#please for the love of god don't do it again auto brain

[thateldribitch]

Bungou x Chekhov

Season 5/ Manga Spoilers Ahead! (Big Ones)

For those who don't want spoilers, have a Chuuya.

Without Further Ado!

Chekhov's Guns I'm Pretty Sure Asagiri hasn't Fired Yet (Because I haven't fully read the Manga):

Q/Kyuusaku: where the fuck did he go?

Defected Guild Members: Are they ever going to come back? Did they ever make their own organization? Are they going to fuck Francis up if they find out he's alive?

Is Simp Reverend Mc Brainwashed a trap? Because I'm pretty sure he's a trap. He was waaaaaaay too easy to catch. (He better not kill Lucy.)

Speaking of--where's his girlfriend(?) ? Didn't Yosano heal her??

Where are Naomi and the receptionist?

Where the fuck is Catsman mc Plotface (does HE have the receptionists?)

Is Tanizaki going to join the mafia? (Because I really feel like he fits in too well with the Mafia, considering his sliiiiiiiiiiiight murderous tendencies.)

Speaking of the Mafia:

How many people in the Port Mafia are vampires? Is Koyou a vampire? Is Paul Verlaine a vampire? Is MORI a vampire? (Would this also make Elise a vampire?)

How are the Hunting Dogs going to react when they FINALLY find out the truth about their boss?

I feel like their whole "need surgery every month to not disintegrate" thing is also a fucking Chekhov's gun if I've ever seen one.

Side Note:

Can the vampire ability bring anybody back to life, and could it, theoretically, bring back Odasaku? Not that I think that's necessarily a Chekhov's Gun, but an interesting point--

[welcome-to-the-end-of-eras]

Live Reading: The Salt Miracles

I am only doing this for The Salt Miracles and not the other stories in The Winter Spirits because it's too much effort and I'm already going insane. I'm also going in 100% blind, I have absolutely no idea what it's about or whose perspective it's following, but my lord am I nervous.

I haven't even started yet but I just realised I've been calling it The Salt Mines by accident and put it in a twitter post oops-

OOO IT'S SOMEONE NEW

I STILL HAVEN'T STARTED READING YET BUT I SAW THEM REFERENCE A PRIEST AND NOW I'M GOING INSANE I NEED TO BE SEDATED

I'm chewing on glass and gnawing at the bars of my fucking enclosure

This (not) reading is more indicative of my mental illness than my actual diagnoses

If St Hilda is a fucking asylum I'm going to commit several crimes

I already love Mhairi she's so fun

Wait why is it changing to another dude Mhairi was fun :((( ik I'll probably like Flint but Mhairi is cool and I want her to write a proper female mc for once

Wait wait wait if the salt is pink it's probably Himilayan, and that along with Russia was where Mori said there was a weird no-clairvoyance zone thing so ??? I'm going to lose my marbles

Ohh nvm it's algae, that would've been cool

Okay Flint is also a priest, we have two priests now

"... I've been, you know, head first in a bucket the whole way" yeah okay this is a Pulley protag and I love him

" 'A whole...Christmas selection?' 'Nuts' " that may just become my new Twitter bio (probably not I like my Glass Onion reference too much)

He has a portable camera so this is probably taking place in like the twenties, but Kodak as a company was founded literally the same time tlfop was happening which is funny

Motherfucker are we getting animal-human hybrids???

I like fog as a metaphor, especially in tlfop, so I will probably write out something about it later

"...beehives, or cairns (graves)" this sounds like when Mori threatened Ito's wife who was allergic to bees

Why tf are there pilgrims??? Ik they're not like the Mayflower types of pilgrims, but what kind of religious journey thing are they doing???

I also want to write about the complete lack of respect for government officials and just general authority from the pulleyverse protags bc none of them have any fucks to give about authority figures

"...in his unofficial capacity as the bishop's shoulder-angel" PLS-

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was mentioned and now I'm 1.) thinking about tlfop again, and 2.) am fairly certain that this story takes place not far from the events of tlfop, because the first Sherlock Holmes book was published in 1887 and he references them as being "new:

"...now the bishop didn't believe in miracles"

"I'll be Eve in a cider factory" tbh I don't understand what that means too well rn but I love it regardless (ik Eve bit the apple and all that jazz I just can't wrap my brain around the metaphor please don't explain the Bible to me)

I auto-filled an Irish accent for Kerryn in my brain so when he called Flint "Father Kang" I thought he meant "King" for a minute

Okay so it starts December 18th, which is also the date that Mori said he would come back to Japan if I'm not mistaken??? (Edit: I WAS RIGHT AND I FEEL LIKE GOD)

But I must be slightly off because X-rays weren't invented until 1895 :(((

Also I know Kerryn is probably the secondary lead but there's something off about him I don't like, I can't put my finger on it

Either Ms. Pulley messed up her math or I don't know what an advent calendar is, because I was under the impression this was in December, so how tf has Rosemary been on the island for 38 days if she's been there since September??? She would've had to have come in November for that to be true

Flint out here profiling people by name like his name isn't fucking Flint (I also definitely laughed and thought of Batman when I read Bruce's name for the first time)

I can't handle references to the winter king rn don't do this to me-

I stopped to make dinner because I'm hungry, I started at like 5:30 and it's now like 7:35 and I have some yummy pasta and pumpkin tea (I also had like 1.5 margaritas)

I can finally use my insanely eurocentric art history class notes to explain the imagery of what Flint describes in Ezekiel's angels; each of the four creature's heads is representative of the four apostles who wrote the bible, and that coupled with the biblically accurate angels coming down from on high are clear indicators of the second coming in art, meaning the previous priest was preaching the end of days to these people

I've always been such a sucker for Catholicism in gothic media, especially when it comes to imagery, so this all is right up my alley

THE O W L ? ? ?

"...the Almighty had forgotten about the United Kingdom" she's so fucking real for that

Honestly??? The Bishop sounds like he'd be a good love interest for Flint. Maybe it's because I don't like Kerryn that much even tho he's the standard choice, but the whole "hearing them talking to you in times of stress" thing is a fun thing I like with all the pulleyverse couples and it happened with the Bishop so. Hmm.

Fliny's whole color metaphor for logic + Thaniel's synesthesia sounds like another essay for me

The optimism of Flint and the pilgrims is really going to make the horror aspect of this all hit so hard I'm excited

On that note, I love how the stones that looked like beehives so readily became cairns as the tone got darker

My computer started updating as I was making this and I was so scared that I lost everything but thank fuck for tumblr drafts

Anyways those salt rocks are a grade A prime example of Chekov's gun if I've ever seen one

The rocks are fuckin BIRDS???

The fear of machinery is something we have seen in Pulley novels before, especially around this time period, but it's just making me think of the Mars House and how that would tie in

HIMB BABY BIRD I'M ABOUT TO CRY-

N O NOT THE BIRD :(((

That was fast

"The islanders didn't leave a hundred years ago. We're walking in them." this line goes so hard, especially because it includes the audience in the "we"

OOO altitude sickness, very Bedlam Stacks-core

The cloaked devil imagery and unforgotten knowledge description is giving very much Edgar Allen Poe and it's gorgeous

I cannot say I care at all about Kerryn becoming salt but damn was it a creepy twist

And the way she physically started crumbling??? Genuinely horrifying

It took this short story for me to realise that that scene in twofs where Mori is giving his side of the argument with the priest in the future where he actually did go to the wedding, he's arguing about the story of Lot, which likely was derivative of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Wonder why that would come up. Hmm. A mystery.

"He could taste it -- something electric." PLS I'M GOING NUTS-

What in the fucking Cthulu-

Oh Mhairi's back!!! Yay!!!

Alright maybe I spoke too soon with the whole Bishop and Flint thing

Wait it's not Flint??? I thought Bruce was Flint for a second

Oh f u c k dude that was HEAVY

That's so nuts

I literally do not have words what the fuck was that ending

It was really good and clever and fun but w o w

Ending thoughts: I genuinely have none, that was terrifying and beautiful and cool as FUCK, and I think if Ms. Pulley started pumping out only horror novels from now on I would be in full support. It's a really fuckin out of pocket move considering her previous works and even her last short story that had a relatively happy ending but my god it was good. 10/10, very creeped out. Also the sign at the end??? Knowing Flint probably wrote that out and put it around his own neck like a noose??? That's so fucking hardcore I can't believe it. Utterly amazed.

[diana-fortyseven]

🛠🍷🥰

Wow, that's a huge glass of wine! Thank you (for the ask, not for the drink lol)!

(But also, thank you for the drink.)

🍷 Do you drink and write?

Usually not, but sometimes it's fun. There's this very particular type of creativity only red wine can unlock. Other drinks only make me sleepy, not creative.

Always edit sober, though! :D

🥰 How do you feel about reader interaction? Are you open to receiving questions about your fics?

Y E S! My comments on AO3 are unrestricted on all fics, please go ahead and ask whatever you want to know about any of them. I'm not looking for constructive criticism, though. (But if you find a typo or a punctuation fail, please do let me know lol. It shouldn't happen with multiple layers of spell and grammar checkers, but sometimes I add something last second before hitting "publish", and sometimes my brain is not braining while I do so.)

🛠 What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

Sit down and enjoy that glass of wine, this'll take a while... xD

For spontaneous short fics (and for plot bunnies that came out of nowhere), I use Google Docs. It's great because it auto-saves, and I can access my docs on any device.

Then I have Scrivener for fics that require a bit more planning or are more than just one scene.

I made different templates for the different kind of fics I usually write (and should I ever feel like I'm 100% happy with my ever-evolving templates, I'll happily share them!); and it's perfect to organise and keep all plot bunnies in check.

How was I ever able to live without the Corkboard and without being able to shuffle scenes and around like index cards? I love this fucking Corkboard, I love the binder, I love that I have a template that groups all "Save the Cat!" plot beats into the three acts of the three-act structure. And my god, do I love that I'm also able to customise the theme of my Scrivener and turn it into a pastel rainbow. Absolute eye candy! <3

I very recently treated myself to Scrivener for iOS, and I'm so happy that I did! Again, Google Docs is great for some quick note-taking, but being able to add a new index card to my WIP's Corkboard wherever I am? Priceless!

For mind maps, I use Scapple. It's from the same company that makes Scrivener, Literature & Latte. Good to organise thoughts, not necessarily a must-have. There are free mind map tools out there. I just want to support Literature & Latte.

I also use voice-to-text, because that's something that really helps me whenever I feel like I can't write. The words are there, the stories are there, but I can't fucking write them down for whatever reason.

After experimenting with different free options (let me know if you're interested in my thoughts on them and which I would recommend), I settled for Nuance Dragon Professional 16, the best dictation software on the market, but also fucking expensive. I don't regret this. It's probably overkill if you're only using it for fanfic.

I don't use the mobile version, Dragon Anywhere, because it's a subscription based service now, and fuck that. It's probably really awesome and all, but I am not paying €150 per year for this.

So, to save money, I use my €1,000 dictation software with the free dictation app ALON Dictaphone to dictate chapters or scenes on my phone. There are probably better apps out there, but I've been using this one for more than ten years and I like it. You can organise your voice notes with labels, so you always know which fic they belong to. It also synchs with all cloud services out there (I use it with my free Dropbox), and I can access the files on my laptop when I need them. Dragon 16 can transcribe these files without playing them, which is really nice, because a) I don't have to listen to my own voice and b) I can do something else on my laptop and don't have to stay quiet while it's transcribing.

For spelling and grammar, I use LanguageTool. The free plan offers all I need, and it integrates with Google Docs and my browser. The best thing about it is that you can choose which English accent to write in, and it will tell you if an expression you used belongs to a different accent and offer you an alternative.

For a quick final edit, I use ProWritingAid and Hemingway Editor. I like that you can choose the genre in PWA. I dismiss a lot of their suggestions, though. There's a reason I chose passive voice for this one sentence, dammit! xD

AutoCrit also offers interesting editing tools. I'll give it a go at one point, but for now I've only played around with the example text a little.

So, yeah. That's basically it, I think.

[dove-among-bats]

"no! Don't you dare shut me out!" dick and Jay?

Jason carefully peeled the leather jacket off his bloodiedshoulder, wincing as the fabric pulled against the edges of the wound. The bloodsticking skin, Kevlar and jacket all together like some sort of morbid glue.

 Tonight had not gone well at all, it never did when he wasin Gotham. If he didn’t know better, he’d say the city hated him being there,or, more likely, her dark night hated him being there.

 The scar across his neck itched at the memory, and he squeezedhis eyes shut. Focusing on keeping his breathing in control, in and out, likeAlfred taught him when he was young. Now was no time to remember what happened.It was in the past.

 A painful past, but when you worked alongside gods andlegends, who didn’t have one nowadays?

 But still. His fingers reached up and touched the pink, tautskin. Some just had to have it worse than others.

 Shaking his head to clear his mind, he went back to peelingaway his layers of clothing, jacket, and chest armor inscribed with his red batinsignia, Kevlar shirt, and tank top. All landing randomly upon hisbloodstained couch, he hadn’t cared to clean in the first few times he hadcollapsed and bled all over it, and by the time he did, it was far too late forthe thing.

 The hole in his shoulder stung from the new contact of air;having knives driven entirely through his shoulder was nothing new these days. He’dhave to trust that it wasn’t necessary to sew up the exit point; he wasn’tElongated Man after all.

 A creak from the other side of his window had his earsperking up, but he focused his eyes on the first aide infront of him, diggingthrough to set out what he would need.

 “What happened?”

He knew it, the guy must’ve set traps in all of his knownlocations, rolling his eyes as he scoffed “Last I checked, I told you to getfucking lost” not necessarily true, he hadn’t told him, and instead had lefthim a note.

 Footsteps, then asting that had him gasps as a damp pad of some sort swiped over the exit wound,turning quickly to glare at the older man, only to find him opening anotherantiseptic packet and using it on his shoulder, working slowly and carefully.Focused on his work, he turned back to digging stuff out of the first aide box.Fine, if he was having one of those days where he was going to be bigbrotherly. Nothing was going to stop him, and Jason did not have the energy totry.

 He almost settled into the quietness of the room. Almost, untilDick decided to break the silence with words that, admittedly, struck Jason’ssoul deep and hard, twisting up his gut and wrenching at his heart.

“Nine years”

“What?”                                                                                                                                                                                              

“It’s been nine years since we lost you, and you’re alivebut we still don’t have you back”

“I’m not some fucking toy that can be owned” he snapped,whipping his head around to glare, only to let his entire face drop at thesight of Dick’s. It looked exactly like it had when a thirteen year old Jasonhad found him crying in the attic, after an accident involving Bruce thatnearly cost their father his life.

 Dick’s startling blue eyes met his own green tinted brown “Exactly,you’re irreplaceable, you’re my little brother, you’re Bruce’s son, Alfie’sgrandson, and you have the chance to be a big brother, Please Jay, come home tous”

He turned back to preparing the needle to sew him up,stewing in silence. How dare he, the golden fucking child, make it seem sofucking easy? What right did he have? He didn’t know what Bruce was like!

Except, he did, he knew exactly what Bruce was like. Haddealt with him far longer then Jason, an argument between Bruce and Dick wasthe only reason Jason had a chance at the name Robin in the first place.

“Get out” he murmured, this what not what he wanted.

“What?”

“I said get out!” he lashed out, swinging his bad arm out atDick and shoving him away, leaping up and twisting to face him, confusioncrossed the older man’s face, but anger quickly covered it, his hands curlinginto white knuckled fists.

“No! Don’t you dare shut me out!” he shouted, stalkingforward as he uncurled one hand, his finger jabbing into Jason’s chest “Youthink you can gallivant around, doing your own thing, ignoring your family,ignoring your own problems, well news flash idiot. You can’t! Everyone fuckingneeds someone to lean on, and yeah, there’s been fucking problems, familiesalways have problems! Big fucking whoop!” by the time he was done his back wasturned and his hands were raised in the air. And Jason thought that maybe if itwere any colder he would see steam rolling off of Dick in waves.

“He sliced my throat open with a batarang”

That got Dick’s attention, he spun around, eyes wide “w...What?”this was obviously the first time he was hearing about it.

Jason pointed to the scar angrily, glaring right into Dick’seyes.

“Instead of killing the Joker, he sliced my throat open witha batarang, any deeper and there would have been two outcomes, either I would’velost my voice, or I would be dead. Instead of kill the Joker, someone who hascaused millions of people pain, who has put more people in the ground then I caneven count, including myself. Who has tortured children and fucked Harley up inthe brain for the rest of her life, who got my own birth mother to betray me.Instead of ridding the earth of that scum! Bruce, or as you put him, ‘my dad’nearly made me a mute, or worse, nearly put me in the ground for a second time”

His voice was dangerously low, and he never allowed Dick tobreak eye contact.

“So the next time you say I’m ‘ignoring my problems’ Maybe think about the reasons behind that,because for me? Ignoring my problems during the day is the only semblance ofpeace I get, because every night the nightmares of every fucked up thing to happento me plague my mind and won’t let me fucking get five minutes of sleep”

A deep breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth,open his eyes again.

“Now ever shut the fuck up about your ‘family fixes everything’ spiel and sew my shoulder, or get the fuckout of my apartment”

He didn’t remember dozing off, or going to his bedroom, orcovering himself with his covers.

Anger always wore him out though, after so long, first thepit madness, then Bruce’s refusal that Jason was his own person and had his ownway of doing this.

He was probably so tired after his fight with Dick that his consciousnesslet his body go on auto drive.

It was derailed by the blue post it that stuck to hisbathroom mirror.

‘Get some rest littlebro, Steph’s already agreed to cover your section. Let that shoulder heal up”

Just great, his section would be in utter chaos soon enough.Whoever this Steph was wouldn’t know what to do, he was sure of it.

‘P.S; I’m going to be “talking”to Bruce about that scar, big bro’s got your back Jaybird. Love – Dickiebird”

Fuck.

He was going to miss the blood bath of the century allbecause he hadn’t made peace with his family yet. Way to drive a point homeDickiebird.