subway-boss-jericho

[subway-boss-jericho]

I don't think I'll ever be a proper Content Creator because of the way my brain works, but my biggest goal is to somehow make a story that makes someone so mentally ill about a thing that they can't think straight. As I do. Every couple weeks or so. Someday it will happen and I will do skitter around dancing and cheering wildly on the subway platform in my brain

[subway-boss-jericho]

(teeth gritted) the irony of this is not lost on me, that I am on an inspiration and motivation high to work on Steady Tracks, for the first time since before posting Steady Tracks Chapter 1, in the middle of the busiest part of my semester when I literally have an hour or maybe two of free time in a day. Which I must spend instead doing things like "laying down" and "taking care of myself." outlandish. to whom do i file a complaint.

If I had the freedom to pick up my metaphorical pen right now, I think steady tracks chapter 2 would be done before November ends. but no. instead I am in the middle of my senior year. This is turbofucked and I'm lowkey mad about it

Steady tracks. Soon. I swear to god. Good things coming. Soon. I swear. On my life. I am gonna go feral There are Things. On The Way. At some point i fucking swear

[subway-boss-jericho]

Feelin some kinda way and that kinda way is Horribly mentally ill and wanting to create so badly but being so swamped with schoolwork this weekend that I must unfortunately sit here, wait, and pretend to be normal so that my brain doesn't stage a mutiny and self destruct

[subway-boss-jericho]

Great news I was staring at them for so long that I memorized their outfits enough to draw Emmet from memory in class today. Feeling so normal. If you see something off model no you don't I didn't use pencils and brickspace doesn't have an undo button

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feeling soooooo normal. so normal. help. help me. help. fucking help. help me

will shade this another time. definitely making stickers of the sygna suits. feeling so irregular. feeling so fucked up

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HELP HELP ME HELP OH MY GOD HELP ME SEND HELP HELP ME OH MY GOD OH MY GOD HELP ME OH YM GOD

[subway-boss-jericho]

Are the bees shiny?

By definition no! I didn't make either of the combee twins with the intent to make either of them shiny. When designing them I did swap Ingo's colors so that his body would be the wax color and vice versa because I thought it would be a nice nod to the black/white dynamic, but a friend pointed out to me that it does make him look a touch like the shiny, which has a darker reddish-orange coloration:

However, as far as I am concerned, Ingo is not shiny. Emmet is not even remotely shiny, but Ingo in particular I feel falls into the category of normal genetic variables. I enjoy headcanoning that pokemon have a bit of genetic variation with colors and traits! Partly because it's fun, and partly because it gives me more to work with as an artist/character designer.

Thank you for the ask!

Combee AU Masterpost

[subway-boss-jericho]

Someone tagged me in this and it's true enough and funny enough that I'm reblogging it here too. This is 90% of how I write 😂

would he fucking say that? let's investigate.

[subway-boss-jericho]

for steady tracks- Would Ingo ever be able to teach Emmet string/agile techniques? Or his pokemon?

Hypothetically yes absolutely! Eventually with enough hard work he would find a way, but unfortunately it would be a liiiiittle harder than people may think. He absolutely can practice them himself though, and you BET he's aching to try out a strong-style Earthquake when he's not underground. Unfortunately he must exercise self restraint, lest he. Accidentally collapse an entire subway tunnel. (On top of himself.)

Emmet has no idea what Ingo is trying to do- mostly just thinks he is training along side his team. Which is cute! Until they're doing shit he's never seen before, and then he's wildly confused and hysterical. Archeops just used the fastest stone edge he's seen in his life and it definitely has something to do with the pokemon doing training with them, but he has no idea what or how.

Despite how many years they've spent apart, Ingo can and will continue to find ways to make Emmet hysterically incredulous over his behavior (he will never be able to replicate the heights of Mold Breaker Earthquake, but he spends every day chasing that high)

Thank you for the ask!!

Steady Tracks Masterpost

[subway-boss-jericho]

I know you mentioned not wanting to have things happen for no good reason, but perhaps having someone or a group (like. Idk. Researchers? Evil team wanting a strong pokemon) chasing ingo and kinda forcing him and emmet to interact and protect each other might be fun. just a thought tho! I absolutely Adore Steady Tracks and honestly I’m just really happy to know you’re still working on it!

I've actually been considering something along these lines for a while!

The main issue I'm facing is that I've often felt really taken out of the story when fics use this trope :squint: so I'm struggling to find a good way to actually execute the idea in a way that doesn't feel like I the Author am Forcing a Plot to Occur. If I can't suspend my own disbelief as the writer, I don't have much reason to believe my readers will?? If that makes sense.

I've been thinking about it though!! I'd be curious to hear if this is just like. A Me Thing, or of other people have felt this way too. If y'all have any suggestions too I am super open to throwing ideas around!

In Steady Tracks, team Plasma and Neo Plasma are both disbanded and have been for a few years. There aren't any noteworthy evil teams that I have rattling around in my back pocket, and I'm not sure I want to use a random petty thief or someone trying some get-rich-quick scheme... but if it counts for anything, I have been throwing around some ideas about an underground black pokemarket... >:]c

I'm not sure exactly how I want to include "antagonists" in steady tracks yet but I'm open to ideas! or if people don't really want any outside antagonists, I honestly don't think I'm going to be short on conflict to write about. I have a lot of ideas in that regard.

The broader question though! I actually have a lot of situations that will keep Ingo and Emmet by eachothers' sides, and Ingo most definitely doesn't want to run off now that he finally has a lead about his former life! More shenanigans and angst are yet to come, I assure you :> None of the ideas I have jotted down directly involve Ingo protecting Emmet yet I think :squint: But Emmet is definitely going to be helping Ingo out in a lot of direct and actionable ways :D I'm really really excited and this all has been a major boost to my inspiration, so chapter 2 is getting closer and closer to completion each day

Thank you so much for the ask!! I hope I can continue to write steady tracks in a way you look forward to >//<',!!

Steady Tracks Masterpost

[subway-boss-jericho]

Great news. 2 days ago steady tracks chapter 2 was 4k words long. Now it is 6.5k words long. oh my god

[subway-boss-jericho]

My evil plot to "have people send in questions as a source of motivation to work on Steady Tracks" has worked wonders. I am now thinking about them all the time and there are 1,000 more words in the chapter. my machinations are unknowable and i am invincible

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ok wwell what if i fucking explo de ;^;

[subway-boss-jericho]

Aside from his cries, What kind of sounds does Ingo make now?

Lovely question! 🥺 :D

Steady Tracks Ingo, unfortunately, does not have a proper set of vocal chords to speak most of the sounds needed for English language. While this is still about his cry, his regular sounds that he can achieve just by speaking involve any combination of sounds from his existing cry. A-W-L-A B-O-A-H. This is obviously limiting, but gives him a decent vocal variety to work with. When speaking aloud, most sounds he makes are heavily guided by his instincts, and by extension rarely map to human word forms and sentence structure.

Outside of his cry! He can do other things!!

I am not going to reveal exactly how he can do this because I wanna write about it some time later down the line, but he can make a low, loud wind-instrument sound like a proper train whistle. He does this naturally, but can also do it purposefully as well. It is usually used (when intentional) to express joy or as a warning call. Due to the nature of how loud/harsh it can be on the ears, he tries to be careful when using it in casual settings or when people are particularly close by.

Additionally! Through means I again plan to elaborate on in further chapters, Ingo has abilities that allow him to produce seismic vibrations. Through the same sort of way he can use Earthquake, he can make various buzzing, rattling, and rumbling sounds. This does mean that he can purr and if anyone calls it that he will die On The Spot from sheer, overwhelming embarrassment. I think I meant to post this on its own at some point but I have a drawing I'm gonna put below as an example :> as a treat. Made this last year.

While yes, he does do this to express pleasure, comfort, or ease, it's one of his most versatile forms of verbal/nonverbal/(does it count as verbal if it's not ?? speaking)/auditory communication. He often uses low rumbles to signify nervousness, displeasure, assent, dissent, wariness, frustration, and many other emotions. It's extremely context-based, and is often one of the easiest default replies in response to anything. Higher or faster buzzing is rarer, and I don't have a specific example of intention to offer, but you can imagine it's used in very different contexts. However, I do think he uses higher-pitched buzzes in short bursts as a way to get others' attention or express imploring/goading/approval. Like a phone vibrating. Genuinely I think he's mimicking phone notification sounds, but I don't think he realizes why.

This is not necessarily intentional on his behalf, but when straining his voice he tends to make loud metallic screeching and scraping sounds. This is probably what Boom Burst sounds like, although that move can likely take on the properties of most of his vocal abilities. This is what it would sound like if, for any reason, he tried/needed to scream at the top of his register. Bad for all involved! Including himself!

And just so you all know, he sounds most human when he's laughing. :>

I think that's the majority of his auditory toolkit! Thank you for the super engaging question!

Steady Tracks Masterpost

[subway-boss-jericho]

So how did ingo evolve in the Combee au after you know they got separated

Long and complicated answer! Welcome to The Plot!

After Ingo and Emmet are separated, Ingo tumbles into Hisui and is generally pretty worse for wear. He has to relearn how to fly (alone and unbalanced) and figure out how to Survive.

Thankfully for him, he manages to make some friends :] Mainly in the form of a slightly greener Laventon, fresh on the scene in Hisui and substantially newer to the field of research- A hurt combee, while still a Pokemon, is a lot easier for one man to handle and approach on his own. He takes Ingo back to his office at Jubilife and nurses him back to health- And while he sleeps one night as Laventon is burning the midnight oil, the little bee beegins to take on a glow. It encircles him like a halo, and when the light clears, he has a little red marking in the shape of a triangle on his chin.

Laventon gets to witness the first Hisuian Combee, Ingo himself rather clueless to the whole thing.

His evolution comes a lot later, after Laventon reintroduces him to the wild; Laventon takes Ingo to the Combee colony living in the Heartwood and makes sure he acclimates well enough/isn't rejected before falling back to leave him bee.

I haven't decided exactly what happens and when, but in the time Laventon spends away, Ingo evolves in an attempt to protect the colony from some kind of danger. When Laventon finds him again he's nearly unrecognizable- An alpha- A noble by right, first of his kind and dignified guard to the field's Combee.

He recognizes Ingo not by appearance but by his behavior alone- Treating Laventon with familiarity and hospitality. He's exceptionally gentle for his size and strength, and continues to get along with humans shockingly well. (As a pokemon from the future, we've seen they are broadly more domesticated.)

Is this a ramble! Yes! It is! There was no quick answer to the question :> I hope you enjoy the elevator pitch plot points. I love the bees so fuckin much man....... Why does Arceus bless Ingo? Great question. I just think he should be gods favorite. As a treat. And also it's a super awesome story device that I haven't seen many other people use- the origins of Hisuian Pokemon.

Thank you for the ask!!

Combee AU Masterpost

[subway-boss-jericho]

Wow yall thanks for all the asks 🥺I had a really rough weekend and you're all literally making my whole week right now. Might take a minute for me to respond to all of em so if you feel like yours is taking a while there's a chance I wanted to draw something for it and that's Causing Delays (that or, college Being College) <3 ty ;; More fun stuff soon!

[subway-boss-jericho]

You seem to be someone that likes foreshadowing. Do you look forward to sharing a specific scene in your story? Like snippets that have you crazy?

Complicated question,, Both yes, and no.

Yes, because I love writing in a way that implies something specific or with the intent to imply something specific while also not directly telling you What it is. Any friends can and will confirm the great joy I derive from ✨exploring the implications of things.✨ There is a shit ton of stuff in the first chapter that I put in there very deliberately while also avoiding telling you enough about it to Get It, and I've been dying to peel back the layers and show you my cool ideas.

On the other hand, I don't really have a lot of specific scenes in steady tracks that I want to share. Steady tracks started as the first chapter, with me having this super vivid vision surrounding my pokemon!Ingo design. I made the prologue to help the narrative flow better, and everything else has kind of been me trying to build from there. I don't have a lot of scenes set in stone particularly far in the future because I'm still not exactly sure where I want the plot to go or how I want to Get from point A to point B. There are a few things I am definitely excited for- Mainly getting other characters into the plot because that shit's Fun -but as of right now I don't have a lot of crazy plot twists or mind-shattering reveals in the works. I'm mostly just excited at the prospect of slowly introducing you all to the new normal for Ingo and what, exactly, that means, alongside the other worldbuilding and characters :] A lot of the things I'm excited about have to do with learning more about Ingo

I really like writing haha,, As of now, the future of Steady Tracks is super open so far as major plot beats and such. We're just gonna see where the tracks lead!

Thanks for the ask!