#project status: initial draft

[amanitus]

Semi-regular project update time ! 🖋️

We've been looking at our overall progress for Tuesday's Child and realised wow! this could be a post actually. So this is what we've been up to lately ➡️

🌟HOM'S ART DIRECTION🌟

sprites: the main cast is assembled ⚡though some more will be drawn as later chapters call for more individual sprites, it's very satisfying to have the main ones ready to play with!

scene drawings: the next goal is to get this visual novel to MVP status (minimum viable product) so the current focus is creating each chapter's main scene drawings ⚡ every time Hom shows me a new one i have to squirm and sweat a bit so yeah i'd say they're very succesful so far 🥹

🌟AMANITUS'S SCRIPT PROGRESS🌟

story routes: 2 out of 3 are fully drafted ⚡ now they're just awaiting editing!! (the fun part imo). also the final route is about halfway drafted (and remains the current focus of writing time) 😌

current wordcount: 284,842 words ⚡the initial goal was 300k so this feels about right - in editing i tend to trim rather than expand. formatting the text file into visual novel pages will also highlight areas that can be tightened up

It really is fun to see how many new little concepts and connections arise as we assemble things.. even though we're following our outline there's plenty of discovery left 🌿

[sleepy-spacetronaut]

Pilot Project : Vogelfrei, a Gravity falls Fanfic Idea

(POST DATESTAMP: post started on December 8, 2024)

Start note: If some of you remember my post about a potential fanfic with the Handyman Bill Au , then I have great news! Not only have I settled on a title, but the story is lining up for a potentially elaborate sequel! While the first story will mostly be written in a traditional sense, I decided to experiment with comic making for the follow-up story. After mind-boggling hours of search for a pleasant closure to the initial story (for which leaving an open ending seemed tasteless), making a sequel was a rather exciting idea. From all the stories I’ve ever wrote, rarely any had been turned into a duology, let alone one in comic format. Additionally, the sequel will require a lot more world building, unlike the first story, it will loosely follow the bases of the gravity falls books (TBOB and the Adventures) rather than the show.

Fanfic Idea in Brief Details

Title: Vogelfrei/ Pilot Project Vogelfrei

Placeholder title : Tears So Hot They Make The Universe Burn (No comment about the terrible acronym this title would have gotten.)

Expected length : ~15-20K words to begin with (book 1)

The plot : see here for a draft of the plot idea, however it is not up-to-date -> a fresh version with an adequate summary will be posted later.

Pairings? : Billford(One-sided then QPR), Fidauthor (Also QPR) Melody/Soos, Fiddleford/Stanley, Ford & Old Goldie* (briefly).

*canonically, Ford is married to the golden statue because of Stan usurping his name, no one’s happy about it. They get a divorce, much to Stanley’s dismay.

Production: what to expect ?

To start, all the energy I get and pour into making fanfiction is bestowed upon me by coffee, the hyper fixation frenzy of an ADHD brain ,and the reading of amazing fanfiction that inspired me to further my ideas into actual, tangible stories. I will do my best to get the story plot down as text before the enchantment of the fixation flies away, as if I ever lose the interest,the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

Pacing of the production : I have both the general outlines for Vogelfrei and its sequel ready, with a little luck I will get the first story down through the winter holidays, if not, it will stretch until around June for the completion. The sequel will be produced immediately after the first story is finished.

Comics and artworks: I have recently experimented with 6-10 panel comic strips on my iPad, but I am better at making traditional art. So there will be digital and paper drawn doodles peppered here and on AO3 once the process is started. I will have separate batches of art, one which will contain art directly related to the plot , and another with ‘extras’, labeled accordingly.

Answers to any other inquiries you might have

TBOB and Gravity Falls series compatibility -> will I get spoilers?

If you’re new to the fandom and haven’t seen the whole series yet, I suggest to finish it first and skim over the GF wiki , for context of how Bill ends up in the Theraprism. I haven’t gotten my hands on much of TBOB except some pages and ideas here and there, therefore it probably wont be much of a spoiler—There however will be lots of contradictions, especially with TBOB.

2. Audience ratings

Both are 16+ in my opinion, if you are younger and choose to read regardless of the warnings, that is up to you. Thought keep in mind there will be a significant amount of swearing, some depictions of substance abuse (alcohol mostly, but also some other stuff), self-harm, violence (verbal and physical) and suicidal thoughts (briefly towards the end the first story). In any case, I will add a CW/TW notice when time comes.

3. Asks/Fanart

Questions, comments, music suggestions and fanart are all very welcome! I’m mostly writing this for myself to satisfy cravings, but I’d be glad to know that it also made someone else smile.

End note : Soon the winter holidays will begin and so will my writing, hopefully, I will get the time to do half of the story. I will post here and on AO3, but most of the art will link back to my blog. If , in the end, the story gets to monopolize my tumblr, I will make a separate blog for it to keep this one from getting too cluttered. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask!

P.S.: In parallel to this story, I am working on another Gravity falls Au, called Rewind the Timeline, for which I intend to write a short historical fanfiction which will span from the late 18th century throughout the 21st century. It will be focused on Bill’s perspective a lot more than Vogelfrei, which will have some shifts in point of view. You can find the fic idea on my pinned post.

[byoldervine]

What To Do When Losing Your Flow Mid-Writing Session

Make A Deal:

1. Set a timer. Write for five or ten more minutes

2. Cross the finish line. Finish the paragraph you’re on, or write one more

3. Musical statues. If you write while listening to music, keep writing until you finish the song you’re on, or until the one after that is finished

The intention behind these deals is similar to getting a child to try new foods; you tell them that if they can eat just one or two more bites, and they still don’t like it, they don’t have to eat any more. You can do similar with your writing, but it only works long-term if you actually allow yourself to stop after you’ve met the criteria to do so

Regaining Inspiration:

1. Come back later. Set the writing aside and do something else. Get food or a drink, take a shower, take a walk, cuddle your pet, whatever eases your brain from writing mode to chill mode. Ideally something simple and repetitive that you don’t have to think much about

2. Read something. Maybe a book that inspires you, or a transcript of a movie you like, or anything else like that. I’d encourage you to only read your own writing if you’re working on getting ideas for how to continue; you won’t snap out of editor mode even if you’re just trying to chill

3. Rediscover your passion. Remind yourself what inspired you to write in the first place. Was it this one particular scene that stuck in your mind? Was it a few lines of dialogue? Was it the general plot? A romance? A plot twist? Even just a vibe? Go back to whatever it was that initially inspired your project. With any luck, you’ll catch your second wind

If All Else Fails:

1. Redirect your focus. If you don’t have any further inspiration or motivation for writing, is there anything else you can do for the project? If you’re in the mood to draw, make character designs or background designs or doodle a scene. If you’re in the mood to sing or listen to music, come up with more songs that fit your characters or the scene you were stuck on. If you’re in the mood to eat or cook or bake, get food that a character would like

2. Turn to the internet. I made an entirely new Pinterest account purely for Byoldervine that I like to look through and add to when I’m after inspiration. Aside from that, you can also look at the writing communities all over social media and find new conversations or prompts to try. Which leads me to the final point

3. Write outside of your official project. If your current project isn’t going to plan but you still want to write something, you don’t have to work on your current draft. You can write a different scene from your work to use as a first draft later, you can write a one-shot that won’t be in the project but abides by canon, you can write a one-shot that is basically throwing your characters into an AU, you can write something entirely separate from your project altogether, etc. anything you like, just go ahead and do it; don’t deny yourself fun just because it won’t be in the finished product

[lulu2992]

Uncovering the unreleased Far Cry 5 in-game Encyclopedia

The almost complete but unused in-game encyclopedia, reconstructed thanks to the oasisstrings file.

Please note that it’s still cut content, so some information might not be relevant anymore.

You can read the oasisstrings file here. Pictures from this encyclopedia were also extracted and posted by @xbaebsae here.

Part 6: Characters

Aaron "Tweak" Kirby

Uppers, downers, sideway-ers... Tweak is all about pushing the limits of the human condition.

Adelaide Drubman

A confident go-getter with deep pockets to do whatever she wants, like living with booze, bazookas, and boy toy Xander Flynn.

Bo Adams

A hardcore survivalist that chooses to live out in the woods and off the grid.

Boomer

A scruffy pal with unparalleled loyalty.

Cameron Burke

A U.S. Marshal with an agenda. The only thing standing between him and his political aspirations is the Project at Eden's Gate.

Casey Fixman

A grill cook with a classified past. Most locals don’t believe his outrageous war stories or the wisdom he serves up with every order.

Chad Wolanski

A self-styled prepper chef who sells food out of his food truck since his restaurant "The Grill Streak" burned down.

Dr. Charles Lindsey

A veterinarian drafted into service as a medic. There's no one else to do it, and aren't we all animals?

Cheeseburger

Orphaned as a cub and raised by Wade Fowler, he's the star attraction at the F.A.N.G. Center. He loves eating cheeseburgers.

Clutch Nixon

A legendary stuntman who left this world the way he entered it: Face first onto a pile of rocks.

Dave Fowler

Wade Fowler's brother, he runs the business end of the F.A.N.G. Center.

Richard "Dutch" Roosevelt

An old prepper who'd worked himself to the bone and lost everything even before Eden's Gate came to town. Same shit, different horse.

Dylan

(no description found)

Eli Palmer

A bonafide prepper and the leader of the Whitetail Militia. He helped Eden's Gate design their survival bunkers before he wised up.

Faith Seed

The Siren in the East. The youngest in the Seed family pacifies unruly followers to make way for the Collapse. Some believe she's only an illusion.

George Wilson

George is a Whitetail Militia and baseball enthusiast, but spends most of this time as a lookout because of his age.

Grace Armstrong

A medal-winning shooter and army sniper with a vendetta against Eden’s Gate.

Guy Marvel

A genius movie director envisioning a masterpiece of anarchy and gold statue wins. Even an auteur needs help to make movie magic.

Deputy Joey Hudson

One of your fellow Hope County Deputies who has absolutely no time for bullshit and has the fists to back herself up.

Hurk Drubman Jr.

His wit and intellect may have been blunted by paint huffing, but that hasn't stopped him from living a life of adventure.

Hurk Drubman Sr.

A retired oil baron who is the undisputed master of his domain... what's left of it after the divorce.

Jacob Seed

The Soldier in the North. The eldest Seed brother serves Joseph by creating the army that will defend the Project with their lives.

Pastor Jerome Jeffries

The local man of God who will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Hope County – even if it costs him his soul.

Jess Black

Dutch’s niece. Jess is a loner who nearly lost her life in Jacob's camps, only to discover a new talent in the process: killing Peggies.

John Seed

The Baptist in the West. The youngest of the Seed brothers, John is in charge of reaping the land of supplies that will help the Project survive.

Joseph Seed

The Father. The middle Seed brother heard a Voice that told him to initiate a great Project, to prepare for the Collapse of everything. And so he has.

Kim Rye

A world traveler who chose Hope County to put down roots, and those roots are on the way - she's in her third trimester.

Larry Parker

Genius or crackpot? Science will decide.

Mary May Fairgrave

The tough-as-nails barkeep who blames Eden's Gate for the death of her parents.

Merle Briggs

A local prepper. Merle could talk your ears off about his dream bunker, or the shelf life of canned goods.

Wilhelmina Mable

Wilhelmina Maybelline, big cat whisperer and taxidermist. The well-being of Peaches the cougar is her top priority.

Nadine Abercrombie

The last living member of a family of hoarders, though she considers herself a collector. Much classier than simply hoarding. And more selective.

Nancy

(no description found)

Nick Rye

The best dang pilot in Hope County. Give him a chance and he'll put on a show.

Peaches

The long-time pet of Miss Mable. Probably named for the color of her fur and not the sweet disposition she lacks.

Deputy Stacy Pratt (yes, his first name is actually spelled Stacy in the files)

One of your fellow Hope County Deputies who’s a good cop when his ego doesn't get in the way.

Dr. Sarah Perkins

A lone biologist determined to unravel the mysteries of how Jacob's Judge wolves are created.

Sharky Boshaw

A wanted arsonist, Charlemange Victor Boshaw IV hides out where he can live his fire-blazing, rockstar fantasies.

Sherri Woodhouse

She gave up city life, opened a fishing store, and began the hunt for her family’s missing legendary whiskey.

Skylar Kohrs

A high-powered expert fly fisher hell-bent on landing a legendary fish.

Tammy Barnes

Once a homemaker, now the chief interrogator for the Whitetail Militia. They say her marshmallow blondies are to die for.

Tracey Lader

A woman determined to bring down Eden's Gate, especially Faith. They used to be friends and the sting of betrayal fuels her wrath.

Virgil Minkler

A trusted mayor for the past 7 terms, now hell-bent on stopping the production of Bliss after it took the life of his son.

Wade Fowler

The co-owner of the F.A.N.G. Center, an animal rescue facility that takes in orphaned wild animals.

Walker

A member of Eli's Whitetail Militia.

Wendell Redler

He made it through Nam with his buddies. Now he’s an old man, his buddies are gone, and this is not the America he fought for in his youth.

Wheaty

The smart-ass quartermaster for the Whitetail Militia who also has a radio broadcast to counter the Father's propaganda.

Earl Whitehorse

The devoted sheriff of Hope County. He believes delivering justice with a gun should be a last resort. On the eve of his retirement, duty calls.

Willis Huntley

Just a man in love with the good ol' US of A.

Xander Flynn

Left California for Hope County to detox from the city life. Ended up finding "modeling" gigs at the Drubman Marina, and a cult cramping his style.

Zip Kupka

A self-proclaimed conspiracy "realist" who finds a new reason to hate the government with each passing day.

There were three more:

Coyote Nelson

Fishing is life.

In the files, Coyote Nelson is the name of the fisherman you meet at fishing spots.

Morris

A bright kid of Blackfoot heritage and the go-to person for all things computers and arcade machines. He keeps it on the down low.

The character’s full name apparently is Morris Aubrey. He’s the person who’s always near Far Cry Arcade machines and telling you how “awesome” the game is.

Scooter

A supply runner for the Whitetail Militia.

All I know about Scooter is that, according to a deleted mission objective, this character (who was also cut) was supposed to be escorted to the Wolf’s Den at some point.

[musingsbycaitlin]

HEY! Writeblr Intro!!!

Hi, my name is Caitlin, and I’m a third year Creative Writing student in rainy England. I’ve got a couple WIPs but none are set in stone so you’ll have to bear with me for a while haha.

- I’m here for a good time so my writing is solely based on my mood and vibe at the time, please do not expect consistency.

- I write short stories mainly but am trying to branch out into novels so you’ll hopefully be seeing a bit more of that in the future.

- I am a university student with anxiety and decision fatigue so things change drastically around here every so often but I promise if I go quiet I will come back.

Let’s get into the WIPs (these will be constantly edited and changing) and feel free to ask me any questions about any of them, even ones that might have been removed from this list if you’re interested.

IF I GIVE UP, SO MUST YOU - a Wild West literary fiction novel

STATUS: currently drafting (on hiatus)

GENRE: literary fiction, sapphic romance(?)

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 3,995

Okay, so a bit of info about this project. I started writing it a bit ago purely because I wanted to write a Wild West novel and then it turned sapphic and then it became literary. It follows an unnamed narrator as she navigates life outside of her small town after she is targeted by bandits in a raid. A coming of age novel that explores what it means to figure things out for yourself whilst battling with false truths engrained into your from a young age.

NIGHT SWIMMING (working title) - a short story collection

STATUS: literally haven’t even started :/

GENRE: literary, horror, surrealist

This collection is my version of NaNoWriMo this year because there is no way I can feasibly write a novel in a month where I also have to write my dissertation first draft and three other short stories like no. I’m hoping to do an update on my page whenever a story is complete, so I will also update this section to include the names of all the stories going in. Stay posted is all I’m saying ;). All I know is I want it to explore the everyday in a surrealist way (as most of my stories do).

DAMAGED GOODS - a dystopian sci-fi novel

STATUS: currently drafting (on hiatus)

GENRE: dystopian, sci-if, speculative

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 2,323

So, I haven’t done an intro post to this yet simply because I had to put it to one side once university started again. A brief summary is this: Auden, an average guy, husband, and father, has gotten into a dreadful car accident. In this society, however, surgery is replaced with metal transplantation. Due to Auden’s extensive injuries, he now must live in suburbia with a completely metal head, arm, and leg.

I’m super happy with this concept and the initial 2,000 words I’ve got I’m pretty okay with. The main issue is where to take it and if it will be a full novel or more of a novella.

EAT YOUR YOUNG - a gothic horror novella

STATUS: currently drafting

GENRE: gothic horror

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 4,950

I haven’t done an intro for this project because I honestly wasn’t sure I’d return to it but the spooky season is upon us and I really want to get back into writing this. Brief Summary: Mr Gerard is an accountant hired by the Heron Manor estate to deal with the affairs of the three sisters residing there after a mysterious death of the man of the house.

This is going to me my main personal priority other than my short stories for now and I’ll try to get an intro out soon.

Okay, so that’s all for me folks. Like I said, any questions please feel free to send me an ask or a message, don’t be a stranger. As a writer I always wanna talk about my projects, OCs, and anything else writing craft related!

I’m tagging some mutuals, if you wish to be tagged or removed :( - let me know x

@annlillyjose @dallonwrites @aesa @winterandwords @iannicellis @isherwoodj

[slavichorsegirl]

first art post on here following my annual tradition of doing a detailed bust of raina. I initially did this to try and copy the arcane/league of legends art style.

she’s our project’s protagonist and has been ever since it’s conception on animal jam in 2018. She went from being mira’s daughter and to a being a poor bounty hunter/“former” criminal. Regardless of her social status change throughout the many drafts of the story, she’s always been the primary caretaker to this group of children with magical powers.

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

Danny Torres

nsdtroeSop73af329f65a109l2gi06t9am7iuii7fc3c311fh0g4hamm121l  · 

As Trump is reconfiguring Government agencies, and reallocating employees he has received a lot of grief from the Democrats and the mainstream media.

But if everyone was honest, they would tell you he is not the first incoming president to ever do exactly what he has done. Donald Trump Learned from the Master: Bill Clinton and the Birth of the Deep State

As President Donald Trump announces plans to restructure the federal government and remove entrenched left-wing activist bureaucrats , the Left has reacted with outrage. Many claimed that such firings are an unprecedented attack on the civil service. However, history tells a different story. The blueprint for mass firings in the federal government was not drafted by Trump—it was authored by President Bill Clinton.

The Creation of Bill Clinton's Deep State

For the record, President Bill Clinton took drastic action upon entering office, firing all federal appointees and those reporting directly to them, reaching three levels deep into the management hierarchy. This included upper-level, middle-level, and lower-level managers. Such sweeping dismissals were unprecedented in modern history.

The stated reason for these actions was to reform government and make it more efficient. Under the guise of the 1993 "Reinventing Government Initiative," Clinton oversaw the termination of 377,000 federal employees. This initiative, led by then-Vice President Al Gore, was marketed as an effort to cut bureaucratic bloat. Clinton publicized that his administration reduced the government payroll from 2.15 million employees to 1.79 million by the end of his term (U.S. Office of Personnel Management). However, while he claimed to be trimming the size of government, he was in reality expanding it dramatically.

Rather than actually reducing the government’s reach, Clinton tripled its size by shifting millions of jobs to government contractors. This maneuver allowed his administration to hide the true expansion of government within the bureaucracy. The federal workforce, under his administration, effectively grew from 2.15 million to a staggering 9.1 million (Project On Government Oversight), all hired by liberal activist managers.

This restructuring was the foundation for what has become the “deep state”—an unelected bureaucratic class that exercises significant influence over government operations, often in opposition to elected leaders who challenge the status quo. The same entity that Trump is now attempting to confront was a product of Clinton’s drastic reshaping of the federal workforce.

Setting the Precedent for Trump’s Actions

The Democrats are framing Trump's efforts to remove government employees as radical and dangerous. Yet, Clinton, a Democrat, set the precedent for such dismissals. The key difference is that while Clinton’s actions were aimed at consolidating power within a left-leaning bureaucracy, Trump’s efforts have been directed at reducing that bureaucracy’s grip on governance and returning government to the people.

Trump’s battle against the entrenched federal workforce is not an attack on democracy—it is an attempt to undo a system that was carefully crafted over decades to resist conservative leadership. The idea that federal employees should be immune from accountability is a modern invention, and Clinton himself showed that mass firings could be justified in the name of reform.

As the debate over federal employment rages on, it is important to remember who first wielded the axe. Trump may be making headlines for firing government employees, but he is merely following in the footsteps of the master—Bill Clinton.

Silver Knight Broadcasting

State Of The Nation Live

[moonfurthetemmie]

this has been sitting in my drafts since the beginning of the month and i don't know why. it looks like everything's here

im going to blame @nom-de-plume-system for causing a good chunk of these thoughts.

Initially it started because i was rereading that H!DS/DS crossover fic I started and dropped ages and ages ago. I had made some offhand comment/joke about Nightmare selling his kidneys for something nice for Kevin.

but now I know that in OG dreamtale, guardians/spirits are very durable and have some really impressive regeneration. And that one-off joke got me thinking.

Hypothetically, a human-like spirit (such as DS Nightmare) could donate most of their organs, pretty much indefinitely. They'd have to wait for them to regenerate, obviously, but...mmmost of their organs they could get removed and live. Brain's an obvious no, heart's almost definitely a no. One lung is survivable, but both is iffy at best. Anything else isn't vital enough to cause serious damage for the (relatively) short period of time before they regenerate.

I mentioned this in the discord server we're in. For now, I will spare you the hypotheticals about how it would work for the receiver, and thoughts on the possible complications of getting an organ from a semi-immortal being with crazy regeneration, and skip to the fun part:

Horror!Dreamswap. The Delusional ending.

We made it worse.

I have officially dubbed this variant "Delusional Organ Donor"

Pluto's having a bad time but thinks he's fine

Gouge is having a GREAT time and knows it

Delusion has somehow managed to become more delusional

do you see where i'm going with this. Read the tags, and if you're prepared for some dark shit then buckle up

cracks knuckles

Let me lay down some 'rules' that were made for how this organ removal works for guardians.

As I said, the brain is absolutely a no. But most other things can be done.

The less vital the organ is, the slower it regenerates. Lungs regenerate quite fast. Gallbladder...eh. Maybe a couple of days.

They can also, generally speaking, feel that these things are missing. More important organs especially so, though what exactly this feels like very much depends on what the thing is. The most notable ones are large organs and vital organs.

I'm still not entirely sure on whether or not they'd survive their heart being removed, but I did figure out what it would be like if they could.

Firstly, they would still slowly 'die.'

Their fingers and toes, hands and feet, and eventually their whole arms and legs just start to go numb. Might be pins and needles numb at first, but it becomes more of nothing at all as the time passes. They also start to get a little loopy from lack of oxygen to their brain towards the end of it, before they’ve fully regenerated.

But their heart regenerates faster than all the rest. Because it’s still very very much a vital organ, and even their resilient bodies can’t live without it too long. Being without their heart is incredibly dangerous, and any more damage to their body probably would kill them. Moving around much is a terrible idea.

It’s not. Fun. Being able to feel a literal hole where your literal heart should be.

~

Delusion's main goal for getting Pluto to stay in JR with him is to have his friend back. Perfect world nonsense aside, he misses Pluto a lot.

At some point, it occurs to Delusion that he and Pluto should be able to donate their organs. Like, multiple times. They'll just regrow, right? So...maybe Pluto could actually help with his perfect world.

So he starts seriously looking into a fate splitter. With something like this, the possibility of accidentally killing Pluto is quite high. And as heartbroken as Delusion would be if Pluto died, he can't let someone's fuckup on Pluto be then end of him. He has a duty.

But still, his focus is on having Pluto with him again. So Delusion doesn't care what the status of that whole project is, until he gets Pluto with him.

Pluto spends quite a while in JR, once Delusion has brainwashed him I mean, reminded him of how close they were. He's pretty content there. He did miss Delusion. He just had some objections to a lot of Delusion's plans. Not anymore though! He's happy to

Eventually though the fate splitter is ready. And Delusion talks to Pluto about his idea.

Pluto considers. It doesn't occur to him that Delusion could also donate his organs. It doesn't occur to Delusion to do it, either. But Pluto eventually agrees.

The only problem is that none of the doctors in JR, not even ones who've lost family or friends to Pluto and his friends, are willing to do this. Not to the extent Delusion and Pluto are thinking of. For a while, sure. Some would even think he deserved it. But...for that long...

So Delusion, in a stroke of brilliance and foolishness, has some of them teach Gouge how to safely remove a person's organs.

Delusion, knowing Gouge rather well by now, sets some rules for her.

She has anesthetize Pluto before she takes his organs.

She can't take too many organs at once; if it's not something vital, she can do a couple so long as they aren't from the same organ system.

She needs to give him something for the pain.

Gouge proceeds to ignore one and two, aside from making sure not to take so many organs that she kills him. And she only gives him enough pain medicine to keep him from passing out from the pain while she's removing his organs.

Yes, you read that correctly. She is intentionally keeping him awake to watch her remove his organs.

It's great! Pluto is having so many regrets! But he doesn't back out.

He wants to help. Maybe not people in general, but definitely at least Delusion. He'll be fine. He'll definitely be fine, right? Right...

~

Now, since the whole point of getting Pluto to stay in JR was to have his friend back, Delusion comes to visit while Gouge's not doing her thing. For this purpose (and also because it's convenient, on the off-chance tries to bolt), there is a rather strong magic-suppressor in the disturbingly well-hidden and well-stocked 'operation room' Gouge for some reason already had. Delusion doesn't want to hurt Pluto anymore than he already is hurting after these operations.

But...this also means Delusion can Feel Things.

The first time Delusion comes down, Pluto's fucking tired, and definitely hurting, but he's doing alright. Really. Promise.

It was only the first time gouge took his organs.

But Pluto slowly began to look worse and worse. He still looks happy when Delusion comes to see him, but the pain and exhaustion in his face, and in his voice…

And Delusion, free from the pain of his own aura, began to wonder if this was really a good idea. For Pluto, i mean; it's definitely a great idea for the people getting his organs.

But, surely it couldn't be. He was a god. He knew was was right.

…Right?

He couldn't bear the idea that he was wrong; not in general, and especially not about this.

Pluto would be fine. See? He's smiling!

And he kept telling himself that. Over and over and over, until he finally believed it.

Pluto will not be getting out of there, so long as Delusion's in control of JR. Having said that, even once he'd convinced himself this really was fine, if Pluto asked if he could maybe just be left alone for a little while because he's so tired, Delusion would agree immediately. He might even have Pluto come up and hang out with him.

But...maybe not. Because a small part of him knows that this is wrong. And while that part has mostly been silenced, it's making him very, very afraid that Pluto would bolt if given half the chance.

gouge is laughing at delusion behind his back. she thinks this is hilarious. her boss is even more delusional than she thought, holy shit. Well, at least she's getting some good fun out of it.

Pluto knows Gouge isn't supposed to be keeping him awake or taking as much as she is. So why doesn't he say anything?

Well, you see, as painful as the organ removal process is, it's even worse to just live without them for a while.

Part of the reason vital organs missing is so notable is because it just fucking sucks. Generally it's pretty painful, too!

Gouge has threatened to take both of Pluto's lungs if he tells Delusion anything. Neither of them are sure if he could survive that, but Pluto doesn't want to find out. As awful as having only one is, at least he can still breathe.

~

Gouge, in the interest of keeping people from asking questions, stores some of Pluto's organs in her little torture dungeon. She can only donate so many at once before the doctors in JR's hospital get suspicious, and if they get suspicious then Delusion is going to hear about it.

Oh, they also found out that Pluto's blood works fine for transfusions. So Gouge will take as much as she can without killing him. Which is...quite a bit.

Pluto prefers blood draw days. It sucks, but the wooziness from blood loss is a lot better than the pain from getting his organs harvested. Especially since Gouge has to stop with the organ harvesting for a while.

~

Pluto does genuinely think he's happy to help Delusion. He just really wishes it wasn't Gouge.

That's all. (that's not all. but he hasn't figured that out yet)

It doesn't help that Gouge has been steadily getting more and more unhinged and eager to hurt him. She's loving this. An indestructible toy she can put through agonizing pain over and over and over again? And just...take pieces out? Is it her birthday or something?

Pluto's not the only one noticing that she's getting worse.

She was a little off before, but in a way that was easily passed off as her just being really anti-social. Which wasn't wrong.

But once Pluto "disappeared", she just…slowly got weirder. She's more distracted. Her eyes seem to light up at any expression of pain. Sometimes she starts grinning for no apparent reason and does this little laugh that sends shivers down everyone's spines. She seems more tired, and yet somehow more…more excited? Almost happier, but it's not quite that.

She's also disappearing more and more often. Delusion seems perfectly fine with this, so he must be having her do something, but no one can figure out what it could be.

Someone swears they saw her go into her apartment with a bag full of bloody clothes one night.

Someone else says they saw her delivering a suspicious package to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning.

Delusion seems entirely unconcerned.

[fontainebleau22]

The final roundup

What I'm writing: another time-travel story for a Big Bang

Status at the end of the project: 5k in typed-up draft form, and another 3k or so of untyped draft.

Well, we're at the end of the challenge, so where am I with the story? I find it hard to say. I've written the first two sections and am editing them into shape, and I've drafted some of the rest of the story, including the end so I know where I'm going. But I'm still not really confident in my ability to write it, which is unusual for me.

Partly it's external circumstances: my job has really ramped up over the last 18 months, and it's taking a lot of my writing energy - I'm not producing text anywhere near as fast as I used to. But it's also partly the story itself: the central premise is strong, but it seems that every time I turn round there's more detail to be worked out before I can write any given scene.

And there's the pressure of the Big Bang - I need to have a draft that's 20k long by the end of April, and that's weighing on me because the words just aren't spilling out like they used to.

What did I discover about the story? I found that there was a big issue about a particular character's fate that I'd been shying away from, and building that back into the story has made it much stronger. I've also found that I'm struggling to keep a consistent tone - initially there was a lot more humour in the story, but it kept seeming inappropriate to the weight of what was happening, and I've had to keep ironing it out.

It's also, paradoxically, made me feel less connected with the fandom it's for; I feel that my engagement with the fandom is waning because there's so little input these days, and that makes the story harder to write too.

So, did I enjoy the challenge? Yes, I really did - I wasn't always consistent with posting, but I liked having the framework and support. So huge thanks to @the-wip-project for hosting it!

Will I finish the story? Yes, my motto is No Fic Left Behind, but whether I will get it done for the Big Bang is a different question. I will keep at it for the moment, though, and hope the fandom blossoms again too.

@the-wip-project

[memento-morianon]

behind the scenes

@creators-club @bardic-tales

it's behind the scenes day! time to talk about the process behind my writing and stuff lol.

usually when I write a chapter, I'll list the details in bullet point form first, and then flesh it out afterwards. you can see this in some rough draft excerpts where I got tired and couldn't make it through the brain fog, so I just made a summary of the rest of the chapter and moved on. If I didn't do it like this, I'd still be stuck in the intro chapters.

I usually write on my laptop while I'm cozy in an armchair, frequently with a dog on my lap because our dog has learned that once I sit down with my creative projects, I'm unlikely to move from that spot for hours on end, making me an ideal warm spot for his naps.

(image description: a fluffy smallish dog sleeping with his tongue sticking out. he's got a crochet project on his back. end description.)

and for a little peek at how much my protagonists have changed, here's a side by side of my very first art of Morianon next to his current design:

(image description: on the left is a colored pencil drawing on an index card, showing a young elf boy with tan skin and messy black hair. It's labeled "Mori" with the year 2014. on the left side is a digital painting of a bird-like humanoid man with green and blue feathers covering most of his tan skin. He has a scar across his face, a vaguely sketched tattoo on his forehead, and red and cream paint around his eyes. this side is labeled "Morianon" with the year 2024. it's also colored to resemble an index card behind him. end description.)

I forgot this was his tenth anniversary of existence! Near exact, even! It was definitely autumn when I originally designed him, and I came up with a full name after deciding to call him Mori. Ironically I was learning Spanish at the time but I didn't realize until much much later that "mori" is latin for death/die. as in memento mori. which I should have noticed. since I had learned French in high school and was learning Spanish when I first created him. Initially, his full name was Morianten, but I didn't feel right about it later and altered it to Morianon. It's an elvish name, but I haven't decided if it means anything yet lol.

And I tried but I cannot find the oldest art I made for Evarin! I know there's gotta be some original sketches of her somewhere. I don't remember exactly when she became a character, she happened after my brain took a liking to Mori and decided to give him some friends. So in lieu of having any older art of her, I made a comparison of what she looked like before I had nailed down my gnome and orc designs vs what she looks like now. Her name was originally Evelyn.

(image description: two digital painting portraits in shades of purple. on the left is Evelyn, painted in 2021. she has a humanoid face, but the proportions are elongated and she has small pointy ears. Her hair is tied in a high ponytail and she has thick sideburns. on the right is Evarin, painted in 2024. She has more pig-like facial features with a snout and the faint bump of a tusk under her lower lip, where the root sticks out from the jaw bone. her sideburns look neater here, and her hair is in a braid. She also has a vague forehead tattoo and red and cream paint around her eyes. Both versions have a visible unibrow. end description.)

The face paint is one of the most recent decisions; I hadn't figured out elvish wedding customs yet, but since Mori was raised by elves I thought he and Evarin should have elvish wedding symbols somewhere. Ended up going for face paint because I gave all my male elves and their cousin species a little nose bump on the side, kinda like mandrils (it's more vibrant on the drow, the elves and stroi have a subtler bump) and I liked the idea that they might use the area around their nose as a place for social status face paint, such as to show they're married. each elf culture has a different set of colors and designs unique to them. but I keep forgetting to add it when I draw Mori and Evarin, so I've also made it a character trait that Mori, feeling disconnected from elvish culture cuz he's half bird dude, often neglects the face paint, and his wife being a gnome also does not remind him about it.

Sometimes you just have to follow the Bob Ross philosophy of "happy accidents" whenever you make a mistake lol

[mxxnlightwriting]

Not Another Cinderella Story — A WIP Masterlist by mxxnlingwriting

— Logline —

When the King gives the Crown Prince an ultimatum to find a wife before he abdicates the throne, he has no choice but to throw a ball in the hopes of finding his future wife. In the hours of the event, he strikes up a conversation with a mysterious woman. Finding her after the ball is only half of the battle as convincing her to change her ways to suit the royal life proves to be a much harder task than he initially anticipated.

— Details —

age group/genre: new adult contemporary romance type: novel pov: dual, third person, past tense status: brainstorming | outlining | drafting | editing | proofreading started: october 2023 | finished: — | released/published: —

— Features —

small fictional european country (think parisian architecture with monaco geography/lifestyle), modern-day royalty, socialities, high society, bakeries and lots of baked goods, strangers (to friends) to lovers, family dynamics, the power of friendship, lots of parallels to cinderella (hence the name of this WIP) and more!

— Index —

All Posts

About

Character Profiles

Inspiration

Excerpts

Moodboards

Playlist

© mxxnlightwriting 2023 All rights reserved. Copying, reposting, translating and/or modifications of my work are strictly prohibited.

Tari's Note: This is going to be my NaNoWriMo 2023 Project! It came to me while I was trying to come up with some sort of story to help me fall asleep, and I ended up mentally plotting this entire thing in my head in the hours it took me to fall asleep. Now, it's almost time to write it down, and I couldn't be more excited!

[hecatesbroom]

How I organise my (fic) writing in Notion

@this-geek wondered how I organised my works in Notion, and considering I'm nothing if not always happy to ramble about anything concerning lists and sorting my various things, here we are ;) thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about this haha

Under the cut because I have unfortunately rambled quite a bit (sorry!)

Okay so first off: I really only use Notion for my fic writing (I prefer to work on original projects in physical notebooks or Word, for reasons unknown to even me) and I only keep my first drafts in here. I move on to Google Docs for second drafts (again, who knows why I do this? I sure don't!) Anyway, onto the organisation:

This is what my main page looks like! I have some fancy sidebars I never really use, the to do list is horribly outdated, and I haven't updated that quote (from one of my favourite book series: The Locked Tomb) in ages, but I still think it looks nice!

The thing this is mainly about, though, is the part in the middle that says "all fics". This is what Notion calls a database. It's basically one gigantic collection of pages (in my case: fics) that you can add tags to and display in various different ways. I prefer gallery view because it allows me to add a picture to the overview if I want to. I used to do this for my Locked Tomb fics and it looked pretty fun:

The thing is that it's also a lot of work to find pictures to match your fics (and nowadays I'm more focused on writing than all the thing surrounding it) so my Golden Girls overview looks more like this! I still like the gallery view because it gives you a little preview of every wip :)

As you can see, there's lots of different tags under the titles. The stuff you see in this view is a quick overview (mostly to help with sorting, so all my posted wips line up, and the rest shows up according to which state of unfinishedness they're currently in)

When you click any fic in this view, you'll be taken to the actual fic, and its complete overview of tags & info! I like to keep track of a lot of things (when I remember to, anyway). Here's a little overview for the things I tracked for the finish line :)

Created: shows me the date I started the document (and therefore the fic). Very useful! I love this feature a lot

Fandom: is mainly there for organisation purposes! I set my gallery view to toggle per fandom, so it's all sorted into neat little sections thanks to this tag

Characters: pretty self explanatory

Type: I've got several categories here: "one-shot", "multi-chapter", "drabble", "ficlet", and (reserved for one AU in particular) "i honestly don't know anymore"

Status: again, there's quite a few options for this one: "plotting", "writing draft 1", "1st draft", "2nd draft", "finished", "posted", "hiatus" and "abandoned" (which I rarely use)

Quick summary: is where I play around with my ao3 summary whenever I'm bored and don't really feel like writing

Draft 1 wc: I usually just put the final word count for the first draft there, unless I remember to track individual writing sessions (in which case I add those word counts as well, like in the example above, because I love looking back on the process!)

Draft 2 wc: I tend to completely retype a fic into my google docs for the second draft. Once I've done that I put the end result into my Notion doc

Finished wc: after I've reread and edited my 2nd draft, and possibly managed to have it all get a little out of hand (like you can see in that doubled word count for the finish line, lol) I put the finished word count here!

WC goal: is just a fun way to see what my initial idea was for the fic (I try to set a goal when I've got a general idea of what I want the work to look like, and always end up exceeding it)

The rest of it is just my writing, basically! Scroll down from there and you get the body for the fic :)

I hope this was somewhat helpful! I'm not a pro at Notion by any means, but if you have any questions or need some help, feel free to ask! I'm happy to try to help out!

[void-shouting]

new project announcement !

power in grace

finally made a moodboard for my epic of gilgamesh retelling, so it's time for a project intro !

power in grace | status: drafting tag, playlist (coming soon!), pinterest genre: NA sapphic portal fantasy retelling of the epic of gilgamesh

log line because i haven't written a full blurb yet lol: In an initiation ceremony gone deadly, sorority president Sheli Kisher must work with the magical being she accidentally summoned to rescue a dead sorority sister’s soul from the Underworld.

[fishsfailureson]

Finally freeing this post from my drafts gh

So lately I've been thinking about gender in a fantasy project I've been working on for a very long time. Said project is The Journey, a xenofiction about foxes who were brought to another realm by a god, had their genes modified, were given sapience, and also have magic. I don't want to go into detail about that right now since it's still in development and also contains spoilers so that's all you need to know about that. (The following work is still in development, and is subject to change, I would not consider it as spoiler heavy although it does play some role in the plot)

(Slight cw for discussions of in-universe transphobia, while the societies of this book series are generally accepting they are definitely not perfect (also fictional religion))

(Also please note that this doesn't reflect my actual beliefs around being trans. I hope this is already obvious but still.)

Authorial Intent

One thing I really want to convey in this series is that the societies that the characters live in is neither utopian nor dystopian. It is intended to suck but not suck completely (there's a whole freaking war going on of course things suck!!!). This does include bigotry. I want to convey the idea of things sucking, but still being able to get better. One thing I don't want to do is have the way bigotry manifests in-universe be identical to any real world manifestation of prejudice- because that'd feel a little unrealistic in my opinion.

Names

In the setting of The Journey, names are incredibly culturally significant. Most individuals have a necklace with a representation of their name's meaning on it, these are normally made of metal, the type depending on location and status, some places also use other materials such as bone, jade or wood. Some areas wear their necklaces constantly while others wear them only on special occasions. I could go on a whole ramble about this but this post is about trans characters so we'll save that for another day.

So, what happens when a fox decides to change their name? They have a ceremony for that! (They also probably have an initial naming ceremony but I haven't really thought about it much) The exact details of the ceremony are undecided currently. This is somewhat similar to a legal name change except it is a lot more spiritual. It is HIGHLY taboo to use someone's old name for them if they have gone through this ceremony. On the other hand it is quite common for individuals to justify deadnaming individuals who haven't gone through the ceremony yet because they haven't which sucks really. (Note: honestly in universe I do not feel like the term "deadname" would fit to describe an individual's relationship with their old name- I'm considering the term "shedded name" instead.)

"Now, what do they do with their old necklaces?" you may ask. Well you're in luck because I do in fact have an answer for this question! Name necklaces are created from rare materials (usually) and have a lot of fine craftmanship put into them- there are individuals who specialise in designing and creating them after all. Getting rid of them would be incredibly impractical and it's not like you could just sell a sacred object without being given the side-eye by everyone around you. So instead of throwing them away, most individuals keep their old name necklaces until they find someone to gift them to- often a newborn relative, or a relative who transitioned and is looking for a new name (note: this happens to one of The Journey's protagonists actually- her chosen name, Eclipse, used to belong to her great-grandfather, Ginkgo). Naming and renaming ceremonies are actually slightly different depending on whether the name is being gifted or not.

The gods (and magic)

While not all gods in-universe are non-binary, the gods specific to the pantheon that the foxes worship all are. This is because they (the gods) didn't have any exposure to the concept of gender during their early years- when they first encountered the concept of gender they had a collective gender identity crisis but they all came to the conclusion that gender didn't really matter to them.

There is a small school of thought that being non-binary is a form of blasphemy but this is a fringe belief. The gods themselves have come down to say it is bullshit. Alas, it still persists.

Medical transition is possible through the use of magic. The process is swift and painless- although it does feel a little bit weird. It can be done as many times as an individual wants in theory, however said magic is only held by two individuals, who are both gods. One has been banished from the pantheon and is completely unavailable and the other is often busy, so it is pretty difficult to access. Still probably better than what we have irl though. Due to how difficult it is to obtain, not medically transitioning isn't particularly frowned upon, although most individuals assume that everyone wants it.

Conclusion (kinda)

While the society of The Journey is generally accepting of trans individuals it is still incredibly flawed. It has certainly been significantly better than real life- transness has never been outlawed after all, but there is still room for improvement. Same goes for literally any other issue in their society. Anyway I have no idea what else to write here so I'm just ending this now lmao. Also this is still a work in progress so things may change.

[intothetlkverse]

Decided to challenge myself by drawing every single TLK character out there, up until this point in time, and post it here. You can see the finished project on my main account, though I figured to post it on my tumblr just show I could proudly show off my work and a few of my head canons.

Here's all the vultures across TLK:

Anyways, starting off with the most well-known vultures we have Mzingo(circumference, circle), and Mwoga(coward). Once party of the Outlanders army, Mzingo and his parliament nowadays serve as Jasiri's majordomos and help them keep in contact with both the Pridelanders and other kingdom's rulers, putting their wings, observation skills, and conversations to better use. Their designs are also some of the most common across TLK vulture design and I'm not going to try to nail them down to just one species.

On the other hand, I can choose to reinterpret lesser known/relatively new/obscure characters into more recognizable species. As such, Kabeer(great, powerful-Arabic) and Krass/Kassa(compensation-African) from the Disney Villains: Scar comic I have decided to make them white-headed vultures, to still keep the red beak tip, but get some species diversity going with the vultures presented. In my verse, these guys were basically Scar's replacements for Zazu, after the hornbill helped facilitate Nala's escape. Worried that he might help other pridemembers to escape, reach out to other prides for help, and also paranoid that perhaps Zazu had somehow suspect or have witnessed him kill his brother, he had him imprisoned inside a ribcage. Kabeer and Kassa were selected to take over, being some of the few birds that still remained in the Pridelands, however eventually over time they got into conflict over the other prominent scavengers over the declining population of prey, so they decided that the status wasn't worth the empty bellies, so they left soon before Simba and co came. They did have some ties to Scar and the hyenas prior, being requested by both in Shenzi's overthrowing of her grandmother's spot as leader of the hyenas but having them and their Wake take care of Zuhour's body, and were some who initially were anticipating Scar's reign, seeing how he welcomed and elevated the hyenas in, though eventually Scar turned his back of them too.

Going back to the earliest vulture in TLK history, and technically the oldest one here, Skobi(scoop-Hausa) is from the early draft of the Lion King, King of the Kalahari. In my verse he is a white-backed vulture, king Rego's majordomo, and both the proud father of Kobi(copy-Hausa) and even more proud grandfather of Prita(print). He's a jovial soul, slight dark sense of humor, but observant, wise, and kind. Kobi has her father's kindness, wisdom and dark humor, acting as the majordomo for Rego's children. Prita is just a chick now, normally energetic, youthful, and  impatient, though here is he is now meeting his grandfather and is uncertain about it, choosing to hide under his mother's fluffy down.

Next up from 6NA's "Vulture Shock" we have the most vulture characters from. Starting off we have Chewa(cod), Choyo(greedy), and Wali(rice),  a villainous trio from who kidnap Kopa, hold him ransom to demand a bounty of prey animals from Simba during a famine, though another trio from their flock, the Buzzard Boyz: Moja(one), Mbili(two), and Tatu(three), a trio of rapping brothers, help alert the pride and and rescue Kopa. In my verse, this does happen, though Kopa is Tojo and Tama's son and Asante's pack also help the Mbala pride and other Mbalanders to help save him. Chewa, Choyo, Wali, and the rest of the flock who sided with them are forced to step down and allow the Buzzard Boyz to take over, as well as endure their music in weekly concerts. I kept most of Chewa and Choyo's designs intact, though made them look a bit more like Mzingo and Mwoga by making their faces/necks pink, making them the same indistinct species. Wali is mentioned in name and speaks, but not shown, so I used the colors from one of the vultures we see in the story. I am glad Moja, Mbili, and Tatu have more concrete designs. The three are Chewa and Choyo's cousins and I like to think they were allowed into Chewa's flock by Chewa's mother putting pressure on her son, though the former leaders now certainly regret it. I could see in a possible 6NA series that these guys start off as the redeemed villains that eventually become like the Bellow Brothers of the Mbalands, though eventually get pretty good with their music over time.

Next up we have Victor/Itoro(praise, glory) from "Two-Legged Creatures", a vulture who guards a cave that has the mysterious watu paintings on the walls. Though a bit skittish and rough around the edges, he is very passionate about myths and folklores such and the ones about the watu, and is eager to share what he knows, including the wall paintings and tools he has in his cave home. I decided to make him a palm-nut vulture, the smallest vulture in Africa, since I thought it be interesting to have such a small species have such a large passion for defending his stuff as him, plus the colors were similar. Interestingly this species is mostly vegetarian, preferring to eat palm fruits and others for the majority of its diet. I could also see him being a local storyteller and eventually hosting his cave like a museum for those curious and careful.

And finally, from the T&P Show episode "The Law of the Jungle" we have the Vulture Police: Olopa(police-Yoruba) and Ofin(law-Yoruba). These two are lappet-faced/Nubian vultures, the biggest African vulture, chosen because those seem like the most 'vulture-y vultures' IMHO, and they are the attendants/scouts for Mahakama the rhino, aka "The Wonderful Rhino of Laws", a stickler with his own territory in the Oasis and is rather antagonistic towards anyone entering his territory like Bloku, however he's more likely to rally support from the vultures and other birds living in his territory to harass those who misbehave and breaks the rules. In exchange the birds get prime area for raising their young and preying on the smaller animals, knowing that they've got a large bodyguard in case someone decides to mess with them.

Lastly here's Mshipa(vein), the vulture that allies with One-Eye the leopard in "Monkey Mountain". Wasn't expecting to do another bird so soon though figured I'd just give this guy justice since I am planning on doing the other members of One-Eye's team in the future. Anyways, after Onye's defeat, while the land predators formed their own little group, Mshipa was the only one who left, flying to the Pridelands where he knew there would still be vultures left. He eventually gets together with one and becomes Mwoga's father. Mwoga gets his keen eyes and suaveness around other carnivores from him.

[kerres]

First 3 eps of Solo Leveling thoughts! From someone who has never read it!

For my tastes, the first two episodes were pretty jarring. Blood isn't a huge deal to me, but watching someone suffer that intensely wasn't fun. I do appreciate it for the storytelling though! Elsewise, let me tackle this chronologically henceforth.

Everyone loves an underdog story, and I think the "isekai"/adjacent category needs more of it! Sure, they can start out pretty lowly, but their special skill spikes up their usefulness unnaturally so. Of course, I'm sure that will happen anyway, but I'm at least satisfied that it isn't a pure isekai in that the show has taken a GATE approach. All in all, the dungeon gate dynamic is pretty neat to me -- really reminds me of mmorpgs.

The fact that these characters are from a modern world looks more interesting to me than arbitrarily requiring a death from a previous life to get to the fantasy world. Getting to have a full life's worth of information then relatively starting over somewhere else without the same technological advancements makes the protagonist able to just.. "invent" them there, drastically boosting their overall status for no real effort of their own.

Back to it though, a character being known as The Weakest is a compelling enough beginning to me. Of course, there has to be some amount of concrete scaling, so the rankings were inevitable. The precedent of an inability to change your base power-level was of course gonna be a part of the story. (I will say, the "second awakening" gimmick already feels a little suspicious/dull to me, but we'll see how it's handled.)

The fact that the token weak girl healer character is actually not all that weak of a healer just really doesn't like the job much and only does it out of necessity was a great angle imo. Just like the average mmo, nobody wants to play support, and for someone who didn't even want to play the game, having that responsibility sounds tough to argue with. Using the kind of trauma she ended up with as a fridging method didn't bother me at all. That's a very reasonable reaction!

Though the protagonist looks like he's going to have a pretty generic story given the title, I do also like that he doesn't have a history of gaming. Nearly every protagonist is a NEET or gamer otherwise, but he had to ask his sister. He gets the hang of it, which is to be expected, but he has to ask her what to look for initially. That just furthered the narrative that he's had to work extra hard this whole time so she could live a peaceful and average life. I appreciate that kind of consistency and detail!

---

I drafted this, then didn't get back to it for a week or so whoops! I'd like to be more consistent, and I'm sure I will be, but let me just get this out of my drafts for now. I'm excited to eventually get a reasonable pacing out of this project!