#i'll put together a more complete timeline sometime this week

[comicaurora]

Out of curiosity, how far ahead are you on the comic? I mean, you must have it all planned and written out, but I imagine that you are drawing the future of Aurora even while we're reading it.

So is Arc 2 already illustrated and ready for upload while you're on like Arc 5 or something? I'm by no means undermining your need for a break; I'm shocked that you've been uploading continuously for over 4 years at this point. I'm just interested to know how long it takes a person to make something this great. And also if you change any details in the final edit?

Basically: what's the workflow like?

Also I think you low-key inspired me to pick up painting as a hobby. I'm ready to pour so much money into creating things that I know I'll hate. :)

God, arc 5? That's a very generous assessment of how fast I can draw!

Typically, when the comic is updating regularly, I keep a buffer of 10 to 20 completed pages. Right now, in the interest of taking a break, the buffer is 0 completed pages.

Chapter 1 of Arc 2 is completely storyboarded, meaning it's sketched out, the dialog is all mostly finalized barring last-minute rephrasements, etc. It can be read in its current form, it just looks unpretty. In fact, just for fun, here's a sneak peek!

In the next month I'll go through and finalize as many pages from this chapter as possible - which means locking down the panel borders, fleshing out the backgrounds, lining, shading, coloring, polish, etc. - which will be the process of building up a new buffer for when the comic starts back up again in January. During that time, I'll also be storyboarding Chapter 2 and as much of the following parts as I can manage.

I have the next several chapters and sub-arcs planned out in loose timelines - event A happens at location B leading to consequences C and D, stuff like that. Chapter 2, being the closest, is a little more fleshed-out, with a more detailed bullet-pointed timeline and various character ideas I've had that might or might not make it into the final version.

What exactly the chapter breakdown is going to look like is a little more complicated. Initially I'd planned for Chapter 1 to be low-stakes downtime and Chapter 2 to quickly kick off the high-octane adventure again, but when I started bullet-pointing out the stuff I wanted to do in Chapter 2, I ended up with a big pile of slower-paced character moments I thought were well worth exploring, so the runtimes might stretch a little.

Translating those brainstormed notes into storyboards and dialog is what I would classify as the "writing" part of this process. It happens at an erratic pace largely determined by the whims of whatever muse decides to get me in a headlock that day; sometimes I go weeks with no storyboarding progress, sometimes I hammer out fifteen pages in one day.

It's kinda like weaving, to me. The soon-to-be-arriving parts of the story are the most finalized, the most densely woven. A little ways beyond that, things get looser - some patterns may be locked down, but the actual work that'll hold it together hasn't been done yet. And in the far-flung future arcs, it's just the basic bones of the story and a pile of the threads I've planned to use. I know the shape of it, but in order for it to be fun and engaging for me to make it, I need to give myself room to be creative when I'm putting the whole thing together.

I actually have a file called the "Toolbox" that contains every random character or subplot idea I've had, and sometimes when I'm debating where to go with a chunk of story, I'll crack it open and scan through to see if anything jumps out begging to be used. Lotta fun stuff in there that may or may not ever see the light of day. Dropping stuff in the Toolbox is one of the most fun and freeing parts of the process for me!

[quickspinner]

Weekly Lukanette Link Roundup

What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups

I hope I got everything. Apologies if I put anything under the wrong author name or missed anything. Drop me a line if I missed anything and I'll make sure it goes on the next roundup as always.

From me: Some Other Timeline

From @honeybloom20-23: The music that was finally complete

From @smileytrinity: Late Night Worries | Truths

From @chrwrites: Ghosts | Sword | Fire

From @nerdypanda3126: Smooch Roulette #1

From @rosebrided: Moonlit Melody

From @omnoramayday: Let's Try Again | The Straw That Broke | It's Time | A Bold Move | Ring The Bells | We Should Talk | Art Speaks | Distracting | Truth Hurts | Too Late For Cold Feet | A Special Moment | A Little Rain | Anticipation | Maize Maze | Caught | Dark Days | Puddle Jumping | Sometimes I Miss It | Exercise Can Be Dangerous | Love Language | Smooth | Replacement Needed | Couples Who Cook Together | Wrong Dressing Room | 7 Minutes In Heaven | Giving Up | Wake Up Call | Sunlight, Starlight |

From @rierse: "It's not too late, let's go." | Conceal | Altered | I Want To Believe You | May I Crash This Dance? | We Need to Talk | Smoke | Fair Trade | I Wouldn't Do That If I Were You | Unexpected Truth | On Our Own | Darning, Yarn is Alarming | The Suit | Warped | In the Dark

From @verfound: Autumn | Many | Hidden | Ghost Family | Circus | Tiny | Cats and Bats | Under the Bed | Funeral | Full Moon | Folklore | Skeleghost | Burn | Mushroom | Pattern

If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundupfor more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.

If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!

[natrome]

ok now that i for real know what my writing commitments are going to be for the next, like, year, at least the majority of them, here is the actual for real i s2g hold me to this writing schedule

Fic in a Box - due 10/15

1 assignment of 2k words remains, write it this saturday

Five Figure Fanworks Exchange - check in 11/11, due 1/20

i expect this will take about a week to finish, and ideally i'll have it done prior to check-in.

Yuletide - works due 12/18

UNLESS i get an assignment that i want to go hogwild on, which i should be prevented from doing, i should be able to finish this the week of 11/26 and not work on it outside of that.

galactic santas - est. due 12/25

my fave event of the year lol, the logh secret santa exchange. uh anyway this one is usually due around christmas and also is the easiest thing on this list by a mile and a half. i'm 0% worried about this one.

tomorrow ye will get your pay - aka the whale novel. - first draft due 3/1, physical product due for display 4/1

this is an extremely short timeline, and while it's not "drop everything else" level short, it is going to have to be my #1 writing priority for a long time.

my plan is as follows

spend the remainder of october getting situated w/ the research i'm going to have to do, figuring out who i need to talk to, etc. as well as put together a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline

nov/dec i'm assuming will be eaten by SMST and other commitments, but get research done and essentially braindump into document

jan/feb, just write as much as possible, take time off of work/quit job if i need to

if possible confine edits to the first 2 weeks of march, get books printed; deliver final product by last week of march.

god this schedule is miserable. well i signed up for it! i did this entirely to myself! lmfao.

anyway i'm going to bracket in that it's a 20 chapter novel, which seems like a reasonable number of chapters. i essentially have ~10 weeks to write this book. this is totally normal and fine, i have written longer books with less of a solid outline in shorter amounts of time. if i can just sit my ass in a chair and hammer out 2.5k words/day i will EASILY make this deadline and have time for editing. the issue will be making myself do that. but having a deadline and like professional accountability should majorly help. esp if i quit my stupid fucking job lol

serpent's mouth, serpent's teeth - due 12/31

i have four chapters left on SMST. i do not think they will be EASY to write but I do think that I'm CAPABLE of getting them done before the end of the year. at the very least i've sworn until i was blue in the face that i would finish this book by the end of the year. i need this book to stop haunting my waking nightmares lmfao. i estimate ~50-60k words remain, but we'll see what it actually ends up shaking out as. hopefully it's not more than that.

anyway this is another just "ass in chair" moment. though if i could have made myself do that months ago, this book would have been finished sometime this summer lol

every link was freedom's name - aka the fucking. arle heinessen play. no due date.

this is my yay you finished all the obligations you had now you get to do something deeply deeply stupid and entertaining only to a tiny number of people project. lyric play about arle heinessen. book of exodus pastiche. probably not that long. estimate it'll take me as long as POD did, so a month and a half? but i won't stress it. aim to finish it mid may?

new constellations - aka the logh rarepairs exchange i run

I'm planning to run signups in late march, with works due mid may. this is slightly earlier than last year but due to my own personal schedule i don't want it to overlap with...

heart attack exchange - works due 6/2

yeah you literally only get 2 weeks to work on this one so it kinda is what it is lol.

life out of balance rewrite. no particular due date.

i expect this will take me 3-4 months to complete. finish by september?

lighting out for the territories augmentation. no particular due date.

i'd like to think that i can get this done in 2 months but i don't actually have a plan for what i need to do to it. so who tf knows lol. assume it'll take me the rest of the year.

every hateful instrument - no firm date

this will likely take between 6-8 months to finish, but it's another thing that i really want to stop having hanging over me. i'll either work on it before the LOFTT stuff or after

WIAW phezzan novella - ultimate TBD

to be completed immediately before starting LL/SS, probably

other misc nonsense

there are other small exchanges that i like to do (space swap, unsent letters, we die like fen) so as those pop up i probably will sign up for them. i'm not going to look up/prognosticate when they will happen at this moment in time

god i owe so many people gifts for birthdays and holidays and stuff >.> you may or may not get them. lean towards may not b/c what the fuck is this writing schedule. i'm so sorry lmao

i've now gotten back around to "oh this goes up to the end of the year again, so the end of the year exchanges (yuletide, fffx, fiab, galactic santas) should be on this schedule" but down that road lies only pain and horror lol

this list has gotten incredibly vague as things have gone on. the last part of this year and the first part of next year are pretty set in stone though, and i just need to like, get myself to the starting block and then start running

literally so funny that i was like "i should relax and take a break from writing before starting LL/SS" lmfao. lmfao.

obviously some of these things could be deleted from the schedule. i don't have to do a bunch of exchanges (but i liiiiiike them) and i don't have to write a stupid play (but i wannnnnnt to), and i don't have to do any rewrites to the early parts of WIAW (but they're a mess). so it's like. idk. maybe none of this is real and i'm just making lists b/c i like making lists lol

[jazzywazzy89]

9, 52, and 100 will you be updating your amazing stories anytime soon?

Hey! Thanks for sending these! Sorry it took so long to respond.

9. in an ideal world where you’re already super successful and published, would you want to see a tv or movie adaptation of your work? why or why not?

I would say in a ideal world I would love a tv or movie adaptation of my work because it'd be fun and a lot of the time my scenes play out that way in my head as I write or think about them on the page so it'd be cool to see that in really time. But I'd only want it to happen if I were directly involved in the process from casting to the screenplay to the marketing. I feel like with adaptations I'd be open to changes only to a point and I have seen too many bad adaptations to not want to be involved in the process. While I wouldn't expect an exact replications I wouldn't allow it to go off the rails to where the story was completely lost.

52. how many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time?

There's honestly a ton work currently unfinished that I am trying to complete including fanfic I already have posted and some ideas I have in the works and some original work I am trying to revise for publication. In any case in terms of fanfic I try to update thematically and no work on everything at once. So, if I am working on an All Human AU I'll focus on those that are unfinished and not look at anything else, same with time travel, or crossover, or something of that nature. In terms of updating I focus on one fic at at time but also as I said I look at it thematically. So for instance, I'll work on a chapter of a time travel fic like 1922 and only after that chapter is complete I'll move on to a story that's maybe similar thematically like or time travel wise like Lettered. Or it might be pairing instead of theme. This helps me focus on one thing at a time because of having so many WIPs and so the plots don't run together in my head. It also helps because a lot of times I end up having to go a reread before I work on a new chapter so it keeps things a bit more organized and less chaotic when I have time to go back and update. I've been trying to update in batches as well but that's not always possible.

In terms of ideas, I have a ton that will likely never become stories in terms of both fanfic and original ideas.

100. open question to the writer.

will you be updating your amazing stories anytime soon?

First thanks for reading. I do plan on updating eventually but it likely won't be any time soon. I don't have a timeline because real life doesn't really give me the luxury of putting time aside to write when it comes to fanfic or my original work. I just end up doing what I can when I can. Sometimes it's weeks between updates, sometimes months, and sometimes years. But I hope to finish these stories at some point. In a ideal world I would write full time and not need to do anything else but I got to pay bills so I have a more than one day job (am still looking to just find one that is enough to get me financially stable so I am not working full time, part time, and freelance and is not as stressful) and real life is chaotic. But when I get a chance to update I always announce it here first. The best thing to do is to follow me here and on my fanfic platforms and sign up for alerts. Like I said, the updates are far and few in between but they do come.

[titanlights-moved]

Name: Anzu Miura Age: Appears to be in her twenties (is centuries old and seemingly immortal)  Height: 5′ Sexuality: Queer? She doesn’t have a label for it. Gender: Cis Female Western Zodiac Sign: Leo Japanese/Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rabbit Universe/fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Place of residence: Hakata Ward, Fukuoka,  Japan

Personality: Sparkling, Generous, Tenacious, Colorful, Dreamy, Irreligious, High-spirited, Noncompetitive, Imprudent, Superstitious.

Story: Centuries ago a portal to Vormir was opened in Japan. Anzu fell into it as a young girl and was doomed to become the stone’s guardian. However as she reached for it, the stone granted her mercy and gave her it’s power instead. She was unaware that the sacrifice required to wield it was still made. When she returned home her brother and best friend had died under unknown circumstances. Anzu grew distressed, even more so when she found herself able to communicate with him once more. He told her that he was okay having died, and that he’d watch her from the heavens. Anzu found little comfort in this however. She vowed to keep the despair she felt from rising in others using the stone’s gift. Years, no decades, were spent in solitude learning to understand how this gift affected her, meditating on it. Once she found peace in her power a weight was lifted off her shoulders. She was ready. 

In the centuries since, Anzu’s become a legend. Stories of her coming in the night after battles to comfort lost soldiers souls turned to stories of her fighting for love of all kinds and fighting yokai and became more mythical with each iteration. Some recognize her stories as the inspiration for the magical girl genre. In the beginning of the 20th century she grew tired of fighting against growing hatred and went into hiding, coming out shortly after Captain America went into the ice to approach Peggy about his death. 

She couldn’t do it. A voice within her said to wait because he might not be dead. But she watched over Peggy Carter from a distance. The woman’s tenacity eventually inspired her to re-learn how to love and fight for love. Now that the world’s much smaller and more filled with powered people, Anzu feels more comfortable showing her face as a hero. 

Powers: soul’s transformation (think sailor moon; gives invincibility during as she’s engulfed in a ball of energy) flight (after transformation) speaking with the dead souls, soul reviving, master of naginatajutsu ( naginata wielding ; naginatas are similar to european glaives )

[mistresseast]

Here is my shuake temporary amnesia threadfic I posted to Twitter earlier! Presented to you in screenshots for the full cinematic experience of being spammed with gross fluff on your timeline. The complete text is under the cut in case you don’t want to or can’t wade through all of those images ❤️

The procedure was really simple. Akira’s appendix hadn’t burst or anything, it was just inflamed and the doctor decided to have it removed as a precaution. Nothing to get worked up about, Goro kept telling himself. His husband would be in and out within a day, no hospital stay required.

Akira was all jokes before the surgery, teasing Goro about putting on a nurse’s outfit to take care of him at home, and Goro just said something threatening about suppositories, which earned a cheeky laugh.

It didn’t take long, and the other thieves showed up right as Akira was getting out. He was pretty woozy as the anesthesia wore off, but Goro was just relieved everything had gone perfectly, according to the surgeon.

When Goro comes back, eyes red-rimmed but dry, the thieves are visibly struggling to hold it together. Ryuji is facing the corner, shoulders shaking. Ann and Futaba are clinging to each and Haru has her hand over her mouth. Makoto is holding her head like she has a headache.

Except when Akira is coherent again, he’s...weird. He keeps avoiding Goro’s eyes and he barely responds to the others when they speak to him. Goro tries to take his hand, and he locks up, going pale. The others just watch, looking awkward, and Goro excuses himself, suddenly feeling ill.

Akira is sitting up in bed, beaming.

“What happened?” Goro asks.

Sumi smiles innocently. “Nothing.”

Goro eyes them all with suspicion. “The neurologist will be here soon to clear him for discharge.”

“Great,” Ann squeaks.

“Somehow, I do not think--” Yusuke starts before two of the others shush him.

Well, that’s weird, but when are the thieves not weird? Goro is more interested in Akira, who’s staring at him with a crooked grin.

“Feeling better?” Goro asks, retaking his seat.

“I am now that you’re here,” Akira says, flashing him a wink.

Goro squints at him. “Are you sure? You were pretty out of it earlier. I can go get a doctor—”

“That was nothing,” Akira insists. “I was just surprised to wake up to someone so pretty waiting at my bedside.”

“Oh is that what it was.” Rolling his eyes, Goro sits forward to guide Akira back down against the pillows. “You shouldn’t be sitting up. You’ll pop your stitches.”

“Yes, sir.” Akira lies back obediently and catches Goro’s hand when he tries to pull away. “I can think of some more fun ways to pop them, anyway. Are you free later?”

Goro stares at him while Futaba lets out a hysterical giggle and Makoto mumbles something.

“You think you’re so cute,” Goro says eventually. “The doctor said to hold off on that for at least a week.”

"Oh, right." Akira hitches up his coy smile. "What's your schedule like in a week, then?"

Cheeks warm, Goro cuts his eyes to the others, who are all studiously avoiding looking at the bed. "What's gotten into you?" he scolds. Akira is never this…overt in public.

Akira's smile droops. "I...sorry, I—" He flicks a glance at the others as well, and Goro catches Ann giving an encouraging little hand wave.

"What?" Goro directs at her. "Is something wrong?"

She shakes her head quickly, eyes wide and glittering.

"Everything's fine," Akira insists. "I was just...uh, wondering if, after I'm recovered, you'd like to grab some coffee or something?"

Goro furrows his brows at him. "You realize that's a ridiculous question, right? What are you playing at?"

"But—you—" Frowning, Akira darts a look down at the ring encircling Goro's fourth finger, then over at the rest of his friends. "You guys—"

Futaba bursts out laughing and Ryuji nearly keels over from the force of his own elated wheezing. Makoto pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry," Akira mumbles, releasing Goro's hand, cheeks red. "I guess they thought it'd be funny to play a trick on a sick person."

"A trick?" Goro repeats blankly.

"Of course you're already taken, someone as hot as you—" Akira scrubs a hand through his hair. "I saw your ring but they said it wasn't—you weren't—"

Realization clicks in Goro's head and he angles a glare at the others, which apparently breaks the final seal because the remaining thieves, minus Makoto, dissolve into helpless giggling.

"I'm really sorry," Akira continues, oblivious. "If I knew, I wouldn't have hit on you, but you're just so...and when I woke up and saw you being so nice to me, I thought, you know—" he grimaces. 

"Oh my god." Goro rubs his temples.

"When you left, I asked them if you were single and they said yes, but they were just taking me for a ride." Akira scowls at the others. "Not cool, guys."

Futaba snorts. She has her phone out and pointed at them but Goro can't worry about that at the moment. "Akira, how much do you remember right now?"

Akira shrugs. "Everything's pretty hazy. I figured you all had to be my friends since you don't look like family and you were all really happy when I woke up, but I can't remember the specifics. That happens with anesthesia sometimes, right?"

"Yes, it—" Goro breaks off on a sigh.

"Look, I'm really sorry again," Akira says earnestly, "—and I hope this doesn't make things awkward with us, but I just wanna say that I hope whoever you're with knows how lucky they are."

"Oh, they do," Ryuji pipes up. "They never shut up about it!"

The others all snicker and Goro wishes he was close enough to elbow Ryuji in the gut.

"Good." Akira smiles sadly, putting Goro in mind of a kitten left in the rain. "Who is it, anyway? Do I know them?"

Goro makes a strained noise in the back of his throat. "Akira, it's you."

Akira blinks. "What?"

Digging in his pocket, Goro produces a simple silver band and grabs Akira's hand. "You're the person I'm with, we're married—" he slides the ring into Akira's unresisting finger. "And your friends are all assholes."

Akira stares slack-jawed at his ring. "Wait, really?" He glances between Goro and the others. "Really?"

Goro nods with another sigh while the others struggle to compose themselves.

"Sorry," Ann says, at least looking a little contrite. "When we realized he didn't remember you, we just couldn't resist."

"We owe you," Sumi titters. "Please don't be mad! We'll make it up to you!"

"You absolutely will," Goro grumbles, already planning just how he's going to make the thieves pay for this.

"Hang on—" Akira snags Goro's hand again, eyes shining. "We're really married?"

"Yes," Goro answers patiently. "For nearly two years."

"Holy shit," Akira marvels. "How did I manage that?"

"Here we go," Futaba groans.

Goro shoots her a warning look before reaching over and smoothing Akira's fringe off his forehead. "Hopefully you'll remember that on your own soon." He doesn't really want to recount the whole operatic series of events.

Akira leans shamelessly into the touch, a dopey smile growing on his face. 

The neurologist assures them that Akira's brain is fine and that this kind of disorientation is common after general anesthesia. Nevertheless, he stays in the hospital until his memories start returning.

"Look at it this way," Ann suggests while Akira hides his face in embarrassment and Goro signs his discharge papers. "Now you both know that Akira's not just into you because you tried to kill him."

Goro still isn't pleased with the thieves, but he's starting to see the humor in the situation. "That's definitely a load off my mind. Though now I'll have to rethink our anniversary plans."

Akira whines something that sounds like "please stop"

"I did quite enjoy hearing about how hot I am, though."

Akira lowers his hands, pouting petulantly. "I tell you that all the time."

"You should remind me more often."

"Oh?" Some familiar impishness sparks in Akira's gaze. "So you like when I praise you?"

"Your memories must still be hazy because that's not a secret."

"Please don't do this," Makoto begs.

Laughing, Akira ignores her and makes grabby hands at Goro. Smirking, Goro sets his clipboard aside and leans forward, allowing Akira to pull him into a kiss.

It's just as sweet as always.

[randomanimeandmangablog]

Phantom Tales of the Night Timeline, Draft 1

I'm going to try to put a timeline together for Phantom Tales of the Night. Given how certain stories are vague in terms of their chronology, I'm going to need to make plenty of assumptions. I'll do my best to explain my reasoning when things are unclear. Hopefully as I continue to reread the series and as volumes continue to be published, the timeline will become more clear.

401-500 AD: Owner is traveling with Maple and Bone Monk. He sees a woman tossed off a cliff and a warrior, pierced with arrows, fall after her. The warrior is from a tribe that recently killed one of Owner's guests, a giant spider. Owner will later alternate between the claim that he wanted the man's secret and the claim that he pitied the man. Regardless of the reason, Owner saves the man's life by molding him with a spider. The man becomes known as Spider (or earth spider). The woman also survives, and she goes on to have children. This assumption is taken from the end note for this section. According to it, the term "Earth Spider" was used during the fifth and sixth centuries as a pejorative term for indigenous people opposing the Yamato regime but later become used for giant humanoid spiders. My theory is that Owner used an earth spider to make Spider a monster both as an insult/punishment for killing his guest and to take the place of his guest. As Spider roamed around, people started using the term to refer to him. I'm afraid I'm not well-versed in Japanese history, but Spider's clothing in that chapter might narrow the field down further down. If anyone knows more, I'd appreciate some insight.

Sometime after meeting Spider, Owner parts ways with the Bone Monk and Maple. It's implied that this isn't an altogether amicable parting since both seem to want to return to Owner.

1819: Snow Lass and Mountain Ogre are forced into a marriage of convenience. Fearing Mountain Ogre, who has threatened her, Snow Lass asks Owner to officiate their marriage and take her husband's secret. In return for his protection, she'll willingly give Owner her own secret at a later date. Mountain Ogre reveals that he is in love with his wife. Note that while the inn's structure exists, it's not an inn yet. We know this because Owner discusses his plans to run an inn with Hunter at a time when he and Bone Monk have already parted company. When he returns home after talking to her, Spider is on the porch, looking very downcast and also much younger. Therefore it can be implied that whatever the inn was before that, it wasn't officially the Murakumo inn.

Between 1819 and 2012, several things happen:

(1) Butterfly is 'born' from the cherry blossom tree.

(2) At some point Spider comes to Owner's estate. Owner mentions that they haven't seen each other for a long time. Between the time he was turned into a yokai and this time, Spider has been watching over the descendants of the woman who he almost killed. At this time, he seems to have hit rock bottom and is mourning his humanity.

(3) Owner begins to think of turning his estate into an inn. It's implied that this is for Butterfly and Spider's sake, but exactly how so is up for interpretation. He runs into Bone Monk again, who leads him to a Hunter. This Hunter is a purveyor in rare food, notably mermaid flesh. Owner secures her services for his future inn and returns home. Spider is still completely desolate, and Owner puts a piece of meat in front of him and walks away. Not wanting it to go to waste, Spider picks it up and goes to cook it. This seems to begin his employment as the inn's chef.

(4) Kaibara and Inamura travel the world, searching for legends of yokai. They hear of Owner and the Murakumo Inn. At one point, Kaibara goes missing for a few weeks, and when he returns he has an emaki. He's met Owner, and he has no shadow.

2012: Kaibara disappears, this time for at least 7 years.

2019: (1) A high schooler, Sasaki, is ignored by his peers. He is pursued by butterflies, who land on his shadow. One night, he is chased by a yokai slave trader and ends up being saved by Spider. Owner and Butterfly welcome him into the inn. While there, Sasaki realizes that there are holes in his memory. When Owner asks for a secret as payment, Sasaki can't think of one. Eventually he finds out that the reason he's being chased and the reason people ignore him is that he's dead. A skeleton. Owner makes it so others can see him and gives Sasaki a mother so that he can go about a life, but the life will be far from normal. Since he's still a skeleton, he'll live in constant fear that someone will discover his secret. When Sasaki finally dies, he'll have something with which to pay Owner.

(2) A woman, Miho, is jealous of her twin sister. She is seduced by Butterfly, and Butterfly grants her wish to take her sister's place. Her sister dies, but Miho ends up becoming nothing more than a replica of her sister before dying herself. Bemoaning her fate, she dissolves. Butterfly is left disappointed since he clearly didn't realize what she really wanted. Owner explains that she wanted someone to see and accept her for who she truly was.

(3) Slayer (although he's not referred to as such or even physically present in this chapter) sends a snake monster/curse to kill Owner. Despite being tortured, the snake monster is completely devoted to Slayer and wants only to please him. She believes he cares for her since he gave her a name. Spider tries to convince her that she's just a pawn, but she won't listen...until she's already dying. Then Owner and Spider reveal that Slayer has sent so many others that they've lost count. After her death, Spider removes her ribbon (which has her name on it) and gives it to Owner. As he works over her corpse, he grows sorrowful. Owner praises him for his good work, but Spider won't let Owner tend to his wounds since Spider believes Owner doesn't care about him. We learn that Spider sees himself in these creatures because he has a similar backstory.

(4) Sasaki is still adjusting to life as a skeleton. After school every day, he goes to stand in front of a school mirror and examines his skeletal body. I think this seems like a really strange place to peep at yourself if you don't want anyone to know you're a skeleton. Surely your own room with the door locked or a changing room (again with the door locked) would be a better place. But I guess Sasaki is young and traumatized, so he's not thinking clearly. Maybe he even wants someone to find out his secret. There are already rumors about him.

One day, Slayer comes up to him, introduces himself as a monster hunter, and is just like, "Hey, I hear you're a skeleton." He wants Sasaki to help him get back to the inn, and he does this by attacking Sasaki with some snake creature. (You can already tell what his favorite curses are.) Slayer tries to attack Owner, and Owner mentions that he's murdered pretty much Slayer's entire family for generations. While Slayer lands a few blows and cuts, Owner doesn't die. He splits into different versions of himself before coalescing again. Spider and Butterfly (mostly Spider) neutralize Slayer, but Owner stops them from killing him. Instead, Owner kicks Slayer and Sasaki out. Sasaki is terrified, but Slayer wants more.

(5) Snow Lass returns to the inn. Her husband has died, so she's ready to give Owner her secret. Her secret is that she loved her husband. Owner reveals to her that her husband loved her, too, and she melts in the flame of her husband's secret.

(6) Kaibara, missing for 7 years, has been presumed dead. Inamura is trying to find the strange emaki, and he encounters Owner as Owner takes it back. Owner steals Inamura's shadow.

I'm setting the stories that don't indicate that they're taking place in the past in 2019, the year in which the first volume was published. Using this, some timeframes can be established. For example, when Kaibara went missing.

TO BE CONTINUED