#speaking of though!! ive just been rereading it - and editing bits as i go - because it kinda feels like im losing the voice a little bit?

[hailsatanacab]

No cetbwa update tomorrow guys, sorry! I'm also probably going to move the update schedule around a bit—I'm thinking maybe the first Friday of every month?—because we're catching up to my backlog and I'm not happy about it haha

So next chapter will be up on the 7th of Oct, see you then!!! 😊

[nicolewrites]

We Stand, Fate-Tested: Final Thoughts

You thought you’d seen the last of that title? Never! I may have been distracted by Sylvgrid Week for a while, but I finally got this cleaned up enough to post. 

So, to those of you who haven’t read We Stand, Fate-Tested, this post is going to spoil practically the entire fic, so do yourself a favour and read the fic HERE. This post is also very, very long, so I apologize if you read the whole thing aha.

Anyways, continuing on, I wrote over 70 000 words for this story and this was after two solid weeks of story editing to get the fic not to come across as incredibly clunky. I want to use this post to discuss my favourite and least favourite things about writing the story and to talk about some of the things I had planned that never made it into the final draft or things that were changed to fit the flow of the story better. 

Let’s start with my favourite and least favourite things!

Favourite Chapter: VII - What’s A Little Fear (I loved this chapter. It was a blast to write, creating the duality of the attacks as well as finally tapping into the mystery genre I stubbornly tagged this fic with. It’s also one of my favourites to reread).  Favourite Present Scene: Either Byleth/Claude in the coffeeshop (Chapter III), the car crash scene (Chapter VII) or the Byleth/Claude scene in the bathroom (Chapter VIII) Favourite Past Scene: Either Byleth/Dimitri’s first reunion (Chapter II), the Sreng fight scene (Chapter IX), or Dimitri’s death scene (Chapter X) Favourite Character to write: Past!Dimitri, Present!Edelgard, Present!Claude (probably no surprises there haha) Favourite Plot Detail: Byleth having a flashback in the tomb and then going to the lab and having that scene play out later, in Chapter XI, in the past.

Least Favourite Chapter: XI - No Rest For the Weary (Don’t get me wrong, I like how it turned out. I just had so many things that were scrapped for this part and something about it still doesn’t sit with me as well as I wanted it to. It was hard to write a past section without the anchor for the past: Dimitri) Least Favourite Present Scene: Probably the lab scene with Byleth (Chapter I) where she looks up Claude because it was written so early and it still feels a bit info-dump-esque to me. Least Favourite Past Scene: Hands down Byleth’s final scene (Chapter XI). I do feel like it came out alright, but I really struggled with this scene. It was tricky to highlight everything I needed to in that scene without removing all the development Byleth had gone through.  Least Favourite Character to write: Many of the undergraduates in the present. It’s not that I didn’t like them, I was just frustrated because the future was focused so heavily on a few key characters that none of the background characters had the voices I wanted to give them. Least Favourite Plot Detail: The Scorch and the Riots. I specifically crafted them so that there would be a plausible excuse for the physical records to have been destroyed and yet I feel like I relied too much on them in some cases.

Now let me talk about plot details that almost appeared!

Starting with some general facts:

The Golden Deer were supposed to be MUCH bigger characters in the present. I had programs, relationships, interactions and plot points hinged on their interactions with Byleth and Claude, but I ended up scrapping a lot of it when I moved forward with the undergrad dig team plot and decided to bring in Edelgard and Dimitri more. 

They were supposed to go to Shambhala. Instead of at Garreg Mach, the final attack was actually supposed to take place while at a dig site in Shambhala. After research into archaeology more as a whole, I realized this didn’t fit, so I removed it.

I considered having Jeralt be alive in the present.

I was going to write more dreams for Byleth and actually have them as independent scenes.

Byleth was supposed to make two separate trips to Almyra in the past. 

The fic was originally only 10 chapters and would have ended abruptly in the past. 

Rhea was supposed to make an appearance in the present.

Chapter Specifics: 

Chapter I 

Ironically, the only real trick with this is I considered renaming the university, but ended up leaving it. 

This chapter was actually mostly written before much of the plot was hammered out so it can read a tiny bit inconsistently to me now, but there’s not much I left out of it.

Chapter II

Initially, I had all three of the reincarnated lords in Byleth’s tutorial, but then I remember that that never happens in university courses so I fixed it. I hadn’t planned on introducing the Guardian’s Sword here, but I did accidentally and then just rolled with it.

Byleth and Dimitri’s Chapter IV argument was originally in this chapter. They were also originally married in between Chapters I and II, something which changed to between III and IV once I changed this chapter. 

Chapter III

Dimitri was supposed to tell Byleth that he was having odd dreams before he found out about the dig project in the present. This chapter also would have had a vivid dream scene before Claude and Byleth’s tea conversation lasted 3000 words. 

Claude was supposed to be a cause of strife in Byleth and Dimitri’s relationship in the past, but then I decided that was stupid and changed him to play the voice of reason. Additionally, this chapter changed a lot as a result of the moving of the wedding.

Chapter IV

This chapter was, again, supposed to feature a Byleth-brand dream, but I changed it to the scene in her office with Claude to set up the Almyra trip. This was the moment in the story where I had decided to make Claude the Almyran Prince. Before this, he was just an ambassador’s son.

Claude in the past was supposed to give a wedding gift to Byleth and Dimitri, but this was changed when I had him attend the wedding. Byleth and Dimitri were supposed to argue about Byleth and Claude’s friendship, but as I already said, I didn’t want Claude to be a source of jealousy.

Chapter V

This chapter actually stuck fairly close to the points of the outline I made. The only point I struggled with was having the tapestries be mostly ruined or preserved and I eventually landed on preserved.

The council meeting was an addendum to the chapter written after the heavier scene at the end. I added it to give a bit more background to Byleth being in Fhirdiad and the way that her relationship with Seteth and their friends would become a bit more strained in the future. 

Chapter VI

This chapter was supposed to highlight the argument alluded to in the chapter between Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude. There was supposed to be a little bit about how the tomb seemed to be dragging up animosity that didn’t previously exist. I removed it because I wanted more space to discuss the dream and the scene with the TV.

The past section was supposed to feature more political drama. There was supposed to be a cabinet meeting that showed the progress of divorcing church and state and siphoning the power away from the nobility, but I came up with the idea for the Rhea scene which I ended up liking a lot more, so I rewrote the chapter, almost completely removing the politics.

Chapter VII

This chapter actually almost exactly follows its outline. The four go to Fhirdiad and deal with their pursuers and end in a car crash. 

The only change in the past was that it originally ended with the infirmary scene from chapter 8, but I changed it to create a stronger parallel between the past and the present by ending both on relative cliffhangers. 

Chapter VIII

The present section of this chapter was actually one of the first scenes I ever outlined for this fic. Naturally, there wasn’t much that was left out. I scrapped a few interactions with people including Dorothea, Sylvain, and Mercedes in order to give Byleth and Claude more time to chat in the bathroom. Basically, the point of the party was to really highlight the fact that while reincarnation had occurred, everyone had ended up in different situations with different people. 

Originally, Byleth was supposed to have recovered well from the assassination attempt and it was supposed to be Dimitri who took longer to heal. Because I was already leaning into the dying-goddess idea though, I swapped them to make it more impactful when Byleth still tries to go against all of her advisors to get Claude to take her to the Slithers.

Chapter IX

Byleth, here, was only supposed to begin to suspect Flayn. I considered having her not even speak to Seteth and Flayn, but I changed that because I think I wanted her to know at this point. However, it was only when I began writing the chapter that I realized that Seteth would know the Archbishop’s full name, so that tidbit was actually the very last thing added to this chapter. 

I wrote the past section of this chapter first. It was fairly cut and copy from the outline so not much was left out here, just one small scene where Byleth and Dimitri saw Claude off when they were still mad at each other and they would have been awkward.

Chapter X

Originally, Leonie was going to be the one to find Claude and Byleth in the alley, but I liked Edelgard and Hubert for it better. This is where Rhea would have appeared in the Modern section. She would have come looking for Seteth before the send-off party started and would have had a crypt conversation with Byleth, but instead, I changed her simply to be the mysterious benefactor that funded the original expedition and removed her physical appearance for flow purposes.

The only big change seen in the past section here, was that Claude and Byleth were supposed to bring Dimitri outside of Shambhala before he died and he would have died seeing the rising or setting sun. When I wrote the cave-in this was changed to match that. 

Chapter XI

Since Byleth was originally supposed to have had a different conversation with Seteth in chapter 9, when the four of them were running for the gunman, they would have revealed their ancestry and connections to the past lords which would have been the point that Byleth actually connected all the dots. 

Byleth and Claude were supposed to be en route to Almyra after dissolving the monarchy when she started to die, causing him to take her back. I changed this because it didn’t fit with the futility of so many of the actions that Byleth had taken after Dimitri’s passing. I also just really wanted her to have the ‘I never intended to return to the Monastery’ and the ‘I hadn’t planned on living this long’ lines. 

Chapter XII

Claude was supposed to be with Dimitri and Edelgard when they said goodbye. There was supposed to be strange tension between them, but it didn’t fit with their interactions inside the tomb, so I just sent him back to Almyra to coordinate his abdication instead. Originally, there would have been a shootout in the tomb as well, resulting in Byleth actually killing the gunman, but instead I used their escape to give Seteth and Flayn a reason to disappear. This is one of the points I was most tentative about changing and is one of my least favourite things that I changed in the whole story. 

The past section was originally just supposed to have been Claude admiring his commissioned tapestries, but I couldn’t resist adding a Hilda in because I love her.

That’s pretty much it for all the plot details and changes. And that’s pretty much everything I have to say about the story. This fic was a labour of absolute love and it has given me an incredible appreciation for the writers in fandoms who can continue stories into the tens of chapters because I found my plot tied up in a neat little bow at 12 chapters. 

If you have any more questions, please shoot them to me on Tumblr, in the AO3 comments, or even on Twitter (@nicolewrites37) and I’ll be happy to answer them. 

Thank you so much to everyone who read, commented, and left kudos on the fic because knowing that there were people waiting to see more was the reason I was able to continue writing and finish the fic. I hope you enjoyed the story overall and that you might find something else you like amidst my other Three Houses works. 

- Nicole

[nightinngales]

If it's not weird to ask, do you have any advice for staying motivated while writing? And just how to write better in general? With the first question, your fics inspired me to start writing again, and while ive got a chapter finished Im having a hard time staying motivated to write it despite still being really into my ideas i had for the fic

for me a lot of it comes with personal investment, and also i admit outside motivation is a big part of it for me as well. however, there’s a couple tricks i have that may help you out. forgive the long answer lol

personal investment: unfortunately no one can really help you with that. it’s going to be a lot easier to write something that you’re personally invested in seeing through to the end. on my end, i have multiple avenues when writing isn’t working. if i’m going through a block, i might decide to draw some seres fanart just for kicks, or i’ll play a bit of the game to get into eres’ head a bit more. i usually end up finding that after drawing or playing a while, i end up wanting to write anyways. 

consider making a basic outline. what are the concepts you’re most excited about writing? where in the story do they take place? when i first started writing vigilance, my outline was essentially just the working titles of the separate acts i had planned. it doesn’t have to be a complex outline - mine was initially just, for example: “act 4 - bruiant mansion”. 

you don’t have to write in order. one of the things i would get stuck on initially was feeling like i had to write every chapter in order, when i was in the concept phase. but when i started writing i knew there were things i wanted to write and hadn’t gotten to yet - so instead i created an “Excerpts” file. These were just excerpts from plot points or story beats i had inspiration to write immediately, but in different parts of the story - i had little excerpts from acts 1-6 and even parts of the ending all written up before i had started writing the full thing. it gave me a “hook” to get started with, and that i could expand upon. 

don’t bog yourself down with adhering 100% to a plan. sometimes plans don’t work out. if you’d seen some of the initial writing i did for vigilance - there are entire scenes or plot lines that never made it into the final fic that’s on ao3. not because those scenes were bad, but because as i reached the points i had already written, i found i wanted to change them, or that they didn’t quite line up anymore. 

complex concepts? make notes, connect the dots. act 5 is where vigilance became a lot more complex very quickly. there were a whole host of concepts i needed to introduce and connect in a cohesive manner, though i generally write from the seat of my pants, so to speak, i needed a way to make sure i was on track. i use scrivener  to do my outlining in - usually just with scenes and a general explanation of what i want to cover in them. i also write primarily in scrivener and then transfer to word/ao3 after. 

validation/support from friends. honestly this is a big part of it for me - getting comments on my fic, whether from friends who read it, or strangers on ao3, is a huge part of my motivation. seeing that other people are enjoying what i’m writing makes me want to write more. i would only say to be careful that not ALL of your motivation comes from outside - because you may not get a huge response at first depending on the fandom. also, be careful not to judge your success on what other authors get - there’s no end to how many factors contribute to the traction you’ll get on ao3. don’t be too hard on yourself if it takes a while for your fic to pick up steam, or if it doesn’t line up with the biggest fics in your fandom. 

as far as improving your writing goes - the only way you improve writing is by writing more. write a LOT. i’m not going to tell you you should be studying authors and trying to emulate their style - i think some people do that, and there’s nothing wrong with it, but i think there’s also something to be said for developing your own voice when writing. it also depends on what vibe you’re going for - is your writing aiming to be more high brow and flowery, or are you looking to write something more accessible where a more YA-style would fit better? etc. 

also, consider writing off the top of your head. don’t spend 30 minutes trying to craft one perfect sentence - you’ll only burn yourself out that way. write, and let it come to you naturally - you can always go back and edit what you’ve written later to make it flow better. the point is to get something down while you’ve got the juice for it. i typically write every chapter in 1-2 long writing sessions and then go back and edit wording or formatting later when i reread it. 

most importantly, take breaks. do you know how long i’ve been working on vigilance? it’s only been a few months since i started posting to ao3, but Vigilance has been in the works for well over a year prior to me posting the first act on ao3. i didn’t work on it constantly. i would have bursts of motivation where i would crank out chapter after chapter - for example, i believe i finished acts 4&5 within the span of a month. but other times i may take weeks worth of “time off” where i am actually pretty uninspired - it’s very easy to burn out if you don’t take breaks, especially if what you plan to write is going to take a long time to finish. work at your own pace and don’t beat yourself up if you’re not writing on the daily. 

some screenshots below the cut for scrivener/fanart i draw for motivation (note: has spoilers for act 5, if you haven’t read that yet): 

[bakugouscentedcaramel]

bakugo flat out told midoriya to kill himself, physically assaulted him multiple times, and verbally bullied him relentlessly. as a victim to similar bullying, he shows very little growth. yes he becomes more righteous as he becomes a hero, but his attitude never changes. his superiority complex in the early seasons makes me physically ill and will often send me spiraling as i relive what ive gone through. maybe other people see him differently but i can never bring myself to like him

Nfjfjfjf I love doing these breakdowns bc I wanted to be so many medical careers, one of them being psychology so this is great for me fnfjdj

Val's 420th Synopsis of GremlinBoomMan

So I'm not going to deny that he was a bully, I'd be blind to not see that. Now I know this Gremlin isn't everyone's cup of napalm, and that's perfectly fine darlin'! As I've said I hated him at first until I saw through some things.

He's been growing to be better than when he first appeared in episode one though. And I have receipts to prove it, along with some tea I spilt with @awkward-tension (psychology nerds ftw)

Take these two panels, one from the first chapter and the other from chapter 166 page 15. I want y'all to keep this in the back of your mind as I continue on my theory on BakuBoomBoomMan.

Now this panel grab from Chapter 165 page 5. (Now this theory was sprung by me rereading the Kindergarten Arc for another ask and this one line triggered my conspiracy theorist inside me)

Now if we consider the possibility of Bakugou having a rougher upbringing, one that we haven't really had the opportunity to witness because of the story being told by Midoriya, not a third, uninvolved party, his behavior starts to make a lot of sense.

We know that his mom isn't a stranger to smacking him around, and it's funny at first until you really reflect on it.

Mitsuki calls Katsuki weak and him ultimately being the reason for everyone being involved with the LoV (him being kidnapped). If she says these things in front of official School staff one could only imagine how the household is like when it's just them three. Mitsuki is in a way verbally and physically abusive, to what extent we don't know, but the evidence is there. As for his father, he could be classified as an enabler for his wife for not intervening and turning a blind eye to this conflict.

So where does that leave Katsuki?

Obviously having these types of parents will have a serious toll on a child. (Me being a prime example) It's safe to say that Katuski might've developed a form of depression/anxiety/self worth issues causing him to obsess over praise and power. His aggression could very easily be considered a coping mechanism for these conflicting feelings and as a way for him to have an outlet for what he was experiencing at home.

He finally found someone who he thought was below him on the totem pole, especially since Izuku hadn't developed a quirk yet. This paired with the praises he had when his quirk emerged only adding fuel to the flame of a bully mentality.

Midoriya being a perfect lightning rod for this anger.

Just think about it, you have a parent constantly calling you weak and worthless, treating you like human garbage, so you turn to your other parent, who is absent and blows off everything you tell them and turns the other cheek when they see this behavior in real time. The amount of rage, loneliness, heartache, depression, self loathing, self doubt, self consciousness, and self worth issues that a young child would experience during this all the way through adolescence? Yeah it's going to take some time to relearn healthy behaviors and communication. I know I'm still learning how to be "normal" after my family ordeals.

Now let's take a look at that panel again, this time in it's full glory. (Read right to left for those of y'all who aren't familiar with manga)

He truly doesn't want this child to be like how he was when he was they're age. He knows exactly what path this kid was on and he made sure to steer him back onto the right path. He doesn't want them to be like him. Generally people who have depression or some sister illness tend to see themselves as broken, just husks of what they could've been. Sometimes it fills them with wisdom and the ability to see others who are on the same path. Now I'm only speaking from personal experience when I say this. I would give anything in the world to stop anyone from doing some of the things I did when I was broken. And this whole topic just resonates with me.

If you apply this theory to his actions and behaviors it kinda just clicks into place just perfectly.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is actually a thing, given how fleshed out the Todoroki family is, I just hope my Gremlin gets some more backstory and/or development.

Again I'd like to thank @awkward-tension for adding their hot take on this and below is the screenshots of what started this whole analysis:

Like this only just makes me love him more bc I've personally been struggling with an abusive family my entire life and I'm just now at the age of 21 being a normal person who doesn't go into an anxiety induced panic when someone comes home.

OH (edit)

I forgot to add this panel:

This hints at the potential abuse he experienced/experiencing and also shows that he is willing to try/learn different things, fully knowing that he grew up in a uniquely cruel household. Just a small tid bit but still important

[comicteaparty]

July 19th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on July 19th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Wednesday7 by Viki Kuli.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing Wednesday7 by Viki Kuli~! (https://tapas.io/series/Wednesday7%20) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

hey super~!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Glad to see Wednesday7 get the CTP treatment!

I think my favorite moments thus far were Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4, mostly with the character interactions.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes there are definitely some interesting character actions going on

tho one of my fave moments is when the cat slips the key under the door for penn

that is an A+ cat

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

XD

Yeah that moment was good too

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

actual favorite scene wise though i think id have to pick the scene at the bar. i like the visual nature of mercury's visual distortions. and i also really love mercury's reaction to it. i think just the pacing and expressions are entirely too real. like how he kind of snaps at Penn even though its not Penn's fault exactly. yet, you get why hes snapping cause hes freaking out. and just that little detail makes it a really engrossing scene for me.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I agree, the bar scene was really memorable.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats one thing i definitely like about this comic in general though. i feel that the emotions are really realstic and that helps you put you there in each moment

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but back to character interactions, i do enjoy mercury and penn's dynamics. its kind of this interesting mix of tenseness since penn is a stranger who got overly personal really fast. and like...its one of those things where id hate to be mercury cause that situation seems uncomfortable. having a stranger be the only one that can help.

✨Respheal✨

WHOA HI lost track of time okay uhh

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Hello!!

✨Respheal✨

Favorite scene....Okay no I gotta agree with @✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨ -- the scene at the bar was good

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

speaking of the bar scene again i also really love the game they played. i thought that was an interesting setup for getting expositionary info out of the way.

✨Respheal✨

It does really make me wonder who Penn actually is though He definitely knows a lot more than you might think he would(edited)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Kind of speed read the comic but my stand out moment was the deal with Wednesday. Visual interesting, great angles, and the character at his lowest.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That was a really tense moment, making amends with (and ultimately assembling with) a wolf spirit/ghost/whatever

also eey Jonny

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

yo justin

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. i really just want to know why penn so rando approached him. like was it really just being a neighbor thing? but it might just be strange to me cause ive never been rando approached by neighbors who want to introduce themselves so idk. XD

but yes, the deal with wednesday was really interesting visually for sure. i loved the tense drama as well cause you can really feel that eternal struggle but ultimate acceptance its probably better than death

✨Respheal✨

For sure x.x It's like, "welp, this'll suck, but it's something?"

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

I don't think the initial meet up at the apartment was odd. He got real werid at the bar but that's because he found out some weird demony stuff about him.

✨Respheal✨

And then there was the handshake before that, which clued Penn in to Merc's....weirdness

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

what ever life he leads could also make him not very social(edited)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah once the handshake penn's behavior made more sense. just that initial approach even felt weird, but like i said just not something ive experienced with neighbors.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

For a sec I thought it was a "sixth sense" type of ordeal or ghost vision.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

maybe he does that with everyone to find demons or something.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. thats what im wondering. if penn is a demon hunter. cause if he went with purpose thatd make way more sense to me.

not that he cant be a nice but weird neighbor

QUESTION 2. Besides Mercury and Wednesday, there are two more characters worth discussing: Penn and Julia. Despite seeming normal, Penn seemed to have the best clue of what was going on with Mercury. Who exactly did Penn know that this same thing happened to? Why do you think this person supposedly didn’t make it? How do you think Penn found out about the house where he took Mercury? Was Penn approaching Mercury a coincidence, or was Penn somehow drawn to Mercury because of the impending possession? There is, of course, Julia as well to talk about. What do you think Julia’s past history is with Mercury, especially given she apologized vaguely for something in the past? Do you think Julia will find out about Wednesday, or will Mercury keep it a secret? What role in general do you think Julia will have to play in the story?

✨Respheal✨

A demon hunter? Not sure about that since he basically helped get a demon stuck in Merc

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooooh, this'll be interesting

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well demon hunter in the sense of wants to find the ppl cursed by demons. he just may not know how to do the demon murdering yet

hes only in finding demons 101 at demon hunter school

✨Respheal✨

Okay hahaha xD Yeah, getting into Penn's past will probably reveal a lot about Wednesday, too....like do they know each other? Penn seems to recognize Wednesday at least

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe he needs a demon to resurrect whoever he lost

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

idk. i didnt get a sense that penn had ill intentions or wanted to use mercury. but i could be wrong. penn could indeed have a specific goal in mind for helping mercury (besides just trying to not fail again). idk if penn knows wednesday. maybe penn knew another day of the week. like monday.

✨Respheal✨

Actually yeah, rereading a bit, I don't think Penn knows much about Wednesday specifically, just that someone else previously went through this and died because they didn't get demon'd

I bet everyone hates Monday......

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

But that implies he's been searching for someone to by demon'd

I'm just super suspicious of Penn

✨Respheal✨

With good reason x'D He seems good! Just......

What does he knooooooooow

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Who even knows!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

its good to be suspicious though cause how could penn tell mercury was possessed via a handshake. like...i know he knew someone who was possessed before but i doubt that just auto gives you the power to know possession via handshake

✨Respheal✨

Fair xD

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

not to mention who does penn know that told him about the house

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

With Julia I figured that her and Merc tried to start a relationship that didn't work out. Maybe something to do with her leaving for town or maybe they were friends first n it was weird

the blushing implies something romantic

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i do get the distinct impression that there were romantic feelings involved. tho hard to say if they were together or not. though im leaning towards they were together...maybe like while they were in school. and then julia was rando one day like "welp im out i need more in my life"

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

maybe not that blunt

she got her dream job in town and Merc didn't/couldn't leave

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah, least that was worth it

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

it doesn't seems like things ended too badly but I could be wrong.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. i mean its still possible they werent actually dating before either. which couldve actually been a motivation for julia to leave. like she liked mercury but since neither would make a move she felt that hoping and staying for that relationship wasnt worth it.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

My presence is really driven by the mood of my month old daughter. I'll be good for a while, checking the backlog here.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Lol

Hey Math

THat's fine- best keep your baby occupied and happy

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Nice, someone already mentioned the scene with the cat passing off the keys, I liked that one too. :>

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf i also think all cats are A+ cats

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

And when all cats are A+.......no one will be........

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Cat MVP(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, if memory serves, Mercury was an "I" (introvert, in the character bio) while Penn seems pretty extroverted. That can be awkward. I also liked in that bar scene how if Mercury hadn't been quite so specific, he could have won. ("You have a child" versus specifying the gender.)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

he wanted to one up him and lost

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It's true, A+ to cats. Was also very well behaved in the carrier on the trip!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah it was kind of sad how close mercury was to being right

and then just missed

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like it was that handshake which had Penn press the point... agree that maybe he just shakes hands with everyone waiting for that sort of thing. Must get weird at family reunions.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

shakes everyone's hand at the bar until he gets kicked out

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Penn might have known Friday. Looking forward to the inevitable Robinson Crusoe cameo.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

a bit off topic, but as i think about penn's knowledge of the house more, im starting to wonder if the person he knew he brought to that house. and that person refused to make the deal so thus died. and so mercury is going to tell penn that and penn is going to be devastated.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, I thought maybe there was some kind of relationship thing with Merc and Julia. But I thought maybe he comforted her when she was having a bad relationship with someone else. But then she fled town to get away.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. Though Wednesday reveals a few tidbits of information, little is known about him. Do you believe Wednesday’s goals really are to just get closer to humanity, or do you think Wednesday has secret goals? Besides what we’ve seen so far, what do you think Wednesday will do with his newfound freedom? Do you believe Wednesday will continue to remain interested in the human world, or do you believe he’ll eventually get bored? Additionally, do you think Wednesday will find a way to bond with Mercury? Speaking of Mercury, why do you think of all the people in the world Wednesday picked Mercury? Was it just happenstance, or is there something special about Mercury? Of a last note, do you believe Wednesday will meet another demon/spirit?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the previous person was the owner of the house, and that's how Penn knew about it?

✨Respheal✨

On the "why Merc" point...apparently Mercury's parents were in on it, naming him like that

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I suspect that this isn't Wednesday's first merging with a person, but the seventh. Given the title. ^.- I'd be curious to know how the previous melds went.

✨Respheal✨

Mercury = Mercredi = Wednesday I get the gist that Wed just wants a body to live in since he's probably trapped in whatever parallel purple world he comes from normally

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Respheal: Should you really speak about his parents Venus and Mars that way?

✨Respheal✨

pffffff

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Mercury was also the messenger, hence the speeding around town, methinks.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

What about Saturn?

or Uranus?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

He seems to just want to cause mayhem

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

or Wednesday's alternate universe friend Friday?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i can only conclude mercury is from a hippie family and left town cause he didnt want to do anything with their new age stuff.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

horribly forced joke over

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i mean to be fair there could be a club. of planet named ppl who are all possessed by demons. and penn is gonna go introduce him.

i mean to be fair there could be a club. of planet named ppl who are all possessed by demons. and penn is gonna go introduce him.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Wed said something about destroying humanity.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

but yeah with a title like wednesday 7 it could be implying that wednesday has done 7 possessions now. although there are also 7 days of the week so maybe wednesday is actually the last to possess someone in this generation

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the club is behind that bar that they went to? I feel like that wasn't coincidence that they were there, and that's when Mercury started having the swimmy visions.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

7 days of possession per haps

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

OH. Which reminds me. The talk Mercury had with the bartender in the background there was funny.

Rebel: Oooh, that's an interesting one. Wednesday's late to the game.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

XD

Then again getting drunk does really weird things

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Incidentally, I kind of like that idea that random names we give to things take on their own identity out in the ether somewhere. In part because it fits with my personifying math functions, but still. ^.-

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

could Penn be a previous possession?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe but i dont feel he is. although it would explain why he could tell via handshake

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(The scene I meant by the way was this one, where he's calling the bartender "Joey") https://tapas.io/episode/558419

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Ooohhhh, good find

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i thought that was a cute background convo.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh! Penn had a daughter, and he's divorced. Maybe his Daughter was the previous possession, and it led to the marriage breaking up.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

and my thoughts still stand, don't underestimate the lower of alcohol

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

What's Joey's backstory?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Joey owns a small kangaroo.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ya know didnt penn just say he lost someone to a demon? i keep assuming it means said person died, but maybe said person is just 100% possessed all the time whereas mercury gets to get his body back somehow.

i think you mean joey was raised by kangaroos O_O

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel: That's an interesting thought. Maybe after the person dies the spirit can still possess them, but only for a finite amount of time....?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Penn possessed killed someone.

would be pretty dark

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

He's spent time in the state.... penn.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

"Back into your pen(n)!"

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

math no

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that could be tho. penn is secretly a murderer

although now im worried for mercury

petty thievery is one thing O_O

murder is a whole other ballpark

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

but if he's possessed then did he really kill them? or did the demon do it?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The cat trusted Penn though. He can't be too bad.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

So here's a question.... are there spirits for months too? Because August just refers to Augustus Caesar. Is the spirit of Caesar roaming around out there? Because I don't think he'd fit in too well.

Jonny: Hmmm. Maybe there's rules like with hypnosis, you can't do anything you wouldn't normally? (Is Mercury the type to steal watches?)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given that a day of the week can have a demon spirit thing, its not inconceivable a month can. albeit i doubt august is the spirit of augustus ceasar XD unless the demon dresses up like it for fun.

and if hes possessed it depends on who controls the body O_O

i do hope wednesday and mercury can mentally communicate somehow

or leave like post it notes for one another at least

"Drank all the milk. Buy more. -Wednesday"(edited)

✨Respheal✨

Yes please

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Julia... that's a bit like Julius, for Julius Caesar, for JULY, hmmm.

✨Respheal✨

I need this in my life

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"That wasn't milk. -Merc" (Gotta keep him guessing.)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

would stories have demons since they embody thoughts and emotions for people?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Stories like Virgil's "The Illiad" kind of thing?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

would make sense if stories could

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Wait, he wrote the Aeneid, what am I thinking.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

although if stories can i think demons outdo humans in population

so there must be specific circumstances that allow someone to possess someone else

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Though that reminds me of that old poem about the days of the week. And "Wednesday's child is full of woe".

Ref: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Monday%27s+child+is+fair+of+face

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Okay, so time for a fun theory. Penn and Wednesday used to date, but something went wrong with the possession. So now that Wednesday has a new body, we're in for hijinks as Mercury and Julia have a date at the same time as they do.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the real reason they divorced: penn's one true love is wednesday

and by they i mean penn and his other spouse

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

God I hope that doesn't happen

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Penn was born on a Wednesday.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Solomon Grundy born on a Monday

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe wednesday had to pick mercury because of the name and maybe mercury was born on a wednesday. maybe it takes that sort of high affiliation for possession

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It would cut down on the number of possessions per year.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

possession tax?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

They have a tax for that too?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the fact that Merc's place was partially furnished is also indicative of shenanigans.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. In order to save his own life, Mercury fuses himself with Wednesday. However, the full consequences of this act are yet to be known. How do you think Mercury might gain control of his body again, even if only temporarily speaking? Assuming he does (as the comic description implies), do you think Mercury will be completely normal, or will being possessed by Wednesday give him access to Wednesday’s supernatural powers? Do you feel Mercury will have an easy time having a normal life, or will the experience render him unable to fit in with society anymore? How do you think his relationships will affected by the change? Lastly, do you think Mercury will attempt to get rid of Wednesday, and if so, what lengths do you think he will go to?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Already contains Wednesday's favourite couch.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

thats a good point, math. it is suspicious the apartment was furnished without mercury knowing

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Well look at the bight side

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe Merc's mind is in some other plain and we'll see that

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

you're merged with a bloody wolf

you can do wolf things

Like howl

and...uh...

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Merc regains control on the full moon.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

what other badass wolf things exist?

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Julia tries to bring Merc back but Penn gets in the way(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Merc's probably going to have to do a bunch of research. I imagine he'll corner Penn for info, could create a rift there.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Maybe it's a night thing. We've only seem Wed at night

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(I won't propose a Mercury Penn ship because that's too Sailor Moon jewelry-esque.)

Jonny: Oh, that's a good point.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe its a day thing and wednesday can only come out on wednesdays

cause wednesday did keep checking the time it seemed like

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Especially cause there's no thing as Wednesnight

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

stop

now

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, we don't know what day of the week it is. Though that would make meetings awkward, if they can only possess on particular days... hmm.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

really hard to say this early on.

i definitely think mercury is gonna try to cure himself though

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yeah(edited)

he has to

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

cause i mean on this first night wednesday has already caused a lot of chaos

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

No kidding

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

At least he has a totally different appearance from Merc. So the people with the camera phones and the theft videos won't be going after him.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Will Wednesday save the girl on purpose in that latest episode, you think? Or will he just mess them both up by blowing past? (Maybe giving the watches away is meant to show he's a ladies man himself?)

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think hell save her on purpose. but less cause hes like "oh no that girl allow me to save her"

but more as a "wow this looked fun"

i would be interested in seeing merc's mind on another plain as jonny suggested. i think that would lend to some very cool comic visuals

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That might be interesting. I wonder if he'd see the purplish vision things in living colour, and the real world as purplish blobs.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

now thatd be a cool reversal

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

With Penn living in both places, maybe.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i wonder if well see wednesday and penn have a conversation

that could be interesting

and could reveal stuff about penn that maybe wednesday knows for whatever demon spirit reasons

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, I wonder how well they get along, since Wednesday just kind of blew by him.

There's also that mercury tattoo, maybe Merc lives there? O.o

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Oooooh

Interesting find

(again)

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

lots of little details I missed. probably cause I read it fast.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i just noticed

https://tapas.io/episode/1000244

that sign says swift st.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

zoom

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really hope that was an intentional joke XD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Well you do move swiftly along

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

probably

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh! I noticed that at the time and thought it was really clever.

Glad you remembered to say something.

I wonder what does show up on traffic cameras, if anything.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

well given the comic description probably just what it appears.

cause the descrip implies that basically wednesday is gonna be some wanted criminal

which is gonna suck if they collect dna evidence

suck for mercury that is

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ah, right, good point. Fingerprints even.

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

possible story arcs

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes. so mercury is definitely gonna be tapering on the edge there

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

yus

OH crud only 4 minutes left

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I wonder how much Mercury's been watching of stuff like technology. He did seem to know to grab the more expensive watches. Surely he knows about surveillance systems?

vikikuli

Hi everyone! Sorry I just make it on, had work until now :/ but the discussion looks awesome so far! thoroughly enjoying it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

VIKI!

Hello there!

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

hey man!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

It's actually about to end ^^;

3 minutes left

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hi author/writer/artist!

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Glad you made it in time so I could tell ya you're an awesome person with lots of great skill and talent

and I wish you luck with working on more of the comic!

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

dido

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I suppose one of the questions that Mercury should probably answer is what Wednesday did last time, given the remark "Good to be back".

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

"You still have all these unpaid parking tickets from twenty years ago too."

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

glad you could make it, @vikikuli ~! even if it is towards the end

tbf

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

You'd think Penn could've paid them.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

that would be wednesday's last body's job to pay im sure O_O

does anyone have any quick closing remarks?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It'll be interesting to see how the body sharing goes.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

I already said mine so I'm good!

And yeah, I second that

The Undefeatable Jonny Aleksey

Penn is evil

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

But only on WEdnesdays.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Viki Kuli, as well, for making Wednesday7 and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Viki Kuli’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Stomp by Brodnork. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on July 26th from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: http://stompwebcomic.com/