell. The Great Intelligence, Ice Warriors, Silurians, Sea Devils and others have had their rematches under Steven Moffat and Chris Chibnall, but Doctor Who fans should never underestimate the showrunner’s personal influence on the show. Seriously.

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

https://www.tumblr.com/em-writes-stuff-sometimes/753733902331445248/em-i-need-to-let-you-know-that-terms-of-endearment?source=share

Hi Em! I'm glad my message was nice for you to read <3

I totally agree with you on reader insert fics. I think that's why I usually avoid them too (the clunkiness of them) they just usually don't feel as though they flow as well and the actual stories being told don't really capture my attention as much as they tend to lack depth (This isn't me yucking anyones yum tho! I hope everyone reads whatever they enjoy!!) Also I hope your real-life obligations are going well despite being more demanding than they used to be!

It did flow being read all in one hit! I liked the sound of the, I think it was the third fic that I saw first? Noticed it was part of a series so was like I should probably read it in order then I noticed the dates and was going back and forth on reading it in the order you wrote them or the order they you had placed them like chronologically and decided to go chronologically and there was no indication that you hadn't written it in that order. I did love going to the comments especially of the prequel and people being like "I can't wait to see her with the cannibal for the first time" and I was like witH THE WHO??? Also yeah there's a lot of chapters but they're needed!! I really love the way you have created a character that really does feel like they could belong in the canon and the edits you make to the story to fit her character feel so realistic (There's never enough chapters of this story and I'll be reading them all hehe)

I'm genuinely really happy that my silly little anon post made you feel reassured. There most definitely are so many people who really love the story you're telling and can't wait to see where it goes. Anxiety and doubt are always going to be present when sharing any form of art, any part of yourself that come through when creating something to be shared will be make you nervous but it doesn't mean it's not worth it!

As always the new chapter was amazing! (They're a little family of 3 now ToT) and I can't wait for what's next <3

Hello again, nonnie! What should I call you? You’re cute as a button! So nice to see ya!

I can definitely understand what you mean. Reader insert fic is, incredibly generally speaking, not designed to be sustained long enough for any kind of extensive plot, given that this inevitably requires the protagonist to develop personal characteristics in response to scenarios and choices made in-text. I love that Reader fic provides an immersive experience, but it is only really fully so if it is kept as neutral as possible, to prevent a breaking of said immersion. Giving the Reader a canonical family member, a physical characteristic, even a personality trait can arguably alienate parts of the prospective audience to different degrees (some of which are very much valid and pertinent critiques of reader-fic that diverge from neutral territory). Thus, it is not a mode that people intent on keeping strictly to form will use to write a long-fic. And thus—it can be argued, though agreement is obviously a personal choice here—Reader fic doesn’t generate the same possibilities for storytelling compared to your traditional OC fic, and therefore not as much audience attachment to original characters therein. I’ve had a fair amount of anxiety over the way I’ve chosen to write my own work, given that it is essentially an OC fic using no name and told in second-person POV, which diverges from the standard of acceptable reader-fic. It was largely an experiment that grew uncontrollably and now I’m in too deep to change it, haha. I have been very fortunate that this has accepted by the vast majority of my possible audience, or at least it has not been made a significant point of issue; I try to make it clear as much and as often as I can that I bear no ill intention in assigning identifying attributes to the MC, nicknamed ‘Babey’ to help further separate her from the ever-divergent-from-‘Reader’ vibe I’ve created.

The way I wrote it was an absolute mess, so I am beyond glad it reads chronologically, lol! I think I started with the second chapter of the third instalment, went back and wrote Chapter 1, went to Chapter 3 and continued, got halfway through and switched to the second instalment, wrote that, went back to the third instalment and wrote the second half, wrote the fourth instalment, fifth, then rewrote the second instalment (changed pacing, edited and added three extra chapters for better plot), wrote the first instalment, and now onto the sixth instalment. Absolutely ridiculous of me, I know. I’ve tried very hard to make sure it all fit, and I did have to retcon a few things as I went along. Luckily, from here on out it should be pretty much all chronological, thank feck. I’ve always been very much aware that my fic is a spin on the classic “added OC to canon” trope, and so I’ve tried where I can to not always show the exact same scenes playing out as they do in the show; where I can I will make adjustments or diverge slightly or cut away from the ‘main scene’ to focus on Reader’s inner dialogue. It’s not inventive, no, but my thought is that if it is canon adjacent and well-written, it can serve as a sort of coping mechanism for the fuckery I see on-screen. Reinterpreting The Horrors for my fanfic will definitely help me deal with the inevitable depressing ending of the Dance, lol, and potentially it might do the same for any readers? I’ve always personally liked canon adjacent fics, even if some rag on them. It is important to me that Babey feels like she is part of the universe, and I like doing that by building on existing scenes and events in the show to further enmesh this new character into the world and make it seem like a possible reality. That is not to say everything will happen exactly the same, clearly! But I want my fic to echo similar themes so that it really feels like it could have been an ‘alternate interpretation’ of the in-world history. If that makes sense! I’m writing this at 1am, lol.

I really do appreciate your messages so much. It can get a little lonely out here in the mean streets of Tumblr.com, haha, and there is a small delicate part of me that still squees and gets weepy and full-of-love-and-sunshiney at scraps of praise and validation. The anxiety is real, but ultimately I’ve gotten to a place in my life where I’m no longer willing to sacrifice my own source of happiness to seek universal approval; I love writing, I love my little universe, in my head it is real and thriving and my personal canon because it’s what came from my head and I love that I’ve done that. My life has gotten so much healthier from it. I have suffered from binge eating disorder and insomnia and clinical depression for a very long time, and I am so enthused and distracted by my writing that it has curbed my obsessive tendency to stress/comfort-eat, and so exhausted after clacking at my keyboard in the evenings that I fall right to sleep. Overshare. Yikes. But still, these things are true, and it is just really a super cool bonus that people happen to enjoy what I write! Your support means a helluva lot to me. Thank you.

I’m working on the next update, bit by bit! Hopefully I will have something for everyone soon.

Take care, and thank you again! ILY ❤️❤️

[theheroheart]

Finally saw Chess in Oslo.

Here are lots of observations, mostly on staging/acting and things you don't get from the cast recording. Somewhat in chronological order, except for overarching stuff. (Some observations dip into deeper analysis, oops.) Some things you might know if you've seen Svenska Chess.

CAST:

First of all I got alternate (Sanne Kvitnes) and Arbiter (Cornelia Børnick). Florence was absolutely fantastic, she killed it. Easily could've been main cast. Arbiter was absolutely solid, but she didn't blow me away - but then it's kind of hard to do that as the Arbiter. Think I like both of them better than main cast, but it's hard to judge fairly without having seen them.

Rest was as expected. Adored Freddie, but I already did. Anatoly is fantastic. Svetlana surprised and impressed me, her acting improved my opinion of her. Molokov's great, but less notable. Ensemble was solid, there's a few notable ones that delighted me.

TRANSLATIONS:

Since I'm one of the only really avid Chess fans who's also Norwegian, I feel like I should comment on this.

I think the translation is fantastic. It flows well, it's overally very intelligible, it's emotive, it uses some fucking fancy words like "polemic", it's the right level of cheesy...

Adaptation-wise they also did a lot to make the story as clear as possible, adding context when necessary. Without delving too deep in the broader political context, which they don't lean as heavy on.

There's bits I would change, but overall it's really solid.

OBSERVATIONS:

ACT ONE WOO

They did such a good job establishing the shitty homelife of the Sergievskies - not in the relationship way, but that they live in a tiny apartment, and Anatoly does so much for Russia that he never gets to see his family. They even list things: tournaments, performances, greeting and handshaking workers and students, political functions... It illustrates his struggle much way than just making vague statements.

Properly showing Anatoly's homelife at the beginning is also such an improvement to just off-hand mentioning it in a way you don't really feel it.

Related: it's really obvious how much Anatoly is controlled. They make unspoken points of the passports several times. And Molokov always keeping a watchful eye. KGB guards everywhere, and blocking reporters from approaching him.

The 80s costuming is a delight. The wigs and mustaches are wild. I need to draw Freddie's sparkly party shirt cause it was insane.

I knew Freddie spilled wine all over Anatoly, but I did NOT know that that he grabs a (male) reporter's face with both hands and plants a big kiss on his lips. Barely a minute after he comes onstage.

The Hungarian revolution flashback is heartbreaking. The ballet is lovely and sad, but what's notable is that while it's happening, Florence is sitting on the stairs and crying her eyes out. Like she's having a PTSD flashback.

What's interesting is that this Freddie's rudeness feels less spiteful/defensive, and more... like a controlled performance? He's very intentionally disrespecting them. This Freddie doesn't lose his temper.

Of course, then they go to the opening party, and Freddie very clearly flirts with (or lets himself be flirted with) two ladies. (Listen, the man desperately craves approval and attention from women. Mommy issues.)

Florence goes outside to get away from the party, and to have a smoke. That's when she sings Nobody's Side. Can't remember for sure, but I think this scene has lots of focus on hotel staff in the background.

Notably there's two hotel staff that have an ongoing background romance most of the show??? They slow-dance while tidying a hotel room. They smooch every now and then. And then much later on, when Florence shows her heartbreak at the waitress, the waitress gets notable stage attention in also reacting to the heartache? (Then when Anatoly shows up, said waitress immediately steals Florence's coffee and gives them both wine, which was absolutely hilarious.)

One detail I REALLY enjoyed about the actual chess match, is that they both note down the moves in their notepads after each move. This is a big chess thing I can't remember ever having seen in a production.

And then Freddie leaves the match. Which he does by.... very calmly standing up, picking up the tiny Russian flag, then gently placing it in the middle of the board. Then he slowly walks away from the table. Takes his jacket. Calmly walks away. It's the least dramatic walk-off I've ever seen, and it was kind of a delight. And goes back to what I said about Freddie's carefully controlled performance.

Quartet is still a great song but man I remember nothing about the staging because it was very unremarkable. Florence is fucking pissed at Molokov though, and it DOES really show off what Freddie says about Florence hating Russians.

Also the Arbiter is such a bitch and I love her.

And then in the hotel bar again, Anatoly approaching Florence and she's so uninterested. And then he starts weirdly quoting Dostoevsky, and she has the biggest WTF face, and it's hilarious.

They did do a good job of showing Anatoly actually proving to Florence he's not awful, by him talking about how he heard about the Hungarian revolution, and implying some unkind things about the Russian government. And then he asks about Freddie and she's like "None of your fucking business" and he apologies and leaves, but then she's like "ACTUALLY I'M LEAVING HIM."

And then she sings "Not Me" (rewritten Someone Else's Story), explaining her frustration with her relationship with Freddie, directly to Anatoly, which I also did not expect. (This will happen multiple times in this show!)

And then ofc when Anatoly flees with Florence to defect, we get back to more proof of Svetlana's sucky life. We see her visiting a church with Micha, and being escorted out of there by armed guards. Who pack her suitcase for her. And then when she sings Where I Want To Be Reprise, she crumples and cries over her suitcase, and it's so heartbreaking.

And then we get to the fancy party, and apparently Freddie is from Pennsylvania? Lol ok. And Arbiter is partying with the head of the police.

There we this one reporter I absolutely adored. Comedically hilarious, and the 80est 80s. Real impressive mullet.

And then Florence and Anatoly invidually dealing with the press on each side of a room, singing Mountain Duet in a very different context that I'm used to. Also enjoyed how every time each one sang, their respective journalists would freeze-frame to show it's internal monologue only.

And then there's the headline of "Anatoly's defecting, and he's in love again", and THEN YOU SEE FREDDIE WALKING THE STREETS, HOLDING THAT NEWSPAPER.

And then he sings the Pity The Child prequel, and fucking breaks my heart. He's bitterly critizes them, but then also says "Is this true? Did I deserve this? Truth is, she was my only friend... Now I'm left lonely on my own again." WHY IS THIS NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM.

Fuck tho, but I love a sympathetic Freddie.

You get more Florence backstory - she fled to the US, but her mother and brother (uncle?? just guessing based on actors) got caught when they tried to flee.

During Anthem, the backdrop has mountains and sky -- which slowly turn to red during the course of the song. Which is GREAT when later on, Svetlana sings her "Who Am I" song and says "He paints Russia's sky red."

ACT 2 LET'S GO

Opening on Argument is such a choice? So wildly different from ONiBangkok. The vibe is extremely different and intense.

Freddie's in the hotel room with the newspaper when she comes back. Also he drinks whiskey. I love this song though, Freddie is SO spiteful - something he didn't really get until Florence appears to be leaving him. Honestly, this Freddie really isn't that much of an asshole TO FLORENCE. Until she hurts him first.

But what really hurts is that when the argument ends, he just sits down on the bed while she packs her suitcase...

And he sings Pity The Child to her. This makes me absolutely feral, let me tell you. The way he turns to look at her when he sings "Just in case they said no". The way she gradually becomes sympathetic while he opens up, about how his parents abused him. (They are explicitly abusive and violent, not just neglectful.)

And then when he gets to "I was only her son", he breaks down and cries, and Florence walks over and sits down next to him, and he cries into her lap, desperately clinging to her. And then as she comforts him, he tries to kiss her - and she pulls away. And gets up, grabs her suitcase, and leaves.

And then he continues the song, sitting there alone. FUCK ME UP, CHESS.

And then Svetlana appears, still closely controlled. Micha is taken to a different room and there's nothing she can do about it.

And then you get Endgame prequel! Anatoly's "you all think you see a man", they just like, put here. And you know what, it works great? Because it's when he's been dragged back by the KGB, and he's calling out their opinion to them.

And then he walks into the hotel room and Svetlana goes to embrace him and he PUSHES HER ASIDE, and starts ripping into her about how she's "letting herself be used as a tool". She is VERY JUSTIFIED in calling him out, because yeah, they've made it really obvious she's been forced to come here. And somehow HE'S complaining? I love her calling him out here.

And Micha comes in and hugs Anatoly - and Svetlana goes to hug Micha as well, but Anatoly turns, pulling Micha away from her. Ugh.

And then Svetlana leaves and sings her heartbreaking song about how she's a powerful woman who's been loyally waiting, and for what? She's on a bench, and she collapses on the ground crying. And Florence walks by (not knowing who Svetlana is), and gives Svetlana her handkerchief for her tears. CHEKOV'S HANDKERCHIEF, this will come back later on.

And then Florence alone in the cafe, breaking my heart with Heaven Help My Heart. (Also the waitress's heart, as previously mentioned.)

And then Anatoly shows up and we get Merano reprise (yeah that's a thing now). And then Freddie shows up, VERY DRUNK, and we get Totally-Not-The-Deal. Which is just Freddie calling Florence out, pubically saying awful things about her. Freddie's lowest point, right here.

Freddie throws like, peanuts at Florence or something by the way. It's funny as fuck. He grabs a reporter's camera. AND HE SHOVES THE LOVELY WAITRESS SO SHE FALLS OVER, which, Freddie, please. He's actually kind of grabbing Florence at this point.

And then when Anatoly and Florence both call him out on his shittiness, after the song Florence just stares Freddie down, until he dejectedly walks away.

(WHY IS THE DEAL NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM???)

And then we get everyone panicking about Micha being missing. Except for Molokv, who has taken Micha out and has given him a yoyo and a glass coke bottle. Amazing. (He also leaves an envelope inside a newspaper on the bench. The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant will pick this up.)

And then you get Florence and Anatoly undressed in the hotel room, and EXCUSE ME, WHY IS YOU AND I NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM? I mean it's a short version, less than 2 minutes, but I love a completionist cast album.

Lyric appreciation: "You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along the path of hope. Standing in the middle of the storm. We're woven together, now and forever." That's some evocative, descriptive language, right there.

Arbiter reprise: The reunion of the chess players. FREDDIE IS SO POLITE, smiling, offering his hand to Anatoly, taking pictures with him. Honestly, Freddie's ability to keep it together in these situations makes it SO MUCH MORE INTENSE when he does fall apart.

And then Florence and Svetlana get to meet, and guess what, THEY SING "I KNOW HIM SO WELL" TO EACH OTHER, I told you this would happen a lot. And it's fantastic, instead of two isolated viewpoints, Svetlana's first opening up to Florence, then it's them having a disagreement. It changes some lines, when Svetlana says "he'll choose his own way and leave you", she's saying it to Florence, not to herself. And Florence says, this is what she wanted to avoid.

Anatoly tracks down Molokov, demanding to see Micha. And then calling Molokov out hard, saying they've known each other 15 years, and listing examples of his loyal service that are despite the fact he still lives in a tiny apartment and can barely support his family.

And then Anatoly calls Molokov a bachelor and says he's not allowed to criticize his family. AND THEN of course we get Molokov's backstory song.

Which I'll admit I always feel weird about, but it was way better in context. Molokov using it to give Anatoly insight into what he's sacrificed. (And the lovely ballet dancers acting out the failed relationship helped.)

And then when he's calmed Anatoly down, of course he GOES STRAIGHT INTO THREATENING HIM. Saying he's going to play his last chess match ever, and lose. And then he'll be admitted to the hospital in Moscow. And then he'll release a statement saying his attempted defection was done after taking large amounts of pills and alcohol. And that he regrets the problems he's caused his family and country, and recinds the defection. And Florence will be kept under close watch, but that's it.

"What will happen to your family if you choose to stay in the west, I don't want to get into right now."

And as Molokov is saying this speech to Anatoly, there's this quiet ominous background hum that just gets louder and louder and more intimidating, and it was actually really effective and REALLY making you see the threat and the control.

And then you get a very cool scene as Endgame starts. Anatoly standing there in a spotlight, back against the audience. In the distance, the choice is lit in evil red. As they start listing grandmasters at him. You see him crumpling under the pressure - at "Capablanca", he falls to his knees.

I thought this would be GREAT if Anatoly chose to win. You don't have Talking Chess, but you have these grandmasters calling to him, like the true "win for chess" moral. But if he loses, are they judging him? Saying he's failed?

Endgame staging is actually real simple, everyone lined up. Awesomely backlit choir in the far back. Then the board is taken out, and the last match begins, and it's very intense. Freddie looks focused - not as laid-back as earlier. Anatoly looks harrowed.

I especially loved when Freddie and Molokov share the line "The clock is ticking down the minute - the circle is complete". And everyone is singing - this final move, will he resign?

And nearing the end of Endgame, Anatoly is describing the different pieces desperate attempts ("The pawn wants to be sacrificed, rook at the end of the line, a weaked knight galloping towards the king's court"), and as he does, Florence/Svetlana/Molokov all shouting at him, and he holds up his hands against each one when they yell, like he's trying to shut them out.

And then.... he picks up his king, and he lays it down. Resigning. How do they make a chess match feel this dramatic?? It's really good.

And then You And I Reprise. And during one moment, you can see Freddie in the back (back to the audience), surrounded by people, wearing a giant wreath and holding a trophy proudly.

As Florence and Anatoly draw closer, they ALMOST kiss, it looks like they'll be together - but Micha runs in and hugs his dad. And oof, man. He asks Florence to forgive him and that he loves her - IN FRONT OF SVETLANA AND MICHA BTW, who start walking away when they hear this.

And then as they part ("You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along hope's path. We stand in the ruins. We're woven together -- parted forever.") Anatoly goes back to his family. And get this, Svetlana walks across the stage and HANDS FLORENCE BACK HER HANDKERCHIEF. Absolutely ruthless. I adore it.

The next part is all Story Of Chess reprise. Freddie gives Florence her suitcase, and tries to get her to leave with him. She refuses and pointedly walks the other direction.

The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant gives her the envelope full of cash, but Arbiter lets her keep it I guess. But then Molokov shows up and gives Arbiter a briefcase? The fuck does this even mean, I don't know.

Final 'You And I' now. Florence: "Is my fate controlled by someone other than me?" Anatoly: "Do we have free will? My answer's clearly no."

And you see Anatoly in his depressing Moscow apartment. And Florence in her own apartment, and oh yeah SHE'S PREGNANT. In case you hadn't heard about that little tidbit.

CONCLUSION:

This is the most downer Chess. What's even the moral? Shit sucks? Don't count on love, you'll only be hurt? It's awful.

HERE'S THE THING: STILL FUCKING LOVE IT THOUGH. It was a fantastic ride. I enjoyed the downer ending. Even if I can't possibly argue for why it should be that way.

I feel like it does "show, don't tell" better than a lot of Chess versions. It doesn't just state things, it shows you why/how. It made me feel for Svetlana in a way I haven't been able to before.

It provided that fantastic fresh intepretations/stagings of songs I've never seen before.

And it showed a version of Freddie I almost never see - way less chaotic and volatile than I'm used to.

It's interestingly very light on literally anything American. Anatoly's defection never really happens, Walter doesn't exist, there's no politicians or delegates... The only American seems to be Freddie. If anything, it's more against Hungary vs USSR. It feels decidedly Eurocentric, which I guess makes sense given it's Norwegian and based on the Swedish adaptation.

Anyway I adored it. Probably new favourite version???

Glad I've already got tickets for 3 more performances before it closes. Trying to resist getting ticket for yet another one. But I might give in if I get on at a great seat.................

ANYWAY BYE, HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS RAMBLY MESS.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Florence's full name is Florence Csilla Vaszi. Which is pretty awesome.

Anatoly (spelled Anatolij in this) and Molokov call each other Tolya and Sascha, which also shows how long they've known each other.

[skaruresonic]

The whole deal with "But Sonic is inconsistent so who cares?" is kinda funny to me because, technically, it's true! The games have tons of inconsistencies big and small! From retcons to plot holes to inconsistent portrayals. God knows it's led to me barely giving a rat's ass to Sonic canon anymore!

Now find me even a single 30+ year old game franchise that doesn't have similar issues

Mega Man has similar issues.

Castlevania had to restructure its timeline in a somewhat arbitrary way to clear up some early fuck ups within canon

Zelda had to turn its timeline into a goddamn tree and even then they barely care

Metroid is pretty consistent as far as videogame canons go and even there you have the occasional "Eehh no this thing actually happened like this, ignore what the character said last game"

If a series is inconsistent wouldn't you want to, I dunno, make it MORE consistent instead of adding to the overall mess?

Maybe by "inconsistent" they mean "there are so many different adaptations out there that it's difficult to keep track," but even then, that wouldn't be the games' fault.

In terms of narrative, continuity, and core characterization, the series isn't all that inconsistent, honestly. Flanderization by its nature isn't part of core characterization but an exaggeration/bastardization of various traits (in other words, bad writing). And most retcons, such as Eggman having a grandfather and cousin in SA2 but not SA1, occur after the fact, revealing new information as it becomes relevant. It's not so much contradictory as it is just that what we didn't know then, we know now. (However, I would argue that of the entire cast, Knuckles is really the only one who qualifies as inconsistent. But that's for another time.) Each game is mostly standalone yet builds upon previous ones in subtle ways. SA1 references the Classic games; SA2 builds upon SA1; Heroes references SA2 and SA1; Battle references SA1, SA2, Heroes, and ShTH; Advance 3 builds upon Battle; SatBK hearkens back to SA2 with a memory Sonic relays about the Biolizard; Generations references all the games and includes a line that implies SatSR is canon; etc. Sure, certain stories aren't as tightly-written as they could be - one issue I have with Unleashed is that Eggman basically doesn't factor in in the middle of the story when he arguably should - but those metacontextual issues don't factor into whether the series as a whole is inconsistent. More and more I'm starting to feel like those who espouse this viewpoint don't pay terribly close attention to the games, because the games eventually explain themselves for the most part, anyhow. Or else you're operating based on misinterpretations of the source material. For example: "The moon blew up in SA2 so why do we see it in full in ShTH?" becomes a nonissue when you play Advance 3 and Riders and realize Sonic's world has two moons. "Money doesn't exist" is simply not true, because "financial communities" are said to be "impacted" by the Eclipse Cannon demonstration in SA2, Vector's motive is money in multiple games, and you can buy things with rings in Unleashed. "Why don't they say 'oh my Chaos'?" Because Chaos is the God of Destruction, not the world's creator? Also, Amy blasphemes "oh my God" and Sonic games have referenced hell before. So on and so forth. As for a lack of timeline... I honestly don't see it. There may be some weirdness with how Battle fits in, though that can easily be explained as it releasing concurrently with Heroes. Also, I thought it was fairly obvious that Mania/Forces represents a split in the timeline where Eggman obtains the Phantom Ruby at different points. But other than that, I really don't see how the series' timeline is inconsistent. Based on how each game builds upon the previous, there's really no reason not to believe that the games don't occur in chronological order for the most part.