#that may or may not have a larger impact on the plot

[arolesbianism]

I am thinking very very hard abt the toy world guys and oh baby I love dropping in disturbing lore bits that are just sorta dripped into the actual plot and otherwise are not explained <3

[frailsituation]

Tips for writing internal conflict

1. Define the Core Dilemma

• Internal conflict occurs when a character faces a choice or emotional struggle within themselves. This dilemma should challenge their values or identity.

• How? The struggle should feel deeply personal and tied to the character’s motivations.

• Example: A character who values independence but must rely on others in a life-or-death situation.

2. Make it tied to their core values

• The conflict should challenge what the character holds dear—whether it’s their morals, desires, or goals.

• How? The inner conflict should push the character to re-evaluate their beliefs and priorities.

• Example: A soldier torn between duty and personal ethics, forced to choose between following orders and doing what’s right.

3. Amplify with external consequences

• Link internal conflict to external consequences that impact the character and those around them. The choices they face should have significant repercussions.

• How? Show how the character’s internal conflict influences their decisions in the real world.

• Example: A character haunted by guilt must choose whether to admit their past mistakes, risking their career and relationships.

4. Show the pressure building over time

• Internal conflict intensifies when it’s compounded by time, increasing stakes, or mounting external pressure.

• How? Create scenes where the character feels the weight of their choices growing heavier with every passing moment.

• Example: A character whose addiction threatens to ruin their life, struggling to break free but tempted by old habits every day.

5. Conflict arises from competing desires

• Internal conflict often stems from having two equally strong desires that cannot coexist.

• How? Put your character in situations where they must choose between these desires, both of which seem vital.

• Example: A character torn between pursuing their dream job across the country or staying to care for a dying parent.

6. Explore their fears and insecurities

• Internal conflict can also be driven by the character’s deepest fears or insecurities, which affect their actions and decisions.

• How? Fear of failure, rejection, or loss can prevent them from acting, making every decision feel like a battle.

• Example: A character who has been hurt before refuses to let anyone in, even though they deeply crave connection.

7. The power of self-sabotage

• Let the character’s internal conflict lead to self-sabotage. They may avoid decisions or create obstacles to protect themselves from facing their own feelings.

• How? Show how the character's fear or internal resistance undermines their progress.

• Example: A character constantly pushes away someone they care about because they fear their own vulnerability.

8. Use internal dialogue to show the battle

• Let readers hear the character’s internal struggle through thoughts, doubts, or justifications. Internal dialogue can make the conflict feel more immediate and real.

• How? Keep the internal dialogue sharp, reflective, and in line with the character’s voice.

• Example: “I want to tell them the truth, but what if they leave? Can I really risk that?”

9. Drive change through resolution

• The internal conflict should lead to growth or change in the character. They should evolve, learn, or make peace with their internal struggle.

• How? The resolution should feel earned and reflect the character’s journey.

• Example: A character who fears commitment learns to trust and embrace vulnerability in the face of love.

10. Let it affect the bigger picture

• The resolution of internal conflict should impact the story’s larger arc, showing how the character’s inner change leads to progress or a new direction.

• How? The resolution should tie back to the theme and forward momentum of the plot.

• Example: A character who learns to forgive themselves is able to take the final step in reconciling with a loved one, mending broken relationships.

Follow for more!

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

The Mini Guide to Crafting Compelling Royal Characters for Fiction Writers

Creating royal characters can be both exciting and challenging. These regal figures often play pivotal roles in stories, capturing readers' imaginations with their power, privilege, and the weight of responsibility they carry. Whether you're writing historical fiction, fantasy, or contemporary novels featuring monarchs, this comprehensive (mini) guide will help you develop authentic, multi-dimensional royal characters that will resonate with your readers.

Understanding the Basics of Royalty

Before diving into character creation, it's essential to have a solid grasp of what royalty entails. Royalty typically refers to members of a ruling family, including kings, queens, princes, princesses, and other nobles within a monarchical system. These individuals are often born into their roles, though some may ascend to power through marriage or other means.

Key aspects to consider:

Hierarchy and succession

Royal duties and responsibilities

Protocol and etiquette

The concept of divine right (in some cultures)

The relationship between royalty and their subjects

Remember, while these elements are common in many royal systems, you have the creative freedom to adapt or reimagine them for your fictional world.

Developing Your Royal Character's Background

Every character, royal or not, needs a rich backstory. For royal characters, this background is particularly crucial as it shapes their worldview, values, and decision-making processes.

Consider the following:

a) Lineage: What is your character's family history? Are they from a long-standing dynasty or a newly established royal house?

b) Upbringing: How were they raised? Were they groomed for leadership from birth, or did they have a more sheltered upbringing?

c) Education: What kind of education did they receive? Was it formal, focusing on statecraft and diplomacy, or more well-rounded?

d) Relationships: How do they relate to their family members, courtiers, and subjects?

e) Personal experiences: What significant events have shaped their character and outlook on life?

Crafting a Unique Personality

Avoid the trap of creating one-dimensional royal stereotypes. Your character should be as complex and nuanced as any other well-developed protagonist or antagonist.

Consider these aspects:

a) Strengths and weaknesses: What are your character's admirable qualities? What flaws do they struggle with?

b) Motivations: What drives them? Is it a sense of duty, personal ambition, or something else entirely?

c) Internal conflicts: What personal struggles do they face? How do these conflicts affect their rule and relationships?

d) Hobbies and interests: What passions do they pursue outside of their royal duties?

e) Sense of humor: How do they express humor, if at all? Is it dry wit, sarcasm, or something else?

Balancing Power and Vulnerability

One of the most intriguing aspects of royal characters is the juxtaposition between their immense power and their human vulnerabilities. This balance can create compelling internal and external conflicts for your character.

Consider:

The weight of responsibility and its impact on their personal life

The isolation that often comes with a royal position

The constant scrutiny they face from the public and court

The struggle between personal desires and duty to the crown

Creating a Believable Royal World

Your royal character doesn't exist in a vacuum (I hope not). They're part of a larger royal ecosystem that includes family members, advisors, courtiers, and subjects. Developing this world adds depth and authenticity to your story.

Key elements to consider:

Court dynamics and politics

Relationships with other noble houses or kingdoms

The role of advisors and how they influence decisions

Traditions and customs specific to your royal setting

The economic and social structure of the kingdom

Addressing the Challenges of Royal Life

Royal characters face unique challenges that can drive your plot and character development. Some common themes include:

a) Succession disputes b) Balancing personal happiness with duty c) Navigating political alliances and conflicts d) Managing public opinion and maintaining legitimacy e) Dealing with threats to their rule or life

Use these challenges to create tension and drive your story forward while revealing more about your character's personality and values.

The Impact of Historical Context

If you're writing historical fiction or a fantasy inspired by real-world monarchies, it's crucial to consider the historical context. Research the time period and culture you're drawing from to ensure authenticity in your character's behavior, beliefs, and challenges.

Key areas to research:

Social norms and expectations of the time

Political systems and power structures

Technology and its impact on governance

Religious beliefs and their influence on royalty

Gender roles and how they affect royal duties and succession

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

When creating royal characters, be mindful of these common mistakes:

a) Making them too perfect or too villainous b) Ignoring the realities of royal life (e.g., lack of privacy, constant duties) c) Overlooking the impact of their decisions on their subjects d) Failing to show growth or change over the course of the story e) Relying too heavily on stereotypes or clichés

Incorporating Royal Etiquette and Protocol

Royal characters often adhere to strict codes of conduct and protocol. While you don't need to become an expert in royal etiquette, incorporating some of these elements can add authenticity to your story:

Forms of address (Your Majesty, Your Highness, etc.)

Court ceremonies and rituals

Dress codes and regalia

Rules of precedence in social situations

Diplomatic protocols when interacting with other royals or dignitaries

Exploring Different Types of Royal Characters

Remember that not all royal characters need to be ruling monarchs. Consider exploring other royal roles, such as:

The rebel prince or princess who rejects their royal duties

The reluctant heir thrust into power unexpectedly

The exiled royal fighting to reclaim their throne

The royal spouse adapting to life in the palace

The illegitimate child discovering their royal heritage

Each of these archetypes offers unique storytelling opportunities and challenges for character development.

Balancing Historical Accuracy and Creative License

If you're writing historical fiction featuring real royalty, you'll need to strike a balance between historical accuracy and creative interpretation. While it's important to respect known facts and timelines, you also have the freedom to explore the inner lives and motivations of these historical figures.

Tips for balancing accuracy and creativity:

Thoroughly research the historical figure and their time period

Clearly differentiate between historical fact and fictional interpretation

Use author's notes to explain any significant departures from known history

Focus on filling in the gaps in the historical record rather than contradicting established facts

Developing Royal Character Arcs

Like any well-rounded character, your royal protagonist should undergo growth and change throughout your story. Consider how their experiences might challenge their beliefs, alter their perspective, or force them to confront their flaws.

Possible character arcs for royal characters:

From naive idealist to pragmatic ruler

From reluctant heir to confident leader

From isolated monarch to connected leader who understands their subjects

From power-hungry tyrant to benevolent ruler (or vice versa)

Remember, character growth doesn't always have to be positive. Sometimes, the most compelling stories involve characters who face moral decline or tragic falls from grace.

Remember, while the trappings of royalty may be grand, at their core, your royal characters are still human. They love, fear, hope, and struggle like anyone else. It's this humanity, set against the backdrop of power and responsibility, that makes royal characters so fascinating to read and write about.

Happy writing, - Rin T

Hey fellow writers! I'm super excited to share that I've just launched a Tumblr community. I'm inviting all of you to join my community. All you have to do is fill out this Google form, and I'll personally send you an invitation to join the Write Right Society on Tumblr! Can't wait to see your posts!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

This is probably small in the grand scheme of things, but how did Emilie being noble play any impact in the story at all?

I mean, I'd get it if it was just a small detail to help deepen Emilie's character, but why nobility of all things? I don't know, from what I'm seeing so far, the whole "Emilie renounced her noble title" shtick just feels worthless if it's not going to impact the story or add depth to Emilie's character (like maybe upbringing or personal values?).

I don't know. Like everything else, the noble part just feels shallow and means nothing to the story, especially for a character like Emilie, who is the plot device for the whole show. Any detail about her, like her personality and life story, is supposed to influence the story and characters one way or another, namely Hawkmoth since she's his driving force.

So what was the point?

For context, this ask is about Félix's play which says that Emilie gave up her title to be with Gabriel. I'm gonna give a slightly larger section of the transcript of the play for full context, but the relevant but is at the end of the last paragraph:

Félix: The king and queen's twins grew up, each day as different in heart as they were similar in body. The firstborn, curious and brazen, despised life at court and escaped at every opportunity. The younger daughter, well-behaved and respectful, did everything she could to please her parents, and stayed quietly in the castle. Félix: (as Mr. Graham de Vanily) Oh, my queen. Did we entrust our legacy to the right princess? Kagami: (as Mrs. Graham de Vanily) She will fall in line, eventually. Félix: Confident that she would settle down as she matured, the king and queen allowed the curious princess to leave to study beyond the sea in another kingdom. There, she immediately found true love in a humble tailor. Félix: The tailor was making clothes so magnificent that they revealed the beauty of the soul of anyone who wore them. Although it made her parents furious, the curious princess gave up her rank, her wealth and her kingdom to live a bohemian life with the tailor.

Story wise, I have no idea why any of this was added since it adds nothing to canon. It's not like this finally explains why Gabriel and Emilie are poor while Amelie is wealthy. Along similar lines, it's not like Amelie's title has ever mattered. Prior to this play, I don't think that we even knew that she had a title or that she was the younger sister. The play is all about explaining things that we never had reasons to question in the first place.

My best guess as to why the writers wrote this pointless backstory is that they wanted to make Emilie seem even more pure and perfect so they went with the tired old trope of a rich girl giving up material things for the sake of love and art because good pure women don't care about material things! Only nasty, shallow women care about money. (Way to play into sexist tropes, guys.)

There may also be cultural elements at play here given that France doesn't have the greatest history with nobility, so giving up a noble title may be seen as good and pure to a French writer, but I don't know enough about French culture to say that with any certainty. If anyone who reads this blog is French and would like to chime in, then feel free!

While we're on the topic of the play, I wanted to point out that the above quoted passage is why I say that the Graham de Vanily parents can be as kind or as abusive as you'd like to make them. It's incredibly vague and you can read into it whatever you want to read into it. Were they good loving parents who were just upset about their daughter living in poverty or were they miserable controlling classist who Emilie fled England to get away from? It's up to you because you can get both reads from this. The play commits to almost nothing of value. Politicians could take lessons from this impressive level of noncommittal writing.

A better version of the play would have focused on things that actually matter to canon like the details of finding the miraculous and/or Emilie learning she's sick, but you could only have those details if they were coming from Nathalie or Gabriel. Félix is a terrible choice for a character to tell us the show's backstory because he knows so little of it, thus the play focusing on his largely pointless backstory.

[miaoumeowmiaw]

MORE ST5 LEAKS AND INFORMATION (AFTER FEBRUARY)

Hey... I’m back. Recently my ST5 leaks from May blew up on Twitter, so I figured I could put all of my Asks here. There are unreleased photos of the characters and set available in the ENG Minou server, but they will posted on Tumblr and Twitter in a separate post to make it easier to access. In the meantime I hope this interests you, too.

I saw an account on Twitter posting a leaked photo with the synpsis of the first episode of ST5. It said “Chapter One: The Crawl. Hawkins is under quarantine after the Upside Down events. Our heroes hide from the government, still plotting a capture, when an unexpected event destabilizes the team. Steve and Robin take over the new radio station, buzzing with odd mysteries, as a new face shows up in town.”

Fake.

the bar “leak” about will talking to a young, caucasian guy with a mustache… is that legit? i’m cringing just thinking about it, but the milevens seem to be very happy and are taking this as a win, so.

I can confirm there is a character who talks to Will at the bar. There is no stable answer for the gender and appearance of the character, last time I checked. This leak is old and only based on residents and staff near the area of filming, who caught glimpses of the scene.

ok i'll bite wdym by the field kiss

There is a kissing scene between Mike and Eleven. It is NOT on the baseball/softball field, it is on a field near the radio station. People blew it out of proportion, but it was confirmed as being real around the same time that my original May leaks were gathered, and is still true as of January.

It looks like I’m an exception here because I care more about the plot and family dynamics than ships. Do you know anything about what’s going on with Henry/Linda’s character/ upside down flashbacks ?

Henry is using new methods of sensory and mental illusion to keep track of his victims. No more of what we saw in ST4, and music does not work as it usually would. Key words to keep in mind: flashbacks, « false flashbacks », visions, beliefs, and control. For some characters there is a larger tilt toward one of these 5. For most of the season he is pursuing Holly by pretending to be a new, troubled resident of Hawkins and requiring her assistance. He causes the death of Ted in front of her. Derek, Erica and Karen join the investigation into these interactions and Holly's disappearance. Will begins to be pursued when Mike, Dustin and Lucas start a separate investigation. It is as if he is a child again, and the only reason we know it is a false flashback is because it blends with reality. This is especially true for a tree Will falls from: visually, it switches. Henry becomes more attached to the real world the longer that the Upside Down remains exposed to Hawkins, and the longer that he pursues residents. There are multiple sicknesses and attacks from the Upside Down. After a certain point he fully reveals himself as Vecna and kills the majority of the military team who were maintaining the quarantine zone of Hawkins and stunting the main cast.

Tell us 👹 Also do you have info on the Hopper x Mike talk? Sorry if Im being annoying I just didn't have a good day lol

It's a sad conversation, but also positive. Maybe bittersweet is the word. It was based on a loss or something similar that impacted both characters, but more Mike, and he makes a sarcastic or joking comment to Hopper about having hope and confidence in something related to it.

Do you know if the whole Holly is the Cleric Mike was talking about thing is true, and if Mike+Will+Holly spend time together?

The figure theories are correct, Mike was referring to a Dungeons and Dragons character meant to represent and protect Holly. That name and quote were taken directly from the graphic database, meaning that, if they were approved by the Duffer brothers and additional crew, they would have been featured together in promotional material and goods for VOL 1 October and November releases.

Based on what you know so far, were the Duffers telling the truth that the new season would have a focus on Will’s character? Or were they overselling it? Thank you!

Yes.

Any hints at what Henry wanted/wants Will for? What does he “build”?

Fire.

Is there more to Karen wheeler? There's been so many theories on this lady she's interesting

Yes.

hii, do you have any info on that “Secret ‘Red Rock’ set” they built behind the radio station? A paparazzo mentioned they might have filmed some military scenes there but idk. It's ok if you can't answer

The military filming was in the general area, not that set specifically. Security was too tight for anybody to have seen what went on in the desert (« red rock »). It wasn't a secret, it was just located in the forest near WSQK and they did not want to test their luck. I agree with the paparazzi and locals in it being either a flashback or Upside Down-related shoot.

Do you have any leaks about the older teenagers/young adults (Nancy, Jonathan, Steve Robin)? I heard Robin and Steve are running the radio station or something like that but that's it.

Steve does not pursue Nancy. Nancy and Jonathan continue to date. Dustin is independent from Steve and Robin for the first half of ST5 as far as we guess, spending most of that time with Mike, Will and Lucas in their investigation. Robin is the main host of WSQK 94.5 FM: The Squawk. There are two 97P25J3 company vehicle models that they use and transport between sets, and in universe the older teens enter the Upside Down through them or are part of the plan in doing so. Specifically Jonathan and Steve with Dustin joining them. The Turnbow family of Realtors own multiple pieces of land in Hawkins, including the WSQK radio station and tower. There is a character who seeks temporary refuge in the WSQK radio station. The equipment in the WSQK radio station and vehicle is used to intercept Hawkins Laboratory and government communication, but they are unaware that it was detected and tracked to their location. This equipment is also considered for use in sharing pieces of information between the Upside Down and the real world. The WSQK radio station is raided.

Ok so I'm probably way off here but I think they may use time travel not to change timelines but to discover things they need to know ie somehow going back and watching wills vanishing for example. Or vecna actually taking them back through memories? Yeah I'm so wrong right

The Upside Down is an alternative reality that captures a moment from time and preserves it, because there are little to no things present to disrupt how things were in that moment. Specifically humans and their fragments in the environment. Think how our own reality works. Everything is linear. Things happen because we as humans cause them to happen. This is exactly what the Upside Down is, the only difference being there wasn't any humans to cause things to happen, until Will Byers was sent. Therefore is not possible to change that alternate reality in a way that resets time. If you can't do it here, you can't do it there. Vecna is not the exception to this. He does not cause any sort of time travelling, he is only giving characters that feeling through flashbacks, visions, nightmares and whatnot. It's not something they are controlling or wanting to do to try and win, it's something that is forced onto them to try and weaken their personhood. This is his new method.

Do you know anything about where Joyce, Will and Jonathan are living in season 5? People think Will might be staying over at Mike’s in episode 1

Wheeler residence.

Haha, I think you'd be doing the shipping fandom a favor. Because i think it's gonna be anti climatic regarding what's actually canon in the show, compared to fan fic, some want to be canon. I'm actually interested in who may die ( if anyone ) because I did see on x that apparently there's a fake sacrifice👀

Close to or more than the amount in Season 3 if you count the Flayed. However most of these deaths we see are people part of the government and local community. Ted dies near the beginning and there is a fake but impactful death plot near the end of ST5. The potential of Max, Will, Holly and Karen dying is brought up frequently, as well as a character that experiences an attack on their midsection, but this is a minor issue in the plot and they heal.

Pls sir may I have some more Will info? Anything 🥺

Birds are notorious for not displaying symptoms of illness. They need to be kept away from the rest of the flock, typically in a room that has disconnected air circulation and frequently cleaned caregivers. Many contributors to this, including travel-related stress, can worsen their condition by the simple fact that, while kept away, they hear the flock but are unable to interact with it. Birds yearn for the connection and they yearn for the help, but their biology does not allow them to display it, and the individuals observing are not able to properly translate that. It is lost between two species without adaptation and a learned understanding of their different behaviours, and this can then be mistaken as aggression or fear. Rather it is the attempt to maintain their own integrity in moments of sensitivity.

Hi, thanks for answering our questions btw! I'm unaware if you know the stage play. I know it's not officially canon in the duffers story. But will anything be used in the series from the play? Because in the play Henry went to dimension x and his blood changed in the play due to particle exposure. And I feel they could use this to explain wills time there with the blood change in the series. It's meant to link to the use of powers from the particles changing their blood. Sorry you may not know about that. Just curious. Thanks anyway!

The VR game has a lot more similarities to ST5 than the play. However neither of them are compulsory to experience for understanding the plot.

the leak about will having a love interest (that’s not mike) came out waaay before they shot the bar scene with him. so, i’m just wondering where the love interest leak even came from since it’s not referring to the bar leak… or was it entirely made up? i’m still confused about it which is why i’m asking you.

So-so.

last thing! please tell me the chance x will (bychance) stuff is just people being silly and that there’s nothing happening there. will’s love interest being some npc jock… i can’t see it. it’s so wild to me 😭

Fake.

Who is Mr.Miller?

Mr. Miller is a high ranking officer part of the American military and stationed in Hawkins to oversee INDIGO and other subprograms under MKUltra.

Oh, I just had an insight that the military lab might be underground beneath the destroyed downtown Hawkins (I’m delusional)

While there is a new laboratory and the INDIGO subprogram of MKUltra is still continuing in ST5, it's not to the same scale as previous seasons and it is not in the same manner as the Rainbow Room. I highly suggest looking at the first PDF leak for graphics, because there is a full map of Hawkins: what I can tell you is that the laboratory may or may not be in the path of the UD cracks and tunnels.

hii, do u know if the leak about khali coming back is true?

So-so.

[starmocha]

So, this mass hysteria surrounding the recent update for the new chapters, "Death and Rebirth" has spread like wildfire and there's been far too many misinformation being spread around.

For the past few days, I've been addressing questions on my personal blog, but perhaps this information would be helpful for others seeking clarifications.

TL;DR: The main story update is just that: an update. Zayne is not being removed from the game. Zayne will continue to be part of future banners just as normal. Do not fall for the mass panic.

Below the cut will be a more thorough explanation about how the game works as well as covering some related questions I've had people asked me in the last few days since the recent main story update for "Death and Rebirth."

Gonna address the elephant in the room first:

Zayne is not leaving the game.

He will continue to be a love interest in the game. How people even reached this conclusion is beyond my understanding. He will continue to appear in future banners just as normal. He will be part of event stories just as normal. Nothing is changing. Our snowman is staying with us!

Main Story Update

There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding about how the main story works.

The main story is a huge plot that takes place over a long period of time and affects all off the characters. This is common in otome games like Love and Deepspace, and especially another game from the same company, Mr Love: Queen's Choice (MLQC).

The recent update released four new chapters, subtitled as "Death and Rebirth". It is still a part of all the previous stories that have been told so far, starting with the first section, "Under Deepspace" and following through to Sylus' section, "Long-Awaited Revelry," the three individual story branches (grouped under "Prologue To Tomorrow"), and Caleb's homecoming, "Homecoming Wings."

These are all part of one larger ongoing story, split into subsections with individual chapters. Additional chapters are added over a period of time, and the plot will progress at this same pacing.

The story is in no way ending. Not even close. From a business standpoint alone, the longer a story is, the longer a game can be profitable.

The aforementioned game MLQC has recently celebrated its sixth anniversary, and to coincide with that celebration, new chapters to its main story were released to coincide with the event. Now, unlike LADS, MLQC have regular main story updates throughout the year, and it's been going strong for six years now with no sign of stopping.

In truth, it is very unlikely for the main story to ever end. At most, an arc may reach its conclusion, but that just invites a new story arc to take its place. As of now, though, LADS is nowhere close to reaching its conclusion. If anything, the recent chapter update have revealed many new plot points to be explored in future chapters.

While both Sylus and Zayne have recently been showcased, it is not the end of their appearances. They will continue to be seen as more of the story develops, but for now, our next sight would be to circle back to Xavier and Rafayel, with Caleb possibly on the horizon as well.

Main Story vs. Story Branches

There is a difference between a main story update and story branches update that may seem confusing to some.

Main story update would involve a plot that affects all characters and the story as a whole. Just think of the main story as a tree constantly growing bigger.

While the story branches would be akin to actual tree branches. It will tell a smaller story that is connected to the main, but the central themes would follow a singular character. For example, Zayne's story branch, "Thorns Under the Moon" follows Zayne only, and the conflict he deals with (his nightmares/Dawnbreaker) does not affect the other characters directly or impact them in any way.

Memory Cards (4* and 5*)

The exact timeline for the memory cards are intentionally ambiguous, especially the early cards to allow the writers the freedom to work on the main story, which will have subtle romantic implications. The memory cards are meant to show a more intimate (or growing intimate) relationship with the LIs.

This is a similar format LADS is borrowing from MLQC (reiterating the two games are part of the same company).

When reading the memory cards, it is intended for you to assume that it takes place post-canon from the main story with MC having chosen that specific LI as her partner. (you are not dating all five men at once.......unless you want to headcanon it that way who is stopping you lbr /hj)

For example, if you are reading a Zayne memory, then it follows a path/timeline where MC is pursuing a relationship with Zayne and has no romantic relationship with the other male characters.

The main story would only subtly hint at the possibility of romantic feelings with each LI, but it wouldn't be obvious unless you are reading the 4* or 5* cards (which at that point means you are "choosing" that LI's "route").

One thing to keep in mind as you are reading the main story: MC is not romantically involved with any of the men, nor does she have any explicit romantic feelings for them.

If it makes it easier to understand, then consider the main story as one long slow burn. The 4* and 5* memories would be what would happen after the story ends (typically, but there are exceptions with some cards [mainly thinking of Caleb's cards right now]).

For most of the current memories, everything can be considered canon except for the Catch-22 cards, which all clearly take place in an alternate universe (AU). A good way to identify if it's an AU or not is if the characters all have completely new backstories, which in this case, they do.

Final Words

I have done my best to highlight some common concerns brought to my attention recently, but if there's anything else that is still troubling you, please feel free to reach out and I will do my best to answer and also edit this post with updated info.

Likewise, if you feel I am misinformed about anything, or would like me to add additional points, please also feel free to reach out. The goal here is to reassure everyone that the game is in no way facing any drastic changes or losing a beloved character. I understand for many, this may be their first time playing an otome game, so the gameplay is very unfamiliar and confusing. Let's try to help our fellow players and stop the spread of misinformation going around. 🙏

[the-cypress-grove]

So, You Want To Write Vampires...

Here's a basic list of things to do/consider when approaching this creature.

Source Material

Go back to the origins. Almost every culture around the world has a story or myth containing cannibalism / blood drinking. You may want to base your origin story for vampires on one of these. This can also give you some ideas about what traits and abilities you might want to include that have been written out of modern fiction. It could help you add a unique twist.

2. Vampire Fiction

Vampires have been popping up in fiction for a very long time. Read The Vampyre by John Polidori (thought to be one of the first books written on vampires). Check out Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (the lesbian vampire story that came out before Dracula). Speaking of, Dracula is a classic.

Look at modern fiction. Vampire Academy, Twilight, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, A Dowery of Blood, Crave. Read the good and the bad. Learn what qualities you like and which you will not use.

Make a list of things you like and things you don't.

3. Themes

Writing vampires brings a lot of themes surrounding mortality, immortality, morality, and at what point do we draw the line between what is human and what is other. These themes are integral to a vampire story whether you're writing a gothic horror, a paranormal romance, or a YA. There are a lot of links between cannibalism / blood drinking and love, vampires and LGBTQIA+ characters / coding.

4.Pick your traits

Vampires tend to be unique to the writer. The vampires in Twilight work differently to the vampires in The Vampire Diaries to the vampires in Dracula.

By this point you should have a list of possible traits and abilities you might want to give your vampires. My advice: tailor it to your genre. If you're writing a horror go with the traditional vampire abilities, give them the things that scare you. Think Nosferatu. If you're writing romance, then you might want to soften the traditional vampire traits in the way you find frequently in modern vampire media.

What you choose is up to you.

5. Origins

This is often overlooked in vampire stories but how did your vampires come into being? Who was the first vampire? Is this vampire still alive? How far back do vampires go as a species?

This could affect your vampires in terms of relationships with others of their kind, their powers, their strength.

This might not impact on your plot but, in terms of worldbuilding, if you intend to turn your book into a series then this could be very important going forward.

6. Society

Unless you're writing about the first ever vampire you're probably going to be writing about an established vampire population who will have their own laws, their own history, their own leadership, their own customs. This is an important piece of worldbuilding. It will affect your characters relationships, add conflict to the plot, create established enemies and can be used to raise the stakes.

7. Nocturnal Life

If you're following a traditional burn-in-the-sun vampire and they haven't found a way around this then you need to determine the night life of your setting. What is there for your vampires to do at night?

8. Feeding, Hunting, and Bloodlust

This will affect the level of gore in your story as a lot of the bloody parts in your story will take place through feeding and hunting. This will also determine your vampire population.

You need to decide how much your vampires need to feed, how often they need to do so, and what they can feed on. Do they drink animal blood? Is that possible? Do they drink human blood? Can they drink from blood bags? Do they need the blood fresh? If they need human blood do they need all of it?

The less a vampire feeds, the larger a population you can have in one area as it attracts less attention.

What happens when your vampires are hungry? What does their bloodlust look like? How does it affect a vampire? Is the amount of bloodlust a vampire experiences determined by how old the vampire is?

9. Threats

Unless your vampires are well and truly endless there will be ways to kill them and they will have enemies. Do these enemies take the shape of humans, of other vampires, or another species entirely? How can your vampires be killed? What other species are out there?

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Not sure I’m wording this right but I’ll try so most of the plot twists in the six of crows duology that have a large impact on the overarching plot are revealed to actually have been controlled by Kaz, such as “He was just Wylan Van Eck. He told them everything”, Inej being caught by the Ice Court guards and Heleen, the fake Council of Tides, and so on and so forth. One of the only major twists not controlled by Kaz is Kuwei’s existence and presence at the Ice Court in the place of his father. And one of my favourite things about this at that it so massively relies on perception, as is so symbolically relevant in many themes of the novels but particular in the theme of classism and how each “side” of Ketterdam views each other and themselves. Because yes, this is a plot twist that was not pre-planned by Kaz and that he did not figure out in advance of being confronted with it (he internally expresses hope that Kuwei is “a surprisingly young Bo Yul-Bayur” and not just some “hapless prisoner that Nina and Matthias decided to liberate” when they fell the ash, and later asks Nina to explain why the “illustrious Shu scientist looks like one of Wylan’s school pals” please note I’m quoting from memory there may be some mistakes and/or imperfections), but even though this is true it’s also true that in the literally third chapter Kaz immediately and correctly theories that Bo Yul-Bayur is dead. Van Eck states that they have sources telling them he is alive, and Kaz willingly accepts this - even using it to convince Nina when she raises the same assumption of Yul-Bayur’s death. This is a minor example, though of major importance, of Kaz’s ultimate failing grace in the first novel: he was willing to accept Van Eck at his word. We see him criticise and bully himself for believing Van Eck throughout the ending of this book and through Crooked Kingdom, particularly in the way he blames himself for Inej’s abduction, but that’s for the larger, intentional lie; the money. What we see in Kaz’s acceptance that Yul-Bayur must be alive is him tossing his instincts aside in response to Van Eck, essentially because he trusts the rich, respectable mercher to be honest, and to have no motive in lying to him; just as the Dregs (specifically mentioned) and the rest of the gang members (strongly implied) in Crooked Kingdom assume Kaz’s guilt because they can see no reason why a rich, respectable mercher would make false accusations like the abduction of his son. After the original assertion in chapter 3, we receive various pieces of evidence that we and the characters both take to renforce Van Eck’s claim, such as the other teams moving on the Ice Court, most notably the Shu, and (the most damning) Brum’s references to “the scientist”. And yes, if Yul-Bayur had been alive then these would all count towards evidence of that. But the tiniest hint of doubt, that you barely even register as doubt in the moment, comes from Brum when he describes “the scientist” as being “stubborn” for “still mourning the death of his father”. Matthias’ internal response is that he knows nothing about Yul-Bayur’s father so the reader is from that moment prepared to discover a mystery about the elusive father, not the unknown son. From the second we met Kuwei, the fate of the job and of Van Eck’s being a liar was sealed in an absolute excellent piece of foreshadowing. Because Kaz ignored his clear instinct, that Yul-Bayur was dead and something else was at play if the Fjerdans and Shu both truly had parem, in favour of believing Van Eck’s word. And Kaz turned against his instincts, that he shouldn’t take the job because it was a suicide mission, in favour of what he openly describes as his own greed by saying that the lever was working in Van Eck’s favour.

So I think what I’m trying to say here is that Kuwei’s appearance has a two-fold relevance as a plot twist: first in the subversion not of Kaz controlling the narrative but still having predicted some aspects of this, and second as foreshadowing of another major plot twist that Kaz had not control of, that being several aspects of the ending of the book. I hope this made sense, I’m very tired and I’m not sure that I’ve articulated this correctly, but i thought it was interesting and these posts tend to work better when I just put all my thoughts onto the page as they come instead of trying to structure it or whatever

[makabray]

okay so i know that this is something that at least a few other people have already talked about, but if i may put my own two cents in: i feel like mouthwashing as a game is a lot less narratively impactful if you treat curly as an enabler and nothing more. he is not blameless, that is for sure, but to act like he was a willing (or even enthusiastic) accomplice to jimmy's crimes is doing a disservice to both his character and the overall message the plot is trying to convey.

curly's role in the plot isn't to point out that some men will disregard the feelings of women to prioritize their male peers (though that is something that happens, don't get me wrong) as much as it is to highlight that even the best of intentions can lead to absolute ruin. curly cared about anya, he cared about the entire crew, and yet it was this same compassion that he had for jimmy in particular which inevitably lead to their downfall. i really do believe that he thought he was doing the right thing, but because of his personal attachment to jimmy and the larger forces at work (those being late-stage capitalism and rape culture), he couldn't see him for what he really is until it was too late.

it's this kind of "good-intentioned enabling" as i saw someone else put it which makes his role as one of the two player characters so significant. like everything else in the game, the choice to set part of the story from his point of view is entirely deliberate, but i think the reason for this is to encourage the player to reflect on their own place in perpetuating the things that allow this kind of shit to happen. much like curly, you too probably want to believe that kindness and good intentions are enough, but that just isn't always true. sometimes, it's those good intentions that make things so much worse before you can even realize it.

mouthwashing isn't about if curly or anyone else on that ship is a good or bad person, and it's not about if curly or even jimmy deserved their fates, it's about responsibility. it's about the difficulty of knowing what to do and when to do it, and it's about whether or not you, the player, would be able make things right.

after all, if you were told that your best friend had done something terrible, what would you have done about it? would you take responsibility? it's easy to say yes, of course, that you'd do anything. but would you really, before it's too late? and if you couldn't, would you be able to admit that to yourself? to others?

that is what mouthwashing is about.

[right-there-ride-on]

Lucy Steel, Karma, and 'the flow of fate': The flaw of the 'napkin philosophy'

I've stated before that Johnny, Gyro, HP and Diego stand out as the four main-ish characters of SBR. But that's neglecting to mention the true third protagonist of the part: Lucy Steel. Lucy's character is used to explore a lot of the heavier and more complex themes of SBR, including the nature of power, fortune, and even free will (as well as misogyny, to a lesser extent). I hope to touch on and elaborate what I think the text is trying to demonstrate with Lucy's story. Unfortunately there was limit to the panels I could include, so if you'd like to double check my analysis please reference the referred chapters.

Content warning for reference to events in the Both Sides Now chapters as well as Valentine's general attitude towards Lucy.

To understand what Lucy represents, we've first got to understand Lucy. So, let's take a quick look at her backstory.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

Born into a poor family, even from a young age Lucy was forced / expected to pay for the sins of her father. In those days it's no surprise that the life of a son was seen as more valuable than that of a daughter. Lucy's father decides that Lucy must be the one to pay for the family's debt. It's implied that Lucy does not protest this decision and understands her father's reasoning (even if internally she may be more upset about it than she appears). Lucy's go-to mechanism for dealing with the stress of the people around her is to 'look after them'. She repeatedly puts on a brave face in order to comfort them first. Only when she's alone does she allow herself to express her true feelings. Even the inciting incident of the Steel Ball Run race itself - a young Lucy comforting a hopeless Stephen - is demonstrative of how she always looks after the people around her.

Lucy has always been forced to bear the responsibilities of others, as the second eldest and the eldest daughter.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

Her father was either naive or unwilling to accept the consequences of what he'd done to Lucy by essentially selling her to the mafia. Stephen forces Lucy's father to recognize the reality of the situation - and as such becomes the first person we know of to demonstrably care for Lucy's well being. In my opinion, one of the reasons Lucy doesn't ever seem put off by the 'marriage' between her and Stephen is because she knows that without Stephen she would literally be dead. It was Lucy's kindness to Stephen that would influence Stephen to return to her family and save her life. This is the first (chronological) example of Lucy's complex relationship with fate and fortune.

Chapter 28: Scary Monsters (Part 1)

After witnessing Valentine's odd power in a previous scene she grows suspicious, and given the talk of murder at the time, likely worried for Stephen's safety. While attempting to assuage her suspicion she catches a glimpse of the corpse part Valentine possess, and from then on gets caught up in the larger machinations of the race. However, even this first encounter between Lucy and Valentine showcases what the dynamic will be between them as the part continues: Valentine, bombastic and ambitious, contrasted with Lucy. Lucy is meek, but her actions have an overt influence on the plot, even if none of the other characters realize her true importance until later. Her impact is subtle but pervasive, as she continually changes the entire course of the race despite never being acknowledged as a factor in play until the very end.

Chapter 36: The Green Tombstone (Part 1)

Lucy is a non-stand user, a normal person and a teenager at that, who realizes in this moment that her now peaceful life can be shattered again. Lucy is a normal person, but she is brave, and she is determined to protect the person she cares about at any cost.

Lucy clearly feels a lot of responsibility towards Stephen, and most of the time is quite a serious person. There's a lot happening internally that she can't or won't let others in on. In other scenes, we see that Steven often tells her to lighten up and act more her age, but Lucy can't let that sense of responsibility go. In the scene above, her serious nature is contrasted by her apparent flippancy towards her teacher. To avoid any questions on her intentions, she flips on the 'bored student / teenager' act - and it is just an act. As soon as she's alone, Lucy breaks down, because her strong face too is an act.

On a thematic level it's already clear that Lucy's character will be closely tied to the concept of 'fate' (most of the time represented through Valentine). Here, she is determined to avert what she suspects Stephen's ultimate 'fate' will be. She knows that she is not powerful, yet still she struggles against the overwhelming powers around her. Even with something as simple as learning lip reading, she's taking the initiative against Valentine, at a point when no other major character knows that it's Valentine they're up against. I also want to recognize her intelligence: she is totally overlooked by the President's staff (men) and uses that to her advantage to royally fuck up Valentine's plans.

Luck, or 'fortune', plays a notable role in enabling Lucy's escape from Valentine and Blackmore's pursuit. It's only by chance that Lucy is the one to look up and notice Blackmore first.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

Lucy is forced to involve Mountain Tim in her escape - who just so happens to be in town and nearby the government building while all of this is going down.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

We see here again Lucy's strong sense of responsbility, as well as her selflessness. Despite not knowing Mountain Tim very well, she worries for his safety. She takes burdens onto herself because she feels she must; she can't let anyone get hurt, because it's her responsibility to protect them.

However, the fickle nature of fortune is again evident in the next few scenes. As soon as Tim separates from Lucy, he's killed; meanwhile, Lucy has the good fortune of making it to the backbone before anyone else, as well as having the distance shortened for her. Even when Blackmore catches up to her, 'fortune' is again on Lucy's side, and she's able to take him by surprise and reclaim the corpse. Even this early on, the text seems to suggest that the corpse wants Lucy to posses it; in a sense it's manipulating even to ensure it's delivered (by her) to where it wants to go.

Chapter 38: Catch the Rainbow (Part 1)

Oh nothing, just Lucy being cool as fuck.

Chapter 39: Catch the Rainbow (Part 2)

Tim directed Lucy to Johnny and Gyro. They are the first people she ever asks for help (and politely, at that). Notice that Lucy isn't even necessarily asking them to help her. She's asking them, really, to help Stephen.

Chapter 39: Catch the Rainbow (Part 2) (Johnny already decided to protect Lucy <3)

Blackmore basically singles out Lucy to lecture her on 'sin' - which in this case is taking the initiative and daring to touch a corpse part.

Blackmore's monologue is based almost entirely on religious ideas, and we see again how misogyny ties into Lucy's character. Lucy is compared to an adult woman, 'Eve', and told she is the embodiment of 'sin' (often a metaphor for sexual temptation, and perhaps foreshadows Valentine's assault and views about Lucy as an object later in the part). Because she dared to do something about her situation and on her own initiative, Blackmore demands that she 'repent'.

Chapter 40: A Silent Way (Part 1) (Johnny: "Who'll come to her if she fails?" (you will mr. joestar)

Gyro, and to a lesser extent, Johnny, are unwilling to give up the race to chase after Valentine. Gyro asks Lucy plainly what she expects her life to be like if she runs away now, and if she will be happy to live the rest of her life in fear. Knowing that she will never be happy with such a life, Lucy agrees to put her life on the line and assumes the burden of stealing the corpse part from Valentine.

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1) - as soon as Steven is out of sight she drops her brave face :(

Chapter 48: Tubular Bells (Part 1)

Lucy's intelligence is again demonstrated through her plan to get close to the President; namely, getting close to Scarlet first. It works, thanks to some outside help from HP (and I plan to do an analysis of their relationship in another analysis). However, during her conversation with HP, HP makes it clear that they are not helping her 'as a friend', but just as someone after the same goal. Lucy is, once again, on her own. HP's advice to her is to 'stiffen her resolve'.

The bottom line is that Lucy must take absolutely insane risks to get the happiness and peace she desires, and though she falters she does not stop.

Chapter 49: Tubular Bells (Part 2) - she wants out of this subplot

At the end of Tubular Bells, Lucy literally kills Scarlet (power move) and HP takes the fall for her. However, this leaves Lucy is a very precarious situation. It's during this section of the story that Lucy's connection to fate, fortune, and karma become most evident. It's through her character that the flaws of Valentine, in both his character and his philosophy, are brought to light.

Chapter 61: Both Sides Now (Part 2)

In Valentine's view, the one who acts decisively and 'takes the first napkin' is the one who will influence in the rest of the world. It's a one-way perspective; power goes outward. The one who takes the napkin determines the flow of fortune for everyone else; hence why he absolutely must be the first to take it.

Y'all know what happens in this section, so I won't go into detail. All you need to know is that this situation clarifies to Lucy is exact nature of the power she's up against, and how powerless she is in comparison. On the surface, she loses hope of 'changing fate' - though she doesn't stop fighting.

Chapter 62: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

After Lucy manages to briefly get away, she thinks to herself that Valentine is the 'Devil' - and yet despite that, ascribes the fault of the situation to herself, for her 'sin' in Kansas City (the 'sin' ascribed to her by Blackmore). While Lucy, like Johnny, thinks that Valentine might be unstoppable, she doesn't attribute that to the corpse (and thus fate / fortune) choosing Valentine; she attributes it to Valentine having evil incarnate on his side (and in a sense, he does, being gifted with a stand like D4C).

Lucy ends up captured, but in the process is 'chosen' by the corpse. Valentine takes this to mean that, because he was the one who collected the corpse, it has therefore chosen him - and that Lucy, as it's chosen host, must succumb to Valentine's interpretation of the corpse's decision. He takes away her agency and attempts to convince her that 'this is the way things are supposed to be'. Master manipulator and gaslighter. Lucy is a vessel for him to exercise his power on, via the corpse.

Chapter 71: Ticket to Ride (Part 1)

Allow me to briefly digress to talk about Tear Cutter as a stand. Some people joke that Tear Cutter is a useless stand, but the point is not that it can cut things - it's that whatever is cut is inflicted with karma. It's this 'karma' that represents Lucy's resistance to Valentine's 'napkin philosophy'.

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

Valentine asserts that Lucy's only choice is to surrender herself to the 'flow'. To him, and to powers greater than herself (fate / 'the flow'). That is, Valentine's belief of what the 'flow' is. Basically, let him do what he wants and accept that she never had agency (because fate has always chosen Valentine, and it's her destiny to serve him through the corpse). This is Valentine's mistake: he sees power / fortune as a one-way flow, and believes that because he has 'taken the first napkin', he will not be subject to the power of anyone / anything else (including fate itself - because Valentine now controls fate, obviously).

Chapter 79: D4C (Part 12) - Love Train

Valentine insists that the corpse will allow him to turn even 'bad luck' into his ally - that is, to overcome the forces of karma. He's talking about karma and 'balancing things to zero', but he's still envisioning himself as someone in control of that power, and therefore as someone not subject to its laws. Through 'taking the first napkin', Valentine views himself as the one now in control of the world and puts himself in the position of God. The corpse does appear to 'ally' itself with him by incapacitating Lucy and manifesting Love Train; but is that really what's happening? Or is the truth that Valentine is just as despotic as the people he claims to hate, and has usurped her power for himself?

But as before, Lucy's resistance to the Powers that Be is subtle but impactful. But, although subtly, Lucy's 'good karma' overcomes Valentine's malintent. Her use of Tear Cutter on her skirt allows for Diego and HP, and consequently Johnny and Gyro to find her.

Chapter 73: D4C (Part 6)

Chapter 79: D4C (Part 12) - Love Train

I want to again point out the parallel between Lucy and Johnny here. Lucy too questions whether Valentine is the one that is 'just' - despite having herself called Valentine the 'devil' - because Valentine appears to be the one 'chosen' by the corpse. However, I'd like to note something: everyone in the race was after the corpse because they believed that, when completed, it would grant them the power to do whatever they wanted to accomplish. Personally, I think that perspective is the most accurate interpretation of the corpse's power. Everything Valentine says about being 'chosen' are his own delusions of grandeur.

Throughout the final act, Lucy is reduced to what Valentine sees her as: a vessel for his will, whether that be to carry his children or house the corpse. His will being imposed on her - though he claims it to be the will of the corpse - quite literally begins to tear her apart.

Chapter 72: Ticket to Ride (Part 2)

Chapter 74: D4C (Part 7)

However, although she has suffered immensely under the burden placed on her by Valentine and the Corpse, the 'good' that Lucy put out into the world (via her attempts to save Stephen) come back as 'good fortune' for her. Stephen manages to save Johnny's life by pulling Valentine away, and begs for Gyro to save Lucy from Valentine. Stephen recognizes the situation for what it is - should Lucy truly 'accept the flow' and surrender herself to Valentine, she will die in every way that's important. Karma, in the broadest sense, is again working against Valentine (though he believes himself above it).

Chapter 81: D4C (Part 14)

Stephen's actions seem to hint towards the truth - the farther Lucy is from Valentine, the healthier she gets, and the weaker Valentine becomes. What the narrative is showing is that the corpse is not a force meant to be owned by anyone. It literally kills the person it (allegedly) chooses as a host. Valentine exercising his will and power over Lucy via the corpse erased her identity and allows him to cheat, but the narrative proves that by doing so, he is committing evil and condemning an innocent girl (among many other innocents) to death.

Gyro's death is yet another example of the cycle of luck. He saved Johnny and cornered Valentine by allowing Lucy to ride his corpse, but at the same time essentially sealed his fate (because Lucy was on his horse). His fortune ran out as the corpse cycled it, taking away his 'goddess of victory'. I think this solidifies that, ultimately, there is no real way to sway fate and fortune to your side. Gyro and Valentine make up thinks like 'goddesses' because they want to believe they have some control over the outcome of events, when the truth is that the karmic cycle will affect everyone equally.

When Valentine is defeated, the corpse begins to separate from Lucy. Since we're shown that it can obviously exist without a host, this is, I think, another piece of evidence that it was Valentine's desire that caused the corpse to 'chose' Lucy. Valentine told Lucy to give in to him / the corpse several times; but Lucy's perseverance and determination won out, and Valentine's bad karma finally caught up to him.

The narrative concludes with Valentine's defeat, and tells us, without room for debate, that Valentine's belief in the 'napkin philosophy' is incorrect - because it is a philosophy that makes the assumption that an inequality of karma exists. The 'first napkin' is taken at a round table - i.e. the cycle of karma. The bad you put into the world will come back to you. If you do harm unto others, then you will inevitably have harm done unto yourself. It's the second part of the statement that Valentine rejects, and the second part of the statement that the narrative enforces by having Love Train ('one-way power') fail in the end, to the power of infinity (or, if you want to think of it another way, an infinite cycle...)

And in the end, separated from the corpse and wrapping up the last of Valentine's machinations, Lucy is able to take back control of her narrative.

Chapter 95: World of Stars and Stripes

This scene is not just Lucy reclaiming her independence and power, but the final emphasis on the nature of 'karma' and fortune (and fate). Because base!Diego pursued Lucy and the corpse, he died to Valentine. Because Valentine didn't want to lose, he brought AU!Diego to the base world. Because base!Diego died to Valentine in pursuit of Lucy, Lucy has the means to defeat AU!Diego. In a way, Valentine karmically inflicted this ending on himself, and I think Lucy understands that.

Chapter 95: World of Stars and Stripes

Please remember that AU!Diego never turns the key to the vault. Lucy does. Lucy echoes' Steven's theory, that someone need be 'qualified' to own the corpse. In my reading, I believe that the conclusion that Lucy came to was that no one can be 'qualified' to 'own' the corpse. No matter who owns the corpse, their 'good fortune' will run out - because karma finds everyone in the end. Lucy understands that the corpse cannot truly be an ally to anyone, because the corpse itself is a principle - the principle of karma. She's the one to lock away the corpse, and, almost as if in thanks for the good such an unselfish action will do for the world, Lucy finally gets her happy ending.

In conclusion: Lucy empowers herself to find happiness with her own hands. Even without a Stand, even without being chosen as an 'ally' to the corpse (and instead being designated as its vessel), Lucy succeeded. Maybe she wasn't 'qualified' - she demands no respect when she walks in a room, she doesn't exert her will onto others - but she realizes that she doesn't need to be 'qualified' to deserve a happy ending.

Chapter 37: The Green Tombstone (Part 2)

Girl of Steel ^_^

I hope this analysis is fairly coherent, it was a bit rough to put together. If you got this far, thanks for reading!

[moiraimyths]

An Announcement on The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe)'s Route Order

Happy Saturday, fateful friends! We hope you're enjoying the update, if you've had a chance to play!

Some folks have asked us, both now and in the weeks leading up to Shae and Maeve's routes, what the overall route update order will be for the rest of NDM.

We're going to answer that question today, much too rigorously 👇

Initially, we'd planned to keep the route order a semi-secret in order to hype up the reveal for the next batch of characters, but after some thought/observation, the Moirai Myths team now thinks that revealing the order, and further explaining the order, would be more holistically useful to our players.

First things first: We are most likely always going to do route updates in two half-batches, instead of releasing the full route for one character at once. Two halves of two routes is roughly equivalent to one full route, so we could release each route one at a time, but this decreases the odds of us having an update that interests you if you're only presently interested in a few members of the cast. With this in mind, we've purposefully plotted out the routes so that the midway point for all routes will end on a cliffhanger or point of intrigue to encourage discussion/speculation regarding "what could come next," etc. If you've played Shae and Maeve's routes thus far, you'll know exactly what we mean by that. 😄

On that note: Why are Shae and Maeve's routes first? A small part of it is logistical. While they're not our most popular characters, most people like Shae and Maeve well enough coming out of the demo (Vol. 1), which gives them a decently broad appeal-potentiality. Preliminary data of ours also suggests that the average person's interest in these characters increases following the update. *wink* However, the second and larger reason is because of NDM's overarching story. While each route, as with other dating sims, explores the specific character arcs and personal struggles of their namesakes, these things are not the sole focus of the routes. NDM's story begins in a cold war scenario that could very well turn into a hot war scenario under the wrong set of circumstances. These plot points are persistent across the game, but certain elements are looked at more closely in some routes than in others.

Shae and Maeve basically serve as the introductory characters for our world beyond Vol. 1. Their routes explain essential concepts, such as the class dynamics of Tír na nÓg, the nature of the War of the Courts, etc., and they get some pretty big backstory questions answered and out of the way early on. This allows future routes to focus on other, similarly critical subjects, unimpeded by the need to go over previously-revealed information from the other routes in the same amount of detail. To that end, since major reveals in Shae and Maeve's routes may be comparatively understated in the next batch of routes, this begs the question...

✨ Is there an official recommended reading order? ✨

Yes. And some of our players have already guessed it:

Book of the Traveller (Vol. 1) is the "inciting incident" content for the game and must be read first. After that, you should play Shae's route (Book of the Soldier, Vol. 2), then Maeve's route (Book of the Warrior, Vol. 3). This means, according to the numbering: The next route batch will be Flannán and Aífe. Following them, Robin and Keagan.

We understand that in a lot of visual novels, routes can be read in any order without much impact to the story or experience. This is not so much the case with The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe), for the reasons we have previously explained. While we would not say the game would necessarily be ruined if players chose to, say, start with Keagan's route and work their way backwards, it would nevertheless be a less satisfying experience because you won't be getting the gradual build up of certain concepts and plot points in the prior volumes. In a sense, it would be somewhat similar to reading an actual book series out of order: You could probably read The Two Towers ahead of The Fellowship of the Ring and still have an enjoyable time, but you might find yourself asking, "Hm, why are they sending Hobbits on an important task like this? Sort of odd that an elf or human wasn't given this duty instead."

We hope this post is clarifying as to our artistic intent and general plans, and remember: Your favourite characters will appear in major ways across multiple routes, and we will be releasing side story DLCs featuring the other characters in between updates. 😊

Slán go foill! (Bye for now!)

-The Moirai Myths Team

[watchnrant]

Agatha All AlongEpisode 3: Easter Egg Breakdown

Amulets

Every Witch Has One (Not Just Agatha)

A key detail from this episode is the revelation that every witch in the coven has their own amulet, not just Agatha. As the witches traverse the Witches’ Road, which transforms into a sandy walkway leading to a beach house, their attire shifts to match the setting, yet their amulets remain. This small but significant touch teases the potential deeper importance of amulets for MCU witches and possibly hints at their connection to power and identity within witchcraft.

Big Little Lies Reference

An Homage to HBO's Big Little Lies

Mrs. Hart’s (Debra Jo Rupp) remark about the beach house feeling like it’s straight out of "Huge Tiny Lies" is a clever nod to Big Little Lies. This HBO show, which revolves around secrets and a murder investigation in a wealthy seaside town, is reflected in the trial-like proceedings in this episode. From the luxurious coastal setting to the suspense-filled plot, this homage adds another layer to Agatha All Along, showcasing Marvel’s playful engagement with pop culture.

Mephisto Confirmed?

Agent of Mephisto

The episode drops a significant hint about Mephisto’s potential existence in the MCU. When Jennifer Hale speaks to Teen, she warns him about Agatha, citing dark rumors about her trading her son, Nicholas Scratch, for the Darkhold. According to these whispers, Nicholas became an agent of Mephisto, confirming that the demon lord may already be operating behind the scenes. This moment sets the stage for larger MCU implications, tying in with long-standing fan theories about Mephisto's involvement in mystical storylines.

Trading Her Son for the Darkhold

"She Wouldn’t Recognize Her Own Son"

In a chilling revelation, Jennifer suggests that Agatha wouldn't recognize her son if he appeared before her. This is a subtle clue that Teen might actually be Nicholas Scratch, Agatha’s long-lost son, rather than the presumed reincarnation of Wanda’s son Billy (aka Wiccan). The mystery surrounding Teen’s identity deepens, making this a key narrative thread for future episodes.

Alice Wu’s Tattoo

Cursed Women & Protection

Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) reveals the story behind her tattoo, which was given to her at age 13 to ward off a family curse.

Teen also shares that something significant happened to him when he was 13. Given that Teen is now 16 and WandaVision occurred three years ago, this suggests a connection to Wanda Maximoff, further fueling the theory that Teen may be Billy Kaplan.

This conversation is filled with subtle clues that connect characters through shared trauma and mysterious pasts.

Mrs. Hart’s Hallucination

"Please…Wanda, Let Him Breathe!"

Mrs. Hart's hallucination brings back a haunting moment from WandaVision. Near the end of the episode, she is shown begging Wanda to "let him breathe," seemingly reliving the traumatic death of her husband, which may have been caused by the limitations of Wanda's Hex. In WandaVision, many residents were trapped in loops or frozen, and this new revelation implies that Mrs. Hart’s husband was among the unintended victims of Wanda’s control. It’s a tragic callback to the consequences of Wanda’s grief and power.

Lilia’s Premonition

"Try to Save Agatha"

Lilia’s sudden outburst, "Try to save Agatha," feels like an eerie premonition. This brief but impactful moment hints that Agatha may soon face grave danger, and saving her could become a central objective for the other witches. It’s a well-placed piece of foreshadowing that could hint at Agatha’s future role in the MCU.

Coven's Hallucinations

Facing Past Traumas

Each witch in Agatha’s coven faces a nightmarish hallucination tied to their deepest traumas.

Alice relives her mother's grief over her grandmother’s death, feeling a terrifying sense of inherited doom.

Jennifer’s hallucination shows her facing a man—possibly a doctor or priest—who calls her an "inconvenient woman" and tries to drown her.

Lilia’s vision is especially haunting, as she encounters a demon-looking nun after following a mysterious teenage girl.

These hallucinations provide insight into the coven members' pasts and suggest that their traumas are far from resolved.

Agatha’s Hallucination

Did She Trade Her Son for the Darkhold?

Agatha's hallucination is particularly disturbing. She approaches a baby’s bassinet, only to find the Darkhold in place of the infant. This vision supports Jennifer's earlier claim that Agatha traded her son for the Book of the Damned, but Agatha’s horrified reaction suggests that there is much more to this story. The moment reveals Agatha’s internal conflict and deep-seated regrets, adding depth to her character’s motivations.

Hansel and Gretel Reference

Lilia’s Friend and the Oven

Lilia's brief mention of her friend who went into an oven is a dark reference to the classic Hansel and Gretel tale. In the context of witches and burning, this could symbolize the fate of witches who face persecution or punishment, tying into the show's overall themes of betrayal and survival.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Anonymous asked: I have a few questions as an aspiring writer and a current fanfic writer who publishes.

Okay! But if you write fan-fiction, you're already a writer! I'm guessing you mean an aspiring author? ♥

How would you help with distractions and writer's block? I try to dedicate myself to writing, but then I wander off to other stuff and my motivation wanes.

This is not uncommon and there can be a lot of different reasons for why it happens. Understanding the reason behind why it's happening is important for knowing how to fix it. I have a couple posts that will help with this:

5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Feeling Unmotivated with WIP Writer’s Block

How do you advise me outlining a huge original story plot with world-building in an organized way that isn't just scattered?

Outlining is really just any method that helps you get all the important pieces of the story out, in order, so that you can use it as a reference while writing. Some people use one big beginning to end summary. Some people like scene lists or timelines. Other people like scene cards or mind maps... Different things work for different people, so part of the work you need to do as a writer is figure out which method/methods work best for you.

I often find, though, that the struggle people have with outlining is less about what method to use and more about how to actually fill out the details, which brings me around to plot and story structure. All stories have structure. Fan-fiction is often short, character-driven fiction, which gives it a different structure from the average novel. That said, even if you're a prolific fan-fiction writer, you may still need to take some time to learn about plot and story structure. I'll link a few posts that will help, but once you understand story structure (all the specific plot points a story should go through), it becomes much easier to know how to outline it.

Guide: How to Outline a Plot Guide: Starting a New (Long Fiction) Story Basic Story Structure Beginning a New Story How to Move a Story Forward Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict

What advice would you give for writing fictional religions and mythology?

First and foremost, it's important to understand the role religion and mythology play in your story... how do they feed into your characters' beliefs? How do they influence your characters' actions and behavior? How do they guide the forces of power in your story's world? How do they impact the story's conflict/s and plot? Ultimately, you don't want to put a lot of time into creating and fleshing out a religion or mythology that's ultimately unimportant to the story. It helps to focus most on the aspects that truly matter.

Also, you might consider using real world mythology and religions as inspiration... just be careful about cultural appropriation. It's best not to use anything that belongs to an active culture or religion unless it's yours, or unless you do intense research and consult with sensitivity readers to make sure you don't do anything harmful.

And lastly, what sources do you recommend to accurately describe buildings (especially castles and manors) battlefields, geographical locations especially when it comes to mountains and rivers, etc), dresses and clothing especially if it isn't modern, and fighting techniques that are believable (for example, how a smaller woman would fight a larger man without being unrealistic)?

1 - Find Inspiration Sources - No matter when and where your story is set, it's important to find inspiration sources for the places in your story, whether that's buildings, towns, regions, whatever. Not only will this help you imagine and describe what you're envisioning, it will help you immensely with research on specific details.

2 - Time and Place Are Important - Many descriptive details are specific to time and place, so make sure you know that about your inspiration sources and/or the elements in your story. You can do a Google search for layout, architecture, and design (along with relevant location and era information) to find the details you need. For example, "medieval European castle layout" or "Victorian era manor house architectural details." Likewise, you can look for "Tudor era menswear" or "Victorian era dress details."

3 - Fighting Techniques - This again will tie into the time and place when your story is set. However, some fighting techniques will be somewhat timeless. I would strongly suggest heading over to @howtofightwrite for the best information and resources about portraying fighting techniques in writing.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[blood-darkened-moon]

Alexia Ashford CV vs DSC

I wrote this character comparison almost an eternity ago and revised it from time to time but never posted it. In fact, the character comparisons were one of the first things I ever wrote about the Ashfords. I had finished Alexander and Veronica some time ago. Alexia and Alfred are still missing. Now, I’ve used the time to rewrite everything again and add a few points to Alexia’s character comparison.

Advantages of Code Veronica

Let’s start with Alexia herself. Probably the most notable change to Alexia’s character in DSC compared to the original is her relationship with her brother. However, since I already elaborated on this in more detail in other posts, I’ll mainly focus on the narrative impact of this change.

In the original, the twins’ relationship is characterized by mutual, possibly asymmetrical, affection. Alfred’s death and Alexia’s desire to revenge it are the cause of everything that happens afterward. Removing this aspect by having Alexia kill Alfred herself was not a particularly wise decision in DSC. Alexia’s part was not rewritten on a larger scale either to justify this decision. Given the playtime of the CV section in DSC and the greater focus on action, I understand why they didn’t do it, too much effort for no appreciable gain. However, Alexia’s revenge was a simple yet effective motive for her actions in CV. Why did they have to remove it if they didn’t have a better idea for the character anyway?

Alexia has very little screen time, and apart from what you can gather from text documents, a large part of her characterization is based on her affection for her brother. However, as both are omitted in DCS (text documents have to be unlocked first, so they are completely optional), all that’s left is a shallow character whose motivations and actions make little to no sense.

The affection for Alfred also gives Alexia humanity in CV. She may otherwise be cold and calculating, but Alfred’s death ultimately makes her act emotionally. This humanity also makes it clear once again that the twins’ story is a tragedy. Alexia (and Alfred) were not evil from birth but simply victims of circumstance. DSC-Alexia, however, has nothing human about her. She is evil for the sake of being evil. She has been stripped of any complexity. From that point of view, a tyrant could have easily replaced her as the final boss.

Besides, the trope of the supervillain who doesn’t care about anyone but themselves and gets rid of their subordinates when they are no longer of any use is quite common in fictional stories. A villain who cares about at least certain other people, on the other hand, is relatively rare. That’s why I think it’s particularly unfortunate that they’ve changed this point and turned DSC-Alexia into an overused cliché.

However, the change has further consequences. With the revenge for Alfred removed, they had to give her something else as a motive for her actions after his death. In this case, they focused more on her world domination plans without thinking them through first. The plans weren’t worked out in the original either. But since they ultimately didn’t play a role there in terms of the plot, it didn’t matter. In DSC, they have been superficially expanded to some extent, but this addition only raises more questions than it answers.

DSC-Alexia wants to use her world domination to turn all humans into her lab rats and carry out unspecified experiments on them. What is the point of this? This woman sacrificed 15 years(!) of her life just for a little “fuck around, find out”. Really? That’s all she wants? She already works for Umbrella, who obviously have no problem with human experimentation. As long as she delivers results anyway, they probably don’t care if she uses a few test subjects for private purposes. And if that’s not enough, there’s always Rockfort Island, where Alfred could also act like a dictator and torture people at will. There, Alexia could simply do whatever she wanted, including human experiments. If DSC-Alexia had been successful, she wouldn’t have gotten anything she couldn’t already have without the t-Veronica virus and a 15-year wait. So why all the effort?

What does she want to do with billions of people anyway? She can’t even carry out that many experiments. Here’s a bit of math. If Alexia were to conduct a billion experiments, each lasting just one second, it would take her 31.7 years (not including sleeping, eating, etc.).

Also, in DSC, it’s questionable why Alexia starts experimenting on Steve as soon as she wakes up. First of all, shouldn’t she already know how controlling people through her virus works? Did she go into cryogenic sleep for 15 years only to possibly realize, “Oops, doesn’t work like I thought it would”? That would be pretty stupid, especially since she’s supposed to be exceptionally intelligent. Besides, she should have other things to worry about at this point than any experiments. The situation in the Antarctic facility is rather suboptimal, to say the least. Everyone is dead, the facility is damaged, and it is surely only a matter of time before the supply systems collapse. She probably can’t fly a plane herself and Alfred, who could, is dead. Also, very intelligent to eliminate the only ally and thus the only escape option before using it and then be left without one.

It would be logical for DSC-Alexia to try to escape from Antarctica first instead of running around the facility as if the situation there was none of her business. After all, she is supposed to be a genius. I would expect a logical analysis of the situation from a genius followed by reasonable measures. DCS-Alexia, however, seems to have absolutely no idea about anything and just acts completely randomly and irrationally.

In CV, Alexia’s actions are understandable. Because of Alfred’s death, Alexia has a reason to act illogically and just give in to her emotions. She wants revenge and is obviously trying to save her brother. Otherwise, she would hardly have put him in the tank. That’s more important to her at that moment than anything else. Escape and the state of the base are secondary.

Throwing away the comprehensible revenge plot and delving into Alexia’s world domination plans instead, without even a remotely reasonable idea for it, is absolutely wild to me. This change was completely unnecessary. Her desire for revenge for Alfred was neither too complex to fit into the more limited playtime nor would it have been incomprehensible due to the quasi-missing text documents. It’s a simple yet effective plot. But no, instead they had to let Alexia’s storyline drift into complete nonsense. I like the original storyline better anyway, but it’s not that I wouldn’t accept an alternative version if it was done well, but it isn’t. If you remove dramaturgically critical elements, you have to replace them in an adequate way. In that case, it would involve rewriting Alexia’s story segment on a large scale. If Capcom didn’t want to do this, keep the original plot, ffs.

Alexia’s Personality

As for Alexia’s personality, I’m not satisfied either. I understand what they wanted to do, but once again, it’s not well realized. Alexia was 12 years old when she started her cryosleep. In the 15 years, she has aged physically but not mentally. So Alexia shouldn’t behave any more maturely than she did before that time.

I think the idea of adapting her a little in this respect is a good one. But the question is, how childish was Alexia anyway? Alexia was definitely not a normal child at the age of 12. She had a university degree by the age of 10, which, despite her superhuman intellect, would only have been possible in terms of time if she had worked on it from a very early age. In other words, Alexia never had an actual childhood. Moreover, she worked for Umbrella for two years in a position that normally involves personnel responsibility. Therefore, Alexia would likely have behaved much more maturely than an average 12-year-old would.

What we do know about 12-year-old Alexia is that she is patient. She was willing to submit to the long cryogenic sleep in order to achieve her goals. She also seems to weigh up situations rather than immediately giving in to emotional impulses. After Alfred learned the truth about his and Alexia’s origins, he wanted to kill his father. However, Alexia decided not to kill Alexander but to use him for her own purposes. You wouldn’t expect something like that from an infantile girl.

DSC-Alexia seems far too childish compared to what we know. Actually, childish isn’t even the right word here. She appears much more like a complete idiot who has no idea what she’s actually doing. As described above, her actions are not guided by any kind of logic. Everything she does seems to be the result of a spontaneous idea. She acts irrationally and at random. She kills Alfred, even though he would be more useful while still alive. She plays around with her virus, even though she has other problems in her situation. She is also very easily distracted. The video with Alexander is enough to stop her from immediately attacking Chris and Claire instead of taking advantage of their moment of carelessness. Then there’s the weird talk about Veronica, where she means her virus, only she’s personifying it for some reason. This is also something that I wouldn’t describe as childish but bizarre.

If you want to give Alexia a more childish side, that’s perfectly fine and would suit the character. But it shouldn’t be overdone, and especially Alexia shouldn’t come across as an idiot, completely contrary to how the character is intended. I think a personality comparable to Natalia Korda’s would be the best fit in this respect. Natalia also behaved more maturely than would be expected for a child her age, but every now and then, you can see her childish side. This is also what you might expect from Alexia.

Advantages of Darkside Chronicles

Initially, I only wanted to rant in these posts about how DSC messed up the Ashfords. I especially didn’t like the implementation of Alexia, and other than Alfred, I didn’t have anything positive to say about her. But the longer I think about it, the more I notice some positive aspects. In addition to some plot holes that DSC has eliminated (see below), I also think that the way Alexia is incorporated into the games is much better handled in DSC than in CV.

In both games, she is built up as the main antagonist for a long time. The whole time, she hovers over the player like a sword of Damocles. In CV, she appears personally for the first time at the end of Claire’s part, which accounts for about two-thirds to three-quarters of the total playtime. In DSC, she appears at the end of chapter 6 of 7, so in principle, the time she could actively participate in the story is even shorter. However, they made significantly better use of it.

After the long wait for her appearance in CV, Alexia wakes up, attacks Claire and Steve, and immediately disappears into oblivion again until almost the very end of the game. Instead of focusing on the character the game should be about, it is named after the project that led to her creation and her virus, after all, the focus suddenly switches to Wesker. However, Wesker is practically irrelevant to the overall plot of this game. Even if his scenes are entertaining, they often disrupt the narrative. Apart from the fact that Wesker attacked Rockfort Island and took Steve’s body at the end, the two things he does off-screen(!), you can remove everything that happens with him without the plot changing much. He’s just a side character in this game. There isn’t even a real boss fight with him. Nevertheless, he completely dominates Chris’ section, while Alexia is only sort of there.

The only attention Alexia is granted until shortly before the end of the game are relatively pointless brief appearances, which seem to be more like a reminder to the player that Alexia still exists. These appearances include two scenes in which she appears on screens on Rockfort Island. Both scenes don’t make any logical sense (see below). Then she appears again when Chris finds Alexander’s body. The appearances that follow are at least plot-relevant.

After the game has reached the final phase in CV, Alexia’s story unfortunately comes to a very unspectacular and unsatisfying conclusion, mainly due to some not particularly great gameplay decisions. First of all, it’s annoying that regular gameplay, including puzzles and a lot of running back and forth, still makes up quite a large part of this section, like the puzzle to open Steve’s room (which was really unnecessary) and everything that has to be done after the first boss fight in the mansion. Stretching the playtime, that’s all it was. Alexia isn’t given a coherent ending, and the pacing problems ruin the little bit of tension built up.

Alexia’s actual boss fight was also designed to be extremely boring. While the fight with her first form is still quite good in terms of challenge and difficulty, her other two forms are disappointing. Shouldn’t they be an upgrade and not a downgrade? You defeat her second form by simply standing around, shooting with large-caliber weapons, and healing yourself from time to time. Apart from the poison, the damage is limited. Otherwise, no strategy is necessary. The third phase only depends on luck. You have to hit her once with the Linear Launcher. If you’re lucky, you’ll hit it with the first shot. If you’re unlucky, time will run out. Once again, a strategic approach is not required.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Alexia isn’t even allowed to end the game with her fight. No. They had to add the pseudo-boss fight with Wesker, which is once again irrelevant to the story and logically questionable. During Alexia’s boss fight, time is limited before the facility blows up, but afterward, there is apparently enough time to deal with Wesker extensively.

DSC has improved the narrative around Alexia tremendously by cutting Wesker almost completely out of the plot. Even though she only really appears in one chapter, she plays an important role there and doesn’t feel like she’s been relegated to a side character in her own game. Every scene in which she appears is relevant to the story. She has several appearances before the boss fight. The boss fight takes up a good part of the chapter, and Wesker’s appearance after she is defeated is short enough that he doesn’t steal the show.

All three phases of the boss fight are well implemented. Each one requires a certain strategic approach, with the requirements also changing for each form. Additionally, Alexia can take a good amount of damage without feeling like a bullet sponge, which gives the fights a good length. Overall, it is a worthy conclusion to the chapter.

Note: Don’t get me wrong, I like Wesker, but just putting him in a game as often as possible, even if he barely contributes to the plot, is not good storytelling. I don’t think Wesker’s scenes should be almost completely removed in a remake, as DSC did. However, Capcom should think about which ones are actually necessary for the main game. I like some of the scenes quite a lot and would like to have them included. Nevertheless, it would certainly make more sense to put most of Wesker’s story in a DLC or an extra chapter than to include all of it in the main game. That way, the game can focus on Alexia without losing Wesker’s content. Alternatively, Alexia could get additional and more meaningful scenes to balance out Wesker’s appearances. Well, as the main antagonist, she should get more content anyway.

Plot Holes in CV

Now, let us get to the above-mentioned plot holes in CV. These mainly involve strangely placed cameras that shouldn’t exist. That happens three times in total. But while two scenes could at least be explained somehow, albeit far-fetched, the first time is particularly nonsensical.

The first of these cameras appears directly after Alexia’s awakening. Claire and Steve leave the base in a snowmobile and are attacked by the tentacles during their journey. Even though they may not have gotten very far, they have definitely already left the facility. But Alexia can still follow everything on a screen. So, where did the camera come from? Was it just installed there by chance? Did Alexia equip one of the tentacles with a camera? Can Alexia project an image onto a screen using only the power of her mind, contrary to the laws of physics? Nothing really makes sense here. In DSC, Alexia personally attacks Claire and Steve before they can leave the base, which completely eliminates this plot hole.

The other two times Alexia appears on screens on Rockfort Island. But from Alexia’s perspective, this makes no sense whatsoever. These scenes only seem to be a reminder of her existence.

First of all, the UBCS training center was built in the early 90s. Alexia shouldn’t have known it existed since she was asleep during that time. Even assuming Claire or Steve told her (Alfred is already dead), why would she livestream herself to Rockfort Island while mourning Alfred? Alexia doesn’t even know who is watching, whether anyone is there at all, or whether a transmission is possible. After all, she must have heard from Claire or Steve as well that the facility exploded earlier.

Why is there even a connection to the training center on Rockfort Island? Did Alexia set it up herself? With her ancient early-80s computer and no knowledge of the latest technical developments? Even as a genius, knowledge doesn’t just transfer to the brain.

Did Alfred set up the connection? That would make sense if there was a connection to his private residence, but to the surveillance room of the training center, where lots of people come and go and could discover Alexia? That doesn’t make sense either. The fact that Alexia is still alive should be a secret.

Besides, after Alfred’s death, with Steve and Claire and the overall situation in the facility, Alexia probably has other things to do than look for a camera that she can connect to the ancient computer and then film herself holding her dead brother in her arms like a total attention whore.

What is she actually trying to achieve with her performances? Is she trying to lure Chris to Antarctica? But she doesn’t talk to him. She doesn’t say a single word, and nothing in the videos indicates where she currently is. Chris gets the information from Wesker, who just happens to be running around the buildings at the time. Without Wesker, Chris wouldn’t know anything, neither who the strange woman on the screen is nor where Claire is. (Technically, the confrontation between Chris and Wesker is also relevant for this specific reason. However, since it’s just based on too many coincidences, I think this shouldn’t be how Chris finds out about Claire’s whereabouts.) Alexia would have to wait who knows how many extra hours until Chris figured out where to go. Also, She doesn’t even know what Chris looks like. The best she has is a verbal description from Claire, but Chris doesn’t look that special, and the man walking around could still be some UBCS mercenary, looter, or someone else entirely.

Does she even know if there’s someone there? She would need cameras that transmit the images to her location. It’s a miracle that the technology still works so well after the explosion on Rockfort Island anyway. Or is she just switching to various monitors on the off chance that someone is watching? That actually seems to be the case. In her first appearance, in which she holds Alfred in her arms, Chris has entered the surveillance room but is outside the field of vision of the screens, i.e., where a camera would most likely be located. Alexia can’t know he’s there. Wesker can also see her transmission, and he’s somewhere else entirely at the time. So apparently, she live-streams herself to random ass monitors for whatever.

Her second appearance is even more pointless. What was that about? Again, she doesn’t talk. Alexia just watches (or not) Wesker and Chris, then she laughs and is gone again. This appearance makes even less sense than the previous one. It’s just another reminder of her existence, plus her appearance stops Wesker from killing Chris for whatever reason. Why actually? Alexia isn’t on Rockfort Island, and Wesker already wasted a lot of time there anyway, despite knowing her location. He surely still has an additional minute to spare. I mean, if killing Chris is his priority, just kill him right then and there. And if Alexia is his priority, why is he still running around Rockfort Island? This entire scene makes so little sense if you think about it.

There’s also a plot hole regarding one of Wesker’s lines. He says during Alexia’s first appearance on screen, she is fully awake again. How did he know she was asleep? He attacked Rockfort Island because Alfred was dressing up as Alexia, right? That was the “Alexia” he was looking for. He shouldn’t know anything about Alexia’s 15-year sleep, and according to what he knows, she’s awake at the time anyway. The texts on Alexia’s experiments are all located in Antarctica. So if he knows by then where Alexia and the virus are, what is he still doing on Rockfort Island at least 10 hours after the attack? If Alexia had told Wesker and Chris where she was at this time, that would have been a different story, but as I said, she doesn’t talk.

DSC cleverly avoids all these plot holes by removing the part with Chris. Due to the changed gameplay, it wouldn’t have fit into the game anyway. Nevertheless, this decision has had a very positive effect on the narrative, both dramaturgically and in terms of logic.

Conclusion

DSC-Alexia could have worked if Capcom had put more effort into rewriting her. Since they didn’t do that we only get a villain without any depth. DSC-Alexia doesn’t convey how tragic the twins’ background was, and above all, her motivation and actions make almost no sense. As a character, she is inferior to CV-Alexia.

CV-Alexia isn’t perfect either. While her characterization is more thought through, she isn’t utilized well in the game. She is basically just a side character despite being the main villain. Still, I like her much better, especially her relationship with Alfred, and I hope a remake is based on her not on DCS-Alexia. I would welcome a few changes, though, for example, she should appear in more scenes and these should actually be story-relevant contributions instead of random pointless reminders of her existence. The second part of the game should focus on Alexia instead of putting Wesker in the foreground. In general, rewriting and restructuring Chris’ part would help a lot in this regard.

[bardic-tales]

The Leviathan method: Step 23: Check the scope

This step of the Leviathan Method had me go back and examine a lot of things, such as : plot bloat, missing pieces, and motivations. It also had me check pacing.

Still working on the outline to refine it and fix up plotholes, but this helped me.

Scope:

The story is shaping up to be larger than a typical novel due to its deep emotional and psychological exploration, multiversal themes, and the dual-POV structure. This is fine since I am aiming for a detailed, immersive experience.

The main storyline is clear and well-developed, but some sections may need expansion to clarify character motivations (e.g., Bianca’s shifting views on Sephiroth’s descent, how she justifies it). The Sephiroth POV chapters are well-paced but might need condensing in places where introspection repeats without major progression.

The focus is tight on Bianca and Sephiroth, with secondary characters only appearing when needed. This works well. The cult and Asmodeus have been removed from Gaia’s events, which prevents unnecessary subplot bloat.

Plot Adjustments

Jenova’s influence on Sephiroth should be more subtle in earlier chapters and gradually intensify to avoid making the descent feel too rapid.

Bianca’s internal conflict about Celestials not being able to love should be introduced earlier and given more weight in Chapter 7.

Unresolved Elements

Bianca’s adjustment to Gaia: Does she immediately trust Sephiroth, or does she initially see him as a threat? Expanding her early doubts will add more weight to her later devotion.

The Red Thread's gradual impact: So far, its influence is established, but showing more unintended emotional leaks between them (especially negative ones) could add depth.

Character Motivations

Bianca’s hesitance about her bond should be more explicit earlier. She wonders if the thread is manipulating her emotions but later embraces it as a choice.

Sephiroth’s shifting perceptions of Bianca should be emphasized more, particularly when he starts viewing her as the only one who understands him.

Pacing Issues

The early Shinra Mansion chapters are slightly slow, with heavy dialogue and introspection. Cutting repetitive internal thoughts will help keep momentum. Pick it up but not by much. This is a slow burn, still.

Chapter 4’s memory distortion scene is good but it could be trimmed slightly so that the hallucination is sharper and more disorienting.

Refine the Outline

Add a scene in Chapter 1 where Bianca senses the remnants of her Celestials' presence in the Ethereal Nexus before being pulled through the Rift.

Chapter 6: When Bianca evades Sephiroth’s questions about her origins, she should have a moment of internal panic. Does she consider revealing more? Or is she afraid that Sephiroth will reject her if he knows the full extent of her past?

Jenova’s growing influence needs to be tied more explicitly to Sephiroth’s dreams / visions. Bianca’s presence momentarily interrupts them, making him associate her with clarity.

The breakfast scene in Chapter 3 is a great bonding moment but could be moved later so that it happens after Sephiroth starts trusting Bianca more. This makes it feel like a reward for their growing connection. (NOTE: Did not get moved, but expanded upon with scenes that happened earlier in chapter 3)

Ensure Visible Character Development

Bianca’s emotions about Sephiroth should be reflected in small physical actions—lingering touches on the Red Thread, subconscious leaning toward him, or moments where she catches herself staring at him when she shouldn't.

Sephiroth's descent should be visible not just through hallucinations but in small, increasingly erratic behaviors: subtle tension in his body language, a sharper edge to his speech, and moments where he speaks erratically about the research.

Bianca accepting her love for Sephiroth should be a scene with weight. Right now, it builds but lacks a turning point. Perhaps a moment when she defends Sephiroth’s actions to herself more explicitly?

Sephiroth's belief that Bianca belongs to him should have an outward manifestation—he acts possessive, protective.

Fixing Plotholes

If Celestials can’t fall in love, what does Bianca think is happening? Maybe she rationalizes it as a trick of the Red Thread, making her struggle with the idea of love before she truly embraces it.

How does Zack react to Bianca? Right now, he’s not present much, but his perspective could add an extra layer. Does he immediately trust her, or does he find her unsettling? Show through actions.

Bianca's slow realization that Sephiroth is not the hero she thought he was should be foreshadowed more. Maybe she catches glimpses of his more ruthless side earlier before the Nibelheim Incident?

Sephiroth's deepening obsession should be clearer. Does he start assuming Bianca will always be there, without ever verbalizing it?

Add a moment where Sephiroth physically pulls Bianca closer when he’s feeling particularly unstable, making the bond feel more possessive rather than purely romantic.

Trim repetitive moments of Bianca reflecting on her grief. these should be intense but spaced apart to keep impact.

tagging some fellow mutuals: @themaradwrites @whatwedointhecraft @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen @chickensarentcheap @seastarblue

@inkandimpressions @arrthurpendragon

[youphoriaot7]

just finished s10 of supernatural and i didn't talk a lot about it on here (because i binged the majority of it in about 48 hours) so i'm gonna do a great big SEASON WRAP-UP POST!

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRETY OF SUPERNATURAL SEASON 10 UNDER THE CUT!!

ho. ly. crap. there was so much this season wtf. okay. i'm gonna take it step by step.

firstly, demon dean was kind of hysterical. he did absolutely nothing except drink, have s.ex, and sing some godawful karaoke. and maybe he beat some people up here and there but quite frankly he could've done so much worse. literally the worst thing he did was chase sam around the bunker with a fire axe (and that episode was fucking terrifying). i did love him i'm not gonna lie.

10x05 fan fiction was so fun. they once again hit the delicate niche of "we're laughing with you." yes, it made me cringe very hard, but by the end of it i was in tears, so y'know. your mileage may vary, i guess. i really liked it.

i feel like they kinda did hannah dirty? i liked how she came to understand humanity and all but giving that plotline to her was a little bit of an odd choice. it would've worked better on a different angel i think, i don't know. it was also way too quick. and i know at the end of the day it was just a plotline meant to shuttle into the cas-claire plotline, but i still think it could've been better executed. it wasn't bad, it was just a little...odd.

claire novak. first of all, great character—i like her already. she makes good points and sticks to her guns, which i appreciate. however. i'm...a little irked at the way they've gotten into this plotline. i don't feel a ton of sympathy for cas, because quite frankly he should've done this like three seasons ago minimum. he isn't just going to be able to assert parenthood, because he isn't her parent, and he's wearing her dead father's face. it's a lot to get over, and it's not going to happen instantaneously. and i'm on claire's side with it, whereas it feels more like the narrative wants you to be on cas's side. i don't know. it's interesting. at the end of the day, i like claire! and i'm glad she's going to be on the show more! and i think that her and cas will smooth things over; i do think it'll work out. just...not as quickly as cas wants.

i need metatron dead. that's all i have to say. i'm sick of his scheming, he's a bastard, and i want him gone. they should've killed him at the end of season 9 and i said what i said. that's all.

...charlie bradbury. they did her so fucking dirty. that split personality episode was stupid; i'm sorry, it was. just like they never should've sent her to oz. and then she has a chance to be cool again, and you kill her off in a situation where there were multiple ways out of it? i'm so pissed for her i'm not gonna lie. she deserved better.

i don't really understand what cole added to this season. i do actually appreciate them making dean suffer the consequences of his actions, but i think this could've happened at literally any other point before (or after) now and it would've had an immensely larger impact.

i'm SO pissed they killed off amelia novak. they really pulled a httyd stoick-and-valka sequence on us and i'm NOT happy about it. again, there were ways out of that situation. and they did nothing. not pleased. it was a really good episode aside from that, though.

you may have noticed i skipped over crowley and rowena. let's go there now. i still can't tell if i liked rowena or not. KSFHJGKSF ruth connell is an incredible actress, and i LOVE the way she portrayed rowena. which is evident in the way she absolutely pisses me off. KSJFHGKFS she's a great character, but also a distinctly annoying one. i'm looking forward to seeing more of her. when it comes to crowley, i...feel a little bad for him skfhgjksf. i've had a soft spot for him ever since he showed up on the show, and he just keeps getting fucked over. i have a feeling they'll plot-armor him; i don't think cas is going to kill him, but i really hope he doesn't ksfhgs. i enjoy him, evil or not.

finale time! 10x23! so much happened, oh my god. first of all, DEATH NOOOOO. i'm so gonna miss that actor. i already sort of know what happens later on, but i'm afraid julian richings will always Be death for me. he absolutely embodies every scene he's in, steals the show every time. i'm gonna miss him so much ksfhgs. the whole cain-and-abel/sam-and-dean thing hurt very badly, unsurprisingly. ow. there was a fuckton of hypocrisy going around in that finale, which irritated me to no end. the brothers' codependency will be the death of me, i'm sure. </3 and then there's the ending, of course. A POTHOLE, YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING ;-; i'm not worried about them surviving, i'm more just worried about The Darkness TM itself. i can't see this ending well.

overall, not a bad season! i'm feeling a little indifferent about it at the moment, but that could absolutely change with time.

...LAST-MINUTE RAPID-FIRE COMMENTS, GO!

loved seeing jody again, but i was STOKED to see donna again?! i wasn't expecting her back!!

shoutout to 10x13; that felt like a s1 episode and it was wonderful. <3

rip cain. he was kinda cool tbh. ;-;

bobby cameo's are an immediate 10/10. that episode rocked. i miss bobby.

the stynes pissed me off.

yay for cas's grace!! i've missed it <3

i need metatron dead. i just needed to say it again. it still applies.